to have AJ along—but only because sometimes it could feel too quiet out on the trails. She snorted. No, if she had accepted his offer, it would have been harder to keep her distance and that was exactly what she needed to do. She’d worked too hard to give up everything for a guy.
The grazing pastures were replaced with feed crops and then vacant fields. The sky changed from blue to a vibrant golden and orange color. She passed wild bushes and trees, allowing her fingers to rifle through the leaves as they walked. A breeze picked up and played with the few stray hairs that had come loose from the braid under her hat.
Kate took in a deep breath and smiled at the tang of fresh cut straw and the musky, earthy scent. Her eyes burst open and she turned her face to the sky. The once golden hues had deepened to an almost violet color. Grey clouds had gathered overhead, threatening to dump their contents. The light, pleasant breeze had dropped a few degrees.
She leaned over Ella’s neck, patting it as she whispered into the beast’s ear, “I think it’s time to get back before we get caught up in this storm.” She tugged on the reins, turning the horse around. Light flickered in the cloud overhead and Ella’s ears flicked back.
“It’ll be okay. We just need to hurry.” Kate urged the horse into a trot, bouncing in the saddle before she nudged her heels harder to get the horse to ease into a canter. Her hand flew to the hat on her head as the wind threatened to remove it.
A low rumble in the sky echoed. She hadn’t worked with Ella during a storm. Just because she was good with kids and riders didn’t mean she was okay to be out in a storm. Any second a loud roar of thunder could startle her horse. Or a crack of lightning could split the sky and she’d go flying from the saddle.
She should have let AJ tag along.
A burst of light flashed across the property, followed by a deafening boom. Ella reared and shot forward at a run. Kate leaned forward, pulling on the reins and trying to stay balanced. “It’s okay, shh… whoa.”
But Ella wasn’t listening. She darted down the trail at full speed.
Chapter Thirteen
AJ stood at the edge of the clearing near the trail Kate had taken. The sky had gotten dark really fast and from the looks of it, a storm was gathering. Flickers of light in the distance put him on edge. Kate shouldn’t be out there alone.
He kicked a rock by his foot. He should have gone out there with her. Raking both hands through his hair, he paced back and forth.
“AJ, I’m sure she’s fine. She’ll be back any minute,” Hazel called from the porch. “Come in and help me set the table.”
He glanced down the trail and back to his mother. Why was he so on edge? Kate was perfectly capable of handling herself on a horse. She’d grown up here and if anything went wrong, she knew what to do.
A sigh left his lips and he nodded. If she didn’t get back in the next ten minutes, he’d go looking for her. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started toward the house.
Hoofbeats thundered against the damp earth as raindrops sprinkled around him. AJ spun to see a riderless horse barreling toward him. He leaped out of the horse’s path, landing with a thud on his knees.
The boom of thunder rippled through the air. AJ lurched to his feet and ran after the horse as it took off toward one of the stables. By the time he’d caught up with her, his parents had come out of the house. They stood on the porch, peering out the way Kate had left.
AJ grabbed Ella’s rope and guided her toward the house. “Kate’s still out there.”
Ethan shrugged on a jacket and headed down the steps. “I’ll go find her.”
Shoving the rope at his father, AJ shook his head. “It’ll take too long to get another horse saddled. I’ll take Flash, he’s good bareback.”
Hazel wrung her hands. “You be careful. Flash is a good horse, but even he can get skittish around thunder.”
AJ nodded. “I’ll be fine.” He turned to his dad. “If I’m not back in twenty minutes, come look for us.”
He sprinted toward the barn where they kept Flash. About halfway down the aisle, he skidded to a stop. Yanking