Without a Trace - Lynn Hagen Page 0,2

would also give him a chance to see his mate again. Until then, he had a brand-new horse to break in and a trip to town afterward.

Lincoln walked from the shade of the trees that littered the front yard to the corral where Ladybug had been tethered. The sun was bright and hot, and Lincoln would rather go for a swim than work today.

There was a lake on the other side of his property, and it was tempting to just take a day off. But Lincoln knew he wouldn’t do that. He was a hard worker, and he had a business to run.

As he walked, Lincoln caught sight of Red carrying a wheelbarrow to the barn. The guy’s arms wobbled, and the wheelbarrow kept tilting from side to side.

Lincoln suspected his mate wasn’t used to manual labor. He seemed more brains than brawn. There was nothing wrong with that, and now Lincoln was thinking of putting Red in charge of the books instead of out there struggling to get things done on a daily basis.

It was food for thought as Lincoln let himself into the corral and focused on Ladybug, for now, putting Red out of his mind.

* * * *

What in the fuck am I doing here? That was a loaded question that Red didn’t have an answer for. He knew nothing about ranching. Red should be hiding on some remote island after what had happened to him several months ago.

What had changed his life forever.

After cleaning out the stalls, he lingered inside the stable. Rhinestone was an old workhorse that Wheeler Ranch had retired, and now he spent his days in the pasture. Red loved petting him, spending time with him, and feeding him the occasional apple. Today Rhinestone was inside, and Red grabbed a brush.

“When was the last time you got the spa treatment?” Red smiled. “A little TLC can go a long way.”

That made Red think of Lincoln. The guy had tried his hardest to get Red’s attention, but Red dodged him at every turn. It wasn’t the fact that Lincoln was ugly. Far from it. In fact, he was the hottest guy Red had ever met.

But Red was still trying to put his life back together, while still hiding from that life, and just wanted to be left alone. He wasn’t even sure if he was safe. The Davila case had long been over.

He’d heard about James Koehler coming after that undercover cop and his boyfriend in Maple Grove. That alone convinced Red that disappearing without a trace had been a good call. Davila had many men who wanted revenge for their boss being locked up, for exposing them and their heinous acts. Red didn’t think anyone was after him, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“You hiding out in here?” Mercy entered the stables and walked over to Red. The guy was sweet, with black hair and pretty blue eyes. Red didn’t mind being around Mercy, because the guy didn’t hit on him like Lincoln and some the ranch workers had already done.

“Just giving Rhinestone some loving.” Red came out of the stall, set the brush aside, and closed the door. “Did you need me to do something?”

“Let me see your hands.”

It was an odd request, but Red showed them to Mercy.

“Just what I thought,” Mercy said. “You don’t have any calluses. Your hands are baby-soft.” He let them go.

“What does that mean?” Red’s heart started racing, even though he had no clue what Mercy was up to. He didn’t want his past exposed, didn’t want anyone discovering who he truly was, what he used to do, and how he was supposed to be dead.

It was better that way. If none of Davila’s men knew he was alive, Red would be safe. For a moment Red let his memories wander back to that fateful day when he’d flown to Maple Grove to help out a friend.

He’d been trying to crack the password on the USB when some nasty men had shown up. Men who had worked for Davila. They’d used Red as a pawn to get Arturo to show himself.

He shivered as he shoved those memories back down, unwilling to think about them any longer.

Mercy clucked his tongue. “It just means you’re not used to hard work.” He leaned against the stall and crossed his arms. “Where’re you from, Red? What did you do before you wandered onto this ranch?”

“I was a used car salesman.” Red walked away, heading out of the stables. He thought