Frowning, she stepped around him and this time managed to make it to the door before he could stop her. “I’ve already told you my worries,” she said. “Anything else you’ll have to figure out on your own.”
“I plan to.”
The subtle warning in his voice caused her to pause. She glanced back at him and her heart seemed to wince at the distant look on his face. “What does that mean?” she asked.
“Just what I said. I’m still in the process of questioning the wranglers and cowhands on the T Bar K.”
Frowning, she said, “I thought you’d already done that.”
He sauntered toward her and the unbidden thought struck Victoria that the years he’d been away had hardened him even more. Maybe losing his wife had done that to him, she thought sadly. Heaven knows he must have loved her. A man like Jess didn’t have to marry a woman just to have her.
“The T Bar K is a big ranch,” Jess reasoned. “You Ketchums employ a lot of men. Questioning all of them would take several days, even with Redwing’s help.”
Her fingers curled into loosely formed fists. “You’re not going to let this thing go, are you? You’re going to keep digging until you find something to pin on my family or one of our hands.”
His expression turned to a look of disbelief. “That’s not my intention, Victoria. I’m not—”
“Then why don’t you write the whole thing off as an accident? We both know that’s more than likely what happened. Some transient came along and fell to his death.”
Insulted by her suggestion, he stepped closer, his nostrils flaring as his gray eyes slipped over her flushed face. “I’m not like your old man, Victoria. I don’t make up facts beforehand or try to shade the truth once they’re out.”
She wasn’t going to argue with him about her father. It would be pointless. Most everyone knew Jess hated Tucker. For his wealth and his bulldozing ways of acquiring it, not to mention the gossip of his extramarital affairs. But mostly Jess hated Tucker because the old rancher hadn’t wanted Victoria marrying a common man. And back then Jess had seen himself as common. She wondered if he still did.
As for Tucker, Victoria had always admitted he was far from perfect. But he’d been a loving father to her. Even now with the old man in his grave, she couldn’t forget that.
“I’m not asking you to shade the truth!”
Jess shot her a wry smile. “I don’t have the truth—yet, Victoria. That’s why neither Sheriff Perez or I will rule this case in any way…until it’s solved.”
“And you have a Ketchum behind bars?” she asked tightly.
“Now why would I want that?”
His expression was so stone smooth, it was impossible to tell if his question had been spoken with sarcasm or sincerity. She figured the first.
“You are heading up this investigation, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you could influence the outcome.”
One more step brought him close enough to touch her. Victoria forced herself to remain where she was as his fingertips traced a circle on her cheek.
“I won’t play favorites to you Ketchums, Victoria. So don’t ask.”
Anger and pain twisted through her. “I wouldn’t dream of asking you for anything, Jess. I did once, remember? It got me nothing then. It wouldn’t now.”
“Victoria—”
She didn’t give him the chance to say more. Quickly, she jerked the door open and stepped out of the room and out of his sight.
Chapter Four
“Yip! Yip! Yo cattle! Get along and quit dragging your tails!”
As Will called to the seven head of heifers and steers, Jess slapped a stiff lariat against the leg of his leather chap. The popping sound helped to drive the small herd into a makeshift catch pen.
Not seeing much of man since back in the deep of winter, the snaky cattle were wild and reluctant to be cornered. But Will and Jess had set up the portable fencing in a dry wash with steep banks on both sides. Once they’d gotten the animals headed into the gulch they had nowhere to go but forward.
Dust spiraled up from the stirring hooves, clinging red and thick to Jess’s face and black hat. His gray horse was wet with sweat, his head hung low from the long exertion of the day. Jess was feeling the weariness, too, and no doubt his grandfather was getting stiff from long hours in the saddle.
The two of them had been working since sunrise and had already worn out four mounts between them. But northern New Mexico was rough land; ranching this area wasn’t suited for a weak-willed person or animal. The harsh winters could sometimes wipe out half a man’s herd while the steep mountains and rocky arroyos on the Hastings ranch had crippled many a good horse from time to time. But it was home. And Jess was glad to be back. Even if it meant he was closer to Victoria Ketchum.
“That looks like the last of ’em, Pa,” Jess said to his grandfather as he wired the fence panel shut against the nervous cattle.
From his seat in the saddle, Will cast a glance at the setting sun. “Yeah. And not any too soon. It’s gonna be dark before we get back to the ranch.”
“That won’t matter,” Jess assured the old man. “Pokie and Star know the way. The horses could find the ranch even if they were blindfolded.”
“Hell,” Will muttered as he lifted his Stetson and wiped a sleeve across his leathery face, “me and you could find the way even if we was blindfolded. I was thinking about your ma. She’s gonna be worried and thinking we’ve fell into an arroyo like that dead fella on the T Bar K.”
Jess swung himself back into the saddle. “I don’t think Ma needs to be worrying that something like that will happen to us.”
With the cattle safely penned and given access to feed and water, the men turned their mounts toward home while the extra horses automatically trailed behind them.
As they rode up and out of the dry wash, Will said, “You don’t think that dead man just stumbled on a rock and fell, do you?”
For the past week and a half the T Bar K case had been going round and round in Jess’s head. So far, without the coroner’s report, there wasn’t much to go on. Except instinct. And something about the whole thing had been giving Jess a very bad feeling. He didn’t exactly know why. Except that the body had been discovered in an extremely remote area without any access roads.
A transient, as Victoria had suggested, likely wouldn’t have wandered so far off the highway. Even the primitive dirt roads petered out long before the spot where the body had been discovered. Why would a man deliberately leave civilized roads and head into rough land on foot? It didn’t make sense to Jess.
“I don’t know, Pa. Not yet.”
“It’s plain you don’t know, son. I’m askin’ you what you think?”
Jess untied a yellow bandanna from around his neck and wiped the scarf over his sweaty face. It came away as red as the ground they were riding over. “Just between me and you, it looks pretty suspicious.” He glanced at Will. “Why? What have you been thinking about the whole thing?”
Will grunted. “I guess I’ve been thinkin’ about the Ketchums. They’ve had their share of troubles over the years. Just goes to show you money don’t fix everything. I’ll bet Ross would pay a mighty big heap right about now to get all this quieted down.”
Jess shot his grandfather a speculative look. “You think Tucker’s son could be involved somehow?”
“Hell, if Tucker was alive, folks around these parts would already be shouting murder,” Will said with a shrug of his shoulders. “But the younger Ketchum— I ain’t gonna say. I don’t believe he’s as unfeelin’ as the old man. I just think he’d rather not have all this bad talk goin’ on about the T Bar K. Can’t be good for cattle or horse business.”
According to Victoria, it wasn’t good for her medical practice either, Jess thought. Since she’d come to his office nearly a week ago, he’d neither seen nor heard from her. Oddly enough, he’d missed her even more than usual. And he knew it had been a bad mista
ke to touch her, to kiss her again after all this time. It had only aroused all those memories he’d tried to bury.
“No. It can’t be good for the Ketchums,” Jess agreed. Then, with another thoughtful glance at his grandfather, he asked, “When exactly did Tucker die?”
Will rubbed his whiskered chin as the two men and four horses plodded along in the gloaming, through the blue sage and hunkering stands of twisted juniper.
“Probably more than a year now.”
Jess processed his grandfather’s information. “Do you know of anyone the old man was angry with around that time? Or before that time? Was there anyone in particular he was feuding with?”
Will chuckled. “I doubt there’s ever been a time when Tucker Ketchum wasn’t having it out with someone around these parts. But I can’t think of anyone in particular—” Will gave his grandson a side-long glance. “Jess, you’re forgettin’ the old man was feeble for several months before he died. Spent his days in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank. He couldn’t have knocked anybody in the head.”
Jess snorted. “Tucker was too smart to do any job himself. He would have hired it done,” he said, then his voice softening, he asked, “Was the old man really disabled for so long?”
Will sighed. “Yeah. The old man had all that land and cattle and money, but those things couldn’t cure his heart. Victoria is the one I feel sorry for, though. She stood by her papa ’til the end, doctoring him. She didn’t have a chance to get her own practice goin’ ’til after Tucker died. These past four years haven’t been much of a life for her.”
They hadn’t been much for Jess, either. Not without Victoria by his side. Will knew as much. This was just a subtle reminder from his grandfather that Jess shouldn’t have left New Mexico or Victoria behind.
“She chose it,” Jess clipped, then nudging his spurs into the horse’s sides, he picked up the pace, forcing Will to follow suit.
The moment the two men rode into the ranch yard, Alice ran out of the house, waving her arms to catch the men’s attention. Seeing her, Jess didn’t bother dismounting. Instead, he loped the horse to the yard fence.
“What’s wrong? I told you if the department needed me to call my pager.”
Alice shook her head and by then Jess could see his grandmother was frantic with worry.
“It’s not your work,” she said as Jess quickly slid out of the saddle. “It’s Katrina. She started running a fever this afternoon. I can’t get it down.”
Rather than waste time going around through the gate, Jess vaulted over the yard fence. “Why didn’t you take her into Aztec to the doctor?”
“Because today is Saturday. The medical clinic is closed. And anyway, she wasn’t that bad until this evening. I was about to take her into the hospital emergency room when I saw you two ride up.”
“Where is she?” he asked, already on his way through the front door.
“In her crib,” Alice answered as she trotted frantically to keep up with him. “What—are you going to do?”
Inside the baby’s bedroom a lamp was on, shedding a pool of light over the sleeping child. Jess’s heart clutched with fear as he took in his daughter’s little red face and hot, dry skin.
“I don’t want to take her to the hospital. All of the machines and strange faces would scare her.”
“But Jess, she needs medical attention! I—”
Before his grandmother could finish, Jess was stuffing diapers and extra clothing into a diaper bag. At this moment nothing mattered but his daughter.
“I am going to get her medical attention, Ma. I’m taking her over to the T Bar K. To Victoria.”
Chapter Five
Nearly a half hour later, Jess braked his truck to a stop in front of the Ketchum ranch house. The porch was illuminated with light and, as he killed the motor and reached for Katrina, he could see Victoria stepping through the door.
On his drive over, he’d called on his cell phone to make sure Victoria would be home. Jess hadn’t talked to her, but Marina had assured him she would give her the message. Apparently the cook had come through with her promise.
By the time he stood down on the ground with the baby in his arms, Victoria was standing outside the door of the truck. When he looked at her face, the only thing he saw was concern.
“Did she hurt herself or is she ill?” Victoria quickly asked as she stepped toward father and daughter. “Marina sometimes has trouble with her English. She wasn’t exactly sure what you’d told her over the phone.”
“She’s burning up with fever,” Jess told her.
Victoria didn’t waste time pulling back the blanket Jess had swaddled around the child. Instead, she motioned for him to follow her into the house.
“There’s a room in the back of the house I use for an infirmary for the ranch. I’ll examine her there,” she told Jess.
Victoria hurried across a large living room, then down a hallway through the left wing of the house. At the last door, she pushed it open and gestured for Jess to precede her.
Overhead florescent lighting illuminated a small room equipped with an examining table, several cabinets with glass doors, a wooden desk, a sink, refrigerator, a single bed and straight-backed chair.
“She’s so hot it feels like I’m carrying a sack of coals,” Jess said as he glanced around him. “Where do you want her? On the examining table?”
“Please,” Victoria answered while pushing back the sleeves of her sweater. Reaching for a stethoscope, she asked, “How long has she had a fever?”
“I’m not sure. The way Ma talked she’s had a temperature off and on all day. It wasn’t until this evening that she couldn’t get it to go down.”
Stepping forward, Victoria quickly stripped away the blanket covering the child, then pulled the thin T-shirt she was wearing gently over her head. After placing a thermometer under the baby’s arm, she ran her fingers over Katrina’s red cheek, then inspected the rosy rash on her chest and stomach.
“All the way over here, she didn’t whimper or say a word,” Jess spoke hoarsely. “I tried to wake her once. She just looked at me with glazed sort of eyes.”
“That’s not unusual with fever this high,” Victoria told him as she continued to carefully examine the little girl. “Has your daughter been sick recently?”
Jess remained by Victoria’s side, watching as she placed the stethoscope to his baby’s chest. Fear knotted his throat, making him wonder if he could manage to speak at all.
“No. Other than a cold once in a while, she’s always been very healthy.”
Victoria nodded with approval. Jess’s daughter appeared to be a little above average size for her age and her muscles were physically fit. Sure signs she received plenty of healthy food and exercise.
“Has she been coughing? Sneezing?”
“Not that I’ve noticed.”
Victoria looked in both ears, then depressed the child’s tongue to inspect her throat. “Oh my. This is a mess. Has she been in a public place recently?”
“Ma takes her to the grocery store and places like that.”
“What about a medical facility?” Victoria asked as she read the thermometer.
Jess pulled off his hat and raked a hand through his hair. “I—uh—don’t know. I haven’t—” He stopped suddenly as a thought struck him. “Wait, I think Ma took Katrina to the health clinic a few days ago for some sort of immunization.” He shot Victoria a frantic look. “Why? Is this some sort of reaction to the shots?”
Victoria quickly shook her head to dispel the question. “No. But it could be a result of her being there in the building.”
Jess’s gaze flew to Katrina, who was lying so deathly still it terrified him. Even though his marriage had been a disaster, his daughter was very precious to him. He loved her more than his whole life.
“What’s wrong with her? You said her throat was a mess. Is it strep throat?”
“No. But she’s been infected with the same sort of bacteria that causes strep. I�
�m fairly certain your daughter has scarlet fever. The rash on her skin is a telltale sign, along with the fever.”
Staggered by the news, Jess stared at her. “Scarlet fever! What is that? What does it mean? Will she—”
Victoria held up her hand to slow his racing questions. “First of all, Jess, calm down. Your daughter is going to be all right.”
Slowly, a heavy breath pushed past his lips and then his gaze waffled from Katrina to Victoria. “Are you sure?”
His uncertainty of her judgment caused Victoria’s eyes to fill with disappointment. “I like to think you brought Katrina here tonight because you trust me as a doctor.”
Jess grimaced. As a doctor he knew she was highly intelligent, dedicated and without fault. It was the woman in her he couldn’t trust. But he wasn’t here tonight because he’d once loved this woman, he told himself. She was a capable doctor and at the moment that was all that mattered.
“I do trust you,” he said quietly.
“Good. Then believe me when I tell you Katrina will be fine once she’s given the right care. Now, can you tell me if she can take penicillin?”
Jess nodded. “She’s not allergic. She’s taken it before.”
Victoria quickly crossed the small room and pulled a vial from the refrigerator. “That’s very good news. I’ll get her started on medication right now.” She pulled a packaged syringe from a nearby drawer. “Scarlet fever is a communicable disease,” she went on. “I haven’t seen it in my office in a long time. But some cases could have passed through the public health clinic recently. Katrina picked up the bacteria from some other infected child.”
Standing beside his daughter, Jess’s expression turned to one of anguish as he watched Victoria fill the syringe.
“She has to have a shot? Can’t you give her oral medication?”
That Jess loved his daughter didn’t surprise Victoria. But his showing it did. He’d always been a tough man. A man’s man, who kept the tender side of his emotions hidden. Being a father had changed him to some degree, she supposed. But obviously not nearly enough to make him forgive and forget their past.
Should Have Been Her Child Page 5