THE TIES THAT BIND by Ginna Gray

Author:Ginna Gray
Format: epub

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Chapter 7

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The first thing Zach noticed when he rode into the ranch yard a few hours later was the empty pen.

He dismounted in front of the main barn and stalked inside. He found Pete in the tack room.

"Where the devil are the cattle that were in the holding pen?" he demanded.

The old man glanced up at Zach's thunderous expression and winced. "Willie's drivin' 'em up to the summer pasture on Devil's Cup Mountain."

"She's what? Why didn't you stop her? I made it clear that I didn't want to start the drive to the summer ranges for another two or three weeks. The weather this time of year is too unreliable."

"I tried to tell 'er, but she weren't in no mood to listen. Come tearin' in here madder'n a wet hen 'bout three hours ago, bound and determined to defy you." Pete shot a stream of tobacco juice into his copper spittoon and darted Zach a sly look. "Willie always was an independent little cuss. She don't take kindly to being ordered 'round, even when it's fer her own good."

Zach bit out an expletive. "That little idiot. I knew sooner or later that temper of hers would land her in trouble. Dammit! This morning the weather channel predicted a severe snowstorm would hit the high country by late afternoon."

The old man's head jerked up, alarm clouding his faded blue eyes. "By now they're over halfway there. We gotta do somethin'."

Zach spun on his heel and stalked toward the door. "Saddle a fresh horse for me. And add a bedroll and saddlebags. And a bag of grain. I'll go round up emergency supplies."

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Zach rode hard, following the swath of churned earth the herd had left across the rangeland and up into the foothills. Once through the cut in the mountains the trail began a steep climb, leaving him no choice but to slow the gelding's pace.

Frustrated, Zach urged the horse upward at a speed just shy of reckless, giving silent thanks for Pete's years of experience. The old man had chosen well. The barrel-chested gray wasn't the fastest or the biggest, or even the handsomest horse on the ranch, but he had stamina and he was sure-footed as a cat.

There were several places on Devil's Cup Mountain that the Rocking R used for summer pasture, but from the direction Willa was taking she was heading for a high meadow called Cowboy Basin. She and the men had better than three hours' head start on him, but Zach knew the herd would slow them down. Cattle balked at climbing and had to be prodded every step of the way up a mountain. He figured he'd catch up with them a mile or two before they reached the summer range.

He clucked his tongue and nudged the gray's flanks almost constantly, urging him upward, all the while keeping a wary eye on the sky. Ominous, low-hanging clouds were moving in fast from the northwest. The higher he climbed, the darker the sky became and the colder it got.

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