Kitabı oku: «Healing The Forest Ranger»

Chapter One

They didn’t know she was watching. Lyndsy Warner crouched low behind a rock outcropping. Prickles of excitement dotted her arms. She held her breath, hoping the wild horses wouldn’t catch her scent and bolt. At least not yet.

Overhead, a hawk spiraled through the azure sky. The late April weather had been unseasonably warm. Tufts of green grass and red paintbrush trembled as the breeze whispered past, carrying the earthy smell of dust and sage.

Letting her camera hang limp from the strap around her neck, Lyn reached up to remove the bronze shield pinned above the right front pocket of her forest ranger’s shirt. A glint from the afternoon sun might give her presence away to the mustangs in the valley below.

After tucking the badge into her pants pocket, Lyn reached for the camera again. Holding it up to her eyes, she adjusted the focus and studied the herd through the lens. Five mustangs, led by a handsome buckskin stallion. The stud’s black mane and tail stood out against his golden coat. The band included three mares and a black foal with a white tail and mane. Not really black, but almost, with just a bit of white on her hind left foot and on her right, under the flank and in her mane and tail. Not a true pinto, either. Very unique coloring and absolutely stunning. The filly’s spindly legs looked long and strong, a foreshadowing of the beautiful mare she’d become. Wild and free.

Lyn snapped a quick series of pictures, wishing she could share this moment with Kristen, her ten-year-old daughter. Like most girls, Kristen loved horses. But these mustangs carried a deeper meaning for Lyn—a reminder of the night her husband died.

The bony rib cages of the horses seemed too lean, an indicator of sparse forage on the range. As the herds increased, there just wasn’t enough for them to eat, not to mention the other wildlife roaming this area, or the beef cattle the ranchers paid the government to graze.

Lyn zoned in on the stallion she’d named Buck. This wasn’t the only herd foraging in Secret Valley. Lyn had named all the stallions living among the mountains of McClellan National Forest, but not their mares and foals. She didn’t want to become more attached to them than she already was. Especially if she was forced to round up some of them for removal.

A low nicker drew Lyn’s attention to the plateau overhead. A smaller dun stallion stood gazing down upon the tranquil family of mustangs, his cream coloring similar to Buck’s except that tiger stripes circled his front legs. A throwback from prehistoric horses. Probably a bachelor stallion, with no mares of his own. His ears pricked forward with rapt attention, and Lyn knew he wanted Buck’s mares. Or at least one of them.

“Don’t do it, buddy. Buck’s a lot bigger, and he’ll hurt you if you try to steal one of his girls.” The warm breeze stole Lyn’s whispered warning.

While Buck’s lead mare kept watch, two of the other mares dipped their noses into the murky water of the shallow spring. No vegetation grew here, with the banks beaten down and churned to mud by too many tromping hooves. By mid-May, Lyn figured the water would be gone. Dried by the baking sun to nothing but cracked earth. The horses needed this water. Desperately. Without it, they’d have to journey across the mountains to Cherry Creek, a thin stream nine miles away. An arduous trip that would sap their energy, keep them from feeding, and weaken their foals.

Always on the lookout, Buck noticed the bachelor stallion and snorted. He skirted the edge of his band, tossing his proud head and pawing the dirt with one hoof. With his long tail flying high like a flag, he raced toward the plateau, placing himself between the watering hole and the bachelor. Buck wouldn’t give up his mares. Not without a fight.

The dun neighed in challenge, then picked his way down the steep grade. As he reached the valley floor, he lifted his elegant head and arched his muscular neck. A dark dorsal stripe ran down the middle of his back, and Lyn decided to name him Stripe.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Buck didn’t think so. He let out a shrill squeal. Ears flat against his head, he raced toward the dun. At first, the two stallions circled one another, snorting and sizing each other up.

Stripe ducked away from Buck and chased after a plump dapple-gray mare that looked ready to foal soon. Stripe nudged her rump, urging her forward, trying to whisk her away. Buck intercepted, biting Stripe’s hindquarters. The mare knew who she belonged to and lashed out at Stripe with her hind legs. Buck bared his teeth, the whites of his eyes showing. His black mane whipped across his strong neck like billows of smoke.

Stripe circled back, chasing after the mare, desperate for a mate. Buck followed, neighing his disapproval. The bachelor stallion was lean and tough, but no match for the more experienced buckskin.

And the battle began.

Both stallions reared. Screaming, biting, slashing each other with their razor-sharp hooves. Again and again, their hooves thudded against each other like iron clubs. Lyn cringed at the horrific noise they made. Survival of the fittest. Their ferocity frightened her on a primitive level. She lowered her camera and stared in shock.

The mares galloped out of the fray, the black foal scurrying to join the safety of her mother. Stripe followed, still trying to separate the dapple-gray from the rest of the herd.

Buck intervened with a roar of rage. He kicked—once, twice, bludgeoning Stripe in the head and shoulder. The bachelor stallion staggered and dropped to his front knees. Buck offered no mercy. Rearing, he came down hard on top of Stripe’s head.

Lyn gasped, remembered her camera and started clicking again. Later on, the unique photos would serve as an amazing record of wild-horse behavior.

Stripe screeched in pain. Buck gave the younger stallion just a moment to recover his feet. With a loud grunt, the beaten horse sprinted toward the safety of the mountains. He’d been whipped and gave up the fight for now, but Lyn knew he’d return later for another try. The urge to have a family was as old as time, something instilled in the majority of God’s creatures. And one day Stripe, or another stronger stallion, would defeat Buck. But for now, the older stallion had kept his harem intact. In this small corner of the world, he reigned supreme.

Buck trotted around the perimeter of the watering hole, head up and nostrils flared as he watched for the return of the dun. Still wound up. Still angry. Unwilling to accept any nonsense right now.

And that’s when Lyn saw the blood running down Buck’s right front leg. She focused the camera, trying to see the wound more clearly, but no good. She had to get closer.

Moving silently down the hill, she skimmed through snags of PJ’s, short for piñon-junipers. She stayed upwind, hoping to go undetected by the band of horses. As she inhaled the dry desert air, her booted feet sank deep into the sunbaked sand. And that was her first mistake.

She stumbled, twisting her ankle. She stifled the cry rushing up her throat, but her silence made no difference. The agitated stallion lifted his head and looked her way. Still territorial and furious. Still ready to fight.

With a scream of fury, Buck charged.

Lyn’s breath froze in her throat. A bristle of panic raced down her spine. She glanced over her shoulder. No use trying to reach her truck. There wasn’t time.

Instead, she ducked under a thicket of PJ’s and pressed her body back into the prickly trees. Sharp needles scratched her hands and face. Her fear overshadowed the pain. The stallion screamed again, thrashing toward her, ferocious and enraged.

Lyn’s flesh burned with alarm. Her heart beat madly in her chest. She was no match against the horse’s battering hooves. He’d kill her if he could.

Buck reared, hooves waving dangerously near Lyn’s head. She scrunched farther back into the crowded trees. The hair of her long ponytail ripped against the pointed branches.

One thought pounded in her brain. Kristen. All alone in the world. If Lyn were killed, her little daughter would have no one to love and care for her. No one to keep her safe.

The rearing mustang beat the PJ’s to splinters, fiercely determined to reach her.

Lyn screamed in helpless anguish. How had this happened? A calm afternoon of checking the watering hole had turned into a life-threatening situation.

Lyn glanced left and right, desperate for a safer place to hide until the stallion gave up and left. A thick outcropping of sage and PJ’s jutted from the rocks just to her right. To reach it, she’d have to leave her fragile sanctuary and run for her life. With a crazed beast hot on her tail.

Bracing her hands beneath her in the dirt, Lyn bent down like a track star, knowing there was absolutely no way she could outrun this horse. Knowing she might be killed.

Taking a deep breath, she sprinted toward the rocks.

* * *

The wild horses were fighting. Caden Baldwin recognized their screams echoing through the canyon, reaching his ranch a mere six miles outside the town of Stokely, Nevada. Riding Flash, his bay gelding, Cade galloped toward Secret Valley. Maybe he’d get to see his beloved mustangs today. He couldn’t remember a single summer in his childhood when he hadn’t watched the wild horses with his grandfather. It’d been several weeks since they’d crossed Cade’s pasture land and—

A woman’s scream echoed off the rock walls of the ravine like a gunshot. What on earth?

Cade tapped his heels against his horse’s sides. Flash tore off at a fast run. Someone was in trouble. Someone needed help.

And then the panic set in. So unexpected that it left Cade breathless and choking. He clung to the saddle, overwhelmed by a flashback to the war in Afghanistan. The drumming of the horse’s hooves became the pounding of gunfire and shells exploding all around Cade, hammering his body with bits of rock, dirt and mortar. The memory of pain and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth seemed so real. And then a vision of Dallin filled his mind, his best friend’s body, limp and bleeding. Broken.

Cade shook his head, trying to clear his mind and return to the present. Trying urgently to forget the haunting nightmare. He wasn’t in the Middle East now. He was here in the Nevada desert. God had brought him home.

Safe and sound.

Oblivious of Cade’s moment of crisis, Flash didn’t break stride. Cade sat frozen in the saddle, his body moving with the strong rhythm of the horse. He clenched the reins, his calves tightening around the animal’s sides.

As the wild mustangs came into view, Cade recovered his senses and his breathing slowed a bit. His gaze centered on a buckskin stallion rearing and thrashing through the pinions. A woman fought her way through the brush, frantically seeking cover. Chased by the stallion.

Urging Flash toward the wild mustang, Cade yelled and waved his arms. The lead mare neighed to the rest of her herd. From his peripheral vision, Cade saw her racing toward the sheltering mountains, the other mares and a young black foal following in hot pursuit.

The stallion snorted, shook his splendid head and chased after his band. Puffs of dust and flying clods of dirt marked their passing. Flash came to a halt, his sides heaving. Cade patted the gelding’s neck, murmuring a soothing word to the breathless horse. Then he looked at the woman...and groaned. In an instant, Cade recognized the drab olive color of her shirt and spruce-green pants.

Forest Service.

He’d rescued a government employee. One of those people who wanted to move the wild horses off this land and lock them away in holding pens.

Cade had half a mind to turn around and ride back to Sunrise Ranch. The last person he wanted to help was a Forest Service worker. But he figured he should at least find out if she was all right. Since returning from the war, he had enough deaths on his conscience and didn’t want to add another.

“You okay, lady?” he called.

She sat scrunched back within one of the taller pinions, trying to climb the slim tree trunk. As she descended from her perch, a sprinkle of gray-green nettles showered her head. The limb broke off, and she landed on her rump in the dirt. She gasped but came quickly to her feet, limping slightly. She brushed at her long ponytail and clothing before answering in a shaky voice. “Y-yes, I’m fine, thanks to you.”

Honey-brown eyes. Beautiful, intelligent and filled with relief.

Cade pursed his lips and looked around for her vehicle. He saw nothing but scrubby sage and rabbit brush. “How’d you get out here?”

She pointed to the north. “My truck is parked beside the dirt road about a mile away.”

He jerked his gaze in that direction. Just great. He’d have to give her a ride.

“You ready to go home now, or would you rather have more fun upsetting the mustangs?” He couldn’t keep an edge of annoyance from his tone. He was sick and tired of government employees rounding up the wild horses to send them to holding stations where most of them lived their life in captivity. He’d never been overly sentimental, but he wanted to forget what he’d seen and been forced to do as a U.S. marine in a war zone. The wild-horse herds soothed his jangled nerves and helped him cope with his post-traumatic stress disorder.

The mustangs were Cade’s version of therapy.

The woman showed a weak smile, her eyes sparkling like amber gems. Streaks of dirt marred the smooth curve of her sunburned cheeks. Pine needles and dirt clung to her long, white-blond ponytail. A smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose indicated she spent a lot of time outdoors. Because of her employment, Cade decided right then and there he wouldn’t like her one bit. No sirree. Not as long as she posed a threat to his wild horses.

She pointed toward the mountains. “That stallion is injured. He fought with a bachelor, and I was trying to get a closer look to see how bad the wound might be.”

Her declaration surprised him. Since when did a Forest Service employee care if a wild stallion was wounded or not?

“The way he hightailed it out of here, I’d say he’ll be just fine,” Cade said. “It’s not wise to come out here and gawk at the mustangs. They can be very dangerous.”

Her pink lips tightened defensively. “I wasn’t gawking. I was checking water levels and observing the horses, trying to learn their habits and see how well fed they are.”

He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “You can call it whatever you like. It’s the same thing.”

“I wasn’t gawking,” she insisted.

Okay, he wouldn’t argue with her about it. “So, how’d it all work out for you?”

She didn’t seem to catch his humor.

“They saw me when I changed position.” A frown of disappointment creased her forehead.

“As if a wild stallion would ever let you get close enough to offer first aid.” Cade muttered the words beneath his breath. What was she thinking? A mustang would never let her walk up to him and bandage his injured leg.

Her expression darkened. “I know that. I just wanted to see if he needed help.”

“Do you come out here often?” Cade asked.

Her gaze met his without flinching. “Every Friday, when I have the time. But not just here in Secret Valley. I make excursions to several areas, checking the water sources in the mountains and valleys. Quite frequently, I come upon the horses. What’s your name?”

Cade stared at the Forest Service woman for several moments, mesmerized by her commanding presence in spite of her short height and slim build. Not many people would get this close to a wild horse. Most stallions, even the tame ones, were fierce and treacherous. This woman had grit, he’d give her that. Or perhaps she was too foolish to realize the danger she’d been in. Another city girl who didn’t realize that wild horses were wild.

“Most people call me Cade.” He rested his arms across the saddle horn and leaned forward.

She paused as though waiting for him to ask her name. But honestly, he didn’t want to know any more about her. In the ensuing silence that followed, Flash flicked his tail at a fly.

“Are you from around here?” she asked.

Cade jerked his thumb up. “I own a small ranch just west of here.”

“Ah, Sunrise Ranch.” She nodded.

He wasn’t surprised she knew his place. The community wasn’t large, and everyone knew everyone else. So, why hadn’t he met this woman before? He longed to ask where she’d come from, but resisted the urge to show any interest.

“My name is Lyn,” she said. “I’m fairly new in town. Only been here two months, so I haven’t had an opportunity to meet you yet.”

“Yeah. Come on. I’ll take you to your truck.” He removed his foot from the left stirrup and reached out a hand to help her step up behind him on his horse. His mind kept repeating her name. Lyn. It suited her—feminine yet decisive.

“No, thanks. I can walk.”

She limped away, and he watched her with a bit of doubt. Maybe it was for the best. It wouldn’t bode well if someone saw him riding with a Forest Service employee. He’d never hear the end of it. Instead, he rode along beside her, just in case she changed her mind.

“Did you hurt yourself?” He jutted his chin toward her left ankle.

“Just a sprain. I was out here checking the damage to the watering hole when I saw the horses. I didn’t expect Buck to attack me. I’m sure he was still feeling defensive after his fight with the bachelor stallion. Otherwise, I doubt he would have bothered with me.”

“Buck?”

“Yeah, that’s what I named the buckskin.”

Cade’s jaw went slack, but he quickly turned his face away so she wouldn’t see his surprise. “You actually named one of the stallions?”

“Uh-huh. I take pictures of all the wildlife I see out here on the Stokely Ranger District.” She explained about naming the stallions of each herd so she could keep track of them in her reports.

“Wait a minute. You’re the new forest ranger?” He’d heard they were getting a new ranger in town, but had no idea she’d be a woman, or that she’d care about the wildlife enough to document them.

“That’s right.” She nodded and smiled pleasantly.

“Hmm.”

“You don’t sound pleased.”

“I’m just indifferent.” And stunned. A petite, attractive woman wasn’t his idea of what a forest ranger ought to look like. In fact, he’d never met a woman ranger before. Especially not one this pretty. Most of the rangers he’d met were men with pot guts. Overbellies who wouldn’t listen to reason. At least not where the wild horses were concerned. Cade wasn’t sure what to think about this turn of events.

“I suppose you’re planning to round up the wild horses and take them off the range,” he grumbled.

“Not if I can help it.” She kept her gaze trained on the rocky ground in front of her.

“What do you mean?”

“I love the wild horses. But I also love the elk, antelope, bighorn sheep and mule deer. And they need to eat and drink out here, too.”

“There’s plenty of feed for all the wildlife,” he said.

She stopped and looked at him squarely, resting her hands on her slim hips. A blaze of fire sparked in her eyes. As stunning as the wild mustangs he’d seen minutes earlier. “No, there’s not. Buck’s herd is starving. They’re too lean—I could see that with my own eyes. And they’ll soon be out of water.”

What she said went against everything Cade had been brought up to believe in. “Bah! The mustangs have been running wild across this land for centuries. They’ll make do. They always survive.”

“Yes, but many will die a slow, cruel death. A lot of elk and deer will suffer the same fate. There isn’t enough water and feed out here to sustain so many wildlife and domestic livestock, too.”

He waved a hand. “You’re just another cow lover. Get rid of all the ranchers’ fat cattle, and the wildlife will have enough feed to live on.”

She chuckled, not seeming offended in the least. “Well, I do enjoy eating a nice steak and hamburger now and then. But the ranchers are definitely restricted on how many cattle they can graze on public lands. They don’t take more than their fair share, believe me. I won’t let them.”

That was just the problem. He didn’t believe her. “Ma’am, there are more important things out here than the ranchers and their cattle.”

She brushed her hand across some sage. “There are miles of sagebrush out here. It’s edible, but provides very little nourishment for the horses. They need grass. Wild horses don’t migrate to better areas when food and water runs out. They just stay here and starve. And please, call me Lyn.”

Not if he could help it.

She poked a tuft of Great Basin wheatgrass with the tip of her scuffed boot. “It takes fifty acres of this kind of land to feed one horse for one month. That doesn’t include elk and mule deer, nor any cattle, either. You can do the math as easily as I can to figure out how many miles of land are needed to keep that wild-horse herd happy and healthy. But I can tell you this area can sustain about one hundred and fifty wild horses. We currently have over four hundred and fifty horses living in and around this national forest. And that’s too many if we don’t want to see them starve to death.”

She turned and continued walking. In spite of his desire not to, he found himself liking the jaunty bounce of her hair. Spunky and sure of herself. He’d never met anyone like her.

He flinched when she whirled around and continued her dialogue.

“And you’re wrong about the cattle. They’re just as important as the wild horses. Every man, woman and child in this country needs to eat. And cattlemen make their living by growing cows. The horses are important. The cows are important. And so is the other wildlife out here. The issues aren’t easy, but we need to find ways to make it all work together. And I have some ideas, if you’d like to hear them...”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Forget it. I’ve heard it all before, and I doubt you have anything new to add that’ll make a difference to me.”

“Have it your way.” With a simple shrug, she kept walking. No argument. No blustering anger. She seemed easygoing and laid-back. Disarming in her candor. And he couldn’t help wondering about her ideas. For the first time, he really wanted to know. But asking her to explain seemed a bit like admitting defeat right now.

They soon arrived at her truck, her boots and pant legs covered by a thin sheen of dust. As she unlocked and opened the door to the driver’s seat, she tilted her head to look up at him. “We might have conflicting opinions, Cade, but I can make a big difference here in Stokely. And I intend to do just that.”

She climbed inside and reached for the armrest to pull the door closed. Before she did so, she gave him a smile so bright that it made his jaw ache. “Thanks again for all your help. I appreciate you being so neighborly.”

He nodded once in acknowledgment, his tongue tied in knots.

As she started the ignition and pulled away, the tires of her truck bounced over the washboard road. Cade sat on his horse and stared after her, feeling withdrawn and out of sorts. He didn’t agree with her assessment of the wild- horse situation, and yet he felt as though he’d just been scolded by his mother. In the nicest way possible.

He’d noticed the growing herds of horses becoming emaciated. But the beliefs planted in his mind throughout his childhood were hard to ignore. Wild horses should be left alone to live in freedom. The government shouldn’t interfere. Right? Of course he was right!

Nope, he didn’t like the new forest ranger, but he also couldn’t deny that she seemed to know her business here. He just wished he didn’t need to have any more dealings with her in the future. Since he was the wild-horse spokesman for the Toyakoi Shoshone Tribe, Cade figured that wasn’t likely. He frequently participated in meetings and demonstrations to protect the wild horses.

Oh, yes. He’d see the new forest ranger again sometime soon. Much to his regret.