“We don’t,” Beth replied with a puzzled look. “We only use the Judas horse to lead the mustangs in.”
“Then I guess your Judas horse has found himself a rider. Look up there.” Miranda pointed to a lone horseman poised on the bluff overlooking the trap. Seconds later, he came charging straight down the cliff to join the runaway band, just like the iconic scene from The Man from Snowy River. “Oh. My. God. Do you see that?” she exclaimed. The rider was crouched low over his horse’s withers and riding hell for leather after the runaways, eating yards of ground with every stride.
“I’ll be damned,” Mitch murmured from behind. “It’s Keith.”
Her pulse accelerated as he began to gain on the lead horse. She’d never seen anyone ride like that. Well, not quite. She’d seen only one person ever ride like that. Miranda zoomed in on the wrangler and did an instant double take. It can’t be. Her racing heart skipped a beat. But it had to be. It’d been well over a year since she’d seen him, but she’d recognize him anywhere.
Chapter 6
After two hours of hard riding, Keith returned at the head of twenty-odd lathered and heaving horses. Even after claiming the lead, he’d still managed to bring in only about half of the runaways. He could only hope the chopper had gathered up the ones that had scattered into the mountains.
He’d no sooner dismounted than Mitch appeared, clapping him on the shoulder. “That was some damned fine riding. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I was just the passenger.” Keith shrugged. “The horse did the real work.”
“Those mustangs were pretty spooked. Once frightened like that, they’re damned hard to get control of.”
Keith grinned. “Don’t I know it.”
“Trey brought in a few more while you were out chasing that bunch down,” Mitch continued, to Keith’s relief. “He says there are still about a half dozen older and weaker ones that he didn’t dare push, but if we don’t bring them back in, some aren’t going to survive the night.”
“They’re also gonna be especially vulnerable to predators, as exhausted as they are,” Keith said. “There’re plenty of mountain lions in these parts to make a meal out of ’em.”
“Are you willing to ride out again after the stragglers?” Mitch asked.
“Yeah. I’m willing,” Keith said.
Mitch squinted at the sky. “We’re losing daylight fast.”
“They can’t be too far,” Keith reassured him, “but I’ll make camp if I have to.”
“I’ll send Dave and Donny with you,” Mitch said. “I’ll leave a pen and a stock trailer behind. Round up what you can but, if we don’t get them all by tomorrow, we’ll just have to call it a loss.”
Keith was tying his bedroll behind the cantle of his saddle when Mitch reappeared a few minutes later.
“I just thank God we got all this on video,” Mitch said. “At least we have documentation that it wasn’t our negligence or ineptitude that caused this cockup. Speaking of which, I don’t think you’ve met Miranda Sutton yet.”
It was only then that Keith noticed the woman standing in the background with a video camera. He noted the reddish-gold curls escaping from her ball cap and his pulse quickened. He’d seen very few women with hair like that. Of all people. It can’t be her. She lowered the camera, and his gut churned. It was her all right. What the hell was she doing here? And what were the chances of running into Bibi’s protégé in the middle of the desert? Was he cursed?
“Miranda.” Mitch waved her over. “This is Keith Russo, one of the best horsemen you’ll ever meet. That ride you saw down the cliff was proof that I don’t exaggerate.”
Their gazes locked. Keith said nothing, just speared her with a hard, unblinking stare. Her eyes widened in recognition. Then her face flushed. After a second or two, she licked her lips and tore her gaze away, a sure sign of a guilty conscience.
“Miss Sutton and I are already acquainted,” Keith replied stiffly. “Why is she here?”
Mitch’s puzzled gaze shifted from Keith to Miranda and back again. “Is there a problem, Keith?”
“There’s a problem all right,” Keith replied. “I don’t trust her, and you shouldn’t either.”
“Why do you say that?” Mitch asked, deep lines creasing his brow.
Keith’s jaw tightened. “She ruined my reputation.”
“Really?” Mitch remarked. “How?”
“What are you talking about?” she rejoined. “All I did was shoot some video.”
Keith gave a derisive laugh. “Your video completely destroyed my credibility.”
“I don’t like what you’re insinuating,” she said. “I was simply doing my job, just like you do with these horses. If you have issues, you need to take it up with Bibi. She was the producer and editor.”
“I have objections all right.”
“I’m truly sorry for that,” Miranda said. “But it still has nothing to do with me or my job here.”