Bobbi Smith (16 page)

“So there’s hope we might catch him today, since we’re here at Black Canyon.”

“That’s right. If we see Phantom, we can herd him into the canyon. Once we’ve got him boxed in, we should be able to rope him.”

“I like the way you think.” Randi was impressed with his plan. “But first comes the hard part of all this—we have to find him.”

“We will.”

Hawk’s confidence in her gave Randi even more hope that this time, with his help, she just might really be successful.

“I’m going to need to rest Angel for a while when we reach the next watering hole.”

“All right,” he agreed. “We’ve still got plenty of daylight left.”

“There is one thing, though.” She tried to sound serious as she cast Hawk a sidelong glance.

“What?” He had no idea what was troubling her.

“You have to keep your shirt on today. As you remember, my pa wasn’t too happy that first day when he found us down at the spring.”

“So you think he’s going to be showing up here?” Hawk asked, smiling.

“You never know. Pa could show up anywhere, anytime.”

“It was good that he came looking for you when he did that first day. It made getting back to the house a lot easier for us.”

Randi knew he was right, but she had missed riding back to the ranch with Hawk. Riding double with her father just hadn’t been as exciting as riding with Hawk.

“It’s amazing that Angel healed so quickly. She was wonderful in the race. Without your help, we probably wouldn’t have won.”

“Don’t give me too much credit. I’m the reason she hurt herself in the first place.” Hawk still felt responsible.

“Don’t even think that way. As fast as I was chasing Phantom, Angel might have injured herself anyway.”

“Well, the good news is she didn’t suffer any lasting damage.”

“And once she gets a little rest here, she’ll be ready to run again,” Randi said as she led the way off the main trail down to a small, shaded watering hole.

They dismounted and led their horses to the water’s edge to drink. Once the horses had had their fill, they tied them to a nearby tree and then sat down in the shade a slight distance away to relax for a little while.

“Did you have a good time at the dance last night?” Hawk asked Randi. He was very aware of her beside him.

“I did while you were there. I was just sorry that you had to leave so soon.”

“If I’d stayed . . .” He looked over at her, remembering the pleasure of having her in his arms. “You could have given me more dancing lessons.”

“Did you need more lessons? I thought you were doing well.”

“It never hurts to practice.”

The deep sound of his voice sent a thrill of awareness through Randi. Their gazes met. Her breath caught in her throat at the heated look in his eyes.

Suddenly the idea of tracking down the phantom stallion didn’t seem quite so important anymore.

All that mattered was being with Hawk.

Slowly Hawk leaned toward Randi. He lifted one hand to cup her cheek as his lips sought hers.

Randi didn’t hesitate to meet him fully in that kiss. It started out tender and gentle. It was a sweet taste of the ecstasy they knew could be theirs. Then Hawk deepened the kiss, wanting more, needing more, and she responded hungrily.

Encouraged by her passionate response, Hawk crushed Randi to him. They lay back on the ground, wrapped in each other’s arms, glorying in their closeness. Kiss after hungry kiss stoked the fire of their desire.

Randi had been kissed by several other men, but she had never experienced anything like the passion Hawk aroused in her. She clung to him, reveling in the power and heat of his body. When his lips left hers to press kisses along the side of her neck, she arched against him in an instinctive, sensual invitation.

Hawk moved up over her and claimed her lips again in a deep, devouring kiss. Randi held him close. She caressed his shoulders and his back, tracing paths of fire upon him.

Hawk was caught up in the power of his need for Randi. His strong-willed self-control was quickly slipping as she responded so eagerly to him. He swept the sweet curve of her body with an intimate caress.

His bold touch sent a shiver of anticipation trembling through Randi. She had never known such intimacy before. His heated caress shocked her even as it thrilled her.

Any doubt Randi had had before about her feelings for Hawk was vanquished in that moment. She loved him. No other man had ever aroused her this way. No other man had ever filled her with such excitement. She wanted to be close to him, to hold him to her heart and never let him go.

And then, suddenly, Bruiser and Angel whickered and stirred restlessly.

Jarred from the depths of their passion, Randi and Hawk went still. They lay unmoving, aware of where they were and what had just transpired between them.

The press of Randi’s body was a searing brand against Hawk, and he fought to bring his runaway desire under control. Randi, too, was on fire with her need to stay in his arms, but when Angel stirred again, they forced themselves to break apart.

Hawk got up and deliberately moved away from her. After her remark about her father earlier, he would take no chances with her reputation. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t in any kind of compromising situation should someone be riding in. It pained him to leave her, but, at least, he told himself with an inward smile, he did still have his shirt on.

As Hawk walked toward the horses to take a look around, Randi called out excitedly, “Hawk! Look!”

He turned Randi’s way to see her pointing farther down the canyon. There, standing in a small clearing about a half a mile away from them, was Phantom.

“Let’s ride!” he said, trying to keep his voice down so the stallion wouldn’t be spooked.

She jumped up and ran to join him. As soon as they were mounted on Angel and Bruiser, they raced after their elusive prey.

Phantom immediately sensed that these two meant trouble. He took flight. He charged off and disappeared down the trail that led deeper into the steep-walled, rocky canyon.

Hawk and Randi exchanged a quick look of triumph.

They had Phantom right where they wanted him.

Angel was fast, but Bruiser was faster. Hawk urged Bruiser on, eager to catch up to the mysterious stallion. He caught occasional glimpses of Phantom far ahead of them as they gave chase. Hawk shook his head, for they didn’t appear to be gaining on him at all. Phantom was living up to his reputation.

Hawk’s chase came to an abrupt halt when he rounded a bend in the trail and found himself at the canyon’s end. He reined in harshly, causing Bruiser to balk uneasily at the sudden stop.

“Where did he go?” Randi asked breathlessly as she and Angel rode up beside him.

“I don’t know,” Hawk replied in frustration, bringing Bruiser back under control. “Phantom was right in front of us; then suddenly we were here, at the end of the canyon.”

“And he’s gone. He disappeared again.”

“He couldn’t have just vanished.” Hawk dismounted and walked around, looking for the stallion’s tracks. “He’s got to be here somewhere.”

Randi actually found herself smiling as she watched Hawk. His fierce determination to find the stallion was obvious.

“Now you know what I’ve been going through all these years. I’d see him, and then he’d be gone.”

Hawk swung back up in the saddle and retraced the way they’d just come. The stallion had to have a hiding place somewhere along the way, since he’d been able to disappear so quickly and so completely. Hawk was going to find it.

He scoured the trail. The ground was rocky, making tracking difficult, but he finally found what he was looking for—a small broken branch on some thick, tangled brush.

“Did you find something?” Randi asked.

“He went through here,” he said with certainty.

Hawk led the way again, walking Bruiser slowly through the brush. The going was rough as they picked their way through the overgrowth.

“Have you ever been back here before?” Hawk asked as they rode out of the brush to find themselves near some huge boulders and a craggy outcropping of the canyon wall.

“No. I didn’t know this was here.”

“Phantom knew. Let’s go see what else we can find.”

Leading her, Hawk carefully rode through the rocky narrow opening between the boulders. Bruiser was skittish at first, but finally calmed down and moved forward.

Randi urged Angel to follow. She was amazed by what Hawk had discovered. She’d been in this canyon many times through the years, but up until now she’d always believed it was a dead end. Everyone had always said there was only one way in and one way out of Black Canyon. She was beginning to think they’d all been wrong. The path Hawk had discovered looked like it actually led somewhere.

Hawk knew he was on to more than just tracking the mystery stallion. Markings on the walls of the narrow passage, along with the well-trodden ground, made him believe that cattle could have passed through not too long ago. He tried not to get excited about the discovery. He had no proof of anything yet, but soon he would know whether his guess was right or not—and if it was, it explained why Jack had had such a hard time finding the rustlers.

“Do you think we have much farther to go?” Randi asked, growing wary as they continued on. She wasn’t frightened, but she definitely was feeling uneasy about where they might end up.

“It’s hard to say. Is Black Canyon completely on the Walker ranch?”

“Yes, but Pete Turner’s place, the Flying T, isn’t too far away. It’s just west of here.”

Hawk said nothing more as they rode on. They covered almost another half mile before the trail finally led out into the open.

“No one knows this is here!” Randi said, shocked as they emerged from the canyon. Looking around, she tried to figure out exactly where they were.

“No one except Phantom—and the rustlers,” Hawk told her, dismounting to check a dead campfire nearby.

“So this is how they managed to get away without being caught!”

“That’s right.”

“We’re still on Pat’s ranch, but I know she’s not involved in any of this.” Randi frowned and tried to make sense of everything they’d just learned.

Hawk continued to scour the area.

“We’d better head back. It’s going to be dark in another few hours, and we need to let Pa know,” Randi told him.

The shortest way back home was the way they’d come, so they reentered the passage. This time they were far more confident as they followed the winding route back to the canyon’s interior.

“We still didn’t catch Phantom,” Randi said with a grin.

“No, but we’re a lot closer to catching the rustlers.”

“All thanks to Phantom,” she added. “You were right. He’s one smart stallion.”

They reached the end of the passage and rode out into the canyon. As they passed the watering hole, a thrill went through Randi at the memory of being in Hawk’s arms.

“Too bad we don’t have time to stop and water the horses again.” Randi glanced Hawk’s way.

“You’re right,” he said, his voice deep with meaning. “It is.”

When Hawk and Randi returned to the ranch, they immediately went in search of her father. They found him at the stable with Wade and several of the other hands.

Jack looked up as they came in. He asked with a grin, “Where’s your phantom stallion?”

“We saw him.”

“But he got away?”

“Yes, he did—as usual, but Pa, Hawk and I need to talk to you. It’s important.”

“What is it?” Jack stopped what he was doing and walked over to them.

“Let’s go up to the house,” Randi said, remembering what Hawk had said about Wade’s meeting with Pete. She told herself there wasn’t anything to worry about, but still, she wanted to err on the side of caution.

Wade frowned as he watched them go. He looked over at Lew when they’d disappeared inside the house.

“I wonder what that was all about?” Wade asked.

“Hard to say. Randi rode up to Black Canyon to look for that stallion,” Lew answered.

Wade displayed no outward interest in the news, but inwardly he was suddenly very worried. He wondered where she’d met up with Hawk. If the two of them had been up to the canyon, there was no telling what they might have discovered. Needing to know exactly what she was about to tell her father, Wade hurried to finish his work, then left the hands to their chores as he went outside.

From the secretive way Randi had acted, Wade knew he wasn’t welcome to participate in their conversation. If Jack had his study window open, though, he was pretty sure he might be able to hear what they were saying, if he was standing close by outside. It was worth a try. The important thing was not to be caught listening in.

“You found what?” Jack was stunned at Randi’s revelation as they stood together in his study. He looked between Randi and Hawk in disbelief.

“A secret passageway out of Black Canyon,” she repeated.

“We traveled the passage both ways, and it’s definitely been in use,” Hawk offered. “There were several dead campfires in the area, too.”

Jack was still in shock. “No wonder I couldn’t find anything,” he muttered in disgust.

“Exactly,” Hawk agreed. “And if it hadn’t been for the phantom stallion, we wouldn’t have found it today.”

“How did you find it?” Jack asked, curious.

“Hawk and I were chasing Phantom. We thought we had him boxed in the canyon. We thought it would be easy to rope him, trapped as he was, but when we reached the end of Black Canyon, there was no sign of him anywhere. That’s when Hawk started tracking him. It took a while, but he found the entrance to the passage hidden behind some rocks and heavy brush.”

Jack was still mulling over all they’d learned. “Let’s keep this quiet for right now. We’ll ride out there first thing tomorrow morning. After I’ve had a chance to look things over, we’ll go pay Pat a visit.”

“You don’t think she knows about this, do you?” Randi asked, worried.

“No, her situation there is too desperate. If she was involved in the rustling, she’d have some money.”

Relief swept through her. “You’re right then; we have to tell Pat about this. She needs to know someone’s using her land. But we still don’t know who,” Randi said in frustration.