Free Wild Hearts by Jessica Burkhart Page B

horses.”
    I licked my bottom lip. “Thank you. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them, either.”
    â€œJust because I’m choosing to focus on the horses, though, it doesn’t mean everyone else is doing the same. You may still see some protests at the site, so be prepared. But know that I’m not part of it.” He turned his gaze in front of him and back to the horses. “The mustangs kind of saved someone in my life once. I owe it to them to help.”
    â€œHow?” I asked.
    â€œMy mom left us five years ago.”
    â€œOh,” I said. I reached out a hand and touched his knee. “I’m so sorry.”
    â€œThanks. She met some out-of-town guy and she wanted out of Lost Springs. She wanted to travel and this guy—
Brad
—was her ticket out.”
    â€œLogan,” I said. “That is awful. I didn’t mean for you to have to talk about that. You don’t have to.”
    â€œI kind of do,” he replied. “I have to tell you my story so you’ll understand why I love those horses.”
    I nodded.
    Logan plucked a piece of tall grass and swirled it around a few times before he began stripping it layer by layer.
    â€œHolden was barely five when she left,” Logan continued. His jaw tightened. “He cried every day because he wanted Mom. Or I’d find him bawling because he thought he had done something wrong that had made Mom leave.”
    He crushed the blade of grass between his pointer finger and thumb.
    â€œSo one day during winter break, Dad and I had been working a job at Pam’s farm. If you hang around me long enough, you’ll hear me talk about Pam a lot. When my mom split, Pam became a very important part of our—Holden’s, my dad’s, and my—lives.” Logan smiled. “Like I was saying, Dad and I came home and crashed in the middle of the afternoon because we were so tired. I woke up to Dad yelling. Holden had left while we slept.”
    I covered my mouth with my hand. “Oh, my God.”
    â€œThere were a few inches of snow on the ground, so Dad and I followed his tracks until they disappeared. We separated and soon it started snowing—hard. I thought I was going to throw up because that’s how scared I was. Plus, all of Holden’s winter gear was at home. He had gone out in sneakers, jeans, and a sweater.”
    My eyes were glued on Logan. His eyes were on the herd, but they had a faraway look, as if he was revisiting that winter.
    â€œThe sun just started to set and it was snowing so hard that I couldn’t see much in front of me. I yelled Holden’s name until my voice was gone. Then out of nowhere, a bay mare appeared. She had this look like she wanted something. She looked at me, then turned away and trotted off. Something inside me said to follow her.
    â€œI ran after the mare,” Logan said. “I saw red and blue peeking out from behind a pile of brush. This is the part that I can almost feel—it’s still that real. I ran toward the brush and Holden was there. I picked him up and he was
warm.
We both were crying and I finally caught my breath and asked him how in the hell he had stayed warm.”
    In front of us, a stallion struck the ground with a gleaming black leg and let out a neigh that shattered the quiet of the land.
    â€œHe said that he had gotten lost in the woods and was trying to get home. Finally, he got so tired and scared that he sat down in the brush. He said a bay mare curled up in front of him and she let him put his arms around her for warmth. She only got up when she heard my voice.”
    I sucked in a breath. “Logan, oh my God. That is incredible.”
    â€œThere’s no other way he would have been warm and not suffering from frostbite if it hadn’t been for the horse. I know how crazy it sounds,” Logan said. “But I know that Holden’s telling the truth. I’ve never been able to thank