Carol Ericson - Circumstantial Memories

Julia broke away from Ryder as fear fueled her senses. She ran toward the open gate of the paddock that led to several horse trails. “ Shelby!”

Ralph called after her, “Rod and Jock went after her. She couldn’t have gone too far.”

“They’ll find her.” Ryder came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He slid his hands down her arms and took her hand, leading her back to the group in the middle of the paddock. “Of all the dumb, irresponsible things to do. She’s not even supposed to be riding Silverbell. Skipper’s her mount.”

Julia leaned against Ryder’s strong shoulder, closing her eyes against the panic that overwhelmed her. Why would Shelby ride out of the paddock by herself? How did she get the gate open? She didn’t want to acknowledge the black terror that scratched at the edges of her mind.

“She’s going to be all right.” Ryder cupped her face in his hands, and she raised her eyes to meet his.

She recoiled at the depths of fear lurking in his eyes. They mirrored the same dark dread that clutched at her heart.

Pam gasped and Julia tore her gaze away from Ryder’s. Rod and Jock burst into the paddock, leading a skittish Silverbell behind them.

And her saddle was empty.

Julia swayed and she threw out her hands to regain her balance. Ryder started to charge his brother and then spun around to catch Julia before she collapsed in the dirt. He hooked an arm around her waist, pressing his side against hers as if the two of them could defeat this threat to their daughter together.

“Where’s Shelby?” His voice grated against the shocked silence.

“We don’t know.” Rod pocketed his cell phone. “We found Silverbell wandering back to the paddock on one of the trails. We followed the trail back into the hills, but didn’t find Shelby.”

“C-could she have fallen off the trail? Down a cliff?” Julia pressed the heels of her hands against her temples.

“I don’t see how she could’ve gotten to that point on the trail where it drops off. Jock said he took his eyes off of her for just a minute and then went right after her.” Rod rubbed a hand across his jaw, his eyes puzzled. “But I called the Sheriff’s Department and they’re sending over a search and rescue unit.”

“Why did you take her out?” Ryder’s fists bunched at his sides. “I’m the only one who gives her riding lessons.”

Jock lifted a shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ryder. You were busy this morning, and Pam said it was okay.”

Ryder crossed his arms, shoving his fists into his biceps. “I have to find her.”

“I’m going with you.” Julia followed him across the dusty paddock to the yawning gate, and he latched it behind them. She ran to keep up with Ryder’s long stride. “Wait.”

He turned and she flinched at the despair in his eyes.

She gave voice to the fear that had been nipping at her mind like a rabid dog. “Don’t you think it’s strange that Shelby opened that gate and rode away from Jock, disappearing from Silverbell’s back in a matter of minutes?”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “That’s not how it happened and you know it. Someone took her.”

Julia cried out as the blunt truth slammed against her chest. Ryder gripped her hands.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.” His shoulders slumped as he dropped his gaze to the ground.

She’d never seen Ryder defeated and it made her mad as hell. She needed him now like she never had before. She squeezed his hands. “Stop. It’s not your fault. As a parent, you can’t be with your child twenty-four hours a day. You can’t cave in to a child’s every whim. If we’re playing the blame game here, then most of it’s right on my shoulders. I attracted this stalker somehow. I let him into our lives.”

Ryder straightened his shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Let’s put the blame where it belongs-on this maniac who’s been terrorizing you and has now snatched Shelby. And let’s deal with him.”

“How? We don’t know where he is. We don’t even know who he is. It could be Charlie. It could be one of those nut jobs who came out of the woodwork when my story broke. It could be a stranger. How are we going to find him and deal with him?”

“He’ll find you, Julia. We both know what he wants and it’s not Shelby. She’s just a means to an end, just like Brody, just like Zack, just like Rosie.”

“He wants me.”

A chill zinged up her spine and she hunched her shoulders. Ryder pulled her into his arms, which represented her only safe harbor these days. He weaved his fingers through her hair, pulling her head back to look into her face.

“We’ll get her back and then I’ll keep both of you safe forever…or die trying.”

By the set of his jaw and the fire in his eyes, Julia knew he meant every word. “How do you think he’ll contact me?”

“How has he always contacted you?”

“My house.”

RYDER LET the search and rescue team carry on, but he knew they wouldn’t find Shelby at the bottom of a ravine. He drove Julia to her house with the excuse to the others that he and Julia had a few places to search.

When they swung through her front gate, disappointment stabbed his gut when he saw the empty porch. He figured the man who kidnapped Shelby might have left Julia another message on her porch.

“Nothing’s here.” Julia stumbled on the first step and Ryder grabbed her around the waist. Then she pulled her shoulders back and planted her feet on the ground. “Should we leave and give him another chance or do you think he expects an ambush now?”

He admired her courage in the face of this crippling blow. After that first moment of anguish, she’d been handling Shelby ’s abduction better than he’d been coping.

“Maybe we should ambush him.”

“No! He still has Shelby.”

Julia’s cell phone rang and as she reached for it, Ryder gripped her arm and said, “Don’t tell the Sheriff’s Department anything yet. We don’t want to spook the guy by having the police trampling along the trails looking for him.”

Before she answered the phone, she glanced at the incoming number. Gasping, she held the phone out for him to see.

The display read, Zack.

Ryder hissed, “It’s him. He still has Zack’s cell phone.”

“Hello?” Julia covered her mouth, her eyes wide above her hand. “Yes. Yes. I won’t.” She paused. “Don’t hurt her.”

She snapped the phone shut and hugged herself. That was his job. He wrapped his arms around her stiff body. “What did he say? Was it Charlie?”

“I-I don’t think so. His voice was low, almost a whisper. I didn’t recognize it, but then I don’t think he wanted me to.”

“Is Shelby okay?” He held his breath. If anything happened to his daughter, he’d rip this guy apart with his bare hands.

“She sounds fine. I heard her in the background.”

“What does he want you to do?”

“He wants me to meet him at The Twirling Ballerinas.” A tremble rolled through her frame. “Alone.”

“Like hell.”

“Once he has me, he’ll send Shelby back.”

“Police?”

“No. He said he knows what the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department is doing at all times. If he suspects any police involvement he’ll…” She buried her face in his chest.

“Did he mention me?”

Pulling away from him, she tilted her head, the setting sun catching a single tear sparkling on her dark lashes. “No. Isn’t that odd? Whether or not it’s Charlie, he must know about your involvement. He slashed your tires.”

“When are you supposed to meet him?”

“Right now. I have to leave now.”

“We have to leave now.” He had no intention of allowing Julia to walk into this alone and trade herself for Shelby. He planned to save his daughter, protect Julia and ground this SOB into the dirt.