Thunder Horse Redemption by Elle James Read Free Book Online Page A

months convincing herself that she was fine on her own, that she didn’t need Pierce or anyone else. Then on the very day that he rode back into her life, she found herself forced to rely on him. And worse, in spite of all her strong, fervent resolutions, she’d even ended up falling back into his arms.
    “Just because we…”
    “Almost made love?”
    “Just because we almost had sex,” she corrected him firmly, “doesn’t change anything between us. It was a mistake that will never happen again.”
    Pierce nodded slowly, his dark eyes black and intense. He looked as hurt and tormented as she felt, and in spite of all her anger and pain, part of her still longed to reach out to him, to comfort him and be comforted in return. But that wasn’t possible.
    “I know,” he said, and walked away.
    * * *
    T HEY EMERGED FROM THE cave cautiously, Pierce leading the strange little group of humans and horses. Roxanne blinked in the sunlight, her eyes adjusting from the shadows.
    Cetan whinnied, shifting from side to side at the end of his lead.
    The colt twisted and reared, tugging at the end of the rope Pierce used to lead her out.
    A quick scan of the canyon floor revealed the presence of the herd of wild horses. Separating herself from the rest, Sweet Jessie trotted toward them.
    Roxanne studied the way the mare moved. “She appears to be all right.”
    “I can see where she was hit. She has a streak of blood on her right shoulder. But it doesn’t seem to bother her.”
    Roxanne chewed on her bottom lip. “I’d like to inspect her more closely, but I’m afraid capturing her might cause further injury.”
    The colt pulled hard against the lead, squealing in a high-pitched cry for her mother.
    “We’ll keep an eye on her.”
    “ I’ll keep an eye on her,” Roxanne replied. “It’s not like you’ll be around once the wedding is over, anyway. You’ll be back to your FBI work.”
    There was a pause as Pierce seemed to be wrestling over what to say. The foal took the decision out of his hands as she struggled against the rope until Pierce could barely maintain his grip. “In the meantime, this little one wants her mama. I can hold her, if you can loosen the buckle on the halter.” He held the frightened animal steady.
    Roxanne slipped the straps free of the buckle and slid the halter over the filly’s head, her fingers brushing against Pierce’s arm.
    As soon as the filly was free, Pierce let go. Without pause, the colt bolted for her mother, tossing her head as if in defiance of her time held in captivity.
    Sweet Jessie met her halfway, sniffing, nuzzling and herding her errant baby toward the herd.
    On a rise a hundred yards from where Pierce and Roxanne stood, the herd stallion rose up on his hind legs, calling out to the mares.
    Cetan snorted, his eyes rolling back. He tugged on the reins Roxanne held.
    Pierce relieved her of her hold, his hand rising to stroke his stallion’s neck, speaking to the animal in his native tongue.
    “Come on,” Pierce said, his voice low, insistent. “We could do without a fight between stallions.”
    Roxanne gathered Sassy’s reins, placed her foot into the stirrup and swung up into the saddle, her shoulder stiff from her wound and a night sleeping on the hard floor of the cave. She headed for the trail leading out of the canyon, without looking back over her shoulder at Pierce.
    The work they’d done to help the filly had been challenging and worthwhile, seeing the colt reunited with her mother. But now that it was done, all of Roxanne’s other worries came crashing back in. The shooter who might still be after her. The financial problems she was facing at her ranch. And most troubling of all, the feelings she had for Pierce Thunder Horse that refused to die down.
    That didn’t make Pierce any less guilty of talking her brother into joining the FBI, or sending him into the situation that eventually got him killed.
    Roxanne pushed the past to the back of her mind, the