by Joanna Wayne
“I told him he needs to find a wife,” Ruby said. “Mom’s been dead for two years. That’s long enough for him to get married again. Don’t you think so, Dr. Griffin?”
Joni put up her hands and waved off the question. “Can’t look to me for advice on that. I’m just the vet.”
“I told Ruby I’d marry again when I found the right woman,” Latham said. “You can’t go rushing those things.” They talked a minute more and then Joni was ready to move on.
The sun inched toward the horizon as Leif and Joni started back to his car, and the air started to grow cooler, though it was still warm for November. Leif had shed his lightweight denim jacket two hours ago.
The puddles from yesterday’s storm had vanished, leaving the carpet of grass beneath their feet bouncy but dry. Even the oppressive humidity that had refused to acknowledge the arrival of fall had dissipated in the wake of last night’s rain-producing front.
Leif took a deep breath, his lungs suddenly hungry for the fresh air. Somewhere along the way, without realizing it, he’d actually begun to relax. Thoughts of work and Edward Blanco had taken a backseat to watching Joni work.
He opened the passenger door for Joni and then walked around to his side and climbed behind the wheel. “Do you mind if I put the windows down?”
She laughed. “I understand completely. I get a little rank after a day in the stalls. You’ll probably have to have your vehicle fumigated after chauffeuring me around all day.”
“It’s not that bad,” he teased. “A half-dozen cans of deodorizing spray and it’ll be good as new.”
“Except for the odor of antibiotic ointment. That has a shelf life of forever.”
“Now you tell me.”
Leif started the car and headed back the way they’d come. “Actually, I was just thinking how nice and fresh the air smells out here.”
“Spoken like a man who spends far too much time in a stuffy office.”
“Everybody can’t be a cowboy.”
“Too bad. You’d look good in a Stetson and a pair of Western boots.”
“I’ll have you know, I own a pair of genuine, handmade ostrich-skin Western boots. When I wear them, I have to fight the urge to don a rhinestone jacket and break into a country ballad.”
“Oh, no. Not another urban cowboy. You should take me shopping with you, and I’ll point out when you look ridiculous.”
“While you snicker behind my back?”
“Never. I’d snicker to your face.”
“That’s helpful. So where to next?”
“I’m through with my scheduled calls, but I do have one more stop to make. I promised my favorite cowboy I’d bring him a special feed mix for his steer.”
“Your favorite, huh? Now you’ve gone and made me jealous.”
“You should be. Jeffrey is too cute for words. Of course, he’s also only eleven years old and the steer is one he’s raising for his 4-H project.”
“So where do Jeffrey and his steer live?”
“About a mile down the road we turned off on to get here. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the feed with me, which means I have to go back home to pick it up.”
“Where do you live?”
“About twelve miles from here, almost to the downtown area of Oak Grove, but near Abe’s repair shop. You can drop me there if you don’t mind. I have no idea what happened to Corky, but Abe surely has the new battery installed by now.”
“Unfortunately, I have bad news. It seems the battery is only the beginning of your problems. Abe is making a few additional repairs.”
“When did you hear that?”
“R.J. called while you were tending Benjy. The truck may not be ready until tomorrow.”
She grimaced, took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. “What else have you heard and why do I suddenly see dollar signs dancing in front of my eyes?”
Leif explained the situation, including R.J.’s taking charge.
“That sounds just like R.J. Always ready to jump in and help.”
Unless you happened to be a son he’d abandoned. Then you could live in hell and he wouldn’t bother to send you a glass of cold water. “How many miles does your truck have on it?”
“Just over 150,000.”
“Sounds as if it might be time to put it out to pasture.”
“Easier said than done. I’m emotionally attached.”
“To a truck?”
“Don’t laugh. It got me through four years of undergrad work, four years of veterinary school and a one-year internship with a clinic in Oklahoma specializing in equine insemination and breeding. Getting rid of it would be like dumping an old friend.”
Impressive. Joni was committed to a worn-out truck. Leif had never kept a vehicle long enough to need new tires. His record with relationships was worse.
But with that much schooling under her belt, apparently Joni Griffin was not as young as he’d assumed.
“Your old friend is not as dependable as he once was,” Leif said. “Maybe you should start looking for a nice retirement home for lovable metal scrap.”
“There’s also a money issue,” Joni admitted. “My school loans devour a huge chunk of my salary every month. I was hoping to make a dent in them before I had to purchase a new truck.”
“I could help you get a low-interest vehicle loan.”
The comment surprised him. He was not one to jump into women’s financial issues. Not that he wasn’t generous. He just didn’t like ties that might bind.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Joni said, quickly letting him off the hook. “Blake has already offered to front me the money if I need a loan. I’ll take him up on it if I have to—after I pay R.J. back for this round of repairs. Who knows? Abe and his mechanics may do such a good job that the truck will run for another fifty thousand miles.”
“Good luck with that. So, moving on, I have a proposition you can’t refuse,” Leif said.
“I can if it involves loans or getting rid of my truck.”
“Nope. It involves food, reputed to be as good as it gets.”
“You’ve got my interest.”
“Adam is grilling steaks, Hadley is making her specialty potatoes and Mattie Mae—whoever she is—is baking pecan pies.”
“My mouth is watering already.”
“Perfect since R.J. insists I bring you to dinner. And I’m sure I can use a little moral support around that table.”
“Something tells me you can hold your own. Tell R.J. how much I appreciate the offer, but this should be Effie’s special night with her newly found grandfather and a chance for you to connect with R.J., as well. I don’t want to butt in.”
“Trust me—you wouldn’t be butting in. This is not going to be the return of the prodigal son. Besides, Effie will love talking veterinary work with you.”
“I’d have to go home and shower first and then someone would have to take me home after dinner. That’s a lot of extra driving.”
“Not so much. I’ll take you home to shower and pick up the special feed, go with you to deliver it and then we’ll show up at the Dry Gulch just in time for dinner.”
“That’s really not necessary, Leif. I’ve already taken you away from your daughter too long.”
“I don’t appear to be missed. Effie’s horseback riding with Hadley and may not make it back to the house until dark. And you have to eat.”
“I have to admit it’s hard to turn down Mattie Mae’s pies,” Joni admitted.
“Then it’s settled. All I need are directions to your house and an explanation of how Mattie Mae fits into the Dry Gulch family.”
“She’s R.J.’s housekeeper, cook and longtime friend. She and her husband owned the neighboring ranch until he died a few years ago—or at least that’s what I’ve been
told. Now she lives in a small house in town, just across the street from the Oak Grove post office.”
“The way R.J. talked I thought she lived at the ranch.”
“No, she has her own home, but she spends some nights at the ranch. She has a bedroom suite on the second floor with her own bathroom.”
“So she’s not a romantic interest?”
“Not according to Hadley.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Leif said. “I was just curious as to whether or not R.J. was still chasing skirts. So which way to your place?”
“Go back the way we came. Take a right at the first fork and then turn right again when we get to the highway. The last turnoff is just before we reach the downtown area.
“I’ll tell you when to turn when we get there. But don’t expect much from the house. It’s old and furnished in what I lovingly call junk chic.”
“Sounds fascinating. Do you live alone?”
“Yes, it’s just me in a rambling old house that was meant for a large family. But after sharing an apartment with two other students for most of the past five years, all that space seems heavenly.”
They settled into an easy silence as he drove. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this relaxed with a woman, especially one as attractive as Joni. Maybe it was because she lived in R.J.’s world, and that made the possibility of a romantic entanglement a total impossibility.
There was something about her that got to him, though. He wasn’t sure if it was the perky personality, the cute nose with its spattering of freckles or her smile. But together, they were awesome.
There had to be a lot of cowboys fighting for her attentions.
“Take a left at Baxter Road,” Joni said after they’d driven for about eight miles. “Then mi casa is two miles down on the right.”
Once Leif made the turn, the scenery changed from fenced pastures to heavily wooded areas. An occasional driveway, some with multiple mailboxes, wandered into the thick clusters of trees. Now and then a house was partially visible through the pines and golden-hued oaks.
The isolation was a chilling reminder of the Oak Grove murder. A woman alone in any of these houses would be an easy target.
“Is your house visible from the—” Leif stopped midsentence as streams of bright yellow police tape came into view. It wound around and through the links of a metal gate and a chain-link fence that edged the road. This time the drive sported only one rusted mailbox.
A pickup truck had pulled onto the shoulder and a man was leaning out the window snapping pictures of the house that would have gone unnoticed were it not for the bright-colored tape. As it was, Leif could barely make out a railed front porch and part of the roofline.
Two sheriff’s patrol cars were parked in the driveway near the road. Leif pulled to the shoulder just past the pickup truck for a better look. No defense attorney could turn down a crime scene.
“I guess you heard about the Oak Grove woman who was murdered sometime yesterday,” Joni said. She shuddered and pulled her arms tight around her chest. “That’s where she lived.”
“Did you know her?” Leif asked.
“I know her name was Evie Monsant and that she lived alone.”
“That’s more than they were reporting last night.”
“She kept to herself. I’ve seen her at her mailbox, but she always looked away and pretended not to see me wave. She does the same with the other neighbors.”
“She must have talked to someone.”
“Not unless she had to. She’d only been in the area a few months. Gossip was that she was a recent widow and still grieving.”
“Seems unlikely that a grieving widow would move to an area where she had no friends or family and then make it a point not to meet anyone.”
Joni lowered her window a couple of inches. The slight breeze ruffled her short hair, sending dark wisps dancing about her face. “The news report I heard said she might be a victim of The Hunter. I would have never expected that in Oak Grove.”
“That’s merely speculation,” Leif said. “I wouldn’t put any trust in that at this point.” Leif shifted into Drive, pushed down on the accelerator and sped away.
“But it does sound like his other murders,” Joni argued. “An attractive woman living alone. An isolated setting. Leaving her in the woods after sexually assaulting her and then inflicting wounds with what appears to be a hunting knife.”
“If the murder was the work of The Hunter, he’s probably long gone from here by now,” Leif said. “He’s never killed in the same area twice in the past and his murders have always been months apart.”
Still, Leif was getting bad vibes about Joni living so close to the victim.
A few minutes later they reached her drive. It was on the same side of the road as the victim’s. The woods surrounding her house were just as thick.
He pulled into the dirt driveway leading to her house. Lengthening shadows crept across the gray clapboard porch, intensifying the feeling of isolation as Leif stopped a few yards from the front door.
Joni sat up straighter, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. When she turned toward him, her eyes mirrored the same dark thoughts that were eating at him.
He put an arm around her shoulders. She nestled against him, and a surge of protectiveness swept through him, stronger than any in recent memory. That was far too quickly followed by a kick of arousal, especially when Joni snuggled closer in his arms, her head resting beneath his chin.
Joni pulled away quickly. He didn’t know what she was feeling, but there was no denying the sensual jolt he’d experienced. He should run and run fast.
Instead he killed the engine and stepped out of his car.
Chapter Five
Joni unlocked the front door and pushed it open, her blood still thrumming from the rush of emotion she’d felt in Leif’s arms. She’d always been too cautious to let a man get to her like that.
Mostly she’d been so busy with college and veterinary training that she hadn’t had time for a boyfriend. But even if she could squeeze a relationship with Leif into her schedule, he was only passing through and in a big hurry to put his day in Oak Grove behind him.
“Sorry for that mini-meltdown,” she said as he followed her inside.
“Don’t be. That’s what shoulders are for. And I wouldn’t call that a meltdown. More like a reasonable reaction to a hideous neighborhood crime.”
“Seeing the house did get to me. You don’t expect that type of crime in Oak Grove. The worst they’ve had since I’ve been here is vandalism at the high school and a brawl after a rodeo where two guys got busted for fighting.”
“No place is immune to crime these days. If you’re nervous staying here alone, maybe you should spend a few nights with a friend or I’m sure R.J. would put you up at the Dry Gulch.”
“I have two very good friends who are never far away. A Smith & Wesson pistol and a shotgun.”
“And I guess you’re an expert at using them, Annie Oakley.”
“I am. Blake and the Lambert family made sure I learned to use both shortly after I moved here.”
“Who are the Lamberts?”
“One of the nicest families you’ll ever meet. Stick around Oak Grove awhile, and you’ll find out for yourself.”
Gee. Open her mouth, insert foot. Now he surely thought she was encouraging him to come back on her account.
“Have you ever killed anything?” Leif asked.
“Snakes. One a huge rattlesnake waiting on my front walk to welcome me home. But I like to ride and walk in the woods. You never know exactly what you’ll run into.”
“And you look so harmless,” he teased.
“I wouldn’t put me to the test if I were you.”
“Not a chance.”
Joni led him into the family room, a spacious area with lots of windows, an oversize sofa she’d bought at a secondhand store and two chairs she’d actually purchased new at a clearance sale. Next to the kitchen, it was her favorite room in the house.
Leif turned, giving the room a quick once-over. “So this is ‘junk chic.’”
“Yes, a hodgepodge of mostly secondhand items I’ve picked up since moving into the house.”
“You obviously have a way with putting bargains together. I don’t even hang a picture without a decorator telling me where it should go.” He smirked. “That sounded pretentious, didn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not actually a snob. I just have no taste.”
“Of course you do. Everyone does. You go with what feels right. If it works for you, then it works. I mean, unless there’s someone else you have to please.”
“Just the cleaning lady, and she’s not too particular as long as I don’t explode over things getting broken from time to time.”
So he lived alone. Interesting, but no reason she should go getting ideas. The hug was just a gesture of comfort, not a prelude to a date.
“I hate to admit it,” Leif said, dropping into an easy chair and propping his feet on a leather footstool, “but I don’t have anything in my house this comfortable.”
“Which is good and bad,” Joni said. “I fall asleep in that at least twice a week, usually during evening news.”
“I can understand why if all your days are as busy as this one.”
“Actually, this was a slow day.” Joni bent to straighten a stack of magazines she’d left on the wooden coffee table. When she looked up, Leif’s head was resting against the back of the chair, his eyes closed, loose locks of dark hair falling into his face.
Her heart did a crazy jump. She determined to ignore it. The guy was gorgeous. So what?
“How about some coffee while you wait for me to shower and change?”
“Is that the strongest beverage you have?”
“Almost. I’m not much of a drinker, but I have an open bottle of chardonnay in the fridge and an unopened bottle of whiskey in the pantry. The wine may have lost its pizzazz. I can’t vouch for the whiskey, either. It was a gift from a thankful rancher.”
