Page 56 of Choosing the Montana Cowboy

He pivoted to find Natalie walking toward him. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

She stretched onto her tiptoes for a good-morning kiss, grinning. “It’s only been a few hours.”

Sam wrapped his arms around her. “If you’d stayed over, it wouldn’t have even been that long.”

“Hmm, I don’t think your daughter would have appreciated waking to find me there.”

“But I would have.” He waggled his brows.

She pushed him away on a laugh. Sam loved that they could tease each other so freely. Now he just needed to make sure she knew how much he loved that.

“How are you feeling? When I dropped you off last night, you looked a little rough.”

“Eh, nothing a few aspirin couldn’t fix.” He winked. “How was your evening?”

Her gaze shifted from his. “Good. Took a bath, climbed into bed. My uncle texted just before I dozed off, said we had bad storms coming today back home.”

She pulled out her cell phone and queued up the radar. Sam drew near and checked the screen over her shoulder. Lots of green with pockets of yellows and reds.

“Are they calling for tornadoes?”

Natalie shook her head. “Not so far, just heavy rain and winds.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way.”

“I know, right?” She pocketed her cell. “Listen, Sam, I stopped out early because there’s something I wanted to talk to you abou—”

Jackson Dean began singing from Sam’s back pocket. He extracted his own cell phone and saw his neighbor Tyler Smith’s name on the screen. Now what was Miss Petunia’s owner doing, calling him this early on a Saturday?

“Morning, Tyler. What’s the word?”

“Sorry to bother you, Sam, but we’ve got ourselves an emergency and could use your help. One of our ranch hands was doing some work in the foothills this morning, and he and his horse got swallowed up by a sinkhole. Guessing it was an old, abandoned mining tunnel. That sucker is deep, maybe twenty feet. Can’t get near the edge of the hole without more dirt coming down.”

Sam motioned for Natalie to give him a minute and jogged toward the barracks where their ranch hands stayed. “I’ll gather some help and head that way. Did you call 911?”

“Yeah, they’re on their way. Thinking we’re going to need a crane, just don’t know how long it might take to find one and get it out here. I’m just grateful he wasn’t riding alone. If Seth hadn’t come flying back to alert us, who knows how long it might have been before anyone went looking for him.”

By now, Sam was pounding on doors and getting the help to peek their heads out. He explained the situation and told everyone to meet him out front in ten.

“We’ll be there in about fifteen with anything we think might be helpful. Not sure if we can save the horse without a crane, but I’ve got a few ideas to save your man.”

He disconnected and ran back to where he’d left Natalie.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but we’ll have to continue this talk later. Tyler’s got a man and his horse stuck in a sinkhole on the next ranch over, and the clock is ticking before things get worse.”

“Oh God, that’s terrible! Go, the girls and I will help Neil get set up. Be safe and keep us posted.”

Sam pressed a kiss to her crown, appreciating her understanding yet again. This woman was definitely a keeper. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

*

Natalie watched Sam,Carlos, and Howie take off in Sam’s truck, heading out to help Tyler rescue his ranch hand. Were sinkholes common occurrences around here? The thought made her shudder. Then again, she’d seen urban sinkholes form in her own town thanks to buried, aging sewer pipes. But out here, who was there to rescue you from such a thing?

“Neighbors” was Norah’s answer when she asked that at breakfast. “We have a fire station in town, and they can call for backup from other communities, but that takes time. I sure hope Tyler’s guy will be okay.”

“And his horse,” Madison added.

The adults around the table, though, only exchanged worried looks. Something told Natalie the odds of both horse and rider making it back safely weren’t too high.

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