Man, this woman was amazing. He dropped a peck to her lips. “Thank you.” He glanced at the half-saddled horse behind her. “What do you want to do tonight?”
Her eyebrows came down. “I thought we were looking for your lost horses?”
“That was my plan …” He glanced down at their boots. “But if your head hurts, or you’re tired, or you—”
She reached up and tugged his hat down over his eyes, laughing. “Hunter! Stop worrying so much. I’ve been looking forward to this ride all day long.”
He shoved his hat up, knowing he was grinning like an idiot. “Well, all right, then.” Man! He had the best girlfriend ever.
* * *
“How doyou feel about riding back in the dark?” Hunter asked Zoey. They’d been all over the grazing lands and hadn’t found the horses. “There’s a gully in the back east corner of the property where they could have gotten stuck. I want to check it, but …” His eyes cut to the spot on her head where he’d watched Dr. Motaoka put in staples just a couple days ago. “I don’t want to push you.”
“I’m fine.” She flapped her hand.
He lifted both eyebrows, questioning her without saying a word. Also, he was testing to see if she could read his mind/face.
“Really. I’m down to just a couple Tylenol a day, and it’s totally manageable.” She pointed to her head. “I’ll have these bad boys out before you know it.”
He did a silent fist pump. She’d understood his thoughts by what was written on his face. That was so cool. “Thanks. You’re one tough lady.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
He reached for her hand and she slipped hers into his, lacing their fingers together. He made fun of guys who held hands-on horseback, but with Zoey, he totally got it.
They meandered along, keeping the horses pointed in a general direction but letting them pick their way around trees, bushes, and rocks. Hunter let the peace of the moment wash over him. He didn’t feel a need to entertain Zoey. She was a curious person, and she talked a lot, but about smart things. None of it felt like a way to fill in the gaps.
Some women he’d dated jabbered on about nothing at all, and it grated on his nerves. Especially when they were riding. There was just something about the quiet, the sound of nature all on its own, that fed his soul. It was probably why he couldn’t imagine any other life. Being cooped up inside all day would wither his soul.
“Uh, Hunter?” Zoey hedged. “Are we going in circles?”
He pulled Penny to a stop and looked around, then behind them. “No. Why?”
She pointed to a mass of hoofprints in the ground. “Because somebody made those prints.”
Hunter let go of her hand and slid off his saddle. He squatted over the hoofprints, noting the shoes were a different brand than he put on the Westbrook horses. Also, the sizes were off.
“First of all …” He stood up and adjusted his hat. “They’re going that way.” He pointed to the east. “Second of all, these prints are a shoe size bigger than either of our horses.”
She leaned on the saddle horn and grinned down at him. “Is it weird that I think it’s hot that you know what size shoe my horse wears?”
He laughed. “Yeah—but that’s what I like about you.” He grabbed the horn and swung up into the saddle in one swift move.
“‘Like’? I thought youmightbe in love with me.” She was teasing him about what he’d yelled at her at the clinic.
He checked his grin. “I might. Come on. We have trespassers to catch.” He lifted the reins to the left and Penny responded to his light touch as if he’d spurred her. They were off at a trot, making a lot of noise. Even with the creak of the saddle and the clop of the horses’ feet, he heard a ruckus long before he saw it. Horses whinnied, riders yelled, and the crack of a whip ricocheted through the air.
Hunter’s blood curdled. He glanced at Zoey, riding right alongside him. Her eyes were wide, frightened. Her wound might be on the mend, but he wasn’t about to put her in danger again. “Let’s head up to the ridge where we can get a better view.”And no one will see us,he added silently.
She nodded, and he kicked Penny into a gallop. The ridge would hide their dust and the noise of their run. Once around the top of the gully, they dismounted and tied their horses to a nearby tree by the reins. They climbed up the soft dirt and lay down, looking over the edge.
Hunter’s hands curled into fists. Six of his horses and about twenty-five steers were trapped in the natural corral by the loudmouthed men from the auction who had catcalled his sister and threatened physical violence on Tornado. He couldn’t believe his eyes. These guys were like bad pennies that turned up in the strangest places.
“What are they doing?” he mumbled.
“It’s him!” Zoey pointed to the man who’d tried to dance her out of her boots at the barn dance in town. He’d cleaned up for the dance but let himself go again, looking more the ruffian with patchy facial hair.
Hunter gritted his teeth. He’d like to see that guy on the other end of his fist.
