Page 19 of Luke

“I’m sure it does.” Mr. Hancock chuckled. “I was going to head to the barn earlier, but with the wind blowing and the thermometer showing below zero, I decided to stay inside.”

Luke chuckled as well. “Can’t say I blame you. I wouldn’t be out if I didn’t have to be. So, you reported fifteen missing horses?”

“That’s right,” Mr. Hancock confirmed with a frown. “Those bastards broke my fence and took off with them. It had to be last night because we checked on them yesterday. We were planning to move them closer to the barns today before this storm hit, but when my manager and some ranch hands rode up there, they were gone.”

“I see,” Luke said as he wrote down the information. “What breed they are?”

“Shires,” Mr. Hancock replied.

“Shires?” Luke repeated in surprise. “How did they manage to take fifteen of those massive draft horses?”

The man shrugged helplessly. “It must have been one hell of a big trailer.”

“Yeah, it would have to be.” Luke shook his head in disbelief. “Do you breed them?”

“I do,” Mr. Hancock nodded. “My grandfather started raising them when he was a young man, and it’s been passed down for generations. I sell a lot of them.”

“How many did you have in total?”

“Ihadtwenty-five.” Mr. Hancock sighed.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Luke sympathized genuinely. “I’ll do everything in my power to find them, sir, but I have to warn youthat it might not be possible.”

“I understand, but if you can track them down, son, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Yes, sir. Can you give me directions to where they were taken from?”

“Of course. Just follow the road through the gate, take a left at the fork, and it will lead you right to the fence. It’s still down since we didn’t want to disturb anything before you arrived.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Luke stood up, grabbed his coat, and took his hat off the peg. “I’ll go take a look.” He reached out his hand for Mr. Hancock to shake. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Alright. Stay safe out there, son.”

“Yes, sir.” Luke nodded, opened the door, stepped onto the porch, then got into his truck. He drove across the field to the damaged fence, using the tire tracks already there. His truck was four-wheel drive, but with the ground being so wet, he could still get stuck.

After walking along the fence and taking photographs, he returned to his truck and turned on the heat before driving back to the office.

At the end of the day, he stood up and stretched. His back was sore from sitting at his desk all day going through files. Looking around, he saw that most of the agents had already left for the day. As he headed out to the elevator, he waved at Deacon Anderson, another agent sitting at his desk, talking on the phone. He nodded at Luke making him grin when he rolled his eyes as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. Luke put on his coat and hat and walked toward the elevator.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, he glanced toward the diner and decided to check on Bryce.

He parked by the stairs leading up to her apartment, got out of his truck, and climbed the steps. He was relieved to see that they were clear of ice, and someone had put salt down.

When he reached the stoop, he knocked and waited. He wrapped his coat tightly around himself and turned his back to the wind to fight off the chill. When he heard the locks turn, he faced the door.

“Hi, Luke,” Bryce greeted him as she opened the door. “Please come in.”

“Thanks.” Luke removed his hat, wiped his feet on the mat, and entered her apartment. “I apologize for dropping by unannounced, but I wanted to check on how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing well. Please take off your coat and have a seat.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s fine. Leah is the only person I get to talk to, and she’s not much of a talker.” She smiled.

Luke chuckled. “I can imagine.” He hung his coat and hat on the rack.

“Would you like some coffee?”

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