Mountain Mare Read Free

much alike, both experts eager to contradict the other.
    Jake entered the trailer, released Ace, and backed him out while she was still just standing there.
    Sam pretended she’d been thinking about Jake’s question.
    â€œI’m not even sure what a pickup man is,” she admitted.
    â€œGood thing I was askin’ Ace,” Jake said as the bay gelding stopped in front of Sam and swung his head around to nuzzle her pocket.
    Sam closed her eyes and reveled in the flutter of the gelding’s velvety lips and the alfalfa smell of him.
    Forget it, she thought. Ace is mine ’til the end .
    â€œPickup men are cowboys who work the rough-stock events, like bronc riding,” Jen explained. “They rescue rodeo cowboys off the horses and release the flank straps—”
    â€œOh, right,” Sam said. She took Ace’s lead rope from Jake.
    â€œThere’s more to a pickup rider’s job than that,”Jake said as he slammed the trailer doors and shot the latch into place. Then he turned to Sam. “Think you can handle things from here on out?”
    â€œWhat about—?” Sam began, but then she stopped.
    Even in the faint light and the shadow of his hat brim, she sensed Jake’s brotherly look. It wasn’t authority, exactly; it was more an attitude that said he’d probably need to bail her out and he was up to the challenge.
    Sam glanced at the shadows moving around the camp. As the sky got a little lighter, there were more of them. She wished her childhood memory would kick in and she’d spot Hal Ryden, but she said, “Of course I can handle it.”
    â€œAnd then there’s Ace,” Jen joked as she pointed at the bay.
    Ace’s black-edged ears pricked toward the faint moos of penned cattle.
    â€œHe can handle it all without us,” Sam laughed, but her faith in the horse felt bittersweet.
    The jangle of an old-fashioned triangle and a call to “Come and get it” made Silly snort and spook.
    If Ace were more like Silly, Sam thought, she wouldn’t have this problem. No one would buy the jumpy palomino to work with disabled children.
    Seeing Jen distracted, Jake touched Sam’s arm.
    She turned immediately, trying to analyze his expression. A campfire highlighted the shelf of hischeekbones, but left his eyes in shadow.
    â€œNothin’s gonna happen ’til you get down off this mountain,” he said. “We’ll—”
    Jake made a vague gesture.
    â€œâ€˜Talk later’?” Sam asked with a laugh. “‘Have a discussion’? That’s what people call it, you know. And they do it all the time.”
    Jake ignored her teasing.
    â€œ Adios, ” he said, then climbed into his truck and drove away with the horse trailer rattling along behind.
    Jen was soothing Silly and gazing after the trailer’s red taillights when Sam turned to look at the camp and saw two figures materialize out of the darkness.
    â€œSamantha Anne Forster!” The voice boomed from the taller man. Sam couldn’t see his face, but he wore a floppy, oversized hat that should have looked ridiculous, but somehow didn’t. “Lord almighty, girl! You’ve grown up, but I’d recognize you anywhere!”
    Beside him, looking pumpkin-shaped by comparison, the second man grunted, “And darned if she ain’t welcome as a bedroll fulla rattlers.”

Chapter Two
    A ce planted all four hooves. Even when Sam tugged for him to follow, he resisted her approach toward Hal Ryden and Linc Slocum.
    â€œC’mon, boy,” Sam said.
    Had the little mustang turned stubborn? Maybe he’d make a terrible therapy horse after all.
    But Sam knew that wasn’t true. His refusal to move showed his brains. Ace had learned that chaos cropped up when he was near Linc Slocum.
    Sam reached her other hand up the reins to exert pressure closer to his bit. “I don’t blame you,” Sam whispered to her