Renegade (Tin Star K9 Series Book 1) by Jodi Burnett (fastest ebook reader .txt) 📕

like a nice camera.” She pointed to the large device hanging around the man’s neck. “I can hold on to your horse if you want to go to the edge of the cliff to see the view.”

“Thanks.” The man handed Caitlyn his reins and lifted his elaborate camera up to capture the expansive landscape.

A chilling scream sliced through the sunshine, darting ice slivers up Caitlyn’s spine. She spun around to two women pointing at a shrub. Renegade dashed over to them and dipped low on his front paws like he was ready to pounce, barking furiously at whatever the women were gaping at.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Caitlyn passed the reins of the horses she held back to Herb and unclipped her sidearm on her way over to the women. They continued to point—frozen in fear. Caitlyn’s gaze followed the direction of their trembling fingers. There it was. The cause of their panic. A diamondback rattler.

The brown, gold, and black snake coiled up tight, poised to strike—his quivering rattle standing on end. Caitlyn forced her voice to be low and calm. “It’s okay, don’t worry, he’s too far away to reach you. He’s just warning you he’s there. Slowly, back away.” The women took two steps backward before turning and sprinting back to the group. So much for slow.

Keeping one eye on the snake, Caitlyn addressed the tourists. “I rarely let a rattler live. They’re too dangerous for our animals—especially my dog. I don’t want to upset anyone, but I’m going to shoot him. Hold on to your horses, stand back, and cover your ears.” Caitlyn never knew how city-folk would respond to the fact that they shot rattlers around here. This group voiced no objections, however, so she leveled her Glock at the snake, still coiled and hissing. She fired one round. After hitting her target, she returned to the riders. “Sorry about that.”

The tall woman shuddered and rubbed her arms. “Are there a lot of rattlesnakes up here?”

“They’re a little more active right now, in the spring, after their winter hibernation. Just keep an eye out.” Caitlyn made a mental note to get Renegade to a snake training event again this year. He’d done a good job of warning without trying to play with the snake this time, but still. It was better to be safe.

After everyone had time to stretch out their tight muscles, drink some water, and take all the photos they wanted, Caitlyn called out, “Everybody ready? Let’s mount up and finish our trek to the top of the hill. I’d like to take you up into the BLM if there’s time.”

“What’s the BLM?” the slight, quiet man in the group asked.

“Bureau of Land Management. It’s government land. Lots of ranchers pay the federal government to allow them to graze their cows up there during the summer months. We, at Reed Ranch, are no exception. It’s beautiful countryside, and there’s a waterfall up there worth seeing.” Caitlyn waited for the more athletic folks in the group to mount their horses before she assisted those who struggled. She hopped on Whiskey’s back and made her way to the front of the line. “Let’s ride on.”

Renegade took his position in the lead once again. Occasionally he darted off into the woods to chase a squirrel or rabbit. He zigzagged in and out, his coloring reminding Caitlyn of a fox. If she didn’t know better, she’d wonder if he had some fox genes in him. Red on top, black face, belly, and long black legs—he was beautiful. As they made their last turn on the trail before the final climb to the BLM gate, Renegade stopped right in the middle of the path. He held up one of his front paws and his ears pricked forward. Tilting his head, he raised his nose, sniffed, and then bolted off in a sprint. Caitlyn chuckled and shook her head. Renegade loved trail rides.

Several strides further along, Caitlyn heard Renegade barking exuberantly. She pulled Whiskey to a halt and listened. Her dog was off to the left, in the woods about twenty or thirty feet away. Caitlyn turned in her saddle. “Everyone, please stay here. I’m going to ride into the trees and see what Renegade is barking at. It’s probably nothing, but it’s important for his training that I attend to his alerts. He’s learning to be a tracker, and so I need to pay attention to what he finds, every time. I’ve trained him to stay at the spot where he’s indicating until I come. So please hang out here for just a few minutes. I’ll be right back.”

“What do you think he found?” Renegade’s new friend asked.

“Could be anything.” Caitlyn reined Whiskey off the trail toward Renegade’s alert. “Maybe a fallen deer or a dead rabbit, probably something like that.” Renegade’s barking echoed through the trees and bounced between the mountain slopes.

The terrain was rough and rocky, but Whiskey had no problem traversing the forest to where Renegade sat beside a large patch of turned, dark earth. Caitlyn wasn’t sure what she was looking at. She dismounted, looped her reins over a tree branch, and hiked over to Renegade. “What did you find, boy?” She knelt next to him.

That’s when she saw it, and her body recoiled. Partially covered with dirt was a delicate hand. Is that… a human hand? A chill coursed through her as she gaped at four blue-gray fingers protruding from the dirt as though reaching out for help. Caitlyn sucked in a breath. Without thinking, she stretched down and touched the fingers. They were slender, manicured in sparkling pink, and cold.

“Good boy, Ren.” Caitlyn shuddered and her mind swirled. She knew what she would do if she were alone. She’d race to the ranch and get help. But as it was, she had a group of inexperienced riders with her, and traveling down the mountain was often harder than going up. She swallowed hard against her insistent gag reflex.

Renegade whined as he watched Caitlyn’s