Trace Ord's horse Diablo was being taken right under his
nose. His reputation as a renegade rider not withstanding
would be cut to ribbons but nobody was getting away with his
horse. So he aimed and shot the rustler. But you couldn't
begin to understand his dismay when he realized he had shot
a woman. Trace was on his way to the Lazy C ranch hoping to
get hired on but his real purpose was to get proof that the
owner was rustling horses. His clients, owners of two
ranches, were depending on him to get the evidence and
hopefully to return their horses. But now he had to take
care of this female horse thief, Mae Ahern, who was
determined to hide her true identity. The only thing he
could figure was she was pretty desperate to be out in the
wilderness without a horse or weapon. Sure she was still
mending from her gunshot he might have underestimated her
resolve when to his chagrin he wakes up to find Mae and his
horse missing. Searching for Mae & Diablo on foot convinces
him that she was seriously trying to disappear but foot and
hoof prints showed signs of a struggle and her being taken
obviously against her will. Another surprising development
was meeting up with a lone traveler who he called the
Preacher.
Agreeing to let the Preacher tag along
turned out to be auspicious when his only entre on the Lazy
C was with Preacher signing on as a cook. But what Trace and
Preacher were learning about life on the ranch and its
owner, Jared Comstock, was worse than they could have
imagined. Jared was a vicious man who unsparingly whipped
horses but was obsessively protective of his wife Mae. So
why was Mae intent on running away? What did she fear so
greatly that she would willingly put herself in harms way?
There was evil on the Lazy C and Trace needed to get to the
bottom of it before he could even begin to investigate the
possibility of horse rustling. He never thought about
settling down or loving anyone but his concern for Mae was
reminding him of a heart he long ago thought lost. Earning
her trust would probably be the most difficult challenge he
has ever faced.
Tough men and women survive but even the toughest have
hearts that can be easily broken or manipulated. MacTavish
does a great job giving her characters depth. She has you
guessing to the bitter end over the mystery that surrounds
this ranch and its people. The ending is a true surprise
especially since the reader feel they have a handle on all
the primary characters. Enjoy.
A HARD MAN
Trace Ord was a renegade rider, a wrangler sent to round up
horses that strayed or were rustled from their owners. He
was born to the saddle and could shoot the wings off a bee
in flight, and he’d seen his share of action. A man like
himself couldn’t live past thirty in post–Civil War Arizona
and not come up against some bandit or cardsharp itching to
throw lead.
A HARDER SITUATION
His current job had Trace working for two ranchers up north
who were certain he’d find their stock at the Lazy C.
Getting those horses back would be anything but easy. The
owner of the Lazy C was as mean as any hombre living, and he
and his men were more than willing to trade bullets. His
wife was a touch more dangerous. The desperate beauty found
Trace on the plains…and she stole both his prize stallion
and his heart.
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