“They go this way, down along the fence, almost to...the road. Oh, no. Oh, shit, Grady! He...he could’ve left the farm. And if he was scared by the storm, he could make it all the way to town in no time. He can run over thirty miles an hour.”
I don’t have the energy to groan. I just slap my thigh, digging in my pocket for my keys.
“We need to move,” I growl.
She grabs my arm. “Wait. Give me a minute to think. We’re going to need the trailer if—no, when—we find him. And look at that door! The way it’s bent...we can’t get the trailer out!”
“Dad! Willow! What’s wrong?” The set of tiny voices calling out behind us gives me a whole new reason to shudder.
“Get inside, girls! Right now. Lock the door. This is not the time for questions,” I shout to Sawyer as she steps on the porch. “Go on!”
“Wh—what happened?” She stops as Avery points at the barn. “Is...is Bruce okay?”
“Dad!” Avery shouts. “Your phone’s ringing!”
Willow looks at me, her blue eyes ablaze.
I know she’s thinking what I’m thinking.
Dammit all. We both run to the house.
Avery hands me my phone as soon as I’m inside, taking a second to make sure both girls are in and they’re not going back out.
“It’s Drake,” I tell Willow, swiping at the Incoming Call icon.
“Grady,” Drake says, sounding out of breath. “Dude. Please tell me your tiger’s in your barn? I just...first I got a phone call from Dean Coffey while he was out storm chasing down the highway. He swore he saw something big and orange on four legs, black stripes, mean-looking scowl before it ran off in a cornfield. Then, an hour ago, Thelma Simon said she saw the biggest cougar she’d ever seen creeping around her fence. Please tell me they’re seeing things, man.”
Sonofabitch.
I clear my throat before I drop the bomb. “Yeah, Drake, they are seeing things...like a goddamn tiger, for one!”
“Fuck!” Drake growls. “Oh, Jesus. Shit. Okay.”
“Exactly,” I say into the phone, looking at Willow, whose sweet face has turned paler than driven snow.
While Drake was talking, I heard Sawyer tell Willow that Drake is with the Dallas Police Department. He actually is the police department, mostly, or at least by far the most active and skilled deputy around these parts with nothing but a skeleton crew and an aging sheriff.
“Grady...I wasn’t done with the bad news,” Drake says. “The storm tore a hole in our fence. Edison and Edna are missing, too.”
Shit, shit, shiiit!
We just went from an emergency to a dick-on-fire panic.
Even if an encounter isn’t real likely, Bruce could kill those two horses in less than a heartbeat.
“We’re gonna start looking for him right now, but we need a trailer. Ours is trapped in the barn,” I say. “You got a spare?”
“Stop by and grab one of mine,” Drake answers without hesitation. “Bella and I are heading east, straight to Big Fish Lake, Edison’s usual getaway place.”
“Okay. We’ll grab the trailer and be right behind you.”
“Are we going to look for Bruce?” Sawyer asks as I hang up the phone.
My jaw clamps shut.
I can’t have them with me, not for this, and definitely not if Bruce attacked one of the horses...
That would traumatize them forever.
But it’s also night. I can’t leave them alone, and Willow sure as hell won’t stay behind to save her life with her boy MIA. And I’ll be damned if I’d let her go off on a wild tiger chase alone.
She shuts the door and looks at the girls. “Bruce might come back here, all on his own. I really need you two to stay inside and keep your eyes peeled for him. Understood? Keep checking all the windows, and if you see him, call your dad immediately. Whatever you do, don’t take a single step outside. I mean it, girls. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Y-yeah! We can,” Avery says, standing up tall and proud.
Huh. This might work, but I have my reservations.
My hand lingers on my phone, half a mind to call Hank, even if I have to fess the hell up about this insanity to one more soul.
“Listen to Willow or you’re grounded for life. Also, I have to kill the power going to the yard light,” I say. “Can’t leave it hanging like that—it could short out and start a fire.”
“We don’t need the yard light, Dad!” Sawyer says. “The barn lights are on and we’ll turn on all the porch lights. We’ll stay inside and call you right away if we see anything. We won’t go outside, honest.”
I turn to Willow. “You think he might come back?”
“He could...it’s familiar turf. Sort of. He hasn’t been here super long but...it’s hard to say.” She shrugs, a worried frown sagging on her face.
It’s the best solution for now, and we’re short on time.
“All right. I’ll go hit the power to the light and get the truck. Drake said we can use one of his horse trailers.”
“I need my shoes for this. These flip-flops won’t cut it,” Willow says, already running.
I give the girls another heavy warning about staying inside at all times, and, just for good measure, add that they’re not to try and coax Bruce near the house if they see him.
“We promise!” they tell me for the dozenth time.
If we make it through this, I think today might be the day my little girls grew up.
Just for good measure, I fire off a text to Hank.
Hey, man, hell of a storm tonight. Did some damage to the barn. Everyone’s okay but I have to run into town for some supplies, plus the Larkin horses are on the loose again...can you check in with the girls every ten minutes? I’ll fill you in later.
I’m relieved he’s still awake and sends back an affirmative a minute later.
Then I’m outside in a flash. Willow meets me in the pole shed a minute later.
“So Drake Larkin is a cop?” she asks, her brows knit together.
“Yep.”
“Why’d he call you about a tiger sighting?”
“Because he knows about Bruce, about you and, well...everything.”
“What?” Her eyes grow wide and snap with anger. “Jesus, Grady. How many people have you told about us?”
“Just a few close friends. People I know who can help, who’ve dealt with shit like this before. They’ll keep their mouths shut, same as Faulk, I promise you. Drake’s one of those folks and he’s a good man.” I give her a look that says I’d stake my life on that claim.
“Well...” Her hands are on her hips and she sighs. “I hope your daughters learned to keep secrets from their mother, but...fine.”
I grin. Not about to get into a pissing match with her right now, I say, “Drake has two horses missing. Edison and Edna.”
“Shit,” she hisses. “Not good.”
“Exactly,” I say, knowing she shares my worry about Bruce eating them up. “Edison’s like a living legend around here. He’s old now, very old, and hyper-intelligent. His mare, Edna, she’s too friendly with everyone. She’d probably let Bruce come right the hell up to her for a sniff. We have to find that tiger now.”