Page 4 of Due North
I had checked my phone ten more times for a response from Cece, but there was nothing. As much as I didn’t want to, I was going to have to start my work and hope she texted before the noon deadline.
I stood on my deck and gazed out over the land I loved. I had to admit it was nice to have my own place where I could be alone. I was only feet away from the bunkhouse if any of the guests needed me, but I had my own space for the first time in my life.
I rubbed my leg and tried to stretch it out, the pain and weakness in it getting worse instead of better. I didn’t even have time to think about what was wrong with it. There was no time for anything else, considering the laundry list of tasks I had to do in the next two weeks. Metal clattered on metal like a gong and stood me straight up. It came from the bunkhouse, but no one should be in there.
I jumped down off the deck carefully, mindful of my leg, and moved toward the wooden structure a few hundred feet away. Miss Heaven had updated the plumbing, made the kitchen compliant for a business, and bought new furniture to make the eight rooms comfortable for guests, but she made sure to retain the rustic feel to the place. The first winter we were open, we discovered the windows weren’t insulated well enough to support the amount of use it was getting now. That had to be taken care of before another Wisconsin winter hit, so we had contractors coming in to do the work. However, they weren’t scheduled to be here until later in the week.
I was surprised to see the door to the bunkhouse was unlocked. The only explanation was that Amity decided to use the kitchen for cooking something special. I waited for my mouth to water, but it didn’t. I was still too worried about Cece. Amity was Blaze McAwley’s mom and Beau’s adoptive mother. After retiring from their ranch in Texas, she and her husband, Ash, moved to Wisconsin. Amity wanted to be here to be part of their newest grandbaby’s life. She also loved to cook, but her tiny cottage on Bison Ridge didn’t have all the amenities of the bunkhouse kitchen, so she often came over to help Cece with meals for the hands.
“Hey, Amity,” I said, stepping into the great room. I stopped short when I registered it wasn’t Amity in the kitchen. Our missing cook sat on the floor with a spoon in one hand and a pot rolling around next to her.
“Son of a—Cece, are you okay?” I asked, rushing toward her.
“There must have been water on the floor. I slipped,” she said, but her eyes were glassy and filled with tears. “I slipped on the water.”
I set the pot right again and knelt, glancing around the floor. There was no water. I took her chin and held that pair of shimmering blue ones with mine. “Did you hit your head?”
“No,” she said, shaking it. “I’m okay,” she insisted, but I could see she was anything but okay. She was upset. I could feel it in my gut. I could see the blue in her eyes had changed. Now, her whole aura was the darkest blue on the color wheel. I knew it well. I could sense emotions, and right now, the room was filled with grief and fear.
“We’ve been so worried about you, Cece,” I whispered. “Where the hell have you been?”
A tear dripped over her long lashes and down her cheek. “I—I was busy.”
Busy. That was about as vague as any answer she could give. “How about if we get you up, darlin’. Do you need help?”
“No, I’m fine, Caleb.” The waver of her voice told me that was a lie. She pushed herself up and dusted off the back of her jeans.
Cece was the only one who got away with calling me by my real name without me yowling about it. I hadn’t figured out why yet, but when I did, I’d probably make her stop. “Come here,” I said, wrapping my arms around her in a hug. She clung to me, her cheek against my chest as I rested mine on the top of her head. This was dangerous territory, but I could tell she needed comfort. I was going to offer it even if it killed me. “I’m so relieved to see you, darlin’. We’ve been worried sick about you.”
Tears fell down her right cheek, and I tenderly wiped them away. “Did someone hurt you, Cece?” I asked, holding her tighter as she shivered in my arms. “Say the word. I’ll make sure they’re dealt with.”
“No,” she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. “No one hurt me.”
Against my will, my fingers buried themselves in her long strawberry locks. They were as soft as I’d imagined they’d be.
Dammit, Tex. Stop lusting after her and figure out what’s wrong.
The first thing I had to do was call Dawn.
“I need to start dinner. I need to work. I missed too much work.”
“It’s okay,” I assured her, running my fingers through her hair as I rubbed her back. I had to keep tight control of my body, but it was worth it if it comforted her in some way. “We don’t have guests now for a few weeks, remember? You can take some time to get yourself together.”
She reared back and grabbed my shirt in a death grip. “I have to work, Caleb! I need the money!”
Slowly, my hand came up over hers and encapsulated it. “You’re still going to get paid, Cece. We’re going to insulate the bunkhouse and the riding ring. You and Amity are going to work on new recipes for the crew of the two ranches, remember?”
She was so weak she was shaking, and I grabbed her shoulders, helping her sit at one of the chairs at the kitchen table. She lowered her head to her arms and stared at me with tears in her eyes. “I am ti—tired,” she said, a hiccup in her voice.
I rubbed her shoulder and offered her a smile. “That’s okay. I’ll walk you back to the house now. You can catch up on some sleep before you talk to Dawn about what’s going on.”
She tipped her forehead against her arms and heaved out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond. I can’t go to the house right now. I can’t.”
I put my hand on my hip and stared her down, trying to decide if I needed to fireman carry her to her bed. I feared if she didn’t get some sleep, we’d never make sense of what happened. Then again, fireman carrying her to the house would be an excellent way to never get the image of her beautiful body out of my mind for the rest of my life. I would have to call in reinforcements, so I pulled my phone from my pocket, ready to text Dawn when I noticed one of the bedroom doors was closed.
“We gotta keep those doors open, or the rooms get too cold, then windows frost over,” I explained. “At least until we get this place better insulated. Housekeeping must have forgotten,” I said, turning the handle on the door.
“Caleb, no!” she exclaimed, jumping up and running to the door, fighting against my hand as I tried to turn the knob. “You can’t go in there!”
