Page 123 of Knot Your Problem, Cowboy
I rake a hand over my face. “I think she saw Brittany all over me. And she must have lost it.”
Walker nods grimly. “If she’s in pre-heat, her hormones are all over the place. Possessive instincts, emotions swinging hard… it wouldn’t take much to push her over.”
“Hell,” Ridge states, scanning the wreckage. “If it were me, I’d have tossed a few things too.”
We don’t waste another second. We split up, scouring the ranch. Walker heads for the stables, Ridge toward the back pastures. I hit the barn, checking every stall, feed room, and tack closet, asking every hand I pass. No one has seen her.
I’m heading back toward the yard when I spot Jarrod climbing out of his truck, carrying a coil of rope.
“Jarrod!” I jog over. “You seen Sophia?”
His expression goes guilty fast. “Yeah, uh… sorry, boss. She flagged me down, asked if I could run her to town for… y’know, girl stuff. She looked upset. Desperate, even. I didn’t think?—”
“When?”
“Maybe half an hour ago. Little less.”
“Where?”
“Dropped her near the drugstore. She barely said two words the whole drive. Just stared out the window like she might cry. Is everything okay?”
“I hope so.” Then I grunt my thanks and already have my phone out, texting Ridge and Walker.Found her. Town. Meet me at the truck.
They come at a run. Ridge’s face is carved from stone, Walker’s eyes hard.
“She got a lift into town,” I tell them. “Let’s move.”
We pile into my truck, the bigger cab, more seats, and I throw it into reverse. Gravel sprays up as we spin around, then I gun it toward the road, not giving a single damn about the speed limit.
“Easy,” Ridge mutters, bracing one hand on the dash and the other gripping the door handle as I take a corner sharp enough to send more gravel skittering. “Won’t help her if we wind up wrapped around a fence post.”
“She’s in pre-heat,” I snap, my knuckles white onthe wheel. “Alone. In town. Upset enough to rip her damn nest apart. I’m not going easy.”
Walker shifts in the back seat. “We need to make it up to her. Should’ve told her that Brittany is nothing but a handshake and paperwork.”
“You don’t dip your pen in the company ink,” I mutter.
Ridge makes a face. “You and your sayings.”
“But accurate,” I fire back, swinging us into another turn. The tires protest, squealing. “Brittany’s been sniffing around me for years. If I cut her off too clean, her daddy might take his horse contracts somewhere else. But that’s gonna come to an end now.”
“She’s our Omega,” Ridge says. “And she needs to know she is the only one for us.”
My attention locks on the road. “And we’re fixing this. Today. She’s moving into the blue room. Her nest gets rebuilt from scratch. We’ll prove she belongs with us.”
“If she’ll let us,” Walker says quietly.
“She will.” I yank the wheel to pull into town, my jaw set. “She has to.” I won’t be able to take it if she rejects us.
I nose the truck into a spot in front of the drugstore, parking a little too hard. We pile out fast, boots hitting pavement. Inside, the place smells of antiseptic and old wood.
“Seen a red-haired Omega come through in the last hour or so?” I ask, leaning on the counter.
The pharmacist frowns, thinking. “Nah. Been quiet all morning. Haven’t had many customers in the last couple hours.”
Back outside, we work our way down the street. The general store, empty. The post office has just one customer. The real estate office,closedsign swinging in the window, door locked tight. I was hoping she’d come here to see June, but no luck.
“Where else would she go?” Ridge asks, scanning the storefronts.
