Page 26 of Falling For Her Cowboy (Silver Creek Ranch #9)

Chapter Sixteen

H e’s out of prison.

Ridge eyed the text message from his brother. This wasn’t the news he’d wanted to hear. He was going to have to let Melah know this. It would appear she hadn’t known this information.

Any idea where he is? Ridge shot back. This wasn’t good news. Melah was going to freak out when she heard.

No one has seen him in weeks. He’s a ghost.

Fuck.

He ran a hand along his face. He didn’t want to give her bad news like this, but she had a right to know.

Until they found where this Theo was, she was going to stay with him.

He didn’t care how much of a fight she put up, he was not going to compromise her safety.

Even though he’d been sleeping outside the bunkhouse, much could happen with him outside.

She may be stubborn, but so was he. If he had to hog-tie her and carry her home, then he would.

A loud crack pierced the air, startling the stillness of the ranch .

Ridge froze in place. It wasn’t backfire from a vehicle. Not a slamming gate to one of the corrals. That was a gun. He tilted his head slightly, listening. The echo hung in the air for a heartbeat too long. He waited to see if there would be another, but the next shot didn’t come.

He stood by his utility vehicle. He’d gone out on all of his farm runs for the day and had just made his way back to Silver Creek. According to Faith, the office was slow and he wasn’t needed back unless there was an emergency.

“Did you hear that?” Ridge called out to Trent who was coming out of the toolshed. He brushed his hands on his jeans and looked off in the distance.

“That was definitely a gunshot,” Trent confirmed.

There were miles stretched out before them. Where exactly had it come from ?

Ridge’s stomach gave way. Where was Melah? She’d started carrying her weapon while working. It had never sat right with him, but he understood the nature of her carrying. She knew how to use it, and if that was her firing, there was a reason for it.

“Where’s Melah working?” He hopped in the vehicle and started the engine.

“She’s out in the eastern pasture fixing a fence. Damn heifers got loose?—”

Ridge didn’t stay long enough to hear the rest of what Trent said. If she was out there alone, this would be prime time for someone to try something. He pressed down harder on the gas pedal. He knew exactly which pasture Trent was speaking of. It was the one near the woods and the mountain range.

Perfect place to disappear with someone.

“Hold on, babe. I’m coming.” He gripped the steering wheel tight now, wishing he’d had his truck.

It would be wasting time to go back to switch vehicles.

He secretly hoped he was overreacting. What if a coyote was in the area and she was scaring off the animal?

Ridge didn’t care. He’d ensure she was safe if that was the case and help her fix the damn fence.

An urgency like he’d never known came over him.

He cursed and leaned forward as if that would lend speed to the vehicle.

He finally arrived at the empty pasture where Trent said she was working.

With his heart racing, he scanned the area for her.

Daisy was off grazing, but there were no signs of her owner.

Where the hell was Melah?

He made his way over to Daisy. She was a little way away from the woods, but something drew Ridge’s attention to them. He drove up near them and cut the engine. He exited the vehicle and ambled over to Daisy.

“Hey, girl. Remember me?” Ridge spoke in a soft, hushed voice. He didn’t want to scare her.

The horse lifted her head and eyed him suspiciously. She neighed softly as he ran a hand along her neck. There didn’t look to be any signs of trauma to her.

“Where’s your momma? Where’s Melah?”

She gave a heavy sigh and shook her head before lowering it again to go back to her meal.

The fence where Melah was working wasn’t finished.

Her tools were still on the ground. He bit back a curse and glanced back to the woods.

He gave Daisy another heavy pat, then slowly walked toward the woods.

He paused and assessed the area. It appeared as calm as any day.

Birds chirping and the sounds of nature filling the air.

He narrowed his eyes and walked along the path that had been naturally created. He eyed the ground. Fresh boot marks. They were small—the size of a woman’s feet.

Melah.

“What were you doing, babe?” he murmured slowly. He bent down and examined the ground near him.

She’d spun in a circle as if looking for something—or someone. Had it been her who’d pulled the trigger of her gun?

Or had some mysterious person shot her?

There were no signs of blood anywhere. Ridge breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood tall and glanced about. He tiptoed around her tracks then froze in place at the sight of larger prints that appeared out of nowhere.

Ridge looked up at the tree where the prints began.

Whoever had joined her had been hiding in the tree.

Ridge took a few more steps forward and saw the signs of a tussle on the ground.

Anger filled him at the sight. He bent down and eyed the ground.

He may have been out of the Navy for years, but some things one doesn’t forget.

His father had also taught him and Draven the art of tracking when they were younger.

Andy would take them hunting, and there was plenty for Ridge to read on the ground.

An attacker had ambushed Melah. Ridge assessed the area, and a hint of black metal stuck out from underneath a bush. He stalked over to it and raised the leaves out of the way. It was a Glock.

Melah’s gun, and it had been recently fired.

“Son of bitch,” Ridge muttered. Someone had taken his woman. He stood upright and held on to her weapon. Whoever it was didn’t even try to cover their tracks. He narrowed his eyes on the ground and began to follow them. They were going toward the mountain.

He and his brother knew this land better than anyone. Whoever had taken Melah was going to regret they’d ever stepped foot on to the Silver Creek Ranch. There was truly no place they could hide from him.

The memory of Melah’s face came to mind. Her smile. Her laugh. The sight of her face when she reached her climax.

He wanted to see it again. Experience her arms wrapped around his neck as she stared up at him with an alluring smile on her face. After today, she was going to see how crazy he was for her. He’d fallen in love with her. There was no questioning it .

Ridge was not going to hesitate any longer in making sure she knew his true feelings about her. There was not going to be any discussions of her possibly leaving Ironhaven either.

This was Melah’s home.

He was her future.

She was not leaving him. He’d show her how much they belonged together.

She had to know it already. The chemistry between them should not be ignored.

From the moment they were together, Ridge had felt complete.

Words truly couldn’t express all there was between them, but he knew one thing for certain.

She was his.

He’d find them. They hadn’t had much of a head start, and Ridge could catch up with them easily.

A deadly calm overtook him. When he caught up with the person who’d taken Melah, Ridge would deal with them and get his woman back.

Through any means necessary.

“There’s no use in fighting,” Theo snapped.

Melah had refused to allow him to kidnap her easily.

She was going to keep fighting him until she couldn’t any longer.

She glared at him. He led her farther into the woods.

She didn’t have a clue where they were. All she could tell was they were heading toward the mountains.

There was no way she could allow him to take her there.

“Fuck you.” Her words were muffled around the cloth in her mouth.

He brayed a laugh and gripped her by the back of the neck. She had never hated anyone in her life until him. This was one person who she had hoped to never see again, but here he was.

Why couldn’t he leave her be? If he was out of jail, why didn’t he move on with his life?

“I just know you didn’t say ‘fuck you,’” he snarled.

He tightened his hold on her neck, causing pain.

She bit back a wince. She didn’t want him to get any satisfaction from hurting her.

He’d always got a kick out of hurting the female soldiers in any way he could.

With unfair drills to giving them more work to do than the men, he was known as an ass to women.

“This is all your fault, bitch.”

Melah glared at him. Her fault? He was the one who couldn’t accept that a woman didn’t want him.

She had declined his advances, had been as courteous as she could be.

Told him she was engaged to be married. He’d kept hounding her.

Made crude, inappropriate jokes in front of other personnel, but everyone ignored him.

No one wanted his wrath when he got pissed.

They kept walking. The woods were growing thicker, and the dirt path was now no more.

She had to watch where she stepped for fear of tripping over fallen branches, tree roots, and such.

She hoped someone had heard the gunshot.

She just wished she had got it off before he dove toward her.

She’d have been in her right to shoot him.

He also wouldn’t be dragging her to some godforsaken area in the wilderness.

What did he want from her?

What unfinished business did they have?

Theo was sick in the head. She didn’t know how he had gotten out of prison, but the fact he was here meant he’d been planning this. A shiver went down her spine with the thought of what he had in store for her.

How the hell had he found her?

So many thoughts and questions raced through her head. She stumbled again, and he gripped her by her arm .

“Watch where you are going, bitch.” He grinned at her and narrowed his eyes on her.

She shrugged off his hold.