What could I do about it anyway? Wendy had made sure I could never do a damned thing.
I pulled up into the Simpsons’ driveway at their house in town. Tom Simpson ran a satellite office for a major Denver law firm here in Snow Creek. He made a good living.
Still, it was nothing compared to what he stashed away from his other business.
“Here you go,” I said. “When do you need to be picked up?”
“I don’t know. I can just stay the night.”
“No,” I said adamantly. “You know the rules.”
Joe shook his head, scoffing. “Geez, Dad, I used to spend the night here all the time when I was way younger. I miss those camping trips, you know?”
“You want to go camping? I’ll take you camping. Anytime.”
He scoffed again. “You never have time.”
“Running our ranch is a huge deal. You know that. Besides, you’re going to Disneyland with your mother in a few weeks.”
“That’s for kids. Tal and Ry will love it.”
“So will you. You’re not quite grown up yet, Jonah.”
He didn’t reply. Just got out of the truck and slammed the door.
Evelyn Simpson opened the door to the house and let Joe in, and then she came out. I rolled down the window.
“Hello, Brad,” she said.
“How are you, Evie?”
She sighed. “Tom’s on another trip, and I just got some bad news.”
“Oh?”
“A little girl from the kids’ school is missing. She’s nine, and she hasn’t been seen since yesterday.”
My skin chilled. “What’s her name?”
“Raine Stevenson. She’s from the town over but goes to school in Snow Creek. Bryce doesn’t know her, but Talon or Ryan might.”
“Have the police been called in?”
“I assume so. I’m just beside myself. I just can’t even imagine. I wish Tom were home.”
I had a feeling I knew exactly where Tom was. Or maybe not. Tom and Theo were too smart to shit where they ate.
Right?
Hell, I had no idea at this point. They’d all gone crazy a long time ago. Tom’s wife stood here next to my car, her eyes sad and sunken.
Run away, Evie. Take Bryce and run.
But I couldn’t say anything. Not without losing everything dear to me.
“Listen,” I said, “if you’re worried about staying alone with Tom out of town, you and Bryce are welcome at the ranch anytime. We have all kinds of room.”
“I’d hate to infringe on Daphne.”
“She loves Bryce and you. Don’t you worry about that.”
Evelyn sighed again. “We’ll be all right.”
“I mean it. The offer stands. Anytime.”
“You’re a good man, Brad. Thank you. I can run Joe home later if you want.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, that’d be great. Otherwise I can come pick him up.”
How easy it would be to tell her Jonah could stay the night. After all, Tom wasn’t home, and Joe and Bryce would love it.
But I couldn’t. Not without doing a lot of explaining to a lot of people—explaining I wasn’t prepared to do.
“I’ll be happy to drive him home.”
“Why don’t you and Bryce come for dinner?”
“Daphne won’t mind?”
“Of course not. She’ll be thrilled. I’ll tell Belinda when I get home.”
“Thanks, Brad. It’ll be nice to get out of the house.”
“Do you happen to have the Stevensons’ number?” I asked.
“I don’t. Like I said, Bryce doesn’t know the little girl. Why?”
“I just want to see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
And I wanted to find out the details. Where she was when she disappeared, for one. I had a bad, bad feeling about this.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Daphne
Dinners at our home were major events with three boys, a hungry dad, plus Mazie and me. Tonight we had Bryce Simpson and his mother as well, and I’d invited Ennis to join us.
Belinda had grilled burgers, the boys’ favorite meal in the summer.
We sat outside at the table on the redwood deck.
“Tom’s out of town again?” I said to Evelyn.
She nodded and swallowed her bite of burger. “I’m used to it.”
“I know.”
Evie and I had that in common. Husbands who were out of town a lot. I often wondered how Brad kept this ranch running. Chalk it up to his amazing staff, one of whom was sitting across from me. Our winemaker.
Ennis opened a bottle of young Cabernet Franc. “Tell me how you like this, loves. It was only bottled last year. I’m hoping it’s a fruity and noncomplex table wine.”
I bit my lip. Now what? Brad had asked me to keep the pregnancy under wraps for now. One sip wouldn’t hurt, I guessed, and then I’d say I didn’t feel like drinking. Wine all tasted the same to me. Good, but nothing special.
Brad had taken a phone call and was inside. Typical. Still, I loved him fiercely. I always would.
Evie took a sip. “Mmm. It’s good. Good with burgers.”
“That’s what I’m going for. A basic table wine with basic food. I love producing fine wine, but I think Steel Vineyards needs some go-to offerings as well. I can use the franc grapes, and I’m also experimenting with some blends.”