Love Inspired February 2015 - Box Set 2 of 2: Daddy Wanted\The Fireman's Secret\Falling for Texas\The Engagement Bargain by Renee Andrews

Author:Renee Andrews
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Cash stirred the chili bubbling in the pot, then checked his watch again. The first day of after-school practice had been over for hours and still no sign of Rachel. And of course she hadn’t responded to his call or texts. He sighed, laid the wooden spoon on the holder and headed for the cordless phone. He dialed Trish Nettles’s number, hoping the girls had lost track of time and were holed up in Valerie’s room doing homework.

Yeah, right.

“Hello?” Trish sounded hurried. And why wouldn’t she? It was dinnertime. For normal families.

“Hey, Trish, any chance Rachel’s at your house?”

“I haven’t seen her since practice.” And now she sounded sympathetic. “I’ll walk down to Val’s room to see if she knows anything.”

A seed of worry planted itself in Cash’s gut. Trish’s voice mixed with Val’s as a stench filled the kitchen. Cash hurried back to the stove and clicked off the burner for the now-scorched chili, turning on the fan over the stove to help remove the awful smell.

“Val doesn’t know where she is.” Trish paused and he slid open the window behind the sink. “Last I saw Rachel, she was talking to Blake Renner after practice.”

The seed in Cash’s stomach twisted into a full-grown ash tree.

Before they hung up, Trish made him promise to call if he needed any more help finding Rachel. The Nettles family joked that Rachel was their second daughter because of all the time she and Val spent joined at the hip. Maybe they should keep her full-time. Trish would be a much better parent than Cash.

He set the chili pot into the sink, flipped on the water and gripped the edge of the counter.

Renner. What did Rachel see in the cocky boy? He only wished her whereabouts were more of a surprise.

Cash scrounged up some leftovers and tried to distract himself with the Monday-night Rangers game, but nothing held his attention. Each tick of the clock increased his anxiety, and the food sat like a rock in his stomach.

He and Rachel had one steadfast rule between them—always let me know where you are and where you’re going. The stipulation wasn’t that hard to follow. He’d had a similar rule with their parents, but he’d never pushed the way Rachel did. Mom and Dad hadn’t known how good they’d had it.

When the Rangers game finished, Cash checked the time again. Almost ten o’clock. His phone showed three reception bars, but still nothing from Rach. He texted her again. He’d give her another ten minutes before he got in the truck and started looking. Cash’s fingers slid down his contact list, landing on Coach Grayson’s number.

The out-of-town area code flashed on the screen and then disappeared as he contemplated making the call. She was Rachel’s coach. Maybe she knew something he didn’t.

Though Olivia probably wasn’t very happy with the way he’d acted at the car wash on Saturday. He’d had to run, had to get away from how simple it would be to let her in. Jack and Janie loved her.

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