The Ranch (A Second Chance Romance)

“Vic?” I looked around as if expecting to see him nearby. “Where?”

“I was at the hospital visiting Cameron. I saw Vic there.”

“Oh, how is Cameron?” I asked diplomatically, while I really wanted to ask a different question.

“It’ll be a while, but he’s going to be okay.”

“Good. Sorry. I’m trying not to panic, but...” I stepped forward to hug her.

Muriel held onto me tightly for several seconds before taking a step back. “I know. And thank God you made it out okay. I shouldn’t have ever let you leave in the middle of the storm. And now Jas is missing, and I—” Her voice broke, and she turned her head away. “I don’t understand where she has gone.”

Cooper took a step toward us. “We last saw her at the reunion dinner. Did you go anywhere with her after that? Or have you seen her since then?”

“She wanted to party in her room after the dinner, but...” Muriel looked thoughtful. “Poppy left with her sister, and I went to my bungalow alone. I left before Jas, so I can’t really say much of use. Although, I saw her yesterday. She popped by while we were trapped in the bungalow.”

“Great. Did she tell you her plans?” I asked eagerly.

Muriel frowned. “Not that I can remember. Oh! She did mention wanting to see her family. I think she had plans to visit them.”

I turned back to Cooper and Nolan. “That’s probably the best lead we’ve had so far. I’d like to take a look around her room if we can get in, though. There might be some other, perfectly normal reason why she hasn’t been seen today.”

Nolan grimaced as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. “Do you think we should try to call her folks? I don’t want to worry them if there isn’t a reason, but this is starting to get kind of serious.”

“Yeah, really serious,” I nodded. “But I don’t know if they even have a phone. Her family lives out in the sticks. Like, seriously, the sticks. They didn’t even have indoor plumbing until we were in high school.”

Cooper winced. “Yeah, I remember that one time we all trekked out there to pick her up for something. That’s probably the closest I’ve ever come to actually getting shot. Come to think of it, reporting on missing family members is probably a job for the cops.”

From the way everyone was talking, driving out to see Jasmine’s family was probably the very last thing we wanted to do, but it was on the cards, anyway. It wasn’t about what we wanted to do, but what we had to do to find a missing woman.

We had to make sure she was safe. And if she was out there visiting relatives and had forgotten to tell us and forgot to charge her cellphone, well, we’d kick her ass later when we got her back to civilization.

“Okay, well, let’s see if we can get into her room first,” I said. “And we’ll go from there. I don’t want to make any rushed decisions or jump to any conclusions until we’ve made sure she isn’t taking a nap and ignoring her calls or something.”

Which I already knew wasn’t the case, even if I still tried to hold out some hope secretly. Jasmine always kept her phone by her side. She would have called or at least sent a text if she had any clue how many people were worried and looking for her.

All it took was a quick phone call and a short walk around the property to meet the hotel manager at Jasmine’s bungalow. “I hope your friend is okay, ma’am,” he said to me as he swiped the keycard to open her door. “I wish I could say I’ve seen her, but we’ve had so many people coming and going with the wedding—not to mention the weather—that I’m afraid the faces have all become a blur.”

“Totally understandable,” I smiled, easing past him and stepping into the room. “You’ve been a big help already, though. Thank you so much.”

The manager placed a hand in front of me. “I am sorry. I can’t let you into the room of another guest. It is a matter of privacy and security. If you wait outside, ma’am, I’ll take a look around for you.”

“I understand.” It was damned frustrating, but I stepped backward.

It made sense.

“If you see her cellphone, let us know.”

“Or anything untoward.”

The four of us waited for the longest two minutes outside of Jasmine’s room. “This is super weird,” I whispered.

Soon the manager reappeared and held the door open so that we could see into the room. “Your friend is not here, but nothing seems out of order. These are clothes hung up and jewelry on the dresser. No sign of a phone or a wallet. It doesn’t look as if she’s been robbed.”