Karis brought her hands to her mouth. “Oh, that poor boy. His family. How awful. Is he a local boy?”
“Nope, but his aunt and uncle live in Wills Bend. They’re his only family now. His cousin Logan works here. Jody was their long-lost nephew who had no one else to care for him. The Wests took him in after he lost his parents six months ago. He’s a nice boy from what I hear from Geri. He went to school with her oldest.”
Karis pressed her fists against her chest. “My heart is broken for all of them.”
“I’m going to bed. We had an early rise this morning.”
They walked together until Karis went in the direction of her car to gather her luggage. A light came on in a front section inside the barn. She headed that way, dropping her luggage outside the door. Through it, she spotted Tanyon in the front food storage area. She drew in a breath and blew it out before entering. What a devastating blow he’d been dealt. “Tanyon?”
He whirled. His gaze cruised over her in a quick glance. “What can I do for you?”
“Since arriving late, I missed out on the updated sleeping arrangements. Is the cabin off the agenda?”
He spoke as he prepared morning food baskets. “Yeah. I, uh, I had locks installed on the doors upstairs in my house for you three ladies to have privacy. Your seniority amounts to something ‘round here. You ladies have been coming longer than I’ve been here, well, I mean since before I left bull riding and took this place over from my folks.”
You ladies? That’s all it had amounted to now? You ladies? Tanyon had left the Army years ago, then had a hankering to ride those damn bulls like he’d done before he’d signed up for the military. Now after one too many knocks on the head, and a serious shoulder injury, he had moved back permanently to his family ranch. They’d officially met while he still toured on the circuit and had come home for a visit while recuperating from an injury. It’d been that long ago when she had the first inkling… He was the man she could fall in love with, and then she had fallen hard. Tanyon strode to the rear of the barn. The man had thinned, making him look taller.
Two of his younger brothers, Dusty and Levi, had taken advantage of him when he’d finally retired. They’d dumped their chores back into his hands and returned to their rowdy, carefree ways. However, that changed last year for Dusty when he owned up to his role as a potential ranch owner. Cade though had a business mind from the start and assisted Tanyon with the business.
Their sister, Veronica, known as Ronni by the family, had remained with the business to do the books after his parents retired. After retirement, his mom and dad had moved from the big house and now lived on a small section of the property near their private lake in a newly built home.
Coming toward her, he barely stopped before exiting the barn. “I’ll be right back.”
Should she stay or go? Go where? She couldn’t walk into his house and upstairs until she knew for sure where she’d stay. Karis sighed.
Upon his return, he continued his chores. “I’ll have to get your key. Like I said, I didn’t know for sure if you were coming.” He continued mixing the horse’s feed and nutrients. “If I’d seen your application before Carmen, I’d a torn it up. Did you not have dinner?”
Go ahead, let his words beat her up. She deserved his harshness from walking away from the best man she’d ever find. “I ate on the way. Is there anywhere else I can stay on the ranch?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll get a room near Williams.” She took out her phone to search for a number and attempted to leave the barn.
He caught her arm and placed his hand over hers holding the phone. “You don’t need to stay at a hotel for crissakes.”
She broke her hand free, continuing to search. “I’ll try the motel I stayed at a few years ago. They have great mountain views there.”
He shook his head. “Look around, dammit. You have forested mountain views here. Don’t be silly. Stay at the ranch.”
Karis glanced around at the updated interior. The barn had been organized since he’d returned and had order now. Hay nets hung above short stacks of hay bales. Feed bags had their own place at the rear of the good-sized room. Windows had been cleaned. He took better care of this barn than he had himself lately. “All right. At least for tonight. Need any help out here?”
“Nope. I hire people to do this when I can’t.”
She had to get away. The urge to be close to him became too much, and now she longed to feel his touch again. “I’ll wait on the porch.”
Tanyon called, “Karis? I’ll be over when I’m done here.”
Her name on his lips was more than she could bear. She shouldn’t have come. This would be hard, and she didn’t need hard right now, at least not that way. Karis picked up the handle of her suitcase, grabbed her backpack, and trudged through the sand over to his moderately sized house with newly painted steps and new shutters on the second-floor windows. In fact, the whole house had been painted.
She sat on the third step up out of eight. A white railing enclosed the wrap-a-round porch, separated by four white, wood pillars. The house sat high in the front and atop a two-car garage beneath it with an extended storage area. The rear of the home had a slight slope and a fancy patio his mom had designed.
How dare he assign her to the room next to his. Tiredness settled in, and she leaned back on her elbows to relax. Tomorrow she’d deal with this situation. She glimpsed the star-studded sky, forgetting how black it got up here, and already missed her niece and nephew. Karis moved from the steps and took a seat in a dark-stained Adirondack chair facing away from the lighted porch. Her clothes and hair had captured the smell of the campfire.
Thinking of her family now, and according to everything she’d learned, and would advise her grieving patients, they shouldn’t have gone through her brother’s belongings yet. Albeit, his house had to be emptied and there’d been no choice but to go through his beloved items—paintings and writings—photographs from around the world, the kid’s toys, their clothes, and bedroom furniture they’d need at their new home with Aunt Karis.
Later, she jerked when a foot tapped hers. She lifted her sleepy eyes to his. Oh, how she wanted to bring his face down to kiss his lips. Hers had been so needy these days.
“You ready?”
His voice held no compassion. She’d lost him. Omigod. He stood there looking so ruggedly handsome with that damn old hat, nice-fitting jeans though looser now, a t-shirt that clung to his strong upper physique, and his worn western boots. Karis stood. Tanyon’s released breath couldn’t be unheard. Had it come from frustration or something else? They grasped her luggage handle at the same time.
“I got this.” He yanked it away.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and strode in beside him. His familiar all-male scent and sweat wafted through the air straight to her heart. “Give me a chance to explain what happened.”
“Out of sight out of mind is the way I see it. A fling that meant nothing.”
“So untrue! You know better. You certainly were not out of my mind, nor were you a fling. There hasn’t been anyone else. It was my mom and… My brother—the grief.” The word murdered remained unsaid. What had it mattered now whether he believed grief had destroyed her? Because it does.
At the bottom of the wide polished stairway with a carpeted runner up the middle, he removed a key from the antique table in the foyer, took the backpack from her shoulder, and nodded up the stairs, then right at the top, and down a long open walkway, past her two friend’s rooms and to her door. Tanyon’s suite encompassed the whole end of the upstairs on this end.
She’d known where it was but had never been in it on a personal basis. However, she and Tanyon had attempted to go in there one night until they were interrupted by two of his brothers dragging each other’s drunk asses up the stairs. All three of their rooms were to the left of the stairway, and Cade had the largest on that end. Ronni had a master suite downstairs next to an office since she had
divorced and moved back home.
She paused outside the door, wishing to see a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Karis spoke softly. “Why did you give me this room?”
“I don’t answer work-related questions this late.” He unlocked the door and dropped the key into her hand. “Breakfast is at the usual time.”
He entered his room yet he’d glanced back at her with a frown before closing the door. Good thing she’d slept a half hour in the chair because lying in bed a wall away from him would drive her mad.
By the time she had changed and settled in the four-poster queen-sized bed with blankets smelling like delicate spring-scented fabric softener, a floorboard squeaked outside her room. Maybe Tanyon had second thoughts, and tomorrow he’d find new quarters for her. Karis gulped as her eyes welled. The floor squeaked again. She wasn’t as ready to confront him as she’d thought.
Now alone, she had time to recall memories of her brother Rory. Up until now, she’d been so busy caring for others, that she hadn’t taken time to properly accept her grief. Karis closed her book, got out of bed, and opened the curtain to look outside in the dark. This room had a balcony. She stepped out and stood at the wrought iron railing. It was a bit darker on this side of the house. The Milky Way stretched out bright and clear, dotted with a trail of scintillating stars. Forested mountains stood shadowed against the night’s backdrop. A soft breeze carried smells from ranch life from the horse barns and cattle in this direction, and pine.
Karis closed her eyes a moment, seeking solace, but all she saw was Tanyon’s arms around her as he’d joined her at the lake last fall. How he spoke softly into her ear asking her to stay on after the others left. She wrapped her arms around herself now for comfort. Tanyon, I miss you.
A sound below snapped her out of the love-sick vision then footsteps faded away. She leaned over the rail to the opening below. A stairway wrapped around the side of the building, which led down from Tanyon’s balcony. Would he mind company tonight?
Chapter Two
Glancing up from the bottom step from his balcony, Tanyon sighed, then strode out to the solace of the range and leaned his elbows against the fencing. He couldn’t answer Karis’s question of why he put her in the room next to him. Must’ve lost his senses after seeing her name on the “returning to work” list. His training bulls lowed and bawled around him. Young cowboys paid him a good sum of money to learn to ride those critters.
Off into the dark, a dog barked then yelped. Shit! Did Sparky get out? He whistled. Before long the sounds of breaking grass came toward him. “Come here, boy.” Tanyon picked him up and scratched up the long black, white, and tan fur on his neck. “What are you doing outside alone? You don’t want to run into a porcupine out here, or a bear.”
Tomorrow he’d go over the house rules to make sure this pup didn’t get out on his own at night. In fact, where had Sparky been earlier? He figured he’d been in with Ronni. On the way back to the house, he went around to the steps to his balcony. He gazed upward to see if Karis had remained outside. The night sure was nice enough. What if she had been?
Sparky whined to get down. “Stop, you aren’t going anywhere,” he commanded in a low voice. One or more of his brothers pulled up out front. It was Cade who was born after him.
“Hey, Tanny. Whatcha doing? Can’t sleep? Bet I know why.”
“Don’t get on my case.”
Cade patted Sparky. “This dog’s too damn cute. Look at his face. I didn’t want to get attached to him after losing Rowdy, but I damn well did.” They walked in and through to the kitchen.
Tanyon bumped his brother’s shoulder. “Where’s your two cohorts? Out partying?”
“They’re home and resting up for the cattle drive tomorrow. Training day did them in. Sissy’s.” Cade gave a hearty laugh, took a gallon of ice cream out of the freezer, and grabbed a bowl. A scoop next.
Tanyon chuckled and poured himself a Scotch. “I wouldn’t call it a cattle drive. They’re going two miles. Hell, we can do two while we’re drunk.”
“Yeah, but the newbies can’t. We have to start them somewhere if we’re moving to the grassier pasture across the property later.” Cade patted Tanyon on the back. “Go to bed, Bro. She’ll be here in the morning. Is it true you put her in the room next to you?”
“Her name’s Karis, not her.”
Cade raised his hands. “Sorry. Touchy, touchy.”
“Yeah, I lost my mind for a minute. I’m not sure she’s staying, anyway.”
“You have to deal with the fact you belong together. Stop being stubborn. You moped around here for months after she left. Look at ya. When’s the last time you cut your hair? You two had too much going on to wipe it off the slate—four years, Bro.”
“Maybe you can forget, but I can’t. Somebody got severely injured here, Cade. And you know what? You don’t know what the hell you’re saying concerning Karis and me.”
“Tanny, you know I do.”
“The last thing I need is those squirt cowboys strutting around calling me that stupid-ass nickname. Stop with the name.”
“Speaking of squirt cowboys. You know I’ve been thinking… The damaged fence we found the other day? It looked like it was cut, didn’t it? Who wants our cattle maimed or lost?”
“I’ll give it some thought…tomorrow.”
Cade scoffed. “I have an idea. The injured kid, Jody? Who would—”
“Who knows. The kid recently moved in with them. What do you mean? What’s that have to do with fences being cut.”
“Maybe it’s related. Something isn’t right.”
Tanyon went over to close the door between the kitchen and dining room. “I can’t discuss Jody right now. It was a terrible thing to happen to anyone. It lays heavy on my heart on a daily…no, moment to moment basis. The kid might never have a life, and it happened here.”
“I warned him, Tanyon, not to attempt those crazy broncs. The kid had a grudge against being told what to do, and he was as rebellious as hell. Dusty knows. You better talk to our lawyer. Defend yourself for crissakes. How can it all be a coincidence? It wasn’t our fault.”
Keep telling yourself that. “I don’t know, but I need a clear head before thinking conspiracy or whatever you’re getting at. The kid lost his parents. He deserves to have a grudge against the world.”
“He meant to be a horse wrangler. One day we talked while brushing horses. He wanted to learn. Jody mentioned his hard-headedness and how he hated it. He wanted a future working with horses. No one was outside there except me and him. His cousin Logan worked in one of the stalls out of earshot. He’s the one I don’t trust. Jody had goals.” Cade took a second to stuff a bite of ice cream into his mouth, a frown on his face the whole time. “He said Logan held a grudge because Jody had attention from Brielle, and she’d ignored Logan. Working here was the best thing that ever happened to Jody. He wouldn’t ruin it.”
“Hmm. I liked the kid right off too.”
“He told me. He wouldn’t do anything stupid. His cousin, Logan, despised him living with them and working here. Hated him, in fact.”
This topic wasn’t going away tonight. “How do you know this?”
“I overheard Logan talking to Rudy one day. He joked and threatened to maim his cousin.”
Tanyon slammed his hand down on the table. “Joked! What? Why am I just hearing this?”
Cade shrugged.
“Why don’t you see what you can find out? Levi’s close to Logan and Rudy’s age. Let’s encourage him to get friendly with Rudy. Levi can take him along on the trail rides. Get Logan and Rudy to hang out with him.” Tanyon got a spoon and dug into the gallon of ice cream for one bite then tossed the spoon into the dishwasher. “Wait a minute. Wasn’t it Logan who put Jody on the stallion a while back knowing damn well the kid couldn’t ride?”
Cade’s jaw dropped mid-bite. “Yeah, come to think of it, you’re right.”
“Sonofabitch. Logan’s up to something. I should’ve fired him for that stunt
and after shooting off his mouth yesterday in the barn at Brielle. I’ll fire his ass for sexual harassment if Uncle Max doesn’t strangle him first.”
Cade nodded. “It’s not the first time Logan has commented on her. He needs to stay away from that little girl. He best keep away from my daughter.”
“Your daughter’s six, Cade. If he’s that sick, he gets a bullet between his eyes. Let’s get serious and find out what happened the day Jody got hurt. Somebody knows something. Logan’s a bully, and he’d threaten the other guys to keep their mouths shut. Yep, I’ll be talking to our lawyer.”
“Logan might get suspicious of Levi if he’s that smart because they don’t have anything to do with each other.” Cade put the ice cream away. “Pour yourself another Scotch or two. Maybe it’ll help you sleep without you-know-who on your mind. See ya in the morning.”
“Early rise, smartass.” Tomorrow, he’d call the police chief to plant the Logan idea in his head. It had paid off many times over to have the chief of police as an old family friend. His gut twisted at what Cade had insinuated. Had Jody’s long-lost family plotted against this kid from the beginning? In turn, it was a plot against the Two-Five Ranch.
Tanyon gave Sparky a treat then wrote and hung a note on the door reiterating not to let the dog out alone at night. He patted his thigh. “Come on, boy.” Sparky ran up ahead of him and tripped over his own growing paws running to Tanyon’s room. He bounced back and forth in the hallway, barking.
Tanyon scooped him up and held his hand over his muzzle. “Shh. Be quiet,” he whispered, not used to quieting anything up here. Tanyon stared at the fur ball with those clear blue eyes and his pink tongue hanging out. “You look like a teddy bear not an Australian shepherd. How do you get mad at a teddy bear?” He avoided stepping on the creak in the floor and entered his room.
He closed the door and glanced at the wall separating he and Karis. He’d never met a woman like her. Never got as swept away by any other woman, either, and he’d known many. She genuinely cared for his ranch and what happened to it, wanting nothing in return like other women who wanted everything he had. Karis had cared for him. Yeah, there was a time when he’d thought they belonged together until she’d gone and threw it all away.
Imprisoned In A Cowboy's Heart (Two-Five Ranch Outlaws Book 1) Page 2
