Page 34 of Curvy Nanny for the Cowboy

Buck nodded, a look of regret on his face. “Yeah, I sure am sorry to be the one to deliver the bad news, but I figured she’d rather know than not, you know?”

I shoved my hands deep in my pockets and nodded because I would have to be the one to tell Molly what Buck had found. “Thanks, Buck. What do I owe you?”

“Molly already took care of it. She’s a sweet girl. I’ll see you both around,” he said before ambling back to the truck and jumping behind the steering wheel.

I watched Buck take off, leaving a trail of dust in his wake, my mind unsettled at the possibility that someone was spying on Molly and tracking her every move. The news would not go over well, and I didn’t relish being the one to give it to her.

But it had to be done, and delaying it wouldn’t change the words I had to say. So, after I took one look back at the spreadsheets that haunted my existence, I headed for the main house. “Molly?”

There was no answer. In fact, there was no sound whatsoever. The house was completely silent; even Amelia had left for the day. I grabbed Molly’s keys to put her car away and stopped at the garden on my way back, but there was a distinct lack of conversation and laughter that usually followed Molly and Hunter everywhere.

I started to worry after a quick trip to the stables found Peanut Butter in his stall, alone except for the other horses. “Where are they?”

It wasn’t like Molly to leave without a note, and since her car had just been delivered by Buck, she couldn’t have gone far. I started on the east side of the property where a small pond sat mostly unused. My heart raced with every step I took; worry crept into my throat and my chest, and on the heels of that worry, my own anger took hold.

It grew into something dark the longer I searched without finding them. Worry and fear twined together in my stomach as it filled with acid. What if something happened to them? My footsteps quickened, eager to set eyes on Hunter and Molly, but they weren’t in the field of flowers or the small orchard.

The sun slowly sank behind the horizon, and darkness settled over the land, which only amplified my anxiety. “Molly! Hunter!” My slow walk turned into a jog and then a full-out run as worry gripped my chest. “Molly!” The pond was in view but still a few hundred feet away, and I ran until my lungs burned, stopping abruptly about halfway to the pond.

Molly was stretched out on a blanket in the grass with her eyes closed. One hand rested behind her head, and a small smile curved her lips. Her other hand rested on Hunter’s chest as he slept peacefully with his head cradled on her lap. It was a gorgeous picture, warm and familial.

Perfect.

But my anger only allowed me to appreciate the picture for a minute. “Molly!”

Her eyes shot open, and her hand flew to her chest as she sat up, careful not to wake Hunter. “What? What’s wrong?” She looked around and then down at Hunter before her gaze shot to mine, a frown on her face. “Colton, what’s going on?”

“What’s wrong?” The words bellowed out of me so loudly they shook. “What’swrong,Molly, is that I’ve been looking all over the property for you, and I couldn’t find you. I couldn’t find Hunter. I wasted more than an hour looking for you.”

“We’re right here, Daddy.” Hunter’s eyes were open, but his hands gripped Molly tight. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything is fine, buddy.” I held out a hand to comfort him, but my gaze remained fixed on Molly. “You didn’t leave a note.”

“I’m sorry, I forgot. I didn’t have my car, so I assumed you knew we were on the property.”

My chest heaved. “Something could have happened to you, to both of you!”

“Nothing happened,” she insisted. “We’re both fine. Perfectly fine.” Her voice was so even and calm, and that only made me angrier.

“How in the hell was I supposed to know that?” I raked both hands through my hair with shaky fingers. “I. Need. To. Know. Everything.”

She gave a short nod. “Noted.” Molly moved slowly, getting to her feet before dusting the dirt and grass from her clothes and then Hunter’s. “I will make sure you know where we are at all times.” She knelt down to face Hunter. “Ready for some grub?”

He glanced up at me with worry in his eyes and then back to Molly with an excited nod. “I’m hungry enough to eat a horse! But not a real horse because Peanut Butter is my friend, not my food.”

She smiled. “That’s right, kiddo. Let’s go.” She brushed past me without a word or a glance in my direction, which was rich considering she was the one who’d left without telling me where she was going.

Horse hooves sounded, and then Billy was there, his trademark smile replaced by a frown. “Been looking all over for you, Boss. What are you doing out here?”

“What’s up?”

“Peanut Butter is missing. I just got back with Wyatt, ready to get the horses settled for the night, but his stall was empty.”

“That can’t be. I was there about ninety minutes ago, and he was fine in his stall.”

“Not anymore. The guys are out looking for him, but I figured you’d want to know.” He glanced over his shoulder where Molly and Hunter walked hand in hand, chatting quietly. “He’s very attached.”

That was an understatement. “I’m right behind you,” I told him. “Get my horse ready.”

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