Page 20 of The Perfect Hosts
“Maybe I can just hold my liquor,” Lucy shoots back. And what the hell? Madeline was telling this guy about the last time they saw each other? “And from where I sit, it looks a lot like you were trying to get me drunk, and then my tire goes flat? Seems pretty coincidental, don’t you think? I wonder what my sister would say about that?”
The screech of tires fills the truck’s cab, and Lucy’s seat belt snaps against her chest, preventing her head from striking the dashboard. For one interminable moment, the truck’s wheels hydroplane across the wet pavement, sending them sliding toward the ditch before coming to an abrupt stop. “What the fuck?” Lucy gasps when air returns to her lungs.
“Get out,” Trent says, reaching over to release her seat belt. “Get out of my truck.”
Lucy surveys the surroundings outside the truck. Beyond the headlights lies a barren stretch of road that ends in blackness. It’sraining harder now, and one glance down at her phone shows zero cell reception. Like usual, she’s overplayed her hand. She hesitates a moment too long, and Trent reaches over her lap to open the passenger door. Cool air floods the cab, and rain pelts the side of her face.
“Jesus, sensitive much?” Lucy says, wrenching the truck door shut again. “What’s your problem?”
“You know I didn’t force any of those drinks down your throat. And when you looked like you weren’t into it, I backed off,” Trent snaps. “That’s why I left. So don’t you dare suggest anything different. If I was another kind of guy, I would have followed you into that bathroom.”
“Fine,” she concedes, wrenching the car door shut again. “Now, can we just go?”
“I have a few more questions first,” Trent says. “Madeline and Wes never mentioned you were coming to visit. Why is that?”
“It was going to be a surprise,” Lucy says.
“You were going to surprise your sister, but don’t show up to her party?” Trent asks skeptically. “Right.” He draws out the word for emphasis. “And you just so happen to run into me, the guy who works at the ranch that your sister owns, the sister who you haven’t talked to in over a month? I don’t buy it.”
Wow, Lucy thinks. What else has Madeline told him about their relationship?
“You think I hit on you to get to Madeline?” Lucy can’t believe the arrogance of this guy. “You approached me, remember?” Trent just stares at her, eyebrows raised, waiting for further explanation. “It’s complicated,” Lucy finally says with a sigh. “We’ve had our disagreements, but I’m here now, right? And all I want to do is find out if my sister is okay. And for the record, I had no idea who you were.”
“And how do I know if you’re really Madeline’s sister? How do I know you’re not lying?” Trent asks.
Lucy sighs, shifts in her seat, and pulls a phone from her back pocket. She clicks through to Facebook, taps a few times, and turns the screen toward Trent showing him a picture of Madeline, Lucy, and an elderly man sitting in front of a cake emblazoned with candles. Then another of Madeline in her equestrian gear, a gold medal around her neck, sitting atop a horse, while Lucy stands below, smiling broadly. Then she shows him a picture of Madeline and Wes at their wedding. “I introduced Wes to Madeline,” she says. In fact, Lucy and Wes dated for a time but figured out they were better off as friends. She swipes through several more photos. “See? Sisters.” Trent stares at her a moment longer before putting the truck back into gear.
Lucy eases back into her seat in relief. Maybe she hasn’t made a complete mess of things after all. Yes, she alienated Trent, but at least she didn’t make the huge mistake of sleeping with him. Now he thinks he’s smarter than she is, has a leg up. Well, let him think that. Yes, she’ll have to be a little bit more careful, be more diligent, but in the end, Lucy’d bet that it wouldn’t be hard to bring Trent around to her side.
Thirty minutes later, the truck leaves the paved road and begins a rough trek down a long gravel lane. Lucy has never been to Lone Tree Ranch but knows from looking up the property on Google Earth that they are taking the back way in, the employee entrance for lack of a better term. From what she recalls, the unpaved road will lead to a cluster of ponderosa pine trees and three small cabins that she assumes serve as bunkhouses for the ranch hands. Beyond the pines is a creek, a meadow, the stables, barns, and finally the main house.
The truck comes to a bumpy stop in front of the cabins. All three are dark.
“Three of you live here?” Lucy asks. This put a hitch in her plan. One ranch hand she could handle. Three would be a problem.
“No. Only me,” Trent says. “The part-timers crash here once in a while, but I figured they would stay here tonight because of the party. I’ll drive up to the house, and we can see what’s happening.” Trent follows the path around the pines, the truck’s headlights guiding their way. “Oh, fuck,” Trent breathes out. Lucy peers through the windshield, but all she sees is the outline of a ridiculously big house and lower slung, but equally impressive, stables. Stables she would love to have back home.
“What?” Lucy asks as the interior light from within a car parked at the edge of the meadow pops on. A wide-set man exits the car and holds up his hand, ordering them to stop. Then she sees it. The ragged wreckage of the burned barn.
“Hey, hey!” the man shouts, and now Lucy sees he’s wearing a sheriff deputy’s uniform. “Hold up, now.”
Trent stops the truck and rolls down his window. Immediately, Lucy’s nose fills with a sodden, ashy smell. “Hey there, Coop,” Trent calls back. “My dad told me I should head back this way.”
The deputy’s stance relaxes, but he still holds up his hand. “Stay there, Trent. Don’t drive any closer. I don’t want you tearing up the crime scene.” For the first time, the deputy notices Lucy. “Who’s that?” he asks sharply.
“You’re not going to believe what I found on the side of the road,” Trent says, and Lucy wants to smack him upside the head. “Madeline’s sister.”
“Sister?” the deputy says, coming up to the truck’s window and ducking his head down to get a better look. He examines her closely, like most people do when they learn she is Madeline’s sister. They look nothing alike. “She’s never mentioned a sister.”
“Stepsister,” Lucy says by way of explanation. “I’m Lucy.”
“Ahhh,” the deputy says. “You must have come for the party.” Lucy doesn’t correct him. “Wes and Madeline aren’t back home yet, but my understanding is they are both okay. Have you talked to her?”
Lucy shakes her head.
“Hey, Trent,” the deputy says, switching his focus, “can I snag you for a minute?”
“Yeah, sure,” Trent says, rolling up his window and then stepping from the truck. “Be right back,” he says before shutting the door again with a heavy thunk.