Page 64 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Spencer
“How long ago did they get out?” Spencer went into command mode like his father taught him growing up. They’d always planned on him taking over the ranch and trained him to be a leader.
“I passed by there maybe an hour ago and everything seemed fine,” Gabe said.
Spencer’s mind whirled. They’d spent the morning in the barn doing nothing while their goats were hatching an escape plan. It fit that Stammer was one of them. The goat did love Hadley, meaning he was one for mischief.
“Okay, here’s what we’ll do. Damien, you and Gabe search the land around here. Do a second count of the goats still in their barn. Hadley and I will take the four-wheeler a bit farther out. Call if you find any of them so we keep a count.”
No one questioned it, which surprised him.
Damien and Gabe ran out into the rain, leaving Spencer alone with Hadley. He didn’t know why he’d chosen her to go with him, but the words fell from his mouth before he could stop them.
All he knew was what happened the day before couldn’t happen again.
“Come on, the four-wheeler is out back.” Behind the barn was the little-used vehicle. They waded through the tall grass and he yanked off the tarp.
Unhooking the helmet from the handlebars, he held it out to her.
“What about you?” she yelled over the rain.
He shoved it toward her again. There was no way he’d let her on without it. Not when they’d be driving over slick terrain.
When she took it, he hiked his leg over the seat and waited for her to slide on behind him.
Her arms snaked around his waist, and his breath hitched.Get control of yourself, man. It wasn’t like him to be so affected. Six goats were missing. That should have been his sole focus.
He started slowly, bumping over the rough ground and through puddles of mud. The goats wouldn’t have roamed that far, but he wasn’t sure exactly where to start.
On the southern edge of the property there was a crop of trees not far. He headed that way.
Rained pounded them as they raced across the field, and Hadley’s grip tightened.
They reached the trees, and he cut the engine. “We can’t drive this in there,” he yelled.
She nodded and climbed off. Taking the helmet off, she set it on the seat and started running toward the trees. He saw it happen in slow motion. Her fall.
He tried to warn her about mud slicks, but she was too far ahead. Her right foot flew out from under her, and her entire body sailed into the air, landing right in the middle of the mud.
He sprinted toward her, his heart in his throat. This girl and her clumsiness were going to give him a heart attack one of these days.
Hadley lay on her back shaking with laughter. Mud seeped into her clothes and streaked through her hair, running down the side of her face. Still, she laughed.
Who was this girl?
Her green eyes shone as she stared up at him and wiped rain from her face, leaving a smear of mud on her forehead. Spencer didn’t want to tell her what could be mixed into that mud on a horse ranch.
Spencer’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out.
“Damien?”
Damien’s voice came through. “We found five of them. They followed the driveway and were hanging out on the side of the road.”
“Only five?”
“Stammer is still missing.”
Spencer looked down at Hadley, whose laughter was replaced with a frown as if she could sense the news.
