Her Knight, Her Protector: a western romance (Rodeo Knights Book 1)

by Lisa Mondello

  “And that is exactly what I’m doing.”

  “Will you let me finish a damned sentence before you interrupt me?”

  “No.”

  Her eyes widened. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was pretty darn angry himself, he’d be noticing how her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink when she was fired up. He’d be noticing how the little curls of her cinnamon brown hair flattened against her forehead from wearing her hat and stayed that way long after the hat was removed. And how without her cowboy hat, her blue eyes blazed. It wasn’t just the anger she was firing at him. It was a fire that burned inside her.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You asked for my help,” Jesse said, standing up and taking a step closer. “If you want someone to investigate who is behind the poisoning of your stock, then you need to step aside and let me do my job.”

  “It was two bulls.”

  “Three. You’re forgetting Dusty Mule.”

  “We don’t know that Dusty Mule was poisoned. Bulls get sick for any number of reasons.”

  His hands clenched into fists. The woman was so frustrating.

  “Listen to you. Three bulls in just a few weeks have fallen sick. We know that Cotton-Eye somehow ingested a toxin foreign to this ranch. Now we know that Lighting Strikes was given a cocktail that could have taken down a herd of elephants. I’ve been all over this ranch in the last week and talked to all the hands. I have yet to find anything toxic that is naturally growing wild near where these bulls have been grazing.”

  “My father made sure of that.”

  “Any ranch worth their name that houses stock would be damned sure they don’t have anything toxic near their paddocks too. Someone had to have brought it in, Carly. Someone gave those bulls these toxins. And at least in Lightning Strikes case, it wasn’t just ingested, it had to have been injected. It doesn’t take a genius to know that it’s either someone who is on this ranch or someone who frequently visits. Since I’ve been on the ranch, there haven’t been any more incidences.”

  He could see her face change from anger to resignation. “Not exactly.”

  Confused, he asked. “What do you mean?”

  Carly reached over to the round end table and pulled open the drawer. Then she reached inside and pulled out two envelopes. “This came yesterday. The first one came the day Lightning Strikes died.”

  She handed Jesse the envelope, hoping she wouldn’t regret confiding in him.

  Jesse took the slip of paper out of the first envelope and read the note silently. His eyes widened. He looked at the envelope and turned it over twice before slapping it down on the table. “You’ve had this for a week and I’m just hearing about it now?”

  “I thought…”

  “What? This is a death threat, Carly. This isn’t just about bulls anymore. This person, whoever he is, threated to kill you.”

  “I know.”

  “Who else knows about this?”

  “No one. You and me and that’s it. I don’t know why this is happening, Jesse.”

  She looked so vulnerable that it broke his heart. How had she gotten to this point in her life where she felt she had no one to turn to with this?

  She collapsed in the seat and rested her chin in her fisted hand as she propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and stared into the empty fireplace. “They’re innocent animals.”

  “They’re money,” Jesse said abruptly. She lifted her gaze to him in shock, but he didn’t regret the harshness of his words. “It’s the biggest motive on earth for murder, Carly. I’m surprised it’s taken this long for someone to take a shot at a ranch like this.”

  The bluntness of his assertion made her gasp. But given the way she recovered, he could tell Carly knew he was right. But it gave him no pleasure.

  “This ranch is run on winnings from bulls,” she said quietly. “If I lose the contracts, then I lose over a hundred years of history with it. I’ll have failed my father and my family. Not that any of them are left to judge me.”

  “Tell me about the bulls. Where do they stand?”

  She thought for a minute. “Lightning Strikes was new to the circuit this year. He had a promising future, just like Widow Maker. Widow Maker has been out seven times and is unridden. And Tenacious has been having a good year. He’s in line for Bull of the Year. You know what that kind of notoriety that can have on the value of a bull. Moneywise, I mean.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “There is a sponsor who is interested. It’s the kind of attention all stock companies work for. But all that could be lost if word gets out.”

  “Is that why you didn’t tell me about the death threats?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted to believe it was just random and would just stop like the poisonings. I was trying to protect the ranch.”

  “By leaving yourself exposed? No. You should have told me when you got the first letter. The day I agreed to help you. I would have treated this totally different.”

  “How?”

  “For one, I wouldn’t have left you alone in this big house where anyone could get to you. The damned doors are kept unlocked all day and all night.”

  “My father had an open door policy with the hands. He didn’t want this to be a fortress they weren’t welcome in.”

  “As of today, the doors are closed and locked at all times when you’re in the house.”

  “What?”

  “And despite what you think about my brother and my family involvement with the WRC, I need people around me I know I can trust to have my back. That’s the only way I can ensure your safety and the safety of your animals.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “When you’re scheduled for a rodeo, we’ll take the bulls to my family ranch in Montana for any layovers. My mother’s ranch is close enough. There's plenty of room to house the bulls in an environment we know is safe.”

  “And when they’re not leaving the ranch for a rodeo?”

  “I want my brother Sean to have access to all the bulls and perform random examinations. He’s a good large animal veterinarian. We don’t’ know which bull, if any, will be targeted next. He can take blood samples. Perhaps the mere appearance of him on the ranch will keep someone from making another move.”

  “Can I count on you for discretion in not letting this get back to the WRC?”

  “You have my word.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “What about your brothers?”

  With a slight grin, he said, “Carly, we all come from the same stock.”

  She stood up and took a step toward him. A wave of spearmint hit his senses. “Jesse, you do understand the future of this ranch depends on it, don’t you?”

  He didn’t want to be annoyed. He’d already given her his word. As a marine, that meant something. But to Carly Duggan, that was clearly not enough.

  “You don’t know me that well,” he said. “But you will. I still think you should go to the police with this, Carly. In fact, I think you’ve acted foolish where your safety is concerned.”

  “I don’t expect you to understand my position, Jesse. You’re a man. And while I know that sounds sexist, I also know you’ve never been on the receiving end of being told you’re a paranoid girl who doesn’t belong in this business.”

  He laughed and felt it deep in his belly. When she flashed him an annoyed expression, he said, “Sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Really, I’m not. I was just thinking that if my mother were standing in the room and I accused you of something like that, she’d be giving me a warning stare more scary than anything you could dish out to me for forgetting that.”

  “I’d probably like your mother then.”

  “You would. She’s a strong woman. I also know that anyone who would think you were paranoid in this situation is nothing but an idiot.”

  She chuckled and he loved the way it transformed her whole face.

  “You don’t laugh enough.”

  She still held
her laugh, but seemed self-conscious. “There hasn’t been a whole lot to laugh about lately.”

  “Maybe we can change that on our ride up to the pasture. No one will be around to judge you except me. And you won’t get that from me.”

  He towered over Carly Duggan as he suspected her father, the man whose portrait was hanging in the office, probably did. But he had no desire to intimidate her or make her feel scared or small. He liked her. He liked that she didn’t back down to him and she held herself strong. He still believed she’d been incredibly irresponsible in not telling him about the death threats. But now that he knew about them, he knew what to do.

  “You hire me as a ranch hand here on the ranch. That covers my being able to walk freely around your crew and hear whatever conversations they’re having. Being in the bunkhouse has produced nothing. Those death threats trump whatever information they may have been holding back if they did know something. You need to trust me to do this my way. No questions.”

  She sighed. “That’s hard for me.”

  “I know. You don’t know me enough to trust me. But I don’t need your trust or the trust of your men to do my job and keep you safe.”

  “How do you suggest we handle this?”

  “The way I see it is, we stop hiding it. Your men already know the bulls were poisoned. They should know why I’m really here. No whispers. No pretense.”

  “You mean tell them about the death threats?”

  “Yes. And tell them that I’m in charge.”

  When she straightened her spine, he held up a hand.

  “You’re running the ranch, Carly. I’m running this investigation.”

  She rubbed her temple as if she were trying to ease out a sore spot. Then she looked at him.

  “Were you a good cop?”

  “MP? Yes.”

  “Soldier?”

  “Soldiers are in the army. I was a marine.”

  Her lips lifted on one side. “My mistake.”

  “It’s a common one.”

  She got up and walked behind the mammoth desk that seemed so out of place for her. Jesse knew that Zebb Duggan had died just about a year ago. He glanced around the room and deduced that Carly had probably kept the office exactly the same as it had been when he’d been alive.

  “There probably isn’t much reason for you to stay in the bunkhouse anymore.”

  “No. In fact, given the change of status, I would prefer to sleep in the room next to yours. Though I doubt I’ll get much sleep with you being right in the next room.”

  Her cheeks turned a sweet shade of pink and her lips tilted just enough to show him she was flattered. He was right to guess that he was better off sleeping elsewhere. His fingers itched to touch her cinnamon brown hair and push back the little curls that had pasted themselves on her forehead, a result of her wearing her cowboy hat before breakfast.

  “Of course, that might change,” he added.

  “What? That you’ll get sleep? I hope so. I want you rested if you’re going to be working here on the ranch.”

  His insides turned with thoughts he didn’t want to have. “No, the part about sleeping here in the room next to yours.”

  She gave him a harsh glance. “I don’t invite strangers into my bedroom, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “The thought of that, while enticing, is not what I’m talking about. And you wound me. I didn’t think we were strangers anymore. But if you get any more death threats, I’m going to want to make sure you have protection, both outside on the grounds and in this house. I’ll want to bring in security.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh. Do you really think it will get that far? I’ve been assuming whoever sent me those letters were just a way to scare me.”

  “Carly, this person, whoever it is, killed one of your bulls and has now threatened your life. They didn’t ask you to be prom queen. And this may not be the end of it. I don’t want to find out the hard way. Do you?”

  He glanced down at the words on the page again as if he needed to read them again to believe them. She understood. She’d probably read the letter a hundred times since she’d opened it.

  “No.” She got up from the chair and paced a few times. “The locked doors…we might get some resistance from the hands. They’re used to being able to come into the office at will to talk with me or to even get a snack that Doris leaves out for them.”

  “I don’t care. Change is never easy. Do you think they’ll defy you?”

  She snapped a sharp look in his direction. “On this ranch, I expect my hands to follow my orders. Otherwise, they’re gone.”

  It wasn’t that simple. But given the circumstances, Jesse knew it was better to stay close to Carly in order to make sure no one made good on those threats. Carly trusted Colin to handle the business of the bulls with her workers.

  “I think it’s time for some honesty with the ranch hands and to get everyone on board with these changes.”

  #

  Chapter Six

  The talk with the ranch hands had gone about as well as Carly had expected. Thad was nervous about the death threats. Colin was angry she’d never told him about it. She couldn’t exactly blame Colin for being angry. She should have trusted him. And when she’d looked at his face as Jesse explained what was going on, all Carly saw was betrayal. She hadn’t trusted him. She should have.

  As she’d expected, the ride up to the high pasture had not only eased some of her anxiety, it had given her just a little bit of the distance she needed from the ranch to finally forget about the death threats for a moment.

  Bitsy, her favorite mare, was leading the way through the pasture so Carly didn’t have to think about anything except the sun shining on her hat and the man riding on the horse next to hers.

  “You’re deep in thought,” Jesse said after they’d ridden for a while.

  “Yeah.”

  “You sound sad.”

  She sighed. “Not sad. Well, maybe a little. I hate hurting Colin’s feelings. We may have had a bit of a rough go this year since my father passed away, but I shouldn’t have kept him out of the loop on what was happening. He felt betrayed. I could see it in his eyes when you were the one to tell him about the death threats. Since my father’s death, he’s looked after me some. He didn’t deserve the way I treated him.”

  “Stop being so hard on yourself. Life’s not easy sometimes.”

  She glanced over at Jesse. He sat tall in the saddle. And handsome with his dark hair that she could see underneath his Stetson, and shoulders that were wide enough to make a woman feel tiny and secure.

  “That’s true enough.”

  “How long has he been with the ranch?”

  “Since I was a little girl. You know, he was the one to teach me to ride a bike?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I could ride a horse all day long but I couldn’t ride a bike. So he taught me.”

  Jesse chuckled. “A jack of all trades. Does he have any kids of his own?”

  “No, Colin never married. I asked Doris about it once. She said he’d been in love with a woman when he was a young man but she ended up marrying someone else. It broke his heart so much that he never went looking for love after that.”

  “Wow.”

  “He was a good friend of my father’s. He knew his place on the ranch. But when my mother died, Colin was the one who really helped pull him out of his depression. He drank too much and didn’t care about the ranch. Colin pushed him. Eventually my dad was able to move on.”

  “I wish my mother would.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She glanced over at Jesse. He stared out at the pasture ahead of them and then at her. His eyes were glassy, as if he were about to cry.

  “She’ll never get over losing my dad. She loved him right from the beginning. She’ll love him and only him until we bury her. I just hate the idea of her being alone.”

  “She has her boys. Does she ever go out with friends?”

  He shook h
is head. “Well, Gordon.”

  “Gordon. Gordon Matthews?”

  “They’re companions. Mostly because they’ve lived next to each other for so long. But…no.”

  “No what?”

  “I can’t see it.”

  “You mean you can’t see them becoming romantically involved?”

  He shook his head again as if it was too strange to think about. “He’s been married a few times and divorced. My mom is a one man woman.”

  “Really? Have you filled her in on that yet?”

  He glanced at her quickly. At first, he seemed confused. But then he smiled. “You think I’m being ridiculous.”

  She shook her head. “Actually, I know what you’re saying. For a long time I wished that Doris and my father would fall in love and get married. But that wasn’t meant to be. They were comfortable just being friends.”

  He stared out at the horizon in thought for a second. “Yeah, I guess that’s pretty much the way it’s been for my mother and Gordon. Comfortable companions.

  “She misses my father. I miss him. I never thought I could miss anyone so much. He died while I was still in the military. Getting that call was like a dagger to my heart.”

  He seemed so naked when he spoke of his father. And yet, he didn’t seem at all uncomfortable with revealing this side of himself.

  “I do understand what you mean,” she said.

  He gave her a weak smile. “I know you do.”

  They reached a shady spot along the fence line.

  “There’s a brook up ahead. If you want we can stop and let the horse drink for a bit,” she said.

  When they reached the brook, Jesse quickly dismounted and loosely wrapped the reins around the saddle horn. Then he let Dobey walk to the brook. She was just about to do the same, when Jesse came up alongside of Bitsy and reached his arms up to her.

  “I can dismount myself,” she said.

  “I know you can. But that doesn’t mean you can’t except help when it’s offered.”

  She didn’t want to delve into the deeper meaning of that. Surely he knew that she’d lived her whole life on this ranch. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d climbed into a saddle and dismounted.