Free The Shining Stallion by Terri Farley

back of the house.
    â€œYes,” Darby said. She heard the jingle of a chain being pulled across the grass just as Megan held out her hand for Darby’s flashlight.
    She turned it over and Megan spotlighted a small black-and-white goat, not much bigger than the dogs.Soft ears flopped at the sides of Francie’s head, then waved toward the girls.
    â€œWon’t something eat her? Staked out like this?” Darby asked.
    The goat made a bleating sound, as if protesting Darby’s question.
    â€œShhh,” Megan said. “Of course not. Walk up to her slowly until she gets to know you.”
    â€œOh, you are the cutest animal I’ve ever seen,” Darby whispered. She bent to pet the small goat. Francie’s black-and-white coat felt silky. In the flashlight’s beam, the goat’s shiny little lips were thin as a pink pencil line.
    She bumped her tiny horns against Darby’s hand.
    â€œShe wants you to scratch her head,” Megan said quietly.
    Darby did, feeling more at ease than she had all day.
    â€œWe can’t let Jonah eat her,” Darby told Megan.
    With an alarmed naaa , Francie bounced unbending front legs at Darby.
    â€œShh. You need to be quiet with her so she can settle down for the night,” Megan put in quickly.
    Darby knelt next to Francie and stroked the white curve of her throat. It was one of the softest things she’d ever touched.
    â€œIn the morning, she’s frisky,” Megan said, and Darby could tell she didn’t like the idea of the little goat being meat, either. “You can play with her.”
    â€œI will! That’s cool!” Darby said.
    â€œJust be careful,” Megan said. “Francie will eat your shoelaces if she gets a chance.”
    Megan returned to the house alone while Darby used the flashlight for one more trip down to see Hoku.
    Once she finished checking on her filly, Darby’s eyes were accustomed to the darkness and she clicked the flashlight off.
    The sky was so star-filled, it had turned from black to charcoal gray. Endless and overwhelming, it almost seemed to be lowering.
    Soon she’d be able to touch it, Darby fantasized as she meandered back toward Sun House.
    A movement caught her eye. Off the bluff, in the pastures down below, something seemed different.
    It was probably just a ranch horse, not the Shining Stallion, but Darby flicked on the flashlight.
    Darby caught sight of Jonah, still as the stone he leaned against, with a rifle resting over his forearm.
    Was her grandfather waiting for the stallion that had killed Old Luna? Was he going to make sure that this time the challenger and not the challenged would die?
    Jonah’s impatient voice shattered the drama of the moment.
    â€œTurn that off and come down here,” he shouted up to her.
    Darby swooped the flashlight’s beam away.
    â€œTurn it off, I said, or you’ll wreck your night vision.”
    Darby hurried along the gravel road, past Sun House, then turned right. Placing her tennis shoes carefully, she began the descent down to her grandfather.
    She was breathing hard from exertion when she reached him. Still, she managed to ask, “Are you going to try to shoot him again?”
    Jonah drew a quick breath, then let it out in a grim laugh.
    â€œKimo been talking story with you?” he asked.
    Darby wasn’t exactly sure what he meant. “He told me about the horse that killed Old Luna.”
    It was exciting to have a secret with Jonah, but she hated the idea of a horse dying for no reason—or for some reason they couldn’t figure out and fix.
    â€œSometimes I think I should have killed that horse,” Jonah told her.
    But he hadn’t. Jonah told Darby how he’d ridden into the forest after the horse. There he saw that his shot had creased the stallion’s neck, and when the animal finally fell down in the mud it was breathing so hard, blood sprayed out on Jonah’s boots.
    â€œI