Chapter 9

Jake slipped out of the house at about three in the morning. He figured that anyone out and shutting down a bar should be home and in bed by now. He should have the roads to himself.

He wore a heavy fleece coat as he got into his truck and started it up. Jake pulled out of the ranch yard without lights and didn't turn them on until he was on the road towards Gold Dust.

He had been right. There wasn't another vehicle anywhere on the road.

Jake looked in at River Bend as he drove by. He hoped he and Sam could talk before he left to go back to GBC. He sighed. She certainly was a stubborn woman, but he loved her a lot.

A few minutes later, he passed Gold Dust. Jake drove another half mile before doing a U turn and pulling over on the side of the road. He shut off the truck and sat in it for a few minutes. Nothing moved.

Quietly he opened the driver's door and shed his coat, tossing it back into the truck. My gosh, it was freezing out there. Jake leaned over to open the console in the front seat and grabbed a knit hat he had there. He pulled it over his head and shut the door as quietly as he could.

Jake leaned against the truck for a few moments, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then he swept the area, not seeing anything moving or out of the ordinary.

He crept forward, climbing over the gate. Jake waited. There were no barking dogs or anything else announcing his arrival.

Jake crouched and headed inward. He stopped every few feet to listen. So far, he didn't hear anything that alarmed him.

He found the bunkhouse belonging to Flick and headed around to the back. He saw the buckskin immediately.

Slowly as to not spook the horse, he started forward. When the horse's head came up, Jake murmured to it under his breath. The horse let out a snort, but didn't run from him.

Jake froze when another horse answered the buckskin's snort. Darn! He crouched down, waiting to see if anyone came to investigate.

After a few minutes without anyone coming out, Jake stood back up and approached the horse.

"Whoa, fella," Jake murmured.

He reached out to put his hand on the horse's neck. The buckskin backed a step away from him.

"Whoa," Jake murmured again, taking a step forward, the flat of his hand lay on the horse's neck. This time the horse didn't back away.

Jake ran his hand down the horse's neck down the shoulder, then he bent down as he ran his hand down the horse's leg. The horse picked up its foot.

Jake supported the foot, reaching into his pocket for his penlight. He snapped it on and examined the shoe. Bingo!

"Hey!" Jake heard the shout and dropped the horse's leg and his penlight and took off running.

Jake heard another shout, then a shot. A burning sensation in his upper arm almost knocked him to his knees, but he kept running.

He jumped over the gate. Instead of going instantly to his truck, he headed for the river and the trees.

That's when he remembered the snow. Anyone who wasn't blind could track him from his footprints. Heck, a blind person could prolly track him through the snow.

He sucked in a breath and jumped into the river. The freezing water took his breath away and he fought a moan. Jake went down the river knowing he was going to end up with frostbite on his feet at this rate.

Finally, he climbed out of the river, not feeling his feet by this time at all. He stumbled and fell. It felt like he had ice blocks instead of feet and he still had a quarter mile before he got to his truck.

Jake bit his lip as the cold from his frozen feet shot up his legs. The burning in his arm hurt him badly, but he kept on.

He stopped again and listened for pursuit. Not hearing any, he continued towards his truck.

Reaching it, he climbed in the driver's seat, his breathing loud inside of the truck. He used to run track. He couldn't be this winded. Jake knew it was shock.