The phantom airplane passed overhead. Val could see it even in the darkness as the stars were quickly blotted out where it flew. It was very low and Val could swear she saw floats on the plane instead of landing gear. She heard it heading toward Long Lake. Was it going to try landing there? She looked down at her watch, saw it was three in the morning. The plane disappeared over the stand of high firs that stood in a thick grove between her and the lake a mile away. Listening closely, she heard the engine sputter and then stop.
Chilled, Val wrapped her arms around herself as she stared toward the lake. What was going on? Had she really seen a float plane? It was so hard to see in nearly total darkness on a moonless night. Tension thrummed through Val. Was this plane involved in last night’s fires? Or was it a pilot coming in to fish on the Lake in the morning? Val had never seen a floatplane on this lake. It seemed out of place. But what did she know? Half the lake was owned by the forest service and they may have opened it up to such planes. Still…she was disgruntled about the unexpected air activity and its tendency to steal sleep from her.
Val turned on her bare feet and hurried back into the house. Making a mental note to call Charley, the Teton forest-service supervisor, to find out if he knew anything, Val quietly closed the door. She didn’t want to disturb Gus, who slept on the first floor. Back in her bed, Val snuggled beneath her sheet and pulled up Gus’s light quilt. Nestling her head into the goose-down pillow, Val closed her eyes. When she did, she saw Griff’s face hovering before her.
Her heart pined for him, pure and simple. Val felt a vast difference between him being in the house and not being here. She didn’t realize until just now how much she relied on him being around. Griff represented safety and security to her. It was more than that, however. Val sighed softly and felt sleep tugging at her. The last image in her mind before drifting off to sleep was the memory of their dance at the armory, and his mouth gliding across hers.
* * *
VAL WAS SURPRISED THE NEXT MORNING when Griff walked into the ranch house unannounced. It was barely five-thirty and she was preparing to make herself some breakfast. When Griff appeared at the entrance and removed his Stetson, he grinned a little self-consciously.
“I got a lift from Slade,” he explained, hanging his hat on a nearby hook.
“Are you feeling all right?” Val asked. He was wearing the fresh set of Levi’s and pale blue cowboy shirt she’d brought him yesterday. He was clean shaven, his hair recently washed. She rallied as she saw the warmth dancing in his eyes. Her body responded powerfully to him.
He walked over to the counter where she stood. “I’m fine. Jordana let me go early. She said I have a clean bill of health and my burns aren’t bad.” He smiled down into her widening eyes. “I’ll live.”
“That’s good news,” she said, taking eggs out of the nearby carton. “I was going to fix myself some scrambled eggs, ham and toast. Are you hungry?”
“Starved. Hospital food is terrible.” They fell into their normal morning routine. As he placed plates on the table, he said, “How’s Miss Gus?” Normally, she did not join them for their early breakfast.
“I’m worried, Griff,” Val confided, cracking the eggs into a green ceramic bowl. “Ever since she saw the burned cabins it’s as if something vital got knocked out of her.”
“It was her money that went up in flames.”
“I know,” Val said, biting her lower lip. “The insurance adjuster was out here yesterday afternoon and said the three destroyed cabins were a complete loss. She said the other three are salvageable, thanks to you and the firefighters.”
“We’ll rebuild,” he promised. Griff leaned against the counter, absorbing the quiet morning with Val. This kind of companionship was what he lived for. He never knew what he missed until he didn’t have it. Maybe that’s why living in New York City had left a hole in his heart he couldn’t explain. It was home and family that really mattered. His heart was focused on what he shared with Val and her grandmother. Giving Val a tender look, Griff added in a husky tone, “This experience has taught me a lot. I had plenty of time sitting in the hospital to think.” Looking around the kitchen, he could hear a robin singing melodically outside the partially opened window. It only underscored the happiness bubbling up within him. “I was thinking how, when I lived on the East Coast, I felt something was missing here.” He touched his heart. “I never could define or understand it. Now, I do.” His mouth quirked. “It’s about home, family and what is really important.”
Stirring the eggs briskly and dropping in the cubes of ham she’d cut up earlier, Val said, “Yes, it looks like we both did a lot of soul-searching after the fire. When I was in the Air Force, I felt the same way. Something was missing but I didn’t know what it was.” She walked to the stove and poured the mixture into a heated iron skillet. “Being home with Gus, reconnecting with my roots hasn’t always been fun, but now…”
Griff heard the softness in Val’s voice as she busily stirred the mixture in the skillet. He walked to the counter and dropped two slices of bread into the toaster. “We were wanderers looking for something. And we found it by coming home.”
“Yes, exactly.” Her heart ballooned with a fierce need for him. She wanted to kiss him until she lost herself within his arms and body. “The old saying that home is where the heart is…”
“It’s true,” Griff agreed, absorbing the tender look on Val’s face. She had yet to pull her hair up into its usual ponytail and, while he wanted so badly to explore the silky strands, he kept his hands on the counter. The pink blouse she wore matched the flush across her cheeks. She never wore lipstick, but she didn’t have to. His gaze settled on her lush mouth. He’d tasted those lips and wanted to explore them much, much more. The toast popped up and he busied himself with buttering the slices and dropping in two more.
As they sat and ate at each other’s elbows, Val told him about the plane that had flown over the ranch house during the night. She saw Griff’s brow furrow with consternation. “I’m calling Charley over at the Teton headquarters this morning. I want to see if they are allowing floatplanes to land on Long Lake.”
“Good idea,” Griff said. He wiped his mouth with the linen napkin and set it aside. “I’m going to drive down to the cabins. I need to mend the barbed-wire fence and then I’m going to see what I can do to clean up those three cabins. I’ll look to see if there’s a floatplane on the national forest side.”
“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Val said. She finished her breakfast and stood up. “I’ve got a lot of calls to make this morning. Gus and I are going to reorder three cabin packages and get them shipped out here immediately. Can they be rebuilt in a week’s time?”
Nodding, Griff pushed back his chair and took the plates over to the sink. “Yes, if the manufacturer can rush us the order. Find out what time they’ll arrive. Call the four men who were working with me. I’ll need them out here as soon as possible. We’ve got a lot of cleanup ahead of us. And I need to survey the concrete slabs we had built those cabins on to ensure they’re not cracked from the heat of the fire and have to be replaced.”
“I’ll also get a dump truck out here to take away the debris. When I have some answers, I’ll drive out and see you.”
Griff headed for the entrance and settled his hat on his head. He stuck his thick elk-skin work gloves into his belt. He smiled over at her. “It’s nice to be home.”
She met and held his green gaze. “Last night, when the plane w
oke me up, I really missed having you here.” Val took a deep breath and added in a softer tone, “You make me feel safe, Griff. I just want you to know how I feel.”
It took everything Griff had in the way of control not to walk over to Val, slide his arms around her, press her tightly against him and kiss her until they melted into one person. The need ate at him like a wolf starved for food. Only, he was starved for Val. “That’s good to know,” he said, and gave her a tender look. “It’s good to be back.”
Val watched his male mouth widen into a smile. It sent her heart into a skitter of pleasure. The pressures upon them returned and Val became more businesslike. “Stay in touch by cell phone. Let me know if that floatplane is on the lake.”
“You’ll be the first to know,” he promised, leaving the kitchen and heading outdoors to the truck. There was a lot to do to clean up after the arson fire. And no one wanted those cabins rebuilt more than Griff.
* * *
DEPUTY SHERIFF CADE GARNER DROPPED by at lunchtime. Griff was taking a short break from directing his four-man team who were piling burn debris into a dump truck. The deputy’s black Tahoe cruiser pulled up and Griff saw Val emerge from the law-enforcement vehicle along with the deputy. His upper body was naked and he turned and grabbed his shirt, shrugging it over his shoulders as he moved from the shade to meet them. He saw the seriousness of Cade’s expression. And Val didn’t look happy either. What was up?
Val saw him pull on his white long-sleeved shirt as they approached. Before Griff was clothed, she couldn’t help but admire his powerful chest covered with dark hair, the breadth of his shoulders and the way his gleaming muscles moved. Gulping, she felt her heart race as he walked toward them, snapping the buttons shut on his shirt. Griff called to the four men to break for lunch under the cover in the shade of the trees along the lake front.
“You’re making a fast cleanup,” Cade said as he shook Griff’s hand.
“That’s our goal. It’s a hot day. Let’s get in the shade,” he suggested as he nodded hello to Val. Griff saw warmth come to her blue eyes and he felt his heart surge with joy.
In the shade of a very old cottonwood tree, Cade said, “We’ve got more info about this arson. Our lab has created a plastic replica of the boot and tire tracks and we’ve identified the source of the gas. Whoever did this got it from Bob’s Gas Plaza in town.”
“Good to know.” Griff added in a teasing tone, “Now, you have to go around town like Cinderella’s prince and try to fit that boot tread to everyone’s foot until you find the culprit?”
Cade smiled. “We have to keep it with the evidence we’re collecting. We know the brand of the boot. There are two stores in town that sell this boot. I’m going to try and hunt it down and identify any buyers of the boot. Probably won’t get lucky, but you never know. We will do the same with the tire track imprint. See if it’s a local tire or not and then go through the records to see who bought this type. A lot of gumshoe work ahead for me.”
Val pulled her hat off and ruffled her hair. “I was telling Cade about this plane we hear flying over the ranch house twice a week, Griff. I called Charley over at the Teton headquarters and he said he knows nothing about it. He said there are floatplanes in the area because of all the lakes, but that’s it.”
“None for Long Lake?” Griff asked, wiping his sweaty brow.
She shook her head. A slight breeze made the eighty-five-degree temperature feel less daunting. “None that he knows about. Technically, a floatplane can land on any lake so long as it’s not on private property. They don’t need any permission from the forest service.”
Cade grimaced. “You know, one of the many drug fronts we’re fighting grows marijuana in national forests in warmer climes. There are mules, people who transport the drugs for money, coming in by car or by plane into specific areas.”
Griff’s stomach clenched. “Anyone in this area you know of?”
Shrugging, Cade lowered his tone so that his voice wouldn’t carry. “We’re looking at Curt Downing. He owns a regional trucking company and he’s richer than hell. We think he’s involved, but we can’t prove it. Yet.”
Griff nodded and considered the information. He wondered if Josh knew about this. “What about this plane that has starting flying over the ranch? What do you make of that?”
“All I can say is the next time it happens, drive to the lake and check it out. But you need to be careful, Griff. Nowadays, it’s not smart to approach a stranger in the forest or lake. If you do see something, call me.”
Val sighed. “It happens at three in the morning. I have a hard time believing it’s a fisherman flying in to fish for trout.”
“So do I,” Cade agreed as he tucked his notebook into his upper left pocket. “It’s impossible to grow marijuana up here because there isn’t enough of a growing season for it to mature. But we are aware of mules moving through this area and we have our eye on a number of them. The drug trade is never static. It’s always shifting and changing because they’re opportunists.”
Griff nodded, rubbing his chin. He needed to call Josh at the FBI office. He’d been in monthly contact with nothing to report but annoying behavior on Downing’s part. And he wasn’t sure this info would mean anything to the agent, either. Still, Downing’s name had come up. And Josh would want to know. “This stuff about Downing… Have you let any other law-enforcement agencies know about it?”
“No, we’re keeping it within the sheriff’s department at this point. We have no proof. We can’t contact DEA or ATF or FBI without legitimate proof. It would be a waste of their time.”
Griff heard the frustration in the deputy’s voice. “A waiting game?”
“It always is,” Cade said. “We wait, watch and hope that someday Downing will slip up. Until then, it’s an ongoing cat-and-mouse game.”
“Gus already knows what we’ve talked about,” Val told Griff.
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s depressed. She didn’t eat much for breakfast. I’m going back to make her lunch.”
Cade surveyed the charred area. Three blackened concrete slabs were all that was left of the cabins. “Someone has it in for the Bar H.”
Griff said nothing. His mind was on the phone call he’d be making shortly after they left.
* * *
“WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS INFORMATION?” Griff asked FBI Special Agent Josh Gordon.
“A lot of strings, Griff.”
“Deputy Garner focused on Downing. Doesn’t that mean something to you?” Griff stood beneath a tree, away from where his crew was making progress on the piles of debris from the charred remains of the cabins. He wanted this call to remain private.
“It certainly gives us a badly needed hint that Downing is being looked at. And I agree the sheriff shouldn’t be saying anything to us at this point because without real proof, it’s just a possibility. Still, it’s good to know.”
“What about this plane I told you about?”
“That’s where you can help us,” Gordon said. “The next time you get awakened by it, drive to the lake and check it out. But don’t be obvious. You’re going to have to drive that road without your lights on. If they are drug dealers and they see lights, you’ll spook them. They could shoot first and ask questions later.”
“I’ll be careful,” Griff said.
“We need to get someone close to Downing.”
Griff smiled sourly. “Well, it won’t be me. Downing hates me
both because of my connection to the Bar H and because I’m a McPherson. There’s too much bad blood spilled between the two families.”
“I understand. But Downing is still interested in buying the Bar H, so we need to hold that card for later.”
“Let’s focus on this mysterious three a.m. flyover. See what you can get?”
“I will,” Griff promised, ending the conversation. He flipped his cell phone shut and tucked it into his back pocket. The hot afternoon sun was beating down. The cleanup was nearly completed. The rental truck would haul the remains of the burned cabins to a dump. By four o’clock, they would be finished. Rolling up his sleeves and pulling on his leather gloves, Griff left the coolness of the shade and went to help his crew. In the back of his mind, we wondered whether or not the plane would fly over that night.
* * *
GRIFF JERKED AWAKE AS A PLANE RUMBLED overhead. He instantly got up. The wood was cool against the soles of his feet. He was on the wrong side of the house to verify if it was a plane, but it sounded like the same one. Rapidly throwing on clothes and boots, he hurried down the stairs. Everything was quiet in the house. Even Val slept through it. Griff hurried outside with the truck’s keys in hand. The cool night air hit him. He halted, listening and searching the dark sky.
In the distance, he could hear a plane’s sputtering engine. It had landed and sounded like it was taxiing. He climbed into the truck and, without turning on the lights, drove slowly down the darkened dirt road toward the lake.
After easing the truck into a stand of cottonwoods near the bank of Long Lake, he turned off the engine. As he silently climbed out of the cab, Griff’s heart began to pound like a sledgehammer in his chest. Gripping a pair of binoculars he’d put in the truck the night before, he slowly moved behind the tall bushes that crowded the shore. It was dark, a thin slice of moon very low on the horizon. He heard nothing and couldn’t see anything on the lake with the forest surrounding it. The water appeared like a smooth ebony mirror.
The Wrangler Page 26