Page 83 of A Cowboy's Bride
“Dammit, Aiden.” Declan’s voice held restrained panic. “Jinx is missing.”
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Fear made her fingers clumsy as Petra raced to get dressed. Beside her, Aiden was hauling on jeans and socks, worry pouring off him.
“I’m sure she’s okay,” Petra said to reassure herself as much as him.
He caught her fingers in his and squeezed tight. “We’ll figure out what happened together. No matter what.” Aiden dipped his chin firmly. “We promised she’d be safe, and we will make that happen…” His voice trailed off.
They rushed into the living room to discover a full room. Everyone from High Water ranch was there, plus Zach and Julia and Petra’s parents. Sasha stood slightly to one side with Tansy and Sydney surrounding her, a united front.
“Tell us,” Aiden demanded, turning to Declan.
“The girls planned to sleep in the barn. Sasha went to say good night to her parents, and when she got back, Jinx was gone. Her sleeping bag and backpack are missing.”
“We went through the entire barn from top to bottom,” Declan said. “She’s not there, and she’s not in any of the stalls.”
A quivering sniffle escaped Sasha, fear written all over her young face.
Petra stepped in front of her. “It’s okay, honey. You didn’t do anything wrong, but is there anything else you can tell us? Did Jinx say anything to you? Did she seem upset?”
Sasha shook her head. “She was quiet, but she’s often quiet.” She glanced at Tansy. “We had s’mores with you by the fire pit, then we sat on the swing to watch the fireworks. She said she’d meet me in the barn. I went to say good night to my mom and dad, but when I got up to the barn, Jinx wasn’t there.”
Aiden checked the time. “Fireworks finished less than an hour ago.”
No one had yet mentioned the one horrifying possibility. “You don’t think somebody from her past foster home grabbed her?” Petra asked Declan quietly, making sure Sasha didn’t overhear.
He shook his head. “Jinx left her phone on a pile of neatly folded clothes. A whole bunch of new stuff you bought her. It doesn’t look at all like somebody who was snatched up.”
“Dixie is missing too,” Jake said. “There’s a good chance the dog is still with Jinx.”
Or things had gone even more wrong than they knew. If someone had grabbed Jinx, they would’ve had to go through Dixie to do it. Fear bubbled in Petra’s gut, but she fought it down. This wasn’t the time to panic.
This was when she had to do everything possible for Jinx’s sake.
“She left her phone.” Petra paced beside Aiden then turned to the group. “Which means I can’t track her through location services. What else? What else can you tell us?”
“We didn’t take much out to the barn,” Sasha said. “We didn’t even pack any snacks because we knew there would be so much food at the birthday party.”
The girl looked so miserable Petra tugged her into a hug.
Aiden joined them, wrapping his arms around Petra’s and Sasha’s shoulders, his voice calm and reassuring. “Any more details? You guys were going to have a sleepover. What was the plan for tomorrow? I heard something about going riding after breakfast. What else?”
“Nothing fancy. I left my riding clothes in her room because everything we needed for the sleepover fit into our backpacks. Jinx said we’d come into the house to have breakfast so we could get dressed and go as soon as Declan was ready to take us.”
Petra jerked her head up and glanced toward the front door where their coats hung in an orderly fashion, courtesy of Jake’s meticulous hook arrangement.
The new grey backpack Jinx had bought for school was clearly visible on its hook.
Sweet relief poured over Petra the same moment Aiden laid his hand on her shoulder. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.
“Definitely.” Petra squeezed Sasha extra hard before stepping back, smiling her approval. “And that’s the last bit of the puzzle we needed. Well done.”
Sasha frowned along with the rest of them in the room. Everyone except Aiden, who instead nodded firmly as Petra grabbed her phone.
“Hacking?” Jake asked quietly.
“AirTags,” Aiden answered, tilting his head toward the wall as Petra hurriedly opened the app she needed. “Jinx bought a backpack for school, but she needed a second for going on trail rides because she didn’t want the school one to get all horsey. Petra lent her one of her old ones.”
