Page 51 of Texas Destiny
She sat on the ground and watched as he worked to bring the fire back to life. “That last horse … I’ve never seen a horse the color of the moon,” she said in awe.
“Palomino. That shade of coloring is called palomino.”
“She was beautiful.”
“He.”
She scooted toward Houston. “He? How could you tell?”
“The pride in the way he held himself. And the fact that he was last. That was his band of mares.”
“I always expected the stallion to be the fastest. He couldn’t even keep up with the others.”
Houston chuckled low. “He’s fast. He was putting himself between the mares and danger. The first horse that came through would have been his favored mare. She’s the fastest, strongest, probably the smartest of his brood.”
As the fire began to crackle, he gazed into the darkness where the retreating mustangs had disappeared. She sensed a wistfulness about him, as though he wished he could have galloped along beside them.
The mules and Sorrel had moved out of harm’s way. As they meandered back to camp, Houston secured them for the night. He was quiet, contemplative when he rejoined her by the fire, lay down beside her, and took her into his arms.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
His hold on her tightened. “The beauty of those mustangs.”
“Who do you think they belong to?”
“The land. Right now, they just belong to the land. They’re wild and they’re free.”
“Are you going to capture them?”
“Nah, I need to get you to Dallas.” His voice reflected mourning, loss.
“Will you come back for them?”
“Might. Wild mustangs usually stay in the same area for a while.”
“And if they move on before you get back here?”
He shrugged as much as he was able with her in his arms. “There’ll be others.”
She lifted up on an elbow and met his gaze. “You told me once that the wild ones are becoming rare, that’s why you’re breeding them. If I wasn’t here, would you take the time to capture them?”
“If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be here. I never would have left my place, never would have seen them, never would have known they existed … so I never would have had them anyway.”
She smiled and touched his rough jaw. “But I am here, and you do know they exist. When you left the ranch for Fort Worth, did anything slow you down?”
He furrowed his brow. “No.”
“And yet going back, we’ve had one mishap—”
He chuckled low. “Mishap?”
“All right. We’ve had one catastrophe after another. Maybe these horses are your destiny, are the reason this journey has been so difficult. They’ll give you fine horses to raise. How can you leave without at least trying to capture them?”
She thought he might have shoved her aside if she wasn’t wrapped so snugly within his duster.
“We’ve lost too much time already.” He pressed her face into his shoulder. “Go to sleep.”
“Then I’m grateful for every incident that slowed us down. Just seeing those magnificent horses was worth it. Don’t you agree?”
