Chapter Eighteen
Zoey had her rope off the strap on her saddle before she entered the gorge. Letting go of Cher Bear’s reins, Zoey guided her horse with her legs as they galloped past the ruffians, several cattle, and the rest of Hunter’s horses.
The gorge was by no means large, but the thundering hoofbeats from Cher Bear and her swift entrance had sent the thieves and livestock out of her way, along with swirls of fallen leaves in reds, oranges, and yellows. Swinging her rope, she let it sail, haltering Tornado in one quick motion. Instead of immediately reversing, which might cause the frightened horse to resist her, she went with the stampede method.
Dallying her rope tight around her saddle horn, Zoey went wide around the horse and rushed past him. He immediately went into a gallop with her, following her past her would-be thieving suitor and out the mouth of the gorge.
She grinned, feeling a release of emotions that’d been building all day, one thing after another—some good, some bad, but either way so much. She heaved a sigh of release. She’d done it. She’d gotten Hunter’s stud and was now well on her way out of there. Unfortunately for her, the rustlers weren’t as dumb as they looked and followed almost immediately.
Zoey checked the horizon and calculated the distance and direction home to Brandon from here. If ever there was a time for her brother to gather a posse, it was now. Even without a posse, Brandon was a force to be reckoned with, considering his military background. He’d know just what to do. Maybe she’d even get to see him wallop them.
Hunter cut in beside her. She smiled at him, but he didn’t return it.
“This wasn’t the plan, Zoey!” he yelled over the galloping hooves.
She kept the horses at a fast pace. “I didn’t know there was a plan.”
“If you’d stuck around, you would’ve.”
She clenched her jaw. “Plans take time. I acted on instinct to protect your animals.”
Hunter glanced back at their pursuers. “And what was your plan to protect yourself?”
Brandon, obviously.
“Veer left!” he shouted.
“That’s not the way home!”
“I know. I have a plan.”
Zoey shook her head—this went against every instinct she had.
Hunter turned his sharp gaze on her. “For once in your life, Zoey, just follow a plan.”
She wanted to argue. To tell him she could. That she had this morning. That she’d made a beautiful one about purchasing the land and building her family business. She’d meant to tell him all that after they found his horses. She hadn’t wanted to distract him with her family drama until then, knowing how worried he actually was, though he’d denied it. But now wasn’t the time. So despite her irritation—despite her desperate need to get to Brandon, who she knew would protect them—she chose to trust Hunter.
Clenching her jaw, she gave a curt nod and steered the horses after him.
Loud “yaw, yaws” and pounding hooves behind were getting closer as they raced down the hills into a meadow. Cher Bear was an amazing horse, but he had nowhere near the endurance of Rooster, and after a couple hours of searching the hills and several minutes of outright galloping, he was tiring out.
“Whatever your plan is,” Zoey yelled, “it’d better pan out quick!”
Tornado thundered along as if this was a normal occurrence for him. Or maybe he was just happy to stretch his legs. Whatever it was, he was the only one who seemed to enjoy this situation.
Hunter made a sharp left out of the field, past an outcropping of rocks and trees, and onto a four-wheeler dirt road. The hum of several engines sounded below, and before the thieves caught up, three four-wheelers and half a dozen horses came into view, riding fast in their direction.
Everything after that was a blur as the bad guys saw what was ahead and tried to turn back—but one of the Harvest Ranch deputies on a four-wheeler had already seen the move and had cut out and around to block their retreat. Zoey and Hunter slowed as they approached Maverik on a side-by-side, another deputy, Lucky, and several Westbrooks on horses: Tom, Swayzie, Jud, Blake, and even Carrie. A posse! That was so cool!
Within moments, the deputies had the men off of their horses and handcuffed. It was all such a blur of motion and unexpectedness that Zoey could barely pull her thoughts together watching it happen.
“Everyone okay?” Maverik called out to his brother, leveling a look at Zoey, then back to Hunter. Oh, so he knew what she’d done. Hunter had obviously told them. He approached with a halter and lead rope for Tornado. She waited until he had the halter on to release the rope. Her fingers were cramped from holding the dally for so long, and she stretched them out, feeling pins and needles race through them.
“That’s my horse!” yelled the guy she’d danced with. “I bid for him fair and square and would’ve won him, too, if he hadn’t interfered.”
“Tell it to the judge,” said the younger deputy with dark hair and a big-city accent.
The deputy about Brandon’s age read the men their rights.
