Colton 911: Caught In The Crossfire (Book 5)

by Linda O. Johnston

  Her expression turned into a glare, even as she put her hands on her hips. He noticed then that her nails were short and plain. No polish on them. No lipstick on her, either. Not that she needed anything like that to look pretty. But this way she looked more like the ranch hand she was.

  “Then maybe you’d better bring your own horse,” she told him coldly.

  They both continued to glare at each other as his mind raced to try to figure out where he’d be able to get a horse on his own—and fast. Could he soothe her somehow in a way that ensured she’d still back off from interfering in his investigation?

  She dropped her hands, even as she shook her head, a wry expression on that too-attractive face. “Look, Casey,” she said—and for just then he’d have preferred her to refer to him as “Deputy Colton.” “You’re in charge of this investigation. I understand that. But I’ll bet I can help you since I probably know this ranch, and cattle, better than you. Let’s look around a little bit now and I’ll try to convince you. But even if I don’t, please let me join you tomorrow. I really give a damn about those missing cows, and I’ll do everything I can to save them and bring them home.”

  He raised his head, just a little. “Look, Ms. Hayworth.” He, at least, could return to formality. “It’s one thing for me to be out there attempting to solve this apparent crime and to go after any perpetrators as well as the missing cattle. I’m trained to do such things. It’s my job. But I don’t want to have to worry about protecting you, too.”

  “Then don’t worry about it. I’m volunteering. If anything happens to me, it’s my own fault. And what if I really can help you?”

  He recognized that this argument was going nowhere. “We’ll see,” he responded, then he moved forward to the broken fence and maneuvered his way to the property beyond, intentionally ignoring his difficult companion for the moment.

  But he couldn’t really ignore her, especially when, a few feet away from him, she, too, edged her way to the far side beyond the broken fence. She started walking around, looking first into the distance, then glancing down to the ground. Then she did it again, even as Casey pretty much did the same thing.

  And he saw some stuff that was interesting, like hoofprints in the grass, but unlikely to be any helpful evidence.

  “Okay, Casey, look at this,” Melody called to him. She gestured for him to join her, even as she continued studying the ground.

  “Look at this,” she repeated and pointed to an area right by her feet, where the grass had been tromped down and some dirt showed, similar to the ground he’d been examining, too. “See that? There are some hoofprints of cows, probably the missing ones since the prints are fairly new—sharp and prominent. They’re heading in that direction.” She pointed. “South. That’s the way we should look for them.”

  Casey couldn’t help himself. He laughed. “Guess what? Your cows left hoofprints over where I was standing, too, and I was studying them when you called me to come over.”

  Melody looked slightly abashed, but then her expression again became defiant. “Then, good. We’re on the same page. We can compare and help each other and—”

  “I understand you want to help and I appreciate it. But like I told you—”

  “Look,” she interrupted, “I know a lot more about cattle and hoofprints than you do. And more about the ranch and pastures, too.” She was being a bit repetitious. He knew that, hadn’t forgotten it. But still...

  “I get all that,” he told her. “And I’ve already told you why it’s not a good idea for you to come.”

  “I’ll prove otherwise,” she insisted, contradicting him again. She began moving forward quickly, her head down.

  But they weren’t going to learn more now. Not here. Tomorrow he’d hurry in the same direction and hopefully find something helpful.

  Maybe even those missing cattle...

  “Hey. Look at that.” Melody had stopped and was looking down to what was undoubtedly more cattle hoofprints. Only, she bent and reached for something, then stopped. She looked up at him again. “I doubt that any cow dropped that,” she said.

  “What?” he asked. He kneeled down beside her...and stared.

  She was pointing to an area within a hoofprint, in dirt between fronds of tamped-down grass, and something small and shiny gleamed from it.

  “What is that?” He resisted the urge to grab and examine it—and was glad she hadn’t done that, either.

  “It looks like some kind of silver charm,” Melody responded in a somewhat hushed voice. “It could have been there before any cattle walked or stampeded around here through the fence during this rustling, but I’ve never seen anything like it in any of the pastures.”

  “I think,” he mused, “and I may just be reaching for something helpful to identify some suspects and get this thing resolved, but you just might have found our first piece of evidence.”

  Chapter 3

  Melody was impressed, though not surprised, when Casey took a couple of pictures with his cell phone, then pulled vinyl gloves from his pocket, picked up the charm and stuck it into a small plastic bag he also carried.

  Clearly, he was prepared to do his job, wherever it led him and whatever evidence he happened to find.

  The charm was the kind worn on necklaces or bracelets, and appeared to be silver. It was in the shape of the letter G.

  “Does this look familiar to you?” He held the bag containing the charm toward Melody.

  She shook her head. “Not at all.”

  But that inspired her to continue studying the ground in that area, and Casey did, too. Neither of them found anything else other than more hoofprints.

  “Do you think the charm was dropped by one of the rustlers?” Melody asked the deputy as they finally gave up.

  “Anything’s possible,” he said with a shrug of his wide shoulders as he shot a wry look in her direction. A frustrated look. She wished she could do something—identify the charm, find something more helpful, to ease that frustration.

  But she was frustrated, too. And no solution came to her.

  “Let’s head back now,” he said, shoving the bag into his pocket. “Maybe we’ll figure things out better tomorrow.”

  “Absolutely,” she said, hoping it was true.

  The walk back to the ranch house was a lot faster than the one to the damaged fence. But going in this direction, they didn’t need to check for any indication of where the cattle were or who’d rustled them through that fence.

  Or whether there were any more charms on the ground.

  Not until tomorrow.

  And, yes, she would be going along with Casey. It was important to her to do the best job possible here. This ranch had become her refuge after leaving her past behind, and she adored its cattle. She intended to help to save the stolen ones. Period.

  She had to give Casey credit for not grumbling or protesting when she said, as they started back, “So I assume that, as the first person to find evidence in your crime investigation, I can come along tomorrow and continue to help you.”

  “I assume so,” he said resignedly. He shot her a crooked sideways smile. “And, yeah, we can do the kind of stakeout you described.”

  She couldn’t help smiling back and was careful not to make it appear she was gloating. Or at least not too much.

  Besides, Casey was one good-looking guy, so it wasn’t hard to smile at him.

  Not that she had any intention of allowing her goal of helping to find the missing cattle by working with this guy turn into any kind of personal interest in him.

  She’d learned her lesson not too long ago. It was why she had left her Texas home and found a job here, in Arizona, as a ranch hand, after her ugly, depressing divorce.

  She knew now that it hadn’t been the smartest thing to marry her high-school sweetheart, Travis Ellison, and follow him to Dallas. They’d only been
married a couple of years before Travis, who’d become a big-city banker, had left her for a colleague, a much younger woman named Loretta Lane.

  What had made it even more heartbreaking was that Travis had told Melody she was a “country girl,” and he needed a “real woman.”

  Whatever that meant, it had hurt. A lot. She had sometimes suspected the worst about Travis before then, that he was cheating on her, but since she’d thought she loved him, she’d stayed with him, hoping they could work things out. At least she’d tried, but it had also hurt that he didn’t seem to care.

  That insult had finally led to the inevitable end of their relationship.

  And, if being a skilled and happy ranch hand meant she was a country girl, then that was fine with her.

  She realized she’d somehow sped up even more as she allowed her thoughts to go—as they often did these days—in that painful direction.

  “Hey, what’s your hurry?” Casey called as he caught up with her again. “Got a hot date tonight?”

  She slowed a bit and turned to look into his face. His expression was teasing, yet she read some curiosity there, too. “Yeah, sure. With some horses. I need to make sure they’re taken care of, and also want to figure out which’ll be best on our stakeout.”

  “Right. Good idea. But you do understand, don’t you, that I’m planning to stay out there till I—we—find those missing cattle? You can return to your place at the ranch anytime, of course, but—”

  “And you’ll love it if I quit, won’t you? Well, don’t count on it. I’m in this to win, too. Those cows...well, they’re kind of my wards now. They’re mine, though I don’t own them and just care for them. That’s my job and my vocation. And I’ll do anything to bring them home safely.” Including argue with him, to save the cattle she cared for.

  She was surprised that Casey stopped walking, but she did, too. She couldn’t quite interpret his expression, but he appeared impressed, somehow.

  Or maybe that was what she hoped he felt.

  “Bringing them home safely is my job, too. And I’m glad to have someone like you helping me.”

  A warmth spread through her. He looked serious. But—

  “But you didn’t want me around and only gave in because I did something helpful.”

  He gave a brief laugh. “That’s the point, isn’t it? Something helpful could grow into more. Or that’s what I’m counting on. Do more of it!” He chuckled again.

  “Count on it,” she said, hoping she was capable of doing what she had just promised.

  “And in case you’re concerned, I understand that the stakeout you described involves sleeping outdoors for possibly several nights, camping out. I’m sure you understand that, too. But...well, if it makes you uncomfortable being alone with me that way, feel free to back out anytime and go home.”

  “Same goes for you,” she said, liking his attitude...kind of. He wasn’t meeting her eyes, as if he was embarrassed. But being alone with this man, sleeping alone with him out in the open...well, yeah, it made her uncomfortable, mostly with her own feelings. Damn if she didn’t find this dedicated, uniformed sheriff’s deputy too appealing. Too sexy.

  But she wouldn’t act on it, and wouldn’t allow him to, either.

  And, in fact, she reminded herself—as if she needed to—she had good reason not to become attracted to him or any other man. Not now, certainly. Not so soon.

  And definitely not until she got to know someone well enough to feel sure he wasn’t just playing games with this “country girl.”

  “If I get too suggestive with you,” she continued, still trying to keep the conversation light, “or you become uncomfortable for any other reason, well, I’ll keep looking for my cows and you can go home.”

  He laughed. “Sounds like a challenge to me. Who’ll get most uncomfortable first?”

  “Not me,” Melody lied, already feeling as if, despite everything, she’d have to work hard to control her own attraction to this man.

  * * *

  Casey wished just then that he could read minds. That way he would learn what Melody was thinking.

  The idea of their sleeping out in the pasture together didn’t seem to bother her. She’d sounded quite professional. She probably didn’t feel the attraction he felt toward her, which was a good thing.

  As they walked quickly, her expressions changed from light and humorous, to dark and apparently introspective and sad, and he was intrigued.

  But he never asked her to explain. Figured she wouldn’t answer, anyway. And now, he and the lithe, lovely ranch hand had reached the main house. The single-story, deep red structure had rich-looking wood and a beige roof.

  Right now, his work vehicle, a black sedan with Sur County Sheriff’s Department on the front doors and a light on top, was parked out front.

  Beside it was a black luxury sedan. Clarence’s? Casey asked Melody. “Yes, that’s his.” Melody looked down at the watch on her wrist. “He usually doesn’t come home until around seven, but it’s only five. I wonder if he’s heard anything or—”

  Before she finished, the front door to the house opened and the selectman stepped onto the porch. “Hey, you two. You’re back. Did you find my cattle?” He had changed from the suit Casey had seen him in earlier into a long-sleeved charcoal T-shirt with the OverHerd Ranch logo in white. He clumped down the steps in his boots. Dressed this way, he looked a lot more rustic and older than Casey was used to seeing him. He still appeared relatively slender, but the skin at the corners of his eyes sagged and lines on his forehead were appropriate for his age...or was it stress that caused them to stand out?

  “Not yet, sir,” Casey said as the man reached them and faced them on the paved driveway. “But—”

  “Then why are you here?” Edison demanded. “Why aren’t you—?”

  “I began showing Deputy Colton around, sir, and we went out to the fence,” Melody said. “Since we didn’t see anything helpful except for how the fence was destroyed in that area, we decided to come back for the night and leave early in the morning on a stakeout of the entire ranch and beyond, if necessary, on horseback. We won’t return then till we find the missing cattle.”

  “‘We’?” Clarence demanded, glaring at Melody.

  Odd that, after wondering the same thing, Casey now felt he had to defend Melody and the fact he had decided not to protest any longer. He understood her rationale. And her presence might cost him time, since he would have to protect her above all else. But she was the ranch owner’s employee. She had the kind of knowledge that could help him, as she’d mentioned. What she was doing could definitely be of assistance.

  He noticed she didn’t mention the charm she had found. Well, it might not mean anything, anyway. But he’d take care of checking into it.

  “Ms. Hayworth was kind enough to offer to come along,” Casey said. “We’re going on horseback, and I’m sure, with her experience, she’s a lot better rider than I am. Plus, she knows your land better than I do. I hope you’ll allow her to come, sir. I think it will be to your advantage.”

  The selectman’s expression changed from hard and angry to...well, resolved—and perhaps inquisitive. “And to yours, too, maybe, Deputy.”

  Casey saw the shock appear on Melody’s face, even as he felt himself flush slightly. Had the selectman intended to be suggestive? Maybe not, but just in case, Casey said, “I intend to do my job and do it well, and I appreciate any assistance with it.” He hoped he sounded strictly professional.

  “Well, okay,” Clarence said. “Hopefully that’ll work. And I like what you said, Melody. You won’t come back until you find my cattle. Right?”

  “That’s right.” Melody looked relieved as she nodded vehemently.

  “Right,” Casey echoed. “So now I’ll head back to town and return here early in the morning, around six thirty, okay?” He aimed his gaze at Melody.


  But Clarence was the one to answer. “No, stay here tonight. We’ve got some apartments available in our bunkhouse, where our hands stay. And they’re fairly nice, right, Melody? ”

  “Absolutely, Clarence,” she responded, which made Casey tilt his head slightly in confusion. She’d called him “sir” before, and now she was using his name.

  Informality might be in order at the moment.

  “I appreciate your invitation to stay here,” Casey said to Clarence, “but I do need to go home. I’ll need to bring the right clothing to wear on our stakeout, for one thing.” And other appropriate things, as well, particularly since he didn’t know how long they’d be out there.

  “I get it,” Clarence grumbled.

  Good. But if Casey could have stayed, he would have; maybe he would have met more of the ranch hands. Gained more of their input about what had happened. But that wasn’t in the cards right now.

  He thanked the ranch owner and again said he’d be back bright and early the next day.

  But Clarence wasn’t buying that. “Nope, that’s not happening. You can go home, get what you need and come on back as fast as you can—now. You’re going to have dinner with Melody and me right here, just the three of us so we can talk, and then you’ll stay here for the night.”

  The way he spoke allowed for no argument, but that was okay with Casey. He decided he liked this idea, since they’d be able to get an earlier start in the morning. He assumed that was also why Clarence was so insistent about his staying here overnight. Still, there were a couple of things he’d need to handle first.

  “I’m still on duty,” he told the older man. “And this is part of an assignment. I need to check with the sheriff first.” Which he’d intended to do, anyway, although he had no doubt Jeremy would approve this intense way of tackling his investigation.

  Staying at the ranch added another level to it, but that was likely to be all right, as well.

  Especially if Casey—and Melody—actually found the cattle and the people who’d taken them.

  But to do the stakeout as now planned, Casey would also need to pick up the camping gear he had at his home as well as some more supplies at a local store.