High Desert Hideaway

by Jenna Night

  “At first I thought she might,” Nate said, straightening back up. “But now I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  Hank wound back and forth between Nate’s feet. Nate picked him up, tucked the cat’s substantial weight into the crook of his arm and scratched beneath his chin. “Just being around Lily and talking to her about her past and her life made me drop my suspicions,” Nate said. “There’s no sign she’s come into any substantial money. She hasn’t tried to get away on her own. She’s scared.”

  “So you think her boss is involved in any of this?”

  “I don’t know for sure yet.” Nate set Hank on the ground and the cat meowed in protest.

  “You seem pretty attached to her,” Gaston said.

  “Him, you mean,” Nate said, looking down at his cat.

  Gaston made a scoffing sound. “You know that’s not who I’m talking about.”

  “You have an overactive imagination.”

  “I don’t think I do,” Gaston said.

  “I’m not looking for a relationship and neither is she.” So maybe there was a little chemistry between them. That didn’t prove anything. He’d felt chemistry before and the relationships didn’t work out. And if Lily thought she was a little bit interested in him, she’d realize soon enough her attraction was based on what he could do to protect her. That was all it was.

  “I’m just not interested,” Nate finally said to end the conversation and get Gaston to drop the subject. “She’s not my type.”

  “Huh,” Gaston said. “Well, if you say so.” He crossed his arms, leaned against a doorjamb and winked. “I think she’s cute.”

  An angry flash of heat shot across the surface of Nate’s skin. “She doesn’t need anybody hitting on her right now,” he snapped. “Even if things get cleared up tonight and go back to normal tomorrow, she’s still got a lot on her plate. She works three jobs, you know.” Hadn’t she said all she wanted to do was work her way out of debt? Hadn’t she said she didn’t want to make time for a social life right now?

  He glanced over to see Gaston grinning at him.

  His jaw tightened.

  Fortunately, the short, squat, bowlegged form of Bud appeared in a doorway before Nate could say or do anything he might regret. Icy water droplets trailed down the shoulders of Bud’s jacket. The rain must have started freezing again.

  “Boys, come on back in the house. It’s time to eat.”

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Nate said, sliding his gaze toward Gaston. It might be best if he stayed and swept or cleaned or did something to burn off the rush of aggravation that made him want to punch his “brother.”

  Gaston’s grin grew even wider.

  Nate reached for a broom, grasping the handle so tight his knuckles turned white. A couple of years ago he’d acknowledged the reality that he wasn’t cut out for a wife and a family. That acceptance had brought a measure of peace into his life and he wanted to keep it. He needed a few extra minutes to remind himself of that before he saw Lily again.

  “Ellie has supper on the table,” Bud drawled, looking at Nate as if he couldn’t believe what Nate had just said. “You can come tell her you’d rather sweep the stall than eat supper with us if you want to. I’m not telling her that.”

  Ellen had definite ideas about the importance of everyone sitting down to dinner together. She was pretty vocal about it.

  Nate looked at the broom in his hand and finally put it away. It wouldn’t be fair to create tension over something that was his problem.

  “Now, boys, this is the way I see it,” Bud began as they left the stables and headed toward the house. “Nate, you get some sleep tonight because you’ll have plenty to do tomorrow. Gaston and I can stay up and keep an eye on things until sunup, just in case.”

  “Which one of us is keeping an eye on Lily?” Gaston asked with a grin.

  “Shut up,” Nate snapped.

  Bud chuckled, avoiding eye contact with both his boys.

  Just outside the house Nate glanced again at Gaston and saw the focused determination in his eyes. Then he turned to Bud, who gave him a nod. They might joke around a little bit, but they understood the seriousness of the situation. They’d keep an eye on things.

  Nate had made the right decision bringing Lily to the ranch. She was safe. For now.

  EIGHT

  Nate turned his truck onto the driveway of the Blue Spruce Ranch without hitting the brake, sliding sideways before recovering control and racing up to the front of the house. He finally had news but he didn’t want to share it over the phone.

  Last night had passed uneventfully. Nate had been up before sunrise and driven into Copper Mesa early, but the deputies that had worked the Torrent Trucking stakeout were either off their shift and home sleeping, or still on shift but not authorized to give him any details. Sheriff Wolfsinger had ordered a tight lid on information until he’d had time to sort things out.

  Nate had waited impatiently until midday, when the sheriff was finally willing to talk to him. Now he was anxious to share what he’d learned with Lily. It wasn’t great news, exactly, but it showed that investigators had a new lead on where to focus their attention. Maybe it would help her feel less cast adrift.

  She’d been quiet at dinner last night. When he’d risked a few glances in her direction, she’d been staring down at her plate rather than eating every single time. Considering everything she’d been through that day, it wasn’t a surprise. Still, she’d offered to help clean up the kitchen after dinner. Ellen turned down her offer, drafting Bud and Gaston to do the job instead. Lily had then turned in for the night, even though it was early.

  Now Bud stepped down from the front porch and walked over as Nate hustled out of the truck. “I saw that fast driving. And, boy, if you knock down a section of fence you’ll have to put it back up.”

  “Yes, sir.” Nate had knocked down quite a few sections of fence along the road and the driveway back in his time.

  “You must have learned something interesting,” Bud said as they both started walking toward the house.

  “I did.”

  “Well, let’s get in the house and find Ellen. She’ll give it to me good if you tell me something important and she has to hear it secondhand.”

  “Actually, I was hoping to tell Lily first.”

  Bud cleared his throat as they reached the front door. “Well, of course I meant to include Lily in the conversation, too.”

  It felt good to get out of the cold and inside the house. A butter-and-cinnamon scent greeted him and he could hear Lily and Ellen talking in the kitchen. Ellen was an expert at keeping somebody busy and getting their mind off their worries. Good thing she and Lily enjoyed each other’s company. It looked like Lily was going to have to hide out at the Blue Spruce for a while longer.

  “Look who the cat dragged in,” Bud called out from behind Nate. While Ellen’s expertise lay in keeping people busy and feeling useful, Bud was skilled at humor and lifting spirits with optimism and a warm smile. There were people in town who misread his demeanor, particularly when coupled with his round figure and moon-shaped face, and they thought he was either simple or shallow. Their opinions couldn’t be further from the truth. Ellen had chosen wisely when she agreed to marry Nate’s uncle. But then Bud had chosen wisely, as well.

  While Ellen greeted Nate, Bud sidled up to the granite-topped kitchen island and delicately selected one oatmeal cookie off of a plate. With his other hand he quickly grabbed four more. Ellen rolled her eyes and shook her head, making Nate laugh.

  “I’ve got news,” Nate said to Lily, a little surprised at how happy she looked. Maybe ranch life agreed with her. Or maybe she’d just taken one of the painkillers the doctor had given her. She seemed to be moving around the kitchen pretty well despite her injured leg.
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  “I’ve got news, too,” Lily said, beaming.

  “Okay.” Nate realized he still had his cowboy hat on and he took it off. “Ladies first.”

  “I’m going back to work!”

  “What?” What could she possibly mean? Had Ellen hired her to do something around the ranch? Maybe help with housekeeping or taking care of the animals? She and Bud could always find a paying job for someone if they really needed it. Even if the pay was simply room and board. Lily had made it clear she was determined to earn her own way. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m going back to Torrent Trucking. I can return to work tomorrow.”

  Nate felt his blood turn cold. “That’s not possible.”

  “But it is! Business is back to normal and I’m supposed to report first thing in the morning.”

  Nate shook his head. “That’s not right.” In fact, something was very wrong. That didn’t mesh at all with what he’d finally learned from Sheriff Wolfsinger.

  “It is!” she insisted with a broad smile on her face. “Bryan Torrent came through on his promise to have new security measures installed. He paid a fortune to have it put in quickly. He’s also hired a private security firm so there’ll be on-site guards.”

  “No.” Nate shook his head, feeling as if the solid ground was sinking beneath his feet.

  “It’s okay,” Lily said quickly.

  She looked so earnest and hopeful in those black-framed glasses it made Nate’s heart ache. And it made him want to strangle whoever had lied to her.

  “You might need to drive me back and forth for a few days,” she continued, picking up steam in her enthusiasm. “Or maybe one of the security guys can do it.”

  “Please tell me you read about this online,” Nate said tightly. He knew from experience that news hastily posted online was oftentimes incomplete or inaccurate.

  “No, I didn’t read it online. Eddie Drake called me. You remember him, you met him. The red-haired guy. He helps manage the place and maintains a lot of the tech stuff.”

  And he’d badgered Lily to go on a date with him. Yeah, Nate remembered the guy.

  “You talked to him?”

  “Yes.” Her smile faded and she looked around uncertainly. Bud and Ellen looked worried. They didn’t know what exactly was wrong, but they were experts at reading the expression on Nate’s face. They knew he wasn’t happy.

  Nate snapped his attention to Bud. “Where’s Gaston?”

  “He’s in the office working on something.” Bud stepped out of the kitchen and hollered down the hallway. Nate heard Gaston reply a few seconds later. Bud came back into the kitchen. “He’s on his way.”

  “What did you tell Eddie Drake about what you’re doing right now?” Nate stepped toward Lily. “Did you tell him where you’re staying?”

  She lifted her chin, her dark eyes already full of regret. “Why?”

  “What did you tell him?” Nate asked more forcefully.

  “I don’t remember, exactly.” She crossed her arms over her chest and backed up to the countertop. She glanced at Ellen before turning back to Nate. “I thought everything was over. Or nearly over. And it’s just Eddie.” She took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?”

  “Did you tell him you’re staying here?”

  “No-o-o.” She drew out the word, sounding uncertain. “I told him I was staying with friends and that it was nice to be out of town and up where the air was fresh and the pine trees smelled so good.” She blanched.

  Yeah, she might not have told Eddie specifically where she was, but she’d given him enough hints. He’d seen Lily and Nate together. Everybody in town knew about Nate’s connection to the Blue Spruce. It didn’t take a degree in rocket science to put it all together.

  “Has Eddie done something wrong?” Lily asked in a thin voice.

  “Sheriff Wolfsinger talked to Bryan Torrent while I was at the sheriff’s department. It’s going to take longer than he thought to get his new security in place. He’s keeping the business shut down until he can get that taken care of and he specifically said he wouldn’t need you back to work for at least a couple more weeks. Eddie lied to you.”

  Gaston walked into the kitchen lugging Nate’s orange cat. “What do you want?”

  “I want you to do a couple of things after we leave and then I want you to stay right here in the house.”

  “Okay.”

  Nate and Gaston had a history of backing each other even before they knew all the details. Sometimes explanations just had to wait.

  “We’re leaving?” Lily asked.

  “The district attorney’s office came up with some serious charges with lengthy prison terms for Jack Covert, the guy who was wearing the hoodie, and Blaine Revel, the man who held the gun on you at the Starlight Mart and then tried to kill you at the plant and pottery store. The prosecutors working with Sheriff Wolfsinger came up with a plea deal for both of those idiots if they’d give up any useful information. Both admitted to being involved in cargo theft. Both mentioned Eddie Drake as their contact person in the crime ring.”

  Lily put her hand to her mouth.

  Nate sighed. “The stakeout was a bust. They watched Torrent Trucking all night but nobody showed up. So early in the morning, the deputies went to Eddie’s house to talk to him. He was gone.”

  Lily’s face turned red and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Nate hated having to tell her things that upset her, but he steeled himself and continued. There was just one small bit of information left. “Sheriff Wolfsinger brought Bryan Torrent in for a chat. Torrent said Eddie had originally applied for his job online, had excellent references and lots of experience. He claimed to have no prior connection to Eddie.”

  Lily shook her head. “I’m so stupid.”

  “No, you’re not,” Nate said.

  “I should have—”

  “Everybody makes mistakes,” Nate interrupted. “Let’s focus on a solution. Gaston, call Lonnie and see if he and his brothers can hang out here for a few days.”

  “On it.” He got out his phone.

  “I’m not completely useless,” Bud grumbled. “I can take care of things around here.”

  “I know. But we’re going to need extra people up here so we can have someone on the lookout twenty-four hours a day.” Nate reached out and squeezed Bud’s shoulder. “Eddie, or whoever he’s working with, might come here looking for Lily. I’d hate to see what would happen if they ran into you or Ellen. I don’t want you three dealing with this alone after we leave.”

  Bud nodded and Nate let go of his shoulder. Nate turned to Gaston, who was already off the phone. “As soon as we get out of here, I want you to block the drive at the road with something. The full barrels and crates I put out there won’t be enough if someone’s determined to get to the house. Park a horse trailer out there. A front loader. Something big. And remember there’s a deputy assigned to the area around the ranch. If anything happens here call 911 and you’ll have help right away.”

  “You keep talking about us leaving,” Lily said. “Where are we going?”

  Nate turned back to her. “I have some friends in Painted Rock. If we can get to them, we might be safe.”

  “But won’t we be putting them in danger?”

  “We might be. But they’ll be ready for it.”

  She dropped her gaze. “You can’t be certain of that.”

  “Yeah, I can. These friends are a little unusual. Have you ever heard of a Christian motorcycle outreach group called Vanquish the Darkness?”

  She lifted her gaze. “Don’t they help veterans and support a couple of children’s charities?”

  “Yes.” Nate nodded. “That and a whole lot more.”

  * * *

  “We’re almost at the crossroads by the Starlight Mart,
” Nate said into his phone.

  They were in a truck he’d borrowed from Gaston in hopes it would make them less likely to be recognized if Eddie or any of his criminal friends were looking for them. Nate glanced at Lily with his eyebrows slightly raised, as if he thought she might freak out or something. Lily forced a small, grim smile in acknowledgment that they were indeed back to the spot where she was nearly murdered just a couple of nights ago. Her stomach sank and she felt the blood drain from her face, but she thought she did a pretty good job of appearing calm.

  Nate turned his gaze back to the road. Lily could see his jaw muscles tense.

  “I’m getting ready to turn onto the highway up to Painted Rock,” he said into his phone, continuing his conversation. “We should be there in less than an hour.”

  Nate had insisted they leave the Blue Spruce Ranch immediately, giving Lily only fifteen minutes to repack her travel bag and be ready to go. Once they were under way, he’d called Sheriff Wolfsinger and told him about Lily’s conversation with Eddie. Then he’d told Lily he wanted to call someone from Vanquish the Darkness and give them a heads-up they were coming.

  There was no denying Lily was running for her life. Just a few days ago she was worried about a lot of things. Her broken engagement. Flunking out of college. Being a financial burden to her mom. They were real problems, but they were fixable. Much of the damage had been done to her pride. Hard to believe she’d ever thought that was such a huge deal.

  She shook her head and glanced out the window. For the longest time, she’d convinced herself she could control her future if she made good plans and had the discipline to stick to them. Then she’d thought she’d ruined her future by giving in to the temptation to shake off all those rules and live in the moment.

  Somewhere along the line she’d lost that part of her faith that reminded her God was in control and had a plan for her. She could plan and work and have goals. She should do that. But ultimately the twists and turns her life would take weren’t all determined by her. She blew out a breath, a little unnerved by that reminder, but also, in an unexpected way, strengthened.