Nickel-Bred

By Patricia Gilkerson

Piper and Addie, looking for another horse, find the perfect one in Nickel, but discover the owner is part of a gang of criminals. Nickel's life is in danger. Can the girls save him from the slaughterhouse? Will they be able to save their friends and family as the vicious criminals take revenge?

The Horse Rescuers Series
1. The Penny Pony
2. Nickel-Bred
3. Turning on a Dime (available Summer 2014)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melange Books, LLC
• Release date: Oct 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781612357485

Patricia Gilkerson

Patricia Gilkerson spent a horse-loving childhood growing up in Kentucky, and finally got her first horse as an adult. She began writing books for children at night after teaching all day. Today Patricia lives on a hobby farm in Minnesota with her husband Jim, and the current count of three horses. Her two children are grown with children and pets of their own, so there are frequently grandchildren and granddogs running around her house. Her hobbies include travel, Irish/Celtic music, scuba diving and reading. Her favorite thing to do is to hang out with family and friends.

Book preview

Special Smashwords Edition

Nickel-Bred

The Horse Rescuers #2

by Patricia Gilkerson

Published by

Fire and Ice

a young adult imprint of Melange Books, LLC

White Bear Lake, MN 55110

www.fireandice.com

Nickel-Bred, Copyright 2013 by Patricia Gilkerson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should go to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-61235-748-5

Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States of America.

Cover Design by Stephanie Flint

NICKEL-BRED

PATRICIA GILKERSON

Piper and Addie, looking for another horse, find the perfect one in Nickel, but discover the owner is part of a gang of criminals. Nickel's life is in danger. Can the girls save him from the slaughterhouse? Will they be able to save their friends and family as the vicious criminals take revenge?

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all my family, especially my husband Jim, who helped out with veterinary information for the whole series. I would also like to thank my excellent neighbors, Ron and Jari Drassal, who encouraged me for years and inspired me with horse stories.

Table of Contents

Nickel-Bred

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

About the Author

Previews

Chapter One

~ Dumped ~

I looked up at the morning sky and tried to catch my breath. That wasn’t happening. Since I’d been riding in the middle of a horse pasture, there was no one around to say, Oh, Piper, are you okay? Had I been knocked out for a minute or two? Maybe. I lay still until finally I managed a shaky breath. Nothing hurt. I was evidently okay. I had landed in soft grass, and gotten the wind knocked out of me and dirt in my mouth. This had happened to me once before, when I was seven, but not since then. I turned my head and spit the dirt out.

Hoofs clip-clopped nearby, a horse snorted above me somewhere and whiskers tickled my face. A soft muzzle touched the top of my head and large lips pulled at my hair. I swiveled my head to look up at my wayward horse and raised my hand to touch her nose. She made that snorty gurgle that horses make in their throats. It was the best sound in the world.

Enough, Dotty, I said to the spotted pony that was now trying to taste my head. First you throw me off and then you try to eat my hair. We’d been cantering in Dotty’s paddock, but she was feeling good and got a little bouncy. And then she bucked. I wasn’t expecting it and went flying. She did that a few times before when she was excited. I could only hope she settled down and got used to being ridden again.

Dotty was my horse since earlier in the summer-- mine and my best friend Addie’s. We had rescued her from a cruel owner and now she lived at the farm of Miss Julie Applegate, a friend of my family, but most of all, a special friend of mine. Miss Julie looked old, maybe seventy, but

she didn’t miss a thing. She was just the best. We had an understanding that Addie and I would take care of Dotty while we kept her on Miss Julie’s farm.

Since it was still summer vacation, I had made it a habit to go out to see Dotty every morning. I cleaned her stall, gave her food and water and brushed her really well. Then I started riding her. It had gone well-- until she began bucking me off. I hadn’t told my dad that she did that, because I was afraid he’d want to get rid of her. Dad was a veterinarian and didn’t trust most horses, especially the ones with bad behavior. He’d gotten kicked and bitten a bunch of times.

After getting bucked off, I got to my feet, collected Dotty’s reins, and walked back to the barn. I liked to ride, but Addie and I couldn’t ride together with just one horse between us. I wondered if we could somehow find another horse for Addie. It didn’t seem likely; horses didn’t grow on trees. I rubbed my side, which was a little sore, and ran my fingers through my straight brown hair. After pulling off Miss Julie’s old pony saddle, I gave Dotty a good brushing and let her loose in the pasture. She wandered off, and then turned her head around to watch me. Was she wondering why I had cut our ride short? Well, I didn’t do it, she did!

I walked home thinking about riding. I lived mainly with my mom since my parents got divorced, although I had a room at Dad’s house. The walk didn’t take long—it was less than a mile, and I didn’t usually bother with my bike. Serendipity Springs, Kentucky is a small town, so even though I lived in town, Miss Julie’s farm was close. That afternoon, I called Addie to tell her about getting bucked off.

Hey, Adds, I said when she answered.

Hey, Pipe. Did you get a new cell phone? she asked.

Yeah. I had to spend every penny of my baby-sitting money, but it’s worth it, I said. Then I told her about getting bucked off.

Are you hurt? she asked.

Nah, just a little stiff, I said. The grass was soft. Do you want to ride Dotty tomorrow?

I don’t think so, said Addie. "My mom wants me to go shopping with her for a new bedspread. I don’t want to, but she says it’s for my room, so I have to okay it.

You’ll just get another purple one.

"I know, but there are lots of different patterns and