Gypsy Gold by Terri Farley Page B

rifle into his saddle scabbard, and cleared his throat.
    When no one else spoke, he tried to shift their accusing stares away from him, to Nicolas. “I don’t know who in heck you are. His ‘mate’? You, with your fancy pony cart, you don’t know nothin’ about dogs and coyotes, tellin’ a tall tale like that.”
    Lace couldn’t have understood Linc’s words, but she sensed their emotion. Her mighty front hooves lifted free of the earth. Her ears pressed back, disappearing into the thickness of her mane. Mouth opened wide, she threatened Linc with her teeth.
    Nicolas drew back on the reins and murmured foreign, sweet-sounding words to her.
    Sam felt a yell swelling her chest, but she tried to keep it from getting out by petting Blaze’s head over and over again. He was panting now, uncomforted by her touch.
    Without a chance to protect his family, his training had kicked in. Blaze knew he wasn’t supposed to attack humans, but when his eyes rolled up to meet Sam’s, they were filled with confusion.
    She gave his head a final kiss and stood up. Before she uttered a word, Linc straightened in the saddle, trying to make himself taller.
    â€œYou jumped to a conclusion instead of seeing what was right in front of you,” Sam said, doing her best to get through to him. “Jen’s right. We saw Blaze and the coyote playing. You couldn’t have mistaken that for an attack.”
    â€œThey weren’t playing,” Linc said. “They heard me and took off running.”
    Pride filled his voice. Was Linc glad the animals feared him?
    Sam swallowed hard. Fighting to keep her voice level, she must have made a faint sound Blaze tookfor a growl, because the dog scrambled to his feet. Lowering his head, he began to snarl.
    Sam grabbed his collar. Linc deserved the punishment Blaze could inflict, but the man’s hand hovered near the saddle scabbard, keeping his rifle within reach.
    Linc hadn’t snuffed out the coyote’s life for food or because he was in danger. She didn’t think he’d been afraid of the animal, either. Linc had killed the coyote simply because he could.
    Linc stared at Nicolas, eyes darting from the brightly painted wagon to the beautiful horse. Then he shook his head. Sam didn’t know what he was thinking, and she didn’t care.
    Jen urged her mare forward and looked down on the coyote. Last night, playing with her pup, the coyote’s coat had shone like stardust. Not anymore.
    â€œIt was a clean shot,” Jen said, but her voice quavered.
    Sam could tell the words were all Jen could offer to comfort her, but they both knew they weren’t enough.
    â€œThere, y’see?” Linc gloated. “I been plinkin’ at coyotes since I moved here. I’m no beginner at gunplay.” Linc puffed out his chest with pride. “Jennifer means she didn’t suffer.”
    â€œI know what Jen means,” Sam said. “But that coyote was just taking care of her family. You killed her for no reason.”
    Linc dismounted in a series of clumsy movements. He swung one heavy leg over Champ’s back. His body wobbled, the saddle shifted, and his left stirrup creaked at the sudden weight before Linc made it to the ground.
    â€œThey’re vermin,” he said, slightly out of breath. “I’ll skin this one out and hang its carcass on my barbed-wire fence to warn off the rest of his kind.”
    â€œHer,” Nicolas said softly. He looked…not sick, exactly, but appalled. And interested.
    Morbid fascination, Sam thought. Wasn’t that the term people used when they didn’t want to stare at something awful, but couldn’t look away?
    Even though he was a college guy, he lived in the city. He’d probably never seen anything like this.
    â€œAre coyotes preying on your livestock?” Nicolas asked.
    â€œNot that you got any right to interrogate me,” Linc said, “but