Free Shadow Horse by Alison Hart

advantage.”
    “How?”
    “By the end of the sale, the killers’ tractor-trailers are pretty full. And this horse is a big one. He’ll be hard to cram into a packed trailer.”
    Miss Hahn tapped her lip as if thinking hard. “And Reaves knows that, which means if someone offered him cash
now
…”
    “You mean you’re going to try and buy the horse?” Jas asked excitedly.
    “Only on one condition.” Miss Hahn looked at Jas with a very serious expression.
    “What?” asked Jas warily. She should have known. This was where Miss Hahn was going to show her true colors. This was where she was going to demand that Jas forget all about Whirlwind and leave Hugh alone.
    “He’s
your
project. You take care of him. You retrain him.”
    Jas stared at her, totally taken aback. “Sure,” she blurted.
    “Then come on,” Miss Hahn said, sounding like a kid about to get into trouble. “Let’s go buy a horse.”

Eleven

    SUNDAY MORNING, THE DAY AFTER THE AUCTION , Jas finally got to see her grandfather. He was sitting in a wheelchair in front of the dayroom window, his back toward her. Jas would have recognized him anywhere, even though he was thinner and shorter.
    “Grandfather!” Rushing over, Jas sank to her knees and buried her face in his stomach so he wouldn’t see her tears.
    His right hand pressed against her head, and she could feel his fingers tremble. “Jas-s.” He slurred her name.
    Looking up, Jas could see that his mouth was crooked. One side of it was tilting up in a smile, while the other was frozen in a straight line. “I’m so glad to see you, Grandfather. I missed you so much.”
    He nodded, tears filling his own eyes. “Me too.”
    “How have you been?” Sitting back on her heels, Jas studied him. “Are they taking good care of you?”
    He nodded, drool trickling from the side of his mouth. His hair was sticking up in gray wisps, and his eyes were cloudy. Jas wanted to cry out loud at the change in him. A month ago, even at the age of sixty-eight, he’d been strong enough to lift two bales of hay.
    “I’m etter every ay,” he said, patting her shoulder with his right hand. His other hand lay by his side, the fingers curled loosely. Ducking his head, he gestured toward a straight-backed chair under the picture window. “Sit.”
    When Jas went to get the chair, she looked around the dayroom. It was decorated in pastels. The sun streamed through the huge window. Games, magazines, and books were strewn on several tables. Only no one was reading or playing. One woman watched TV, her head flopped to the side, while several other patients shuffled randomly across the shiny tile floor.
    “Your doctor’s going to talk to me afterour visit,” Jas said, setting the chair in front of him. “Miss Hahn, my foster parent, brought me today. She’ll bring me back on Wednesday, too. I tried to see you before, but the visit had to be written into my schedule and I had to obey all these rules and …”
    Raising a thin, blue-veined hand, Grandfather stroked Jas’s hair.
    She caught his hand and held it to her cheek. “Oh, Grandfather, nothing is right.” Jas struggled with what to say.
    “I know.” His eyes watered. “Il came to ee me.”
    “What?” Jas asked, not sure what he was saying.
    “Il arks.”
    “Phil
came to see you.”
    “Ee told me everything.”
    Jas pressed his palm hard against her cheek. “Did he tell you that I attacked Hugh and that I’m on probation? I can’t ever go to High Meadows again.”
    “Good! I on’t ant you ever on at farm again.”
    Twisting his hand, he grasped Jas’s fingers and squeezed them tightly, and she could feel the conviction of his words.
    “Why don’t you want me on the farm again?”
    “Ecause Hugh is …” He took a shuddering breath. “E-vil.” He pronounced the words with such effort that Jas could feel his arm shake.
Grandfather knew
.
    “What else did Phil tell you?”
    “Ee said ee thinks Hugh killed Irlwind.”
    “Yes! I think