by Elle James
“You must be the new regional boss Kujo was talking about.” Thorn gripped Jake’s hand. “Good to meet you. Hell, it’s good to have a job.”
“I know the feeling. Kujo and Hank Patterson hired me a couple of days ago.” He turned to Gunny and RJ. “We’ll be based out of the Lost Valley Ranch. Gunny and RJ are the owners.”
“So Kujo was telling me. Seems they’re having some security issues we’re helping with.”
Gunny snorted. “Security, my ass. We’ve been attacked, and we don’t know who the hell’s doing it.”
“If you two are finished getting to know each other, I’d like to make sure my father’s alive.” RJ stepped around Thorn and hurried over to the hospital bed where her father sat up with cuts and bruises on his face, a frown making him look even grumpier than usual. “Hey,” she said softly.
“You shouldn’t have come,” he groused.
“Yeah, well, Jake made me,” she said.
“Someone needs to be there to open the bar and get food on the table for the guests.”
“I left a roast in the crockpot for supper. All I need to do is make a salad, and dinner will be ready. JoJo is all set to open the bar. And I’m guessing Kujo is on his way to help.”
Her father’s frown deepened. “So, you’ve got things handled. I don’t need to be here. I feel fine.” He drew in a deep breath and winced. “Except when I breathe deeply.”
“Then don’t breathe deeply, Dad.” She smiled down at him. “They only want to keep you one night. It won’t kill you.”
“Maybe not, but who’ll keep what happened to me from happening to you?”
“That’s what Jake is doing,” she said.
“We didn’t see it coming. That guy shot out of nowhere.” Gunny reached out to grasp her hand. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Jules. I need to be home where I can keep an eye on you.”
“I feel the same, Dad. But you need to be where the medical staff can keep an eye on you. Concussions are serious business. If you get bleeding on the brain, you need to be where they can help you. Out at the ranch, you’d just die.”
“But I feel fine.”
“Humor me, Dad. Stay the night. Everything will run fine for one night without you. I’ll make sure of it.”
“And I’ll be there to protect her,” Jake said.
Thorn stepped forward. “And I’ll be here to protect you, Mr. Tate.”
“Call me Gunny,” RJ’s father said. “Mr. Tate was my father.”
“Yes, sir,” Thorn said.
“Dad, we have to go, if we want to get supper on the table and take care of the bar.” RJ leaned over her father and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
He reached out and patted her hand. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”
“I promise,” RJ said. “Get some rest.”
“That’s all I can do here,” he muttered.
Jake and RJ left the hospital and headed back through Ute Pass to Fool’s Gold and out to the Lost Valley Ranch. All the way, Jake was extra vigilant, slowing at blind curves and watching out of the corner of his eye for vehicles darting out of nowhere.
Kujo had been with Gunny, and he hadn’t been enough to keep the older man from being injured.
Jake prayed he’d be enough to protect RJ.
RJ almost wanted to refund all of their guests money and send them home. She was afraid they might become collateral damage if whoever was trying to kill her and Gunny clipped one of the guests in their crossfire.
Once at the ranch, she checked in on Kujo and JoJo. They had the Watering Hole up and running and the patrons taken care of there.
Jake and RJ headed for the lodge to get supper on the table for the guests there.
When she entered the kitchen, she was greeted with the savory aroma of roast beef. The scent reminded her that she hadn’t had lunch. Her belly rumbled in response. She didn’t have time to eat. Not yet. Their guests would expect a meal in the next thirty minutes.
Once again, Jake proved helpful in the kitchen. Between the two of them, they cut up a salad, ladled roast beef onto plates and carried the plates out to the guests in the dining room. Once they’d all been served, Jake and RJ sat down to eat a quick dinner. Then they made plates of food for JoJo and Kujo and carried them across to the Watering Hole.
RJ and Jake took over while Kujo and JoJo ate their dinner. The crowd of patrons was slightly smaller than usual but was just as thirsty. RJ mixed drinks while Jake waited tables, keeping a close eye on RJ.
By the time Kujo and JoJo took over, RJ found herself exhausted.
“Go get some sleep,” JoJo insisted. “Kujo and I can finish up here and close the bar.”
“I’m going to take you up on that. I can barely keep my eyes open,” RJ yawned.
“Go,” JoJo said. “We’ve got this.”
RJ left the bar with Jake. Striker followed her back to the lodge and found his bed in the great room.
RJ locked the doors and headed up to her room, her pulse quickening with every step she climbed.
Jake was right behind her.
Would he follow her all the way to her bedroom? Would they make love into the wee hours of the morning and wake tired but satisfied?
She had her hand on her doorknob when she turned to see Jake had his hand on his.
She’d initiated their first time in bed together by inviting him into her shower. If he wanted to be with her, he’d have to initiate it this time.
RJ entered her room and left her door unlocked. For a long moment, she waited, watching the doorknob, hoping it would turn and Jake would come in.
When he didn’t, her disappointment weighed heavily on her.
Was once enough for him?
Well, it wasn’t for RJ. She wanted so much more from Jake.
Apparently, he didn’t feel the same.
RJ stripped out of her nice clothes, pulled on an oversized T-shirt and climbed into her bed. The drawer on the nightstand was slightly open. She started to push it closed but saw the box of condoms inside and opened it instead.
Maybe he was giving her the option to rest without being bothered.
She grabbed a packet from the box, swung her legs over the side of her bed and padded to her door. With her hand on the doorknob, she leaned close, listening.
Nothing.
Son of a bitch. Steeling her nerves, she yanked open her door and ran smack into Jake standing on the other side, his fist raised to knock.
RJ blinked up at him. “Oh, it’s you.”
He smiled. “Expecting someone else?”
She shook her head, grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him across the threshold into her room.
Her heart rejoiced.
He’d come to her.
RJ handed him the condom packet. “Care to put this to good use?”
He smiled and took the packet from her fingers. “I thought you’d never ask.”
They stripped. Jake removed his prosthesis, and the next hour was magical with Jake bringing her to the edge and beyond, and then making love to her.
Afterward, they lay naked in each other’s arms and fell asleep.
RJ snuggled close and didn’t wake until she heard the sound of Striker pawing at the door, whining. When his whining didn’t produce the desired movement, he barked. And the barking became more insistent.
“What the hell?” RJ muttered as she rose to her feet, pulled on her T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. The dog probably needed to go outside. She opened the door.
Expecting Striker to rush in, she was surprised when he grabbed the hem of her shirt and tried to drag her out of her room.
“Hey,” she said. “I’m not dressed to go outside. I need shoes.” Then she smelled it.
Smoke.
Chapter 13
Jake grabbed his prosthesis, cursing its clumsiness and wishing he could run out the door instead of stopping to put on his leg.
RJ disappeared with Striker. Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and ban
ging sounded on doors as RJ shouted, “Everyone, get out of the lodge!”
A smoke alarm screamed to life as people rushed down the stairs.
By the time Jake had on his leg and pants, he was the last person in the hallway. He ducked his head into each room, calling out, “Everyone out?”
When he was certain there weren’t any stragglers left behind, he descended the stairs.
Kujo met him at the bottom, his T-shirt pulled up over his mouth and nose. “Everyone is out on the front lawn.” The man coughed and blinked his eyes.
“Go,” Jake said. “Stay with RJ. If someone set this fire, he might stick around to make sure she dies in it.”
“You should go be with her.”
“I’m not the one with a baby on the way and wife waiting for me to come home,” Jake said. “Just do it.”
Kujo nodded and left the lodge.
The smoke was heaviest coming from the kitchen. He grabbed a tablecloth from one of the dining tables, wrapped it around his face and felt the swinging door to kitchen. It wasn’t too hot, so he pushed inward and choked on the smoke, billowing from around the edges of the door leading into the basement.
Grabbing the fire extinguisher from the wall near the stove, he felt the door to the basement. It wasn’t super-hot, which led him to believe the fire hadn’t heated to a flashpoint.
He opened the door, hit the light switch and waited for the smoke to clear a little. Thankfully, the light was still working, but it didn’t help much bouncing off the smoke.
Tucking the tablecloth closer around his face, he rushed down the stairs.
His eyes stung, and his nostrils and lungs burned, but he plowed forward, feeling his way. He pulled at his memory, trying to recall where he was headed based on his visit to the basement with Kujo and Gunny when they were discussing its conversion into a base for the Brotherhood Protectors Colorado division.
A cool breeze wafted toward him, pushing the fog into his face. Ahead, he spied a bright red and orange wall of flame where a stack of empty wooden crates had been.
Jake aimed the fire extinguisher at the flame’s base and let loose a stream of the carbon dioxide mixture. He didn’t waiver, attacking the fire relentlessly until the retardant completely smothered the flames and nothing was left but smoke and ash.
He gave the source of the flames a thorough dousing, emptying the fire extinguisher.
As the smoke settled, that cool breeze led him toward a broken basement window. Someone had thrown something through it. Probably a Molotov cocktail.
When he was certain the flames wouldn’t resurge, he climbed the stairs and exited the kitchen through the back door. It was possible the person responsible was still on the grounds, lingering to view his handiwork.
Though the night air was cold on Jake’s naked chest, he breathed in the clean air, trying not to cough and alert the culprit.
Moving into the shadows, Jake searched the tree line, hoping to find the bastard who’d tried to burn down the lodge with people in it. When his search came up empty, he circled around the side to the front where guests stood in the yard, huddled in their night clothes with blankets wrapped around them.
RJ stood at the front door, calling into the smoke-filled interior, “Jake! Damn it, Jake! Get your ass out here. The lodge can burn to the ground for all I care as long as you’re not in it.”
Kujo stood behind her, using his body as a shield should someone decide to shoot at the rancher’s daughter.
Striker tugged at her shirt, urging her to back away from the lodge and the black haze issuing from inside. Thankfully, the smoke was lessening, and soon, would stop altogether.
“Jake!” she yelled, her voice catching on a sob.
“I’m here,” he called out, hurrying to her side.
She turned and flung herself into his arms. “Damn you,” she murmured, her lips pressed to his smokey skin. “I thought the smoke got to you.”
Kujo laid a hand on his back. “Dude, we were about to go in after you.”
“I’m okay,” he said and coughed, his throat scratchy and irritated. But he was alive.
“We used the phone in the bar to call 911,” Kujo said. “The fire department should be on its way out now.
The distant sound of sirens confirmed Kujo’s prediction.
Soon, the yard was filled with fire trucks, an ambulance and two sheriff’s vehicles.
Sheriff Richard Barron stepped out of his vehicle. Deputy Gathright and the fire chief joined him as they met Kujo, Jake and RJ on the front porch.
Jake explained what he’d found in the basement and how he’d extinguished the fire. The emergency medical technicians checked Jake over and suggested he go to a hospital to make sure he didn’t have any lasting effects from smoke inhalation.
“I’m okay,” he said and returned to RJ’s side. His throat felt like hell, but he was glad to be out in the open air, not in a hospital emergency room.
The firefighters entered the building. After a few minutes, the fire chief came out to report, “The fire’s out, thanks to Mr. Cogburn. However, as he suspected, it appears to be a case of arson. We’ll have to conduct an investigation. In the meantime, we recommend your guests stay somewhere else tonight.”
RJ nodded. “I’ll arrange to put them up at the Iron Mountain Lodge. Can they go inside to collect their belongings?”
The fire chief nodded. “Yes, but after we’ve aired some of the smoke out of the lodge. One of my guys will have to escort them one room at a time.”
After the firefighters opened all the windows in the lodge and the air cleared, RJ organized the guests. One couple at a time, they entered the building, collected their belongings and carried them out.
Jake walked with RJ to the bar to place a call to the Iron Mountain Lodge, securing three rooms for the displaced guests. RJ grabbed a roll of trash bags from the storage room before they headed back to the lodge.
She handed out the trash bags to the guests. “Put your things in this before you place them in your vehicles. That way you don’t make your cars smell like smoke. Lost Valley Ranch will pay to have your clothes and suitcases cleaned to get the smell out. Does anyone need a driver to get you to the Iron Mountain Lodge?”
Mrs. Pendergast raised her hand. “My husband and I have difficulty driving at night. If we could follow someone, that would help.”
“I can lead you all out there,” Deputy Gathright offered. “When you’re ready. No hurry.”
Soon, a caravan of the three guests’ vehicles and the deputy’s SUV left Lost Valley Ranch.
Once the guests were gone, RJ found the fire chief. “What about us?” She motioned to herself, Kujo and Jake. “Can we stay in the lodge? Is it safe?”
The chief frowned. “As long as you stay out of the basement where the fire began, it’ll be all right.”
The fire chief and firefighters packed up their equipment and rolled out of the yard.
Sheriff Barron stood staring at the lodge. “I remember the day your father bought this place. He was so proud to be a landowner.”
“And he still is,” RJ said. “Though, sometimes, I wonder if it would’ve been easier or he’d have been better off, if he’d taken a job as a greeter at a big box store. I’m sure it would’ve been a lot less stress and heartache in his life.”
“Your father is a man who needs to work hard. He’d have been miserable.” The sheriff hugged RJ.
“Sheriff,” Kujo stepped forward, “if the new security system is working like it should, we might be able to get some video of whoever set that fire. Jake and I will look through the feed tonight.”
The sheriff pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to Kujo. “That has my cellphone number on it. Let me know what you find. I don’t care if it’s day or night. I’ll move on it. If we have a clear image, we can use it as evidence to get a conviction.”
“Will do,” Kujo said. “Thanks for getting everyone out here so fast.”
“We take fire seriously a
round here,” the sheriff said. “Even a small unattended campfire can end up burning thousands of acres and homes.”
Jake nodded. “I know. As dry as it’s been, the forests are tinderboxes waiting for a match to set them off.” Every year fires tore through the state, destroying old forests and many homes.
“Exactly.” Sheriff Barron frowned. “Do I need to leave a deputy out here to keep an eye on the place?”
Kujo shook his head. “We’ll be all right tonight. I’m sure none of us will sleep. And tomorrow Gunny will be back. We’ll try to do some cleaning in the areas that won’t impact the fire chief’s investigation.”
After the sheriff left, Kujo, Jake and RJ entered the lodge.
The stench of smoke made them cough.
“Hopefully, the smoke didn’t damage the computers in the study.” Kujo headed for Gunny’s office. The door had been closed throughout the fire. The fire fighters had opened the windows inside and closed the door again, keeping the majority of the smell and lingering smoke from entering.
Kujo booted the computer and waited.
Jake stood with RJ at the window, staring out at the night.
“Gunny’s going to be devastated,” she said softly.
Jake slipped an arm around her. “He’s a tough old bird. He’ll be all right.”
“I know. It’s just hard to see your dreams go up in smoke.” She laughed, though the sound held no humor. “Literally, up in smoke.”
“Insurance should cover the cleanup,” Jake said. “And the time without guests will give us all a chance to stop whoever is determined to drive you out before anyone else is hurt.”
“And we’ll have time and space to complete the renovations,” Kujo added from his seat behind Gunny’s desk. “One month, and we’ll be up and running again, all shiny and clean.”
RJ smiled. “You make it sound so easy.”
“It is, when you hire the right people,” Kujo said. “With Thorn coming on board and more recommendations to look into, Jake will have his work cut out for him.” Kujo held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving him to fend for himself until the current issue is resolved.”