by Rachel Lee
They stopped at Maude’s on the way back for carryout, because Dory was concerned about her work. “I keep taking time off,” she told Cadell frankly. “I’ve got to make up for at least some of it.”
“Yeah, for me working with the canines is the largest part of my job. I appreciate all your help, though.”
“I’ve enjoyed doing it. I never really had the chance to find out before, but I like animals. Someday I want to meet the goats.”
“That’s easy enough.”
They pulled into the driveway behind her car, then climbed out with the bags and started for the front door.
The evening suddenly changed for Dory. “God,” she whispered.
Cadell stopped and faced her. “What?”
“I feel watched. That’s ridiculous.” She tried to brush it away, but the feeling was an icy one, just awful.
Cadell set the bags on the rickety porch bench. “Unlock the door, but stay here. I’m going to make sure no one got into your house.”
“Why would...”
“I’m just going to make sure. Meanwhile, you look around and see if something has changed right around the house, something minor that troubled you, okay?”
So she stood there with Flash sitting at her side. Foolish as it felt, the feeling would not go away, and she put him on guard. The dog missed little, but when she ordered Flash to guard her, his attention grew more intense.
She studied the house as Cadell had told her to but didn’t see anything amiss. Not that she’d paid that much attention. The house had never been intended to be more than a way station for her.
Although maybe... But she pushed the thought aside. She and Cadell might be having sex now, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything about next week.
She watched as lights turned on inside the house. He was going room by room. Like someone could hide in her very few rooms. She might have been amused if the itchy feeling of being watched hadn’t persisted.
She studied the street, looking for another human being, but most humans were probably indoors eating dinner, or maybe in their backyards having a picnic. The street was as silent as it was empty.
She heard an engine start way down toward the edge of town. A battered old red pickup appeared eventually, and she watched it approach. Before it got near, however, Cadell opened the door.
“All clear inside. Did you note anything?”
“Nope.” She stepped in beside him, hardly noticing as the pickup rolled by behind her. “I guess I was just feeling too good most of the day. God forbid I should forget George for too long.”
His eyes crinkled as he smiled, but she didn’t miss the way he locked the door behind them.
“Do you want to check your computer for the image of that guy first, or do you want to eat? I’d hate for the food to get cold. Maude’s a master with steak.”
“Let’s eat.” Honestly, right now she didn’t want to see her brother’s face again, bearded or not.
Cadell carried the bags into the kitchen. Flash followed along hopefully, but he got dry food and a fresh bowl of water. Dory wondered what Cadell would think if she fed the dog people food. Sometimes she was tempted.
They sat facing each other, Cadell with a tall coffee from Maude’s, she with another one of her inevitable soft drinks. The sandwiches were perfect, the steak tender enough to melt in the mouth, and still warm. He’d been right not to wait.
“I’m surprised you didn’t dismiss my feeling,” she said when her appetite settled into more reasonable proportions. She had no idea what had made her so hungry. Must have been all that fresh air, because it wasn’t unusual for her to miss lunch.
“I never discount the feeling of being watched. Plenty of people get it sometimes, and the amazing thing is that plenty of people are right. It’s not always important, of course, but when you’re a cop and you get the feeling someone is focused on you? You don’t ignore it.”
“I just want you to know I appreciated it. It’s not a sensation I’ve had very often. Besides, there was no reason to be afraid of it with you right there.”
Again that smile danced in his dark eyes. “I’m no superhero, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”
He really was a nice guy, she thought as she continued eating. She’d have grown impatient with herself long ago. Amorphous fears about a brother who might never want to see her again. She wished she could just erase him from her memory.
But erasure had proved impossible, and Cadell wasn’t about to dismiss the possibility that George might feel he had business with her. Money business. Well, that wouldn’t surprise her.
She shifted a little in her chair. “Do you have any idea how much I inherited?”
He swallowed and took a drink of coffee. “Not really. The news articles from back then suggested a million-dollar insurance policy.”
She snorted. “So much more sensational, huh? No, actually it was about half of that, including what my godparents got for me from the sale of the house. That’s a lot of money—it might have grown over the years sitting in CDs and bank accounts, but I don’t know. You see, I have a vice.”
His brows rose. “Tell me it’s not cocaine.”
If she’d felt more comfortable, she would have laughed. “No. I can’t touch it, I told you. But when I turned twenty-one I made just one change to the trust with my godparents’ permission... I started donating half the interest.”
“That’s a vice?”
She shrugged faintly. “Some financial advisers think so, but not me. They handle the trust and apparently keep it growing. Anyway, the interest goes to various causes, mostly those helping children. Which brings me around to today. Brad couldn’t have afforded a companion dog without you and Mike Windwalker stepping up, right?”
“I don’t believe so.”
She nodded. “Maybe that’ll be my next charity. Kids like Brad who need companion animals. They shouldn’t be out of anyone’s reach.”
A warm smile spread across his face. “I like the way you think, Dory Lake.”
“George wouldn’t agree. When my godparents set up the trust they made it clear that they wanted me to save it for the future. I didn’t have any reason to disagree, but when I turned twenty-one, ownership passed to me. I left everything the way they’d made it except the use of the interest. And that’s when I made it irrevocable. If George had ever tried to contact me for money, I wouldn’t have responded. Not by then.”
“Theoretically he didn’t know where you were to contact you.”
“Probably not. My godparents moved a lot because of Uncle Bill’s job.” She sighed and pushed her dinner to one side. “I’m tired of every discussion coming back to him. I want him gone. Out of my life. Not constantly hanging over my head.” She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them so she could see his face. “The thing is, I think I create that threat myself more than anything. He might be headed to the opposite end of the country. He might not want to see me any more than I want to see him.”
“It’s possible.”
She didn’t miss the doubt in his tone. He believed George was going to show up. Her biggest fear was going to materialize. And Cadell intended to be at her side as much as he could. Gratitude filled her.
She looked down at Flash. “He’ll take care of George.”
“He’ll certainly try.”
The word hovered in the air along with her fears. Flash would try. No guarantees.
“Will you stay tonight?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world.”
* * *
GEORGE NEVER WOULD have dreamed it would finally be so easy to find his sister. Changing license plates on the truck had made him think of something that hadn’t occurred to him before: she had a car, and that was information he coul
d get for a fee from a private company online. The library in the place he thought of as “Rodeo Town” along with a prepaid debit card, had made it possible for him to find out what kind of vehicle she was driving. It still bore Kansas plates, the site claimed, which would stick out in Wyoming, even though the site wouldn’t give him the plate number or VIN.
And lo and behold, when he drove through Conard City late last night, he’d seen it. There she was. The only problem was that parked behind her car was a police SUV. Sheriff’s department. K-9 Unit blazoned on its side.
Curious, he’d parked up the street and waited until it was evident that cop wasn’t going anywhere else.
Hell. She’d hooked up with a guy—fast work, he thought—and worse, she’d hooked up with a cop. A freaking cop.
Anger shook him to his core, and he cleared out of town before he blew his stack. Pounding on a steering wheel and cussing loudly would only have drawn unwanted attention.
It wasn’t long, though, before he regained his self-control and came back to town. Rage was a tool to be used, not something he should ever let control him. He knew that.
He kept watch from a safe distance. And what he’d seen had both given him ideas and frustrated him more.
The cop never left her side. When they came out of her house in the late morning, it was together and with a dog. Probably the cop’s K-9, although he had to wonder why Dory was holding the leash.
He also had to admire his sister. She’d been a cute kid, everyone said so, but she’d grown into a stunning woman. Too bad he had to get rid of her. If he’d thought he could have talked her into working with him, she’d have been a great asset. But from everything he could tell about her—which wasn’t a whole lot—she had chosen to live on the right side of the law.
What a waste.
He watched them drive out of town toward the mountains and hung a safe distance back. If he lost them...well, there was always tomorrow.
He trailed behind, but not so far he didn’t see them turn in to a ranch. He kept going for another couple of miles and then headed back. In the distance, near a two-story white house, the cop’s vehicle was still parked. It must be his place.
Ideas were beginning to swim again. Once he was sure the two of them were safely tucked in for the night at her place, he was going to come back out here and see what kind of opportunity he could create.
Because opportunities were always there, just waiting for a clear enough eye to see them.
He’d waited a long time to put an end to Dory and get what he truly deserved. He could wait a little longer.
* * *
“I’VE GOT WORK in the morning,” Cadell told her later that night. Lovemaking had once again left her feeling limp and good all over. She wondered if she had been missing something all these years or if she had been missing Cadell.
She rolled lazily toward him. “No one’s ever made me feel this wonderful.”
He turned his head on the pillow and gave her a smile. “Now that’s a great thing to hear.”
“Truth.”
He stirred until he was on his side, too, and draped his arm over her waist. He lifted it briefly to brush a strand of her blond hair back from her face. “Truth,” he agreed. “You make me feel wonderful, too.”
She sighed happily and buried her face in his shoulder.
“Work in the morning,” he said again.
“I heard,” she mumbled.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ve got my work, too.”
“You know I wasn’t referring to that.”
She did, but she didn’t want to think about it. “Let’s not ruin this by thinking about tomorrow. If I get uneasy, I’ll run over to Betty’s, okay? But don’t forget, I have Flash. I wouldn’t want to argue with him.”
“He does have a lot of teeth,” Cadell said, allowing the mood to lighten.
But she felt the concern in him and knew he was right. Until George was dealt with somehow, there was a threat. She sought a way to reassure him. “You know, I’m not exactly in the middle of nowhere. It’ll be daytime, people are around, I’ll have Flash, and if I scream for help, I think someone will call for it.”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “Everyone around here would call for help and probably come running, too.”
“So I’ll be fine. But if you’re worried about it, I’ll go to Betty’s.”
After a moment he shook his head. “You have to work, too.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’ve got patrol duty. I don’t just train the dogs, you know.” He tightened his hold on her, and she snuggled closer. “Four hours. I’ll be back in four hours.”
“Okay.” But she didn’t feel okay. Long after she felt his breathing deepen and steady, she stared into the dark and shared her mind and heart with a little girl who was still traumatized.
She doubted any number of years would entirely get her past that. It was better now, much better, even if George’s release had awakened long-buried fears. But that little girl? Sometimes she needed attention, too.
* * *
BEFORE CADELL LEFT in the morning, he suggested she drive out to his place. He could meet her there shortly after noon, but he needed to check on the animals again. Maybe work with them some.
She was happy to agree. Plenty of time to work, a nice afternoon break, and then some more work this evening. Or something else, she thought with a private smile. Something else with Cadell had become the high point of her days.
Maybe a dangerous place to go, but she was going anyway. It kept hitting her that life as a hermit might provide safety, but it sure hadn’t given her a lot of good times. Not good times like Cadell gave her. However long it lasted, she wanted as much as he’d give her.
She spent a little time with her eyes closed, remembering last night, remembering Cadell’s smile, thinking about the way he looked striding around his ranch. Incredibly male, yet incredibly kind. She wasn’t used to men who were so kind. Heck, she worked with kind men, but she didn’t allow them to know she was a woman. Women weren’t welcome in the men’s world of computers. Although maybe she wasn’t being fair to the guys she worked with.
Then she laughed. For all she knew, some of them might be women, too.
Sometime later as she was finishing up her work, she ran into a mental hitch and couldn’t quite get her finger on it. Something was wrong.
Sighing, she heard an answering sigh and looked over to see Flash, his head on the floor, looking up at her as if to say, “Have you forgotten I need exercise?”
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll go for a run.” It would clear her head about work and allow her a good excuse to let her mind wander over Cadell and all his attractive attributes. He made her body sing, true. But he was bringing long-cold parts of her back to warmth and light.
It was probably going to hurt, but right now she didn’t care. She was willing to take whatever this slice of life offered her and pay the cost later.
She knew all about costs. And she knew she could survive them.
* * *
GEORGE WATCHED HER come out of the house with that dog of hers. He’d learned a little about her boyfriend last night when he’d explored the guy’s ranch. Dog trainer? K-9s? Cop dogs? He looked at the dog trotting beside Dory on a leash and suspected it had been trained by that man. An extra wrinkle, but one he could deal with.
What he’d found at the ranch was the perfect way to get rid of Dory and keep himself out of it. Ostriches had a kick worse than a boxer’s punch. All he had to do was get Dory in with them and then stir them up. That’d look like an accident, especially since he planned to break the lock on the pen when it was over. At worst it would look like she’d been trying to round them up after the lock failed.
But nobody would think
they’d been used as a murder weapon. And thanks to the electric fencing, she wouldn’t be able to climb out.
Man, sometimes his own brilliance blinded him.
* * *
CADELL SPENT HIS morning missing Dory. Not a good sign. He’d vowed a long time ago not to get into another deep relationship, and here he was violating his own oath. Dory wasn’t the best bet, either. He doubted she fully trusted him, and that meant he’d be wise not to trust her completely, either.
Nor could he be sure she wouldn’t just pack up and leave. She’d been avoiding real human contact for a long time and had said as much. She preferred being a hermit. This was an interlude for her, a bit of entertainment by helping him with his dogs, a change of pace. But soon she’d probably feel it was interfering with her work, and she’d want to crawl back into her safe emotional cave. Especially if they couldn’t somehow put the issue of George to rest for good.
He sighed and prowled the roads, filling in for Carter Birch, whose wife had just had a baby. He hated patrolling. Yeah, he’d done thousands of miles of it over the years, but back in Seattle at least he was likely to see something or do something, even if it was only writing a traffic ticket. Out here on the prairie and the foot of the mountains, there was almost nothing to do unless he got a call.
It was important, of course. If a call came, the idea was that a patrol wouldn’t be too far away. Distance could cost a life in an emergency. But he vastly preferred training the dogs and K-9 officers, and he often wondered just how he could expand his business so it would become full-time.
Again his thoughts trailed back to Dory, and he glanced at his watch. Another hour, then he could start heading toward his place to meet her. Another hour.
He pulled over to the side of the road and poured himself a cup of coffee from the thermos bottle he’d had Maude fill for him that morning. Still hot, still good.
He scanned the wide-open spaces that led up the mountains. A beautiful summer day easing slowly into autumn. The air was dry, the breeze steady.