by Louisa Bacio
“Ah, Ms. Chapa. We spoke on the phone yesterday.” He stepped forward, holding out his hand. “I’m Shaw McDiamond. You called about, ah, a problem you’ve been having on your farm.”
Once he got closer, he caught a better look at her. Strong, defined cheekbones, inquisitive eyes, and these full luscious lips that immediately put him on edge. The ugly yellow slicker camouflaged quite a looker.
She cocked her head to the side, evaluating him. “Mr. McDiamond. How did you know my name? I thought you didn’t have any interest in what I was telling you? That I was making things up.”
“I never said that,” Shaw countered. “And we’re the government. I do know a few things.”
“Great. Way to make a first impression,” Jackson said. “Looks like we’ll be sleeping in this heap.”
“Well, you may think I’m crazy, but I’m not heartless,” she said. “I’m not going to leave you out here for the boogey monster to get. Grab anything you might want for tonight, lock up and I’ll take you to the ranch.”
“Thank you,” Alec said. “See, I said you should have contacted her.”
Shaw did his best to ignore the snide comments, knowing they were all in good nature. They’d experienced some harsh conditions. A dark road with a little bit of sprinkles—this was nothing compared to their last assignment in the wilds of Costa Rica.
From the trunk, they each grabbed their duffle bags, and an equipment case that fortunately rolled. As the three of them lined up in front of their rescuer, she whistled.
“Not sure if the three of you and all that will fit in my little golf cart, but we’ll try it.”
“You get to sit next to her,” Jackson said.
“Appreciate that,” Shaw replied. He didn’t expect to meet her under these conditions. What a way to give a professional first impression—broken down on the side of the road. Being run off the road by an unidentified dashing object. Who wasn’t going to be believing him?
Together, they lifted the equipment case onto the back of the cart and for a moment, he wondered if it was going to tip over backward.
“Looks like you’ll have to hold your luggage,” she said. She slid behind the driver’s wheel and turned on the dome light. As threatened, the guys grabbed the back seat, leaving Shaw to take the front.
In the cramped space, with the bag between his knees, his thigh pressed against Lucia. There was something about this woman. The heat of her body warmed him, and he pushed aside the inappropriate thoughts flooding his mind just as surely as the rain was flooding the ditch along the highway. She glanced down at the juncture and then sideways at him before starting the engine. The little cart lurched forward and she made a wide turn. The wheels rumbled over the rough terrain, and she hung a left onto the ranch drive.
“See, we didn’t have much further to go,” Alec said. “If you wouldn’t have started imagining things.”
“I saw something,” Shaw said. “If your lazy ass hadn’t been asleep, maybe you would have helped me out.”
“Do you guys always bicker so much?” Lucia asked. “I mean, it’s entertaining and all, but how do you get anything done?”
“We’re proficient like that,” Jackson said. “Once we’ve uncovered a mystery, we won’t stop until it’s solved.”
“Like a case of an unseen object in the road?’ Lucia asked.
Shaw glanced over his shoulder at the main highway. Damn, if he was going to let their ribbing get to him. They were out here to investigate an unknown something, and he wasn’t going to discount whatever ran in front of the car.
“So what were you doing out here, anyway?” Lucia asked. “I’m not going to believe it was some sort of coincidence that you showed up in my neighborhood—way out here.”
“We got disconnected somehow,” Shaw said. “And it really sounded like you need help.”
“We do, and I hung up on you.”
One thing for sure, she didn’t mince words. Soft black curls escaped from under the minion-yellow hood, and for a quick moment, she rested her eyes on him. They were rich dark-brown with souls so deep, he instantly felt he could get lost in them. His gut clenched. Something on her ranch had been slaughtering animals. Usually, from his experience, it was only a matter of time before the violence escalated and it turned toward humans.
“Well, fortunately, I work for this government agency that has special high-tech monitoring systems like caller ID,” he joked. “I was able to grab your number and trace the source location.”
“You investigated me?”
“Investigate? How about research. I had to figure out if you were legit.”
Soft yellow lights bathed the path as they neared the house. The rain came down harder, on a slant, and soaked all those not wearing an ugly slicker. She parked under an overhang, offering some shelter.
The front door opened and a young woman stepped out. “We were getting worried,” she said. “Hurry up, get in here.”
4
“These are the government folks aiming to rescue us,” Lucia told the room full of onlookers. Roxy must have alerted the entire household and taken down her hair.
“By the looks of things, I’d say you did the rescuing,” Papi joked. “I’m Rodrigo Chapa, owner of this ranch. Pardon me if I don’t stand but it’d take me a while.”
“Sir, I’m Shaw,” the head of the group held out his hand. “This here is Jackson and the other guy is Alec.”
Alec raised his hand. “Yep, that’s me, the ‘other guy.’ Maybe someday, I’ll be a real member of this team.”
“Well, whatever the circumstances, thank you for coming,” Papi said.
A lull in the conversations hit once all the introductions had been done. Lucia tossed Dominique the first-aid kit and pointed toward the injured agent. “This one seems to need some medical attention. Will you take him to the bathroom?”
“No worries. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Hey, I don’t mind,” Dom said. “More practice for me.”
“She’s in nursing school,” Lucia explained.
“Cool,” Alec said. “You like helping others.”
Dom shrugged before pushing the other guy out. “Lots of jobs available, and I don’t mind the sight of blood.”
Fortunately, with the reduced staff, the ranch could accommodate the surprise guests. In a few minutes, Dom returned with Jackson, who donned a pink Hello Kitty bandage covering the corner of his right brow.
“All patched up,” she said.
“I said I didn’t need anything,” he said. His accompanying scowl stopped any responses.
With the cutbacks on staff, the bunkhouse remained relatively empty. As the overseer, Mack had his own quarters off to the side, but the main room housed a few relatively comfortable beds.
A break in the rain offered a dry excursion. Lucia carried some spare linens and pushed the door open with her hip.
“You don’t keep it locked up?” Shaw asked.
She turned on the light, bathing the room in a yellowish hue. “Not much use doing that. Mack’s right there if anything is happening.” She pointed to the closed door. “We don’t get many ‘interlopers’ out here. Besides, there’s nothing valuable to take.”
“I get top bunk,” Jackson said, stepping off to the side and heading to a bed on the right.
“Well, so do I,” Alec said.
Shaw eyed the remaining available choices. “It would probably be best to have one of us at the main house, in case anything happens. Do you happen to have an open room?”
I’ll make room for you in mine. Despite the thought being on the tip of her tongue, Lucia didn’t say it. “That can probably be arranged.”
“What do you say about putting some cameras outside the bunkhouse for at night,” Jackson said, “and a few more around the main residence, too? Is there a room in the house where we can set up a central location for the main hub?”
“The playroom works,” Lucia said. “It has a large table, but also a place to sle
ep. Sound good?”
“Home, sweet home,” Shaw replied. “You two get the basics started here, and then let’s meet up in a few.”
As Shaw directed the team, Lucia couldn’t help but appreciate how he took command. He wore a pair of wrinkled gray slacks and a white button-up shirt. Wet from the rain, the see-through material clung to his broad shoulders. Despite drying off, his hair curled on the edges, and she resisted smoothing it out.
“Gotcha.” Alec’s stomach rumbled, loudly. His cheeks flushed an adorable shade of pink and he covered his stomach with one hand.
“And I’ll put together some grub, too,” Lucia said.
“That’ll be much appreciated, ma’am,” he said.
The trip back to the house took on an odd quality. Lucia and Shaw walked side by side in a peaceful truce. Her mind jumped from one topic to the next, each time filtering back on why he was there.
An eerie stillness blanketed the night. Usually, odd sounds of animals and insects broke the silence. It was as if everything knew something lurked out there, or a storm brewed on the horizon, and all creatures were hunkered down for safety.
“Beautiful out here,” Shaw said, gazing up at the sky. After the wind and rain blew away the clouds, bright stars dominated the dark blue sky. He stopped at the corral around the goats. “How many do you have?”
“About fifty, give or take. The ranch has only about forty acres. We used to be closer to a 100, but that’s dwindled.”
“What happened?” Shaw asked, turning toward her.
For a moment, the intensity of his hazel eyes, even under the darkened sky, quieted her. Then, she found her footing.
“Believe it or not, back in the forties, there was a huge hurricane that swept through this area. Newspaper accounts and documentation support the family stories,” she said. Even to her, growing up in the area, the idea she was about to propose seemed totally fantastical. “The storm shifted the Rio Grande, part of the land that used to lay on the U.S. side fell on the Mexico border. We lost a good thirty acres. Over the years, bits and pieces were parceled out, until this is what we have left.”
She finished talking with her arms outstretched. How often had her father wished he’d had a son to carry on the tradition, or at least one of his three daughters would marry someone interested in staying on and taking care of the ranch? Instead, he’d been graced with the three of them. By far, Lucia was the one most willing to keep the traditions going, but even she questioned how much of that was by choice or by obligation.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Shaw looked out toward the direction she had pointed toward the river. “And that land was just lost?”
“Well, supposedly, those who lived here at the time were given the opportunity to move to Mexico and claim the land on that side. One of my great-grandfather’s brothers did exactly that,” she explained. “But the tales of the chupacabra visiting surfaced right after that. It’s like when we lost the land, something from that side crossed over here, and has been visiting every seven years since.”
The ensuing silence did nothing to mask the heavy beating of her heart. If it wasn’t so damn cold out here, her cheeks would be flushed from the embarrassment of sharing her family’s history. Even with how out there it sounded, she believed. Maybe that’s another reason why she stayed. Not just obligation to her father, but to her ancestry.
A shiver passed through her and she shook it off. Shaw reached out, rubbing his warm hand along her shoulder and across her back, offering a momentary warmth and comfort.
“The rain will probably start up again soon. Let’s get inside.”
She didn’t want to lose his touch. This man whom she didn’t invite to come and investigate. A man she never expected to meet, and yet within such a short expanse of time, he offered a safe haven in the storm. It was nice that he didn’t scoff at her admission and immediately discount it. Rarely did she talk about the history of the ranch and never with a man. With a nod, she acknowledged his suggestion and they moved on.
“Baaaa.” Dominique sat on the floor of the wash room, holding the baby goat and attempting to feed it a bottle.
“Never a dull moment,” Lucia said. “How’s it going?”
Dom wiped a smear of milk off her cheek. “I may be wearing more of it than he’s eating,” she said.
“This is the offspring of the mother that was killed most recently,” Lucia explained to their guest. “We tried introducing him to another nursing mother, but I think they’re too anxious. He didn’t do so well.”
“I’m not going to let him die,” Dom said. When she got upset, her chin set in a square of obvious determination.
“Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen,” Lucia said. “Don’t you have a final tomorrow?”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not worried about that.”
“I am,” Lucia said. “We’re holding down the fort out here so you can go to college. Crunch time, sis. You go to sleep. I’ll make sure he eats.”
“And I’ll help,” Shaw said.
Lucia raised her eyebrows at him. Maybe the secret government guy had more skills than she figured.
“Are you sure?” Dom asked.
She waved her off. “Want to see your quarters before or after we take care of the little guy?”
“Before, please,” Shaw said. “Let me put down this stuff so I have free hands.”
Wonder what you can do with them?
* * *
And that’s how I found myself sitting on a cold cement floor with a sleeping goat in my lap. Shaw brushed his hand over the spiky fur. His heart filled with contentment. Despite coming out here for a job, maybe he’d learn a bit more, a sense of peace that infused the land. No wonder generations of this family stayed and worked on the ranch.
As much as he liked to push away any distractions of the outside world, small reminders like this bundle of…life…in his arms made him see the world a bit differently. Something had killed its mother, and now he was here in order to make sure that fate didn’t happen to this little guy, any of the other flock, or their keepers.
You can’t save them all. Doubt swamped his mind, and that wasn’t the way to live. To do what he did, he needed to question the questionable, but when it came to his abilities, those were solid. He possessed a skill and a focus that enabled him to save others.
Now all those abilities were turned to Lucia and Three Rivers Ranch.
“If there’s only one main river out there, why is the name Three Rivers?” he asked.
After serving all of them a light meal, Lucia stood at the sink, washing the dishes. Jackson and Alec did their best to dry and help out. Her younger sisters and father had turned in for the night.
“An obvious question,” Lucia said. “It’s the tributaries. The river splits into three branches, bringing the life of the water out to the farm lands. We got our name before the storm merged the life force and changed its course.”
“Tell us more about when your mother disappeared,” Jackson said.
Shaw tried to catch his eye, to give him the signal not to push too much before bed.
“We were all pretty young back then,” Lucia said. She leaned against the counter, leaving the water running full force, gazing out the window.
With a swift movement, Shaw shut off the water. “Why don’t we hold off on this conversation for the morning,” he said. “When we’ve all had a good night’s rest.”
5
Used to waking before anyone else, Lucia hit the kitchen to prepare breakfast for their guests. Although she’d been mad at the way Shaw had treated her on the phone, him showing up soothed some of the aches.
From the fridge, she grabbed a dozen eggs, potatoes, onions, spinach, mushrooms, and the farm’s fresh goat cheese for a frittata. She’d learned to make the cheese from her grandmother. With the push toward organic this and that, and the diverse population seeking to capture some of the flavors of their heritage, products made from goat’s milk co
ntinued to gain popularity. The ranch housed a number of varieties of goats with a few award-winning blood lines that fetched a fair price for those who liked to show the animals.
Those high-priced sales came few and far between. The daily breadwinner was the milk and cheese. After peeling and chopping the potatoes, she added the veggies and sautéed all in a cast iron pan on the stove top. One by one, she cracked the eggs, added salt and pepper, and poured the entire mixture over the potatoes. She slid the pan into the oven, then got started on biscuits and turned on the coffee. In the last few minutes of cooking, she crumbled the goat cheese over the frittata and let it brown.
“What smells so damn, pardon me, darn good?” Shaw stumbled into the savory smelling kitchen, rubbing his eyes and with his dark hair all askew.
If she thought he was handsome the night before, this morning he was absolutely adorable.
“Breakfast. I was going to call you all once it was done.”
“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble. We can fend for ourselves.”
The buzzer on the timer went off, and Lucia used oversized oven mitts to remove the frittata. Steam danced through the air, carrying the striking aroma.
Shaw moved to stand beside her and inhaled loudly. “I take that back. You can cook anytime you want.”
Laughter bubbled from her belly and Lucia covered her mouth. “Doesn’t take much to please you, does it?”
His eyes dropped heavy, and sexy, and he looked her over. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Wanna grab yourself a cup of coffee? The mugs are in the cupboard above the pot.”
“What happened with your dad and his leg?” Shaw talked as he poured coffee and settled at the table.
“Diabetes and poor circulation. He had an accident on the farm, and the wound never healed. He’s still getting used to maneuvering, and I’m picking up some of the slack.”
“Must make it hard,” he gestured toward the outside, “taking care of all this with such a small staff.”