His hands tightened on her shoulders. “What the hell happened?”
She rubbed a hand over her face as she tried to recall the moment Lucky had reared up. “I think there may have been something on the ground.”
“What do you mean?” he asked with a deep scowl.
“There were these noises…like a snap or a pop,” she explained as they walked back to the barn. When they reached the ranch, Colton put the stallion in his stall and headed straight for the paddock. Kendra followed until it dawned on her that the wheelbarrow sat half full in the aisle, and Noah wasn’t in the barn. She called his name but received no answer.
Panic stole her breath away, and she rushed outside. Her gaze swept the yard to no avail. She turned for the guesthouse, praying he’d just gone inside. Colton’s furious voice pulled her up short.
“Noah!”
Kendra swung around and caught sight of Noah in the doorway of the Quarter Horse barn, with Joel beside him. She let out a sigh of relief, reversed direction, and arrived at the same time as Colton.
“Is this your idea of a joke?” Colton shook a fist in Noah’s face.
“W-what?”
Kendra stared at the dirt-covered white Snaps fireworks in Colton’s hand and suddenly understood Colton’s anger. The noise that scared Lucky.
Just the other day Colton had given each of the boys some harmless—hah—fireworks to play with. The kind you toss to the ground and they burst with a ‘snapping’ noise upon impact. But he’d specifically instructed them not to use any near the horses or the barns.
Surprised, she looked from the evidence in Colton’s hand to Noah’s face as Colton raged, “Your sister could’ve been seriously injured or maybe even killed with a stupid prank like this.”
Noah’s eyes widened as he looked at Kendra. “W-what h-happened?”
Kendra relayed an abbreviated version, and Joel frowned as his gaze swept over her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” she insisted. She turned to Noah. “What were you thinking?”
“I—”
“He wasn’t thinking, that’s the problem,” Colton interrupted furiously. “Well, you’ll have plenty of time to think while you’re grounded for the next week.”
Noah looked from Colton to Kendra. “Ken, please—”
She shook her head. “Noah, he’s right. That was a dangerous stunt, and Lucky could’ve been hurt, too.” Tears began to well up in his eyes, but she forced back the urge to hug him. “Go to your room and stay there.”
He turned away with slumped shoulders. A moment later his little body stiffened and his fingers curled into tight fists.
“Pick up the rest of those Snaps first,” Colton instructed sternly. “And make sure you get every last one of them.”
Noah cast Kendra an angry glare, but he switched direction, kicking the dirt with his feet.
Kendra turned to Colton with dismay. “I’m so sorry. I know you guys pulled a lot of pranks, but I’m shocked he’d do something like this.”
Colton’s gaze followed Noah. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed before glancing at Kendra. “I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have grounded him without asking you—”
Kendra shook her head. “It’s exactly what I would’ve done. He needs to know it’s serious.”
“I think he does now,” Joel said. “I’ll be sure to talk to Cody and Dustin, too.”
Kendra watched Noah rake through the dirt for a little while before returning to her work. She checked outside from time to time and, after about an hour, noticed he’d finished. After a brief inspection of the gate area, she made her way inside the house to check on him.
Her knock on his door elicited a sullen, “Go away.”
She went to make a couple of sandwiches, loaded them on a tray with some milk and headed back to his room. Pushing the door open with her shoulder, she asked, “Hungry?”
“No.”