by Carolina Mac
“The guy in the park is nobody, Ty. I’m working.”
“Didn’t look like nobody to me.”
“If you want to come over tonight, I’ll explain it to you.”
“Don’t think you can explain it.”
“Okay. Just so you know, he’s coming for dinner on Sunday and I’m showing him the ranch and the stock.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Saturday, June 6th.
Quantrall Ranch. Giddings.
JESSE sat down to breakfast in the dining room with his brothers and it was great to be back home. Charity sat next to him in her high chair eating cereal and making a huge mess trying to feed herself.
Tyler tried to help her, and she jerked the spoon away from him. “Hey, little girl, that isn’t nice. Let me help you.”
“Me,” she said.
“Okay, you do it, and I won’t look at the mess you’re making.”
Molly put a platter of ham and eggs on the table and smiled at Charity. The toddler could do no wrong in Molly’s eyes. “I’ll get you a biscuit, baby girl.”
Bobby chuckled watching his niece from across the table. “How are you feeling, Jesse?”
“Not bad. A little drained.”
Brian gave Jesse the ‘doctor’ look from his seat at the head of the table. “This is a week of rest. Remember that, Jesse. I only released you from the hospital because you promised to stay in the house and take it easy.”
“Yeah, I know, Brian, and I’m happy to be out of there. I won’t do anything crazy. Promise.”
“You’re quiet, Ty,” said Bobby. “Everything okay?”
“Not okay. Annie’s doing something, and I don’t know what it is. Makes me crazy when she says things that don’t make sense.”
She can’t tell you about her work, Ty.
“What ain’t making sense?” asked Jesse.
“She went on a date with an old guy and she said it was business—horse business. And then she was having lunch with him yesterday in the park across from the store. I got mad and hollered at both of them.”
“Oh, fuck, Tyler. You didn’t?” Jesse blurted it out before he could stop himself.
“Did so. And why shouldn’t I? She pisses me off when she hangs around with men I don’t know and lies about it.”
“Do me a favor,” said Jesse. “Let it go. She’s working and its important that you don’t mess it up.”
“What’s she doing?” asked Brian.
“I can’t tell you,” said Jesse. “Trust me on it.”
“She told me her date was with some asshole named Winston somebody, but there was a Lazy L truck parked at the store and I know who that is. Fucking Paul Leggatt. Daddy never trusted him far as he could throw the fucker.”
“Stay out of it, Ty. Please,” said Jesse.
“Why should I? The bastard’s in my space.”
Jesse nodded at his brother. “Uh huh. It looks that way to you, but Annie has no personal interest in him.”
“How the hell do you know that, Jesse?” Tyler was on his feet taking a stance.
“I know it. Okay?”
“What’s going on?” asked Brian. “What’s Annie doing? I know the woman is capable of almost anything and I don’t like her near my family.”
Bobby glared at Brian. “Come on, Brian. Don’t talk like that. I’ve worked for Annie for years and I trust her completely.”
“Ty can trust her too,” said Jesse. “They just got back together, and he needs to give her a little leeway. Just give her a week.”
“How do you feel about Ty and Annie?” asked Brian. “Are you brooding over it? If you are—don’t. You’re far better off without her.”
“I’m okay with it,” said Jesse. “I want Ty to be happy.”
“She said the guy is coming to look at her stock tomorrow,” said Tyler. “I think I’ll go over and straighten things out.”
“Don’t,” said Jesse. “Do not interfere in this, Tyler.”
“Like you can stop me?”
“I will if I have to,” said Jesse. He pushed his plate away and left the table.
The Blackmore Agency. Austin.
BLAINE hunkered down in his office and dug deeper into Paul Leggatt’s known associates. There wasn’t much info on the net—a pretty quiet bunch if you could believe it. Quiet for a reason.
After what the unit had discovered at Lee Warren’s house, something was definitely in the offing. Leggatt’s people were amassing a huge armory of military grade weapons and explosives. But why?
The man knew they had to be stopped and had assigned Annie to take out the leader. Cut off the head of the snake. Would it be enough?
Before starting on the next member of Leggatt’s crew, Blaine refilled his mug and had a quick smoke outside. Already warm, it was going to be a hot one. He watched the dogs run and play in the huge yard as Carm feed the Koi. She moved from the fish pond to her vegetable garden and began to pull weeds. Blaine went back to work.
The bodyguard was next on his list. Lil had run the tag on the black SUV that tailed Leggatt to Mill Antiques and it belonged to a Cory Lebovic. Screen after interesting screen came up and Blaine was keen to print all of the info to read later when his cell rang.
“Blackmore,” he answered. Nothing. “Hello, anybody there?”
“My Aunt Laura is…” He listened and heard nothing. Then another word came through. “overdue…”
“Pardon? You’re breaking up and I’m not getting it. Say again.”
“…call back.”
“Who is this?” The connection was broken. “Damn it. It sounded like a kid. Was that the kid Misty told me was trying to phone? The voice was young, and he was definitely far away. What was he trying to tell me?”
Blaine wrote down everything the kid had said, and it wasn’t much of anything. Aunt Laura. Overdue. That was about all he got. Shit. He pressed the number to recall and got nothing. He’d have to wait until the kid called again. Would he call again?
Ranger Headquarters. Austin.
JESSE struggled with the stairs. Holding tight to the handrail, he was almost out of breath by the time he reached the bottom level at headquarters where the holding cells were located. He stopped at Perkin’s desk, the Ranger on cell duty, and spoke to him. “Just have a couple of things to say to one of the prisoners. Won’t be a minute.”
“Okay, Ranger Quantrall. No rush. None of them are going anywhere.”
Jesse strode down the row of cells peering in each one looking for Skylar or Heather or whatever the fuck her name was. Second cell from the end, he spotted her lying on her bunk reading a book.
“Morning, Skylar. I have a few things to say to you, young lady. What do you have to say for yourself?” He started off determined to be calm, but the anger flowed through him like poison and he couldn’t control it. “How could you take my baby out of her home like you did?”
Skylar sat on the side of the bunk and shrugged. “I needed money. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.” She snarked out the words as she got off the cot and sauntered over to the bars. “Pure and simple, Jesse. I needed money and you have lots of it. You wouldn’t miss a couple of million… or five, would you?”
Unbrushed blonde hair hung in her face, her eyes were puffy and red from crying. The orange jumpsuit she wore was two sizes too big and hanging on her small frame like a potato sack.
“I trusted you,” said Jesse, in not much more than a whisper. “I trusted you with the most precious thing in my life and you betrayed me.”
“Shame on you, Jesse. You shouldn’t have trusted me.” Skylar tossed her matted hair and laughed. “You were such an easy mark.”
“Yeah, I guess I was,” said Jesse. “You played me right from the get-go and I fell for it like an idiot.” Jesse felt light headed and gripped the bars to steady himself. “What part did your father play in your little plan?”
“Daddy’s the planner. Not me. Ask him your quest
ions.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
Jesse left the holding cell section and made his way to the infirmary. He was approaching the door when he realized he didn’t have the strength to confront the father. Physically, he was unable to do it.
He turned back and sat on the bottom step to catch his breath before tackling the climb to the main floor.
On his rounds to check on the prisoners, Perkins noticed Jesse sitting on the step with his head in his hands. “You okay there, Ranger Quantrall?”
“Just winded,” said Jesse. “I’m okay.”
BLAINE was deep into Cory Lebovic’s life history when Farrell called from the lab.
“Hey, bro, we’ve got a situation here. Jesse sneaked in to talk to Skylar/Heather whoever and he’s toast. Can’t make it up the steps from the cells.”
“Oh no. Fuck that,” said Blaine. “Round up some help and get him to his truck. You drive him to Quantrall and I’ll come pick you up.”
“Okay, doing it now. Maybe we can stop at our ranch on the way back and see Mom and Neil.”
“Great idea,” said Blaine. “We’ll do that for sure.”
FARRELL recruited Perkins and one of the techs from the lab and they helped Jesse up the stairs to the main floor.
“We should have an elevator just in case,” said Perkins. “I’ve mentioned it before, but there’s never enough money in the budget.”
Jesse rested in the lobby area at the front of the building for a few minutes, then Farrell walked him out to the Range Rover. “I’m driving you home, boss. Blacky is on his way to Quantrall to pick me up.”
“You don’t have to do that, kiddo. I’m okay to drive. I was just a little winded.”
“Hey, I’ve got my orders, so you’re riding shotgun. Besides, I wanted to give this baby a test drive anyways.”
Jesse grinned. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Be best if the Chief didn’t find out you were lurking around on a Saturday, boss. He wasn’t in favor of you seeing Miss Skylar.”
“Well, he was about a hundred percent correct,” said Jesse. “I never should have done it. At least not for another week or so. She made me so mad I almost lost it.”
Quantrall Ranch. Giddings.
BLAINE drove from Austin out to the Quantrall Ranch to check on Jesse and pick Farrell up and he arrived first. Tyler was on the porch having an afternoon beer and he grinned when Blacky clanked up the porch steps in his black Harley boots.
“Hey, I’ve got a Corona with your name on it, Blacky.”
“Sounds good. Hot as hell today, ain’t it?”
“Sure is? Want to sit inside?”
“No, I’m good out here. It’s shady. I’m waiting on Farrell to drive Jesse home from DPS. He got a little out of breath doing something he had no business doing.”
Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“He went to see Skylar in her cell.”
“Oh, Jeeze, he can be such an asshole. She’s the reason he had the fuckin heart attack in the first place.”
“Uh huh. Guess it took more out of him than he figured, and he couldn’t make it up the steps when he was finished talking to her.”
“Why does he do shit like that?” asked Ty. “I’m getting your beer and I could use another round myself. When I get back, I need to ask you something.”
Ty returned seconds later and handed Blaine a cold Corona. “What do you want to ask me?”
“Annie’s hanging around with Paul Leggatt and it’s pissing me off. I want to know why she’s doing it.”
“Aw, shit, Tyler. I can’t tell you why, but it’s something you need to back away from, I can tell you that much. She has no interest in him personally. I can guarantee that as a fact.”
“That’s what Jesse said, but I don’t get it. Why is she acting friendly to him?”
“She has to, and I can’t tell you why. She’s working on something.”
“For you? Like undercover?”
Let’s go with that.
Blaine nodded. “Uh huh. She’ll be done in a couple more days. Don’t mess her up, okay?”
“Okay, I won’t, but it pisses me off seeing her all cozy with a piece of shit like Paul Leggatt. I don’t know him, but Daddy did, and he had nothing good to say about him.”
“Can you remember what Lou said about him?”
“Not so much because it was a long time ago, but stuff like, ‘Good man to stay away from’ and shit like that.”
“Uh huh,” said Blaine, “so he’s had a rep for more than a few years.”
Tyler shrugged. “Guess so. Never thought about it.”
Jesse’s Range Rover zoomed down the laneway and Farrell parked close to the porch.
“Here’s the bandit now,” said Blaine, as he ran down the steps and gave Jesse a hand out of the passenger seat. “Doing shit he wasn’t supposed to be doing.”
Jesse grinned. “You are so right, partner. I should have been sitting on my ass on the porch having a cold one with y’all.”
Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.
ANNIE closed the store after a busy Saturday and drove home to Coulter-Ross. She had to smooth things over with Tyler, or he was going to mess up her plans for Paul Leggatt, if they weren’t messed up already.
She tossed her purse on the kitchen counter, pulled a cold Lone Star out of the Sub-Zero and texted Tyler.
“You playing tonight at Boots?”
“Yep. Are you coming to sing?”
“Uh huh, if you want me to.”
“Course I do. I love you, baby.”
“I’ll get ready.”
Boots and Saddles Roadhouse. Giddings.
THE ROADHOUSE was packed on a Saturday night and the decibel level was at the max. The live band always drew a huge crowd and there were no empty tables or booths.
Annie sat in the booth closest to the stage reserved for the band and sipped on a glass of Lone Star. She’d started singing a couple of songs in each set and the band wanted her to do more, but she wanted to keep it casual. She’d show up whenever she could and that’s all she could do.
During the first break, Tyler sat close to her on the bench seat and ordered a pitcher. He leaned over and kissed her. “I’m glad you could come tonight because I wanted to say sorry about the horse guy. Blacky told me you were doing a favor for him and I almost fucked it over.”
Annie smiled. “You did, but I think it’s still okay. I’ll be done in a couple of days, and it’s not personal, sugar pop. You’re my cowboy. For always.”
“Yeah, except when I’m blowing a fuse over something stupid and shooting myself in the balls.”
Annie giggled. “Let’s have some truck time after the last set. Want to?”
“Truck time is the best,” said Ty with a grin. “My best memories are truck memories.”
“Mine too.” Annie shoved her hand under Tyler’s shirt and rubbed his bare abs while she explored his mouth with her tongue.
She moved her hand lower and he groaned. “I have to play in a couple of minutes.”
“I’m priming the pump for later,” Annie whispered.
“Like I need priming?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sunday, June 7th.
Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.
LEGGATT arrived at the Coulter-Ross gate at two-thirty sharp and waited until Jose verified who he was and let him in. Through the kitchen window, Annie watched him park his truck, then she stepped onto the porch to greet him.
“Beautiful spot, Annie,” Paul waved his arm towards the tops of the tall pines. Gorgeous, just like the owner.”
“You are a flatterer, Paul.” She held out her hand to take his. “Come in and have a beer before we go for our ride.”
“No kiss hello?” he asked. “I was looking forward to another one of those red hot moments like we had in your office at the store.”
“I rethought that,” said Annie. “Maybe I was too forward, us barely knowing each other. Sometimes I’m a
little too spontaneous and if I was, I want to apologize.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I’ve never known a more exciting woman in my entire life and I want to know you better.”
No time for that, Paul.
After one beer on the porch, Annie walked with Paul to the barn. He admired her horses, Desert Wind in particular and asked if the prize-winning stud was for sale.
“I could never part with him,” said Annie. “He’s one of my first purchases and my best. He’s my baby.”
“I have a couple of my own horses that I feel the same way about,” he said with sincerity and she believed him.
Annie had the boys saddle Target for her and her big black stallion, Diablo, for Paul and they rode out for a tour of Coulter-Ross. The afternoon sun beat down and the temperature soared into the nineties.
“Nice looking herd of Angus,” said Paul as they rode through the cattle guard and continued along by the Colorado River. “How’s the fishing?”
“The boys enjoy it.” Annie waved her arm towards a couple of them standing in a deep hole. “They spend most Sundays at the river.”
The trail ride ended with a trip through the pine woods and Annie dismounted at her favorite spot. “I love it back here. Let’s sit a minute and rest.”
“I bet there’s a lot of deer in these woods,” said Paul. “Have you seen any?”
“Uh huh. I see lots of them, and the odd cougar too, but I’d never allow hunting if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“No, I wasn’t thinking that.” He smiled. “You want to think the worst of me.”
Annie giggled. “I do, but it’s hard. I do like you, Paul.”
Without putting any moves on her, he stood up and stuck his boot in the stirrup. “You said you’d show me your range.”
“Sure. That’s our next stop.”
After cooling out the horses and putting them back in their stalls, Annie walked with Paul behind the guest cabin to the target range.
“Uh huh. Nice setup,” he said. “I’d ask to see you shoot if it wasn’t so blazing hot.”
“It is too hot for practice. Let’s save that for another day. In the meantime, we’ll have a cold one and cool down.”