Justified Deception (Prequel: Dancing Moon Ranch Series)

by Watters, Patricia

  She glanced at the clock. Realizing it was well past time to get Annie up, she went to Annie's room, but when she peeked inside, Annie was gone. The clothes she'd laid out for her the night before were also gone, so she knew Annie had dressed herself.

  As Ruth started down the stairs, she braced herself for Matt's reproach. He'd made it clear, her first night there, that Annie should be up and dressed and down for breakfast with the men. She hoped he'd let this incident pass. From the sound of voices, the men seemed to be engaged in a discussion, so maybe she could slip in and take her place at the table, reasonably unnoticed.

  But when she turned into the dining room, she stopped in the doorway, shocked to find Bret Kincaid sitting at the table. The men's voices died, and all faces turned her way.

  Matt was the first to speak. "It's good of you to show up," he said, with irony.

  For a moment she didn't respond, her gaze focused on Bret, her mind digesting the fact that he was still there. His brows were gathered in puzzlement, so she knew he was struggling to remember where he'd seen her.

  Turning to Matt, she said, "I'm sorry I'm late. I lost track of time."

  "Yeah, well don't make a habit of it," Matt groused.

  She gave him a contrite smile, then looked at Annie and winked. Annie smiled and patted the chair beside her. Ruth sat down and focused on serving her plate with scrambled eggs and hash browns to keep her face turned away from Bret. The less he could study her, the better her chances would be of him not recalling where he'd seen her. But even while she attempted to concentrate eating, she had a half dozen questions she wanted to fire at the man...

  …Who left in your plane? Why are you still here? When are you leaving? What would you do if you knew who I was...?

  For a few minutes Ruth sat silently eating, but doing it quickly while trying to keep her head down so she could soon leave the table with Annie, whose plate was already empty…

  "We'll be heading out on the horses in about an hour," Matt said.

  After a moment, Ruth looked up, realizing Matt was addressing her. "Will you be rounding up cattle then?" she asked.

  "No, we'll be going on an overnight campout."

  "All of you?" Ruth asked, looking around the table at the men. She glanced at Bret, hoping if the others were leaving, he would too.

  "Not the men," Matt replied, "Just Annie, Bret, you and I. Pack your things and Annie's for overnight... warm clothes, since it gets chilly up on the high mesas in the evening."

  Ruth breathed deeply to quiet the agitated beating of her heart, and said, "Is there a reason why we're going?" Bret Kincaid did not look the type to want to sleep under the stars. If it was for her benefit, spending the night on the hard ground in a sleeping bag in which creatures could slither or crawl inside to keep warm made her cringe. She'd never been on an overnight campout, and she definitely didn't look forward to going on one now, especially with Bret Kincaid along.

  "It was my idea," Annie piped up.

  "Annie wants you to see her special places," Matt said. "And Bret's stuck here with us for a couple of days."

  "Stuck here?" Ruth said, looking at Bret. The thought that he'd be around for a while troubled her deeply. "I heard your plane leave this morning. Is there something wrong?"

  "You mean that I'm not on it?" Bret offered, a cynical smile curving his lips.

  "Well no. It's nice that you can stay," Ruth lied.

  Matt caught her eye. "The plane you heard was the governor's plane. He stopped by with papers for Bret."

  Ruth looked at Matt, stunned. The governor of the state of Oregon just happened to stop by the Kincaid Ranch, a place in the middle of nowhere, to see Bret Kincaid? Was there no one at the pinnacle of the political hierarchy that this family didn't rub shoulders with?

  "Bret's working something up for me," Matt said. "Camping upriver seems the practical thing to do."

  "Camping at the Hilton sounds a whole lot more practical to me," Bret replied. He looked at his watch. "If we hop in my plane now, we could be there by noon."

  "Sorry pal," Matt said. "Annie's boss around here and she wants Ruth to camp out with her up on the mesa where you can see for miles around and maybe spot a band of mustangs. Besides, the outing will roughen up some of your too-smooth edges and give you a taste of the real world. You've been too long in your ivory tower."

  "I hate to burst both your bubbles," Ruth said, "but neither the Hilton, nor this ranch, is the real world."

  Matt laughed lightly. "You know," he said to Bret, "I think she has a point." He looked at Ruth. "So, Miss Crawford, tell us about the real world. Where you grew up. What your house was like. Where it's located. Actually, I just realized you've mentioned nothing about yourself or your family. Now I'm curious."

  "Well, there's really nothing much to tell," Ruth replied, unnerved that Matt seemed intent on ferreting out information she'd deliberately withheld, especially since there was no Ruth Crawford at her parent's address in Salem. But with a little online searching that also included the White Pages directory, he could discover a Jennifer Sinclair living there, whose face had been all over the news for weeks after her daughter had been kidnapped. "Meanwhile," she added, "Annie and I had better get ready to go."

  "Yippee!" Annie yelped. She slipped off the chair, and rushed out of the room. And Ruth jumped at the chance to escape Matt's questions and Bret's perusal by following Annie. But she had a gut feeling both men would be returning to those questions in the very near future.

  ***

  They started out on a horse trail that cut through a meadow dotted with sagebrush and high desert flowers then followed the course of a stream that was lined with groves of cottonwood trees on one side. After negotiating a trail that zigzagged up the side of a mesa, then cutting back and forth sharply while moving from one terraced mesa step to the next, they came to the wide flat top that opened upon a far-reaching view. But instead of rounded slopes, the rimrock hills in the distance formed perpendicular descents, dropping away with straight walls from mesas and terraces while giving the landscape a stair step appearance.

  After a few hundred feet they came to a rocky outcrop. There, Annie urged her horse alongside Matt's, and said, "Daddy, can I take Ruth up Wild Horse Trail? You said I could."

  "Go ahead," Matt replied. He looked askance at Ruth and added, "It's not more than five minutes up the trail. You'll be in shouting distance."

  Ruth followed Annie up a trail that wound between stands of juniper and quaking aspen before opening up onto a view that seemed to go on forever, broken only by a single mountain in the far distance. "That's Steens Mountain," Annie said pointing. "It just stands there all by itself."

  Ruth looked out across a vista of buttes and gorges and mesas to a mountain with several peaks covered in snow. "It is all by itself," she mused. As she sat on her horse beside Annie, the single mountain standing alone, with no foothills, no close relatives, reminded her, again, that she could still have a little girl out there somewhere, standing alone.

  But she refused to dwell on the negative at this point. So as she gazed out at a vista that was unlike any she had ever seen, for its vast openness, she contemplated the positive. Not only had she become a more confident rider over the past week, but her time with Annie had been a time of bonding in a way she never could have imagined, their first day together. It had also been a chance to become familiar with Matt and Annie's world. Until now, she hadn't realized how magnificent southeastern Oregon was, or how remote. She'd lived in Oregon all her life, but trips with her family had been by car, and whenever they'd stopped to take in the scenery, it had been at a park where trails were well maintained, or on a beach dotted with beachcombers. But she'd never ridden a horse before coming to the ranch, nor had she slept under the stars.

  When Matt mentioned the overnight, all she could think of was what might crawl into her sleeping bag. Now, she was anxious to look up at the infinite sky above and see it at night, away from city lights, and filled with star
s. Being at the Kincaid Ranch opened up a whole new world, and she wondered if the closeness of city living would ever seem right again. She also wondered if Annie could ever adjust to city life if it turned out she was Beth...

  "There they are," Annie yelped, while pointing. "The wild horses."

  Ruth looked down into a valley where, some distance upstream from where they'd been not more than twenty minutes before, were a small herd of horses, some drinking from the stream, others grazing nearby, and one standing and watching them. All of the horses were shades of tans and grays, with long black manes and tails. "They're really beautiful," she said.

  "They're Kigers," Annie replied. "They have zebra stripes on their legs, but you can't see them unless you're close, and only Boone can get close to them."

  Ruth eyed Annie with curiosity. "Who's Boone?"

  "An Indian who lives in the stone house just up the road from the stable," Annie replied. "He talks to the horses and they know what he's saying. He told me he'll teach me how to talk to them when I get older."

  "How do you know the horses understand what he says?" Ruth asked.

  Annie shrugged. "Because whenever he says something to them they do what he says."

  "You've seen him do this?" Ruth asked.

  "Sure," Annie replied. "He makes me stay way back, but I can hear him talking. He once told a horse to go drink water and the horse did, but Boone said the words in Indian so I couldn't understand, but the horse knew what he said because right after, it went to drink water."

  Ruth started to suggest to Annie that maybe Boone said something to the horse in Indian, and whatever the horse did after that Boone claimed was what he'd told the horse to do, then decided to let Annie believe in her Indian. It was a nice notion, talking to horses...

  "Boone also made me a silver ring," Annie went on, "but Daddy keeps it for me so I won't lose it because it's still too big for my finger, but it has a pretty rock in it the color of the sky."

  "That's probably a turquoise," Ruth said.

  "Yeah, that's what it is," Annie replied. "Boone makes lots of things in silver, like buckles and bracelets, and he sells them somewhere. He says when I'm older he'll teach me how to make things out of silver too."

  One of the horses, who was drinking from the stream, looked up like something distracted it, then started walking off. At once, the other horses stopped what they were doing and fell into step behind. "It looks like the stallion's leading the horses away," Ruth said.

  Annie shook her head. "That's not a stallion. That's a mare. Boone says a mare always leads the band and the stallion stays behind to fight off other stallions that want to steal his family."

  Ruth wasn't so sure about that, but maybe it was so. In any event, she wanted to learn more about Boone the Indian, who Annie seemed captivated by. The idea of Annie spending time with an older man troubled her.

  When she and Annie returned to the main trail, Annie rode up to Matt and said, in an excited voice, "We just saw the wild horses. Can I take Uncle Bret to where we were?"

  "Go ahead," Matt replied.

  While Annie and Bret headed back up the trail from where Ruth and Annie had just come, Matt guided his horse alongside Ruth’s and said, "I’m glad Annie was able to show you the mustangs. They haven't been around here long, but that was half the reason she wanted you to come with us."

  "They’re beautiful," Ruth said. "Annie also talked about an Indian named Boone."

  "Boone Eotah. He came with the ranch," Matt replied. "He used to work for my father-in-law, but after he injured his leg he started raising chickens and a few milk goats and he provides milk and eggs for the ranch. He also makes silver jewelry and buckles and rosettes for bridles."

  "From what I could gather, it sounds like she spends quite a bit of time with him," Ruth said. "Do you think it's a good idea for her to be keeping company with a grown man?"

  "Boone's fine," Matt said. "He has a son and daughter-in-law and a couple of grandkids who love coming here to see him because he tells them stories about how it was when he was a boy. He loves those kids and they love him, and he treats Annie like she's one of them. Annie's fine with Boone."

  "I suppose," Ruth said, feeling a little better about the situation. "Annie also said Boone talks to horses."

  "I talk to horses too," Matt said. "Most cowboys do, especially when we’re out on the range and have nothing else to talk to."

  "Yes, but Annie claims the horses talk to Boone too, and I think she actually believes it. Do you think that’s a good idea? Annie might think what she tells her horse is understood and get in trouble someday, like maybe telling her horse to go home and bring help."

  "Annie’s smart. She knows the difference," Matt said. "But other than worrying about Boone, how are you enjoying the scenery so far?"

  "It's breathtaking," Ruth replied. "It's much more impressive than the view from my front window at home."

  "Speaking of which, where did you grow up?" Matt asked. "You've never mentioned it and I'm curious."

  Realizing it would raise more questions if she attempted to evade Matt question, Ruth said, "I grew up in a house in a quiet neighborhood in Salem, and when I wanted to get away from things, I rode my bike to a nearby park. I'm still in the same house."

  "Then your parents have passed away?" Matt asked.

  His question caught Ruth up short. No one she knew still lived with their parents. But being a single mom, and having to work, she'd moved in with them shortly before Beth was born. And after Beth was abducted, there was no question of moving out. She needed people around who knew and understood her ongoing grief. "No, my parents are fine," she replied. "Working as a live-in nanny I'm gone so much it's impractical to maintain my own place, and my parents are fine with it." She hated lying. The few times she had as a child, she'd been caught. "The air's so fresh here... unlike the air in the city," she said, wanting to change subjects.

  "I wouldn't know," Matt replied. "I've never spent much time in the city."

  Ruth looked askance at him. "I thought you grew up in a big house in Salem." As soon as she'd said the words, she realized the information had come from Bill, not Matt.

  Matt looked at her, curiously. "I don't remember mentioning that."

  "Well, actually, it was Edith," Ruth lied again, hoping Matt wouldn't be curious enough to question Edith later. "It was just a comment she made. I guess I jumped to conclusions."

  "My parents live in Salem, but I left home when I was sixteen," Matt said, verifying what Ruth already knew. "I'm the black sheep in the family. I didn't get along with my father, and I was always at odds with my brothers, so I struck out on my own. I've never regretted it. Now I have everything I want."

  "You don't miss having a family?" Ruth asked.

  "I have a family," Matt replied. "I just don't have them breathing down my back. But Annie's all the family I need, which is why Bret's here. My ex-wife intends to sue for joint custody."

  "Do you think she'll be able to get it?" Ruth asked.

  Matt let out a cynical laugh. "With Bret on the case? Not a chance this side of hell. Bret's cutthroat when it comes to winning a case."

  "I saw your ex-wife's picture on the tabloid you threw away," Ruth said. "She looks kind of hard."

  Eyes focused ahead, Matt said, "She looks like the trash she is. Even her father conceded that. He knew she slept around, but he told me he thought I could keep her satisfied. I took it as a challenge and married her. The problem with being male and nineteen is that your brains are below your belt. Now, I find her repulsive."

  "You do?" Ruth didn't mean to sound enthusiastic. "I mean, that's good, because then you won't find yourself fantasizing about what you no longer have."

  "I stopped fantasizing about Jody the day she walked out on Annie and me. If I ever start fantasizing about a woman, she won't be shaped like Jody." Looking askance at Ruth, he smiled, and said, "Then on the other hand, maybe I've already started fantasizing some. But don't worry, Ruthie girl, I won'
t act on it unless you give me permission."

  Ruth laughed at Matt's offhanded comment. It came to her that he was quickly becoming an obstacle in her quest. She was enjoying his company far too much. He was also beginning to fill a void she never knew existed until now. But she'd quell her aberrant attraction. Matt was a complication she didn't need. Far too much was at stake.

  CHAPTER 6

  Late that evening, Ruth sat across the campfire from Bret, and although she stared into the flames, she could feel his eyes on her, clearly a man who would not set aside the misplacement of a face. It had been like that all afternoon. To avoid his relentless gaze, after they'd corralled the horses and set up the campsite, she made excuses to be away from him—suggesting to Annie that they pick some of the flowers that dotted the high mesa meadow where they were camping, and press them between the pages of a book when they got back to the ranch. But after a while Matt called them to dinner, and that's when Bret started asking questions.

  Exactly where in Salem did she live? How long had she lived there? Had she ever worked for an attorney? Been in court? Attended Willamette University? And she'd answered, she thought, to his satisfaction. Annie was already sound asleep, and she was about to excuse herself to get ready to crawl into her own sleeping bag when Matt extended his hand and said, "Come with me for a short walk and I'll show you a sight you won't soon forget."

  Ruth took Matt's hand, and he pulled her up from the log where she sat. When his hand remained around hers, she pulled her hand free, and said, "How far is it?"

  "Just over that rise." Matt clicked on a flashlight, and as they walked off, he added in a hushed voice, "I'm taking you where Bret won't keep staring at you. It's making you uneasy and me jealous. If anyone stares, it will be me."