as the state trooper saw them, he pointed madly toward the fire and then waved them away.
“He’s telling us to turn around,” Shannon said. “What now?”
“I’ll use my secret weapon,” Luke said.
“Secret weapon?”
He faced her, his voice intense. “Listen to me. I know I’ve told you to play nice with big, authoritative men who aren’t doing what you want them to. But this guy’s a cop. He can’t hurt you like that other guy could. So now’s the time to march right over there, get in his face, and tell him we’re going up that highway no matter what he says and to move his damned car out of the way!”
True to form, Shannon turned to look at the trooper’s car, her eyes narrowing with the determination of a prizefighter heading into the ring.
“You’re just the woman who can do it,” Luke said. “Now, get out there and make him sorry he ever messed with you!”
Shannon yanked open the door of the truck, climbed out, and slammed it behind her. The state trooper started toward her, and she met him halfway. Luke took that opportunity to flick the door locks, fling his truck into drive, and hit the gas.
As he approached the gap between the state trooper’s car and the drainage ditch, it seemed even smaller than it had at a distance. His heart pounding, he squeezed his truck between the two. For a split second, he felt his truck tip precariously, and he was sure he’d swung too wide. The instant he passed the car, he wheeled his truck back to the left, praying his tires were still stuck to the road. When he felt the truck right itself again, he let out a breath of relief.
Looking in his rearview mirror, he saw one very astonished state trooper, but he couldn’t think about that now. Shannon was going to be furious, but he didn’t care about that, either. All he cared about was that she was safe.
A minute later the shelter came into sight. He drove through the front gate and down to the barn. When he didn’t see Manny right away, he leaped out of his truck and grabbed a bandanna. He wet it using the faucet by the stock tank and wrapped it around his nose and mouth. Then he jumped back into his truck. He drove through the gate into the pasture and headed for the heavy stand of trees on the eastern perimeter of the property where Shannon had last seen Manny. When Luke could go no farther, he slammed on his brakes and leaped out.
He considered grabbing a lariat and trying to rope Manny, but his skills were a little rusty, and if he missed once, Manny would never let him near enough to try again. He’d just have to trust that the little horse would let him close enough to get hold of his halter.
But first he had to find him.
Lead rope in hand, he started down the path through the trees, the smell of the fire overwhelming, the smoke growing thicker with every second that passed. He moved quickly, dodging rocks, slinging tree branches out of his way. The longer he walked, the more dense the brush became.
Finally, through the trees, he caught sight of Manny’s dappled gray coat and felt a surge of hope. As Luke came closer, he took it as a good sign that Manny wasn’t running away.
Luke slowed down so he wouldn’t startle him. He clucked his tongue a few times to get his attention. “Manny! Hey, Manny!”
The horse didn’t turn around, but he didn’t run, either. That was odd. A feeling of apprehension skated across the back of Luke’s neck. He came closer, shoving more branches out of the way, and when he found out why Manny wasn’t moving, his stomach turned over with dread.
Two strands of rusty barbed wire had popped loose from their posts, and they were curled high around Manny’s hind legs. In the position he was in, the more he tried to free himself, the deeper the barbs dug in.
And blood was everywhere.
Chapter 22
Swallowing his apprehension, Luke moved closer to Manny. When he touched him, he thrashed crazily, trying to free himself. Luke knelt down and quickly wrapped his arms around him. “Take it easy,” he said as calmly as he could. “Be still, now. Be still.”
He reached a hand up and scratched the little horse behind his ears. Only seconds passed until he settled down, but it felt like hours to Luke.