Page 15 of Tempting Fate
“Five minutes and then we call home, okay?” Harper didn’t look too happy about that, but she tacitly agreed. “What’s your horse’s name?”
“Ginger.”
Raylene put two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle.
“How’d you learn how to do that?”
“Practice.” She called “Ginger” and clicked her tongue. It was a long shot, but worth trying.
Nothing.
“Were you riding bareback?”
“With a saddle. But I didn’t do the thing right and it slid off.”
“The cinch?” The girl was lucky she didn’t get hurt.
Harper nodded.
“You have to learn how to do that properly before you can ride. We should look for your saddle.” The McCreedys had always had nice tack. “It’ll be faster in the truck.” Raylene helped Harper in, and it struck her that the girl hadn’t thought twice about talking to or taking a ride with a stranger.
She started the engine, cranked up the heat, and drove in the direction of the trees. “Keep your eyes peeled.”
When they got to the grove Raylene stopped, got out of the truck, and looked around. She could see her own breath and rubbed her gloved hands together to keep warm. “Which way from here?”
Harper pointed south, where the land turned to McCreedy property. There was a split-rail fence separating the two parcels. “You sure?”
“No.”
Raylene didn’t think so. She stared out over the pasture, trying to think how she would’ve gone. There was a time when she knew every square inch of these fields and had ridden the backcountry for hours at a time.
“Let’s get back in the truck before we freeze.”
Harper scrambled in and Raylene turned around. On a hunch, she followed the fence line.
“How come you were beating that tree with your purse? Did something bad happen?”
Raylene slid Harper a sideways glance, not wanting to get into the details of her messy divorce with a thirteen-year-old. “My dad died. But it was months ago.”
Harper nodded, her lips pursed like a sage old woman, which made Raylene smile. “It’s okay to still be sad,” she said, acting all grown-up. “My…the woman who stole me…died before Christmas. It’s been really hard.”
Raylene didn’t want to pry or ask anything that was inappropriate, but she was beyond curious. “Did you care for her?”
“Yeah,” Harper said. “Her and my dad. But he wasn’t really my dad. He died in a car crash a long time ago.”
“I’m sorry. You didn’t know that they had kid—taken you?”
“They said my parents had died. I guess I was stupid to believe them.”
“Nah, you were just a little kid. No way you could’ve known. Do you see what I see?”
Harper gasped. “Ginger!”
Raylene applied the brakes and slowly got out of the cab. “Come here, girl.” She clicked her tongue and held out her hand, and the mare stretched her neck to see what Raylene had. That’s when she reached for the reins and tugged her in. “Good girl. You’re such a good girl.” Raylene pointed a few feet behind Ginger. “There’s your saddle. Go get it and throw it in the back.”
Harper hefted it off the ground with both hands and Raylene helped her toss it in the bed of her truck.
“You ready to face the music?”
