Page 21 of Heart of the West

“Less than ten minutes ago.”

I run to the barn at a full sprint, open the first stall I see, and lead the horse to the tack room. I’ve been here enough to know my way around. I saddle the horse in record time and head back to the pen.

“Which direction?”

“West. There's a broken fence in the second pasture. They were headed to take the guys' treats.”

I take the trail at a fast trot, waiting until I’m in the open field to let loose.

I kick the gelding’s sides and hunker down. “Yah,” I say, slapping the reins on the horse's hind quarter to get up extra speed.

We speed across the open field. I’m nearing the other side when I hear a scream. I don’t know if this horse has more to give, but I urge him forward. The horse gives me another burst of speed. I know this trial like the back of my hand.

We burst onto the trail and I sped closer to the screams. I see Cece first. She’s riding faster than I’ve ever seen her go chasing Ruby’s horse.

“He bolted!” Cece yells when she sees me.

I pass her. My gelding has a longer stride. We eat up the distance between us and Ruby. As I get closer, I notice the horse’s bridle is gone. Ruby has both hands in the horse's mane trying to get him to stop. She sounds surprisingly calm talking to the animal, but I can see the panic on her face.

I get the gelding beside her. She glances at me with wide eyes.

“I’m pulling you over.”

She shakes her head. “I’m too heavy.”

“Bullshit. Now get ready.”

Torrent is a big horse, but this gelding has him by a hand. I reach over and grab her, pulling her up and across my lap. She clings to me. Once I get her settled, I ease the horse to a stop. Slowing our speed gradually.

“Woah, big fellow.”

Cece pulls to a stop beside us. Ruby is shaking in my arms.

“It’s alright. You’re going to be fine. I’ve got you,” I tell Ruby.

She nods.

“I’ll send one of the boys to round up the horse. Pax has never acted like that before,” Cece says.

“That’s because it’s not Paxon. That’s Torrent.”

“The rescue horse you brought for Jessi?”

“It is. I didn’t realize you had a clone. I haven’t seen Pax before. One has a rear sock, one has a front. Same side. It’s the only difference I can see between them.”

“Damn,” Cece murmurs.

Ruby remains silent on the way back to the ranch. She’s shaking for most of it. I put my arms around her and pull her closer on the horse. She’s sitting sideways in my arms. Without thinking it through, I drop a kiss on the top of her head.

“You’re alright, Ruby.”

She nods her head. Her skin is pale and I have the urge to kiss her until she forgets about today's events.Where the hell did that come from?I haven’t kissed another woman since the day I met Evie. She’s my everything always will be. My dick needs to get with the same program it’s been on for the last sixteen years. We are not going to betray Evie just because Ruby is the first woman to get a rise out of me since I lost my beloved.

Chapter 11

Ruby

I can’t seem to stop shaking. I’ve been bucked off before and had a horse bolt on me before. But it was nothing like today. That horse was scared. My head was less than half an inch away from branches as we passed them at breakneck speed. I did everything I could think of to bring the horse under control. There wasn’t a safe place to bail. I held on for dear life and continued to talk to Paxon. Well, the horse I thought was Paxon.

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