Page 46 of Return of the Rancher

Eleven

India rode the perimeter for two hours, maybe longer. She deliberately didn’t look at her watch or her phone. She needed peace and silence to clear her head.

By following the fence line at a lazy pace, she was assured of not getting lost. She might be desperate for answers, but she wasn’t foolhardy.

Eventually, she intersected the small dirt road that led back to the bunkhouse. She wasn’t quite ready to return home. Her explorations, both literal and mental, had energized her. So, she passed the road and kept following the fence. Just a mile or two more, and she would turn around. She didn’t want to miss dinner, and she definitely didn’t want to alarm Dottie.

Disaster hit without warning. A prairie dog popped its head out of a hole right as Daisy ambled by. Startled, the usually docile mare reared up on her hind legs.

India had gotten comfortable during her slow ride. She hadn’t been holding the reins as tightly as she should. Even worse, she was not a skilled enough rider to take control of the situation.

It was like witnessing herself in slow motion. She yelled, fell backward off the horse, and then everything went black.

Farris whistled as he drove up the winding road that led to Aspenglow. Once he had given up his craven impulse to escape to LA, he had instantly felt better. He couldn’t run away from his problems.

The sun was low in the sky. As always, this trip felt like coming home. But with India in residence, home held a warmth and a glow of contentment that was even more appealing.

That should have bothered him. And it did. On some level. But he was choosing to live in denial at the moment.

As he pulled up in front of the ranch house, his foreman came running from the direction of the barn. “Mr. Farris,” he said, out of breath. “The mare, Daisy, got out of the barn, or someone took her out. She came back wearing a saddle but no rider. I didn’t tell Ms. Dottie, ’cause I didn’t want to worry her.”

The alarm on the man’s face told Farris that he knew this was an emergency. Farris felt dizzy for a moment. No one would bother that horse. No one but India.

“Did you see her? Did you see India around the barn today?”

“No, sir. But we’ve been working elsewhere. Is Jerry going to be okay?”

“He’s fine.” Jerry’s wife had been in town and met them at the ER. “How long ago did the horse wander in?”

“It’s been twenty minutes. I sent a couple of guys out to look.”

Farris debated his options. They had about two hours of daylight left, maybe less. As soon as the sun went down, temperatures would plummet. Doing an all-out search in the dark would be almost impossible.

“You were right not to upset my mother,” he said gruffly. Since Farris had left a message earlier in the day, neither his mother nor the housekeeper would be expecting him. But eventually, they would begin to wonder about India. “Saddle up Diablo for me. I’ll grab riding boots from the barn and a bigger coat.”

“I’ll put the heavy-duty flashlight in the saddlebag.”

Farris swallowed hard. “Add the first-aid kit and a blanket. Plus, some water.”

“Yes, sir.”

The other man ran off. Farris followed rapidly, finding the gear he needed. He was ready in less than five minutes. Two minutes after that, the foreman appeared with Diablo.

Farris mounted and stared toward the mountains. His expression was grim as he assessed his options. “I grabbed the walkie-talkie in case I hit a dead cell spot. The extra one is on the shelf just inside the door. Keep it with you. I might need help.”

“Got it.”

Farris took off at a gallop, thinking on the run. India had a terrible sense of direction. They had often laughed about it. Farris would tease her by saying it was her only flaw. There was no way India would simply wander the open range. Surely, she would have kept the fence line in sight.

It was the only clue he had. But if she had gotten lost, Farris would have to search in a grid until he found her.

Riding the fence was something he could do on autopilot. How far would she have come? Why had she left the house at all on such a cold day? Admittedly, the weather wasn’t bad, as winter days went, but it sure as hell wasn’t balmy.

The whole time, he scanned the ground and small clumps of trees for a glimpse of her. Much of the ranch was rolling open prairie. But if the horse had thrown her, India could be anywhere. Thirty minutes passed. Then an hour.

The ice in the pit of his stomach grew. He couldn’t leave her out here in the dark, especially after the bear incident. India would be terrified. She was a city girl at heart, though she had grown to love Wyoming as much as Farris did.

He crossed over the dirt road that bisected the ranch and kept going. Five minutes later, he pulled hard on the reins. “Easy, boy. I see something.” The sun had glinted off an unknown object in a clump of tumbleweed.

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