Chapter Eight
Colton
"Hey, Mama, something smells good." I hung my Stetson on the hook by the door and entered the dining room. Brett, Tom, and Travis were already filling their plates, but William was out working a night shift.
"Are you alone?" Mama glared at me as I took my seat. My stomach rumbled at the sight of my favorite dish: shepherd's pie.
"Of course I'm alone," I said, confused by her question.
"Well, where is she? I thought she was with you."
"Who?"
"Bethany. Who else? Besides me, she's the only other she here." Mama sounded exasperated, and it took a moment to understand just what she was saying.
"Wait a minute. You mean, Bethany is missing?"
"I haven't seen her since she left a little while after breakfast. I thought she was going to paint, but her canvas in the barn hasn't been touched."
I turned to Brett, who always followed her around like a dog. "Where was the last place you saw her?"
"I saddled up Rosie for her this morning. She said she was taking a short ride, but I didn't ask where. I'm sure she hasn't gone far. Probably out sun tanning or doing her hair." Brett shrugged and shoveled a forkful of food into his mouth. Christ, how could he eat at time like this? I wondered.
"Rosie isn't in the stable, so she never came back. Where do you think she could have gone? She might be trapped someplace or lost." Mama was severely worried, and now I was, too.
"She was going to talk to Frank Hill this morning, out in the east pasture," I told her.
"Why would she do that?" Mama asked. I hesitated to break a promise, but now wasn't the time to be keeping secrets. I explained the reasons, and everyone at the table looked stunned.
Travis said, "Well, she's not with Frank now. He was working the east pasture all morning checking the fence line to make sure it was safe for the herd to be transferred. I saw him at noon during lunch break and he looked agitated, but I didn't ask him why. I sent him to help Mack and Butch move the herd in the afternoon into the east pasture, and then he went home to his cabin at the end of shift just now. Bethany wasn't with him."
"I saw the two of them talking in the late part of morning when I was riding past. They were standing by the fence at the back end of the east pasture,” continued Brett. “That's the last time I saw her."
"That's where I'm going to start my search," I stated. My heart was thumping in my chest, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so worried about someone.
"I'll call Will and tell him we have a missing person." Mama said and directed Brett and Travis to search the ranch grounds while Tom went to talk to Frank Hill.
"Come on, Whiskey. Let's find Bethany," I urged the horse into a gallop. The pasture was filled with grazing cattle. I wound my way through them, calling out Bethany's name, but there was no sign of her. Mack and Butch would have noticed if something was amiss when they were working today.
It didn't make sense. What could have happened to her? I hadn't known Bethany more than a couple of weeks, but I already cared deeply about her. In fact, as I thought about all the terrible things that could have happened to her, I realized that I loved her.
Suddenly, I noticed hoofprints in the dirt on the other side of the fence, and I knew instantly they must belong to Rosie, although it surprised me that a novice rider like Bethany would have gotten the mild mannered mare to jump the fence.
Galloping in a wide circle to build up speed, I urged Whiskey to jump the fence at the exact same spot. We followed the trail of prints, plodded slowly through the forest, as I called out Bethany's name.
Suddenly, Whiskey perked up her head and whinnied excitedly. I let her lead the way, and she came to abrupt stop.
"What is it?" I asked her, and the horse simply snorted in reply. I dismounted and walked slowly forward through the dark forest, my eyes and ears straining for any information.
Suddenly, Bethany appeared from the darkness, with a large tree branch she held like a bat. When she saw me, her eyes brightened with happiness and she dropped the weapon the ground.
"Colton! I'm so glad you found me."
Without saying a word, I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms. I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my life. My mouth took hers in a powerful embrace as my hands ran through her hair, clutching her to me. She kissed me back with equal passion, wrapping her arms tightly around me as we clung to each other like drowning souls.
"Are you all right?" I asked when we finally broke apart, gasping for air.
"Yes. I'm okay. Rosie and I got lost, and I couldn't find my way back to the ranch. Of course, I'd left my cell phone in my bedroom, along with my jacket. When the sun set, I was terrified I would have to spend the night out here."
I kissed her again, feeling so grateful to have her safely in my arms. Then a thought occurred to me, and I asked her, "What are you doing way out here?"
"I don't know. I was in the pasture, talking to Frank, and he..." Her voice halted, and she unexpectedly burst into tears. Unsure what to do, I put my arms awkwardly around her shoulders and held her against my chest.
"What's wrong? Did that son-of-a-bitch hurt you?" I was going to kick his ass if he had, but Bethany shook her head. She told me the whole, ugly story about how that jerk broke her heart and turned her away. It made me sick, and I wanted to kick the crap out of him more than ever. How could he reject someone so sweet?
"You don't need his acceptance," I said, firmly. "You have mine. I love you, Bethany Foster."
"You do?" She looked at me with her robin's egg eyes. "I love you, too."
We kissed then, long and deep, and I could feel her heart beating in rhythm with my own, as I held her against my chest.
"We'd better get back. Mama has been worried sick and has my brothers – and probably half the town – out looking for you."
"All that trouble just for me?" Bethany sounded surprised.
"Of course. My entire family cares about you."
I helped her onto Rosie's back and with me and Whiskey leading the way, we headed home.
"How did you get back here in the forest?" I asked her as we rode.
"Through the opening in the fence," she said matter-of-factly. "I was so upset after talking to Frank, I didn't pay attention where Rosie was going. I thought it was the opening leading out of the pasture back to the ranch house. It never occurred to me there would be another opening leading out into the forest."
"There isn't," I stated, feeling ticked off. "What kind of a gap? Like a small hole somebody missed patching?"
"No. Like a gate. It swung open on a hinge, and when Rosie ran through it, it swung shut behind us. That's why I thought it was the regular entrance I had come through."
"Could you show me where it is?" I asked her, and Bethany looked surprised.
"You don't know?" she said, and I explained to her my suspicions.
"Of course, I can," she agreed.
""Good." I plucked my cell phone out of my back pocket and called William. "Call off the search for Bethany. I have her."
"Thank God. I'll tell the others and head back to the office," my brother said.
"Don't," I told him. "Meet me out in the east pasture. I know why the ranch has been losing money. Someone's been stealing our cattle."