“Hey, look who’s here.” Rhett squeezed her knee. “Rachel, where did you come from? Isn’t it your day off?”
“Oh, honey, when I heard what happened…” The housekeeper rushed into the room. “Sierra, are you all right?”
Sierra didn’t have to answer because she was pulled up into Rachel’s motherly embrace. It was comforting and kept her from crying. Good thing. She was sick of feeling sorry for herself.
“Hey, I’m okay. My horses are okay. My barn is a total loss but I have good insurance, I think.” She pushed back. “Thanks for coming.”
“How could I stay away?” Rachel wiped her eyes with a tissue from her pocket. “Now that I’m here, I’m fixing you all a good dinner. Rhett, I hear you were a real help with the horses. And I saw Dylan outside! It’s been too long since that boy visited.”
“Yes, it has. Is the insurance agent still here?” Sierra wondered if she needed to pull out her policy.
“No, Fred Meadows took off. Insurance. Seems like you have to have it, but make a claim and they’ll figure out how to screw you every time.” Rachel sniffed. “Don’t listen to me. Dylan will handle all that.” She tied on her apron. “Now I know you must be hungry. I’m fixing your brother’s favorite, chicken-fried steak. Any word on the rest of your family, Sierra?”
“They’re all in London. Negotiating a big deal. Well, Mason and his wife are negotiating. Mama is there honeymooning and giving Mason her opinion as a major stockholder in Texas Star.” Sierra was glad to have something to talk about besides the fire. She turned to Rhett. “My other brother is head of the family oil company and his wife is CEO of Calhoun Petroleum. They’re working together now. Quite the power couple.”
“Wow! I’ve heard of both companies. Who hasn’t?” Rhett smiled at Rachel. “Chicken-fried steak. Can’t wait to try the Texas version, Rachel.”
“It’ll be better than Boston’s.” She smiled. “You two just sit and relax. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”
“I appreciate your coming in today, Rachel.” Sierra sighed. “Truly. I was just trying to decide if I had the energy to nuke some leftovers.”
“I don’t guess it’s easy to call for a pizza delivery out here in the country.” Rhett pulled out his phone. “That’s my go-to in town.”
“Oh, they’ll deliver, but it’ll be cold. Just relax. I take care of my people.” Rachel collected their empty water bottles. “You want beer or wine before dinner?”
“Just water. We’re staying hydrated after inhaling so much smoke.” Sierra started to get up.
“I can get it.” Rhett jumped to his feet.
“Sit back down. Both of you.” Rachel said it so sharply he dropped instantly. “Sorry, but I want to wait on you. When I saw that barn in ruins…” Her eyes filled with tears. “Well, just relax. I got this.” She hurried out of the room, her tissue out again.
“I’m scared to move.” Rhett smiled at Sierra.” You’re lucky to have her.”
“I know. Rachel has worked for our family since I was a little girl. You heard her—Dylan is still a boy to her. We came to the ranch weekends and most of the summers, because I was horse mad. She was here when I had my accident.” Sierra gestured at her bad leg, which she had propped on the coffee table. It throbbed from all the exercise she’d gotten running with the horses and staying on her feet all day.
“Your accident.” Rhett was clearly fishing for her story.
Why not? “It happened when I was barrel racing.”
“Are you kidding? Explain.” He leaned forward so he could look into her eyes. Rhett curious was intense. And flattering.
“We’re timed as we race around barrels set in a cloverleaf pattern. It takes a special kind of horse to do it, one trained to respond to the rider’s commands. I had an amazing horse, Destiny. She was so responsive. When we competed, it was as if she could read my mind.” Sierra’s sigh turned into a cough. “I was sixteen and at the top of my game. I ruled at the local rodeo here. Won first place at every event that last summer. No one could beat me.” She smiled at Rhett. “Of course, you know teenagers. I was full of myself. Obnoxious.”
“I can relate. I played sports in high school. When you’re winning, your ego can be as big as Boston.” He grinned. Obviously he had some memories of his own.
“I begged my daddy to let me enter the Houston rodeo, which is held every February. He wasn’t eager for me to do that. It’s more professional than the local events and the competition is fierce. Around here, the other racers are just the girls from town and neighboring counties. But I set out to prove I was ready for the big time. I entered every local competition I could.” She rubbed her thigh. “And won.”
“Obviously you and Destiny were amazing.” Rhett picked up her hand. “So what happened?”
“We went to the Austin rodeo as a warm-up for Houston. The competition was a little stiffer. Daddy even let me cut school to prepare. I had a room full of trophies by then.”
“I’d like to have seen you ride around those barrels.”
“It goes really fast. Seconds. Destiny could hug those barrels, get close without knocking one down.” Sierra leaned forward, reliving those races in her head. She could almost feel the rush of riding hell-for-leather into the arena, racing toward the first turn. God, how she missed it, even after all these years.
“You’re flushed just talking about it.” He squeezed her hand. “What happened, Sierra?”
“I was always careful with my tack, I swear it. Maybe I was too excited that day and it made me careless, I don’t know. There is no way what happened should have happened. One minute I was tearing around the barrels, making great time. Then—” She shuddered and looked away. “I flew through the air. My saddle slipped and I was under my horse. Destiny stumbled, hit a barrel and landed on top of me.”
“God, Sierra. You could have been killed!”
“Yeah. Believe me, when a thousand pounds of horse falls on you, it hurts.” She was gripping Rhett’s hand again. “Poor Destiny struggled to get up, of course. She didn’t mean to step on me but I was tangled up in the reins, the saddle. Shit! I have no idea why the whole thing was such a mess.” Sierra leaned back and closed her eyes. “Everything after I fell is still a blur.”
“I guess so.” Rhett stayed quiet while she pulled herself together.
“Destiny was okay, thank God. I wasn’t. They took me in an ambulance to the nearest hospital. Did what they could there while Daddy flew in the best orthopedic specialists in the country. He spared no expense and the surgeries began. Oil money does have its uses.” She opened her eyes and met Rhett’s concerned gaze.
“After the accident and college, I decided this was where I wanted to be.” Sierra looked around the room, so full of memories. There was Daddy’s secret bar, the stuffed trophies and Mama’s books on a shelf. Down the hall was another room with her own trophies of a different kind. She used it as her office now. This was her home. And people wanted her to just leave it? For money? She shook her head.
“That had to be painful. All those surgeries.” Rhett obviously was still thinking more about her fall. Storyteller. He wanted to know how it ended.
“Yes. There were a lot of them. Until I called a halt.” She slapped her aching thigh. “This is as good as it’s going to get.” Keep it light. It was the only way she could deal with it.
“What happened to your horse? I didn’t meet Destiny in your barn.”
“Good question.” Sierra liked that he cared about her horse. “Daddy went haywire after the accident. By the time I was aware enough to know what had happened, he’d sold Destiny to a family back east. I didn’t speak to him for a long time over that. I loved that horse, and I never even got to say goodbye.” Oh, shit. Her voice broke. After all this time. But that had hurt.
“I’m sorry, Sierra. I know how you are about your horses.” Rhett’s warm h
and on hers was comforting.
“Don’t get me wrong. It took me a while, but I realized Daddy did the right thing. Destiny loved to race and I had to come to terms with the fact that I’d never race again. The family who bought her had a daughter who barrel raced. I checked. She won a lot of races with Destiny.”
“You could never race again?” He looked into her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, yeah. Barrel racers are athletes. I got sick of going under the knife, but I’m not stupid. It was clear to me that I was never going to be the same. No matter how many surgeries I had or how much therapy I went through, my leg was not going to be right again. Daddy would have never quit calling in specialists so that I could walk ‘normally’ again.” Sierra made her “screw it” face. “I decided it wasn’t worth it. Mama backed me up.”
“You do fine.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the mouth. “More than fine.”
Sierra took a beat to just breathe. Oh, but she’d needed to hear that. Then she eased back and looked away. “Thanks, but I can’t run worth a damn. You saw that last night.” Deep breath. “Here’s the deal, Rhett.” She focused on him, this man who seemed determined to be her ally, to help her. Well, maybe he could. “What I can’t forget is the way my saddle fell off Destiny that day. What the hell happened? I’d run dozens of successful races before and I swear I checked my gear carefully that day, just like I always did. It was automatic with me. You know what I mean?”
“Yes, I do. Some things, safety concerns, do become automatic. Like when I get in my car I scan for gas, oil light, simple things like that. I’d imagine that when you’re doing a dangerous ride like you were preparing for, you’d be extra careful to make sure your saddle is secure. Check and double-check everything before you get on your horse.”
“Exactly!” Sierra found herself leaning closer. He looked tired and had a sexy five-o’clock shadow. Neither of them had stopped after breakfast, and now it was dinnertime. Above all he had those kind, kind eyes. “Thanks for understanding. I don’t share this with just anyone. But I have always wanted to find out the truth about that day. Trouble is, it’s been so long now. Twelve years. Most of the day itself is a blur to me. I was unconscious after being slammed against a barrel and trampled by a horse.”
“One thing I’m good at is research, Sierra. Give me some details about that day—the date, the name of the event, as much as you can remember about who was there—and I’ll see what I can find out. Leave it to me.” He leaned back.
“And to me.” Dylan stood in the doorway with two bottles of water in his hands. “Damn it, sis, you never told me you suspected foul play back then.”
“What good would it have done?” Sierra grabbed the bottle he handed her and took a deep drink. She’d needed it. Her throat was raw, and she’d felt like she about to cough the whole time she’d been speaking.
“What good?” Dylan frowned as he gave Rhett the other bottle. “If some maniac sabotaged your gear on that horse before you raced, then that’s attempted murder.”
“Maniac? Or someone who wanted to win the race herself?” Rhett had his phone out, already looking at a website about barrel racing.
“Calm down now, both of you. I said I had a suspicion. No solid evidence. I don’t even know what happened to my saddle and the rest of the tack I used that day.”
“I know.” Dylan paced the floor in front of them. “I was there, in law school at UT Austin. I’ve never seen Daddy so upset. It was all we could do to keep him from shooting Destiny on the spot. He blamed the horse. Mama talked him down from that.”
“God! He couldn’t!” Sierra gasped when something bumped her knee. It was Tramp, who had run in from the kitchen. He had obviously been outside then fed recently. He reeked of wood smoke and dog food. She rubbed his head then gently pushed him away. He trotted over to Dylan. Her whole family loved animals. For her father to have talked about killing a healthy horse… Well, thank God that hadn’t happened.
“Dylan, what about the saddle, all of my barrel racing gear? If we could look at that, we might be able to see if it was tampered with.” Sierra shook her head, as if she could shake off the past.
“You were in terrible pain. Daddy blamed himself. He was a lawyer, logical most of the time, but when it came to his kids, he could get, well, emotional.” Dylan ran a hand through his hair.
“What did he do, Dylan?” Sierra recognized the gesture. All of the men in her family did it when they were stressed.
“Burned it all. Made a real big bonfire. Mama was so mad at him. Said he should have donated it to someone who needed it, like Rachel’s girl Sally Ann. Daddy wouldn’t hear of it. Claimed that Sally Ann might get hurt too. Told Rachel she’d be smart to forbid her daughter to race again. Then he lit that pile of very expensive leather and watched it go up in smoke.”
“I remember that.” Rachel stood in the doorway. “Never saw your daddy in such a state before. We all cried happy tears when they managed to save your leg, Sierra.” She had the tissue out again. “I told my girl that I wasn’t spending one more dime on barrel racing. She had to quit riding that summer. Entry fees were too high for her to pay without my help.”
“I’m sorry for that. Sally Ann was good. She had a decent horse too. Came in second to me many times.” Sierra stood and stretched. She’d finished her water. “This talk is depressing. Besides, something smells really good. I don’t remember eating lunch.”
“Yes, it does smell good.” Rhett was up beside her. “And we did skip lunch. No wonder I’m hungry. Is it ready, Rachel?”
“Sure is. Come on into the kitchen. Or I can set you up in the dining room.”
“Kitchen’s fine.” Sierra was glad to leave talk of the past behind as she followed Rachel. She sat at the table and finally relaxed. She’d like to leave this to Rhett and her brother. Rhett had certainly proved himself last night. Working as hard as she had to save her horses. And now he was willing to look into the event that had shaped her adult life. Even if he didn’t find anything, it was a relief to hand it over to someone who took her seriously. She’d voiced her concerns to her parents in the hospital as soon as she was lucid. But they’d been too shocked, too worried about her leg, to listen. Then there had been her headaches from the head injury. Had she really told them anything? Much of that time after the accident was a haze of pain and doctors. Maybe she’d dreamed the scene where she’d told them her suspicions.
Enough. She let the delicious smell of Rachel’s home cooking wash over her. After the stench of her burning barn, it was a welcome relief. But she couldn’t forget that the fire was no accident. Who had set the blaze? Was this just another attempt to get her to sell out and leave? She suddenly lost her appetite as the other three filled their plates. Was she a fool for risking her horses and maybe her life for a piece of property?
“You’d better eat, sis. Rachel has outdone herself. Mashed potatoes, creamed corn and sweet peas from the garden.” Dylan dropped a piece of steak on Sierra’s plate. “Don’t insult the cook by just sitting there. Dig in.”
Sierra grabbed his arm and squeezed. “Thanks for coming. Did I say that?” Oh, hell. Her eyes filled with tears.
“You don’t have to say it. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He plopped a spoonful of potatoes on her plate next. “You cry and I’ll make you eat two pieces of steak.” He added corn and peas. “You hear me?” His eyes were shiny. “Anyone wants to hurt you has to come through me.”
Rhett smiled, his mouth full. But he nodded. Like he was agreeing.
“Okay then. Maybe I could eat.” Sierra reached for the gravy boat. “Rhett, you need to try this gravy.”
He swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I have a confession to make.”
Sierra stopped, her hand trembling. Oh, no, surely he wasn’t—
“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t burn down your barn.”
She carefully set the small pitcher on the table. “Guess my nerves are more shot than I realized. Go ahead, Rhett. What are you confessing?”
“Remember I told you that my mama is from Atlanta. She cooks a great chicken-fried steak. With a dynamite gravy, Rachel. So going in, I was reserving judgment. It takes a lot to beat my mama’s steak and gravy.” He smiled.
“Well, what’s the verdict?” Sierra’s heart finally was beating normally again.
“If you ever meet my mama, don’t tell her, but, Rachel, this beats my mama’s chicken-fried steak all to hell.” He cut another piece of it and waved the chunk with a perfect golden crust in the air. “Sorry if I freaked you out, Sierra.”
“That’s okay. It’s my fault. I need to eat, I guess. This looks great, Rachel.” She attempted a bite of Rachel’s rightfully famous creamed corn. Sweet. Delicious.
“Dylan, tell me about your law practice.” Rhett winked at her.
Sierra ate slowly as the conversation moved on to Houston and her brother’s successful practice. Wow. She’d had no idea she was so on edge that one little statement could send her into a potential meltdown. She couldn’t begin to finish her meal, but she ate enough to satisfy Dylan and a watchful Rachel. The housekeeper shooed them all out of the kitchen after they declared themselves full. She offered coffee and pie.
“Couldn’t possibly. I’m ready for bed.” Sierra had hit a wall and didn’t pretend she hadn’t.
“And I need a shower and bed myself. In the morning we can sit down and get those details about your accident. That okay?” Rhett hovered near her.
Dylan had his laptop out on a desk against one wall of the den. “I have work to do. See you both in the morning.” He watched them.
“Good night.” Sierra put her arms around Rhett. It would serve her nosy brother right if she laid a big kiss on Rhett. Too bad she didn’t have the energy for it. “Thanks for today. And last night. You don’t know me yet you risked your life to save my horses.”
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