Page 64 of The Bad Boy Prince in Love
Chapter 32: On His Trail
Hallie drove to theneighboring ranch where the barbecue was being held, hoping to surprise Luke.No doubt he would be in the middle of sweet-talking some naïve young lady, and Hallie wanted to have the satisfaction of catching him again, although part of her hoped she wouldn’t have to.Things had been good between them lately, and she would be disappointed if Luke had gone back to his old ways.
When she got to the ranch, the mood didn’t seem festive.People were milling about anxiously, and a few horses were saddled in the yard as a group was getting ready to go somewhere.Hallie got a bad feeling.
“Sorry, I tried to stop him,” Johnny said, rushing towards her.
“What is going on?”
“Okay, how do I explain this quickly?Luke was riding a wild horse, and it just took off, and he’s out there somewhere!”He pointed to the rolling pasture beyond the ranch.
Hallie tried to stay calm, her heart hammering away.“What do you mean?Why was he riding a wild horse?”
“It’s all under control,” Ken said, coming towards Hallie as he led a horse behind him.“We’re going after him now.I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“You set this up,” Johnny cut in, “You knew that horse was completely wild.You wanted to get him back for Travis, didn’t you?”
Ken was as complacent as ever.“Let’s not jump to conclusions—”
“We’re wasting time,” Hallie said, “Give me that horse!”
Ken flinched at her fierce tone and gave her the reins.
“Hey, hold on, we’re coming with you,” Johnny said.
“I’m not waiting for you,” Hallie called, already mounted up and riding away.She spotted the break in the fence, and she could track the horse’s hoofprints from there.
Every now and again she dismounted to take a closer look at the ground and make sure she was still following the right trail.
Johnny soon caught up with her, along with the owner of the ranch and a few other people.
“Hallie, I’m sorry about this,” said Paul.
“I don’t have time for your apologies,” she replied, peering into the distance and trying to spot any sign of Luke.
“It was only supposed to be a joke,” he added.
“A joke?”She spun back briefly to glare at him.“He didn’t have any training.Why did you let him ride a completely wild horse?”
“Sorry,” he mumbled.“I didn’t know it was going to get so out of control.”
The tracks got muddled as it looked like a bunch of cattle and horses had passed through the area recently.Hallie and the others had to dismount and wander around for a while, trying to find the hoofprints of a solitary horse leading away from the general mass.
“There’s one leading that-a-way,” Paul said, pointing west.“We could follow it or split up and try some of the other ones.”
Meanwhile, Hallie saw another set of tracks heading north.“I’ll try this one,” she said.
She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling it was the right trail to follow.A couple of the guys went with her, being all gentlemanly as they usually were.She just wished they had not been so stupid in the first place.
After clearing a small hill, Hallie spotted something in the distance.She hoped it wasn’t what she feared it was: a man lying on the ground, unmoving.There was no horse in sight.
She squeezed her horse’s flanks, making it go faster.As she approached, she saw it was Luke lying there on the grass.She called his name as she dismounted and ran over to him, but he didn’t wake up.
Once, when she was in her teens, she had seen a very elderly man collapse in the supermarket.One minute, he was standing, and the next he fell over without warning.It had been upsetting, but she had never seen someone completely unconscious since then.
