With a curt nod, Derek watched as Junior and Belinda got into the patrol car. Gravel crunched and spit beneath the tires as the car pulled away. Derek sank down onto the porch, his thoughts once again in chaos.
Was it possible the attack tonight had been aimed at him? Was it possible that whatever hatred had burned down his house and nearly killed him three years before had been festering…waiting for his return?
If the attack had not been aimed at him, and rather at Belinda, then what could she possibly have done to garner such malevolence? And who had sent him those notes? Somebody trying to warn him…or somebody attempting to lure him?
“YOU ALL RIGHT?” Junior asked as they pulled away from Derek’s house.
“A little shaken up, but I’m fine.” It was a lie. She wasn’t fine and she was more than just a little shaken. What bothered her was that she didn’t know which had frightened her more: the bullets coming from an unknown assailant or the force of her physical reaction when Derek had been on top of her.
A bullet might provide a quick, merciful death. Caring about Derek in any way, shape or form would be a slow, painful kind of death.
“So, have you tangled with anyone lately? Made somebody mad at you?” Junior’s question interrupted her thoughts.
“No.” She flashed him a quick smile. “You know me, Junior. I’m fairly nonconfrontational. It comes from being the middle child between two dynamos like Abby and Colette.”
Junior offered her a wry grin. “Those two do tend to be bull headed…and don’t you go telling them I said that.”
Belinda smiled at the gray-haired old man, affection welling up in her heart. Since their father’s death, Junior had become a surrogate father, checking in on them often, offering his support and wisdom.
“Junior, you were best friends with Dad. Did he ever tell you one of us was adopted?”
Junior shot her a look of surprise and shook his head slowly. “No, honey, he never mentioned it. Of course, the three of you girls were just tiny things when your daddy bought the ranch and moved here. If one of you was adopted, it didn’t matter to him. I’ve never seen a man who loved his girls like your daddy did. Your mama was the same way, devoted to you girls.”
Belinda nodded, a knot of grief clogging her throat as she thought of her parents, now gone for more than six years.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Junior asked.
Swallowing hard against the grief, Belinda explained to the sheriff about Roger’s claim. “I can’t imagine why Roger would lie about all this. He has nothing to gain by claiming any familial ties.” She laughed, the sound hollow. “It’s not like he can possibly be after our money. We don’t have any.”
“I still don’t like the sound of it. I’m going to check out this Roger Eaton…or Roger Whinnert, and see what I can come up with,” Junior said as he pulled up in front of the Connor house.
“And you’ll let us know what you find out?”
“Of course I will.” He put the car in park and turned to Belinda, his features appearing old and tired in the glow from the dashboard. “I let you girls down before. I won’t do it again.”
Belinda reached over and covered his hand with hers, knowing he still felt guilty because he hadn’t suspected his deputy was working with their foreman to try to get their ranch. “You couldn’t have known about Richard Helstrom. He fooled us all.”
“But I should have known. It’s my job.” He cleared his throat and gave her hand a squeeze. “If there are skeletons in this Roger Eaton’s closet, I’ll find them. If there’s even a hint of something not right with his story, I’ll let you know.”
She nodded and opened her car door to get out.
“Belinda?”
She hesitated and looked back at him.
“I heard the rest of the family is leaving in the morning to go to California.”
“That’s right. We’re hoping to find some investors.”
“Maybe you should go stay with a friend or something. I don’t like the idea of you being out here all by yourself.” His forehead puckered with a frown. “You’ve had two close calls in the last couple of weeks.”
Belinda gazed at him quizzically, then realized what he was talking about. “I can’t imagine that the car running me off the road has anything to do with what happened tonight,” she protested. She smiled reassuringly at the old man. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I can’t imagine why anyone would be after me. And as far as the incident tonight goes, I think you’d better ask Derek who he’s tangled with since returning to town. Maybe whoever tried to burn down his house three years ago isn’t too happy to see him back in town.”
“Maybe,” Junior agreed thoughtfully. “But until we know who was responsible for the shots tonight, until we know why, I want you to be especially cautious.”
“I will. I promise.” With a final goodbye, Belinda got out of the car and watched as it pulled back down the road, the taillights finally disappearing into the darkness of the night.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she stood for a moment, allowing the sounds to soothe her frayed nerves. Out here, with the moon shining down and the night creatures clicking and singing their lullabies, it was hard to take Junior’s warning too seriously.
A soft whinny from the corral outside the barn reminded Belinda about Candy. Belinda headed in that direction.
As she passed the bunkhouse, she noticed it was dark and quiet. During the week the ranch hands usually bedded down early. She checked her watch, surprised to realize it was nearly ten o’clock. Not only was the bunkhouse dark and silent, but so was the main house. Everyone there had probably gone to bed early in preparation for their trip in the morning.
Candy greeted her, nuzzling her hand as Belinda stepped into the corral. “Hi, girl. You found your way home, huh.” Belinda stroked the horse behind the ears for a moment, then opened the barn door. She led Candy inside, pausing to turn on the bare light that dangled on a long wire from the ceiling.
She unsaddled Candy, then led the horse back to her stall. The light barely penetrated the dark shadows in this area of the barn. But Belinda was as familiar with this area as she was with her own bedroom.
“Here you go, girl,” she murmured softly as she moved the horse into the wooden confines. Fresh hay had been placed on the floor and smelled sweet and clean. Knowing she should go to bed, but too wound up for sleep, Belinda grabbed a curry brush and began to work down Candy’s flanks.
The horse stood patiently, apparently enjoying the touch of the brush against her sides and back. As Belinda worked, her mind raced with everything that had happened at Derek’s.
Oh, why, when she was around him did she find it so hard to reach within herself and find the hate she wanted to feel for him? What magic did he spin that made her still weak and breathless at his mere touch?
She froze. She thought she heard something, something like the soft pad of footsteps on hay. Candy raised her head and sniffed the air, as if sensing something amiss.
Belinda set the brush down and carefully opened the stall door, frowning as it creaked on rusty hinges. “Hello?” she called hesitantly. “Is anyone there?”
Silence. Utter silence. Candy nervously pawed the straw beneath her hooves and snorted as if trying to tell Belinda something.
As Belinda remembered that moment of sitting astride Candy and the whiz of the bullet by her head, cold chills shivered up her spine. Had somebody tried to shoot her at Derek’s and when that had failed, followed her here?
As long as she remained in Candy’s stall she was trapped, an easy victim for whoever might be out there. Breathing shallowly through her mouth, she moved out of the stall and toward the main area of the barn where the light shone more brightly.
She took several steps, then paused to listen. Again she heard the faint rustle of stealthy movement. Belinda’s heart leapt into her throat as fear rippled through her. Somebody was definitely in the barn with her. The fact that whomever it was hadn’t a
nswered her call only made her fear intensify.
She’d been foolish to enter the barn alone at night while the rest of her family all slept. She’d told Junior she’d be cautious, then had proceeded to do something stupid.
Looking around for anything that could be used as a weapon, she tried to still the frantic pounding of her heart. A pitchfork leaned against the wall and she grabbed it, reassured by the wooden handle and sharp tines.
She advanced to where the light shone brightly, illuminating the entire area. “Is somebody here?” she asked, then stood still and listened.
Nothing. No answer, no sound at all. Seconds stretched into minutes and still Belinda didn’t move. As she looked around, she began to feel foolish. Nothing appeared disturbed, nothing seemed amiss.
Leaning the pitchfork against a wall, she chided herself for overworking paranoia. She’d probably heard one of the barn cats that wandered in and out chasing mice.
With a final look around, she pulled the light chain, then left the barn, closing the door behind her. She turned and screamed as she encountered a solid body and hands gripped her shoulders.
“Billy!” She stepped back from the menacing, sullen-featured ranch hand. “What are you doing out here?”
He shoved his hands into his pockets, his dark eyes gleaming in the pale glow from the moon. “I saw the light in the barn and thought I’d better check it out.”
“Were you inside the barn just now?” Belinda asked.
Billy shook his head, his dark, straight hair swinging around his narrow face. “I didn’t get that far before you came out”
Belinda wasn’t sure if she believed him or not, but she was definitely uncomfortable standing in the dark of night with him. “Everything is fine. You can go on back to the bunkhouse,” she said.
She watched as he nodded curtly, then headed back in the direction from where he’d presumably come. Billy Sims. Had he lied to her? Had he been in the barn, waiting for the opportunity to harm her in some way?
Disturbing thoughts tumbled around in her head as she went into the house and carefully locked the door behind her. Once in her bedroom, she turned on the small lamp by the bed and changed into her nightgown.
Instead of getting directly into bed, she turned off the lamp and moved to the window, her mind still whirling in contemplation.
In the past several months her sisters had been plagued with strange “accidents.” First, Colette had sworn she’d been pushed off the edge of a butte, then locked in the cellar at the Walker place. Then Abby had been hit with a hay bale tumbling from the loft in the barn. All three incidents had nearly deadly consequences and hadn’t been fully explained to anyone’s satisfaction. Was somebody playing deadly games with them?
She frowned, thinking of Billy Sims. She’d heard that Billy had lost visitation rights to his children after Abby had fired him. Was it possible he thought he had a grudge to settle with the Connors?
Rubbing her forehead, she turned away from the window and got into bed. She didn’t know what to think. Perhaps the light of day would bring answers. She shivered, the dawn suddenly much too far away.
Chapter Six
“Drive safely,” Belinda yelled, then waved to the occupants of the car that pulled down the driveway. She watched her family disappear from view, then hugged herself to ward off a sudden chill.
Early morning sunshine peeked out from behind the last of the night clouds, casting a golden glow to the landscape. The air was pungent with autumn scents and Belinda felt a sharp pierce of bereavement as she tried to imagine life any place else but here.
She’d tried to make a life for herself separate from the ranch when she’d moved to Kansas City. She’d been miserable. She knew so much of her and her sisters’ strength came from the rugged terrain that made up this place of their roots.
Somehow, some way, Abby and Colette had to succeed in finding investors. They couldn’t lose this place. They just couldn’t.
Derek’s proposal taunted her; a way to keep the ranch, a way to make her sisters happy. And yet Derek had made it clear he wanted no emotional entanglement. What he offered her had nothing to do with love, nothing to do with lifetime commitment. He needed a temporary wife and nothing more.
“Mornin’, Belinda.”
Belinda jumped at the sound of the deep voice behind her. She turned and smiled at Bulldog. “Good morning, Bulldog. You’re up early.”
He shrugged. “The sun’s up, so I’m up.” He looked in the direction where the Connor car had disappeared. “Looks like you’re gonna be all alone for a while.”
Belinda nodded. “For a couple of weeks.”
“Aren’t you scared of being alone?”
Belinda smiled at the big, childlike man. “Not really. I’ve got nothing to be afraid of in my own home.”
Bulldog’s broad forehead wrinkled with a deep frown. “I’m scared what’s going to happen to me if you all sell the ranch.” For a moment his features darkened with anger. “Your daddy always promised me I’d have a home here. If you sell, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Bulldog, no matter what happens, we’ll make sure you have a place to live, a place where you’re happy.” Belinda tried to reassure him.
“I’m happy here,” he answered succinctly.
“So am I.” For a moment the two of them stood silent in the dawn light, gazing at the land around them.
For the first time Belinda realized that in selling the ranch they were not only displacing themselves, but all the men who worked for them, as well. “Maybe whoever buys the ranch will let you stay on and you won’t have to leave,” she finally offered.
Bulldog’s frown didn’t ease. “I can’t talk about it no more. It makes me too sad…and too mad.” Without waiting for her reply, he turned and walked toward the barn.
Belinda watched him go, her heart aching with his fears of losing his home. The same fears that ached in her own heart.
She started to go into the house, then changed her mind and instead headed for the dragon tree. Throughout her life, anytime she’d been lonely, frightened or upset, sitting beneath the dragon tree had always brought her solace.
The leaves were at autumn peak, a fiery red that heightened the impression of a dragon breathing fire. Within days, the leaves would fall to the ground and the dragon would disappear until spring foliage once again created the form of the mythical beast.
She sank down at the base of the tree, studiously keeping her gaze from the direction where she knew she’d be able to see the roof of Derek’s new house.
She didn’t want to think about him, didn’t want to analyze why she’d responded so passionately to his nearness when they’d been on the ground together the night before.
Instead, she closed her eyes and focused on just breathing in the sweet-scented morning air and clearing her mind of turmoil.
Within minutes she was asleep and dreaming. She knew it was a dream and fought against it as the vision of her and Derek making love unfolded in her mind.
The image filled her with wistful longing as she remembered the strength of his arms surrounding her, the heat of his kisses, the utter splendor of being loved by him.
The scene unfolded like a movie projected on the screen of her mind, and she watched in horror as flames began to consume the grass surrounding where they lay.
As the fire edged closer, the heat grew so intense it stole her breath. She struggled to escape, but Derek’s arms tightened around her, holding her prisoner to his passion…and the flames.
“Good morning, Belinda.”
She awoke with a start and snapped her eyes open to see Derek standing next to where she sat. Disoriented, she blinked several times in an effort to leave her dreams and reclaim reality.
“You’re up early,” he said as he sank down next to her in the cool grass. He took off his dusty brown hat and placed it beside him on the ground.
“The rest of my family left this morning for California. I got up to see them
off, then came up here and promptly fell asleep and started dreaming.”
“I hope I didn’t interrupt pleasant dreams.”
She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “No, I’m grateful for the interruption. I was having a nightmare.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
She shook her head as she felt a blush warm her face. “No, it’s not important.” Gazing at him, she noted how the early morning sunshine peeking through the tree leaves glinted on his blond hair and painted his face in warm hues. He looked like the handsome, golden cowboy of her past…of her dreams. She averted her gaze. “You’re up and around early, too.”
“Bear’s crew is working every day from dawn until dusk. I got roused out of the house early for the men doing the interior painting.”
“The house has gone up so quickly. They’ve probably set some kind of new world record,” Belinda observed, wishing he didn’t smell like sunshine and fresh rain and a subtle hint of spicy cologne.
He smiled, his eyes the warm brown she remembered so well. “It’s amazing how quickly things can get accomplished when you’re paying top dollar.” He leaned against the tree trunk, his gaze lingering on her. “I wasn’t surprised to find you here. You have always loved this tree.”
“Yes.” Belinda leaned back once again and straightened her legs out in front of her. “Mama loved this tree, and taught the three of us to love it, as well. Our dragon tree. She always talked like it was more than just a piece of wood, like it was some sort of guardian that could hear secrets and never tell, that listened to weaknesses and never judged.”
She laughed softly. “I know it sounds crazy, but I always felt like this tree had all the wisdom, all the answers to all my problems, if I’d just learn to listen to what it had to say.” A blush once again warmed her cheeks. “Pretty silly, huh.”
He touched one of her hands, his fingers calloused, but not unpleasantly rough. “Not silly at all. I feel the same way about this land. That’s part of what brought me back here.”
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