Gunslinger. Angi Morgan

slipped. These boots weren’t made for climbing.”

      “Yeah, we noticed. But thanks for coming. You did a lot. You Kylie’s boyfriend now or something?”

      “No. I live across the street. I’m helping Mrs. Mackey out for a while.” Might be longer if he’d lost his Sig to a runaway witness.

      The kids gave each other fist bumps when they saw Mrs. Childers arrive with pizza boxes. It was a familiar scene. He’d grown up in a small community. There was just one thing notably wrong... Kylie wasn’t anywhere in sight.

      For some reason, no one was overly concerned with her disappearance. That bugged him. Was he the only one not in on her planned escape? Did they already consider him the enemy?

      The kids were sprawled across the porch cooling off. Proud of their work today, they were inhaling the pizza and soda. Richard and Fred were tallying the stacks of wood to determine which team won. Mrs. Childers and her granddaughters were bringing out cupcakes they’d made for the young people.

      And Kylie was nowhere. Not in the house. Not waiting in the truck. Mrs. Childers shrugged and searched a little herself when he asked. Everywhere except the barn.

      Still shirtless, because Kylie had taken that along with everything else, he cautiously walked through the barn’s double doors. Open, clean, neat. If he hadn’t been looking for something out of place, he’d never have caught the shirttail in the hayloft.

      Wedged between a hay bale and the rafters, he pulled the shirt free and found his cell, badge and gun. Relief a hundred times over. No words could describe.

      Since the gun was hidden, it meant that Kylie wasn’t missing...just trying to disappear. Everything in place and with his shirt on his back, he sought out Mrs. Childers for answers.

      “Did you happen to drop Kylie off back in town?” He didn’t want to seem overanxious, but his insides started to grind like coffee beans.

      “Well, if I had, I would have told you when you were looking for her earlier.” Lisa immediately turned her back to him but didn’t walk away.

      “Funny thing about honest folks trying to lie. They don’t do it often enough to be good at it.” He stood next to her and took the empty pizza boxes from her grip, setting them on the porch swing. “You may not have taken her back to town, but you know what’s going on.”

      “No.”

      The worry in her eyes clued him in. She’d helped but had no details. “Mrs. Childers, I realize you’re friends with Kylie and you have no reason to trust me. I need to show you something.” He removed his badge and let her take a long look. “It’s important that everyone in town not know who I work for.”

      “Then why tell me? Are you here to arrest Kylie? Because I won’t help you.”

      “No, ma’am. It’s worse. I’m here to protect her.” Bryce put his badge away and leaned against the wall. He tried to be as casual as possible, attempting to gain any trust he could.

      “If that’s true, then why would she leave?” She shook her head, one hand knotting in her apron still dusted with flour.

      “She seems to be a very independent woman. Did you give her a ride?”

      “No. And that’s the truth. She’s spending the night with Jan Turner and said she wanted to get to the northeast gate. The only way is on horseback. She said she’d leave the gear there and set Little Bit free. She wouldn’t tell me anything else except that it was important for her to leave without anyone knowing. Is she in danger?”

      “Thanks. You’ve helped tremendously.” He took the porch steps two at a time.

      “How are you going to find her?” Lisa asked behind him.

      “With a lot of luck and crossed fingers.”

      No local PD involvement. At least not yet. He had to try to locate her on his own. Oh, yeah. He could follow tracks. He was a Texas Ranger who had a knack for computers. But at his roots, he was a simple country boy who’d grown up hunting with his dad.

      “Richard?” Lisa shouted from the porch. “Will the four-wheeler get back to the northeast quarter of the property?”

      “There’s still too many downed trees,” Richard replied.

      “Well, then help Bryce saddle up Tinkerbell. He needs to save Kylie.” Lisa’s voice held a slight tremor of worry.

      “Save Kylie?” Richard asked, but got an elbow in his ribs from Fred. “Whatever you say, dear.”

      Both men stopped what they were doing and moved to the barn. The one horse in the stall Bryce had seen earlier must be Tinkerbell.

      He could approximate how long ago Kylie had left, but not how fast she could push the horse. There was also no way to know exactly how long it would take to catch up with her. The trees were thick in some parts and would make it hard to follow a trail.

      “I can saddle her if you show me the tack,” he told the men as they entered the barn. He wanted both of these guys to know he wasn’t a novice.

      “Doesn’t make me no never mind.” Richard mumbled and unlocked the storage room. “I’ve stayed married all these years by listening to Lisa. Doesn’t make any sense riding a horse where you can drive. I just do what I’m told.”

      Fred snickered, clearly knowing something Bryce didn’t. Then again...

      “I appreciate the help, but aren’t you guys curious as to why I need the horse?”

      And there it was as plain as day turning to night. These honest men compressed their lips and dug the toes of their boots in the dirt.

      “Did Mrs. Mackey tell you something about me?”

      “Tell us what, son?” Fred asked as innocent as a five-year-old with his hand in a cookie jar.

      “You know. And you want me on this horse pretty badly. In fact, I’d say you’re practically throwing me on it.” Bryce looked at the mare and had a bad feeling. “Give me your keys, Fred.”

      “What’s that you’re saying?” Fred held his hand, cupping his ear.

      “Go ahead, Fred. He won’t find her in the dark on his own and we’re certainly not going to help him.”

      “I will not.” The older man took a step back.

      Richard looped the lead rope over the stall’s gate and crossed his arms in defiance. “If we’re lucky, he might be stuck out there all night and she’ll get clean away.”

      Bryce opened his palm, taking a step closer.

      Fred dug deep in his jeans pocket for the set of keys. He held them in a tight fist, not forking them over. “Maybe I should drive? That old motor gets kind of cranky.”

      “Thanks, but I think I’ll get there faster on my own.” Wherever there happened to be. “Pick it up at my place tomorrow.”

      Fred tossed. Bryce caught and hit the dirt running. Already tired, he should have been drinking a gallon of water to rehydrate. A slight headache had begun. Not to mention the idiot burn he had thanks to Jesse’s suggestion of taking his shirt off.

      He shifted the truck into High and skidded to a halt at the end of the long private driveway.

      “Which way?”

      His cell had no reception. No GPS. They might have counted on that. But he had the map he’d downloaded of the area. With details. Lots of details.

      Kylie was headed to the northeast portion of Richard’s property. Why would she go there? He enlarged the map and knew...there was no road that passed from US 281 on the west side of the Richard’s place to County Road 238 on the east.

      It would delay him to double back toward Hico and try to cut her off.

      “Where