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Chapter One
Creeeak!
Katy McLaughlin froze on the squeaky step. She held her riding boots—and her breath. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up her family—especially her dad!
Katy quietly tiptoed down the stairs. She stopped to gaze at her favorite painting on the wall. It showed a herd of wild horses galloping across a plain. Katy loved horses and would do anything to ride one—even if it meant sneaking out of the house at the crack of dawn!
When Katy reached the front door, she opened it carefully. The doorknob slipped from her hand and—slam! Katy gritted her teeth. She sat on the porch, pulled on her riding boots, and tore off across Goose Creek Ranch.
Katy's heavy boots didn't keep her from running like the wind. It was her first day of summer vacation. It was also her first day home from the Laramie Academy, the fancy boarding school in Wyoming that her parents sent her to.
But sneaking out for a ride wasn't Katy's only secret. Her other secret was stuffed inside the pocket of her denim jacket.
Katy shuddered as she remembered the letter.
"Katy McLaughlin," one of the prefects told her yesterday in school. "You need to see the headmaster."
"Thank you." Katy gulped as she took the white envelope with the gold school crest. She didn't have to open it to know what was inside. It was a letter to her parents that said she was flunking school.
Katy was going to give her dad the letter when he picked her up at the van stop. But Rob McLaughlin was as tough as the saddle he rode every day, so Katy didn't have the guts. And she didn't have the heart to tell her mom, Nell. It was Nell McLaughlin's idea to send Katy to private school in the first place. Katy's older brother, Howard, knew by the look in her eyes that something was wrong.
"How bad can it be?" Howard had whispered.
"Worse," Katy whispered back.
Katy switched her thoughts from school to the stable. As she burst into the horse barn, twenty heads turned in their stalls.
"Who feels like running?" Katy asked.
In no time, Katy was riding bareback on Yankee, a handsome chestnut gelding. The horse jumped over the pasture gate. After dashing across the meadow, Yankee splashed through the waters of Goose Creek. Katy gripped Yankee's thick mane as he galloped up a steep mountainside.
"Whoa!" Katy called.
Yankee slowed down on the summit. Katy reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled letter.
"What am I going to do?" Katy sighed. She still didn't get it. When it came to riding, she was fearless. When it came to her dad, she was a total wimp!
Yankee let out a snort and began to buck.
Something must have spooked him, Katy thought. She stroked his mane gently and said, "Stop it."
Yankee kicked up his hooves. With a whinny he raced down the steep incline, bucking all the way.
At the base of the mountain, Yankee shot into the woods. It was dark and thick with trees and bushes.
"You want to go home, huh, Yankee?" Katy asked. "At least somebody does."
Suddenly Katy heard a deep rumbling sound. She brought Yankee to a halt and sat perfectly still. It was the sound of a mountain lion!
"Quiet, Yankee," Katy whispered.
A shadow moved in the brush. Yankee raised his front hooves, tossing Katy to the ground. Katy stood up. But just as she was about to remount, Yankee sped off into the woods.
Katy stiffened as she stood alone. A pair of yellow eyes glowed at her from the shadows. Running away was a bad idea. But when the bushes began to shake, Katy couldn't think of a better one!
Katy spun around and ran for her life. Thorns and brambles scraped her arms and face. Her long hair wrapped around a sticky shrub.
"Owww!" Katy cried. She twisted her body until her hair came free. She ran forward until the tip of her boot snagged on a large rock.
Katy pitched forward, landing facedown in a field of wildflowers. She glanced up and her eyes opened wider. Standing a few feet away was a long-legged black mustang, her mane matted with burrs and nettles!
The horse cried out and raised her front legs. She wielded her hooves in the air. Then she began charging straight toward Katy.
"Don't hurt me!" Katy shouted.
Flicka: Untamed Spirit. Copyright © by Judy Katschke. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
Excerpted from Flicka: Untamed Spirit by Judy Katschke
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