“You were a military pilot?” she asked.
“U.S. Army. Flew the Kiowa Warrior, a light scout helicopter ’bout the size of this one.”
“Where were you deployed?” she asked.
“Afghanistan. Three combat tours in terrain a lot like this.” His jaw tightened as he nodded to the mountainous desert below. His body language suppressed further questions. Having almost forgotten her purpose, Miranda uncapped her camera lens and began recording as Trey scouted the mountains for horses. With bated breath, she gazed out at the seemingly limitless expanse of sage-peppered desert stretching out between craggy mountain peaks. “Wow. It’s so vast. And so beautiful in a rough-hewn kinda way.”
Trey merely grunted.
“Look”—he pointed below a moment later—“there’s two down there. We’ll try to get them moving, but if they show signs of distress, I’ll have to back off and call a wrangler in.”
He’d already begun his descent when Mitch called on the radio.
“Keith needs you,” she heard Mitch say. “He’s got a foal in a bad way. He wants you to fly it in to camp. Can you go and check it out?”
“You expect me to put a foal in here?”
“I expect you to use your best judgment. I know you won’t do anything stupid,” Mitch replied.
“Famous last words,” Trey mumbled. After Mitch gave him the GPS coordinates, Trey turned to Miranda. “Looks like we have a change of plans.”
Miranda regarded the cramped cockpit incredulously. “You aren’t really going to try to fly a horse in here, are you?”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” he replied. “It’s not the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”
She never got a chance to ask him to elaborate. The helicopter quickly regained altitude and changed direction. In a matter of minutes they spotted the small group of horses and riders. The helicopter landed nearby. The mustangs skittered away, white-eyed and trembling, but they didn’t run very far.
As soon as the blades quit rotating, Trey hopped out. Miranda followed, ducking her head and hugging her camera. Her chest squeezed at the sight of Keith kneeling by a fragile-looking colt with its eyes half-shut, looking as if it held onto life by a thread.
“Took your sweet time, didn’t you?” Keith looked up at them, his forehead wrinkling as his gaze darted from Trey to Miranda and back. “Mitch didn’t tell me she was with you.”
Trey made a scoffing sound. “You’re damned lucky I came at all. I can’t believe you talked him into this.”
“It’s the only chance this one has,” Keith said.
Trey scowled. “It’s a waste of time and fuel. This one is past his last chance already.”
“C’mon, Trey,” Keith urged. “What’s it gonna hurt to try?”
“Just tellin’ it the way I see it, Keith,” Trey said. “I appreciate your good intentions, but how do you even propose to do this?”
“Someone’ll have to hold him on their lap. This little guy’s not gonna fight.”
“Maybe not, but it’s still gonna put us damned close to the weight limit of that chopper when we add in another person to hold it.”
“Are you refusing?” Keith asked.
“Don’t be so heartless,” Miranda blurted. “You have to try.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” Trey bit back.
Miranda lifted her chin, ready to do battle. “I’ll hold him,” she volunteered. “I don’t weigh much.”
Trey shook his head. “You’re not strong enough. If he panics, I need someone who’s able to hold him tight. I don’t need that horse kicking the controls and crashing us.”
“Oh.” She bit her lip. “I see your point.”
“I’ll go,” Donny volunteered.
Trey eyed the mares. “What are we going to do about those others? They look like they’re in pretty bad shape too.”
“Dave and I’ll handle the mares,” Keith replied. “We’re only a couple of miles out from camp. If we take it really slow, they’ve got a shot.”
“But it doesn’t make sense for us both to go when we still have more strays to gather and only a couple more hours of daylight left,” Dave said. “We can’t afford to lose any more time. I can handle the two of them if you can go after the rest.”
“There’s only one problem with that plan,” Keith said.
“What’s that?” Dave asked.
Keith eyed Miranda with barely concealed hostility. “Her.”
Miranda bristled. “What about her?”
“She could always ride back with me,” Dave said.
“Which leaves Keith alone,” Trey said. “He can’t gather the rest of the horses by himself.”
Miranda swallowed hard. “If I stay, I can help gather them.”
“What the hell would you know about gathering horses?” Keith snapped.