Moonstone Promise Read Online Free
died, for whatever reason, and that was that. Harry filled that gap now.
But it was the photos that had made him want to give the horse-gentling program a go. He knew that somehow horses were a part of his make-up, even though he had felt no connection with them before he met Harry. And he was right. Once he did connect with them, he knew he could never let them go. Horses were a part of him and always would be.
Harry had seen it in him, too, and asked him to stay on. It had taken a lot of organising on Annieâs part, but eventually Harry and Annie ended up officially fostering him. The last few years had been the best of Lukeâs life.
He closed his eyes and lay there floating in the river with his arms out, thinking about those years â he didnât know how long for.
4
WHEN LUKE EVENTUALLY pulled himself out of the river, he jumped back on Legsy and rode further along the river flats. He didnât want to go home yet. When he passed the back of Lawsonâs property, he pulled the colt back to a walk and looked searchingly up through the hill paddock. He wondered if sheâd be there, sitting under the mango tree.
Jess. He remembered when he had first came across her. She was the girl he had seen riding over the river flats, on a buckskin appaloosa. The small horse was striking: golden, with a thick black mane and tail, and silver spots all over its rump. The girl rode so easily, often bareback and barefoot. Cantering, always cantering, never walking, so Luke never had an opportunity to ride out across the big grassy stretches and say âHiâ to her.
Then she had turned up at Harryâs place one day with the biggest black eye he had ever seen. He hadnât recognised her at first. She was riding a bike and trying to hide her face. But he recognised her hair, golden-brown, silky and messy. She was quiet, withdrawn, as if sheâd had the spirit knocked out of her.
She too found refuge at Harryâs place, and as she started to heal, Luke watched her downcast eyes gradually become feisty and determined again. Her serious mouth had a one-sided smirk that flashed so quickly across her face you could miss it. He found himself watching for it and sometimes she would catch him, holding his gaze for just a second. But then Grace or Shara would break the moment with a loud yell, an excited suggestion or a pushy demand.
âDoesnât matter how much you stare at it,â he yelled out to Jess now. âItâs not gonna grow any faster.â
Jess, wearing an old flanny and jeans, smiled and waved as she jumped up and ran over to the fence. âI saw it kicking,â she called out before she got there. âI could see a little hoof popping out the side of her belly. It was so cute!â
âI still canât believe youâre getting a foal out of that mare for two hundred bucks,â he said.
âTwo hundred and forty-six,â she corrected him.
Lawsonâs mare, Marnie, had fallen pregnant to a runaway stallion one crazy night in the outback, months ago. The horses had all escaped from a campdraft, and everyone had gone out looking for them. But only he and Jess had seen the min min lights â three of them, appearing out of nowhere and buzzing around the mares.
Jess reckoned they were spirits, ghosts, or some crazy mixed-up stuff to do with her first horse, Diamond, who had been destroyed after an accident. When she saw those lights seemingly disappear into Marnieâs belly, she was convinced that Diamond had been reincarnated. She persuaded Lawson to sell her the foal for a pittance. And ever since, sheâd been walking on sunshine.
âHoping for a filly or a colt?â asked Luke.
âA filly,â Jess said, âso I can breed from her one day.â
âThen you can spend another year sitting under a tree,â he teased.
Jess spent hours sitting under that mango tree staring at the mares â whole days, in fact. She had
But it was the photos that had made him want to give the horse-gentling program a go. He knew that somehow horses were a part of his make-up, even though he had felt no connection with them before he met Harry. And he was right. Once he did connect with them, he knew he could never let them go. Horses were a part of him and always would be.
Harry had seen it in him, too, and asked him to stay on. It had taken a lot of organising on Annieâs part, but eventually Harry and Annie ended up officially fostering him. The last few years had been the best of Lukeâs life.
He closed his eyes and lay there floating in the river with his arms out, thinking about those years â he didnât know how long for.
4
WHEN LUKE EVENTUALLY pulled himself out of the river, he jumped back on Legsy and rode further along the river flats. He didnât want to go home yet. When he passed the back of Lawsonâs property, he pulled the colt back to a walk and looked searchingly up through the hill paddock. He wondered if sheâd be there, sitting under the mango tree.
Jess. He remembered when he had first came across her. She was the girl he had seen riding over the river flats, on a buckskin appaloosa. The small horse was striking: golden, with a thick black mane and tail, and silver spots all over its rump. The girl rode so easily, often bareback and barefoot. Cantering, always cantering, never walking, so Luke never had an opportunity to ride out across the big grassy stretches and say âHiâ to her.
Then she had turned up at Harryâs place one day with the biggest black eye he had ever seen. He hadnât recognised her at first. She was riding a bike and trying to hide her face. But he recognised her hair, golden-brown, silky and messy. She was quiet, withdrawn, as if sheâd had the spirit knocked out of her.
She too found refuge at Harryâs place, and as she started to heal, Luke watched her downcast eyes gradually become feisty and determined again. Her serious mouth had a one-sided smirk that flashed so quickly across her face you could miss it. He found himself watching for it and sometimes she would catch him, holding his gaze for just a second. But then Grace or Shara would break the moment with a loud yell, an excited suggestion or a pushy demand.
âDoesnât matter how much you stare at it,â he yelled out to Jess now. âItâs not gonna grow any faster.â
Jess, wearing an old flanny and jeans, smiled and waved as she jumped up and ran over to the fence. âI saw it kicking,â she called out before she got there. âI could see a little hoof popping out the side of her belly. It was so cute!â
âI still canât believe youâre getting a foal out of that mare for two hundred bucks,â he said.
âTwo hundred and forty-six,â she corrected him.
Lawsonâs mare, Marnie, had fallen pregnant to a runaway stallion one crazy night in the outback, months ago. The horses had all escaped from a campdraft, and everyone had gone out looking for them. But only he and Jess had seen the min min lights â three of them, appearing out of nowhere and buzzing around the mares.
Jess reckoned they were spirits, ghosts, or some crazy mixed-up stuff to do with her first horse, Diamond, who had been destroyed after an accident. When she saw those lights seemingly disappear into Marnieâs belly, she was convinced that Diamond had been reincarnated. She persuaded Lawson to sell her the foal for a pittance. And ever since, sheâd been walking on sunshine.
âHoping for a filly or a colt?â asked Luke.
âA filly,â Jess said, âso I can breed from her one day.â
âThen you can spend another year sitting under a tree,â he teased.
Jess spent hours sitting under that mango tree staring at the mares â whole days, in fact. She had
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