Page 99 of Sheriff's City Girl

“Haven’t you had the day off enough lately? I feel like I’ve been working alone.” Jackson sounded as though he was trying to sound positive—and that bothered me.

“What’s going on? More cattle missing?”

“No…” Jackson cleared his throat. “It’s not that at all.”

“Then what is it? Just spill it. Don’t make me have to interrogate it out of you.”

“It’s Cody Hudson,” Jackson said carefully. “Brittany reported him missing about two hours ago. She thinks he ran away.”

I hesitated, not sure how I felt about any of the information he was giving me. “And did he?”

“I don’t know, but he’s only seventeen. He didn’t show up to work this afternoon out at the ranch, either.”

“You’re gonna have to call it into neighboring counties,” I instructed, shaking my head. “And then you’re gonna have to get his last whereabouts.”

“Well, that’s the problem—and what I’m having a hard time with.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Brittany has no idea when she last saw him.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s apparently been out of town ever since Graham got arrested. Cody has been living by himself without anyone at all. I guess Brittany came back to get her stuff, and that’s when she realized he was gone.”

My head started to hurt. “That makes no sense. How does she know he’s not just out and about?”

“Well, he didn’t show up to work, and Lucas said that he never misses work.”

“Jeez, this sounds like a damn mess,” I grunted, glancing back to the doors. “I’ll cut the early dinner short and head that way. Hang tight.”

“I don’t know if you have to cut the dinner short, because I’m about ninety-percent sure that he’s probably just made a run for it. I don’t know that I blame him, either, you know? He’s had a rough time ever since his dad was arrested. Lucas said he’s got some family up in Arkansas, and maybe he took off there.”

“You got any contact information for them?”

“Not yet. Apparently, Brittany ain’t got a damn clue as to anything about this kid. You’d almost think that she didn’t even know him. She couldn’t even tell me his middle name.”

“Some stepmom,” I grunted, shaking my head in disgust. “You might want to reach out to Jess—or I can call her. She might be able to get in touch with him. The two of them are… you know.”

“Yeah, we already talked to Jess. She can’t get ahold of him. It goes straight to voicemail. She was the one that pointed out the family that he has in Arkansas.”

“Well, we need to see if she knows anything else,” I said. “I’ll be back in town in about forty-five minutes. I gotta go break it to Emma that I have to cut our day short.”

Chapter Forty-Three

Emma

“I’m sure that he’ll be just fine,” I said to Mason as we headed back to town, two Styrofoam containers bouncing on my lap as he drove. “I don’t blame him for wanting to cut out for a while. I can’t imagine what he’s going through—and no one has been there for him.”

“I thought Brittany was in town…” Mason’s voice trailed off. “I feel for the kid. I had no idea what he was going through—and all this time, I’ve been so hard on him.”

“It’s okay,” I reached over, grabbing his hand. “We just have to find him—not only for his sake, but also for Jess.”

“I know,” Mason nodded. “And we’re gonna find him.”

We rode the rest of the way in silence and as we turned down the driveway of the cabin, I saw Jackson’s patrol car parked outside with the lights on. My heart sank at the sight of Jess, her entire demeanor sullen as she spoke to Jackson on the front porch. I took a deep breath as I put it in park, and we both slid out.

“I don’t know where he is,” Jess sniffled, her voice carrying across the yard. “And I don’t think he would’ve left all the way for Arkansas…”

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