Here Comes Trouble (31 page)

"Went riding three hours ago, and hasn't come
back. I told her not to go," Dylan said and tightened the girth on
his horse, then picked up the reins. "Hardheaded woman right
there," he said and turned the horse toward the rear
exit.

Joel walked then ran toward Ace's stall, as
the lightning and thunder both rocked the barn and lit up the
inside with an eerie blue glow. He heard hoof beats then watched
each face of the riders returning to the barn. Terri wasn't with
them, and panic shot up through him. Grabbing Ace's halter he led
him out to the cross ties, then ran to the tack room for his
saddle. It took him a few minutes to saddle Ace, then he walked him
toward the exit.

Matt and Blaze were in the aisle helping the
agents unsaddle and groom their horses. Joel stopped beside them.
"Hey guys...I need some help. Terri hasn't come back, and she's out
in this monsoon. Dylan is out looking, can ya'll help us find her?"
he was surprised to hear the tremble in his voice, and cleared his
throat.

"Sure, boss...let me get my saddle back on,"
Blaze told him and walked toward the tack room. Matt followed him
and Joel waited at the exit for them.

When they walked their horses up behind him,
he said, "Ya'll bring your radios and let's keep trying to raise
her on the radio. Let's check in on the emergency channel every
thirty minutes. We'll plan on being out for no more than three
hours, and meet back here at six o'clock," he told them then
realized he was doing it again, being a dictator. "You guys have
any ideas where we might look?"

Both of their eyebrows raised and Matt spoke
up, "I know she rides by the creek a lot...might want to check
there first. You could start at one end and work your way back, and
I'll start down this way and meet you in the middle."

That's the first place that Joel had planned
to check, but he didn't tell them that. He knew where she might be
hanging out. It's where he'd go to think, or cool off. He knew
that's what she was doing, because of him. Joel was sick at heart
that she could be in danger and the last words he'd said to her
were in anger. Undeserved anger. He was such an asshole
sometimes.

"Good idea," Joel said and he saw a smile kick
up the corner of Matt's mouth. "Can you run to the tack room and
get us some slickers? Bring one for Terri too in case--
when
we find her." Joel refused to entertain the thought they weren't
going to find her.

Matt came back with a pile of bright yellow
slickers in his arms and handed them each one, then passed the
spare to Joel.

"I've seen her out by the northeast pasture a
time or two," Blaze piped up then took off his hat to pull the
slicker over his head. "I'll head that way," he told them and
walked his horse out into the rain. Matt and Joel followed, then
they all went in different directions.

Joel squinted and tipped his hat lower over
his eyes to see through the sheet of rain he was riding through.
That left his collar open like a funnel and water poured down his
back. Reaching behind him, he pulled the hood of the slicker over
his head, then kicked Ace to a faster pace and hunched down over
his neck.

A white flash of lightning blinded him and a
loud boom of thunder sounded shortly after. Ace shied sideways, and
Joel patted his neck then slowed him a little. The grass was so
slick and the water getting so deep, the horse was having trouble
keeping his footing. He certainly didn't want him to hurt himself.
If Ace went down, Joel would probably break his own neck in the
process.

As he neared the creek, Joel saw that the
normally meandering creek was a raging river now. The slow lazy
current was a swirling torrent of frothing whitecaps. Water licked
the bank about three feet above where it normally ended. It was
almost in the trees.

Joel's heart squeezed and he sent up a prayer
that Terri had enough sense to get away from the creek when the
rain started. That hope died when he walked Ace closer and saw deep
hoof prints from a shod horse, then skid marks at the water's
edge.

If they fell in, Diamond would try to swim to
the other bank and would probably make it, Terri on the other hand
knew how to swim, but in this flooded river swimming wouldn't be an
option. All she'd be able to do was try to grab something to pull
herself out of the water.
Or hit her head on something and
drown.

The thought had sick dread filling him, and he
backed Ace then walked him to higher ground. He reached into his
saddle bag and pulled out his radio to let the others know what
he'd found, before he stuffed it back into the waistband of his
pants.

Moving into the trees, followed the direction
of the current, taking his time to scan both sides of the bank for
signs of Terri. Between the leaves covering the ground, the rain
and the mushy moss on the ground, it was treacherous going, but he
was determined to cover as much ground as possible before dark. The
rain was still coming down in buckets, punctuated by more thunder
and lightning, but he was somewhat sheltered from direct impact by
the canopy of trees.

Ace slipped now and again, but Joel was going
really slow and trying to pick his way through the woods to avoid
the slippery spots. When Ace's ears perked up, Joel heard a horse
neigh behind him, and pulled the reins then turned. Matt and Blaze
were headed toward him, with Dylan behind them.

When all three stopped by him, he looked at
Dylan's face and knew something was wrong. "What?" he asked not
really wanting to hear.

"I went back to the barn to see if she made it
back, and Diamond showed up without her."

"How long ago?" Joel asked after he swallowed
the lump that formed in his throat.

"Sheedy said a couple hours ago, right after
ya'll left. He tried to get you on the emergency channel, but you
didn't answer," Dylan informed with a slight accusation to his
tone.

"We weren't on the emergency channel, and my
radio was in my bag anyway. The storm was so bad then, I probably
didn't hear it," Joel replied defensively.

"Doesn't matter, she wasn't with the horse, it
was pouring...we just need to find her," he told them
matter-of-factly. "Her brother is at the ranch with his group and
he's fit to be tied."

"You're kidding right? He expects us to give
them bull-riding lessons in the pouring ass rain?" Joel shouted
incredulously. "Does he know his sister is fucking
missing?"

"He knows she's missing. His group is with
Texas Task Force 2--that search and rescue team. But they don't
have their equipment with them, and only one of 'em knows how to
ride a horse. He's frustrated because he can't do a damned thing to
help find her."

"Oh," Joel said and sympathy for the man
filled him. Those men would be very helpful in actually rescuing
her, but they had no way of helping find her if they couldn't ride.
A truck would get bogged to the axles if they tried to get one out
here.

In all likelihood she was in or near the
creek. Even if a truck could get out here, the trees would block
the creek, so they couldn't see her. What they needed was four
wheelers. He should have bought some for the ranch, and was pissed
he hadn't. Instead, like Terri had suggested he'd bought a damned
golf cart that was just as useless as a truck in this
weather.

Joel felt useless right now. Terri was out
there somewhere, possibly hurt and scared and it was his damned
fault. "We've got to find her before dark...she doesn't know how to
take care of herself out here," Joel told them.

"Until this rain stops, it's gonna be slow as
Christmas trying to get through here," Blaze commented. "And it's
getting dark soon."

They needed those four wheelers and they
needed them now. Try as he might, he couldn't think of anyone who
might have some to lend them. He pulled his radio from his
waistband and put it on the emergency channel then pressed the key.
"This is Joel, I need to speak to my mother. Get her on here,
please." If anyone could find them some, it was her. When Curly
Rhodes put her mind to something, she got it done.

The radio was silent a few minutes then
someone spoke. "This is Curly," his mother said. "Did you find,
Terri?"

"No, ma'am. I need your help...we need
four-wheelers. A lot of them. Do you know anyone who might could
lend us some?"

" I went to high school with Chuck Anderson
and he owns a dealership in Henrietta...let me give him a call and
see what I can do. How many do you need?"

"At least ten," Joel replied into the
radio.

"I'll buy him out if I have to...you should
have bought some for the ranch anyway," she scolded and Joel
flinched.

"I know, mama--please just get us some," he
told her and saw the same accusations in the eyes of his ranch
hands. "Let's go back to the ranch and regroup. Blaze is right
horseback is going to take too long...and we could use her
brother's help anyway."

"I agree," Dylan said and turned his horse
toward the tree line.

When they all four reached the clearing, the
rain had slowed down some, but the ground was still heavily
saturated. It would be dark in a few hours, and it was at least a
twenty minute ride back to the barn hauling ass. They were
walking.

"We need to kick it up, boys, we're gonna lose
daylight," he said then kicked Ace into a canter, then he gave him
his head and the horse lit out across the pasture toward the house.
He heard swift hoof beats behind him and knew they were following
his lead.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

The water crept higher up the tree where Terri
clung precariously. She had managed to grab hold of a low-hanging
limb from the water and climb up. The tree wasn't particularly tall
or strong, but it was keeping her above the swirling water
below...so far.

Only her bare feet hung in the water as she
held onto the trunk for dear life. The current was so swift it had
swept off her one-size too large boots. She'd gotten them that way
so she could wear thick socks with them this winter. Evidently that
wasn't such a grand idea after all.

Terri was cold, wet and exhausted, having
fought to keep her head above water as she was swept along like a
wood chip down the angry swollen creek for what felt like miles.
Terri now knew what a pinball felt like in one of those pinball
machines. She had been tossed against brush piles and logs all the
way to where she finally managed to pull herself out. It had been
touch and go as to whether she was going to die for a while, as her
hair caught on branches and twigs and her head bounced off of rocks
and logs. She had made it, but just barely and not totally
unscathed.

Her arms, legs and probably her face were a
mass of scratches and bruises. She had swallowed half the creek,
but at least she was alive.

It was like a prayer answered when she spotted
a low-hanging branch from this tree during her harrowing journey.
Somehow, she had managed to grab it and stop her forward progress
long enough to get her breath. After she got her breath back, she
wrapped her leg around it and climbed up.

Terri was in shape, but she wasn't a
particularly athletic or outdoorsy person, she never had been. That
was her brother's forte, not hers. It was a damned miracle she was
able to do what she had. Thank you Pilates instructor for kicking
my ass at my last class in Henrietta, she thought.

A chill passed through her and her teeth
chattered, then her body started shaking violently. The rain had
let up a little, but not completely. Being up in a tree in a
thunderstorm was a scary thing. That lightning had come damned
close a couple of times, close enough that she felt the charged air
from it. Now with dusk coming, the temperature was dropping. Since
it was late September, it might be warm here during the day, but at
night it got downright chilly.

As a nurse, Terri realized if she didn't get
out of these wet clothes soon, and somewhere she could warm up, she
could very well get hypothermia and die anyway.

Hopefully someone was looking for her. Dylan
had been right, she should have stayed at the ranch and not gone
out by herself with rain looming. She should have listened to the
experienced cowboy, but she'd been stubborn and hardheaded, and
didn't realize her mistake until it was too late.

Before the rain started, she had gotten off of
Diamond near the widening in the creek where she and Joel had gone
for their picnic to think. Even when she heard the thunder, she'd
lingered there figuring the trees would provide shelter if it
started raining. Once she saw how hard the rain was coming down,
and how fast the creek was rising, she walked back to where she had
tied Diamond, but by then it was too late and the bottom fell
out.

Terri had managed to remount the horse fine,
but the saddle must've been wet, because it slipped and spooked
Diamond and she stumbled. When the horse put on the brakes at the
water's edge, Terri hadn't been able to stop her forward momentum,
so she flew over Diamond's head into the water. By then the water
was no longer a creek, it was a tsunami of epic proportions and she
didn't have a chance of swimming or making it back to the bank. All
she could do was ride the current and pray.