Engaged?
Nausea boils in my belly. My entire body is numb as I’m dragged back inside.Where did he go?
I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m going to figure this out and find Kade. It’s all I can think about. It’s not a happy thought, but it’ll get me through the rest of this night.
Because all that matters is Kade.
Nothing else.
Chapter Fifteen
KADE
“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” Reenie asks.
I shake my head, standing in the doorway to my office. My still very messy office.
“I wouldn’t know what to keep or not unless I look at it. If you don’t see me in a few hours, send help.”
She smiles at me. “I’ll bring you lunch then and make sure the filing cabinet didn’t topple over on you.”
“Appreciate it.”
She closes the door behind her and I let out a breath. Fuck. I have no idea where I’m even going to start.
The filing cabinet in the corner is likely my best bet. With papers sticking out in every direction, I start with one drawer at a time.
Pulling it open, I gather everything inside and start flipping through it.
Invoices from at least ten years ago. Old guest reservations. A few menus with the pages curling up from age. Hell, there’s even old plans to renovate his house. I tuck those away. Maybe it’s something I can look into later.
Ranch first. It’s been my motto since I got here. Even if it’s slipping because of Presley and Poppy.
I can’t think about them right now. Right now, I need to tackle this space so I can get some actual work done. Grabbing the garbage bin, I start throwing things in. No time to be sentimental. If I have any hope of finding things in here that are useful, I need to be savage and trash everything.
But a few things here and there I keep. Like what appears to be one of the first room keys to room one.
“You sentimental old bastard.” I smile at the heavy key in my hand.
I tuck it into my front pocket so it doesn’t get lost in the mess.
The morning goes by in a blur of stacks of shit to throw out and more paper cuts than I care to admit to.
By the time my stomach starts to growl, I’ve finally found something useful. Some recent profit and loss statements that can help me see what Verne was doing.
A knock sounds from the door and I drop the papers in my hands.
Thank God. I’m starving.
“Got a minute?”
My gaze snaps to the door. Not Reenie bringing me my lunch, but…
“Presley. Hi.” I wave her in. “Find a seat if you can.”
She lifts a stack of papers off the rickety folding chair. “Doing some spring cleaning?”
I laugh. “More like a complete gut job. I don’t know the last time Verne went through everything in here.”
