Tom pushed his hat around on the table. “Those things are damned expensive and once a farmer gets behind in payments, damned hard to catch up.” He shook his head. “They could lose everything.” He turned to Eve. “Can we lend them our baler?”
“Of course, Tom, and anything else they may need.” She folded her hands around her cup. “But I don’t own a farm, and none of the damage is as bad as the Nelsons’.”
“If they got worse and added up, could it put you in financial problems?” Dan asked.
“I’ve had a few worried moments,” Eve admitted. “But I’ve had a fairly good year and been able to cover the damage. If I have any major problems, I could be in trouble like the Nelsons’” She noticed Denton and Tom’s frowns. “I didn’t want to worry you both. I’m fine, really.”
Dan studied his notes again. “Eve, when did your father come to visit?”
Eve sat back in her chair. “A few days after Denton came for lessons. According to Snook, Ed was released from prison a week earlier. Might have been earlier than that. We can’t believe what Snook tells us. Do you think Ed’s behind this?”
“Why, to get the ranch back?” Denton asked.
“Even if Eve lost the ranch,” Tom said, “he’d have to buy it back. Since I’m part owner, he’d have to purchase it from both of us. Where would he get the money?”
Eve nodded and nibbled on a cold piece of toast to calm her churning stomach. “But so far what’s happening isn’t affecting me enough to make me lose the ranch. Things are tight, but then they always are. Something else is going on.”
Dan tapped his pen on the table. “I agree. Besides, this isn’t confined to Eve. What about Snook? He’s your cousin and all, but he’s a real piece of work. He’s been flashing cash around with no visible means of a job.”
“Sounds like him.” She got up and refilled her mug. “Again, what’s the reason? I know he thought the farm should have gone to him, but he was dreaming.” She sat down and plopped her chin in her hand.
The kitchen clock ticking broke through the silence as they thought of possibilities.
“Dammit,” Tom yelled, slamming his hand on the table making her jump. “Why didn’t I think of this before?”
Eve wiped up spilled coffee with a napkin. “Think of what?”
“Sand.”
Dan’s eyebrows drew down. “What about sand?”
Tom leaned into the table. “Someone at Jake’s bar a few months back said something about sand in the area, but it was said so quietly I’m not sure I heard right. I never heard anything more so I forgot about it.”
“I’m confused,” Denton said. “Tell us about this sand.”
“Evidently, there is a process in refining or mining oil or something using sand called fracking.”
“What’s that got to do with us?” Eve asked, even more confused than ever.
“Well, see, they need a certain type of sand and supposedly there’s a lot of this sand in Wisconsin. I guess people are selling out their land for millions.”
The sheriff leaned back in his chair. “Seriously? Millions? I can’t believe I haven’t heard about this.”
“Yup. Remember, I was eavesdropping, so I may have heard wrong.”
“I don’t have any sand on my property,” Eve said. “And I’d certainly remember if someone offered me millions for my land.”
Denton thought for a moment. “Are you sure? Remember when we were looking for your dad and I found signs of digging?”
“If someone is poking around my land, how are they doing it without being seen?” A shiver ran up her spine.
Tom rubbed the back of his neck and frowned. “Your land butts up to the Nelsons’. They could be coming from there, or from the road and swinging around to the land. All those trails make it mighty easy for someone to get around without our noticing.”
“They, whoever they are, would be taking an awful chance of being seen,” Eve said.
“Not if they know the ranch’s schedule,” the sheriff added.
Denton snapped his fingers. “Or figure a holiday like the Fourth of July would be a day everyone would be or should be in town for the celebration.”
“The pond!” Eve and Denton said in unison.
“The pond?” Tom asked.
Eve blushed, hoping her friend and the sheriff weren’t paying attention. Denton winked at her.
“We took a ride to the pond on the Fourth when everyone was in town.”
“A picnic,” Eve explained, seeing Tom’s grimace.
“Yes, a picnic,” Denton agreed. “We fell asleep, and when I woke up, something was rustling in the grass. I thought the horses were restless, but when we went to leave, our horses were gone.”
“You didn’t tell me about that,” Tom said, his frown creating deep grooves between his eyes.
“No big deal,” Eve said, gazing down at her folded hands in her lap. “We walked back. Tilly and Della were in the barn when we returned.”
Tom chuckled. “Denton probably didn’t tie his properly.”
Denton gave him a sour glance. “I’d say you’re probably right, except the branches they were tied to were cut.”
Dan tapped his pen on the pad of paper, then stood and stretched. “I need to get home for dinner. I’m going to check out this sand business. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for any signs of someone on your land. Talk to your employees and see if they’ve noticed anything.”
After the sheriff left, Eve was silent, thinking about the sand companies. “Seriously? Millions? I wonder if the Nelsons’ have been asked to sell.”
“I think we need to do some investigating of our own,” Denton said.
“I agree.” Tom stood and slapped his hat on his head.
“Tom, how about you search the area behind the barn and either side of the driveway. Denton and I will tackle the trails to and around the pond.” She pushed back her chair. “Anyone want lunch before we go?”
“No, I had a late breakfast.” Tom stared pointedly at Denton as if he expected the younger man to voice his opinion on his night activities.
Eve held her breath and slowly released it when Denton didn’t rise to the bait. “Denton?”
He smiled at Tom. “Why don’t we take some sandwiches with us? Maybe bring a blanket. You never can tell how long we’ll be gone and what may happen.”
She smacked her hand on the table. “Like I said before, that’s enough. You’re both acting like children and it’s getting tiring. Tom, do you want a sandwich?”
He walked to the door. “Like I said . . .”
“Tom . . .” Eve warned him in a tone hinting he and Denton had better listen or pay the consequences.
He put his hands up in mock surrender. “All right. All right. I’m done.” He glowered at Denton. “For now.” He yanked open the door and stepped outside, slamming the door behind him.
“Denton, I hope I don’t need to come between you two every time you’re in the same room.”
“What about the same city?”
Eve slapped her hands on her hips. “Denton Johanson, we’re adults. Why can’t your mother enjoy herself?”
“I know, I know.” He shook his head. “But she’s my mother,” he whined.
“Give it up. Your mother can take care of herself.” She walked to the refrigerator. “Now, do you really want sandwiches and a blanket?”
His dimpled deepened when he grinned. “I’d love a sandwich, but let’s forgo the blanket this time.” He pulled her into his arms and pressed his face against the crook of her neck. “As much as I love the idea of a repeat performance of our last visit to the lake, I don’t like the idea someone may be spying on us.”
“Me, either.” She kissed his cheek and stepped out of his embrace. “Why don’t y
ou get the horses ready, and I’ll pack us a lunch?”
“Both horses?”
“Yes.”
Denton released a long, deep sigh. “I don’t have a change of clothes here to hassle with a couple of horses.”
“Nice try. You know darn well you left some clothes here the last time you stayed over. They’re in the laundry room. You even left your boots as if you either planned on coming back to ride or as a message you’ve given up riding.”
Denton chuckled and walked down the hall to the fetch his clothes. “Probably a little of both.”
“Well, get a move on, or Tom will be back wondering what’s taking us so long.”
Chapter 20
“Watch for any disturbed grass along the trail,” Denton told Eve a short time later.
Eve peered through the trees. “They could be made by animals, too.”
He guided his horse beside Eve. “Deer trails would be pretty obvious. Anything else would be disturbed grass. Anyone sneaking around would be pretty careful about leaving a trail.”
“This creeps me out,” she said, keeping an eye on the ground around her. “I have an idea we won’t find anything until we get to our lake. Anyone would be crazy to use these trails when we used them all the time.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Like the sound of what?” Her heart skipped a beat and fluttered. His eyes sparkled and his dimple deepened.
“Our lake. Sounds good. Permanent.”
“Me, too, Denton.”
“I want to marry you, Eve.”
She held back the grin starting in her heart. “I know, Dent.”
He stopped his horse. “What do you mean, you know?”
Eve kept her horse moving and didn’t look back. She rounded the bend in the trail, wondering if he was going to catch up. She was enjoying keeping him off kilter. His horse whinnied beside her, but she kept sweeping the ground for signs.
“Well, what about it?”
“What about what?” She held back a snicker at his sigh strong enough to rustle the leaves on the trees.
“Getting married,” he said, impatience ringing in his voice. “What about getting married?”
Eve casually shrugged when in reality she wanted to leap into his arms, horses or not, kiss his face silly, and scream at the top of her lungs, YES! “Ask me again when we’re not looking for bad guys.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“Mine.” She stopped Tilly at the first lake and dismounted, giving him a sideways glance. His lips were turned up at the corners. “What are you grinning at?”
He swung his leg over the rump of his horse and dropped to the ground. “You.”
“Why?”
He led his horse to Eve and gave her a quick kiss. “’Cause I love you,” he said in a soft voice against her lips. Without looking back, he led his horse to the hidden path to their lake.
Eve stared after him and shook her head. The guy was going to keep her on her toes. But, man, what fun they would have. She led Tilly behind Della, and opened her mouth to tell him she loved him, too, when he put up his hand and placed a finger to his lips. He gave a signal for her to move closer.
“When was the last time you went to your lake?” he whispered.
“Not since we were here a few weeks ago. I’ve been too busy.”
“Look.” He pointed to some disrupted leaves at the entrance to their secret trail. “I think someone has been through here.”
Eve knelt and searched the ground and branches. To anyone not familiar with the area, the change wouldn’t be noticeable, but to Eve, it was obvious someone walked here and hadn’t camouflaged as she did.
“You’re right, someone’s been through here.” She pointed to fresh shoeprints a recent rain should have washed away.
“How quietly can we move?”
“We can leave the horses behind and make it more difficult for anyone to hear us.”
At his signal, they moved the horses to the other side of the lake. They slipped their backpacks filled with bottled water and sandwiches over their shoulders and hiked back to the trail. Cautiously removing the brush from the entrance, they stepped into the tree-lined path and re-covered the entrance in case someone came past from the outside. Within moments, they were on the other side, staring at the tranquil smaller lake, the scene of their first lovemaking.
Eve sighed and gazed wistfully at the canopy under the willow tree.
“I know,” he said quietly, putting an arm around her shoulders. “As much as I would love to make wild, passionate love to you right here, right now, we can’t until we find out what’s going on. I’m not taking any chances of someone trailing us.”
Eve laid her head on his shoulder and nodded. “Just the thought someone might have been watching us gives me the creeps.”
“Makes me angrier than hell.” He dropped his arm. “Hopefully, this will be over soon.”
“Whatever this is.”
“Let’s walk the perimeter of the trees and keep an eye out for any paths or trails. I think we should keep a low profile, so if anyone is watching, we’ll be harder to spot.”
Eve studied the span of tall grass between the lake and the start of the woods and crouched. He was right. It would be pretty easy from someone to catch a glimpse of them from the concealment of the woods.
“Should we crawl?”
“I’m too old to waddle like a duck. We may see something we wouldn’t if we were walking.”
Eve got down on all fours and peered over her shoulder at him. He wriggled his eyebrows and followed suit.
“Don’t get any ideas, mister.”
“How can I not get any ideas with your ass practically sticking in my face?”
“Well, keep your eyes on the task at hand, buster.”
“Impossible,” she heard him murmur.
Halfway around the lake, Eve was ready to scream. Her grass-stained knees hurt and the bugs, attracted to her sweating body, swarmed around her eyes, nose, and mouth. She longed to jump into the water so close to them.
“Stop,” Denton whispered, pointing a short distance ahead. “See that?”
Eve followed his finger. “Another trail?”
Denton inched his way in front of her. “Seems like it to me. Been used quite a bit.”
“Let’s follow,” he said, moving slowly to the narrow opening in the grass.
At her nod, he crept through the tall grass. Eve flinched at each rustle. It would be even more difficult to keep quiet when they got to the woods. If they were lucky, they would find nothing more than deer resting under the trees.
“When we get to the woods, be careful not to step on any fallen branches or twigs. I’ll go first,” he said in a low voice, as if he’d read her mind.
“Why?”
“If we run into someone, take off in the other direction and get back to the ranch. Got that?”
“I’m not leaving you.”
He grabbed her wrist. “Eve, I’m serious,” he murmured. “We don’t know what we’re going to find. Promise me if we run into trouble, you’ll go back for help.”
“I have my cell phone.”
“They might hear you. In fact, put it on vibrate. Promise me you’ll go back to the horses and call. Please.”
Eve crossed her fingers behind her back before nodding and following him. After a few moments, he put his hand up. She stopped.
Keeping his voice down, he asked, “Have you ever been out here?”
She shook her head. “Not in years. I usually only go as far as the willow tree and the little lake.”
Muffled voices carried in the distance, not loud, but enough to stop her heart in her throat. Her pulse raced. Another shot of deodorant woul
d have been good. Denton turned to her. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead and ran down the side of his face. He signaled for her to stay down. Soon they would be shimmying on their stomachs, noses in the dirt.
Their forward progress was painstakingly slow. Eve thought turtles from the lake could pass them. After a few minutes, she peeked up over his head, expecting dim lighting from the woods. Instead, the sky turned brighter like there was an opening in the woods.
Denton motioned for her to slide up beside him. He eased the tall grass aside. To her right, two men sat on lawn chairs under the trees. Eve knew a little about guns, but the rifles each held across their legs were intimidating and the scariest she’d ever seen. Her hands went damp and her throat dry. On the left beneath some trees was a fifteen foot trailer. A camouflaged canopy was strung from each corner of the trailer out to trees at the edge of a field. A grill, cooler, table, several more lawn chairs, and a four-wheeler were in front of the trailer, hidden by the canopy.
She tapped Denton on the arm and pointed at the scattered plants growing in a field she didn’t realize existed.
“Weed.”
She raised her eyebrows. “On my land?” she mouthed.
He nodded and put a finger to his lips.
Eve wanted to ask him how he recognized the plant, but one of the men started speaking in Spanish. She’s taken Spanish in high school, but without the need to use it, she couldn’t remember more than hola and gracias. Besides, they were speaking so rapidly, no way could she understand them. But one word stood out like a cell tower in a desert. “Snook.”
She emitted an involuntary gasp. The men stopped talking. “Que?”
She held her breath as one of the men stood and listened intently. Both men laughed when a chipmunk bounded in from the woods, its mouth bulging with seeds.
“Nada,” one of them said and sat, resting his rifle once again across his lap.
Riding for Love (A Western Romance) Page 21