Earth and Sky

and taking a cloth to wipe it down.

    “I’ll rub him down,” Grant volunteered, taking Davenport into his stable and taking his tack off.

    Hunter was surprised at how little grief Davenport gave Grant. Grant had a no-nonsense approach that was both gentle and swift, and he was done in no time.

    “Guess I better make a run for it,” Grant said by way of good-bye just before he ran out of the stable.

    Later that night, Hunter was just about to go to bed when there was a knocking loud enough to be heard over the sound of the storm. He opened the front door and saw Tim standing on the porch, soaked to the bone despite his heavy weather gear.

    “Grant asked me to come get you. Danny’s in trouble!” Tim shouted. “Since Davenport’s useless in this weather, I brought Raven so you could ride out with me.”

    Hunter ran into the mudroom to get his oilskin duster and his hat and followed his wrangler outside.

    It was pitch-black and very cold for the time of year, and the ground was totally waterlogged. At first they could make good time, letting the horses gallop, but Hunter halted when they came to a lopsided fence.

    “We don’t have time,” Tim shouted at him. “We have to take these ropes to Grant. We’ll come back and fix the fence later.”

    Hunter nodded and spurred Raven on so he could catch up with Tim, who by now was making his way through the brush. The horses slipped every few steps, and Hunter was glad Tim hadn’t saddled Davenport. Raven handled like a dream, unperturbed by the slippery ground and the fact that his hoofs sank into the mud. Every once in a while, Tim took his handheld GPS out of his coat and checked it. Hunter was glad they’d bought those gadgets a few months ago, although he’d never understood their power until tonight.

    “Almost there,” Tim assured him.

    Hunter could hear the river, and even over the rattling rain, he could tell it was roaring louder than it usually would this far into the year. Melting water from the mountains always made it swell in early spring, but by this time of year it was usually a soft, flowing stream—only this didn’t sound like that.

    They came to a clearing, and Hunter immediately saw what the problem was. The swell of the river had caused it to find another way of running, forming a small island in the middle of the torrential flood. On that island was a big amber mare with a frightened young boy sitting on top of her.

    Grant was standing on the shore of the river, shouting at Danny to stay calm, that help was on the way.

    Hunter understood why both horses were carrying ropes now. They were going to have to rescue his godson.

    “You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Grant said as he came closer to Hunter. “There’s what looks like a pretty sturdy tree on the other side.” He pointed at the island. “We’ll tie a rope around the tree here, and I’ll wade across on Raven. Then I’ll secure the rope around that tree and bring Danny back.”

    Hunter nodded, glad for Grant’s self-assuredness. “I’ll go.”

    “Are you crazy? This is dangerous stuff. I’ll go,” Grant replied sternly.

    “He’s my godson,” Hunter protested.

    “And he doesn’t have his dad here right now, so he needs you. I’m going, end of discussion.”

    Grant took the rope from Hunter, tied one end around the western saddle and the other around the tree, and exchanged places with Hunter before turning Raven toward the river. It took him some persuading to get the animal to step into the water, but eventually they were on their way.

    Hunter was holding his breath, almost as afraid something would happen to Grant as he was about Danny. The stream on this side of the island wasn’t very wide or deep, but the water was flowing very quickly, and more than once, Raven misstepped and almost toppled Grant off. Tim had his hands full trying to feed Grant the rope, but all Hunter could do was watch.

    Eventually Grant made it to the other side, Raven clambering out of the rolling stream before Grant helped Danny down from his horse. Hunter could see how Grant took a quick look at Danny to see if he was in one piece before letting him go to secure the rope to the other tree. Grant then tied a rope around Danny, trailing it over the guide rope before he let him mount the dark horse. He took Belle’s reins and got on in front of the kid, tying the rope around his own waist before slowly letting Raven step back into the river. It was bit of a