Thankfully, she just sighed and didn’t argue further. Sadie Quinn always had this way of digging her heels in when she felt strongly about something, and while he admired her stubbornness, he didn’t want to waste time convincing her that this was for her own safety.
The truth was, Dale wasn’t sure how he felt about having Sadie along. Part of him was relieved to have someone who knewthe ranch as well as he did, if not better, after spending so much time helping his dad. But another part of him was on edge, the same part that had kept him alive through years of combat and dangerous missions. He didn’t like the idea of putting her in harm’s way, even if she was more than capable of handling herself.
“Besides,” Sadie continued, breaking into his thoughts, “I promised your dad I’d take care of Orion and Triton. I’ve never broken a promise before and I’m not about to break one now.”
Surprised by the conviction in her voice, he glanced at her and was surprised further when a shaft of warmth spread through his chest at the sincerity he found in her eyes. “I understand, Sadie. But it’s my job to protect people, or at least it was when I was active duty. Still, I don’t like putting you at risk.”
Her expression softened, and she reached over, giving his arm a light squeeze before releasing him. “I appreciate your concern, but I can hold my own. And I’m actually quite miffed that someone might’ve been responsible for your dad’s accident and is endangering his horses.”
Dale nodded. “You and me both.”
They fell into silence for a few more minutes until they reached the turnoff for the ranch and drove down the long drive. As he neared the house, Dale’s heart dropped to his stomach. Orion and Triton were there, standing in the middle of the driveway, their ears flicking nervously while their eyes were wide with fear. Clearly agitated, the horses were shifting restlessly and tossing their heads.
“Stay in the truck,” he ordered as he threw the vehicle into park, cut the engine, then grabbed his gun from the glove compartment.
But Sadie being Sadie, was already unbuckling her seatbelt. “Not on your life. What in the world is going on? Why are they out here? Dale, I swear I put them in the barn this morning andlatched the doors tightly. I know I did this time. I even tugged on their doors to be extra sure.”
“Exactly why I wanted you to stay put,” he muttered, stepping out of the truck and moving slowly toward the horses, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of danger. “Something’s not right.”
She inhaled and nodded. “You can say that again. They’re wearing their halters. The halters I took off them this morning before returning them to their stalls.”
Shit.
The horses whinnied low at his approach, their agitation growing as they backed away from him. Dale’s mind raced. These animals didn’t spook easily, and they certainly didn’t get out of the barn on their own. Someone had let them out.
He hoped to God the cameras had captured it.
“Easy, easy,” Sadie murmured softly, moving toward Triton, who was snorting and pawing at the ground. “It’s okay, big guy. It’s just us.”
Dale’s pulse pounded hard as he watched Sadie approach Triton, her soothing voice calming the big horse enough to take hold of his halter. Dale did the same with Orion, though the horse was more skittish than usual, tossing his head and sidestepping nervously.
“Let’s get them back to the barn,” he said, keeping his tone low and even. His eyes never stopped scanning the perimeter, his senses on high alert.
The ranch, usually a place of peace and solitude, felt like a ticking time bomb.
As they carefully led the horses back toward the barn, the wind rustled through the trees, and Dale couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. His instincts screamed at him to stay vigilant, to expect trouble, but all he could do for now was keep Sadie close and get the horses secured.
She glanced at him, her expression a mix of confusion and concern. “This isn’t normal. They never behave like this.”
“I know,” he replied, leading Orion inside the wide-open barn doors.
The interior was dim and quiet, the familiar smells of hay and leather doing little to ease his unease, although the air inside was absent of the tension he felt crackling outside…coming from the direction of those damn woods.
He guided Orion into his stall and removed his halter while Sadie took care of Triton in his stall.
“Don’t touch the hardware,” he ordered when they exited the stalls. Dale grabbed a screwdriver off a nearby bench to carefully maneuver the latch into place while safeguarding any possible fingerprints. “I suspect these are wiped clean, but it doesn’t hurt to play it safe.”
Sadie peered over his shoulder as he secured both stalls. “Correct, but if they aren’t, my fingerprints will be all over them.”
True.
“I’m going to call Gabe. I’m sure one of his deputies will take your prints to rule them out,” he told her, fishing his phone from his pocket. As he did this, his gaze snagged on the charred remnants of firecrackers scattered in shadows beneath a bench. “Damn.” He moved closer to get a better look.
Of course, Sadie followed, her indrawn breath loud near his ear. “Oh, wow. No wonder the horses were spooked. Poor babies. Who in the world keeps doing this?”
Exactly what he’d like to know. This was getting out of hand. He dialed the sheriff, who picked up on the first ring.
“What’s wrong?”
