The route to Morgansville from the ranch was much quicker on horseback than by truck. She knew Carter could ride, because they’d learned together as kids. She decided to take one of the older horses, Sugar, with her and Dollar just to make it as easy as possible for him. The last thing she wanted was a brother with a concussion on her wedding day.
She saddled both horses and led them outside, tying Sugar’s reins to the back of Dollar’s saddle. One of her favorite things about riding a horse when it was cold was the warmth they generated. It was like having heated seats in your truck. She glanced back at the ranch house as she mounted up, but the whole place was in darkness. She pictured HW sleeping in his bed and couldn’t believe that she’d be right there with him later that night.
Smiling to herself, she clicked to Dollar, and they moved out. Luckily, she had a good sense of direction. She only had to follow the old mule road up to the ghost town. The terrain wasn’t that difficult after you crossed Morgan Creek, which wasn’t running very high at this time of year.
As Dollar splashed through the uneven rocky bottom of the creek, Sam hung on for dear life, allowing her body to move with the horse, yet avoid sliding off. As soon as they reached the other side, she took out her cell, and sent a text to Carter.
On my way. See you in 20. x
She followed the road upward and took the right-hand fork, which would take her to the highest point of the ranch where the original silver mine and the town of Morgansville had stood. After cutting down all the trees and destroying the topsoil, both the silver haul and the creek had dried up, leaving the stamping mill with not enough work or waterpower. At some point, the entire population had voted to move down the valley to the site of the current town and had never looked back.
Sam settled down in the saddle and focused on the narrowing path, and the eerie silence that pervaded the barren landscape. After her experiences in the military, she never felt comfortable in enclosed spaces, where she still feared an ambush. She concentrated on the mission at hand—finding her brother—and on how thrilled her parents would be to see their elusive youngest son.
Eventually, the ground leveled out, and Sam rode alongside what used to be the iron rail tracks that had taken the silver ore from the mine to the stamping mill to be pulverized into a thousand pieces. At one end of the ghost town there was a parking lot created by the historical society so that visitors could get out and walk along what had once been Main Street. Sam could already see a rental car sitting in the otherwise vacant lot, which she assumed belonged to her brother.
She set Dollar off down the slope and leaned back in the saddle as a figure emerged from the vehicle. Carter had black wavy hair just like hers, but his eyes were more hazel than green.
“Hey, Sis. What’s up?”
Carter sounded like he’d just popped out for a quick coffee rather than disappearing on her for three years.
“Hey yourself.” Sam grinned down at him. The last time she’d seen him, she’d just gotten out of the hospital and hadn’t been a pretty sight. “I’ll just tie up the horses.”
She dismounted and made sure the horses were secured before turning back to her much taller brother. He wore a thick ski jacket, jeans, and decent boots, so he wasn’t too underdressed for the cold.
He drew her into a hug and gave her a noogie, which was just like him.
“Long time no see, shrimp.” He drew back and looked down at her. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
“I have!” Sam protested. “I have a whole new foot and everything.”
“Yeah?” He studied her boots. “I can’t tell which one it is.”
“Which is the whole point.” She pointed at the car. “How on earth did you get stuck up here?”
He shrugged. “I drove all night, got tired, and just kept following the damn navigation. I went through some wire, damaged the front of the car, and just kept bouncing along until the tire exploded under me.”
Sam took a walk around the car, wincing at its banged-up appearance, and stopped to view the shredded back left tire.
“Wow, you really did a number on this. Next time you want to go off-roading, try a horse.”
“Can you help me change the tire?” Carter asked. He’d never been the most mechanically minded member of the family. “I’m so tired after trying to sleep in that tiny space that I can’t get my fingers to work properly. If we can get the car moving, I’ll follow you down to the ranch.”
“Seeing as I came on a horse it’s not quite that straightforward, but I can certainly show you the most suitable route for a vehicle. It will take you quite a while,” Sam said. “The easiest thing would be to come back to the ranch with me on horseback, and we’ll send someone up later to pick up your car.”
She reached into her pocket for her cell phone to see what the time was and ended up searching through all her pockets.
“Oh crap.” Sam breathed slowly through her nose to set off her rising panic. “I’ve lost my phone.”
“Dude.” Carter raised a laconic eyebrow. “That’s not good.”
“I took it out to text you after I crossed the creek. Maybe I didn’t put it back in my pocket securely enough.” Sam groaned and smacked herself in the head. “I’m such an idiot.” She held out her hand.
