Page 12 of A Midlife Vanishing Trick

Her mind strayed back to the memory of him marching toward the barn. She wondered what he was doing in there now. Was he thinking about her? Her pulse quickened at the thought, and she tried to dismiss it from her mind.

“You think sending him out of the house was overkill?”

“What?” Celine scoffed. “Of course not. If I were you, I’d have asked him to leave the ranch even and never come back. Don’t tell me you’re considering his feelings. Did he consider yours when he disappeared four years ago?”

As usual, the woman had a point. Still, Allison couldn’t help wondering about her husband. He was different, and it wasn’t just the bushy hair. She recalled the pained, faraway look in his eyes like he’d been to hell and back if she didn’t know better ...

Well, shedidknow better. She knew that he’d left after an argument. For all she knew, he’d used it as an excuse to abandon her and, for whatever reason, had now decided he could come crawling back to her and find her waiting for him with open arms. For a moment, that had almost been the case.

A thought crept into her mind just then. Had he left to be with some other woman? Her gut clenched. Regardless of what he looked like right now or what that might mean, hehadleft her. Maybe he’d grown tired of her and decided to find someone else.

Probably. But she couldn’t know for sure. She didn’t knowanythingfor sure.

She took another sip of her coffee. “This is one hell of a summer surprise.”

“Look,” Celine said, “for now, you just need to stay cool, okay? I know this is weird for you right now, especially after everything you’ve been through since he vanished. But we’re going to figure this out. Just try not to let the fact that he’s back get to you so much.”

“Easy for you to say. I’m pissed as hell that he’s come back after so long, and I want him gone, but there’s a part of me thatjust ... I don’t know. I shouldn’t be happy that he’s back. I really shouldn’t.”

Yet there was no mistaking the way her heart jumped at the thought of him. The image of Stanley walking up to her and kissing her, his strong arms holding and caressing her, had been burned into her memory. In that moment, brief as it was, he’d awakened something inside her, something that, until now, she’d assumed was gone forever.

If she hadn’t broken the kiss and shoved him away, then ... things might have escalated. Stanley had changed over the years, and for the better—there was no denying it. She could have let him continue kissing her, caressing her. She could have let him peel her clothes off and make love like they had all those years ago, as husband and wife.

But desire and excitement weren’t all that accompanied the thought of him. And it was that lingering pain and resentment that had driven a wedge between them this morning. Allison was somewhat grateful for that.

She stared into her mug. Almost empty. She was going to need some more coffee.

“Just play it cool, at least for now,” Celine said. “And stay away from him. You don’t need him around anymore. As far as you’re concerned, your husband’s gone. He’s in the past. You grieved for him. No need to try to bring back what’s already ended.”

“You’re right, Celine.” Once again. Allison heaved a sigh. “I’ll make sure to stay away from him.”

And she meant that. She meant to stay away from him.

So why did she feel so much doubt?

Chapter Four

“You Don’t Need to Lie to Me”

He heard the galloping of hooves as Betsy powered across the grassy plain, the horse’s powerful muscles working with each movement. Stanley clutched the reins, bouncing in his saddle, his hair fluttering behind his head. The wind blasted his face and bare chest; it was so refreshing. As he rode, he gazed about, taking in the vastness of Reyes Ranch.

In the distance, a few cowhands were at work, tending some cattle. He glanced over his shoulder. The ranch house and barns were now in the distance as he raced toward the edge of the property.

Betsy whinnied, leaping over what looked like a dead stump, and Stanley grinned.

“Atta girl,” he said.

Still holding the reins, he closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, letting it out calmly. Riding had always had that effect on him. So much so that on the day he left this world, he’d hardly panicked, at least until he found himself pinned beneath the weight of that horse in the snow. Now, as he rode, he could recall that day in almost perfect detail.

It had been a warm summer afternoon. He’d been reading a newspaper when she came into the kitchen, looking disgruntled. Stanley could remember her words:You sold two of our cows? Why didn’t you tell me?He’d tried to explain himself to her—he’d sold the cows because the ranch needed some money, and he didn’t think it was much of a big deal—but she’d been more upset that he hadn’t bothered to mention it to her.

When he thought about it, he knew he’d been wrong, and he’d apologized to her. Still, he’d needed to be by himself for a bit, so he’d headed out to the barn and taken one of the horses, Charlie, for a ride.

He’d only been riding for a few minutes when his world suddenly changed. One second, he was galloping across the ranch, and the next, a cold, unforgiving wind blasted him in the face, and he was riding through deep snow, powering downhill. Charlie the horse had promptly collapsed into the snow, badly crippled, with Stanley pinned underneath him.

If he hadn’t had a blade on him that day, he might have been a goner. He wasn’t proud of what he’d had to do to set himself free. It had served as his first lesson about the gruesome reality of surviving on Frost Mountain, but not his last.

His first year on Frost Mountain had been particularly brutal. He’d kept track of the days and months that passed as a way to maintain his sanity as he struggled to stay alive in the harsh conditions on the mountain. He’d hidden in caves and learned to hunt animals for food and warmth. More than a few times, he’d nearly lost an arm or a leg, but somehow he’d managed to survive.

---