This Calder Sky (Calder Saga 3)

“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.

“Thanks for holding him.” She barely met the man’s warm gray eyes as she reached for Ty, who was screwing up his face to cry when she lifted him into her arms. It took him a second to realize he was on home territory before he relaxed.

“I should be thanking you,” the man stated and tipped his head to one side, studying her with interest. “Where did you learn to rope like that?”

“I was raised on a ranch. I learned to rope almost as soon as I learned to ride.” Maggie patted Ty’s back in a manner that soothed and reassured. After her experience with Chase, she had developed a wariness of men, so when she looked up at the man, she didn’t altogether trust the pleasantness of his smiling and handsome face. His hair was a dark iron-gray, but the suntanned vitality of his features made him appear mature and distinguished rather than old.

“I’m glad you did. If Copper’s Chance had slipped by us and reached the road … with all that traffic, I don’t like to think about what might have happened to him. I didn’t pay twenty-five thousand for that horse to have him hit by a car, so I am eternally grateful you happened along when you did.”

Maggie stared at him incredulously for an instant, then laughed shortly. “I don’t think you know very much about horses. You’ve just been taken. That horse is a gelding.”

His head moved back to release a throaty laugh skyward. “I am well aware Copper’s Chance is a gelding. I didn’t buy him for breeding purposes, but for the show ring, Miss———?”

“Maggie. Maggie O’Rourke,” she supplied her name absently, still trying to comprehend his explanation. “Do you mean that horse really is worth that much money?”

“Yes. He’s a first-class jumper.”

Maggie knew about jumping horses, but she had never known they could be that valuable. A stallion of any breed could, conceivably, be worth that much, but a gelding with no reproductive prowess—that took some adjusting to.

“What spooked him?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” the man admitted. “I just had him flown in from Virginia this morning. We unloaded him from the horse van not twenty minutes ago. Perhaps he was nervous from all the traveling.” He shook his head to show he could only guess at the cause.

The last sentence was barely spoken when Maggie felt a strange vibration. It felt as if the ground was moving underneath her. Her eyes grew wide with alarm as the sensation increased.

“What’s happening?” She hugged Ty closer to her and looked around to see the limbs of the trees moving, even though there wasn’t a breeze.

“Come on.” The man’s arm was around her, pushing and directing her to a more open area. His hand reached across to protectively include the baby and keep it safely in her arms. By the time they had taken a half-dozen steps, the curious vibration had stopped.

Maggie’s rounded gaze lifted to the man, seeking an explanation. “Was that … an earthquake?” She’d heard about them before, but she wasn’t entirely certain that was what she had just experienced.

“Yes. That must be what spooked the horse. They say animals can sense an earthquake coming.” He smiled at her, his arm loosening from around her shoulders to let her stand free. “Your first?” he guessed.

“Yes.” Her knees still felt shaky.

“Where are you from?”

“Montana.” When Ty gurgled against her shoulder, Maggie quickly glanced at him to see if he was frightened, but he had one of those toothless, baby smiles on his face that indicated delight rather than fear. “It’s okay, Ty,” she soothed to reassure herself since he didn’t need it.

“That’s a healthy-looking boy,” the man observed. “Is it the Van Doren’s baby?”

“No, Ty is mine,” Maggie asserted with a quick, proud look that was also defensive. She saw the start of surprise and the questions that leaped into his gray eyes. She answered them without waiting to see if good manners would keep him from asking. “I’m sixteen, and no, I’m not married.” She was braced for an expression of disdain to appear on his face, but it didn’t come, even though his study of her sharpened.

“Ty.” An approving smile began to show as he said her son’s name. “It’s a nice name.”

Maggie lowered her gaze to the baby, not certain the man’s reaction was sincere. “Thank you.”

There was a pause before the man suggested, “May I offer you a lift somewhere? It’s the least I can do after you rescued my horse,” he explained, as if guessing she would be sensitive about anything resembling charity or pity.