Thunder Horse Redemption Read Online Free PDF Page A

herself get distracted from that. If she did, she’d be reminded how vulnerable and frightened she felt at the thought of a gunman on her trail.
    Sweet Jessie had been shot by the pond. The herd had to have been close by at the time of the shooting. Noise from the gunshot would have sent them into the canyon to hide.
    In the dirt leading away from the watering hole, Roxanne discovered a trail of dark brown dots. Dried blood and hoofprints. At first they headed for the canyon, but the prints veered south before reaching the canyon’s edge. Unfortunately, where Sweet Jessie’s prints headed south, another, smaller set of hoofprints led directly to the canyon.
    “The foal and mare are separated.” Roxanne glanced across at Pierce as he came abreast. “The little one won’t stand a chance if she doesn’t find her mother soon.”
    At the edge of the gorge, Roxanne paused, searching for the trailhead where the horses would have dropped down into the canyon below.
    “Are you trying to get shot again?” Pierce angled his horse in front of hers. “You’re exposed here on the edge of the canyon. If someone wanted to shoot you once, wouldn’t you think they might be interested in shooting at you again?”
    “And like I said to you before, if someone wanted to shoot me, there are better places for them to try than here where there’s next to no cover to get a good position—especially now that I’m surrounded by angry-looking men with guns.” She straightened her shoulders, her gaze darting toward the canyon below. “I refuse to run scared. There’s a foal down there who will die without her mother. Lead, follow or get out of my way.”
    Pierce’s brows dipped. “You’re a stubborn woman. Anywhere along the trail is easy pickings if someone is down there in the canyon aiming up.”
    “Do you see any tire tracks leading down into the canyon?”
    Pierce leaned over in the saddle, scanning the trailhead. “No. But this might not be the trail he used to get down there.”
    “You do see horse tracks, don’t you?”
    “Yes.”
    Roxanne raised her gaze to the sky again. “If we don’t hurry, it won’t matter. The rain will keep us from finding the foal. She could die and no one will care but me.”
    He shifted in his saddle, glancing out across the gorge, squinting. Finally he faced her. “Damn it, Roxanne, I care.”
    She waved her hand toward the trail, choosing to ignore his statement. “Then let’s go.”
    “Wait here.” Pierce took off at a trot toward his brothers. Over his shoulder he called out. “And I mean wait.”
    Roxanne’s gaze followed him.
    Pierce conferred with his brothers and returned, reining in beside her and her mare. “They want to stay up top and continue searching for clues as to who the shooter might be before the rain washes away any evidence, but Maddox will cover us while we go down.”
    “Good.” She didn’t wait for him. Pressing her heels into Sassy’s flanks, she clucked her tongue and spoke softly to the horse as she picked her way down the steep and narrow trail.
    Roxanne focused on the path ahead, refusing to look to her side where the ground dropped away in a slope too steep for man or beast. If a shooter popped off a round, he wouldn’t even have to hit her. The noise alone could cause her horse to spook and toss her or, worse, tumble down the steep slope with her. And even without the shooter, if her mount took one faulty step, both horse and rider would plummet to the bottom of the canyon with nothing to slow their fall.
    Her breath wedging in her throat, Roxanne clung to the saddle horn, her fingers light on the reins, giving the horse her head. Roxanne’s feet dug into the stirrups as she leaned back in the saddle to keep from pitching forward. Sassy picked her way to the bottom at her own pace.
    About halfway down, the sky opened, rain gushing from it like a fire hose spraying down full blast.
    Blinded by the torrent, Roxanne could do nothing but hold on and