Cowboy Swagger

by Joanna Wayne

  “Dylan’s a friend of mine and he arrived at the house just before I did. It’s possible the attacker ran from the scene when he heard Dylan drive up.”

  “Oh, my. I didn’t know. Please thank him for me, as well.”

  “Is Eleanor up to having visitors? I’d love to stop by for a minute and say hello.”

  “I think it best if you wait. She’s taking pain medication and the doctor wants her to get as much rest as possible. I wasn’t in the room when the sheriff tried to question her, but he said she was still too groggy to respond coherently.”

  “Then she wasn’t able to describe her attacker?”

  “I’m not sure she even knows she was attacked. She keeps asking what happened to her.”

  “I understand. Please tell her that I called.”

  “I’ll be sure to.”

  They said their goodbyes, and Collette broke the connection just as another call rang in.

  “My dad,” she announced to Dylan, “hopefully with news that he’s made an arrest.”

  “Or at least identified a suspect other than me,” he replied.

  “Hi, Dad.” She tried to keep her voice amicable even though she doubted he’d do the same. He didn’t disappoint her.

  “Have you come to your senses yet or are you still chasing after Dylan Ledger?”

  “I’m with Dylan.”

  “You’re putting yourself in danger for a man you know nothing about.”

  “Is that what you called to tell me?”

  “No, I called to tell you that when I mentioned Dylan’s name to Eleanor Baker, she became agitated and looked fearful.”

  “That’s odd. I heard she was too groggy to talk to you. Dylan didn’t attack her, Dad. The man who did left his footprints and the imprint of his tires behind my house. Dylan’s truck was parked in the driveway.”

  “I suppose Dylan pointed those tracks out to you.”

  “Does it matter?” Collette said. “Just check them out and see for yourself.”

  The silence lasted too long.

  “You already knew about the tracks, didn’t you?”

  “My deputies found them this morning after daylight, which would have given Dylan plenty of time to put them there himself to throw us off.”

  Unbelievable. “Do you really think Dylan is a suspect, or is all this just to keep me away from a Ledger?”

  “You don’t want to get mixed up with the likes of him.”

  Which pretty much answered her question. Anything she said at this point would only make matters worse. The barriers that separated them had grown almost impenetrable.

  “Find my stalker, Dad. When you do, you’ll have the man who attacked Eleanor.”

  “I’ll find your stalker. Make no mistake about that. Your wireless provider was more than willing to work with us. I should know the second the pervert calls you—if he calls again.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “If you hear from him, act as if nothing has changed and keep him on the phone as long as possible. As soon as we get a lock on his location, I’ll send the closest deputy to arrest him, hopefully even before he breaks the connection.”

  “Then you agree the stalker is the major suspect in this case?”

  “He’s a suspect. I haven’t ruled out anyone as yet. I shouldn’t need to remind you that your friend Eleanor’s articles have made her more than a few enemies.”

  This was going nowhere. She shifted and moved the phone to her other ear. “Is there anything else I should know about the case?”

  “Just that you’re trusting the wrong man with your safety.”

  Her head began to pound at both temples. Why did everything with her father have to be so difficult? Resentment swelled inside her, not so much for the present as for the past.

  If he’d ever been attuned to anyone’s feelings but his own, her mother would still be alive.

  DYLAN DODGED A LARGE turtle making its way across the road leading to the ranch house while Collette adjusted her visor to block the worst of the early afternoon rays. “I still think you should have given your father some advance warning that you’re bringing the enemy home with you.”

  His lips cracked into an incredibly seductive smile that reached all the way to his mesmerizing eyes. “You’re not the enemy.”

  “I doubt your father will see it that way.”

  “What could he possibly have against you?”

  “How about the fact that Sheriff Glenn McGuire is determined to make you a suspect in a felony for no other reason than you’re my friend?”

  “It could be that your father is just doing his job.”

  “Are you always so generous in your opinions of people?”

  “I’m not generous. I give people the benefit of the doubt. Until they prove me wrong.”

  Which made sense considering that was exactly what he was doing with his own father. Dylan was giving Troy Ledger a chance to be the father he hadn’t been in eighteen years.

  The circumstances of Troy Ledger’s release on a technicality had been covered ad nauseam in the local media, but she’d ignored most of it. That left her a little fuzzy on the details. As she understood it, the reversal involved some supposedly coerced testimony. The prosecutor at the time had since retired and moved to a Caribbean island, so she doubted they’d ever get the full story.

  Nonetheless, some, like her father, would always see Troy Ledger as guilty and hold that against Dylan, as well. Others, like the cute young waitress at Abby’s Diner, obviously couldn’t care less.

  She’d flirted with him shamelessly when they’d stopped there for lunch before driving to the ranch. And Abby herself had seemed genuinely happy to see Dylan. She hadn’t even let them pay for their meals.

  Abby had claimed it was worth it seeing the way Dylan appreciated her food. More than appreciated, he’d devoured the noonday special of chicken-fried steak smothered in cream gravy with mashed potatoes, pinto beans and corn bread on the side. He’d topped that off with Abby’s famous coconut pie.

  Collette had choked down half a burger and a tall glass of iced tea. It churned in her stomach as Dylan stopped his truck in front of the Ledger ranch house. To her surprise, what looked to be an almost-new horse trailer was parked in the driveway.

  Looking past that, she spotted a tall but muscular man standing on the front porch, nonchalantly leaning against a support post and peeling an orange. His hair was the same dusty brown color as Dylan’s but without the sun streaks that gave Dylan the appearance of a real cowboy. The man’s lips looked as if they’d been pulled tight for so long that a smile might crack them.

  “I’m not sure what the horse trailer’s about,” Dylan said as he jumped out and grabbed her bag from the backseat of the double-cab pickup.

  “Your father may have bought some horses.”

  “Anything’s possible.” He sounded doubtful.

  Collette stepped from the truck and into a muddy patch where a water hose had recently run, likely to water the horses. Thankfully, she’d taken a quick shower after her scrubbing routine and changed into a pair of black slacks and a pair of Western work boots. She’d even tamed the wildest locks of her thick red hair.

  Troy stared at her as if she were trespassing on sacred ground. A deacon at their church, a man she’d known all her life, stepped from the house just as she and Dylan reached the porch. She considered his appearance a reprieve as she sucked in a gulp of fresh air.

  “Well, look who’s here,” Bob said in his booming voice. “Collette. And you must be Dylan.” He stuck out a hand in Dylan’s direction. “Bob Adkins. If I have my Ledger brothers straight, the last time I saw you, you were claiming bragging rights about a catfish that got away.”

  Dylan set her bag down on the porch. “I hate to say that I don’t remember you, but nice to meet you.”

  “Wouldn’t expect you to remember me. Good to have you back in Mustang Run. Good to have your father back, too.”

  Collette was relieved
that Bob had come over to welcome Troy Ledger home. He was one of the most respected men in town, and his acceptance would go a long way. Even the hard-nosed sheriff would not attempt to tell Bob whom he could befriend.

  “Bob brought over a couple of horses,” Troy said.

  “Yep.” Bob grinned and nodded. “I thought you could use them to ride your land and see what kind of shape the outbuildings, pastures and fences are in. Keep the young fillies as long as you need. They need to be ridden anyhow. The roan’s Lady, the chestnut is Ginger. If I forgot any tack that you need, give me a holler.”

  “Great,” Dylan said. “I can’t wait to give them a work-out.”

  Bob turned his attention to Collette. “I heard you had some trouble at your place last night.”

  “Someone broke in and attacked my friend. That’s why I’m here with Dylan. He’s volunteered for bodyguard service until the perpetrator is apprehended.”

  “Good idea. Any guy who earned a silver star in Iraq passes muster in my book.”

  That was more information she didn’t know about Dylan, and she wondered how Bob did.

  “I’d love to chew the fat a little longer,” Bob continued, “but I’d best get back to the ranch. By the way, Ruby Nelle told me to tell the both of you that she wants to have you over for dinner as soon as you get settled in.”

  Troy set his half-eaten orange on the porch railing and wiped his hands on his jeans before stepping to the edge of the porch with Bob. “Thanks,” he said. “Your friendship means a lot. Ruby Nelle’s, too.”

  “Think nothing of it. We go way back, Troy. Long as I got a biscuit, you got half.”

  They waited on the porch until Bob drove away, pulling the horse trailer behind him.

  “Collette’s going to be staying with us for a few days,” Dylan said.

  “I kind of figured that, what with you carrying a bag.”

  “Unless it’s a problem,” Collette added quickly.

  Troy’s expression stayed fixed into the grim stare. “Might be a problem for the sheriff.”

  “I’m an adult. My father doesn’t make my decisions.”

  Troy shrugged. “Then you’re welcome to stay. Place isn’t much to brag about. Bare necessities, that’s about it.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine.”

  To Collette’s surprise, Troy picked up her overnight bag. “I’ll show you to the guest room so you can put your things away.”

  She followed Troy down the hall to an extension that jutted off the back of the house. The bedroom was at the end of that short hallway. A queen-size mahogany four-poster covered in a blue-and-white quilt dwarfed the cozy area and matched the antique dresser. Beside the bed was a large hook rug, worn but spotlessly clean.

  On the far wall, double windows opened to the remains of a long-neglected English garden that fit between this and a matching extension off the other side of the house, providing a sunlit area protected from the wind.

  Vines climbed over odd-shaped rocks and around flower beds that were overgrown with weeds. A few lone daffodils had fought their way through the dense foliage. A stone wall at the back of the garden made the area seem totally private, yet open to the heavens.

  Collette stared in awe. “What a terrific spot for a garden.”

  “Helene designed it and the extensions to the house. Our bedroom was in the opposite extension so that the garden could be the first thing she saw when she woke in the morning. As overworked as she was caring for five boys, she spent hours tending those flowers.”

  Sadness sank so deep into his voice that Collette had to swallow hard to fight back tears.

  “Guess it’s not that great a view now.” With that, Troy turned and strode away, leaving her alone to stare at Helene’s forsaken oasis.

  The stories of ghosts haunting the house crept into her mind. Maybe the ghost of Helene Ledger did still live inside these walls, waiting all these years for Troy and her boys to come home.

  The piercing ring of Collette’s cell phone startled her back to reality. She checked the caller ID. Unavailable.

  Chills froze her breath and stilled her heart. As always, the living were far more frightening to her than the dead.

  Chapter Nine

  “I’m glad you answered, my sweet. I’ve been worried about you.”

  Collette’s stomach turned at the term of endearment, but she had to play this cool. “Why would you be worried about me?”

  “I heard that someone broke into your house and attacked your guest. You should use more care in choosing your friends.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Your friend obviously has enemies. Everyone adores you—as I do.”

  He was playing this to the hilt, further proof of how vicious and callous he was.

  “You know nothing about me.”

  “Ah, but I do. I know and love everything about you. Even your scent intoxicates me. It’s Cartier, isn’t it?”

  Her stomach swirled in nauseous waves. Had he been that close to her without her knowing it? Or had he been inside her house before last night, touched her things, or done God only knew what else?

  “Either tell me who you are, or get out of my life.”

  “I’m only trying to comfort you and keep you safe. Hanging out with Dylan Ledger is not helping with that.”

  She stared out the window, imagining him somewhere beyond the stone wall that bordered the old garden. Her senses teemed with urgency, as if he might appear in the flesh at any second.

  She should never have come here, never have pulled Dylan and his father into her entanglements with a madman.

  “I must go now. Keep safe, my love, until we talk again.” Then the line went dead.

  The conversation had been short, as always. He might have suspected from the first that his location was being traced. She punched in her father’s cell number. When there was no answer, she left a message.

  Just because the sheriff hadn’t answered didn’t mean a deputy wasn’t already aware of the stalker’s call. If the monster was on or near Willow Creek Ranch, deputies could be speeding this way even now. She should alert Dylan and Troy.

  Before she could, there was a tap at the open bedroom door.

  “Come in.”

  Dylan stepped inside just as her father returned her call. “Give me a moment,” she said. “I have to take this.”

  Dylan nodded and stepped closer. His presence wrapped around her even though they weren’t touching. There was no ignoring his rugged virility, but it was the calm, understated support he gave so naturally that she needed most right now.

  Never one to mince words, her father jumped in as soon as she’d answered. “We’ve got the general location he was calling from.”

  “It’s Willow Creek Ranch, isn’t it?”

  “Not even close.”

  She exhaled sharply in pure relief. “So where is he?”

  The answer shot a new surge of terror straight to her heart.

  DYLAN WATCHED Collette’s guard come crumbling down as she tossed her phone on the bed. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms. He tensed when her face burrowed into his chest. He was overstepping the boundaries of their tenuous relationship.

  But she didn’t pull away, and he didn’t want to let her go. He liked the feel of her in his arms, liked the fragrance of her hair and the sensation of the curling locks beneath his chin.

  “I take it that was bad news,” he said, once she’d gathered her resolve and pulled away.

  “My stalker called again.”

  That confused him. “I assumed from the conversation that you were talking to your father.”

  “I was then, but that was the second call. Dad called to say that they’d tracked the stalker’s call.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

  “The stalker is somewhere inside Carlton-Hayes Regional Hospital.”

  He muttered a low curse. No wonder Collette had taken an emotional dive. The brutal rat was now stalki
ng Eleanor as well, walking the halls of the hospital where she was recovering from his almost-deadly assault.

  “What does your father plan to do?”

  “The hospital is out of his jurisdiction, but he can have the local police chief provide round-the-clock guards for her room, at least for the time being.” She wrapped her fingers around the bedpost. “The perverted brute must know that Eleanor can identify him and he plans to kill her before she can.”

  That seemed the most logical conclusion, except that if he’d attacked Eleanor when she surprised him in the house, why not finish her off last night?

  Still, he hated to see Collette so upset. Dylan took both her hands in his. “It sounds as if your father has the situation under control. I’m sure they’re not going to let this guy into Eleanor’s hospital room, and she’s not going anywhere. She’ll be safe.”

  “I wish I felt as sure as you sound.”

  So did Dylan. “What do you say we go take a look at the horses? Better yet, we could take a ride and see if I can still find that old swimming hole.”

  “Tired of hearing me whine?”

  He squeezed her hands. “Tired of seeing you look as if the world just came crashing down on top of you.”

  She nodded. “Give me a minute to lather on some sunscreen. I burn at the mention of sunshine.”

  “Take your time. I’ll be in the kitchen—unless you need help with the sunscreen,” he teased.

  He was rewarded with the first real smile he’d seen on her gorgeous lips. But that was only because she didn’t realize how much he’d actually enjoy rubbing in the lotion.

  He found his father in the kitchen, staring out the window the way he seemed to spend half his time. Dylan wondered what went on in his mind during those zombielike sessions. Whatever it was, the thoughts planted a haggard look on his father’s face and sucked the life from his somber eyes.

  “I guess I should have called you before I brought Collette home with me.” Home. The word sounded strange on his tongue yet it had slipped out effortlessly.

  Troy stepped away from the window and leaned against the counter. “No need. It’s your house, too, long as you want to stay.”