Chapter 1 Chapter 1 SAMANTHA FORSTER HAD NEVER FELT so out of place. Surrounded by the familiar scents of saddle soap, hay, and horses, she shouldn''t have felt awkward, but she did. Sterling Stables was about as far as you could get from River Bend Ranch. Not far in distance, Sam thought. She looked east. She was still in Nevada, just an hour from home. She could still smell sagebrush and hear the flutter of quail. She saw the Calico Mountains against the blue sky, too, but, from here, the white-peaked giants looked like miniature ice-cream cones.
Was the Phantom up in that rocky, windblown terrain? The mustang stallion only had his winter coat for protection. Sam crossed her arms, shivered, and compared the beautiful horses of Sterling Stables with the Phantom and his herd. Shining like glass, a dozen Morgan yearlings grazed on acres of cross-fenced pastures. Irrigated grass rolled flat as green carpet around Sterling Stables'' three long barns. The open half doors of stalls showed the heads of dozens of perfectly groomed horses. About a block away from the barns, an arena held a variety of jumps built of candy-striped rails, hedges, and red brick. The arena was encircled by a loamy oval marked by hoofprints. "Could you at least pretend you''re helping me pick a horse, instead of indulging in whatever you cowgirls dream about?" Rachel Slocum managed to mutter her irritation with a faint smile pasted in place.
How do you do that? Sam wanted to ask, but Rachel''s eyes warned her to focus. "I am helping you," Sam said. "Or at least I would be, if you''d follow my suggestions." Rachel closed her eyes, pretending to be patient. When she opened them, she considered the horse parading past for her approval. "What do you think of this one?" Rachel asked. The bay trotted at the end of a short lead. His handler wore English jodhpurs, boots that shone with polish, and a white high-collared shirt just like Rachel''s, but she smiled as the horse arched his neck to show off the running braid of his black mane.
"He''s beautiful." Sam shifted uncomfortably in her well-worn Western boots. When Linc and Rachel Slocum picked her up at River Bend that morning, Sam had felt just right in her boots, jeans, and burgundy pullover. The feeling hadn''t lasted long. At the first ranch, Rachel had window-shopped through a selection of Thoroughbred-cross endurance horses. Sam had loved watching the athletic animals, but her fun had faded when Rachel pointed out that Sam was dressed all wrong. Who cares? Sam had wanted to ask, but she didn''t. And even though she couldn''t believe Rachel decided to leave without trying even one of the smooth-muscled horses, Sam was relieved to drive away.
But this place was even worse. At Sterling Stables, known for its select Morgan performance horses, Sam felt like a country bumpkin. "Even I can see he''s beautiful," Rachel said as the gelding trotted past again, though Sam didn''t know how Rachel could see anything through the dark glasses she wore inside the stable. "But should I buy him?" "You haven''t ridden him, asked about his temperament or what he does best. You don''t even know how much they want for him." Sam kept her voice low and glanced toward Rachel''s father, Linc, who stood just a few feet away, talking on his cell phone. Rachel sighed. "You know that doesn''t really matter.
I just want to know if you''d buy him. Or, more importantly, will my brother think he''s a great horse?" "He looks healthy and strong. At halter, his gaits are smooth." Sam held her hand palm up, inviting Rachel to look around. "The stable certainly seems reputable, but you have to get on and ride, Rachel." Rachel''s eyes glittered with stubbornness as she pushed back a wing of dark hair. "Not in front of everyone." Sam sighed.
Despite equestrian training in England and brush-up lessons here in Nevada, Rachel still wasn''t a confident rider. Sam understood how she felt. A few months ago, after an injury and two years away from the ranch, she''d been nervous about riding too. But Sam didn''t understand Rachel''s willingness to take home an untried horse. What if it bucked? Or bit? "I''m waiting for your opinion, Samantha." Rachel kept smiling, but she tapped her toe with impatience. Sam decided she probably deserved this. She hadn''t really come to help Rachel.
She''d come to look at the horses. If Rachel could hide her true feelings, why couldn''t Sam? Maybe she needed more practice. "Okay," she said, trying to sound pleasant. "Since you''ve given up the rodeo queen idea, and you have nothing in mind except buying a horse to impress your brother, just pick one you like." Sam had kept her voice just above a whisper, unsure of whether Linc Slocum knew his daughter''s plan, but she hadn''t been quiet enough. "Honey, Samantha''s right." Linc Slocum slipped his phone into a hip pocket and nodded toward the young woman leading the bay horse. "That gal out there is Katie Sterling.
She helps her dad run the place, and she wouldn''t mind getting a horse ready for you." Linc shifted from foot to foot. Then, just in case Rachel hadn''t taken the hint, he added, "You should probably ride the horse before we buy it." "Daddy." Rachel''s eyes were cold as she talked to her father. "Did you bring your credit cards?" "Never leave home without ''em." "Then that''s all you need to worry about," Rachel said. Before Sam absorbed the shock from Rachel''s rudeness, the girl pointed at another stall.
"Wait." Rachel lifted her sunglasses to rest atop her hair. "How about her?" To Sam''s surprise, Rachel walked toward a stall as if drawn by magnetism. MOCHA, said the brass plate on the stall door. The mare''s head went up, and November sunshine shone on the face she lowered over her stall''s half door. Mocha''s coat was the darkest possible brown, like fresh coffee. Her ears and eyes tracked Rachel''s movements as she came closer. Sam couldn''t help turning to Linc Slocum.
He grinned, and Sam thought they must be thinking the same thing: sometimes people and animals just click. Katie Sterling noticed too. She quit jogging the bay and led him back toward the stalls. "I take it you''re not interested in Glow-Boy." She sounded breathless as she patted the gelding''s neck. "No," Rachel said in a dreamy tone. "Just tell me about Mocha." "She''s five years old, goes both English and Western, and she''s really smart.
Why don''t I tack her up and you can see if you suit each other?" Rachel shook her head. Her eyes refocused, this time on Katie Sterling. "What do you mean, smart?" Perfect. Rachel believed horses were stupid, but did she have to admit it? Katie Sterling had just met Sam, but she shot her a look as if Sam could translate Rachel''s question. Sam shrugged, looked down at the raked path, and shook her head. "Okay. Let''s see." Katie sounded confused but willing to explain.
"Someone mentioned cat tracks up your way, for instance. If you were ever to come near that cat, I think Mocha would stay calm and follow directions." The young woman moved close enough that Glow-Boy and Mocha touched noses. "Cat tracks?" Sam asked. "You mean like a bobcat?" Linc Slocum leaned forward, listening for Katie Sterling''s answer. "I''m pretty sure it was a mountain lion," she said. "You know, a cougar." "Up our way? Where?" Slocum demanded.
At his shout, Glow-Boy flinched, and the mare backed, snorting, away from her stall door. Rachel glared at her father. "Maybe along a ridge?" Katie squinted as if trying to remember. "I couldn''t say for sure, Mr. Slocum, and if you haven''t heard about it, it''s probably nothing to worry about. Cougars are shy. About all you ever see of cats is their tracks." "I''m not worried," Slocum insisted, but his face flushed red.
"Who''s saying this, now?" "Let me think. It might have been Sheriff Ballard. He rides one of our horses in a mounted posse parade unit." "Ya know his number?" Slocum grabbed his phone from his pocket. "I don''t, and I''m not certain it was him. With so many horses, we get a lot of people through here. It might have been one of our boarders, or the vet--" "Which one? The big guy or the scrawny blond fella with glasses?" "I wish I could remember." Katie''s calm voice was probably the same tone she used to soothe nervous horses.
"The Department of Wildlife could tell you more." "They issue hunting licenses too?" "I really couldn''t say." Katie Sterling shook her head, and then excused herself to put Glow-Boy back in his stall. Sam was no mind reader, but she''d bet Katie Sterling wanted to keep her Morgans far, far away from the horse-clueless Slocum family. While Katie put the horse up, Linc Slocum paced. Sam didn''t much like the idea of a cougar prowling the ridge behind River Bend. She liked the idea of Linc Slocum with a rifle even less. Katie Sterling had resumed a businesslike attitude when she strode back, arms loaded with a saddle and blanket, a bridle slung over one shoulder.
"So, what do you say, Rachel? Ready to try Mocha?" "Mmm, not today, I don''t think." Rachel.