41. Christian
christian
“Sage said she’s going to drop by the farm,” Kale announced, sitting on top of the fence while Chuck drove the bull into the pen.
I leaned on the fence beside him, the hood of my sweatshirt up to shield my head from the light rain.
Sage had texted me a while ago once she arrived at the gallery, but I hadn’t heard from her since.
“When?” I was a nervous wreck knowing she was there by herself.
I was half-thinking about showing up at the bar when she started her shift just to make sure she was okay.
Kale shrugged. “She said to text her when I was done. She sounded weird though.” He shot a look at me, his brotherly eyes narrowing in assessment. “Did you do something to fuck this up? Because if you hurt my sister, friend or not, I’ll fucking kill you.”
I raised my hands in surrender, shaking my head. “Not me. I think she did want to talk to you about something though.”
“Yeah, she asked if Chuck and Jude were around too, which I thought was odd.”
It killed me not to clue him in on what was going on, but I needed to let Sage do this. This was her truth and her brother. She needed to be the one to do it. On her own and in her own way.
“I think I’m going to head up to the house and see my mom before I take off.” I patted Kale on the back and turned to head that direction, when Reed’s truck came barreling to a stop in front of the corral.
I halted in my steps, while he hopped out. His face was hard, his body rigid. He said something stern to Penn who was in the backseat and hurried over, leaving the truck running.
“He’s back,” Reed growled, almost out of breath.
Chuck was hustling over to join us.
“Who?” I asked, seeing Reed’s eyes grow dark. I had a feeling I knew before he even said the name.
“Junior,” he gritted out.
“What the fuck?” Kale exclaimed.
“Where?” Chuck demanded.
“He’s staying at the Bare Buckle Motel. I saw him taking groceries into one of the rooms while I was in the carpool line picking up Penn.”
“What a jackass,” I mumbled, shaking my head. I reminded myself that the elementary school was kitty corner to Marine and Marty’s motel. He was bound to be caught now.
“You didn’t approach him, did you?” Chuck asked.
Reed shook his head. “I wasn’t about to get out of the carline around all those moms while I picked up Penn to go confront him.”
“Did you call the cops?” His voice carried a warning edge.
“No, boss,” Reed replied, his jaw clenching.
Chuck nodded. “Call Lina. Tell her to get over here.” He turned to me. “Get a hold of Sage. I have a feeling it’d be wise for her to remain close, too.”
I rubbed my chest, an uneasy feeling settling there. “She may already be on her way over here.”
“I just gotta text her,” Kale commented, throwing his bull rope into his bag and pulling out his phone. I watched Kale’s thumbs sail over the screen as he sent her a message.
“Good. I want everyone to stay here. I’ll go get Jude.” Chuck spun on his heels, his long strides eating up distance while he jogged down to the cabin.
Reed jogged back to his truck, jumping in and heading down the gravel road to the house.
Kale was packing up the rest of his things.
“Did she text back?” I asked, pulling out my own phone to see if I’d missed a message from her.
Kale checked his screen. “No, not yet.” He shoved it into his back pocket, slinging his equipment bag over his shoulder.
I wasn’t going to stand here and wait for her to text back. I tapped on her contact while we hiked back up to the house, listening to it ring and ring and go to voicemail.
“She’s not picking up.”
Kale checked his cell again as we rounded the bend to the house.
“Shit. Nothing. Call Lina.”
We stopped at my truck. If no one could get a hold of her, I was going to go find her. I unlocked my truck while I pulled up Lina’s contact, putting her on speaker so Kale could hear.
“How’s my favorite invalid?” Lina asked in greeting.
“Lina. I’m fine. Getting stronger every day. You haven’t happened to talk to Sage recently have you?” I asked.
“No … why?” Her voice sounded suspicious. “Shouldn’t you be in each other’s pants right now or fucking her against a wall somewhere?”
Kale and I exchanged a look. I’m pretty sure I looked sheepish.
“I’m with Kale and I have you on speaker.”
“Oh … hey!” Lina changed her tune. “How’s my favorite party buddy?”
“Cut the shit, Lina,” Kale snapped. I’d never heard him snap at Lina before and damn, even it made my balls shrivel. “Have you talked to Sage or not?”
“No, I haven’t heard from her since this morning when she told me she was going to be working in the gallery today,” Lina replied.
“Did you talk about anything else?” I chimed in, wondering if Sage decided to confide in her about what was going on.
“Just that Reed and I were going to be at the ranch since we’re clearing the rest of the debris from the doublewide.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, a headache starting to set in to match the ache in my chest. None of this felt right.
“Has Reed called you yet?”
She hesitated for a moment, before clearing her throat. “Yeah, he told me.” Her voice turned hard. “I was out on a ride, but I’m loading up Mushu in the trailer now and heading to the farm.”
“Good. We heard too. See if you can get a hold of Sage and we’ll keep trying. I’m going to go see if she’s at the house and then call over at The Rooster.” I glanced at the time on the screen. “Her shift is supposed to be starting in a couple hours, but maybe she got called in early.”
“She could be driving and just can’t answer her phone,” Lina offered.
Kale and I exchanged looks. His jaw was tight, his hands resting on his belt. The evening light — now casted shadows beneath his cowboy hat — made him look more severe.
“Maybe.” I breathed a deep sigh, trying to settle my nerves. “Call me if you hear from her.”
“Will do. And you do the same. I’m on my way now.”
“Okay, see you soon. Bye.”
I hung up, pocketing my phone before opening the driver’s side door.
“I’ll stay here just in case she shows up. She was planning on coming here, so maybe she’s on her way now.”
I pulled myself up into the driver’s seat. “I’m going to go check the house and call over to The Rooster to see if she’s there, otherwise I’ll head over to the gallery.”
“Maybe she’s painting and lost track of time,” Kale said with a noncommittal shrug. But his brows were pinched with worry.
“Maybe …”
Starting the engine, I was about to pull out of the driveway when Mom and Dad came out of the house. I rolled down the window.
“I’m going to go look for Sage,” I hollered over the rumble of the truck.
“Chuck just called and told us what’s going on.”
I nodded. “Yeah. We can’t reach Sage so I’m going to go look for her.”
“She texted me earlier,” Mom explained. “There’s a woman she was trying to help who came by the gallery interested in paint lessons.
Sage said she was going to see if she needs any additional support.
The woman … she’s …” Mom inhaled a deep breath.
“She’s a victim of abuse.” Her eyes were sad, yet there was a question there that lingered.
I nodded. “I know, Mom.” It was all I needed to say for her to understand I knew Sage’s past. My tone reflective of the pain it caused me just to think of what she endured.
Mom’s lips tipped in a soft smile. “I know, son. She wanted to help this woman because of it. The woman was staying at the motel. Maybe that’s what she’s doing.”
My brow pinched. Sage hadn’t told me anything about this. I nodded, hoping that was the case. She just got caught up helping someone in need.
“Can you call her for me?” I asked. “Maybe she’ll pick up your call.”
Mom frowned. “Sure, son. I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’m going to go see if she’s at the house.”
I rolled the window back up, backing up and turning the wipers on. The rain was pelting the windows as I hit the highway, the wipers rushing with the speed of my heart.
As soon as I reached the house, I hopped out.
The house was dark and I knew before I even went inside that she wasn’t here.
It didn’t stop me from checking the closet, the bathroom, the dresser to make sure she didn’t take off on me.
Arlo’s bed was right beside the wood stove, as it always was.
His food and water bowls were still in the kitchen by his food bin.
Everything was right where she left it this morning.
Even if she returned the rings, she was always planning on coming back.
I returned to the truck thinking of my next move.
The Rooster.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, I pulled up the number for the bar and called.
“The Rooster,” Tessa said in greeting.
“Tessa, it’s Christian. Is Sage there?”
“No, not yet. Um …” It sounded like she was checking something. “She should be here by now. Hey, Marty!” The call out for Marty sounded muffled, like she was covering the phone with her hand. “Did Sage call saying she’s running late?”
I pulled the phone away from my ear to check my notifications. Still nothing and it was now seven o’clock. Sage definitely should’ve been there by now.
“Sorry, Christian. She’s not here. Marty’s calling her now.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’ll try checking later.”
Connecting the phone to my car speakers, I backed out of the driveway, turning the vehicle toward town.
“Call Kale Pardy,” I told the virtual assistant on my cell.
Kale picked up on the second ring.
“Nothing yet,” Kale said as soon as he picked up.
“She’s not at the house and I just called over at the bar. She hasn’t shown up for her shift.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit is right. I’m heading into town now to check the gallery.”
“Let me know as soon as you find her.”
“I will. Talk soon.”
As soon as I hung up, I revved the engine, hitting the gas and speeding down the highway until I reached Willows’ Main Street. I decided to stop by The Rooster first just in case she’d shown up at work, but her Jeep wasn’t in the parking lot where she usually parked it.
“Shit!” I yelled out loud, hitting the steering wheel. I knew in my gut this had to be Clayton. He’d done something.
I circled out of the parking lot and turned down the road to head to Sage’s gallery.
Her Jeep was parked in the back instead of out front, which I thought was smart.
I checked the pistol I stored under my seat and made sure it was loaded before I got out, stuffing it into my waistband and covering it with my sweatshirt.
I didn’t know what I was about to walk into.
Just as I stepped out of the truck, the rain pouring, soaking my hoodie, Arlo came dashing out of the open back door.
“Arlo!” I called.
His tail immediately started wagging as he whined, rubbing against my legs.
“What is it, boy? Where’s mama?”
He turned around and went back inside. I rushed after him, out of the rain and into the dark workroom.
The doors were left ajar and as soon as I stepped in, I could see through the studio.
An easel and canvas were tipped over, a paint palette on the ground, the paint splattered across the floor.
I hurried in, my hand resting on the gun in my waistband.
My heart plummeted. I didn’t need to keep looking. I knew in my gut she wasn’t here.
“She’s … gone …” My voice broke on the words as I took another step inside.
Arlo sniffed around, following close by my side as I looked around for any sign that could point to where she’d gone.
Her phone was discarded on the floor close to the doorway that went into the gallery.
I picked it up, the screen immediately lighting up to reveal hundreds of missed calls and text messages.
They’d left her phone here on purpose, so no one would be able to track her.
“Fuck,” I breathed, stepping into the gallery.
Her purse was still sitting on the chair at the front desk.
Remembering what my mom said, I went to her desk wondering if there could be any clue.
Her appointment book was open on her desk, a pen resting on top.
Only one thing was written down and it was on today’s date. It read:
Alani @ 3 pm.
Taking my phone out, I snapped a picture of it. I had a name. Maybe it was the clue I needed.
Checking upstairs in the apartment, just to be sure, I saw that Arlo scratched the hell out of the door.
Probably in his attempt to get out. How he actually got out was beyond me.
Somehow he must have turned the handle enough to open it and escape.
But the apartment was left intact. There was no sign of Sage or any problem, other than the knocked over easel and paint downstairs.
Hustling back down the stairs, I knelt down in front of Arlo, rubbing his ears. “Good boy. Good boy,” I praised him.
Anger and fear welled up inside me. My fists balled at my sides. My muscles tensed. My jaw ticked. Nausea roiled my stomach. If I stayed a moment more, I was going to be sick. I needed to find her.
I stomped back through the studio and workroom, Arlo close on my heels, as we headed to my truck. Rain was pouring down, pounding on the metal of the truck like dirt pellets. A subtle rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, echoing against the mountains as the storm came barreling in.
Opening the door, Arlo jumped in, taking a seat on the passenger side. I climbed in, returning my pistol beneath the seat.
I gripped the steering wheel, my teeth grinding to keep myself together. “I swear to God …” I gritted out, as if he could hear me. “I swear to God … if you hurt her … you’re going to wish you were dead.”
Picking up my phone, I called Reed — the one person I knew who’d never mess around with this shit after what Lina went through with her stalker. He picked up on the first ring.
“What’s going on?” he asked immediately.
“Round ‘em up and meet me at the Bare Buckle Motel,” I told him, before hanging up.