9. Chapter 9 - Rosalyn
“I’m taking Petunia for a ride around the property.” I pull my stocking hat lower over my ears, then grab my coat.
“Is she walking better? Eli’s coming back tonight with your new horse.” John glances up from his phone with raised brows.
“She needs a little exercise. I’ll go slow. Maybe by spring she’ll be ready to go again.” I don’t want to tell him I already hate the new one before I’ve met it.
Because I didn’t choose it. It was picked for me.
“Well, it might be time to put her down,” he grumbles as he turns back to his screen.
Petunia was born here shortly after Ava died. That mare helped me deal with the grief of losing my sister.
I’m not ready to let her go.
“No.” I let the word hang, slamming the door behind me.
Tears sting my eyes, blurring my walk to the barn.
Whatever happiness I find, he somehow always wants to rip it away.
It’s why I want to find the man in the woods. Why is he here?
Maybe he can help me?
I’m so fucking desperate to get away from this place I’d put my trust in a complete stranger. But he’s the first person I’ve seen who isn’t under my brother’s control.
At least, as far as I know. Which is why I need to learn more.
Petunia stands perfectly as I get her ready. It’s almost like she’s wanting to get out of her stall just as badly as I want away from the house.
I can’t say I blame her.
“Okay, baby girl.” I pat her neck above her shoulder, then settle back. “Nice and easy.”
She starts with a trot, but I have to rein her to slow down.
Once she’s able to move without a limp, I help her maintain that speed until I get to the copse of trees where I had seen the stranger.
There’s only a few faint hoof marks. I don’t think he’s been back in the two days since I saw him.
Damn.
What is wrong with me hoping to find some creep in the woods?
Maybe it’s because this is different. Something finally out of the same old routine. My heart is racing in a way that it hasn’t in forever.
Competitions pale in comparison to how exciting this thrill is, following the faint trail down the ridge.
What will I do if I do find the mystery man?
Now that I’m out here in the middle of nowhere, my vulnerability weighs on me.
I don’t even have a weapon, and it’s not like Petunia is up for a sprint.
Okay, this whole idea is starting to feel stupid. It’s cold enough to make my cheeks burn, and I can’t see the barn even in the distance.
How far am I?
Farther than I’ve ever been alone. It’s both terrifying and exhilarating.
I’m free.
If only I could just keep riding and never come back. Where would I go?
I have no money, no skills, and no one who I can trust.
When my belly growls, I realize I don’t have any food either.
“Come on, girl. Time to turn around.” At least her steps make a path that is easier to follow.
Wait. Why do her prints split?
Curiosity has me veering off to follow the unfamiliar trail.
I don’t remember going this—
“Don’t move,” a gruff, deep voice calls out, echoing off the icy tree trunks.
My heart leaps into high speed as I pull Petunia to a stop instinctively.
That’s when I see the long barrel of a rifle pointed at me from the edge of a thick pine.
Fuck.
I muster every piece of false bravado I’ve used on my brothers and stiffen my spine. “You’re tresspassing.” I’m impressed I didn’t even stammer.
The stranger’s scoff sends a misty plume away from the Ponderosa. “You’re not in much of a position to run me off.”
“Why are you here?” I jut out my chin in feigned defiance to hide the quaking of my lips.
I’ve never had a gun pointed at me. It’s causing a whole new level of terror to surge through me.
“That’s my business,” he growls, yet the weapon never wavers. “You need to get on down back to your cushy house, Rosalyn.”
A new wave of ice settles in my belly. “How—” My words finally falter. “—how do you know my name?”
“I know a lot more than that. Now get on.” This time the barrel dips, then arcs.
My breath comes so quickly I feel lightheaded. “Is it my brothers? Is that who you’re watching? What did they do?”
His aim lowers slightly, pointing more to the snow-clad bush beside me. “Did they do something they shouldn’t have?”
I still can’t see the man behind the tree. But the fact he hasn’t shot me yet has to be a good sign, right?
Thoughts spin through my head in a whirlwind, yet it’s like trying to grasp at threads in a tornado. “I don’t know,” I whisper. “They don’t tell me anything.”
He grunts, making another soft cloud of his exhale rise from under the broad brim of his hat. “Go before I make your horse spook.”
The click of the safety going off is almost as much of a shock to me as if he’d pulled the trigger.
My thighs clench, spurning Petunia from a standstill.
When she does, the stranger leans far enough I can see the amber color of his eyes over a black scarf wrapping his face.
I don’t know if it’s the thrill or the fear that latches my gaze to his, but the haunted look in it carries with me all the way back to the barn.
Who is he and how did he know my name?
Or maybe the bigger question is what did my brothers do that has someone hiding in the woods to watch them?