She gave an awkward laugh. “It’s okay. Just make sure to give me warning next time you plan on going off-road.” When he glanced in her direction, Amy planted her finger on his cheek and nudged his head back the other way. “And you might want to keep those eyes straight ahead, cowboy.”

He laughed too, not realizing that his cheeks had just turned rosy.

19

19

For the next mile or so, neither of them said a word. Amy focused on the view out her window, giving a chance for the adrenaline to settle. It wasn’t long before her thoughts began to wander. Traveling back down this road made her think of the journey she’d taken to get here, which in turn reminded her of the cab and its driver, who had rudely taken off. What an unwelcome surprise that had been, abandoned at the ranch gate, and probably for no other reason than a more lucrative fare!

Still somewhat miffed, she gave a passing thought to the message she’d left and contemplated what, if anything, had come of it. Had anyone actually listened to it yet? Had another cab even been sent out? Somehow, she doubted it.

She then found herself thinking about that person she had seen while on the phone, the man in the kitchen. His physical condition was what had stuck in her head the most—the difficulty he’d had standing, how poorly he’d seemed, his labored movements, the cane he’d leaned on when he’d walked. Who was he? Could he have been Ryan’s dad? She remembered discarding that possibility at the time, but twice Ryan had brought up his father in conversation: first in the forest, now again in the truck. Maybe Amy had been wrong? Perhaps the man was younger than she had initially thought.

Naturally, she then thought of her own father and was abruptly reminded of the fact that her phone still hadn’t buzzed, which seemed even more peculiar considering she now had reception again. This meant one of two things: either he was still off working on his mysterious assignment, or he had returned and was waiting for her in their room, silently stewing with annoyance that she had gone and done the same thing—disappeared without letting him know. Either way, she would find out once she got back to the hotel. Shifting her mind elsewhere, she turned in her seat to face Ryan.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Ryan, now driving with hypervigilance because of their near-miss, flicked Amy a quick glance before returning his eyes back to the road. “Sure, anything.”

“There was a man back at the ranch, a man with a cane?”

“My father?” He looked sideways at her, frowning. “You saw him? When?”

“Earlier,” she said, “when I was inside using the phone.”

“Ah, okay.”