Shiloh sat at the table after Maud left, her gut in a knot that refused to ease. She clung to the warm cup with both her hands. The morning sun’s rays were bright through the windows, making everything glow. Last night had made her feel radiant, wonderful, and euphoric. This morning was a jarring fall back into harsh reality. Roan. Her mind and heart settled on him, as always. Just thinking his name calmed her fractious anxiety. Chewing on her lower lip, Shiloh sat in the quiet of the house, feeling raw and vulnerable.
WHO was after her? Why? Why her? Her mind clipped along at the speed of light. It made sense to her that whoever this man was, he was serious about getting to her. He’d made the trip from New York to Wyoming. And he’d found her. Swallowing against a tightening throat, Shiloh felt as if she were slowly suffocating beneath the situation. It was closing in on her. There was no safe place. Her fingers tightened momentarily around the cup. Her gaze swept through the living room. There were sets of windows, two side by side on both walls. Someone could open one of them and sneak into the place. They could walk soundlessly, checking rooms, finding her . . . Finding Roan as they slept.
Oh, God.
Making a frustrated sound, Shiloh pushed away from the table and stood up. The sensation of being trapped overwhelmed her. She needed to get out of here. Go for a ride. Clear her head. Riding always made her feel so free and wild. It sloughed off all her worries. Her anxieties. Already in a pair of Levi’s and cowboy boots, Shiloh hurried to her room and snagged her nylon jacket, her baseball cap, gloves, and cell phone. She would go for an early-morning ride and be gone when the tourists came onto the ranch. She’d remain in the Pine Grove area, maybe even ride over to Roan’s cabin, just be alone and feel safe.
Pushing out the door and making sure it was locked when she left, Shiloh hurried over to the office. She’d tell John what she was going to do and where she was going to ride. That way, everyone would know she hadn’t been kidnapped by her stalker.
*
Roan picked up his cell phone. It was a call from John. He was out by the ranch corral, saddling the horses for the tourist trail ride for five families who would be coming down shortly after their hearty breakfast at the café. He listened intently, his chin lifting and spotting Shiloh walking with grim determination toward the barn above the corral where he stood. She was going to get Charley out, groom him, saddle him, and then ride to the Pine Grove area. He ended the call and tucked his cell away in his rear pocket, going to intercept Shiloh.
As he drew near he saw she’d captured her red hair into a ponytail at the back of her head, her green baseball cap low over her eyes. The set of her mouth told him she was upset. He took a dirt path from the corral up to the barn area. Shiloh looked up, surprised to see him.
“Hey,” Roan called, falling in at her side as she walked into the barn, “John just told me you’re going for a ride.”
“Yes.” Shiloh entered the barn and walked down the airy passageway. She picked up the lead rope off the hook on the front of Charley’s box stall. “I have to ride, Roan.”
He stepped aside as she slid open the box stall door. “Because the walls are closing in on you?”
“Sometimes,” she muttered, bringing Charley out of the stall and leading him down the passageway, “my emotions and imagination mix too well, Roan. I imagine the worst possible case scenario and I can’t stop thinking about it. And I want to break that energy. When I was in New York City, I’d jog in Central Park. Now, riding is going to do that for me, instead.”
“I see.” He ambled down to where the cross ties were located and then snapped them into place on either side of Charley’s halter. Picking up a grooming box, he brought it over, handing her a currycomb. “It’s a good idea.” Roan watched her briskly begin to curry Charley, who stood there with his eyes half closed, enjoying Shiloh’s attention.
“I thought,” she said, straightening, looking at Roan across Charley’s back, “that I’d go to Pine Grove, ride between them, and then have lunch at your cabin. If you don’t mind?” She gave him a pleading look.
Roan placed his gloved hands on Charley’s withers and rump. “Sure. Would you like a lunch partner? I could drive or ride out there and meet you.” Roan didn’t want Shiloh riding around alone. He could see her until she rode Charley down the road in the middle of Pine Grove. And then she’d be out of sight. He didn’t like the possibility of her unseen by anyone at the ranch, but said nothing. Shiloh was clearly upset. But at his suggestion of lunch, her expression brightened instantly.
“Really? Could you? I know Maud said you’d be working just around the main ranch area from now on.”
Roan gave her a lazy smile. “Sure. I’ll saddle up Diamond and meet you there at noon. How about if I bring us each a sack lunch?” He liked the idea of sitting with Shiloh on the porch swing he’d installed last week. They could rock on the porch, eat, and talk. Roan knew he could calm her by just his presence. And he knew she had to talk it out because women felt better when they could communicate whatever they were feeling. He was a good listener. And he loved her. He wanted to remove the terror he saw deep in her green eyes that she would not admit to. At least, not yet.