Dallas had even given Caleb a quick lesson on his guitar before treating them all to the sound of her beautiful voice as she sang a couple of country songs. That girl was really talented. Kerry-Leigh was even more determined to get her open-air concert organized after that, and told Dallas she could top the bill. Shane had assumed she was joking until Caleb took him to one side and told him they had a friend in the music business who would love to hear her sing. After all the trouble Dallas had just had with so-called music moguls, Shane had decided to keep quiet about it for now.
The night had been long and tense. Shane hadn’t realized how keyed-up he’d been until the aches in his back informed him. His whole body had been alert for hours, but he had nothing to show for it except this crick in his neck and the throb in his back.
“They’re sure playing a waiting game.” John sighed as he clipped his radio back on his belt. “Deputy said there’s been no movement in or out of town all night. He doesn’t know how long folks’ll want to sit doing nothing once the sun’s up.”
“They’ve all got their own work to do,” Shane said, shaking his head.
“Well, we’ll be keeping at least one truck on each road in and out of town for the rest of the day. If they’re about these parts someone’s sure to spot them.”
“I hope so,” Shane replied. He had a sick feeling deep in his gut, and knew his girl was scared stiff.
As the sun rose over the horizon, the air was filled with the smell of bacon and fresh bread. Shane grinned. Peering in through the kitchen window he saw Dallas, now in her own clothes stooping down to take some fresh rolls from the oven, while bacon and eggs sizzled on the hob. She looked quite at home in his kitchen, he thought with a grin.
Her hair was still wet from her shower and wayward tendrils stuck to the sides of her face. She sure was beautiful. When she’d told him that Ed Powell wanted her to be a model he was afraid she would be used to caking on the make-up and fussing with her hair, but she wasn’t like that at all. She was a natural beauty and was obviously more comfortable that way. The total opposite of Lucy! He had thought he loved Lucy, but he now realized he was nowhere near it—not if this feeling inside him was anything to go by. His heart physically ached when Dallas cried and he would do anything he could to make her happy. She glanced up and her face was alight when she noticed him watching her. She waved. He drank her in and waved back. Despite the uncomfortable night she had just had, and the meagre few hours’ sleep, she looked radiant this morning.
Shane had been disappointed not to have got to spend the night in bed with her last night, as he had first hoped. After making love in the shower they hadn’t even spoken about how they felt about each other, but somehow there was a definite change in the dynamic between them. Dallas appeared more accepting of his help, and looked to him for comfort and support. He felt more relaxed and loved being able to show his affection for her without fear of ridicule or rebuff.
Dallas beckoned to him to come in, as she was serving up breakfast and he called over to John. He guessed that Kerry-Leigh had told Caleb, as they all met in the kitchen.
Kerry-Leigh was wearing a dress today, and her pregnancy showed even more vividly. She sat down next to Caleb and they all tucked into a hearty breakfast. Dallas sure knew how to cook, and Shane imagined all the fun they would have in the kitchen together. He must have smirked because she nudged him with a puzzled expression.
“This is lovely,” he told her, and she blushed.
“What happens now?” Dallas asked the sheriff.
“Some of the townsfolk will need to get back to work if they’re not too tired,” he said with a sigh, “but we’ll have people watching every road in and out of Moonlight Hollow as well as the main routes into Midnight County. If he’s here we’re sure to spot him one way or another.” He sounded very definite about it, and Dallas smiled. “Mind you, if I you cook breakfast like this every morning I wouldn’t mind spending every night out there on your front porch.” He winked at her with a smile, making her giggle.
“Will it still be OK to take a look around the ranch today?” Kerry-Leigh asked hopefully.
“Yeah. The ranch has to run as usual. And Dallas hasn’t seen it yet, have you, darlin’?” Shane replied. “I can’t see anything happening in broad daylight with everyone here, anyway.” He smiled at Dallas. Despite the rough night, she seemed a little more relaxed today, and certainly had more color to her cheeks.
“I can’t wait to explore the ranch,” Dallas said happily, and gave his arm a quick squeeze. That small gesture caused the flame inside him to burn red hot and he felt a contentment he had never felt before.
They all chatted happily over breakfast and then Dallas cleared away the dishes.
“Well, I’d best be off. Give the office a call if there’s any problems. I’ll drop by later on,” John said, standing up and grabbing his hat.
They said their good-byes and Caleb helped with the dishes.
Shane made sure all the doors and windows of the house were locked when they went to take a look around. He was quite proud of the spread, even though it still needed a lot of work. Without any extra manpower he had to get urgent jobs done as they came up, which meant rescheduling general maintenance work all the time. Consequently the place was in need of a good lick of paint and a few new fences to say the least.
“The horses are gorgeous!” Dallas exclaimed with a gasp when she caught sight of the stables. A couple of palominos had their heads over the stalls and both girls rushed over to stroke them.
“That’ll keep them happy for an hour or two.” Caleb laughed as he rolled his eyes. “There’s something about women and horses.” He shook his head and Shane giggled. It was lovely to see his brother back to his old self again—and wonderful that he had brought his new wife to meet him.
“You really must come more often,” Shane told him.
“I intend to, don’t you worry about that,” Caleb assured him. “You’ll get sick of the sight of me and my brood before too long.”
“Brood? How many are you planning on having?”
“Oh, enough. I’m counting on keeping my wife barefoot and pregnant for as long as I can—it’s the only way to tie her down. Look at her. A real flighty one she is—always on the go. No wonder she talks so fast—her mouth has to catch up with her brain somehow!”
Shane laughed, watching the girls coo and pet the horses. Kerry-Leigh sure was lively, but he was certain his brother wouldn’t have her any other way. She was chatting away now, nineteen to the dozen, at the same time as stroking the horse and pointing to something in one of the fields. Her mind must be constantly reeling.
“So she’s giving up work to give you a houseful of kids?” Shane frowned.
“Hell no. When she says she’ll be a stay at home mom she just means she won’t be working from the office anymore. She gave up her job and now she just does freelance work. She’s organized some mighty fine gigs, too. She’s kept all her contacts from the firm and she always beats them down on price. They all love her—can’t do enough to help really. She’s raised thousands for charity over the past couple of years as she knows some real influential people. Have you thought any more about getting someone to listen to Dallas? I reckon my pal would give her a record contract in a heartbeat.”
Shane wasn’t so sure. “Let’s get this mess over with first, then see what she wants to do.”
“You’ve gotta admit she’s got a beautiful voice—and looks too.”
“We’ll see.” Shane frowned. He knew it would be a wonderful opportunity for Dallas, and if the guy was a friend of Caleb he probably was kosher, but Dallas had been through a lot lately and she needed to take a deep breath and think about what she wanted to do next. There was no way he was going to pressure her.
They strolled over to the stable.
“You use all those fields?” Kerry-Leigh asked, pointing to the meadows at the far end of the spread.
“Some have to be left fallow for a seas
on or two, ’til the grass grows up again. We can’t do much with them while we’re waiting for that,” Shane told her with a grin. “Sometimes the trainer puts a few jumps in for the horses, but that’s about it.”
“That’s a big expanse of land you’ve got there, brother,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“And I’ll bet you know just the people to come and trample it down and kick up the mud, don’t ya?” Caleb teased as he put his arms around her ample waist.
“Forget it. I’m gonna need that land to have decent pasture for my livestock next year. They can’t eat mud.” Shane was firm about it, but hadn’t meant to sound quite so brusque, as he noticed the disappointed looks on the girls’ faces.
“You do know how much money one of those gigs can bring you, don’t you?” Kerry-Leigh spoke slowly and Shane stared at her.
“It’s not just the ticket money, there’s camping fees, food, and drink for the masses as well as any stalls that might want to trade here.” She kept walking as she spoke, but Shane stood still, only half listening.
“Make me? I thought you did these events for charity?” He was bemused.
“Not the private ones. As the owner of this land you stand to make a mint. You can charge whatever you like, and you take a fee and commission off any food wagons and traders that turn up. And, of course, you can sell anything you like yourself. Caleb carves things out of wood—I’ve got him into loads of gigs selling them.”
“I make a thousand bucks a day at least,” Caleb chipped in. They’d stopped to face him now.
Shane suddenly remembered Caleb’s love of whittling—he used to use whatever he could find and carve the most intricate animals and birds out of it. Momma always said he should sell them.
“What about costs?” Shane said, pursing his lips. “Who pays for the staging and the singers? And what about advertising and stuff? I’ve got a ranch to run, I can’t be doing all that sort of stuff.” He shook his head. It sounded like a good proposition, but he didn’t have the time or the inclination to oversee that sort of thing.
“That’s my job. I do all the organizing—even down to having someone here on the day to see that the staging, barriers and all the signs are put in the right place. I get it all advertised for you. All you do is get the money at the end of it—oh, and a pretty muddy field!” Kerry-Leigh seemed to have it all worked out.
They were walking in the direction of the fields Kerry-Leigh had been pointing out, Shane realized, and suspected that it was no coincidence.
“What do you reckon, darlin’?” He turned to Dallas.
She shrugged. “Sounds like a good investment to me.”
Jake Johnson rode over to them as they arrived at the field. “Morning boss. How’s the patient?”
Dallas blushed.
“See for yourself. Much better, I’d say, wouldn’t you, sweetheart?” Shane squeezed her as they looked up at him.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she told the ranch hand.
“Glad to hear it.” He touched his hat politely to her and gave her a dazzling smile. Shane felt his jaw clench momentarily and was thrilled when Dallas held him a little tighter. He hadn’t been aware of this possessive streak before, but sure was now. He threw Jake a questioning look and watched him squirm slightly.
“Well, I must get on. Nice to see you, ma’am.” He touched his hat again and Shane was sure he saw him wink just before he rode off.
“I don’t know him,” Caleb remarked.
“No, Jake’s only been with me about a year. Good at his job, lousy with women.” Shane snorted and was aware of a little giggle from Dallas. He growled deep within his throat and she physically jumped.
He turned to Kerry-Leigh. “So, tell me more about your plans for my fields.” His voice was deep and he couldn’t help noticing the rush of testosterone as he held his girl and spoke about his land.
Chapter 10
Kerry-Leigh produced a tape measure, notebook, and pencil from a pocket in her dress and proceeded to make notes about possible layouts for the gig. She became very animated and obviously very excited as she suggested different ideas. Although Shane was evidently still weighing up his options, she seemed to take it as a forgone conclusion and waxed lyrical about the myriad concepts she had in mind for the design.
Dallas smiled as she watched the puzzled expression on Shane’s face turn to confusion before morphing into utter exasperation as he tried to keep up with all her theories.
He looked relieved when two of the hands rode over to him. “Hey, Dylan. Have you come to rescue me?”
One of the men on the quarter-horses frowned. “Depends how you look at it, sir. Some of the hands have reported some strangers hanging about over by the east fields. I’m on my way over there now, wondered if you wanna take a look. We’ve radioed the sheriff and he’s on his way over.”
Dallas felt herself go hot and she swallowed hard to quell the panic rising in her sore throat. Shane hugged her tight for a second.
“You and Kerry-Leigh get back to the house,” he said, handing her the key. “Caleb, you wanna come see these fuckers?”
“Hell, yeah.” Caleb gave his wife a quick hug. “Straight to the house and stay there, d’ya hear?”
She nodded, tucking her things back into her pocket. As their men climbed swiftly onto the horses behind the ranch hands, Dallas and Kerry-Leigh headed back to the house.
Kerry-Leigh held Dallas’s trembling hand as they made their way carefully down the field. “At least they might get him this time,” she said, assuring her.
Dallas nodded. “I hope so.”
“You must have really pissed the guy off,” Kerry-Leigh remarked, jokingly.
“I disgraced him in front of his rich friends.” Dallas trod carefully, trying not to go too quickly as Kerry-Leigh was in no condition to rush.
“There’s got to be more to it than that,” Kerry-Leigh said, thoughtfully. “Could he think you know something about his dirty dealings?”
Dallas frowned. “I don’t know anything. Just that one or two of his companies aren’t doing too well, but he always manages to turn them right around. He just has the directors of the companies which are floundering over to the house and somehow they work things out. They’re always old, slimy men.” She shuddered at the memory.
“Uh-huh. And let me guess. You’re supposed to be nice to them, right?”
“Well…yes. I’m always told to be nice to his friends.”
“Hmm.” Kerry-Leigh nodded. “So could it be that these guys are being told to take risks they’re unwilling to take? Launder money through the company in return for a share of the profits, maybe?”
Dallas felt a chill run down her spine. “But if he owns the companies then surely it’s up to him what he does, not them?” she could feel her heart beating even faster as different scenarios ran through her mind.
“Not necessarily. Surely it depends on the company. Someone like, for instance, a lawyer might take some persuading, don’t you think? One word in the wrong ear and it would all be over. Powell would have to be sure he could trust them before he approached them.”
Dallas’s heart was in her mouth as they arrived at the front porch of the ranch house. Her fingers trembled as she struggled to unlock the door, but eventually they were inside and the door was safely bolted behind them.
“The English always drink tea at a time like this, shall I make some?” Kerry-Leigh offered with a smile.
Dallas nodded, her mind in a whirl. “That’s got to be it. He wanted me to be nice to them to butter them up, ready for him to proposition them,” she said as she sat at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. “And those other guys weren’t record producers or model agents or anything! They just wanted me to wear those skimpy outfits and pose for them so they could ogle me! I guess I was a bit of a sweetener. Christ—how could I have been so stupid?”
Kerry-Leigh put a cup of tea in front of her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “You’re not st
upid. He’s just a conniving bastard who took advantage of a beautiful, young girl, that’s all. How in the hell were you supposed to know? Decent people don’t behave like that, and as far as you knew he was a decent person. Don’t sweat it, honey, just be glad you got away when you did.”
“So he must think I know something and have told the cops, then. Why would he think that? They didn’t discuss business in front of me.” Tears streamed down Dallas’s face and she felt ashamed of her own stupidity.
“Didn’t they? You knew which companies were failing, didn’t you?”
Dallas stared back at her. For all her frothy mannerisms, Kerry-Leigh had a very shrewd head on her shoulders. It was as if she’d been used to the seedy goings-on of the business world. Dallas wondered about the girl’s past and resolved to ask her about it later. For now she was making a great deal of sense, and Dallas was glad to finally be getting her head straight.
She watched as Kerry-Leigh pulled the notebook and pencil from her pocket.
“I’ll bet if the cops look into the companies which aren’t doing too well they’d be able to work out where the next batch of money’s going,” she said quietly, offering Dallas the pencil.
Dallas managed a grin and began listing all the companies she had heard Ed mention, and put a star next to the ones he had already planned to entertain the directors of. It all made perfect sense now. How did I not see it before?
A knock at the door made them both jump.
“Don’t answer it,” Kerry-Leigh said.
“Miss Dallas, are you all right? The boss has asked me to come and check on you. They think they’ve got the guy they wanted but the sheriff wants you to identify him before they move in. Are you there, Miss Dallas?”
Dallas went to the window and peered out. A chestnut quarter-horse stood patiently by the door and a handsome cowboy stood on the porch.
Dallas at Midnight [Midnight in Montana 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 8