Page 28 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“But you know how to love. The parenting stuff will come. Every teen pushes their parents to see where the line lies between loving them and giving up on them. Your job as a parent is to make it impossible for him to find that line because it doesn’t exist. When Lucas tells you he hates you—which he will, because all teens do at one point or another—when he calls you names or says you don’t know squat, you set him straight so he knows the pecking order. But you also tell him you love him, so when he rests his head on his pillow at night and his feelings are darting like pinballs from badass teenager to guilt-ridden kid over the things he’s said or done, the one consistent thing he feels is that he’s loved.” She touched his cheek. “That’s what we’ve always done with each of you.”

As she went to sit with Tiny, Doc thought about the night he’d gotten drunk, intending to hunt down Juliette’s father. When Tiny had hauled his ass out of that truck, Doc had fought with everything he’d had, punching and cursing, shouting all the things his mother had just mentioned, and worse. His father hadn’t even flinched. He’d grabbed Doc by the shirt, lifted him off his feet, and pinned him against the side of the truck, looking him dead in the eyes as he said, You think killing a person makes you a man? Think again. All that hate you feel for that motherfucker will turn inward, and you’ll be rotting in a prison cell, unable to look in the mirror at the monster you’ve become. And that sweet girl you love? She won’t be able to look at you, either. Doc had been ornery enough, and drunk enough, to continue shouting horrible things at him. His father had hauled him forward, getting right in his face, and said, You want me gone? You’re gonna have to turn that gun on me, because I love you too damn much to ever give up on you.

Doc’s phone rang, startling him from the memory. He pulled his phone from his pocket, his heart thundering at the sight of Juliette’s name on the screen. He put the phone to his ear, turning his back to the others. “Hey.”

“Is Lucas there?” Juliette sounded frantic.

His gut seized. “No. Why would he be here? What happened?”

“He was so upset, he stormed out to the barn. I thought he needed time alone to cool off, but when I went down there, he and his horse were gone. I went looking for him on the trails, but it’s been almost two hours. I thought he might’ve gone to confront you. But now that I’m thinking about it, you’re too far away, and—”

“I’m on my way. Stay there in case he comes back, and don’t worry, darlin’. We’ll find him.” He strode across the room to his father.

Tiny must have sensed the gravity of the situation, because he pushed to his feet, lifting his chin in question.

“My boy’s missing.”

“I’ll rally the men,” Tiny said.

Chapter Ten

TINY PUT OUT the word to the Dark Knights that one of their own was missing, and while Cowboy and Dare loaded ATVs onto trucks and horses into trailers, Doc climbed on his motorcycle and sped over to Juliette’s, as concerned about her as he was about Lucas.

She ran outside as he climbed off his bike and landed in his arms. “He’s never run away before. He hates me for lying.”

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s hurt and confused.”

“I shouldn’t have let him go to the barn alone, but he was so angry. This is all my fault. I was stupid for lying to him for all these years. He’ll never forgive me.”

Doc took her by the shoulders, his chest constricting at her red-rimmed eyes and pink nose. “You did what you could to protect him, given the information you believed to be true. We’ll get that straightened out, but right now we need to focus on finding Lucas. Does he have his phone?”

“Yes, but my calls are going straight to voicemail.”

“Okay. I need you to text me any recent pictures you have of him, a picture of his horse, and a list of the places you think he might’ve gone. I need to know where he practices riding, his friends’ names and where they live, any places he likes to hang out.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” she said frantically. “It was stupid to say he’d try to get to your ranch. He doesn’t know the area well enough to risk it. I don’t think he’d go off the trails.”

“It wasn’t stupid. He’s fifteen. At that age every boy thinks he’s invincible, and he’s running from what he sees as his world crumbling down around him. No place is off-limits. Does he have a best friend? Someone he’d confide in.”

“Not really. He was texting with Jade’s niece Layla earlier, but I called Jade, and she called Layla’s parents. They said she hasn’t heard from him, but they’ll let me know if she does.” She pulled out her phone. “Should we call the police?”

“Not yet. He hasn’t been missing long enough for them to do anything. But we’ve got that covered. The guys are on their way, and my buddy Hazard—Hector Martinez—is a cop. Let’s get going on that list. They’ll be here soon.”

She began thumbing out a list.

As she did that, Doc studied the local trail maps on his phone. “Does he ever go to Devil’s Bend?” Devil’s Bend was a dangerous ravine.

“No. When we first moved here, Jade and Rex warned us about it, and I forbade Lucas from going there.”

Doc knew damn well most pissed-off teenagers would take great pleasure in defying the parent who angered them. But he wasn’t about to tell her that, because he didn’t know Lucas, and hopefully he was wrong.

Juliette thumbed out the list, and as the roar of engines neared, she sent it, and the photos, to Doc. “I wrote down every place I could think of.”

“Great.” He scanned the list. “Buck’s his coach?” Buck Waller had been Doc’s bull-riding coach when he was a kid.

She nodded. “Yeah. He did such a good job coaching you, it made sense to sign Lucas up with him.”

“I’m glad you did. If Buck sees him, he’ll drag Lucas’s ass back home for sure. I’m forwarding this to Tiny so he can disseminate it to the guys.”