Page 10 of A Midlife Vanishing Trick

The image of Allison glaring at him and asking him to leave remained at the forefront of his mind.

I don’t want to see your face,she’d told him.I don’t want you near me.

For a moment before that, he’d believed everything was fine. When he’d walked up to her and kissed her, she’d responded with a fervor to match his. Recalling it, he felt a part of him harden with desire. She was just as beautiful as the day he’d gone missing, if not more. He could have gotten lost in the softness and warmth of her body if she hadn’t suddenly shoved him away.

He scoffed at his own foolishness. What was he expecting? She was right—hehadbeen gone for four years. And if he remembered correctly, he’d disappeared right after they’d had a fight.

It's not looking good for you, Stanley,he thought, feeling a twinge of shame.

She’d barely even let him get a word in. As she glowered at him and asked him to leave, he felt her anger and resentment.

He rubbed his eyes. He’d barely managed to sleep last night, what with the excitement of having returned to Earth after so long. He’d managed to find his way to the ranch with only a couple of scratches on the truck. Through the night, more memories of his life here had returned to him—including his wife’s coffee preferences. It would take a while to get used to being back, he knew, but for now, all he cared about was that he was home.

And safe.

His mind flashed back to that cave. Just a day ago, he’d been kneeling at the edge of that pit, at the mercy of the Ice Melter. The past four years on Frost Mountain had been more about survival than anything else. And now ... he was back on Earth, back on his ranch. He had to admit, it was a bit jarring.

“Let’s get you out of your stable,” he said to Betsy.

Before he could open the small door, he heard footsteps, and two cowhands stepped into the barn. Stanley recognized them instantly: Aaron and Julian. Both men wore jodhpurs and boots, hats pulled over their faces. When they spotted him, they tipped their hats in greeting.

“Morning, boss,” said Aaron the shorter one, an unusual expression on his face. “Figured you’d be in the house, getting some rest.”

Both men had been visibly stunned when he’d driven the truck onto the ranch last night, even more so when they realizedwho was behind the wheel. Aaron and Julian had worked on the ranch for nearly a decade. They’d even been around when he stumbled through that portal and found himself on Frost Mountain. Like Allison, they figured he’d probably skipped town or something.

“Yeah, boss,” the other man added. “Bit early in the day.”

Boss?

It took him a moment to realize that they still worked for him. Stanley felt a twinge of embarrassment. On Frost Mountain, he’d been an ordinary man, not someone’s boss. It felt a little strange now to hear someone refer to him that way.

“Never too early for me, Julian,” he said. He rubbed his chin. “Four years, huh? This ranch doesn’t look like it’s aged a day. Tell me, what’s changed around here?”

Both men shared a look. Aaron shrugged. “To be honest, not much. The ranch’s pretty much the same as it’s always been, though a couple of cowhands quit a year after you disappeared. The town ... well, Torpe’s not such a hot place to live anymore.”

“It’s slowly turning into a ghost town,” Julian chimed in. “Nothing interesting ever happens around here anymore.”

Stanley guessed that byinteresting, the man no doubt meantsupernatural. Both men were shifters, as were many other workers on the property. In fact, the town was crawling with all kinds of supernaturals.

He nodded. “And Allison?”

The cowhands blinked at him. “Boss?”

“How’s she been?”

They glanced at each other again. “Well ... once you left, she wasn’t herself,” Julian said, and Stanley couldn’t help noticing the judgment in the man’s eyes. “Mostly kept to herself. The rest of us were worried about her. But ... I guess she’s doing better now.”

Guilt gnawed at Stanley’s consciousness as he turned to face Betsy. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for Allison. His disappearance had been sudden, without warning, even for him. No wonder she was so mad at him. As far as she knew, he’d run off with someone else.

“It’s a good thing you’re back now, boss,” Aaron said, a flicker of a smile on his face. “But where’ve you been, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Stanley shrugged. “Frost Mountain.”

“Frost ... Mountain?” There was a pause. “I’ve never heard of that.”

Stanley didn’t bother offering the man an explanation. He stepped back and led Betsy out of her stable. She nickered softly.

“I want to take her for a ride,” he said. “Clear my head a bit.” He heaved a sigh. “Me and Allison had a bit of a problem this morning.”

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