Hank froze. “You are not to go near the house, dammit. It looks safe enough now, but fire’s unpredictable. One little spark and it could flare up all over again. The house could go next.”
“No,” she said quietly. “You’ll have the fire under control long before it gets that far. Look, Hank. Look at the barn. There are very few flames left. It’s mostly smoldering now.”
“And you and I both know how quickly that could change with the wind whipping around and everything dry as tinder. Stay here, dammit. I’ll get whatever supplies you need and send them out here.”
She could see there was no arguing with him, so she stayed where she was, relaxing only after he’d gone. Seated on the tailgate of the pickup, her gaze following Hank, she was only dimly aware of her father and mother coming to sit on either side of her.
“It’s going to be okay, darlin’ girl,” her father promised. “It’s just a barn. We’ll all pitch in and have it rebuilt for him in no time.”
“What if I’m wrong, though? What if it does spread and take the house?”
“Then we’ll rebuild that, too,” he said. “You know how folks around here stick together in a crisis, and Hank’s practically family now. We’ll do what’s right by him.”
“You won’t be able to rebuild Hank’s spirit so easily,” she said. “This ranch means the world to him. He’s a lot like Luke, Daddy. He could have stayed at home and taken over his father’s operation, but he needed to prove he could succeed on his own. You remember what this place was like before he fixed it up. It was a wreck. He’s turned it into a home.”
“As long as you are safe and his cattle are safe, Hank will have what it takes to start over,” her mother said, then gave her a pointed look. “And this baby you’re carrying will give him a reason to look forward.”
Lizzy was startled that her mother had guessed, then recalled Hank’s outburst back at White Pines. She searched her mother’s face for signs of anger. “You’re not furious with me?”
“You’re my daughter. I’ll always love you, no matter what. This won’t be the first baby that got a jump on its parents’ marriage.”
Lizzy turned to her father, fearful of the condemnation she might read in his eyes. “And you?”
“Do you even need to ask? All I want is your happiness. Just tell me when the wedding is and I’ll be the proudest man in the church.”
Tears leaked from her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “You two are the most incredible parents a woman could ever have.” She decided now was not the time to tell them that there was no wedding date just yet or that she was the one holding out. There would be time enough to get into all that when the fire was out and things had settled down again.
Lizzy peered through the increasingly heavy smoke trying to catch sight of Hank, but all she saw were shadows rushing about with hoses and buckets, dousing the new flare-ups, and men with shovels digging a break line to keep the fire from ever reaching the nearby ranch house.
Mrs. Wyndham emerged from the chaos bearing first-aid supplies. “Hank says you may be needing these and that I’m to stay and help.”
She was as calm and unflappable as ever. Lizzy had the feeling that it would take a lot more than a fire to rattle Hank’s housekeeper.
“Do you have any idea what happened?” Lizzy asked her.
The housekeeper shook her head. “I never saw a thing. Pete was in with me having his supper when we heard a shout from one of the men. Next thing I knew, all hell had broken loose. They had me call over to your place and told me to get what I could out of the house just in case the fire started spreading that way. I’ve loaded Pete’s pickup with all the valuables I could carry and moved it down the lane.”
Her gaze sought out Hank in the distance, and she shook her head. “That poor boy. Every rancher has a hard life, but Hank’s worked harder than most to make a go of this place. He’s always had something to prove to himself.”
She glanced at Lizzy. “As if there was ever any doubt about him measuring up,” she said fiercely. “There’s not a man around who can hold a candle to him. I don’t know what I would have done when C.J. took sick and had to retire, if it weren’t for Hank giving me this job. He gave Pete a break when his last employer decided he was too old to work. Hank surely doesn’t deserve a thing like this.”
“Were they able to get all the livestock out of the barn?” Lizzy’s father asked.
Mrs. Wyndham nodded. “Most of the horses were in the corral. The men just turned them loose. I suppose they’ll wander back on their own sooner or later.”
“I see,” her father said, his expression thoughtful.
Lizzy recognized that tone. She could tell from her mother’s expression that she did, too.
“Harlan, what are you thinking?” her mother asked. “I know that tone of voice.”
“You ever heard of an accidental fire that gets started when it’s least likely to harm an animal?”
“There’s no accounting for when a short will set off a fire,” her mother said.
“It just seems a little too coincidental to me. I’d say someone wanted to do some damage but didn’t want to be blamed for taking any lives, not even the horses’.”
“Then you’re saying this was deliberately set, too,” Lizzy said, stunned by her father’s confirmation of Hank’s own theory, which she’d badly wanted to dismiss as absurd.
“I am and, more than likely, by that same weasel who’s been behind all the other mischief around here.”
“Who?”
“Brian Lane, of course.”
Lizzy’s mouth gaped. “What are you saying, Daddy? Surely you don’t think Brian would burn down Hank’s barn. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“But that’s exactly what I think,” he countered. “And if Hank finds out that’s who it was, there won’t be a place on this earth that man can hide.”
“But why?” Lizzy asked, though the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach told her she already knew some, if not all of it. “It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
Her father regarded her intently. “Don’t you dare go blaming yourself for this. The man had an agenda, that’s all. You were an intended victim, same as Hank. It had more to do with oil than love, I can guarantee you that.”
“But if Hank loses everything, I’ll still be partly to blame,” she whispered, staring toward the devastation of the barn.
“You will not,” her mother said, taking her firmly by the shoulders and forcing her to meet her gaze. “No one’s to blame but Brian.” She shot a look at her husband. “If this was his doing in the first place. I still say your father is making something out of nothing and that he’s going to get sued for slander for dragging the man’s name through the mud the way he’s been doing the last few hours.”
Lizzy forced a smile at the defense of Brian. It was proof of her mother’s generous nature. “You always did see the good in people. For an attorney who dealt with her fair share of guilty criminals, it’s a pretty amazing trait.”
“Yes, well, sometimes you have to look beyond the obvious.”
“And sometimes, evil’s just plain evil,” her father contradicted. “I never liked that man. I told Jordan that, too, on more than one occasion. I suspect that’s why Jordan never made him a part of his company, even though Brian hinted at it often enough.”
“Daddy, if you felt that way about Brian, why in heaven’s name did you even invite him to White Pines?”
He shot her a rueful look. “Because he’s the kind of man men tend to take an instant dislike to. Heaven help me, I figured if anyone could get Hank to admit to himself how he felt about you, it would be Brian. Thank goodness that part worked, at least.”
“Oh, Harlan, when will you stop meddling?” her mother whispered with a sigh. “Can’t you see that’s what set all of this in motion?”
“I
t also got Lizzy and Hank headed along the right path,” he argued, his expression intractable. “And I won’t apologize for that.”
They were still debating the point when Lizzy slipped away and headed out across Hank’s property on the shortcut back to White Pines. The walk would do her good. She needed to think and she needed to be alone to do it. Her mother and Mrs. Wyndham could cope with whatever injuries turned up among the men fighting the blaze at Hank’s, and the paramedics had been arriving from neighboring counties for some time now.
None of them had a treatment for what ailed her, though. She doubted there was a medical text available that had a treatment for guilt. No matter what her parents said, she’d set all of this in motion—she and her father—with their games to make Hank jealous.
It was time—way past time, in fact—to grow up and take responsibility for her own actions, to get over the notion that all of her whims would be granted as they had been since childhood. She owed Hank for having set all of this into motion. Now it was payback time. Sometimes there simply were no easy choices or quick fixes. And sometimes love meant sacrificing a dream to do what was right.
* * *
By midnight the fire was out and the fatigue had set in. Though the women from the neighboring ranches had brought soup and sandwiches and coffee all during the evening, no one had really had time to sit down and take a break to enjoy them. Now they sat in the beds of pickups and on the ground, waiting to be sure that not a single spark was left to set off a whole new blaze and using the time to catch their collective breath.
“I will never be able to thank you all enough,” Hank said to Cody, Luke, Jordan and the other men nearby.
“No thanks necessary,” Cody said. “You’d do the same if one of us was in trouble. That’s just the way it is.”
“My question is how are we going to prove who was behind this?” Jordan asked.
“The truth is we may never know,” Luke said bluntly.
“We’ll know,” Hank said, unwilling to let it rest until they did. “I am going to look that sick son of a bitch straight in the eye and demand an honest answer. I’ll know if Brian Lane is lying.”
“And then what? Are you going to turn him over to the law?” Cody asked.
“It won’t do any good without proof,” Justin said as he came up to join them. “You’ll need evidence that will stand up in court, not all the suppositions and slander I’ve heard being tossed around here the past few minutes.”
Jordan frowned at his son. “Okay, Justin, you’re so dead-set on being a lawman, you find the proof,” he challenged. “Then maybe I’ll take this notion of yours seriously.”
Justin stilled and stared at his father. Hank could feel the tension shimmering in the air between them. Apparently, the others could feel it, too, because Luke said quietly, “Jordan, Justin doesn’t need to prove his worth to you. If he wants to be a cop, then he needs your blessing, not a test he has to pass before you’ll give it to him. Remember the hoops Daddy made you and me jump through.”
“And we were stronger men because of it,” Jordan declared, his expression set stubbornly.
“Even so, we both vowed we wouldn’t do the same to our own kids,” Luke countered. “Not that I did so well taking my own advice where Angela was concerned. My expectations drove her off and kept her away from Jessie and me for years. Learn from my mistakes, too, Jordan.”
Jordan sighed. “Okay, you’re right,” he conceded with obvious reluctance. He faced Justin. “Still and all, catching Brian in his lies ought to guarantee you a place with the sheriff’s department right here in Los Piños.”
“Tate’s eager to retire and run off to Arizona so he can play golf seven days a week. He’s already guaranteed me a place,” Justin retorted with a grin. “But I’ll see what I can come up with just the same.” He glanced at Hank. “Will you leave it to me for now? I swear to you I won’t let Brian Lane get away with this if he’s guilty.”
Hank didn’t want to agree. He wanted to find the other man and beat the truth out of him, but he nodded anyway. “For now,” he agreed. He glanced toward the place where he’d left Lizzy hours earlier. His truck was still there, but there was no sign of her. A faint shiver of alarm raced through him when he couldn’t spot her. “Has anybody seen Lizzy?”
“Not me,” Cody said.
“Haven’t seen Janet or Daddy in a while, either,” Luke noted. “Their truck’s gone. They’ve probably gone back to White Pines to get some rest. Why don’t you give her a call over there, Hank? I’ll bet Lizzy is waiting up to hear that everything’s okay.”
Hank shook his head. If Lizzy had gone home, it was because she needed the sleep. Since he couldn’t tell her brothers why rest was so critical for her now, he said simply, “If she’s with Harlan and Janet, she’s in good hands. I’ll catch up with her first thing in the morning. I’m going to get some sleep myself now. You men ought to head on home and do the same.”
Cody shook his head. “Send the others home, but I think I’ll stick around a little longer, if you don’t mind.”
“I might as well hang out till morning, too,” Luke agreed.
“Count me in,” Jordan and Justin said together.
Hank eyed them suspiciously. “Why? You don’t think Brian will try again, do you?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past that scum,” Cody said angrily. “I’d like to get my hands on him myself. We’re all here. We might as well keep an eye on things. If he sets foot on the place, one of us will spot him.”
Hank gave him a grateful look. “Then you all go on inside and catch whatever sleep you can. I’ll have Mrs. Wyndham make me a fresh pot of coffee and I’ll take first watch.”
The others all agreed and headed for the ranch house, all except Cody, who remained right where he was.
Hank studied him intently. “Something on your mind?”
“You and Lizzy.”
“What about us?”
“I haven’t heard anything about a wedding date.”
“We’ve had a few other things going on around here since she got home this afternoon,” Hank stated.
“Have you set a date or not?” Cody persisted.
Hank gave him a resigned smile. “Not exactly.”
“But you’ve asked her?”
“Till I’m blue in the face,” he said with frustration, then shrugged. “She’ll come around in her own good time. I’m counting on it.”
Cody grinned. “Could be she needs a little nudge. Want me to talk to her? Better yet, I could have Melissa, Sharon Lynn, Jenny and the other women gang up on her.”
“I doubt that would do much good. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about an Adams, they do things in their own sweet time and not even an act of God is going to rush them.”
Cody nodded. “If you know that about us, then I suppose you and Lizzy will get on right well.” His gaze narrowed. “Just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t follow my example and wait too long. Try to get her to the altar before the baby’s born.”
Hank stared at him in shock. “Is there anything you people don’t know practically before it happens?”
Cody laughed. “I’m not omniscient, if that’s what you’re thinking. I had a minute alone with Daddy earlier. He told me you’d let it slip and that Lizzy had confirmed it.”
“Then I’m surprised you didn’t toss me in among the dying embers of that blaze.”
“And rob my niece or nephew of a daddy? Not a chance.” He leveled a steady look at Hank. “But I will hog-tie you and drag you into the church myself if need be.”
“Hey,” Hank protested. “I’m not the one who needs persuading. You made me an offer not a minute ago. Talk to your sister.”
Cody shuddered, clearly less interested in such a discussion with the stakes escalating by the minute. “Oh,
no, I think I’ll leave her to Daddy, after all. She’s his little girl. If she’s going to listen to anyone, it’ll be him.”
“That may have been true once,” Hank said. “But something tells me Lizzy’s marching to her own drummer these days, and the rest of us are just going to have to wait until he starts playing our tune.”
15
It had been forty-eight hours since the fire, and Hank had been caught up in a whirlwind of decisions. He’d also been beseiged by nosy insurance investigators, to say nothing of trying to round up all the horses that had scattered at the first whiff of smoke. In all the confusion, there had been no sign of Lizzy and no time to go looking for her.
He had a feeling he knew exactly what Lizzy’s disappearing act the night of the fire meant. He’d seen the guilt in her eyes when he’d mentioned that Brian Lane might be behind the fire.
He also guessed that she was hiding out at home, trying to distance herself from him and the decisions that had to be made.
By midday of the third day after the fire, things were settling back into a more normal routine. He and Cody and the others agreed that the danger from another fire was slim. Brian—if he was the one responsible—was lying low. Maybe he even knew by now that Justin was looking for clues that would implicate him. It wouldn’t stay a secret for long around Los Piños that he was under suspicion for setting the blaze.
“Boss, the men and I were talking,” Pete told him when he found Hank staring at the rubble. “We’ll get to work on putting up a new barn in our spare time. If you’ll get the lumber in here, we’ll get started tonight.”
Hank was touched by the offer. “That’s not necessary,” he told the older man. “I can hire a crew to do the job. You all have enough work.”
“Yes, it is necessary. You’ve stood by each of us when we’ve had our troubles. Just look what you’ve done by keeping Billy-Clyde on the payroll when he hasn’t been able to pull his weight. As for me, I’d be rocking on some porch, bored to tears, if you hadn’t given me this job. We figure we owe you.”
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