Chasing the Sun by Kaki Warner

Author:Kaki Warner
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON AND HANK WAS WORKING ON HIS calculations of how many square feet of sail it would take to move a five-hundred-pound railcar along a track at ten miles per hour when Brady threw open the door to his office.

“Where are Jack and Daisy?”

Hank continued to scribble. “Haven’t seen them. Why?”

When there was no response, he looked up to find his brother still standing in the doorway of his office, his gaze fixed on the window.

Curious, Hank turned. His jaw dropped in astonishment.

Dark thunderheads boiled out of the west, racing down the valley ahead of a hard, driving rain. Lightning bounced between the clouds. Thunder rumbled. A sudden gust drove grit pinging against the windows and sent the branches of the mesquite tree on the hilltop behind the house into a thrashing frenzy. As Hank watched, a limb snapped off and crashed against a grave marker so hard the stone toppled over. Another flash, then a blast of thunder so loud it made him flinch. An instant later the skies opened, dumping hailstones the size of elk droppings that clattered across the porch floor to bounce against the panes of the French door like crazed white bees.

“Sweet Jesus,” Hank muttered, rising to his feet. “Where’d that come from?” And why hadn’t he been aware of it?

“Did they go for a hike?” Brady demanded. “Are they still out there?”

“I don’t know.”

“Christ.” His brother ducked into the hall.

Hank went after him.

“Check the barn,” Brady ordered as he took the stairs three treads at a time. “I’ll see if Jessica knows where they are.”

A few minutes later, soaking wet, his black hair plastered to his head, Brady rushed into the barn. “Did you find them?” he asked, dumping an armful of slickers and dusters into the straw.

Hank shook his head and turned back to the horse he’d been readying, just in case. In other stalls, other men were doing the same.

“Damnit to hell!” Freeing a duster from the heap, Brady struggled to pull the oiled canvas over his wet jacket. “They’re out there somewhere. I know it.”

Lightning bolted from the sky. Thin bars of light flashed through the gaps between the planks of the exterior walls, then thunder boomed, making the horse lunge and snort, white showing in its eyes. The air crackled and buzzed.

Murmuring softly, Hank calmed the frightened sorrel then tossed the saddle onto its back. With brisk movements, he slipped the girth strap through the D-ring, pulled it tight, and secured the dangling end. After tugging on his own duster, he rolled the remaining jackets in a slicker and tied it across the back of the saddle.

As he worked, the part of his mind not churning with worry stayed alert to his surroundings—the distant sounds of men saddling up, the clink of bits and stomp of restless horses, the frightened mewl of a barn cat. He checked the air for smoke in case the lightning had set something ablaze, but smelled none.

Overhead, the loft door crashed open, then banged on its hinges until finally it slammed shut so hard the timbers shuddered.

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