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“Okay.”
“Sleep tight, you two.” I gave a little pat on Champ’s head as I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.
Chapter 3
Taking a seat in my office chair, I leaned back and thought about the turn of events that had occurred today. I had woken up expecting to fix the fence and then help with vaccinating the cattle, not spend the day helping a damsel in distress. I couldn’t say I minded the change to my schedule.
I smiled as I thought about the woman upstairs in my bed. Miranda was something else. She had spirit and, despite all the horrible things that had happened to her, and I suspected I only knew a small part of it, she didn’t let it crush her. It was admirable.
My gut told me her misfortune was caused by her brother. If he had a history of drug use, lord only knew how many problems were brought on by that. I wished she had told me before her nap what kind of trouble she was in—which led to my finding her in the condition I had. It would’ve given me a chance to do some research while she slept.
“Boss, you in here?” Luke, my operations manager, called out.
“Yes,” I responded.
He walked in and took a seat across my desk. As my number two man, he was comfortable in my home.
“Everything going okay? I thought yesterday you said you’d be helping with the cattle vaccinations this afternoon.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure how much to tell him right now. I trusted him completely and knew he wouldn’t tell a soul about Miranda, but I wanted to talk with her before I told him, or anyone, anything.
“Yeah, my morning just took an unexpected turn.”
Before I could say anything else, the doorbell rang, which was such an oddity. No one used it around here. A shouted greeting before entering through the kitchen door was the norm.
“Who could that be?” I asked.
Luke shrugged. We both got up and headed to the open door. A man stood behind the screen. He had a buzz cut and was wearing a black leather coat—something not common for folks around here. It would get scratched up and dirty within minutes of working on the ranch. He had a scowl on his face and looked to be in a poor mood.
“Can I help you?” I asked, not bothering to open the screen door. Politeness be damned.
“Yeah. I’m looking for my little sister. She ran away from home,” the man stated without introducing himself. He looked me square in the eyes and puffed out his chest as if he were trying to be intimidating, which was laughable. A puny man like himself was no match for any one of my hands or me. I had fifty pounds of muscle on him, if not more. Not to mention I was at least half a foot taller.
Something felt off about this guy, too. My gut was telling me he wasn’t to be trusted and was the man Miranda said was looking for her. I didn’t think it was her brother either. He didn’t look like her and he didn’t give off a brotherly vibe.
I shrugged. “I’m afraid I can’t help you. I haven’t seen any little girls around here at all. Have you, Luke?” I asked, turning my head to face my friend. His jaw was tense, and he was giving the outsider a once-over.
“Nope, can’t say that I have.”
I faced forward. “Sorry, pal. Looks like we aren’t much help to you.”
He sneered for a second and then softly laughed under his breath. “Ah, I’ve done it again. Forgive me, fellas. When I said my little sister, I didn’t mean she was physically little. She’s just younger than I am. I guess big brothers never stop looking at their kid sisters as being smaller than they are.”
This guy was lying through his filthy teeth. “Still haven’t seen any girls, women, or old ladies here,” I said.
“I’d say it’s been a week and a half since we had any female company over,” Luke chimed in. “Wait,” he snapped his fingers. “We can’t forget Rosie came to see Billy last Friday for their date.”
“Oh yeah. He was taking her up to the lake as a celebration for her job promotion. I forgot.”
“Well,” the stranger scoffed, “if a female with light-brown hair, hazel eyes, and a cut on her forehead crosses your path, please give me a call. I’ll be staying at the Holiday Inn in town. Ask for Declan Roland.”
At his admittance of his last name, it confirmed my thought that he indeed wasn’t Miranda’s brother. I nodded. “Sure thing, bud.”
“Good luck with your search,” Luke called out as Declan turned and walked down the stairs.
I shut the door, another oddity here on the ranch. Living in such a small town with everyone knowing each other, I felt comfortable keeping my door open and screen shut during the summer months. We could pick up any breeze that way. However, I didn’t want to risk this guy hearing or seeing anything, considering my bedroom door was at the top of the staircase, and the staircase was directly behind me.
“What was that about?” Luke asked, when it was just the two of us.
