Janet Dailey - Calder 03 by This Calder Sky

Author:This Calder Sky [Sky, This Calder]
Language: rus
Format: epub
Published: 2011-05-25T20:33:16+00:00

'Hold Ty for me,' she instructed curtly and didn't wait for his answer, half-aware that she had left him speechless and staring in bemusement. Without the encumbrance of Ty, she ran to the man with the rope and reached to take it from him. 'Give me the rope.'

'Hey!' He scowled in surprise at the grim-faced girl, with her black hair in a ponytail, and tried to jerk the rope out of her grasp. 'What are you doing? Get away from here before you get hurt.'

'The only one likely to get hurt is that horse. Now give me that rope. You obviously don't know how to use it.' Maggie planted her feet firmly on the ground and used every inch of her five-foot, three-inch frame as a lever to pry the rope out of his fingers. Unprepared for her strength and determination, the man lost his grip and Maggie wound up with the rope, quickly backing out of his reach. She snapped an order to the others. 'Everybody just shut up and stand still! All that waving is just scaring the horse.'

Shock and the sight of a petite girl taking charge moved them all to obey, and Maggie advanced slowly toward the horse while her fingers absently got the feel of the rope and shook out the noose. The chestnut eyed her for a suspicious second, then bolted for a gap between two men. Maggie's reflexes were just as quick, the pattern of action firmly embedded in her mind, even though it had been months since it had been called into play. With one overhead swing of her arm, she cast out the noose, anticipating which way the horse would shy and leading it. The horse swerved and stuck its head right through the loop.

There was nothing to snub the horse to, and Maggie flanked the end of the rope with her hip, using the entire weight of her body to hold the horse, rather than rely on the dubious strength of her arms. She braced herself for the instant when the chestnut hit the end of the rope and let its impetus carry her forward at a sliding walk. Once the noose tightened around the animal's neck, it ceased to resist the pressure, although it continued to half-rear and prance anxiously. Two of the grooms rushed forward to grab its halter, while the third man, the one who had brought the rope, came forward to assist Maggie. There was grudging admiration in his look, plus a sense of resentment that a mere slip of a girl had succeeded so easily where he had failed.

'I'll take him now,' he insisted. Maggie surrendered the rope to him without protest. The exhilaration of success was in her eyes.

A plaintive whimper from Ty made Maggie realize she'd left her baby with a perfect stranger. Tyrone was squirming in the man's arms, his fist waving the air as if he, too, realized he didn't know this man who held him. She rushed to claim him before he started a full-blown protest.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.