‘And you’re alone?’
‘No. I mean, I am for the moment, but … no, I’m not here alone.’
Harrison grinned. ‘Are you sticking around for the dance?’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. What about you?’
‘Oh, definitely. I just came early because I decided it would be good to have a look around. I’m not really into horses, or cows, but it’s interesting to watch. You never know, I might need to play a cowboy at some stage, so it could be good research.’
Suddenly a loud commotion broke out and people started screaming and pushing and shoving. Alex got caught off guard with a heavy bump and started to lose her balance backwards, but Harrison grabbed her arm just in time.
‘What the …?’ Harrison’s face darkened with anger; or was it fear?
And then the sound of thundering hooves rose above the screams. Alex stood, paralysed with indecision. Turn right? Turn left? Stay still? But then Harrison once again grabbed her arm and pulled her back moments before a horse raced toward them, scattering people who were jumping out of its way. Harrison kept pulling her by the arm until they were well off to the side, but Alex had a clear view of the horse. It looked terrified, dripping with sweat and covered in foam. Its saddle was underneath its belly, and straps were twisted around its legs. It struggled to remain upright as it kicked out and half reared, before finally coming to a stop, shaking with either fear or exhaustion.
Finally, a cowboy walked up to the frightened animal, speaking softly and moving slowly. It seemed to recognise him, or else it was soothed by his manner. When he finally had hold of it, another man approached and within moments they’d removed the saddle and straps, and the horse seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
The cowboy who was leading the horse turned his attention to the onlookers. ‘It’s okay everyone, nothing more to see here. Make way and we’ll take this little filly back to her owner.’
The crowd applauded softly, and then backed away. A murmur of voices and relieved laughter broke out as the two cowboys led the horse away.
Harrison turned to Alex, rubbing her arm. ‘Holy crap, that was close. Where’d that thing come from? Are you okay?’
She laughed—the same relieved laugh she’d heard from the entire crowd a moment earlier. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. It must have thrown its rider.’
Harrison glared in the direction of the departing cowboys, and yelled out. ‘Yeah, well, someone could have been hurt.’
The cowboy carrying the saddle turned and looked at Harrison, shaking his head. ‘Not my horse, man, I’m just trying to help. It’s a rodeo, dude, get over it.’
Alex smiled at Harrison, hoping to settle him down. ‘Like he said, it’s a rodeo. It was an accident. Things … happen.’
Harrison seemed to regain his composure and sighed loudly. ‘Yeah, sure. Took me by surprise, that’s all. But you look like you could use a drink. Do you want to go get something?’
In all the chaos caused by the horse, Alex had momentarily forgotten about Annie. How much time had passed? She had to be out of the bathroom by now, but where was she?
‘Annie?’ Alex yelled over the murmuring crowd, calling several more times, louder each time. With no response, she turned to Harrison. ‘I was with Annie, Travis’ daughter. She went into the bathroom, moments before you walked up. I have to find her.’
‘Hey, calm down, she’ll be here somewhere. She probably saw the commotion with the horse and stayed put. Why don’t you go look inside?’
Alex agreed, and raced over to the bathroom, calling Annie’s name as she walked in. There was still no reply even when she called several more times.
When she came out, Harrison was still standing where she’d left him, fiddling with his mobile phone. That gave her an idea. Maybe in the confusion Annie had gone back looking for her father. She rang Travis, but the call went straight to his voicemail. She began to speak, trying to control her voice, but it was as if she’d just run a marathon—her breath catching in gasps. ‘Travis? It’s Alex. Is Annie with you? Please call me.’
She ended the call but continued to hold the phone in front of her face, willing it to ring. When it didn’t she began looking again.
‘I don’t think she could have gone far,’ Harrison said, half shrugging and looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.
Alex could barely speak as a wave of nausea washed over her. ‘I have to find her. She’s only eight. If anything happens—.’
Harrison grabbed both her upper arms and gave her a gentle shake. ‘Hey, we’ll find her. Don’t panic. Did you have assigned seats somewhere? Would she have gone back there?’
Alex tried to remember exactly where they’d been sitting. ‘She might have tried to go back. Or she might have gone to her father’s horse-truck. I have to go. I have to look for her.’
Harrison released her arms, and stepped back. ‘What was she wearing? I’ll stay here and keep looking in this area, and you go back to where you were.’
‘A red cowboy hat … and her hair is in long braids. She had her denim jacket with her, so if she got cold she might have it on.’ Alex shivered at the thought of Annie getting cold, but she refused to let her imagination go wild. She’d be found, probably with Travis. If Alex could find Travis, she’d find Annie. She looked over her shoulder toward the area where he’d parked his truck, then looked back at Harrison, swallowing back her emotions as she tried to decide where to head first.
‘You go … I’ll stick around here. I’ll ring you if she turns up. And same, let me know when you find her so I can stop looking.’
She tried a weak smile, nodding as she turned and raced off in the direction of the arena where they’d last been sitting.
~~*~~
Travis tied his horse to the side of the truck and pulled the saddle off. The young gelding had done well; probably well enough for him to get an offer before the end of the rodeo. Both fillies had already sold. He smiled, pleased with everyone’s efforts for the day and grateful to be going home and not trying to get back here for the dance later tonight.
He pulled out a container of water and poured it over the gelding’s back, then scraped the excess off and rubbed him down with an old towel. He rubbed his neck in that special spot the horse particularly liked, just below his jaw, then threw a light-weight cotton trailer sheet onto him and led him into the horse-truck to tie him in next to the two fillies that were also done for the day.
As he walked out of the truck, he spotted Alex. She was racing toward him looking distraught. His heart skipped a beat.
‘Alex? What’s wrong? Where’s Annie?’
‘She went into the large toilet block—the bathroom—and then this horse came barrelling toward us and there was so much commotion and everyone was panicking and screaming, but then she wasn’t anywhere.’
Disbelief raged through him and his fists clenched involuntarily. ‘Start at the beginning, I’m not following.’
‘We were watching you … and Annie said she wanted another corndog, and then she said she needed to go to the bathroom. I waited outside, but she never came out.’
‘What were you saying about a horse? Was Annie injured? Could she have been kicked or trampled?’
‘No, nothing like that—no one got hurt. I don’t know how much time passed while they got the horse settled and took it away. I went into the bathroom, looking for her, but she wasn’t there. We looked for her. And called her name. She was … nowhere.’
Travis swallowed hard, trying to make sense of the situation. Annie was a smart girl. She wouldn’t have gone off with a stranger. He looked at Alex again as her words finally sunk in. ‘You said “we”. Who was with you when she disappeared?’
‘Harrison had come up—‘
His teeth clenched at the name, then he cut her off. ‘Harrison. You were talking to Harrison when you were meant to be
looking after my daughter.’
Tears began to well in Alex’s eyes as she shook her head back and forth, slowly. ‘It wasn’t like that. He walked up only a moment after she went into the toilets, and then the horse … it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes in total, I’m sure of it.’
His head throbbed as rage threatened to overpower logic. He looked at Alex—sobbing now—but it was disgust that rose in him, not sympathy. She’d lost his daughter. He’d trusted a Mason—the thing his father had told him to never do—and she’d lost his daughter. He took a deep breath. She was still his best bet to find Annie.
‘Where haven’t you looked yet?’
‘Here. This is the last place. I went back to where we were sitting, but she wasn’t there so I thought maybe she’d come looking for you.’
This … could … not … be … happening. All he could see was Annie’s smiling face, giggling as he tickled her. She had to be safe. Somewhere. She had to be. ‘What about your car? Could she have gone there?’
Alex’s eyes lit up. ‘I didn’t think to check there.’
Travis looked around. There were a number of other competitors hanging around grooming their horses, and Denver and Nick would be back soon. He closed the door on the truck and turned to Alex.
‘Come on; let’s go check your car. She’s probably standing there, waiting for you to return,’ he said.
Alex took off—at a jog first, and then she sped up. Travis kept pace with her easily. When they reached her car there was no one there. They split up, both walking up and down the rows of cars, hoping Annie was simply in the wrong aisle, but Annie was nowhere to be found. When they met back at her car, Alex lost it.
Her words came out between deep sobs. ‘I am so sorry. I think we need to ring the police.’ Then tears welled in her eyes and, when they began to run down her cheeks, she rubbed her hand across her face smearing black makeup everywhere.
Something gave in him as he watched her. This wasn’t her fault; it had simply happened.
‘Yes, I think you’re right—I’ll ring them now.’ He pulled out his phone, and that’s when he remembered he’d switched it off earlier. There’d been several missed calls; Alex, a couple of numbers he didn’t recognise, and his cousin, Stacy.
Hope welled in him as he pushed Stacy’s number. When she answered the first words out of his mouth were, ‘Have you got her there with you?’
Chapter 22
Alex wiped her tears away and tried to swallow but her throat seemed blocked. She bit her lip, trying to hold back the sobs that wracked her body. She’d never been terribly religious—Mum had only taken them to church a couple of times when they were young—but now she prayed. She asked that Annie be there with Stacy, safe and unharmed. She asked for forgiveness for having lost her focus for those few horrible moments. And lastly, she asked, if it was possible, for Travis to find it in his heart to forgive her.
She’d seen the disgust in his eyes. She’d heard it in his voice. Now she watched, helplessly, as he waited for Stacy to reply.
When relief washed over his face, and he looked at her and nodded, Alex looked up at the sky and said a silent thank you. Then she stepped back, leaning up against her car, taking in deep settling breaths. Tears streamed down her cheeks again, but this time, out of relief.
Travis spoke into his phone. ‘I’d switched it off—I didn’t want it ringing while I was competing and I’d forgotten to put it back on.’
Then he was listening, nodding, and repeating “uh huh” every now and then.
Finally, he looked Alex straight in the eye as he replied to Stacy. ‘That’s perfect, Stacy, you’re an absolute life saver. Thanks so much. I’ll see you tomorrow night sometime.’
There was a pause, and Travis continued to nod. Then, ‘Yes, I’ll ring as soon as I’m home. Thanks again.’
He popped his phone back in his pocket and turned to Alex, suddenly looking old and tired. ‘Stacy found her; she was throwing up in the bathroom. And when Tammy saw Annie throwing up, she got sick too.’
‘Oh, no, I hope it wasn’t those corndogs.’ Another pang of guilt stabbed at Alex. She’d wondered about letting her eat those greasy looking things—she should have said no to the second one.
He stared at her, looking almost too exhausted to reply. When he did speak his words came out slowly. ‘Stacy said when they came out to look for you there were people everywhere because a horse was causing all kinds of commotion, and Stacy wanted to get the girls out of there. She grabbed them and left. She’d tried to ring me but couldn’t get through, and she didn’t have your number. She said to apologise to you if she gave you a fright but she didn’t know what else to do.’
Alex wiped her hand across her face and sniffed back her tears. It was over. But she still couldn’t stop shaking. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to compose herself before answering. Finally, she spoke anyway.
‘Stacy did the right thing—I don’t blame her. They caught the horse relatively quickly, but it might not have been. And with both girls being sick, no, I certainly don’t blame her for leaving.’
Travis cocked his head, drawing in a loud breath before replying. ‘It gave us both a fright, but don’t blame yourself.’
Alex swallowed hard, and then spoke in a voice she could barely hear herself. ‘You did.’
He raised an eyebrow, studying her. ‘Yeah, maybe I overreacted for a moment. And then when you said you were talking to Harrison …’
‘I was still watching for Annie to return. We’d only been talking a couple of minutes when that horse came running up.’
Travis sighed. ‘Are you okay to drive home?’
Looking around at all the cars jammed into the parking lot, Alex wondered how long it was going to take for it to clear. The rows were close together, and there were giant SUVs on both sides of her. She’d have to wait for one of them to leave before she’d even be able to get her doors open to get into it. She took a deep breath and let it out with a noisy sigh.
‘I’m not sure,’ she finally replied.
‘Look, why don’t we leave your car here, and come back for it tomorrow? It should be fine. I suspect there’ll be a number of cars left, with people staying for the dance and drinking too much. You can come back with me. I could use a hand with the horses in any case, since Denver and Nick are staying for the dance. Actually, if one of them is sober enough, they can bring your car back tonight.’
Alex swallowed hard, and then took another deep breath. ‘Okay, if you don’t mind? I can’t seem to stop shaking.’
‘You had a fright—both with nearly being knocked over by a frantic horse, then thinking you’d lost Annie. We both had a fright, in actual fact.’
His gaze was intense, but his deep brown eyes no longer held the horrible disappointment she’d seen earlier. When he reached out to her she took his hand, and they headed back to his truck.
When they got there, Denver and Nick had already loaded the last two horses and they were standing there looking around, no doubt wondering where Travis had gotten to. Travis told them what had happened, and Alex filled in a couple of blanks.
Denver seemed unfazed—like it was an everyday occurrence. Maybe it was, for him. Or maybe, she’d simply overreacted out of guilt.
‘Gees, Alex, bummer of a way to end the day—but I don’t mind bringing your car back. It’s no drama at all. Just means neither of us can drink too much, Nick.’
‘I wasn’t planning to in any case, given I was already going to be driving,’ said Nick, quirking a smile. ‘It’s you that’s got to behave now, cuz.’
Travis patted Denver on the back. ‘Thanks, Den. This is probably a good outcome, given we’re competing again tomorrow and I don’t want you having a hangover. We don’t want anyone reneging on their offer to buy these youngsters because you’ve made the horses look bad.’
�
�Never gonna happen, you know that.’ Denver laughed off his brother’s concerns, and put his hand out to Alex. ‘Keys?’
She dug in her purse and handed them to Denver. Then she remembered Harrison, and quickly sent him a text saying Annie was safe. When she looked up, they were all three staring at her.
‘I had to let Harrison know we’d found her. He stayed near the toilets, in case she came back there.’
Travis raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
Denver simply shoved the keys in his pocket, then reached into the passenger side of the truck and pulled out a duffle bag. ‘Oh, so where’s your car parked, anyway?’
Travis explained the location, and then asked if all the horses were good to go.
‘Yep, all tied exactly the way you like them. See you back home later. I won’t be too late … probably by midnight.’
‘Okay, Cinderella, don’t go turning into a pumpkin on me.’
Denver laughed at the comment, then threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and cocked his head toward Nick. ‘Let’s go grab something to eat, and then get ready for the dance.’
Nick smiled at Alex as he turned to follow Denver, so she gave him a weak smile in return.
At the sound of Travis clearing his throat, she turned to find him staring at her. ‘Ready? We’ll get these horses home and then get you something to eat. I’m sure you’ll feel better after that.’
Chapter 23
Travis had been right—after a bowl of leftover stew and some sourdough bread, Alex could view the day’s events more objectively. Yet every time she looked across the table at Travis, she remembered the look in his eyes when she first told him Annie had gone missing. Would she ever completely regain his trust? Did she deserve to?
‘Better?’ he asked, his face carrying a few less of the deep crevices that had darkened it earlier.
‘Much.’ She sighed. ‘I truly am sorry about today—I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to Annie. You know that, don’t you?’
When his frown lines began to reappear she regretted bringing it up again, but it had to be discussed—they had to clear the air between them.
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