Chapter Thirty-Five



Justin's P.O.V.





I glance at my watch. It's just after midnight. She hasn't shown yet, but there's been nothing or no one out of the ordinary in town. I'm just about to send Mike and Chris home when the bell on the diner door chimes. A suspicious looking Latino guy walks in. Yep, he looks out of place here. Maybe he's the guy she's waiting for.



I mutter to Mike, "Keep an eye on him, I'm going to scout for Ariya. She's got to be nearby."



I head outside and creep into a strategic hiding place, so I can see almost every angle of his SUV. Only the hood of the car is hidden from me. I can still hear the chatter in the diner, so I listen to the guy and the sickly sweet waitress from earlier.



"Howdy hun. What can I get ya?"



I'm sure I hear amusement in his voice when he answers, "Just a cup of coffee and some directions please."



It's not the same voice as the guy on the phone. His accent isn't quite New York, but it definitely isn't from around here. Maybe Wisconsin or Massachusetts? Possibly Chicago? It's not from around here, which immediately throws suspicion on him. We don't get many visitors.



"Coffee I can do, I'm not so good with directions. Our sheriff here can probably help you though. Sheriff? This guy is looking for directions..."



His reaction to this peaks my interest and I strain to hear while watching for any sign of Ariya.



Chris' voice is light and friendly as he asks, "What can I help you with, son?"



Again with the amused tone when the guy answers, "My GPS isn't working out here and I'm just wondering if I'm on the right track to Cherokee? I don't remember the directions the GPS threw out before it died."



"Yeah, you're on the right track. You need to get back on to the 441, which will take you all the way through. Weren't you already on the 441?"



Chris is trying to figure out roughly what direction this guy is coming from.



"No sir. I was on the 321. I thought I might have been on there for too long so I came off hoping to find somewhere for caffeine and directions. You guys have provided both, for which I'm grateful. Thank you."



Something in his tone makes me want to punch him. He's getting far too much amusement out of this whole situation, which leads me to believe he's hiding something. Unfortunately, we can't do anything just on one of my hunches. Even if they are usually right.



I can almost see Chris sizing him up before saying, "You're welcome. Do you mind me asking what you're heading to Cherokee for? You and your car don't exactly seem to fit in around these parts..."



The guy chuckles, "No, I definitely don't fit in. I'm just on my way to visit my sister. She lives in Cherokee with her family."



If this guy was sent to pick up Ariya, then he's good. I have no idea who she's involved with, but they must be serious if they've planned this so quickly. Maybe that's why she wants to get back to New York so badly. Perhaps she's frightened she'll get in trouble with these people. Who on earth has she got herself entangled with?



There's no sign of Ariya and Chris can't hold this guy on nothing, so they call out a goodbye as he steps out of the diner. I wait until he's driven off, but still no movement anywhere. She's either seen us and run or he wasn't the guy. I don't believe my hunch was completely wrong, so she must have seen us. I'll stick around tonight, but I'm not holding my breath that she'll appear. Looks like I'll be searching again in the morning.







I look at my watch again. 7am. I run my hands through my hair and over my face and I feel the stubble that's grown overnight. This has been a looong night. She didn't show. Not that I was expecting her to after the light started showing. She'll use the cover of darkness to hide herself if she decides to make an appearance. Although, I have a feeling she'll be long gone by now. Still, I'll go looking just in case. I'll try routes out of the town and see if I stumble upon her walking to the next town over. If I go on foot then I can stay hidden in the trees and I stand a better chance at spotting her. I'm sure this is going to be a long day and I'll be back here again tonight if I don't find her during daylight.



I go back to the ranch to sort out the horses and make sure Todd and Lou are ok. When I step into the barn, Todd is in Star's stall, cleaning it out.



"Hey. Where's Mike and Lou?"



"In the house fixing breakfast. We're running a bit late today so I decided to sort the horses out before breakfast. Any luck finding Ariya?"



I shake my head. "How did Star get back?"



"Mike went over to Rob's and trailered her back. You using her today?"



"No. I'll go on foot. I think Star needs a rest anyways."



"Ok."



Mike shouts for Todd, telling him breakfast is ready, so I lead the way into the house.



"Hey J. Any luck?"



"No. I need you to help me search today. Lou, are you and Todd ok to stick around here and finish the jobs?"



"Yes sir. Just write down what you need us to do."



I look at Todd squarely and say, "I need you to behave yourself, Todd. I mean it. Don't give me a reason to have to punish you as well. That means you treat Lou with respect. You hear me?"



My tone is serious. I am really not in the mood to be messed around with or tested. He must realize this because he nods and replies, "Yes sir."



As we eat, Lou asks, "What will you do if you don't find her, J?"



"Oh, I'll find her alright. She's not getting away that easily."



She nods, "Have you even slept?"



"I'm fine. As long as I eat something, I can go a few days without sleep."



Around 72 hours actually. I had to do that on a few tours, so I know how to function on no sleep. After 72 hours things start going wrong though, so I know I need to find Ariya in the next 2 days. Otherwise I'll need to sleep and she'll have more time to get away.



After breakfast, I make sure Lou and Todd are set up with jobs for the day. As Mike and I are saddling up, I say, "If you get everything done, just have some time off. I don't expect everything to take all day but I'll need to be here for the other jobs. If Brad calls, tell him today isn't good either. I did tell him yesterday that I'd call him when the cattle can go, but just in case he calls tell him I'll let him know when."



Mike and I take two different routes out of town. I tell him to keep his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. I inform him about the water bottle in the tree trunk, and tell him to look for anything, no matter how small.



I head to the outskirts of town, hoping to find something to at least show me Ariya is in the area. I only need a small sign to let me know I'm on the right track.