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“About what?”
“I want to join you. Noah has this awesome mare, Candy, who’s completely bombproof, and I really want to come. I won’t be any trouble.”
“Ellie, sit down,” Matt began solemnly, pulling out a chair.
As she did as he asked, he sat opposite her, then leaned across the table.
Noah’s heart skipped.
He’d assumed Matt would immediately say no.
“Listen carefully,” Matt began. “First and most importantly, once you see something, it can’t be unseen, and there are some images that can stay with you for the rest of your life. Not like a memory, but like a ghost hauntin’ you. And not just when you’re sleepin’.”
As a chill pricked his skin, Noah noticed Matt’s warning words were having a similar affect on Ellie.
“I strongly suspect we’ll find three—maybe four—frozen bodies,” Matt continued. “It’s not a pretty sight, believe me, I know.”
“Three or four?” Noah muttered, more to himself than questioning Matt.
“A guy like Michael Aiken will have a driver and a bodyguard, maybe two,” Matt said, keeping his eyes on Ellie. “Second, I was a Commando. Do you know what that means?”
“Uh, you were charge?”
“Correct. You must, and I mean must, know how to obey an order. Whether you think I’m wrong or right is irrelevant. Can you do that? Don’t answer just yet. Think about those two things, but first, tell me why you want to come”
“I’ll go crazy sitting here waiting, but more than that, I want to be there when that vile man is caught. Or see him dead, and I don’t care how gruesome that might be. Bethany was awful to me, but only because he made her do all those things. He ruined her life, and he put my dad through hell. I really want to be there when you find him—if you do.”
“That’s understandable,” Matt remarked. “Noah, you probably don’t want Ellie to join us. The problem is, we may need another set of hands. I’ve tried everyone. Clint just had some horses brought into his property. I guess they ran off during the storm, but regardless, he can’t leave. Devlin is away at a rodeo someplace, and Clint is at his store in Dayville.”
“There’s Cody,” Noah suggested, “but he may not be able to ride yet. He hurt his hip a couple of weeks ago, and I know he’d agree to help even if he shouldn’t.”
“Matt, I’ve thought about what you said,” Ellie suddenly exclaimed. “If you tell me not to look at something, I won’t, and I’ll follow every order you give me right away.”
“Noah?” Matt asked, looking up at him.
“I am worried about her coming with us, but as I said before you arrived, you’re in charge. I’ll respect whatever decision you make.”
“Matt, I promise you won’t be sorry,” Ellie added. “You just said you might need another pair of hands. I may not be as strong as you two, but I’m a quick thinker, and I notice things.”
Leaning back in his chair, Matt stared down at the table for a moment, then looked back up at Noah.”
“I guess you’d better tell Cody to tack up Candy.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Thirty-minutes later, as the trio made their way down the road on the grass verge, the air was cold, but it was quiet and still. With no traffic, they rode side-by-side, Blaze between Stetson and Candy. The conversation was minimal, each lost in their own thoughts.
Matt wasn’t concerned about the gangsters. He was sure, if they were on the mountainside, they wouldn’t have made it through the night. But on the off chance there was a survivor he was wearing a backpack loaded with emergency supplies.
Noah was thinking about the busy season ahead. New babies to program and new clients who had been waiting, and he wanted Ellie with him.
Besides being worried her father might leave Elk Valley, Ellie started to wonder if Noah thought she was nothing but trouble after all the drama she’d brought into his life.
But Matt abruptly broke into their thoughts.
Bringing Blaze to a stop at the base of the trail, he began to speak.
“When we get close to where I left the tracker, I’ll be gettin’ off and approaching on foot through the woods with Shelby. Noah, will you have any problems ponyin’ Blaze, or do I need to come back for him?”
