Protected by a Hero

by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne

  “You’re letting maintenance slide,” he finally said when he couldn’t hold the criticism in anymore.

  “Bob kept getting in my way when he was here. Since he’s been gone, I’ve told Cass about every problem, and what I need to fix it. She keeps putting things off. We need to replace the stock we lost last winter, too. But that’s a no go, either.”

  “Cass keeps the books, huh?”

  “Bob used to do the business records, but she took them back over when he left.”

  “How come you don’t do them if you’re in charge down here?” They were riding back along a dusty track toward the stables. Brian didn’t want to climb off his horse, but he needed to work out what was going on.

  “Numbers aren’t my thing,” Lena said. “I never minded that Cass did them before, but she’s never been tightfisted like this until now. I get that Bob didn’t leave things in a perfect state, but she’s being ridiculous.”

  He could tell it was an argument she’d had with her sister, but he also figured Cass had her reasons for keeping hold of their money. Come to think of it, she’d wanted to keep costs low on the roof, too. He’d used it to his advantage, thinking she was being thrifty in the way that all ranch people were.

  Was there another reason? Was Cass trying to hide money problems from her sister…and the General?

  He needed to see those books, he decided, which wouldn’t be easy if Cass had control of them. He was pretty sure he could sneak a look at them sometime while Cass wasn’t around, but that wouldn’t bode well for their future.

  Somehow he needed to persuade her to confide in him.

  Beside him, Lena heaved a sigh.

  He followed the direction of her gaze and saw a herd of cattle in the distance. “Seems like a ranch this size could support more cattle.”

  “Of course it could. That’s what I’m saying,” Lena exploded. “If the General would stop fucking around and let me run this place right—”

  “What would you do differently?”

  “Everything!” For the next fifteen minutes she gave him a scathing play by play of all of Bob’s mistakes. “He was a complete ass. He was trying to ruin this ranch, not run it,” she finally finished.

  Brian nodded. It had been hard to keep his mouth shut while she rattled on. At first, he wanted to defend the General’s decision to send an overseer to a spread this large, but he’d met Bob. The man certainly wasn’t an improvement on Lena. Brian had counseled himself to let her have her say, and the more she talked, the more he realized she knew as much as any man about how to get the work done. With a passel of willing hands to help with some of the heavy lifting, she’d be an effective overseer herself.

  Why didn’t the General know that?

  “How about the hands? Are they people you trust?”

  Lena looked away. Shook her head. “Overseers come and go a lot around here,” she said, keeping her gaze on the distant mountains, “but our hands were a more steady lot until Bob fired them all. Thought the General would have something to say to that, but I guess he was busy. Bob replaced them with new guys. There’s some of them.” She pointed to a knot of men repairing a fence in the pasture they were approaching.

  “I think I’ll go have a word.” Brian urged his horse forward. If Lena didn’t like them, there had to be a reason, and the sooner he knew what it was, the sooner he could talk to the General about how to fix it. “Howdy,” he called out. “Hot day for work like that.”

  The men nodded and grunted when he drew near, but they weren’t a talkative lot. Brian did his best to exchange the usual chitchat with them, sussing them out. He didn’t like the surly way they answered his questions, or the feeling that they’d united in their dislike of him at first sight.

  After a few minutes, he turned to go, but the tallest of the lot—Ed—spoke up. “Take a message to your sister,” he called to Lena. “Tell her to cool it. She’s spooking the cattle.”

  Lena didn’t acknowledge the man, but Brian knew he had to be talking about the fireworks he’d found when he followed Cass. That answered that question: they were Cass’s rather than Bob’s. But why had she been setting them off? Was that what she did when she was angry? Blew things up? He’d have to keep an eye on that.

  He remembered the tidy way they’d been arranged. The lack of vegetation on that part of the ranch. Even when she was pissed off, Cass was careful—so careful she didn’t even allow herself to feel the anger that so obviously burned inside her.

  Lena quickly turned her horse and rode off the opposite way they’d come, off the main track toward a path that wound toward higher ground. Brian nodded to the men, re-mounted his horse and followed along after her. He didn’t mind the detour; he wasn’t in a hurry to curtail this ride. Instead, he scanned the countryside as he thought about Cass, noted how things were positioned and wondered where Lena was leading him.

  Fifteen minutes later, they wound around an outcropping to a level crescent of ground backed by a rising slope where targets had been set up.

  “Do you shoot?” Brian asked Lena. He knew she did but he figured he wouldn’t mention the photo collages back at the base.

  “Of course.” She lifted the light jacket she wore over her shirt and showed him a shoulder holster.

  Brian raised his eyebrows. “That’s a lot of firepower. You know how to use that thing?”

  She rose to the challenge, slid off her horse and paced to a point some distance from the target. Seconds later, she’d fired all the rounds. She returned the pistol to its holster and Brian went with her to inspect her shots.

  “Pretty good.”

  “It’ll do,” she said, but he could tell she was pleased with his praise. He hadn’t overstated it; that had been a tight grouping. Lena knew what she was doing.

  “Want a try?” she offered. “I’ve got more ammunition in my saddle bags.”

  “That would feel too much like work,” he told her. “The way I see it, I’m on vacation.” As they returned to the horses, Brian asked, “Does Cass shoot that well, too?”

  Lena laughed. “Of course; we’re Reeds, aren’t we?”

  When Cass got up, it was easy to see that Lena had been and gone already, but the half-eaten bowl of cereal on the counter perplexed her until she realized Brian must have eaten and left, too. She did a quick tour of the house to be sure before she ate her own breakfast, then quickly cleaned the kitchen and put some more work into the shower.

  At noon she was preparing lunch when she spotted him and Lena walking back from the direction of the stables. They stopped near the edge of the lawn, talking together earnestly. She could tell Lena was describing something by the way she was gesturing. Brian listened intently, nodding now and then.

  Cass couldn’t remember Bob ever listening to Lena like that. In fact, she couldn’t remember Lena ever talking to any man that way. She was fully engaged in the conversation and so was Brian. Cass knew she should be happy for both of them to connect with each other, but instead she felt a twist of pain.

  Was that… jealousy?

  Jo entered the kitchen behind her. “What’s there to eat?”

  “Whatever you feel like making.” Cass couldn’t take her eyes off Lena and Brian. Whatever they were talking about had them both riveted. Lena was talking again, her gestures wide with whatever she was describing. Brian said something and Lena laughed, making her look so girlish Cass’s stomach twisted with a longing for an easier time. She remembered their early days when she and Lena would laugh and quarrel and make up and laugh again. That seemed so long ago.

  “Since when do I have to cook?”

  That got Cass’s attention and she turned around. “You’re not a child. Time to learn to take care of yourself. I don’t know when I became everyone’s mother.” She didn’t mean to sound so exasperated, but her emotions had been yanked around far too much in the time since Brian had arrived.

  “You’re the one who always says it’s more economical if we eat together.” Jo headed back
out of the room.

  “Jo… I’m sorry,” Cass called after her. She was right; Cass had always emphasized family meals. She’d read somewhere as a teen they were the key to a happy and healthy family. Back in those days she’d been desperate to find some formula to get it right.

  She was still doing that.

  Jo stopped in the doorway and Cass, grateful for the chance to smooth over an argument that was entirely her fault, added, “I’ll get lunch on in a minute. Would you go see if Sadie and Alice want to join us?”

  “Sadie isn’t… here.” Jo bit her lip guiltily. Cass knew that look. She’d spilled something Sadie wanted kept quiet.

  “Where is she?”

  “With Mark, I guess.”

  Cass sighed. Where else? “Okay. Get the others. I’ll whip up something to eat.”

  Jo lingered by the door. “Cass? What do you really think about marriage?”

  “I think it’s complicated. Why do you ask?” She opened the refrigerator and pulled out fixings for sandwiches. She didn’t want to think about marriage. Not when Brian and Lena were still outside talking. Had Brian’s interest shifted to her sister after spending time with her? Not that she cared, she told herself.

  “Just wondering. Sean says we make a lot of things far more complicated than they need to be.”

  Cass looked at her sharply. “Like what?” She didn’t like much Sean had to say these days. He seemed determined to flout every one of society’s rules, and she had the feeling he’d throw the baby out with the bathwater to make his point.

  “Marriage, love, sex… everything. He thinks we shouldn’t worry about it so much.”

  “Sounds like he wants to shirk responsibility.” Lots of men were like that these days. Bob, for example.

  Although Brian seemed cut from a different cloth.

  “That’s not it at all,” Sadie said. “He wants to share responsibility. He believes that people should help each other as much as they can. Living together, working together—like we do here.”

  “He likes our living arrangements, does he?” Cass had a feeling she knew where this was headed. Two Willows drew shirkers like a magnet these days. Reaching back into the fridge, she pulled out a packet of bacon. BLTs would make a good lunch.

  “He thinks it’s great. And he’s right—there’s room for a lot more people at Two Willows. In a truly sharing situation, people don’t need as much privacy.”

  “I need privacy, and I don’t want Sean here all the time.” She deposited the ingredients on the counter and turned to pull a frying pan off the hanging rack. She stopped short. “Where’s my good pan?”

  “You didn’t even notice he was here last night!” Jo exploded.

  Cass stopped, one hand raised to look through the pans again. “He was here last night?”

  “That’s right. And he didn’t bother you one bit, did he?”

  “I’m going to stop you right there,” Cass said, selecting a different pan and moving to the counter. “Sean’s not moving in, and that’s final.”

  “You don’t get to dictate that!”

  “Fine—ask the General.” Cass had heard enough. As far as she was concerned, if Sean wanted to live with them, he’d better be prepared to pay—not only for his room and board, but also for the annoyance of having to listen to his pronouncements.

  “That’s not fair! You know the General will say no.”

  “Because we don’t need a freeloader. Don’t you see Sean’s using you? All that sharing stuff? That’s baloney! What’s he shared with you?”

  “He’s shared his heart with me. That’s the most important thing, isn’t it?”

  “No,” Cass said sharply, looking up from the stove. “I mean, yes—hearts are important, but so is paying your way. Don’t get taken in by him. He obviously wants to take advantage of you.”

  “Sean said you’d say that. He said you’d do whatever you could to keep us from being happy. He said you were just like the General!” Jo rushed from the room and pounded up the stairs.

  Cass leaned against the counter, defeated. Was she just like the General?

  She didn’t even know anymore.

  When Brian arrived back at the house with Lena for lunch, he noticed right away the tension around the table. Jo’s eyes were red, as if she’d been crying. Cass’s temper was short. Lena, who’d been so talkative all morning, clammed right up when she took in her sisters’ moods. Alice was in her own world. Sadie, who arrived right before the meal was served, was watchful.

  Brian knew something had happened; he just didn’t know what.

  He broke the silence that reigned through most of the meal by describing the work that would have to be done on the roof. “Cass is going to help me, but we might need the rest of you to pitch in now and then.”

  “You’re going up on the roof?” Sadie asked her sister with a frown. “But—”

  “I’m always up for learning how to take care of our house,” Cass cut her off with a significant look Brian wished he understood.

  “Why not hire someone to do it?” Lena asked. “With all the money you’re refusing to cough up, you should be able to afford it.”

  Brian waited to see what Cass would say, once more wishing he could get his hands on the record books for the ranch.

  “I need to know how to keep up this house; it’ll be my job for the rest of my life,” Cass answered primly.

  “But—”

  “If you want to help, too, you’re more than welcome.”

  Lena subsided under Cass’s glare, and Brian knew he’d have to wait to learn the state of the ranch’s finances.

  “I plan to run into town today,” he said, ready to move on to a new topic. “Anyone else need anything? I could pick up some things at the store, if you like.”

  The sisters all put down their forks and stared at him as if one of the cattle had wandered into the kitchen and asked to do the lunch dishes.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No,” Cass said after a moment, still studying him. “I just can’t remember when someone offered to help out like that. We usually handle everything ourselves.”

  “It’s just a trip to the store.”

  “To you, it is,” Sadie said quietly.

  “I’ll come with you if you don’t mind,” Alice said suddenly. “I have a few boxes I need to ship.”

  “What about you, Cass? Want to ride along?”

  “I’ve got some things to do here,” she told him. “We’re low on milk, though. And juice. Could you… could you buy some for me? I’ll give you the cash, of course.”

  “Of course.” Brian wasn’t sure what was going on. These women lived in a small town; surely they were the recipients of neighborly help from time to time.

  He considered what the General had told him of their teenage escapades. They’d spent their time hiding out, hoping not to be caught when they managed to run off the grownups in charge of caring for them and the ranch. That hiding must have changed the way they looked at other people.

  No wonder Cass viewed him with such suspicion. Did she think he wanted to steal her independence?

  He did, in a way.

  Which made the fact she’d asked for this small favor a major step for Cass. He felt almost… honored.

  Cass was studying Alice now, and she suddenly stood up and stalked over to the window. “Alice? Where’s your car? Did Howie take it again?”

  “He didn’t take it. I loaned it to him.” Alice took a bite of salad, as if dismissing the topic, but Brian’s gut told him she was lying, and Cass seemed to realize it, too. He could almost see her sorting through things to say to her sister and discarding them one by one. Alice kept stabbing leaves of lettuce. It was clear she wouldn’t be happy about any interference.

  “That’s all right. I’ve got my truck and I’m happy to drive today,” Brian said. Seeing Cass’s concern about Alice’s boyfriend had reminded him the General didn’t like any of the men his daughters were dating. Time to loo
k into things and see what was what.

  He managed to divert the conversation back to the roof for the rest of the meal, but when he had helped Alice load her boxes into the back of his truck, and they were on their way to town, he decided to revisit the topic.

  “Tell me about Howie. Sounds like a busy guy.”

  “He is,” Alice said eagerly. “He’s a real self-starter. He’s always running back and forth to Billings and Bozeman, day and night. He delivers packages for businesses. He does such a good job getting everything where it needs to go on time, he’s got direct deliveries cornered.”

  Brian’s shoulders sagged as he took in her words. He just bet Howie did. And he’d bet the small-town boy hadn’t beaten UPS and the United States Post Office to take over the distribution of legitimate shipping in the area. As he drove the winding, two-lane highway toward town, he wondered if Alice could really be so innocent as to think he had.

  “Day and night, huh?”

  “That’s right; you’ve got to give the customer what he wants.”

  It sounded like she was quoting her boyfriend. “Most businesses operate within normal business hours.”

  “Not Howie—sometimes he’s running packages in the wee hours.”

  Brian’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. Didn’t the General see the danger of allowing his daughters to remain so innocent? Hadn’t he taught them anything about the world?

  Or didn’t the man care?

  It seemed to Brian their father’s long absence had caused them to grab hold of any man who came close and hold on for dear life no matter how that man treated them.

  “Do you travel much?” He needed more information before pressing her further.

  “I’m more of a homebody. I guess I travel in my imagination, but I like it best right here.”

  “Have you ever spent much time away from Two Willows?” From what he could gather she spent most of her time in her carriage house workshop sewing the costumes she made. Lena mentioned that people commissioned them, and had said Alice was a gifted seamstress.

  “No.” Alice shrugged. “But I’m content. I can’t keep up with my ideas. I finish one project and the next one’s ready to go in my mind. Who has the time to leave home?”