Missing in the Desert

by Dana Mentink

  As they headed into the third hour on the trail, they passed through an open wrought iron gate. The name on the stout mailbox read Warrington.

  “Welcome to my place,” Gene said. “We’ll take a pit stop here. There’s water for the horses and lemonade and cookies for everyone else. The route crosses over my property another mile and cuts around the canyon to checkpoint two, the starting point for the Mule Team ride into town. There’s a nice flat area there for those of you rugged types who are camping out. A few tents are still available for rental, but most are spoken for by out-of-towners. I can promise you lots of fresh air, sunshine and the occasional tarantula.” The gathering chuckled. “Oh, and we brought in some porta-potties. I know it’s a modern touch, but I don’t want anyone getting bitten by a rattlesnake while taking care of business in the wild. I’m hosting a catered dinner on Saturday night right here to thank you all for being a part of this great event. Sound good?”

  The enthusiastic whoops rose in a chorus.

  “Gonna fix your famous brisket?” a man cried out.

  Gene laughed. “Famous or infamous, I’m fixing it. Bring your Tums.”

  Mara noticed Teegan did not join in the merriment. His attention was focused elsewhere. Ahead was a sprawling one-story Spanish-style home with stuccoed walls and an enclosed patio shaded by shaggy trees. Sharing the same paved circular drive was a smaller house, similar in style. It had its own enclosed porch, and in the front yard there was a long table covered by a cloth, holding pitchers of lemonade and platters of cookies. Amelia stood there wearing a straw hat and waving. Peter rode circles on his tiny bike as he took in the spectacle. The participants had begun to tie their horses to the hitching posts and help themselves to cookies and lemonade.

  She dismounted with Levi and walked to the table. Amelia’s shocked look when she’d introduced herself made her wonder if Amelia knew more about Corinne than she let on and it was not just her imagination that Teegan was avoiding her. Waiting her turn in line, she’d almost reached the front when Amelia’s gaze fastened on her, and the smile faltered.

  “Hi. Um, I have to help Peter with something. Please have some cookies.”

  Abruptly she left her post and called to Peter. He came, and she led him by the hand into the house, shutting the door behind them.

  Levi raised an eyebrow at Mara. “Not very hospitable.”

  “Maybe it’s just the fact that I represent Teegan’s ex-girlfriend. But her reaction seems sort of extreme.”

  They helped themselves to lemonade and a cookie while they looked at the dirt trail cut into the dry earth across Gene’s property. “Big place,” Levi said. “Gene said it’s close to three hundred acres.”

  “Big enough for Teegan to live on the same property as his father,” she mused. “I wonder why they don’t share the main house.”

  “They don’t get on sometimes,” a voice put in.

  A heavyset man with a scruff of well-tended beard downed a cup of lemonade. He wore a long-sleeved flannel shirt, and perspiration shone on his face. “Name’s Jerry. We talked on the phone.”

  Mara frowned. “We did?”

  “I own J and K Excavation. You called last week to find out who might have sent you that text on my cell phone. The one that said Marbles?”

  Mara gaped. “Yes. Yes, I did.”

  He shrugged and rolled a shoulder thoughtfully. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help. I still have no idea who coulda done it.”

  Mara sighed. “It’s okay. I appreciate you trying.”

  Jerry bit into one cookie of the stack he’d taken, his expression thoughtful. “Tell you what, though. I’ve been mulling over it since I talked to you. There is maybe one more thing I could check.”

  Mara’s nerves prickled. “Really?”

  He finished a cookie and wiped his hands on his jeans. “I’m not a very good recordkeeper. I’m a real dinosaur, so my appointments are all scrawled down in ugly old appointment books, rather than on a computer. Old-school, like I said. My shelving unit collapsed last week and sent boxes falling everywhere. I haven’t had the time to sort through it all. My appointment book is somewhere in the mess. If you come by sometime, you’re welcome to dig through the piles and find it. It would show where I was the day you got that text. Never did find my cell phone. Had to buy a new one.”

  Mara’s pulse quickened. She purposely did not look at Levi. This matter didn’t concern him, and she did not want to catch a frown of disapproval on his face. “That would be fabulous. Can I come tomorrow, maybe? It would have to be after I get back from Las Vegas.”

  He finished his drink and turned to head for the table to get a refill. “Sure. I’ll be in the office all afternoon after church, trying to dig myself out.”

  The participants continued to mill around, but Mara hardly noticed. She whispered to Levi. “I know there’s probably nothing in it, but I might as well take him up on his offer.”

  “As long as I go with you.”

  She cocked her chin. “Fair enough. I promised I wouldn’t go wandering off on my own.”

  “Yes, you did, and I’m holding you to it.”

  Her thoughts whirled until it was time to climb into the saddle again. What was it about this town that made her obsess about her sister? Corinne was dead. She had no false hopes that there was any other possibility. If she was still alive, she would have contacted them in the long years since her disappearance. Corinne was young and selfish, impetuous, but she loved their parents, and she would not have tortured them by allowing them to believe her dead. There was nothing at J and K Excavations that would change those facts, but she could not ignore the strong compulsion that was spurring her to check into it, anyway.

  She swung a leg over the saddle. Instantly she knew something was wrong. A shock went through the horse. In a flash, animal’s ears went back, and she leaped sideways so suddenly that Mara had to cling to the saddle horn to avoid being bucked off. “Whoa, Pumpkin—” she started, but before the words were fully out, the horse began to gallop down the road, leaving the startled participants behind. The ground moved past in a blur. Her instinct was to haul back on the reins, but she knew from experience that would only panic the horse even more.

  Instead she sat back deeply in the saddle and tried to hold on. Inexplicably the horse seemed to grow even more frantic, galloping faster until the ground flew by in a dizzying blur.

  Stay in the saddle. She focused on that one task, calling out to the horse as loudly as she dared. Thrown toward her left side, she again tried to center herself in the saddle. When she did so, the horse squealed. In pain? She immediately weighted back on her left side. The animal swerved to avoid a branch on the ground and Mara was flopped back toward her right hip. The horse again whinnied as if in pain and ran harder. Using all her strength, Mara leaned to her left side again. The mare continued to speed on, but the squeal of pain ebbed away.

  Whatever it took, she had to keep her weight off her right side, while clinging to the horse with all her might.

  If she didn’t, she might just join her brother in the hospital again.

  Hold on, Mara.

  * * *

  Levi urged his horse into a gallop, praying Mara would be able to hold on. He edged as close as he dared and skimmed out a hand to grab one of the reins. Mara’s fingers were white as she gripped the saddle, jaw clenched in concentration. He could see that she would not be able to keep her seat much longer. Stretching as far as he dared, he was able to snag one of the reins.

  At first he did not apply pressure, since a yank would startle the horse further, but gradually with the single rein he tugged until the horse veered ever so slightly. Pumpkin’s ears were pinned back, her eyes rolling in fear.

  “Whoa, Pumpkin,” he called gently, continuing to encourage the horse to move in a circle. “I’m gonna help you. Easy, girl. Easy.” At first the mare would be led a few s
teps and then jag out sideways as if she would bolt again, but slowly, gradually, he persuaded the horse to circle and slow. Another half circle and he leaped from Sunny’s saddle and jogged next to Pumpkin. “Easy,” he crooned, “easy, sweetheart.”

  He finally coaxed her to an unsteady halt. The horse stood trembling, sweating, appearing as upset as Mara looked as she slid from the saddle.

  He squeezed her forearm. “You okay?”

  She panted. “Yes.”

  He tried to both comfort the horse and hang on to Mara. “I’ve never seen Pumpkin Pie behave like that.”

  “Something hurt her, right side,” Mara managed. “Check.” Reluctantly, he let Mara go. She followed him around, giving the horse a wide berth. Levi’s muscles went rigid as he saw the trail of blood trickling from under the saddle.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Something hurt you, darling?” He stroked Pumpkin and eased his hand under. She tensed again, but she allowed him to remove the object that had been stuck underneath the saddle blanket.

  He held up a pointed metal object, wet with the mare’s blood. Anger began to boil up inside him. “It’s a jack.”

  He watched the understanding dawn on her.

  “I used to play jacks with Corinne. I didn’t think kids played that anymore.”

  The fury he felt made his head swim. Someone had put the sharp metal piece under Pumpkin’s saddle, hoping she would spook. His horse had been hurt, and Mara had barely escaped serious injury. If she’d been less of a horsewoman, she’d have been thrown for sure. Fury pounded through his veins.

  Gene, Jerry, Teegan and others caught up to them.

  “Some horse you got there,” Teegan said. “I wouldn’t rent that one out for tours, if I was you.”

  Levi glowered and held up the jack. “It’s not the horse. Someone stuck this under her saddle.”

  Gene’s eyes went wide. “Who would do that?”

  “Everyone here is a horse lover,” Jerry added.

  Others moved closer. One man pulled off his hat and scratched his head. “I got a kit. Want me to take a look at the wound?”

  “No one touches this horse,” Levi said. He looked at Mara. “She could have been killed.”

  Gene huffed. “But...it must have been some sort of accident. There’s no way—”

  “No accident. Someone put it there.” Levi’s eyes met Teegan’s. “Does your son have a game of jacks that’s missing a piece?”

  Teegan went rigid. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating.”

  “And I don’t like what just happened to Mara and my horse.”

  Gene stepped between them. “Easy, gentlemen. Levi, I am positive no one here caused this accident. Probably the jack got stuck to your saddle blanket somehow after that last camp you ran for the kids, and you didn’t notice it.” Gene looked relieved as if he’d found a solution. “I’ll call the police right now, if you want to be extra cautious.”

  “I’m taking my horse back to the ranch to treat her. I’ll call Jude from there.” The anger still roared in his senses.

  “Yeah. Tell him your theory about someone sticking a jack under the saddle. That will really entertain him.” Teegan’s smile was mirthless.

  Levi felt like knocking the smug smile right off Teegan’s face. He didn’t realize he’d taken a step toward him until Mara circled his wrist with her fingers. “Let’s go, Levi. Pumpkin needs attention, and I’m okay. Come on.”

  He allowed himself to be persuaded. They walked the horses back to the house, and Levi called Austin to drive the horse trailer from the Borax mine to meet them. While they waited, Levi made sure Mara sat in the shade with a bottle of water, while he urged Pumpkin Pie and Sonny to drink from the trough.

  He saw the curtains of the small house flick slightly. Was Amelia watching them? Had it been her that stuck the jack under the saddle while people were busy drinking lemonade and eating cookies? Or Teegan? Or someone else he hadn’t identified yet as an enemy?

  A warm breeze enveloped him, bringing the scent of long-dried earth. Death Valley had always been a place of security, acceptance, peace. Now he felt a tinge of something in the air he’d never felt before in his small town.

  Danger.

  EIGHT

  Austin and Levi talked quietly when he arrived to the front area of Gene’s property and trailered the horses. It was the first time she’d seen the genial smile gone from Austin’s handsome face. He opened the passenger door of Levi’s truck for her.

  “I’ve never known Levi to be that angry in my whole life,” Austin said quietly while Levi locked the horse trailer doors. “Glad you’re okay, Mara.”

  Mara gave him a nod and smile and climbed in the truck.

  Levi slowly drove away. She could see the vein in his temple throbbing and rage in his knitted ginger brows.

  “The horse will be okay. I’ll help you tend her wound,” she started.

  “Doesn’t matter,” he snapped. “Someone hurt my horse and might have killed you.” He reached out and gripped her fingers. His hand was warm and calloused, swallowing hers inside his big palm. His grasp was almost painful until he seemed to realize it and relaxed his hold. He pulled her fingers to his mouth and brushed a kiss on her knuckle. She felt a rush of surprise. A long moment of silence played between them.

  “And I didn’t even wander off on my own, did I?” Her attempt to lighten the mood did not work at first, until a tiny smile tugged at his mouth and he released her hand.

  “No, you were right next to me. I must be some kind of idiot not to have seen someone messing with Pumpkin’s saddle.”

  “No fault of yours. I didn’t see it, either. Anyone could have done it. Why, though? To scare me out of participating in Camp Town Days? Or to frighten me out of town?”

  They did not come to any conclusions as they returned to the Rocking Horse. She accepted an enthusiastic and slobbery welcome from Banjo as Levi unloaded the horses. The dog followed her to the pasture. Inside the barn, she took Pumpkin’s reins. “Let me treat her wound, while you give Sunny a rubdown.”

  Levi hesitated.

  “I’m good with horses, remember?”

  With a nod, he handed her a box with first-aid supplies. She unsaddled the horse and took a moment to stroke a soft brush over the animal’s sides, staying away from the wound. Levi filled two buckets with oats for each horse. Pumpkin munched contentedly while she inspected the puncture. “Not deep. We just need to clean it out and watch for any signs of infection.” Filling a bottle with cold water, she cleansed the wound and applied a diluted Betadine solution before she covered it with a gauze bandage. “I’ll check it daily, but I think she’ll heal up on her own.” With gentle fingers she caressed the horse’s neck. “I’m sorry, Pumpkin. You didn’t deserve to be hurt today.” She found Levi staring at her.

  “You haven’t lost your touch,” he said. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.” And indeed it had given her pleasure, so much, to be close to animals again. How completely different from her desk job at her parents’ furniture store. Idly she wondered if she would ever get the chance to follow her heart back to caring for animals. She scolded herself. Now was not the time to indulge flights of fancy with someone trying to kill her and with her brother in a coma. It was the time to think about business.

  “We need to take Pumpkin off the available list for the Camp Town Days. How many horses does that leave?” she said.

  “Nine,” he said morosely. “Fancy is too old for long rides.”

  She checked her phone. “We have a party of two scheduled for Tuesday.”

  He gaped. “We do? Do you think it was the flyers we put out?”

  She laughed. “That didn’t hurt, but I suspect it was due to the new website.”

  “What new website?”

  She showed him her phone. “I couldn’t sleep,
and I know how to set up a website since I designed the one for our furniture store. See?”

  He flat out goggled at the tiny screen, scrolling through the photo gallery with his thumb. “You did all this last night?”

  She nodded.

  “Wow.”

  “Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” She was shocked at how much she wanted him to be pleased with her efforts.

  “It’s perfect. I wanted to hire someone to do a website, but I just haven’t had the funds to spare.”

  “Consider it a thank-you for squiring me around everywhere.”

  “That’s not a chore.”

  Their gazes locked, and she noticed that his eyes were the shade of the deepest summer sky. “Well, anyway, I’m glad you like it.” She excused herself from his frank stare. “I’m going to call the hospital and take some aspirin.”

  “Pain bad?” he said.

  She tried for a flirty smile, but her body hurt too much from the wild ride. “I’m okay. Mostly my wrist. Let me know when Jude arrives.”

  “I think...” he called to her.

  “What?”

  He looked at the horses while he spoke. “I was just going to say that Seth would be real pleased with the website. I know you don’t believe in this place, but I appreciate your effort, anyway.”

  A wave of emotion swept through her. Thoughts of her brother, pride in her work, happiness that Levi was pleased and sorrow that he was right. She did not, in fact, believe the ranch would succeed. How could it?

  Yet as she watched him walk to the house, the low rays of sun wrapped him in the same cocoon of light that dappled the trees and the acres of grazing horses. Levi Duke really did belong here, she thought, on this land, in this place, at this time. Maybe that was really the definition of success, winding up where you belonged.