Page 65 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

“He went to see if he could find stray cattle, but he hasn’t returned yet.”

“Wind is picking up, and we’re supposed to get dumped with another round of snow,” said my dad.

“Beau is gathering some of the guys who work on the estate to go look for him.”

“I’ll call Pete. He, Grayson, and I will be there as soon as we can.”

I thanked him, ended the call, and looked up at Sam. We reached for each other’s hands and held tight.

18

CORD

“Motherfucker,” I groaned, opening my eyes and trying to get my bearings. I was on the ground—I knew that much—and my head was pounding like someone had hit me with an anvil. I reached up to where the pain radiated from, and when I brought my hand back down, there was blood on my glove.

I tried to prop myself up on my elbow, but didn’t have the strength. Blinking away the spots before my eyes, I patted my jacket, looking for my phone. When I found it, I swiped the screen, but the damned thing was dead. How the hell long had I been out here?

I was conscious, and it was still daylight. Both good signs. I raised my head, looking for some kind of landmark that would tell me where I was. A few feet away was a lean-to. If I could get that far, at least I’d have shelter. As cold as it was, I wouldn’t last much longer if I didn’t at least try.

I had to drag myself since my every attempt to even get on my knees failed. I made it what I figured washalfway, but the black spots were back, and this time, I couldn’t blink them away.

“Fuck!” I cried out with the little strength I had left. What a goddamn way to go. Freezing to death after riding out to find cattle that were probably dead too.

Before everything went black, I saw Juni as if she was standing right in front of me. “Hold on, Cord,” she said. “Help is on the way.”

I pulled myself up a second time and inched my way into the lean-to. “Hurry, Juniper,” I whispered before the darkness overtook me again.

19

JUNIPER

“This is the last place where the security app located him,” said Beau, pointing to a map of the estate. “As you can see by the outline, then he was almost directly at the perimeter, which means if he ventured farther, he wouldn’t have been tracked.”

“When was that?” my dad asked.

“Going on an hour.”

His gaze met mine. Temperatures were well below freezing. If Cord wasn’t found soon, he’d die, if he wasn’t dead already.

“We don’t have time to waste. Twilight is upon us,” said my uncle, who’d divided everyone into teams. There were a total of twenty guys headed out, and they’d found enough snowmobiles in some of the outbuildings for each to have their own. Dad, Grayson, Uncle Pete, and one of the EMTs from the East Aurora fire department rode theirs here.

“There were seven in a storage room in the barn,” Beau said. “One of the guys said there are six now.”

It made sense. Cord wouldn’t have gotten very far if he wasn’t on a sled.

I offered to go out with them, but my dad wouldn’t have it. Rather than wasting time arguing with him, I let it go. Sitting here, waiting for word, though, felt harder than if I was out in the frigid cold. At least then, I’d be doing something.

The ranch had a comms system, and each person in the search party wore one so they could communicate with each other. Beau left a set with Sam and me so we could hear what was happening in real time. Via the app, we could also follow their locations.

Minutes dragged on like hours as we watched and listened. I tried reading more of Miss Cena’s journals, but couldn’t concentrate.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Sam.

“I don’t know what for.”

“Not reading.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can’t, either.”

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