“Why were you worried?”

“Because nobody’s seen Reed since the funeral five days ago.”


Mandy Jacobs had been Reed’s close friend for nearly ten years. Before that, she’d felt something close to hero worship for him in high school, ever since the day he’d rescued her when her bikini top flew off as she dove into the Stump Lake swimming hole. The boys in her own grade had howled with laughter, stopping her girlfriends from coming into the water to help her, waiting with wide-eyed anticipation for the numbing cold to force her from the lake.

Just as she was about to give in and cover her dignity as best she could manage, Reed had come along and read the younger boys the riot act. He’d stripped off his boots and waded up to his waist, handing her his own T-shirt. He’d never even peeked while, teeth chattering and toes tingling, she’d struggled her way into the shirt while under water. And then he’d threatened the younger boys with dire consequences if they dared to tease her about it in the future.

When she came home after two years in college in Denver, she and Reed had grown closer still. Over the years, she’d learned about his mother’s death, his father’s cruelty and the reasons behind his fraternal twin brother, Caleb, leaving the valley.

Reed had no siblings left at home, and Mandy’s two brothers did nothing but tease her. Her oldest sister, Abigail, had been a bookworm, while her younger sister, Katrina, had gone away to boarding school when she was only ten. If Mandy could have chosen a brother, it would have been Reed.

This morning, genuinely worried and determined to track him down, she’d let herself into the familiar house, listened to his phone messages, hunted her way through his letter mail, even checked his closet before realizing she wouldn’t know if some of his clothes were missing or not. She did know his wallet was gone. His watch wasn’t lying around and his favorite Stetson wasn’t hanging on the peg in the front entry hall.

She had to believe he had left the ranch willingly. The man was built like a mountain. She couldn’t imagine anyone forcing him to do anything he didn’t want to do.

Still, she was very glad Caleb had shown up when he did. Something definitely wasn’t right, and she could use his help to figure out what had happened.

Caleb clunked his briefcase down on the hardwood floor, interrupting her musings as he straightened beside the brown leather couch that sat in front of the picture window.

His gaze pierced hers. “Define missing? ”

“Reed left the cemetery after the funeral,” Mandy explained, casting her memory back again to the events of last week, hunting for little details she might have missed that would give her a clue to what happened. “He drove off in one of the ranch pickup trucks. I assumed he was coming back here.”

She focused on the row of pictures along the fireplace mantel, zeroing in on a recent one of Reed at the Lyndon Rodeo. “We all came over to the house afterward for refreshments. I didn’t see him, but I didn’t think that was particularly odd. He’d just lost his father and, you know, he might have wanted to be alone.”

From behind her, Caleb’s voice was cool. “Are you trying to tell me Reed was mourning our father?”

She turned back to face him while she framed her answer. She couldn’t help contrasting the two brothers. They were about as different as two men could get. They’d both been attractive teenagers who’d grown into very handsome men. But where Reed was rugged and rangy, Caleb was much more urbane and refined.

Reed was nearly six-four, deep-chested, bulky in his arms and legs, and about as strong as an ox. His hair was dark, his eyes darker. While Caleb was closer to six-one, broad shouldered, but with leaner muscles, a chiseled chin and bright blue, intelligent, observant eyes. His hair was a lighter brown, his voice bass instead of baritone.

“Mandy?” Caleb prompted, and there was something about the sound of her name on his lips that made her heart thud an extra beat. Where on earth had that come from?

“I doubt he was mourning your father,” she acknowledged.

If anything, Reed and Wilton’s relationship had deteriorated after Caleb left. Wilton wasn’t capable of anything but criticism, no matter how hard Reed worked. And no matter how much Reed accomplished on the ranch, his father wasn’t satisfied and told him so on a regular basis.

Intimidated by the man, Mandy had visited the Terrell house only when Wilton was away. Thankfully, he was away quite often. The very definition of a crotchety old man, he seemed to prefer the company of cattle to humans, and he spent many nights in line shacks on the range.

She’d done everything she could to support Reed. When she was sixteen and Reed was twenty, Wilton had ended a particularly hostile argument by whacking Reed’s shoulder with a two-by-four. Mandy had impulsively offered to marry Reed so he could move to the neighboring Jacobs ranch.

But he’d had laughed at her and tousled her hair, telling her he loved her like a sister, not a wife, and he wouldn’t turn his back on his father ever again. And by then, he was big enough to defend himself against Wilton.

“He should have left when I did,” Caleb broke into her thoughts again, his voice brittle.

“ You should have stayed,” Mandy countered, giving him her unvarnished opinion. If Caleb had been around, it would have been two against one, and Wilton would not have gotten away with so much cruelty.

Caleb’s eyes crackled like agates. “And rewarded him for killing my mother, by breaking my back for him day after day?”

“Reed saw it differently.” Mandy understood just how differently Reed had viewed the situation. And she admired him for it.

The Terrell Cattle Company had been the merging of both Wilton Terrell’s family holdings and those of his young wife, Sasha’s. After her death, through thick and thin, Reed had vowed to protect his mother’s heritage. He had plans for the ranch, for his future, ways to honor his mother’s memory.

Which made his disappearance, particularly now, even more confusing. Where was he?

“Reed was a fool,” said Caleb.

Mandy found herself taking a step forward, squaring her shoulders, hands curling into fists by her sides, her anger rising in her friend’s defense. “I love Reed.”

“I thought you said-”

“Like a brother. ”

“Yeah?” Caleb scoffed, blue eyes glaring right back at her. “Why don’t you tell me what that’s like?”

His mocking tone was at odds with the trace of hurt that flashed through his eyes, and her anger immediately dissipated.

“Why did you come?” she found herself asking.

Did she dare hope Caleb had reconciliation on his mind? She’d be thrilled to see the two brothers bury the hatchet. She knew that, deep down, Reed missed his brother, and she had to believe Caleb missed Reed.

Suddenly, she remembered one of the letters she’d sorted this morning. Her heart lifted, and her chest hummed with excitement. That had to be the answer. “He was expecting you.”

“What?”

She pivoted on her heel and headed for the kitchen, bee-lining to the pile of correspondence that hadn’t yielded a single clue to Reed’s whereabouts.

Caleb’s footfalls sounded in the hallway behind her as she entered the bright, butter-yellow kitchen, with its gleaming redwood cabinets and granite countertops.

“Here it is.” She extracted a white envelope with Caleb’s name scrawled across the front. It hadn’t made sense to her at the time, but Reed must have known his brother would be here. Maybe this was the clue she needed.

She strode back across the big, bright kitchen and handed the envelope to Caleb. “Open it,” she demanded impatiently.

Caleb frowned. “I didn’t tell him I was coming.” The messages had been a cryptic “call me, we need to talk.” He hadn’t doubted for a second Reed would understand.

“Then why did he leave you a letter? It was sitting on the island when I got here this morning.” She pointed out the spot with her finger.

Caleb heaved a deep breath, hooking his thumb beneath the end of the flap and tearing open the flimsy paper.

He extracted a single, folded sheet and dropped the envelope onto the countertop next to the telephone. He unfolded the paper, staring at it for a brief moment.

Then he uttered a sharp, foul cussword.

Mandy startled, not at the word, but at the tone. Unable to control her curiosity, she looked around the paper, her head next to Caleb’s shoulder and read Reed’s large, bold handwriting. The message said: Choke on it.

She blinked and glanced up at Caleb. “I don’t understand. What does it mean?”

“It means my brother’s temper hasn’t changed one bit in the past ten years.”

“Do you know where he went?” The cryptic message didn’t help Mandy, but maybe Caleb understood.

Caleb growled at the paper. “You stupid, stupid idiot.”

“What?” Mandy demanded.

He crumpled the paper into a tight ball, emitting a cold laugh. “He doesn’t trust me. He actually thinks I’d screw my own brother.”

“Screw him how?” She’d been telling herself Reed was off on his own somewhere, reconciling what had to be conflicting emotions about losing such a difficult father. But now Caleb had her worried.

He stared down at her, blue eyes rock-hard, jaw set in an implacable line. She could almost see the debate going on inside his head.

Finally, he made a decision and spoke. “Wilton Terrell, in his infinite wisdom, has left his entire estate, including the Terrell Cattle Company, to his son…Caleb.”

Mandy braced herself on the edge of the island, her breath hitching inside her chest. “He left it to you? ”