Page 13 of Saving Veronica
Before she could even move, a hoof came out of nowhere and slammed into her chest. The last thing she felt was the searing pain in her chest before she flew backwards into nothing.
Chapter 5
Finn and Major exited his truck at the Pennyworth ranch and stood back to wait for his father and grandfather to park beside him. He’d opted to drive himself, hoping maybe he could stay late and get to know Ronnie better. That kiss they shared was still on his mind. They headed toward the house, but a tall, stocky man came from around the corner of the house.
“Help you?” he called out, and as he came closer, he grinned. “William, Eric. Welcome, welcome. Didn’t expect you this early.” He shook their hands and with his hand on his shoulder, William said.
“General, I’d like you to meet my son, Finn. Finn, this is General Pennyworth.”
“Just Gerald now.” Gerald laughed as he shook the younger man’s hand firmly. “Been out for eighteen years, now.”
“It’s good to meet you, General,” Finn said, as he shook the older man’s hand.
“Gerald, please.” He laughed and looked up when several other vehicles pulled in. “Why is everyone here so early, it’s not even ten in the morning. BBQ doesn’t start until three.”
“Thought you might need some help,” one of the men said, as he approached. After everyone gathered, Gerald noticed William and Eric knew everyone. He took Finn under his wing.
“This here is Finn, William’s boy. Finn, this is Sheriff Bronson, don’t have to explain what he does.” He laughed. “This is Grady Appleton, he’s our local vet. Then you have Nelson Johnson and Dale Patterson.” He pointed to them and they all shook hands. “Johnson and Patterson own neighboring ranches. Johnsons’ over that ridge.” He pointed to the mountain behind them in the direction of the west.. “Pattersons’ over that one.” And pointed to the east.
They stood around talking, when Maggie joined them. She said hello to everyone and then looked at her husband. “I’m at a point where I can take a break. I’m going to run over to Ronnie’s. Want to go with me?”
“Why don’t we all go? I’d love to see if Paige had the foal yet,” Johnson said.
“She never called me to help,” Appleton said. “Not that she needs to, Ronnie knows what she’s doing.”
“Did she stop in and see you yesterday?” Maggie asked, and frowned at Finn, who frowned also. “Hadn’t she said she was going to stop in and talk with him on Thursday or Friday? That would have been yesterday, or the day before.”
“Nope. Haven’t seen hide nor hair of Ronnie for a good month.”
Maggie stared at Finn with wide eyes, “Didn’t she say she’d be back Wednesday or Thursday?”
“She did.” Finn frowned at Maggie. “Is there any way to call her?”
“What are you guys talking about?” the Sheriff asked.
Maggie laughed. “A week ago yesterday, Ronnie left work and she took the executive elevator. One she knew she wasn’t supposed to use. She held an executive hostage for five minutes while she called me and changed from her office clothes to her ranch clothes.”
“Is the executive okay?” Bronson laughed.
“I am.” Finn grinned. “But, she told Maggie she had to come home because of Paige, then she was going to leave for a week to get Paige’s family to join them. I distinctly heard her say she’d be gone until Wednesday, Thursday at the latest. She had to go to the campus, and then stop in and talk with Appleton no later than Friday.”
“Well, I never saw her,” Doc Appleton said, as he scratched his head. “She never called me about Paige, and I never saw her yesterday... and I was in the clinic all day.”
“Instead of jumping to conclusions.” Gerald held up his hand when everyone started talking. “Why don’t we drive over and see if she’s home. We can talk to Hector.”
They all agreed, and Finn ended up driving his own truck over to Ronnie’s ranch. It surprised him they didn’t go out on the road, but a line of cars drove toward the barn, following a well-worn path. About eight miles down that road, they all pulled up and parked next to a Jeep. They exited their vehicles and took the lead from Gerald, and followed him across the yard to a barn.
Finn saw an older man come out of the barn, and hurried toward the newest arrivals. “What’s up?”
“Ronnie here?” Maggie asked.
“No. She told me if she wasn’t home by Saturday to send out a search party. I was going to give it until ten and call you, Gerald.”
Finn walked over to a fence and petted Major, when he felt the dog stiffen. He looked down and saw the direction he was looking. He turned back to the crowd of people and let out a loud piercing whistle. When he had their attention, he called out, “What’s that noise?”
They hurried over to him and Hector asked. “What noise?”
“Shh, listen,” Finn said, and pointed to the trees. Hector swore, climbed through the fence and ran to the other side to swing open a huge gate. Finn guessed he was about to let something in, because there was nothing there to get out.
