The McKenna Legacy Trilogy

by Patricia Rosemoor

The Bronco was cutting through an expanse of prairie growth, but the vegetation looked studied, Kate decided, the acreage too well-tended to be natural. Thea Lockridge had hired some industrious landscaper.

  Curious about the owner, she asked, "So what does Merle have against this Thea?"

  "For one, she's a newcomer to the area. Sold her house in L.A. and bought a small spread out here a couple of years ago. She's been buying up land ever since. She's in real estate development," he added, as if the fact defined the type of woman she was.

  That Chase disliked her also was clear.

  Kate was aware that many people resented transported Californians, and not only South Dakotans. Locals all over the western states bad-mouthed these interlopers, who were looking for a better lifestyle at a much smaller price tag. Migrating Californians bought up property at inflated prices that natives couldn't afford, after which taxes were raised for all. While Kate figured every human being was entitled to live where he or she wanted, she sympathized with those who were hurt by the situation.

  And Thea Lockridge certainly wasn't hurting, she noted, finally sighting the house.

  House? Try mansion.

  The architectural wonder of wood and glass had to be the biggest, fanciest residence in this part of the state. Actually, with four rooms of the upper story jutting out like rounded appendages -- giving the occupants more than a one hundred and eighty degree view -- the building bordered on the grotesque. Kate wondered how many trees had fallen under the ax to build the monstrosity.

  Chase parked on the circular drive. In back, showy stables topped by what looked like sky boxes stood next to an ornate pool house and deck. Beyond, another structure was identified by a sign that read "Outfitting".

  As they left the Bronco, Kate asked, "Are you sure this isn't a resort?"

  "A very private resort to amuse Thea Lockridge and her friends."

  "Then she entertains a lot of people from out of town?"

  "So I've heard -- her way of selling them real estate."

  Chase stopped at the oversized double doors carved with Native American designs. He rang the bell.

  In a low voice, she murmured, "You said Merle disliked the owner because she's a transplant for one. What are the other reasons?"

  "You'll see," he promised.

  The massive door swung open to reveal a uniformed maid. "Good afternoon. Can I help you?"

  "I need to talk to Thea."

  "Can I tell Miss Lockridge who's calling?"

  "Chase Brody."

  "Oh, she'll want to see you, of course." Seeming flustered, the young woman stepped back. "Come in, please."

  The icily air conditioned foyer was quite a relief from the heat. After getting an eyeful of the interior, Kate suspected the owner wouldn't care what it cost the environment or her neighbors to possess whatever struck her fancy.

  "Please wait here, and I'll announce you," the maid said.

  She curtseyed awkwardly before scurrying off through the living area that had to be measured in yards rather than in feet. The decor was an eclectic collection of designer furniture, extravagant artwork and morbid animal trophies -- everything in excess. A half-dozen stuffed heads mounted around the foyer blindly stared down at them through glass eyes.

  Shivering from a combination of chilled air and disgust, Kate tried to ignore the waste. "I don't think Thea Lockridge is going to be my favorite person, either."

  Chase merely grunted.

  A noisy clacking over bare wood floors alerted them to the owner's arrival. High-heeled boots and a blonde beehive lent several inches to an ordinary stature. While garbed in a country casual denim skirt and a simple long-sleeved silk shirt, the woman had draped herself with enough Native American-style designer jewelry to set up her own pawn shop.

  "Chase Brody, how wonderful to see you."

  She held out a hand decorated with long, curved crimson-red nails that reminded Kate of painted claws. When he ignored the friendly gesture, Thea dropped her arm before turning to Kate, her gray eyes narrowing and her exaggerated full red lips stretching into a forced smile.

  "And you are... ?"

  "Kate Farrell."

  "Of the Farrell Ranch?" She sounded impressed despite herself.

  Not wanting the woman to think she had wealth in her favor, Kate said, "Formerly. My family owns the spread."

  Thea arched her heavily penciled brows. "And you chose to leave that magnificent acreage for... ?"

  "My practice is based in town," Kate hedged in response to the rude question. Her reasons were private. "Besides I'm quite comfortable in Doc Weber's old house."

  "Aah, then you must be the new veterinarian I've heard so much about."

  "That's me."

  The's interest immediately waned, and Kate wondered who in the world was doing the talking.

  Chase exposed his impatience with a testy "Can we get down to business?"

  "Business?" Thea echoed, her smile now genuine. "Of course. Let's chat in the living room, shall we?"

  She swept them to a seating area surrounding a massive stone fireplace. Kate carefully stepped over the bear skin rug and dodged the chair whose frame was made of antlers, a match to the chandelier overhead. But she couldn't avoid staring at the creature stationed across the room surrounded by fancy leather saddles and silver spurs. She'd prefer believing the life-sized Appaloosa was a ceramic or metal...but it looked so very real. Surely the ex-Californian didn't have the bad taste to own a stuffed horse...

  Thea ensconced herself in the very chair Kate had avoided, her entire attention focused on Chase, who sat stiff as a statue. He took up one end of the couch, while Kate tried to make herself comfortable at the other.

  "So, what took you so long, Chase?" Thea asked. "I assume you're here about my offer."

  "The refuge isn't for sale. I've told you that any number of times."

  But he hadn't told her that the tasteless woman had offered to buy it, Kate thought, wondering why he'd omitted that little detail.

  "I don't need the whole refuge. Just a few thousand acres of north pasture."

  "So you can break up the land into another development?"

  "You make my plans for the area sound so tacky. We're not talking about seedy little prefabricated houses lined up like a row of ducks. You should know better considering the estates I've already developed."

  "Housing no one around here can afford."

  "So I'm drawing a certain class of people who enjoy the finer things in life to the area. More people with money means other kinds of development, the creation of new jobs. What's wrong with that?"

  "Nothing if you don't destroy other people's way of life," Kate said.

  Thea skipped over her objection. "For my next project, I envision large tracts of common-use lands and the kind of individual acreage that will allow the owners to enjoy as many horses --"

  "Horses," Chase echoed, cutting her off. "That's what we're here for."

  "I see." The real estate developer's smile vanished. "You want something from me when you won't even consider my offer." She toyed with a silver and turquoise necklace. "How much do you need?"

  "I'm not here about a donation," Chase assured her, "though I'd be pleased to accept one if you're feeling generous." He paused a moment, then when she didn't respond, went on. "Some of my horses are missing."

  "How does that concern me?"

  "Your property adjoins the refuge. About a hundred head have disappeared. I thought some of them might have wandered onto your land."

  She appeared unconcerned. "No one working for me has mentioned any loose mustangs."

  "Wild horses wouldn't exactly prance around some strangers," Kate told her. "More likely, they're hiding in some canyon or brushy area where you might not be able to spot them unless you were looking hard."

  "Right," Chase said. "So you won't mind if we check around for ourselves."

  "That won't be necessary. I'll alert my manager to have the men sweep the range."

  "It
'd go faster if I went out with them."

  "Not really." Thea's gray eyes suddenly turned as flinty as her expression. "You're not familiar with my property. Besides, I'm certain you can find something more useful to do with your time."

  Her tone leaving no room for argument, they all rose to their feet.

  Still, Kate couldn't help but be amazed that Chase let it go so easily. She would have expected him to argue. To bully. To get what he wanted. This was a new side of him, all right, one she hadn't expected. And one she wasn't certain she appreciated, though she guessed she should. Lack of social skills had always been one of his shortcomings.

  "Well, thanks for the help, Thea," Chase said dryly.

  Kate touched his arm. "We'd better get going."

  But he didn't budge. "You'll let me know what your men find, right?"

  "Of course." Thea sighed and her features softened. She actually appeared sympathetic when she said, "You know, Chase, you need to start being realistic. Why, it's common knowledge that the refuge has been on shaky ground for some time. And poor Oscar Weber's death can't have helped matters."

  "As a matter of fact, we've gotten a load of curiosity seekers taking tours and trail rides," Chase said, though -- to Kate's approval -- he didn't sound at all happy about the fact.

  "A temporary aberration. And in the meantime, serious prospective sponsors might be turned off thinking the place isn't all it's cracked up to be. Not when a volunteer dies in a careless accident, for heaven's sake."

  Not liking the woman's subtle derision or fake compassion, Kate snapped, "Doc wasn't careless and we can't be sure his death was an accident!"

  Thea started and stared at her. "But surely the medical examiner --"

  "Doesn't know everything," Kate finished.

  The other woman blinked, then snapped her attention back to Chase. "Sooner or later, you'll have to let go of acreage... if not worse. Why not act now, before things get so bad that you can no longer salvage the refuge?"

  Although Thea made her suggestion sound reasonable and heartfelt, Kate wasn't buying.

  Obviously, neither was Chase, because he said, "The money from selling a few thousand acres would be like putting a bandage on a wound that needed surgery."

  "Not necessarily. I can be a generous person when a good cause is involved. I'll pay above market, of course. The purchase price will support your endeavor for some time. The money can give you needed breathing room. You'll have time to find yourself permanent support from some foundation or other. Perhaps I can even recommend --"

  Chase cut her off. "Sorry. I'm not interested."

  And Thea's tone reflected her irritation with him. "I certainly hope nothing else happens to threaten your project before you change your mind."

  Realizing that sounded like a threat, Kate started. Before she could open her mouth in challenge, Chase took her elbow and rushed her off.

  They were at the door before he turned back to the real estate developer. "Something's been puzzling me. There's bound to be some hard-working, frustrated rancher in the area willing to be bought out of business for the right price. And that'd get you easier land to build on, too. Why is it you want a piece of the refuge so badly?"

  Arching her perfectly penciled eyebrows, Thea said, "Wild things have always appealed to me."

  Aware of the animal heads surrounding her with accusing stares, Kate shuddered.

  And wondered exactly what Thea Lockridge might be capable of doing to get what she wanted.

  CHASE HAD NEVER LET anyone stop him when he really wanted something, and he wasn't about to start now. He'd just learned to use a smoother approach when it suited him. Arguing with Thea would have been futile, but letting her think she won this round should have taken her off guard, at least temporarily. He might not be able to wander over Lockridge Acres freely in broad daylight, but he could get a gander at parts of the back property without breaking any laws.

  If his passenger noticed that he was taking a road away from the refuge, she didn't comment. Kate quiet -- now that was an oxymoron. She seemed lost in her own thoughts and he wasn't complaining. But as they sped uphill, road cuts revealing granite, feldspar and veins of sparkling quartz, she snapped out of her self-induced trance.

  "Where are we headed?" she asked, cranking around in her seat to check out the area.

  "To a site with a view."

  "Trying to impress me?"

  His wayward mind substituting seduce for impress, he glanced at her. "Do you want to be?"

  She read him correctly if her rising color were any indication. "I don't impress easily any more."

  And Chase wondered if she was going to pick up their argument where they'd left off earlier. To his relief, she fell silent instead and seemed to be scrutinizing the forest of Ponderosa Pine which wrapped them in its evening cloak, the green so dark as to appear black.

  Dusk was descending, leaving barely enough light to check things out from afar.

  A few minutes later, he turned the Bronco into a good-sized pull-over just before the road swung into a switchback curve. Grabbing his binoculars, he slid from behind the driver's seat. He'd barely lifted the field glasses to his eyes before he sensed Kate standing behind him. She really was capable of being quiet when she wanted.

  "This is probably the only place where you can get an unobstructed view of Lockridge Acres," he told her.

  "You can see the whole thing from here?"

  Kate stepped up next to him, her arm brushing his elbow, sending a tremor through him. Too aware of her as he'd been since the funeral, Chase caught his breath and forced himself to concentrate.

  "I can pretty much get the lay of the land. Even though we're in the hills, most of Lockridge Acres is pretty flat. I see a few dozen horses grazing... " He just made them out before he spotted a cowhand ride in. None of the horses spooked. "Nope, they're not ours." He scanned other open areas, then settled on the broken land characteristic of the territory. "Can't see down deep into the canyons and ravines or through the stands of pine," he said of the various hidey-holes where frightened horses might gather. "But at least I have an idea of what's what."

  "I thought you gave up too easily."

  He lowered the field glasses and noticed that in the waning light, her verdant eyes took on the same dark depth as the surrounding pines. "That disappointed you?"

  "It confused me."

  "Why? Because it meant I might be wearing stripes instead of those spots?" he asked, realizing he was the one instigating a renewal of their disagreement.

  She grabbed the binoculars from him and had a look for herself. "Because you're turning out to be more clever than I gave you credit for."

  Chase found himself grinning. Kate never had been able to admit when she was wrong about anything.

  He wasn't thinking of mustangs when he said, "Sometimes I can be blind, but not today."

  Today he could see exactly what he might have had if only things had been different. The wild child had grown into a strong woman of integrity. One who could still stir his deepest passions. Who could touch his very soul.

  "My turn to get the lay of the land," she returned, now clearly oblivious to his thoughts. "Unless you think I'm wasting my time."

  Chase recognized the question in her words. She was wondering if he planned on spiting Thea and checking things out closer for himself. He wasn't about to admit that he meant to ride out to Lockridge Acres in the dead of night. Unless Kate had changed dramatically, she would insist on tagging along on an exploit that could prove dangerous. He couldn't chance her getting hurt.

  He had enough to atone for.

  "Look all you want," he said, putting some distance between them. "I'll have to trust Thea to come through."

  Kate glanced his way, then pitched the binoculars into the truck before following. "I wouldn't trust that woman farther than I could throw her."

  "So you don't like her, either."

  "Does anyone?"

  "Hard to say. I suppose she can
be charming."

  "Charming as a snake."

  That she sounded a bit indignant egged Chase on. "And she is an eyeful."

  "An eyesore, you mean."

  "Kathleen McKenna Farrell -- is that the way your mother taught you to talk?"

  She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. "My mother is a bit naive about people."

  "I don't remember that about her. I only remember her being warm and kind and supportive," he said sincerely. "I figured you were the luckiest kid in the world to have her."

  That took the wind out of Kate's sails. Even she couldn't argue with his complimenting her own mother. She wandered into the stand of tall pine, circling one tree, then another.

  "We're getting away from the subject," she said. Her expression grew serious. "Chase, I know something's not right here." She took a big breath and asked, "What's really going on with the refuge?"

  Chapter Five

  CHASE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN Kate wouldn't be any more short-sighted than she'd been as a kid when she'd seen through his bravado to the hurt inside him. He'd appreciated that about her. That and maybe a hundred other things. All the more reason to feel guilty about what he'd done to her.

  He'd tricked her... used her... and then he'd up and disappeared.

  "I wish I knew what's going on," he admitted. "Since the tourist season started, we've been cursed by bad luck."

  Kate nodded. "Doc's death. The downed fence. Now the missing horses."

  She didn't know the half of it. But she would before long, so Chase figured he might as well get what'd been eating at him off his chest.

  "Before that the tourist-mobile broke down. Not that the old pick-up didn't need a lot of work in general. But it ran out of oil when it shouldn't have, and no warning light ever came on. We put it to a faulty wire and had to replace the engine."

  "Ouch!"

  "Damn straight, ouch. That could have been a mortgage payment," he said, still disgusted at the waste of money. "Then some work horses got sick on fouled hay. Luckily Doc spotted the problem right away like he did with that weird virus. But no one caught the fire that torched one of the buildings Nathan was working on. We were damn lucky that it rained before the fire spread."