Page 100 of Wilde Ride

“Have you asked Gatlin? Ensley?”

“Have they left the camp area?” he asked.

Lilibeth replied, “Gatlin left around one, and Ensley left shortly after he did.”

“I told them both we were good on help.”

“I’ll go see if either of their saddles is in the barn. My only concern is that her stall door was left open. I highly doubt Gatlin or Ensley would do that.”

My heart started to quicken. I knew Ensley wouldn’t. Gatlin, on the other hand, could be scatterbrained at times.

I followed my brother. “I’ll get saddled up and start looking for her.”

“I’ll come with you,” Lilibeth said.

Caden held up a hand. “No need for you to come along, flower child.”

Lilibeth let out a frustrated breath but didn’t say anything.

“The more people looking, the better, Caden,” I argued as I quickly went to the kitchen to let Charlotte know I was leaving.

By the time we got to the barn, Sagan was in her stall eating some oats. Lilibeth and I both turned to look at Caden.

“Are you sure you were at the right stall?” I asked.

He folded his arms over his chest. “Yes, I’m sure, Emeline. This isn’t my first time in the horse barn.”

Gatlin walked up and smiled. He lived in the apartment above the barn, so he would most likely know if anyone had come in and taken a horse.

“Did anyone ride Sagan today that you know of?” I asked.

“I did. Why?”

Caden suddenly lost his temper. “What the fuck, Gatlin? You left her goddamn stall door open! I thought she got out, or worse, someone had taken her, with all the fucking people here picking up kids!”

“Caden! What in the world has gotten into you?” I asked.

Gatlin looked confused. “Why are you so upset?”

“Because you took a horse out and no one knew.”

A look of anger passed over Gatlin’s face. “I didn’t realize we had to clear it with you first, Caden. Good to know. I rode the north pasture to check on the fence line—like you asked me to.”

Caden scrubbed a hand down his face and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked, touching his arm.

His eyes went to Lilibeth, and I was stunned to see anger when he looked at her, too. I mean, Caden was always grumpy, but it seemed he really didn’t like Lilibeth.

She actually took a step back.

When he looked at me, the anger morphed into something I couldn’t read. “Everything’s fine.” He spun and started marching down the aisle. “Shut the fucking stall door next time, Gatlin.”

After he’d turned the corner, Gatlin looked at me and frowned. “What in the hell was that all about?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

At six o’clock on the dot, I walked into El Rey Mexican Restaurant. It was the first of its kind in River Falls, and judging by the crowd, it was already a hit. We didn’t have many places to eat because our town was so small. We had River Falls Café, which was more a coffee shop that also sold bakery-type items, Anna’s Table formally Anna’s Café, which was the town’s main café located on Main Street. A sandwich place, a pizza place, and the small café that was located inside River Falls Sporting Goods. It wasn’t really a café, since there were no tables, but you could grab sandwiches and salads to-go.