Page 18 of Luke

Chapter Three

Luke strode into the office, hung his hat and coat on the rack, then sat down at his desk. He noticed a lot of empty desks due to the weather, but he had a case to work on that was just assigned to him. His boss, Dave Merkle, passed by and mentioned leaving a folder on Luke’s desk.

“Thanks, Dave. I’ll take a look at it now.”

“How were the roads out your way?”

“Pretty slippery,” Luke replied with a grin.

“I can only imagine. I’ll be in my office.”

Luke nodded even though Dave didn’t see him. With a sigh, he opened the file and skimmed through it before turning on his computer to check for any new cases. He shook his head when he saw that fifteen horses had been reported missing in Hartland.

Pushing back his chair, he stood up, grabbed his hat and coat, and headed toward the door. As he waited for the elevator, he spotted his brother walking toward him.

“Hey, where are you off to?” Beau asked.

“Hartland. Some horses have gone missing. I didn’t think you’d make it in today.”

“I almost didn’t. The roads are terrible. Brenna’s home since school was cancelled, but I thought I’d try to come in. Who else is here?”

“Not many. Dave’s here, but other than a couple others, the place is pretty empty.”

“Have you talked to Bryce?”

“Not yet. I’ll send her a text later to check on her.”

“If this weather continues like this, she might not be going anywhere for a while.”

“Yeah, I thought about that too. I heard there’s another storm predicted next week.”

“I heard that too. Even if it’s not too bad, traveling will still be challenging.”

When the elevator doors opened, Luke stepped inside but held them open with his hand.

“True. See you later.” Luke removed his hand, and the doors closed.

He stepped outside and instinctively tilted his head down to avoid the snow hitting him in the face. He looked toward the diner up the street and wondered how Bryce was doing. He made a mental note to text her later. But for now, he had to make it to Hartland while he still could. He climbed into his truck and started the engine, put in the address on the GPS before driving out of the parking lot and heading out of town.

As he arrived at the ranch, he parked his truck next to the porch and got out. The wind blew and he shivered, muttering a curse under his breath. He briskly made his way up the steps and knocked on the door. An older man opened it and gave him a curious look. Luke took off his hat.

“Mr. Hancock?” he asked respectfully. “I’m Agent Luke McCallister with the Montana Department of Livestock. I understand you’ve reported some missing horses?”

“That’s right,” the man replied, opening the door wider. “Come inside, son. It’s too cold out there.”

Luke nodded gratefully and wiped his feet on the mat before entering the house and sighing at the warmth that greeted him.

“Take a seat.” Mr. Hancock gestured toward a chair. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“I would, if it’s not too much trouble,” Luke replied politely.

“Not at all,” Mr. Hancock said with a smile as he poured a cup for Luke, motioning for him to take off his coat and sit down at the table.

Luke placed his coat on the back of a kitchen chair and hung his hat on one of the pegs by the door, beside other cowboy hatsbefore taking a seat at the table. Mr. Hancock placed a cup of black coffee in front of him.

“Cream and sugar?” he asked.

“No, sir. Black is fine. Thank you,” Luke replied, taking a sip of coffee. “That hits the spot.”

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