by Lauren Carr
The Reading Railroad Band was through.
We’re not family.
“Suellen, where are you?”
J.J.’s voice shocked her back into the present.
Blinking, she saw his wet bare feet on the floor. Raising her eyes, she saw that J.J. was sitting across from her with a towel draped across his wet shoulders. He was gazing at her, his deep-blue eyes filled with concern.
“Suellen, I know you’re sick, but something more is going on. You and Cameron were talking for a long time this morning, and I noticed the case file she was carrying. Do you know something about Clyde’s wife’s murder? Is that why he’s ticked off at you?”
“Is Clyde ticked off at me?” she asked.
J.J. chuckled. “He aimed a shotgun at my dad, and he’s certainly had an attitude with me. After Poppy took the job, he stamped to his truck and left without saying good-bye. You need to talk to him.”
“He’s not a professional trainer, and he’s too old to be working with those horses,” Suellen said. “If the horses are going to meet the championship standards that my family had for them, we’re going to need someone who knows horses and knows how to train them.”
“Do we even know if Poppy Ashburn is a trainer?”
“You saw it,” she said. “The horses respond to her. She understands them.” She grasped J.J.’s hand. A soft smile reached her lips. “I want Izzy to have Comanche.”
“Don’t you think we should talk to Dad and Cameron before giving her a horse? For one thing, Comanche isn’t broken. Plus I don’t think Izzy has ever ridden a horse.”
“Then we need to get that girl riding lessons so that she’ll be ready to ride Comanche after Poppy gets her trained.”
J.J.’s eyes grew wide. His mouth dropped open.
“I think we should plan a big party—a cookout—for the Fourth of July.” Picking up her cell phone, she stood up. “I’ll call your sister Tracy, and book her to do the catering. Money is no object. We’re going to have the biggest Fourth of July party that Russell Ridge has ever seen. All of our employees and their families will be invited.”
“Our employees?” J.J. asked. “Suellen—”
“Don’t forget to call a cleaning service to get the bunkhouse ready for Poppy. We should renovate it. That kitchen is so old that it doesn’t even have a dishwasher. Talk to Poppy before you hire a contractor. Give her whatever she wants.”
“Why won’t you answer my question?” His voice was sharp—sharper than the voice that Suellen was used to.
She looked down at him, and they locked eyes. Seeing that he was not going to give up, she lowered herself back down onto the chaise.
“If you aren’t helping Cameron with the Brady murder, then what are you doing?”
Suellen swallowed. “J.J.?” Pausing, she blinked the tears out of her eyes.
J.J. took her hand. Still damp from his swim, his fingers felt cold on hers. “Suellen, I love you. No matter what. After all we’ve been through—and with all that we’ll go through together—you shouldn’t be afraid to tell me anything.”
Sobbing, she collapsed into his arms.
After flying down the front stairs, Izzy launched her horseback-riding campaign as soon as Cameron walked through the front door. “Horseback-riding lessons are only thirty dollars for a half hour!”
“A dollar a minute. Is that all?” Laughing, Cameron moved down the hallway to the study.
Tossing her head to get her long ash-blond curls out of her eyes, Izzy followed her. “Can I go out to J.J.’s to help him feed the horses tonight? Maybe Suellen will pay me to feed the horses and clean the stalls, and I can use that money to pay for my own riding lessons.”
“You’re too young to have a job.” Cameron opened the safe in the bottom drawer of the desk, took her service weapon out of its holster, and locked it up.
When the two humans entered the room, Admiral, who was stretched out across the length of the sofa, woke up and eyed them without moving a muscle. He was holding his breath and apparently hoping that if he lay very still, neither of them would notice the one hundred and fifty pound fur-covered animal on the sofa that he was not allowed to be on.
In contrast, Irving, who was stretched out and enjoying the warmth of a sunbeam on top of the desk, lifted his head and cast a glare at both Cameron and Izzy, who had interrupted him.
“When will I be old enough to get a job?” Izzy folded her arms across her chest.
“When you don’t want one,” Joshua said as he entered the study and crossed the room to give Cameron a hug and a kiss. “Any success today?”
“I have calls in to a couple of witnesses in the Dylan Matthews case,” Cameron said with a tired sigh. “My suspect in the Brady murder is in the wind. The prosecutor of the felony breaking-and-entering case against Vinnie Brady made a deal with him that required him to testify against his drug-dealer friends. Vinnie agreed, and they made the mistake of letting him out of jail. No one, including his wife, who’s still in jail, has seen him since. Either he took off, or his drug dealer found out about the deal and had him killed. The odds are even. There’s a warrant out for his arrest.” With a grin, she said, “Guess when they let him out of jail.”
“Was it shortly before the Brady murder?” Joshua asked.
“Ten days,” she replied. “I have a feeling we’re on the right track.”
“That’s better luck than I’ve had,” Izzy said with a pout. “I still don’t have a horse even though I didn’t tell J.J. about how you two snooped in his and Suellen’s bedroom.”
“J.J. already knows about their snooping,” J.J. said as he entered the room. “They confessed. Knowing Dad the way I do, I would have been surprised if he hadn’t snooped.”
With a squeal, Izzy threw her arms around J.J. and hugged him tight. “My favorite brother in the whole world.”
Returning her hug, J.J. shot a glance in Joshua’s direction. “I thought Murphy was your favorite brother in the whole world, since he always gives you his desserts.”
“Your twin doesn’t have horses,” Cameron said.
With her arms still wrapped around him, Izzy grinned up at J.J. “I love you, J.J.”
“They aren’t my horses,” J.J. said. “They’re Suellen’s horses.”
“But she loves you, and you love me, and you can put a good word in for me—”
“Those horses are too high spirited for you to ride,” Joshua said. “Your riding them is out of the question.”
“You can buy me a low-spirited horse, and I can keep it at J.J.’s farm.”
“It’s not J.J.’s farm,” Joshua said. “He’s just staying there. You’re putting him in an awkward position by asking him to ask Suellen to let you board a horse at her farm.”
Izzy pulled away, and her brow furrowed as she looked up at J.J. “What do you mean, you’re staying at Suellen’s? I thought that you moved in with her because you two love each other—that you were living together and maybe one day would get married. What’s the difference between living together and staying there?”
“Well—” J.J. looked from her to Joshua and Cameron. “It’s complicated.”
Izzy folded her arms. “I know all about complicated.”
“Izzy, don’t be nosy,” Cameron said. “Suellen has some problems right now that J.J. is helping her with. He’s not going to be living at the farm permanently. That means that we can’t intrude on them and ask them to keep a horse there for you. That’s all you need to know.”
With a snort, Izzy turned to the door to leave.
“Does that mean I’m not your favorite brother anymore?” J.J. asked with a playful grin.
Shooting him a wicked glare, she left the room with her ash-blond curls bouncing behind her.
“Ooh,” J.J. whispered in a low voice. “She’s got Sarah’s temper. You’d almost think they
were blood sisters with that glare.”
“She’ll get over it,” Cameron said.
“Speaking of your situation with Suellen,” Joshua said as he leaned against the edge of the desk. “How much do you want Izzy to know?”
“We do not want the fact that Suellen is dying to get around,” J.J. said in a low voice. “She really doesn’t like pity.”
“I can understand that,” Cameron said.
“Speaking of Izzy—” J.J. stopped talking and took in a deep breath. “And horses.” He paused again and looked from Joshua to Cameron and back again. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything with her here in the room.”
Joshua and Cameron exchanged glances.
J.J. swallowed. “Suellen wants to give Comanche to Izzy.”
Joshua’s and Cameron’s mouths dropped open and hung there. Before they could digest the news, a scream came from the hallway that sent Admiral flying off of the sofa and out of the room.
Izzy ran in and threw her arms around J.J. Bouncing up and down, she said, “I love you! I love you! I love you! You really are my favorite brother—now and forever!”
Chapter Eleven
“You should have called and talked clandestinely to me instead of coming over and telling us that while she was eavesdropping outside of the study!” Joshua said to J.J. as soon as he was able to get a moment alone with him, which was when they were in the driveway of the farm. Izzy had insisted on rushing over to thank Suellen personally and to say hello to her new horse.
It took all of Joshua’s willpower to keep his voice low as they walked casually along the fence toward the barn.
“How was I supposed to know she’d be listening in?”
“Come on!” Joshua said. “It wasn’t that long ago that you and Murphy used to eavesdrop in the hall outside of my study.”
“Actually, we didn’t need to eavesdrop out in the hall,” J.J. said. “We’d listen in through the old heat register that goes straight up to our room in the attic. We could just sit back in our beds and hear everything like we were right in the room.”
Thinking of how many times he and Cameron had given in to their passion right in his study—and sometimes on the desk—unaware that Donny was within earshot up in the attic, Joshua stopped. He felt his cheeks turn pink.
Realizing that Joshua had stopped walking with him, J.J. turned around. “What’s wrong, Dad?”
“How much did you two hear?”
“That was BC—before Cameron.” The corners of J.J.’s lips curled up. “Let’s just say that there’s a reason Donny’s always wearing his earbuds. TMI.”
“Awkward,” Joshua whispered.
“Come on, you guys!” Izzy yelled. She was in the barn. “Poppy says that she’s going to give me riding lessons!”
What Joshua saw in the barn made him halt.
The skittish palomino mare was tied up outside her stall. Since Joshua had last seen the horse, Poppy had bathed her and combed out and trimmed her mane and tail. Comanche’s coat shone even in the dim light of the barn.
The mare was standing calmly, and Izzy was hugging her and petting her.
“Can’t believe it’s the same horse, huh?” Poppy winked at Joshua. “Told you she’d feel much better after getting cleaned up. She knows she’s beautiful, too.”
“And she’s mine!” Izzy ran over to where Suellen was talking to Cameron and hugged her. “Thank you so much, Suellen! I love you!”
“Truthfully, don’t you think she’s too much horse for a young girl who has never ridden before?” Joshua asked.
“Yes,” Poppy said.
Izzy frowned.
“But I believe that eventually, they’ll be a good pair. Comanche trusts Izzy. She’s been watching Izzy feed and care for the animals here on the farm, and she knows that she isn’t going to hurt her. She’ll let Izzy ride her…when she learns how to wear a saddle and take a rider.”
“But Izzy doesn’t know how to ride,” Cameron said.
“I suggest that she start her riding lessons on Daisy,” Suellen said. “She’s bombproof.”
“Meanwhile, I’ll be training Comanche,” Poppy said. “When the horse and the rider reach the same level, we’ll bring the two together, and they’ll become partners.”
“On the Fourth of July,” Izzy said, not asking a question but making a declaration. “You said Comanche will be saddle broken by the Fourth of July. Can I ride her then?”
The grown-ups held their breath as they waited for Poppy’s answer. Izzy was too strong willed to take a no from anyone else.
“We can have both of you ready by the Fourth of July,” Poppy said.
Joshua looked like he wanted to shake the trainer.
“But it’ll take a lot of work on everyone’s part,” Poppy said. “You’ll need lessons, like, every day, and we’ll both need to work with Comanche to get her ready for you.”
“How much?” Joshua asked.
“If Izzy and Comanche are going to be partners, it would be best if Izzy helped me work with her. The more Izzy is around, the sooner they’ll bond—and they’re already starting.” Poppy pointed at Izzy, who was hugging Comanche. Grinning at the sight, she said, “How about for every two hours she helps me here with Comanche, I’ll supply a free hour of horseback-riding lessons on Daisy?”
Izzy’s eyes lit up. Holding her hands together in a prayer, she bounced up and down and begged Cameron and Joshua to agree to the deal.
After trading long looks with Joshua, Cameron finally said, “It’s up to you.”
“Oh, yeah, make me the bad man.” Relenting, Joshua said, “Okay.”
Throwing her arms around him, Izzy almost knocked Joshua over in her joy.
After bringing Izzy down to earth, Poppy listed the riding gear that her parents would need to purchase before she could start riding. She’d need boots, a riding helmet, riding pants, and more.
“And what’s it going to cost to take care of Comanche?” Cameron asked. “I know food costs money.”
As Suellen assured Joshua and Cameron that they could work out a reasonable price, Poppy gestured for J.J. to follow her into the tack room.
“Is there a problem with Comanche?” J.J. quietly asked, thinking that she had reservations about giving the horse to Izzy.
“There are a lot of problems with Comanche,” she said. “But none that can’t be fixed with time and patience. No, what I want to talk to you about is this barn.”
Glancing around at the sprawling barn, which was attached to an indoor training arena, J.J. asked, “What about it?”
“I don’t think it would be safe for Izzy to be left alone here,” Poppy said. “Are you aware that someone is camping out in your loft?”
Startled, J.J. turned around and looked at the ladder that led into the hayloft. “Are you sure about that?”
“When I came in this morning to feed the horses, I heard something moving around up there.”
“Could have been—”
“Too big to be a cat,” she said with a shake of her head. “When I climbed up the ladder, he went out the window and shimmied down the rope. When I got out there, I saw him running up the road into the orchard.”
“Why didn’t you say anything this morning?” J.J. asked.
Overhearing the argument, Joshua stepped into the tack room. “What’s going on?”
“Poppy said she chased some guy out of the barn this morning.”
Suellen gasped. Cameron took out her cell phone and brought up the composite sketch of Monica Brady’s murderer.
“Maybe it was one of your field hands,” Poppy said. “I’ve worked at more than one farm where a field hand whose wife had tossed him out lived in a hayloft until he got a place of his own.”
“Did he look like this?” Cameron held out her phone so that she could see the picture.
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Poppy immediately shook her head. “I didn’t get a look at him. It was five thirty and dark.”
“What were you doing here at five thirty?” J.J. asked.
“I always start working at five thirty,” she said.
“Was he tall? Short?” Cameron asked.
“I can tell you that he was young and agile enough to shimmy down a rope,” Poppy said with a shrug of her shoulders. “He was probably a vagrant just looking for a place to stay warm and dry. Harmless, but still, I wouldn’t want Izzy hanging out here alone.”
“We should call Sawyer and file a report about it,” Joshua said.
“Vinnie Brady is in his late forties,” Cameron said. “This could be where he’s been hiding at night.”
“Who are Sawyer and Vinnie?” Poppy asked with suspicion in her eyes.
“There was a murder at Clyde Brady’s farm, which is the next farm over in Pennsylvania,” Suellen said.
“Cameron’s investigating it,” Izzy said with a proud grin. “She’s a homicide detective. A really good one, too. And Dad is the county prosecutor—when he’s not doing secret stuff for the navy.” Lowering her voice, she added, “We won’t talk about that.”
“Curt Sawyer is the sheriff here in Hancock County,” Joshua said. “Since this farm is in West Virginia—”
“That’s enough.” Her eyes wide, Poppy waved her hands for them to stop. “I get it.” She waded through them and headed out of the tack room and into the barn area. “Seems I’ve walked into a whole murder investigation, and you’re all cops and lawyers, and there are ax murderers running around.”
“Actually, our killer didn’t use an ax,” Cameron said.
“I wish you had told me what was going on before I took this job,” Poppy said to J.J.
“The murder was over eight months ago,” Cameron said.
“And your suspect is sleeping in this barn with Gulliver,” she said. “That horse is the only friend I have!”