Page 19 of Rancher's Heart

CHAPTER 12

GRIFF

We walked into the barn, and I pointed at the stall, “that’s Persephone. She’ll be yours for the day or as long as you want her.” The red chestnut thoroughbred stood pridefully, and I watched Elle’s eyes bulge.

“Aren’t you majestic?” Elle held her hand out and the horse sniffed in the air, her ears pointing straight for a moment before they relaxed. Moving slowly Elle opened the stall door and slipped in beside the animal I proudly said was one of my favorites. “Will you let me on your back today?” She slid her hand up the thick neck of the horse and pressed her forehead against it.

The horse turned her head, and it looked like she was returning Elle’s hug. “Great, I think I just lost one of my best horses,” I grumbled as I pulled open Tempest’s door, and she swatted at me with her head. “Sorry, I just have to say that so she doesn’t get jealous. You’re my best girl.” I ran my hand over her neck and over her back. She bobbed her head like she was in agreement.

Elle was a natural in the saddle, but I shouldn’t have expected any different. “How far are we riding?” She asked as she shifted in her seat and turned to look at me. My attentionwasn’t on the fence I was supposed to be checking; it was on her ass, the curve of her hip, her straight back, and I blinked, trying to make her words make sense in my head.

“I need to ride the perimeter, but we’ll need to head back a little earlier.” I should explain why we were all going there but I didn’t like talking about it.

“Are we exercising these beasts, or are we on a trail ride?” She asked, and she fully turned and looked at me.

Without another word, I tapped Tempest’s sides and she was off. I flew by Elle and Persephone and laughed. “That’s not fair,” Elle called, and I could hear her coming up behind me quickly.

Glancing behind me, she and the horse were moving as one, Elle hunched down over Persephone’s neck. I was too far ahead to hear what she was telling the horse, but I could see her mouth moving, and as if they’d found another gear, they raced up beside me.

Hooves pounded the ground, and Elle’s laughter was like the melody to the beat. Gently pulling the reins, my horse slowed, and Elle did the same. “I haven’t let a horse run like that for ages.” She sighed as her breathing slowed. “Probably because I haven’t had the room.”

“Room is the one thing we have in abundance,” I said as I looked behind me, suddenly feeling like we weren’t alone. As I surveyed the pasture, I was right. There was someone here. Spinning my horse, I galloped over to where the person was desperately trying to kick start the dirt bike he was sitting on. Elle had followed me and I turned back to her. “Stay here.” My words were gruff, and she nodded. Moving a bit closer the man held up his hand.

“I thought I was the only one out here.” The man said avoiding looking up at me, but I saw his eyes shift to Elle.

“Look at me, not her.” The way I growled those words, made the man’s head snap to me, and that’s when he made thegrave mistake of actually looking at me. I committed his face to memory: dark grey eyes, and shaggy blonde hair under his ball cap. Even sitting on my horse, I knew this man was shorter than me, but really, there were few men who weren’t. His slight build would be no match for me, but the bulge at his side led me to believe he was carrying at least one weapon.

“You’re trespassing. I suggest you get your ass off my property.” Nudging Tempest I moved a little closer. She was a big horse, known to intimidate people, and I needed all the help I could get because I wasn’t about to put Elle in danger.

“Really? I was sure this was part of the parcel my boss bought.” He took his hat off, running his hand through his hair, and shook his head.

“Who’s your boss?” I asked, leaning over and resting my arms on my saddle.

“Nobody you’d know. Well, if I’m not supposed to be here, I guess I’ll be leaving. He picked up the dirt bike, kicked it into gear, and rode out, presumably the way he came.

Shifting my gaze, I watched Elle frown at the man as he rode by, and she kept her eyes on him. Gently, she nudged Persephone’s side, “he looked familiar,” she said as she rode over to me.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve seen him before, but I’m not sure where. Give me a few minutes.” Elle stared at the ground and shook her head. “I’ll think of it.” She looked up at me. The frown on her face was one of frustration. “What do you think they wanted?”

I moved over to the spot where I saw him first and got off my horse. Whoever it was had been here a while. The vegetation around me was flat as if someone had been lying down and walking in circles. There was a small pile of burned branches, leaves, and whatever else they could find to make a fire. With heat still being thrown from the coals, it hadn’t been out long.

With a spotting scope or binoculars, they had a perfect view of my house, the corals, and the barn. “Fuck me,” I muttered under my breath.

“What is it?” Elle asked from behind me, gently resting her hand on my back.

“They’ve been watching the house,” I grumbled.

“Do you think whoever it was has a connection to Billy?”

“No, that guy isn’t from around here.” Walking past Elle, I grabbed the reins of my horse and swung up into the saddle. “We need to ride the rest of this perimeter and get back to the house so I can talk to the guys.” Kicking the side of my horse, I left Elle staring at the back of me. It was a bit of a dick move, but she would catch up.

“Just because you’re sidetracked doesn’t mean you leave me in the dust, dumb ass.” Like I expected, she was at my side in no time.

“Sorry.” She didn’t say anything else. We just rode, the sun getting higher in the sky, brush and bushes getting thicker as we got closer to the forested area of the ranch. The fir trees stretched high overhead and provided some shade as we rode along.

My mind raced in a thousand different directions, and I almost felt like I couldn’t keep up. “Wait,” Elle yelled, and I pulled my horse to a stop and whipped it around to face her.

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