Free Lead Me Home by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page A

casualty. Aurelia kept her attention on the boy, and after a few more circuits, he looked a little less scared. A couple more and he began to smile.
    Matthew must have noticed it, too. “Having some fun, are you?”
    “Yeah! This is cool!”
    “You’re a natural rider, Lester. So you’re feeling good up there?”
    “Yep.”
    “Then let’s help Houdini learn from this. We don’t want him to think he can just take off like that whenever he feels like it. So when he starts to slow down, I want you to squeeze with your legs and cluck with your tongue to make him canter some more. He stops when you say so, not when he wants to. You’re the boss.”
    “Wow. I like that.” Lester sat up even straighter. “And there he goes. Slowing down.”
    “Squeeze with your lower leg and cluck with your tongue.”
    Aurelia heard Lester make a clicking sound with his tongue and Houdini immediately started cantering faster as they circled the corral a few more times.
    “That’s enough,” Matthew said. “Now I want you to stop squeezing his sides and start pulling back on the reins and say whoa. I’m going to step into his line of vision and act like a traffic cop. Ready?”
    With a nod Lester pulled back on the reins and said, “Whoa, Houdini.” Matthew moved into the path Houdini had created and held up both hands, palms forward. “Whoa, Houdini,” Lester repeated. “Whoa, boy.”
    The horse slowed and came to a stop inches from Matthew. His sides heaved as he blew out through flared nostrils.
    “Good boy.” Matthew took hold of his bridle and patted his neck. “Good boy.”
    “That was awesome .” Lester’s grin took over his entire face.
    Matthew glanced up at him. “Ready to come down now?”
    “Sure.” He sounded nonchalant about it, but he was trembling.
    “Need help?”
    “Nope, I’m good.” But when he hopped off, he staggered, as if his knees weren’t quite up to the job of supporting him. “Just a little wobbly, I guess.”
    “Adrenaline can do that to you,” Matthew said.
    “Yeah, that was a rush, man.” He straightened and walked to where Matthew stood. Then he wrapped his arms around Houdini’s neck. “Thanks for not tossing me in the dirt, buddy.”
    Matthew put a hand on Lester’s shoulder. “Great riding. Couldn’t have done better myself.”
    Lester gazed up at him, hero worship shining in his expression. “Thanks, Mr. Tredway.”
    “Let’s take Houdini back to his stall. I think he’s had enough training for today.”
    “And he needs a good rubdown,” Lester added as he ducked under the horse’s neck and took hold of Houdini’s bridle on the other side.
    With Matthew on the opposite side, they headed toward the gate. Emmett still had a firm grip on Jeff’s shoulder, but one of the other boys rushed to open the gate for them.
    As Matthew passed Aurelia, he gave her a tight smile. “Quite a show, huh?”
    “It was.” She could tell his anger at the boy who’d thrown the rock simmered under the surface of his apparent calm.
    When he passed Jeff, he paused. In a low, icy tone that was far more devastating than yelling would have been, he let Jeff have it. “Anyone who could throw a rock at a horse, especially in a situation like we had today, has no business being on a ranch.”
    “Don’t worry,” Emmett said just as quietly. “Jeff won’t be staying. I’ll take him to see Pete and Sarah to let them know why.”
    Jeff stared at both of them in disbelief. “But it was just a little rock!”
    Matthew’s words were laced with fury. “And because you threw it, somebody could have been badly hurt, maybe even killed.”
    “And that’s the crux of it,” Emmett added. “You’ve lost your privilege to stay here.” He glanced at the other six boys. “You all get that, right?”
    Eyes wide, every boy nodded vigorously.
    “Good. I know you’re always hungry, so maybe Aurelia will take you to the kitchen and find you a snack.”
    “I’d be glad to.” Aurelia noticed