Page 11 of Disarming The Rancher

It was crazy how satisfying attending to the little things could be.

Raleigh polished off the muffin and downed a quick cup of coffee. Thinking about running into Brax at the barn last night caused her cheeks to heat and that butterfly sensation to return to her stomach. She must be losing her damn mind.

Before she could go too far down that road, she grabbed sunglasses and slipped out the back door before anyone realized she was awake. Once she got to the Firebrands, she would text Hardy to let him know she was okay. He wouldn’t expect her up for a few more hours though. And he was currently preoccupied with trying to keep the small crowd that was forming off her property line.

The shed was unlocked, so she walked right in. This time, she grabbed her old helmet off the nail and then placed it over her head. That should help keep her identity under wraps. She pushed the minibike into the woods, not wanting to draw attention from the crowd out front or from her bandmates.

Jake, who was usually the sweetest and most innocent one of the group, had been upset by her leaving last night without taking anyone with her for protection. She hadn’t seen him yet this morning to know if he’d gotten over it. The kid normally treated her like she walked on water, all starry-eyed. She hated to burst his bubble, but she was a normal person just like everyone else, she just happened to have a career in the spotlight.

Once she was out of earshot, she threw her leg over the seat and then started the engine. Being on Red Devil made her smile. The wind whipped against her as she navigated around the trees, up and down small hills and around the creek.

Don’t get her wrong, she loved what she did for a living but it came with a price, and that was personal freedom.

Just as the Firebrand property line came into view, she heard the roar of an ATV gunning toward her. The male rider wasn’t wearing a helmet. She didn’t recognize him as local but to be fair, it had been a long time since she’d lived in Lone Star Pass.

And yet, the way he stared at her with those determined eyes sent her pulse racing. A burst of adrenaline caused her hands to tremble as she twisted the throttle with her right hand.

It didn’t matter who this guy was, she planned to let him eat her dust.

Normally, she had to get off her minibike in order to squeeze it through the break in fencing but with the ATV closing in, there was no time. She cut left, drawing him away from the property. If she could get enough of a lead, she could lose this guy and double back.

An icy chill raced down her back at the thought that he might be the bomber who seemed intent on taking her out. To what end?

He could silence her. Then what? What would he have to gain? Then again, she’d read about worse things happening to good folks for no reason other than someone snapped and decided to take out as many folks as he could. Her threat had been targeted, directed at her. The thought sent an icy chill racing down her back.

She cut right again, and the ATV followed right along. This situation was going from bad to worse as he was cutting her off from going back to her house. She tried not to think about how stupid she’d been for putting herself at risk by going out by herself. It would serve her right if something happened…

And yet she couldn’t go there.

His ATV was faring better with the terrain they were on. He had more stability with four tires and these little hills were perfect for him. She had to take it easy or risk getting too much air, giving him an unfair advantage. To make matters worse, she wasn’t rocking a big engine with her minibike.

Think. Think. Think.

That was it. She needed to outthink him. She knew the area. Did he?

There was only one way to find out.

A flat area would give her the speed advantage. The meadow wasn’t too far away. She was also nimbler than the ATV. So, she started cutting her turns faster and then speeding up whenever she had some clearing. The path along the creek would give her flat ground.

It was closer than the meadow and he was gaining on her again.

Leaning left, she made a hard turn toward the creek and then twisted the throttle as far as it would go. She risked a glance back and was rewarded with a tree stump in the way. A sharp turn wasn’t enough to avoid contact. Her front tire nicked the tree stump and she felt herself go flying.

A yelp escaped before she could rein it in. Her head landed a foot away from the base of a large oak. She’d been thrown a good five feet and for a split-second waited for the pain of a broken bone to strike.

When none came, she scrambled up onto all fours and recited a gratitude prayer Nana had taught her when she wasn’t much bigger than a fly.

The problem was that her engine ku-klunked and then died. Out of gas?

The ATV driver sneered as he aimed directly toward her. She stood up and glanced around. Could she run? Climb a tree?

Since she’d never made a good squirrel, she went for option number one. She threw off her helmet to minimize any extra weight that might slow her down, and ran.

The ATV engine roared. He was letting her know that he was coming for her. She could almost see the smirk on his face. Since rolling over and giving up wasn’t in her DNA, she ran harder. Branches slapped at her as she headed into a thicket. He’d never get his ATV through the trees ahead if she could beat him there.

Of course, a foot chase might be a different story and she couldn’t risk a glance back to see if he was gaining on her.

And then out of nowhere, the ATV engine faded. The rider was still on the thing because the engine buzzed. Her mind snapped to the fear of a black bear being out here. Or wild hog. Those could really butcher a person. Either one would stop the ATV in his tracks.