Page 44 of Daddy's Little Cowgirl

“I will,” Ridge said and hung up.

Ridge called the sheriff and Layton to tell them about the news but told them to keep looking.

Ridge felt like he was ready to jump out of his skin when he heard the helicopter land in front of the house.

“Maggie, I’m going in the helicopter. Call if she comes home.”

“I will. You’ll find her.”

“I know I will.” There was no other option for him.

He raced outside and ducked when he got to the helicopter. He jumped in the front seat.

The pilot waved. “Hey, I’m Jon. Darian told me about your girl. We’ll find her.”

“Thank you for coming.”

“No problem. Buckle up. Any idea which way you want to go?”

“Go west first. It’s going to be hard finding them in the dark, isn’t it?” Ridge asked. He hadn’t thought about that, but he could at least try.

“Normally, but I’ve got some heat-seeking radar. It will show when we come upon something bigger than a rabbit.”

“Good.”

For the next few hours, they scanned the area, going back and forth because they didn’t want to miss anything. He’d gotten his hopes up a few times when he saw the radar beep, but Jon pointed out the shapes were different and what he guessed were deer.

He barely heard the radar go off as he stared out his window, trying to catch a glimpse of anything.

“Hey, we’ve got something,” Jon said and indicated the colors. “It shows two different things that look like humans.”

Ridge’s heart started racing as he looked out and saw something shiny under one of the trees.

“Look,” Jon said and pointed down. “It’s a vehicle.”

“I need to check. Where can you set it down?”

“I can in the field about a quarter of a mile away.”

Ridge nodded. “Let’s do this.”

Jon landed. “Do you want me with you?”

Ridge shook his head. “No, I’ve got my gun. But thank you.”

“I’ll stay here until you indicate something.”

Ridge jumped out of the helicopter, pulled his gun from the back of his jeans, and moved swiftly toward the truck.

He walked up from the back until he could peek inside the cab. He jerked back when a dog hit the window, snarling, wanting to get to him. His heart about dropped when he heard his girl talking to an animal.

“Daddy!” she screamed. “Thor, stop it. He’s mine. You can’t hurt him.”

Surprisingly, the dog settled, but he was still ready if it came at him.

She fought to unlock the doors and open them. The dog jumped out first and crouched a few feet from him, watching him like a hawk.

He went slowly toward the seat and held out his arms. “Come to me, Sweetheart. You’ve scared me.”

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