by Jenna Night
She’d been heartbroken and bitterly disappointed in herself. Eventually she realized she’d been trying to create an oasis of certainty in her life when she got engaged to Kevin. Being away from home was scary. Life was scary. But a plan like that could never work.
“The guy was an idiot,” Nate said.
Lily smiled. It was the perfect guy-friend thing to say. Not a suspicious-cop comment.
“I had to move back in with my mom in Copper Mesa. I’ve been working three part-time jobs. Torrent Trucking seemed like my best chance to move upward, maybe get on full-time. I thought if I got there a little early, stayed a little late and did a little extra work, my efforts might pay off.”
And look where that had gotten her. Nearly killed. Twice.
Nate turned onto a narrow, unpaved road. The tires rumbled as the truck crossed a cattle guard. Shortly after that, he turned again. They passed by two sandstone pillars inset with bronze plaques identifying this as the Blue Spruce Ranch, and headed up a winding drive to the main house.
“So, am I still a suspect or do you finally believe my story?”
He glanced at her and then turned back to face the road. “I believe you.”
“Good.”
Lily had never seen the Blue Spruce Ranch in person, but she’d seen plenty of pictures. Ellen Stuart had inherited it from her parents and she was the fifth generation of Stuarts to run the land. Her marriage to Nate’s uncle Bud, a “nobody” in county social circles, had caused quite a stir. They’d never had biological children of their own, but they’d opened their ranch to friends and various charity group events and created their own version of a family.
Nate drove along the wide, graceful driveway that followed the edge of a grassy field until the house came into view. It was a long, low ranch house with a covered porch running along the front of it. Lights blazed inside even though it was close to midnight. Nate pulled the truck around the circular drive and stopped. The front door flew open and Lily saw the silhouette of a short, round, bowlegged man with a bald head.
Nate came around and opened the door for her, a surprising bit of chivalry from a deputy just doing his job.
“Welcome to the Blue Spruce,” Bud Wells called out to Lily. He walked up to her, reached for her hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “I’m Nate’s uncle Bud. He told us what happened to you tonight and I’m as sorry as I can be about that.”
“Lily Doyle.” Lily barely trusted herself to speak. For the last few hours she’d held fear and dread at bay by indulging in frustration and denial. Being annoyed with Nate had helped. But now the gentle concern in Bud Wells’s voice threatened to knock down a few bricks in the emotional wall she’d built and she couldn’t let that happen. Not yet. The wall was the only thing keeping her from falling completely apart.
“Thank you for letting me come up here,” she finally said.
Bud gave her hands another gentle squeeze before letting go of them. The compassionate expression in his eyes hardened into determination. “It’s a rough world, Ms. Doyle, but you’re safe here. And you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“I appreciate that.”
Bud glanced over at Nate. “Come here, boy.”
Nate dutifully stepped up to the man who was noticeably shorter than him and bent down to give his uncle a hug. Bud wrapped his arms around his nephew’s waist, and squeezed hard. “I worry about you every day, boy.” Bud’s face was pressed into Nate’s shoulder and his voice was muffled, but Lily heard him. “I know better, but I can’t help it.”
He finally let go and took a step back. “All right, let’s get in the house. Ellen’s waiting for the both of you.”
Lily stepped through the front door to a tiled foyer and the wide expanse of a great room with a fire burning low in a stone fireplace. To the right the room opened onto a dining area that curved around, presumably toward a kitchen.
A woman walked out from the kitchen area. Tall and slender, dressed in jeans and a raw silk blouse, she wore her long silver hair clipped back at the sides with turquoise barrettes. Ellen Wells. Responsible landowner. Astute businesswoman and, according to everything Lily had heard and read, the heartbeat of the sprawling Blue Spruce Ranch.
“Oh, honey, are you all right?” she asked Lily. Without waiting for an answer she walked up to Lily and hugged her as if she was a cherished friend and not a complete stranger. For a few seconds Lily let herself soak up the warmth of the embrace. Tears began to form in her eyes and she rapidly blinked them away. There were still good people in the world. Now more than ever she needed a reminder of that.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Lily muttered as she stepped back.
“I’m sure the sheriff’s department will find those men who came after you. In the meantime, we’re always happy to have company.”
Ellen smiled at her and Lily tried to smile back, but couldn’t.
“You’ll be all right,” Ellen said softly. Then she turned to Nate, fisted her hands on her hips and looked him over from head to toe. “Well, you went downhill in a hurry.”
Nate raked his fingers through his scruffy hair and scraggly beard. “What, you don’t like the look?”
In an instant, Ellen had her arms around him in a hug. When she finally let go, she ran her hands up and down his arms a couple of times. “How about you? Are you all right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
A dark-haired man walked out from the kitchen and glanced at Nate.
“You look even uglier than usual,” he said. He appeared to be about Nate’s age, but he was a little shorter and slenderer with brown eyes and jet-black hair.
“I’ve intentionally been trying to look like a lowlife for the last six weeks,” Nate shot back. “What’s your excuse?”
The dark-haired man grinned. “Welcome home. I’m glad you didn’t get yourself killed.”
Ellen threw up her hands. “Don’t talk like that!”
The man walked over to give Nate a one-armed embrace and clapped him on the shoulder.
Lily caught Bud giving both men a cautioning look. Then he turned to her. “Lily, this is Gaston Juneau. He moved up here about the time Nate did when they were kids. Works as a foreman here when he isn’t out in the wilderness trying to make Ellen grayer and me balder by fighting wildfires.”
Gaston nodded. “Good to meet you. Nobody’s going to bother you while you’re up here. We’ll make sure of that.”
A thump and a squeak made Lily turn around. An empty upholstered chair rocked back and forth in front of the fireplace. A few seconds later an enormous orange-and-white cat sauntered around the chair.
“Hank!” Nate picked up the cat and hefted him into the crook of his arm. The cat put his paws on Nate’s shoulder and head-butted him.
Ellen chuckled. “We’ve all been missing you. Hank included.” She turned to Lily. “What can I get you to eat?”
“Thank you, but I’m not hungry. I’d really just like to get some rest.”
Ellen looked at her thoughtfully. “I know you’re exhausted. Did you bring a suitcase?”
Lily nodded.
Ellen turned to her husband. “Honey, would you get Lily’s bag out of Nate’s truck?”
“Sure.” Bud headed for the front door.
“Your room is this way,” Ellen said, heading down a hallway.
Behind her, Lily heard Gaston say to Nate, “Get some sleep. I’ll keep watch until morning.”
Ellen led her to a beautiful room with an attached bath. Bud delivered her bag and both he and Ellen wished her a good night.
After they left, Lily kicked off her shoes, pulled down the top blanket and let herself fall face-first onto the bed. Eventually she pulled up the blanket, but left the bedside lamp on. A Bible lay on the nightstand. It had been a while since she’d picked
one up, but looking at it made her feel a little calmer. If she couldn’t sleep, maybe she’d read a few verses.
It was good to know Nate was nearby. But as cozy and secure as this house felt, she was still in danger. And because of her, everyone else at the Blue Spruce was in danger, too.
* * *
“Now you don’t look like a deadbeat anymore.” Bud grabbed a towel and slapped at Nate’s shoulders and the back of his neck while Nate sat in an old straight-backed chair. They were outside, at the far end of the rambling front porch.
Nate rubbed his hand over his head to feel the familiar short bristle cut, then over his smooth chin and cheeks. He’d shaved off his whiskers right after he’d rolled out of bed this morning. “That feels a lot better.”
“Nothing wrong with looking sharp for your lady friend.”
Nate turned to glare at his uncle and Bud winked at him.
“I just wanted to get the grime from working undercover off of me,” Nate said. “I had to be around some nasty people in some filthy places.” That was the truth. Maybe it was also true he wanted to look a little cleaner for Lily Doyle, too. Let her see that he’d made something of his life and hadn’t hit the skids like his mom had. Like so many people assumed he would.
“Well, you’re home and away from those terrible places now, boy.” Bud shook the towel over the railing and Nate stood up.
When Nate had first woken up, the trees and the rooftops of the ranch buildings had all been covered in a hard freeze. Things had warmed up a little since then, but the air still carried a cold edge to it.
It was beautiful here no matter the weather. There were plenty of mornings when he woke up in his apartment in Painted Rock and missed being able to spend a few minutes sipping coffee and looking at this view of pine trees, mountain meadows and rocky peaks. But he’d done what he thought was right. Somebody had to make sure the people who’d been responsible for his mother’s death faced justice. And if getting exiled to Painted Rock was the price he had to pay, so be it.
It hadn’t been revenge, despite loud accusations to the contrary. He knew vengeance didn’t belong to him.
He’d had the opportunity to take down a trio of drug dealers and he’d jumped at it. They’d hired a sharp defense lawyer out of Phoenix who decided his best tactic was to ignore his clients’ blatant drug trafficking and smear the Oso County sheriff’s department, instead. Fortunately, the lawyer hadn’t been successful in keeping his clients out of prison. But during the trial he had managed to turn the trustworthiness of the sheriff’s department into the hotly debated topic of the day. Sheriff Wolfsinger could have buckled under the political pressure and fired Nate. He transferred him to Painted Rock instead.
“So, you knew Lily in high school?” Bud asked as he folded up his towel. “I don’t remember her.”
Good old Uncle Bud, gamely trying to engage Nate in a conversation. It wasn’t always easy for Nate to talk about how he was feeling. He’d spent a long time as a kid trying not to feel anything.
He glanced at his uncle. Sometimes Nate forgot he wasn’t the only one who was abandoned when his mom dove into the emotionally numbing abyss of alcohol and later, in a fatal decision, into drugs. Uncle Bud had lost his sister, too.
“I didn’t know Lily,” Nate said, trying to lighten his tone. “Joseph Suh did.”
“Oh. Well, Ellen’s glad to see you brought a girl home.”
Nate laughed and shook his head. “This isn’t a date.” His smile faded. “I was hoping she’d just need a safe place to stay for one night. But I called the station this morning and I think we’re going to need to find her a place to stay for a little longer.” The news he’d gotten from Sheriff Wolfsinger when he’d called asking for an update was not good.
“We’ve got plenty of room here. You know she’s welcome.”
“I appreciate that.”
Nate heard a meow. A few seconds later Hank wandered around the side of the house and stepped up onto the porch, shaking the dampness of melted frost from his front paws. The cat sat down and his rather large body compacted into the shape of a ball. He rolled slightly to one side.
“Your cat’s getting too fat,” Bud said.
“I’m not the one who’s been feeding him lately. I’ve been in Phoenix, remember?” Nate stood, picked up the cat and hefted him into the crook of his arm. He turned toward the front door to head back into the house. “Thanks for the haircut.”
Bud dropped the scissors he’d been using to cut Nate’s hair into a leather shaving kit. “You’re welcome.”
In the kitchen, Ellen had taken a breakfast casserole out of the oven and was scooping a mixture of hash browns, eggs, sausage and cheese onto heavy ceramic plates on the counter. It smelled wonderful, and Gaston hovered nearby, obviously ready to eat.
Nate glanced at Lily, surprised to see that she was up this early. It would take Nate a few more days to shake off the adrenaline and hypervigilance resulting from his assignment down in Phoenix, but last night Lily had looked tired enough to sleep until noon.
“Good morning.” He felt self-conscious because she was staring at him so intently. Maybe she was wondering why she’d let him bring her up here.
“You cut your hair and shaved,” she said.
“Oh. Yeah.” She was still watching him and Nate figured it was his turn to say something, but he couldn’t think of a response.
Gaston, who’d stayed up all night and hadn’t gone to bed yet, leaned toward Lily. “Do you think he looked better with his face all covered up?”
“No. I, uh...” She took a sip of coffee without finishing her answer.
“I called Sheriff Wolfsinger and got an update,” Nate said. “Do you want to hear it now, or after we’ve eaten?”
Lily gripped her coffee mug with both hands and took a deep breath. “Tell me now.”
“We’ve got an ID on the loser we caught last night. The one in the hoodie. His name’s Jack Covert.”
“Well, that’s good. That’s something.”
“Yeah, but he’s not talking. He’s got a lengthy criminal history and ties to organized crime. Specifically to a criminal group the task force suspects is involved in the multistate cargo thefts.”
When her eyes widened, he knew she’d realized the seriousness of what he was telling her.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s just as we suspected. What you heard, or what they think you heard, could potentially bring down a multimillion-dollar theft ring. Instead of things blowing over fairly quickly, they’re likely to get a whole lot worse.”
FIVE
“It feels odd to see the parking lot nearly empty on a weekday,” Lily said.
Nate glanced over at her. She’d been subdued since he’d told her about the established connection between organized crime and at least one of the people who’d tried to kill her. She hadn’t eaten much breakfast. She’d just quietly sipped coffee until it was time to drive to Torrent Trucking for her purse and her phone, and then on to the Starlight Mart for her car.
Nate pulled his truck into the expansive oiled-dirt parking lot of Torrent Trucking. Bryan Torrent was the single owner of the thirty-acre plot of land near the crossroads twenty miles from Copper Mesa, where there was plenty of room for semi drivers to maneuver without having to contend with traffic in town. The warehouse-and-office complex stood at the end of a short private road just off the highway.
“You all right?” Nate asked Lily. “I can take you back to the ranch and bring your purse and phone to you later. Your car will be fine at the Starlight Mart for a few more days.”
She shook her head. “I want to be here. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Okay.” It was the same sentiment she’d expressed when he’d tried to talk her into staying up at the ranch and letting him figure out a way to fetch her belong
ings without her.
She pointed to an office door facing the road. “That’s where I work. I left my purse and phone in there.”
He parked near the door and cut the engine. Sheriff Wolfsinger pulled his patrol car into the parking lot a few seconds later. Nate and Lily got out of the truck and met up with him.
“I just got off the phone with Bryan Torrent,” Wolfsinger said after a quick exchange of greetings. “He should be here in a few minutes. Claims he’s on his way home from the airport after a business trip to Los Angeles.”
“Did he say anything else?” Nate asked.
“Just that he’d heard about what happened to Lily. Said he was horrified something like that could happen to one of his employees.”
“He doesn’t know much about the specifics, right?”
Wolfsinger shook his head. “And we’re going to limit what we tell him. Our bad guy in custody still hasn’t given us any useful information. I want to get a read on Mr. Torrent before we share any details.”
They walked up to the office door, where they were met by a solidly built man around Nate’s age with red hair, gelled and combed straight back.
“Hey, Lily. What a relief to see you’re okay.” The red-haired man moved toward her as if he was going to hug her. She stepped back.
“Thanks, Eddie.” She turned to Nate. “This is Eddie Drake. He’s the evening warehouse supervisor.” Nate gave him a nod and Sheriff Wolfsinger stepped up to introduce himself. Nate watched Eddie steal glances at Lily during the course of their introductory chitchat. She remained well away from him with her arms crossed.
They walked inside the building and stood in a small reception area that had a couple of desks, chairs and some storage cabinets. Through an open door in the back Nate could see a hallway leading farther into the building.
“Do you usually work overnight and into the morning?” Sheriff Wolfsinger asked Eddie.
“Nope. Normally my hours are noon to nine. I’m just here this morning because Mr. Torrent called and asked me to come in.”