Lorelei strode toward the gate. Part of her wanted to call out again, but the weight of the silence nearly pressed out her breath.
As she reached for the latch, Rosie caught up with her and grabbed her arm. “I said let me go in first.”
Lorelei shook away her grip and pulled the gate open. Rosie could be far too protective at times. And in this moment, they needed to focus on finding any clue about where the men had gone.
Rosie entered the gateway at her side, and as they paused to take in their bearings, the stillness inside seemed to close around her.
Lorelei gripped her sister’s wrist. “Tanner?” Her voice sounded small amidst the darkness.
“White Horse!” Rosie’s tone held more gumption.
But still no one answered.
They needed a lantern to check each of the buildings. Perhaps the men were sleeping, but that didn’t explain where the animals were.
She started toward the cabin. “I’m going to find a lantern. We should see if their horses are out back. I heard the milk cow. Maybe Curly and Frisco are with the horses.” Tanner wouldn’t allow them outside the fort walls, especially not at night. But it was the only option she could think of that didn’t mean something bad had happened here.
Rosie followed her to the cabin door. “I’ll help you search the buildings before we look for the animals.”
As she reached for the latch on the cabin door, a thought made her pause. If Tanner was asleep inside, she should knock first.
She pounded on the door with her knuckles. “Tanner? Are you in there?” They didn’t have time to waste, so she didn’t wait long for him to answer. At least he’d been warned.
When she pushed open the door, the darkness was eventhicker in there. No light glowed from coals in the hearth. He must not have lit the fire all day.
She reached for the lantern from the hook and started toward the hearth where they kept the flint and steel. “It doesn’t look like there’s any live embers left. It’ll take me a minute to light this.”
Rosie turned out of the open doorway. “I’ll go check the other buildings while you do that. There should be enough light from the moon to at least see if things are amiss.”
Panic shot through Lorelei, and she spun away from the hearth. “No! Can you wait just a minute? We need this light to see by.” The thought of Rosie walking into the murky darkness of the storeroom nearly cut off her breath. What if someone was in there?
But Rosie didn’t stop striding, just called over her shoulder. “I can see good enough with the door open. I only want an idea of whether the place has been rifled through.”
Lorelei set the lantern down and lifted her skirts as she ran after her sister. She couldn’t explain this panic, other than she had to be there to see what might have happened. She’d much rather see it with the warm glow of a lantern, but she wouldn’t be the last to know.
She caught up to Rosemary as her sister pulled the latchstring on the storage room door. Rosie pushed the wood open, and the leather hinge rustled. The moonlight lit a triangle on the dirt floor inside, but everything beyond was a black cavern.
Rosie, in her typical fearless fashion, stepped forward, planting a foot into the unknown. “If I can get my eyes to adjust to the—” She loosed a bloodcurdling scream andjumped backward, slamming into the door as the wood bumped against the wall behind her.
Lorelei yelped and reached for her sister, though most of her wanted to turn and sprint far and fast from whatever was in that building. But she couldn’t leave Rosie to its clutches.
Rosemary stumbled from the room and grabbed Lorelei’s hand. Lorelei tugged her away from the place. Now they could run.
Rosie pulled like an anchor, though, forcing Lorelei to stop as she released her and turned to face the open doorway. “Who’s in there? Show yourself.” She raised her gun and aimed, the light click of the set trigger whispering in the quiet.
A shuffle sounded from inside, and a new knot of fear gripped Lorelei’s throat. There really was someone in there.
She edged backward. “Rosie, let’s—”
Before she could pull them both farther away from the door, the shadows shifted, and a figure stepped out.
A scream rose in her throat and would have plunged out if she could have breathed.
“Stop.” The familiar voice registered even before the figure, whose features were distorted in the shadows of the pale moonlight.
“White Horse?” Rosie voiced the name before Lorelei could fully comprehend that this was their friend.
He raised a hand and stepped forward. “Do not shoot.” He reached for the gun Rosie still aimed at him. Apparently, she wasn’t fully in control of her faculties either.
