by Joanna Wayne
“She didn’t mention having a heart attack. I wonder if she’s following doctor’s orders now. She was hauling in wood for the fireplace when she sprained her ankle.”
“She can’t run this ranch by herself. She couldn’t do that even if her health was good. I’ve got to help. I’m just not sure where to start.”
“How did you become so close to the Kavanaughs?”
“My parents were in a five-vehicle pileup on I-10 when I was fifteen. They were airlifted to a Houston hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. The 18-wheeler behind them literally peeled the top off the car.”
“You must have been devastated.”
“And scared. I was the oldest and I felt I had to be strong for my two younger brothers, who were twelve and fourteen.”
“Did you have other family?”
“Yes, but we didn’t know it at the time. Social services was going to split us up and put us in three different foster homes. We were all each other had and they were going to rip apart what little we had left of our family. I felt like I was the one letting my brothers down.”
“Though you were only a kid yourself.”
“I was, but I grew up pretty fast at that point. Anyway, the Kavanaughs heard about our plight and did enough finagling to take all three of us in.”
“No wonder you feel so close to them.”
“Right. We weren’t just kids without a home to them. We were family, right from the first.”
“I can understand that. Esther makes me feel like family and we just met. How long did you live with them?”
“Ten months. Then my mother’s great uncle found out about us and contacted social services. Because he was actual kin, we were sent to live with him in Kansas.”
“How did that go?”
“Uncle Raymond took some getting used to, but he was a good guy. He was retired but had coached high school football in his younger days, so our focus switched from ranching to football. We all played on the varsity team. My younger brother Tucker even went on to play a little college ball before deciding his real love was the rodeo.”
“And you ended up a navy SEAL.”
“And loved every minute of it. But it was Charlie and Esther who were there for us when we needed them. It’s too late for me to be here for Charlie, but I’ll do whatever I can to help Esther. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Grace slipped her hand in his and squeezed. No words. Just touch. Exactly what he needed.
Pierce started to pull her into his arms for a hug but decided against it. She might misread the move. Or he might be misreading his own motive.
Paying more attention to his physical urges than to his brain was exactly how he’d ended up married to Leslie when they didn’t really know each other.
He wouldn’t make that mistake again, especially with a woman he already suspected of not being what she claimed.
* * *
PIERCE JOINED ESTHER and Grace in the family room. Esther was skimming through a ranch living magazine. Grace was standing next to the hearth, staring into the dancing flames as if they held answers to all the world’s mysteries.
Pierce stretched out in Charlie’s oversize leather recliner. He almost felt guilty sitting in it, but it had been a long day and the chair was just too damn inviting.
He’d been busy since they’d returned from the ranch tour. He’d repaired a couple of loose front porch steps, changed lightbulbs in the family room and kitchen overhead fixtures, fixed a leak in the kitchen sink. He’d even changed a battery in a chirping smoke detector.
The ranch was obviously not the only thing falling into a state of disrepair.
“Is Jaci asleep?” Esther asked.
“She’s in bed,” Pierce said. “That’s all I can vouch for. I tried to read her a story, but she complained that I don’t read it the way her mommy does.”
“It’s only natural she’d miss her mother,” Esther said.
“I get that. I just think there was a better way of doing this.”
“What was your idea?” Esther asked.
“That Leslie hang around at least a few more weeks. Give our daughter time to get to know me better and feel comfortable before her mother left the country.”
Grace stepped away from the fire. “I should probably leave you two alone for this discussion. I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
“I’d rather you stay,” Pierce said truthfully. “Jaci likes you, so you’re definitely doing something right with her. I could use any pointers you want to share with me.”
“You’re better with her than you think, Pierce. It’s clear you adore her. She’s probably a little mad at you and her mother, but she’s a smart and well-adjusted kid. She’ll come around.”
“What’s so dang important in Cuba that Leslie couldn’t wait a few weeks to leave?” Esther asked.
“My replacement. He’s traveling there on business and she wants to go with him. I’m not worried about that. I just want my daughter to like me and not think I’m the bad guy.”
“You’re not the bad guy,” Grace said. You’re the father who took her to Texas on an adventure that she will never forget. Just be yourself and enjoy her. It’s not going to take her long to come around.”
“I’d like to have that in writing.”
“You do know you’re getting this parenting advice from a woman who’s never had children?”
“Now you tell me.”
“How long have you been divorced?” Grace asked.
“Two days,” Pierce answered.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all it’s been legal. We haven’t been physically together in nine months. We haven’t been emotionally together in longer than that.”
“What about you, Grace?” Esther asked.
“Never married,” she said. “At least not yet.”
“You’ll find the right man one day,” Esther said. “When you do, grab him and hold on tight. That was Charlie’s advice. He’d say you got to hold on to the things you love.”
And that was probably as good a segue as Pierce was going to get.
“Charlie was a remarkable man,” Pierce said. “I can’t even imagine how hard his death must be on you. I wish you’d have gotten in touch with me or my brothers. At least one of us could have been here for you.”
“I wasn’t thinking too clearly at the time, but I did finally leave a message at the last number I had for Riley. I figured that’s why you showed up today.”
“No. Riley never got the message.”
“He’s a rambler,” Esther said. “In his blood, but I admit it’s been really tough on me. It seems a little easier to bear with you, Jaci and Grace in the house now.”
“About that,” Pierce said, “how is your health since the heart attack—other than the sprained ankle?”
“How did you hear about the heart attack?”
“I ran into Buck Stalling today.”
“I swear that boy’s gonna be as big a gossiper as his mother. I’m fine. Can’t do all the things Charlie did, but I’m making it.”
“I’ll help all I can while I’m here,” Pierce offered. “I’ve never managed a ranch, but I’m sure Riley can give me lots of good advice.”
“I’m not worried about the ranch,” Esther said. “Ranch is nothing to me without Charlie. What I need is for you to help me find his killer.”
Chapter Seven
Silvery moonlight filtered through the trees like fairy dust. The heavens sparkled with brilliant stars that appeared so close Grace felt she could have plucked them like crystal cherries.
Crickets and tree frogs serenaded. A cool breeze incited a riot of dry leaves escaping the hold of the ancient oak that stood as sentry over the sprawling ranch house.
The perfect haven—except that it wasn’t.
Grace stood on the front porch, shivering in spite of the afghan pulled tightly around her shoulders. If Esther was right, the Double K Ranch was not immune to deadly evil.
Grace knew that kind of vicious, debased evil intimately. Had seen it in the eyes of her husband. Had heard it in his voice. Had sickened at the sight of it. Had fought it only to discover that the odds stacked against her were all but insurmountable.
The front door squeaked open. Footfalls sounded behind her. Even without turning, she knew that Pierce had joined her. After only one day, she recognized the woodsy, musky scent of him. His presence had an uncanny, sensual effect on her.
Cold-blooded evil would be nothing new to him, either. He’d spent two tours of duty as a SEAL, going after an enemy that thrived on terror and recognized no moral boundaries.
Pierce crossed the porch and leaned against the support post mere inches from her.
“Do you think Esther is right about Charlie being murdered?” she asked.
“She’s convinced of it,” Pierce said.
“But you have your doubts?”
“Anything’s possible, but as far as I know, Charlie didn’t have an enemy in the world.”
“Maybe it was a robbery gone bad,” Grace suggested. “It’s easy enough for a stranger to just walk onto the ranch without being noticed. I did it.”
“But would a stranger stick around long enough to make it look like suicide? And it would have had to be a transient just passing through. No one who knew Charlie would go to the trouble to rob him. If you asked, he’d give you the shirt off his back and then throw in a pair of boots.
“Besides, she admitted to me just now that his wallet was still in his back pocket when they examined the body. Perhaps Esther simply can’t face the fact that her beloved Charlie would willingly leave her.
“Running from reality doesn’t sound like Esther. But like I said, anything’s possible.”
“What will you do?”
“A little investigating on my own. If I come to the same conclusion Esther did, then I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get justice for Charlie. He’ll likely chase me down from heaven with a lightning bolt if I do any less.”
“If that’s the case, he may have been trying to get your attention last night. I thought one had surely hit the house. We did lose power for a while.”
“That was just a Texas welcome to check your mettle,” Pierce said.
“That’s what I thought the rooster was for.”
“No, that was my welcome home,” Pierce teased. “Haven’t laughed that hard in years.”
“You have a deranged sense of humor, Pierce Lawrence.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Somehow he’d managed to ease the tension on one level while increasing it on another. It was impossible to ignore the heated surge of attraction.
“I’m still not sure how Esther talked you into taking on the rooster.”
“The same way she talked me into staying. She’s such a dear, open and welcoming. Plus I couldn’t really leave her alone to hobble around on that bad ankle. Of course, that was before I knew I’d have to fight off a rooster and steal eggs.”
“And ride a horse,” Pierce said. “Don’t forget you’re signed up for a lesson.”
“Yeah, well, I’m going to have to take a rain check on that, cowboy. Now that you and Jaci are here, there’s really no point in my staying.”
“What’s the rush? Esther said you didn’t have any immediate plans.”
“I don’t,” she admitted. No one was ever waiting on her. “This is your and Jaci’s special time with Esther. I’d only be in the way.”
Pierce stepped closer and she met his gaze. His eyes looked smoky in the moonlight. Penetrating. Unsettling. She looked away as a choking need swelled inside her.
“What are you running from, Grace?”
“Nothing.” Tension ridged her nerves. She struggled to stay calm and keep her voice steady. “Where did you get an idea like that?”
Pierce trailed the fingers of his right hand along her cheekbone and then eased them under the edge of her wig. “The fake hair. The oversize, dark-rimmed glasses that keep sliding down your nose. Ill-fitting clothes.”
“I’m not into my appearance and the wig is more convenient than constantly dealing with my long hair.”
“If you’re trying to go unnoticed, Grace, it’s not working.”
His tone had become far too seductive. She had to get away from him before she said things she’d be sorry for. Before she started believing she could actually confide in him.
She couldn’t. Pierce wouldn’t rat her out. He was one of the good guys. Brave, a lifesaver with the medals to prove it. That was the problem. If he knew the truth, he’d feel he had to save her the way he had to find justice for Charlie.
Only, trying to save Grace would put him and possibly even Jaci and Esther in danger.
“If you’re in trouble, I can help,” Pierce said.
Grace took a deep breath and pulled one of her rehearsed stories from her repertoire. “If you must know, I didn’t lose my job. I had a bad breakup with an ex. I took all of his possessions he’d left at my place and dumped them into the nearest trash bin. I decided to take a short vacation while he cools down.”
“Remind me not to make you mad.”
“The guy deserved it and he knows it,” she quipped. “As soon as he cools down, he’ll be begging me to forgive him and take him back.”
“You have to hang out somewhere until then. What better place than the Double K Ranch? Sounds like a win-win for all of us, the way I look at it.”
Sounded like she’d backed herself into a corner and she suspected that Pierce hadn’t actually bought her fabricated story.
“I’m really not needed here,” she insisted.
“That’s not true.”
He reached over and took both her hands in his. The touch sent her emotions on a dangerous spiral. She couldn’t give in to the desire that sparked inside her. A relationship with Pierce had nowhere to go. It would cause her to make bad decisions. Any kind of relationship would put her and Pierce in danger. It was a risk she could never take.
“We all need you here, Grace.”
“I don’t see why.”
“Then you are underestimating yourself. Esther will likely be hobbling around for another day or two, possibly longer if you’re not here to keep her from doing too much.”
He inched closer. Her pulse skyrocketed.
“Jaci adores you,” he continued. “And your being here with them while I’m off investigating the murder claim and taking care of some needed repairs around the ranch would make it a lot easier on me.”
A few more days. Time with Pierce, Esther and Jaci that would make it all the more painful to go back to her safe little world of emotional isolation when this was over.
Pierce placed a thumb under her chin and tilted her face until his lips were only a hairbreadth away. “I want you to stay, Grace, because I really like having you here.”
His lips touched hers. A longing struck full force, a need so intense she had to struggle to breathe.
She should turn and run. Her mind insisted. Her body refused to obey. She melted into the thrill of his kiss. Passion claimed her completely as he ravished her lips, pulling her closer until she felt the hard need of his desire pressing against her.
She wanted him. All the way. Right here. Right now.
The insanity of that finally knocked her back to her senses. She pulled away, but her knees buckled and she would have crumpled into a heap at his feet if he hadn’t held her up.
She struggled for something to say—anything that wouldn’t let him know how intensely the kiss had a
ffected her.
“I’ll think about it,” she muttered, her words barely coherent.
And then she turned and walked away quickly before she wound up back in his arms. Another kiss and all the reasons why she shouldn’t get involved with Pierce might vanish completely.
* * *
THE CROWING OF a time-challenged rooster woke Pierce before sunrise made a dent in the gloomy gray of predawn. He jerked to full wakefulness instantly. SEAL training did that for a man.
This time there was no immediate physical threat, so his mind played a dirty trick on him, hurling him right back in the vat of troubled thoughts that had kept him awake the first half of the night.
Why in hell had he kissed Grace last night, aside from the fact that he’d been thinking about it from the first time he’d seen her hysterically fleeing the rooster?
Not that the kiss hadn’t knocked him senseless. It most definitely had. And judging from the way Grace had kissed him back, she’d felt a bit of the magic, too.
That was precisely the problem.
It had instantly changed all the rules of engagement between him and Grace. They’d crossed a line, physically acknowledged the attraction that sizzled between them. Now casual touch or conversation would be practically impossible.
His life was a mess. His divorce from a woman he hadn’t had a meaningful relationship with in years was barely final. He was trying to bond with a daughter when he knew absolutely nothing about parenting.
The last thing he needed was to fall for a woman who hadn’t leveled with him about anything, possibly even her name.
Pierce kicked off the warm quilt, threw his legs over the side of the bed and padded to the bathroom. He took care of business, then washed his hands and splashed his face with cold water.
He’d love a cup of coffee but didn’t want to risk waking Esther. With her ankle injury and the emotional turmoil she’d faced over the past three months, the rest would do her good.
Her claims of murder were as perplexing as they were worrisome. Yet it was equally hard to believe Charlie chose to end his life with a bullet to the head, leaving his cherished Esther to find his body.
