Page 18 of Ranger Devotion

Brooke rose from where she’d been sitting with a cluster of guests, including Preston. She crossed to the lobby. Her eyes were red from crying, but she mustered a smile anyway. “Hey, you guys must be starving. Lunch is available in the dining room.”

The air smelled of roasted chicken. Annie’s stomach growled. She’d skipped breakfast. “How’s everyone holding up?”

“About as well as can be expected. Most people are still in shock, I think.” She hugged herself. “I’ve been keeping up with the weather report. Things have shifted and will probably get worse before they get better. It looks like we may be stuck here for a few days.”

Annie had also checked the weather and come to the same conclusion. “How are we on food?”

“I ordered plenty, so we’ll be fine. Some guests have decided they don’t want to stay in the cabins, so people are doubling up on rooms here in the main lodge. Worst case scenario, we throw some air mattresses down and have a group sleepover.” Guilt pulled at her mouth. “I was wondering…can we clean out Kayla’s room? We could use the bed.”

It was a practical request. One Annie hadn’t even considered. Thank goodness she had Brooke here to help. “Sure.” She glanced at Tate. “Unless you have an objection.”

“I’d like to go through her things first, but we can pack them up after that so the room is usable.” He rocked back on his heels. “Truth be told, Annie, you should probably think about staying here in the main lodge too. We don’t know who is responsible for Kayla’s murder, and there’s safety in numbers.”

She agreed, but they were running low on space. “We can figure that out later.”

“No, Tate’s right,” Brooke interjected. “Annie, you should take Kayla’s room. Most people will balk at sleeping there anyway.”

“But you just said you need the bed⁠—”

She waved away Annie’s words. “I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. You’ve got enough on your plate as it is.” She shooed them off. “Go have lunch.”

“We should actually talk to Caleb⁠—”

“He’s not going anywhere,” Tate interrupted. “And we’re both starving.” He gave her a pointed look. “Fueling up will help us think.”

Annie nodded. She was feeling lightheaded, and her headache was becoming more painful. Food would help. “Okay, let’s eat first.”

Tate started across the lobby toward the dining room.

Annie lingered, sensing her friend was barely holding it together. She placed a hand on Brooke’s arm. “I’m sorry about Kayla.”

Fresh tears welled in Brooke’s eyes. “I can’t believe she’s gone. I keep expecting her to stroll in the door and make some kind of complaint about the rain and how boring we’re being.” She gathered herself and squared her shoulders, offering Annie a watery smile. “There’ll be a time to fall apart and grieve. Now isn’t it.”

“If you need to talk, I’m always here.”

“I know that. And I appreciate it. I know you and Kayla didn’t always get along.”

“No, but I’m still sad. Remember that time we had a sleepover at her house and went swimming in the pool at midnight? I thought her dad was going to have a heart attack when he heard us.”

Brooke laughed, swiping at her cheeks. “How about when she convinced us to dye our hair with spray paint?”

“Ugh, I had orange hair for a week.”

They dissolved into hushed laughter that mingled into tears, the memories bringing a grief Annie hadn’t expected. She hugged Brooke. “We’ll get through this.”

“I know.” Brooke drew back.

Annie nodded toward Preston. “How is he doing?”

“He’s upset, but mostly about the fight between him and Caleb. I can’t tell if it’s a defense mechanism or not. Sometimes people focus on something stupid to avoid dealing with their real feelings.”

Or maybe Preston was worried about what Caleb saw. Or knew. But Annie didn’t see any point in sharing her doubts with Brooke. Instead she asked, “Where is Caleb?”

“He and Evan were watching a football game in the media room, but then Caleb fell asleep.” Brooke looked around the seating area. “Evan was hanging out here with us, but maybe he went back to watch the rest of the game.”

“Okay. I’m gonna grab some lunch. We’ll talk more later.”

The dining room held five tables with benches, a holdover from the property’s cattle ranch days. A long buffet, overloaded with food, lined one wall. Tate had already piled his plate high. Annie followed suit and joined him near a window overlooking the grounds. The sleet was still falling, blurring the view of the stables and the woods beyond.