“The hell it doesn’t.” Keith addressed Mitch again. “Ask her why she’s really here, Mitch. Has she said what she intends to do with this video?”
Miranda jutted her chin. “I’m here on a federal judge’s order to film the wild-horse gather. I’m also here because I saw an opportunity to make a worthwhile film. I don’t have a political agenda, if that’s what you’re implying.” She turned to Mitch. “I’m afraid this is going to be really awkward. Is there someone else I could ride with?”
“What is she talking about?” Keith demanded.
“She’s riding out with you when you go after the strays,” Mitch said.
“No way.” Keith shook his head. “I’m not taking her, Mitch.”
Mitch cocked his head. “’Scuse me?”
Keith glowered back in resentment. “Said I’m not taking her.”
Mitch scratched his chin. “Sorry, Keith, but that’s not your call. If those horses die, the public will crucify us. We need hard proof that we did all we could to save them.”
“I’ve got enough on my hands without worrying about a clueless tenderfoot,” Keith grumbled.
“I’m not clueless,” she snapped.
“Yeah, right.” Keith snorted. “I don’t need you slowing us down. We’re going out on horseback. We ride long and hard. And if we don’t find all the horses right away, we’re going to have to make overnight camp.”
“I can handle it,” she insisted. “I know how to ride a horse, and I’ve camped out before.”
“In the middle of a desert?” he asked.
“Well, no,” she confessed, “but it’s not like I’m going alone.”
“This isn’t Girl Scout camp, Miz Sutton. There’s no tent, no cot, and no bathroom facilities. It’s gonna be a bedroll on the hard ground.” Noting the uncertainty in her eyes, he continued, “There are also predators—coyotes, black bears, and mountain lions, not to mention Gila monsters and six species of rattlesnakes.”
Miranda swallowed and turned to Mitch. “Gila monster? Is he making that up?”
“Nope,” Mitch said. “It’s a large venomous lizard that lives in the desert.”
“The desert is a dangerous place, Miz Sutton,” Keith continued. “People get lost out there. People die.”
As obdurate as ever, she appealed once more to Mitch. “I still want to go. How can I show the reality of this situation if I don’t get it all on film?”
Mitch sighed. “She’s right, Keith. Our reputation is on the line here. I told her she could go, and I’m not going to renege. I don’t know what all went down between the two of you, but I’m used to trusting a person until they give me good reason not to.”
“I just did.”
Keith spun away with his pulse roaring in his ears. He’d warned Mitch. There was nothing more to say. If he had any sense, he’d send her deceitful ass packing.
*
Miranda watched Keith stalk off stiff-backed and fuming.
“Wanna tell me what that was all about?” Mitch asked.
She exhaled with a sigh. “It’s a long story, but I’ll give you an abbreviated version. I was a grad student when my boss, Bibi, sent me to film this…er…equine exhibition. After looking at my camera work on it, the producer thought it would make a good short film, but apparently Keith didn’t like how the film portrayed him.”
“Didn’t he have any say in it?” Mitch asked.
“Not really,” she said. “Once a release is signed, the producer has the right to use the film however they see fit. I promise you, all I did was the camera work. I had nothing to do with the editing or post production. That was all Bibi.”
“Don’t fret none about him,” Mitch said. “Maybe he ain’t happy about this whole situation, but he won’t let any harm come to you out there. I can promise you that. I’ve known Keith since he was the twins’ age, and his family even longer than that. His mixed heritage got him a little confused for a while, but ain’t nobody better with the horses. He’s the best damn wrangler we’ve got.”
His words were meant to reassure, but uncertainty suddenly knotted her stomach at the prospect of riding into the desert with a man who obviously despised her. “But what if an accident or something unexpected happens?”
“I’ll be sending Dave and Donny along with you. They all carry rifles, and Keith has a satellite phone. If there’s any real emergency, they’ll call in the chopper.”
The thought that Keith carried a rifle was hardly comforting. She glanced back at him watching her from a few yards away. If looks could kill, she’d already be lying dead on the ground. Maybe he’d just shoot her and dump her lifeless body in a canyon. She’d have to make certain to ride behind him.
“Part of the cowboy code is to trust the ones you ride with,” Mitch said, correctly reading her concerns. “If you’re having second thoughts, it might be better for you to go out with Trey in the chopper instead. He’s going to do another flyover to see if he can account for the rest of the missing horses.”