The Rancher And The RunawayBride: Part 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

okay?”
    “I’m fine. I hope this is a false alarm. She’s probably fine. I’d hate to take you
     away from your work for nothing.”
    “You were right to come get me. Princess always keeps to her routine. If she’s not
     at the barn, something’s wrong.”
    He tapped his horse with his heels. The gelding broke into a trot. Casper fell into
     step beside him.
    “You’re welcome to head back home,” he said. “Even if she’s hurt, I can handle her
     on my own.”
    “No. I want to come with you. I feel terrible that I didn’t notice her missing before.
     If she’s injured—” She shuddered.
    “Princess isn’t your responsibility, Rita. I appreciate that you thought to keep track
     of her at all. It’s going to be fine.”
    He spoke the words calmly, but there was a knot of worry in his gut. In this terrain,
     anything could have happened to the shepherd. There were feral dogs, rattlers, flash
     floods, old wells. Princess was smart, but that wasn’t always enough.
    An hour later they crested a slight rise. Below them was the four-lane highway. “Her
     path parallels the road,” he said, pointing to a narrow track that cut through the
     brush. “There isn’t room to travel abreast. You’ll have to ride behind me.”
    “That’s fine.”
    “Look out for any kind of movement or tracks leading off. Also, we’ll alternate calling
     for her. If she’s conscious, she’ll bark back.” He turned his horse toward the path.
    “Brady, I’m scared. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”
    He gave her a reassuring smile, one that belied his own tension. “She’s a tough old
     girl. She’ll be fine.”
    Rita bit down on her lower lip. “I hope so.”
    Oddly, her concern eased some of his worry. As if the burden was lighter because it
     was shared. Since his folks had started traveling five years ago, he’d been solely
     in charge. Often he’d wanted to share his troubles, but didn’t feel he could confide
     in anyone. The men were his employees. He couldn’t talk to them about each other.
     Tex listened, but it wasn’t always enough.
    Rita works for you, too , he reminded himself. He knew that was true, yet it wasn’t the same.
    “Princess!” she called behind him. He waited a few seconds and yelled the dog’s name.
    Only silence greeted them, broken by the odd car or two zipping along the highway.
     They continued to follow the path. Occasionally Brady would stop and use his binoculars
     to scan the area. Once he thought he saw a flicker of movement, but it turned out
     to be a piece of sun-bleached cardboard dancing in the warm afternoon breeze.
    The path angled sharply north, heading away from the road. He yelled again. When he
     would have kicked his horse into a canter, Rita called for him to stop. She tilted
     her head.
    “Call her,” she said.
    “Princess!”
    She closed her eyes. “There!” she said, pointing east. “Can you hear it? I’m sure
     it’s her barking.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t hear anything.” He took a deep breath. “Princess! Come
     on, girl,” he yelled as loud as he could, then leaned in the direction Rita had indicated.
    A gust of wind carried with it the faint echo of a bark. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
    He angled his horse east and gave the animal its head. Five minutes later he slowed
     to check with his binoculars. A rush of movement caught his attention. “There,” he
     said, pointing. “In the shadow of those rocks. She’s pacing, but she won’t come. She
     must have something.”
    They rode closer, then stopped a few feet from the rocks. Princess raced toward them,
     obviously limping. Brady jumped off his horse and reached for the dog. Her paws were
     bloody.
    “What the hell?” he growled. “What did you do?”
    But Princess didn’t stay still long enough for him to examine her. She ran back to
     the rocks and yipped plaintively. Brady saw a small bundle resting against the shade.
    He moved closer. A faint hissing warned