Jaeger's awake when I open his stall door.
I clip on his lead, walk him to the trailer parked at the side of the barn.
He loads without being asked, I latch the door behind him, then I check the saddle.
It's in the trailer's tack compartment where Dakota left it Wednesday night.
I pull it out into the gravel under the barn light and run my hands over every inch of leather.
Cantle. Horn. Rigging. The skirts on both sides. The girth straps. The latigo.
The cinch—the same practice cinch she's been using all season, leather worn soft at the spots her boot heels rest, the buckle clean, the strap whole.
I run my thumb along the full length of it. Test the fibers. Check the keeper.
Whole. Intact. Good.
I put the saddle back, latch the compartment, and lock it before walking back to the cabin to wake her.
I wake her at four with a coffee in my hand.
She blinks up at me sleep-soft and unguarded for one second before she remembers what day it is, and then she's up—boots on, jeans on, hair braided fresh, gauze rewrapped with new tape.
She tugs the cuff of her shirt down over the gauze without thinking about it.
We drive across the property to pick up Rogue at the clubhouse.
He's on the porch with a duffle bag at his feet and his laptop case slung across his chest.
He climbs into the back seat of my Ford without speaking.
Phantom comes out of the main house as we're pulling around to the gate, puts his hand on the driver's window.
I roll it down. "Spur."
"Prez."
"Bring her home in one piece."
"Yes, Prez."
He looks past me at Dakota in the passenger seat.
His eyes drop to her wrist where the cuff is pulled down over the gauze, and he holds my eyes again for a second longer than he needs to.
He doesn't say anything, but he pats the door of my Ford twice and steps back.
I roll the window up.
We pull through the front gate of the ranch at four-thirty in the morning.
Whatever's coming for her at Abilene, my name's on her now.
Let him see it. Let him understand what it means if you try to come for what’s mine.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Dakota
