Page 6 of Beau

Beau walked out the door and closed it behind him. He put his hat on as he made his way to the barn and then headed out to his truck. After starting it, he drove through the open gate and headed toward the west pasture.

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Brenna rode her horse through the pasture. The cool air nipped at her cheeks, but the warm rays of sunlight streaming down on her made it a perfect day. It had been two years since they had both gone through the heart-wrenching pain of discovering their spouses were cheating with each other.

Memories of their time together flooded back as she shook her head, wondering how long the affair had been going on before Beau caught them. Eric had never given her a straight answer. But at that moment, none of it mattered anymore. She never wanted to see Eric or Liz again in this lifetime.

As she rode along, she heard the distant rumble of an approaching vehicle and turned in the saddle to see a pickup truck heading toward her. Her heart skipped a beat as she waited for it to reach her. She was sure it was Beau.

The truck pulled up beside her and the window lowered to reveal his handsome face. Brenna couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you following me?” she asked playfully.

“Would it be a problem if I were?” Beau replied with a smirk.

Brenna tilted her head and frowned, then laughed.

“Not really,” she said, feeling a sense of ease and comfort around him.

“Can you show me where the horses were?” he asked.

“Sure, follow me. Just try to keep up,” Brenna said with a grin as she nudged her horse forward.

She led him through the vast pasture. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him behind her but not too close, giving her space as she led him toward the area where the horse had been stolen.

When they arrived, Brenna dismounted and watched as Beau pulled his truck to a stop and stepped out. She couldn’t help but run her eyes down his body and felt a sudden rush of awareness. She had always thought him attractive, but looking at him now as a woman looks at a man instead of just a friend, she was acutely aware of how incredibly good-looking he truly was.

As he approached her, she couldn’t help but take notice of how well his jeans fit him. She raised her eyes to meet his and felt her heart skip a beat. Why now? They had known each other for a long time, but she had never paid him much attention because she was happily married and so was he. She couldn’t deny that he was good-looking, but that was as far as it went. Yet now she found herself unable to stop looking at him and feeling an inexplicable attraction toward him.

“I’m going to search the area,” he informed her once he reached her side.

“One of my dad’s men said they didn’t spot any tire tracks.”

“Okay, I’ll see if I can find anything.” He headed toward the fence, then turned back to face her. “You don’t have to stay here. Go enjoy your ride.”

“Thanks, Beau. Have a good day.”

“You do the same.”

She nodded but remained rooted in place as she watched him crouch down and shine a flashlight on the ground. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and took some photos.

“Did you find something?” she asked.

He seemed surprised that she was still there but nodded.

“No tire tracks, but I did find hoofprints,” he confirmed with a shake of his head before looking back at the fence.

“So, they led the horse out?”

“That’s what it looks like. Probably because this area is close to the road. Either they got scared and ran off with just the one horse or they were specifically after that horse.” He turned to look at her. “Do you know anyone who might have wanted to buy the horse? Maybe your dad refused to sell?”

Brenna shrugged her shoulders in response. “No, she’s almost twenty years old,” she stated. “My dad got her for my mom when the horse was only five years old.”

“I imagine something spooked them, but I think they were after that particular horse. They didn’t even drive a trailer into the field.” He shrugged. “I’ll keep following these tracks for as long as possible. Hopefully, they’ll lead me to some tire tracks, and I can take it from there.” He climbed through the fence before walking away, eyes focused on the ground.

With a sigh, Brenna mounted her horse and turned it around, riding through the pasture. She hoped Beau would be able to find out something about who had stolen her mother’s horse. It held sentimental value for her dad, which is why he was so desperate to get it back. He had bought the horse for her mother on their anniversary one year, and her mother loved that horse. Brenna nudged her horse and rode through the pasture.

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