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This story takes place one month after Andi’s misadventure in Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home.
Chapter One
Circle C Ranch, Late Spring 1880
“Hey, Andi. Do you want to watch me work with Prince Loco?”
Chad’s cheerful question took Andi by surprise. She turned from grooming her mare and stared at her brother. He gazed at her from over the half door of Taffy’s stall. “Me?” she squeaked. “Watch? Really?”
Why would Chad make such a generous offer, especially after all the heartache Andi had put her family through? Safely home at last, after having gone missing for three weeks, she deserved to lose every privilege the Circle C ranch offered a horse-loving twelve-year-old.
“Why not?” Chad said, breaking into Andi’s musing. “I think you’ve learned your lesson about the stallion.”
“Oh, I have,” Andi assured him fervently. She’d learned her lesson about a great many things during her frightening time away from home.
Chad chuckled. “Well, then. Don’t just stand there. Come on.”
Andi dropped the brush into the grooming box, let Taffy out into her paddock, and was only three steps behind Chad by the time he left the horse barn.
Her spirits rose higher than a hawk in flight at her brother’s unexpected invitation. Being allowed to watch him work with Loco was a gift, and she wouldn’t forget it. From the moment her brother found her last month, Andi had promised herself that from now on, she would believe Chad when he told her it was too dangerous to go near a certain horse.
She’d learned the hard way that a young ranch girl was no match for an unruly stallion over sixteen hands high, no matter how much sugar she offered him. Loco had a crazy streak, and Andi had almost lost her life when she’d foolishly disregarded the ranch boss’s orders.
Chad had yanked her away from the horse’s deadly hooves just in time.
“Thanks, Chad!” she called out as she settled herself on the top rail of the corral. Her whole body quivered with joy and excitement.
Chad gave her a quick smile, then turned his attention to the wild black stallion.
Prince Loco looked no further along in his training than he had the day before Andi left home two months ago. He pranced and snorted and reared on his hind legs. When his hooves touched the ground, he took off running. The corral was secure, but Loco looked determined to find a way of escape.
Andi could not fault Chad for his lack of progress in Loco’s gentling. After all, her three brothers had spent a good part of spring looking for—she swallowed—looking for me. A wave of regret washed over her. Oh, if only she could go back and live those weeks over again. If only—
“Bring me a halter,” Chad barked, keeping Loco in his sights. “And the lunge line.”
Andi jerked back to the present at Chad’s order. She started to jump down from the rail to fetch the tack, but then realized that her big brother was not talking to her. He was shouting at Jake Barnes, one of the Circle C ranch hands.
While Jake scurried to do his boss’s bidding, Chad stood in the center of the round pen, watching Loco. He looked in no hurry to make the horse do anything. He just waited. The stallion slowed from a mad gallop to a prancy trot. He snorted, whinnied, shook his mane, and bobbed his massive head up and down.
Chad waited for Loco’s performance to end. Then he gave a special low whistle.
Loco’s ears pricked up in interest. He turned his head toward Chad and whickered.
A good sign, Andi thought, shifting to a more comfortable position on the narrow rail.
She watched Chad and Loco stand a dozen feet apart, sizing each other up. Who would end up victorious in today’s training session? “Is it Loco’s first lunging experience?” she asked.
Chad shook his head. He kept his full attention on Loco.
“I bet he does everything you say. You’ve got the gift. Even with crazy-mean horses.” It never hurt to sweet-talk her brother, but Chad usually didn’t fall for it.
He didn’t fall for it today, either. He said, “We’ll see,” and went on staring at Loco.
Jake returned just then, carrying a halter and a thirty-six-foot-long lunge line. He opened the gate and stepped inside the corral.
“Shut the gate.” Chad’s eyes never left Loco.
An open gate was better than sugar to this stallion. He was an escape artist and never wasted an opportunity.
Jake closed the gate and dropped the rope loop around the post. He crossed to the center of the corral and handed the horse tack to Chad. “Here you go, boss.”
“Thanks.”
Jake’s gaze shifted nervously from Chad to the horse. No wonder. The ranch hand had suffered a broken arm when Loco first arrived on the Circle C. Jake didn’t look eager to repeat the experience. He gave Loco a wide berth and headed for the corral fence and safety.
Chad had started putting the halter on a now-quiet Loco, when the stallion’s head jerked up. His eyes rolled back, and his nostrils flared.
Andi sucked in her breath. Oh, no!
Prince Loco was displaying a crazy moment. No one knew what brought them on, but somebody was going to get hurt. She had seen that look in Loco’s eyes before, just before he’d reared up and tried to knock Andi off the corral railing all those weeks ago. Now, it appeared the stallion had Jake in his sights.
Jake walked faster.
Loco reared, and a flailing hoof struck Chad, sending him to the ground. The stallion screamed a warning, pivoted, and took off after Jake.
Andi gasped. There was nothing more terrifying than a horse’s angry scream. Quick as a flash, she jumped off the railing, backed away from the corral, tripped, and hit the ground with a painful grunt. She shot to her feet. “Run, Jake!”
Her shout was unnecessary. She never saw a fellow run so fast as Jake. He didn’t bother to open the gate. He didn’t try to hurl himself over the corral fence. He didn’t have time for any of those efforts. Instead, Jake dove to the ground and slid under the bottom rail in a cloud of dust.
Loco’s snapping teeth missed Jake’s backside by a whisker.
Andi caught her breath. Her heart hammered. She remembered what a narrow escape felt like.
Then she heard laughter.
Andi tore her gaze from Jake’s dusty form and looked at Chad. He sat on the ground in the middle of the corral, covered with dust and laughing his head off.
Jake lay face down in the dirt. He looked thankful to be alive. He finally rose and staggered toward the cookshack, muttering under his breath.
Loco reared and whinnied, furious at missing his target.
Eventually, everything returned to how it had been before Loco’s attack. The horse responded to Chad’s whistle and settled down. Andi climbed back up on the rail.
Chad secured the rope halter round the stallion’s head. “You’d best stay off the rail,” he said quietly, as if talking to Loco. He rubbed Loco’s nose and tied the lunge line to his halter.
Andi obeyed instantly. She stayed behind the fence and watched, wide-eyed and scared. Loco was unpredictable. One moment a lamb. The next instant a raging storm. Which would he be with Chad now?
Chad stepped back and began to put Loco through a few cautious moves. The stallion behaved like a puppy. Shaking out the long rope and gesturing with his free hand, Chad whistled. The horse responded. “Walk on,” he ordered when Loco reached the end of the line.
Loco did not “walk on.” Instead, he snorted, reared, and came down at a gallop, hugging the inside of the corral fence.
Turning a tight circle to follow Loco’s movements, Chad gripped the rope and laughed. “All right then, big fella. You want to run? Then run!”
Andi held her breath. The stallion resembled a dark tornado whirling around the corral. Faster and faster he ran. His black coat glistened with sweat.
When Loco began to tire and slowed to a lope, Chad turned firm. “Nothin’ doin’, big boy. You’ll learn to wait for me to tell you what to do.” He reinforced the signal, and Loco broke back into a gallop.
Chad waited while Loco took two more circles around the corral, then gave him a new signal. The stallion stopped in a cloud of dust, whirled, and started galloping in the opposite direction.
Chad kept Loco going until streams of sweat poured down the stallion’s flanks. Only then did he allow the monster to slow to a lope and then to a trot. A few more times around the corral, and Loco dropped to a walk. His head hung low, and his sides heaved.
Loco had no energy left to go after anybody, at least not today.
Chad signaled the horse to approach. When Loco stopped right where he should, Chad wrapped his arms around the stallion’s gleaming neck and hugged him.
Loco didn’t move. He was too tired.
“Next time I tell you to ‘walk on,’” Chad said softly, “I suggest you do it.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a handful of sugar lumps.
Loco gobbled them up.
Chad gave Andi a wide smile. “Now, what do you think of that, little sister?”
Andi smiled back. “He’s a wild stallion on his way to becoming as tame as an old gelding.”
“Well, he’s got a ways to go yet, but you might be right.” He rubbed Loco behind his ears and kept talking. “Now go find a couple of brushes, and you can help me rub him down.”
Andi whooped her delight and rushed off to find the brushes . . . before Chad changed his mind.
Chapter Two
In August, the Carter family headed for the California State Fair, with Prince Loco in tow. Nobody, especially not the Circle C ranch hands, trusted that horse.
Except Chad. He insisted Loco had learned his lessons well and was perfectly capable of minding his manners.
Mother did not agree. She made Andi promise to stay away from the barn that housed Loco. Even Mitch, who was nearly as good with horses as Chad, kept his distance.
“Why you insisted on bringing that black beast to wreak havoc at the fair is a mystery to me,” Justin complained. “He’ll most likely kill somebody if you’re not careful. If that happens, I do not want to defend you in court against the victim’s family.”
Chad laughed. “You leave Loco to me, big brother. I’ll grant you he’s unpredictable, but I’m telling you this horse can run.”
“But will he let you stay on his back?” Melinda teased. Her blue eyes glimmered with amusement.
“There’s not a horse that can’t be rode,” Chad growled at his sister.
“And there’s not a man that can’t be throwed,” Mitch broke in, not missing a beat. “You sure proved that true this summer. Let’s see. How many times did Loco throw you when you tried to—”
“Maybe so,” Chad said, cutting Mitch off, “but he’s going to win me that five-thousand-dollar purse this year, or my name’s not Chad Aaron Carter.”
“I believe you, Chad.” Andi had seen her brother ride Loco many times. The horse was a streak of black lightning.
“The best thing would be to sell that animal before we live to regret it,” Mother suggested. “You will never get out of him all the time and effort you put in, I’m afraid. Perhaps we can find a knackerman and leave Loco in Sacramento.”
“Mother!” Chad looked horrorstruck at the idea of selling Loco to a slaughterhouse. “I’m telling you: I have everything under control. You all go along and have a good time wandering the fairgrounds. I’ll tend to Loco.”
“You’d better,” Justin warned. “Don’t you dare leave him with any green stableboy.”
Chad snorted. “You mind your law practice, brother, and I’ll mind our livestock.” He turned on his heel and headed for the railroad car, where his stallion had been traveling the past day. For safety’s sake, Loco had an entire cattle car to himself.
It must have cost Chad a pretty penny to rent a cattle car for one horse, Andi thought before heading off with Melinda to enjoy the fair. I sure hope Prince Loco is worth the expense.
The horse race took place toward the end of the week. It was always the most exciting event of the fair. Up in the grandstand, Andi waited on pins and needles while Chad positioned Prince Loco behind the starting line.
It took a long time. Loco reared, sidestepped, and tried a few crow hops, but Chad kept him under control. Just barely. The best part? Loco didn’t kill anybody.
Mother let out the breath she was holding. Justin relaxed. Mitch grinned his relief. Big sister Melinda smiled. Andi unclenched her fists and let out a happy sigh.
When the starting gun went off, Loco reared, screamed, and came down at a gallop. It looked like his hooves didn’t even touch the ground. It was a two-mile race, and Loco flew out ahead of the pack.
Andi cupped her hands to her mouth. “Stay on him, Chad!”
No matter what kind of antics Prince Loco might try in order to unseat his rider, her brother must not fall off. Not during this biggest race of the year.
Andi knew Chad couldn’t hear her shouts of encouragement. Not above the pounding hooves and cheering onlookers. She shouted anyway.
As always, the governor of California had entered one of his fancy thoroughbreds to compete in this year’s race. Governor Perkins’s sleek bay raced along as fast as a whirlwind, his hand-picked rider bending low over the horse’s neck. Hoofbeat by hoofbeat, he caught up to Chad and Loco.
When the two horses neared the finish line, they were running neck to neck.
Andi’s heart raced. The horses were so close! “Go faster, Loco!” She wiped her sweaty hands against her skirt and stood up so she could see better. “Go, Chad! Faster!” she shrieked.
Mother gripped Andi’s arm and pulled her down beside her on the bench. “For pity’s sake, Andrea. You’re yelling loudly enough to wake the dead. It’s not ladylike.”
Andi couldn’t hear herself yell, so how could Mother hear her? Eight thousand other folks in the grandstand were screaming too. She gave her a pleading look. “Mother, please! I can’t sit still. I’ve got to—”
Mother sighed, nodded, and let go of her arm. “This once.”
Andi leaped to her feet. “Go, Chad!”
At the last moment, Prince Loco surged ahead of the governor’s horse. He flew across the finish line, winning by a nose.
“Hooray!” Andi cheered and jumped up and down. By now, the rest of the family had risen from their seats too. Andi grabbed Melinda and squeezed her tight. “He won, Melinda. Prince Loco won!”
“He certainly did.” Melinda squeezed her back.
Chad slowed Loco and trotted into the winner’s circle. The man in charge of the race handed Chad a slip of paper.
Andi knew what it was. A check for $5,000, the winner’s purse.
Chad beamed and stroked Loco’s neck. He looked pretty proud of that wild stallion right then. Prince Loco had not let his rider down. Best of all, he hadn’t thrown Chad and left him sprawled in the middle of the racetrack.
Andi couldn’t wait to congratulate her brother. It took what seemed like forever for the family to make their way down the steps, out of the grandstand, and onto the racetrack.
Governor Perkins joined them just as Andi and her family reached the winner’s circle. He shook Chad’s hand. “Nice race, young fella. Congratulations.”
“No hard feelings?” Chad asked. The governor’s thoroughbred, Sir Raleigh Traveler, had been favored to win today.
“None at all. You won fair and square. Raleigh was just not able to get ahead of that lightning-fast horse of yours.” Governor Perkins slid his hand down Loco’s shiny, sweaty flank. His expression gave away a trace of disappointment, but mostly he was admiring the black beast. A wistful look came into the big man’s eyes.
Chad crooked a finger at Andi and motioned her to join him.
Puzzled, Andi wandered over. The next instant, in front of everybody, including the governor, Chad grasped his sister around the waist and tossed her up on Prince Loco.
Andi landed with a thud in Loco’s saddle.
Mother gasped. “Chad . . .” Her words trailed away at her son’s confident expression.
Andi did not feel confident. It was her first time on Loco’s back. She gripped the reins and stiffened, just in case the stallion got it into his head to rear or run. Once a victim of Loco’s unpredictable behavior, Andi knew, always a victim.
She needn’t have worried. Chad wrapped his fingers tightly around Loco’s bridle.
Andi relaxed. After all, the governor of California was watching. She wanted to make her family proud, so she tried not to look scared half to death.
Loco behaved like a lamb. He didn’t even toss his head when Chad let go of the bridle. “Take him around a lap, little sister.” He winked.
Quivering on the inside, Andi tightened her hold on the reins and nudged Loco. He responded with a snort, danced a bit, but then trotted exactly where Andi turned him, straight toward the track.
“Andrea, no!”
Andi stopped and glanced behind her shoulder. Mother looked horrified, and not just because her daughter was wearing her Sunday best.
“Don’t worry, Mother,” Chad said. “She’s a fine horsewoman. Besides, where can Loco go? It’s a racetrack.” He nodded at Andi.
Andi took Chad’s nod as permission from both Mother and him to run around the track. Letting up on the reins, she gave Loco the signal she’d watched Chad give the stallion all summer.
Whoosh! Loco took off like a cannon shot.
Andi swallowed her yelp and tightened her legs against Loco’s sides. What have I done? How will I ever stop this beast?
Halfway around the track, Andi began pulling back on the reins. Loco slowed a fraction. Andi pulled back a little more forcefully. The horse dropped from a dead run into a gallop. Another pull. He slowed to a lope. By the time Andi returned to the winner’s circle, Loco was trotting.
“Whoa!” Andi said, and Loco stopped short.
Chad was grinning like a Cheshire cat when Andi pulled up next to him. “Well, Governor,” he said, grasping Loco’s bridle, “what do you think?”
Andi sat up straight, just as happy as her brother that the crazy stallion was finally good for something. If Loco let a young girl sit on his back, he had potential.
“I think you’ve got a superb piece of horseflesh here, Chad,” Governor Perkins admitted. “In fact, I’d like to buy him. What do you say?”
Andi’s mouth fell open. Melinda’s hands flew to her cheeks. Mother’s eyes widened.
It wasn’t uncommon for folks to buy and sell prize-winning livestock at the fair. But Prince Loco? Was the governor out of his mind?
Justin clearly thought he was. “Believe me, George. You do not want this horse.”
“Oh, but I do.” Governor Perkins smiled up at Andi. She smiled back.
Then he made Chad an offer no sensible person could refuse.
Chad didn’t refuse. He agreed with a hearty handshake, and the deal was struck.
“I’ll work up a hold-harmless waiver and convince George to sign it before you turn Loco over to him,” Justin promised Chad.
The governor laughed and slapped Justin on the back. “No need, my friend. I have plans for this horse. Big plans. I have a number of excellent trainers. This horse has potential, and can he ever run!”
The Carter family returned home from the fair a lot richer than when they went. Chad slipped Andi a double eagle—a twenty-dollar gold piece—for her part in showing off Loco’s good side.
Andi was not sorry Prince Loco was gone. Mother was certainly glad too. When the fair ended two days later, she smiled and chatted happily all the way to the railroad depot.
Prince Loco will probably end up as a famous racehorse somewhere back East, Andi mused during the long train ride home. Governor Perkins had dozens of racing contacts back in the Atlantic States. At least, that’s what Chad had told her.
She looked up into Chad’s face as the train pulled into the Fresno station several hours later. “Do you think Governor Perkins will keep his name? ‘Prince Loco’ doesn’t sound like a very dignified name for a champion racehorse.”
Chad chuckled and yanked one of Andi’s long, dark braids. “I reckon not, but I know one thing. No matter what highfalutin name the governor gives that stallion, he will always be Prince Loco to you and me.” He winked.
Andi laughed. Chad was right about that.
