Page 7 of On His Ranch

The horse stamped its foot, which set the other two to stamping in their stalls.

“You knew?” Piper stood up, brushing the hay from her pants. “Well, you could’ve warned me.” She ran her hand along the creature’s soft, long nose.

The horse turned her head side to side, making Piper laugh.

“Oh, you wanted me to stay, huh? Well, thanks for getting me in trouble!” She cast a longing glance at the open doorway. It was now or never. It should be a no-brainer—the last thing she wanted to do was face either of those stone-faced men. “What do you think, girl? Should I stay? Or…”

The horse whinnied and shook her head.

“You think it’s dangerous out there? Sure, the way this day is going, I take one step outside and bam!” She shuddered at the thought. “Buthe’sdangerous, too.” Piper bit down on her bottom lip and worried it between her teeth, thinking. She was between a rock and a hard place. No matter which way she turned, danger threatened.

When she thought of the younger cowboy, the one who had found her, her stomach did a weird flip-flop that didn’t feel entirely uncomfortable. It was a strange feeling, knowing that if she stayed, she’d have to face him, and there had been consequences implied in his dark, hot gaze. And yet… her stomach churned, letting her know that she was excited as well as scared.

The horse stamped again, pulling her out of her thoughts and making her jump. As soon as she’d done it, she laughed at how silly she was being. “I guess I’m a little jumpy,” she admitted, giving the horse more attention by patting it again. “Hey, you would be too if you’d been woken up by… well, I don’t know his name. I wish you could tell me.” What name suited that fierce scowl, those dark, glaring eyes? There was something about his gaze that made goosebumps rise on her arms and her tummy do flips again in that uncomfortable yet strangely delicious way. He’d told her to stay put, and she had no doubt he’d meant it. So who was she more afraid of? The unknown possibly of a bad guy with a gun, or a man that was already angry with her?

She rolled her eyes skyward. Easy choice.

“Sorry, girl.” She leaned forward and kissed the wide bridge of the horse’s nose. “I’ve gotta get out of here.” Piper began to move toward the open barn door.

The cowboy had made a quick, silent getaway. Before she’d taken five steps, she had to concede that it wasn’t a talent she possessed. Every step she took, her foot crunched down on the hay. It might have been gravel for all the noise it made. “I guess I’m not cut out for a life of crime,” she muttered sheepishly. Still, she was determined to get the heck out of here, and she moved forward, noise be damned.

* * *

“You catch ‘em?”

Chase, unsurprised by his grandfather’s sudden appearance at his side, shook his head. “Nope. Far as I can tell, they’re long gone.”

Senior arched his gray, bushy brows. “What makes you think there was more’n one?”

He nodded his head toward the tracks he’d followed until he’d lost the trail.

His grandfather whistled, low and long. “What d’ya reckon they want?”

“Who knows?” He shrugged a shoulder, staring moodily out toward the trees.

“You see anyone?”

“Nope. Not so much as a twig out of place. I was a tad preoccupied, but that gunshot sure as hell got my attention.”

“I’ll bet.” He clapped Chase on the shoulder. “Don’t fret over it none. Can’t catch ‘em all, and if I had a beautiful blonde in the barn I imagine I would be a bit preoccupied, too.”

He laughed at Senior’s knowing look. “Yeah, maybe if that was the case, but as it turns out, she’s a stowaway.”

“You don’t say.”

“Found her a bit earlier hiding in the shed.”

“Hmm, how d’ya reckon she ended up there?”

“She says she needed a place to sleep.”

“Yeah? You think there’s more to it?”

Chase’s mood turned grimmer. “I sure as hell intend to find out.”

“You smell trouble?”

“Can’t say for positive. Could be.”

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