41
Zach stared at the phone. Alyssa had a project due at school and wouldn’t be able to come to work that day or the next. When he reminded her that Friday was her birthday and they had plans, she was unsure if she would be done by then. Saying she had to get to class, she promised to call him later and disconnected.
“Alyssa won’t be in for the next couple of days,” he informed everyone at the breakfast table, unsure if he should discount the feeling he had in his gut as a result of the events at the lodge, or if Alyssa was in trouble.
He and J.J. had already been out to feed horses. The sun was up, and the temperature was rising. Some of the new snow from the previous day’s storm had melted, and the rest would be gone in another couple of days.
Carli had showered and dressed in her ty
