Annette Broadrick - Lean, Mean and Lonesome

She focused on him once more and swallowed painfully. He found her nervousness around him troubling, but he wasn’t surprised.

“I haven’t seen Dan in a couple of months. We’ve both been busy, although he usually calls me every week or so. About ten days ago I received a call from Dan’s foreman, Tom Parker. He asked me if I’d seen or spoken to Dan.”

“Why would he call you?”

“Because he said he’d checked with everyone else—in—cluding Dan’s business partner—to see why Dan had left without letting anyone know.”

“You mean he just disappeared?”

“Tom said he spoke to Dan late one afternoon. He told Dan he needed to talk to him about moving some of the cattle to a different feeding area. Dan told him he had a meeting that night, but would meet with him the next morning. However, the next morning Dan wasn’t to be found.”

“Does anyone know who he was meeting or where?”

“Unfortunately, no. I think he must have met someone at the airstrip and left, because his car is still in the garage and Tom found the Jeep parked at the airstrip.”

“What airstrip?”

“Dan had one built on the ranch about three years ago. He and his partner were thinking of buying a plane together. According to the partner, they never did, but they rent planes from time to time and use the strip on a regular basis.”

Rafe shook his head. “This is all a jumble to me. I guess I’m going to have to get some sleep before I can make any sense of it.”

“I hope sleep helps. It hasn’t helped me, although I have to admit I haven’t been sleeping too well since Tom called me. I came down immediately to see if I could help figure out where he’d gone. I’m so frustrated because outside of Tom and me, no one seems to be concerned—not Dan’s partner nor the sheriffs department. His partner said that Dan would be back in his own good time. I don’t believe that. I don’t believe that Dan would just disappear like that, especially after arranging to meet with Tom. I also think he would have called someone if he ran into some kind of a delay so that we wouldn’t worry.”

“So do I. Dan is one of the most responsible people I know.”

“Exactly.” She studied him for a moment. “You’re right, Rafe. You need to get some sleep. You’re out on your feet. Go on to bed. We’ll discuss this in the morning.”

He knew that she was right. He could feel weariness claim his body now that he’d finally reached his destination. He stood and stepped away from the chair. “He’s been missing this long. I don’t suppose another few hours will matter.”

She entered the hallway and spoke as she moved away from him. “You can sleep in Dan’s room.”

Rafe waited until a light turned on in the hall before he turned off the kitchen light. Ranger watched him without blinking.

“I’m glad you’re watching out for her,” he said in a low voice.

Ranger didn’t change expression. Rafe got the feeling that Ranger didn’t particularly care what Rafe might think about anything.

Smart dog.

Rafe followed Mandy into the hallway.

“Dan moved into the master bedroom after Mom died,” she said, motioning to the end of the hall.

Rafe paused beside her. “I was sorry to hear about your mother, Mandy. She was always kind to me. I’ve never forgotten that.”

“It was quick,” she replied, her gaze on her arms, folded across her chest. “At least she didn’t suffer.”

“Her heart?”

“Yes.” She looked up at him. “Dad, on the other hand, lingered months longer than expected with his cancer.”

He didn’t want to talk about her father, not now, not ever. He stepped past her and entered one of the few rooms in this house he’d never been in before. Mandy followed him into the room and glanced into the adjoining bathroom. “There are plenty of clean towels and things,” she said. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

With that, she quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.

Only then did Rafe remember that his bag was still hidden outside, but he wasn’t about to go back out there tonight to look for it. He glanced around the large room. A king-size bed was on one wall. Another wall was lined with bookshelves, filled with a mishmash of fiction and nonfiction. He smiled, thinking of Dan and his love of reading.

His smiled faded when he remembered what Mandy had told him. Dan couldn’t be dead. There was no way Dan would allow himself to get into a situation that was life-threatening. But accidents happened all the time, Rafe reminded himself.

Where was he? If Dan was alive, why hadn’t he returned?

Rafe walked over to the third wall, next to the door leading to the bathroom. This wall was filled with photographs, large and small, of varied subjects. Most of the photos had been taken at the ranch. There were shots of longhorn cattle, deer, family pets, and many pictures of family members.

Rafe was surprised to see that he was in many of them. He hadn’t remembered being that thin, or looking so grim.

As he turned away, he paused and looked again at photographs that must have been taken at the party the Cren-shaws gave the night that he and Dan graduated from high school, the last night he was on the ranch.

There was a picture of Mandy in a cotton-candy-colored dress with a full skirt and sleeves that rested just off her shoulders. He still recalled, without the need of a photograph to remind him, how she looked at the party with her glowing eyes and her contagious smile. She’d looked much older than fifteen that night and had delighted in her newfound ability to attract admiring gazes. He touched the photograph lightly with his forefinger, tracing the curve of her lips, the shape of her shoulders.

He could still remember how her mouth had tasted, how smooth her shoulders had felt, how much he’d wanted to make love to her that night.

Rafe deliberately withdrew his gaze from Mandy’s photo and focused instead on another one taken the day they graduated of Dan in his suit, looking solemn enough if you didn’t look too closely at the amusement in his eyes. The one of Rafe alone caught him by surprise. He’d filled out from the earlier pictures Dan had on display and wore the first and only suit he’d ever possessed. Rafe looked closer at the boy he had once been. He’d had his hair cut and looked equally solemn. However, there was no amusement twinkling in his eyes, just a firm resolve to make something of himself.

He’d managed to do that, all right, with the help of Uncle Sam.

Rafe continued into the bathroom and shucked off his clothes. He stood under the hot, steamy water and let it massage the soreness from his body. He could scarcely keep his eyes open. Once the water began to cool, he turned it off and grabbed a towel. He didn’t need anything to sleep in tonight. He’d raid Dan’s closet in the morning so he could pick up his bag outside. Now all he wanted was a few hours of oblivion.

After Rafe closed his bedroom door, Mandy returned to bed, Ranger padding softly behind her until she turned off the light and crawled beneath the covers. Then he stretched out on the rug beside her and gave a deep sigh.

She wanted to echo that sigh.

Having Rafe McClain show up like this had been a shock she could have done without. However, now that he was here, she had to admit to herself that if anyone could solve the mystery of Dan’s disappearance, it would be Rafe. She should be relieved that he had shown up. Just as important, knowing that Dan had notified his friend strengthened her belief that something in Dan’s life had gone wrong. Why else would he have contacted Rafe?

Her thoughts kept circling back to the man. How could a person she hadn’t seen in twelve years still have such a strong effect on her?