Page 53 of A Steadfast Heart
He pulled his hand back and rubbed it along his pants. He swallowed, his throat bobbing. “I’d, uh, better go check with my brothers.”
She nodded, her mouth too dry to reply. Drew met the rest of the family halfway between the house and the corral.
A clatter rang from the barn. Kaitlyn looked that way, and ice poured through her veins.
Jo.
On Phantom, who was barely broken. At least he was saddled.
The roan crow-hopped under her, and Kaitlyn’s heart raced. Jo clung tight, but her legs just weren’t long enough to keep a firm grip. She slid a bit, then righted herself.
The horse ran toward the corral fence and sailed over. Jo lost a stirrup but stayed upright. She reached for the saddle horn, but didn’t cry out.
From the corner of her eye, Kaitlyn saw Drew charge to the corral. The rest of the men followed, but they were all too far away.
Jo’s horse ran flat out toward the opposite fence of the corral.
Kaitlyn’s breath stuttered to a halt. Phantom was heading to Crazy Cow’s pen. And taking Jo with him.
Time froze around her. Her heart lodged in her throat. She pulled hard on the reins, and her horse backed quickly. Pressure from her knee and a rein against Goldie’s neck had the mare spinning…just in time to see Phantom sail over the second fence. This time, Jo couldn’t keep her seat. She hit the ground hard.
Inside Crazy Cow’s pen.
Phantom kept running, jumped another fence, and was soon out of sight.
Kaitlyn dug her heels into Goldie’s sides and the horse leaped forward. Kaitlyn came down hard in the saddle, then tightened her legs around the horse and leaned forward into her gallop.
Scrabbling sounds reached her ears. Probably the men clambering over the fence, but they would still need to get mounted and get their horses turned. It would only take seconds, but it was seconds Jo might not have. Crazy Cow had already spotted the intruder to her pen.
The bovine’s head came up, and she snorted, the sound chilling Kaitlyn’s blood.
She leaned forward further, nearly lying on Goldie’s neck, her eyes never moving from Jo’s too-still form.
Get up. You have to get up.
The girl didn’t obey Kaitlyn’s silent pleas.
Goldie drew close to the fence. Should they jump? Kaitlyn glanced over at the mama cow. She hadn’t lowered her head yet, but her hoof pawed the ground. Jumping would be faster. Assuming she managed to stay on the mare’s back.
Goldie slowed, and Drew’s warning drifted back through Kaitlyn’s mind. This horse didn’t like to jump.
Kaitlyn was off the horse before the mare stopped. She scrambled over the fence.
“Wait! Don’t do it!”
Drew’s anguished voice rose above the sound of Solomon’s hooves. Kaitlyn stopped for a moment, but then the cow lowered her head. They didn’t have time to wait.
The cow wasn’t moving yet. Maybe she could draw its attention away from Jo.
The men were coming. Kaitlyn only had to survive one charge.
Only.
She swallowed hard and stepped away from Jo, then waved her arms over her head and yelled. “This way, cow. Over here, you walking hunk of beef. Gonna make steak sandwiches out of you!”
The cow looked her way, snorted. “That’s right. I’m the threat. Right here.”
The cow pawed the earth, then glanced back toward Jo. Kaitlyn yelled again. No words, just sound and distraction. More hoofbeats behind her. The men were closing in.
