Mounting Danger by Karis Walsh

Author:Karis Walsh [Walsh, Karis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781602829930
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2013-10-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Cal was surprised to see the unit’s officers actually doing constructive work when she and Rachel rode through the gate. Clark and Don were trotting around the arena while Billie struggled to ride a bicycle through the deep tanbark. She circled the horses and rode up behind them, ringing the bike’s little bell. Cal had to admit, she was impressed. Bikes were definitely something a police horse would face on the Tacoma streets. Sitka and Fancy seemed relaxed even when Billie rode directly in front of their faces.

Cal wanted to call them over, force them to apologize to Rachel. She didn’t know why she felt so protective of her, but it was not a feeling she was accustomed to having. Rachel was certainly strong enough to take care of herself, but Cal had been allowed to see her softer side. The part of Rachel that felt hurt when she was treated so badly. Cal hurt, too, for Rachel. Because Rachel stood alone, with no one else by her side. Cal was rooting for the underdog, that was all. It didn’t mean she cared for Rachel.

Okay, maybe she did. But after listening to her talk during their impromptu trail ride, seeing and hearing the quiet conviction in Rachel’s voice, Cal felt shallow in comparison. Rachel might have been looking out for herself when she was first assigned to the mounted unit, but now she was on a mission. Protector of the city. Defender of the innocent. Cal admired her and would do anything she could to help her, but Rachel’s attitude adjustment only highlighted the differences between them.

Everyone was watching Cal, as if waiting for her to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Rachel sat perfectly still on Bandit next to her, and the rest of the team—Don and Clark on their horses and Billie straddling her bike—hovered near the arena fence. Cal decided the best thing she could do for Rachel was to proceed with the lesson as planned. Business as usual, with no mention of Rachel’s chastisement or her subsequent flight.

“Billie, come get Ranger,” she called. “And the rest of you make a big circle here on the gravel. Clark, did you bring those flares?”

“Sure did. They’re in a box in the tack room.”

Cal brought four flares out to the parking lot. “We need to get the horses used to these in case you work an accident scene. Horses are instinctively afraid of fire, so they’ll really need to trust you if they’re going to override those instincts and not run away. Once I light this, start walking in a big circle around it. Gradually move closer if you feel them relax.”

“I think Alex might have done this with the horses when we weren’t around,” Don said. “A couple mornings I noticed scorch marks here in the parking lot.”

If Alex had worked any of the horses around flares, Cal had a feeling it’d be Ranger. He apparently hadn’t skipped any steps in the handsome Thoroughbred’s training.

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