I’d forgotten to charge my cell phone. Not wanting to leave the house with no way for Gracen to get in touch with me, I took hers with me and left mine charging on the nightstand beside my bed.

Walking away from her as she slept wasn’t easy. I forced myself to leave, wishing I could strip back down and duck back under the covers with her.

Before I left the house, I called Grant from the kitchen phone where his number was scribbled on an old piece of paper right beside the receiver and told him that I was on my way, that I’d meet him at the downed section of fence. He’d told me he had a few of his hands working on getting it fixed and that he’d sent two more out to get a ‘lay of the land’ because something seemed fishy.

As my truck bounced over the wide expanse of pasture, my thoughts kept returning to Gracen. Leaving her alone didn’t sit right with me. Enough so that I stopped the truck in the middle of the pasture and shot a text to Lex, letting him know I had Gracen’s phone, giving him a brief explanation of Grant’s call, and telling him I’d left Gracen at home to sleep. When Lex answered, he told me he’d wrap up what he was doing and head home, but it would be about an hour.

After his reply, I sent Gracen a text.

Had to take your phone since mine was almost dead. Lex will be home in an hour. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Keep those sheets warm for me.

I hit the send button, wondering why a wave of something like nausea rolled over me. I tried to shake it off as I drove a little faster than I normally would through the pasture to get to the downed fence that connected our property to Grant’s.

The fence line hadn’t just been tampered with. There were sections where the barbed wire had been cut away from the rails and tossed all over on both sides of the property.

“I shouldn’t have come,” I said, giving Grant my best steely eyed stare. “This was deliberate. Someone wanted to use this as a way to drag people away from the house.”

I walked away, yanking Gracen’s phone out of my pocket and calling my own. It only rang, clicking over to a generic voice mail message. Panic clawed at me when I brought up my name and saw the number saved wasn’t mine. I’d been so stupid. So unbelievably dumb. And I, yet again, had left her unprotected.

I ran for my truck about the same time as Grant’s horse thundered toward me, blocking me from getting in. “What’s happened?”

“Get out of my way, old man,” I said, putting my shoulder into the horse’s chest and pushing him back.

“Hold on. Don’t go all half-cocked. Is it Gracen?” Grant asked, nudging his horse forward again and blocking my way.

“Move, Grant. I don’t have time for this,” I said, trying hard to not be an asshole, but very much wanting to be able to pick him and his horse up and chuck them out of my way.

Grant lowered himself from the saddle. “Explain, and do it fast.”

The words rushed out. “I have Gracen’s phone because mine was almost dead. I texted her to tell her that Lex would be home in an hour and that I’d be home as soon as I could. I just checked and the number she has listed as mine isn’t even mine. The fence is down. I’m here. She’s home unprotected. Now who would go about doing all that in order to get everyone where he wants them?”

Grant tossed the reins at me. “Go. I’ll take your truck and come up the property from the main road. Hurry, now!”

I was in the saddle, spinning the horse around and pointing its head toward home as Grant put the phone up to his ear and said Lex’s name as the horse shot forward. There wasn’t time to see what plans they came up with. I needed to get home as fast as I could.

The horse, sensing my urgency, ran straight out. Long and powerful legs pushed against the ground as I lowered myself over its neck and gave it its head. I swear I could have reached down and touched the grass without having to stretch my fingers. Anyone witnessing our breakneck speed could attest to the fact that the horses belly nearly touched the ground with every lunge forward.