Texas Ranger, Runaway Heiress by Carol Finch

Author:Carol Finch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2009-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Bri ducked instinctively when the first crack of thunder resounded overhead. The sky had been dark and threatening most of the day, but by early evening, it looked downright ominous. She peered apprehensively at the green-tinged clouds that foretold of hail and turbulent winds. She wondered where she and Hud might find shelter when the storm unleashed its fury.

“How much farther are we riding?” Bri called above the sound of the whistling wind.

“There’s a small cave on the far side of the canyon that Speck and I used when we passed through here.”

He gestured around the monolithic rock formation that rose up on the canyon floor like a stalagmite. Bri surveyed their surroundings, noting the deep, eroded gorges and V-shaped ravines that dropped off the escarpment that towered fifty feet above them. She could imagine all sorts of disaster befalling them in this place where two-legged and four-legged predators might be lurking.

As if the threat of the storm wasn’t foreboding enough.

This was the most unforgiving terrain they’d encountered, she mused. It was also the last place she preferred to be if the sky opened up before they found shelter.

The thought no sooner crossed her mind than lightning streaked across the horizon like bony fingers reaching out to snare wayward souls and drag them into hell. The deafening clap of thunder startled the sorrel gelding. He ducked his head between his front legs and kicked up his back heels.

Bri yelped, unprepared for a high-flying buck. The horse’s momentum launched her forward. She flung her arm around his neck to prevent being catapulted over his head. Her attempt to keep her seat alarmed the sorrel gelding. He whinnied, darted sideways and tossed his head. The sudden movement thrust Bri backward abruptly.

Then the cloudburst unleashed its fury, drenching Bri in less than a minute. Her horse was still prancing skittishly when hail the size of hen eggs bombarded them.

“Get off your horse!” Hud yelled from behind her. “Keep hold of his reins. If we loose him during this storm he might run until he drops.”

Bri slid off the saddle and swore mightily when the sorrel tried to break and run from the hail that hammered at his head. Pain pulsated through her skull when a hailstone bounced off her forehead. She could barely see where she was going because the rain came in torrents, driven by such fierce winds that it was difficult to keep her feet.

Never once had Bri endured the force of a storm without the comfort of shelter. So much for living the adventure, she mused cynically.

Hud snaked his arm around her waist to steady her against the gale-force wind then he gestured his head to the west. “I’d ask what else could go wrong today but I’m not sure I want to know. This is plenty to deal with.”

Bri blinked water from her eyes and held her arm over her head to protect her from the hail as she followed the direction of Hud’s grim stare. She watched in

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