Showdown in West Texas

by Amanda Stevens

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Colt said. “You’re a heck of a cop. That’s why we brought you down here.” He hung his coat on the back of one of the stools. “You sure you don’t want to stay for lunch?”

  “I’ve already had lunch, and besides, I have to get back.” She rose to leave. “Oh, just one other thing…did you approach Lily about buying the ranch?”

  He scrubbed a hand across his face. “She told you about that, huh?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “For one thing, I didn’t approach her. Lily came to me. She wanted to know if I’d be interested in the property and I told her I might be if the price was right. And secondly, I didn’t mention it to you because I didn’t think it was my place to. I figured if Lily wanted you to know about that conversation, she’d tell you herself.”

  “So are you interested in buying it?” Grace asked.

  He smiled. “Like I said, if the price is right.”

  “But aren’t you buying Jesse’s ranch?”

  Colt looked surprised and none too pleased that she knew about that. “Where did you hear that?”

  “Is it a secret?”

  “Nothing around here is a secret,” he said dryly. “I’ve made him an offer, but we haven’t signed the agreement yet.”

  “What’s the holdup?”

  “Gee, Grace, since when did you become so interested in my business affairs? There’s nothing illegal about buying a piece of property, is there?”

  “I guess I’m just curious why you want so much land when you already own half the county.”

  “I’ve got plans for that place.” He poured himself a glass of lemonade from the pitcher Cecelia had left on the bar. “You try this?” he asked as he lifted the glass to his lips. “I don’t know what she puts in here, but if she could bottle this damn stuff, she’d make a fortune. Best lemonade I ever had.”

  “What kind of plans?” Grace pressed.

  Carefully, he set the glass aside. “Did you know that the Nance Ranch and the Steele Ranch both used to belong to the McKinneys? I got the idea some time back that I’d like to get the ranch back to the way it was in my grandfather’s time. Back in its heyday. But I’m not going to put cattle out there on the Nance place,” he said. “I want to use it to rescue wild horses.”

  Grace stared at him in surprise. She had always liked Colt and thought him basically a good guy. But he’d never struck her as the philanthropic type. “That certainly sounds like a noble cause,” she said. And come to think of it, Grace could see how those plans would appeal to Lily. It would be a great leverage for Colt. “Did you talk to my sister about these lofty plans of yours?”

  “You sound a little skeptical,” he said. “But don’t think this is just some ploy to lure Lily into selling. I’m serious about this. You know all those wild horses the Bureau of Land Management recently rescued? Well, their plan now is to euthanize them or else sell them to the highest bidder without restriction, which means anyone can adopt a horse for any purpose they want. And all because of a budget snafu. So all those magnificent creatures are going to be slaughtered wholesale if someone doesn’t step in. I’m just trying to do my part to preserve some of our heritage, that’s all.”

  “Wow,” Grace said. “I can see you’re passionate about this.”

  “Deeply. I’d love to tell you more about it when you’ve got the time.” His phone rang and he glanced at the display. “Sorry. I have to take this.”

  “Go ahead,” Grace said. “I need to get back to the station anyway. I’ll let myself out.”

  She went out the rear door and as she followed the drive around to the front, she noticed a four-wheeler off to the side of the garage. Nothing unusual about that. It was like she told Dale. Every rancher she knew used four-wheelers these days. Colt had a whole fleet, along with Jeeps and the helicopter he used for roundup.

  Grace shot a glance toward the house, then went over to have a closer look. The ATV was covered in dust and as she squatted beside it, she noticed what looked to be a bullet nick in the rear fender.

  Dusting her hands off as she rose, she glanced back over her shoulder. Someone stood at the kitchen window, but Grace caught only a quick glimpse before the silhouette moved back out of her sight.

  Chapter Twelve

  When Lily Steele slid onto the bar stool next to Cage’s that night at the Blue Moon, he almost didn’t recognize her. He did a double take and she laughed. “I love getting that response.”

  “I’ll just bet you do.” Cage couldn’t get over the change. Her long hair hung to her waist, as black and glossy as India ink, and the pale blue sundress she wore showed off well-toned arms and sleek, suntanned legs.

  Some ol’ boy wasn’t going to know what hit him tonight, Cage thought in amusement.

  But despite the soft, womanly touches, he detected a hint of the old Lily in the brittle gleam of her gray eyes, in the mocking way she smiled at his reaction.

  “Buy me a drink?”

  He motioned for the bartender. When the frosty mugs of beer were placed before them, Lily picked hers up and took a long, thirsty swallow.

  Cage used the opportunity to glance around. For a Thursday night, the place was jumping. The dance floor off to his right was already crowded, and over the blare of music he could hear hoots and hollers from the other end where a couple of pool tables had been placed. The rough-hewn walls were decorated with Texas flags, license plates and neon Lone Star beer signs.

  “So, I heard what happened out at Red Rock Canyon this morning,” Lily said. She swayed on the stool as she leaned toward him, making Cage wonder how much she’d already had to drink. “Tell me something, Walsh. Why is it my sister has all the fun around here?”

  He quirked a brow. “You call a shoot-out fun?”

  “Beats pushing a pencil all day.”

  Her cavalier tone made him a little angry, especially when he thought of all those months he’d spent in rehab. “You only think that because you’ve never been shot at before.”

  “Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t. But I know how to handle a gun.” Her smile taunted him. “I’ll wager you do, too.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t be much of a cop if I didn’t, now would I?”

  “Yeah, but there are guns and then there are guns,” she said, tossing those glossy tresses over one shoulder. “Tell me something else, Mr. Dale Walsh. What does someone like you see in my sister?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Oh, come on.” She gave him an accusing look as she propped an elbow on the bar. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

  “You’ve only met me once before tonight,” he reminded her. “So, there’s that. And as for your sister, I don’t know what you think you saw, but I have nothing but the utmost respect for her.”

  “Blah…blah…blah. This is telling me one thing…” Lily mimicked his lip movement with her fingers. “But your eyes are saying something else. You like her.”

  “I like a lot of people. I even like you. Though you don’t make it easy,” he said ruefully.

  She shrugged. “At least with me, what you see is what you get.”

  “Meaning?”

  She leaned in, so close he could smell the beer on her breath and the perfume emanating from her creamy skin. “You say you have the utmost respect for my sister. What would you say if I told you she didn’t exactly get this job on her own merit?”

  “After seeing her in action? I’d say I find that hard to believe.”

  She scowled at his answer. “Oh, boy, does she have you buffaloed. Grace is our new sheriff for one reason and one reason only—Colt McKinney bullied the other commissioners into agreeing to hire her because he wanted her back in Jericho Pass.”

  “And why’s that?”

  “Because he’s had the hots for her since high school. If I were you,” Lily said with a sly smile, “I’d watch my back.”

  That made twice he’d received the same warning regarding Colt McKinney. Cage was
beginning to think it might be time to meet this guy. “I’ll take that under advisement,” he said.

  She pointed her finger like a gun and gave him a wink. “You do that.” She polished off her beer and slid the glass aside. “Did you really mean what you said? You like me?”

  “You’re okay,” Cage said with a grin.

  “Then come dance with me.”

  “How do you know I can dance?”

  “Just call it a hunch,” she said as she hopped off the stool and grabbed his hand. “I have a feeling you can dance like there’s no tomorrow.”

  “BUY YOU A DRINK?” Colt leaned an arm against the bar.

  “One more,” Grace said. “But that’s my limit.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  He motioned to the bartender, and Grace was soon sipping a fresh beer. “What brings you to the Blue Moon?” she asked. “This doesn’t exactly seem like your kind of hangout.”

  He grinned down at her. “Now, why would you say that? I like beer and pool as much as the next guy. And a little slumming now and then is good for a man’s soul. I also happen to like the scenery,” he said, giving her a long appraisal.

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Oh, brother. How many of those have you had tonight?”

  “I’m stone-cold sober,” he said. “And you are looking good, Grace. Better than you did in high school, and that’s saying something. Some women are like that…they just keep getting better and better.”

  She leaned back and stared at him. “What has gotten into you tonight?”

  “I’m in a good mood,” he said. “Anything wrong with that?”

  “No, of course not.” She sipped her beer and glanced around. Her gaze lit on her sister and—wait—was that Dale Walsh that Lily was dancing with? It was Dale Walsh.

  For a moment, Grace couldn’t tear her gaze away. They were dancing to a song with a beat that would have been impossible for her to keep time to, but they had no trouble at all. Lily looked so…young and uninhibited, like she was having the time of her life. She was laughing with abandon as she swung her head back and forth, making her long hair go crazy. Grace hadn’t seen her sister laugh like that in a very long time.

  She felt a twinge of—not jealousy, surely, but—yes, maybe it was jealousy. Grace had never been able to let herself go like that. She was always too afraid she might look silly, and too worried about how she would come across to other people.

  As she watched, Lily moved in closer and Dale put his hand on her waist. The way he stared down at her sister, the way he moved…

  The twinge of jealousy turned into a tight little curl of longing in the pit of Grace’s stomach. She wanted Dale Walsh to put his hand on her waist like that. She wanted him to look at her the way he was smiling down at Lily. It was stupid and reckless and it made no sense because Grace had only known him for a day. But there it was. She wanted Dale Walsh.

  Not that she would do anything about it, of course. She had too much at stake, and God, what a nightmare that would be if he did come to work for the department.

  Beside her, Colt said, “Is that Lily? Whoa, she looks hot…”

  “Watch it,” Grace warned. “She’s still my little sister.”

  “She’s also gorgeous,” Colt said, looking thoroughly taken aback. “How did I miss that?” He scowled suddenly as he continued to watch her. “Who’s she dancing with?”

  “That’s Dale Walsh.”

  He swung around in amazement. “Dale Walsh? Are you sure?”

  Grace laughed. “I spent most of the day with him today, so yeah, I’m pretty sure.”

  “But I thought—”

  “That he’d be older? Me, too. He’s not exactly what I expected, either.”

  Colt downed his drink and motioned to the bartender for another. “So what’s the deal with him and Lily?”

  “I suppose she’s just trying to be friendly.”

  “Looks a little more than that to me,” Colt muttered. “Do you see the way she keeps glancing over here? I think she’s trying to get your goat, Grace. Now, why would she think her dancing with the new guy would annoy you?”

  “I have no idea what Lily thinks about anything,” Grace said. “I’ve given up trying to understand her.”

  “You really don’t know what her problem is with you, do you?” Colt turned away from the dance floor and propped an arm on the bar.

  “Are you saying you do?”

  “Don’t you remember the way she used to follow us around all the time? Especially our whole senior year. We couldn’t go anywhere that she didn’t turn up.”

  Grace shrugged. “So? That’s what little sisters do.”

  “Yeah, but she wasn’t doing it to annoy you or because she wanted to be cool or anything like that. She was trying to get Jesse’s attention.”

  “What?”

  “Grace, your sister was crazy about Jesse Nance.”

  “No,” Grace scoffed. “She was just a kid.”

  “She was fourteen. Plenty old enough to be madly in love, or at least think she was. She got her heart broken when you married Jesse.”

  “But…” Grace glanced helplessly at the dance floor. “I didn’t know she had a crush on Jesse. She never said anything. And anyway, that was so long ago. She can’t possibly still be upset about that.”

  “It wasn’t just that. You were always the golden girl around here. Everyone expected great things from you.”

  “I’m the one who ran off and got married at eighteen,” Grace reminded him. She tucked her hair behind one ear, trying not to compare her conservative bob to her sister’s glorious tresses. She’d once had hair like Lily’s, but she’d cut it all off because she thought it unprofessional. Long hair wasn’t in keeping with the image she wanted to project. “Hardly a golden girl,” she muttered.

  “But that didn’t stop you, did it? You had things you wanted to do so you went off and did them without a backward glance, and Lily stayed here. When your grandmother’s health started failing, she was the only one left to take care of her. She didn’t get to start a new life the way you and Rachel did. But she made the most of what was available to her, and then you waltzed back into town when things didn’t go so great in Austin, and took the job she’s worked her whole adult life for.”

  “But you’re the one who offered me that job,” Grace said. “You told me Lily was too young and inexperienced to even be considered.”

  “And she is. But she doesn’t see it that way.”

  Grace sighed. “I should never have come back here.”

  “Of course you should,” Colt said. “We need you and this is your home. This is where you belong. And if I have my way, you won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

  Grace looked over at him. Something in his voice—

  No, she’d imagined that wistful note, that faint trace of longing.

  She glanced away quickly, not wanting to see something in his eyes that might ruin their friendship.

  As if sensing her awkwardness, he straightened. “I think I see an open pool table,” he said. “You up for a little Eight-ball?”

  “I think I’ll shove off. I’m pretty beat.” Grace wasn’t even sure why she’d come here tonight. This was her sister’s world, after all, and Grace felt like an interloper. That was probably how Lily saw her, too.

  After Colt left, Grace saw a familiar face at the end of the bar. It was Ethan Brennan. She almost didn’t recognize him without his glasses. He was dressed all in black with a leather cord around his neck.

  He noticed her then and gave a sheepish wave, as if embarrassed to be seen there. About that time, a blonde came up behind him and put her hands over his eyes. When he reached up and pulled them away, she giggled and sat down at the bar beside him.

  Grace had no trouble at all recognizing Sookie Truesdale. She had on something low cut and sexy, and she kept leaning toward Ethan as if to make sure he got an eyeful.

  “Can I buy you a drink?”

  Startled by Dale’s voice in he
r ear, Grace spun on the stool, grateful she’d managed not to fall off.

  “I’ve already had two,” she said. “That’s my limit. The last thing I want is to wake up with another Tijuana hangover. Not that you would ever…we would ever…”

  “I get your drift.” He motioned for the bartender. “What are you doing here?” he said. “This doesn’t exactly seem like your kind of place.”

  “I was just telling Colt McKinney the same thing.”

  “He’s here?” Dale straightened, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

  “He’s in the back playing pool,” Grace said. “Why?”

  Dale shrugged. “I’ve heard a lot about him since I hit town. Just wondered what the hype was all about.”

  “He has his moments, just like everyone else,” Grace said. “And speaking of moments…I saw you dancing with Lily earlier. Did you two come here together?”

  Dale gave her a little smile. “Would it bother you if we did?”

  “Why would it bother me? Your personal life is your own business. I was just admiring the way you danced together, that’s all.”

  He was still smiling at her in a funny little way that made her insides tingle. “Would you like to dance?”

  “Me? Nooo. I’ve got two left feet. I’m a terrible dancer.”

  “There are no bad dancers,” he said. “Just bad partners.”

  “I don’t think that’s true.”

  “It is,” he said. “Just think about it.”

  “Well, maybe I’ll test out your theory next time,” she said as she slid off the stool. “Right now, I’m headed home.”

  “Mind if I walk you out?” His expression sobered. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

  She shrugged. “Sure.”

  Outside, the night was still warm, but the breeze that swept in from the desert was cool. The music followed them out, and from somewhere in the parking lot came the sound of raucous laughter. For some reason, Grace was reminded of Sookie Truesdale, and she wondered again about the woman’s overt flirtation with Ethan Brennan. Where was Jesse while all this was going on?

  “Where’s your truck?” Dale asked.