Ghost Rider Read Online Free

made the stallion so beautiful was the wildness, and certainly the scar was a symbol of that, and would always be, even after Kate owned him and trained him.
    Then, as if Carole had heard Lisa’s thoughts, sheasked Kate, “Will you train him yourself? Do you know how to do it?”
    “I know some things, of course,” Kate said. “I mean, you can’t spend as much time around horses as I have, or even as you have, without knowing a lot about training.”
    “Training a wild horse has got to be different from training a domestic one,” Stevie reasoned. “I mean, that stallion has never stood still for a human in his life. It’s hard to imagine that he ever will, either.”
    A smile crossed Kate’s face, which told her friends that Stevie had put her finger on something very important to Kate: the stallion’s very wildness.
    “He will,” Kate said. “I know it. Besides, Walter said he’d help me. He’s had lots of experience with wild ponies. He knows what he’s doing.”
    The mention of Walter reminded the girls of the awkward confrontation between him and John at the stable earlier.
    “Is he always that serious?” Stevie asked. “He came down pretty hard on John.”
    Kate nodded. “I think Walter feels he has to prove himself. See, he’s got some kind of odd reputation.”
    “You mean like he’s dangerous?” Lisa asked.
    “No way,” said Kate. “But there’s definitely something mysterious about his past.”
    “How do you know?” Stevie asked.
    “We don’t. That’s what’s mysterious,” Kate explained. “Neither Walter nor John will talk about it at all, but it has something to do with John’s mother. She’s dead, I think. I overheard some parents talking about it at school, but as soon as they saw me, they stopped talking.”
    “Too bad they saw you,” Stevie said. One of Stevie’s favorite activities was overhearing conversations not intended for her. She was disappointed that Kate had been discovered.
    “It didn’t make any difference,” Kate said. “From what I heard, it was clear they didn’t know anything anyway. It’s all just gossip. My parents don’t listen to gossip, so they hired Walter, and nobody’s sorry they did. He’s a hard worker, and John works even harder. Sometimes I feel sorry for them because they work so hard and nothing ever seems to get better. Walter is always grim and determined. John? Well, he’s nice and helpful, but he’s hard to get to know.”
    “He seems lonely,” Lisa said.
    Stevie nodded. “That must be why he tried that practical joke. He just wanted to be friendly.”
    “That’s what I thought,” Lisa said.
    Carole wrinkled her nose. “Well, it wasn’t very funny. The saddle you put on a horse is very important. It needs to fit the horse, and it needs to fit the rider. I don’t think it’s something to joke about. Imean, if the saddle doesn’t fit a horse, the horse can get sores, and they take a long time to heal—”
    “Carole!” Stevie said, a little exasperated. “It was a joke.”
    Carole loved horses so much that it was harder for her to understand joking about them than it was for her friends. It was just like her to go off on a long speech about horse care and lore. Her friends took it as their responsibility to bring her back to reality.
    “Definitely a joke,” Kate assured her.
    “And a slightly funny one,” Lisa agreed. “It made me laugh.”
    “Well, Walter didn’t laugh,” Carole said.
    “But he’s
always
serious,” Kate said.
    “I wonder what secret he and John are keeping,” mused Stevie. Her friends looked at her. There was nothing Stevie loved more than a mystery she could solve. There was nothing she hated more than not having her curiosity satisfied.
    “Stevie!” Lisa said. “Some things just aren’t any of our business. I mean, you have to respect other people’s privacy.”
    “I suppose,” Stevie conceded. “I’ll mind my own business. I promise.”
    “Well,” Kate said, “our