Nathan Pratchett’s last relationship ended because he spends too much time at the barn with his mare, Birch. But he finds peace in the saddle.<br><br>However, Birch seems to have other plans.<br><br>After losing a shoe while out on a trail ride, Nathan is forced to use a new ferrier. After that, it seems like Birch is a different horse. She’s gone from well-behaved to running loose! And, for some reason, she keeps winding up at the home of a dreamy fella named Lucas Shaw. Is it possible the mare knows something Nathan doesn’t?

A New Pair of Steel Shoes

Either way, he quickly found himself in a battle of wits with an animal that greatly outweighed him and was capable of thinking on its own. Horses were wired for fight or flight just like any other prey animal, and nine times out of ten they chose the option of flight. Nathan did everything in his power to get her to slow down, recalling every aid he learned over the years, even tried forcing her to turn, but somehow she’d gotten hold of the bit, leaving him the helpless rider along for the ride. All he could do was hope and pray as she thundered through the woods that she didn’t slam them into a tree. Neither of them would survive the accident.


And it would be hours before anyone thought to come looking for them.


Chapter 9