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“We were afraid that if we pushed her too hard, she might just take off.”
“Thanksgiving was a very long time ago.”
“We kept our promise to her.” Cassie lifted her hands, palms up. “And anyway, you were here just overnight at Christmas, and only a weekend for the wedding. What could you have done?”
“Probably nothing,” Jolie admitted. “Apparently, she didn’t get to tell Bobby herself. Abe showed up right after Thea’s wedding and confronted Dad—demanded support, damages, the whole nine yards.”
“Maybe that’s why Dad looked so stressed after the reception.” Cassie gave a bitter laugh. “It’s so typical of him to keep something like this under wraps. He probably told his lawyers to deal with it.”
“Without proof, the Maxwell lawyers aren’t going to step in. But Mandy says she’ll run away rather than allow DNA testing,” Jolie said flatly. “Even now, maybe she’s hitching a ride to who-knows-where.”
Cassie’s forehead creased. “Why would she run now, if she was staying with you?”
“Rafe said she had a confrontation with her father in town.” A shiver crawled down Jolie’s spine. “What if Abe came after her while I was still at the clinic?”
She reached through the open window of the SUV and withdrew the cell phone she’d left on the seat, then punchedin the phone number of the sheriff’s office, drumming her fingernails on the roof of the vehicle as she waited.Three rings. Four.
Rafe picked up on the fifth ring, and Jolie rapidly related her concerns about Mandy’s disappearance.
He gave a low whistle. “I dropped her off after lunch and waited until she locked the doors of your cabin before I left. She didn’t seem too worried about her dad bothering her again.”
Because she’d decided to leave town, or because she’d decided to give in and go home to her abusive father? Neither option was good.
“Last night Mandy seemed happy with the idea of staying at my place. Surely she would have talked to me before deciding to leave.”
Rafe didn’t miss a beat. “I’ll take a run out to her dad’s place.”
“Thanks. I’ll scout around for her, too. Do you know of any friends she might go to?”
“Mark Taylor...Kim Rawlins...Jerry Heath, they’re the only ones I can remember.” He paused. “They were all Bobby’s friends too, though I haven’t seen them running together since the accident. They used to all raise trouble on Saturday nights.”
“Let me know if you hear anything, okay? I’m really worried about her.” After she hung up, she looked up to see Cassie studying her. “What?”
“When I was a kid, I figured you just had a big thing about control.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I guess now I’m finally seeing things from an adult perspective. Maybe you really did care.”
“I never wanted to be in control. But after Mom died, Dad could go a month without saying a word to us. Beth tried hard, but she just wasn’t Mom...and she had quite a time with you. I tried to help, but I just wasn’t Mom, either.”
“Thea was out working with the livestock, and you had your nose in a book when you weren’t trying to be a dictator. I...I guess I was the lost soul.”
“Trythe rebel,” Jolie said dryly.
“That, too.” Though she was now thirty, the cocky grin Cassie flashed made her seem sixteen once again. “The last thing I could handle was Dad’s brand of iron-handed patriarchal parenting. I think half the crazy things I did were just to spite him.”
“I remember.” Jolie could still hear the heated arguments that had waged between their father and his wild daughter. Cassie had come in late more nights than not, defying him at every turn.
Cassie tapped a forefinger against her lips, lost in thought. “About Mandy...I’ll help any way I can. There are lots of resources we can check into for financial assistance, child care, legal counsel...whatever she needs.”
“That’ll be great. She should receive support from the Maxwells, though, not welfare.”
Cassie gave Jolie a snappy military salute—one softened by a faint smile instead of the sneer that had marked her teenage years. “If you find her, I’ll do my best.”
Again, Jolie felt a shift in their rocky relationship, a hint of possibilities. “I’m going to drive down the highway and see if I can find her, just in case she’s trying to hitchhike. You’re welcome to come with me—or you could make yourself at home in the cabin.”
Cassie glanced at her watch. “I’d better get back to the ranch. I hate to leave Zak alone out there for very long—he seems to like being with his grandpa, but you know how busy Dad is.”
Ignoring her disappointment, Jolie matched her sister’s breezy tone. “Zak probably helps slow him down a little. Thanksfor coming up here. Maybe we can get together again sometime soon?”
“Umm...sure. Sometime soon.”
