John Doe on Her Doorstep

Archer Ranch

At the sound of a sputtering engine, Dani Archer paused in her trek from the barn to the house. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the early morning sun and smiled as she watched the rickety old blue truck bounce down the mountain road on the back of her property. Hunting season was still a couple of weeks away and already the boys were scouting out the best locations in which to set up their tree stands. She inhaled long and deep, relishing the underlying scent of the lush evergreens cloaking the eastern Virginia landscape.

Her smile faded as she considered that if her father hadn’t allowed those two to hunt on this land since they were barely big enough to handle rifles, she wouldn’t now. Especially after hearing those gunshots yesterday morning.

Hunting was totally barbaric. To her way of thinking, anything one wanted to eat should be purchased at the local market, not hunted down and shot. Tucking her fingers into the pockets of her jeans, she walked out to the edge of the dirt road and waited for the truck to reach her.

She supposed that, basically, it was the same thing. Someone had killed the animals that ended up as hamburger or pork chops, but buying the products at the market seemed so much more civilized than bringing a carcass home strapped across the hood of one’s vehicle.

The truck skidded to a stop in front of her and a smile lifted her lips once more. She could handle a few minutes of company this morning. And she needed to ask about those gunshots she’d heard. “Hello, boys.”

“Howdy, Miss Dani,” Calvin Peacock offered first. “You’re looking mighty pretty today.” That wicked grin he’d perfected to an art form slid across his face. At nineteen, he was more than a little full of himself.

Randall Williams, the driver, bopped Calvin on the head with his camouflaged cap. “Stop flirting, Cal. Miss Dani ain’t interested in nothing you’ve got.”

Cal glared at his friend who was a year younger. “Shut up, Rand. Don’t make me have to kick your butt,” he warned.

Rand huffed in disbelief. “Like you could.”

“Now, now, gentlemen,” Dani cut in as she propped her arms in the open passenger-side window and studied the two young men. “You know I love you both, but I can’t tolerate your incessant pissing contest.”

Rand blushed. Cal looked a bit sheepish himself. “You guys preparing for hunting season already?” she inquired, knowing the answer before she asked.

“’Course,” Cal said. “I mean, that’s the way we’ve always done it. Mr. Archer didn’t mind. That’s okay with you, isn’t it?”

“Sure. Just be careful.” She considered their camouflage attire. “Aren’t you supposed to wear something orange to make yourselves visible to other hunters?” No one else had permission to be hunting on the land. It was posted, but some people ignored the signs.

“No way,” Rand enthused. “We like to blend in. There ain’t supposed to be nobody else up there anyway.”

“That brings me to my next question,” she ventured, almost dreading the answer. “I thought I heard a couple of shots fired around this time yesterday morning. You guys don’t know anything about that, do you?” She looked from one to the other. “I mean, the season hasn’t even opened yet,” she added, hoping neither of them had been doing anything he shouldn’t have.

Rand’s gaze bumped into Cal’s and he looked away quickly…too quickly.

Dani frowned at the covert move. “What?” She directed the question at Cal since he was the oldest.

“He thinks—”

“Shut up, Cal,” Rand snapped.

Worry tightened Dani’s chest. “Look, fellas, my father has allowed the two of you to hunt on that mountain since you were kids. And I don’t mind that the tradition continues. But if you’re keeping anything from me, well…then I’ll mind.”

Rand dropped his chin to his chest and blew out a resigned breath, then turned to her, albeit reluctantly. “I don’t know for sure that it was what I thought,” he told her finally. “I didn’t see…exactly. Just a glimpse.”

“The knucklehead thinks he shot a man,” Cal explained with a snort of disbelief. “I tried to tell him it was nothing but a deer or a bear, but his head’s as thick as a block.”

Fear trickled down her spine. “Shut the truck off, Rand,” she ordered.

“Damnation,” he complained, but did as he was told.

“Start at the beginning.” Her tone left no room for protest from either of them.

“I thought it was a deer,” Rand began without looking at her. “I got excited and fired. I know I shouldn’t have.”

“That sounds just as stupid now as it did then,” Cal said. “I thought the world had come to an end the way you were squealing like a girl.”

Rand glared at him for two long beats before shifting his attention back to Dani. “Anyway, when whatever it was darted deeper into the woods…” He hesitated, clearly not looking forward to telling her the rest. “I could’ve sworn it was a man.”

“Get over it, Rand, it was not a man,” Cal ground out. “You’re getting Miss Dani upset for no reason.”

Dani moistened her lips and swallowed at the sensation tightening the back of her throat. “And this happened yesterday?”

“Yeah,” Rand admitted balefully.

“Did you see anything this morning?”

Cal shrugged. “We did find some blood, but, hell, there would’ve been blood whatever he hit, four-legged or two-legged.”

Dani resisted the urge to shudder. There was no point in overreacting. Cal was probably right. “But you didn’t find any tracks or…or a body?”

Rand shook his head. “No way. Nothing but the blood.”

“Nothing,” Cal confirmed. “And we looked around real good.”

“You’re not going to call the sheriff, are you?” Rand looked scared and suddenly far younger than his years.

The sheriff. Yeah, right. She wouldn’t call the sheriff if—

Don’t go there, Dani, she ordered silently, the mere thought of the man’s voice already making her sick to her stomach. She wouldn’t go down that road again. The sheriff was a total jerk. He wasn’t worth the brainpower it took to think of him.

“Well, we’ll just have to assume that it was a deer or a bear. Cal seems to think so. I guess that’s good enough for me.” She straightened, confident in her decision.

Rand looked weak with relief.

“I want you guys to take extra care up there from now on. Just to be on the safe side. Deer season brings out the worst in people who want nothing more than another trophy to hang on their wall.”

Both agreed and Dani waved goodbye as the truck lurched forward. She watched until they reached the main highway and turned toward town. The two were good guys, especially considering their ages. While most kids were out drinking and discovering just how much trouble they could get into, Rand and Cal preferred hunting and fishing. She’d been the same as a teenager, never one to go looking for trouble. She’d loved riding and spent what others considered their tumultuous years engrossed in horses and riding gear.

Mulling over their story, she headed in the direction of the house. Cal was older and more mature than Rand. If he wasn’t worried, then she shouldn’t be.

The screen door whined as she pulled it open and stepped into the bright, airy kitchen. Her stomach rumbled as she inhaled the scent of freshly baked blueberry muffins. She’d left them on the counter to cool this morning before going out to feed the horses.

Coffee and a warm, homemade muffin would be good about now. And maybe the food would soothe her frayed nerves. She shivered again at the notion that the blood might not have come from an animal. Surely if it had been a man, he’d have called out to the boys. Or, at the very least, have come down for help. She flinched when she recalled the echoing sound of the shots she’d heard.

Pushing those unsettling thoughts aside, she reached for the coffeepot. She had work to do. Work she’d already put off for too long.

The telephone rang.

Startled by the unexpected sound, Dani stared at the beige instrument as it rang two more times. Doc was out of town today, so she doubted it was him. She glanced at the clock—eight o’clock. Since the few friends she had were on Pacific time she felt certain it wasn’t any of them calling so early. A sales call, maybe? The fourth ring prompted her into action and she picked up the receiver.