His head was up, ears flicking to left and right as she relaxed in the saddle and gave him plenty of rein. “Let’s head for Miners’ Ridge,” Charlie Miller called from the front. He reined his horse to the right and led the group of seven riders along a narrow trail between silver aspen trees. Great! Kirstie smiled to herself and nudged Lucky on with her legs. Miners’ Ridge, at the end of Meltwater Trail, was one of her favorite treks out from Half Moon Ranch. It would take them by the banks of rushing creeks and waterfalls, through spooky Dead Man’s Canyon. Good! Lucky echoed her mood by picking up his pace. He broke into an easy trot, splashing through a shallow stream to catch up with Charlie and tuck himself in behind Moose, the young wrangler’s sturdy gray quarter horse. Behind them, the other six riders took things more slowly. It was the last Saturday in May; their first day as paying guests at the Scotts’ ranch. To them, the steep slopes leading through dark pine forests and beyond that to snow-peaked mountains were new and risky.
