Forgiving Rex by Sue Heasley

Author:Sue Heasley [Heasley, Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Western, short story, cowboy, Colorado
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2017-10-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Rex had no problem following Jose and Lillie’s trail to the edge of the river. He dismounted from his horse and knelt by the sloped bank. He outlined the double set of hoof prints with his fingertips. One set was deeper in the mud than the other. To him that meant one horse carried two people while the other horse had no rider. Jose had lied. He became sick to his stomach. Fear for Lillie’s safety increased tenfold.

He stood and looked across the river to the other side. What the hell is going on? Were the two of them riding together because they wanted to be close to each other, or did Lillie get hurt? Why did Jose return to the ranch alone? Rex didn’t want to believe he would harm her. They had all been childhood friends. Even though Lillie and he had been inseparable, they had included Jose on their childhood adventures. There should be no hard feelings. That had been a long time ago.

Rex reviewed everything drunken Jose had told him. Then he recalled one important fact. His friend had mentioned his horse had come up lame after he crossed the river. Rex didn’t want to admit his anxiety had increased. Maybe jealously caused his emotions. He didn’t like thinking about Lillie riding double with Jose. Rex ran his hand through his hair and made a loud sigh. He had no claim on her. He’d run away and abandoned her years ago, like a damn fool. He climbed back onto his horse. Thunder suddenly boomed off toward the distant horizon, startling them.

“Easy, boy.” Rex patted the horse’s neck. He examined the billowy clouds rolling across the skyline blocking out the sun. They caressed the distant mountains like a soft gray blanket. The rain would be here soon.

“Could things get any worse?” Rex whispered. The storm was coming his way. The rain would wash out the trail and cause the river to rise. He had to find Lillie before the storm hit. He urged his jittery horse down the river embankment and through the flowing chilly water. In no time, his feet were back on solid ground inspecting the hoof prints on the opposite bank. Their horses had continued up the winding trail heading into the pine trees toward a higher elevation. Now his irritation had turned into anger. Jose had lied about his horse turning up lame after the river crossing.

Rex galloped up the trail about a mile when a horse’s body came into view. “Lillie!” His horse skidded to a stop. He swung off his mount and ran toward the dead stallion, praying Lillie wasn’t injured. To his relief, he didn’t find her. He scanned the surrounding woods looking for any indication she had wandered off. Disappointed, he returned to her stallion to examine him. Someone had shot him in the head. Then he noticed red drops of blood on the saddle horn.

“Lillie, you have to be okay. Where are you?” Rex stepped backward feeling suddenly nauseous.

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