Kiss Me (Fool's Gold #17)(87)

He jerked his head in her direction. “I’m counting on you to keep her safe.”

Phoebe felt her heart stumble over a beat. A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind—all thrilling, all wonderful. Zane wanted her kept safe? He was trusting his brother with her? Feelings of love and happiness rose faster than the water, but before she could dwell on any one, Zane yelled for them to move on out. Suddenly Chase was at her side and pointing in the direction they were to go.

As she turned her horse, she realized they were going to ride into the rain. The driving cold water found her nose and eyes, no matter how low she pulled her hat. Her feet were painful blocks of ice, her thighs ached.

They circled the herd until they were in front, then Chase cut in and found Manny. He gave the steer a push with his foot. Manny didn’t budge.

Chase swore loud enough for Phoebe to hear, but Manny wasn’t impressed. The steer just settled his shoulders into what looked like a very stubborn stance and mooed pathetically.

Without thinking, Phoebe swung down from Rocky. The water came past the top of her boots and poured inside. It was colder than she would have believed possible—so cold that she couldn’t breathe. But she forced herself to wade through it toward Manny, dragging her horse with her.

She could feel a current sucking at her with each step. Once she nearly went down, and she had to grab on to Rocky to stay standing. Finally she reached Manny and got right in his face.

When he saw her, he reared back and got a really mean look on his face. Phoebe panicked for a second, then remembered she was wearing a hat. Quickly, she tore it off and tossed it away, letting the rain pour directly on her head.

But Manny recognized her, which was all that mattered. He sniffed at her wet coat, then lowered his head and bumped against her. She nearly fell on her butt.

“We have to get out of here,” she told him, yelling directly into his ear. “I’m not kidding. If you stay here, you’re going to drown.”

Moisture dripped down her cheeks, and she realized she’d started crying.

“I don’t want you to die. You hear me, Manny? So we’re leaving. Right now. Come on.”

She grabbed the collar around his neck and pulled. Without his cooperation, she knew it was an impossible task, but surprisingly he took a step, then another. Soon he was walking next to her, and the whole herd fell into place behind him.

After a couple of minutes, Chase moved in and dismounted. He swore as he sank into the water.

“Goddamn weather,” he muttered. “Get on your horse, Phoebe.”

“What if Manny won’t follow Rocky?”

“You can’t stay in the water. You’ll die.”

She tried to answer, but her teeth were chattering too hard. So when Chase laced his fingers together to give her a leg up, she stepped into his hands. Water splashed in an arc out of her boot as she swung her leg over the saddle.

Rocky didn’t need much urging to head through the water. She watched over her shoulder and sighed in gratitude when she saw Manny following her. They were moving again. They were going to save the cattle.

It was only then that she realized how much she was shaking. There were no words to describe the level of cold she felt. Each breath was painful.

Chase pointed toward a grove of trees. “Go that way,” he yelled. “To the left of them.”

She nodded because she couldn’t speak.

And so they rode for what felt like days. The rain lessened, then stopped altogether, but the water kept rising. In a way, that was more terrifying, because she had no idea where it was coming from or how much more was coming.

On and on, with Zane coming up to check on them every fifteen minutes or so. Hours passed. As he paused by her, she did her best to smile and say she was fine, even though she knew she was never going to be warm again. All that mattered right now was getting the cattle to safety. So, as often as Chase glanced toward her to make sure she was still there, she looked over her shoulder to see Manny walking behind Rocky.

Finally the sun broke through the clouds. Phoebe sighed in relief as the bright light heated her, although she was surprised by the position of the sun. It was later than she thought. Still, her spirits lifted as she realized they were climbing, and the water was quickly falling off.

“Are we there?” she asked Chase. “Have we done it?”

He shook his head. “We’re nearly at the creek. Once we’re on the other side, it’s a straight climb up to safety. But we have to cross while we still have light. We don’t have a choice. All this will be underwater by morning.”

Underwater? She didn’t like the sound of that. She was about to tell him when she realized she could hear something. Rushing water. And it sure didn’t sound like a creek to her.

Phoebe nearly fainted when she crested the rise and saw the raging river in front of them. Water raced south, ripping at branches, pulling small trees into the bubbling, muddy flow.

“We can’t cross that,” she said.

“Sure we can. No problem.”

Chase said the right words, but his voice told her he was more than worried. He was afraid.

Zane rode up. “How does it look?”

“There’s no way,” Phoebe said, pointing to the wide, angry river.

Zane looked from her to Chase. “I’ll see if we can cross it. You stay here. If something happens...” He stared at his brother. “Leave the cattle. They’ll have to swim for it as the water rises. Ride south as fast as you can. You’ll be able to find a place to cross farther downstream.”