Page 51 of Falling For Her Cowboy
Perfect place to disappear with someone.
“Hold on, babe. I’m coming.” He gripped the steering wheel tight now, wishing he’d had his truck. It would be wasting time to go back to switch vehicles. He secretly hoped he was overreacting. What if a coyote was in the area and she was scaring off the animal? Ridge didn’t care. He’d ensure she was safe if that was the case and help her fix the damn fence.
An urgency like he’d never known came over him. He cursed and leaned forward as if that would lend speed to the vehicle. He finallyarrived at the empty pasture where Trent said she was working. With his heart racing, he scanned the area for her. Daisy was off grazing, but there were no signs of her owner.
Where the hell was Melah?
He made his way over to Daisy. She was a little way away from the woods, but something drew Ridge’s attention to them. He drove up near them and cut the engine. He exited the vehicle and ambled over to Daisy.
“Hey, girl. Remember me?” Ridge spoke in a soft, hushed voice. He didn’t want to scare her.
The horse lifted her head and eyed him suspiciously. She neighed softly as he ran a hand along her neck. There didn’t look to be any signs of trauma to her.
“Where’s your momma? Where’s Melah?”
She gave a heavy sigh and shook her head before lowering it again to go back to her meal. The fence where Melah was working wasn’t finished. Her tools were still on the ground. He bit back a curse and glanced back to the woods. He gave Daisy another heavy pat, then slowly walked toward the woods. He paused and assessed the area. It appeared as calm as any day. Birds chirping and the sounds of naturefilling the air.
He narrowed his eyes and walked along the path that had been naturally created. He eyed the ground. Fresh boot marks. They were small—the size of a woman’s feet.
Melah.
“What were you doing, babe?” he murmured slowly. He bent down and examined the ground near him.
She’d spun in a circle as if looking for something—or someone. Had it been her who’d pulled the trigger of her gun?
Or had some mysterious person shot her?
There were no signs of blood anywhere. Ridge breathed a sigh of relief. He stood tall and glanced about. He tiptoed around her tracks then froze in place at the sight of larger prints that appeared out of nowhere. Ridge looked up at the tree where the prints began. Whoever had joined her had been hiding in the tree.
Ridge took a few more steps forward and saw the signs of a tussle on the ground. Anger filled him at the sight. He bent down and eyed the ground. He may have been out of the Navy for years, but some things one doesn’t forget. His father had also taught him and Draven the art of tracking when they were younger. Andy would take them hunting,and there was plenty for Ridge to read on the ground.
An attacker had ambushed Melah. Ridge assessed the area, and a hint of black metal stuck out from underneath a bush. He stalked over to it and raised the leaves out of the way. It was a Glock.
Melah’s gun, and it had been recently fired.
“Son of bitch,” Ridge muttered. Someone had taken his woman. He stood upright and held on to her weapon. Whoever it was didn’t even try to cover their tracks. He narrowed his eyes on the ground and began to follow them. They were going toward the mountain.
He and his brother knew this land better than anyone. Whoever had taken Melah was going to regret they’d ever stepped foot on to the Silver Creek Ranch. There was truly no place they could hide from him.
The memory of Melah’s face came to mind. Her smile. Her laugh. The sight of her face when she reached her climax.
He wanted to see it again. Experience her arms wrapped around his neck as she stared up at him with an alluring smile on her face. After today, she was going to see how crazy he was for her. He’d fallen in love with her. There was no questioning it.
Ridge was not going to hesitate any longer in making sure she knew his true feelings about her. There was not going to be any discussions of her possibly leaving Ironhaven either.
This was Melah’s home.
He was her future.
She was not leaving him. He’d show her how much they belonged together. She had to know it already. The chemistry between them should not be ignored. From the moment they were together, Ridge had felt complete. Words truly couldn’t express all there was between them, but he knew one thing for certain.
She was his.
He’d find them. They hadn’t had much of a head start, and Ridge could catch up with them easily.
A deadly calm overtook him. When he caught up with the person who’d taken Melah, Ridge would deal with them and get his woman back.
Through any means necessary.
