by Andrea Young
“Stockton’s the only one I know. That’s a few hours north of here.”
The cowboy who had used the phone came back.
“I know where your man’s going.” Joe saw the cowboy’s companion raise his eyebrows in surprise and glance at his friend.
“Where?”
“Campground two hours ride east of here. Horses can be housed overnight.”
“Campground? What’s the name?”
“Sun Valley.”
Joe knew the man was lying. He could see it in his body language and in how intently he was now staring at him. It made no sense to go east. The cowboy would go north to get to Stockton. Joe felt sick. The man in front of him was setting him up. Joe wondered what price his uncle had put on his head.
“Thanks for your help.”
“We’re heading that way, we’ll give you a lift.”
Joe backed away as he spoke. “No, got a car, thanks.” Confident they weren’t going to try to stop him, Joe turned and hurried back toward the truck. He called Finny and Vel and told them what he found out about Sky and nothing else; no need to worry them more.
Joe knew he had to catch up to the cowboy who had taken Sky before he got to his next destination. In the distance a train whistle blew. The revelation hit. The tracks followed the flood control channels. That was how he was going to catch up. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced it was the only way. He also knew he had to do this alone. It was too dangerous for Finny, who had parents to go home to, and if he told Vel his plan, she would do whatever it took to stop him. Joe spotted Finny and Vel at the truck. His mind raced. They’d stop him. Joe knew this was the only chance to get Sky back. He turned and ran toward the sound of the train. It was loud, so he knew it couldn’t be far. His phone rang. It was Finny. He kept going and ignored the phone. He spotted the tracks, ran to them, and followed them north. His phone rang again. He picked it up.
“Joe, where are you?”
“Finny, I think I know how to find Sky. Tell Vel to take you home so you don’t get in trouble. I got my phone and plenty of money on me. I’ll call you the second I know something. I love you. I’m sorry.” Joe hung up, held the phone to his head, and said a prayer. It rang immediately, only to be drowned out by the sound of an oncoming train. Joe looked behind him; a cargo train was slowly approaching. Jumping on was a breeze and Joe was on his way.
Finny hung up the phone for the third time. She clutched it to her chest and closed her eyes. She told Vel that Joe had found an old friend of his and this cowboy knew where Sky was. “He’s going with him and will call us as soon as he knows something.” Finny tried not to shake visibly and couldn’t look at Vel having so blatantly lied to her.
“Joe took off, just like that?” Vel’s brows furrowed, confused.
“This is the world he was raised in. I guess he knows what he’s doing.”
“Call him again, Finny. I’m not comfortable leaving here without him.”
“He knew we wouldn’t let him go. That’s why he took off. He’s not answering his phone.”
“Let me try.” Vel dialed and the phone went straight to voice mail. “Finny, let’s get in the truck and drive around and look for him.”
“Okay, but it won’t do any good. He’s gone.”
Vel dropped Finny off at home, then continued on to Azure Hills. Finny dashed into her house and asked her mom if she could stay at Azure Hills the rest of the weekend because Vel wasn’t feeling well and really needed her help. Finny swore she’d spend the next weekend with her sisters to make up for it. Beth reluctantly agreed. Finny hugged her mom, then ran to her room and shoved money, clothes, and supplies into her backpack. Last, she scoured the garage and found a detailed map that showed the flood channels as well as the railroad tracks. She had heard a train whistle blow in the background when she had been on the phone with Joe. Finny knew him well enough to figure out what he was doing. Next she checked online and looked up the dates and locations of every rodeo or sale she could find north of them. The closest one that was near the railroad tracks was Stockton.
Before she set off, she sent Joe a text: I love you; please tell me you’re safe and where you are so I don’t go crazy. Finny jumped on her bike and rode hard for the ranch. Pumped on adrenaline, she got there in no time. Finny hid her bike behind the barn, grabbed her saddle and bridle, went to Joe’s truck, and got behind the wheel. She looked in the glove box and found the key. The old Ford roared to life. She figured Joe might regret having taught her to drive but she doubted that. He wasn’t in this alone. Finny pulled out, hoping Vel wouldn’t figure out what she’d done when she noticed Joe’s truck was gone.
Joe scanned the culverts as the train slowly rumbled by. Night was falling. Most likely the cowboy would be going slowly to conserve the horses’ strength, so Joe reasoned it was possible for the train to catch up. He prayed it would before they hit the next town. Joe knew once the cowboys discovered he hadn’t fallen for their trick and gone to Sun Valley, they’d figure out where he had gone.
Guilt hung around his neck like a noose. Joe glanced at his phone. He powered it back on and found Finny’s message. Her words cut through him. Maybe he was out of his mind doing what he’d done, waltzing back into his uncle’s world knowing he was looking for him. Joe groaned out loud with uncertainty. He was being foolish doing this alone. He was glad he was out there looking, but keeping Finny in the dark wasn’t fair. They were a team . . . well, more than a team. They were each other’s family. Joe checked the time. It was after 1 am. He leaned back against the open door of the train and watched the culvert. He texted Finny back.
I’m on a train heading north following the culverts. No luck so far. I love you and I’m sorry.
Joe shut his phone and scanned the dark. He wished clouds weren’t covering the moon so he could see better.
The train rolled steadily down the track. The rhythmic rocking of the rail car was trying to put him to sleep. Joe rubbed his eyes and got up and stretched, doing his best to rouse himself. He’d been on the train too long. Maybe he was wrong about what the cowboy had done; maybe Sky had been taken to Sun Valley. Joe worried his paranoia had clouded his judgment.
He would have kept torturing himself with doubt had he not spotted a rider ponying a giant horse in the culvert below him. Joe stepped back away from the door as they passed. He wanted to be well ahead of them when he got off. Joe sat on the floor with his feet dangling off the side. The train wasn’t moving very fast, but it was fast enough when Joe jumped, tucked, and rolled. The gravel tore at his shirt and his skin, drawing a little blood from his shoulder, but he survived and got quickly to his feet. Joe hid in the bushes until the rider passed. Joe knew the man would soon stop; they’d been going all day. He was relieved to be right again. Two miles later the cowboy rode up out of the culvert and onto a trail. Just up ahead were corrals.
Making his way as quietly as he could, Joe got as close as possible without being spotted. He watched the cowboy lead Sky into the corral and then untack his saddle horse and put it in with Sky. Joe scanned the area, wishing he knew where he was. The cowboy, instead of looking for a place to bunk down, got on his cell phone. Joe was close enough to recognize the man’s face when his phone illuminated it. He didn’t know his name, but was sure he’d seen him before. Making a call instead of bunking down for the night was a bad sign. He wanted the man to fall asleep so he could take Sky and run, but now he’d have to wait and see.
Joe sized the man up. The cowboy lifestyle kept a body tough and the man in front of him was no pushover. The cowboy checked his phone again and then leaned against the fence before shoving his hands in his pockets. Joe wanted to punch the ground in frustration. The man was waiting for someone. Which meant more people were coming. Joe looked at his phone but couldn’t risk turning it on. It made noise and if there were messages it would make even more. Joe slipped his phone back in his pocket and watched and waited.
Twenty minutes later the sound of a
pickup truck coming was unmistakable. Two men climbed out once it parked. Joe’s pulse raced. Why three men for two horses, and no horse trailer? It made no sense. The temptation to crawl closer to hear what was going on was strong, but prudence won out and Joe stayed where he was. He racked his brain trying to figure out why they were there. The scenario building in his head was the only thing that answered all the questions. They were there to find him. Joe’s stomach twisted with nausea when he realized the cowboy from the livestock auction had recognized him, then called his uncle. Joe knew his Uncle John was in with enough seedy people to find out who had stolen Sky and he was sure a deal had been struck. Instead of going to be sold, Sky was now being used as bait.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“TURN YOUR PHONE ON, JOE, COME ON!” FINNY said out loud after her fifteenth unsuccessful call. She had been thrilled to get his text, but she needed to talk to him. She threw the phone to the seat in frustration. After driving most of the night she was almost to Stockton. Past getting there, she had no plan.
Dead tired from the long drive and late hour, Finny was sure it was fear, worry, and adrenaline keeping her awake. She’d never driven on major roads before and never at night and was relieved there wasn’t much traffic. Seeing the road signs and watching out for police cars wasn’t easy. Finny just glimpsed the “Welcome to Stockton” sign as she sped past it. She grabbed her phone and hit redial. As expected, voice mail. Now in town, Finny got off the main road when she saw a sign indicating a railroad crossing. She pulled off the lit highway onto a dark dirt road and drove slowly down it until she came to train tracks. Once there, she pulled off to the side, shut off the engine, then locked her doors. She grabbed the pillows and blankets she’d brought with her and lay down out of sight. She texted Joe, told him where she was, and got comfortable. If she didn’t hear from him by morning, she was calling the police whether he liked it or not.
Something was happening. The men started to move through the brush. One man went toward the culvert, the other toward the west. The third man jumped in the back of the truck. The cover was sparse; only the black night and Joe’s stillness kept him invisible. Joe stayed low and kept his eye on the man who walked within thirty feet of him. The second man passed within sixty. They were slowly moving back in the direction from which the horses had come. Joe watched the men until they were swallowed up by the dark. One of the men whistled, and a moment later an intensely bright light lit up the night. To his shock, Joe saw that the pickup had hunting lights along the roof. The man on top was slowly turning the light, searching the area. Joe, knowing he only had seconds, scrambled to his feet and ran toward the corrals. There would be nowhere to hide if the light hit him. He was making noise, too much noise. Joe slowed down but it was too late. “I hear something,” rang out through the dark. “Over here.” Joe dashed toward the corral and Sky. If he opened the gate and set the horses free, maybe that would distract the cowboys. If he could get on Sky fast enough, he would. The light blinded Joe when the beam hit him. He cut left to get out of it but it followed him. Not able to see, he ran blindly. Joe heard someone to his left, so he cut right and hit a wall, or what he thought was a wall until the wall grabbed him and spun him to the ground.
“Got him,” the wall yelled. Joe could barely breathe; the man was kneeling on his back while twisting his arm behind him. He heard the other two men run up.
“Is it him?” a voice from the dark asked.
“Don’t know.” Joe felt someone grab a fistful of his hair then yank his head up. A flashlight blinded him again.
“It sure is.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
FINNY WOKE TO THE TRAIN’S WHISTLE. SHE KICKED off her blankets and leapt out of the truck only to recoil from the bitter cold. She resisted the cold and watched the oncoming train. It was a cargo train . . . Joe had said he was on a cargo train. Finny’s heart raced as each car rolled past her one by one. There were several empty and open cars where someone could easily jump on. Finny scanned each one. All empty. She quickly jumped back in the truck and pulled the blanket around her. Her hands were shaking when she flipped up her phone. Finny’s heart sank to her feet. No messages. Knowing what she’d hear, she dialed Joe’s number anyway. Voice mail.
Finny slid to the driver’s seat and started the truck. She pulled out and drove down the frontage road looking for a gas station. Two miles later she found one, pulled up to a pump, and parked. After getting the gas pumping, she went to the mini mart and grabbed several granola bars, enough for Joe too, and a carton of milk. Early as it was the place was deserted except for the cashier. Finny was making her way back to the truck when another pickup pulled in. Out came what looked to Finny like a real live cowboy.
She went up to the man, feeling completely out of her element. “Excuse me, are there any rodeos or livestock auctions around here?”
“You lookin’ to buy a horse, miss? If ya are I got some for sale.”
“No, I’m looking for a friend who travels with the rodeo and I think he’s in the area.”
“Well, up the road about five miles is one set for this weekend.” Finny thanked him and hurried back to her truck. She hoped against hope she’d find Joe and Sky soon. As desperately as she wanted Sky, she’d feel a thousand times better once she found Joe.
Finny couldn’t stop shaking. She turned on the heat, but her trembling was from fear not cold. She’d never broken the law, left home, or lied this big to her mother. Much less driven hundreds of miles away by herself with no driver’s license. She wished she was brave like Joe. He could hop on a train or gallop up a mountain. Finny’s stomach twisted. Taking the truck and going after him was as close as she’d ever come to doing something brave, or totally stupid.
She ignored her first plan, which had been to call the police first thing. She now realized they would send her home, most likely without answers, after they figured out she was too young to drive. Maybe they’d even arrest her. But once at the rodeo with no call or any sign of Joe, Finny would call the police even if it would do her in.
She pictured her parents finding out: She’d be grounded for life, banned from stepping on Azure Hills property, and not allowed to see Joe ever again, and that’s if they didn’t kill her. Trying to hold terror at bay, Finny glanced at the phone and willed it to ring. Why isn’t he calling? cycled through her head like a mantra. Her mind raced through a million possible reasons, all of them bad.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
PANIC EASED INTO A STEADY MISERY. JOE FInally stopped replaying in his head what he should’ve done because it tortured him. He thought of Finny and worried endlessly. Where was she and was she okay? He knew his uncle was capable of anything and vowed not to let him find out about her.
Out of frustration, Joe pulled on the ropes that kept his wrists firmly bound behind his back but didn’t bother with the ones around his ankles. He’d given up trying to free himself hours ago because all it did was cramp his muscles and burn his skin.
Joe leaned his head back against the wall of the camper and closed his eyes. It was getting hot. The sun had been up a while and the temperature was steadily rising in the small, cramped camper. Joe figured maybe this was how his uncle would do him in. Leave him to cook as the sun turned the camper into an oven. When a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face, Joe opened his eyes and checked the camper’s two small windows. Both were closed. Joe let out a shaky breath and willed his nerves to settle.
“Welcome home,” his uncle had said when he saw him. That was it, welcome home, then camper time. Joe replayed his unemotional homecoming. It was more terrorizing than screamed curses or a beating, like a subliminal way of saying you’re gonna get what’s coming soon and it’s gonna be bad.
A wave of relief washed over him when the door opened. Joe was grateful he wasn’t crying, didn’t want to give his uncle the satisfaction. The cowboy at the door grabbed the rope around his ankles and hauled him out of the camper with one pull. The blast of cool outside air wa
s dizzying. The cowboy freed Joe, who rubbed his wrists and stared defiantly at his uncle.
Uncle John chuckled at his nephew, then shook his head. He spoke to the men by his side, “I don’t think he likes me very much.” The man to Joe’s left let out an amused snort.
“Why is the big horse so important to you, Joe?” His uncle’s tone was calm and steady. Joe noticed that his hands, now free, were shaking. He shoved them in his pockets, ignoring his uncle’s question.
“You’ve grown. What you weigh now, one fifty, one sixty?” Joe scanned the area past the men. He looked at his uncle for a moment. Just north of forty, he stood over six feet tall and weighed more than two hundred pounds. He was a big man, but for the first time he looked like a man to Joe, not some impossible obstacle he couldn’t overcome.
“It doesn’t matter, wouldn’t trust you out there racing anyway.” Joe stayed quiet and kept his eyes averted. Uncle John adjusted his hat and rocked back on his heels.
“I’m gonna ask you again. Why is the big horse important to you?” Joe took a deep breath and readied himself. He knew his uncle wouldn’t tolerate him not answering and Joe had no intention of talking. He heard the sharp intake of breath from his uncle. Joe clamped his eyes shut. When the blow he expected didn’t come he looked up.
Uncle John had pulled out a wad of bills from his pocket and handed some to the cowboy on his left. “Go buy him something to eat, but keep an eye on him since he tends to wander off. I’m gonna find out what’s so special about that horse.”
