Cowboy Secrets

by Alice Sharpe

  She smiled and squeezed his hand. “Yes, I know. I will.”

  He kissed her again, turned away and walked back outside, but not before stopping in the mudroom to borrow the appropriate cold-weather gear and a flashlight from his dad’s supply. Outfitted in gloves, a hat and a heavy jacket, he made his way to the equipment barn.

  “SHE’S UPSTAIRS,” GRACE said when Sierra inquired about Tess. “Lily went up there hours ago with Charlie and Tess went with them, saying she wanted to text friends and read. Her cold has still got her down, but something else is on her mind. She’s been very quiet since your call, but I couldn’t get her to open up.”

  “I know she’s going to take the news of Danny’s death hard,” Sierra said.

  Grace screwed the top on the thermos. “Of course. Poor dear.”

  “May I ask why Lily lives here and not with Chance,” Sierra added. “I know it’s none of my business, but I’m curious. It’s obvious they’re crazy about one another.”

  “Yes, they are, but there’s Charlie to consider. His father...died...not too long ago. Lily and Chance are getting married this fall, but until then, Lily asked if she and Charlie could live here with me and Harry, and we were delighted to say yes.” She handed Sierra the last thermos of soup, which Sierra tucked in a basket with the other two and a stack of tin cups. “There are some blankets in the chest in the downstairs bedroom. Will you get them?”

  “Of course,” Sierra said and did as asked, but her thoughts were frantically running from the barn with Pike to upstairs with Tess. She felt split in two pieces. She took the basket of broth and the blankets out to the barn to give to Pike, who tucked them in the trailer before folding her in his arms. “I’ll be back,” he said, brushing her hair away from her face and kissing her forehead.

  His embrace was difficult to leave. Never had another human being’s arms created such a conflicting oasis of sanctuary charged with awareness. “Be careful.”

  He kissed her. “Good luck with Tess.”

  “Thanks, I’m going to talk to her now.” He turned to the machine and she added, “I want to thank you.”

  He turned back to her, his expression surprised. “Thank me? For what?”

  She reached up and touched his cheek and shook her head.

  “Sierra,” he said, lifting her chin so their gazes connected. “Thank me for what?”

  “For today,” she finally said.

  “Today? If I hadn’t opened that trunk—”

  “Then I would have. Not for that. For being there, for being with me, for letting me be...I don’t know, me. You know?”

  He smiled at her and pulled her to his chest.

  “I know you have other things to think about right now,” she added. “Lord knows, I do, too. But I just—”

  He effectively cut this speech short by kissing her again. “We’ll finish this later, okay?”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “Because I’ll be back.”

  “I know.”

  He stared into her eyes for a long moment. What did he see? She wasn’t sure. She just knew what she saw in his and it shook her down to her soul. A moment later, he started the snowmobile and a moment after that he was gone.

  She retrieved her suitcase from his vehicle on the way back to the house and carried it inside, where Grace was just finishing wiping down the drain boards. “The downstairs bedroom is empty now if you and Tess want to use it,” she said.

  “Thanks,” Sierra said, still distracted. She figuratively straightened her shoulders and shook off the last few minutes. “If it’s okay with you, I’m going to go talk to Tess and then maybe I’ll catch up with some work on my laptop in the room with the fireplace. I don’t think I could actually sleep.”

  “I know what you mean. I have some darning to do so I’ll be in there, too.” She laughed and added, “Don’t look at me that way, young lady, people still do darn good woolen socks, you know.”

  “I didn’t know,” Sierra said with a smile. “But I do now.”

  Sierra went to the room where she’d seen Tess only three days before and found it dark. She peeked inside and discerned a shape beneath the blanket. Obviously, Tess had fallen asleep so Sierra closed the door but didn’t latch it. There was no way she was going to wake her sister to tell her about Danny. Sierra knew the hard way that getting upsetting news the moment you awaken sucked big-time. She’d learned about her father’s heart attack with an early morning phone call from his girlfriend.

  A door opened across the hall and a very pretty, small woman in her midtwenties with light brown hair peeked out. Lily, Chance’s fiancée, smiled. “Are they back yet?” she whispered.

  “No,” Sierra said.

  “I heard something outside.”

  “That was Pike riding out on a snowmobile. He got a call from Frankie. He thinks someone may be injured at a place called the hanging tree.”

  “One of our men?”

  For a second, Sierra just stared at her, uncertain how to respond, and then her head cleared. “You mean one of the Hastingses? No, I didn’t get that feeling, but really, I’m not sure now that you ask.”

  “I sure hope not.”

  “Yeah,” Sierra said. “Me, too.”

  * * *

  THE QUICKEST WAY to the plateau was a trail beside a stream that ran down the hillside behind the house. But that trail was accessible by foot or horseback alone, not with a snowmobile and certainly not one pulling a seven-foot-long trailer. He would have to use the roads, although he could cut through a field or two to shave off some time.

  It was likely his father and brothers would do their best to build a fire to use for warmth and as a beacon. His cell needed a charge after the busy day he’d just had, but it should have a call or two left in it. He’d save it for the chance that he’d misunderstood Frankie’s garbled message and went to the wrong place.

  The ride was grueling. The snow was almost two feet deep in places, piling up against fences. The cattle were mostly in more protected fields and were likely staying in the brush to escape the snow; they could take care of themselves, although tomorrow the task of delivering hay would begin in earnest. It was the city slickers he needed to worry about now.

  An hour later, so cold he’d lost most of the feeling in his legs, he spotted the glow of an open flame. As he drew nearer, he could see a fire had been built under the partial protection of the old hanging tree. Indistinct shapes surrounded it.

  He stopped shy of the tree and for a second he just sat there looking at the scene in front of him.

  Cast in the subdued glow of struggling flames and overlaid with blowing snow, things looked surreal—almost like a still shot from an old film. His father and two of his brothers stood at the perimeter of the light, firearms drawn. Their demeanor telegraphed watchfulness. The crew huddled close to the warmth. One was prone on the ground, the camera guy was shooting pictures and two leaned against the mammoth tree that would become the object of their film. The reins of the three horses his dad and brother had ridden were tied to the exposed curve of a gnarled root. The animals looked appropriately cold and dejected as only horses could look when they’d rather be somewhere else, say a cozy barn. There was no sign of the crew’s four horses and Pike hoped they had the sense to make their way home.

  “What the hell happened here?” Pike asked as he approached Frankie on foot.

  “Someone shot off a gun,” Frankie said.

  That stopped Pike in his tracks. “A gun? Out here?”

  “Yep. They seem to think it’s their old employee out on a rampage.”

  “But you don’t?”

  Frankie shook his head. “Seems unlikely.”

  “Anyone hurt?”

  “Gary. As I understand it, they were on their way back from filming a group of misera
ble cold cows when they stopped here to get some shots of the snow falling through the branches of the hanging tree. Oliver said they were all on horseback, just kind of hanging out discussing things, when they heard a shot fired from somewhere close by. Gary’s horse reared up and dumped Gary out of the saddle. He tried to brace his fall and injured his left shoulder. Don’t know if it’s a break or what. In fact, every last man was thrown to the ground except for Ogden, who managed to stay mounted until his horse jumped a gully, then he had to walk back here to find out about the others. We showed up after they got Gary settled, but we need a transport to get Gary back to the house without further injuring him.”

  “What about the gunman?”

  “Dad and Chance rode around looking for any evidence of another person out here, but the storm had covered all tracks by then and it’s just getting nastier by the second.”

  “There’s no one around right now to be shooting anything,” Pike said. “Not on this land. And who goes out target practicing in a blizzard? Did you find a bullet or a casing?”

  “No.”

  “Is it possible they heard branches crack and thought it was a gun?”

  “Anything is possible, although these guys aren’t idiots. Anyway, it’s academic right now. We need to get them out of here.”

  Pike caught his brother’s arm as he turned. “First tell me how Daisy is. I didn’t have a chance to stop by the house. No puppies, yet I assume?”

  “Not yet. By the way, how do you keep her off the sofa?”

  “I don’t,” Pike said.

  They distributed the hot broth Grace had sent and set about transporting Gary to the trailer hooked to the back of the snowmobile. The ride to the ranch would need to be slow because of his injuries and because the machine would be hauling several people and the weather just kept deteriorating.

  He’d tried numerous times to phone someone at the house. He knew Sierra’s phone didn’t work out here, but Grace’s and Lily’s both did. No one responded to calls or texts. Not being able to reach anyone combined with the mysterious shot that had spooked the horses created a restless unease that raced along Pike’s spine.

  He approached Chance. “You know about Tess’s boyfriend, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. Dad told me.”

  Pike knew it defied imagination to think that Raoul Ruiz, a city boy by all accounts, had driven to Idaho, found this ranch, bought himself a rifle, made his way out into the snow and taken a shot at a film crew—how would he know they were even here?—on the brink of a well-publicized winter storm all to get Tess alone with no one but other women to defend her. It wasn’t impossible, however, and since no other explanation popped to mind, that’s what he was left with.

  If that was the case, Raoul hadn’t figured on Sierra Hyde, who Pike didn’t doubt was no slouch with a firearm. Neither was Grace, for that matter. “Maybe her boyfriend’s killer is behind this,” he told Chase.

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” Chance said doubtfully.

  “I know it’s far-fetched, but no more so than a vengeful ex-employee running around on unfamiliar ground taking shots. I want to get back to the house. If I take your horse and go down the hill, I can be there in half the time.”

  “Take Dad’s, I’m going with you. Lily and Charlie are in that house, too, and weirder things have happened around here.”

  A few minutes later, Pike and Chance headed across the plateau to find the trail that would lead them down the hill to the oasis in the U-shaped bend of the river, where their father’s house had been built decades before.

  Pike didn’t know if Chance’s heart was lodged somewhere in his throat, but he knew his was.

  Chapter Eight

  After Grace finally had a short conversation with Harry, she fell asleep in her chair. Sierra fielded a few emails, promising existing and potential clients she’d return to New York as soon as she could. But there was still the matter of Tess and another trip to Los Angeles to take into account. Savannah Papadakis had kind of disappeared and Sierra was secretly relieved. She’d deal with all that later.

  Sierra closed her eyes. The day had been long and grueling and she was tired down to her bones. Her thoughts got more and more scattered until, in a haze of darkness, a man ran toward her on a city street. She attempted to step out of his way but he veered to intercept her and knocked her to the ground. Breathless, she looked at him as he sat on top of her. He now wore a Giants football uniform and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. She couldn’t understand what he was saying because of his helmet, so she snatched it off his head. Old, bald and wizened, he stared directly into her eyes. “You idiot,” he growled and disappeared.

  Her eyes flew open. She took a couple of deep breaths as she reoriented herself. The dream had seemed so real, the insult more like a warning. The fire still crackled on the grate; Grace still slept in her chair. The wind outside rattled tree limbs against the windows, but that was the only sound. Sierra checked the time on her laptop and saw she’d only slept a few minutes. Was it the residue of her dream that made her uneasy or something else?

  Without thinking it through, she put aside her equipment and got out of the chair. She climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to Pike’s old bedroom, where she’d seen Tess asleep when she first got back. As she approached the door, the angry bald man flashed in her brain.

  She pushed open the door. Nothing had changed. There was still a bump in the bed, the lights were still off, the room was deathly silent.

  Silent.

  Where was the sound of a sleeping human with a head cold?

  She flicked on the overhead light and approached the bed, realizing way before she threw back the covers that the shape she’d assumed was her sister was in reality two pillows under a blanket. There was also a piece of paper and Sierra, struggling not to tremble, sat down and read a hastily scrawled note.

  Sierra and Pike,

  I heard from Danny! He’s alive. He was hurt, but he managed to escape. He’s come to see me but he’s afraid he’s being followed. He asked me where we could meet. I thought about the barn, but now everyone is running around all worried about those television people so I’m going to saddle up and meet Danny at the old mine. He told me not to tell anyone where I was going but to bring Sierra along because he wanted to thank her for taking care of me. But I heard a storm is coming and your plane could be delayed so I’m leaving this note instead and going on by myself. I have to see him. He’s all I have. Don’t worry about me, okay?

  Love you guys, Tess.

  For a second, Sierra just sat there, head reeling. Where was this mine Tess was talking about? She sprang to her feet and raced downstairs. Her pounding footsteps must have awakened Grace, who was yawning into her fist when Sierra came into the den.

  “Oh, no,” Grace said when she met Sierra’s gaze. “Now what?”

  “May I use your phone?” Sierra said. “Mine doesn’t work out here and Tess is gone.”

  Grace handed Sierra the phone as Sierra handed Grace the note Tess had left. Tess did not respond and Sierra left a message. She turned to peruse the gun cabinet. “Do you have the key for this?” she asked.

  “It’s in the desk drawer,” Grace said as she looked up from the note. “God in heaven. How could I have missed Tess leaving?”

  “It sounds as if she took advantage of the commotion surrounding the guys saddling up and taking off.”

  “But I was supposed to be looking out for her,” Grace lamented. “And who in the world texted the girl?”

  “Well, Danny is dead, there’s no two ways about that,” Sierra said as she snatched the key from the middle drawer and hurried back to the cabinet. “Someone else wanted to get her alone and I’m guessing it’s the guy who murdered Danny. His name is Raoul Ruiz. Do you know what mine she’s talking about?”

 
“There’s only one and it’s in the ghost town. Sierra, you can’t go alone. You don’t even know where it is.”

  “You’ll tell me.”

  “We could get Kinsey or Lily—”

  Sierra took Grace’s hands. “Listen to me. If this is Raoul, who knows what he’ll do. Kinsey is pregnant. I am not asking her to go out in this weather. Lily has Charlie to protect and I am not asking her to leave him. They need you at this house just in case. That leaves me. So draw a map while I go change into jeans. Then help me saddle a horse. Can I use the Glock in the cabinet?”

  “Take whatever you need. Ammo is in the drawer.”

  Sierra affected a five-minute change into warmer clothes, then gratefully accepted a borrowed wool jacket and gloves. As Grace saddled the horse, Sierra recalled the photo she’d snapped in Pike’s barn, the one of the Hastings Ridge Ranch. Her phone might not get reception, but she could bring up photos. She’d sent the photo to her laptop and now wished she’d thought to study it on that larger screen. Even the smaller version helped orientate her, however, and that would have to do.

  “Won’t the dogs try to follow me?” she asked Grace as the three animals milled around the horse.

  “In this weather? No way, but I’ll lock them in the mudroom just to be safe. You be careful, now.”

  It took two tries for Sierra to swing herself onto the saddle. She’d only ridden a few times in her life, and then during daylight hours on placid horses. This was the craziest thing she’d ever done, she knew that, but she also couldn’t think of an alternative.

  “Here’s a flashlight,” Grace said. “This is the map, but I’m no artist like Kinsey. I put a compass heading for when you reach the plateau. If you go out the back gate and head toward the hills and trees, your horse will find the trail and get you up to the plateau. With any luck, you’ll run in to the menfolk and one of them will help you. Otherwise, veer off toward the right and just keep going until you get to the old ghost town, then ride all the way to the end. That’s where the mine is. And for goodness’ sake, be careful or Pike will have my head. I’ll send him or someone else along as soon as they return.”