He nodded enthusiastically, “My mom is the best horse trainer in all of Montana and she’s gonna teach me everything she knows.”
“Then you’re a lucky young man.”
“Why is he lucky?”
Ryleigh gasped as the gruff voice boomed behind her. He was angry and she couldn’t figure out why. “Because he has a great mom who’s teaching him everything she knows about his favorite thing in the world.”
Zeke felt like an ass for basically attacking her for talking to his nephew. Her voice was small and her eyes sad. He should have apologized for his tone, for being an ass but all he could say was, “Oh.”
“Zeke what’s the matter with you!” Annabelle scolded him and smacked him on the behind with a wooden stirring spoon. “Apologize and go wash up. We’re holding lunch up because of you.”
“Yes ma’am.” She smiled at his sheepish words when he turned to do as his mother bid.
An hour later lunch was nearing its end and Zeke asked her to share her information with his family.
Ryleigh looked at those piercing blue eyes and caught herself before she let out a dreamy sigh. Her gaze shifted to focus on Zaria and Annabelle as she explained about Track Peters’ record of buying up land and leasing it off to oil and mining companies. She told them about the string of unexplained accidents at ranches and farms in Wyoming, Montana and Texas. “If I can figure out why he’s so interested in your land, there’s a good chance we can link him to some of the things happening here.”
“What do you know about the things going on at my ranch?”
“Our ranch,” Zaria corrected and turned to Ryleigh. “Why do you think he’s involved?”
She retrieved her bag from near the front door and pulled out a folder filled with photos and incident reports. “It’s his M.O., he starts small fires, damages just enough equipment to be inconvenient without being totally destructive. In at least one case,” she cut her eyes to Zeke, “there’s reason to believe he’s behind the mysterious death of an owner.”
“No!” Zeke shook his head and a sick feeling washed over him. “No way. Get the hell out, now!”
Ryleigh jumped and tears formed in her eyes. She nodded without saying a word, slid the folder into her bag and stood. “Thank you for having me for lunch. It was nice meeting ya’ll.” With a straight back she walked out the door, teeth gnashing her lip to prevent the tears from falling.
“Ryleigh wait!” Zaria rushed over to her. “I’m sorry about my brother he can be a bit uncivilized at times. Look I’d like to hear more about this so, can we meet soon?”
With sad eyes she nodded and ripped off a sheet of paper with her phone number and handed it to her. “Tell Zach it was great to meet him.”
~
“You son, are an ass.”
His head hung low because his mother was right, he was an ass. He’d made that woman cry and she was only trying to help. At least she said she was. “I know.”
“So what are you gonna do about it?”
“I don’t know, Ma.” He really didn’t. He knew he needed to apologize to her but he didn’t want to. The woman was too damn enticing and she was trying to dig up information that said his father was murdered, dammit.
“Wrong answer, boy.” He heard the warning in his mother’s voice. “You owe her an apology first and foremost. There’s no need to take it out on her because you’re attracted to her.”
He opened his mouth but the protest died on his lips at his mother’s raised eyebrow. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. But are you really going to ignore a chance to see what Peters is up to because your daddy’s death might not have been an accident?” She clicked her tongue. “Seems pretty dumb to me. Besides if someone killed my Zed I want to know so I can take my rifle to’em.”
Dammit she was right. He needed to find out why Peters was targeting Triple Z and the hot little redhead had the answers. “I’ll go apologize.”
She patted his cheek. “Good boy.”
Thirty minutes later he was standing in front of her apartment above the bakery knocking and praying like hell she wasn’t home. The sound of shuffling feet on the other side of the door told him he was out of luck.
“Mr. Reilly,” she gasped when the door opened and she caught sight of his scowl. “How can I help you?”
His scowl deepened at her red rimmed eyes and tear stained face. He’d done that. “I just came to apologize about my outburst earlier.” He was impressed with the way she squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.
“Apology accepted,” she said with absolutely no sincerity. “Have a good night Mr. Reilly.”
His foot shot out to stop the door from closing in his face. She gave him a look that could have stopped his heart if it weren’t for the vulnerability in her eyes. “Obviously you don’t accept my apology and I can’t blame you. But I am interested in working together on what Track Peters is up to. If you’re still up to it, that is.”
Eyes narrowed and arms crossed in defiance she spat out, “I’m doing this with or without you, Mr. Reilly. If you don’t want to hear about it, stay out of my way.” She shut the door in his face.
Well damn, Ma’s not gonna be happy.
Chapter Two
A week had passed since Zeke yelled at Ryleigh and it seemed they’d reached an understanding of sorts. He didn’t talk much and mostly listened when she explained what her research revealed and that seemed to work out just fine for them. He hadn’t found out much on his own, wasn’t even able to catch the person causing trouble on his land.
The problem was the weird goings on hadn’t stopped. They hadn’t gotten worse either but they were still happening. There was a small fire out at the west end of the Triple Z a few days ago and it scared the hell out of Zeke. There was just a small ring of burnt pasture but what made it notable was that the next day they were scheduled to move the herd to the west pasture. It was something they did periodically but never on a schedule so whoever did it, had to have been watching. He sent ranch hands out to check other pastures but they were all clear. It was the damnedest thing.
There had been more broken fence and a cancelled order at the feed store, which he’d just picked up this morning. He was a full believer in what Ryleigh had to say, but he didn’t think Peters killed his dad. Everyone knew Pops had a weak ticker and the old thing had finally given out and he’d fallen off Tie-Dye and broken his neck. He would listen to anything else she wanted tell him, but not that.
He checked his watch. Ryleigh should have been there already.
“Eager to see the lovely reporter son?” The smile Annabelle was sporting told Zeke all he needed to know about what was on her mind.
“It’s not like that Ma, but she should have been here almost an hour ago and it’s not like her to be late.” In fact she was annoyingly punctual, almost so as he could set a clock by her comings and goings. He was getting worried. “I’m just curious what’s holdin’ her up.”
Annabelle nodded with a knowing smile. “You should call Zeke.”
“I already did.” Zaria entered the kitchen with Zach close on her heels, a worried expression on her face. “It just rang and rang, then went to voicemail.”
He pushed his chair back, “I’m going to look for her,” he tossed over his shoulder on his way out the door. In one smooth motion he was on top of Thunder and riding to the edge of the property in search of Ryleigh’s vintage Chevy Blazer. The dang thing was bright yellow so it wouldn’t be hard to spot and after five minutes riding along where Triple Z met the road he spotted the yellow monstrosity. Right where Triple Z ended and Harding Ranch began. “Dammit.”
With a kick and click of the tongue Zeke and Thunder were blazing through the mostly empty Harding Ranch in search of Ryleigh. The search began at the front end of the property where Old Man Harding used to keep the chickens. There were no new tire tracks or any indication anyone had been there even though he knew Peters was living
at the main house. “Strange.” Around the main house and the barn it was also empty just like the stable, bunkhouse and a smaller barn. It was a damn ghost ranch and he had a sinking feeling he’d find Ryleigh here. Somewhere.
“Ryleigh!” At a slow cantor his eyes scanned the vast property looking for the easy to spot red hair or one of those colorful shirts she favored. He shook his head in amusement. Who thought wearing a bright pink shirt was the right color for a ranch? Yesterday she’d worn a flannel that was hot orange and green and he spent the day wondering where one could buy such an eyesore. Ryleigh certainly had her own fashion sense that was for sure. It was charming, dammit. “Ryleigh!”
Thunder whinnied towards the back pasture, capturing Zeke’s attention. With another soft kick they were headed that way when Zeke pulled on the reins. “Ryleigh!” He spotted one of those ugly shirts, an electric green t-shirt covered with an electric yellow Henley. It was more than a pile of god awful shirts, it was Ryleigh and she was passed out on the ground. Jumping off Thunder he ran to her unmoving form, touching her gently all over in search of injuries. “Oh Ryleigh, what happened?” Her pulse was there and it was strong but she wasn’t moving, damn her. Loose papers surrounded her unconscious form and he grabbed as many as he could and stuffed them into her bag.
Scooping her small frame up in his arms, Zeke laid her over the horse and swung up, sending Thunder to a full run as he held her tightly. “Shit, please be okay Ryleigh.” He should have gone with her, he knew it. Track Peters meant business and he wouldn’t hesitate to stop anyone getting close to finding out his secrets, especially a pint-sized reporter. This was all my fault. I shouldn’t have let her go digging up information alone. “Just a few more minutes sweetheart,” he rubbed her back and held her tight to him, Triple Z was in view now.
“Ma! Zaria! Get out here!” When the front door finally smacked open Zeke was sliding down the horse and gathering Ryleigh in his arms.
“My goodness Zeke, what happened?” Annabelle was beside herself with worry. “Never mind all that son, lay her on the couch and I’ll call Doc Macy.”
~~~
The sounds were sort of fuzzy but she could hear a deep voice talking softly a few feet away. “She has a concussion and a pretty good sized goose egg on the back of her head. She needs someone to wake her up every hour or so for the next twenty-four. Does she have family?”
“She’ll stay here.” That was Zeke’s gruff voice. She was surprised he’d even offered to let her stay. She was sure he would ship her back to her apartment in Beloved proper.
“It’s okay, I can go home. But I’ll probably need a ride. I don’t think I should be driving.”
“Oh Ryleigh dear, you’re awake!” Annabelle was at her side, toned arms wrapped securely around her. “I’m so glad you’re alright!” The tears in her eyes let Ryleigh know they were afraid she wouldn’t wake up.
“I’m okay,” her voice was gravelly and shaken. Annabelle’s tenderness brought forth all sorts of feelings, ones she kept buried deep so she wouldn’t long for something she would never have. Holding Annabelle for another minute she absorbed her kindness and nurturing then let go. “I can’t ask you to take care of me. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, I can handle it.”
“You’re staying here,” roared Zeke.
“Zeke! She has a concussion, keep your voice down.”
“Sorry Ma.” He turned to Ryleigh. “You’re staying here and that’s that.”
She ignored him and instead focused on the doctor. “Dr. Macy, you said I have a concussion?” He nodded and explained that she needed to wake up every hour and answer a few basic questions. So she couldn’t go back to her place. Darnit. “Okay I’ll stay here for the next twenty four hours,” she sent Zeke an icy glare, “But then I’m going home.” She noticed Zaria and Zach hovering in the door. “Zaria can you check on me throughout the night?”
“I’ll do it!” Zach eagerly volunteered and ran to sit beside her. “I can ask you questions and bring you water. Every hour, right Mom?”
“Sweetie I appreciate the offer but young cowboys need their sleep so they don’t fall off horses.” He smiled shyly at her touch and blushed. “But how about you and me have lunch tomorrow?”
“It’s a date!”
She laughed and Zaria agreed to wake her throughout the night.
“I’ll do it. We need to chat anyway,” Zeke chimed in. His tone brooked no argument but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.
“No thank you.” She wanted to laugh at the astonished look on his face.
“I guess I’ll just find out whatever you did by reading your papers that I picked up when I found you passed out in the back pasture.” He propped his arm on the dresser near the bed, a lazy smile curving his beautifully masculine face. “And I guess you don’t need the change of clothes I got here either, do ya?”
She shrugged. “I can sleep without clothes.” Zaria and Annabelle and even Doc Macy smothered laughs at the strangled noise that came from Zeke. “Thank you for coming out for me Doc Macy. Just let me know how much I owe.”
“No worries Miss Ryleigh, the bill has uh, been taken care of.” He nodded nervously at Zeke and then made his way down the stairs and out the door.
“Thanks,” she muttered noncommittally in Zeke’s direction. “I guess you want to know what happened out there?”
Zeke nodded and Zaria shook her head before Annabelle spoke. “We’ve got time to hear it dear. You get some sleep, okay?”
Ryleigh nodded and before she could say a word darkness descended.
“Wake up Ryleigh.” The deep voice was like a soft caress against her skin, the clean earthy smell slowly pulling her out of her sleep. “Ryleigh.”
She groaned and turned away from the voice. “Not now, lemme sleep. Maybe later.” The deep chuckling brought her wide awake and staring at a pair of laughing blue eyes. “Ugh, what?”
He laughed again, this time not trying to hide it. “Is it later already?”
“Is this one of my concussion questions?”
That sobered him fast. “No.” He did ask her a few questions she assumed she answered correctly since he sat staring at her for more than a minute afterwards. “You scared the hell out of me today Ryleigh. I thought, shit, I thought you were dead.”
She melted a little at his words and quickly forgave his gruff behavior earlier. “I’m sorry Zeke. I didn’t mean to worry you. I pulled a few different land surveys over the years and some things looked…strange so I thought I’d go check it out first.” At his skeptical look she continued. “Based on what I saw I had a hunch and I wanted to check it out before I came to ya’ll with anything.” His nod of acceptance appeared to be all she would get so she carried on. “I went to the ranch to check out the discrepancies between the most recent land survey and the past few. While I was out there I had that feeling, you know, that someone was out there. Watching me.” She shrugged to downplay the terror she felt. “I saw someone or I thought I did and I followed them, but they were too quick and I lost him in the far pasture.”
“You followed him? What the hell Ry!”
She ignored that warm feeling at the shortened version of her name and stared back at him, defiant. “So I decided to forget about them and get down to work. I got close to the part of the property I was looking for and then I feel something crack me on the back of the head. My world went dark and I woke up with you yelling at me.” She smiled sweetly.
“I was trying to help.”
She tried hard to suppress the laugh threatening when she said, “You were being bossy.”
Eyebrows raised in surprise he crossed his arms over his chest, looking mighty fine in a grey t-shirt. “You were being stubborn.”
Ryleigh stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed and her breath caught in her throat. When Zeke laughed, goodness his face was transformed from handsome to breathtaking. His eyes twinkled and the laugh lines around his mouth begged to be licked. Damn she was i
n trouble. “Wow,” she murmured drawing his attention.
“What?” His face was fixed in a frown as it seemed was always the case when she was around.
“You’re gorgeous when you smile. Do it…more…often.” She fell asleep and he looked down at her in stunned silence.
Chapter Three
It seemed as though every time Ryleigh finally fell asleep, Zeke placed his big warm hand on her shoulder to wake her. The bed was comfortable, her surroundings quiet enough and yet it was the worse sleep she remembered having since she was a girl. When she finally awoke the next day, for real, the sun had already set. She was sick of lying in bed even if it had only been a day so she took a quick shower and put on some clothes to go in search of food.
She padded downstairs in warm wool socks loaned to her by Zach. In the kitchen the warming oven was on and a note from Annabelle stuck to it. Ry, please eat and rest. Love Annabelle. Goodness the woman was so sweet Ryleigh was tempted to steal her and bring her home with her. “You are a savior Annabelle,” she said as she dug into hearty beef stew with tangy sourdough bread and fresh whipped butter. Thank you, Annabelle. She took the bowl, loaded with stew and bread and decided to eat her supper on the porch. There was a glider to the left of the door that called out to her so she curled into the seat and savored the rich vegetable chunks and the slightly spicy broth. The meal was delicious and she was surprisingly hungry. She guessed concussions made you hungry.
It had been a long time since Ryleigh sat outside at night and took in the glorious night sky. Montana was the prettiest state in the nation by far, and on a clear night like this you could see practically see every star in the sky. She was reminded of just how beautiful it was. The moon hung low in the navy blue sky, illuminating just enough of the landscape to steal your breath without stoking fear. She could sit out here all night.
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Southern Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) Page 146
