Reunited With The Rancher. Brenda Minton

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       Chapter Three

      Carson had made a quick search around the stable, the corrals, the dog kennels. When he didn’t find Andy, he headed back to the stable. Andy could very well be hiding in a stall or a storage room in the mammoth-sized facility. There were a dozen stalls, several storage rooms, an office and an attached indoor arena. Plenty of places for a little boy to hide.

      Kids loved barns. Dusty barns with haylofts and dark corners to hide in. This wasn’t one of those barns. It wasn’t like the one that Carson and his siblings had played in when they’d been kids living here.

      He didn’t have time to think about the changes to the ranch. He had to find Andy before his son found trouble. It wasn’t the first time he had wandered off. Their nanny had lost him twice in the past year. A friend had suggested a phone with a GPS tracking device.

      “Andy? Andy? Are you in here?” He paused to listen for any sound that indicated his son might be hiding inside the stable. Nothing. He closed his eyes and felt the closest to praying he’d been in three years.

      The night he’d lost Anna.

      That night had been a night of prayer. Carson had determined God could and would get his wife through the trauma of the accident. And now, he was about to close his eyes and ask that same God to help him find his son.

      He’d believed that his faith died the day Anna died. But if a person’s first thought in crisis was to call on God, maybe he wasn’t so far gone.

      After a thorough search of the stable, including stalls where some pretty decent Quarter Horses pawed at the ground or snuffled water from automatic waterers, he exited on the opposite side. Isaac joined him, leading a big chocolate-brown Labrador Retriever.

      “This is Maximus.” Isaac patted the animal’s head.

      He led the dog in a circle, talking to him in a low tone that got the animal’s attention.

      “Does he know what he’s doing?” Carson asked as the dog began to sniff the ground.

      “Nah, but he’ll do his best. I hope you don’t mind, I helped myself to this jacket in your SUV. I wanted him to have Andy’s scent.” Isaac held up Andy’s jacket that had been left in his car seat. He adjusted his cowboy hat, exposing a military haircut and a scar on the left side of his head.

      “We should keep moving. Is there still a pond past the stand of trees over there?” Carson nodded in the direction of the setting sun.

      “Yeah, we’ll head that way. Max seems to like that idea.”

      “How do we know he’s on the right track?”

      Isaac laughed a little. “We don’t know, but I trust Max. I promise you, we’re going to find your kid.”

      The way Carson saw it, he had no other options. He had to trust the dog and Isaac. Carson hoped that God realized he was putting some trust in Him, too.

      “Kylie is really beating herself up,” Isaac informed him as they continued in the direction of the pond.

      “She shouldn’t. Andy has done this before.” Carson scanned the area and then shifted his focus to the horizon. “It’ll be dark soon.”

      “I know. We have to keep moving. How often does he do this?”

      “Twice in the past year. One time before that.” Carson hated the feeling of loss each time Andy wandered away. Loss and helplessness.

      “There’s got to be a way to stop him or to track him,” Isaac offered.

      “I’ve thought about several things. I guess I hoped he would grow out of it.”

      Max began to bark and started to pull on the leash.

      “He’s got the scent.” Isaac unhooked his leash and the dog took off.

      Max headed for a stand of trees a short distance from the pond. Isaac stumbled a bit. Carson passed him and went after the dog. His barking increased in frequency and loudness. Carson hurried to the pond bank where the dog seemed to have something or someone cornered. He prayed it would be his son.

      He refused to think of other prayers that hadn’t been answered.

      “Andy. You have to come out.” Carson stood, listening. Isaac approached, quieter than a man his size should have been.

      “Over there.” Isaac pointed to a huddled form sitting on the ground next to a bush, a tiny kitten in his hands.

      “Hey, buddy, what do you have there?” Carson asked as he picked his son up.

      “I saved it,” Andy said. He leaned his head on Carson’s shoulder.

      Andy was a little СКАЧАТЬ