Page 51 of The Cowboy's Promise

While the drama was unfolding at the Moonshine Campground, Blake’s lesson had come to an abrupt end. The horse had lost a shoe. As Molly, his student, led him into a stall Blake called his farrier. The man could make it out but wouldn’t arrive until the end of the day. Assuring Molly the appointment had been made, Blake stepped outside and looked across at the paddocks. Doug was with Henry getting to know him.

Blake smiled and waved and Doug waved back, but as Blake started walking across to join him he felt an odd, sudden impulse to call Heather. Lifting out his phone he placed the call, only to have it answered by voice mail.

“Is everything okay?” Doug called.

“Yeah, but I want to surprise Heather and go to the campgrounds for lunch. I shouldn’t be more than an hour.”

“You can’t be away from that girl for five minutes,” Doug remarked with a grin.

Chuckling and thinking his foreman might be right, Blake hurried into the house to clean up.

* * *

Inside the dining room the hostess was becoming worried. Heather had been gone far too long, and she wasn’t responding to texts. Seeing the manager walking in from the kitchen she waved him over.

“What’s up?”

“It’s Heather. She took an order to Cabin Five about fifteen minutes ago and still hasn’t come back“

“That’s weird. Have you texted her?”

”Several times and I haven’t heard from her. She was going to stop into Cabin Four to look for a bracelet Sarah thinks she lost there yesterday. But she still should have responded to my texts. This isn’t like her.”

“That’s odd. I’ll run down there,” he said, marching to the door, but as he stepped outside he caught his breath. Heather’s truck was gone. Frowning, he tried calling her, only to get her voicemail. But a moment later he spied the sheriff and a squad car driving up the lane towards the road. Running forward he urgently waved them over, and waited anxiously as the sheriff abruptly stopped and lowered his window.

“Sheriff Cooper, this is probably nothing, but, uh, it’s about Heather Hunt. She’s not missing exactly, but—”

“Slow down and tell me what’s happened.”

“She delivered an order—”

“To Cabin Five?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Just keep talkin’.”

“She hasn’t come back and now her truck is gone. She would never just take off like that, not without telling me.”

“Okay. Try not to worry, Terry. We’re on it, but if you hear from her, call the station right away.”

“I sure will, sheriff. Will you keep me posted?”

“Of course.”

Before Terry had a chance to thank him, the sheriff was kicking up gravel as he accelerated down the lane.

* * *

After forcing Heather to tell him the key to her pickup was on top of the right front wheel, Joe had locked her into a closet and jogged up the lane. After returning with the truck he’d quickly tied her hands behind her back, made her crawl into the small, cramped space behind the seats, then awkwardly carried Courtney out and placed her in the passenger seat. Now leaving the campground and turning down the country road he tried desperately to think of a place to lie low.

“They’re probably already looking for her, and when they see this truck is gone every deputy in this Godforsaken place will be watching for it,” Courtney railed. “We need to find someplace to hide for a while.”

“I agree, but where? We could disappear into the trees, but I think the nearest turnoff into the forest is directly across from a couple of ranches. We’re bound to be seen. Wait!” he suddenly exclaimed, pointing excitedly as he approached the signpost for Lake View Point. “There. That’s where we can go.”

“Lake View Point?”

“Yes! It’s an amazing place. I stumbled across it the other day. There are huge boulders everywhere, and in this truck we can probably find a place to park out of sight.”

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