Rich, Rugged Ranchers. Kathie DeNosky

it up and growled, “What?”

      “Mr. Slade? It’s Peggy Coswell from Human Resources at the lodge. I was wondering if … well, if you knew where Ms. Montrose is? She’s late for our eight-o’clock meeting.”

      Logan glanced at the computer clock at the corner of his screen. “That was forty-five minutes ago.”

      “Yes, sir. She hasn’t come into her office today.”

      Logan’s heart beat faster. “Where else have you checked?”

      “No one has seen her on the hotel grounds this morning. She’s not answering her phone.”

      Fear gripped Logan’s gut and twisted it like a pretzel. His mind turned to Luke. He’d had dinner with her last night. If he’d spent the night with Sophia … Logan’s mind wouldn’t go there. She wouldn’t do that. Sophia just wouldn’t sleep with his brother. And in that instant he knew two things. Sophia wasn’t the kind of woman he’d made her out to be. She wasn’t a gold-digging opportunist bent on getting rich any way she could. She wasn’t out to take over Sunset Ranch or make a mockery of the Slade family. The other thing he knew would have to wait. He could deal with only one thing right now: finding Sophia. Making sure she was safe.

      “Call security and have them comb the area for her. Call me back on my cell if you hear anything.”

      Logan rose from his desk, his breathing rapid and his strides long and efficient. He made it to Luke’s room on the other side of the house in seconds. Pushing open the door, he found Luke still in bed. Alone. Relief registered that he hadn’t been wrong about his brother’s relationship with Sophia. He wouldn’t have to beat the stuffing out of him.

      “Logan, man … don’t you believe in knocking?”

      “Sophia missed a meeting with the staff today. No one’s seen her all morning. She’s not answering her cell phone. When’s the last time you saw her?”

      Luke came out of his haze. Since his accident, he’d been sleeping longer than usual in the mornings, making up for uncomfortable nights. “Uh, about nine last night. I checked out her place after dinner and then came home.”

      “Stay here and make some calls. See what you can find out. I’m going to the cottage.”

      Still hazy, Luke sat up straighter in the bed, running a hand through his hair. “Will do. Find her, Logan.”

      “Planning on it.”

      Logan fired up the truck’s engine and sped down the road. Half a mile never seemed so long a drive. He arrived at the cottage and saw that Sophia’s car was parked outside. Hope pulled through his fear and he bounded out of the truck, not bothering to knock on the door. He inserted the key he’d kept with him and pushed through the door. “Sophia? Sophia?”

      Clearly, she wasn’t in the parlor or kitchen. With stealthy steps, Logan moved down the short hallway, wishing he’d taken his gun on the way out. He’d never had cause to use it on the ranch except once when a snake spooked his horse while on a perimeter ride along the property. He’d been thrown within three feet of the irritated rattler. Damn thing had been ready to attack and Logan took aim and shot him dead with that Glock.

      Logan didn’t know what to make of Sophia’s disappearance. She wasn’t in the house, but her clothes were still hanging in the closet and her car was parked outside. When he put a hand to the coffeepot, it was lukewarm. She’d used it this morning.

      After scanning the kitchen area he searched the parlor. Something caught his eye. He’d almost missed it because the sole thin-stemmed purple wildflower blended in so well with the floral cushions of the sofa. He didn’t think much of it. Sophia liked flowers, but as he picked it up and moved pillows around searching for clues, he found something tucked under one square pillow that made his breath catch in his throat.

      A note.

      Typed on plain paper and folded neatly.

      You are very beautiful.

      “Son of a bitch!” Logan’s mind raced. He’d hoped to high heaven that Sophia’s disappearance had been something innocent, a miscommunication that could be cleared up and explained easily enough. He’d hoped she would come waltzing through that front door and find him standing there, worried sick over her.

      He took his hat off and stared at the tan leather band, plaguing his mind for a clue. For guidance. The sheriff should be alerted, although the law wouldn’t put much credence in a report of a missing woman who’d been gone only an hour. Still, he’d make the call. He’d do anything to make sure Sophia was safe.

      Before he could punch the buttons, his cell phone buzzed. He answered his brother’s call before it rang again. “Did you find her?”

      “Not exactly,” Luke said. “Constance said Edward is missing, too. He took Blackie for a walk an hour ago and hasn’t returned. He missed his school bus.”

      “Okay, could be a coincidence. The boy could have lost track of time. Constance have any idea where he might have gone?”

      “He likes to walk the dog up by the stream over by the old feed shed. She’s mighty worried, Logan.”

      “I’m on it. I’ll check it out and call you—”

      Logan stopped midsentence. An unmistakable black-and-white blur raced past the cottage. Logan pushed through the front door and shouted for the dog. “Blackie!”

      The dog stopped when he saw him and trotted over with his tail down, completely out of breath. Logan knelt to his level. “Where you going, boy? To the lodge? Where’s Edward? Does he need help?”

      The dog turned his head in the direction he’d just come from. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that Blackie was looking for help. Logan grabbed the dog in his arms and deposited him in the cab of the truck as he finished his conversation with Luke.

      “I’m not that far away from the stream. I’m heading there now. I’ve got the dog. Hopefully, he can lead me to both of them.”

      Logan drove the truck off-road for three quarters of a mile over gopher holes and rough pasture lands that had been played out. He was headed to the old feed shack that faced a rocky stream that flowed into a pond. It was a perfect place for a young boy to play. Logan and his brothers used to go there after school to look for worms and water snakes.

      When he spotted the shed, Logan shut down the engine and parked. He opened the door and the dog scurried over his lap and bounded from the cab racing toward the stream. Logan followed him.

      Sophia came into his line of vision first. She sat on a big granite boulder, her leg elevated and her right shoe off. Something squeezed tight in Logan’s heart. He shook with profound relief. He’d never been so glad to see anyone in his life. He’d never experienced the kind of fear that threatened to swallow a man up whole and spit him out in small chunks. He’d never been so sure of anything in his life now, looking at Sophia Montrose and realizing that he’d almost let her slip through his fingers.

      Edward approached him, his head downcast, a guilty look on his face.

      “What happened, Edward?” he asked, still moving toward the boulder where Sophia sat immobilized.

      “Ms. Sophia t-twisted her foot. She c-can’t walk.”

      Logan made eye contact with Sophia. Her hair was a mess, her blouse was hanging loose around her skirt and her ankle was twice the size it should be. Raw deep emotion lodged in his throat.

      “Why are you out here?” he asked the boy.

      Edward shoved his head down again.

      “It’s okay, Edward. Tell Logan about the notes,” Sophia said.

      Logan blinked and his voice came out gruff and demanding. “Yeah, tell me about the notes.”

      Edward stared at the ground. “I t-typed them t-to Ms. Sophia.”

      Logan’s