John Doe on Her Doorstep. Debra Webb

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СКАЧАТЬ It was posted, but some people ignored the signs.

      “No way,” Rand enthused. “We like to blend in. There ain’t supposed to be nobody else up there anyway.”

      “That brings me to my next question,” she ventured, almost dreading the answer. “I thought I heard a couple of shots fired around this time yesterday morning. You guys don’t know anything about that, do you?” She looked from one to the other. “I mean, the season hasn’t even opened yet,” she added, hoping neither of them had been doing anything he shouldn’t have.

      Rand’s gaze bumped into Cal’s and he looked away quickly…too quickly.

      Dani frowned at the covert move. “What?” She directed the question at Cal since he was the oldest.

      “He thinks—”

      “Shut up, Cal,” Rand snapped.

      Worry tightened Dani’s chest. “Look, fellas, my father has allowed the two of you to hunt on that mountain since you were kids. And I don’t mind that the tradition continues. But if you’re keeping anything from me, well…then I’ll mind.”

      Rand dropped his chin to his chest and blew out a resigned breath, then turned to her, albeit reluctantly. “I don’t know for sure that it was what I thought,” he told her finally. “I didn’t see…exactly. Just a glimpse.”

      “The knucklehead thinks he shot a man,” Cal explained with a snort of disbelief. “I tried to tell him it was nothing but a deer or a bear, but his head’s as thick as a block.”

      Fear trickled down her spine. “Shut the truck off, Rand,” she ordered.

      “Damnation,” he complained, but did as he was told.

      “Start at the beginning.” Her tone left no room for protest from either of them.

      “I thought it was a deer,” Rand began without looking at her. “I got excited and fired. I know I shouldn’t have.”

      “That sounds just as stupid now as it did then,” Cal said. “I thought the world had come to an end the way you were squealing like a girl.”

      Rand glared at him for two long beats before shifting his attention back to Dani. “Anyway, when whatever it was darted deeper into the woods…” He hesitated, clearly not looking forward to telling her the rest. “I could’ve sworn it was a man.”

      “Get over it, Rand, it was not a man,” Cal ground out. “You’re getting Miss Dani upset for no reason.”

      Dani moistened her lips and swallowed at the sensation tightening the back of her throat. “And this happened yesterday?”

      “Yeah,” Rand admitted balefully.

      “Did you see anything this morning?”

      Cal shrugged. “We did find some blood, but, hell, there would’ve been blood whatever he hit, four-legged or two-legged.”

      Dani resisted the urge to shudder. There was no point in overreacting. Cal was probably right. “But you didn’t find any tracks or…or a body?”

      Rand shook his head. “No way. Nothing but the blood.”

      “Nothing,” Cal confirmed. “And we looked around real good.”

      “You’re not going to call the sheriff, are you?” Rand looked scared and suddenly far younger than his years.

      The sheriff. Yeah, right. She wouldn’t call the sheriff if—

      Don’t go there, Dani, she ordered silently, the mere thought of the man’s voice already making her sick to her stomach. She wouldn’t go down that road again. The sheriff was a total jerk. He wasn’t worth the brainpower it took to think of him.

      “Well, we’ll just have to assume that it was a deer or a bear. Cal seems to think so. I guess that’s good enough for me.” She straightened, confident in her decision.

      Rand looked weak with relief.

      “I want you guys to take extra care up there from now on. Just to be on the safe side. Deer season brings out the worst in people who want nothing more than another trophy to hang on their wall.”

      Both agreed and Dani waved goodbye as the truck lurched forward. She watched until they reached the main highway and turned toward town. The two were good guys, especially considering their ages. While most kids were out drinking and discovering just how much trouble they could get into, Rand and Cal preferred hunting and fishing. She’d been the same as a teenager, never one to go looking for trouble. She’d loved riding and spent what others considered their tumultuous years engrossed in horses and riding gear.

      Mulling over their story, she headed in the direction of the house. Cal was older and more mature than Rand. If he wasn’t worried, then she shouldn’t be.

      The screen door whined as she pulled it open and stepped into the bright, airy kitchen. Her stomach rumbled as she inhaled the scent of freshly baked blueberry muffins. She’d left them on the counter to cool this morning before going out to feed the horses.

      Coffee and a warm, homemade muffin would be good about now. And maybe the food would soothe her frayed nerves. She shivered again at the notion that the blood might not have come from an animal. Surely if it had been a man, he’d have called out to the boys. Or, at the very least, have come down for help. She flinched when she recalled the echoing sound of the shots she’d heard.

      Pushing those unsettling thoughts aside, she reached for the coffeepot. She had work to do. Work she’d already put off for too long.

      The telephone rang.

      Startled by the unexpected sound, Dani stared at the beige instrument as it rang two more times. Doc was out of town today, so she doubted it was him. She glanced at the clock—eight o’clock. Since the few friends she had were on Pacific time she felt certain it wasn’t any of them calling so early. A sales call, maybe? The fourth ring prompted her into action and she picked up the receiver.

      “Hello.”

      “Dr. Archer, this is Dr. Feldon.”

      The hospital administrator. Though it was five in San Diego, that particular point was obviously no deterrent to her boss. Dani resisted the urge to groan. She wasn’t ready to talk to him just yet.

      “Good morning, Dr. Feldon,” she returned, though considering the tale she’d heard from Rand and this phone call, there was nothing good about it.

      “I hate to disturb you,” he said quietly, but Dani could hear the underlying tension in his voice. “I know this has been a difficult time, but I was hoping you’d reached some sort of decision by now as to when you plan to return to work.”

      Dani stretched the phone cord and dropped into a chair at the kitchen table. She squeezed her eyes shut. Dr. Feldon wanted her final decision. And since he hadn’t called even once during the past two weeks, chances were he was through waiting patiently.

      “I completely sympathize with your loss,” he went on, distress joining the tension in his tone, “and I don’t want to have to СКАЧАТЬ