Page 115 of A Rancher's Vow

He approached quietly, but there was no hint of sound ahead of him. No teenage voices or music playing, and the darkness inside the shelter was broken only by a soft yellow glow.

Dustin pulled out his phone and hit the flashlight button. Pacing forward, he stepped into the shelter.

A sleeping bag was tossed in the corner. A small cook set rested on one of the stumps he’d seen earlier. The smoke escaping through a crack in the roof came from a tiki torch attached to the wall. It was extinguished but still smoldering, tar black smoke drifting upward.

“The hell?”

He stepped forward to put it out just as something moved in the corner of his vision. Pain struck the back of his head, and he threw out his hands to break his fall.

Then…darkness.

25

Charity patted Beach’s nose for the twentieth time. “Soon, sweetie. I know, you’re ready to roll, aren’t you?”

She paced forward, leading the horse in another circle around the arena in the hopes that he’d settle down. They’d walked so many loops by now that Patchwork Annie had lost interest. The dog lay sprawled beside the gate, waiting for something more exciting to happen.

“What’s up with you?” Kelli asked, rounding the corner with Shim at her side. “You forget the part where riding a horse involves being on his back?”

“I’m not that much of a newbie,” Charity complained. She checked her watch again. “Dustin said he’d meet me at four. He’s running late, but Beach doesn’t like that excuse very much.”

Shim frowned, checking the time as well. “Dustin didn’t call?”

Charity shook her head.

“That’s not like him.” Kelli hauled out her phone and hit a button.

“I didn’t want to interrupt if he’s busy with something,” Charity complained.

Shim raised a brow. “If he’s busy, he won’t answer the phone.”

“I guess.” She checked the time again, glancing down the path Dustin should be returning on.

Kelli pushed her phone back into her pocket. “He’s not answering. Plus, he’s over forty-five minutes late, which is not like him. He’s usually a five minute,sorry I got distractedtype of late.”

Shim tilted his head toward the office. “Easy to see if he’s on his way home.”

Kelli took the reins as Charity hurried toward the computer, Patchwork Annie once again underfoot. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to use theFinderapp,” Charity complained.

“You were expecting him to show up any moment,” Shim pointed out. “Fire her up.”

Charity restarted the computer, waiting impatiently as the program re-opened. “Dustin is…” She leaned forward. “He’s going to be more than late. That’s a long ride from here.”

Shim peeked over her shoulder, concern rising on his face. “Click real time. It’s too data hungry to run all the time, but right now, it’ll help pinpoint his movements.”

Charity made the adjustments, and they waited for the program to shift. Instead of an update every five minutes, this version could follow the GPS location live.

Two minutes later the cold spot in Charity’s gut grew even larger as the icon showing Dustin’s position didn’t change at all.

“He’s not moving.” She glanced up at Shim and then at a frowning Caleb who now stood in the doorway. “Dustin’s not moving.”

Caleb stepped into the room. “Who’s the closest to him right now?”

Charity made the adjustments to the program, but shook her head as worry continued to rise. “No one. All of us—all the hands are en route back for dinner.”

Curses hit the air, then Caleb called out orders. “Shim, you stay here and keep in touch if anything changes. See if you can find out who last talked to Dustin, and when.”

“Yes, sir.” Shim settled behind the desk.