by Unknown
When she grabbed his hands, they looked into each other’s eyes. “I have to go now, Jonah. You said the sheriff was on his way.”
Jonah wrapped his arms around her and leaned over her, kissing her passionately once more. Her toes curled and she held him tightly, dimly wondering if he had even heard her.
Her bare breasts were pressed against his bare chest and she could feel their hearts pounding, while her pulse roared in her ears.
His kisses were devastating, escalating their need and desire and compounding their problems, but she couldn’t stop.
Why did she respond to him like this? Why did he have to be the only man on earth so incredibly appealing, special and sexy to her?
She pushed against him and it was like pushing against a rock wall, and then she wasn’t pushing, but was running both her hands all over him. He picked her up and she locked her arms around him, and then realized what she was doing.
“Jonah, you have to put me down!” she gasped.
He let her slide down until she was standing on her feet again. When he released her, she opened her eyes to meet his gaze. “I hear a car,” he said gruffly. His words didn’t register at first. She touched his chin in a caress, trailing her fingers along his jaw to his ear.
“Oh, damn, Kate! I want you.” He held her shoulders. “I have to run. Tell the sheriff I’ll be right back.”
Jonah hurried out of the room, and she looked down at her blue cotton robe that was a thin, summer-weight garment. Even as she was thinking that she ought to run and change, someone banged on the back door.
Trying to straighten her clothing, she hurried forward, peering through a window to see the flashing lights of the sheriff’s car. She knew she must look as if she had just been kissed. Her lips tingled and Jonah had needed a shave, his bristly jaw rubbing her sensitive facial skin. Her robe was a wrinkled mess she tried to smooth with her hands.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to face Sheriff Gallen, who gave her a sweeping glance. “Evening, Kate,” he said, touching his finger to the brim of his gray Western hat. “Sorry you’ve had trouble again.”
“Jonah’s coming,” she said. “He had to get his shirt. Come in.”
“I’m glad no one was hurt,” Dakota said, stepping into the entryway and turning to her. “That’s the first consideration. Tell Jonah that I’ll head on toward the area where the bomb exploded. Firemen are not far behind me. Jonah can join us when he’s ready.”
She heard Jonah’s footsteps—he was wearing his boots—and knew he was coming through the kitchen. He appeared, his gaze meeting hers for an instant before he turned to Dakota Gallen. The moment Kate looked into Jonah’s eyes, her heart thudded. He might be going out with the sheriff to survey the damage, but his thoughts and desires were still with her. He wanted her, and it showed in his compelling gaze.
“See you in a little while,” he said gruffly. He brushed a kiss on her cheek, startling her, because they weren’t alone and because he didn’t usually kiss her casually, either alone or in front of someone else.
She watched the two tall men cross the yard, the bright lights causing long shadows as they walked. She heard a siren and saw a pumper engine coming up the drive. She couldn’t see the site of the explosion when she was downstairs because the barn hid it from sight.
Thank heavens Henry had slept through it all, she thought, dreading even having to tell him about it and wondering if they should. Maggie wanted Henry to come stay with them for a few days, and Kate wondered if that would be best. She knew Jonah would keep him safe here, and she knew just as well that she and Jonah should not stay alone in the house.
“Did it ever occur to you that I’m out of the military and I may have changed?” She remembered his question. Had he changed, and was she not giving him a chance? Giving them a chance as a family?
Everything in her wished that were true, that he had changed and had given up taking risks and jumping in to do wild things to help people in dire straits. But she couldn’t believe it, and tonight was a perfect example. He had run out after the bomber, found and carried the bomb from the barn, risking his life in the process. No change in him there.
The way of life he had led was so ingrained in Jonah that she couldn’t imagine he would ever change.
She climbed the stairs and headed to Henry’s room to check on him again, pausing at her son’s bedside to look at him. Love filled her. He was a wonderful boy and she was thankful to have him. And thankful now that he had Jonah, who was a fine daddy for Henry.
She left, going to her room and switching off the lights before stepping out on the balcony. The firemen were dousing the last sparks and small flames left from the blast. They had set up temporary lights to illuminate the site, and her knees went week when she saw how much territory the blast had scorched.
She couldn’t see the entire area because part of it was hidden by the barn, but she could see enough of the crater and burned grass to be amazed at the amount of damage. The explosion would have easily leveled the barn, she suspected. Would it have taken out more than that? The garage was nearby, the corral adjoined to the barn; they both might have gone in the blast.
She shivered. Somebody out there had a deep hatred of someone or something at the Long Bar Ranch. It couldn’t be Jonah, because he was too new to the area, but a bomb was deadly and in earnest.
Should she get Henry away from the Long Bar? She thought of what a wonderful time he was having here, and she really did believe Jonah would keep Henry safe.
“He’s not a miracle worker,” she whispered into the darkness as she sat on her balcony and watched men moving around in the distance.
She needed to save all the money she could, look for a house in town and move away from Jonah. But when she did, there would be a custody battle over Henry. That thought depressed her and she knew she was better off staying on the ranch. Just avoid the rancher…
So much easier said than done. Times like the party—great moments, and then afterward, when they had danced and she had wanted to love him and be loved by him—those incidences seemed to happen often and become more devastating each time they occurred.
She thought about Mason from her office and his dinner offer. She could no more date someone else than she could stop breathing. “Oh, Jonah!” she whispered, running her hand across her brow and feeling caught in an impossible situation, one filled with danger.
Trying to shove aside memories, she went to her room to get dressed and go downstairs. Before long the house might be filled with lawmen, and she wanted to know what was going on and whom they suspected. Or if they still had absolutely no leads.
What was the connection between Gabriel Brant and Jonah—or the Long Bar Ranch? She couldn’t imagine that Jonah was a prime target. That would be as ridiculous as someone thinking the grudges were against her.
She hoped the lawmen came up with something soon. The Brants had lost their barn and cattle. Jonah had lost cattle and tonight had nearly lost his barn and his life.
She vowed to shore up her resistance to him. No “quick” kisses that hadn’t been quick, but had tied her heart to him more strongly than ever. This was the man she had loved so wildly and desired so intensely. Yet he was still drawn to danger. It was an impasse. No changes; he was impossible to live with. And almost impossible to live without.
Hang on, she told herself. Time always passes, and months from now she would have money saved and more options.
Months from now…By then she might be more hopelessly in love with him than ever before.
Jonah stood at the edge of the burning grass. “I know a little about bombs. Can I tag along at the crime scene with your men?”
“Glad for you to do so,” Dakota said. “I saw in your military record that you’re a bomb expert.”
“Of sorts.”
“I don’t have a bomb specialist, and we can get one up here from the San Antonio PD, but it’ll take maybe a day—if I get one at all. We haven’t had much ne
ed for a bomb expert in Piedras County.”
“That’s a plus. Also, I want to check out the alarm I have in my barn, but I think I know what I’ll find.”
“And that is—?” Dakota prompted.
“We’re dealing with someone who knows how to dismantle sophisticated alarm systems.”
“Well, hell. I don’t know why I expected this job to be peaceful.”
“Also, I think it was just one person tonight. The rustling had to have involved more than one, to butcher that many cattle and steal as many as they did. But the barn burning and this explosion tonight had to have been one individual.”
“I agree. We’ve just got to discover what connection you and Gabe Brant have. Tomorrow I’d like to come out and talk to each of your men. I don’t see how you can possibly be the target, unless someone expected to get this inheritance and you took it from him.”
“I sure didn’t take it from anyone. I’m still in shock that I inherited this ranch.”
“You may not even know. I’ll check with Savannah Remington.”
They moved apart, and Jonah pulled leather gloves and a bandanna from his pocket. He began to comb the area of the blast, picking up bits and pieces of what had been the bomb. He planned to give them to Dakota to send to San Antonio for analysis, but in a short time he began to have an idea what kind of bomb it had been.
He placed the pieces he found in a row on the bandanna. As he knelt over them, Dakota walked up. “Is that the bomb?”
“Yep. What’s left of it. Can you get an analysis?”
“Yes. I’ll take it to town tonight.”
“I have an idea about it. It’s a relatively simple bomb, and he used an ordinary clock for the timing device.”
“You were right about the alarm in the barn. You can check it out, but I looked at it and figured it was dismantled by someone who knew exactly what he was doing. We dusted it for fingerprints, but couldn’t find any, and I don’t expect to find any anywhere else.”
“So you have someone who knows how to build a bomb, how to dismantle an alarm and has a cattle truck. And is wearing gloves while he works.”
“That’s right. Pretty specific, and we ought to get some leads out of it somewhere. My men are looking for footprints, but we haven’t had any rain for about two weeks and the ground is too hard to get footprints.” Dakota gazed toward Jonah’s ranch house.
“I hope he sticks to barns and doesn’t try to get into houses,” Jonah said.
“If he knows how to dismantle an alarm, that changes how safe everyone is at home,” Dakota stated grimly. He stared at the burned area. “I’d like to stop at the house and talk to your ex-wife. I need to rule out anyone in her life, even though it’s unlikely. It always comes back to Gabe Brant, and that means it’s not someone out of your past or your ex-wife’s.”
“I agree. I didn’t know Brant until I moved here. The connection has to be something to do with growing up or living around Stallion Pass.”
“I’ll go on up to the house and talk to your ex. Unless she’s gone back to bed.”
“She’s probably up,” Jonah said flatly, trying to avoid thinking about Kate in bed. “I’ll continue looking for any bomb fragments. Or anything else I can find. I’ll quit before you go, and give this to you to take to San Antonio.”
“Thanks.” Dakota turned and strode toward the ranch house, his long legs covering the distance easily. Jonah was tempted to join him. He’d rather be back with Kate than out in the darkened, burned field, searching for bits and pieces of metal and explosives to give to the sheriff.
Squaring his shoulders, he went back to work, scanning the area. He hunkered down, looking carefully at every inch of ground.
A half hour later, he stopped, tied up his finds in the bandanna and headed toward the house. He met Dakota coming out.
Jonah handed him the bandanna. “Here you go,” he said.
“I didn’t learn anything from your ex-wife. She’s as puzzled by all this as we are, and there are no jealous boyfriends in her background.”
Jonah nodded. He enjoyed hearing the sheriff declare there were no men in Kate’s life, even though she had told him as much herself.
“If you learn anything, let me know what you can,” Jonah said. “We’re on the front lines out here.”
“I know you are. It’s great you found that bomb and tossed it tonight before it could hurt anyone or do any damage. Keep in touch.”
Jonah watched the sheriff climb into his cruiser, turn around and head up the drive to the county road into town.
As Jonah walked to the house, he looked up at the bedroom windows. Kate’s room was dark, and he suspected that even if she were awake, he wouldn’t see her again tonight.
He smiled at the thought of Henry sleeping through an earthshaking blast. Kate had been right—the kid slept through anything.
Tomorrow would be Friday and he was taking Henry to see Kate get her award. He dreaded the evening, but she deserved whatever she got, and it was important for Henry to see his mother’s office and watch her receive such an honor.
When his folks learned about the bomb, they’d want Henry to come stay with them. He didn’t know whether Kate would let him go this soon or not, or whether or not Henry would want to. Jonah suspected the boy would be happy to be where he could play with his new cousins. He and Trent had been inseparable when the family had visited.
Jonah entered the quiet house. When he passed Kate’s room, her door was closed. He thought about their kisses earlier. In its own way, kissing Kate had been as risky as dealing with the bomb. Yet he couldn’t leave her alone, and just thinking about her was getting him all stirred up again. She was desirable, impossible. He wanted her in his bed. And she half wanted to be there—he was certain about that.
Inhaling deeply, he went to his room to shower and change into swim trunks. Downstairs again, he sauntered through the house and made a running dive into the pool, where he swam laps until his muscles ached and he was exhausted. Then, as he lazed in the water on his back, he thought about the bomb tonight. If he had run out when he had seen the first glimmer of light, would he have caught the bomber? For the hundredth time, Jonah wondered what the tie was between him and Gabe Brant. He couldn’t imagine, and so far no one else could figure it out, either.
On Friday, Jonah got Henry ready to go to Kate’s office. He buckled the child into his seat in the rear of the car and climbed behind the wheel.
Henry’s conversation jumped from cows to a book he liked, and Jonah drove, chatting with his son, dreading the next few hours.
“Daddy, how come you never kiss Mommy?”
Startled by Henry’s question, Jonah glanced in the rearview mirror to see the boy looking at him, waiting for an answer.
“Henry, your mommy and I aren’t really back together, even though we live in the same house. We’re divorced. Mommy has told you that before.”
“No, you’re not divorced. You’re together,” Henry insisted, staring at the back of his father’s head.
“Yes, we’re divorced, Henry,” Jonah explained patiently, “and someday, you and Mommy will move away from the ranch and then you’ll spend part of your time at the ranch with me and part of the time in town at your home with Mommy.”
Henry was silent, and Jonah looked back to see tears spilling down his cheeks. Mentally, Jonah swore. He hated having to tell Henry the truth, but there wasn’t any other option. He watched for a place to park, signaling and turning onto a county road. He pulled off on the shoulder of the road and parked, getting out and opening the back door of the car to unbuckle his son’s seat belt. “Come here, Henry,” Jonah said gently.
He took the little boy in his arms, standing beside the car and hugging him. “I love you with all my heart, Henry, and I’m not going out of your life and you’re not going out of mine. You’ll live at the ranch a lot. And you’ll have Mommy and me around so much that you won’t notice the difference. I promise you, we’ll both be around all the tim
e, just not together in the same house like we are now.”
“I want to stay like we are now,” Henry cried.
“I’d like that, too, son. Henry, you know what?”
Henry looked up, wiping his eyes. “What?”
“You look really spiffy and cool for Mommy’s party. Let’s not worry about something that isn’t going to happen for a long, long time. Tonight, we’re going to her party and we’ll all be together. We’ll go home together and we’ll stay just like we are now for a long time. Let’s think about that this evening. You look super for Mommy’s party, so let’s forget the other stuff and go see Mommy’s office, okay?”
“Okay,” Henry said, taking a deep breath.
Jonah smiled and hugged him. “That’s my boy.” He helped get him buckled back into the seat, then climbed behind the wheel again. On the way into the city he talked about Henry’s horse, Butter, and the other animals, hoping Henry wouldn’t worry about having to leave the ranch.
Had the boy ever asked Kate why she didn’t kiss Daddy? Jonah wondered as they sped toward San Antonio.
Chapter 10
T hat morning Kate had gotten up an hour earlier to shower, wash her hair and dress with care. As the day wore on, she grew more nervous and knew it was because Jonah was coming. She half expected to see Henry arrive in Scott Adamson’s charge, so Jonah wouldn’t have to come to her office and spend so much time with her tonight.
But at five-thirty, in the crowded lobby of the office building, she looked across the room and saw Jonah and Henry.
Kate’s heart lurched, because Jonah was the most handsome man she had ever seen. In his navy suit, white shirt and red tie, he looked suave and more appealing than ever. Henry was in his only sport coat, a white shirt and tan slacks. His hair was neatly combed, and standing there with his hand in Jonah’s, he looked adorable.