by Janet Dailey
“It’s not just that.” Rose poured syrup on her flapjacks. “He’s having me watched. He even admitted to it. He said it was perfectly legal.”
“It sounds like I need to go have a talk with him,” Bull said. “I can set the bastard straight on a few things.”
“No.” Rose put down her fork. “Not you, Bull. It has to be me. Ferg needs to know that I can stand up for myself. I don’t need a man to stand up for me. Not Tanner, and not you.”
They might have fallen to arguing, but just then Will and Beau came into the dining room, scrubbed, combed, and dressed in fresh school clothes. Laying their backpacks on the end of the table, they sat down, speared two flapjacks each, and drowned them in syrup.
“We feel bad about your lambs, Rose,” Will said. “That was a mean thing to do.”
“It was Ferg who had them killed,” Bull said. “Ferg is a mean man. Remember that if you ever have any dealings with that family. Trust a skunk before a rattlesnake . . .”
“And trust a rattlesnake before a Prescott. We know.” Beau’s jaded tone suggested he’d heard it all before. “Can we ride our ponies after school?”
Bull frowned. “We’ll see. Ask Jasper when he gets back from the mountain.”
Rose had finished her breakfast. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going now,” she said, rising. “Thanks for the flapjacks. You boys have a good day at school.”
She was out the door before Bull could repeat his warning about Ferg Prescott. She didn’t want to be reminded one more time that she was only a woman and not fit to deal with the powerful and unscrupulous boss of the Prescott Ranch. Now, while she was still riled up, would be the perfect time to face the man who’d become a thorn in her side.
Climbing into her truck, she started the engine and roared away from the house, toward the back road that connected the two ranches. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she saw Bull standing on the porch. He was shaking his head.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WHEN NO ONE ANSWERED THE BELL ON THE SECOND RING, ROSE opened the door and stalked into the house. By then she’d worked herself into a seething rage. If Ferg Prescott thought he could harass her and get away with it, she was about to prove him wrong.
She found Ferg breakfasting alone at the dining room table, surrounded by the mounted trophies that had given her the creeps when she’d been there as a dinner guest. The massive bison head, with its staring glass eyes, loomed directly above him. Over the window, the mounted body of a snarling cougar crouched on a long shelf.
As Rose walked into the room, Ferg looked up and smiled, showing bits of egg yolk on his large front teeth. “Hello, Rose. I don’t recall inviting you at this hour, but please sit down and have some breakfast. I’ll have Curly bring you a plate.”
“I’ve already eaten breakfast. And I’ll stand, thank you. It won’t take long to say what I’ve come to say.”
Ferg sipped his coffee, then set the cup down and added some liquid from a silver flask. “So, please go ahead,” he said. “Take your time. I’ve always viewed you as an entertaining little woman.”
“I’m not an entertaining little woman!” Rose snapped. “I’m a legal property owner and a citizen of the United States. And you have no right to send your man onto my land to kill my livestock!”
He gave her a blank look. “My dear, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t give me that.” Rose could feel her anger boiling over. Only the awareness that he was goading her gave her a measure of self-control. “Tanner McCade had you dead to rights. He saw blood on the shoe of your hired thug, and he saw the man coming out of this house.”
“That doesn’t prove a damn thing,” Ferg said. “And even if you could prove it, sheep aren’t livestock. They’re vermin. No court in the state would convict a man for killing them—no more than they would for killing coyotes or prairie dogs.”
“I’m not here to prove anything,” Rose countered. “I’m only here to warn you. Keep your people off my land. I have the right to protect what’s mine—even if I have to shoot somebody to do it. Believe me, I have a gun and I know how to use it.”
His expression went cold. “I know you do, Rose. I haven’t forgotten the night you murdered my father.”
A thread of fear uncoiled in the pit of her stomach. “It was self-defense, not murder,” she said. “Your father had a pistol in his hand. He was going to shoot me because I’d seen him kill my grandpa.”
“But you were never arrested or tried.”
“That’s because you blamed Bull when you knew better. Do you want me to tell the sheriff that you lied?”
For the first time, he looked uneasy. “That’s old news,” he said. “Nobody cares anymore.”
“Then let’s leave it at that.” Rose chalked up a small victory. “But while I’m here, I want to ask you why you’re having me spied on. Tanner said you even admitted to it.”
“As I told your boyfriend, I have the right to know what’s going on next to my property—like those two Mexicans who showed up at your trailer last night. What’s to stop them from crossing the creek and robbing me blind?”
“You’ve no need to worry. They’re gone. But I’m a woman alone. All I’m asking for is my privacy. Can’t you at least give me that?”
“Not if it means I can’t protect my own property. I have that right, too.” His hand came down on a bell next to his plate—the kind of bell a business might keep on the counter to summon service. The ring brought the cook from the kitchen.
“Curly, it’s time for Miss Landro to leave. Would you please escort her to her vehicle?”
“Don’t bother. I can find my own way.” Rose turned and strode out the front door. She had said all she’d planned to say, but being thrown out of the house was the final humiliation. For all her righteous indignation, she had barely made a dent in Ferg Prescott’s arrogance.
By the time she started her truck, she was trembling. She drove back by way of town. Tanner would be working, but just to talk to him, and maybe feel his quick, reassuring hug, would ease the sting.
The TSCRA ranger post was on the right side of the road. Tanner’s truck was outside, but—her heart sank—another official truck was parked next to it. Tanner had mentioned that he was expecting a partner. The partner must have arrived. Rose sighed and kept driving. Tanner didn’t need to be embarrassed by her stopping to cry on his shoulder.
She drove on into town. As long as she was here, she might as well pick up some groceries. Cooking and storage space were limited in her tiny kitchen, but at least she could look for foods that could be easily warmed up the next time Tanner came to visit.
The new grocery store was well stocked. Rose had to rein herself in to keep from buying more than she could use. Next to the frozen pie case, she paused. The pies looked delicious, but if she bought one, she would have to cook it today. There was no room for a pie in her freezer.
She was about to give the pies a pass when an idea struck her—an idea so ridiculous and daring that it just might work. In any case, she had little to lose. Resolving to take a chance, she chose a frozen apple pie and added it to her cart.
Back in the trailer, she put the groceries away and set the frozen pie on the counter. She couldn’t be sure that Ferg’s spy had shown up, but since she’d complained about being watched, she had a feeling that Ferg would send him just to prove he could.
Keeping an eye across the creek, she gathered the eggs and weeded her garden. By the time she’d finished, she could see the willows moving in a way the wind wouldn’t have blown them. Ferg’s spy must be in place. Tanner had mentioned that he was very young and looked harmless. She could only hope that was the case.
Going back inside, she heated the small oven, put the pie inside, and opened the trailer windows. The pie took nearly an hour to bake, but by the time it was done, its mouthwatering aroma was drifting out of the windows, around the trailer, and across the creek. Rose set it in the open doorway. When it was co
ol enough, she cut a slice, put it on a saucer with a fork, and walked to the edge of the creek.
“Hey, you,” she called. “I know you’re there, keeping an eye on me. How would you like a nice, warm piece of apple pie? Can you smell it? Come on out and it’s yours.”
Scarcely daring to breathe, she waited. Was she taking a dangerous risk or playing a brilliant hunch?
The willows stirred and slowly parted. A skinny young man in a camouflage print shirt stepped into the open. Homely, with an oversized nose and bad skin, he couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen. Not much more than a boy, and so shy that he could barely meet her eyes.
“Would you like this pie?” she asked again, more gently this time.
“Yes, please, ma’am,” he muttered.
“Come here and sit down.” She motioned to a cut log that served as a seat. He hesitated, then crossed the creek in the shallow place. Like a timid animal, he approached the log and lowered himself onto it. Rose handed him the saucer and the fork.
“My name is Rose,” she said. “What’s yours?”
“Reuben. Reuben Potter. This sure is good pie.”
“I’m glad you like it. Do you work for Mr. Prescott, Reuben?”
“Uh-huh.” Reuben spoke between bites. “He wouldn’t like it if he knew I was talking to you.”
Rose smiled. “Then we won’t tell him, will we? I know he pays you to watch me. But I want to be your friend. Would you like that?”
He hesitated. “I guess.”
“I won’t always have pie, but if you get hungry while you’re watching, I can make you a sandwich or something, and we can visit a little. Will you let me know when you come, so I won’t be afraid?”
“Sure. I don’t want to scare a nice lady like you.”
“Then there’s something else you can do. It can be dangerous, living alone like this. As long as you’re here anyway, will you watch my place to make sure I’m safe and that nobody comes around to make trouble? That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?”
“No, ma’am.” He finished the pie and handed her the fork and saucer. Rose was tempted to offer him another piece. He looked hungry enough to eat the whole pie. But no, one slice was enough. It would be best not to get his expectations up.
He rose from the log. “Thanks for the pie, ma’am. I’d better get back to work.”
“You’re welcome,” Rose said. “Let me know the next time you come around. And thank you. I’ll feel safer, knowing you’re there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She watched him cross the creek and vanish behind the screen of willows. Had she taken shameless advantage of the boy? Or had she just shown him some needed kindness?
Never mind, she honestly liked Reuben. She even sensed a kinship between them. He struck her as something of an outcast, someone who didn’t quite fit in, not unlike herself. And she did feel safer, knowing that the person watching her was not a stranger.
All the same, she couldn’t deny a feeling of smug satisfaction. In her own subtle way, she’d finally gotten the better of Ferg Prescott.
* * *
Tanner’s new partner, Special Ranger Joe French, was a divorced man in his early thirties, friendly and easygoing. By the end of the first week, he and Tanner had settled into a comfortable routine, with one of them manning communications in the office and the other going out on calls. When a troubling situation arose, they went out together, each serving as backup for the other. By the end of the second week they’d closed two cases, brought five rustlers to justice, and recovered fourteen head of stolen cattle.
After Joe learned that his partner had a sweetheart, he was happy to cover the office and give Tanner an occasional night off with Rose. It wasn’t enough time to suit Tanner, but the work was satisfying, and he was as contented as he’d been in a long time. Someday he would have the means to marry Rose and settle in a cozy home somewhere, surrounded by the family they would have. For now, having a good job and an amazing woman who loved him would have to be enough.
Rose was doing all right, too. Her garden and chickens were thriving, and Bull was paying her a little to do his bookkeeping and help his sons with their schoolwork. Rose’s late grandfather, a retired professor, had educated her well while she lived with him. She could have been a teacher, Tanner thought. Maybe one day she would have the chance.
Over time, he and Joe had been interviewing the ranchers who held properties in the canyons below the caprock. The interviews were nearly finished, except for a visit to one isolated ranch, located in a remote canyon at the end of a long dirt road. Getting there and back would take the better part of a day.
“Why don’t you drive out and do that interview tomorrow?” Joe suggested to Tanner. “Take your honey along. Make an outing of it. I can manage things here for a day.”
Joe’s offer was a gift. “Thanks,” Tanner said. “I’ll tell Rose when I see her tonight. She’ll like that.”
“I’d tell you to marry that girl and make an honest woman of her,” Joe said. “But I know what this job can do to a marriage. My wife couldn’t handle it—the hours, the time away, and the worry that I’d get shot and wouldn’t make it home. She left me for a tax lawyer.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Tanner had had the same concerns himself. Rose was tough and accustomed to hardship. But he wanted to give her a good life and be around to enjoy it with her. For now, that would have to wait.
* * *
The closest thing to a fancy date in Blanco Springs was pizza and sodas at the Burger Shack. Tanner and Rose didn’t go out often, but he enjoyed showing her off. She was a striking woman, and he loved the way she displayed her birthmark with pride. When he was with her in public, he could sense the envy of the men who glanced their way.
Tonight they’d taken the corner booth, where they sat close together, enjoying their combo pizza and talking. Earlier they’d seen Reuben Potter walk up to the counter and order a cheeseburger. Reuben and Rose had exchanged glances but hadn’t spoken. Their friendship was known to Tanner but was otherwise a secret.
It tickled Tanner that Rose had won over the young man Ferg had hired to spy on her. And it was reassuring to know that an extra pair of eyes was watching her place, helping keep her safe.
So far there’d been no sign of the cartel and, after two weeks, no word from Raul and Joaquin on the mountain. But the worry was always there, in the back of Tanner’s mind. He wouldn’t rest easy until he knew that the threat was gone for good.
“I’m excited about our outing tomorrow,” she said. “Do you want me to pack a lunch?”
“Nothing fancy, and not unless you have time. I’ll bring some snacks and plenty of water. We can stop for a meal after we get back from the interview.”
She stirred the ice in her Diet Coke. “I’ve been thinking,” she said. “As long as we’re out in the truck, how much time would it take on the way home to circle around and stop by that line shack in the Rimrock’s mountain pasture?”
A subtle alarm went off in Tanner’s head. “I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen it on an aerial map. It’s not that far out of the way. Maybe an extra hour. But are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I’ve thought about it,” she said. “I know it’s the usual thing for cowboys to work out of the line shack for weeks at a time. But I’m worried. Raul and Joaquin were like brothers to me once. What if something’s happened to them?”
Uneasiness crept up Tanner’s spine and tightened a knot in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t like this. But he knew Rose. She’d made what seemed like a reasonable request, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“We’ll go on one condition,” he said. “I want you to let Bull or Jasper know what we’re planning. If they say we shouldn’t go to the line shack, promise you’ll at least listen.”
She sighed. “All right, we can stop by the Rimrock tonight. Why don’t we box up the rest of this pizza for Joe? I’ve had all I can eat.”
“Fi
ne.” Tanner signaled the server and asked for a take-out box. Minutes later they were back in the truck, on their way to the Rimrock.
They found both Bull and Jasper sitting on the front porch. Bull’s boots rested on the porch railing. Jasper’s cigarette glowed red in the darkness. He tossed it over the side as Rose and Tanner came up the steps to join them.
“What are you youngsters up to?” Jasper asked. “You look way too serious for such a nice evening.”
Rose told them about her plan to go to the canyon ranch with Tanner. “I hope you can spare me for a day, Bull,” she said.
He lowered his feet to the porch. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “The books are up-to-date. And with school ending next week, the boys don’t have much mind for their classwork. Go and have a good time. I know you could use a break.”
“Thanks,” Tanner said. “But there’s more. Tell them, Rose.”
“If you two are running off to get married, that’s fine with us,” Jasper teased.
“Not that,” Rose said. “But I’ve been concerned about Joaquin and Raul, alone up there in the line shack. I’m trying to talk Tanner into paying them a visit, just to make sure everything’s all right. We could even deliver them more supplies if you want.”
“But I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Tanner said. “We’ve agreed to let you two make the call.”
“We have?” Rose raised an eyebrow. “I said I’d listen.”
“I’m with Tanner,” Bull said. “Before they showed up here, those boys were running drugs for the Cabrera cartel. Whatever they told you, I don’t trust them. Neither should you.”
“What about you, Jasper?” Rose asked. “You drove them up to the line shack. What do you think?”
“I think you’d best leave well enough alone,” Jasper said. “We sent those two boys up the mountain to keep you safe. I know they’re like family and all, but the less you have to do with them, the better. As for your bein’ worried about them, they’re big boys. They can look out for themselves.”