by Jane Godman
“Bree, until this guy is caught, everything is a big deal.”
She rubbed her upper arm. “Why will things be better if I stay at your ranch?”
“Firstly, only Trey and your parents will know you are there. I bought it very recently, so it’s not like anyone locally knows who I am or is aware of any connection to you. But, since it’s so isolated, there isn’t another occupied property for miles anyway.” He smiled. “And the security system is second to none.”
Unexpectedly, she returned the smile. He’d missed that. “I’d expect nothing less from you.”
“Is there anything at the gallery that can’t wait a few days?” He saw the frown start to pull her brows together and knew what she was thinking. “This is not about letting him push you out, Bree. This is about giving my contacts time to complete their background checks, while getting you away from his clutches. Tell Kasey you’re taking a few days off to focus on your painting. She can still call you, or email, if she needs anything.”
“A few days off to paint.” Her expression changed, became dreamy. “Wow.”
“Tempting, huh?”
Bree nodded. “I just realized I haven’t done that since Wise Gal opened. But it’s not that easy—”
“Bree, it’s as easy, or as difficult, as you make it.” Rylan could see her wavering. “But I’m not offering you a vacation. I’m trying to save your life.”
She placed her coffee cup on the counter. “Could I come back to the gallery if I’m needed?”
“Of course. I’d be right at your side.” He nodded toward Papadum, who was finishing his breakfast. “Me and the big guy.”
“One more question.” Bree looked embarrassed. “How many bedrooms does your place have?”
“Four.” His heart twisted slightly that she needed to ask. “You can have your choice of the guest bedrooms. Dinah, who helps me out with the animals, has her own cabin on the edge of the property.”
She got to her feet. “I’ll pack some stuff.”
When she’d gone, Rylan breathed a sigh of relief. He checked his messages, but there was nothing new from his PI colleagues. Although he’d stressed the urgency of the background checks he wanted, he knew they would have cases of their own to investigate. These things took time, and the stalker’s connection to Bree might not be immediately apparent. Or it could be glaringly obvious. His thoughts returned to Lucas Brewer.
He should just ask Bree straight out about Lucas. The guy was clearly attracted to her. If they’d dated, or he’d tried anything, and she’d given him the brush off, it made Lucas’s motive stronger. Just ask her. It wasn’t that easy. There were some questions to which he didn’t want answers. Bree and Lucas? That was an image he didn’t want inside his head.
Papadum came over and leaned against his leg. “Is this male sympathy or a request for more breakfast?” The dog sighed heavily. “I know. I made this mess. I have to live with it.” Papadum placed his paws on Rylan’s knees and peeped through his fringe of hair into his master’s eyes. “You think I’m an idiot? You could be right, but at least I’m not the one who has my breakfast on my ears.”
Chapter 10
About a half hour outside Roaring Springs, Rylan left the main highway and followed increasingly remote winding roads. Bree was content to take in the beauty of the surrounding scenery. They were heading away from Colton country, leaving Pine Peak and its skiing and tourist attractions behind, and this wasn’t an area she knew well.
All around them, the aspen wore their bright green spring leaves, standing out in contrast to the darker pine forests. She glimpsed shimmering lakes and swooping waterfalls, with wildflowers beginning to peek through the remaining patches of snow on the lower ground. The views were gentler here than those of her high-altitude home. Still amazing, just less gasp-inducing.
Rylan’s focus was on the road, and Bree found her own attention straying occasionally to his handsome profile. She missed their closeness. Missed being able to touch him whenever she wanted to. Missed him teasing her and calling her “wise gal” in that half-flirty, half-affectionate way. Missed falling asleep in his arms.
As if he could sense her thoughts, his eyes flickered her way. “Did you speak to your parents?”
“Yes. After the incident at the gallery, they are relieved that I am finally taking steps to put my safety first. Although they did remind me about a gala at The Chateau tomorrow night. It’s for one of mom’s favorite charities, the Second Street Intercultural Center. The whole Colton family will be there.”
“So you have to go?” Rylan asked.
“It’s sort of expected.” She didn’t know how to explain it to him. It wasn’t just a fancy party. It was about giving something back to the Roaring Springs community. Some people were quick to criticize the Coltons for their wealth and elite lifestyle, but those people never saw how much her family did for good causes.
“We can go.” He looked away from the road briefly again, a smile lifting one corner of his mouth. “I have a tux.”
Bree turned to look out the window, picturing the scene. Little Bree on the arm of a handsome man. Wouldn’t that raise a few well-groomed eyebrows? And in a week or two, when the Colton cousins and their exclusive friends found out that Rylan had been hired to look after her?
Hey, I survived being publicly coated in chocolate. What’s one more humiliation?
“It’ll be a fun night.” Her voice reflected her lack of enthusiasm. Papadum, who was reclining on the backseat, gave a soft grunt, and Bree turned to look at him. “Sorry, no dogs allowed, but you won’t be missing anything.”
They continued driving in silence for a few more minutes before Rylan turned onto a dirt track. After bumping along for about a hundred yards, he slowed as he approached high double gates bearing the sign Mountain View Ranch. The gates opened, and Rylan drove through.
“Electronic signal.” He pointed to a small disk on his windshield.
Bree looked back to see the gates closing behind them. “Couldn’t an intruder just climb the gates, or the fence?”
“Not without triggering an alarm. And security cameras cover the whole perimeter.” He turned to smile at her. “What’s the point of devising a state-of-the-art system if you’re not going to try it out on your own home?”
The track continued beyond the gates, and Bree’s eyes widened as she took in the vista. They were in a vast hollow, with distant mountains encircling them. “I guess this place was aptly named.”
“I never get tired of waking up and seeing these views.” Rylan slowed the car and pointed as he drove. “My ranch is a little under a thousand acres. There’s parkland on one side, a Bureau of Land Management preservation area on another, then over there is wilderness. Finally, in that direction, there’s an old ranch. It’s fallen into disuse and is neglected. If I could just get my hands on that—” He shrugged. “But I can’t.”
Bree was intrigued by the comment, but she didn’t have time to ask for clarification. The track was rising, and they were approaching a house that had been built on a ridge, overlooking a small creek. It was a long, low wooden building with a wraparound porch. Behind it, the lower slopes of the mountains rose in a patchwork of different greens and browns with the clear blue sky and fluffy clouds stretching endlessly beyond.
Nearby, there was a stable block, paddock and a number of outbuildings. Rylan halted the car and turned to face her. “Home.”
“It’s...” There didn’t seem to be a suitable word. “Incredible.”
She sensed him relax slightly at her reaction. “I think so.”
As they exited the car, there was a flurry of noise. It was a scrabbling of claws with an accompaniment of yelping, barking and whining. There was also another noise that she couldn’t quite place. “I should have warned you—”
They were the only words Rylan managed to get out before an assorted pack of dogs came hurtlin
g into view. Bree counted to six before they were too close, and she became confused. Big, small, hairy, smooth...and woolly. They threw themselves on Rylan as if they were being pursued by demons and he was their only hope of salvation.
“Get down, you lunatics.” Laughing, he managed to restore something close to sanity. “We have company.”
It was a mistake. Sensing fresh blood, the dogs hurled themselves on Bree and attempted to kiss her into submission. Staying upright with difficulty, she tried to fend them off with pats.
“Sorry.” Rylan came to her rescue. With a dog under each arm, he pushed some of the others out of the way. “You may not believe this now, but they will calm down once they get used to you. And some of this is because they haven’t seen me for a few days.”
A deep bark drew their attention to the car. Papadum clawed at the window, demanding his freedom. Once he was released, the focus of the dogs’ energy changed. The pack became a whirling mass of tails and limbs as they greeted their friend. After a few seconds, the whole group darted off across the grass.
Bree watched them as they disappeared out of sight. “I know you said you have a unique collection, but one of those dogs is not a dog.”
“That’s Merry. We do have other sheep here, but for some reason, she prefers to hang out with the dogs. She even eats dog biscuits and sleeps in the kennels.” Rylan opened the trunk and lifted out her bags. “Did I mention that I rescue animals?”
“No, but I figured from some of the things you said that you had an unusual setup here.”
He grinned. “Let me show you the house, then I’ll introduce you to some of the other residents.”
* * *
The interior of the house was as natural and beautiful as the outside. Light wood, neutral walls and local stone complemented the warm hues of the furnishings. Bree’s artistic eye approved of the open fireplace, the scrubbed kitchen table, the patchwork throws and the windows with their sweeping views. If the pristine walls might benefit from one or two carefully placed landscape paintings... Well, she could always make that suggestion in a day or two.
“This is wonderful, Rylan.”
He seemed relieved by her approval. “Let me show you the bedrooms.”
“I really don’t mind which room you give me,” Bree said. “Although that view over the creek is stunning.”
“That means you need this room.” Rylan carried her bags along the hall and pushed open a door with his knee. Their entrance into the room was greeted with an outraged wail.
“Oh, goodness.” Bree took a step back. “I didn’t mean to disturb anyone.”
“It’s Cindy from Finance.”
Confused, Bree peeped around the broad expanse of his shoulders, only to discover there was just one occupant of the room. A black-and-white feline, who was curled up on a large floor cushion giving her a measured stare.
She turned to face Rylan. “You have a cat called Cindy from Finance?”
“I was at the veterinarian’s office one day and a woman brought her in. She said someone she worked with had suffered a stroke. The cat was in a bad way. Malnourished and frightened. She’d brought it in to be euthanized because the owner couldn’t look after it anymore. Cindy from Finance...that was the name of the cat’s owner,” Rylan said.
The only thing to do with this sort of conversation was go along with it. “Do you call her Cindy for short?”
His expression remained neutral, but laughter danced in his eyes. “No. I call her Nance.”
Bree regarded him thoughtfully. “Do you ever turn an animal away?”
He looked shocked. “Why would I do that when I can help them?”
Bree mentally adjusted her perception of Rylan from strong, hard security professional to compassionate animal rescuer. But hadn’t she always known there was this other side to him? The one that would never leave a fellow creature in distress? Underneath all those muscles was a huge heart. She just wasn’t sure Rylan understood why that made him special.
She stepped into the room. It was bright and sunny, with a huge wood-framed bed, matching closet and chest, and an adjoining shower room.
“This is perfect,” she told Rylan. “As long as Nance doesn’t mind?”
As Rylan stooped to lift Nance up, the cat meowed and shifted position. A different noise from the cushion drew Bree’s attention.
“Oh, my stars. Does she have kittens?” she asked.
“No.” Rylan rolled his eyes. “She has ducklings.”
He raised the cat slightly to reveal a group of five fluffy yellow ducklings clustered together beneath her. After giving him an offended look, Nance stretched, then flounced from the room. The ducklings waddled after her in a little line.
Bree sat on the bed and, placing her head in her hands, gave way to the laughter that had been threatening to overwhelm her. When she sat up, Rylan was watching her with a bemused smile.
“Their mother abandoned them when they were a few days old. Dinah has been hand-rearing them, but, when they saw Nance, they decided she was their new mama. She doesn’t seem to mind.” He jerked a thumb in the direction the cat and the ducklings had taken. “In fact, I think she likes it.”
“You didn’t tell me I would be walking away from a crazy stalker and onto the set of a feel-good movie,” Bree said. “What next? Dancing ponies?”
He grinned. “Nothing so attractive, I’m afraid. The best I can offer you is a donkey with attitude.”
“Let me guess. His name is Peter from Admin?”
“Of course not. That would be silly.” He waited for a moment or two, keeping her in suspense. “Her name is Wonkey. She’s lame.”
“Wonkey the Donkey.” Bree shook her head. “This day keeps getting better.”
“Wait until you meet Wonkey before you say that. She’s a shaggy, bad-tempered rescue ass with one ear so bent out of shape it looks like a crowbar.” He reached out a hand, and Bree took it without thinking. “Ready for the rest of the tour?”
“Why not?”
It was hard to explain the difference just being there had already made. From the moment Rylan had driven through those gates, Bree’s heart felt lighter. It was as if she didn’t have to hide behind a mask of tightly controlled efficiency. She could be honest here at the Mountain View Ranch. And honesty meant admitting she was scared. She needed this beautiful, peaceful, safe place with its assortment of funny characters to lift her out of the darkness that had been dragging her down.
Her gaze went to the man at her side. Did that mean admitting that she needed more from him? She looked down at her hand in his. Carefully, she eased her fingers away, noticing the way his features tensed as she did.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It would take a lot more than kindness to animals to mend the trust he had shattered.
* * *
Rylan had known Dinah Murphy for a few years. Her ex-husband had worked for his security firm. When they split up, and Dinah was down on her luck, Rylan had given her some office work. It had soon become clear that they shared a love of animals, and when he bought the ranch, he’d offered her a place to live and her dream job.
Dinah’s cabin was in a private location, close to the boundary of Rylan’s land and the abandoned ranch, but he found her cleaning out the kennels. She was short, plump and freckled, with a smile as big as the Colorado mountains and an even bigger heart.
“Hey.” She held out her hand in greeting to Bree, then thought better of it. “Um...you know.” She indicated the scrubbing brush she’d just been using.
Bree laughed. “Do you need some help?”
Rylan could almost read Dinah’s mind. Didn’t you say your name was Colton? Bree’s family didn’t have a reputation for rolling up their sleeves and lending a hand with the dirty chores. From what he’d seen, it was unfair, but perceptions still lingered.
“I’m almos
t done here,” Dinah said. “Maybe another time?”
“How have things been?” Rylan asked.
“Oh, you know. The usual chaos.” Dinah smiled at Bree. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“What about Boo?”
She shook her head. “Not good.”
“Who’s Boo?” Bree staggered slightly as she spoke. The reason turned out to be Papadum, who, having discovered one of his best friends was nearby, had barged his way into the kennels and straight into the back of her knees.
“Boo is a goose,” Rylan explained.
“Is he ill?” As Bree stooped to pet Papadum, the other dogs charged through the gap he’d made in the barrier. Dinah calmly shooed them outside, so she could finish her cleaning.
“No, he’s in mourning.” Bree gave him a look that said she wasn’t quite sure whether to believe him. “Seriously. Geese mate for life, but Boo’s partner, Lucy—they are wild geese and Dinah chose the names—was struck and killed by a car a few weeks ago. Boo was devastated. When the rest of the flock moved on, Boo stayed at the very spot where Lucy died.”
“That’s so sad.” Bree looked from Rylan to Dinah. “So you rescued him?”
“We did. Although it wasn’t easy,” Rylan said. “In fact, it was one of the hardest things we’ve done. We couldn’t leave him where he was, right at the side of a busy road...but Boo didn’t want to come with us.”
“I still have the bruises.” Dinah rubbed her thighs reminiscently. “He was one unhappy gander.”
“The problem is that Boo is still pining for Lucy. He doesn’t want to eat or drink. He spends most of his time huddled in a corner,” Rylan said. “We’re worried that he could die of a broken heart.”
“Can I see him?” There was a sheen of tears in Bree’s beautiful amber eyes.
“Sure. I was planning to check on him.” Rylan turned back to Dinah. “Anything you need?”
“Nothing I can think of.” She paused before returning to her work. “Nice to meet you, Bree.”
