 Kris sees a herd of wild mustangs pass by, but so did four Raintree horses who joined them, including Wildfire and Houdini, mother Jean Ritter s favorite Mustang; Jean s ankle is hurt during yoga, so Matt and Kris must catch the horses in Chumash country before some rancher shoots them, legally; despite the unappealing conditions, Kenny  Junior  Davis joins them for Kris s sake. Matt proves himself as tracker and spots cougar prey remains; Danni catches up a bit later, but by the time they find out the mustangs somehow got across the river it s too late, so they relax swimming in a waterhole, exchanging secrets and dancing; just when Kenny got to kiss Kris, a cougar scares them. Jean gets a surprise visit from Matt s dad Peter Ritter, who claims to be truly sorry and cured of his gambling addiction. Charlie tells Jean he s going a few weeks to Caracas on business. In the morning the kids find Houdini, dead- Matt decides to bury him there and first gets his ma.