Wild Hearts (29 page)

I dropped the knotted reins on Mazy's neck. “You must be dreading spending all that time together while we do that,” I said, trying to look serious.

Logan laughed again and tilted his head down, shaking it slowly. He did something to LG to make the gelding sidestep even closer to Mazy until my legs were almost against his. He let go of his reins, too, and leaned over, cupping a hand behind my head, guiding me close to him. I didn't need any encouragement.

The second our lips touched, a warm tingle started from my lips and worked its way down my body. LG and Mazy didn't
move as our kisses became almost frantic. I tossed Logan's hat to the ground so I could touch his soft hair.

I pulled away from Logan and he stared at me, his chest moving up and down beneath his red T-shirt. I loved him in red. I slid my foot out of the right stirrup and swung my leg over Mazy's neck in a not-so-graceful fashion.

I got situated and reached my hands out to Logan.

“You want to kiss more?” he asked, winking at me. “I thought you were going to try to ride sidesaddle in that Western one.”

I smiled. “I thought about it. But there's this really cute boy that I'd like to make out with instead.”

Logan locked eyes with me and I could
feel
it—he wanted to kiss me.

I leaned toward him, balancing carefully on the saddle. It wasn't as easy as I'd thought to sit like this.

Logan ran his fingers through his sandy-blond hair, and dismounted to pick up his hat. He walked to my side.

I leaned down to him. “Before I let you kiss me again,” I said, “you have to tell me what was so funny.”

“Oh, right,” Logan said, laughing. “I almost forgot about it. You fit in so well here that I sometimes forget that you aren't a local. Today, we're just checking out the house, the pens, and the immediate surroundings of the property. When we check the full fence line and there are two people, one person goes to the right and the other to the left. It would take way longer than necessary to go together.” He looked at me. “Not that I don't want to ride with you,” he spit out superfast.

I giggled. “Stop. I get it. Separate. When we do this, Mazy and I will be here waiting for you and LG to finish.”

“Oh, really?”

We bantered back and forth as we rode. Our conversation was always flowing. Easy. Much like the early time I'd spent with Logan—we could also ride in silence and be happy. I never had to rack my brain for something to say.

We rode Mazy and LG down the driveway and I tried to picture the mustangs here. I wondered if they would like it. Would it become home to them? Or would they pine for the land around the job site? I felt a twinge of sympathy for what the horses were about to go through.

“We could use that arena for gentling the young ones,” I said, nodding to one of the orange metal round pens near a bigger arena. A few yards away from the arena, a large barn with single stalls was just right to house the horses in extreme weather.

Pam had given us permission to come over any time we wanted. Before we left, we checked all the gates and walked part of the surrounding fence line to make sure none of the fences were broken or weak. Logan and I agreed to split up and each go in opposite directions on horseback to check
all
the fencing the next time we visited.

“Let's ride to the tack store and see if we can catch Pam there,” Logan said. “Sound good?”

“Let's go!” I tapped my heels against Mazy and she surged into a smooth canter. We passed Logan and LG. “See you there!” I said.

“Hey! Aw, you asked for it!” Logan called.

Giggling, I let Mazy canter a little faster and hoofbeats pounded the grass behind me.

Logan and LG caught up to us and he smirked. “See
you
there!” he said. He let out the reins and LG switched to a gallop, leaving Mazy behind.

“Go get them, girl,” I said, letting her charge after the boys.

Logan and I laughed almost the entire ride to Pam's.

We eased the horses to a walk for the last bit of the ride so they could cool off. Logan and I tied them in the shade behind Pam's store and he opened the door for me as we headed inside.

Pam was near her rack of Western saddles and speaking horse language that I didn't understand to a customer. She saw Logan and me and nodded a hello. We both smiled back and let her finish.

“Hi, guys,” Pam said. She closed the cash register and flicked a bit of horsehair off the counter.

“We just came from your place, actually,” Logan said. “I wanted to show everything to Brie.”

“It's so amazing,” I said. “I can't thank you enough for letting us use your space.”

Pam smiled. “It's not as if you're using it to throw a giant party. What you kids are doing is a good thing.”

“About that,” Logan said. He took off his hat and placed it on the counter. “We have something to ask you.”

Pam looked at Logan for a moment, then glanced at me. “All right,” she said. “Let me hear it.”

Logan and I talked Pam through our idea of herding the horses into her large pasture, holding back a few young ones, and working with them all fall. We would hold a fundraiser in July to raise money to cover the mustangs' general care. Next
January, we would throw an adoption event—that is, if the town council approves our fundraiser.

“I'm going to stop you on one point,” Pam said. “Logan, you know what Januarys are like here. You also know that it is going to take time to gentle these horses. I don't want to see any of them rushed off to a new home only to come back because they weren't ready to go in the first place.”

“I agree,” Logan said, nodding.

“I want you to wait until you've had the horses for a year before you hold any sort of adoption event. You can hold it next July,” Pam said. “That's the first part. Now . . .” Pam looked at me. “Your dad has no idea that you are doing this with Logan, correct?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Do you really understand, Brie, that these horses are
wild
?” Pam asked.

“I do—I know,” I said. “I don't have any experience training horses, but Logan does. I want him to teach me.”

Pam relaxed her stance. She looked at us for a few seconds and then nodded. “Okay, on one condition.”

“Anything!” I said, squeezing Logan's hand.

Pam leaned over the counter to be closer to Logan and me as a customer stepped into the store. “The first time either of your fathers ask if you're doing something with the horses, you tell them. No lies. Just the truth. Got it?”

Logan and I looked at each other and then back at Pam. “Got it,” we said in unison.

“We'll start rounding up the horses tomorrow,” Logan said to Pam. She nodded, patted his shoulder, and walked over to help the customer.

“We're really doing this!” I said to Logan as we headed out of the tack shop.

Logan smiled. “Getting Pam on board was big. Now we've got to catch the horses. It would be best to move them in a quiet environment.” He slipped his arm around my shoulder. “In case the horses are hanging around your dad's site tomorrow, is he going to be there?”

I thought for a minute. “Actually, no, I don't think so. He's supposed to be out of town meeting partners, and the guys have the day off.”

“So, tomorrow it is,” Logan said. “I'll bring Mazy and LG down by your driveway tomorrow morning. Then we'll ride over to Pam's to give the place one last quick look before we start herding.”

“Anything I should know about moving horses that might be different from working with cattle?” I asked as we mounted our horses and moved them close together so we could hold hands.

“They're definitely smarter. And faster. One or two may get loose, but the trick is not to leave the main herd and dash off for one horse. They'll start to break apart if they have the chance. We want to keep them moving and if they want to gallop full speed—let them and it will tire them out. We'll go back for any stragglers after securing the majority of the herd.”

Mazy and LG walked quietly and we reached Pam's place, where I'd left my bike.

“Tomorrow then,” I said. I leaned over and kissed him. I dismounted and handed him Mazy's reins.

Logan waved and I watched him and the horses disappear back into the field. I'd have to double-check that there wouldn't be anything going on at the job site tomorrow. But what if we couldn't find the mustangs? We had
very
few chances to catch them since they had decided to visit the job site more and more. Our windows of time were small and limited by my dad.

Once I got home I started making a mental to-do list: contact someone about running a fundraiser, browse websites on taming wild mustangs, and call Amy and let her in on the plan. Everything was going to start happening tomorrow. This was big and risky and dangerous. I would be working side by side with Logan. I knew that as long as I followed his lead, I would be safe.

I tried to walk off the nerves that settled in my stomach. There were a lot of components to this plan. One of the biggest? Not getting caught even breathing the same air as
Logan. Jack was still an “enemy” to Dad, and that meant Dad's dislike of McCoy men didn't stop with Jack.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Early the next morning, Logan and I rode Mazy and LG to Pam's to give the place one last look before heading off to find the horses. Last night, I had casually asked Dad about his plans for today. He didn't give me much, but I knew he wasn't going to go to work until late afternoon—if at all—today.

Logan and I turned the horses away from Pam's and led them into a slow canter toward the job site. A couple of Pam's dogs ran behind us.

“No,” I said to them. “Stay home.”

“Let them come with us,” Logan said. “They might be helpful.”

As we got closer, it struck me how soon the hotel popped into view. I guess I hadn't been paying much attention to how quickly the job had progressed.

We reached the site within a few minutes and carefully walked down the driveway as we looked for any sign that someone from Dad's crew was here. But everything was quiet. The trailer was dark, none of the machines were moving, and no vehicles were in sight.

“All clear,” I said as we craned our necks and started looking for the horses. We rode around the perimeter of the property and didn't see a horse anywhere.

“Let's wait over there,” Logan said, pointing to a spot near the trailer where we could see the entire lot, but were semi-hidden.

After nearly two hours of waiting, we were sweating from the heat, and LG and Mazy were getting restless. “I don't think they're going to show,” I moaned.

“We'll try again tomorrow, I guess,” he said. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let's come back.” We nudged our horses forward and they had barely taken ten steps before we saw the herd, clumped together, emerging from the woods at an ambling walk. They raised their heads to look at us. LG let out a soft whicker and Logan tugged on the reins to silence him.

“What now?” I whispered. We couldn't lose them.

“Wait until they get into the open and then we're going to ride behind them and let the dogs help us. We'll move them the same way we came and if one breaks away from the group, let him go. Just keep your eye on the mass herd and stay on the right side.”

“Okay. Let's go!”

I barely had time to take a deep breath before Mazy surged forward next to LG. This was it! The mustangs had a second lead on us as they galloped toward the opposite side of the lot. Mazy accelerated into an even faster gallop. Pam's dogs shot out in front of us and barked at the herd as they remained in a tight pack and headed in the right direction. The herd didn't break apart, but stuck together like they were protecting one another.

Logan charged around the left side and forced the horses to gallop down the lot driveway and they headed across the street and into the open field. Pam's border collies moved the rushing horses forward.