“Why?” Sam faced him down. “It really would be much quicker to ride.” The loss of her phone wasn’t helping her deal patiently with her laid-back brother. “You do realize I’m getting married today, right?”
“Today?” Carter blinked at her. “Is it Sunday already?”
“Yes,” Sam said. “And in a few hours I am supposed to be walking down the aisle and marrying HW Morgan.”
“What time is it?” Carter got into the car and turned on the ignition. “It’s almost eight. When’s the wedding?”
“Midday.” Sam had a hollow feeling in her gut. It had taken her way longer than she had anticipated saddling the horses and then riding up to Morgansville. By that reckoning, it would take at least an hour to get back down. “We really should get going.”
“So let’s change the tire.”
Sam pointed at the gas indicator. “Carter, you’re almost out of fuel. Even if we fix the tire you won’t get far. What’s going on?”
He sighed and got out of the driver’s seat, shoving a hand through his long hair. “I’m scared of horses.”
“What?” Sam stared at him. “Since when?”
He shrugged. “Since I fell off, broke my arm, and got knocked out when the thing kicked out at me.”
“When was that exactly?” Sam demanded.
“About five years ago.”
“Then it’s about time you got over it.” Sam pointed back toward Dollar and Sugar. “Just get on the damned horse, Bro, please.” She widened her eyes at him. “I really don’t want to miss my own wedding.”
“What about my bags?” Carter asked. He sounded resigned to his fate, and Sam secretly cheered.
“We can tie them on.” Sam hustled around to the trunk and opened it. “You don’t have much, thank goodness.” She grabbed one of the bags and walked it over to the horses. “See?” She set it behind Sugar’s saddle and tied it on. “Where’s the other one?”
Carter put the larger bag on Dollar and secured it with the leather ties Sam gave him before dubiously eyeing the two horses. “Which one do you want me to ride?”
Sam patted Sugar’s neck. “This one. She’s an old lady, and she never goes above a trot even when she sees her favorite food. All you have to do is sit on her back, hold the reins, and let her find her own way back to her stall at the ranch.”
Carter still looked worried, but stepped up into the stirrup, and onto the horse’s back. Sugar didn’t even flick her tail and stood solid as a rock.
“Do you remember how to hold the reins?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, like an ice cream cone.” Carter gathered them awkwardly in his right hand. “I don’t suppose you have a hard hat in those saddlebags, do you?”
“You work in the offshore oil fields, you’re a badass,” Sam pointed out. “Even if you do fall off with your long legs, you won’t go far.”
Carter looked down and shuddered. “Looks a long way down to me, but as I’m not intending to fall off, I’m not going to think about it.”
“That’s the spirit!” Sam said brightly. “Is there anything else you need to bring with you from the car? Paperwork or anything?”
“I’m not getting down again until we reach the ranch, Sis,” Carter said. “So if you want to check out the car and make sure I haven’t left anything behind, be my guest.”
Sam stomped off toward the car, took the rental agreement and a pack of gum out, and handed them over to Carter. She returned for one last look and discovered a brightly wrapped present in the back seat.
“Is this for me?” Sam held it up, and Carter’s face broke into a smile.
“Yeah! I forgot! Happy Wedding Day thing!”
“Jeez, it’s heavy.” Sam shifted the box in her arms. “Maybe we should leave it here, and get it later?”
At Carter’s nod, she put it in the trunk, locked the car, and went to mount up. The sun made a brief appearance between the clouds, which Sam took as a good omen as she untied the horses and pointed at the far end of the parking lot.
“We’ll go back the way I came, okay?”
“Sure. Go slow and just don’t lose me,” Carter said.
“I promise I won’t.” Sam clicked to Dollar. “So, what’s in the box?”
“Your wedding gift.”
“Yeah, I know that, but what exactly is it?” Sam asked. She turned her head to see her brother grinning at her.
“If you get me there in one piece, I’ll tell you when we arrive at the ranch.”
“Okay.” Sam grinned back. “It’s a deal.”
* * *
HW was just finishing his chores when Chase, his oldest brother, came into the barn whistling and looked around as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Hey, HW, did Sam get back?”
HW stared at his brother. “Yeah, she’s hiding in one of the stalls.”
“Really?”
“Nope.” Sometimes it was way too easy to wind up his very literal, nerdy brother, but HW wasn’t into it today. “She’s not come back, Sugar’s missing as well, and I haven’t heard a peep from Sam.”
Chase let out his breath. “Okay, I have an idea, but you might consider it an invasion of privacy, so—”
“What?” HW demanded. “Tell me.”
“Do you happen to know how to get into Sam’s laptop?”
“Of course I do,” HW said. “We share a lot of our stuff.”
“Then you could find out where her phone currently is if she has the lost and found app.”
“Genius!” HW started toward Sam’s cabin. “Thanks, Chase!”
He was already knocking on the door before his brother caught up and silently handed him the key. He’d forgotten that Cam was up with January in the main house.
The place smelled of coffee and Sam. For a moment HW halted and just breathed her in. He went into the first bedroom, realized it was Cam’s, and backed straight out again. The second bedroom still had the shades drawn. He opened them up and stared at the unmade bed where his bride-to-be should’ve been sleeping.
Her laptop was plugged in and recharging up against the wall. He picked it up and set it on his knee. Sam always forgot her passwords, so he’d made her set up autofill on almost everything. He clicked on the Find My Phone app and waited a second for it to start up.
It took another second for him to ask the million-dollar question, and then a map flashed up showing a very familiar landscape.
“It’s here on the ranch.” HW let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He squinted at the map and clicked on the satellite link, which showed the actual terrain. “It’s right next to Morgan Creek.”
“Maybe she’s up there just contemplating life before the big wedding?” Chase came and sat beside him. “By the way, you can ping her phone if you click on that icon.”
HW did what Chase suggested, but Sam still didn’t pick up.
“I’m going up there.” HW got to his feet. “I know you’re going to tell me I’m stupid, but I can’t just sit here and worry.”