Endless Trails Page 6

  Mary glanced at the child strapped to Amy’s chest. “I can’t wait.”

  ~~~

  Amy had hoped to get out of bed before Ryland, but when she got up, the truck was missing. He probably had run into town or run up to grab something from Dean. It was supposed to be Ryland’s day off.

  Amy grabbed Cody and his things and strolled up the trail to the main house.

  Frost was supposed to hit in the next week or so. The unusual heat that time of year would be talked about for years to come by ranchers as they compared reaping seasons and the extra cuttings of the lengthy season.

  Mr. Bess had mentioned already that work would really pick up once the snows hit. He’d glanced meaningfully at Ryland when he’d said that and Amy hadn’t missed the not-so-subtle hint.

  Ryland didn’t have to be there to go on a walk for Amy to take Cody up to the house. Mary was excited to spend some time with the boy and Amy wasn’t going to let Mary down.

  After reassuring Mary she would be back in an hour or two, Amy returned to the trail back to the house.

  Kevin, the foreman, waited by the curve out of view of the house. He held his hands behind his back and put his weight on one leg. He tilted his hat towards Amy as she approached and he stepped forward to cut her off.

  She came to an abrupt halt, stopping with her hands on her hips and stepping back. She watched him with her eyebrow arched. Putting her finger on what threw her off about him wasn’t easy. He was creepy in the way he scanned her whole form and licked the side of his mouth with the tiniest tip of his tongue. Kevin was like a lizard that watched a fly buzzing by.

  Amy had the distinct feeling she was the fly.

  “Hello, Amy. We haven’t met properly yet. I’m Kevin Smith. I’m the foreman.” He lowered his eyes to half-mast as he spoke his title with reverence. He pulled his head back as if he expected her to be impressed.

  The creep-factor didn’t wane and her hackles raised another notch. “I know who you are. Nice to meet you. Excuse me.” She smiled stiffly and moved to walk around him. Men like that weren’t as rare as they liked to believe about themselves.

  He stopped her again, blocking her way by thrusting a bouquet of wildflowers with daisies and some purple flower she didn’t know the name to. “Actually, I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk. I brought you some flowers.”

  The unexpected gesture took her by surprise. She hesitated as she reached out to accept the flowers. Was he the type of guy who demanded reciprocity when he offered something? Most men were. Ryland was turning out not to be that way, but that didn’t mean all men were innocent.

  Better to be safe than sorry. “I’m actually heading back to the house right now. Maybe some other time.” She stepped around him, holding up the bouquet as she walked. “Thank you for the flowers.”

  “Another time.” His eyes narrowed and she tried not to look back as he watched her walk away. If she wasn’t walking so fast, she’d shudder.

  Ryland’s truck still wasn’t at the house and Amy sat on the front step waiting. When would he get back? Where had he gone? What if he’d left her there? With Buck looking for her and now the eerie foreman interested in her, Amy didn’t know if she’d feel fully comfortable without Ryland somewhere accessible to her.

  At the same time, she wasn’t exactly the safest she’d ever been sitting there back away from the drive in the shadows of the canopy. She’d be better off out where everyone could see her, regardless of who approached her.

  Plus, she only had a couple hours without Cody and she didn’t want to waste it sitting there waiting for Ryland. Maybe a walk around the pasture was just what she needed. She could do it. She wouldn’t have Ryland around forever.

  The fence made it easy to find the trail and she already had her hiking boots on.

  If she was lucky, Kevin would already be in the bunkhouse.

  If she was lucky, she would see Ryland before she’d left the driveway.

  Chapter 9

  Ryland

  Catching Nate before he got the urge to run was the first thing Ryland had to do. There was a look in Nate’s eyes the night before.

  Ryland had watched him at dinner and something in the way he’d watched the men and ate his meal slowly created a ball of nerves in Ryland’s gut.

  He rushed down to the barn before most of the men had even stirred in the bunkhouse. Treading softly over the wooden floor, Ryland moved quickly down to the bunk Nate had used. He’d slept on the top and his bedroll was missing along with his pack.

  Worry twisted somewhere along Ryland’s spine. Nate hadn’t stuck around and Ryland had to race after him before Nate was gone again... for good.

  Nate could’ve run because of Ryland. Did Nate hate seeing Ryland? What if Ryland reminded Nate of too much pain? Nate didn’t seek confrontations and he’d been having more and more with Kevin. Yet, with Kevin gone, Nate might not want to be asked to step into the leadership vacancy like he had at home. Too many variables could contribute to the unrest in Nate’s heart.

  Regardless, Ryland knew the man was up to something.

  Maybe Nate hadn’t left yet. Missy was a beautiful horse but she needed time to get ready, too. Ryland rushed down the steps, taking them two at a time until he stomped through the stalls.

  Missy’s stall was empty.

  There was no other way to look at it.

  Missing horse plus missing personal items equaled one missing cousin.

  Ryland slammed his hand on the railroad tie post that the stall door swung from. He hung his head, bitter disappointment tingling in his limbs.

  Nate would be headed east. His cousin wouldn’t go west. West was home. West was Emma. West was everything Nate couldn’t have.

  If Ryland could bring Nate back, he could grab Amy and Cody and return home. He’d always been fine with the wandering life, but since he met Amy, the idea of sticking around someplace had a lot of appeal.

  What was wrong with Ryland? He clung to the hope that he could bring Nate back with him by just talking, by just being around him. Ryland knew what was going to happen. He should never have gone back to the house, to spend the evening with Amy. He should’ve just stayed at the barn and watched Nate.

  Amy was getting in Ryland’s head and Ryland wasn’t prepared for that kind of invasion. Not when he had a clear mission and his family counted on him.

  If Nate was heading east, Ryland could catch him before he got too far south to ride across the mountain range. Unfortunately, Nate had a lot more options traveling than Ryland did.

  That knowledge didn’t stop Ryland from speeding over the gravel roads to get to the junction before Nate took off down the trail into the mountains.

  A large pond fed by the creek off of Bess Ranch and the neighboring acres was the perfect place for someone to stop their horse. Using the watering hole was exactly what Ryland caught Nate doing. His tall silhouette stood out starkly against the bright green of the tree leaves hanging over the water. The rising sun reflected off the glassy surface and Missy’s dipped head and sloping neck could have been from a post card.

  Ryland pulled over on the shoulder of the small road and climbed from his trusty truck. He crossed the one-and-a-half lane highway with long, desperate strides.

  Calling out to his cousin, Ryland picked up the pace, not a fan of running in his boots. “Nate. Nate!” He bent his arms to go faster, drawing up short next to Nate when he reached him.

  Missy’s ears pricked forward and she lifted her head to stare incredulously at Ryland. Amazing how the gaze of a horse could make him feel ridiculous. Ryland cleared his throat and lifted his chin. “Are you running again?” His short jog had knocked his hat off kilter and he straightened it, as if he hadn’t just raced after Nate.

  Nate’s answer was long in coming. The whisper of a few red and yellow leaves blowing across the green grass the only proof Ryland could hear while he waited. “I have to. I can’t stay here. Everywhere I look there you are. I can’t...” Haunte
d shadows disappeared under the brim of Nate’s hat, as if he couldn’t escape anything.

  Ryland move so he was in Nate’s way, stopping his cousin from climbing on the horse. His voice hurt as he tried to lock his gaze with Nate’s. “We need you.” His chest hurt with the honesty of that statement. “I need you.” The words almost choked him and he reached out, grabbing Nate’s arm.

  Nate shook him off, adjusting his hat and trying not to meet Ryland’s gaze. “No, you’re going to be fine.”

  “No! Honestly, we do. Jareth is leading us and he’s driving us nuts... He can’t help us ranch and help us get the jobs that we need while Cyan is around. She won’t stop bugging him over the upcoming marriage. This is huge. She’s doing it in the spring. You left and now he has to deal with everything. He’s not equipped for that.” Ryland threw his hands in the air and dropped them to the sides.

  Missy’s ears tweaked as he moved sporadically.

  Nate raised his gaze finally, as if he couldn’t stop from looking at his cousin. Tears shone in his eyes. “Marriage? Cyan and Jareth are getting married?”

  Had Ryland found the trigger to get Nate home? Nodding, Ryland rushed on in case he lost Nate’s interest. “Jareth proposed. You missed it. You’ve missed so much. Come home. Stephanie and Drake are doing bison on Bella Acres. He’s restored a lot of your parents’ place and it looks amazing. Stephanie even bought back a lot of the items you had to sell.”

  Ryland didn’t even swipe at the tears rising in his eyes. He needed his cousin. They all did. “I’m sorry that you have lost so much. We’re suffering, too. We haven’t only lost Emma, though; we’ve lost you, too.” Ryland reached out again and clamped his hand on Nate’s shoulder. “Please, don’t do that to us.”

  Nate lifted his jaw, the muscles clenching by his ears. “I don’t want to know what I’m missing, because she’s missing it, too.”

  Ryland shook his head, his chest hunched over like he’d been shoved or kicked by a horse. “We miss her, too.” He couldn’t help the sob ripping from his chest. “We miss you. Can you hear me? We miss you.”

  Nate stared at Ryland, as if in the next few seconds whatever happened would decide if he went with Ryland or not.

  Ryland didn’t have anything left to give. He spilled his heart out. Short of knocking Nate over the head, he had nothing left to offer.

  Something passed in front of Nate’s eyes. He shook his head ever so softly, causing dread to fill Ryland’s chest. Nate’s whisper ripped across the space between them. “I can’t. Give me space, Ryland. I can’t go with you and I can’t be with family right now.” He climbed onto Missy’s back. She cast a wide-eyed glare at Ryland as if he was giving up too much, too easily. “Don’t follow me. Please.”

  Nate rode away, as if Ryland wasn’t standing there begging him to go home where he was needed. The fast clip-clop of Missy’s shoes on the gravelly road beat in sync with Ryland’s heart.

  Defeated, Ryland slumped to sit on a fallen log. He leaned down and retrieved a rock, tossing it into the clear water. What had he done wrong? The Trails had sent him on the mission, certain he could do what he’d been asked. He’d failed his family.

  He’d failed them all.

  Ryland returned to his truck. He couldn’t go straight back to the ranch. He needed to drive around. What was he going to do? His whole reason for being there was wrapped up in Nate. What would be his reasoning for staying with Nate gone?

  He couldn’t blame Nate for leaving though.

  Of course, the man had been through a lot. Looking at it from Nate’s perspective, he’d lost more than any of them.

  Having never been in love, Ryland didn’t know how much it would hurt to lose someone like that, but he was becoming attached to Amy.

  Somehow, she had become an integral part of his life. If he tried to take a second to think about the way Nate had felt about Emma, it wasn’t hard to translate that understanding into his feelings for Amy. Could Ryland understand the loss that Nate had endured? Could Ryland handle losing Amy the way that Nate had lost his love?

  Ryland shook the steering wheel, growling as he tried to vent some of his frustration. The pain wasn’t worth considering. He didn’t even have the history with Amy than Nate had with Emma. Just considering the possibility that he could lose Amy made Ryland want to throw up.

  He was starting to care against his better judgment. Not only did Amy have an anchor in his heart, her son had wrapped his arms around him and was never letting go. Cody had already claimed Ryland’s heart.

  There was so much to learn from Nate, but by abandoning them, what did Nate hope to teach them?

  Even harder to grasp... was Ryland strong enough to learn it?

  Chapter 10

  Amy

  Kevin was like a wolf, descending as soon as he saw Amy walking alone. Her pace didn’t matter as she walked around the fence. Kevin kept up and spoke to her with a familiarity that crept along the back of her shoulders and arms. He hadn’t known her his whole life, but you wouldn’t know that from his tone and the topics.

  Finally, she was tired of trying to out-walk him, so she stopped and rested her foot on the lower rung of the fence. Uncomfortable with his proximity, she folded her arms and leaned over to stare pointedly out the pasture.

  Positioned close to the barn, Amy felt better being where people could see them.

  The man was pretentious. How many times was he going to mention he was foreman? Amy rolled her eyes. “Yep, I bet you’re a good foreman.” What else was she supposed to say? Mr. and Mrs. Bess had obviously picked him for something. Mary rose every day on Amy’s list of people she trusted – which was approximately four in the world.

  “Yeah, I’m not so fond of kids. They get in the way.” Kevin ran his fingers over his almost nonexistent jaw line. A slight line ran around his lips, giving him a puckered expression.

  Where had that come from? Had he really just said he didn’t like kids? “That was random and I have a kid. He’s adorable. I don’t think they get in the way at all.” She clenched her jaw and turned fully away from him, just in time to see Ryland drive up in his truck.

  She swung her arms as she walked to meet Ryland.

  Their eyes met, and a slight smile curved his lips until he looked past her shoulder and saw Kevin. She could see the moment he recognized the foreman and what he assumed. His face tightened and the smile dripped from his mouth.

  He parked the truck and climbed from the rig.

  “Excuse me. I’m going to go get my son.” Amy moved from the fence, leaving Kevin standing with his mouth open in mid-sentence.

  “Just leave him. He’s fine. Mary’s got him.” Kevin reached out and grabbed her arm, jerking her to the side forcing her to hit a mud patch with her the side of her boot. The angle he yanked Amy to the side combined with the backward slant, she crashed down to the dirty rock covered ground. Banging her elbow on the rocks and slamming the side of her head on the fence posts, she cried out. Rolling to her back, she grabbed the screaming arm and closed her arm.

  In seconds Ryland was above her, crouching low so he could see her face. “Amy, are you okay? What happened?” Concern crinkled the skin on the outer edges of his eyes. He pushed the hair across her forehead out of her face, his touch soft.

  The thunder of other feet announced the arrival of other men around her.

  Amy pushed her fingers against her eyes, a headache already forming from the fall. Embarrassed, she tried to sit up. “It’s fine. It’s nothing.”

  Kevin growled, thrusting his finger toward the ground. “It wouldn’t have happened, if you hadn’t tried to rush off to grab your son. You need to be more careful.”

  Dean stood up from his position where he’d crouched beside her. He clenched his hands into fists at his side. “I saw the whole thing. You grabbed her. She slipped. If you hadn’t touched her, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  The other ranch hands that had joined the group turned their attention from Amy to Kevin. M
urmuring and shifting their feet, the men looked at each other with tension mounting as they tightened their jaws and gripped their hands.

  Kevin glanced around the group. “It’s not my fault she can’t walk.”

  His comment spiked an increase in the muttering volume of the men.

  “That’s it. You’re fired. Get your stuff and get off my land. You have fifteen minutes.” Dean turned his back, squatting beside Amy.

  Face red and spittle forming at the side of his mouth, Kevin screeched, “What? You need me!”

  Dean didn’t even turn his head and spoke as if he’d already moved on from the topic. “I don’t need apathetic workers here. I need people who are only concerned with the welfare of others and with animals. You’ve proven time and again that none of that matters to you. My bottom line has nothing to do with dollars, but when saving me a few is an option, you can’t help me out there, either. We’re done. That’s all I’m going to say about it.” He looked up and motioned to two of his next in line.

  Kevin looked at them all, taking in the group’s solidarity. Amy avoided his gaze.

  He spat in their general direction, saliva spackling on Amy and Ryland. “You’re going to regret this.” Kevin thundered off, a few of the men watching to make sure he didn’t return.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any problems. Please don’t fire him on account of me.” Amy carefully shook her head, holding the hand Ryland held out while he placed his other arm behind her back to help her stand.

  Dean moved to offer support on her other side. “No, it’s been a long time coming. I’m just grateful for the chance to push it before the snow flies. I’d hate to be stuck with him throughout the winter. How’s that arm? Looks like you got a little bit of blood. Let’s get on up to the house and Mary can clean it up.”

  Amy’s head hurt more than her arm, moving even the slightest amount sent lightning bolts of pain down her spine. She moved her mouth as little as possible. “Yes, I need to go get Cody anyway.”