The Reluctant Rancher~Badlands (Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense)

by J. D. Faver

  ~*~

  When E.J. stepped back inside the squalid house, he saw one deputy wearing latex gloves picking up the cash off the floor and stuffing it into the duffle bag. He wasn’t touching the blood-spattered money on the sofa.

  Breck was keeping a sharp eye on the deputy as well as the entire scene. His shotgun was broken over his arm, but he still held it. He nodded at E.J. and Jenna, giving them both something that could almost be called a smile.

  E.J. grinned. Up until now, he had only been privy to barely-contained animosity on Breck’s part. He supposed it had to do with the feud between his dad and Breck…and the fact that he, himself, had enjoyed a couple of dates with Cami before Breck won her heart. He gave Jenna a little squeeze. Somehow things had worked out the way they should, although he couldn’t have known that at the time.

  The three-man crew from the ambulance burst through the door and immediately went to work on Leon, who lay spread eagle on the couch. The sheriff stood nearby. Leon’s lips were moving, but E.J. couldn’t catch his words.

  Jenna clung to him, pressing her face against his chest.

  “Hey, it’s okay. We’re okay,” he crooned, stroking her hair. “Nothing to worry about.”

  She nodded, but kept her eyes covered.

  Funny for a woman who can castrate bull calves to be so upset by a little blood. Of course, Leon did kidnap her and threaten to kill her. Cut her some slack.

  He pressed a kiss against her temple and stood rocking her in his arms.

  One of the EMTs spotted him and came to check on his wounds. He asked E.J. to remove his bloody shirt and spent some time cleaning up the wound. He confirmed that the bullet had just grazed his shoulder and applied a series of butterflies to close the seam. He dabbed something on the cheek cut that stung like the devil before applying a small bandage.

  Jenna stood close, so she too could see the wounds. He winked at her just to show she had no reason for concern. When the EMT backed away, E.J. took her to talk to Breck.

  “Mighty good shooting, Breck.” E.J. offered his hand.

  “I figured he’d try to shut me up, eventually.” Breck gave him a firm handshake. “I could have shot him before, but he had you dead in his sights.”

  “Oh, E.J.” Jenna covered her mouth with one hand. She exhaled a shaky breath.

  The EMTs worked rapidly over Leon, starting an IV with fluids, injecting him with pain relievers and taping gauze pads to the various wounds made by the shotgun blast.

  Leon groaned as they lifted him onto a gurney. His eyes narrowed and fixed on E.J.. “You ain’t no kin of Eldon Kincaid,” he ground out. “You ain’t nothing like him. I don’t know why he was so all-fired proud of you.”

  E.J. released his grip on Jenna and stepped closer. “You don’t know anything about my dad.”

  Leon snorted, his eyes rolling up into his head momentarily and then he refocused. “I know a helluva lot more than you. He found you somewheres and toted you back to Dallas for his wife, like a puppy for her to play with.” He let out a loud groan as the EMTs strapped him to the gurney. “At least Eldon was a real man.” He closed his eyes again, his brow deeply furrowed. “It hurt me when I had to have him kilt in prison. He was about to spill his guts on the trucking thing.. .an’ I couldn’t have that. Don’t ‘cha see?” He opened his eyes again, looking directly at E.J. “I had no choice.”

  E.J. couldn’t move…couldn’t speak…couldn’t breathe. He felt all eyes in the room fastened on him. It was as if his bones had turned to jelly, and the only thing holding him up was sheer willpower. He refused to let Leon know his allegations had affected him.

  Breck broke the heavy silence. “There’s your confession, Sheriff. You can add the murder of Eldon Kincaid to the list.”

  Leon started laughing, causing his wounds to pump fresh blood with every shake of his belly. “I ain’t gonna live long enough for that,” he gasped. The EMTs rolled him from the house, still talking.

  Breck shook his head. “I aimed for his middle so he would live. A gut-wound hurts like the dickens, but he’ll probably live through it.” He shrugged. “Maybe lose a few feet of intestine.”

  “Here’s hoping he pulls through, Breck,” the sheriff said. “I’d sure like to see that pitiful excuse for a man pay for his crimes in a court of law.”

  Jenna came to stand beside E.J., a questioning look on her face.

  He slid an arm around her and pulled her close. This is all that’s real. This is all that matters.

  But Leon’s words stabbed through his heart again and again, along with the cryptic words in Eldon’s letter to him. Even if you weren’t my own flesh and blood, I would consider you a fine and worthy man.

  ~*~

  It was daylight when Breck dropped E.J. and Jenna off at the Kincaid ranch. She had been drowsy, but couldn’t fall asleep, even though she was lolled against E.J., who had his arm around her. He was still shirtless after receiving treatment from the EMTs and sported a white gauze bandage on top of his shoulder and a small white strip on his cheek.

  When Breck’s truck rolled up to the porch of the Kincaid mansion, Rufus, still locked in her truck, set up a volley of barks. My poor dog. He’s been locked in there all this time.

  E.J. thanked Breck for everything he had done and stepped out of the truck. He reached back for Jenna and she slid to the ground beside him.

  “Wait!” she said, leaning back into the truck to grab E.J.’s blood-stained shirt off the floorboard.

  E.J. closed the passenger side door and gave a wave as Breck pulled away. He turned to Jenna with a grin. He looked haggard from his ordeal, but happy nonetheless. “I don’t know why you brought that bloody shirt. I’m just going to toss it in the trash.”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t want to leave anything of ours behind in that horrible place.” She lobbed it into the bed of her truck. “Who knows? I may wash it and use it for a work shirt.” She opened the door and Rufus came bounding out. He greeted her briefly and ran off to take care of his business. “Good boy!” she called after him.

  E.J. cocked his head to one side, all at once looking boyish and engaging. “So, if I’m in love with a veterinarian, I suppose we’ll have a lot of pets?”

  “I have horses and a dog,” she countered. “That’s not a lot, is it?”

  “Nope. Why don’t you and Rufus come inside? I need food and a shower…and some company.”

  ~*~

  When Breck arrived home, Cami ran out to greet him. She launched herself at him and he caught her in mid-air, whirling her around and around.

  “What happened? Are you all right? How about Jenna? Did you get her back? Is E.J. okay?”

  His grin eased her mind. He sat her on her feet and took a step toward the porch. “Whoa, baby! Give a man a chance. I’m okay. We got Jenna. E.J. has a couple of scratches, but he’s fine.” He stepped up onto the porch. “I’m tired. I need a shower and if you could fix a starving man a bite to eat, it would be greatly appreciated.”

  She stretched up to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Yes, I can. Go get your shower and I’ll feed you.”

  He walked inside and left his Stetson on a peg by the front door. His brows drew together for an instant. “Funny thing, Leon Harwell confessed to killing Nick Jessup and the Hispanic guy too. It seems he and Eldon were in some sort of business together that involved hauling illegal aliens from somewhere near the Mexican border. Then Leon started transporting drugs too.” He shook his head. “You just never know about some people.”

  Cami tried to stifle a gasp. “That’s awful. I can’t believe Eldon was involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking.” She paused to consider. “But then, I guess I can. He didn’t have any qualms about murdering my Aunt Silky.”

  Breck let out a disgusted sound. “Or apparently, a young local couple. Remember the other bodies found in the caves?” At her nod, he went on. “Leon had Jenna tied up at the abandoned Atwater place. He was using it as a migrant stash house. After Eldon killed the At
waters, he disposed of their bodies in the cave on Silky’s land before taking over the Atwater land. Then, thirty years later, he told Leon about the caves so he could hide the bodies of Nick Jessup and the other man. Sick bastards, both of them.” He started popping the snaps open on his western shirt as he headed for the stairs.

  Cami stood frozen, staring after him. When will it all end? She tried to ignore the spiral of fear coiled in her chest. She went to the kitchen and forced her hands to go through the familiar motions of making sandwiches for Breck. By the time he showered, and returned to the lower floor, she had almost composed herself.

  “You look so exhausted,” she observed aloud.

  He took a seat at the kitchen table and she pulled up a chair next to him. “I’m pretty tired, all right. Going to catch a little nap after I eat.” He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. “Another funny thing…” He swallowed and stopped half-way to taking another bite. “Leon claimed that E.J. wasn’t Eldon’s natural son.” He heaved a sigh and took the bite.

  Cami’s breath caught in her throat. “What do you mean?”

  “He claimed that Eldon found E.J. and took him to his wife in Dallas. E.J. acted indifferent, but I could tell it bothered him.” He gazed at her intently. “I mean, if someone told me my dad wasn’t my dad, I’d knock him into the next county.” He resumed eating with gusto. “And he confessed to having Eldon killed in prison.”

  “Why would he say all that?” she managed to croak out.

  “He was bleeding pretty badly and he thought he was dying.”

  “What?” Cami half-rose from the table.

  Breck’s dark eyes surveyed her. “I…uh, had to shoot him.”

  “Oh, no!” Bile rose in the back of her throat. She swallowed hard, but felt tears pooling in her eyes.

  “Leon had his gun trained on E.J. and I had my shotgun on Leon. When he aimed it at me, I had to defend myself. I didn’t kill him. They took him to the hospital in Amarillo by ambulance. The sheriff called to tell me Leon was in surgery, but the docs think he’ll pull through just fine.”

  She nodded, trying to hold back the flood of tears. “Oh, Breck.” Her voice sounded whiney to her own ears. “You’re going to want to shoot me too.” She sniffled. “I need to tell you something.”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw. “What else have you been keeping from me?”

  “It’s true,” she sobbed. “E.J. was born to the Atwaters. Apparently, he was an infant when Eldon killed his parents. After he disposed of them in the caves, he returned to the scene of the crime to clean up any evidence and found E.J. in his crib.”

  Breck blew out an exasperated breath. “And just how do you know all this?”

  Tears ran, unchecked, down her cheeks. “Because Eldon told me. When we were in the cave, he became delusional and told me about it. He said his wife couldn’t bear children and he brought the baby home to her and they claimed him as their own.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Breck said under his breath. “Is that how you got him to confess to killing Silky?”

  She nodded, dreading the recriminations that would be forthcoming. To her surprise, Breck pulled her onto his lap.

  “Think real hard. Are there any other secrets you’re keeping from me?”

  She shook her head.

  “Are you sure?” He arched an eyebrow, cross-examining her with a glare.

  “I’m sure.” Her voice quivered with emotion. “I’m sorry, but you seemed to hate E.J. for no particular reason other than he was a Kincaid. I promised to keep this secret if Eldon was willing to go to jail for Aunt Silky’s death.”

  He heaved a huge sigh. “Strangely, I can see your reasoning. It almost makes sense to me now, and that’s sort of scary.”

  In spite of her tears, she hiccupped and giggled. Breck kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her. “Now what? Do I need to come forward with this information and tell the sheriff?”

  Breck shook his head, thoughtfully. “No, absolutely not! If you hadn’t had your last attack of conscience in front of the sheriff, I would have found some other way to let the information come to light, and you wouldn’t have found yourself in so much trouble.”

  She gazed into his dark eyes. “So, you’re saying we should just keep quiet about it?”

  “Nope. That wouldn’t be fair to E.J. He deserves to know the truth.”

  Cami thought her mouth would fall open. It sounded as though Breck actually liked E.J.

  He held up his palm. “I know,” he said, as though he could read her mind. “E.J.’s not a bad sort. I’ll admit it. I misjudged him.”

  “Where did that come from?”

  “I got to know a little bit about him when we were going after Jenna. I have to say, I respect him for being willing to give his life to protect her.” He paused, as though recalling the events of the past night. “There’s a lot more to him than I thought.”

  Cami was stunned to silence. They must have bonded over their boy’s night out.

  Breck gave her a little pat and hefted her off of his lap. “Now, I’m going to eat my second sandwich and go upstairs for a little shut-eye. Later, we’ll figure out how to tell E.J. about his true parentage.” He resumed eating as though the matter was settled.

  Well, I guess it is.

  ~*~

  Frank had driven Sara Beth and her daughter in to town that morning. Apparently Cami was preoccupied and Mr. Breck’s big truck wasn’t in its usual place, so Sara Beth figured he’d gotten an early start.

  Something was definitely happening, but Sara Beth wouldn’t for the life of her appear to be nosy. She just gathered her baby and waited for Frank on the front porch.

  Frank was always so pleasant to be around. Today he’d seemed a little anxious. “I…uh…I got your car to running.” The tips of his ears reddened. “In fact, I got it running last week.”

  “Why, Frank, that’s wonderful. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’ll be happy to pay you, of course.”

  There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. “You don’t need to pay me,” he said. “But I would like to ask you to do something for me.” He stopped again.

  Sara Beth felt a little flutter in her chest. “Why, of course, Frank. I’d be happy to do something for you. After all, you keep doing nice things for me all the time.” She sent him a shy smile.

  “Don’t you go agreeing to something when you don’t know what it is.”

  She laughed. “I can’t imagine you asking me to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do.”

  He exhaled a long drawn out sigh. “I would like to ask you to have dinner with me.”

  Sara Beth looked at him questioningly, unsure of his meaning. “You mean like…”

  “I mean like a date.”

  “Oh.” She thought her heart had stopped beating in her chest.

  He glanced over at her. “It may be too soon for you to consider going on a date, and I understand, if you feel like you’re not ready.”

  She took a moment to consider how she felt about the issue, then took a deep breath and let it out all in a rush. “I think I’m ready.” She smiled. “And I can’t think of anyone I would rather spend an evening with than you.” Her smile faded. “But, I don’t have anyone to leave Cami Lynn with, so I guess I can’t go with you.”

  “Sure you can. We can bring Cami Lynn along. It’s just dinner.” He glanced at her again. “That is, if you feel comfortable with the whole date thing.”

  “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I do. Cami Lynn and I would be delighted to go to dinner with you.” She tried to suppress the little bubble of joy effervescing in her chest, but it felt so good to be happy for a change. “Thank you, Frank. I’m glad you asked.” She liked that he looked as happy as she felt. His face lit up with dimples complimenting his wide grin.

  I guess it is time to get on with my life. Time for both of us.

  ~*~

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  When Jenna woke up, she was clutched in her fiancé’s arms. Th
ey were both so tired after the previous night’s adventures, she hadn’t thought they would make love…but they did.

  It was like a reaffirmation of their love. Although E.J. had suffered minor wounds he didn’t hold back anything. Always a tender lover, he was even more so when they found their way into each other’s arms so early in the morning.

  Now he slept, breathing easily with a slight smile on his face. Quite a difference from the concerned intensity of the night before. She recalled how she had felt when he first came into the house where she was being held captive. A moment of relief, followed by sheer terror. Now that Leon had what he wanted, E.J. and the money, she feared he would kill them both and disappear. But then, she hadn’t known E.J. had brought Breck Ryan with him. That he had his own form of back up.

  She remembered how E.J. had untied her and insisted she leave, throwing himself at an armed man to ensure her escape.

  By that time, Breck was standing right outside the door and, when she opened it, he had dragged her outside and pointed to the truck. The message was clear. Let the men take care of this.

  She’d climbed into Breck’s truck and waited. As time passed the seconds seemed to stretch to hours. The first gunshot and Breck had stormed inside, and then nothing until she heard the sound of the shotgun blast.

  She had seen Leon prevail over two armed State troopers. It was not impossible that he could get the drop on both E.J. and Breck. She thought her heart was going to explode, until she saw E.J. step outside and motion to her. His shirt was bloodied and she didn’t know but what he had been shot in the chest. She was relieved to discover it was a flesh wound and not serious…still, the sight of the man she loved with blood on his shirt was an experience she hoped never to repeat.

  The butterflies and bandage held through his vigorous love-making, a testament to the skills of the EMT. They wanted him to accompany them to the hospital, but he steadfastly refused, promising to see the local doc to have his wounds checked out.

  She gently relaxed her neck onto his shoulder. She had so much to be thankful for.

  Rufus had slept on one corner of the king-sized bed, seemingly content to be in his new and future home. He raised his head and wagged his tail a couple of times, raising it like a flag against the bedding. Then he lay his head back down.