Page 1 of Rolling Thunder

CHAPTER 1

Rocket stomped a hoof restlessly and shied sideways, rolling white-rimmed eyes. Kayla struggled to wrangle the unpredictable horse as the South Florida sun climbed higher in the sky. The intensifying heat on Kayla’s shoulders reminded her it would soon be too hot to do anything. Her life in a nutshell: dangerous and running out of time.

Kayla had spent her life working and training horses under the tutelage of her Gram Kay. Rocket was the first horse she had scored as a training client on her own. Rocket’s owner was a teenaged barrel racer who had been thrown in the last rodeo, breaking her arm. The girl’s parents had dropped Rocket off with Kayla for training while their daughter healed to hopefully fix the horse’s dangerous bolting problem. Kayla knew how to deal with horses like Rocket. The right way, the safer way, took longer and started in the round pen, but that had fallen into disrepair. The faster but more dangerous way was to ride it out of her, let her buck and kick and hang on for dear life until Rocket exhausted herself. It was a risky shortcut, but Kayla’s options were limited. She was pretty good at sitting a wild horse. It basically amounted to rodeo bronc riding, except she was alone with no help. What could go wrong?

Kayla lifted her boot to the stirrup. Rocket pranced on legs like coiled springs, blowing her nostrils and flipping her mane. Her grandmother’s life partner, Canyon Bill, would have said she was “just looking for something to booger at.” With two practiced hops on her extended leg, Kayla swung up onto Rocket’s back and let her out at a walk.

Rocket swished her tail and flared her nostrils. Kayla deliberately took a deep breath and blew it out gently, trying to calm the horse by example. She sank lower into the stirrups and seat, prepared for what was to come. “Easy now,” Kayla murmured.

The growl of a motorcycle sounded a warning in the distance at the far end of her road. The bike was approaching fast and loud. Within moments, it would pass right by them. A rush of adrenaline flooded Kayla’s veins, and she grabbed the saddle horn in preparation. Just as the motorcycle blew by, it let out a deafening bark as the rider shifted gears. That was all the excuse Rocket needed. The mare squealed as all thousand pounds of her exploded beneath Kayla.

Determined, Kayla sat deeper and fought to keep Rocket’s head up to stop her from bucking. Rocket wrestled with the bit, trying to bolt, but Kayla steered her into the corner of the arena where the wooden fence was tall and stout. Undeterred, the wild little mare charged forward at top speed until she ran out of room, then skidded to a violent stop.

Kayla experienced the terrible feeling of zero gravity as the horse’s front hooves left the ground. Rocket reared straight up. Kayla mused for a split second at the unreal sight of Rocket’s hooves pawing in front of the sun. She clung to the mare’s neck until the center of gravity started to shift. She instinctively knew that the Rocket was about to fall over backward.

Kayla’s only hope was to kick off the horse and fall, on the off chance that removing her weight would stop the mare from landing on top of her. Praying her feet wouldn’t get caught in the stirrups, she launched herself through the air and landed with a painful crunching thud.

Evan was lost in thought, cruising home on his motorcycle. His breath jolted when he saw the beautiful neighbor girl in the horse pen hit the dirt as he passed by. He’d seen her before. She would sometimes cast a long glance at him as he rode by, but never with a smile or a wave. Which was fine with him. He didn’t mind exchanging looks with this beautiful stranger, but he didn’t need any other complications in his life.

Regardless, the girl he checked out whenever she was out with the horses had just been thrown because of him, and now she was lying motionless in the arena sand. Un-fucking-real. Just trying to cruise home on his motorcycle unnoticed and causing damage anyway. How fitting. But he had to make sure she was all right.

He turned his bike around. His first thought was to roar back to the gate of the little horse farm to save time. But realizing it was his motorcycle that had spooked the horse in the first place, he cut the engine, parked the bike on the side of the road, and jogged back toward the arena fence. He climbed the wooden rails, eyeing the wild-eyed horse who had dumped the girl and then taken off at a dead gallop, whinnying loudly as it ran. The girl was still lying motionless in the sand.

He would have very much preferred to keep the tall wooden fence between him and the rabid horse, but he realized quickly that the girl was in harm’s way. If he didn’t move fast, she was going to be trampled. There was no time to stand on the fence rail and think about it.

He jumped into the arena, hit the sand running, and dashed toward the motionless girl on the other side. The horse had run itself into the opposite corner, whirled, and was careening back toward them. Loose reins and stirrups flapped against the horse’s sides, urging it on still faster. Both man and beast raced toward the fallen girl now.

Not much scared Evan, but this scenario fit the bill. Prison had been an excellent teacher, and he learned not to freeze in the face of fear. He got to the motionless girl first and spun around to see the horse bearing down on him with great thunderous strides that shook the very ground. Operating on instinct, he began to wave his arms.

“Hey! Hey!” he yelled, trying to spook the horse away from them. It worked. With wild, white eyes and slinging lather, the horse skidded to the side and took off across the arena in the opposite direction. A string of cuss words erupted from him as he knelt over the fallen girl.

She stared up at him, dazed. Her face was delicate, with big eyes that made her look young and vulnerable.

“Are you hurt? That horse is fucking crazy. We’ve got to get you out of here,” he said, breathless.

She blinked. Nodded. Shook her head. Maybe she had a head injury.

He couldn’t wait for her to come to her senses. He dove through a gap in the nearby rail fence, reached back inside, and grabbed her by her shirt collar. With a graceless heave, he unceremoniously dragged her limp body through the dirt under the bottom rail like a lifeless sack of grain. Feeling like he was on a battlefield, he immediately scanned this new enclosure to see if there were any more man-eating horses on the horizon. The coast was clear.

He looked down at her, and she was blinking as if slowly getting her bearings. She was obviously stunned, and he probably shouldn’t read into the fact that her eyes traveled thoughtfully over his face, lingered on his mouth.

She gazed into his eyes and meaningfully whispered, “I’ve got a bunch of sand in my underwear.” It triggered a rough chuckle from him despite the circumstances.

“I thought you were dead!” he said. “I never thought I’d be glad to hear someone had sand down their pants!” He sat back on his heels and rubbed his face while she used the fence to pull herself to a sitting position, wincing.

“I’m fine, no thanks to you. Just got the wind knocked out of me.”

“No thanks to me? Girl, I just saved your life!”

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to keep your motor quiet passing a horse?” she demanded.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s bad manners to bitch out the guy who just rescued you from that man-eating horse?”

“What are you talking about?”

“While you were lying there seeing stars, that beast was about to run you over. I scared it off. That’s why I pulled you out here.” He paused for effect, then widened his eyes, adding “And apparently filled your pants with sand.”

Now she giggled. Then winced again.

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