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And if that other vehicle was still out here somewhere, they could sneak up on them and call the police.
Using the overhead bar, she pulled herself out of the driver’s seat and took off her helmet while Silas did the same.
“You think the horses are still around?” he asked as they left the UTV behind.
“I can’t say for sure.” Tess marched through the pine trees, keeping a healthy distance between them. Distance and indifference would be key on this mission. “But they probably haven’t gone too far.” Jace had told her that this same herd had run this land for well over a hundred years. Her husband had loved these animals, and a few times they’d been lucky enough to catch sight of them when they’d been up here camping. “The herd came flooding out of the trees and then spooked back into the woods over there.” She pointed to the southern border in front of them.
“What were you doing up here anyway?” Silas fell in stride with her and peered at her face.
Tess immediately ducked her head. “I went for a ride.” Her stomach clenched. Down the hill to their left—at the edge of the glacial pond—the bronze memorial they’d constructed for Jace glinted in the sun. This was where they’d spread his ashes. When she hadn’t even been able to stand up under her own power, her brother, Aiden, had stood on one side of her and Silas had stood on the other side, supporting her weight.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been up here.” A note of regret played in his voice.
“Yeah. Me too.” She used to visit all the time because it made her feel closer to Jace. Before their daughters had come along, she and Jace used to ride up here for the day and have a picnic, camp overnight near the pond. They would lie on a blanket and gaze up at the clouds, and sometimes make love under the shade of the trees.
The memory put another crack in her armor. “It’s our anniversary,” she admitted. “I mean, it would have been.”
Understanding dawned on his face. “That’s right. I haven’t been paying too much attention to dates lately.”
“It would’ve been thirteen years, and I forgot.” She wasn’t sure why she confessed to Silas of all people. Maybe because she knew Silas well enough to know he didn’t judge anyone. Regardless of what had happened between them, they’d still walked through the grief of the last two years together. He and Thatch and Aiden understood what she’d lost. And she understood what they’d lost in their unofficial brother. “I can’t believe I forgot.”
She’d woken up at the same time she always did, but Morgan and Willow had to be at school early. As usual, her eldest daughter couldn’t decide what to wear and they’d ended up leaving five minutes late. After dropping them off, Tess had come back home and brewed herself a whole pot of coffee before starting on the books for the ranch—yet another thing she’d gotten behind on. She’d eaten two fried eggs for breakfast, worked her way through paying all of the bills, and then flicked on the noon news while doing the dishes, and that’s when she’d heard the date.
The man stopped hiking and turned to her. “You didn’t forget.” The words seemed to disarm the shield that had been in his gaze earlier. “You rode up here, didn’t you?”
“I forgot until I saw the date on the news.” And then it had hit her as she was rinsing the skillet she’d made the eggs in earlier. She’d dropped the skillet into the sink with a loud clang before running out the door in a panic.
“You showed up, Tess.” Silas stared right into her with those perceptive blue eyes, his voice gentle. “It doesn’t matter what time. Or how. You honor Jace every day by keeping this place going, by being such a kick-ass mom. You’re doing him proud.”
She found herself unable to look away, pulled in by the mystery of his eyes. This was Silas. Jace’s best friend. The life of every party. The man who always had a quip ready or a wild story that made everyone laugh. But she’d caught enough glimpses behind the curtain of his antics to know he was so much more. What exactly he was, she couldn’t quite grasp. But there was more to him than he let most people see.
Her throat tightened and heat gathered underneath her breastbone. He made her heart beat faster; that was a truth she couldn’t deny. But she didn’t know if she reacted to him because she’d slept with him. Or because she was just so damn lonely most of the time. Or if maybe there were actual feelings there? God, that would be complicated. Nope. Real feelings were not an option here. He’d put That Night behind him and she had to as well.
“Um, yeah, thanks.” She quickly turned away. “We should probably keep moving.”
“Lead the way.” His tone had gone back to normal—light and jovial, typical Silas.
She tromped on ahead of him, their boots crunching the dried-out pine needles. “So, what were you doing when I crashed your office?” Maybe going to mundane, normal lines of conversation would help her look at him as just Silas again. She used to roll her eyes at the man at least three times a day. “I hope I didn’t take you away from anything too important.”
“Only some putting practice,” he said quickly. “Things on the construction front have been pretty slow lately.”
Did she detect a hint of boredom in the words? “I thought you three put out a bunch of new bids last wee—”
A faint grunting sound cut her off. Tess halted her steps and held up a hand to keep Silas from speaking. Her ears strained.
More grunting and snorting.
“That’s a horse.” She started to jog toward the noise, dodging around tree trunks and pausing to listen. “Over here!” She waved Silas past an outcropping of rocks and into a small clearing.
“Oh my God.” Her stomach lurched. A palomino lay on the ground fifteen feet away, its muzzle, throat, and chest all covered in blood. “She’s been shot.” Tess eased closer, holding out her hands. “Easy. Easy now,” she soothed.
The horse grunted and squealed, her front hooves fruitlessly scraping the ground in an effort to stand.
“All right,” Tess whispered. “We’re here to help you. It’s all right.” She knelt down next to the animal.
Silas was right beside her. “What’d you need?”
“I need to stop the bleeding, to see where it’s coming from.” Right now, sticky red blood seemed to cover everything, but the horse was conscious and alert. They could save her. Theyhadto save her.
