Page 48 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
“It’s okay. Which direction did she go off to?” I inquire.
“That way,” she answers, pointing toward the main street.
“Give me her number. I’ll go off on foot—you use the truck,” I say to Jace, tossing him the keys.
Ella quickly gives it to me, and I take off in the same direction Ava ran off to. It’s taking everything in me to rein in my anxiety at being in town for the first time in years, but I have to do this. I have to find Ava.
Please let her be okay.
I have no idea what really went down between her and her mother, but I need to ensure she’s safe first before I demand answers.
It’s too early to call the police, so we’ll have to find her ourselves. I hope it doesn’t come to a point where we will need them.
People give me weird looks, watching me running around, eyes darting everywhere, but I don’t care. I don’t call out to her—if she’s in panic mode, she won’t answer, so there’s no point. But I do keep trying her phone just in case.
Thirty minutes later, there’s still no sign of her when Ella calls.
“I just called Lou. She sent me the pin with Ava’s location. I’ll send it to you,” she says, sounding relieved.
My phone pings with a message a moment later with a map location.
“I’m on my way,” I say to Ella as I hang up and take off in that direction.
When I get to the alley between two department stores, I hear her whimpers before I even see her.
I walk into it and find her hiding between two trash cans, one shoe missing, crying her heart out, her head trapped between her legs. Pain fills my whole body seeing her in such a state.
I quickly kneel in front of her and reach out to touch her. She screams and scoots back. “Stay away from me!”
“Miss Diva, it’s me,” I call out over her cries, pulling her head up so she can see it’s me.
Her next scream dies down on her lips. “Z-Zane.”
“It’s okay, Miss Diva. I’m here,” I coo, holding my arms out.
She crawls into my embrace, looping her arms around my neck and legs around my waist, completely breaking down on my neck.
“Zane,” she cries out my name over and over again, each time feeling like a stab directly to my heart.
“You’re okay. You’re safe,” I whisper as I caress her hair, retrieving my phone to call Jace so he can pick us up.
He’s already on his way, so I stay with Ava in the alley to avoid exposing her to strangers, especially in such a state.
When Jace arrives, I get into the back seat of the double cabin with Ava in my arms.
“How is she?” Jace asks, peeking at us through the rearview mirror as he drives off.
“Physically she’s okay. Otherwise, I’m not so sure,” I reply, peeking at her tear-stricken face.
“Ella and Daisy are already headed back home,” he informs me.
I nod as my hands tighten around Ava as she passes out in my arms. Her system knows she’s safe now.
When we get to Iron Stallion, instead of heading for the main house to take her to her room, I carry her to my cabin instead. From the corner of my eye, I see Jace stopping Ella from coming to us, so I leave him to fill her in.
In my bedroom, I set Ava down on the bed and take off her remaining shoe. Her clothes are dirty as well, so I change her into one of my t-shirts.
“Sleep, Miss Diva. We’ll talk when you wake up,” I whisper as I pull the blankets over her, running my fingers over her flushed, damp cheeks.
