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“I have a huge problem.”
Ruby’s stomach sank. She really hoped this didn’t have anything to do with the Grandin or Lattimore families. “What’s going on?”
“One of the horses got out of the barn, and I let my ranch hands leave early so they could go to an NBA game in Dallas. Normally, I’d wait for Lucky to come back. The whole property is fenced. But it’s going to be dark soon and this horse is old, and she can’t spend the night out in the cold.”
“I was just about to get ready for our date. Do you want me to come over now and help you look?”
“I hate asking. I hate that this happened at all. It’s your birthday and this is not how I wanted to spend it.”
“I know that. It was your idea to celebrate at all. I’ll come over now. But fair warning—I look like a wreck. No makeup, my hair is in a ponytail, and I probably smell pretty bad, too.”
“I’m sure that, however you look, you’re perfect.”
“Famous last words, mister.” She glanced at the gaping hole in the wall and decided that she’d have to clean up later. If she had any hope of salvaging her birthday date, she needed to help Heath now.
“Bring whatever you were going to wear tonight. If we find Lucky in time, we can still make it to Sheen. Or I’ll call over there and ask them to move our seating time.”
“One problem at a time, okay? I’ll be there as quick as I can.” Ruby hung up and quickly packed a bag with her clothes for their date, plus some makeup and her hair dryer. Feeling optimistic, she added an outfit for tomorrow. Maybe he would want her to sleep over. Maybe she and Heath could spend the entire day together.
She grabbed her coat and rushed outside, then raced to Heath’s ranch, doing her best to not break any traffic laws, although she did run a yellow light at what could have been considered the last second. When she pulled up to his house, he was standing next to his truck, which was on one of the access roads that wound through the property. His vehicle was already running. She could see the billowy puffs of exhaust in the cold.
She parked her car and left her things inside, jogging over to his truck. “I told you I look like a wreck.”
He smiled wide and pulled her closer, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “You’re more gorgeous than the last time I saw you.”
That had been only a few days ago, and she’d been freshly showered at the time, so she was positive that wasn’t true. “You’re a pretty good liar.”
“Not really.” He opened the passenger’s-side door of his truck. “Let’s go. It’s getting darker.”
“And colder.” Ruby climbed inside, thankful that Heath had the heat blazing.
“I already made one pass with the truck and I can’t find her anywhere. We might have to go out into some of the pastures on foot, so I brought some flashlights. I know some of Lucky’s hiding spots.”
“She must be a pretty special horse. What breed is she?”
Heath laughed as he put the engine in Reverse. He made a quick three-point turn, and then they were on their way. “Not sure. She was a rescue. She was Ashley’s horse.”
Now Ruby understood why this was so urgent, aside from the animal’s age and the dropping temperatures outside—he couldn’t allow his sister’s horse to suffer at all. “We’ll find her.”
“The whole thing was so stupid. I got distracted when I was putting her back in the stable late this afternoon. Pretty sure I forgot to double-latch her stall.” He kept his eyes trained on the terrain as the truck bounced over the rough road and the headlights shone on their path. “She’s mischievous. She sometimes makes a break for it. It’s so bad that I keep a breakaway halter on her all the time. She actually has a tag like a dog.”
“You’d think she’d get one whiff of how cold it is and head right back inside.”
Heath glanced over at Ruby. “Yeah. Well. She hasn’t been the same since Ashley died. It’s like she misses her, which I know probably sounds a little unhinged.”
Ruby looked out the passenger’s-side window, scanning the landscape. “No sign of her over here. If you’ve already done one pass in the truck, maybe we should just accept that we’ll need to go on foot. You mentioned that she has hiding places. Should we check those?”
“That’s probably the best way to do this. Unfortunately, the most likely spot is also the least accessible. Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“I already look like hell, so yes.”
“No, you don’t. But I’m going to agree with you about this approach.” Heath took a sharp right and started over a long series of rolling ridges. About ten minutes later, he slowed down and pulled off to the side, gravel rumbling under the tires. A wooded area was to the right, with a small stand of bare hardwood trees with evergreens mixed in. It had to be a quarter mile away, down an incline and into a small valley. “There’s a watering hole down there. She loves it.” He zipped up his coat. “I can check it out if you want to stay in the car.”
Ruby had come this far. She wasn’t about to let him go on his own. “I’d like to go with you.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded eagerly. “Never been so sure in all my life.”
