A Country Girl’s Heart

by Dena Blake

“When I came here, I didn’t want to be involved in Montco business,” Kat said as she wiped the tears from her face. “But now, I can see I’m going to have to help you rein in our mother.”

  Rebecca reached for the box of tissues. “I’m going to need it. That won’t be easy.”

  * * *

  After closing and locking all the pasture gates, Virgil went into the stable to tend to the horses. He performed the ritual nightly, making sure all the tack was put away properly and the horses had feed, water, and hay.

  He’d checked all the stalls, latched the gates, and was heading out the door when Victoria Maxwell trotted up on her horse with a few of her ranch hands following. He scanned the grounds looking for backup, but it was Saturday night, and most of the guys had gone into town.

  “What do you want, Victoria?” Virgil asked. She didn’t come around unless she wanted something.

  “I came to see that lovely boss of yours.” She slid off her horse.

  “You mean my daughter-in-law?”

  “Technically, I don’t think she’s your daughter-in-law anymore, since your girl’s dead.” Victoria laughed. “You ain’t gonna be nothin’ to her once we’re married.”

  Virgil clenched his fists. He’d never hit a woman, but this particular woman might just make him do it. “She’ll never marry you.”

  “We’ll see about that.” She twisted her head to look at the house. “Where is she?”

  He slid the door halfway closed behind him. “You’re out of luck.”

  “You sure she’s not hiding around here somewhere?” Victoria circled around him and looked inside the stable.

  Virgil stepped between Victoria and the door. “She’s in Austin.”

  “What’s she doing in Austin?” Victoria’s voice held more than a hint of annoyance.

  “That’s none of your business. Now leave.”

  Victoria motioned for one of her men to shove Virgil against the door, forcing him into the stable. “You’d better be careful, old man, or you’re gonna wind up just like that daughter of yours.”

  Virgil stumbled backward. “You shut up about my daughter.”

  Victoria’s face twisted into an obscure smile. “Arizona didn’t turn out to be such a tough girl after all, did she?”

  Virgil narrowed his eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I really felt bad about her.” Leaning against the railing of Minow’s stall, Victoria frowned. “I actually kind of liked her, but she started digging into things that weren’t her business.”

  When Virgil realized what Victoria was saying, he lunged at her. The railing broke behind them, and Victoria’s men rushed to drag Virgil off her.

  Victoria scrambled to her feet. “Now with you out of the way, Kat won’t have anyone left to help her.”

  Virgil struggled to break free. “She won’t ever be yours.”

  “We’ll just see about that.” Victoria tossed a piece of the broken railing to one of the men. “Make sure he can’t do any talkin’.” She brushed hay from her shirt as she looked around the stable. “And move all these horses out of here before you torch it this time. I don’t wanna have to spend any more money than I have to when I take over this place.”

  Chapter Twenty

  DJ sat behind her desk, trying to focus on the file in front of her. She couldn’t concentrate, not after what had happened today. DJ could see in her eyes that Kat had been devastated. Her insides had twisted when she’d tasted the tears on Kat’s lips. The kiss had been filled with pain and anguish. DJ had never expected to experience anything like that with Kat. She understood why Kat had said the things she had and couldn’t help thinking it was all true. She deserved everything Kat had thrown at her. Could DJ make Kat forget it all? She had to find a way to make her see past her deception, or she would never be a part of her life.

  She slapped the folder closed, shot up, and headed across the room. She couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. DJ needed answers, and she was going to get them out of Mark Hamilton, one way or another. She marched through the doorway and down the hallway to Mark’s office. The door was open, but the only person in there was one of the cleaning crew that came through nightly. She glanced at her watch. Eight o’clock.

  “Damn.” DJ took off down the hallway and barreled into Marcia, practically knocking her off her feet. “What are you still doing here?”

  “I thought you might need me for something.”

  “Could you find Mark Hamilton’s home address for me, please?” DJ went into her office for her briefcase.

  When she came out, Marcia glanced up from her desk and handed her a slip of paper. “Here you go.”

  “If anyone asks, you don’t know where I went.”

  Marcia lifted her eyebrows. “Do I ever?”

  “Thanks, Marcia.” DJ looked at the paper she’d handed her and hesitated. “You’ll let me know when you need some time off, right?”

  “Of course.” Marcia smiled. “And I’ll expect it with pay.”

  “And you’ll get it that way.” DJ laughed and headed down the hallway to the elevator. Marcia might be a thorn in her side sometimes, but DJ could trust her.

  DJ screeched out of the parking garage and headed toward Mark’s loft. She needed some answers, and if it was going to take another face-to-face with the man in his own territory, so be it.

  DJ parked her BMW in the lot next to the Waterstreet Lofts and hurried around to the front of the building. After climbing the stairs to the third floor, she was a little winded. She found the door and gave it a swift succession of raps—no answer. She twisted the knob—locked. The door had a deadbolt, but maybe Mark wasn’t a stickler for security. She slid a credit card into the doorjamb and shoved hard with her shoulder. The door flew open.

  She rubbed her arm as she stepped inside and took a minute to survey the condo. The place wasn’t very big. One bedroom with a small loft. She spotted a desk upstairs and went straight to it, passing the bedroom and kitchen to the narrow, small, metal spiral staircase. The top of the desk was spotless. She opened the drawers but found nothing. This place was just as clean as his office. DJ hurried down the steps and hit the bedroom next, checking the dresser, closet, and mattress—still nothing. It didn’t look like he even lived there, or he wasn’t planning to stay around much longer. Maybe he was planning to move in with Rebecca. She heard voices in the hallway but didn’t balk. At this point DJ didn’t care if Mark caught her. She rushed to the kitchen and scanned it.

  Where would I hide something in this place? A few plates and glasses sat in the drain board. She opened the dishwasher door. The packing tape was still on the rack. Why wouldn’t he use the dishwasher? She squatted down and looked inside—nothing. She closed it and felt around the plate covering the electrical wiring at the bottom. Some of the screws were missing. She pinched the piece of metal between her thumb and index finger, and it popped off. Bingo! A small manila envelope had been hidden in between and under the wires.

  The envelope wasn’t sealed, so DJ had no trouble sliding the documents out to see what they were. As she read through them, she realized Mark’s predicament. Mark did know Victoria Maxwell. In fact, he knew her very well, and the parasite was putting the screws to him big-time. It looked like Mark’s get-rich-quick scheme had backfired. DJ slid the papers into the envelope and pushed it into her coat pocket. Someone else needed to see these.

  It was past ten when DJ knocked on the front door of Rebecca’s condo.

  “Who is it?” DJ recognized Mark’s voice through the door.

  “Dani Callahan.”

  She heard the deadbolt flip, and Mark opened the door slowly.

  DJ didn’t wait for an invitation. She pushed her way inside. “I thought I might find you here.”

  Mark turned, still standing in the doorway. “What do you want, Dani?”

  “We need to talk about that little land deal you took care of for Mr. Belmont.”

  Mark closed the door and lowered his v
oice, “I told you, I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

  DJ gave him a look of warning. “Don’t dig yourself in any deeper, Mark.” She reached her hand under her coat and let him see the envelope. “I know exactly what you did, and now I have the proof.”

  Mark reached for the envelope. “You broke into my loft.”

  “Door was open. I just looked around a bit.”

  “You don’t know what you’re doing, Dani.”

  “Why don’t you fill me in?”

  Mark kneaded the back of his neck roughly with his fingers and paced the room until he seemed to drop his shoulders in relief. “I was caught in the middle of this mess and couldn’t find a way out.” His eyes shifted nervously. “I only did what Charles told me to.”

  DJ saw what seemed to be a twinge of remorse, and she didn’t know what to think. “But you knew it was illegal.”

  “You’re an attorney. You know there’s a fine line between legality and loopholes.”

  “At the very least, it was unethical.” DJ looked toward the bedroom. “How’d you convince Rebecca to sign the papers?”

  An arrogant smile crept across Mark’s face. “It’s amazing what you can get a woman to do by just paying attention to her.”

  “You seduced her so you could manipulate her?” DJ knew Rebecca was the one who was going to be hurt here.

  “Seriously?” Mark let out a short breath. “You’re doing the same thing to her sister, and you have the nerve to question my motives?”

  DJ sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Mark was right. When DJ had started this whole thing, she wasn’t much different from him. Somewhere along the line, DJ had developed a conscience and fallen in love. Which came first she wasn’t sure, but knowing what she’d done to Kat made her stomach turn.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not like either one of them wasn’t willing.” Mark gave her a sly grin. “What’s wrong with mixing a little pleasure with business?” He let out a chuckle.

  Mark’s eyes flew wide as DJ hit him hard across the chin, sending him flying over the couch. It was much more than pleasure for DJ. Mark touched his lip, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the blood on his fingers. “If her wife hadn’t died, you wouldn’t even be in the picture.” He wiped the blood on the bottom of his shirt and stood up. “I’m surprised she isn’t already shacked up with Victoria Maxwell.”

  DJ went after him again. She pushed him up against the wall and held him there. “That’s enough about Kat.”

  “What’s going on out here? I can hear you two all the way in the bathroom.” Rebecca emerged from the bedroom in her robe. “Dani, what the hell’s the matter with you?” She wedged herself between them.

  DJ stared past Rebecca at Mark. “Your boyfriend and I were just having a little discussion.”

  “Doesn’t look like much of a discussion to me.” She planted her palms on DJ’s chest and shoved her so Mark could slide out from behind her. “You’d better leave.”

  “I not going anywhere until you and I have a talk,” DJ said, ignoring the cell phone ringing in her pocket.

  “She’s not your business anymore,” Mark spouted.

  “Oh yes, she is.” DJ kept her gaze firm and steady.

  “Isn’t that your phone, Dani?” Rebecca reached into DJ’s coat.

  DJ took the ringing phone from her hand and dropped it back into her pocket, unanswered. “You need to know a few things before you become any more involved with this man.”

  “Just what exactly does she need to know, DJ?” Kat said, appearing in the doorway of the spare bedroom. “And why should she believe anything that comes out of your mouth?”

  The venom in Kat’s voice caught DJ off guard. She deserved every bit of her wrath, but for whatever reason she hadn’t expected it to cut so deep.

  “Well?” Kat crossed her arms and waited for her response.

  DJ searched her eyes for some glimmer of understanding. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “This isn’t about business, Kathryn. It’s about you and your sister,” Mark said, pointing a finger at her and then at Rebecca.

  DJ moved toward Mark again. “You’re damn right it’s about them.”

  “Back off, Dani,” Rebecca said, still standing between them.

  With her eyes fixed on Mark, DJ slowly withdrew. “I guarantee there will be another time for this.”

  Rebecca pushed DJ to the door. “You need to go now.”

  “We have to talk, Rebecca.”

  “Not now.” Rebecca opened the door, pushed DJ out, and closed it before she could say anything else.

  Before DJ reached the elevator, her cell phone rang again. She fished it out of her pocket, touched the screen, and pressed it to her ear. “What!”

  “Is this Danica Callahan?” the voice on the other end asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Ms. Callahan, I’m a medical flight nurse out of Austin General.”

  Her stomach clenched. She immediately thought something was wrong with Elizabeth. “Yes.”

  “There’s been a fire at the Jumpin’ J Ranch.”

  “Fire?” She was barely able to hear the man’s voice over the swishing helicopter noise in the background.

  “It looks like it started in the horse stable.”

  “What happened? Is everyone all right?”

  “The fire chief isn’t sure how it started, but it looks as though Mr. Jackson may have been trampled by a horse. Someone found him on the ground in one of the horse stalls and carried him out before the fire burned out of control. He’s unconscious now, but before we sedated him, he took your card out of his pocket and asked me to call you.”

  Fear flashed through her. “How long till you arrive at the hospital?” Virgil was the only person Kat was close to in this world.

  “About thirty minutes.”

  “I’ll be there.” She slid her phone into her pocket and rushed down the hallway to Rebecca’s door.

  * * *

  Kat had almost reached the bedroom when she heard the banging on the door. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She needed time to think, and it didn’t look like DJ was willing to give her that. She pushed off the wall and went to the living room.

  “I told you to go home, Dani,” Rebecca shouted without opening the door. “She’s not up to dealing with you right now.”

  “Something’s happened at the ranch,” DJ shouted, urgency vibrating in her voice.

  Panic surged through Kat as she rushed across the room and yanked open the door. “What?”

  “Virgil’s been hurt. They’re not sure exactly of the circumstances, but there was another fire in the stable. One of the hands found him on the ground inside and carried him out.”

  “Another one?” Her mind spun in a million different directions. “Oh my God, is he all right? Where is he?”

  “He’s being flown to the emergency room at Austin General. They should be there in about thirty minutes.”

  She pushed by DJ and headed for the door. “I have to go.”

  “Kat.” Rebecca grabbed her arm. “You should put some other clothes on first.”

  “Right.” Kat held her head, trying to settle herself as she rushed into the bedroom to change.

  DJ followed her in. “I’ll take you.”

  Kat ripped off her pajamas and pulled on a T-shirt and wool field shirt. “I can drive myself.” Her hands trembled as she grabbed her jeans off the chair and slid them on. “Damn it,” she said, her voice slipping into a fragile shakiness she hadn’t wanted DJ to hear. I can’t lose Virgil.

  “Kat, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Rebecca said, trying to calm her.

  “He has to be.” Kat yanked her boots on and rushed past her.

  “I’ll be right behind you,” Rebecca said.

  “Thanks.” Kat turned, giving her a quick hug before continuing out the door.

  DJ quickened her pace, following her out the door and into the elevator. “You’re in no condi
tion to drive. I’m going to take you.”

  She didn’t argue as she pressed the elevator button repeatedly. “Did they say how badly he was hurt?”

  “No,” DJ said, hesitation in her voice. “I’m sure you’ve seen accidents like this before.”

  Kat punched at the elevator button again. “If they’re flying him in, it can’t be good.” DJ was trying to prepare her without alarming her too much. It was serious.

  DJ took her hand. “Kat, all I know is what I told you.”

  She tugged her hand from DJ’s as the elevator doors opened and headed for her truck.

  DJ grasped Kat’s hand again and towed her along behind her. “You’re as stubborn as a mule. I told you, I’ll drive.”

  When they reached the road, Kat sat motionless, staring at the white line on the pavement in front of them. “How could something like this happen?”

  “You never know with horses. They can be pretty temperamental.”

  “Those horses are all harmless, and Virgil’s the best trainer I know. It must have been the new filly.” Why would he be messing with the new filly? She had to call the ranch and hear the whole story. “Can I use your phone?” she asked softly. “I left mine at Rebecca’s.”

  DJ took her phone from her pocket and handed it to her. Kat punched in a number and waited for someone to answer. When the cook finally did, she kept a calm, even tone as she shot off the beginning of a string of questions. “What the hell happened out there?”

  “I don’t know. I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard the commotion. No one knew Virgil was in there until George carried him out. He was in Minow’s stall.”

  Another flash of panic hit her. “Is Minow all right?” she said urgently.

  “She followed him out.”

  “Thank God George was there. How in the world did we have another fire?”

  “They don’t know yet. They’re still here looking things over.”

  “What about the horses?” Her voice settled into the calm tone she’d started with.

  “They’re all okay. Someone let them out into the corral.” Kat suspected that person was Virgil. Probably the reason they found him in the stable.