Page 83 of Clumsy in Love

The hair on Cole’s neck prickled. “How can I find her?”

“I don’t know if you can,” Jen said. “She’s in the backwoods. I have a general area where she was headed, but—”

“Point me in the right direction,” he interrupted. “I’ll find her.” He cursed himself for not bringing his hiking boots.

“You can’t just walk off into the woods,” Jen said, horrified at the thought. “She went on horseback and could be miles away. It’ll be dark in a few hours.”

“With or without your help, I’m going. Please help me?”

She stared into his eyes and seemed to read the urgency.

“Okay. Wait here.” Jen turned and entered the house.

He told himself not to worry. Holly was tough and could handle herself. She was probably fine. But now that he was here, so close, there was an imperativeness to tell her how he felt. All of a sudden, any time without her was time wasted. His feelings were a bomb set to explode.

Jen came out a few minutes later with a small sack. “Here’s a flashlight, food, and a sleeping bag in case you get stuck. I’ll put a tent and some other supplies in a saddlebag. Follow me.”

He threw the pack over his shoulder and walked beside her to the barn. “You’ll have to take Lucifer.”

Jen opened the door, and the donkey brayed loudly. Right in Cole’s face. “Wait. What?”

“If you’re determined to do this, you don’t have time to go on foot.” She led Lucifer out of the stall and threw a saddle onto his back. Then stuffed a blanket, water bottles, and a few other things in the saddlebag. Finally, she cinched a rifle to the end of the saddle.

“You canridea donkey?” he said.

“Sure,” Jen replied.

Cole sized up the mule. His head hit at Cole’s shoulder. “But he’s so small. Can it hold me?”

“It’s just like riding a horse. More or less.” She mumbled the last part. “You’ve ridden a horse, right?”

Cole stared blankly. “I’ve seen it done on TV.”

Jen stopped what she was doing and met his eyes. “I’m beginning to think this is a terrible idea. It won’t do Holly any good to have the both of you lost.”

He had to get on his way before Jen changed her mind. “No worries. I can do this.”

Her dubious look made him nervous. Was he really about to hop on a donkey and ride it into the mountains with dusk only a few hours away? The more he thought about it, the more he realized Jen might be right. Thiswascrazy.Don’t think about it then, Robinson.

Cole climbed onto Lucifer, who snorted in protest. “I weigh over two hundred pounds,” he said. “Are you sure about this?”

“He’ll complain, but he’s fine.” Jen patted the mule’s neck. She pulled a map and Sharpie out of her back pocket. “We’re here.” She put an X over a spot on the map. “Follow the main road for two miles to here. That’s where you turn off to head up the mountain. That’s also where you’ll most likely lose cell service. Holly said she’d stay on the west side of the lake, so somewhere over here.” She twirled her finger in a two-inch radius over the X, and Cole made a mental note.

“Okay. Got it.” He shoved the map into his pocket.

Jen backed away. “You’re all set. Last chance to back out.”

Cole shook his head. He felt ridiculous, like an old-timey miner. Whatever. Holly might be in trouble. He had to find her.

“Giddy up?” he said, nudging Lucifer with his feet like he’d seen in the movies. Surprised, he gripped the knobby thing onthe saddle when the donkey started moving. Jen’s chortle was the last thing he heard as he made his way down the driveway.

After a while, he discovered riding was actually pretty easy. He just hung on and let the animal do all the work. When they approached the turnoff, Cole tugged the reins in the direction he wanted to go and was once again pleasantly surprised when the mule turned.

“Good job, donkey,” he said. It seemed mean to call him Lucifer, and he needed to stay on good terms with this beast.

They rode along amicably for a while, but once the trail thinned and the slope steepened, Lucifer grew impatient. Well, that was what Cole assumed all the head-throwing and braying meant. The trail eventually got so thin that Cole wasn’t even sure they were on it anymore.

Lucifer seemed to be heading in the right direction—at least, the right general vicinity—so Cole let him have his head. But the woods grew dense, and branches scratched his face and caught in his hair.

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