“Lincoln will have the best chance of finding Sam. And I know a private investigator who used to do jobs for me. I’ll call him. In the meantime, I think we should steer clear of the sheriff.” He looked at Logan and Cru. “I’m sure y’all could find something for Chester and Lucas to do at the Gardener Ranch for the next couple days.”
“I ain’t runnin’ from that weaselly sheriff,” Lucas snapped.
“We will if our boys think it’s for the best, you old coot,” Chester said. “Now let’s go saddle up.”
Once they were gone, Holden heaved a sigh of relief. “We need to keep those two ornery cowboys away from the sheriff. I’d hate to have to bail Chester out of jail for threatening him with a shotgun.”
“We can’t keep them and the sheriff separated forever,” Cru said.
“Then let’s hope it doesn’t take us forever to find Sam.”
Everyone dispersed. Logan and Cru hopped in their ranch truck and headed back to the Gardener Ranch, Holden headed inside to call his private investigator friend, and Val headed to his rental car. But before he could start the Lexus, Chester tapped on the window.
Val rolled it down. “I thought you were riding over to the Gardener Ranch. Do you and Lucas need help saddling the horses?”
“Hell, no. We might be old, but we can still saddle up. You headed back to the boardinghouse to write?”
“That was my plan. But if you need me to do something here, just let me know.”
“Nope. Everything’s good here.”
Val waited a few seconds, and when Chester didn’t seem to be in any hurry to continue, he asked, “Is there something else?”
Chester stared out at the pasture behind the house. “When the sheriff stopped by the other night, did you mention the last time Sam was here?”
“You mean the day the horse threw me?”
“No. I mean the day in the barn.”
Val stared at him. “You knew Sam came back? But how? I didn’t even tell Holden about it.”
“Very little happens on my ranch that I don’t know about.” Chester spit a stream of tobacco before he pinned his gaze on Val. “I came back to check on you and saw him coming out of the barn.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Chester quirked a gray eyebrow. “Why didn’t you?”
Because he’d been too embarrassed about letting Sam bully him. Too embarrassed about being so scared that he’d blacked out. “I didn’t think it was important,” he lied.
Chester studied him with his aged blue eyes. “What are you runnin’ from, boy?”
He blinked. “What do you mean?”
“When you first got here, you were runnin’ from something. I thought you’d grow out of your fears, but you show up here and still appear to be runnin’ from something. So what is it?”
Val was taken aback. “I’m not running from anything.”
Chester studied him for a moment longer before he shook his head. “And here I thought you were the smart one.” He thumped the roof of the rental car. “Tell Reba I said ‘hi.’ Miss Gertie might be as ornery as the day is long, but her niece is as sweet as cherry pie.” He turned and sauntered to the barn while Val tried to process the old cowboy’s words.
He wasn’t running. Maybe as a teenager. But who wouldn’t run from bullies? He wasn’t running now. He was a bestselling author who had fame and fortune and a lifestyle most people envied. He had the perfect life. Or he would once he wrote his next bestseller. And he would write it. All he needed to do was stay focused.
Which was hard to do when distractions kept getting in the way.
On the way back to the boardinghouse, he tried to get ahold of Lincoln again. This time, Linc answered.
“Hey, Val. I was just going to call you. Sorry I haven’t gotten back sooner. Things have been a little crazy here. So what’s up? Do you need more information on the glamorous life of law enforcement for one of your books?”
Val laughed. “No, I think I’ve figured out that law enforcement is anything but glamorous. Although you can’t tell me that being a Texas Ranger isn’t badass cool.”
Lincoln laughed. “Yeah, at times, it’s pretty badass cool. But your life doesn’t exactly suck. I’m scrolling through your Instagram as we speak. Few people get to go on a book-signing tour to Europe. And who’s the hot redhead? Did you find a sweet Scottish girl who likes to feed bunnies?”
The image of Reba in the garden with Roo flashed