Page 71 of Christmas with the Cowboy
Lex was way more cognizant of the situation than he’d thought, and the crazy thing was how much it stung having his daughter say she didn’t need him right now. But if she said those words, then she was secure and wasn’t that what he and Candice had been aiming for in their parental campaign? Security and independence?
He never thought achieving such a thing would bring a big fat lump to his throat, but she was right. Trenna needed him and Lex didn’t…right now.
*
Before heading outinto the night on the horse hunt, Trenna took the time to tear two dish towels into strips to fashion a halter of sorts, hoping as she did so that a miracle happened, and the mare hadn’t gone that far. She also made a mental note to buy some rope. She’d liked those towels.
Once that was done, she zipped her phone into the inner pocket of her down jacket, where it wouldn’t fall out as it had that night at Grey’s Saloon, and headed out into the frigid night air. Bruno let out a roar behind her, obviously wanting to come along, and she heard his toenails scrape the wooden door, but she ignored thoughts of future sanding and painting, focusing instead on the task at hand.
The mare didn’t know the country, so where would she go?
Her boots made squeaking sounds as she crossed the yard to the small enclosure that should have held a horse, then louder noises as she punched through the snow when she started following the tracks out the fallen rear gate. At least Reed would have no trouble following her.
The tracks headed cross-country to a fence then swung to the east to parallel it.
Trenna’s breath came in short gasps, more from adrenaline than exertion. She forced her breathing into a more even rhythm as she followed the fence hoping that the gate that would allow the mare access to the Forest Service land on the mountain was shut. She knew from the walks she’d taken in the fall that it often wasn’t.
Her heart sank as she saw the silhouette of the panel gate in the moonlight, definitely open, but, by some miracle, the tracks led past it. The mare hadn’t taken the opportunity to get well and truly lost, which meant, as Reed has said, she was heading to other horses.
Or to her old home, wherever that may be.
She stopped at the gate, catching her breath, then, when she looked back at the direction from which she’d come, she spotted a dark form moving toward her in the distance. Hopefully Reed and not a bear—although a bear would be easier to deal with emotionally.
Why did she have to love the guy?
Why couldn’t it have been one of those what-did-I-ever-see-in-you situations?
Because her luck didn’t run that way.
She wanted to tromp on, close the distance between her and the mare, but instead she waited as Reed cut across the field. He must had driven too fast to have arrived so quickly, but she wasn’t going to complain. Two people together had an easier chance of catching a frightened horse.
Trenna shoved her hands deeper into her pockets as she waited for Reed. The cold was beginning to burn her cheeks, but she didn’t move until he was a few feet away.
“I think I know where she is,” he said, his breath crystalizing as he spoke.
“How?”
“Barlow Jenson has horses on winter pasture. Boomer noticed them the last time I rode fence.”
“I hope she’s there,” Trenna said as they started trudging along the tracks.
Their breaths rolled out in front of them as they walked, and Trenna chose to concentrate on the mare, not the man.
“You shouldn’t have to do this,” Reed said. “Dad should have checked the enclosure better.”
“Maybe she knocked down the gate. We don’t know.”
“All the same. This is unfair to you.”
Trenna stopped, happy for the opportunity to catch her breath. “Stop throwing up barriers.”
“What?”
“The overt politeness. You got your point across last time we spoke. You don’t need to drive it home.” She trudged on. Reed followed, and since he didn’t answer, she knew she’d nailed exactly what he was doing.
“MaybeIneed barriers,” he finally said on a low note.
Trenna ignored the uncomfortable sensation in her midsection. “How’s this for one—my dad is plotting something against your family.”
