Putting the Heart Before the Horse

It was a beautiful night, one that reminded her of the ranch she’d grown up on. Stars filled the sky, so many that it almost looked artificial. She’d forgotten how much more you could see in places without any light pollution. Her father had taught her to identify a few of the easiest constellations, and she picked them out without any trouble. Orion and his belt, the Big and Little Dippers, Gemini.

She realized that it had been a while since she’d really thought about her father. She had always blamed him for changing after her mother left, but as she was coming to realize, she had played her own part in that growing distance. Her mother had taught her that it didn’t matter how much you loved someone, they could still leave and break your heart. When her father had died, it was almost like being deserted a second time. Maybe she’d spent more of her energy protecting herself than she’d ever admitted.

But now—now there was Josh. And Rick, and Allison, and Tammy, and every other member of this extended family that could be hers, if she was brave enough to take it.

She heard the scuff of feet approaching behind her. Turning, she said, “Josh?”

But as a hand covered her mouth and her arms were roughly pinned behind her back, she knew it wasn’t Josh.

***

Josh didn’t worry when Hope left. He didn’t worry when she’d been gone fifteen minutes. Or thirty. After forty-five minutes, he started to get a little twitchy. And after an hour, he grabbed for his cell phone, hoping that she’d taken hers with her. But when he dialed her number, he could hear the phone ringing from her bedroom. He wandered through the house, trying not to appear troubled, until he found Connor sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop.

“Am I overreacting?” he asked Connor, after explaining the situation.

“Probably,” Connor said, closing his laptop lid. “But let’s go look for her anyway. You won’t give me any peace otherwise.”

They headed outside and climbed down the porch stairs. No sign of Hope, or anyone else. No sounds out of the ordinary. But something made Josh uneasy, even if he couldn’t identify it. Maybe it was something simple, like she’d fallen in the dark and sprained her ankle. Had she suddenly decided that she wanted to get away from him and return to her safe, normal life? But no, none of the cars were missing. And she wouldn’t do that to him. He knew that, as surely as he knew his own name and shape.

Connor said, “Any idea where she was going?”

Josh shook his head. “She just said she was taking a walk. I don’t think she would have gone far.”

“Let me see if I can find her scent.”

In the darkness, lit only by the moon, Connor’s coat looked black. He lifted his head and breathed in, turned slightly west and inhaled again. He neighed softly to catch Josh’s attention, and Josh shifted, flowing into the familiar form of his stallion. In this form, the urge to find his mate tugged at him even more strongly, more urgently.

They trotted westward, trying to find any signs that Hope had passed this way. If there had been snow on the ground, it would have been easy to track her progress. But in the dark, over grass and stone and hard-packed dirt, they saw no sign of any footprints. Her scent was growing stronger, though. Josh had to trust his stallion’s more acute sense of smell to lead them to her.

He and Connor searched for about fifteen minutes, Connor wandering a little more northerly while Josh kept walking due west.

“Josh!”

A hundred feet away, Connor had shifted and was beckoning him over to a grassy area. Josh rushed over to him and shifted as he arrived, almost falling when he carried the momentum through to his human form.

“Take a look,” Connor said, pointing to the ground. Still no footprints, but the grass was scuffed, and where it gave way to dirt, he saw two faint parallel lines. Lines that could result from someone being dragged, with their heels leaving marks in the dark. He followed them for several steps, and where the lines stopped, the tire tracks began. He cursed, quietly but fervently.

“What do you think happened?” Connor asked.

“The Armstrongs,” Josh spat out. “Who else could it be?”

“They won’t hurt her,” Connor reassured him. “They’re probably just trying to spook you.”

“Well, it worked. And I’m going to make them regret it.” He shook off Connor’s consoling hand and shifted to gallop back to the house, leaving Connor to follow. How dare they take his mate? They’d been harassing Josh and his family for months, but he never thought they’d go this far.

He stormed into the house calling for Rick, who rushed into the front room.

“What’s going on?” Rick asked, but when he saw Josh’s expression, he added, “What’s wrong?”

“The Armstrongs kidnapped Hope.”

“You’re shitting me.” More and more members of the family were coming into the room. Rick turned to Mark and said urgently, “Call the sheriff.”

“He won’t do anything.” Connor had caught up and followed Josh into the house.

“You must have found signs of a struggle.”

“He won’t believe us, and he’ll insist we need to wait twenty-four hours before worrying.”