Maggie had problems. Lots of them. A stranger was out to destroy her. She was on the verge of losing her famous cutting horse ranch, Mercy Creek. And she needed help to prepare for the Wayback Grand Rodeo, her make-it-or-break-it moment.

Can Hawk help Maggie save Mercy Creek... and save himself, as well?

Author: Judith Rochelle

$7.99

Excerpt:

He hauled the jack out of the truck bed, got down beneath the undercarriage and clamped it into place. As he began levering the handle the first fat drops of rain splattered on his battered Resistol hat and dripped onto his hands.

Great. Just damn great. Could anything else possibly go wrong?

He pumped the lever harder, anxious to get the job done. He could feel the eyes of the hawk, still in its circle of surveillance.

A jagged streak of lightning flashed across the graying sky and the heavy boom of thunder rumbled through the air, sounding a lot closer than he’d like. When he cast a look at the darkening sky he saw the hawk circle once then head off into the distance. He knew that with any kind of darkness they immediately sought shelter. To bad he wasn’t as smart as the hawk.

Jocko whinnied and shuffled his hooves restlessly.

“Easy, boy. We’ll be on our way in a minute.”

I hope.

With the jack finally in place, he began the task of removing the lug nuts. He had them about half done when a streak that Hawk swore looked like Thor’s own thunderbolt zapped the air. With the companion roar of thunder even closer, the rain began in earnest, pouring down over him like a waterfall. The water soaked into the ground beneath him, causing the jack to shift slightly.

Just one more damn minute. That’s all. Just one more damn minute.

He worked furiously, the aged equipment balky in his hands. One more lug nut, then another. The dirt beneath him began to shift perilously and he tried to brace against the truck with his legs.

Then the next cloud burst washed away the dirt holding the jack in place, and it slipped, the truck dropping onto Hawk like a granite boulder. Blackness rushed toward him. His last thought, strangely, was of the hawk fiercely guarding his territory. From the distance came the sound of thundering hoof beats.

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