by Lisa Jackson
“Coffee’s fine.” He walked to the kitchen and leaned one shoulder against the arch separating the rooms as he watched her nervously pour the hot liquid into heavy ceramic mugs. “Try to relax.”
“Easier said than done,” she admitted.
“Great. Then I don’t suppose you want to hear what I found out while I was gone.”
Looking over her shoulder and seeing his grim countenance, she braced herself for the worst. “More bad news?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“I may as well hear it,” she said with a sigh and then forced a feeble grin. “Give it to me straight.” Handing him a cup of coffee, she took a sip from her mug and sat at the table.
“It looks as if Caleb put the drum of dioxin in the creek on purpose.”
“He admitted it?” she asked dubiously.
“No, but I managed to talk to the hand that actually did the dirty work, a guy by the name of Larry Cross. Shortly after Johnson asked Cross to puncture the lid and bury the drum in the creekbed, Caleb gave the guy his walking papers . . . along with quite a substantial amount of money to keep quiet.”
“So why did he talk to you?”
“Johnson’s money didn’t last long. And the man wasn’t opposed to making a few extra dollars on the deal.”
“So you bribed him?”
“Paid him for information.”
“Same thing.” She dropped her chin into her hand and fought off the waves of depression that threatened to wash over her. “When it rains it pours,” she said, drinking thoughtfully from her cup. “And they say trouble comes in threes.”
“They might be wrong.”
“I don’t know. First Blake wanting to be with Cody, then proof that Caleb would stoop to just about any lengths to get me to sell my farm and then—” She stopped midsentence, as if in not speaking the thought would make it go away.
“Then what?” Chase asked, crossing the room, turning a chair around and straddling the seat.
“Well, it’s nothing really,” she said, her hands beginning to sweat.
“Something’s wrong.”
“Maybe—”
“Why don’t you tell me about it?”
Why not? No time like the present to get things out in the open. “Cody and I were in the grocery store the other day and I heard a rumor about one of Caleb’s hands.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Chase said, noticing the band of freckles across her nose. “What about him?”
“I’m not really sure. But Jenna Peterson is pretty upset with him. The way I heard it she doesn’t trust him.”
“What’s his name?”
“I . . . don’t know. She didn’t say. But it’s some new guy who works with Caleb.”
“Maybe he hired someone when I was gone,” Chase said thoughtfully. “But even if he did, that doesn’t sound like Jenna. She’s usually a rock. The only person on the whole damned spread I can trust.”
“That’s what makes it so worrisome,” Dani admitted, her hazel eyes staring at Chase’s rugged face. It was a handsome face, hard around the edges, but softened by a sensual dimple when he smiled. The self-effacing glint in his clear blue eyes balanced the determination in the set of his jaw and the pride in his bearing. Chase was a contradictory man of so many emotions and passions and Dani loved him so much it hurt.
“Wait a minute!” he said, holding his cup, his blue eyes becoming hard. “You heard a rumor and you thought it had something to do with me, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know who it was about—I just want to know if there’s any truth in it. It would take a lot to upset Jenna Peterson. She’s worked with and trusted Caleb Johnson for years.”
“Dani,” Chase said, his lips whitening at the corners as he tried to stay calm, “I’ve done everything I can to be straight with you!” Scraping his chair back, he stood, rammed his hands, palms out, in the back pockets of his jeans and began pacing. “I don’t know what more I can do or say to let you know I’m on your side.” His boots clicked on the cracked linoleum with each of his long, impatient strides. “I’ve found evidence you need against Caleb, I stood up for you when you came ranting and raving into his house, and I’ve done everything short of throwing my contract into his face.” Spinning on his heel, he impaled her with his furious gaze. “Lord, woman,” he said through clenched teeth, “I’ve even asked you to marry me and you still can’t trust me! What the devil do you want from me?”
“Just honest answers, that’s all,” Dani said, feeling a little contrite but still angry. All the frustrations of the past weeks burned inside her. “I feel manipulated by the whole lot of you—Caleb, Blake and you!”
Chase came over to the table and placed his hands flat on the polished maple. Pushing his face to within inches of hers, he stared straight into her eyes. She could see his rage in the flare of his nostrils, the way his skin tightened over his tense jaw and the flecks of blue anger in his eyes. He was trying to hold his temper in check, but failing miserably. Rapping the table with his index finger, he growled, “I don’t like being put in the same corral as Caleb and Blake, lady. All I’ve ever done is try to help you—whether you believe it or not. Now, if you don’t want my help, fine. All you have to do is say the word and I’m outta here.”
Her throat was dry, her emotions raw, but she tossed her head back and glared at him. “I trust you, Chase. As a person.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It’s just that this whole damned situation has gotten to me. Not only is Blake back, maybe with the intention of taking my son from me, but now we know for sure that Caleb will do anything, anything to get me off my land. If that isn’t bad enough, you’re partners with the man, for God’s sake!”
“So we’re back to that, are we?”
“I don’t think we ever got past it.”
“And I don’t know why I have to keep proving myself to you.” His eyes narrowed and his hand reached forward to clasp her wrist. “I think we’d better settle this right now! Come on!”
“Wait a minute—”
He jerked her out of the chair, grabbed his hat and shoved it onto his head as he walked out of the door with Dani, still in tow, continuing to protest loudly.
The day had turned hazy and dark clouds had begun to surround the mountain peaks. “Where do you think you’re taking me?”
“Away.”
She looked back at her house in confusion. “But I just can’t leave. Cody—”
“Cody’s with his dad!” Chase snapped. “Do you think Blake will hurt him?”
“No, but-—”
“Then come on! We’ll be back by the time that Cody gets home!”
“But I should leave him a note!”
“Yeah, maybe you should. But you don’t have time.” Chase jerked open the door on the passenger side of the Jeep and waited for her to climb in.
“It will just take a minute to scribble a note,” she said, the wind picking up and whipping her hair around her face, “Be sensible, Chase.”
“I have been! Now it’s time we did things my way!”
Dani stood her ground and didn’t get into the Jeep. “Where are we going?”
“To Johnson’s.”
“What the devil—”
“I’ll explain later,” he said, eyeing the darkening sky and releasing her. “Go on, write your damned note. But be quick about it.”
Anger radiating from her body, she marched back to the house, wrote a quick message to her son and strode outside. Chase was where she’d left him, leaning insolently against the side of the dusty Jeep, the door of his vehicle still swung open and waiting.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re an arrogant bastard?” she asked as she climbed into the Jeep.
“You! Several times.” He slammed the door shut, ran around the front of the vehicle, climbed in the driver’s side and then did a quick U-turn in the driveway, spinning gravel from under the tires as the Jeep bounced down the long lane leading to
the main highway.
Dani sat with her arms crossed over her chest, staring straight ahead. “Do you mind telling me what you’ve got up your sleeve?”
“You’ll see,” Chase said grimly, shifting down and barely slowing as he turned off the highway and into Caleb’s tree-lined lane. The Jeep roared up the gravel drive and Dani’s stomach twisted nervously at the thought of confronting Caleb again on his property. After all, she’d never caught Caleb himself on her land and none of what he’d done to her could be proven—until now.
“Get out,” Chase ordered once he’d parked the Jeep.
“Wait a minute—”
“You wait a minute! You’re the one who’s been itching to have it out with Johnson. Okay, here’s your big chance. Let’s go.”
“But what if Larry Cross lied? It’s just his word against Johnson’s.”
“Except that I’ve got the evidence, remember?”
“Which is?”
“The drum of dioxin—the drum that Caleb purchased.”
Without any further words, he jumped out of his side of the Jeep, slammed the door shut and waited, his jaw set in anger, as Dani climbed out of the rig and fought the urge to run away. She was seeing a side of Chase she hadn’t seen since the first day she’d watched him wading in the creek. But then she’d had the advantage; she’d been on her property and in the right. Now she wasn’t sure whose side he was on and even where the battle lines were drawn.
Trust him, she told herself as she stood next to him.
Chase scanned the stable yard, his eyes going over every inch of the clean white buildings and fence surrounding the parking lot behind the large farmhouse. Then, seeing the object of his wrath, he took Dani’s hand in his and started walking quickly to the track where Caleb was watching his latest acquisition sprint at breakneck speed for a quarter of a mile.
“Here we go,” Dani muttered under her breath as they approached Caleb and the old man turned toward them.
Frowning slightly at the sight of Dani, Caleb leaned one elbow over the top rail of the fence and straightened the string tie at his neck.
“Mrs. Summers,” he said congenially. “How’re you?”
“Well as can be expected,” she replied, glancing nervously at Chase and wishing she’d refused to come with him. Beneath the facade of neighborliness, she could see Caleb’s hostility, feel his hatred.
Caleb glanced at the threatening sky. “Looks like we’ll be gettin’ that rain we need tonight. Weather service says that we’ll have a few storms in the next few days . . .” Pleasantries aside, Caleb got down to business. “Now, what brings you here this afternoon?” he asked, looking pointedly at Chase. “I don’t s’pose it’s to see my new colt run, now, is it?”
“No,” Chase said, leaning his back on the fence and eyeing the horse as the stocky colt, done with his sprint, was being walked around the track. The horse’s dark muscles gleamed with sweat and he was blowing hard. Chase eyed Caleb.
Dani watched Caleb’s reaction.
The older man’s mouth twitched nervously and his blue eyes were filled with impatience and subdued anger.
“Actually Dani didn’t want to come up here. It was my idea.”
“Oh?” Caleb’s jaw slid to the side but he refused to be baited. Chase would get to the point. Eventually. And if given enough rope, the younger man would hang himself. Caleb made a mental note to give him all the rope he needed.
“Yep. Y’see, while I was in Idaho, I did some checkin’ around.”
“On that job in Spokane?”
“That, too,” Chase said slowly. “But I was looking into something else; something that happened here last year. I managed to locate a man who used to work for you. A man by the name of Larry Cross. You remember him?”
Caleb nodded slowly and waved at the boy who’d ridden the colt during the workout. “Keep cooling him off and then put him back in his stall. Jim’ll clean him up,” he called to the hand before turning back to Chase. “Larry Cross? Sure, I remember him.”
Dani felt the sweat run down her back, though the breeze whispering through the pine trees near the track was cool.
“I had to let him go,” Caleb admitted. “Turned out he was stealing me blind, selling part of my feed to friends of his. I couldn’t prove it, of course, but I think he was into cattle rustlin’ as well. I’m surprised you bothered to look him up.”
“Seems he had a few other tricks up his sleeve.”
Caleb frowned. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”
“He placed a drum of dioxin in the creekbed last year. The poison got into the water and killed several of Dani’s cattle.”
“You’re sure of that?” Caleb asked, rubbing his chin and glancing sideways at Dani.
Her heart beginning to pound, she nodded.
“I’ve got the empty drum,” Chase remarked.
Caleb’s bushy eyebrows raised and he drew his mouth into an exaggerated frown. “Sounds like something Cross would do.”
“He claims you were behind it.”
“’Course he does.”
“He says you did it to give Dani a bad time; ruin her herd, force her to sell her property to you.”
Caleb snorted, but beads of sweat had broken out over his brow. He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief he found in his pocket. “Well, what did you expect him to say—that he was behind it himself ?”
“No. Because it doesn’t make any sense that way. Why would he want to hurt Dani?”
Caleb stared at Dani with cold, cruel eyes. “Who knows? Maybe he was involved with her. She’s been alone a long time till you came along—”
Chase took a step closer and curled his fingers over Caleb’s arm. “Don’t even suggest—”
“I never met anyone named Larry Cross!” Dani said angrily, color flushing her face. She tried to step forward but felt Chase’s hand grip her forearm and restrain her as he backed a few steps away from Caleb.
Caleb shrugged. “I can only guess at his motives, but the man was bad news. I got rid of him as soon as I found out about him, but I didn’t know about any drum of dioxin.”
“What about the time you tried to siphon off all the water from Grizzly Creek for your own private lake?” Dani demanded, her fury getting the better of her tongue.
“Well,” Caleb said, spreading his hands, “I’d like to blame Cross for that one, but I’ll have to own up to it. I thought I’d be able to deter a little water for the lake without interrupting the flow too badly. Looks like I misjudged.”
“Looks like,” Dani agreed, her eyes narrowing to slits.
“But I admitted it and as soon as I realized that you weren’t getting enough water, I scrapped my idea for a lake.”
“But you didn’t know anything about a drum of dioxin?”
“Nope,” Caleb said, shaking his head slowly. “First I’ve heard of it.”
“Cross says different,” Chase said.
“Cross would.”
“He claims you paid him to keep quiet. To the tune of five thousand dollars.”
Caleb laughed outright. “I’m not the kind of man who likes to throw money away,” he said. “You know that. I gave Cross the boot and an extra week’s pay and, as far as I’m concerned, he was lucky to get that.” He smiled smugly. “Check the books if you don’t believe me.”
“I have.”
“Well?”
“Nothing.”
Caleb lifted his shoulders. “Cross is willing to testify.”
“It’s just his word against mine, McEnroe. Who do you think the judge would believe?” Smiling, he slapped the top rail of the fence. “Now, how about a drink—or some lunch?”
“No thanks,” Dani said. “Cody’s expecting me back.”
“But I would like a chance to talk to Jenna,” Chase said, propelling Dani toward the house.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” the older man replied.
“Why not?”
“Didn’t you know? Jenna left me high and dry. Ye
s, sir! Just two days ago. Took off and swore she wasn’t comin’ back.”
Chase, his countenance grim, whirled on his boot heel to face the old man. “Why?”
Dread, cold as winter night, skittered down Dani’s spine.
“She claimed she was moving . . . somewhere in Wyoming, I think. Has a sister near Laramie or Cheyenne or somewhere. Couldn’t even give me a couple weeks notice, if ya can believe that.”
“I believe it,” Chase said through clenched teeth. “But I think you put her up to it.”
“Now why would I do that? Best cook in the county. Jenna’s been with me for nearly twenty years and just the other day, quick as a cat climbing a tree, she up and quits.”
“So who’s taking care of the house?” Chase asked.
Caleb seemed more relaxed. “Maria. Wife of one of the hands. She’s got lunch on the table, I reckon. Sure you can’t stay?”
“Positive,” Dani cut in before Chase could say anything. They had been walking toward the house through the parking lot and Dani stopped at Chase’s Jeep.
The wind caught on one of the shutters and it banged against the barn. “Looks like we’re in for a nasty one,” Caleb said.
Chase glanced up at the threatening sky. “I’ll be back later.”
“Good.” Caleb clapped Chase on the back and then walked slowly toward his farmhouse.
“So what do you suppose prompted Jenna to quit?” Chase asked once they were back in the Jeep and heading toward Dani’s farm. Big drops of rain began to pelt from the sky, hitting the windshield and running down the glass in grimy streaks. Chase snapped on the wipers and squinted as he turned off the main road.
“You don’t believe him,” she said flatly.
“Not for one minute. Do you?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so;” Chase muttered, parking the Jeep by the house. “Maybe we’d better do some checking around.”
“Now?”
“Before Jenna has a chance to leave town.”
“I can’t go,” Dani said, eyeing Blake’s pickup. “Not until I’ve touched base with Cody. They shouldn’t be out in this storm. . . .” She hoped that Blake and Cody had enough sense to come back to the house.
