“They usually don’t.” He shook his head, looking at the animal and then back at me. “The barbecue or the food out here must have attracted it or maybe it’s infected with rabies.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. Blood clung to his lips.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, but I was still shaking. I was not okay. How could he have left me out here? “Where were you?” My eyes narrowed, moving from the fallen beast to Calvin.
“I was inside making breakfast. I was going to bring it out to you.” He pushed my blood-soaked hair out of my face. “I’m sorry.”
I shoved away from him and stood, wiping my skin with the corner of the white sheet.
“I’m going to shower.” I wrapped the blanket tighter around my bust and started off toward the ranch.
“I really am sorry, Grace,” he called out. The words rang hollow.
As I reached the driveway, a sheriff’s vehicle turned into it. I knew when they spotted me because the vehicle went from five miles per hour to thirty in a few seconds. Shit.
The driver slammed on his brakes just in front of me and jumped out of his vehicle. I recognized him immediately—Sheriff Almond.
“Good lord! Ma’am, are you all right?” He drew his gun and scanned all around, his eyes like pendulums.
I knew how it looked. This was the man looking for a missing woman and here I was, covered in blood and practically naked.
“Put your hands up!” the sheriff yelled, pointing his gun just over my shoulder.
I turned to find Calvin walking across the pasture with his rifle slung over his shoulder. His eyes went wide and his face paled like a ghost. Calvin dropped the rifle to the ground and shot his hands up toward the sky.
“Get behind me,” the sheriff said as he put himself between me and Calvin. “Down on the ground,” he yelled.
Calvin dropped to his knees.
“Sir, it’s not what it looks like!” I shouted. The last thing I needed was to get wrapped up in a police shooting. “A mountain lion attacked me.”
Sheriff Almond glanced at me and then back at Calvin. He didn’t look convinced at all.
“It’s true,” Calvin said. “The body is in the field. I can show you.”
He hesitated, keeping his pistol pointed at Calvin.
“He’s telling the truth,” I added.
Sheriff Almond let out a sigh and lowered his weapon. “All right, show it to me.” He gestured with his hand.
Calvin reached for his rifle. “Leave it for now,” the sheriff commanded.
He got to his feet and walked slowly, heading in the direction of the dead animal. Sheriff Almond and I followed behind. I was sure he didn’t believe we were telling the truth. He probably thought Calvin was my captor, and I had developed Stockholm syndrome.
The flies had already gotten to the mountain lion. They wasted no time when it came to death. A swarm of them buzzed around, dropping into the sticky blood. Its eyes were black, still marbles, and its tongue hung out from the side of its mouth.
“Well, shit. This thing has to be two hundred–plus pounds,” the sheriff said as he walked around the carcass, taking it all in. “You said it attacked you?” He looked to me.
I nodded. “Yeah, it was leaping in the air when Calvin shot it.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I’d be the one lying dead in the dirt if it weren’t for him. I never had that close of an encounter before. The closest I’d come to death was nearly getting swiped by a cab in the city. Now I understood how others who had faced it felt.
“You’ll want to contact the DNR, since it’s outside of hunting season, and let them know what happened,” the sheriff said.
Calvin nodded. “I was just about to do that before you showed up.”
“Mountain lion attacks are extremely rare.” He glanced at me. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
I pressed my lips firmly together and wrapped the sheet a little tighter.
“Something must be wrong with this one,” Sheriff Almond added as he gestured toward the animal.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Calvin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on my property before.” He scanned the surrounding area.
“Glad you’re safe, ma’am.” He tilted his head and gave me a sympathetic look.
Redirecting his attention to Calvin, the sheriff raised his chin. “Now, the reason I came out here was about that missing woman Briana Becker.”
I wasn’t sure if Calvin tensed up or if I was imagining it. “Yeah, what’s up? Did you find her?” He shifted his stance, folding his arms across his chest.
“Unfortunately, no.” He cleared his throat. “But we did find her car broken down two miles from here on a back road.”
Wyatt had already told us about the car, so what was the sheriff doing here? Calvin looked down at his feet and back at him. Where was the sheriff going with this? From his tone and how he looked at Calvin, it seemed there was an accusation coming.
“Are you sure didn’t see her?” Sheriff Almond pulled the photo from his front pocket and held it out. “Get a good look,” he added.
There she was again, the bright eyes, long, blond wavy hair, dimples, and a pretty smile. Calvin examined the photo for a moment. “No, like I said before, I haven’t seen her. And she never checked in.”
“And you?” Sheriff Almond put the picture in my line of sight.
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t seen her.”
He gave a slight nod and pocketed the photo. “After seeing this I’m starting to wonder if something like this happened to her?” The sheriff looked down at the dead animal.
“Nature is unforgiving,” Calvin said.
Sheriff Almond gave him a peculiar look.
“You mind if I have a look around your property?”
I couldn’t see where the sheriff was looking because his aviators covered his eyes, but he swiveled his head to the left and to the right—like he was already searching. Did he think the woman was here? If she was, I would have surely stumbled across her. Or did he think Calvin had done something to her? My mind went back to the night I heard the woman’s scream. Was it her? I opened my mouth and was about to mention it but stopped. What if I was wrong? What if I had been dreaming? What if I actually hadn’t heard anything? It would further complicate things, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Have at it. I can show you around if you’d like,” Calvin offered.
“Yeah, sure. That’d be great,” Sheriff Almond said.
The two of them walked toward the barn, keeping their distance six feet from one another. Calvin glanced back at me with a tight smile, not his usual smile. I turned, heading back toward the house. And then it hit me. The ranch had no cell service, and if the Wi-Fi was down then, Briana wouldn’t have been able to check in even if she was here.
The warm water cascaded over me as I attempted to let fear and anxiety wash away with the blood. It swirled down the drain, a pinkish-red liquid. I knew there was something off when I got here. I felt it in the house. I saw it in Calvin. Perhaps it’s what attracted me to him. The danger of it all. The unknowing. Everything in my life had always been planned. There was never any room for spontaneity or things that weren’t a part of my schedule. That included fear. You don’t plan for fear. It was obvious the sheriff believed Briana had been here. I was starting to believe it too. But where was she now?