by Joanna Wayne
“You survived dinner,” she said.
“Barely.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No. We’ve both dealt with enough trouble for one day.”
“On the positive, Effie is a great kid. I know there’s tension between you two, but time at the ranch might be exactly what both of you need. Out here you’re not trying to fit into each other’s world. You’re just experiencing this new world together.”
“That’s pretty much what Adam said.”
“Adam is a smart man, but his past was no picnic. Sometime you’ll have to let him tell you his story.”
“You sound as if you spend a lot of time at the Dry Gulch.”
“Hadley and I were the new kids on the block together. She and Adam moved to the ranch a few months after I took the job with Blake Benson. We met when I came out to talk to R.J. about artificial insemination of his mares and almost instantly became friends.”
“Poor mares. All the work, none of the fun.”
“That’s exactly what R.J. said.”
“I’ll wash my mouth out with soap.” Leif flicked on the radio and they both sang along to a song by Blake Shelton. He was just starting to relax when they passed Evie Monsant’s house.
Moonlight gave the police tape an eerie glow. Joni stopped singing and wrapped her arms tightly around her chest, just as she’d done that afternoon.
“I wonder if her killer’s still in Oak Grove.”
Fear. Dread. Anxiety. He heard shades of all of that in her voice. It wasn’t paranoia. For all she knew, she could have been the one brutally attacked. And like Evie Monsant, no one would have heard her screams.
Everyone in Oak Grove seemed to count on Joni. She needed someone to count on tonight.
His hands tightened on the wheel. The rest of his life might be in a state of flux, but one thing was clear. In spite of any warning he might have given himself about getting involved with Joni, he would not be driving back to Dallas tonight.
Chapter Six
The beams from Leif’s headlights cut through the layers of inky blackness and stalking shadows that mantled Joni’s rented farmhouse. Before her neighbor’s murder, coming home had always felt like reaching her haven—the welcoming space she’d created for herself.
Tonight, anxiety about Evie’s murder edged her homecoming, along with the uneasiness of being with a man who got to her in too many ways to count.
It made no sense. She was around cute cowboys all the time, several who’d hit on her relentlessly. She noticed them. Occasionally, she even flirted back though most of the single guys around Oak Grove were too young for her. None had ever made her senses hum the way Leif did.
Not that the unexpected attraction mattered. When the intriguing attorney drove away tonight, she’d likely never see him again. Dallas was only an hour or two away, depending on traffic, but Leif wanted no part of Oak Grove or ranch life. This was the only life she wanted.
Leif stopped the car and killed the engine. “Don’t you have any outside lighting?”
“I usually leave the porch light on when I know I’ll return home after dark. Guess I forgot today.”
“You should have solar spotlights along the drive and the front of the house. I’ll pick some up and install them for you tomorrow.”
“It’s not always this dark. Most nights the stars are so bright you can easily make your way up the walk without slipping on a loose rock or stumbling into a skunk.”
“You would mention skunks. Talking from experience?”
“I see and smell them frequently. Only got sprayed directly once. Not an experience I’ll forget.”
“And not one I want to add to my repertoire.”
Leif reached across her and into his glove compartment. His hand brushed her thigh. Casual. Meaningless. Pulse tingling.
He pulled a flashlight from the compartment. “Forewarned is forearmed.”
“Or you could just leave your headlights on until I get in the house.”
“But they don’t illuminate all the grassy spots where a white-streaked creature might be planning an ambush.”
Joni fished in her handbag for her keys. Leif opened his car door.
“No reason for you to get out,” she said.
“A gentleman always walks his date to the door.”
“A date is when a person asks another person out. This was more a matter of you being coerced into service.”
He didn’t argue the point. He just walked to her side of the car and opened her door.
Flashlight in his left hand, he fit his right hand to the curve of her back as they walked up the leaf-strewn stone path.
Her nerves began a slow, heated dance as possibilities surfaced. Would he ask to come in? Would he kiss her good-night? Did she want him to?
Yes.... And no.
Once she’d fit the key into the lock, the flashlight beam went dark, as did his headlights, which had evidently timed out. Once again, they were immersed in darkness.
Thoughts of Evie Monsant slunk back into her mind, dissolving the dizzying anticipation that had claimed her moments before. Weirdly, the merging of fear and her attraction to Leif made both more intense.
With her hand on the doorknob, she made a half turn and looked up at Leif. “Thanks for giving up your day for me.”
“My pleasure.”
“At least let me pay for your gas?”
He leaned in, planting a hand on the door frame. “Better yet, invite me in for an after-dinner drink?”
Her breath caught. Her senses reeled. “You have a long drive in front of you.”
“There’s nothing waiting for me in Dallas.”
And nothing waiting for her when he drove away except disappointment, rattled nerves over Evie’s murder and an empty house. She took a deep breath and then swallowed hard. “Sure. One drink can’t hurt.”
It was only a nightcap after a long day. No excuse at all for the warmth that flushed her body as she opened the door and Leif followed her inside.
A few minutes later they were settled in the cozy family room, both on the sofa, her on the end, pivoted so that she faced Leif.
She’d slipped out of her shoes and pulled her right knee onto the sofa between them. It kept him at a safe distance while she tried to figure out where he expected this to go and if this was moving too fast.
She sipped her whiskey, and the slow burn seared its way to the pit of her stomach. The mingling of titillation and alcohol was definitely not conducive to a clear mind.
“Tell me about you,” Leif said. “How did you decide to become a veterinarian?”
“My parents bought me a puppy for my fifth birthday. It was a golden retriever, and we bonded at first lick—not sure which of us licked first.”
“So you’re a dog as well as a horse girl?”
“Dogs, cats, hamsters, bunnies—you name it. Mom said I got more excited over going to a pet store when I was young than a trip to the local water park. And I loved water parks. Still do, by the way.”
“Ugh.”
“Don’t tell me you hate getting your hair wet and mussed,” she teased.
“I hate standing in lines. Give me a good old Texas waterhole any day. Or a tubing trip, lazily drifting down a river in the Texas Hill Country.”
“How long has it been since you’ve done that?”
“Too long.” Leif’s arm snaked across the back of the sofa until his fingertips brushed her shoulder. The touch was headier than the whiskey.
“When did your primary interest become horses?” he asked.
“I was probably a couple of years younger than Effie is now. My best friend’s family bought a small horse farm near where we lived in southern Oklahoma. I was captivated the second I climbed
into in the saddle.”
“And from that, you made the decision to become an equine vet?”
“Not right away. But once I saw a newborn foal taking its first steps on those cute, spindly legs, I was a goner. From that point on, I knew I’d always want horses in my life. Becoming an equine vet was the natural choice for my life’s work.”
“I don’t know if Effie’s fascination will have the lasting fervor yours did, but she can’t get enough of horses now. I have no doubt that R.J.’s promise of a stable full of beautiful animals is the only reason she flew to Texas for the Thanksgiving holidays.”
“Does it really matter why she came, Leif? The important thing is she’s here. Make the most of it. I’m sure she needs a father as much as you need her. Reach out to her every way that you can.”
“Easier said than done when the only path to reaching her goes through R.J.”
Bitterness hardened his words. His resentment of R.J. seemed to run soul deep. She hated to ask, dreaded hearing the worst about the dying rancher she liked so much, but she needed to know the truth. It was the only way she could take a stab at understanding the intensity of Leif’s resentment.
“Did R.J. abuse you as a child?”
His brows arched. “Where did that come from?”
“I just know he must have done something horrible to you for you to resent him so much after all these years.”
“I barely remember R.J., but I’m all but certain there was no physical abuse. Mom would have killed him had he laid an abusive hand on me or Travis. She was fiercely protective.”
“What did cause their divorce?”
He looked away, and for a second she thought she’d pushed too far.
“The worst Mom ever said was that R.J. was not a fit father or husband. I only heard that years after the fact. I was only three and Travis was just nine months old when Mother left the Dry Gulch Ranch and moved to California.”
“And you were never curious enough to look up R.J. when you were older?”
“Why would I be? He’d never been a father to me. Too bad he didn’t leave it that way instead of coming up with that ludicrous will and then contacting Effie.”
“Where is your mother now?”
“She died when I was eight.”
Leif stood and walked to the window, staring into the darkness, his gaze intense and troubled. She doubted he was telling her the entire truth about his relationship with R.J. His scars went too deep for there not to be more.
She finished her whiskey and tried to stand. The room seemed to shift and she had to grip the arm of the sofa for balance.
Leif slid his arms around her waist. “Easy, baby. You really are a lightweight drinker.”
“I’m not used to hard liquor.” She steadied. “Guess that means it’s time to call it a night.”
“Definitely is for you.” He took her hand. “But I’m thinking I shouldn’t drive back to Dallas tonight.”
Tension swelled. She liked Leif, liked him a lot. But she wasn’t ready for this, not when she was too light-headed to think straight. “Not a good idea—”
He put a finger to her lips to shush her objections. “Don’t worry, Joni. I’ve never gone into a woman’s bedroom when I wasn’t invited or taken advantage of a tipsy one. I just think you might sleep better tonight with a man in the house.”
“Because of Evie Monsant? You think I could be in danger.”
“I didn’t say that. The truth is, I think Evie was targeted, not random. Her killer is probably long gone.”
“What makes you think it wasn’t random?”
“Because her real name was not Evie Monsant.”
“How do you know that?”
“Personal source, but I’m sure it will be public knowledge by tomorrow or as soon as the police discover her true identity.”
Joni mulled over the new bombshell. “That would explain why Evie was so mysterious and secretive. But it doesn’t guarantee that she wasn’t another random victim of The Hunter.”
“No, but it opens up a keg of other more likely possibilities. Still, we’ll both rest better if you’re not out here alone tonight. Besides, like I said, there’s no reason for me to rush back to Dallas. I can drive in tomorrow morning and pick up Effie’s clothes.”
Only there was one very good reason. “I don’t have an extra bed, Leif.”
“You have a sofa. I’m easy. Just toss me a pillow and I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
It sounded simple and straightforward. Leif on her sofa the entire night. Steps away.
Or in her bed, if she invited him. One night of torrid lovemaking when it had been two years since she’d been with a man. Put that way, she’d be a fool not to sleep with him.
But then Leif would be easy to fall in love with and probably impossible to forget. No sense wooing a broken heart. She had to keep this light and keep him out of her bed.
“I can offer you more than a pillow.”
His brows arched expectantly.
“You can have a sheet and a blanket, too.”
“You, Dr. Joni, are a tease.”
He followed her to the hall linen closet. She handed him a spare pillow and a pillowcase. Her only extra sheets were a set of hot pink ones she’d gotten as a graduation gift from one of her eccentric great-aunts.
“Best I can do,” she said, handing him the flat sheet.
“That should sufficiently emasculate my manhood.”
Joni was sure a mere sheet could never lessen Leif’s virility or sex appeal, but she reached to the top shelf for an unfeminine blanket. “To keep you warm and hide the sheet from your psyche.”
“Thank goodness.”
“There are clean towels in the guest bathroom I showed you earlier if you want to shower.”
“I think that’s a necessity.”
“Do you want to keep my pistol with you?”
“No, thanks. I have my own.”
“On you?”
“In the car, but I’ll get it.”
That surprised her. “Snakes in the big city, too?”
“The worst kind,” Leif admitted. “The nutcases and grief-stricken family members who think I helped free a guilty defendant.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
They walked back toward the living area, side by side. The hall was narrow. Practically every step produced a brush of hands or arms or shoulders.
She stopped at her bedroom door, afraid she was a few heated breaths away from issuing the invitation to join her in her bed. She needed a closed door between them quick.
“Would you lock up once you get your gun?” she asked.
“You got it.”
He leaned in close. One finger trailed a path down the side of her face, then across her lips. Her defenses plummeted. Anticipation curled in her stomach, and wispy waves of heat knotted in her chest.
His mouth found hers and she melted.
The kiss was bold, blowing her inhibitions away. She kissed him back, and the thrill of it hummed through every nerve. Drowning in desire, her body arched toward his, her breasts pushing hard against his chest.
Leif came to his senses first. His hands fell to her shoulders and he backed away. “Sorry, but I’ve wanted to do that ever since I met you. Now get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Speechless, she slipped into her room, closing the door with her foot and then pressing her back against it until she could regain her equilibrium.
If Leif’s sole purpose in staying the night was for her to get a good night’s sleep, his kiss had destroyed any chance of that.
* * *
LEIF WENT BACK to the car for his pistol, though he was practically cert
ain the only danger either of them faced tonight was from his overactive libido. Once the front door was locked, he made his way to the bathroom for a very cold shower.
Had someone told him this morning he’d be spending the night in Oak Grove in the home of a sexy pixie, he’d have thought them nuts. Yet here he was and so turned on, he was nowhere near on top of his game.
Never had a first kiss affected him like that. Desire had hit so hard he’d had to fight Neanderthal instincts to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to the bed. He’d have scared her off forever. That was the last thing he wanted.
So what did he want? A lover practically in the shadow of Dry Gulch Ranch? A lustful shove into a world he hoped to never enter again after this week? A woman whose world was so different, it didn’t even seem to spin on the same axis as his?
He dried off, picked up his dirty clothes and tiptoed back to the living room, wearing only the towel. The covers and pillow were waiting for him on the sofa, but like so many other nights, his mind wasn’t even close to letting him sleep. He dropped into the overstuffed chair and propped his feet on the hassock.
Leaning back, he closed his eyes. With all that had happened today, strangley, it was Edward Blanco who skulked into his mind.
Edward Blanco, accused murderer. Innocent until proven guilty.
Leif had played a major role in seeing that Edward was not proven guilty. The end result was that another man capable of committing a brutal, senseless murder was back on the streets.
That was the job of a defense attorney. The responsibility of the prosecution was to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the man was guilty. The duty of the jury was to vote their convictions.
Most of the time the system worked. Most of the time when Leif wrapped up a trial successfully, he was proud of the accomplishment. Watching Edward Blanco walk away a free man had made him feel like a traitor to the justice system and the human race.
If Edward was guilty and he killed again, it would be a repeat of the anguish Leif had felt when one of his first defendants had kidnapped and murdered a Texas coed within a year of his trial for a similar crime.
Call them sick, call them evil, call them clones of the devil. Whatever you labeled them, they were men with an addiction to committing the most heinous crimes over and over again.
