As he rode toward town, he kept hoping he’d see Josie just ahead on the road, returning to the ranch. But that hope went unfulfilled as Last Chance came into view. He prayed she was simply enjoying a leisurely breakfast with Mrs. Landry or stopping in to see the newest arrivals at the mercantile.
The only question now was where to look first.
Arlen considered his options. The boardinghouse would give him at least one answer. If Finnegan and his men were present and in their rooms, it was unlikely they’d have taken Josie. He’d knock on each door to find out for certain, and if they wouldn’t let him in, he’d force the door down if he had to. Darcy would have his back.
But if they weren’t there . . . he went cold at the thought. It was no use pondering when action would give him answers.
And so action he took, directing General toward the boardinghouse, one hand on the pistol at his side.
Chapter Sixteen
Despite the brightmorning sun, the livery was dim inside. Josie closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of horseflesh and straw. Horses were such wonderful creatures, and she thought that if the market for cattle ever disappeared, she’d like to raise horses. A whole ranch full of horses! There were a few of those outside of town, and they seemed to do well.
She scanned the stable, wondering where to look first. If she could find Becca or anyone else, she could simply ask if they’d seen Arlen and General. But given no one was in sight, it might be faster to simply walk through the stable and then look outside in the corral to see if General was here.
She’d just reached the end of the first row, stopping to scratch Gretchen’s nose in the stall where she’d stayed the night, when she found Becca Cairn, knee-deep in straw with a rake in her hands. She smiled at the redheaded woman. She’d always appreciated how much Becca cared for horses—and that she wasn’t afraid of a little dirt.
“Morning,” Becca said, pulling a piece of straw from her hair. “Do you need your horse?”
Josie shook her head. “No, I’m actually looking for Mr. Arlen Thomas. He was in town last night but never returned to the ranch. I thought he might have boarded his horse here at some point.”
Becca nodded slowly. “He did, but he collected the horse early this morning, about three hours ago now.”
Josie frowned. She’d been awake then, eating breakfast with Faith and her husband, who had let her sleep on their settee when she’d finally exhausted herself with searching. She’d barely gotten any sleep, but didn’t dare rest longer and had instead arisen early with Faith and Beau so she could resume her search.
If only she’d done that immediately instead of eating breakfast, she might have run into Arlen here.
“Was he alone?” she asked Becca.
“He appeared to be, but I didn’t look outside. It was awfully early.”
“Thank you,” Josie said. “You’ve been so helpful. I’ll likely be back for Gretchen soon.”
“I’ll be here,” Becca said as she resumed her raking.
Outside the livery, Josie wandered, down Main Street, past the ferry depot to where the road led away from town. She paused where the road turned into grasses, looking out and down along the river and the copse of trees that blocked part of the water from view. Arlen had likely left town early this morning. But where had he gone? Back home was the most likely. That ought to be where she started. Besides, she had no reason to believe he’d ridden anywhere else.
