Sabotage! #2
Certainly not! Maria still hadn’t gotten past Seth and his behavior. But that was too much to explain to someone Savannah’s age. Better change the topic. “I don’t think so,” she said. “Have you seen that Montana Rider lately that you told me about?”
Savannah shook her head. “Not lately. But that’s another good reason you should come with me. We might run into him. He’s a lot more exciting than the ranch hands. If you like Zorro, you’d like him.”
“Maybe I would.”
“Then you’ll come with me?” A light came into Savannah’s eyes.
Going around on the ranch late at night, looking for a mysterious horseman? Well, it might keep Savannah safer than going around by herself, especially after the recent vandalism. “We’ll see,” Maria said.
§
It was late Sunday night, and Maria was getting ready for bed, when Annabelle tapped on her door.
“Have you seen Savannah?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen her,” Maria said.
“Is she out in the dark again?” Annabelle grimaced. “I don’t like it when she does that. Maybe she’ll run into the people who chopped down the ranch sign.”
It was surprising Annabelle noticed Savannah was missing, when she hardly spent any time with her. “Do you think we’d better see if her ATV is gone?” Maria asked. “Maybe she went down to the bunkhouse. She says the guys sit outside and play the guitar at night.”
“You’re right,” Annabelle said. “I guess I’ll just text and ask if she’s okay. I don’t think anyone would bother somebody near the buildings. And there’s no point for Savannah to go farther than that.”
Her phone buzzed.
“Oh, that’s Neil calling. See you later.”
Annabelle vanished, and Maria was left worrying.
Although Annabelle wasn’t worried about Savannah anymore, her concern had rubbed off on Maria.
Maria didn’t have Savannah’s number, and she wasn’t going to interrupt Annabelle’s call with Neil.
Getting any of the other adults involved seemed unwise if Savannah was someplace innocuous.
Maria put her daytime clothes back on and slipped outside.
The barn light was plenty of illumination for Maria to get her ATV.
Why didn’t the family notice Savannah slipping out?
Besides Annabelle and Elijah, who already knew about it and had pooh-poohed the tale of the Montana Rider.
Maybe the other adults knew and didn’t worry about it.
They probably figured it was safer in the country than in town.
Maria just knew she would never have been allowed to run around in the dark as a teen.
As a policeman, her dad was safety-conscious.
He didn’t want his daughter getting into dangerous situations.
Now here she was, doing the same thing she was concerned about Savannah doing. Maybe Savannah was just in the house somewhere. No, her ATV was missing from the barn. Better look for her.
Maria drove down the path, grateful for the ATV’s good headlights.
It was much darker here than the suburbs with their house lights and streetlights.
Maria owned a concealed carry pistol, left in a safe box at the bottom of her dresser in the ranch house.
She brought it with her frequently, back home, but it hadn’t occurred to her that she might want it this evening.
The wind ruffled the tall grass, but other than that the ranch was weirdly silent.
A shape moved on Maria’s right and made her jump.
It was just some small night animal. The way down seemed longer and more winding in the dark, and the buildings seemed far away.
Maria shivered. What was she doing, going around scared of her own shadow? There was nothing to be worried about.
Someone was coming the other direction on the path. A dark figure on a black horse. Maria’s pulse quickened. It couldn’t be. Yes, it was. The Montana Rider. He looked like Zorro, all but the cape—a dashing figure.
Maria stopped the ATV and cut the headlights so they wouldn’t blind the horse. The Montana Rider slowed to a stop.
“Thanks.” His voice was deep and rich and mysterious, exactly the way Maria had imagined. He sat tall, his head covered with a wide-brimmed hat, the upper part of his face covered by a mask. He barely needed the mask—she would have had a hard time recognizing anybody’s face in the shadows.
Maria had so many questions. “Who are you?”
“I’m looking after the ranch,” he said. “Some people call me the Montana Rider.”
A tingle went down Maria’s spine.
Stop being ridiculous, Maria. He was just some guy. He was probably a ranch hand who thought it was fun to ride around at night in disguise and surprise Savannah.
“Have you seen Savannah?” she asked. Wait, maybe that was a bad question.
This guy could be anybody. He could even be the guy who had vandalized the ranch.
But somehow Maria didn’t believe that. If Savannah had been telling the truth—which it seemed like—this guy had been around for a while.
He probably had nothing to do with the vandalism.
“Savannah’s at Rob and Jessie’s house,” the Montana Rider said. “Looking for her?”
“Yeah,” Maria said. “I didn’t feel good about her being out here by herself when the ranch sign got destroyed yesterday.”
“I heard about that,” he replied. “That’s why I’m out tonight. Keeping an eye on things.”
“Wow,” Maria said. Keeping an eye on things, like an extra guardian angel.
“Want me to take you to Savannah?” the Montana Rider asked.
The Montana Rider for an escort? Yes, please! “That would be lovely,” Maria said. “Thank you.”
Her voice sounded way too excited and giddy. She shook herself. It was her imagination, fed on Zorro and western romances, that made something out of this. The days of western romances were long gone. Zorro was fictional. Nobody was really like that.
“Follow me.” The mystery man turned. “You can use your low-beam headlights,” he said. “That won’t bother my horse.”
Maria let him get ahead before turning on her ATV. She didn’t want to make the Montana Rider feel she was snapping at his horse’s heels.
The horse’s hooves mingled with the other sounds of the night.
As she rode through the dark, following the masked man, Maria pinched herself.
Her life was getting weirder all the time.
Who rode around at night with a masked vigilante?
At least, she assumed he was a vigilante.
Masked guys always were, weren’t they? Probably still just a ranch hand in costume, though.
They passed the lower buildings and came to a small house near the creek. “She’s here,” the rider said. “Want me to wait and escort you both home?”
Maria would have loved nothing better, but she hated to put people to trouble on her account. “No, thank you, that’s all right.”
“All right then. Have a good night.” The Rider turned.
“Wait!” Maria said. He stopped, looking back.
“Will you be—will I see you again?” Good thing it was dark, because Maria must be blushing fire-engine red.
“Probably,” the Montana Rider said. The word hung in the air.
Was he going to leave? Did he only show up occasionally at night?
Well, Maria wasn’t going to ask any more risky things and embarrass herself further. If this was a ranch hand, the whole bunkhouse would laugh at her if she seemed interested in the Montana Rider. Better to stay on the safe side and not act too interested.
“Thanks for your help,” Maria said.
The Rider touched the brim of his hat. “You’re welcome, ma’am.”
As she waited for someone to answer her knock, she stood outside Jessie and Rob’s door, watching him disappear into the night.
The door opened behind her. “Hey, that’s the Montana Rider!”
Maria turned and saw the missing girl, her eyes wide and her mouth an O.
“What’s he doing here?” Savannah asked. “You saw him, right?”
Maria was still processing her encounter with the Rider, but she pulled herself together to answer Savannah. “I ran into him up near the house,” she said. “I came out to look for you, and he told me where you were.”
“He knew where I was and didn’t even say hi?” Savannah pouted.
“He said he was keeping an eye on things,” Maria said. “Maybe he was too busy to stop. Come on back to the house with me, and I’ll tell you about it.”
On the way back to the house, Maria filled Savannah in. She cut out various details—such as her embarrassing, unreasonable interest in the Montana Rider—but the details she did tell were truthful. Savannah was excited.
“I wish he’d stuck around until I left Jessie and Rob’s,” she said. “I could have figured out who he is. Did you ask him?”
“He told me the same thing he told you,” Maria said. “He’s looking after the ranch. That’s all I could get out of him.”
“Isn’t he mysterious?” Savannah sighed. “I wish he was around more. I’ve only seen him a few times. Now Annabelle and Elijah are gonna have to believe me!”
“I guess so,” Maria said. “We’d better not bother them tonight, though—it’s pretty late. I’ve gotta get some sleep before work.”