“Yes. Half the ladies are here, and the other half are at the bakery getting things ready. Honestly, honey, I’m tempted to get in my car and drive over to Ms. Patti’s office.”
“Stay put, sweetheart. I’m not far from there. I’ll swing by, see if her car is in the parking lot. Don’t worry, Red, we’ll get this sorted out. Maybe she accidentally turned off the ringer. You know how it gets sometimes, things get crazy at her office, and she gets busy and forgets to turn it back on. Don’t panic and try to keep the other ladies from doing anything stupid.”
He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, wishing he could take them back.
“Rafe Boudreau, we aren’t the ones who do foolish things. Or should I start listing all the stupid things you and your brothers have done?”
He winced before adding hurriedly, “Let’s not. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something. Love you, Red.”
Tessa huffed out a laugh. “I love you too. I’ll let you know if one of us hears from your mother.”
“Thanks.”
If he’d been in his official cruiser, he’d have turned on lights and sirens, because an insidious feeling of dread crept into his gut. Probably why he’d been in a lousy mood all day and let all the afternoon’s mishaps get to him. Taking a deep breath, he slammed his foot against the accelerator, and sped toward Boudreau Realty.
Pulling into the parking lot, he noted two cars close to the front, but his mother’s white Escalade was visibly absent. One of the two belonged to the company’s office manager, Elizabeth. He guessed the other probably belonged to a potential client.
With a sinking feeling in the pit of his gut, he dialed his mother’s number, fear crawling into the pit of his stomach when it went straight to voice mail. The women were right to be worried. It wasn’t like his momma to be out of touch for so long. As much as he didn’t want to, he knew he didn’t have a choice. He dialed his dad’s number.
“Afternoon, Rafe.”
“Hey, Dad. Have you talked to Momma lately?”
“Not since this morning. Why?”
Closing his eyes, he leaned his head against the headrest. “It’s probably nothing. The ladies haven’t been able to contact her.”
There was a long pause before his dad spoke. “She mentioned she might stop by the office, and then go out to see a potential new listing before heading to Jill’s bakery. Have you checked her office?”
“I’m sitting out front right now. Only two cars in front, one of them is Elizabeth’s. I’m going to check in with her, see if she’s heard anything, but wanted to check with you first, just in case.”
“Let me make a couple of calls, and then I’m heading into town. If I hear anything, I’ll call you ASAP. You do the same, got it?”
“Yes, sir.” Rafe felt his lips quirk up in a smile at his dad’s tone. It wouldn’t matter what he told him, he knew there’d be no stopping his father from coming into town and finding his wife. The man worshipped the ground she walked on, everybody knew it.
“Son…be careful.”
“I will, Dad. Don’t worry, it’s probably nothing. She might have turned off her phone and forgot to turn it back on. Chances are good she’ll show up at the bakery before you get halfway to Shiloh Springs.”
“Hope so. Call me if you hear anything.” Rafe heard the subtle emphasis on the word anything.
Rafe disconnected the call, climbed from his car, and headed inside Boudreau Realty. He was worried enough he didn’t care that he might be interrupting a meeting between Elizabeth and clients. They’d surely understand the urgency of the situation, the need to find his momma.
Elizabeth sat with a middle-aged couple, neither of whom Rafe recognized. A stack of paperwork sat between them, and Rafe immediately recognized the rental agreement since he’d seen hundreds of them both here and at the Big House when his mother brought work home from the office. Looked like Shiloh Springs might be getting new neighbors.
Elizabeth glanced up when Rafe walked through the door and immediately stood. “What’s wrong?”
Guess he wasn’t good at hiding his emotions today, but then his mother had never been missing for this long before. “I’m looking for my mother. Have you seen her today?”
Elizabeth shook her head, before excusing herself from the clients, telling them to read the documents carefully before signing. Walking closer to Rafe, she leaned in and asked, “She wasn’t here when I got in around eight. I’ve been here the whole day, and had this meeting scheduled with the Schindler’s for this afternoon. Want me to check her desk, see if there’s anything that might indicate where she’s at?”
“Good idea.”
Rafe walked with Elizabeth to the large oak desk at the back of the office, the one his mother used nearly every day. Papers were stacked neatly in the in and out boxes, and several folders were lined up perfectly in the center of her desk, but there weren’t any sticky notes, and nothing was written in her appointment book/daily planner to indicate she’d had plans for today. Which only left the statement his dad made about Momma wanting to look at a new listing for an out-of-town client. Too bad there wasn’t anything here to indicate who the mystery client might be or where his property was.
“I could try calling her…”
It was Rafe’s turn to shake his head. “We’ve all been calling, and she’s not picking up. Goes straight to voice mail.”
