The guy always did have a keen sense for trouble.
“We’ve got a situation at the ranch again,” he replied. “The horses were out in the driveway, spooked. No signs of forcedentry, but we found spent firecrackers near their stalls. Can you swing by?”
“I’m at an accident scene. I’ll be there as soon as I finish,” Gabe replied in a resolute tone Dale recognized from their SEAL days. It worked well for a sheriff too. “Sit tight and keep an eye out.”
After hanging up, he immediately called Carter, grateful he’d had the foresight to exchange numbers with all the guys yesterday.
“Yo, what’s up, Delta?”
“Check the security feeds at my dad’s place,” he replied, then explained how the horses were let out of their stall stalls twice since noon yesterday, and about the spent firecrackers.
“On it.” Carter’s voice was all business now. “I’m pulling them up as we speak. I’ll see what I can find. Stay put, and I’ll call you back as soon as I have something.”
“Roger that.” Dale slipped his phone back into his pocket, frustration tightening his jaw. “All right, we’ve got back-up on the way, and Carter is checking the feed right now.”
Sadie stopped stroking Orion’s nose and turned to face him. “What do we do now?”
Everything in him shouted to go check the grounds, but he wasn’t about to leave her unguarded, and he sure as hell didn’t want her tagging along.
“We wait for Gabe to get here,” he said instead, turning his attention to the stall latches.
Both were solid with no sign of tampering. But that didn’t explain how the horses had gotten out in the first place. There was also no marking to suggest they were locked in when the firecrackers went off.
Aggravated and unable to sit still and do nothing while waiting for the sheriff, Dale met Sadie’s gaze. “Stay here while I search the rest of the barn.”
“Okay.” She nodded, brushing a strand of hair hanging loose from her messy bun off her face. “Don’t need me trampling over possible evidence. Got it.”
Pleased that she understood and wasn’t going to fight him on it, Dale nodded back, then spent the next several minutes searching the barn, his gaze scanning every inch of the place for signs of disturbance.
He checked every stall, the tack room, and feed room, even the hay loft, looking for any clues that might explain what had happened. But there was nothing—no broken locks, no signs of forced entry. Just an unsettling emptiness that gnawed at his gut. Dale even checked the barn doors from the outside and no longer felt the threat of danger lingering in the air.
Relieved and disappointed at the same time, he returned to where he’d left Sadie by the horses’ stalls. “Nothing else looks wrong. Does anything appear to be missing or moved to you?”
“No,” she replied without scanning the area. He was about to ask how she could be sure without looking, when she added, “I glanced around while you searched.”
The woman was nothing if not efficient. Apparently, she didn’t like to sit idle either.
For the first time since their drive over, he smiled. “Of course you did.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Unproductive is not a Quinn family trait.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” he said before returning his attention back to their predicament. “Someone had to have opened the stalls and doors before lighting the firecrackers. But who? And why?”
Sadie frowned, her eyes scanning the barn as if the walls themselves might hold answers. “I don’t know. To my knowledge, everyone loves your dad. Especially the single women in my neighborhood.”
He grunted. “I gathered as much from the floral shop continuing to grow in his room. Soon there’ll be no room for him.”
She chuckled, the light, sweet sound echoing around them, warming some of the chill that had settled in his bones. “Just wait until he’s home. You’re going to need to run blocker for him, because I can guarantee there’s going to be an abundance of casseroles and stews headed his way, all with the hope that the cooks can share it with him.”
Muttering a curse, Dale leaned his back against an empty stall. The last thing he needed was a bunch of strangers wanting access to the house. Didn’t matter whether they were culprit or innocent bystanders, either way it was dangerous.
“That’s not good,” he finally said.
She moved to stand next to him. “It’s not all bad.”
Intrigued, he turned to face. “What do you mean?”
“There is one woman your dad fancies and will want you to let in the house.”
