Tracking Game

by Margaret Mizushima

  Tears brimmed in her eyes, and for a moment he feared he’d been too forceful. He reached for a tissue to give her. “Just talk to her for a few minutes. Will it hurt to listen to what she has to say?”

  She sniffled into the tissue. “I guess not.”

  “That’s doing the adult thing, Angie.” Cole put his arm around her shoulders and guided her toward the door. “Let’s go see if Sophie’s ready to hand over the phone and let you get a word in edgewise.”

  “Sometimes that’s hard with her.”

  Cole chuckled softly, giving her a quick squeeze before moving outside. “Yes, it is. Your little sister can keep up with the best of them.”

  * * *

  Mattie texted Cole but didn’t receive a reply. He’d mentioned dinner earlier, but since she hadn’t known when she would get off work, she’d declined. Now, after finishing her paperwork, she thought it was too late to show up on his doorstep. With the kids home and his sister there, it didn’t feel right. And at this stage, she was too exhausted to even think, much less have a heart-to-heart talk.

  She drove to Crane’s Market and grabbed a chicken salad sandwich from the cooler, some chips, and a knucklebone for Robo before going to the cashier to check out. She was standing in line behind other late-evening shoppers, who mostly carried twelve-packs of beer, when her phone rang. It was Cole. She juggled her purchases and connected the call.

  “Sorry for the delay,” he said. “The kids were on my phone talking to their mom, and I didn’t get your text until now.”

  Hearing the news about the kids gave her heart a lift. “Oh, wow. How did that go?”

  “It was touch-and-go with Angie, but in the end, I think it went fine. And Sophie is over the moon.”

  It was amazing how much that little bit could help a child. “Is Angie going to be okay?”

  “I think so. She seems to be inching in the right direction. I’ve got some work to do before we get together with their mom in two weeks, but I think we’ll all make it.”

  “So you scheduled a visit.”

  While Cole told her the plan, she developed a melancholy ache in her chest, and insecurity knocked at her door. Maybe he wants his family back together after all.

  “That sounds good,” she murmured as she moved up in line so that she would be next at the checkout counter. “I’m about to check out at the store, Cole. Let me call you back.”

  “Come over. I cooked a burger for you. And I need to see you tonight, Mattie. You can come here, or I’ll come to your house after Jessie gets home.”

  The person in front of her finished his transaction. “I’ll call you.”

  Mattie made her purchase and went out to her SUV, where Robo greeted her exuberantly. As always, his smiling face lifted her flagging spirits. She started to turn on the engine to head home but hesitated midreach. Instead she leaned forward to rest her forehead on the steering wheel. God, she was dead tired.

  She sorted through her sluggish thoughts. Maybe this ache in her chest was caused by fatigue, but she suspected it was really lovesickness, which was utterly ridiculous. She was a grown woman, not a teenager. Cole had said he wanted to see her, and she wanted to see him, too. She had some responsibility here, and if she wanted this relationship, she needed to do something about it, not just scuttle about moping.

  She texted Cole to tell him she was on her way.

  After parking in front of the Walker home, Mattie let Robo out of his compartment, and he romped with Bruno, streaking in circles around the yard. Cole came to meet her, leaving the well-lit porch to hug her in the semidarkness at the end of the sidewalk. She tried to avoid displays of affection in front of the kids, and she glanced toward the house to make sure they hadn’t followed him outside.

  “Thanks for coming,” he said, taking her arm to walk toward the porch with her. “I’ve got a plate for you, and after the kids get a chance to say hello, I’ll see if I can send them off to bed. Even Angie’s tired, and they have a big day with their grandparents planned for tomorrow.”

  Mattie’s plate was waiting for her on the table where Sophie was seated, working on a drawing of a horse. Angela was loading dishes into the dishwasher, and Mattie asked if she needed some help.

  “You sit and eat,” Cole said. “I’ll help Angie clean up.”

  As Mattie sat down beside Sophie, the child gave her one of her sweet smiles that always melted her heart. “See my horse.”

  “That’s a nice one,” Mattie said, settling into her chair, happy to be here with Cole’s kids.

  Sophie flipped a page on her pad. “And here’s some flowers I’m gonna send to Mom. I talked to her on the phone tonight.”

  Mattie took the drawing Sophie was pushing toward her and examined it closely, knowing that’s what the child wanted. “They’re gorgeous, Sophie. How was your talk with your mom?”

  “Good.” Sophie grinned.

  Mattie caressed a lock of Sophie’s curly, soft hair as she handed back the pad, then turned her attention to her food. It boosted her energy, and she realized she’d been running on empty, not having eaten since her sandwich at lunch.

  “Sophie, you need to be wrapping up your artwork so you can go upstairs to take a bath,” Cole said, wiping his hands on a towel before hanging it up.

  “Can Mattie read me a story?” Sophie asked.

  Cole sighed. “No, Mattie and I need to talk about our plans for the morning. We’re all tired and we have a big day ahead of us, so we need to get to bed early. Angie, can you help your sister get ready for bed? And can you make it an early night, too?”

  “Ooo-kay,” Angie said, glancing at Mattie before casting a sour look at her dad. “What are you doing in the morning?”

  “I’m going up into the mountains on a job for the sheriff’s posse. I think I mentioned earlier that I’d be gone before you woke up.”

  The frown on Angie’s face and the way she shifted her eyes from her dad back to Mattie made Mattie think, She knows. Or at least she suspects. And with the trials the girl had gone through with her mother just yesterday, now was not the time to press the fact that her dad might be beginning another relationship with someone else. Cole needed to take care of his daughters tonight, because they were still hurting.

  Mattie pushed back her chair and carried her plate to the sink. “You know what, Cole, I’m beat. I really need to get home and go to bed myself. It won’t take but a few minutes for us to talk about what we need to, and then you can help Angie put Sophie to bed.”

  Cole opened his mouth to protest, but Mattie sent him a look and hurried to say good-night to the girls. “We can talk while I load up Robo,” she said, before calling her dog to come and heading for the front door. As he followed, Cole told Sophie to go up and take her bath.

  As soon as the door closed behind him, Mattie led the way down the porch steps, speaking softly. “Your kids need you tonight, Cole. They’ve been hurt, and I don’t want to complicate things for them.”

  Cole placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked, and he bent his head toward her. “I just need to know if you’re okay.”

  His touch felt reassuring. “I admit that it rattled me to learn that my past came up in a team meeting, but I can see how it happened.”

  Cole made a sound of agreement. “Evidently my family were talking about me in my absence tonight, and it’s not fun. But you know what? Those people at the station are your family.”

  “Huh.” Mattie huffed out a breath as she thought of Brody and how contentious their relationship had once been. Now he acted like a protective big brother. But the one thing that kept bothering her seemed to pop out of her mouth. “It’s tough to think that Sheriff McCoy knew, and he didn’t get me the help I needed as a child.”

  “Timber Creek doesn’t have that kind of help for kids now, Mattie, much less twenty-five years ago.”

  He was right. The sheriff had probably done all he could do under the circumstances. “Yeah. He did get me into Mama T’s foster home
. I guess that helped more than anything.”

  While she loaded Robo into his compartment, Cole came around to the back of her car, where the view was somewhat sheltered from the house. After she closed the hatch, he took her in his arms. “I guess I need to know if everything’s okay between us, even though it scares me that I might hear it’s not.”

  The tension in her tired muscles melted as she leaned against him. “We’re okay, Cole. I think I would’ve handled it the same way you did.”

  He released a sigh and held her in silence for a few moments. “I guess I’m going to have to tell the kids about us. Looks like Angie’s starting to catch on.”

  She was glad he’d noticed, but telling them would make things official, and it felt like a big step. “Not tonight, Cole, unless she brings it up and you have to. You’re all too tired, and you need to sleep before we head out tomorrow.”

  The sound of the front door opening, followed by Angie’s voice, made them step away from each other. “Dad,” Angie called. “Sophie wants you.”

  Cole leaned out from behind her SUV. “Tell her to get in bed and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  After the door closed, he groaned. “I think Angie wants me more than Sophie does. I’m sorry, Mattie.”

  “Don’t be.” She kissed him softly on the lips before rounding her car and getting in. “I hope you get a good night’s sleep. Brody and I will meet you up at the cattle guard.”

  They said good-night, and as she drove away, she thought about all the changes she’d made in her life over the past year. Before, she’d isolated herself most of the time, but now she could reach out to others. Now she had friends, friends she could even call family. And honestly, she wanted to be a part of Cole’s family, to help care for these kids she’d grown to love. Maybe that wasn’t too much to hope for.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Tuesday morning

  Cole arose well before sunrise with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that wasn’t wholly related to a short night’s sleep. The idea of tracking a tiger made him nervous, and he hoped they could capture it without anyone getting hurt.

  And if he was being honest with himself, a killer on the loose up in the high country frightened him more than just a little. This would be someone who’d killed two men, not just one. A good high-powered rifle could help this guy rack up another kill easily, and he feared not only for Mattie but for himself as well.

  Last night after he and the kids had gone to bed, he’d lain awake thinking. During times like these, he was confronted with his own mortality. If something happened to him, who would raise the kids? Olivia wasn’t in a place where she could do it by herself.

  When he’d heard Jessie come home, he’d risen from bed to go downstairs to talk to her, to make her promise that she’d help Olivia raise the kids if something should happen to him before they were adults. Her promise had provided him with little comfort, but at least he’d finally been able to go to sleep.

  Not wanting to awaken Jessie or the girls, he carried his boots and tiptoed downstairs in socked feet. Once in the kitchen, he flipped the switch to turn on the coffeemaker, which he’d set up before going to bed.

  He’d also spent time during the night thinking about Mattie and how she fit into his life. Since his kids were dealing with the separation from their mother and the ongoing drama of trying to reunite, was it fair to thrust them into a situation where they would need to adjust to a new stepmother? But if he needed to wait, how could he deal with his growing desire to share his home and his spare time with the woman he loved? His was a world where he needed to get things done, and the quicker the better. Life didn’t always match that pace, and he hoped he could find a balance in all this craziness called family.

  Cole filled a thermos with coffee, grabbed a leftover burger he’d fixed the night before, and left the house to go to the clinic. Mountaineer, the one horse he owned himself, resided in a corral attached to a loafing shed just north of his office. Late yesterday afternoon, he’d brought in three other horses from his dad’s ranch so that he could outfit the entire crew. It would take some time to saddle up and get the horses loaded into the trailer.

  He paused at the tack room, an enclosed space at the end of the shed, and threw the switch on for the overhead yard light. A warm glow lit the area, making the horses mill around the corral. The early morning seemed darker than usual, and the chilly air told him a front had moved in during the night, changing the weather. Clouds covered the stars, and moist air touched his face.

  Mountaineer met him at the gate, nosing his pockets gently for a bite of feed cake, a sweet mixture of grains pressed into the shape of a short cigar. He paused for a moment to smooth the gelding’s neck in slow, firm strokes, taking comfort in his horsey scent. This guy didn’t have a sly or dishonest bone in his body, and he was the one Cole would trust to carry Mattie. She feared horses, another residual left over from her time with Harold Cobb, but she’d come to an understanding with Mountaineer last month during their investigation up in the wilderness area, and the steady gelding would serve her well again today.

  After placing a halter on the gentle giant, Cole looped the tie rope to the wooden pole fence and spent a few minutes catching the other horses. They circled the corral, trotting away from him, and Cole soothed them with his voice as he approached, halter in hand.

  Duke, the bay gelding he’d brought from his dad’s for himself, dodged away at the last minute, making Cole lure him in with a handful of cake until he could slip a rope over his neck and buckle on a halter. Then he caught Honey, a palomino mare that would work for Glenna, and Fancy, a black-and-white paint mare for Brody.

  He opened the gate wide and led all four horses at once to the rail, where he tied them in a row. His fingers warmed as he whisked grit and loose hair away with a currycomb and smoothed the hair that would be under the saddle.

  He moved from horse to horse like he was working an assembly line, putting on blankets, saddle pads, and then saddles. Leather creaked as he swung the heavy western saddles onto the backs of the tall animals before drawing up cinches. From his dad’s tack room, he’d rustled up leather scabbards for carrying rifles, and he strapped those on last.

  Cole first led Mountaineer to the open door of the trailer and then clucked his tongue to encourage the gelding to load. He stepped up into the darkened space without a fuss, and each horse followed until Cole had them all standing at a slant and tied to the same side. The door clanged when it shut, and he closed the latch firmly to make sure it would stay closed.

  It was five o’clock when he pulled away from the clinic and drove down the lane. His headlights pierced the darkness and the windshield misted, making him flip on the wipers and scan the darkened sky. If it started to rain, it would ruin the whole plan, because rain would wash away the lion’s scent. Cole turned on the heater and reached for his coffee and burger so he could eat while he drove.

  Despite his arriving fifteen minutes before the designated time, Mattie was already parked by the cattle guard. Brody exited the passenger’s side of her SUV and Mattie the driver’s side as Cole pulled in and parked his rig beside them. Both officers wore the brown Carhartt jackets favored by the Sheriff’s Department, which offered some resistance to the damp weather.

  “Morning.” Cole greeting them both, while his eyes went to Mattie to check in on how she was doing. She gave him a thin smile, and although he could tell she looked worried, she didn’t seem frightened. He hoped she was getting used to being on horseback.

  Brody rounded the front of their vehicle. “It is morning, although this weather sucks, so I can’t call it good. If it rains, we’ll have to scrap the whole thing.”

  “This amount of moisture shouldn’t interfere. If anything, it’ll help us,” Mattie said as she went to the back to unload Robo. He hopped out, tail waving, and beat a path toward Cole to say hello. Cole leaned down and patted the big dog’s side.

  Headlights appeared on the highway, and they
all watched the oncoming vehicle slow and turn into the pasture. Mattie called Robo and bent to clip a leash on his collar.

  Glenna Dalton parked and exited her truck, leaving her dog inside. “Hey,” she called, lifting her hand in a small wave before turning to Mattie. “Is your dog going to help with the scent work?”

  Mattie shook her head. “He’s not trained for that. I’ll keep him beside me after we get into the high country.”

  “Is he social?” Glenna gestured toward her truck with her thumb. “My dog’s used to running with a pack, but he’s an intact male. Can the two of them mingle without a fight?”

  “Probably, but let’s keep them both on a leash until we know for sure.”

  Glenna nodded and headed to the passenger’s side of her truck. When she came back around, she led a Rhodesian ridgeback close by her side. Headlights made his burnished red coat shine, and Cole admired both his color and his athletic movement as the dog trotted around the front of the truck.

  This boy was big, probably weighing in at eighty-five pounds, the upper range for a Rhodesian ridgeback male. The ridge of hair growing in the opposite direction along his spine for which the breed was named caught the light and stood out on his back. He wore an eager expression, and his black nose and dark muzzle contrasted with the red color of his coat. Cole decided he was a fine example of the breed standard.

  “This is Moose.” Glenna kept an eye on him as she brought him around. Moose seemed more interested in the humans than Robo, as he avoided eye contact with him, not overly aggressive and not fearful. Comfortable. This was typically the sign of a well-adjusted dog that hadn’t suffered any bad experiences with others.

  Cole glanced at Robo, standing at attention beside Mattie, alert and ready to guard if he needed to but still open and friendly.

  “That’s a good reaction so far,” Mattie said. “Are you okay with dropping the leash and letting them smell each other? If we keep the leashes on, we can intervene if we need to.”