At Wolf Ranch

by Jennifer Ryan

  He folded her into his arms when the worst of the nightmare took hold. She woke with a start, the words “the cave,” sputtering from her lips before her eyes went wide. She pressed her hand to his chest to push him away, but stopped the second she realized it was him and not her uncle trying to hold her down before she flailed herself right out of bed.

  Someone pounded on the front door three times. Both of them stilled. Eyes wide and filled with fear, she stared at him. Her body shook down the length of his.

  “Stay here. No matter what, do not come out of this room. I’ll see who it is.”

  The front door slammed, making him less nervous. In fact, he had a feeling one of his brothers had come calling. He kissed Ella, rolled out of bed, and snagged his jeans off the floor and pulled them on. He stuffed his feet into his boots without putting on his socks and found his shirt lying on the floor, half under the bed. Dressed, he went to his open bedroom door and turned back to stare at Ella in his bed, the blue sheets and tan blanket pulled up to her chest, covering all that beautiful soft skin.

  “Gabe,” Blake shouted from the front room.

  “I’ll be right there, Blake.”

  Ella registered his brother’s name and fell back into the pillows with a sigh of relief. He couldn’t leave her without some reassurance. He walked back to the bed, leaned over, and kissed her again. He rose up far enough to see her expressive green eyes.

  “I’ll get rid of him. Stay here.” He tugged the sheet down just enough to plant a kiss between her breasts, right over her heart. “I’m not done with you yet.”

  She gave him a soft smile. Satisfied the last of the nightmare and fear had faded, he left her in his bed and went to kick his brother out of his house. He didn’t know what brought Blake here, but he needed to get rid of him fast. He felt like if he didn’t, the outside world would intrude and the fragile balance they’d found, which hadn’t had nearly enough time to settle into a solid foundation for what he wanted to build with her, would crumble.

  “Have you seen this?” Blake tossed a newspaper and two tabloids on the counter. “Were you asleep? Your hair is all messed up.”

  “No.” Gabe wasn’t about to explain the woman in his bed had a thing for running her fingers through his hair when they made love. He raked his fingers through the disheveled mess and put it back to rights—mostly.

  Gabe moved closer and scanned the many photos of Ella from her nights out with friends in the city, to vacation photos of her in sundresses and bikinis on gorgeous beaches. The scenery didn’t hold his attention. He knew every inch of that body now, and he craved it with every breath he took. He tossed the tabloids aside and stared down at the photos of her friends standing outside the police station, looking their best in dresses and suits. The caption read, “Ella Wolf’s longtime boyfriend, Michael Henry, and friends meet with police to discuss Ella’s innocence and demand the police investigate her disappearance.”

  He wanted to tear the paper to shreds and never look at the man who claimed to be Ella’s boyfriend. The thought of him touching her, kissing her, making love to her burned in his gut.

  “Did you know about this? Lela died the day after you met her.”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  “I saw Joel in town. He said her body is at the mortuary. What the hell is going on? You meet Lela, she tells you to stay away from her ranch, someone murders her, they think her sister killed her, and you send me an email that the deal is off. What the fuck is going on?”

  Gabe paced into the open living room, turned, and took two steps back. Blake turned to keep track of him.

  “Phillip Wolf signed the contract with me to sell the house and property. I transferred the money to an escrow account. On March twelfth the deal was supposed to close.”

  “Right. What changed? You have a contract with him.”

  “He doesn’t own the property and can’t sign off on the sale unless Lela and Ella Wolf are both dead. Which is exactly what he plans to make happen so the deal can close on that date. Their birthday. The day they turn twenty-five and take over control of their inheritance and the company.”

  “Are you shitting me? You think he killed Lela. But the papers suggest Ella killed her.”

  “I have no doubt Phillip killed her.”

  “That is some fucked-up shit. So Phillip’s signature isn’t worth spit on the contract?”

  Gabe shook his head no. “Someone also transferred the money out of the escrow account.”

  “Where the fuck is it?”

  “Gone.”

  “Gone. Did you call the real estate agent who brokered the deal? Did you call a fucking lawyer to sue his ass?”

  “No. I’m handling it.”

  “You’re handling it,” Blake parroted him again. “Phillip offered a reward to find Ella. Why? So he can kill her.”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you going to do? What about the cattle you bought? Not to mention the hundred head of cattle you already have here. The money you’ve put out? The horses you’ve got stacked up in that tiny barn you’ve got outside. You can’t fit all of them on this place.”

  “I’ll figure it out.”

  “That asshole royally screwed you.” Blake put his hands on his hips, shook his head, and frowned. “You don’t have the money to pay back the loan. You’ll have to sell off the cattle and most of the horses at a loss. You might lose this place. This will ruin you, Gabe.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Why aren’t you going out of your mind? Why aren’t you as mad as I am about this?”

  “Because he knows I’ll make it right.”

  Gabe stepped to the side and stared past his brother, who’d blocked Ella, standing in the kitchen door, her shoulder propped against the frame, arms crossed under her breasts. She’d dressed and combed her hair. He noted she stood on her good foot, the other tucked into the brace. Since he carried her back to the house half naked, the purple sweater still lay on the floor in the stables, and she’d put on one of Lela’s blouses. She looked pretty and fresh from her short nap. She’d taken a minute to clean up to meet his brother. It made his heart melt a little that it mattered to her.

  Blake turned his back on Ella again and faced him. “You’ve got Ella Wolf stashed in your house.” He glanced at Gabe’s head again and added, “You slept with her after what her uncle did to you? What the hell!”

  Gabe walked past Blake and took Ella’s hand and drew her into the kitchen with him. He put his arm around her and faced his brother. “Blake, meet Ella Wolf. Ella, my brother Blake.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Ella said, but Blake just stood there staring at her, disbelief clouding his eyes. “You two get angry exactly the same way. You crinkle up your brows and start cussing.”

  “You’re about to lose everything, and you’re still willing to hide her here?” Blake asked him.

  “I won’t let anything happen to her. Ever.”

  “You’ll give up everything? For her?”

  “He’s not giving up anything.” She turned back to Gabe, the paper in her hand as she read. “Ella Wolf enjoyed lavish parties and vacations. Her extravagant lifestyle afforded her entry into the most exclusive circles in New York and L.A. Known for her chic style, she graced many best-dressed lists from coast to coast. Her friends say she’s warm and funny with eclectic taste in movies, music, and art. They defended her, saying she could never kill her beloved sister.”

  Ella turned the paper to show him and Blake. “I sound like some brainless Barbie. I have an MBA. I graduated summa cum laude. Half these pictures are of me at charity benefits. This picture of me shopping is at the cosmetics boutique I own.”

  She shook her head at the paper and looked up at him with a silent plea to understand the dichotomy of the life the press made it seem she lived versus the private life she actually lived. No one wanted to see past the sparkle and shine of her public life to discover the true woman she’d become over the last few years. She’d changed, grown, and
didn’t fit that mold the press, her friends, and even her uncle wanted to keep her in.

  They were talking about a woman who didn’t exist.

  Gabe gave her the only words he had to make her understand he got it. “I know you.”

  He snatched the paper from her and pointed to the photo of the guy he wanted to destroy and the caption below. “This is just another lie, right?” He didn’t really need to ask. She’d never cheat on a boyfriend, or use him to abate her grief, but he needed to hear her say it.

  Ella read the line he pointed to and smiled. “He’s gay and getting it on with my hairdresser, Mario. Neither of us was interested in dating. He’s hiding his true identity so his very staid and old-fashioned father doesn’t disinherit him. We pretended to be together when we went out to make things easier on both of us. He’s a really nice guy with a closed-minded father, who cares more about money and appearances than his son’s happiness. He and Mario are really cute together.”

  “Is there anything about you that’s real?” Blake asked.

  “Stick around. Find out. Ask me a question, and I’ll give you a true answer.”

  “Are you going to let your uncle screw my brother out of everything?”

  “No. Gabe will get everything he wanted and more.”

  “More? Ella, what are you talking about? I just want my money back.” Well, Gabe wanted to keep her too, but didn’t know how to make that happen. Or if he could make it happen at all.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Just like that?” Blake asked. “You barely know this woman. Sleeping with her doesn’t mean she’s telling you the truth.”

  Gabe slammed both hands into Blake’s chest and shoved him back two steps. “Don’t. Not with her. You don’t know her. I do.” He grabbed the papers and tabloid rags off the counter and scrunched them in his fist and held them between him and Blake. “This isn’t her. Not the way it looks, or how they say it is. She came here to find the evidence to prove her uncle is a dirty, rotten bastard and put him away. She could have hired a dozen high-priced lawyers to do it for her, but she did it for her sister and parents, and the legacy they left her, and she’s trying to protect and preserve. She’s hiding from a man who wants her dead. So shut the fuck up, get a beer, sit down and get to know her, or get the fuck out of my house. She’s got work to do, and I aim to help her and keep her safe until she gets it done.”

  Blake gave him a knowing smile and pulled out his phone and hit a number. He put the phone to his ear and said, “Hey, Mama. Gabe’s fine. He met someone. Yeah, the ranch deal fell through, but looks like he might have something better going.” Blake glanced at Ella, who nodded her head up and down.

  “Ella, what are you going to do?” Gabe asked. Several times she’d alluded to making this right in some way, but she never said how. He wanted the property and the dream, but he’d settle for getting his money back. It’d go a long way to helping him settle somewhere else. He’d done some backbreaking work and rodeoing to get that money. He’d earned it with his sweat and blood.

  “You’ll see. Trust me. A couple of phone calls, and I’ll make everything right.”

  “I just want my money back.”

  “You’ll get it,” she promised with a soft smile.

  “I’m hanging with Gabe and his girl for another hour or so, then I’ll head home,” Blake said to their mother. He held the phone out to Gabe. “She wants to talk to you.”

  “Thanks.” Gabe took the phone and shoved Blake again. Nothing but brotherly love and ensuring Blake remembered the pecking order. He was the oldest and Blake would pay for putting him on the spot like this.

  “Hey, Mom. So you got my message and sent Blake to check on me.”

  “I didn’t like the way you sounded. I worry about you no matter how big and grown you are.”

  “I’m sorry I made you worry. Tell Dad everything is fine. The deal went south, but I’m working on getting the money back. I’ll probably have to sell the cattle at a loss, but I’ll figure it out.”

  Ella sat at the table in front of her computer again. Her head came up and she shook her head side to side.

  “Or maybe something else will come along,” he said, with more of a question in his voice directed at Ella. She smiled and nodded yes.

  “Who’s the girl?” his mother asked.

  “Her name is Ella.”

  “Just like the girl all over the news.”

  “Yeah. Her.”

  His mother didn’t understand he literally meant her. “How’d you meet her?” His mother tried to sound casual, but a hint of more than curiosity filled her voice.

  “I found her on the side of the road and decided to keep her.”

  Blake had his beer bottle to his lips, taking a deep drink. He choked and coughed, but managed to swallow.

  Ella laughed and shook her head at him again.

  “It’s a long story. You’ll like her.”

  “I get to meet this one?”

  “I hope so,” Gabe said, giving away far too much to his all-knowing mother. Those simple words told her everything she needed to know, because the only girl he’d ever brought home to meet his parents was Stacy after he asked her to marry him.

  Maybe he should take a minute and think about what that meant. But he didn’t and went with his gut and the pull that tugged at him even now to close the distance between him and Ella just so he could be close to her.

  “What’s she like?”

  “She’s beautiful. But when you tell her that her eyes fall away because she’s been told that her whole life and doesn’t really believe it.” Ella’s gaze fell away from him, but snapped back when he added, “She’s got a beautiful heart. She loves her sister the way I love my stupid brothers. She believes in doing what’s right, even when it’s hard—or dangerous. She’s really smart. She’s got an MBA and runs her own businesses. She’s got this cosmetics company that makes all these botanical lotions and perfumes and makeup. She smells really good.” That made his mother and Ella laugh. “She blushes and the faint freckles on the top of her cheeks stand out. She makes a killer cup of coffee and can drive a combine tractor. She talks to the horses like they’re people. She’s got a drive and determination that makes Dad and all four of us boys look lazy.”

  “Does she make you smile?”

  As the oldest, he’d been the most serious of them. Always taking on the chores his little brothers couldn’t do to help out his dad. He’d been the one they counted on to always look out for Blake, Caleb, and Dane when they couldn’t, and he’d taken working with his dad and watching out for his brothers seriously. He was the one who gave up Friday night football games in high school, or going to a dance to stay home and help out. Not that his brothers hadn’t stepped up as they got older and shouldered their load, but he’d been doing it so long, he had a tendency to drop other things in favor of doing his work. Yeah, maybe he’d given up some of the fun, but he’d learned a hell of a lot working by his father’s side.

  “She makes me smile every time I think about her, or look at her.”

  “Bring her to supper,” his mother coaxed, trying her best to hide how much she wanted to meet Ella. She didn’t want him to pull back, now that he’d admitted so much.

  He surprised everyone when he asked, “Ella, Mom wants us to come to dinner soon. You up for it?”

  Ella’s eyes went wide, and she stared at her piles of papers in front of her. The paper trail of her uncle’s deceit. She had a job to finish, but she needed to find a way to see a future for herself. He just gave her something to think about and plan for the future where her uncle was behind bars, and she was with him. He held his breath and hoped she said yes.

  “Dinner would be lovely.”

  “She’s in, Mom, but it’s going to have to be down the road. Ella has some business that may take her back to New York soon. So I’ll let you know.”

  “Are you putting me off, Gabe Bowden?”

  “Not at all
. I can’t wait for you and Dad to meet her. Until then, you can grill Blake for information about her. Now that Blake’s settled down, he can’t stop staring at her.”

  Blake quickly looked away when Ella looked up from her computer screen. “What? I’m just trying to figure out what the hell she’s doing with you. There’s got to be something wrong with her. But you’re right, she smells really good.”

  Ella laughed again. “Okay, stop, it’s just getting creepy now with you guys smelling me all the time.”

  “Can’t help it,” Blake said. “I spend my days with horses. You don’t smell anything like them.”

  “Thank God,” Ella said, rolling her eyes and staring back at her computer, making Blake laugh.

  “I’ll talk to you soon, Mom. Say hi to Dad.”

  “I will. And Gabe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m really happy for you.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  Gabe handed the phone back to Blake and smacked him on the side of the head.

  “What the hell was that for?”

  “Coming out here to spy on me.”

  “You knew someone would show up when everything you’ve been working your ass off for goes up in smoke.”

  “Can we stop talking about it already? It’s bad enough I can’t stop thinking about it. I need to figure out what comes next, and what I’m going to do.”

  “Don’t make any plans yet,” Ella said. “I’ve got something in the works that might suit you better.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, and Blake turned in his seat to face her for the answer.

  “You’ll see.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “I’m working on it, but first I need to do something else.” She held her hand out to Blake. “May I use your phone, please?”

  Blake handed it over. “Who are you calling?”

  “Hey, Cheryl, this is Ella. Yeah, I borrowed a friend’s phone. Thank you. I miss her so much,” Ella said, her eyes glassing over, a single tear slipping past her lashes and rolling down her cheek. “I know he and the police are looking for me, but I’d appreciate it if you kept this call confidential. I hate to put you on the spot, things are happening right now that I need to handle privately. Yes, we’ll hold a memorial service as soon as I return. The bastard who killed her will be put in jail very soon.”