Page 90 of Ace of Spades
“Is it not starting again?” Rafe asks, walking down the front steps of the lodge.
“Nope. Can’t be the battery, I just put a new one in her the other day. I’m thinking it’s the alternator.”
“Want me to have a look at it?”
“I’ll probably have you help me pull her around back to the barn if you’ve got time, I don’t feel like dragging my tools down here.”
“I’ve got time. Debbie and Rhonda were trying to drag me into helping them get the bunkhouses ready for our first booking next week, but this is much more fun,” he tells me, coming tostand at my side.
“Thanks, man. Hey, have you heard from Hailey today?”
“No, why? Wasn’t she supposed to go see her dad?”
“Yeah, but she’s been gone for a while. She left after breakfast this morning and I haven’t heard from her since, and her phone keeps going straight to voicemail.”
“Shit, that was like five hours ago. Did she say how long she’d be gone?”
“No, but I’ve got a bad feeling. I don’t know how to explain it, but something just feels… off,” I admit.
Something had been gnawing at me all morning, this weird feeling in my gut that something just wasn’t right. Hailey never turned her phone off, especially not when social media was a huge part of her life.
“Looks like you can stop worrying,” Rafe tells me, bumping me in the shoulder as I turn to find Hailey’s truck driving through the ranch gates in the distance.
A smile spreads across my face as she parks, my legs carrying me as I make my way to greet her.
The truck door opens and my heart sinks to the gravel at my feet, my spine going rigid as William Sorrels steps out. His hat casts shade over his amber eyes, the same shade as his daughters—though his are far colder, a dullness to them that Hailey’s don’t carry.
I catch Rafe tossing his rag down behind me, coming to stand at my side.
“Where’s Hailey?” I ask, keeping my tone level.
“She’s not coming back here. I came to pick up her horses and trailer.”
“Bullshit,” I argue. “Where is she?”
“As I said, she’s not coming back,” he tells me, his tone placating. “My daughter and I had a long talk earlier, and she made the decision to move back. She asked me to thank all of you for her time here, but she ultimately decided that her place was with her family. As of today, she has accepted a position with Easton & Sorrels Investment Group, where she will be taking over as head of marketing and advertising for the Cedar Creek Resort.”
“I don’t believe you,” I tell him. “Hailey wouldn’t leave, not without saying goodbye.”
“She felt that goodbyes would be too hard. She also mentioned that she was afraid you might try to stop her from leaving, which is exactly why she sent me in her stead.”
“I want to talk to her,” I tell him, not believing a word that’s coming out of his mouth.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.”
“Rafe,” I call over my shoulder. “You got your truck keys?”
“Yep,” he confirms, walking over to his truck and swinging open the driver’s side door.
“Either of you step foot on my property and I’ll have you arrested for trespassing,” William threatens. “If you truly care about my daughter, you’ll respect her wishes. Now, are you going to point me to Hailey’s trailer, or am I going to have to find it myself?”
“You take another goddamn step onto my ranch and see what happens. We don’t call the cops out here, Mr. Langford.”
The click of a gun being cocked into place rings through the air, a smirk tugging at my lips at Rafe’s perfect timing as he sets his pistol on the dashboard of his truck.
William looks between the two of us, his face reddening at the threat.
“So be it,” he finally relents, stepping back towards Hailey’s truck. “Stay away from me and my family. I’ll have my security team on standby in case any of you decide you want to try anything funny.”
