Chapter 86

“Easy there, cowboy,” Rio said playfully, wondering if Mark had noticed.

Without looking back, Rio headed for the barn, Frank leaning heavily on him, arms around Rio’s slender waist.

Once inside, Rio retrieved a battery powered lantern from a cabinet at the base of the ladder that led to the loft. He noticed two of the four lanterns were missing. That meant two other couples had made their way up into the hay mow.

“You think you can make it up?” he asked Frank.

“I’ll follow you anywhere. Lead on, MacDuff!” Frank said.

Rio started to climb. Frank had considerable difficulty navigating the ladder so Rio came back down and said, “You go first. I’ll be right behind you.”