cattle
stretched across the ground, and men on horseback moved into place, directing
the flow with the angle and motion of their horses. They didn’t have far to go,
about two miles across country. As she eased Monty toward a cow that had veered
away from the herd, Willa relaxed in her saddle. This was going to go just
fine.
And then Trouble
came streaking toward the herd, barking at the top of his canine lungs.
The smoothly
moving line broke into clumps of startled cows, each clump moving in a
different direction. Cowboys and horses reacted quickly, but there weren’t
enough of them to manage the breakdown. Longhorns were hard to spook, but as
Trouble raced along, the cattle turned away from the barking dog, maybe seeking
refuge in the pen behind them, maybe moving by blind instinct. A few of the
lead cows picked up speed, starting to run. More and more of the herd joined
them. In the next instant, they had a full-fledged longhorn stampede on their
hands.
Willa didn’t
realize, until too late, that Daniel and Calypso stood directly in the path of
the thundering herd.
Both man and
horse froze for an instant. Willa held her breath, trying to see through the
dust cloud thrown up by hundreds of pounding hooves, praying that Calypso would
be fast enough, that Daniel could hang on through the chaos. For an instant,
she saw them through the dust—saw Calypso at the near edge of the herd, ready
to jump clear.
But then she saw
Daniel throw up his hands, saw the reins fly free. In the next moment, both
Calypso and Daniel disappeared underneath the roaring river of cattle.
H E’D BEEN HERE
BEFORE, THIS PLACE where pain burned like the desert sun, relentless, inescapable. This time, at
least, he could move, thrashing his arms and legs in a weak attempt to find
some shade…
“Daniel. Daniel,
relax.” A cool hand caught one wrist, while another soothed his forehead. “You’re
okay. Just relax.”
He peeked
through a half-lifted eyelid, saw the pale walls of a hospital and groaned. “Not
again.”
“Open your eyes,
Daniel.” The same voice, husky, feminine, appealing. Willa? He did as
instructed. “It’s you.”
“Welcome back,
cowboy.” She smiled at him but removed her hands, which made him wish he’d
disobeyed her order. “That was quite a ride you took.”
Daniel thought
back and remembered. “Is Calypso okay? He tripped—I didn’t see what was there—”
“An
appropriately named dog was there.”
“Trouble? How
did he get out? I know I left him locked in the house. Is that dog some kind of
Houdini?”
“He might be,
given how many hooves he managed to dodge in the process of causing a
stampede.” Willa shook her head. “How the three of you survived intact is
something I’ll never understand.”
A sudden stab of
pain through his temple left Daniel wincing. “Intact might be an
overstatement.”
“You’ve been out
for a couple of hours. You probably do have a headache.”
He made an
exploratory move of his arms and legs. “Plus some bruises.”
“But no broken
bones,” a third voice informed him, as a woman wearing green surgical scrubs
strode into the room. “And no damage to that erector set of pins and shafts
holding your right leg together.” She offered Daniel a handshake. “I’m Dr.
Dobbins. Other than the concussion, you’re in good shape. We’ll let you stay
overnight, just to keep an eye on you, then send you home in the morning.”
Before he could
protest, she gave a quick wave and hurried off. Daniel frowned at Willa,
instead. “I don’t need to stay overnight.”
She laughed at
him. “I would have predicted you’d say that. Men never want to follow medical
advice. But I can tell you that I’m not taking you home, and there’s nobody
else here to do it. So unless you’re planning to walk, I’d say your best bet is
to do as you’re told.”
“I’ve taken more
medical orders than any one person ought to put up with,” he grumbled, even
though he knew
stretched across the ground, and men on horseback moved into place, directing
the flow with the angle and motion of their horses. They didn’t have far to go,
about two miles across country. As she eased Monty toward a cow that had veered
away from the herd, Willa relaxed in her saddle. This was going to go just
fine.
And then Trouble
came streaking toward the herd, barking at the top of his canine lungs.
The smoothly
moving line broke into clumps of startled cows, each clump moving in a
different direction. Cowboys and horses reacted quickly, but there weren’t
enough of them to manage the breakdown. Longhorns were hard to spook, but as
Trouble raced along, the cattle turned away from the barking dog, maybe seeking
refuge in the pen behind them, maybe moving by blind instinct. A few of the
lead cows picked up speed, starting to run. More and more of the herd joined
them. In the next instant, they had a full-fledged longhorn stampede on their
hands.
Willa didn’t
realize, until too late, that Daniel and Calypso stood directly in the path of
the thundering herd.
Both man and
horse froze for an instant. Willa held her breath, trying to see through the
dust cloud thrown up by hundreds of pounding hooves, praying that Calypso would
be fast enough, that Daniel could hang on through the chaos. For an instant,
she saw them through the dust—saw Calypso at the near edge of the herd, ready
to jump clear.
But then she saw
Daniel throw up his hands, saw the reins fly free. In the next moment, both
Calypso and Daniel disappeared underneath the roaring river of cattle.
H E’D BEEN HERE
BEFORE, THIS PLACE where pain burned like the desert sun, relentless, inescapable. This time, at
least, he could move, thrashing his arms and legs in a weak attempt to find
some shade…
“Daniel. Daniel,
relax.” A cool hand caught one wrist, while another soothed his forehead. “You’re
okay. Just relax.”
He peeked
through a half-lifted eyelid, saw the pale walls of a hospital and groaned. “Not
again.”
“Open your eyes,
Daniel.” The same voice, husky, feminine, appealing. Willa? He did as
instructed. “It’s you.”
“Welcome back,
cowboy.” She smiled at him but removed her hands, which made him wish he’d
disobeyed her order. “That was quite a ride you took.”
Daniel thought
back and remembered. “Is Calypso okay? He tripped—I didn’t see what was there—”
“An
appropriately named dog was there.”
“Trouble? How
did he get out? I know I left him locked in the house. Is that dog some kind of
Houdini?”
“He might be,
given how many hooves he managed to dodge in the process of causing a
stampede.” Willa shook her head. “How the three of you survived intact is
something I’ll never understand.”
A sudden stab of
pain through his temple left Daniel wincing. “Intact might be an
overstatement.”
“You’ve been out
for a couple of hours. You probably do have a headache.”
He made an
exploratory move of his arms and legs. “Plus some bruises.”
“But no broken
bones,” a third voice informed him, as a woman wearing green surgical scrubs
strode into the room. “And no damage to that erector set of pins and shafts
holding your right leg together.” She offered Daniel a handshake. “I’m Dr.
Dobbins. Other than the concussion, you’re in good shape. We’ll let you stay
overnight, just to keep an eye on you, then send you home in the morning.”
Before he could
protest, she gave a quick wave and hurried off. Daniel frowned at Willa,
instead. “I don’t need to stay overnight.”
She laughed at
him. “I would have predicted you’d say that. Men never want to follow medical
advice. But I can tell you that I’m not taking you home, and there’s nobody
else here to do it. So unless you’re planning to walk, I’d say your best bet is
to do as you’re told.”
“I’ve taken more
medical orders than any one person ought to put up with,” he grumbled, even
though he knew
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