Eric reined his gelding out of the drift and back toward the cabin at a trot. He'd seen a path that mustlead to one of the pastures, for it was always packed hard from hoofprints, and there had been new tracks that morning.
It didn't take long to reach that turn-off, and he guided his horse that direction. Should he call out to alert them of his presence? Maybe so. The last thing he wanted was to be accused of lurking where he wasn't supposed to be.
He raised his voice. "Coulter!"
He was moving away from where the boy had run, so maybe the lad and his family wouldn't hear his shout and be scared off by the thought of the owners searching for them.
"What are you hollering for?" Jonah's annoyed voice emerged from the trees, not far ahead of him. "Something wrong at the house?"
Of all the Coulters he might have found, of course the first would be Jonah. Eric reined in as the man became visible through the trunks. "Not at the house. I saw a boy, farther down the trail. Gil said to watch for a stranger. I thought you all would like to know." He shouldn't feel like he had to defend himself to this man, but he did. And that churned frustration in his chest.
"You sure it wasn't Sean? He and Lillian are supposed to come help after you leave." Jonah spoke the words like a jab. Like Eric couldn't be trusted alone with Naomi and Mary Ellen.
Of course, it wasn't a matter of trust, it was propriety.
And his past mistakes didn’t exactly recommend him.
He swatted that line of thought away before the heat reached his ears. "It wasn't Sean. It was a stranger. About Sean’s age though. He ran away like he feared I'd chase him."
Jonah motioned for him to turn around. "Show me where you saw him. I'll check it out." He clearly seemed to be dismissing Eric.
Eric spun his horse and headed back toward the main trail.He’dbeen the one to see the lad. He'd like to know for sure hewas safe. Just because this wasn't his ranch didn't mean he would ignore someone in trouble.
He held his tongue as they moved onto the main trail. At the place he'd spotted the newcomer, he turned off without speaking—avoiding the snowdrift this time.
"This is where you saw him?" Coulter moved up beside him.
Eric nodded forward. "He ran up that slope. I knew my horse couldn't go as fast as he could in the ice, so I turned back to alert you all." Maybe he should have asked to bring one of the other brothers with them. That might have been a less risky strategy than riding with Jonah alone.
He wouldn't let the other man prod his temper this time.
Jonah pushed ahead, not inviting Eric to follow, but also not sending him away.
Eric followed, of course.
He seemed to be more comfortable than Eric with traversing the tricky landscape, so Eric kept his horse to the exact path Jonah’s took. They were mostly following the lads footprints, though Jonah sometimes took a different route when the mountainside grew steep or the underbrush too thick.
The boy must be as nimble as a field rabbit to maneuver some of the obstacles he had.
After a quarter of an hour, a sound grabbed Eric's attention. Voices?
He called ahead quietly. "Do you hear that?"
Jonah lifted his head and reined in sharply, and Eric did the same. That was a woman's voice.
Naomi?
Her melodic cadence was imprinted on his soul, leaving no doubt it was her.
Jonah slipped from his saddle, so Eric did the same. He led his horse behind Jonah, stepping high through the snow even though he had tracks to follow. He couldn'tsee much ahead except the hindquarters of Jonah's horse. Maybe he should have stayed in the saddle.
When the hill leveled off, they tied their mounts to a branch, scanning the snowy woods ahead. Eric could see no sign of a person.
"Any idea who Naomi is talking to?" Eric asked.
Jonah shot him a look—was that surprise? Had he not recognized her voice?
Jonah didn’t say, just pulled his rifle from its scabbard. "None. I can’t imagine what she's doing out here."
