Chapter 72

72

There was a roadblock on Old Beise Road. Right in front of his cousin Derrick’s ranch. Men with trucks had both lanes blocked and every shoulder possible.

It took him a moment, but Fletcher recognized his uncles out there—Bill and Phil and Nick and Ned. And several of his cousins, including Michael and Derrick and Josh. Second cousins, too.

Fletcher whipped the truck off the side of the road and climbed out. The old Vanderguard Ranch was just up the road. No more than an eighth of a mile. “What do we know?”

Nick was obviously running things. “We are blocking the road, Fletch. We didn’t want to just go in, lights blazing, and cause someone to get spooked.”

“I’ve been trying to buy the Vanderguard place to increase my fields,” Derrick said quietly. “It’s damned flat around that bend there. We go in too obvious, anyone there will be able to see us coming from a mile away.”

Fletcher nodded. “Then we go in on foot.”

“We already have Jace and Holton going in on horseback. They are going to try to circle around. See what they can see. Get north of the ranch, to stop any traffic that way. There is another service road back that way—it’s the only one in from there. The one behind Beise’s old place washed out four or five years back. No one ever replaced it,” Derrick said. “Dad and Kirk and Kirk’s boys are going to block it. We were waiting for Clint or Ben to get here, to take the lead. We’re not stupid—we’re not law enforcement and we don’t want to screw anything up and get Dylan hurt in the middle.”

“Joel is on his way,” Phil said as more men joined them. Clint and Chandler and the twins and Brandt and some of Phil’s sons-in-law.

Hunter was there too. He clapped a hand on Fletcher’s shoulder. “We’ll find her, Fletch. We will.”

They had almost a dozen or so men out there, now, and even more blocking the roads. It gave him hope.

“I don’t know what to do now.”

He looked at one man who would. Clint had been a cop for years until he’d retired to be with Maggie and his kids and run his ranch. And Ben, Fletcher’s own brother, who had been a cop in the army for years. “I need one of you to help me. I don’t know how to get her back.”

“Clint, run point,” Ben said. “This is my girl’s kid sister. Let’s get her back.”

Clint looked at Fletcher. “We’ll do this together.”