Chapter 15

Where was Maverick? He'd been gone for too long.

Hazel stood from where she'd been kneeling and observing Candy and the foal and searched for a glimpse of him.

An osprey circled nearby, its slender body and narrow wings graceful in the wind current. It was likely fishing in the river, hovering ever lower before it dove down feet first to catch a fish in its talons.

She took in a deep breath of the cool morning air. With April slipping away, it wouldn't be long now before the days and nights turned warmer. But for now, the air still held the hint of winter, and the lingering piles of snow here and there were the reminders of how quickly the weather could change.

As she surveyed the landscape for the sight of Maverick's rugged, muscular frame, her heart hummed a new, sweet melody, even if it was skipping a beat with nervousness. All because Maverick had told her he loved her.

The words had been so soft but so clear that she'd known she wasn't dreaming or misunderstanding him.

He loved her.

At a shiver of anticipation, she wrapped her arms across her middle and hugged herself. She didn't have to ask him to clarify if he loved her as a friend or a woman. From the way he'd kissed her face, he'd left her with no doubt that he desired her as a woman every bit as much today as he had that night he'd first kissed her.

Even so, she still wasn't certain what he wanted. He hadn't necessarily seemed pleased with himself after telling her, almost as if he hadn't meant to and it had just slipped out.

His hesitancy could mean a number of things. Maybe he'd wanted to talk to her first before telling her of his love. Maybe he wanted to make sure she reciprocated. And though she'd never allowed herself to think of loving Maverick, she knew deep inside that she did.

On the other hand, what if his hesitancy was because he wasn't ready to be in a relationship? Especially because he was still working through his pa's death. It was possible he wanted to wait until he had the chance to put some of the pain behind him.

Whatever the case, his soft, sweet words had gone straight to her heart and filled her with the need to be with him. She didn't want to be away from him, even now. She physically felt as though a part of her was missing.

If she was completely honest, she'd always wanted to be with him, always felt complete, happier, contented when she was with him. Now that she knew he loved her, she longed to be with him even more, as if the words had given her permission to acknowledge everything she'd been trying hard to deny.

But of course, she would have to be careful. If he wasn't fully ready to embrace his love for her, she'd have to control her enthusiasm. She'd been patient for years already, hadn't she? She could continue to be patient as long as he needed.

She scanned the landscape again and guessed he'd been gone for at least thirty minutes. His gelding was still tied to one of the nearby trees, which meant if he was on foot, he probably hadn't gone far. If he needed the time to think and process this new direction of their relationship, then she couldn't be pushy and demand that he stay with her.

But what about the horse thieves? After facing the danger with his pa earlier in the year, no doubt he was concerned that the thieves were now back in the area. Since they hadn't been caught, it was very possible they'd decided to steal from High C Ranch again.

Her pulse slammed to a sudden halt.

What if Maverick had gotten into an altercation with the thieves? He might even be lying somewhere injured. Even though she hadn't heard any gunshots, there were plenty of other ways they could have harmed him. She only had to think of the tragic avalanche that had taken Mr. Oakley's life to know the truth of that.

With her heart beating again, but at double the speed, she started around the boulder in the direction Maverick had gone. It led to the river, and as she stepped closer, the rushing grew louder.

Finally she halted several feet from the bank, which was a sharp rocky drop down to the river. She glanced upstream along the ledge, but it was mostly untraversable with prickly sage plants and an uneven rim.

Downstream was a little smoother. What if he'd descended to the river? Maybe there was a trail that led safely down the steep bank, one he'd used in his childhood for fishing with Sterling. It wouldn't surprise her if the two had long ago made a path.

She inched nearer to the edge but halted at a place where it appeared the earth had given way. Was this the trail?

She knelt and then peered over, scanning the river bottom below for any sign of Maverick. She guessed he'd have a makeshift fishing pole in hand and would be standing on a boulder in the middle of the river, throwing out his line just like he used to do.

But as far as she could scan upstream and down, she didn't spot his handsome face or broad back and shoulders.

With a sigh, she began to push herself back up, but at the sight of a man lying at an odd angle almost directly below, her heart caught in her throat.

Though she couldn't view the man's head, she could see that the clothing and boots and hard muscular body belonged to only one man: Maverick.

How had he gotten there? Had he fallen?

On her knees, she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Maverick?" The shout echoed in the barren river valley enough that anyone nearby would have heard her, including Maverick.

But he didn't budge.

What if he was dead?

"Dear God, help us." Her heart began to thud with a terrible rhythm, the sweet melody from moments ago replaced with a clanging death knell.

With trembling fingers she grasped the tall grass behind her. The slight movement sent a cascade of rocks and dust down the slope, and she scrambled back to avoid falling down the embankment herself.

Was that what had happened to Maverick? Had he stepped too close to the edge and slid down? The messy cascade of rocks certainly looked like it had recently been disturbed.

Whatever the case, she had to get to him. If he was still alive, he was likely severely injured with fractured bones, cuts, internal injuries, maybe a concussion.

With growing franticness, she crawled along the embankment, searching for a way to descend—a trail, footholds, even an area that was less steep. But as far as she could tell, there was no easy way—at least, not in the near vicinity.

If she tried climbing down, she'd end up in the same shape or worse. Besides, even if she made it to him, how would she be able to help him? She only had the few supplies she'd packed just in case Candy had ended up in trouble, but none would be of use to him. She'd also never be able to move him by herself. Not back up the steep embankment, not even downriver to a different place to climb out of the river bottoms.

Her heart thudded harder. She didn't want to leave him here by himself, but the only thing left to do was go back to High C Ranch for help. Actually, she was closer to her own family's ranch and could probably reach it more quickly. Since the Noble Ranch was a bigger operation with more workers, she'd also have the likelihood of rounding up a larger rescue party.

"Maverick?" she shouted again.

He remained unmoving—didn't even twitch.

"I'm going for help!" Her voice caught on the edge of a sob. "I'll be back in no time." At least, she prayed she would be.

She waited only a second longer, praying he'd sit up or lift a hand or at least shift his leg. But he was as silent as a dead man.

A sob slipped out, echoing in the eerily silent air. She crept backward. When she was safely away from the ledge, she stood and ran back to Candy and the foal. The two were still right where she'd left them and would be fine while she was gone.

And Maverick's gelding was still tied up and grazing peacefully.

His horse.

No. She shook her head. She couldn't ride his horse.

She'd run all the way to the ranch as fast as she could... it wouldn't take her long. She guessed she had only a mile or so left at the most. It wasn't far. She could make it easily enough.

But even as she scanned the rocky terrain ahead, sobs clawed against her chest and several more broke free.

"I love him too." She forced her feet toward the gelding, tears rolling down her cheeks. When she reached the lead line, she didn't hesitate to unwind it, even though her hands trembled so much that she could hardly make them work.

She led the gelding out from under the tree. With tears blurring her vision and sobs choking her, she stuck her foot into the stirrup. Then with shaking legs, she climbed up and into the saddle.

As she situated herself, nausea rose swiftly. She bent over the side of the horse and retched, not sure what she detested more—leaving Maverick behind or riding the horse.

But she didn't have a choice if she had any hope of saving Maverick. She had to ride as fast as she possibly could for help. There was no other option.

She tapped her heels into the gelding's thighs, nudged it with a shake of the reins, and then clung tightly to the pommel. As the horse began to trot forward, another swell of nausea rose, but she swallowed it, not wanting to waste another moment—not when Maverick's life might depend on it.

Tears clouded her vision, but thankfully the gelding had been in Dead Man's Gulch enough over the years to be familiar with the path that led to the Noble Ranch. When she finally crossed the bridge that spanned the Blue River and the south pasture came into view, her sobs came again. This time uncontrollably.

She loved Maverick more than anything or anyone. If he died, she didn't know how she'd be able to go on without him. She had to save him, had to find a way to get a rescue party out to him immediately.

She scanned the pastures and the barns beyond, searching for anyone who could ride back with her, praying all the ranch hands weren't out with the livestock far away. At the sight of several men in a corral next to the barn, her heart kicked at her ribs to go faster. She dug in her heels, lowered herself, and flew across the final distance of the pasture.

As she did so, she realized she was no longer afraid to be on Maverick's gelding. In fact, she wasn't afraid of the horse at all. She was grateful to have it, to be able to ride so swiftly, to have the creature so intuitive to her need to help Maverick—because she had no doubt the gelding understood that something had happened and felt the urgency to intervene.

A tall fellow in the corral stepped away from the others to watch her approach. It took her only a second to recognize Sterling's imposing build and the confident way he held himself.

She could tell the moment he realized she was on the horse when he hopped the fence in one easy motion and began to jog toward her.

As she drew nearer, she tried to rein in her sobs, but the tears kept slipping down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Sterling's shout was filled with worry and his face taut with fear.

He, along with all her family, knew that she'd refused to mount a horse since that night she'd been lost. He and all her family understood how petrified she was of riding alone. He and all her family had gotten frustrated at her for her stubbornness in not riding because of the inconvenience it was at times.

Now to see her on a horse, galloping wildly? He had to have realized something was very wrong.

She reined in and the bile began to work its way back up her throat. "It's Maverick. He's hurt."

Sterling stumbled to a halt, his body turning suddenly rigid.

In her rush to get Maverick help, she'd forgotten all about Sterling's and Maverick's falling-out. What if Sterling refused to help Maverick because of his anger and unforgiveness? She couldn't let that happen. She had to make Sterling see reason.

"Maverick isn't to blame for what happened, Sterling." Her voice came out too forcefully. She wasn't normally given to shouting or brazen displays. That was Scarlet's forte.

But in this moment, with Maverick lying along the river, his body broken, his life ebbing from him—if not already gone—she couldn't be gentle and patient with Sterling any longer.

"Everyone but you knows the truth," she said through her sniffles. "Violet never loved you as much as you loved her, and she wasn't ready for marriage."

Sterling took a small step back as though her words had punched him in the gut.

"She was already getting ready to run off when Maverick saw her outside. He knew it. And so, because he cared about you, he scooped her up and tried to take her back inside the house."

Beneath the brim of Sterling's hat, his sun-browned face had turned pale—or as pale as it could get. He pressed his lips together, the sure sign he was holding back his anger.

"She kissed Maverick to sabotage the wedding. I know you don't want to hear this, Sterling, but it's the truth."

He remained silent, but from the slight hunch of his shoulders, Hazel guessed he'd already been arriving at his own similar conclusions.

"Maverick took the blame because he was hoping to save your relationship with Violet. He figured if you thought he was at fault, you wouldn't be so upset at Violet."

Sterling's shoulders slumped even further.

"Now Maverick is out there hurt badly." This time her words broke with a sob. "And you have to put aside your issues and go help him."

Sterling opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could deny her, she forced the rest of what she had to say out. "If you don't forgive him and do this, you'll have to live with knowing you killed your best friend. Is that what you want?"

"I'll go, Hazel. You don't have to say any more."

"You'll go?"

"Maverick isn't my best friend anymore. But I won't turn my back on someone in need, not even if they're my worst enemy."

The tears started flowing again.

"You doing okay?" His voice softened as he took her in astride the saddle.

She nodded. "I'll be okay once we get back to Maverick."

"Then you're willing to lead us to him?" Sterling's voice held compassion. After years of fear controlling her, no doubt he was finding it hard to believe she'd willingly remain on the horse.

"I'll stay on this horse all day if it will save Maverick." She was still clutching the reins tightly, her fingers aching from her grip, but somehow she knew it was less from fear of riding and more because of the urgency she was feeling for Maverick.

Sterling gave a quick nod, his eyes filling with emotion and turning glassy. Then he spun and began to jog back to the barn.

She swiped at the tears on her cheeks. Sometimes love gave a person the courage to do the impossible. And today her love for Maverick had made her braver than she'd ever been before.

She just prayed she had the strength to endure whatever outcome they found when they finally reached him.