Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13)(87)

Then he noticed the horses in the stalls getting restless; in the paddock where they kept him, Streak started dancing around. Out in the back pasture a flock of birds bolted out of the tall grass and flew off. There was an uneasy feeling in Clay's gut that he was getting from the animals. Something wasn't right.

Then he felt a vibration that turned into a rumble that became a wave beneath his feet, almost toppling him to the ground. He steadied himself in the frame of the tack room door while he watched equipment fall off the wall hooks and tools and small appliances dance across the countertop and crash to the floor. The hanging light from the ceiling swayed. He could hear the horses that were inside crying out and kicking at their stalls; he could feel Streak's terror as he tried to run, his gait awkward and legs spreading in a crazy effort to stay balanced.

Whoa, Clay thought. This is a big one. He looked at his watch and saw the second hand move around the face--a big one that lasted a long time.

He was no expert, but either this was bigger than the last one at 5.5 or the epicenter was right beneath them. It seemed as if a long time passed before things stopped moving and falling to the floor and the ground stopped rolling, but as was typical with earthquakes, it upset the balance enough so that walking seemed uneven and wobbly even after it had passed. Clay's first thought was that if a human who had the capacity to understand what was going on felt that way, how must the animals feel?

And where was Lilly during this?

Within a few moments, Annie was in the barn. "Clay! Everything all right out here?"

"Minor damage, stuff to clean up. As far as I can tell, no structural problems." He looked around the ceiling of the barn. "That wasn't little. How about in the house?"

"A little glass breakage, but almost everything was put away in cupboards so it's minor. How are the animals?"

"Upset. The best thing to do is leave them in the pastures. They get a little freaked out in a stall, ground moving and all."

"Clay..." Annie attempted.

"She'll come right back now," he said, as if saying it could make it happen.

An hour later, after two very minor aftershocks, Clay was saddling Streak and speaking to him softly. "I know you're a little upset, but I think we'd better go find your girl. I'm going to need you--you seem to gravitate to her and if anyone can--"

"Clay, let's leave Streak in the pasture and take the quads out," Nathaniel said from behind him.

"Quads won't work on the narrow trails where she might be, or on the downhill paths or overgrowth. You and Annie take out quads if you want to. It's almost dark and I'm not leaving her out there in the dark."

"Isn't Streak a little jumpy for this job?"

"He is, but I can handle him now," Clay said. "And he loves her. Have you seen him with Lilly? He loves her." I love her, Clay thought. If there's a God, I'm going to find her and we're going to talk about the mess we're in and make sure it never happens again!

"I'm not sure this is safe," Nathaniel said to his back as Clay tightened the cinch.

"Then shoot me in the back--that's the only way you'll stop me."

Clay went into the tack room and came out with an extra blanket, an industrial-size flashlight, rope, a couple of bottled waters and some protein bars to fill the saddlebag. He pulled on his heavily lined denim jacket and was leading Streak out of the barn doors when the sound of hooves stopped him. Nate came up to his side and they both saw Blue Rhapsody running down the road beside the east pasture, headed for the clinic barn. She was saddled. And riderless.

"Shit," Nathaniel said.

Clay put a foot in the stirrup and mounted Streak. "Call rescue. They're probably getting a million calls and are too busy for us, but call anyway. Then go out on the quads. Take blankets and water--it's cold tonight." And then he urged Streak forward. He went out of the front of the barn and down the road that Blue had just returned on.

Nathaniel let the mare into the round pen as Clay and Streak galloped down the road and away.

Clay looked at his illuminated watch; at almost eight it was dark and cold out. He wouldn't just get lucky and find her on one of the trails in the valley that Annie used for her new, young riders. He shouldn't have wasted his time--Lilly would have taken the horse onto more challenging trails. So he decided to head northeast, shining the flashlight on the trail ahead of him, scanning the sides of the trail for an unseated rider as he went. He called her name in case she was huddled in some rocky crevice or within some bushy growth to keep warm.

He'd been searching for a couple of hours when he saw her coming down the road. He shone the flashlight on her, then kicked Streak into a gallop. He stopped the colt on a dime in front of her and dismounted. She had a big goose egg on her head, grass and leaves in her hair, a large, unfashionable tear in one thigh of her jeans... and a scowl on her face.

"It just had to be you," she said, looking up at him. "Sometimes I think you're always one step ahead of me. I was planning to see you back at the barn."

He pulled off his hat. "I guess Blue dumped you in the earthquake," he said.

"I don't know where she is. We're going to have to find her."

"She went home, Lilly." He went to her. "You're hurt," he said.

She touched her head. "I fell off the horse and down the hill. I'll be fine."