Page 16 of Love At Peace

He shot me a quick look, apparently thinking I’d know.

I shrugged, clueless because I hadn’t seen her lately. I was just as instantly concerned as he was though. I hadn’t talked to her since our last argument—the first real one we’d had as a couple.

I couldn’t let that color my perception of her right now though. Her brow was creased, her face pinched with what could only be stress and worry. Something was wrong. Or rather, something else was wrong now.

“Have you seen Eric?” she asked.

Todd grunted and scowled in concentration. “Eric? No. Course, I haven’t.”

“Why not?” Heather asked.

“Well, cuz he took a coupla days off or somethin’ like that,” Todd replied. “He sent me a text a while back saying he had some house stuff planned before Thanksgiving.”

She shook her head as another ranch hand spoke up. “Nah, man. That’s what I was saying this morning. That Eric was supposed to be back yesterday.”

“Oh, you keepin’ the schedule of everybody now?” Todd teased.

“No,” the man replied. “But I know that he’s been trying to save up his vacation time and all so he could take more time off in the spring to deal with the window replacements at his house. He should’ve been back.”

“Shit.” Heather tightened her coat around her. It wasn’t as cold in here as it was outside, but I doubted she was doing that to stay warm. More like she wanted to hug herself. I wished I could hug her. That I could comfort her. But I knew better than to suggest it. She’d made herself clear, and I had to try to accept that she was shutting me out.

“He’s not anywhere then,” she concluded.

“What do ya mean?” Todd asked.

“Are you saying Eric is missing?” Gavin asked.

Heather nodded. “I heard that he—” When she looked at me, she frowned harder.

More rumors? You’re taking stock in more rumors? I wanted to challenge her on the spot about doing that again.

“He’s missing,” she amended. “I just looked at his house and he’s not there, either, even though his truck is.”

Todd scratched his stubble-covered jaw. “I ain’t followin’ ya, hunny.”

She drew in a deep breath, lifting her shoulders as if to brace herself to talk more. “I was in town walking around for the toy drive collections today. When I stopped in at the hardware store, Jonas told me that Eric hadn’t come in to pick up a part that he’d ordered. He told him that he’d have to let someone else get it, and he reminded him a few times, but he hasn’t come in to get it.” She glanced around us all, almost as though she hoped someone would perk up with an aha moment of knowing where her cousin might be.

“I called him. I checked at his house. I looked through the windows...” She shrugged. “I’m not sure what to think of this now that he’s not here, either.”

Todd grunted. “Hey. Nick, you’re right,” he said, glancing at the ranch hand who’d spoken up. “He didn’t ask for today off.” The old man switched his chew to the other cheek and furrowed his brow. “Eric shoulda been here today. That was my mistake.”

“So...he is missing?”

“It sounds weird that his truck would be at home,” Gavin said. “Maybe we should have Marty look into this.”

“I’m worried something might have happened to him,” Heather admitted nervously. “It just doesn’t seem right.”

“I agree with ’im,” Todd said of Gavin. “We should call Marty up and see what he thinks about this.”

I watched Heather, waiting for her to protest at the thought of asking for official help from the police. It seemed that she was already struggling with coming here. Asking anyone for anything was the last thing I bet she wanted to do, but maybe that was just a sign of how worried and spooked she was about not being able to reach Eric.

It was unusual for Eric not to show up. He was reliable like that, always doing what he was supposed to do.

She’d been adamant about no one getting into her business—ever. She refused to talk to Marty about David. Yet, she didn’t speak up against the idea of talking with the cop now.

“If nothing else, he can do a well-check,” Gavin said. “Just to make sure nothing’s going on.”

“Something has to be going on,” she replied weakly.