Texas Tough

by Janet Dailey

  Worry gnawed at him as he pulled into the empty parking lot. Would he even find her here? He’d given her his cell phone number, but she hadn’t contacted him since the day they’d driven out to his property and found Coy missing. She could have decided to leave town without telling him.

  He remembered her vendetta against Stella. Could the Blue Coyote’s owner have found out who she was and done away with Marie as she had Lute? Given the circumstances and the people involved, anything could have happened.

  Sky knew she didn’t want to be seen with him. But his news couldn’t wait. Deciding not to waste time, he climbed out of the pickup, mounted the back stairs to Marie’s room, and rapped sharply on her door.

  The long silence was broken by the creak of rusty bed springs and a sleepy voice.

  “Who’s out there, and what the hell do you want?”

  Sky began to breathe again. The voice was Marie’s.

  “It’s Sky,” he said. “Open the door. I need to talk to you.”

  The door chain rattled. The door cracked open. “I told you not to come here. What is it?”

  “Bad news, Marie. Coy’s dead. We found his body on the ranch.”

  Seizing Sky’s arm, she jerked him into the room, closed the door, and locked the chain. The blinds were down, darkening the shabby little room. Marie was wearing a shapeless, gray tee that fell to the middle of her thighs. She sank onto the side of the bed, pressing her lips together for a moment before she spoke. “Tell me everything,” she said.

  Sky told her, leaving out the more grisly details. She took the news impassively, as if numb with shock. “I figured something like that must’ve happened to him,” she said. “Coy was probably asking for what he got. But he’s still my brother, and I still feel bad. Any idea who killed him?”

  “The sheriff’s crew found a pistol at the scene, a Glock. They’ll have to dust it for prints and do a ballistics test, but if it’s the murder weapon, and they can trace it . . .” Sky let the words hang.

  “Can they do the testing here in Blanco?”

  “There’s no lab here. They’ll have to send the gun to Lubbock or Amarillo. Most likely they’ll send the body there, too.”

  Marie stared down at her hands. The nails were chewed to the quick. Sky remembered how she used to bite them as a little girl.

  “Stella’s brother keeps a Glock in the drawer below the cash register,” she said. “I saw it a few weeks ago when I was looking for change. Do you think—?”

  “Anything’s possible. But a lot of people have those guns. Is there some way to look in the drawer? If it’s still there, at least we’ll know it isn’t the one the deputy found.”

  “We can look now,” Marie said, rising. “I’ve got a key to the bar because that’s where the only bathroom is in this dump. Nobody’s here at this hour. Come on.”

  She yanked on her jeans and shoved her bare feet into her boots. The key, chained to a sheet metal tag, hung on a nail hammered into the door frame. Sky followed her down the dim hallway, which smelled of urine and stale tobacco smoke. At its end, Marie unlocked a door. It opened onto a narrow wooden stairway leading down to the bar.

  Motioning Sky back, Marie checked to make sure the place was really empty. Then she moved behind the cash register. “Stella locks up the money every night, but I’m pretty sure the Glock stays . . . here.” She opened the drawer, pulling it all the way out and looking underneath. “It’s gone.”

  An ominous chill crept down the back of Sky’s neck. “There are plenty of reasons the gun might not be here. When was the last time you saw it?”

  Marie checked the other drawers and shelves behind the bar. “I only saw it once—it was about the time you came and found me. That’s been . . . what? At least a month.” She closed the drawers, putting everything back the way she’d found it.

  “Just supposing—and it’s a long shot—that this gun turns out to be the murder weapon. What reason would Stella or her brother have to shoot Coy?”

  “I was just thinking about that,” Marie said. “According to what Lute told me, Stella’s got her fingers pretty deep in some illegal pies. Coy did come in here a couple of times, and he’s got—he had—a big mouth. If he said anything about the marijuana, she could’ve seen him as competition and had him blown away.”

  “I take it she doesn’t know Coy was your brother.”

  “Not unless Coy slipped up and told somebody.”

  “Now that he’s been killed and the law’s involved, the relationship’s likely to come out. Maybe it’s time to think about your own safety.” Sky reached for his wallet and pulled out a handful of bills. “Take this,” he said. “It should be plenty to get you back to Oklahoma or wherever you want to go.”

  “Keep your money, Sky. I know what I’m doing.” Thrusting the money back to him she glanced anxiously toward the front door. “Come on. You’ve got to get out of here.”

  She ushered him back upstairs and locked the door behind them. “Keep in touch with me, Marie,” he said. “I mean it. With the chances you’re taking, I need to know you’re all right. If you don’t have a cell phone, I’ll buy you one.”

  She shoved him toward the outside stairs. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Look around before you go out. Make sure nobody sees you.”

  Sky left her and drove back to the ranch. By now the sun was well above the horizon, scorching the land with its glaring rays. Ahead of him, on the asphalt, ravens were flocking on a road-killed coyote. Slowing the truck and averting his gaze, he pulled around them and continued on.

  He was worried about Marie. She’d insisted she’d be all right, but the people she was dealing with were as dangerous as Texas diamondback rattlesnakes. One misstep and she could end up like her two brothers.

  Had she told him everything? Marie had no reason to distrust him. But Sky had the feeling she was hiding something—maybe something big. His cousin had her own agenda, and she thought she was clever enough to pull it off. But compared to Stella Rawlins, Marie was a bungling amateur. Stella was smart enough to stay one jump ahead of the law and ruthless enough to destroy anyone who crossed her. The thought of what the woman could do to Marie made Sky’s blood run cold.

  Beau was waiting for Sky on the shaded front porch of the ranch house with two cold Mexican beers. He rose as Sky mounted the steps. “I saw you coming and figured you’d have a powerful thirst,” he said, handing one can to Sky and popping the tab on the other. “Sit down and we’ll debrief each other. How did your cousin take the news?”

  “Like she was expecting it.” Sky sank into a chair and opened his beer. “She’s one tough lady. I tried to talk her into leaving, but whatever she’s got in mind, she’s set on seeing it through. I’m worried about her, but I can only do so much toward changing her mind.” He raised the can and took a long, easy swig, letting the coolness trickle down his throat. “How about you? How did things go at the crime scene?”

  “All right.” Beau gazed across the flat to where the sunlight glittered like diamond dust on the dry alkali bed. “While the deputies were finishing up, I went with Abner to look at Coy’s camp on your property. The tent’s fallen down and the plants are long dead. Doesn’t look like anybody’s been there in weeks.”

  “Am I in trouble for not reporting it?”

  Beau shrugged. “Abner didn’t say so. I’m guessing he had more urgent things on his mind. But I scored some points with him. When I mentioned I’d been with the DEA, he treated me like a rock star. I told him if he’d include me in the loop, I’d be happy to keep my ear to the ground and report anything I hear. He said that would be dandy as long as I didn’t mind his taking credit.”

  “He actually said that?”

  “Pretty much. He wants to build credibility with the voters, and this case could take him a long way.”

  “At least he’s honest about it,” Sky said.

  “Abner doesn’t have enough sense to lie.”

  “Well, here’s a tidbit for you. Marie told me
Stella’s brother kept a Glock under the cash register. When we went down to the bar to check, it wasn’t there.”

  “Are you thinking the missing gun could be the one they found?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” Sky said. “Maybe we’d better keep that to ourselves till the lab checks for prints. If Stella and Nick are behind the murder, we don’t want Abner going in and spooking them too early.”

  “I agree.” Beau’s hazel eyes narrowed. “But one thing keeps chewing on me. Stella’s a smart broad, and I get the feeling Nicky doesn’t even blow his nose without her giving the order. So if they killed Coy, why would they be sloppy enough to toss the murder weapon at the scene?”

  Sky was about to respond when Will’s pickup came roaring around the house and pulled up to the porch, braking in a cloud of dust. After swinging to the ground, Will strode to the foot of the porch steps. His disapproving glare made words unnecessary. Sky rose, ready to spring into action if needed. Beau remained where he was, sipping the last of his beer.

  “If you two have finished your break, I’ve got some news. Wildfire, a hundred miles to the south of here. It’s already burned a house and a barn. The owners were lucky to get their stock out in time.”

  “You’re not thinking it’ll make it this far?” Beau was instantly on alert.

  “From what I heard on the news, they stopped it from jumping the highway. But if a fire can happen there, it can happen here. If it does—and we have to assume it will—we’ve got to be ready.”

  “Tell us what you’ve got in mind.” Sky was already thinking of his horses, everyone of them precious.

  “For now, we’ll put every man we can spare to digging a firebreak around the barns and buildings—that means clearing away anything that’ll burn. Beau, I’m putting you in charge. Get Jasper’s advice. He’s fought fires before. Take the backhoe, any equipment that will make things go faster. Sky, you draw up an evacuation plan for the horses and other stock on the lower ranch. I’ll want to see a priority list—which ones to get out first and which ones to leave behind if there’s no time to save them all.”

  No time to save them . . .

  Leaden-hearted, Sky headed for the long barn. He’d seen what range fires could do to stock, seen the horror of it, and knew what had to be done. Starting with the most valuable, the animals would be trailered out in relays, probably to the cattle pens on the caprock. Any horses set free to run could be trapped by the fire or become lost to starve or die of thirst.

  In his head, he was already assembling the priority list for Will, with Erin’s palomino foal and its parents at the top, to be followed by the other brood mares with their foals, the studs and the colts Sky was working to train. The older animals, like the paddock cows, docile old Belle, and the burro that kept the stallions company in their barn, would be left for last, perhaps even shot if the fire was closing in.

  The process of moving so many animals would have to begin at the first whiff of danger. But there was one thing Sky knew. Regardless of Will’s orders, if a fire threatened the ranch, no matter how close it burned, he would not be leaving any animal behind, no matter how old or feeble. He would stay until every last one was safe.

  Any fire that threatened the Rimrock would also imperil the Prescott Ranch. Did the syndicate-hired manager who was running the place have any experience with fires? Would he know what to do?

  Sky hadn’t heard from Lauren since the night she’d driven him back to the house. She’d done a good job of hiding her anger until the very last. But her parting question, after he’d promised to be there for her, had betrayed her true feelings.

  Will you? she’d demanded, then gunned the car and shot down the drive without giving him a chance to reply.

  Sky couldn’t say he blamed her. He’d tried to do the best thing for them both, but clearly that wasn’t what she’d wanted. He missed her more than he’d ever thought possible. There’d been times when he’d almost called her. Pride had stopped him, but now he had a reason. If Lauren was still on the ranch, she would need to be warned about the fire danger.

  Maybe it was a lame excuse. But the urge to hear her voice and know she was all right drove him to punch in the number and press the call button. The phone rang on the other end—once, then again and again before the recorded answer voice came on.

  “You have reached . . .”

  Never mind. The fire danger was on all the news broadcasts and in the paper. There was no way anybody with eyes and ears could miss it. He’d only been using it as an excuse to make an unnecessary call, and Lauren would have seen right through him.

  Sky ended the call without leaving a message.

  CHAPTER 12

  Lauren slid into the booth at Burger Shack and greeted the smiling blond woman who waited for her on the other side of the table.

  “Thanks for meeting me, Tori. When I called your number, all I wanted was the name of a Realtor. I certainly didn’t expect to be having lunch with you. Since you’re doing me a favor, I hope you’ll let me treat you.”

  “Only if you promise to let me treat next time—and that there will be a next time.” Will’s ex-wife sipped the Diet Coke she’d ordered along with the mushroom pizza they’d agreed to split. She was a stunning woman, tall and slim, her loose, sun-streaked hair anchored by the sunglasses she’d pushed up onto her head.

  Lauren had put off phoning her, hoping she could find a place to rent or buy on her own. But after weeks of scanning the ads in the paper and finding nothing, she’d summoned her nerve and called the number Sky had given her. Tori’s friendly manner had put her at ease right away.

  The teenage waitress came to take Lauren’s order—a Coke to go with the pizza. Lauren had turned off her cell phone in the car. She didn’t want this visit interrupted by a call, especially from her father, grilling her about where she was and whom she was with.

  “As I told you,” Tori continued, “Blanco Springs is a small town. There’s not enough business here to support a Realtor. But my work helps keep me on top of what’s happening. If you’ll tell me what you’re looking for, I can at least keep an ear to the ground.”

  “Thanks,” Lauren said. “Things have become nonstop crazy with my father. He’s started tracking my every move. And he keeps pressuring me to date men who can help his campaign. I’ve got to get out on my own.”

  Tori nodded. “Knowing your father, I can understand that. But you could go anywhere. Why would you want to stay here?”

  Lauren swirled the ice in her Coke, hesitating before she answered. “Funny, Sky asked me the same question.”

  “And I believe you just answered it.” Tori’s smile was warm and knowing. “You’re actually blushing.”

  “It’s a redhead thing. So embarrassing. I’ve always hated it.”

  “Don’t you dare change the subject. Beau did mention there were some sparks between you two.”

  “There were, but not anymore.” Even saying it hurt, but Lauren wanted to be honest. “We’re not seeing each other. His idea, not mine.”

  “Why am I not surprised? I’ve known Sky since he was a teenager. I don’t know what you’d call it—pride, maybe, for want of a better word. But if you offer the man something wonderful, he’ll come up with a whole litany of reasons why he doesn’t deserve it and shouldn’t accept it. Usually he’ll end up walking away, which is probably why he’s not married—though, heaven knows, some very sharp ladies have tried to land him.”

  “The way you make it sound, the breakup was his fault. But it was really mine—because I ran away without telling him, and because of my issues with my fiancé’s death and with my father. Sky told me to call him when I got my life together. So that’s what I’m trying to do. Even if I never get him back, I need to do this, Tori. Sky was right about me. I’m a wreck.”

  “But he did tell you to call him. He left the door wide open. Coming from Sky, that’s a lot. Did he tell you anything else?”

  “Yes. The very last thing he said before
I drove away was that if I needed him, he’d be there for me.” Lauren blinked away tears. “I was hurting, so I just blew him off. Oh, blast it, I didn’t mean to unload on you like this. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Tori reached across the table and patted her arm. “There’s one more thing I want to say, and then we’ll talk about something else. Sky had a hellish childhood before he came to the Rimrock.”

  Lauren remembered the scars she’d glimpsed on Sky’s back. “I suspected something like that,” she said.

  “He learned to guard his feelings,” Tori said. “He’s still so protective that he has a hard time letting anyone in. But underneath that lone-wolf, tough-man shell, Sky Fletcher is one of the gentlest, most compassionate people I’ve ever known.”

  “I know,” Lauren said. “I’ve seen how he is with the horses, and with your daughter.”

  “Then you’ve seen the real Sky. And you have to know that if he says he’ll be there for you, he means it.”

  Only the distraction of the waitress bringing their pizza kept Lauren from crumbling. “That’s all well and good,” she said. “But for now, I have to be a big girl and move on as if I never expect to hear from him again. Who knows? Maybe I won’t—and maybe that’s for the best, at least for him.” She was putting on a brave face. But even saying the words was like jabbing herself with a cold steel knife.

  “But you’re here—for now, at least.” Tori scooped a slice of pizza onto her plate, giving it a moment to cool. “So tell me what you need.”

  “Two things,” Lauren said. “A place to live and some steady work. I’ve got money in a trust fund from my mother, enough to live on for a while, maybe even make a down payment on a little house. But I could burn through it all too easily, and I don’t want to do that.”

  “Of course you don’t.”

  “Buying a house would tie up my cash, but it would be like an investment. I could always sell it later, maybe at a profit.”

  “True, but given how uncertain things are for you, wouldn’t you be better off renting?”