he expected Rafe to show up and be his best man.
Before Rafe had found the time to respond—and he’d put it off, admittedly, because he didn’t know how to remind his old friend that he wouldn’t be welcome around the Crenshaw family—Dan had written an equally terse letter saying the engagement was off.
What Dan hadn’t told him now spoke volumes. What did he do that called for suits, dress shirts and a wide assortment of expensive ties?
Rafe pulled one of the work shirts off a hanger and put it on. The fit was fine. He didn’t have as much luck with the jeans. It seemed as though Dan had put on a little weight around the middle since high school. Rafe rooted around until he found an old pair of jeans that would fit him.
They were worn white at the knees and the seat of the pants. Hell, for all he knew they may well be Jeans from high school.
He grabbed a pair of socks before putting on his own boots. Then he went in search of some coffee with which to start his day.
There was no sign of Mandy but she’d left evidence of her passing. A pan of biscuits sat next to a plate filled with crisply fried bacon. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. His stomach growled at the thought. He poured himself a cup of coffee and stuck a piece of bacon between two halves of a biscuit. By the time he’d finished his coffee, he’d made a large dent in the biscuit and bacon supply.
He peered outside, but there was no sign of Mandy. One of the first things he needed to do was to get his clothes out of the brush where he’d hidden them. After that, he’d talk to someone about getting his car back to the rental place. He walked to the back door and eased it open. In addition, he wanted to hunt up the foreman and get his view on what might have taken place here the night Dan disappeared.
He stepped off the end of the porch and started toward the gate. He was almost there when a slight noise at his back caused him to glance around, but he was too late. He felt a blinding pain directly behind his ear.
His last memory was a vision of the limestone walk rapidly coming up to meet him.
Three
Rafe knew that he was getting too old for this business if someone could take him out in a friend’s backyard in the middle of the morning. He sat in the kitchen holding a cold compress to the back of his head while Mandy apologized to him and explained to the foreman that he wasn’t an interloper and shouldn’t have been ambushed.
From what Rafe could gather as he sat nursing his goose egg and bruised ego, Tom Parker wasn’t any too pleased with Mandy’s explanations. He appeared to be upset that all of his carefully planned security measures hadn’t prevented Rafe from reaching the ranch house undetected last night.
At the moment, Rafe was having some difficulty working up much sympathy for the man.
“I’d intended to introduce Rafe to you this morning, Tom,” Mandy said in a conciliatory tone that wasn’t improving Rafe’s mood of the moment. Hell, she didn’t need to apologize for him. “I wasn’t aware he was awake or I would have invited you to the house for coffee so the two of you could get acquainted.”
“So introduce us,” the man replied in a gruff voice.
Mandy rolled her eyes. “Rafe McClain, this is Dan’s foreman, Tom Parker. He’s worked for Dan for several years.” To Tom she added, “Rafe is a family friend.”
Rafe wasn’t in the mood to be polite, damn it. Getting his head bashed in wasn’t on the top of his list of ways to start the day. Hell, Ranger had been better protection for Mandy than all the armed guards. Where was this character last night when Ranger had carried on so loudly?
Rafe leaned back in his chair and looked over the man who was propped against the cabinets with his arms folded, glaring at him from across the room. He wasn’t particularly impressed with the man or his glare, although he might have been more tolerant of the man’s attitude if this was the first time they’d had occasion to meet.
“A little quick to take a person out, aren’t you?” Rafe drawled, holding Parker’s gaze with a steady look.
“You’re a stranger on the property. As far as I’m concerned, you have no business being here. I have zero tolerance these days.”
Rafe carefully touched the knot behind his ear. “Yeah. I noticed.”
“Hope you’re not waiting for an apology,” Parker growled. “With Dan missing, I’m not willing to take any chances where Mandy’s safety is concerned.”
Mandy interrupted. “Tom, I’ve already explained that...”
Parker ran his hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture. “Hell, I know what you said, Mandy. Has it occurred to you that if this guy—”
“Rafe—” Rafe reminded him softly.
“—If Rafe could get on the property without any of us seeing him, so could anyone else. Until we locate Dan, we don’t know what the hell is going on. For all we know, this guy could have something to do with Dan’s disappearance.”
Rafe chuckled, then groaned, holding his head very carefully, afraid it might tumble off his shoulders at any moment. “I’m not up to laughing at your absurd accusations just yet, so try to hold back on the humor for a little while, okay?”
He was amused to see that this Tom character was actually grinding his teeth. I bet his dentist was going to love him for that.
Parker straightened. “I’ve got to get to work. I need to—”
“—show me around the place?” Rafe inserted. “Thanks, I’d appreciate it. Now that I’m here, I can relieve you of some of the burden of figuring out what’s going on.”
A rush of emotions seemed to sweep across Parker’s face—disbelief, anger, with more than a hint of bewilderment. “Just who in the hell do you think you are?” he finally managed to get out through clenched teeth.
Rafe continued to lean back in his chair. He smiled, feeling better by the minute. “The man who’s going to find out what happened to Dan.”
“I see. You think you can do any better than I have, or Mandy, or the sheriffs department?”
Rafe shrugged. “Won’t know ’til I try.”
Mandy spoke up. “Look, Rafe, you don’t have to stay. Just because Dan contacted you doesn’t mean that you have to—”
“Dan contacted him! When?” Parker turned and looked at Rafe. “How come I’ve never heard of you, if you’re such good friends with the family?”
Rafe scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Tell you what, Parker,” he finally drawled. “The minute I finish my autobiography, I’ll make damned sure you get the first copy off the press. Until then, I don’t owe you any explanations about anything, you understand me? I’m here now. I aim to stay until I get ready to leave, and not one minute sooner.” He studied the other man thoughtfully before adding, “Unless you’re already seeing yourself as the boss around here now that Dan isn’t around.”
Parker straightened and took a step toward him before Mandy stepped in front of him. She placed her hands on Parker’s chest. “Look, Tom, I know Rafe very well. You aren’t going to win this argument. I’ll talk to him...try to get him to calm down—”
“Calm down?” Rafe repeated. “Hell, Mandy, if I was any more calm at the moment, I’d be comatose.”
She ignored him. “Why don’t you give us a few minutes,” she said to Parker. “Rafe and I will be out later. I want to show him the airfield and other things that weren’t here the last time he was here. I’d like you to go with us.”
Rafe idly noted that Parker contented himself by giving Rafe a hard look. Rafe assumed it was supposed to make him tremble in his boots. Parker nodded to Mandy and left the kitchen, allowing the door to