But the Bar T—the Taggerty quarters—had been here since his pa was a young married man who brought his bride into the wilds. At the time, the grass had been abundant.
Of course, given rain, it would thrive again. Zach just had to ride out this bump.
In the meantime, he needed people he could trust to be helping him. He didn’t have time to supervise each man day in and day out.
In the short time she’d been here, Amelia had proved capable of helping Pa, guiding Gil and Kat along safe lines as well as taking care of Poppy’s needs. It was a lot, but she made itlook easy. She remained cheerful, despite how someone acted dishonestly, representing himself as Zach. Who and why?
Coming toward suppertime, he rode home with more anticipation than he’d known for… well, for a spell. Believing Amelia would have things under control was a good feeling.
He tended his horse, then strode toward the house and stepped inside. Kat and Poppy played at the table.
Gil looked up at Zach’s entrance. “We been hopin’ you’d get back soon.”
Amelia and Pa weren’t in sight, and Zach’s nerves twitched. “What’s wrong?”
Gil and Kat both tried to tell him at the same time. In seconds, Zach made sense of their overlapping words.
“They’ve been missing most of the day?” What disaster had befallen them?
Poppy patted his leg. “Mama?” Her bottom lip quivered, and tears clung to her lashes.
He picked her up. She buried her face in his neck and sobbed. He rubbed her back. “Hush, baby. Your mama is okay. I’ll go find her now.” He tried to put her down, but she clung to him. What could he do but sit and hold her until she stopped crying?
Her sobs ended, and she tipped her face up to him. “Find Mama?”
“I will.”
“Gampa?”
“Him too. But I need you to stay with Kat. Can you do that?”
“Want you.” She pressed her head to his chest.
His heart refused to beat. His lungs stopped working. How could she trust him so readily? It made him feel powerful—and so weak.
“Kat?”
His sister lifted Poppy from his arms. “Would you like a biscuit and jam?”
“Uh-huh.”
Kat sat her at the table as Zach turned to leave.
“Bye.” Poppy waved.
Zach chuckled at how quickly she switched from teary to cheery. “Bye. I’ll be back.”
Gil had said the last time he saw Amelia, she headed south, so Zach went that direction. He scanned his surroundings, hoping to see them, hoping for some idea of where they’d gone. Nothing provided a clue. He rode one direction, saw nothing, turned, and rode back a mile. He continued to sweep the countryside for almost an hour before he reached the area they’d nicknamed the Giant’s Ball Game. The huge lumps and boulders here made Ma say it looked like giants had a fight that involved tossing stone balls at each other, hence the name.
He circled the section of land, knowing how perilous it was to ride a horse through the area. All the while, he kept a sharp lookout for any indication of Pa and Amelia. A flash of gray caught his attention, and he reined in.
“Pa, Amelia.” His voice boomed and skipped over the rocks.
Amelia popped up. “Over here.”
Where was Pa? Zach didn’t see him. He dismounted and, on foot, zigzagged his way through the lumps and rocks. All sorts of possibilities raced through his mind. Pa was hurt. Or worse.
He stepped past a mound of dirt, and his breath whooshed out. Pa sat in front of Amelia.
