“Dalton?”
As lightly as a butterfly, she touched his cheek and smiled gently. “I promise that Granddad’s coffee isn’t that bad. It’s strong, but if you douse it with some sugar and creamer it’s almost drinkable.”
There he was, she saw him come back to her. He gave her an awkward grin. “I’m in the Navy, I live on strong coffee.” He grabbed the mug and took a long pull. Aurora watched him, ensuring that he would be okay before she sat back down.
“Here you go, Darlin’.” Her grandfather passed her a mug of hot chocolate as he sat down at the table with his own cup of sludge. They sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying their drinks.
“I told you what I thought,” Dalton said looking at Gunnar. “What did the Sheriff have to say?”
“He said that the same caliber and brand of casings have been found where three Bighorn Sheep and one Rocky Mountain Elk have been poached. Goddamn shame if you ask me. The Elk were endangered not so long ago,” Gunnar said sadly. “But because of that, after he looked over the place where you found the casings, he’s positive it was poachers.”
Aurora slid her glance sideways to see Dalton’s reaction. He gave nothing away. She looked back at her grandfather. It was as if they were involved in a staring contest.
“What already?” she demanded of the two of them.
“I trust his instincts.” Gunnar said, nodding toward Dalton. “Nothing against Brody, but he deals with some tourist problems, a major crime once a year and forest ranger issues, but this man here?” Her grandfather’s voice trailed off.
Dalton was looking into his coffee as if it held the secrets of the world.
“Yeah, I trust him too,” Aurora sighed. “I’m actually surprised that Brody went along with the poacher’s angle when there were three shots.”
“She learns,” he teased.
“Give it up, Navy Boy. I have a brain.” She paused and blew on her cocoa. “Actually, so does Brody, he really said poachers?”
“He said he wouldn’t rule anything else out,” Gunnar said. “But he was of the school of thought that the obvious answer was usually the right answer.”
“That’s just plain lazy,” Dalton said disgustedly. “I went over the spot where that shot was made, and it was purposefully made at you. It was set up. How often do you work your horses on that path?”
“At least three times a week,” Gunnar answered. “It’s what makes us unique, we train the horses outside of just the paddock and pasture. They’re trained for the trail.”
“What I don’t understand is why somebody would target me. We don’t have any enemies. The last time we got on somebody’s bad side is when the Cordell twins were caught throwing rotten apples against our barn and we had to call their parents.” She speared a glance at Dalton. “And before you make a deal out of it, it was six years ago, and the boys were thirteen. They’re in college now. Believe me, they’re not holding a grudge.”
“Look, I’m not going to even try to figure out the who and why because I don’t have enough information to make any kind of good assumptions,” Dalton said with quiet assurance. “But I can say with confidence that your sheriff has his head up his ass.”
At Dalton’s words, Aurora saw her grandfather get a frightened and stubborn expression on his face. “You’re going to need to leave.”
“What?” she exclaimed.
“If someone is out to get you, and the sheriff isn’t taking it seriously, then you need to leave the ranch. Maybe you can go down to LA for a while and stay with your cousin Lindy. Or better yet, maybe you can finally think about taking that job down at one of those ranches down South, like the one at Torrey Pines, they love you there. Hell, the one in Temecula has been after you for years. Just take a temporary assignment, test it out.”
She stood up and slammed her fists on her hips. “Have you gone bonkers?” she demanded. “When has an Olsen, or a Dressler backed down? Or a Chance for that matter. Dad was never the type to shy away from a problem, heck he married Mom. How dare you suggest I tuck my tail between my legs and run.” The blood pounded in her head and ears, she was so mad, which only made her head hurt so much worse.
Dalton’s fingers smoothed over the back of her hand until she loosened her fist and he clasped their hands together. Then he tugged her back down into her seat.
“It’s going to be fine,” he said softly.
“No, it’s not. Not if Granddad is thinking I need to be sent away, which is bullshit, I’m not going.”
Gunnar looked at her through squinted eyes. “I’ll pull in some reinforcements. Hal and Erwin aren’t enough. Dammit, I’m so disappointed in Brody.” He slammed his fist down on the table. She watched as three of her marshmallows dripped down the side of her mug.
Dalton cleared his throat. “I think I might have an idea. At least for a little bit.”
Gunnar’s head swung to spear the younger man with a laser gaze.
“What? Do you know a way we can get Brody off his ass to do something? Dammit, he’s our friend, Aurora. He’s known you since you were in diapers.”
She covered her grandfather’s fist. “He’ll come around.”
“Let’s hope it’s not before another attempt is made on your life,” he huffed. He looked back over at Dalton. “What’s your idea, Son?”
“I’m vacationing here for a week. How about I bunk with your two hands? That will allow me to keep an eye on things. Maybe take a look around and find out something.”
She thought her grandfather might kiss Petty Officer First Class Sullivan.
“We have cabins a half mile away from the barn, it gives the men privacy,” Gunnar explained, but then he hesitated. “I’d feel a lot better if you would stay closer to my granddaughter. We have two extra rooms here in the house. We can set you up in one of those. There’s a good size TV in one of them.”
“Weren’t you here to hike and explore the area?” Aurora asked. She didn’t need a babysitter, no matter how handsome he was.
“I was. But I like the looks of your ranch, and it’s been a while since I’ve been riding, so I’d enjoy this even more.”
Sure, he would. The man was just being a good sport.
“Look Dalton, we couldn’t impose on you like this,” Aurora protested.
“It’s not an imposition,” Gunnar said. “You heard the man. He wants to get back in the saddle.”
“Your grandfather is right.” Dalton said with a smile. “One of my former teammates has a big spread in Texas. That’s where I learned to ride. I would really love to be able to show up the next time as a better horseman.”
“Well Aurora can definitely help you with that. She’s an expert, she not only trains and works with abused animals, she’s a pro at giving riding lessons.”
Dalton’s lit up with amusement, while Aurora turned damn near purple.
Luckily her grandfather had no idea how she and Dalton had taken his words. Then Gunnar spoke up again. “Now wait a minute, you do realize that when you give him his riding lessons, you’re going to do it while you’re on the ground, now don’t you Missy?”
“I’m going to be fine,” she assured her grandfather. All I need is a long soak in the tub, and by morning I’ll be right as rain.”
“I don’t think so. I saw how you were walking when you thought I wasn’t looking. You were hunched over like Erwin is after a stint at the rodeo. You’re taking it easy for at least forty-eight hours.”
Aurora shook her head. “I can’t do that, there’s too much to do.”
“Dalton will take care of it,” Gunnar said as he pointed his index finger at the Navy SEAL.
“You can’t just tell the man he’s now a ranch hand.” Aurora felt like tearing her hair out.
“Sure, he can. I’m used to taking orders. Just tell me what to do. I figure mucking out stalls is part of my duties,” Dalton grinned.
“You’ve done enough already. Hell, you practically carried me up the side of a mountain, for Pete’s sake.” T
hese two men were driving her up a wall. She gave them a weary grin and noticed that Dalton was staring. Dammit, she knew he was looking at her dimple.
“Young Man, I can’t thank you enough for all that you did for my Aurora. It was a miracle that you were there for her this morning.”
Dalton smiled at her grandfather. “I was glad I was there. Now let me go get checked out of the lodge, and I’ll come back here. How does that sound?”
“There’s really no need,” Aurora said again. Both men turned to her with the exact pitying look. She was so outvoted.
“Don’t listen to Aurora, you’re staying. There’s cable, and I cook a mean meal. You’ll love it here.”
She looked over at Dalton. “I really hate the idea of you ruining your time off just to babysit me,” she sighed.
He turned in his chair, so he was looking straight at her. “You’re right, I was looking forward to my time hiking around the lake.”
“I knew it!”
“But,” he continued. “I think spending time on a horse around this ranch will be just as soothing. What’s more, I would lose my Eagle Scout badge if I didn’t stick around and keep an eye on you,” he grinned.
“I’m serious,” she said.
His blue eyes darkened. “Okay, if you want serious, here’s serious. There’s not a chance in fucking hell that I’m not going to be on your ass until we find out who in the hell has targeted you. I am going to take them down.”
“What you said doesn’t make any sense.” It was like he was speaking a foreign language.
“Honey, it’s the boy scout creed.” Her grandfather patted her hand. He turned to Dalton. “Let me get you a key to the house.”
Dalton took the key from Gunnar. He had to admit, he really liked the man. They thought alike. Then he looked over at Aurora. Now they weren’t always on the same page, but he had to admit, he really liked her too…a lot. He pushed up from his chair. “I better get over to Pinecrest Lodge. What time should I come back in the morning?”
“Are you really sure you want to do this?”
“He’s sure,” Gunnar answered.
“What he said,” Dalton grinned.
“This next week is going to be hell, isn’t it?” she sighed and grinned. He got another glimpse of her dimple.
“Not if you just do as your told,” Gunnar said.
“Yeah sure, that’ll be happening.”
“It wouldn’t be any fun if you did,” Dalton said.
Her head jerked up at his words and she blushed, then she grabbed her cup of cold cocoa and took a long swig.
“We start early,” Gunnar said.
“I’ve been known to work an early morning shift from time to time,” Dalton deadpanned.
Gunnar’s chuckle was deep and loud. “Aurora told me you’re a SEAL. I’m betting you’ve worked an early shift, a late shift, and double shifts, and three days in a row.”
The old man’s laughter reminded Dalton of his friends. He was good people. “I’m still stunned that your granddaughter was able to figure out I was a SEAL, simply by the gun I carried. She pulled that out of her hat in a heartbeat. Hell, there a lot of vets from different branches that wouldn’t have put that together as fast as she did.”
Add that kind of lethal intelligence with how she filled out a sweater and she rang all his bells.
“Aurora’s special,” Gunnar agreed.
“Aurora’s also right here, Gentlemen,” she stood up shaking her head. “Are you really going to talk about me like I’m invisible?” At least she wasn’t blushing.
“Hey Darlin’, we were being complimentary,” Gunnar defended himself.
Aurora rounded the table and handed Dalton his jacket. He took it, then tipped her chin back with his knuckles so he could better see her forehead. He grimaced as he saw that the swelling was worse than it had been that morning.
“Are you icing your head?”
“Are you a doctor?” she asked.
“I’ve trained as a medic. So, have you?”
“Have I what? Trained as a medic? Or iced my head?” Again, with the dimple. This time he was also getting brown eyes sparkling up at him.
“Either. But I’ll be satisfied if you just answer yes to the ice.”
“Yes, Mr. Medic, I’ve been icing my forehead.” She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a frozen bag of peas from the freezer. “Voila.”
Dalton looked over at Gunnar who nodded. “She’s napped once, and laid down an additional two times, each time with ice packs.”
“You two aren’t going to be talking about me again, now are you?”
Aurora was getting feisty again. Damn, she had just started to settle down.
“Aurora, you gave me a hell of a scare today, and I’m betting Dalton here was a little worried too. Let us fuss a little.”
“I already agreed to Dalton coming and acting as my keeper. Isn’t that enough?”
“No,” Dalton and Gunnar said simultaneously.
“Men are an odd breed.” She turned and picked up his and her mugs and put them into the dishwasher. “So anytime after five a.m. will work.”
“I’m in charge of breakfast,” Gunnar said. “Cinnamon apple French toast if you make it here at five.” The old fisherman finished his coffee. “Apple smoked bacon too.”
“I think you’ve convinced me to be on time.”
Aurora eyed him thoughtfully. “I’m betting you were never planning on showing up later than five, were you?”
He didn’t bother to answer. “Thanks again for the coffee. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
As he walked out to his truck, considered what he had signed up for. It was really a threefer. One, he felt bad that an injured woman and her aging grandparent should have to handle a ranch and orchard on their own, so he was happy to step in. Two, when she had told him about the Valhalla ranch and then when he had pulled up the driveway at twilight he was hit with an odd feeling of comfort. Three, he was definitely going to find out who was behind those shots.
He took his time driving back to the lodge, carefully watching the dark road because he knew damn well that deer were prone to dart out. When he felt the vibration of his phone, he pulled it out of the inside pocket of his jacket and tossed it onto the passenger seat, not bothering to look at the display to see who it was. He had a good idea who was calling. It was the same man who had been calling the last three days.
Dexter Evans was getting to be more and more like a mother hen every month he spent as a father to Austin, and Dalton was suffering because of it. He should call Austin and offer to start a support group. Maybe invite Hunter in. Nah, Hunter was too into Aliana, he was rolling with Dex’s meddling.
Then there was the way that Dex was getting in Wyatt’s face about how he had ended things with his last conquest. Dex was on a mission to baby-sit the Western Hemisphere, and now Dalton was in his sites, and he didn’t like it. He could hear the low hum of vibration over in the seat. Now who was calling? At least his teammate never called more than once a day, so this time it had to be someone different.
When he pulled into the parking lot of the lodge, he stopped the car and snagged the phone off the seat. He looked at the display and white-hot rage exploded through his body.
“Motherfucker!”
He slammed his elbow into the driver’s side window, the loud crack was music to his ears.
“You bitch. You absolute bitch!” He stared longer at the number on the phone. Five years ago, he’d deleted the old woman’s number off his phone, and anyone else connected to Lacey. It hadn’t done him a damn bit of good. He’d thrown that old phone into the Pacific Ocean and gotten a new one. One that he gave to a select number of people. Very few people connected to the time before. Yet here he was looking at the number of his dead wife’s mother on the five-year anniversary of his daughter’s birthday. The death that Lacey had caused. What the fuck was Norma calling him for?
Flop sweat coated the back of his neck as h
e stared at the phone like it was emanating the stench of two-day-old road kill. The whole purpose of him coming to Tahoe, a place that had the deep, dark blue water of the lake and the rich green of the pines that it in no way reminded him of that San Diego road where his drunken wife had taken their precious child and hurtled them into the side of a rock. Now his former mother-in-law was calling?
He drew back his arm to slam it into the cracked window again but stopped himself.
“Get your shit together.” He told himself.
The phone in his hand vibrated. Bile surged before his vision cleared enough to see that it was Zed Zaragoza calling. He let it go to voicemail. Zed didn’t leave one. Seconds later a text came through.
* * *
QUIT SCREENING YOUR CALLS AND PICK-UP.
* * *
Dalton grunted. It was the closest he could get to a laugh. The phone vibrated again, and he picked it up.
“What do you want?”
“Is Tahoe cold? It’s beautiful here in Virginia.” Zed sounded jovial. It was kind of scary.
“What do you want?” Dalton said again.
“You’re not going to let me even try to kiss you before I go in for the kill?” Zed asked.
“I’m tired. It’s cold. I don’t have time for bullshit. What do you want?”
He heard the big man sigh. “You’ve been pinging my radar for the last forty-eight. Then five minutes ago I knew something big had happened and I had to call. It wasn’t something that said I needed to call Dex and call in reinforcements, but I knew I needed to check in.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Did he really need this tonight? First there’d been Norma who should be buried in the past, and now Zed. The big SEAL from Virginia had always been pretty empathetic for women and his friend Hunter, but now he was behaving totally out of character and calling him out of the blue. Dalton didn’t need this shit.
“I’m not going to spill my guts,” Dalton spit out bitterly.
Her Guarded Hero Page 4