Stalking Ground Read Free

critical for Robo to teach him new abilities and to keep hisentire skill set sharp. Not to mention how they enhanced the bond that was growing between Mattie and him as partners.
    Mattie played with Robo, looking forward to an evening of drinks and camaraderie with her fellow trainees. She threw the ball and her dog bounded after it, bringing it back with a jaunty step and a proud look on his face. He gave it up readily and backed off, waiting for the next throw with eagerness apparent in his toothy grin. He would retrieve the ball as many times as she could throw it.
    Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Pausing, she took it out, noticing the call came from the sheriff’s office in Timber Creek. “This is Deputy Cobb.”
    Chief Deputy Brody’s gravelly voice rumbled through the receiver. “We’ve got a situation here, Cobb. We need you to come back tonight.”
    “What is it?”
    He paused for a split second. “Adrienne has gone missing.”
    Adrienne Howard, Brody’s girlfriend. “She’s missing?”
    “Yes. She disappeared yesterday afternoon. I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”
    Mattie tried to think of what to say next. Brody wouldn’t want to hear it, but Adrienne could have left town on her own. Maybe even to get away from Brody; she doubted that any relationship with the chief deputy could be easy.
    “She’s been missing only twenty-four hours?”
    “Sheriff McCoy authorized filing a missing person’s report, even though it’s a day early. There’s no doubt about her status. When can you get back to Timber Creek?”
    Mattie didn’t share his certainty, but there was nothing she could do about it. “I have one more debriefing and then I’ll leave. I should be back in about five hours.”
    “ETA at seven o’clock this evening, then?”
    “Yes.”
    “Come right to the station. The sheriff or I will be here.”
    “Affirmative. See you then.”
    “And Cobb . . . thanks. We need your help on this one.”
    “Sure, Brody.”
    She disconnected the call, reflecting on the strain she’d heard in Brody’s voice. He really was infatuated with the woman. She hoped he wasn’t in for a big letdown. Right now, she’d bet that Adrienne Howard had run away from him. Even though Brody wasn’t on her best-friends list, she’d hate to see him brokenhearted.

Chapter 2
    Cole Walker, DVM, tied the last knot, picked the scissors out of the stainless steel tray his daughter Angela was holding for him, and snipped the suture. He leaned back on his heels and inspected the neat row of stitches he’d placed on the horse’s leg.
    “Thanks, Angel,” he said, using the nickname he’d given his fifteen-year-old daughter when she was a toddler. “Now could you get that blue wrap from the counter?”
    She turned away to retrieve it.
    “This wound is superficial,” Cole told the owner, Garrett Hartman. “It should heal well, though it’s likely to leave a scar.”
    The craggy rancher pushed his Stetson back on his head. “That’s okay. This fella works cows, not the show circuit.”
    The quarter horse gelding stood steady and quiet in the stocks, a metal stanchion designed to hold horses while they were being worked on. His dark bay coat glistened in the overhead light that Angela had switched on as the sunlight waned. After dinner, she’d come out to the clinic to help Cole with this emergency while his youngest, eight-year-old Sophie, stayed at home with their new housekeeper, Molly Gibbs. Since his attempts at day help had all been tremendous failures, Cole was trying something new: a live-in housekeeper. He was desperate for this new arrangement to work out.
    Angela handed him the wrap, her fingers pale and thin against the blue elastic bandage. She reminded him of his ex-wife, willowy and blonde, while his youngest took after him, sturdy and brunette.
    “Leave this bandage on for two days and then take it off to check the wound. If it looks clean, you can apply an ointment that I’ll give