Free Searching For Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 2) by Amelia Rose Page A

hangnail as he walked, not looking at his boss, too upset by the desperate look on the old man’s face as he tried yet again to talk to his son.
    “It could be anything,” Dwayne said in his most reassuring voice. “Maybe the battery ran down on it. Maybe there’s a storm back home and the satellite’s not picking up, just like with the TV when it rains too hard. You can’t know why he’s not answering.”
    Bernard ignored their attempts to make him feel better, certain that something was horribly wrong. Joseph sat next to his father without speaking, his leg bouncing up and down so hard underneath the table that the pens and papers moved around its surface. No one seemed to notice or care.
    “All we can do is wait ‘til Carey gets back and reports in with some news,” Dwayne continued kindly. “There’s no sense letting it eat at you until we know something for sure.”
    “How’s this going to affect the cattle drive, Boss?” Terry asked, trying hard not to seem uncaring, but needing some clarification about their jobs. They had 30,000 head to move and were now short Carey, as well as Casey. Regardless of what the vacationers wanted to do, there was the very real consideration of selling the herd and if they didn’t arrive on time, there’d be some angry brokers to deal with down the road.
    “I just don’t know, Terry. I can’t even think about that right now. What if something happened?” Bernard asked without really speaking to anyone, staring at the useless phone in his hand as if it had betrayed him.
    “Boss,” Dwayne said firmly, coming over to sit down across from the old man. “I know everything’s gonna be fine. There’s some explanation for this, and we’re all gonna laugh about how this gave you another patch of gray hair. I know he’s gonna be okay. They all will.” Bernard smiled and reached a weathered hand across the table to grasp Dwayne’s in his own.
    “Thank you. I just wish I had half the confidence you have. All I have is a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I never should have left Anders behind. And all those staff members, I basically left an unarmed crew of women and a sickly teenage boy to fend for themselves against a dangerous, desperate man.”
    “Hey, now,” Dwayne argued, trying to lift Bernard’s spirits. “my wife is a member of that ‘crew of women’ and I feel for any man, dangerous or not, who tries to get in that house with her around. She’s gonna look after Anders, and the rest of ‘em, too. You’ve known Amanda as long as I have, and I’ll tell you what, I almost feel sorry for Crazy Mack!” The foreman smiled at Bernard, putting aside his own fears for his wife for a moment, long enough to reassure the old rancher.
    “Yes, I know what a spitfire Amanda is. Thank you, Dwayne. And I’m sorry I put your family in this situation.” Bernard looked even more morose than before, realizing how selfish he must have sounded for worrying only about his own son when it was his staff members’ families who were in harm’s way as well.
    “You didn’t do anything, sir, it’s all that nutcase’s doing. We’re all gonna be just fine, and this will be just one more story for us to tell around the fire at the end of the day. ‘Course, by the time it gets out, we’ll have a great yarn to share, with all kinds of antics and super-sized whoppers to go with it. You’ll see, it’s gonna be fine.”
    Dwayne stood and patted Bernard firmly on the shoulder before making his way out of the RV. He climbed down the metal steps and managed to get a hundred yards or so away from the truck and the rest of the group before breaking down, squatting down in the dirt and putting one hand over his moist eyes.
    “Dear Lord, please let them be okay…please let Amanda be okay…”
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    Carey