Read Online Wild Cat by Dandi Daley Mackall - Free Book Online

kind of hoping I’d come up with something that would help Dakota and Hank get through to these horses. I’m the most worried about the buckskin. She grazes, but she’s always watching. When the others get close, her ears go back. If she lifts her head, the other horses keep their distance.
    WinnieTheHorseGentler: That’s great info. The buckskin is probably your dominant mare. You guys can use that in training!
    “Kat? Are you writing Catman?” Hank asks.
    He and Dakota are standing behind me at the computer. I can’t believe I didn’t hear them come in. “You guys scared me half to death.” I don’t usually use that expression, “half to death,” and I can tell by Dakota’s face she doesn’t like it.
    “You’re writing Winnie?” Dakota asks.
    “About our horses?” Hank moves in closer. “Good idea.”
    “Yeah, really,” Dakota agrees.
    They’re both hunched in front of the screen, one on each side of me. I want to exit from the helpline or cover the screen with my hands or tell them that this is my conversation, my horse clinic.
    “Winnie’s right!” Hank says. “That buckskin must be the dominant mare. I was thinking it was the gray.”
    “So she’s the boss?” Dakota asks.
    “Yeah,” Hank says, still reading. “That’s why the others watch her all the time. She’s the key, Dakota.”
    “So we should get her on our side, you mean?” Dakota asks.
    They’re talking over my head, literally.
    “She’ll be the one they’ll all follow when they’re in a pack,” Hank explains. “They’ll try to please her .”
    “Ah,” Dakota says, “kind of like Guinevere in the pack of girls I tried to eat with today?”
    Hank laughs. “Ask Winnie how she thinks we should use the buckskin to get the others on our side. Tell her I’ve ridden the buckskin, and I think she’s pretty teachable.”
    I start typing, using my two-finger method. I’m slower than usual because my hands are shaky. I’m not nervous. I just haven’t eaten much today.
    WinnieTheHorseGentler: Kat? Are you still there? Where’d you go?
    KoolKat: Sorry about that. Hank and Dakota walked in. They’re pretty excited about your advice.
    “Go on and ask her about using the dominant mare thing,” Dakota says. She pulls over a stool and settles in.
    “And tell her what I said about riding the buckskin,” Hank adds.
    I start to. Then I can’t exactly remember the questions. A throbbing starts in my left temple and moves across the top of my head.
    “Kat?” Hank sounds impatient.
    “Want me to type?” Dakota asks.
    I don’t. But I don’t think I can keep up. I scoot my chair back and stand. “Go for it, Dakota.”
    “You sure?” She takes the desk chair.
    “Thanks, Kat,” Hank says. He’s staring at the screen. “Huh. Ride the sorrel with the buckskin. We could do that this afternoon.”
    As I walk away, I hear the computer keys whizzing, Hank’s and Dakota’s voices, and the buzzing that means I’m in for a king-size headache.

Ten
    “Kat, honey? Are you okay in there?” Mom shouts. When I don’t answer right away, she knocks on the bathroom door.
    It’s Friday morning and the first time since Monday that I’ve gotten dressed for school. I refuse to miss the whole first week of junior high. I wipe my mouth, flush the toilet, and splash cold water on my face. “I’m fine,” I call back.
    “Hank needs to know if you’re riding with him, honey. He and Dakota are leaving in a minute. Wes took the bus. I could drive you later, if you feel up to it.” She pauses. “Or maybe you should stay home today and—”
    I open the bathroom door and hope I don’t look like I feel. “Good to go.”
    Her eyes narrow. Like it’s not hard enough to fool a mom, I have to convince a mom who’s also my doctor. “You don’t look fine.”
    “Thanks, Mom. Just the vote of confidence I need to start seventh grade.” I move past her and get my book bag. “I’m good. Really.”
    She doesn’t move. “Kat, you