Saddle Up(15)

“Took your sweet time, didn’t you?” Keith looked up at them, his forehead wrinkling as his gaze darted from Trey to Miranda and back. “Mitch didn’t tell me she was with you.”

Trey made a scoffing sound. “You’re damned lucky I came at all. I can’t believe you talked him into this.”

“It’s the only chance this one has,” Keith said.

Trey scowled. “It’s a waste of time and fuel. This one is past his last chance already.”

“C’mon, Trey,” Keith urged. “What’s it gonna hurt to try?”

“Just tellin’ it the way I see it, Keith,” Trey said. “I appreciate your good intentions, but how do you even propose to do this?”

“Someone’ll have to hold him on their lap. This little guy’s not gonna fight.”

“Maybe not, but it’s still gonna put us damned close to the weight limit of that chopper when we add in another person to hold it.”

“Are you refusing?” Keith asked.

“Don’t be so heartless,” Miranda blurted. “You have to try.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Trey bit back.

Miranda lifted her chin, ready to do battle. “I’ll hold him,” she volunteered. “I don’t weigh much.”

Trey shook his head. “You’re not strong enough. If he panics, I need someone who’s able to hold him tight. I don’t need that horse kicking the controls and crashing us.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip. “I see your point.”

“I’ll go,” Donny volunteered.

Trey eyed the mares. “What are we going to do about those others? They look like they’re in pretty bad shape too.”

“Dave and I’ll handle the mares,” Keith replied. “We’re only a couple of miles out from camp. If we take it really slow, they’ve got a shot.”

“But it doesn’t make sense for us both to go when we still have more strays to gather and only a couple more hours of daylight left,” Dave said. “We can’t afford to lose any more time. I can handle the two of them if you can go after the rest.”

“There’s only one problem with that plan,” Keith said.

“What’s that?” Dave asked.

Keith eyed Miranda with barely concealed hostility. “Her.”

Miranda bristled. “What about her?”

“She could always ride back with me,” Dave said.

“Which leaves Keith alone,” Trey said. “He can’t gather the rest of the horses by himself.”

Miranda swallowed hard. “If I stay, I can help gather them.”

“What the hell would you know about gathering horses?” Keith snapped.

Would he ever give her a chance? It seemed he took pleasure in not just finding but seeking out her every fault. Although he’d made it abundantly clear that he resented her presence, the situation had changed. She wasn’t about to give him a choice this time. She needed to record the rescues, or even the deaths, of these horses. Leaving now would defeat her purpose in coming.

Miranda swallowed hard at the prospect of being stuck alone with him. But it was too important to get cold feet. “I know how to ride, and I’ve moved cows plenty of times before. My grandparents have a cattle ranch. I used to spend summers there as a kid. Maybe it’s been a few years, but I haven’t forgotten how.”

“Rounding up mustangs is nothing like driving cattle. Cows move slowly. Horses run flat out. You have to lead them. To do that, you have to be able to ride hard and think fast.”

“But you’ve already said these horses are weak and old, ones that have to move slower,” she argued. “I came out here to film this horse gather, and whether you all like it or not, I’m going to follow this through.”

Dave’s gaze darted from Keith to Miranda. “I’ll meet up with Donny back at camp and then the two of us will ride back out here with fresh horses. We could catch up with you in a few hours.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Trey said. He looked to Keith and Miranda with a twitch of his mouth. “If the two of you aren’t back in two days, we’ll send out a posse to look for your bodies. Time’s a wastin’. Let’s see if we can get that foal on board.”

Miranda uncapped her camera and filmed the three men hobbling the colt’s front legs together. As he’d said, the horse was too weak to struggle. Keith then produced a canvas tarp from his saddle pack, using it as a sling to carry the young horse to the chopper. A few minutes later, the helicopter lifted off with Donny holding the colt securely in his lap.

She prayed the foal would survive the ordeal. “Do you think he’ll make it?” she asked, capping her lens after the helicopter disappeared from view.

Keith shook his head. “Maybe not, but we had to try.”

“I’m glad you did,” she said softly.

Their eyes met for a millisecond. His softened infinitesimally, only to harden again. “You can take Donny’s horse.” He led Miranda to a strawberry roan he introduced as Sadie. “She’s smart and steady and even came from these parts. She’ll take good care of you if you just stay out of her way.”

“Thanks,” Miranda replied, taking Sadie’s bridle.