Chapter 10

Alley headed from the house to the barn. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle when a cold blast of wind whipped through the yard. She tucked her hands in the sleeves of her sweater and ducked her head. Even though it was windy, the horses needed to be turned out.

She glanced at the empty space in front of the barn. For five days in a row, Shane’s Suburban had occupied that spot, and now it looked oddly empty. She shook her head and swiped the hair out of her eyes. She had already been spending too much time thinking about Shane Taggart during the week. Why couldn’t she give it a rest on the day he wasn’t here?

Reluctantly, she’d let Shane stay on as trainer because she’d had no other options. No one in their right mind or with any kind of experience would work for almost no compensation, and gamble on a payout many months down the road. She needed his help, but why he’d even offered was a complete mystery. When she’d pondered the question out loud, Gramps had told her things would work out, and Shane probably had nothing better to do with his time.

“He’s just looking for a way to buy this farm.”

Alley had regretted her outburst instantly. It wasn’t true. There was no doubt that if Shane Taggart really wanted to buy Gramps’ farm, he would have made an offer Gramps couldn’t refuse. He hadn’t said a word about it since the first time he’d come to visit.

Since the beginning of the week, he’d been there promptly at seven each morning, and left right around noon. Gramps had said what a good job Shane was doing with bringing the colts along.

“He thinks he’ll bring a rider with him in the next couple of weeks when it’s time to back the colts for the first time.”

Gramps seemed pleased with the progress, and as little as she understood about training a young horse, Alley had already seen the progress Shane had made with the animals. He was patient with each one, soft-spoken, and seemed to be able to read their body language. He had a genuine love for horses, and it showed. More and more, the boy from high school vanished in front of her eyes, and was replaced by the serious, and quiet, and very focused man he was now.

Harley nickered when she entered the barn, and the four colts moved around restlessly in their stalls. The chestnut whinnied. When Alley went into the tack room to grab a lead rope, her eyes fell on a lighter lying on one of the crates. She frowned.

Shane must have left it there after he’d used it to cauterize the ends of some frayed rope he’d been cutting the other day. A barn was no place to keep a lighter. He should know better. She shoved it into her jeans pocket, then went to the chestnut’s stall and slipped inside. She attached the lead line to his halter and gave him a pat on his sleek neck.

“Shane says you’re going to make a fine racehorse.”

Alley opened the stall fully to lead the eager horse out into the barn aisle. Shane came five days out of the week. Weekends were rest days for the horses, but they still needed to be let out of their stalls for a few hours to stretch their legs.

The colt was beautiful, but he was also full of energy. He tossed his head and pranced as she led him from his stall and out the barn. She snapped the lead line like she’d seen Shane do, but the horse definitely had more respect for him than her. Instead of walking calmly beside her, he shied and pulled back.

The momentum made Alley lurch forward. She didn’t let go of the rope, but the jerk to her shoulder sent a sharp pain down her arm. Her palm burned as if it was on fire. Her blisters had barely healed, and the rope sliced through her skin.

Alley barely had the strength to hold on to the colt. The young horse whinnied, his head held high and his tail raised proudly. His body tensed, and no matter how much she murmured to him, the colt would not calm enough to be led to the paddock. With a loud snort, he blew air through his nostrils, then reared. Alley stumbled backward and fell on her backside at the sudden, unexpected move from the horse. She lost her grip on the lead line. The colt instantly sensed that he was free, and took off in a gallop down the lane that led to the pastures in the distance.

“Dammit.” Alley panted to catch her breath from the shock of the impact. She scrambled to stand. Adrenaline shot through her, making her legs weak and wobbly.

The colt’s front hoof could have easily struck her in the head when he reared. Her heart pounded fiercely at the thought. Her eyes darted around. What was she going to do? She had to go after the colt. He looked to be heading straight for the hills.

Alley swallowed back the rising panic that threatened to consume her. She couldn’t afford to let anything happen to the horse. What if he got injured? At least he wasn’t heading for the highway. Not yet, anyway.

Alley ran back into the barn, and grabbed her saddle and bridle from the tack room.

“Sorry, Harley. We have to go after Red.”

With trembling hands, she saddled the bay gelding, which snorted as if sensing there was great urgency. She pulled herself into the saddle and trotted out of the barn.

“What’s going on? I heard commotion out here?” Gramps came walking from the house as fast as his bowed legs could carry him.

“The chestnut colt got away from me. He took off and is heading for the hills. I have to go after him.” Alley pointed in the direction the colt had gone. She couldn’t even see the horse anymore.

Gramps shook his head. “Don’t be foolish, Alley. You’re never going to catch him.”

“I have to try. I can’t waste anymore time.”

She nudged Harley in the sides before Gramps did something to stop her, like grab hold of Harley’s reins. The faithful gelding broke into a run. Alley ignored her grandpa’s frantic calls for her to come back.

“It’s too risky for you, Alley. I’ll call Shane,” Gramps yelled after her.

Alley gripped the saddle horn with one hand and the reins in the other. She’d never ridden this fast before. Harley seemed to have grown wings. Maybe he’d sensed her urgency. If Gramps wanted to call Shane, that was his choice, but she didn’t have time to wait for him. The colt could be in the next county by the time he arrived.

She gritted her teeth as wind whipped in her face, and her vision became blurry from her eyes watering. Dammit, she didn’t want to have to depend on Shane Taggart for everything. She already owed him more than she could ever repay.

Harley galloped past the pastures where the mares grazed. Several of them ran along the fence line, clearly disturbed by the colt who had flown past them a few minutes ago. Why hadn’t the silly horse stopped to visit with the mares? He must have sensed freedom and taken full advantage of it. If he could run like that on the racetrack, he might be the horse that saved this farm.

“Unless he breaks his leg along the way,” Alley mumbled through gritted teeth. The hills and mountains were no place for a racehorse.

Harley jumped over a log that lay on the ground without missing his momentum. Alley lurched forward, grabbing fistfuls of his mane.

I might be the one to break a leg - or worse, my neck - before this day is over.

“Shane, you might want to come out to the barns.”

Shane held his cellphone to his ear, tilting his head to hold it in place with the aid of his shoulder. He spread mustard over a slice of bread, then piled on shaved turkey, some lettuce, and tomato. He frowned. His barn manager didn’t usually call him on his cell unless there was an emergency.

“I’m just about to eat lunch, Al. Where’s the fire?”

Shane pressed another piece of bread on top of his sandwich, then smashed the two pieces together to keep the contents from falling out.

“Well, ah . . . we’ve got a visitor.”

Shane rolled his eyes. He carried his plate to the kitchen table. Today was the first day all week that he had a couple of hours to himself, and he was being interrupted because of something trivial?

“Make him feel welcome and find out what he wants.”

Probably someone wanting a tour of the ranch. Shane shook his head. Al wouldn’t call him about that. He’d take care of it himself. Shane’s stomach growled. He eyed his sandwich.

“Well, the problem is, Shane, this visitor probably can’t tell us where he’s from or what he wants.”

“Cut to the chase, Al,” Shane growled. If this was a practical joke, he wasn’t in the mood for it.

“A horse showed up a few minutes ago. Came charging past the fields and toward the barns. Some of the boys rounded him up, and we’re holding him in the yearling barn right now.”

Shane cursed. “One of the pastured horses got out?”

“I ain’t never seen this horse before. No one else recognizes him, either. Big chestnut. Looks like a two-year-old, and he can run like the wind.”

Shane nearly tripped over his chair in an effort to get to the wide glass doors that led to the backyard and gave a nice overview of the barns in the distance. Not that he’d be able to see anything from this far away. There was only one big chestnut colt that came to mind, and the odds of him showing up at the Taggart Ranch were rather slim. Or were they?

“I’ll be right there.” Shane eyed his sandwich as he rushed past the table and out the door. A million scenarios rushed through his mind, one more unlikely than the next. The landline rang at that moment, but he ignored it.

“Whoa. Where are you going?”

Raine avoided a collision with him by a fraction of an inch. Shane reached for his coat hanging on a peg in the hallway. The wind this morning had been rather cold.

“The barns,” he said, just as he heard his name on the answering machine. The voice sounded familiar. Henry Cramer. His heart began to pound harder. Something had definitely happened at the Cramer Farm. Dread filled him. Was Alley all right?

Shane changed course from heading out the front door to rushing back into the kitchen to grab the phone.

“Henry, I was just about to call you,” he said.

“We’ve got a problem, Shane.” Henry’s voice was filled with concern. “One of the colts got out, and he ran off into the hills.”

“I figured. I think he missed me so much, he came here for a visit.”

“What?”

Shane laughed. “I was just informed that a big chestnut mystery horse showed up at the ranch.”

“Is Alley there, too?”

“Alley?” Shane’s heart leapt at the sound of her name. He frowned. “No one said anything about her.”

“She went after Red. Got on her horse and took off after him. I’m worried about her. She hasn’t come back.” There was a slight pause, then Henry continued, “I should have called you right away, but I didn’t want to bother you. I thought maybe she could get him back on her own. It’s been a couple of hours.”

Shane cursed under his breath. Why didn’t Alley call him, instead of chasing after a horse by herself? There was no telling what kind of trouble she could get into. She still didn’t trust him enough.

“Stay at your house, Henry. I’ll find her.”

Shane slammed the phone on the counter. He cursed again. Alley might be okay to go for a leisurely ride in the country, but chasing after a runaway horse was quite a different matter. Raine entered the kitchen.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, yet,” he mumbled, making a mental list of things he would need for a possible ride into the backcountry. “I have to go see Al at the stables. Can you put together a first aid kit, some water, trail food, and a blanket?”

Ignoring Raine’s wide-eyed stare, he rushed out of the house. Hopefully his sister would do as he asked, or it would mean more delays. He glanced at the sky. There were clouds, but it didn’t look like rain was on the way. The wind was the only problem. Usually, it died down later in the day. In any case, he needed to be prepared for possibly spending several hours riding through the mountains looking for Alley. What if she was hurt? What if –?

He shook his head. No. He’d endured enough tragedy in his life, and people he cared about getting hurt. It was not going to happen again.

Shane rushed to the yearling barn. Several grooms stood around in the barn aisle, talking excitedly. Their voices hushed when he headed toward them. Al came out of one of the stalls.

“We cooled him off. He’s got a couple of cuts on him, but it doesn’t look like he’s injured.” Al stepped aside to let Shane enter the colt’s stall.

“Hey, Red. What have you been up to?” Shane patted the colt’s neck. The young horse trembled slightly and breathed heavily, but it was more due to excitement and his unfamiliar surroundings than being winded.

“You know who this horse belongs to?” Al’s eyes widened.

“Henry Cramer.” Shane left the stall. The colt looked fine. He faced the grooms. “I need a saddle horse right now. One of you, make sure this colt is taken care of for the night.”

Both grooms nodded, and one of them rushed out of the barn, while Raine walked in, carrying an armful of things.

“Care to explain what’s going on, Shane?” She glared at him.

“One of Cramer’s horses got loose. Somehow it found its way here. Alley rode off after the horse, and Henry hasn’t heard from her.” Shane’s answers were fast and clipped. He met his sister’s inquisitive stare. It was as if time ticked by in slow motion while he waited for the groom to come back with a horse for him to ride. “Any other questions?”

“You’re going after her?”

Shane almost laughed at her silly question. “Of course. She could be out there somewhere, in trouble.”

“On horseback?”

Shane clenched his jaw. “I don’t think she would have kept to accessible roads if she was following a runaway horse, Raine. The only way to get through those hills is on horseback.”

He moved around his sister at the sound of a horse’s hooves on cement approaching. The groom led a saddled bay horse toward him. Shane took the items Raine still carried in her arms. He stuffed the first aid kit into one of the saddlebags, then a couple of water bottles, and various snack foods she’d gathered. She’d even packed his sandwich. Last, he rolled up the blanket and tied it to the back of the saddle.

He reached in his pocket for his cell phone and dialed Henry Cramer’s number.

“No, she’s still not back. It’s getting late.” Henry’s voice sounded strained.

“I’m heading out to look for her. Call my sister, Raine, if she shows up. Raine will call you when she hears word from me.”

Shane disconnected the call. Raine stepped in front of him.

“How about we call Del Macklin? He can form a search party.”

Shane shook his head. “By the time you call the sheriff and he gets out here, we’ve wasted another hour. You can call him, but I’m heading out.”

He reached for the reins and stepped into the stirrup. Raine’s hand on his arm stopped him. Concern clouded her eyes. No doubt she was thinking the same thing that had been on his mind – she didn’t want to see another family member get hurt. Alley wasn’t a family member, but the way she’d tormented Shane’s mind for weeks, she might as well be.

“Be careful, Shane. Don’t go charging into the hills, playing cowboy to impress the one girl who’s finally caught your attention.”

Shane stared at his sister. How the hell had she known? He frowned, but didn’t offer any kind of reply to her comment.

“If I’m not back by tomorrow morning, send out a search party.”

He mounted his horse, and pointed the gelding in the direction of the nearby foothills.