by Jessa James
Rose’s sleepy brain put the pieces together.
“You’re Mrs. Whittier?” she asked.
“Karen,” the woman moaned, beside herself. “I’ve been so busy with Milo, I didn’t even notice that my Jackie has gone missing!”
Another second, and Rose realized that Milo must be Jack’s little brother.
“Who’s with Milo now?” she asked tentatively.
“He’s asleep,” Karen whimpered. “Oh god, what if Jonas grabbed Milo while I’ve been here, looking for Jack?”
She pushed herself to her feet. Rose noticed that she wore a ratty robe and slippers, and not much else.
“Let’s go get Milo together. How about that?” Rose said.
The other woman took Rose’s words to heart, disappearing around the hedge. Rose closed her front door and followed Karen, whose house she hadn’t explored. It was dingy and blue just like her own house.
Karen left the door wide open, the only invitation Rose thought she would get.
The inside of the house was also like hers, down to the layout. She stepped into the living room slash kitchen, seeing Jack’s little bedroom set up where Rose had her dogs’ crates.
Karen vanished into the back room, leaving her to her own devices.
Rose blanched at the setup. It had a certain messiness that Rose would not allow in her own house. No wonder Jack liked to be out as much as possible.
“Milo!” Karen said, appearing from the bedroom with a sleepy blond toddler. “Milo’s here, thank god.”
“Are you sure Jack is gone? When’s the last time you saw him?” Rose asked Karen.
Karen got tearful again. “Yesterday? I mean, I made him breakfast. I think…”
You think? Rose wondered. This lady needs help, big time.
“Okay. I’m going to call Shelby River,” she said, keeping her cool.
“Shelby? But she hates me!” Karen whined.
“Somehow, I doubt that. She’ll know what to do.”
Rose stepped outside and called Shelby. It rang three times before Shelby answered.
“Hey! I was just thinking I should call you,” Shelby said. “You know, like how normal people call other people.”
“Listen, Shelby. There’s kind of a situation over here. I’m at Karen Whittier’s house—”
“Ew, why?”
“Her son Jack is missing. And— well, she needs some help, but mainly that.”
“What? Missing since when?”
“I asked, and she said maybe yesterday. Maybe.”
“Shit. I’ll be over in twenty minutes. Expect Sawyer to knock on the door before then.”
“Okay.”
Rose hung up and went inside. Karen was pacing, holding Milo so tight he was squirming.
“Um, I called Shelby. She’s organizing the troops,” Rose said. “Hey, how about you let me hold Milo so you can sit down?”
Karen glanced at her, rubbing a hand over her face. She handed over Milo, proving she was at least aware of her… situation.
He was content in Rose’s arms, which was surprising. She pretty much had no experience with babies, but his chubby cheeks were hard not to coo at.
Karen, on the other hand, grew more distraught. She sat on the shabby loveseat and sniffled.
“I’m not always like this, you know. My mother passed away two years ago, and she was my only family. Now I’m all alone, and raising the kids without Jonas…”
She started crying again. “I’m just so tired, you know?”
“I get it, I do,” Rose said, bouncing Milo on her hip. “I mean, I can’t imagine being a parent without having my partner by my side.”
Karen nodded. “If he would just give up on that stupid farm, we would still be together. He’s driving us into the poor house with that place.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Karen said, wiping at her face. “It’s just… it’s a piece of property that’s belonged in his family forever. He thinks I’m a bitch, because I want him to put food on the table instead of sugarcane in the fields. I’m like, is that too much to ask?”
There was a knock on the door, which saved Rose from having to form an opinion. Karen jumped up and pulled the door open, sagging when she saw that it was Sawyer.
“Hey,” he said. “Hi, Rose.”
“Come in,” Rose said. “Karen, this is Sawyer.”
He stepped in, filling the doorway. He looked so much like Colt that Rose couldn’t help but blush, seeing him.
“I know who he is,” Karen said. To Sawyer, she said: “We go way back, don’t we?”
He looked at Rose, then nodded. “Yeah. Listen… I don’t want to offend you, but I’ve called Jonas. He hasn’t seen Jack today, and he sounds genuinely panicked.”
“He’s probably the one that took him!” Karen said, aggrieved.
“Well, we’re going to get two search parties formed. One to look for Jack here in town, and one to look at the farm. We’ll find him, I assure you,” Sawyer said, looking from Karen to Rose. “Colt and Walker are on their way here.”
Rose nodded, jogging Milo on her hip.
“I’m going to go check the yard, just in case,” Sawyer said.
Rose nodded, and Karen sat on the loveseat again. They were quiet for a few minutes, waiting for the cavalry to arrive.
Colt arrived at the same time as Shelby. Shelby went straight to comfort Karen. Colt quickly introduced his brother Walker to Rose, in the meantime heading back outside to find Sawyer.
“Hey,” Walker said, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you. I assume that’s Jonas’s kid you’re holding?”
“Yeah. He’s very calm, for what all’s going on,” Rose said.
He smiled and nodded. “I think Colt and Sawyer are on the stoop, planning. I suppose I’d better go out there.”
“Okay,” Rose said, feeling like an idiot for not having anything better to say.
Like Sawyer, Walker’s good looks and similarity to Colt didn’t go unnoticed. Rose peeked through the window. She noticed that although the three men looked alike, they all had slightly different hairstyles, and dressed a bit differently.
Rose bit her lip, willing herself not to blush again.
“Hey,” Shelby said, finally breaking off from Karen. “Hey there, Milo! We’re going to find your brother, aren’t we?”
“We need to move fast,” Rose said, glancing at Karen. “Wherever he is, he’s probably been outdoors for awhile. That’s not great for a five-year-old.”
“Hey,” Colt said, sticking his head inside, nodding to Karen. “There’s a bunch of people gathered outside. I think we’ve got a plan. We just need to divide into teams.”
“I want to come,” Rose called to Colt. “Just give me a minute.”
He nodded and disappeared. She turned to Shelby, who already had her hands out for Milo.
“Thanks,” Rose said, handing Milo over.
“It’s not a problem,” Shelby said. “Is it, Milo? No! We’re gonna stay right here with your momma until your brother Jack is found, aren’t we?”
Rose patted Shelby on the shoulder, and found her way outside. True to Colt’s word, there were almost fifty people outside, organizing and getting into cars together.
“Hey,” Colt said as she walked over. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of signing you up for my team. We drew lots for where to search, and you and I happened to get the outbuildings at the Whittier place.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Are we ready to go?”
“Ready when you are. My truck’s parked at your house.”
Praying for Jack’s safe return, Rose followed Colt to his truck.
19
Colt was tense all the way to Jonas Whittier’s farm. He kept glancing at Rose, wondering if he should mention that he used to date Karen. She stared out the window, evidently absorbed in thought.
She was probably thinking about Jack, which was what Colt should be doing. Instead he was wondering if they were still too n
ew, too fragile to reveal past dating partners.
They weren’t technically anything yet. Not more than a couple moonlit kisses. That didn’t merit anything, in Colt’s book.
But if it seemed like he was keeping that from Rose, and someone else mentioned it…
Better if he just told her and got it off his mind… right?
He cleared his throat, making her jump.
“Karen and I used to date. Before Jonas, I mean. Way back in high school,” he said.
Rose blinked at him. “What?”
“I just thought… you know, that you should know. Even though it’s ancient history.”
“I— okay?” she said, seeming uncertain.
He blew out a breath. That could’ve gone better.
His cell phone buzzed on the seat next to him, alerting him of a new text message. He checked it as they neared the farm, then cursed.
“Shit. My father’s already at the Whittier place.”
“Oh?” she said, curious.
“Yeah. He says he’s with Jared Chalke and some other guys,” He said, glancing at her face.
She paled. “Jared?”
“Yeah. Is that going to be a problem?”
He didn’t know the extent of Rose’s relationship with Jared. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that one didn’t exist, though.
“Um,” she said, clearly struggling. “No. Just… don’t leave me alone with him, okay?”
Colt’s brows rose. He wanted to ask why, but she turned back toward the window. It was apparent that she didn’t want him to ask any more questions.
But he had to know.
“What’s your relationship with Jared?” he asked.
She looked back at him, chin raised. Her eyes gleamed with the threat of tears, but she wouldn’t let them fall.
“I don’t— I don’t have one,” she said, measured.
She sounded fragile. He bit back the other questions that flooded to his mind as they pulled into the driveway.
“Okay. I’ll make sure you’re not alone, alright?” he asked.
He saw the relief on her face, as plain as day.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Come on,” he said, climbing out of the truck.
He led her to the front porch of a grand old plantation house, although from what he could see it had been through better times. A cluster of men stood out front, waiting for them.
The Colonel stood there, waiting with obvious impatience. Colonel Arlo Montgomery Roman was a silver-haired, older version of Colt. Colt could see Rose making the connection, trying to put together what she knew about him quickly.
“Colt,” the Colonel said, favoring his son with a scowl. “And who’s this?”
“Rose Elliott,” she said, offering him her hand. “I’m the new veterinarian.”
He begrudgingly shook it, but he didn’t look happy about it. “Hhmmph. Alright. Where’s Jonas?”
Jonas came outside, Jared in tow. Jonas looked half miserable, half fall down drunk. Colt looked back and forth between him and Jared, a sour taste forming in the back of his throat.
They are entirely too well-acquainted, he thought.
“Alright. Let’s break into teams of four,” the Colonel said.
Colt rolled his eyes. Though he wasn’t the oldest man here, the Colonel had assumed he was the de facto group leader. Figures.
“Michael, you’re with Jessup, Sam, and Calvin. You guys get that section… Mark, you are with Sean, Thomas, and Patrick. You guys go northwest. Colt, you’re with me and Jared. And your girl, I guess. We’ll search the grounds near the house, then branch out.”
Colt’s fists bunched. At least Rose seemed unaffected by his father’s blatant sexism.
The other two teams jumped in trucks, leaving their team standing together.
“Alright,” Colt said, eyeing Jared. “Let’s split up.”
“Colt, you and I can go together—” the Colonel started.
“No,” Colt said. “Rose and I are together.”
“Why are you wasting time?” his father said.
“Yeah. I think Rose and I should be together. Like old times,” said Jared, his smile slimy.
Rose visibly shrank back, making Jared’s smile even bigger. The Colonel frowned at them both, which made Colt’s next words clipped and short.
“She doesn’t want to be with you,” Colt said to Jared. To Rose, he said, “Let’s go.”
He grabbed Rose’s hand and stalked off toward the barn, leaving them to figure it out. Rose came along easily, eerily quiet.
Once they reached the barn, he let go of her hand. She bit her lip, looking around. He reached out and flicked on the light, illuminating a mess of machinery both on the floor and up above them in the hay loft.
“I’ll search up above if you’ll search down here,” he said, indicating the hay loft.
“Okay.” She went left, searching methodically, calling the missing boy’s name. “Jack! Jack?”
He went right, and climbed the rickety ladder up to the hay loft. It was crammed with machinery, but pretty small.
“Jack!” he called, picking up a loose tarp and checking underneath it. Nothing but more machinery; they must have thousands of dollars worth of junk in this barn.
Colt went back downstairs, meeting up with Rose.
“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s move on.”
She followed, still quiet. They searched four close buildings in the same way, calling his name.
“Jack!” she called as they left the last building close to the house. “Jack!”
Colt spotted his father and Jared, similarly empty handed.
“Hey!” he called. “We’re going to branch out toward Roman Ranch!”
Without waiting for his father’s approval, Colt moved back toward his truck. Rose got in, and they rode out to the road between the farm and the neighboring ranch.
“Hey,” said Rose, pointing. “What’s that?”
She pointed to a small plastic structure, the roof shaped like a semicircle. He looked through the barbed wire fencing that separated the pasture from the road.
“It’s for hay storage,” he said. “The horses have free range over different pastures during different parts of the year, so they’re all over our property.”
“We should search them,” she said. “Maybe starting with the closest one to town.”
“You think?” he said.
“If I was a little boy who knew how to get to my father’s house, and my mother had been keeping me from my father…” she said, thinking aloud. “I would see these and think… well, they’re safe, you know?”
“Alright,” he said. “The buildings are all in line, right down this road.”
He turned down the dusty road, pulling up to the closest one.
“Jack?” she called. “Jack, are you in there?”
No answer. She looked at Colt.
“The next one,” she instructed.
Colt pressed the gas, smothering a smile. His father wasn’t the only bossy one, it seemed.
They passed two more, slowing for Rose to shout out the window. On the third, Colt did sort of a drive-by, slowing down but not stopping.
As he started to accelerate again, Rose shouted, “Wait!”
He slammed on the brakes and looked in the rearview, just in time to see a small blonde head pop up.
“Holy shit,” he said, awed.
He threw the truck in reverse, backing up. The second he’d stopped again, Rose was out of the truck, leaving the door to the truck hanging open.
“Jack!” she said, rushing to the thin barbed wire fence between them.
“Rose?” he asked sleepily, getting to his feet and walking over to the fence.
“Oh, Jack,” she said, leaning over the low fence and picking him up. “Your family has been looking everywhere for you!”
“They have?” said Jack, turning to look at Colt in the truck.
“Let’s get you home,” R
ose said, hugging him.
Rose carried him to the truck, where Colt had his phone out, texting Sawyer, Shelby, and Jonas. She climbed in, careful to buckle Jack in the backseat.
Colt finished his text and looked at her. Something shivered through the air between them, unspoken but definitely there.
Colt drove back to Whittier’s place, arriving at the same time as several carloads of people.
“Jack!” came a shout as Colt and Rose opened the doors. Jonas Whittier burst out of the crowd of people, practically falling into Rose’s arms in his attempt to get to his son.
Rose barely had Jack out of the truck. As Colt came around the truck, she sagged under Jonas’s weight, almost dropping Jack to the ground.
“Hey!” Colt said, quick to grab Jonas by his shirt and yank him off. “You need to cool down.”
“Daddy!” Jack said, reaching for his father.
“Don’t you tell me what to do,” Jonas slurred. “He’s my boy, asshole.”
Colt’s temper flared. “Yeah? Well, he’s alive and intact. You’re welcome.”
“Let me go!” Jonas said.
“Daddy!” Jack cried. “Daddy!”
Before that could be resolved, Shelby arrived with Karen. Karen jumped out of the car and ran to Jack, who had a tearful reunion with his mother. Rose gave him over to Karen, but stood close by.
“Mommy!”
Karen was hysterical, sobbing. “Oh, Jackie! Where were you? I looked everywhere!”
Colt didn’t miss the fact that Jack shot Rose a look. He felt for the kid, truly. Jack might have done something wrong, but here he was stuck between two crazy parents.
“It’s okay, Mommy…” Jack comforted her as she cried into her shirt.
It was a lot worse the next second, though, because Karen soon turned her pent-up anger on Jonas.
“If it wasn’t for you, this never would have happened!” she said, facing him down.
Jonas gaped at her. “Like hell! You’re the one who moved to town!”
“Because I had no choice, Jonas!” she argued, infuriated.
“Oh, you had no choice?” he screamed, lunging at her.
Luckily Colt and several other men stepped in and grabbed him in time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Colonel and Jared walk up.
“All right,” the Colonel said, whistling. “All right! Everybody disperse back to where the came from!”