One Brave Cowboy Read Free Page A

effect. He’d experienced enough of them to know that. “I’ll bet you know the mustangs around here pretty well. I could use your advice.”
    â€œHe’d like that,” Celia said. “Thank you. I…” She laid her hand on his arm. Against his will he turned, took her eyes up on their offer of a clear view into her heart. “Thank you.”
    He couldn’t wait to get out the door. He couldn’t handle that kind of gratitude. It wasn’t about anything he’d done. It was about not doing the unthinkable. At best it was about an accident that hadn’t happened, and he needed to put some distance between his image of what might have been and the faces in the image.
    At the same time he wanted to hang around, whichwas pretty damned surprising. And it was about as uncomfortable as a new pair of boots.
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    Logan Wolf Track lived in a log house just outside the town of Sinte, where he served as a tribal councilman for his Lakota people. Cougar’s mother had been Lakota, but he was enrolled with the Shoshone, his father’s people. Cougar hadn’t met Logan until he’d knocked on the Wolf Track door the previous night. Sergeant Mary Tutan Wolf Track was the person they had in common. A white woman, strangely enough.
    Or maybe it wasn’t that strange. Indian country was more open these days than ever before, what with the casinos and educational programs that opened up opportunities for people on both sides of what had long been an unchallenged fence. But before these changes and beyond Indian country, there had been the military. Cougar’s people had been serving in ever-increasing numbers for generations.
    Cougar had been an army police officer—an MP—and Mary had been a dog handler. She’d served as a trainer—most recently in Afghanistan—and as far as Cougar was concerned she was the best trainer in uniform. She’d paid him a visit in the hospital in Kandahar, and she’d written to him after he was transferred stateside. More recently, they’d spoken by phone. Their mutual interest in training animalshad given her something cheerful to talk about, and when Mary had talked up the wild horse training competition, she had his full attention. She’d planted an idea that had pulled him out of the seclusion he’d sought after his release from a VA hospital.
    Cougar was glad to see Logan’s pickup parked in his driveway. It wasn’t home—Cougar towed his house around with him these days—but Logan Wolf Track was the kind of guy who made you feel at home. Fellow Indian, fellow cowboy, husband of a fellow soldier. Logan opened the door before Cougar’s knuckles hit the wood.
    â€œDid you get signed up?” Logan asked as he handed Cougar a welcoming cup of coffee.
    â€œNot yet.” Cougar settled in the kitchen chair Logan offered with a gesture. “The boss was out.”
    â€œNobody around?” He said it like such a thing never happened.
    â€œThere was a woman. A volunteer, she said. And her kid.” Cougar took a sip of kick-ass and cut-to-the-chase coffee. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. “I almost ran over the kid.”
    Logan let the quiet take over, leaving Cougar to take his time, sort though the images. They were jumpy, like an old silent movie, until he came to the woman. Her face was clear in his mind, and her voice poured over the images like slow dance music.
    â€œHe’s okay,” Cougar said. “Came out of nowhere, but I hit the brakes in time. Scared the hell out ofme, and I think I scared the hell out of his mom. The kid…” He shook his head. “Hell, he didn’t seem to notice. Can’t talk, can’t hear and he’s half blind. I didn’t see him.” Another sip of coffee fortified him. “Damn, that was close.”
    Logan put a plate of frybread on the table and took a seat across from his guest. “Your