Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
It was late, but Ryan couldn’t sleep. He headed to the stables where they kept the working horses.
More and more work was done with ATVs nowadays, but at the Triple H Ranch they preferred four-legged transportation wherever possible.
Inside, the smell of hay and horse and manure hit his nostrils with an aroma that struck him with a slew of memories that were ingrained into every pore.
He went down the wide stalls and stroked each inquisitive nose that poked over each half door.
They were all still here. His Momma’s favorite roan, Maeve.
His Pop’s favorite palomino gelding, Samson.
And Delphi—Becky’s gentle gray mare who’d almost died a few weeks ago after a bad case of colic.
Thankfully, Nat’s sharp eyes had noticed something was wrong.
He’d immediately called the vet, and they’d been able to save her.
“Hey, girl.” He stepped inside the stall and ran his hands over her neck and withers as she nickered softly in recognition and turned to blow into his cupped hand. He slipped her a slice of carrot, and she rubbed her cheek against his arm.
Tabitha exercised Delphi along with her own pony. The kids here learned to ride about the same time they learned to walk. Eliza insisted on mandatory helmets for all the children, and they’d begun to offer riding lessons in the new exercise barn they’d built.
Between that and the stud business, the ranch was thriving.
Sometimes, it was enough for him to know Tabitha was loved and happy.
The knowledge he’d failed as a father haunted him, but it was as selfish as all his other actions. Tabby belonged here. He was the one who couldn’t stay.
He’d invited her to come and live with him in Virginia, but as soon as she’d realized there’d be no horses and no cousins, she’d not-so-politely declined.
He’d been secretly relieved, not because he didn’t want her with him, but she was better off here. His career did not lend itself to single parenthood, as HRT were often deployed for long periods without warning, the way they had been last night.
What happened when he retired from the Hostage Rescue Team?
He wasn’t sure.
Part of him felt like he’d outgrown this ranch and these mountains many years ago. Another part was drawn back to their timeless beauty and the deep comfort of family.
Maybe he’d return here one day. Maybe he wouldn’t.
The fact he didn’t know bothered him even though he was the last person in the world to make plans.
He speared his fingers through Delphi’s coarse mane and twisted around when he heard the sound of the barn door opening.
He’d half expected Nat to come check up on him, but the tentative footsteps didn’t belong to his brother.
He heard a soft voice and a gentle laugh.
Fuck.
Meghan.
The one person he didn’t want to meet while alone.
Did he keep quiet and pretend not to be here? Hell, yes.
But what if she found him hiding?
He’d look like an idiot—nothing new there.
Delphi raised her head and snorted. He smoothed a hand down her cheek. Those soft liquid eyes seemed to laugh at his predicament.
“Fine,” he muttered.
“Hello?”
He stepped out of the stall. Meghan stood taut beside a large bay gelding who nuzzled her arm.
“Only me. Visiting some old friends.”
She frowned, uncertain. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“No problem.” Did she follow him in here? Was she about to make another friends-with-benefits suggestion, like the one she’d pitched while he’d been naked in the Caribbean Sea?
It was a terrible idea, and yet…he could not stop thinking about it.
He took a few steps closer. She licked her bottom lip, and he wanted to suck it into his mouth.
“This is really where you grew up?”
He looked around the old barn. “Yep.”
“Must have been Heaven for a kid.”
He laughed. “Pretty much.”
“Nice of your family to let us stage here.”
Ryan shrugged. “They have the space, and it means I can squeeze in a bit of time with them and my daughter.”
“They must miss you.”
He shrugged again.
She looked like she wanted to say something else, and he was curious. They were spiky with each other in public, but in private, not so much.
She looked up at him from under her lashes. Those pretty, brown eyes burned with intelligence.
Something about her made him ache. Scraped away the insides of his heart and left him raw with emotions he hadn’t felt since…
God. Nope. Not gonna think about that. Meghan Donnelly was a weakness he could not afford.
Sadness hit her eyes. Or regret.
He frowned. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” She straightened. Licked those cherry lips. “I wanted to apologize.”
His frown deepened. “For what?”
She looked over his shoulder. “We alone in here?”
His heartbeat ramped up. Hell, yeah, they were alone. He licked his own lips and nodded, wishing she didn’t hold him in this weird thrall. Maybe he should just get it over with. Get her out of his system once and for all.
She bent her head as she stroked the bay’s nose. “I wanted to apologize for the way I propositioned you a couple weeks ago.”
He froze. “Oh.”
“I was out of line. It was a crazy, foolish idea.”
He took another step closer. “It was a potential solution to a common problem.”
“Ha. You’re being kind. It was borderline sexual harassment.” She glanced at him sharply. “Don’t think I don’t know what an idiot I made of myself, trying to start up something with someone on the same team. It would have been a disaster.”
His brows rose. “I’m not sure it would qualify as a disaster—”
“Stop being so damned understanding. I would have been a complete fool to sleep with you.”
“I’m not sure I’d go that far—”
“Why do you always try to help me rather than kick my ass?” Her eyes flashed angrily.
He raised his hands in surrender. “You were vulnerable after losing your father. No way would I take advantage of you in that situation.”
If she asked him again, he might not be so noble.
Ask me again.
Her eyes scanned him like she didn’t know what to believe. “You better not be being nice to me because I’m a woman.”
“Ha.” His mouth went dry. “Trust me, if one of the guys propositioned me, I’d have turned them down too.”
She choked out a laugh. “God. I guess that makes me feel better.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’ve taken your advice.”
He cocked his head. “What advice was that?”
“I joined a dating app.”
He stared down at the worn floorboards. “I don’t remember telling you to join a dating app.”
“Well, you did, and I did. Have my first date this weekend, assuming I get back in time.”
His gut clenched.
Her dark lashes floated up. “Fingers crossed he’s as hot as he looks in his profile photo.”
Ryan huffed out a choked snort when all he really wanted to do was grab Donnelly, back her up against the stall door, and kiss the fuck out of her. But the last person he’d kissed in this barn had been his late wife, and she haunted him still.
The reminder knocked him back a step. “Yeah, well, maybe let me know where you’re going, you know, just in case.”
Donnelly snorted. “I can take care of myself.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t need a guy, now would you?” He gave her a sly smile he wasn’t feeling. And once again they were back to sex.
She shot him a look, but for once she didn’t argue. A yawn seemed to take her by surprise and she covered her mouth. “Sorry.”
“Time to get some rest.” He headed to the door, and she followed. He turned out the lights behind them both.
“See you tomorrow, Ry. Thanks for having my back.”
He watched her walk away knowing he’d made the right choice and regretting it with every cell in his body.
After a solid eight hours’ sleep, Sebastian pushed inside the old Dutch barn to find it empty except for the lone deputy who was asleep in the lawn chair with a blanket spread over him.
He pulled off his snow-covered watch cap and dragged his hand through his hair.
It was after midnight, and the snow was still coming down, but he’d hoped there’d be more activity, even though the investigation was officially being run out of the Stone Creek’s Sheriff’s Office and FBI headquarters in DC.
The only thing HRT could reasonably do was wait for a window in the weather in which to insert strategically into the mountains and then actually catch this sonofabitch.
He walked over to the map.
He clenched his jaw in frustration at the fact he couldn’t do anything.
It made no sense for them to traipse around the wilderness without good intel or a specific goal.
They’d tire themselves out and have nothing to show for it.
No, they needed to be focused, systematic, and have all the equipment they might need to survive multiple days in the wilderness.
If Eastman could do it, he was damned sure HRT could too.
He traced the path he and Nora Deacon had walked yesterday.
Scanned the area north and tried to figure out where Eastman might be headed.
There was a high degree of arrogance to hike into the mountains in the face of a snowstorm rather than get in his truck and drive.
He’d have been in Canada before the cops had even found the bodies of his ex and her boyfriend, although the authorities would have had a record of his vehicle crossing the border.
A sliver of guilt hit Sebastian at how Summer’s disappearance had overshadowed those brutal murders, but Hostage Rescue was his job, and finding the child would hopefully lead to Eastman’s apprehension and, in turn, justice for Michelle Eastman and Doug Bremner.
Agents would be working around the clock in the search for clues and hard evidence. His fellow Gold Team members would have secured and packed the gear they needed to survive and operate in this cold-weather, high-altitude environment for an extended period of time.
All he could do was wait.
Thankfully, the Rocky Mountains were considered a dry cold environment rather than a wet cold, and that worked in their favor. Cold and wet was the deadliest combination. The wind howled through the rafters of the old barn, and Sebastian had to acknowledge, wet or dry, this wasn’t going to be fun.