Indiana Wild (Spirit Pass Book 1) Read Free

weeks had been the worst. She had heard the sound of planes making a crisscrossing pattern and knew Hayden had discovered her missing. She had to travel mostly at night during that time until she moved out of their search field. Once, she heard dogs far off in the distance. She had put Tweed and Chester up onto Midnight and Kahlua and used a small stream to help hide their scent. After the third week she figured she was far enough away to be safe and had been able to gain more ground during the daylight hours.
    It wasn’t until she reached Spirit Pass that she felt totally safe. Sam had told Indy about it when she was little. He had brought her up here only once and told her of the legend of Spirit Pass. It is said those who travel through the sacred ground would complete a journey that would change their lives. When Indy asked what type of journey , Sam had told her he once had traveled through the Pass only to find himself in another world. There he had met Claire and fallen in love. The world he found himself in had been a dangerous place, for red man and white man did not like each other. Claire had been traveling with her family when her parents and little brother had taken ill. Her parents had died, leaving Claire and her little brother alone. Sam had come upon them lost and frightened on the other side of the mountains. He helped Claire nurse her brother back to health. During that time, Claire and Sam had fallen in love and Sam had convinced Claire to come back with him over the mountains where he owned the ranch next to her grandfather. Indy had always liked Claire. She had always acted like a second mother to Indy, teaching her stuff like how to cook using ingredients not found in a box. Those lessons had come in very handy over the last couple of weeks.
    “ Come on guys. Once we get through the pass we should be safe. We’ll head down to the lower elevations where it shouldn’t be so cold. Maybe we can find work on a ranch,” Indy said, suddenly excited. Tweed and Chester wagged their tails as if to agree and took off ahead of her.
    Laughing, Indy nudged Midnight on with Kahlua following behind. The cut through the pass was long and narrow. Indy looked up as small rocks and bits of snow fell off the sides. She vaguely wondered what world she would end up in. She hoped it was one with wide open spaces, no big cities, and no big brothers. The air around her swirled and a cold shiver ran down her spine as she passed the halfway mark. Turning on Midnight’s back, Indy looked behind her. She was surprised to see a mist of snow so thick she couldn’t see the entrance to the Pass any longer. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back around and focused on the path ahead of her.
    Yeah, she thought to herself, it would be nice to find a world where I can be who I am and not have to worry about my brothers anymore.
    Indy made good time after she made it through the Pass down to the lower elevation. She stopped on a ridge about half way down to take a break and give the horses and dogs time to rest. She sank down, sitting on the ledge looking out over the valley below. It was beautiful. There were patches of snow dotting the landscape and probably a hundred head or more of cattle grazing.
    She would make camp down near the timberline and scope things out before she approached the ranch. She wanted to make sure it was safe. She hoped her brothers hadn’t sent notices out to all the ranches. She decided she would take it slow and see if she could find a cowpuncher or two alone. She would approach them and make polite conversation , checking to see if they said anything. If they didn’t, she would see if there were any positions open. If they did say something or acted strange she would head back up into the mountains to hide.

 
    Chapter 3
    Indy set up her tent and just a top covering for the horses’ lean-to. It was warmer down here and she could keep their blankets on them to help keep them warm at night. She spent