The birds were chirping and whistling like crazy in the trees. The engine clicked and popped as it cooled. He could even hear his neighbor’s cows mooing in the field across the street.
What he didn’t hear was Sassy and Patience. They knew the sound of Boone’s truck and would always neigh from their stalls to get his attention.
He went with his gut and ran toward the barn.
Chunks of wood were scattered on the ground, and he stepped into the barn. He was hit by the pungent stench of bear spray hanging in the air and saw the can on the floor nearby. The stall doors were wide open, and both horses were gone.
Daylight poured into the space from the wide back door, and he ran over to check it out.
High up on the ridge, he spotted the horses running toward the ridge. Luna was riding bareback on Sassy, and Patience was behind them.
She looked back over her shoulder, and a shot rang out.
Crack!
Luna flinched like she’d been hit, then leaned down closer to Sassy’s neck.
His eyes jerked toward the sound, and he spotted Udall. He had his rifle pressed to his shoulder and was aiming to take another shot.
Boone pulled his gun from the holster and started running toward him.
“U-DAALL!” he shouted as he closed the space between them.
The asshole glanced at him, the butt of his rifle still at his shoulder, smiled, then turned back to Luna and fired again.
Crack!
Boone raised his pistol, stalked across the field toward him, and fired off one shot.
Udall jerked, his rifle flew from his hands, and he crumpled to the grass. He rolled to his side and managed to wrestle a gun from the back of his waistband. He pushed up to one elbow, and his other arm shook as he struggled to raise his gun.
Boone continued forward and stopped with about twenty feet separating them.
“Sorry ’bout your girl, old buddy.” Udall’s smile was slow, and the spaces between his teeth were dark with blood, like a macabre jack-o’-lantern.
“You took … from me.” He wheezed and coughed. Blood sprayed from his mouth and spotted the front of his shirt. “So … I took … from you.” His arm started to fall. He grimaced, slowly lifted the weapon—
Boom!
Boone fired one shot that hit him center mass.
The hand holding the gun dropped. Eyes open, Udall tilted backward and ended up sprawled out on the grass.
Boone kept his gun pointed at Udall as he stepped forward. He leaned down and placed a finger to the side of his neck—no pulse.
Good.
He turned and ran back to his truck. He started it up and headed straight up the hill. Lucas and Calliope’s big gray truck sped across the pasture and followed him. The trucks couldn’t make it the entire way to the ridge, so Boone parked, jumped out, and started running.
When he reached the top, he didn’t see Luna or the horses.
He looked around and noticed some freshly broken branches and spotted blood in the dirt.
Patience whinnied.
“Shhh.” Luna whispered, “It’s okay, baby.”
Boone’s entire body relaxed, and he was able to breathe again. He ran through the trees, over some roots, and stopped when he spotted Patience and Sassy happily munching on tall grass near the willow tree.
