Oklahoma kiss by Unknown Read Free Book Online

trap.
           After not seeing anything at first glance, he removed his binoculars from the saddle bag, raised them to his eyes and slowly looked about, but did not bring the surrounding landscape into close view. First, he had to accept the natural formation of the land, the clouds, the spring grass bending before the wind, the different colors of trees and underbrush, and the shadows left by the different time of day. His father had taught him that after seeing the obvious, it was easier to detect the unusual; a plume of dust, a flash of color, movement, anything out of the ordinary. This method seldom failed.
           Adam sat motionless for several minutes before seeing a brief flash of red over on the next hill. Talley had been wearing a red shirt. A pleased smile tugged at his lips as he turned his horse toward the north and touched his spurs against the animal's flanks. He doubted if they realized he was this close and could not help but feel a bit of smugness sweep over him.
           Instantly, Adam's smile disappeared and he swore beneath his breath. There was no mistaking the loud clinking noise he had just heard or the sudden giving of the horse's left hind leg. He knew what had happened. The sorrel had thrown a shoe. Quickly, he reined the horse, dismounted and the moment he saw the shoe dangling and the cracked hoof, his stomach tightened into a hard knot.
           "Whoa, boy, easy now." He soothed the skittish animal while examining the extent of the damages.
           Upon closer inspection, he realized there was a good chance the sorrel might be saved. Most of the time, when on the trail, a quarter-crack in a hoof lamed a horse so badly it had to be destroyed, but this one did not look as bad as it had first appeared. With the proper treatment and without his bearing the additional weight of a man, the sorrel might be as good as new within a month or two. Of course the horse's injury meant he had to walk out of these hills. Worse, it meant there would be a delay in bringing Talley to justice.
           Adam shook off his disappointment. He would just have to accept the situation and push Talley from his mind.
           Even though he did not have a pack horse, Adam did carry a small kit with him for emergencies. Searching through his saddle bags, he removed a rawhide bundle which contained a balm that hardened when it dried, and a pair of nippers; the perfect items for this sort of emergency. With any luck at all, the balm would prevent the crack from becoming worse.
           Firmly holding the animal's hoof between his knees, Adam clipped the nail heads and removed the dangling shoe from the injured hoof, then applied the balm. While waiting for it to harden, he lit a cheroot and thought about his predicament.
           He was stranded afoot in the middle of nowhere and the nearest town or settlement was at least twenty to thirty miles away. And, the man he had sworn to bring to justice was putting miles between them.
           Then, a cold, tingling sensation coursed up and down his spine. Perhaps he had given up too quickly. There were several farms and ranches around, in fact a good friend of his owned a ranch in the area. If he could borrow a horse, he might be able to pick up Talley’s trail before it got too cold. He had passed one farm the night before, and the farmer had even invited him to stay for supper, but he had declined. The farmer had so many children, Adam doubted if he needed another mouth to feed.
           He muttered aloud, "But I don't remember seeing any horses in the corral except for the drays the man used for plowing. If it was a different time of the year, I could commandeer one of the plow horses — hell, I've ridden worse—but it would leave the man without a way of plowing his fields. So it appears that Tm going to have to find a ranch in order to borrow a mount." He stroked the sorrel’s neck. "If there's a chance of saving