Immortal Storm Read Free Page B

With a groan, he erupted, flailing, kicking, bucking, throwing himself against the wall. He stopped as abruptly as he started, facing Dori, peering into her eyes, challenging. Dori held her breath.
    Ralph’s whistle and the hay rustling to the ground caught the stallion’s attention and he turned and trotted out to his pasture. Joe slammed the exterior door shut and slid the bolt into place.
    Once it was safe to go in, Dori cleaned the stall quickly. As she was walking out, she heard Latif’s ominous snort from the base of the exterior door. Joe tried to calm the stallion, but Latif’s hooves connected and snapped one of the boards. Dori scurried into the aisle, glad to have that task done for the day.
    She met up with Amir on her way back toward the house.
    “Hi Honey. Did you sleep well?”
    “Yes. Are the stalls mucked?”
    “We just finished. Joe and Ralph are haying the pastures. How was the auction?”
    “Nothing spectacular, but I did find something that may help us with Latif. I’ll show you later.” Amir headed off toward the indoor arena where his first student of the day was waiting.
    Like most days, Dori managed the farm while Amir gave back-to-back lessons. Between chores, she would pop in with a fresh cup of coffee or a sandwich. At four, she set off toward the lesson barn to let him know she was leaving to go pick up the girls. That was when she saw what Amir had planned for their wild stallion.
    She saw it, or rather him, in the distance watching Latif flail about his private pasture. She rolled her eyes as she took in his Dockers and button-up shirt. She couldn’t see any boots and assumed he was wearing loafers or some other ridiculously useless footwear.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dori mumbled, still looking at the newcomer. Just then, as if he heard her, the man turned and waved. She ducked her head and hurried toward Amir, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
    “I’m going to pick up the girls. There’s a man looking at Latif.”
    “Oh, that must be Michael. He promised me he could train that crazy son-of-a-bitch. You’re riding tonight, right?”
    “Yeah, after the girls go to bed.”
    “I’ll have…” Amir paused, “Mubarek groomed for you.” Dori knew he had been about to say Zee and her chest tightened at the fresh memory.
    “Thanks.” Her voice was gruff and she turned to leave so her emotions didn’t betray her. On her way back to the main house she saw that Michael was still watching Latif. Drawing her shoulders back, she stood tall and waved. She could just make out his smile as he returned the gesture.
     
    * * *
 
    Later that night, after evening chores and once the girls were snuggled in, Dori made her way out to the lesson barn, flashlight in hand. She was greeted with a few lazy knickers as she flipped the lights on. As promised, Mubarek was in his stall, coat gleaming. She tsedaming. ied him in the aisle and ran her hand over his coat from neck to flank. She was feeling for heat, unusual bumps, or any other sign that the horse might be unsound. Finding nothing unusual, she headed off for the saddle and bridle.
    Soon she was astride the muscular animal, going through the warm-up Amir had taught her. This was one of her favorite moments of the day. The silent communication between horse and rider centered her and sparked something within her that made her feel alive. When she was riding, she felt free.
    Mubarek responded effortlessly to her commands and soon they were cantering around the ring. The cadence of hoof beats further lulled Dori into her world of solitude. Guiding him toward one of the lower jumps, the two sailed through the air. Dori counted three more strides and again cued Mubarek to jump. The response was instantaneous and the giant animal leapt into the air, completely trusting Dori’s cues. She cornered at the far end of the ring and set him up on the last line of jumps. There were two lower jumps and then further off a pair of higher