Should Have Been Her Child

by Stella Bagwell

  It didn’t matter, she quickly told herself. He was going to trust her enough to allow her onto the crime scene. She couldn’t pass up such an opportunity. And besides all that, she loved the man. She wanted to spend time with him. If that made her a fool, she couldn’t help it.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll be ready.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Victoria arrived home later that evening, she found Marina in the kitchen preparing supper.

  Walking over to where the older woman was standing in front of the huge gas range, she curled an arm around the back of her waist and pecked a kiss on her cheek.

  “Hello, chica. You home a little early.”

  Victoria peered over the woman’s shoulder at the boiling pot of chicken and dumplings. Maybe she could invite Jess to stay and eat supper with her, she thought. After a long horseback ride, he would have to be hungry.

  Don’t start getting all hopeful again, Victoria. The man just invited you on a horseback ride, not a trip to the wedding altar.

  “I didn’t linger at the office,” she told Marina. “I needed to get home.”

  Marina turned her head just enough to see Victoria’s face. “You still not smilin’. Why you been sad all week? Jess been botherin’ you again?”

  A mocking smile tilted Victoria’s lips. Jess had been botherin’ her for years. And would keep on botherin’ her for years to come if something didn’t change his way of thinking about women, about her and the mess they’d made of their relationship.

  Pulling the clasp from atop her hair, Victoria shook the chocolate black waves until they spilled around her shoulders.

  “I had lunch with Jess today,” Victoria admitted. “As a matter of fact, he’s going to be here in a few minutes.”

  The cook turned and faced Victoria head-on. “He’s gonna hurt you again, chica. I feel it in here.” Her lips pressed to a grim line, she tapped her ample bosom which was covered with the bib of a white apron. “I like Jess. But you should look at some other man. Not him.”

  She couldn’t look at some other man, Victoria thought. She couldn’t eat or sleep, or make love with another man. Jess had taken up residence in her heart a long time ago. There wasn’t room for anyone else.

  Her gaze dropped to her feet as hopelessness weighed on her shoulders. “He’s not coming here to woo me, Marina. He’s coming on business. I’m going to ride with him out to the mesa where the hands found the body.”

  A horrified expression swept over Marina’s face. “No, chica! You and Jess mustn’t go out there! That place—it’s bad. Really bad. Someone will be hurt again. Or killed!”

  Marina’s desperate outburst took Victoria by complete surprise. It wasn’t like the woman to be superstitious about anything.

  “How could you know that, Marina? I’m sure you’ve never even seen the place.”

  The old woman shook her head vehemently. “I see it in my dreams. That is enough.”

  In an effort to console her, Victoria smiled and patted her arm. “Oh, Marina, you’re getting carried away over nothing. Dreams, even scary ones, are just pictures from our subconscious mind. Just because you dreamed the place was dangerous doesn’t mean it’s evil ground.”

  Marina rolled her dark eyes and shook her head. “Death happened there. And evil is still there, chica. Don’t go there,” she warned again.

  “Marina, this isn’t like you at all. You’re getting the creeps over nothing. Jess and I are only going out there to look the place over and see if we can find anything to help uncover the truth of what happened. That’s all. And once we’re finished we’ll be back to eat. That is, if I can talk him into staying for supper.”

  The other woman was clearly disturbed about the whole idea, but finally she sniffed and turned back to the gas range. “Thank goodness your brother is home,” she mumbled.

  Surprise had Victoria glancing sharply at Marina. “Ross is home? Why didn’t you tell me? Where is he?”

  Marina frowned at her rapid-fire questions. “Someone call and he took off again.” She shook her head in disapproval. “He needs to be here now. Not runnin’ to see a bull or a horse.”

  Ross always called Victoria as soon as he returned from a business trip. She couldn’t imagine why he’d failed to this time. Especially when she’d made a point of telling him how anxious she was for him to get back to the ranch and deal with the murder case.

  “Will he be back home tonight or did he say?” she asked the cook.

  “He said he’d be back.”

  Victoria sighed with relief. “Good. Now I’d better go get ready before Jess gets here.”

  As Victoria started out of the kitchen, Marina angled her another stern look. “Be very careful out there, chica.”

  Victoria waved a dismissive hand at her warning. “Don’t worry, Marina. We’ll be fine.”

  Thirty minutes later, she was dressed in jeans, boots, a pale blue shirt and with a cream-colored Stetson dangling against her back. She watched her cousin, Linc, saddle her favorite mount on the ranch, a spotted mare called Dixie.

  “Linc, there’s no need for you to be doing that,” she gently scolded. “I’ve been saddling horses since I was eight years old. I can do it.”

  The tall, brown-haired cowboy smiled over at Victoria and as always, she thought how much he resembled Ross, even though the two men were cousins rather than brothers.

  Thirty-two years ago Linc had been born to Randolf and Darla Ketchum, brother and sister-in-law to Tucker. From what Victoria remembered of her uncle Randolf, he’d been the exact opposite of Tucker. Quiet, unassuming and not nearly as ambitious. Years ago he’d been partners with her father in the building of the T Bar K. But when his heart had started to fail, he’d sold his quarter of the place to his brother. Several years later, when Victoria and Linc were in high school, Randolf’s heart had finally given out just as Tucker’s had.

  After Randolf’s death, Darla quickly remarried and moved back east to a small city on the coast. As far as Victoria knew, Linc rarely heard from the woman and she often wondered if Darla had resented the fact that Linc had chosen to stay and live with his aunt and uncle on the T Bar K rather than move east with her.

  “It’s no problem, Victoria,” Linc said. “I’ve already called it quits for the day. Once I finish here I’m going to put up my feet and rest.”

  Victoria smiled at him. “Good. I know you’ve had a busy week. What with all the mares foaling now and keeping the remuda ready for roundup, it’s a wonder you have time to draw a good breath.”

  He pulled the saddle cinch tight, then tucked off the loose end of the leather strap. “Spring on the T Bar K is the best time of the year. All the youngins being born and the wildflowers blooming. Makes a fella glad to be alive.”

  The shuffle of footsteps had them both glancing around at the opposite end of the long shed row. Victoria’s heart gave a little leap as she saw Jess striding quickly toward them. He wasn’t wearing his badge this evening, she noted, but his .45 was resting in the holster on his hip. The sight of the weapon made her wonder if he was expecting trouble.

  Although Linc had finished saddling Dixie, he stood beside Victoria and waited to greet Jess with a handshake before he excused himself. A sign to Victoria that the two men liked and respected each other.

  As the head wrangler for the T Bar K walked away, Jess said, “That’s one Ketchum I can say I’ve always liked.”

  With a wan smile, Victoria gathered up the mare’s reins. “I was just thinking how Linc looks like Ross, but his personality is like his father’s.” She glanced over at Jess. “You would have liked Uncle Randolf if you’d had the chance to know him. He was a quiet, unassertive guy, nothing like Daddy.”

  “I’ll bet Linc was always glad about that,” Jess said with a grin.

  Victoria’s lips pressed together. “If that’s the sort of thing I’m going to be hearing from you on this little trip, then I don’t think I want to go.”

  He quickly held
up a hand. “All right,” he conceded. “I shouldn’t have said that. You loved your father and you don’t want to hear anyone bad-mouthing him. So I’ll try not to do it again.”

  She looked at him, her expression suddenly regretful. What was wrong with her? Ever since lunch, she’d been looking forward to sharing this evening with him. The last thing she wanted to do was start an argument between them.

  Sighing, she said, “I’m sorry, Jess. I guess I’m tired of Daddy being a testy issue between us. I don’t want him to stand between us anymore.”

  Jess didn’t want Tucker, their past or this damn murder case to stand between them. Maybe he should take her aside right now and tell her exactly that, he thought. Then just as quickly he pushed the notion out of mind. There wasn’t much daylight left and it would take them at least an hour to reach the crime scene. When he did talk to Victoria about the two of them starting over, he didn’t want to be rushed. They could always ride back in the dark.

  Besides that, Jess needed a little more time to bolster his courage. Even if he confessed to Victoria that he still loved her, it wasn’t as if she was going to fall gratefully into his arms. More than likely she wouldn’t believe him. After all, he’d gone out of his way to convince her he was incapable of loving her or any woman. He couldn’t blame her if she told him that his feelings didn’t matter anymore. That he’d hurt her too much to ever trust him again.

  Dear Lord, he couldn’t think those black thoughts now, he desperately told himself. He had to believe that she still cared enough to give him another chance.

  “I don’t want him to be an issue between us either,” Jess said, and before he could stop himself he stepped forward and cupped his palms against the sides of her face. “I haven’t seen you like this in a long time, Tori. You look beautiful this evening.”

  His hands left her face to smooth down her arms, then settle on her waist. Her heart pounded and her voice was breathy as she said, “You promised you weren’t coming out here to the ranch for sex.”

  Humor creased his face and she marveled at his light mood and the fact that he was touching her. Something she wanted so much. Needed so much.

  “I don’t remember making any such promise.”

  She drew in a deep breath through her nostrils and the scent of him mingled with the smell of hay and horses. “Well, maybe not a promise. But you assured me you were coming out here tonight on business.”

  “Is this sex?” he whispered. Bending his head, he brushed his lips against her cheeks, her chin and nose. “Is that all this feels like to you?”

  Her lashes fluttered down against her cheeks, her hands trembled to touch him. “Jess, I—”

  The remainder of her words halted abruptly as Dixie suddenly tugged on the reins and whinnied loudly in Victoria’s ear.

  Turning their heads to see what had drawn the mare’s attention, they watched as a wrangler leading a big bay horse passed a few feet away from them. Victoria didn’t recognize the young man, but that wasn’t unusual. Now that she was practicing medicine, she didn’t have much time to spend around the ranch yard. Workers came and went without her ever knowing about the changes.

  From his open stare, this particular cowboy seemed to find the sight of Jess and Victoria very interesting, but the moment he realized they had spotted him, he turned his attention straight ahead as though he was embarrassed to be caught gawking.

  Clearly irritated at the interruption, Jess watched the young man lead the bay to a nearby stall. “What was he looking at? Hasn’t he ever seen a man kissing a woman?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “Jess, you’re a lawman. He’s probably wondering why you’re kissing me instead of handcuffing me.”

  “Handcuffing you,” he repeated inanely. “For what?”

  She rolled her green eyes. “You’ve been investigating a murder. That is what you’re here for, isn’t it?”

  To her surprise, he caressed her cheek, then took her by the upper arm. “Come on. It’s time we got down to business.”

  Leading Dixie behind her, Victoria walked with him to a spot behind the horse barn where he’d parked his truck and trailer. A big gray gelding was already saddled and tied to the back of the rig. As Jess approached, the animal perked his ears and whinnied softly.

  “He’s beautiful,” Victoria said of the horse. “What’s his name?”

  The compliment filled Jess with pleasure, making him realize how much he’d always wanted Victoria’s admiration. “We call him Chito. Pa raised him from one of our mare’s on the ranch.”

  “Will is a cowboy through and through. It’s no wonder you’ve always had good horses on the Hastings ranch.”

  He walked over and offered Victoria a hand up. Once she was settled in the saddle, he said, “We have a few good horses. But not like this place. Wasn’t it just last year that the T Bar K won an award for best remuda?”

  Smiling with pride, she pulled the hat onto her head and drew the stampede string up tight beneath her chin. “We can thank Linc for that. He understands what it takes to make good, reliable ranch horses.”

  Jess tossed the reins over Chito’s neck and swung himself up in the saddle. Leather creaked under his weight as he settled his boots in the long stirrups.

  He reined the gray in a westerly direction and Victoria’s mare fell in step beside the handsome gelding.

  “Linc tells me that Ross’s stallion is still missing,” he said. “It surprises me that the horse hasn’t shown up somewhere close by now.”

  “I know what you mean. It’s not like a stallion is something that could easily be hidden. But then I don’t believe the horse has been stolen. I think he’s just off visiting some wild mares up in the mountains,” she told him, then as a new thought struck her, she glanced at him thoughtfully. “Jess, do you think the stallion’s disappearance could have something to do with the murder?”

  Jess rubbed his chin as he contemplated the idea. “The notion crossed my mind. But right now I’m not seeing the connection. We just don’t have enough clues to piece together.”

  Just ahead of them, the mountains began to peter out and flatten into a wide open mesa covered with juniper, blue sage, tall yucca and grass. Straight in front of them, the sun was a yellow ball in a blue New Mexico sky.

  This was the first time in ages that Victoria had been riding and she’d almost forgotten how wonderful it was to be out on the range with powerful horseflesh beneath her and the smell of sage all around her, the sun and wind on her face.

  Yet nature’s splendors were responsible for only a part of the pleasure she was feeling. Jess was with her, his tall rangy frame loose in the saddle, his rugged face shaded by the brim of his black Stetson. Just having him this close, sharing this evening with her, filled Victoria with a joy and contentment that nothing else could give her.

  For the next few minutes they were silent as the horses picked a trail through tender wildflowers and spiky yucca. Eventually Victoria said, “This evening, when I told Marina what you and I were going to do, she just about had a spell.”

  He glanced over at her, his expression curious. “A spell? What do you mean?”

  “She was scared, worried. She says the place where the man was killed is evil ground. She kept saying that you and I shouldn’t go there. That something bad might happen to us.”

  “Hmm. I didn’t know Marina was into Native American lore.”

  Victoria shook her head. “That’s just it, Jess. She isn’t. That’s why it was so surprising when she started giving me such dire warnings and talking about evil ground.”

  Jess’s brows arched beneath the brim of his black hat. “Maybe she knows more about this whole thing than she’s telling.”

  Shocked by the suggestion, Victoria stared at him. “Oh no, Jess! What could Marina know? She rarely ever leaves the ranch yard!”

  “She has friends and relatives that could have said things.”

  “No,” Victoria repeated with firm certainty. “Marina is like a seco
nd mother to me. Believe me, if she knew anything at all about this, she would tell you. But she is scared, Jess. I think she has the idea that the killing isn’t over.”

  His face grim, Jess looked at her. “She could be right, Tori.”

  Victoria came close to shivering in her saddle. “Then I hope we find something, Jess. For both our sakes.”

  Nearly forty minutes later they rode down into a narrow draw. On both sides of the gulch, twisted juniper bushes grew between slabs of red rock and tufts of grass. Chito’s and Dixie’s shoes clattered against the boulder-strewn bottom, then the sound changed to that of hooves splashing through shallow water.

  Eventually the arroyo opened up wider, the walls grew taller and the ground began to climb in steep increments. Washed out spots made the going slow and precarious. Several times they were forced to travel single file. On these occasions Jess continually glanced over his shoulder to make sure Victoria was following safely. At one point, he even took hold of Dixie’s bit and led the mare while Victoria held onto the saddle horn with both hands.

  When her legs finally began to ache from the strain of riding, she asked, “How much farther, Jess?”

  “We’re here.”

  Wondering what could have possibly alerted him to the fact, she looked around her. There was nothing to see but more arroyo, more boulders and scattered holes of shallow water.

  “I don’t see anything. How do you know this is the spot?”

  “I was here when the medical examiner recovered the body. I remembered.”

  She was astounded. “How could you? This place is in the middle of nowhere. I thought I’d been all over the ranch before, but I’ve never been this far back.”

  “From what Ross tells me, this is about a mile away from the west boundary line of the T Bar K.”

  Interest peaked her brows as she looked in that direction. “Oh. Who owns the neighboring land?”

  “You don’t know your own neighbors?” he teased.

  “Yes, I know my neighbors,” she countered sassily. “Just not from this vantage point.”