It was weird how quiet the ranch was. All the horses, except the ones the guys took, were in their stalls, so there were nolessons or trail rides happening today. The ranch hands must all be out with the herd or with Dad and Jude.
I took my time with Mushu, unloading and organizing the tack, brushing him, making sure he had fresh shavings and hay in his stall while I tried to settle my thoughts. Being home helped, but I still couldn’t make sense of my feelings. I loved him. I loved Penn. I’d do anything for them. Marriage and kids seemed so far in my future.
Now knowing what it all entailed with Reed, I still wasn’t sure if I was ready for it—even if it was something I wanted with him. Maybe if there was no Elise to factor into all of this, it would be different, but she was Penn’s mama, and I would never try to take that from them. And it broke my fucking heart. It wouldn’t be fair to him or Penn if I wasn’t all in. I wanted to be there so badly for both of them. I just didn’t know if I could.
After making sure Mushu and the rest of the horses had food and water, I unhitched my truck and headed over to Romy’s house.
Reed’s truck was already gone, so he must have taken Penn and headed back to the double-wide. Hopefully, everything was okay or someone had heard from Dad or Jude.
When I walked into their house, Romy’s face looked pale while she stared into space, leaning on the counter. Her head shot up when she heard me come in.
“Oh, thank God.” She breathed a sigh of relief.
Baby Charli was in her high chair with what looked like peas on her face, and Penn was sitting on a stool, eating crackers. Why was Penn still here?
“Lina!” she shouted, jumping off her stool to run to me.
I leaned down, wrapping her up in my arms. “Hey, princess.” I held her to me for a moment, just needing her comfort.
My brows pinched. “Where’s Reed? I thought he was heading over here.”
Romy looked confused. “He was here for a minute. After he saw that we were all okay, and there still wasn’t any news from the guys, he said he was going to go unpack. I figured he was going to head back to the stables to help you.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t see him. I would have passed him on my way here.”
“Huh. I wonder where he could have gone. Do you think he went to the double-wide?” she asked.
“Maybe.” I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, tapping Reed’s name. Putting it to my ear, all I heard was ringing. Was it the phone or my ears? I felt like my consciousness was outside my body, staring down at me.
“You’ve reached Reed Ownstead. Please leave your name and a brief message at the beep.”
I tried again. It went to voicemail.Shit.
“He’s not picking up. When was the last time you heard from Jude or Dad?”
“Last night. Right before they headed out.”
My heart rate kicked up, and a sickening feeling soured my gut.
“Shit … is it just me, or does it feel like something is wrong to you, too?”
“I’ve felt it since this morning. I can’t stay here just waiting to make sure everyone is okay.” Her voice cracked on her last word, and I could see it now, her knee bouncing behind the counter. She was going against her very instincts right now when I knew all she wanted to do was fight or fly.
“I need you to stay here, Romy. Lock the doors and stay inside with Charli. If you hear from Dad, Jude, or Reed, call me right away, okay? I’ll do the same.”
She nodded. “Are you sure that you and Penn should head to the double-wide?”
“I want to go see my daddy,” Penn whined at my side.
“I know, princess. We’re going to go see your dad,” I said, stroking her hair before turning back to Romy. “I should take her home anyway. Hopefully, that’s where Reed is, too. I’ll text you as soon as I get there so you’ll know we’re safe.”
I rounded the counter, taking her into my arms and whispering in her ear so Penn didn’t hear me. Knowing this was the old Matheus homestead, I couldn’t help but feel this was a target. “If you see Junior, I’m going to need you to get one of Jude’s rifles and call the police.”
Romy flinched, pulling back to look at me. Her silver eyes were flaming. “You think it’s him?”
I nodded, taking Penn’s hand. “I’ll text you as soon as I’m there.”
She nodded back, sucking in a couple deep breaths. “Okay. Okay. We got this.”
