Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Mason
“ I don’t know why she’s so worried,” I muttered, just as Jackson put the cruiser in park outside my house. “I’m just fine.”
“Well, quite honestly, you look like hell,” Jackson chuckled. “And I think it’s nice to have someone who cares enough to get all worked up over your wellbeing. That means she cares—and I think she cares a whole lot about you.”
I glanced over at him, unable to argue with that. “Yeah, I guess to some degree, it’s nice to have someone to keep up with me. I guess I’m just used to only having Jess. It takes some time to get used to someone always fussing over me.”
“But it don’t take no time at all to get used to someone cooking all your meals. I bet that’s heaven, right there. I’d love to have someone at home like that. Instead, I have to feed myself—and that’s the worst... Because I can’t cook worth a shit. ”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I don’t really care if she cooks at all. It’s just nice having her there every evening. It’s like she makes the house complete.”
“Damn, you’re starting to sound like a romantic, Mason,” Jackson burst into laughter, tipping his head back as I glared at him. “It’s a good thing,” he added quickly. “I really couldn’t be happier for you and Jess.”
“Speaking of,” I unhooked my seatbelt and reached for the door handle. “She’s probably about to give me a good verbal lashing, too. I sent her a few texts, but I know she was in school—and now she’s probably just pissed at me for not staying home and resting.”
“Ah, to live in a house full of women,” Jackson cut up, so amused that it made me wanna smack the smile right off his face.
“You’ll see one of these days,” I grumbled as I slid out of the car. “And you’ll see that you wouldn’t have it any other way.” I slammed the door of the cruiser and headed for the front porch steps, a searing pain shooting through my chest as I made my way across the pavers to the bottom of the steps. With a pained grunt, I grabbed the railing and slowly—but surely—made my way up the steps, hoping that Jackson wasn’t watching.
I had overdone it, but I wasn’t about to admit that to anyone. I needed to put eyes on those cattle when Ron had called, because it seemed too good to be true…
But it wasn’t.
The Calvin’s cattle would be home before the sun set, and that was a win—though I had to admit that it was bittersweet. We still needed to find Lucas’s herd, and they should’ve been easier to find because there were so damn many of them missing…
But they’d proven to be elusive.
I unlocked the door and let myself into the cabin, surprised that all the lights were still off. “Jess?” I called, flipping the light switch in the living room. “I’m home.”
But there was no answer.
What the hell? Where is she?
I headed to her room, just to make sure that she hadn’t decided to take an early evening nap or something. I pushed the door open, and much to my dismay, she wasn’t there. Trying to keep my anger at bay, I pulled out my phone and called her, hoping that she was just with Dara at Lily’s.
But Jess didn’t answer her phone.
“You gotta be kidding me,” I muttered, shaking my head. As much as I wanted to be just angry with her, part of me was already beginning to panic… I didn’t need another person I loved to go missing. My chest ached as I paced the kitchen floor, pulling up Lily’s number next. Thankfully, she answered immediately.
“Hey Mason.” Her voice was bright and warm.
“Hey, is Jess there?” I sounded much less enthused.
There was a beat of silence. “Um, you know, she’s not here, actually.”
“Is Dara there?”
“Yeah, she is. Are you sure she’s not at school working on anything? I know they have a big science project coming up for Mr. Henry’s class. There’s a chance she might have stayed behind for it. She and Dara didn’t get put on the same team.”
I nodded, a glimmer of hope igniting in my chest. “I haven’t checked, but I’ll do that now.”
“Make sure you don’t drive?—”
“Thanks, Lily,” I hung up before she could finish. I had to drive. I rubbed my chest, and grabbed my keys to the Bronco, heading to the front door. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be driving for another few days, but I wasn’t on any pain medication that impaired my abilities. The only hindrance I had was the occasional stabbing pain in my chest still…
And apparently that might be around for a while.
My footsteps were heavy on the porch steps as I eased my way down them, trying to tell myself that I would drive to the high school and Jess would be there… But what if she wasn’t? What if she was off with that Cody kid and he kidnapped her? I shuddered at the thought.
I should’ve cut the relationship off after Graham.
But I hadn’t brought myself to do that to her. Everyone swore that Cody didn’t know anything about what happened with Emma—and the point had been made that he was just a kid. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.
But damn, it was hard.
Slowly but with intention, I made my way to the Bronco, ripping the door open and heaving myself inside. Nothing was as easy as it used to be in the moment, but I tried not to let the frustration get to me as the engine sputtered to life. I hadn’t started the thing up in a good month, and it showed. I backed up and headed out of the driveway, inwardly cringing as Emma crossed my mind.
She’s going to kill me twice for this.
My chest ached as I bumped along the gravel road. I had overdone it today, and having to go searching for Jess was the tipping point for that realization. However, I’d do whatever it took to find my daughter and make sure she was safe…
And remind her to answer her damn phone .
I made the ten-minute drive to the school in about seven minutes, throwing it in park right outside the front doors. The place looked desolate, and that didn’t make me feel any better about it. However, the lack of cars and people didn’t mean kids weren’t inside working on a project.
I headed for the front doors of the school, and just as I reached for the handle, the door swung open, none other than Cody Hudson emerging. His shoulder bumped into mine, sending a searing pain through my body. I bit back a groan, not wanting to let the kid know that he just made me see stars.
“Whoa, sorry,” he muttered, stepping out of the way. “I didn’t see you.”
I nodded, deciding to just let it go. “Is Jess in there?”
His brows furrowed, and for a moment, I swore I was looking Graham Hudson right in the face. “No… Is she supposed to be here?”
I took a deep breath, trying not to react to Cody in the same way that I would his father. “I don’t know. I thought she would be home, but she’s not there.”
Visible concern actually crossed the kid’s face. “Well… Maybe she’s with Dara? She seems to always be with Dara.”
“She’s not.”
“I can try to call her,” he offered, shrugging his shoulders.
I gritted my teeth, but nodded, knowing damn well that if she answered him but ignored me, she was going to be in enough trouble to last a lifetime. I watched anxiously as Cody called her, putting his phone to his ear. He eyed me as he did it, shifting in his boots. I was making the kid nervous—and I nearly smiled at the fact.
However, whatever inkling of amusement I found left as his face fell .
“No answer,” he said, sounding nearly as worried as I felt. “I don’t know where she’s at, sir. I just… I’ve been so wrapped up in my science project that I didn’t ask her what her plans were for the day… I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right,” I muttered, spinning on my heel and heading back to the Bronco. I could only think of one more place that she might be—and if she wasn’t there, I’d be calling the damn army if I had to.
“Do you want some help?” Cody’s voice caught my attention from behind, and I realized I had just left the kid there. “I can help look for her.”
I glanced over my shoulder, biting back a snippy response. “If you know where to find her, that’d be much appreciated.”
“Honestly? She’s probably at the ranch riding horses,” Cody said after a moment of appearing to be in deep thought. “I bet that’s where she is.”
Kid read my mind.
“That’s where I’m headed,” I said, nodding to him and heading back to the Bronco. I opened the driver’s side door and climbed in, halfway chiding myself for not having thought of that first. I started the engine, and put the truck in drive, calling Emma at the same time.
“Hey,” she greeted me. “Why aren’t you at home?”
Shit.
“I’m actually on the hunt for Jess. I can’t find her. I’m heading to the ranch.”
She was silent for a few beats as I pulled out onto the highway. “Are you driving?”
I blew out a sharp breath. “Yeah, but I’m not on any pain meds. I’m fine, Emma.”
More silence.
“Emma, I swear I’m fine. I’m just trying to find Jess. She wasn’t at home, and not at school. I ran into Cody at the school, and it was about that time I realized that she’s probably out at the ranch—that’s what Cody said as well. I’m headed out there right now.”
“I’m going to meet you there,” she snapped, the sound of keys jingling in the background. “And then I’m going to drive you home. Lucas can bring your Bronco and then I’ll drive him back. You don’t need to be driving right now. It might set you back.”
Irritation burned in my chest. “Jess is missing, Emma. I need to find her.”
“Okay, and I’m sure she’s at the ranch,” Emma reasoned. “I know that you’re worried—and I understand—but that doesn’t change the fact that you can’t drive right now.”
“But I don’t want to lose her,” I finally admitted, shaking my head. “I just need to put eyes on her.”
“Okay,” Emma said softly. “I understand. Please just drive carefully, and like I said, I’ll meet you over there and drive you home.”
“Okay, that’s fine. I’ll meet you there.”
“Oh, and one more thing,” she added before I could hang up.
“Yeah?”
“While we’re over there, I think that we should talk to Lucas about the fundraiser. I’ve talked to everyone else about it, and they think there’d be a huge turnout… I think we should go ahead with it…”
I let out a sigh, hardly able to think about anything other than just Jess being unaccounted for. I had no idea how Emma was able to think about anything other than that as well… But she was always calmer than I was when it came to Jess and her shenanigans .
“Mason, I’m sure that Jess is okay,” she said to my silence. “If she’s at the ranch, the service isn’t so great and she’s probably just out of range…”
“I know, I know,” I agreed. “But I just have to make sure.”