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Fear wrecked my soul. He’d been watching Briar. No one was down at the main area of the ranch right now, and I had yet to move Sundance back to my house. Which meant there was very much a real possibility that Wayde had already shown up and stolen his horse.
Taking a shaky breath, I walked back into Weston’s house as calmly as possible despite the blazing urgency that hammered in my veins.
Upon entering, my gaze scanned the guests and landed on Briar. She was talking with Tenley, holding CeCe carefully in her arms. Such a beautiful sight that I wanted to spend more time watching but knew I couldn’t.
As stealthily as possible, tracking around the edge of the room, I stopped behind the edge of the couch the two girls were seated at. Briar’s misty gray eyes met mine, and immediately, everything in her tensed. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“We have to go, and now,” I replied, glancing at Tenley.
She nodded once, understanding my silent communication, and gently lifted CeCe from Briar’s arms.
“Tenley, I need you to keep this between you and Weston. Can you do that?” I continued, turning my attention to the woman who clutched her daughter a little tighter.
“What is it?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Tell him we’ve gone to Papaw’s river. We need four days,” I explained as quickly as possible. “Tell Weston to keep his phone on him, I’ll call him from the trail.”
“Papaw’s river. Four days,” she repeated, and I nodded in confirmation. “Got it.”
Standing up, Briar rose slowly from the couch, confusion coating every soft feature on her face. My fingers found hers and entwined them together, leading her out of such a blissful party.
The dogs of war were here, and I wasn’t sure what we were about to face. There was so much uncertainty that lay at the bottom of this hill. Pain, confusion, possible severe injury or even death waited like a lion ready to pounce at the final leg of this journey. A page we’d just entered as we jogged by the Razor we’d driven up here on.
We needed to move silently, slip away with the least amount of detection possible, especially if we also needed to sneak up on someone down at Sundance’s pen. The ride up to the fishing cavern was going to be an adventure on its own, considering the fact that Sundance was coming with us.
If we made it through the bottleneck canyon that was only wide enough for one horse moving single file without any issues, then there was a large chance we’d be safe and off grid for the four days needed. But that was only if we made it there before Wayde caught us, and if Sundance cooperated.
But it was the safest place that I knew to go because there really was only one way in and one way out. Papaw purposefully built the fishing cabin there, beside the small river that ran through this tiny valley, because of its seclusion. It made it the best location to stay safe because you’d see any visitors before they ever made it to the little cabin.
“Where are we going? What’s going on?” Briar asked, breaking my thoughts that were already jotting down the plan.
“Someplace my Papaw took Weston and I when we were little. We try to go back during the summer every year and were there just a couple weeks ago,” I answered.
“Won’t frequent travel leave a trail?” Her voice broke, nerves bubbling over as my own words turned stern and commanding.
“We take a new path every time we go up. It’s something my Papaw always did and one of the reasons that I know this ranch so well.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” she mumbled, huffing along beside me.
“And I’ll explain everything once we get packed up and out of here. The quicker the better, so get what you need for four days. As little as possible because we need more room for food, which I’ll take care of packing. Got it?” I replied as we bounded around a corner.
“Yes,” she stated.
“I’ve got you, Goldie. I promise,” I quickly whispered.
And we both skidded to a stop. Her fingers tightened in my hand as our sights landed on a group of ten men climbing out of vehicles parked behind all of the other trucks and cars in the drive.
“New plan,” I muttered under my breath as she stepped into my body. “You get whatever you need from the house. Bring whatever foods you think can be packed and last. Canned or freeze dried are going to be our best bet. There’s fish at the cabin. I can hunt squirrels or rabbits or other small game. So, just necessities and meet me back right here.”
“What are you going to do?” She slapped a hand around my forearm, digging her nails into my skin.
“I’m gonna get Sundance and two horses for us to ride before those men get to him.”
“How are you going to do that? They’re already headed for Sundance, so they’ll see you!” she cried out, terror ripping through her words and landing in my own heart. But she didn’t need to know that I was scared nor had any idea of what I was going to do.
Turning toward her, I brushed some hair away from her cheeks and gave her a reassuring smile. “Just meet me back here, okay?”
She nodded, her eyes staying locked onto mine, and then her brows stitched together and she glanced over my shoulder. “Weston?” she muttered.
