Wild Honey Read Free Page B

stalked off, assuming she’d obey.
    Then, the Phantom lowered his head and sniffed his lead mare’s flank as if he didn’t recognize her. Next, the stallion inspected the blood running in rivulets over her hoof. The palomino shuddered and closed her eyes.
    Was this the feeling people called feeling déjà vu? Sam had the sensation she’d seen this all happen before. Then, she realized it had.
    The Phantom’s tiger dun lead mare had cracked her hoof. She’d been found alone on the playa and captured by the Bureau of Land Management, but the Phantom had seen her one last time after she’d been adopted and it had been just this sad.
    Sam’s imagination swarmed with thousands of mustangs rounded up and jammed into trucks. One side of her mind argued she wouldn’t have Ace without the BLM’s adoption program, but the other half said horses like Blue, Tinkerbell, Dark Sunshine, and Jinx should still be living free.
    If the BLM found this beautiful mare, she’d get the medical treatment she needed, and an adoptive home. But wasn’t her real home on the range with the Phantom?
    The palomino stared across the creek at the other mares and lifted her hoof higher, as if she’d rejoin the others even if she had to do it on three legs.
    The two horses couldn’t know what she was thinking, and Sam was grateful. As much as she wanted the mare to stay with the Phantom, she couldn’t let it happen. The mare wouldn’t be able to keep up with the herd. Her cries wouldn’t stop them from leaving her behind, but they’d alert predators. If the wound reopened, the scent of blood would lure them to her. An adult horse was dangerous prey, but instinct would tell them they only had to wait. Eventually, she’d be weak enough to attack.
    Slowly, Sam eased her rope off over her head. As Sam’s fingers worked to open the loop in her rope, tears pricked at her eyes. She blinked, refusing to let them blur her vision. She had one chance to get this right.
    The horses seemed to have forgotten her. The golden mare nuzzled the stallion’s mane. He backed slowly to face her. Their noses were nearly touching.
    As Sam watched, the Phantom finished his good-bye. With each step the stallion took away from the mare, Sam took one closer. She was only a few feet away now. Her rope couldn’t miss.
    The mare glanced at Sam, but her heart was following the Phantom and she hardly noticed when Sam held her breath, bit her lip, and flipped the rope over the mare’s neck.
    As it tightened, the stallion swung his head in reprimand. His teeth were bared, but not at Sam—at the mare.
    Stay here, his gesture said. The order was cruel, but it might save the palomino’s life.
    He turned abruptly aside from the mare and left.
    For a few hopeful seconds, Sam thought the parting was over.
    Sun sifted through the leaves overhead, hunting out each silver dapple on the stallion’s gleaming hide. The Phantom ignored the mare’s whinny. He crossed a carpet of yellow leaves before walking into the creek and back to his band.
    The mare stared after him, nostrils vibrating in a silent farewell.
    And then she exploded.
    With a squeal, the mare wrenched her neck sideways. The rope sizzled along Sam’s palms before she grabbed and held on. The mare tried to bolt, but her foreleg pulled up in pain. Her golden shoulders heaved forward and her neck arched as she rose in a half rear, but when she came down and tried to plant her forelegs to buck and frighten off the human who held the rope, the injured leg crumpled and she slammed to the ground on her right side.
    Panting and braced, Sam kept her eyes on the honey-colored lead mare and her hands on the rope.
    Eyes closed, ears pinned back, the mare lay on her side, snorting through flared nostrils. Sam knewthe mustang heard the clatter of wild hooves moving off, walking aimlessly, then jogging slowly. The herd hesitated without a lead