“That’s not like Patricia. She never turns her phone off when she’s in the field. She’s a stickler for that, has all the agents keep their phones turned on and have the ringers set, so they can be contacted at a moment’s notice. Rafe, hon, is there anything I can do? I can wrap things up with the Schindlers quickly, and I’ll do whatever I can to help find your momma.”
“I appreciate that, Elizabeth, but right now I need everybody to stay where they are. What I don’t need is the whole family, their fiancées, and girlfriends running around town causing chaos. Dad’s on his way into town, and we’ll find her. I’ve got a couple of places to check.”
“Please, call me the minute you find her. I’m going to worry my head off until I hear back from you.”
Rafe pulled Elizabeth into a quick hug. She’d worked for his mother for years, and she was as close as family to all the Boudreau boys, so he knew she would worry, exactly as she said.
“Don’t tell anybody Momma’s missing. The last thing we need is to start a panic.”
“I understand. Like I said, you call me. Otherwise, I’m gonna show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night, because I won’t be able to sleep a wink knowing Patricia isn’t home, safe and sound.”
“I promise. Go on back to your clients and get them to sign on the dotted line.”
She laughed at his lame joke. “Will do. Good luck, Mr. Sheriff.”
With a wry smile, he walked out of Boudreau Realty, no closer to finding his mother than when he’d started.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ms. Patti gave herself a couple of minutes to have a small pity party, long enough to feel sorry for herself, and realize she was an idiot. Somehow, she needed to get her purse, which held the keys to the truck, and get outside. Glancing around the shed, her eyes landed on the abandoned shovel leaning forlornly against the wooden wall. It would work as a type of hiking stick, something she could use for support to get her to the truck. Fortunately, Liam’s new baby had an automatic transmission, so she’d be able to maneuver a bit and work the pedals with her left foot, because one way or another, she needed to get out of this decrepit shed and back to civilization.
Pretty sure her ankle wasn’t broken, but there was definitely a serious sprain happening, and the first place she’d head was to the doctor’s office. With Beth’s party coming up tomorrow, she wasn’t about to let a little thing like a sprained ankle keep her from celebrating the upcoming birth of her grandson.
First though, she needed to get to the shovel. After a bit of trial and effort, she figured out it was either try to scoot across the plywood floor an inch at a time or do a modified type of army crawl on her belly. Yep, belly crawl for the win. She wasn’t about to add splinters in her tush to the list of ailments when she saw the doc. Her backside was probably already covered with bruises from the earlier fall. She wasn’t looking forward to explaining her stupid stunt of jumping for a light cord because she was so dang short. There was only so much humiliation a gal could take in one day.
Rolling onto her stomach, she managed to cover about a foot’s distance before realizing she had a bigger problem. The shifted plywood had uncovered a huge hole beneath the shed. Unfortunately, it had uncovered something else a bit more sinister. A distinct rattling sound drifted up from the hole, and she froze. She knew exactly what that sound meant, and she didn’t want to come face-to-face with its owner.
The door appeared a thousand miles away, but she was no quitter. Raising a whole houseful of boys from adolescence to adulthood taught her to persevere and have ingenuity. The bigger question was what Douglas would do, because he always—always—came up with the right answer.
“Douglas, this would be a great time for you to swoop in like a knight in shining armor and save the damsel in distress.” She laughed, picturing her tall, handsome husband wearing a suit of armor and strolling through the doorway of the dilapidated shed. Cocking her head to the side, she shrugged at the image. “Works for me.”
The shovel still out of reach, she stretched out, reaching toward the rake. It looked like it was a few inches closer anyway. Her fingertips touched the metal tines, and the rake inched closer, though not enough to easily grasp it. Her fingers brushed against it again, and she scooched a smidge closer to it, listening intently for the rattling sound. Nothing. Didn’t mean the snake had moved on, simply that it had settled down—for the moment.
Finally able to wrap her hand around the rake, she yanked it toward her, breathing heavily. She still had to figure out how to get to the other side of the shed, grab her purse and her phone, and hightail it to the truck. Wouldn’t be easy, because her ankle was throbbing with every pulse beat, but she wasn’t about to stay here a minute longer than she had to. Nope, not with a rattler underneath the shed and time rapidly slipping past. She wasn’t about to be stuck here after dark. Nobody knew she’d stopped to check out the property on her way to meet the ladies for the party preparation. They wouldn’t know to look for her here. She’d printed out all the information from her home computer and had shut it down after she finished. Not the brightest move, but more habit than anything. She always turned off her home computer when she was finished working.
Her thoughts drifted to her daughter-in-law, the whole reason for the surprise baby shower. Beth was due any day now. Patti couldn’t wait for the baby to be born. A new generation of Boudreaus to carry on the family name. Like most of her sons, Brody had legally changed his name to Boudreau as soon as he could after he turned eighteen. It had become quite the family tradition, with Rafe being the first to want to be claimed as a Boudreau. Though she loved Jamie with her whole heart, there was something about being there when a new baby came into the world, being a part of its life from the very beginning, and she was ready to spoil her new grandson rotten. All part of a grandmother’s duty and responsibility.
“Yo, in the house. Anybody here?”
At first she wondered if she was hallucinating. Hearing things, or people, who weren’t really there, but just in case, she wasn’t about to let them leave, not without trying to get their attention.
“I’m here,” she shouted as loud as she could, hoping and praying whoever was there would hear her. “Help, please!”
“Who’s there? And where are you?”
“The shed. I’m in the shed. I’m stuck.”
“Hang on, I’m coming, ma’am.”
The sound of thudding feet pounding against the dry earth coming close had her heart racing. Didn’t matter who it was, at least somebody was outside who could help her get outta this shed and back to Liam’s truck. When the door to the shed flew open, a body was silhouetted against the bright sunshine.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” When he stepped forward into the shed, she realized she didn’t recognize him. Standing about five foot eleven or thereabouts, it was hard to tell since she was sitting on her backside on the plywood flooring. He had light to medium brown hair. In the low light of the shed, she couldn’t see what color his eyes were, but his expression was a mixture of concern and curiosity. Probably around the same age as her sons, so late twenties to maybe early thirties. Whoever he was, he wasn’t local to Shiloh Springs, or if he was, he’d just moved there. Either way, she was glad to see him.
Gesturing toward her ankle, she answered his question. “Not really doing great. Twisted it something fierce. Can’t put any weight on it. Think you can help me out to my truck?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Oh, and can you hand me my purse and my phone? I need to call my husband, let him know I’m okay. I’m surprised he hasn’t called out the cavalry or organized a search party yet.” She smiled at the other man’s confused look. “He’s a tad overprotective.”
