by Joanna Wayne
Just like the infamous Hunter, Edward Blanco might well be one of them.
Leif forced the tormenting thoughts to the back of his mind, letting Effie take front and center. She’d been a Daddy’s girl once. She had curled up in his arms at night for a bedtime story, had invited him to tea parties with her dolls and stuffed animals. He’d taught her how to ride a bicycle, had cheered her on during her first swim meet.
That Effie was gone to him forever. The Effie who’d replaced her was a young woman who didn’t seem to want or need her father in her life.
But Joni was right. Effie was here, and it might be Leif’s last chance to bridge the gulf that separated them. He’d let her get by with pushing him away for too long.
If it meant spending time at the Dry Gulch Ranch, so be it. He’d never think of R.J. as a father, never have any respect for the man. But he’d put up with him this week if that’s what it took to reconnect with his daughter before it was too late.
Finally, he moved to the sofa and pulled the hot pink sheet over his naked body. The gray of dawn sent shadows dancing about the ceiling before he finally fell into a sound sleep. When he woke again, the sun had topped the horizon and the smell of coffee drifted from the kitchen.
Leif sat up and scanned the room for his clothes. He was certain he hadn’t left them in the bathroom, but there was no sign of them, not even his boxer shorts. He did spy his watch on the coffee table.
He wrapped the sheet around his hips and headed to the kitchen. Joni was sitting at the table, her fingers wrapped around the curved handle of a pottery mug, her gaze fastened on an electronic tablet.
She looked up as he entered. Fully dressed, no makeup to mask her flawless skin, straight dark hair framing her heart-shaped face, she looked good enough to eat.
“What did you do with my clothes, woman?”
“Nothing. Did you misplace them?” Mischief made her dark eyes shine like morning dew.
“So you want fun and games, do you?” He pulled, loosening the knot so that the bright-hued sheet began a slow slide down his body.
Joni flew across the room and caught it just before it sneaked past his hips. “Not that much fun.” She tugged it back in place.
Her hair brushed his chest and the faint scent of lavender sent his senses reeling. His body sprung to life and he backed away before the bulge in his body gave the sheet a new shape.
“I woke up early and threw your clothes on to wash. After a day of following me from barn to barn, I thought clean clothes were in order. They’re in the dryer now, but should be ready in—” she glanced at the kitchen clock “—ten minutes.”
“Okay, but in the meantime, you may want to grab a pair of sunglasses or be blinded by my toga.”
First time he’d ever had a woman jump up in the morning and wash clothes. “Is there more coffee in that pot?”
“There is. How do you take it?”
“Strong and black.”
“That I can handle.” She filled another pottery mug and handed it to him. Then she refilled her own.
“It’s a beautiful morning, already in the high sixties,” she said. “Shall we take our coffee to the back porch?”
“Why not?”
He followed her to the cozy, screened-in sitting area. They sat at a small bistro table in chairs that were more comfortable than they looked. The sun had fully cleared the horizon now and was filtering through the trees that sheltered the small backyard. The few leaves that remained were a mix of browns and golds. The ground was a carpet of dead leaves and pine needles.
Birds flitted from tree to tree and fought over the seeds in the scattered bird feeders. A dog barked in the distance. Sitting there, sipping coffee with Joni, the world of courts and trials, juries and prosecutors faded into a blur.
“I’m beginning to see what makes country life so appealing.”
“Good, because I have a suggestion.”
He knew from her tone he wouldn’t like it. “I don’t suppose it’s to go back to bed and get it on.”
“It’s to go back to the Dry Gulch Ranch for breakfast.”
He should have known the peace was too good to last. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“To spend some quality time with Effie. You could help Adam fix breakfast on the trail. Effie would be surprised to see you, but I really think she’d appreciate the effort on your part. You might even find it fun.”
“I might, as long as R.J. isn’t there.”
“He won’t be. And you said yourself that Effie won’t visit you in your world. So join her in an activity that she’s excited about. Let her see you in her world or at least a world she wants to be in.”
“How do you know Adam would want me around?”
“If anyone will understand your need to reunite emotionally with your daughter, it’s Adam. I’ll call him for you, if you’d like, while you throw on your clothes.”
“What will you do for transportation?”
“It’s my day off. I thought I might go with you, saddle up one of R.J.’s horses and ride with Hadley and the girls.”
He liked the idea, except for the thought they’d be on the Dry Gulch Ranch. But as much as he hated the thought of R.J. having anything to do with his life, he had to admit Joni was right.
“You’re quite a persuader, Doc. Better than some attorneys I know.”
“Then you’ll do it?”
“It’s worth a shot.”
“After breakfast, you can drop me off at the garage to pick up my truck if that’s not too much trouble.”
“Good. Then I can blame you if the morning turns into a disaster.”
“Spoken like a real man.”
“Guess the sheet didn’t totally rob me of my manhood.”
He saw her quick glance in the direction of his manhood and had to fight even harder to keep it from busting loose. She blushed when she realized he’d noticed her eye movement. Then she hurriedly left to rescue his jeans from the dryer.
A few minutes later, Leif and Joni were on their way back to the Dry Gulch Ranch. Strangely, even the idea of running into R.J. didn’t diminish his hopes for the morning’s cowboy breakfast with Effie or his pleasure at spending time with Joni.
The attorney set of mind didn’t resurface until he was pulling through the gate of the Dry Gulch Ranch. Then the bitterness and doubts took over again.
Anything involving R. J. Dalton was bound to turn out bad. Trouble was brewing. It was only a matter of time.
Chapter Seven
He knocked a wicked-looking spider from the sleeve of his camouflage hunting jacket and pushed a low-hanging branch out of his way. Taking a few steps to the right, he got the perfect view of the swaggering attorney as he walked from Joni’s porch to his sleek black sports car.
Anger curdled inside him like fetid cream. Joni Griffin was pure and wholesome. She’d never take up with a slimy snake in the grass like Leif Dalton. Not if she really knew him.
Leif must have tricked her, twisted the truth and connived the way he did in the courtroom. Played her the way he did a jury with words and gestures and arrogant posturing to convince her he was trustworthy.
That was the only way she would have let him spend the night. In her house but not in her bed. He’d snuck up in the darkness and peered through Joni’s living room window long after the lights in the house had been turned off.
He took out his binoculars and found a spot where he could peer into her bedroom. He dared not go closer. Not yet. But he’d make his move soon.
If Leif Dalton got in the way, he’d kill him. Another justified murder wouldn’t matter in the scheme of things. Not when it meant that in the end, Joni Griffin would be his.
Then he could put the past behind him once and for all.
Chapter Eight
Leif flipped a tortilla in the cast-iron skillet and then moved to the right as the light breeze shifted the smoke from the open campfire. Adam added seasoning to the eggs. The bacon, sausage and potatoes were already cooked and warming in another covered skillet.
The odors were making his mouth water. “Do you eat like this every day on the ranch?”
“We have a big breakfast every morning,” Adam admitted. “No trouble working off the calories on the ranch.”
“I’m not a breakfast man myself,” Leif said, “but I’m sure I would be if there was temptation like this around. At the most, I grab a bagel at the coffee shop where I stop off for my caffeine jump start. Once I get to the office, things get so hectic I sometimes miss lunch altogether.”
“No doubt your life moves at a much faster pace than mine,” Adam said. “Not that it’s ever boring around here. But I like being near Hadley and the girls. And the ranch life suits me far better than I ever dreamed it would.”
“What kind of work did you do before?”
“I was a marine until I was injured.”
“How bad were you hurt?”
“Bad enough they thought I might never walk again.”
“I’d have never guessed.”
“Pain still flares up from time to time,” Adam said. “And if I get really tired, the right leg will start to lock up on me and the limp gets more noticeable. I was a lucky son of a bitch. Or bountifully blessed, as Hadley puts it.”
“Obviously. Was that before or after you met Hadley?”
“After. That’s a story for another time. Suffice it to say that the last place I planned to end up after my discharge was at the Dry Gulch Ranch or anywhere near R.J.”
That Leif could identify with.
“The riders should be arriving any minute,” Adam said as he slid the skillet full of scrambled eggs to the edge of the grate so that the eggs would stay hot. “Hadley tells me what time to have breakfast ready and she usually times it to perfection.
“By the way, she was thrilled when Joni called and said you two were joining us for the morning’s adventure. She and Joni have become fast friends over the past few months. I should warn you, Hadley is also a zealous matchmaker.”
Leif smiled at the thought of the sensual magnetism that already existed between him and Joni. Thankfully, he was smart enough to know that the physical attraction had no chance of growing into anything permanent. “I’m sure Hadley has someone much more suitable than a slightly jaded Big D defense attorney in mind for Joni.”
As if on cue, the sound of voices, laughter and approaching horse hooves were added to the mix of crackling firewood, birdcalls and water dancing over a rocky creek bed.
The procession of riders was single file, with Hadley in the lead. He spotted Effie before she saw him. She was smiling and looking happier than he remembered seeing her in years.
She was older than the other girls by a couple of years, but with her sun-streaked dark hair pulled into a ponytail and her face fresh and clean as the morning itself, she looked incredibly young to him.
Her facial expression froze when she saw him, and then the smile slowly faded from her face. Following the lead of the others, she let the spirited black horse she was riding drink its fill from the pond. She didn’t look back at Leif until she’d dismounted and looped the leash around a low-hanging branch of a scrawny pine tree.
She approached him warily as he served the tortillas. “What are you doing here?”
Evidently Joni hadn’t mentioned he’d come back to the ranch with her. “I just decided to get in on the fun. Is that okay?”
“Sure.” She looked relieved. “I’m just surprised to see you. I never thought you’d come back this early.”
“It was worth it to see you riding up looking so competent and pleased in the saddle.” He transferred a warm tortilla to her plate. “Besides, I didn’t want to miss a chance at a cowboy breakfast.”
“I know. It smells good. I’ll find us a place to sit,” she said.
“Is that your dad?” the girl in line behind her asked.
“Yes. He lives in Dallas. Dad, this is Mindy.”
“Hi, Mindy. How about a tortilla?”
“I’ll take two,” she said.
“You got ’em.”
This time the smile that Effie flashed him seemed genuine. And she’d asked him to sit with her. Maybe Joni was right. If he met Effie more than halfway in her world, maybe he could find a way to mend the broken bonds. Definitely worth a try.
Joni was last through the line. “What’s the verdict?” she asked.
“Victory. She looked a little shocked to see me at first, but then she looked genuinely pleased that I’d made the effort to get here. She even invited me to sit with her for breakfast.”
“Good. Looks like you’d best go shopping for some functional boots and a new Stetson.”
“Let’s not go that far yet.”
He filled his plate and was on his way to sit down by Effie when his phone rang. He tried to ignore it, but then he stupidly checked the caller ID.
His ex, calling from London. Maybe he’d best take the call. But he’d keep it short, just let her know that Effie was safe and sound and smiling.
He stepped away from the others. “Good morning, Celeste.”
“Hi. Hope I didn’t wake you. I know it’s early there, but I’m about to go into another meeting and not sure when I can get back to you.”
“Actually, I’m having a cowboy breakfast on the trail.”
Her laughter rang out over the phone. “I’d pay to see that. Sounds as if Effie talked you into visiting the Dry Gulch Ranch.”
“You knew that was her plan?”
“It’s all I’ve heard ever since she started corresponding with your father.”
The word father used in any connection with R.J. grated on Leif’s nerves. “A warning might have been useful.”
“Surprising you was Effie’s idea. But I have to admit, I thought it was a good one. Giving you time to contemplate and brood wouldn’t have served her purpose or made the idea any more palatable to you.”
“You might at least have told me she was coming to Dallas for the week. Suppose I hadn’t been home?”
“What are you talking about? She cleared this with you weeks ago.”
“I assure you, she didn’t. That’s not the type of thing I’d forget. I didn’t know she was coming until she rang the doorbell.”
“Oh, dear. Knowing the mood she’s been in of late, I should have followed up on that.”
“Are you saying she lied to you?”
“Yes, but don’t go getting all bent out of shape, Leif. With all the changes in her life right now, she’s bound to be a little concerned. But it will all work out. It will just take a little time.”
Major changes. Lies and conniving. Leif had never felt more out of the loop. He glanced back to where Effie was sitting. Joni had joined her, and the two appeared to be engrossed in their conversation.
“What changes?” Leif asked, knowing this wouldn’t be good.
“I’ve been transferred to London permanently.”
“What about Effie?”
“She’ll move with me, of course. She’s my daughter.”
“She’s our daughter. And the custody arrangement specifically states you can’t take her anywhere that would interfere with my seeing her on a regular basis.”
“You made the decision not to see Effie on a regular basis years ago, Leif.”
The accusation struck to the quick. Worse, he couldn’t deny it. He hadn’t seen it like that at the time, but it had worked out that way. Years that he could never get back.
“You only see Effie twice a year now, Leif. Flying to London twice a year will no
t exactly cause you any hardship.”
Celeste was right again. But the excitement he’d felt a few minutes ago dissolved into a hard knot in his stomach. Logical or not, he felt as if this was the beginning of the end. It was as if he were losing Effie forever.
Or maybe that had happened years ago, too, and he was only now coming to grips with the truth.
“Since Effie didn’t tell you about the move, I don’t suppose she told you about the rest of my news.”
“There’s more?”
“I’m getting married.”
Leif waited for some kind of pang to hit. None did. The marriage had died so long ago that even the resentment that had resulted from the divorce had long since dissolved into nothingness.
“Congratulations. Who’s the lucky guy?”
“No one you know. An Englishman. He works here in the London office. But he’s a great guy. Effie likes him, and he adores her. The new situation will require some adjustment on Effie’s part, but it will all work out. I’m sure of it.”
Work out for everyone except Leif. “When’s the wedding?”
“The Saturday before Christmas. But don’t worry. Effie will be flying back to the States after the wedding. She’ll finish her school year in her old school. Mom and Dad are coming down to live with her.”
All the decisions about his daughter’s life had been made with no input from him. It hurt, but it didn’t surprise him. Celeste had always lived her life as she saw fit and others around her fell in line or got walked over.
Effie had been the exception. Celeste had always been a good mother. Leif had failed as a father. No wonder he hated R.J. so much. It reminded him of his own shortcomings.
Only he would never have done to Effie what R.J. had done to Leif and Travis. He wouldn’t have treated a dog like that.
By the time Leif got off the phone with Celeste, Effie had only a few bites left of her taco. He walked over and sat down beside her.
She stood as soon as he sat. “Time to hit the trail,” she said without looking at him.
