by Suzanne Weyn
Staggering backward, Taylor recognized the girl and the car just as the heel of her brown riding boot hit a tree root. Taylor fell on her butt, sending rockets of pain up her spine. As she scrambled to her feet, she couldn’t stop to feel her injury, or even her fury at Plum Mason and her reckless mother.
Her entire attention was on Prince Albert, who was galloping in wild panic toward Quail Ridge Road.
Panting hard, heart thundering in her chest, Taylor raced down Wildwood Lane onto steep and curving Quail Ridge Road. Fast as she was running, it seemed to take forever to get there.
Taylor checked the field to her left. Some of Wildwood’s other horses had been turned out and grazed there — but no Prince Albert.
Pivoting to her right, Taylor froze.
“Oh, no!” she shouted.
Up the hill, Prince Albert stood in the middle of the road, wide-eyed and bewildered. He was standing directly in the middle of a blind curve in the road. If a car came around the bend now, the driver would never see him in time to stop.
“Prince Albert! Prince Albert!” Taylor shouted in her most commanding tone.
Prince Albert swung his head around to her. His ears were back and flattened, a sign of his anxiety.
Taylor clapped her hands sharply. “Walk on! Move, Prince Albert! Now! Move to the other side! Get off the road!”
Prince Albert usually obeyed commands well. Why wasn’t he moving?
His nostrils flared and his eyes were wide. He stood frozen in terrified confusion.
Clicking to the frightened horse, Taylor hurried up the hill toward him, deciding on another approach. “Come to me, boy. Come on.” She worked to disguise the urgent fear in her voice, hoping he would calm down enough to respond.
It was no use! He wasn’t budging.
“Move!” Taylor shouted, full blast, clenching her fists as her cheeks reddened with the strain. Maybe she could at least startle him off the road.
At the sound of her agitated tone, Prince Albert whinnied and turned his body toward Taylor. As he moved, a large white car came into view, coming fast.
Prince Albert screamed as he reared high onto his back legs.
The car’s horn blared, and then came the sickening sound of crunching metal.
Taylor was only dimly aware of her own anguished voice shouting.
“No! No! No!”
SUZANNE WEYN lives in the heart of horse country, in a valley in New York State—which is perfect for her daughter, an avid horse rider, riding instructor, and competitor. Suzanne’s many books for teens include Reincarnation and Distant Waves. For more information about Suzanne and her novels, visit her online at www.suzanneweynbooks.com.
Copyright © 2010 by Suzanne Weyn.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
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First printing, May 2010
Cover photo by Michael Frost
Cover background photo by Image Source Black/Jupiterimages
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
e-ISBN 978-0-545-32765-7
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