I shrugged and gave him a smile. “You don’t see yourself wanting to settle down? Have a family?”
He scoffed. “A family! Bite your damn tongue, son!” He stood, his entire body shivering before he dropped back down on the mat. “Jesus, you’re giving me the heebie-jeebies, dude!”
“Heebie-jeebies?” I repeated as I tossed my head back in laughter. I glanced down at him as I walked by and said, “What are you, in middle school?”
Dirk laughed and then bent his back so much that I nearly gagged at how he was contorting his body.
“Right, I’m going to let you get back to your…yoga. Have fun.”
Dirk drew in a deep breath, then let it out. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on, Tanner.”
Grabbing another feed bucket on my way out of the barn, I called out, “I’ll take your word for it, Dirk.”
As I continued walking away from him, I mumbled under my breath, “What the fuck happened to you, dude?”
We all spent the rest of the day getting everything ready for a major storm that was approaching later in the evening. Needless to say, everyone was running around like the damn world was ending. It was the first major winter storm of the season, and it looked to be a big one.
“Did you get the water trough heaters in?” my father asked as he walked into the small office in the main barn.
Brock sat at the desk as Ty looked over Brock’s shoulder as they read the weather report. I sat in the corner, attempting to rest my body for a few minutes. I’d been going nonstop since daylight.
“Yes, they’re all in,” Ty answered, not looking over at my father.
“What are they looking at?” Dad asked, sitting down next to me.
“The latest weather report. Sounds like it’s going to be worse than they thought. I’m thinking we bring the horses in from the pastures.”
Dad nodded. “There’s plenty of room in the barns; let’s do it.”
I stood. “I’ll take Rosie—she doesn’t mind the wind and she’s already in the barn.”
Brock turned and looked at me. “Rosie isn’t in the barn.”
“What do you mean? I put her in the stall a few hours ago next to the new mare we got in. I figured if anyone could calm that mare, it would be Rosie.”
Ty and Brock exchanged a concerned look. “Tanner, I just checked the water in all the stalls in the main barn, Rosie’s stall was empty. I wasn’t sure if you turned her out again or what. I meant to ask you and got sidetracked.”
A feeling of dread came over me for some reason. Had she gotten out somehow?
A light knock came on the office door, and our mom poked her head in.
She looked directly at me and asked, “Do you know when Timberlynn will be back? She said she was only going on a short ride, since bad weather was coming in later.”
“A ride?” I asked. The dread I had felt only moments ago quickly turned to full-on fear.
“Yes, she said she was going to ask you boys if she could take Rosie out for a ride. About an hour-and-a-half ago. She said she’d be gone an hour, maybe less. I thought maybe I missed her coming back in, but I went up to her room and she wasn’t back yet. I just heard the storm is moving in a lot faster than they predicted. I’m worried she might have gotten turned around and can’t get a cell signal.”
I quickly pushed past my mother and nearly sprinted to the saddle shed.
“Tanner! Tanner, wait!” Ty called out.
“She’s out there, Ty. You and I both know it. She’s also not used to these fast-moving snowstorms.”
He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. “No, we don’t know she’s out there.”
Jimmy walked into the barn. His face was etched with concern as he looked at me. “I’ve been trying to call you.”
“Who?” we all said at once, including my father.
Jimmy looked at Ty, then Brock, then me. “The three of you.”
Kaylee walked into the barn, her entire body wrapped up in a winter coat, a scarf and gloves. “My gosh, looks like the storm is moving in early.” She looked around at each of us. “Ty, I’ve been trying to call you, but I don’t have a cell signal. The wind is so bad, I’m wondering if it knocked down a tower or something. I finally just drove over here.”
We all pulled out our phones. “I don’t have a signal either,” I said.
“Me neither,” Ty stated. He looked at Brock who simply shook his head.
“Jimmy, where’s Rosie?” I asked, already knowing the answer by the look on his face.
“That’s why I was calling. Ms. Holden asked me to saddle up Rosie about an hour-and-a-half ago. Said she was only taking her on a short ride since she wasn’t familiar with the ranch. I advised her there was a storm moving in later this afternoon, and she said she wouldn’t be gone long. She asked me to let you know, Tanner. I called and left a message on your cell that she took Rosie out.”
“If I’d gotten the call, I’d have told you to not let her leave,” I stated.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “When I couldn’t get a hold of any of you, I figured we needed to get Ms. Holden back on in. I went looking for her. I figured she might have gone on the trail you all took the first time you went riding. Then I remembered that she mentioned the lake.”
“The lake! Did you tell her how far off it was?” I nearly shouted.
He nodded. “I did, yes. She said okay, so I figured she wasn’t heading up that way. I’m thinking she might have after all.”
“I need help getting Pogo saddled up…and fast,” I said.
“Jimmy, we need two more horses saddled up,” I heard Ty say.
“Three,” my father added.
“Dad, no. It’s best if you stay here with Mom
