"What did Doc have to do with anything?" he asked, the words turning to glue in his mouth.
"He was tending to some livestock on the ranch that day. Buck might have lost his foot and more if Doc hadn't acted quickly and rode with him to the hospital. The surgeon said he saved Buck's leg."
"He's still a cripple."
"He has a limp and a scar. Lots of people deal with worse. His limp might limit his job availability, but that doesn't stop him from leading a normal life."
"Can't see much normal about it." The burger suddenly tasted like cardboard. He set the last of it down. "A grown man working a job for a kid's wages and grateful for the chance at that." Not that he wouldn't pay the man a decent wage if he could. "Plus everyone likes him and I don't figure he's hard on the eyes to females, yet he's never been married."
"What about you? You could be describing yourself."
"You're saying people like me or that I'm not hard on the eyes?"
"I'm saying you've made choices just as Buck has. You work for no wages and you're not married, either."
"Sure about that, are you?"
Her mouth gaped open a moment, long enough for him to envision kissing it. From there his thoughts strayed to other parts of her he'd like to taste. He really couldn't keep his mind where it belonged when he was around Kate.
"Are you married?" she demanded.
Making him think his answer mattered to her. "Nope."
"Have you ever been?"
"Nope."
"You're not telling me you swore off women?"
He had to grin at that theory. "Nope."
"Then what?"
The simple truth was "They weren't you."
Confusion warred with embarrassment and maybe anger. Suddenly, Kate couldn't look at him. Chase readied himself for more accusations, but she said nothing, rather concentrated on her food.
In a better mood himself, he finished his meal, then signaled Ina that he was ready to pay.
But was he ready to start something with Kate that he figured he couldn't finish? Certain he would have heard her thoughts on the subject by now if she knew the whole truth about the past, Chase had no doubt Kate wouldn't take it kindly. And with the past still between them, they had no hope for the future.
If they had a future to look forward to, Chase reminded himself. His racing hormones and romantic notions would have to take a back seat to a more pressing dilemma.
Finding a murderer and staying alive while they did so.
Chapter Eight
HAVING RESTED FOR A FEW HOURS at Chase's place before setting off on their midnight exploit, Kate felt positively energized by the time they left the cabin. Chase, too, had slept some, though he was more grouchy than refreshed. Giving him time to mellow out, she trailed along behind him to the corral gate.
The first to wake, she'd caught him face down on the couch, as unmoving as a dead man. His exhaustion apparent, she'd hated to disturb him. Indeed, she hadn't for a few minutes, rather had gotten her fill of staring at him.
With his features relaxed, thick black lashes brushing his broad cheekbones, he appeared almost classically handsome. Asleep and without responsibility pressing down upon him, he possessed a boyish quality she remembered all too well. Though she stopped herself from touching the unfamiliar scar above his right cheekbone, she couldn't force back a fleeting memory of another night, the only other time she'd watched him dream.
As much for her own peace of mind as for the mission, she'd awakened him.
And a cup of coffee later, he was ready to roll.
Leading one of the horses from the corral, Chase said, "Her name's Calamity."
His dark shirt was buttoned to his neck and he wore a jacket against the cool night. The red roan rolled her eyes and lipped the denim of his sleeve until he scratched her nose from its soft tip to the middle of her forehead, after which, he handed the lead to Kate.
"She has a mind of her own and can get into trouble if you don't keep a firm grip on her." Turning away, he mumbled, "Like some women I know," loud enough for her to hear.
"I suspect Calamity and I will get along like old friends," Kate assured him.
To be certain, she spent a few moments bonding with the mustang, whispering in her ear and finding her sweet spots. The roan blew softly against her favorite light wool jacket, silhouetted horses running across a background the same blood red as her shirt. She silently visited with Calamity until she was positive they were on the same wavelength.
And for once, she and Chase seemed to be on the same wavelength, too, Kate thought, bridling the mare.
Wondering that he'd so easily given in to her accompanying him, she wasn't about to question the opportunity. Chase might be making a valiant attempt at running the refuge single-handedly, but perhaps he was finally overwhelmed by too much pressure.
He did seem to feel the need to be in charge of everything, Kate, mused as she smoothed the blanket across Calamity's withers and set the saddle in place.
"Ready?" Chase asked, riding up alongside her.
Kate fastened the cinch. "If you are."
But her thoughts continued in the same vein as they cut across the refuge toward Lockridge Acres. His need to be in control seemed to permeate every corner of his life, as illustrated by the set to they'd had upon leaving Rowdy's.
"Why wouldn't you let me pay for supper?" she asked, remembering how irritable he'd been when she'd suggested he let her take care of the check.
"I pay my own way."
"You paid mine, too," she reminded him.
"A burger and a beer won't break me."
"Big words from a man who doesn't take a salary for his work."
"I said I didn't take a salary. I never said I was broke."
Not the first time he'd made her wonder about the source of his folding money.
"So what did you do? Win big at poker or something?"
"Or something," he agreed.
Figuring he'd get all wound up again if she hounded him, she didn't press him and so was surprised when he continued.
"When my uncle died, he left me a stake in his ranch. I didn't figure it was fair to my cousins, so I refused to horn in on their inheritance. They figured I earned a share and since I wouldn't take the land, they set up a bank account. Not enough to save the refuge, but enough for me to get along on."
That he confided in her pleased Kate. Made her think that, with time, he'd tell her other, more important details about the past.
After that, they rode mostly in silence. Listening to the occasional whinny of mustangs, the distant call of coyotes, the quiver of broadleaf trees in the wind, Kate didn't mind. In tune with nature, she was, for the moment, content.
They approached the Lockridge place from a different direction than the one they'd taken the day before. The panorama spreading out before them was different, too: acre after acre of wilderness with no sign of human intervention except for the fencing.
Eventually a gate appeared, and Chase hopped down. From a saddle bag, he produced the tools to cut the chain. Rather than leaving the evidence of their break-in in plain sight, he carried the hardware a few dozen yards away and tucked them within a clump of tall squirrel tail. Even knowing they could be arrested for trespassing didn't phase Kate. Her anticipation of what they might find was growing by the minute.
Once inside, they sought out the stretch of land broken by ravines and small canyons that they'd identified via binoculars. Another half mile or so and they halted on a small rise in the shelter of some Ponderosa Pine.
"Let's make sure we don't have company before riding out into the open," Chase said.
Since they'd left the refuge, an occasional cloud had scudded across the night sky, blocking the moon and throwing a deep impenetrable shadow over the land. At the moment, however, all was clear. Moonbeams limned the inert expanse before them with a silver glow.
"As long as the clouds cooperate, we'll be able to spot anything that moves," Kate said.
> "The same goes for anyone else around... so don't get sloppy."
Knowing Chase had her best interests at heart, she chose not to take offense. Normally an easy-going person, she'd been quick to anger around him, due, she was certain, to their past history. She needed to get beyond that.
But how could she when other responses to him came too naturally for her comfort? Like that moment in Rowdy's when people and sounds had receded, leaving her alone with Chase and familiar feelings she hadn't wanted to consider. More and more, she was being sucked backward, to a time when her heart had been whole and anything had been possible. When her mind hadn't been touched by doubt and fear.
She'd had years to harden herself to him. In a matter of days, he was breaking down her barriers.
What to do?
"Follow me," Chase said, taking Deadwood down a sloped path into the first of a series of ravines cut only by a trickle of water.
Follow him.
Once she would have followed him anywhere. She'd understood fear and his feelings of inadequacy had made him run rather than face the horror of that accident. If he would have asked, she would have run with him to the ends of the earth, naive fifteen year old that she'd been...
Deadwood's whinny drawing a responding squeal from Calamity jarred Kate out of the past.
"Whoa," Chase ordered softly.
His mount danced to one side. Hers nervously backed up, throwing her head and snorting in displeasure.
"What is it?" Kate whispered, for she saw nothing alarming.
"Got me."
They both dismounted and drew their horses into the shelter of some rocks and brush even as a cloud stole across the moon. Absolute dark prevailed and within the womblike texture of the night, the mustangs remained disquieted. Kate felt her way between them, and with steady hands and an unspoken resolve, coaxed them into remaining silent.
Gradually the inky blackness lifted, and Kate could see that Chase was on the alert.
Then he looked her way and shook his head. "Don't see or hear anything."
Stroking Calamity's neck, Kate closed her eyes and gleaned a quick impression.
She wrinkled her nose and said, "The smell. The horses don't like the stench of this place." Uneasy, she met Chase's gaze. "Fetid... like death."
His expression disturbed, he seemed to be searching inside of her. Seconds passed without her taking a breath. Then, seeming satisfied that she wasn't being unnecessarily melodramatic, he nodded and she was able to breathe normally once more.
"How do you do that?"
She shrugged. "I can't explain it. Picking up impressions is something I've always done without thinking. Delbert Lantero's the one who taught me to go deeper. To communicate with animals on a more interactive level."
He shook his head. "What I wouldn't give to have that gift."
"And there have been times in my life when I would've gladly given it away."
"Why?"
"Because it made me different."
If Chase had any thoughts on the matter, he didn't offer them, maybe because he, too, had been apart from the crowd, if in a disparate way.
He sniffed the air and shook his head. "Could be a cougar from the horses' reaction. The smell's not obvious to us, so whatever it was probably has been dead for some time. We should move on."
They remounted and picked their way deeper into the series of twisting ravines and blind canyons, tumbling with rock formations and crumbling outcrops. Vegetation flourished in the area despite the low water flow of a drier than usual summer. Kate realized a partially-grown-over path ran mere yards from the stream bed. Vehicles had been through here, so the area must be used. But to what purpose?
Every so often, their horses renewed their protest, but neither balked. Their willingness to continue on eased Kate's mind about any imminent danger. Unfortunately, however, while she tuned into the frequent scurry of smaller wildlife around them, she had no sense of other horses nearby. And even if she and Chase missed the signs, she knew their mounts would pick out any fellow mustangs.
It wasn't until they'd gone deep into the heart of the natural maze that she caught sight of a clearing and a man-made structure. "Look."
Apparently, Chase had already seen, for he was heading toward the large animal pen that stood empty. Once there, he rose in his stirrups and scanned the surrounding area.
"What the hell!" he growled, pointing.
Kate glanced behind her, to a steel-barred enclosure sheltered by a small stand of birch. "A cage?"
As they moved closer to the cage, both horses began dancing, protesting, throwing up heads with eyes rolling. Before she had a chance to figure out what exactly had them so hot and bothered, Kate heard the roar of a motor from the path they'd just traveled.
"Someone's coming!"
They scurried for cover, finding a clear pocket behind an amalgamation of rocks matted with virgin's bower and surrounded by taller growth. They leaped to the ground, their footfalls deadened by short grasses. Chase slipped his rifle from his saddle, leaving the horses to her care.
As the roar of the engine drew closer, Kate touched the mustangs, cleared her mind and concentrated on relaying calm and safety to the suddenly hyper animals.
Quiet... no need for alarm... settle down... that's the way...
The words, if spoken, would be meaningless, though a gentle, reassuring tone might have gotten through to them. But her physical connection and unspoken language worked faster and more thoroughly. As if hypnotized, both horses settled down and relaxed.
Kate could only wish she were equally at ease, especially when the vehicle stopped nearby and she heard doors open and several people exit.
"Here we are – the staging area," Thea Lockridge announced, a definite edge to her voice.
Thea must have brought her friends from Rowdy's for some late night excursion. Pulse lurching, Kate grew alarmed. What in the world did the blonde expect to show anyone in the dark? Or were their intentions more sinister?
Unsure of what they'd stumbled into, Kate shivered and drew closer to Chase, thankful that he was armed.
THEA WAS CERTAIN BRINGING THE MEN to her special place would close the deal. On the drive over, she'd tantalized them with possibilities. If the other amenities hadn't induced the thrill seekers to buy into her private enterprise, this should be the frosting on the cake.
Chocolate frosting, she amended, as a cloud slid in front of the moon and their world went dark.
"Hey, who turned off the lights?" Sam complained.
Thea laughed at the big man's petulant tone. "This isn't the city. No glow of skyline lights. When it gets dark out here, it's for real." Hoping to excite them, she lowered her voice and let it throb. "Danger could lurk anywhere -- even behind you -- and you wouldn't know it."
"We could use those fancy gadgets the army developed for Nam." Rather than being excited in a positive way, Larry sounded nervous. "You know, the binoculars that let you see in the dark."
"Night vision goggles, idiot."
"I'll idiot you --"
"Now, now, boys," Thea soothed. "No fighting. Save your primal energies for more productive activities." Having already evaluated them as being viable candidates, she feared some silly liquor-induced argument might put a wrench in the transaction. "Actually, we do have several pairs of night vision goggles and binoculars. You can't miss a thing with those babies."
Sounding relieved, Larry said, "So let's try them out."
"We'd have to return to the compound. I keep them in the gun room."
"Forget tonight," Sam groused. "We go back to the house and I'm in bed."
The moon slid from behind the clouds and Thea went on with her sales pitch. "As you may have noticed, the area is suitably secluded --"
"Hank should be here." Larry sounded disgusted. "Too bad he let himself get distracted."
"There's no accounting for taste," a disappointed Thea said. "I would have thought a man of Hank's caliber would be a bit more discerning than
to pick up a whore."
"Whores are Hank's weakness," Larry informed her.
"The trashier the better," Sam agreed.
"As long as he doesn't talk in his sleep."
Larry snorted. "Who says Hank sleeps with them?"
Both men laughed and smacked each other on the back. Wincing, Thea tried to remain philosophical. Too much to expect that the creatures drawn to her concept would be as truly sophisticated as their polished exteriors implied. What did she care? Her true interest was in the green of their money.
A nearby scuffle and thunk followed by a shushing of grass put her on the alert. "Sh-h." Pulse thrumming, she pricked up her ears and listened.
"Probably some animal," Sam said.
"Some wild animal." Larry was sounding nervous again.
But Thea wasn't so certain. The hair on the back of her neck prickled in warning. She could have sworn the source was domesticated. A horse. But none of the horses should be here now.
When the noise wasn't repeated, she chose not to make a big deal in front of potential buyers. No need to alert them, especially when it was probably a false alarm. Just in case, though, she would put the cell phone in the truck to good use and call her foreman. Once alerted that some horse might be loose, he'd have a select handful of men checking over the area in no time.
To that end, she suggested, "Why don't we go back to the house for a nightcap."
The friends agreed, but as they climbed into the truck, Sam asked, "How can we be certain that our privacy would be protected?"
"I run a discreet operation. And I have a business relationship with the right people. But as a further safeguard, I plan to buy adjoining property," she assured them, thinking of the refuge.
Thea knew she had to be careful how she handled things so as not to raise suspicions, but she was determined to get her hands on that land.
One way or another...
CHASE EXPELLED A LONG-HELD BREATH as Thea's four-wheel drive high-tailed it out of the clearing. "That was close. I thought Calamity was going to give us away."
"My fault," Kate admitted. "I should have stayed with them. Sorry."
The McKenna Legacy Trilogy Page 51