She walked away from Hollis, her head held high, her posture erect, knowing all eyes were on her at this moment. She could feel their eyes on her back, pitying her, watching her, waiting for her to break down in a torrent of tears and emotion. It was clear that they’d expected her to break down. They all knew what Morning Star meant to her – she'd been her pride and joy. Even though she wanted to weep for the tragedy of Morning Star, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. For years she’d trained herself to hold her emotions on the inside, never letting anyone know that she was badly hurting on the inside and suffering from a broken heart. Her grandmother had taught her well, she thought grimly. Sometimes she was so afraid of feeling that she allowed herself to feel nothing at all. For what was worse than the searing pain that knifed through your soul when you’d lost a loved one?
A single tear trailed down her face as she leaned over Morning Star’s body, silently admiring the lean, graceful form that had guided her on so many adventures and given her endless pleasure. She was still beautiful even in death. Slowly, Sierra covered her body with a black tarp, while silently whispering words of farewell. At the same time she made a vow, one that she was determined to uphold. “I swear to you, Morning Star, I’m going to find the person who did this to you, and when I do I’m going to make sure they pay for what they’ve done.”
***
“I don’t know what’s bothering him, Matt, but he’s been in a blue funk all morning. He’s been working my butt off around here like I’m a work horse or something,” Drew grumbled in a childish voice. All morning he’d been mucking out the stalls and performing the tasks that the ranch hands jokingly referred to as “grunt jobs”. And he didn’t like it one bit. The way he figured it, since he was Caleb’s brother he should get the cushiest assignments of all the ranch hands instead of working his way up from the bottom.
“Must be love,” Matt said with a grunt. Although he thanked his lucky stars that he wasn’t foolish enough to indulge in the notion of love, he didn’t want to begrudge his best friend a happy ending. After all Caleb had been through with Sierra in the past, he deserved some small measure of happiness.
“Caleb doesn’t have time for love. He’s too busy becoming the biggest cattle baron in Texas and building that new house of his,” Drew said with air of resentment in his voice.
“Speaking of the house, Drew, how’s it coming? I came out here today to get a peek at Caleb’s new digs. One of the deputies in my office told me it’s beautiful.”
A look of envy passed over Drew’s face, one that he couldn't successfully conceal from Matt. It was clear that he envied his brother’s lifestyle - the thriving cattle business, the new home being built and his strong, no-nonsense character. All of the things in life that he aspired to, but was far way from achieving. It must be tough being the ne’er do well baby brother, Matt imagined.
“Yeah, it surely is beautiful,” Drew said with a troubled expression on his face. He let out a big sigh and said, “Caleb has a knack for making gold out of everything he touches. The only thing I ever seem to come up with is a hand full of dung.”
For the first time since he’d known Drew, Matt felt a twinge of pity for him. It must be tough, he thought, walking in your older brother’s shadow. Especially when you were something of a mess up and you depended totally on your brother for your livelihood. Not that he knew anything himself about brotherly relationships. But he did have an amazing sister named Ruby, who he loved more than anything. He’d had a rough childhood, one he wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Matt clapped Drew on the back with his hand in a gesture of support, wanting the kid to know in some small way that he wasn’t alone. He knew from personal experience how rough one’s life could seem at times. But he’d found a way out of his situation and he imagined that Drew would find a way out of his. Sometimes there was nowhere a person could go but up.
“Buck up, Drew! Your luck will change one of these days.” Matt gave him a wicked grin, his dark eyes lighting up with glee as he said, “Once you stop focusing too much on the ladies you’ll have more time to concentrate on improving yourself.” His laughter rang out in the stillness of the afternoon, and grudgingly Drew began laughing along with him, his pearly whites glinting in the afternoon sun.
***
“What brings you out here Cruz?” Caleb’s voice rang out behind Matt and Drew as they swallowed the last remnants of their iced teas. Caleb was the only one to call Matt by his last name. He’d been doing it ever since they’d met. Both men turned around in response to Caleb’s prickly greeting. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he was upset about something. Without uttering a word, Drew turned his back on Caleb and marched towards the stables, his face looking as ornery as a pack mule.
“Thanks for ditching me last night.” Caleb snorted loudly and said, “So much for friendship.”
With a look of chagrin on his face, Matt answered, “I came out here to apologize for that, Caleb. That Marissa woman was driving me nuts! I figured you were in good hands with your lady friend.” Matt cracked a crooked smile and winked at Caleb.
Caleb didn’t like the way Cruz had winked at him. Was he suggesting something sleazy about her? He felt as if a vein might pop on his forehead. He glared at his friend, almost daring him to say something else.
Uh oh! He was feeling all protective and sentimental towards Sierra again. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. If Cruz had made that comment about any other woman he wouldn’t have thought anything about it. But Sierra wasn’t any other woman. She was his woman. And he didn’t want Cruz so much as looking in her direction.
“So,” Caleb said in a slow drawl, determined to steer the topic away from him and Sierra, “did you have something romantic going on with Marissa? Is that what all that tension between the two of you last night signified?”
His best friend sputtered. “Are you nuts? I wouldn’t date that gossip hound if she was the last woman in Briarwood.”
Caleb raised a skeptical eyebrow, his tawny eyes lighting up humorously at Cruz’s vehement opposition to dating Sierra’s best friend. He was getting the strangest feeling that his friend was protesting a little too much for a man who didn’t like a certain woman.
“Well,” Cruz conceded, “maybe if she was the last woman on earth I’d date her. But I probably wouldn’t like it.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “She’s too unruly, too annoying. And she’s got a big mouth.”
“I truly pity the woman who ends up with you,” Caleb said with a shake of the head, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried to suppress his laughter. Although Caleb considered himself a bit jaded with regard to romantic entanglements, his buddy Cruz was a cynic, straight through to the bone.
Cruz shrugged nonchalantly at Caleb’s words. “Don’t pity her, Caleb. She doesn’t exist. No woman is going to end up as Mrs. Matt Cruz - not in this lifetime.”
Suddenly Cruz’s two-way radio began squawking, alerting him that the dispatcher was trying to reach him from the sheriff’s office. He quickly removed the unit from his gun belt, pressed a button and began to speak into the unit in a no-nonsense tone. “Cruz here. Talk to me,” he ordered into the hand-held radio.
A crackly voice came over the radio, one that both men immediately recognized as Carollee Timmins due to the uneven, high-pitched quality of her voice. Carollee was Cruz’s secretary in the sheriff’s office and he knew from experience that she only radioed him in an emergency situation. In that emergency situations were rare occasions in Briarwood, Cruz’s body went on full alert, every nerve ending in his powerful frame primed for action.
Initially Caleb had backed away from where his friend was standing in order to give Cruz his privacy and to allow him to conduct his official business without any distractions. When it came to his job as the sheriff of Briarwood, Matt Cruz was the consummate professional, one who took his job very seriously and who never slouched in his duties. From the moment Cruz had expressed his interest in the job he’d
been the clear choice in the minds and hearts of the residents of Briarwood. Honor, bravery, dedication and strength were his credentials, and he had served the town well as sheriff.
Caleb whipped his body around toward Cruz as he heard Carollee mentioning the Diamond Lil. Or at least he thought she’d mentioned the ranch. For a brief moment he wondered if he was going crazy. Was he hearing things? Or had something gone down at the ranch? Something so important that the sheriff was being called in to investigate?
“Did I hear her mention the Diamond Lil?” Caleb asked as he watched Cruz place the unit back on his gun belt, his heart beating like a drum as a dark warning flashed through him. Sierra needed him. He knew it as deeply as he’d known it the other night on Pete’s Mountain. He needed to go to her, to be with her, to put all their differences behind them and start fresh. All of these thoughts collided in his head at the same time, serving as a revelation of sorts, and he had to force himself to listen to Cruz’s words.
“Yes, Caleb. There’s trouble out at the Diamond Lil. We had a really bad connection so I’m going to have to go out there and check things out.” Cruz paused for a moment, his eyes dark and ominous looking as he said, “All I could make out for sure is that someone’s been shot out at the Diamond Lil.”
***
“Can’t you drive any faster, man?” Caleb barked as she sat in the passenger seat and slowly counted the seconds. The drive to the Diamond Lil felt excruciatingly slow, despite the fact that they were racing down the highway at nearly ninety miles an hour. It still wasn’t fast enough for Caleb.
“If I go any faster, Caleb, we’re going end up in the cemetery,” Cruz said calmly. “I’m a sheriff, not a race car driver.”
Caleb slammed his hand against the dashboard, his anger toward himself bubbling to the surface. It was all his fault! If he hadn’t been such a proud fool last night he wouldn’t be in such a tenuous situation. If he hadn’t stormed away from Sierra like a self-righteous hypocrite he’d be with her right now. Holding her. Comforting her. Protecting her.
He felt like screaming, punching, fighting...all because he wanted to be with the woman he loved. He wanted to make sure that she was okay. He needed to see with his own eyes that she wasn’t lying bloodied or dead at the ranch. All of a sudden the past wasn't nearly so important as the present. He needed to tell her that he loved her and that he forgave her.
He knew one thing for sure. There was no turning back this time. If Sierra was safe, and he prayed desperately that she was, he wasn’t going to hide his feelings for her any longer. And he wasn’t going to blame her anymore for the past. The past was nothing more than a hollow shell, something he’d obsessed about for far too many years. They'd loved each other, of that he was certain. Fate, in the guise of Lilliana Rose, had savagely torn them apart. But there was no reason they couldn’t create something new, something totally separate from the past.
Surely God wouldn’t have placed Sierra back in his orbit for naught.
From this point forward he was going to embrace her wholeheartedly...in his heart and soul. In his life. A forever kind of thing if he had anything to say about it.
As they pulled up at the Diamond Lil in a whirl of dust and screeching brakes, Caleb scanned the crowd of people standing outside of the stables, intently looking for Sierra among the group. As soon as the car came to a stop both men jumped from the squad car, their feet flying as soon as they hit the ground. Then Caleb saw her and his heart nearly stopped beating. She was standing next to her daddy looking like a little girl lost, valiantly trying to be strong and brave, but showing tell-tale signs of stress and strain. He could see it all in her eyes the moment she looked up and saw him standing there with Cruz.
“Caleb!” As soon as she caught sight of him, Sierra ran toward him, throwing herself into his arms, huge sobs wracking her body as she hid her face against his chest. He cradled her in his arms, inhaling the soft, vanilla fragrance surrounding her that wafted up to his nostrils, the same fragrance that he’d fantasized about night after night when he’d dreamt of Sierra. But this wasn’t a dream. It was reality. He was holding Sierra in his arms and she was clinging to him as if he was the only thing that could keep her safe.
“T-They killed Morning Star, Caleb,” she sobbed, her coffee colored eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him. He wanted to kiss away her pain, but he knew he couldn’t. All he could do was be with her, holding her, caring for her, loving her. With all the love he held in his heart for her, it would be enough to get her through the pain and loss. It had to be, he thought stubbornly.
“Let it out, baby. Let it out.” Caleb held her in his arms for endless moments, stroking her hair and back with his hands and murmuring in her ear soft words of reassurance. “I’m here, baby. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Why did she have to go and die without explaining things to me face to face? Why did she have to lie to me? She was supposed to love me and protect me, yet she was the one who hurt me the most. Why?” Sierra cried, her tear-streaked face distorted with pain and unimaginable grief.
She wasn’t simply mourning Morning Star, Caleb realized as he listened to Sierra’s agonized words. She was finally mourning her grandmother, finally letting out all the despair and grief she’d felt over her passing. Clearly, she’d been struggling with all these feelings, denying them, pretending as if they didn’t exist, and now they were bubbling to the surface through a haze of grief and betrayal.
“I don’t know why we hurt the people that we love the most, sugar,” Caleb murmured softly, thinking of all the times he’d deliberately tried to hurt Sierra since she’d returned to town. It made him feel ashamed of himself and unworthy of this brave, wonderful woman. “Sometimes loving just brings hurt along with it. Hold on to the fact that your grandmother loved you and that you loved her in return. Hold on tight to that fact and never let it go.”
***
“What do you make of this, Cruz?” Caleb asked, his dark, chiseled features set in grim lines as he meticulously inspected Morning Star’s stall for any evidence the vandal may have left behind at the scene of the crime. It was clear to him that in all likelihood the person committing these acts was too clever to leave anything behind, but he felt an escalating sense of panic knowing that the acts were increasing in intensity and violence. He wanted the whole dirty business over and done with and the guilty party in police custody.
“Someone’s getting impatient,” Cruz said as he surveyed the stall and the blood-streaked straw as well as the bloody trail of footprints. “It looks like the perpetrator was a man, and I'm gonna guess this print is a size twelve or thirteen shoe size.” Cruz placed his own size 13 foot next to the imprint. He shrugged and said, “Not that it gives us much to go on. Men who wear size twelves and thirteens come a dime a dozen. It would be nearly impossible to track someone down on such flimsy evidence.”
“Impatient? Where’d you get that idea from?” Caleb asked with a perplexed frown.
Cruz shrugged. “This was sloppy. Rushed. It seems that someone is going to a lot of trouble to scare off Sierra - and they don’t seem to care how they do it.”
“So you think someone is targeting Sierra? Even though the vandalism started before she came back home?” Caleb asked eagerly, anxious to get Cruz’s take on the disturbing incidents. He was an expert in the art of solving unsolvable crimes.
“I’m not saying she’s the target, but it seems mighty coincidental that of all the prize winning horses in this stable someone picked out Sierra’s pride and joy and snuffed out its life. According to Hollis and Bryce, Morning Star was the only horse on the property that Sierra loved beyond distraction.” Cruz jammed his fists into his back pocket, his face devoid of any emotion as he continued to think the case through.
“Now,” he said persuasively, “if someone really wanted to strike out at the life blood of the ranch they would’ve harmed one of the race horses, rather than one who’s not a money maker.”
“Unless the object of this whole terror campaign is to spook Sierra now that she owns the Diamond Lil,” Caleb said fiercely, his protective instincts rising up within him at the thought of someone trying to harm or frighten her.
“You catch on quick, my friend,” Cruz said with a nod of his head, the blue-black accents in his bone-straight, shoulder length hair shimmering as a shaft of sunlight hit it.
Caleb scratched his chin, then asked, “What about revenge?” He was unwilling to totally give up on the idea that the vandalism was payback.
“That revenge theory doesn’t work, in my humble opinion! Lilliana Rose is dead and buried. Sierra hasn’t lived in Briarwood for years. Why would someone want revenge on Sierra?” Cruz paced around the stall, his eyes focused on the ground, searching for something, anything that would aid the investigation. “Matter of fact,” he drawled, “the only person who’d want revenge on her is you. And I know better than to think you’d stoop to this level, especially since I know that if you wanted to you could blow this whole family away with one piece of paper.”
“Keep it down, Cruz,” Caleb warned fiercely. “Someone might hear you.”
He rolled his eyes. “As I was saying,” Cruz continued, “this isn’t a revenge vibe I’m feeling. Someone is working towards something here. It’s building and building, almost to the point of exploding.” Cruz’s face looked preoccupied, and it was obvious to Caleb that his buddy was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together and feeling frustrated that the answers still eluded him. They needed hard clues so that they could nab the people responsible for terrorizing the Diamond Lil.
“They want something,” Caleb suggested, eager to get in on the act and help decipher the clues. Sierra had asked him to help find the person responsible for vandalizing the ranch, and to date he hadn’t done much to find the culprit. No, he thought angrily, he’d been too busy licking his wounds and trying to convince himself he hated Sierra.
Through The Fire (Guardians, Inc. Book 2) Page 15