Wild Fire by Linda I. Shands Page B

deep breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. “Okay. But you could have told me. You never grab another person’s reins unless it’s an emergency.”
    â€œIt was an emergency.” Colin plucked his hat off his head, wiped his brow with the back of his wrist, and lowered his voice. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt, okay? I won’t grab Lily again. That’s a promise.”
    He kept his eyes on hers until she turned her head away. He had backed down quickly enough. Why did she feel she was in the wrong?
    Greg rode up behind Colin. “Can you two settle this later? I’d like to finish this ride sometime in the next century.”
    Colin snorted and turned his horse up the trail. Kara followed, and Greg fell in behind. A few yards ahead she saw that Colin was right; there was no way to see the upcoming curves. She shivered. If she had kept up the pace, they’d have run right into a tree, or Lily would have reared and sent them both rolling down into the river.
    Once past the curves, Colin put Dakota into a trot. Kara squeezed Lily’s sides with her thighs and caught up with him. “Colin. Wait.”
    He slowed to a walk, and she rode up alongside him. She took a deep breath. “Look, you were right. I’m sorry, okay? I’ve been in a rotten mood all day.”
    He tipped his hat. “Apology accepted.”
    Kara expected him to flash his little-boy grin. When he didn’t, she rushed on. “There’s something I wanted to ask you. That bumper sticker on your truck. Let go . . .”
    â€œAnd get a grip on God.” He finished it for her.
    â€œYeah. That’s it. What does it mean?”
    â€œI heard that at a camp for troubled youths. It’s what finally got me going in the right direction and held me together when things got rough.”
    Troubled youth? Colin? “When? Oh, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
    He looked over his shoulder where Greg was riding about ten feet behind them. “It’s no big deal. Greg’s heard it before.” He ignored Greg’s bored expression and went on. “My folks split when I was fourteen. I couldn’t handle it. Dropped out of school, hung around with the wrong crowd. Mom bailed me out three or four times then gave up on me .
    â€œThe judge sent me to this camp. The motto was, ‘Let go and get a grip on God.’ It means let go of whatever’s got a grip on you—you know? For me it was anger and grief over my parents’ divorce. I learned to let it go and get a grip on God instead.”
    Kara tried not to show her surprise. She’d never have guessed Colin had been a troublemaker. He didn’t go around talking about God all the time, but he didn’t go around cussing and fighting like some guys she knew either. She turned back to what he was saying.
    â€œOne of the counselors there showed me how God could make a difference in my life.”
    â€œWhat did you do after you got out of . . . uh, youth camp?”
    He ducked under a low-hanging tree branch and held it back for Kara to pass. “I went to my uncle in Fairbanks for a couple of years. He ran fishing expeditions in the summer. When I wasn’t busy catching up with schoolwork, I went along as guide. Learned a thing or two about the wilderness out there.”
    â€œWhen did you learn to ride?”
    â€œThat’s how we got around most of the time. Pretty rugged country. The rest I picked up mucking stalls. Until my uncle got sick and decided I’d be better off on the mainland. He e-mailed an old friend, who turned out to be your dad. When your dad offered me this job, I jumped at it.”
    Kara smiled. Softhearted Dad . “What about high school? Did you ever finish?”
    â€œAlmost. Only six credits to go. I plan to finish them in the fall. Greg and I will go to the same junior college, only I’ll work for