Read Online Wild Fire by Linda I. Shands - Free Book Online

your dad during the day and go to school at night.”
    Colin reached over and tugged at her braid. “Well, Miss Kara, now that you know my life story, are you planning to run me off the ranch?”
    Kara laughed. “Maybe.” She smacked his hand away and flipped the braid over her shoulder. “The road’s pretty straight here. Okay if we canter, Mister Trail Expert?”
    He nodded and let her go. By the time he and Greg caught up, she had stopped where the trail ended at an abandoned campsite.
    Colin’s background surprised her. The part about the youth camp anyway. She needed to think about what he had said. But this wasn’t the time or the place.
    â€œLooks like this is the end of the road.” She dismounted and led Lily to a patch of knee-high grass. The mare munched contentedly while Kara drank water from her canteen and passed around the oatmeal cookies Anne had handed her just as she was walking out the door .
    â€œThis is as far as the horses can go.” Colin’s mouth was full, and Kara could hardly understand him.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” She looked around. The campsite was surrounded by thick stands of fir and pine. Berry briers tangled in the underbrush on the other side of the trail, and just below them the swollen river ran twenty yards across .
    â€œI mean,” Colin licked his fingers clean of crumbs, “the horses can’t go any farther, but once you get past these trees there’s a deer trail you can follow on foot.”
    Kara peered into the brush. “How far does it go?”
    Colin shrugged. “Don’t know. Greg and I only walked it a couple of miles. Haven’t had time to really explore.”
    She felt a surge of excitement. “Why can’t we follow it now? The horses would be okay . . .”
    Greg’s voice interrupted her. “Hey, it’s no skin off my hide, but it’s almost one o’clock, and if you guys aren’t back to greet the guests, Bossman might get ticked.”
    Bossman? Kara started to tell Greg off, but settled for a dirty look instead. There had been enough conflict for one day .
    â€œHe’s right.” Colin sounded as disappointed as she was.
    She watched him swing into the saddle and turn Dakota’s head around in one easy motion. Then he tipped his hat and bowed in her direction. “Next time, ma’am, I’d be happy to escort you down that trail.”
    Kara fervently hoped there would be a next time. She stowed her canteen and turned Lily’s nose toward home.
    Back at the lodge, she changed into clean jeans and a colorful V-neck blouse, then headed for the kitchen to find Anne .
    The cook was bent over the stove, stirring a pot of fire-starter chili. Kara inhaled the smell of fresh-baked corn bread and remembered she’d had only two oatmeal cookies for lunch.
    Anne handed her a stack of bowls. “The boys will be hungry too.” She smiled and turned out a whole tin of corn bread into a cloth-lined basket.
    Kara felt uneasy as she ladled out the bowls of chili. Anne didn’t act any differently after the fuss at the table this morning. She had to know I was mad . She wondered if Ryan had said anything about what happened at the barn. She didn’t much want to follow through on her talk with him, but she knew she shouldn’t let it go.
    â€œIs Dad back?”
    Anne nodded, then added softly, “Ryan is asleep. Last night was long. For all of us.”
    Kara felt herself relax. Somehow those few words melted the resentment inside her and made everything seem all right again. She knew she should offer to let Anne ride Lily, but before she could say anything, Colin and Greg stomped through the kitchen door, letting it bang closed behind them.
    â€œWhooee, does that smell good! I’m as hungry as a winter-starved bear.” Colin reached for a square of corn bread.
    Without thinking, Kara snatched the basket away. “Colin