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THE COWBOY FOUND A FROZEN APACHE WOMAN IN THE BLIZZARD—THEN SHE SAW THE PHOTOGRAPH ON HIS WALL

Chapter 9

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Daniel looked at her as if she had asked the most absurd question in the world."You think I'm letting Leona's daughter ride out into another mountain storm alone?" Daniel asked, a faint, warm smile touching his lips. "I'd never be able to look at that photograph again."Despite the urgent fear in her chest, a soft, radiant smile lit up Ayana's face.They left the ranch shortly after dawn the following morning.Daniel rode his heavy bay gelding, taking the lead to break a path through the deep drifts, while Ayana rode a strong, sure-footed copper mare Daniel had saddled for her from his own barn.For six long hours, they picked their way through the white waste, following the frozen winding bed of Miller's Creek as it cut through the high granite ridges. The air was cold, sharp as shattered glass, but the sky remained clear above them.Daniel kept his eyes glued to the white slopes, searching for any sign—a broken pine branch, a scatter of horse droppings, or a line of disturbed drifts that the wind had failed to completely erase.At mid-afternoon, as they rounded a sharp granite bend near the lower gorge, Ayana suddenly pulled her mare to a sharp halt.She pointed a gloved finger toward a high ridge half a mile to the south.A thin, gray ribbon of woodsmoke was rising into the clear blue sky above a stand of ponderosa pines.Her heart leaped in her chest. "My people," she breathed, her dark eyes shining with joy. "They are there!"They spurred their horses forward, eager to cross the final mile.But as they entered a narrow, snow-filled ravine that led up toward the ridge, Daniel’s gelding suddenly snorted, pulling up short.Daniel raised his hand, stopping Ayana’s mare beside him.Across the pristine white snow of the ravine floor lay a dark, churned trail of deep hoofprints.Dozens of horses. Heavy iron shoes. Fresh—made within the last hour.Daniel slid smoothly from his saddle, kneeling in the snow to inspect the marks. His face instantly changed, his gray eyes turning cold as mountain ice."These aren't your family's horses," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a low, warning register.Ayana leaned over her saddle bow, her brow furrowing. "How do you know?""Iron shoes," Daniel replied, pointing to the sharp, square impressions in the crust. "Your people's ponies ride unshod in the winter. These are heavy cavalry mounts or cattle horses. And there are at least twelve riders."He stood up, looking along the line of tracks.One set of iron-shod tracks led straight up the ravine toward the smoke on the ridge.A second set circled wide around the base of the rock cutback, heading toward the rear of the camp.Whoever these riders were, they were not travelers looking for a fire. They were surrounding the camp in a classic tactical pincer. And judging by the deep, frantic gouges in the snow, they were moving fast.Daniel reached for his Winchester rifle, pulling it smoothly from his saddle scabbard.At that exact second, a sharp, distant gunshot cracked across the snowy valley!BANG!
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THE COWBOY FOUND A FROZEN APACHE WOMAN IN THE BLIZZARD—THEN SHE SAW THE PHOTOGRAPH ON HIS WALL

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