Sky grinned. “It’s like heaven, Gwen. I’m glad you pushed me into answering that ad after I got here to Jackson Hole.”
Sky had met Gwen at Mo’s, and they’d shared a booth during the busy lunch hour and become acquainted. She knew that Deputy Sheriff Cade Garner was her son, and Gwen had given Sky a rave review about trying for the job out at the Elk Horn Ranch. As Sky opened the door for Gwen, she felt nothing but gratitude and love for this woman who knew everything about everyone in this town.
Inside, a waitress guided them to a leather booth along the window so they could see the foot traffic along the boardwalk out in front of the restaurant.
“So,” Gwen said, sitting down and putting her bright quilt purse beside her on the seat, “I haven’t seen you at all since you got hired by Iris. How goes it?”
Gwen was motherly, and she made Sky feel as if she were one of her many children. Taking the menu, Sky sat opposite the woman, who was dressed in a bright red quilt vest, white long-sleeved shirt and a bright blue quilted skirt that fell to her ankles. “Honestly? Like a dream.”
“A dream come true?” Gwen teased, after giving the waitress her order.
Nodding, Sky gave her order for a hamburger and French fries. When the waitress left, she folded her hands on the table and said, “It is.”
“I hear through the grapevine you’re working with Gray and the wolf puppies.”
Chuckling, Sky sipped her ice water and said, “You have the ears of a wolf, Gwen. How did you know?”
Giving her a sly look, Gwen sat back. “Oh, you know...I hear things...”
“Yes, and I’ll bet even the sheriff’s department visits you at your quilt store to get the latest on someone.” She grinned.
“Sometimes,” Gwen hedged humbly. “Why are you in town?”
“Just saw Dr. McPherson,” Sky admitted. Being around Gwen was like being around her own mother. There was such maternal love that surrounded the quilter, and right now Sky desperately needed that kind of care.
“Ah, good, good.”
The waitress brought them over their drinks.
Gwen sipped her lemonade. “Did Gray, by any chance, urge you to see her?”
Sky nodded. Gwen knew she’d been in the military. She just didn’t know about her PTSD. It wasn’t something Sky wanted many to know about. She didn’t want to lie to Gwen, but she didn’t want to expand on the visit with her. “Iris has an amazing medical plan for her employees, and she urged me to get my yearly physical.” That wasn’t a lie, thank goodness, because Sky wasn’t good at lying. Not that she did it often, but she really liked Gwen and wanted an honest relationship with her.
“Iris treats her people like they are her own children,” Gwen agreed, smiling. “You look like you’ve gained some weight. It looks good on you.”
Touching her pink blouse, Sky smiled shyly. “Gray and I do the cooking at the employee’s house. You’re right. I’m regaining weight I lost.” She saw Gwen become more somber.
“It’s all over town about Gray being attacked over at the Horse Emporium barn a few days ago. Is he doing all right?”
Some of Sky’s happiness faded. “Yes, he’s okay.”
Shaking her head, Gwen said, “I wish with all my heart Ace Trucking had disappeared when Curt Downing was murdered. I was hoping it would fold up and disappear.”
“I guess it’s common knowledge that a drug ring is trying to get a foothold here?”
Gwen grimaced. “Yes. And it’s all because of Curt. He was the one who originally signed on with the Garcia drug ring. Now Chuck Harper is the owner, and he’s a snake in the grass, too.”
“Ugh,” Sky muttered. “Him.”
Gwen’s brows rose. “You know him?”
“Not by choice, believe me.” Sky told her about Harper sneaking up on her at the drugstore where she was buying medical items. Gwen’s face grew dark.
“Curt Downing was suave and hid what he did from others. Harper doesn’t have Downing’s capacity to get along with others here in town. He’s pure evil in my book. You just be careful, okay? Because once he spots a woman he wants, he stalks her.”
“Gray warned me,” Sky said, feeling some of her hope eroding. Gwen was sincerely worried, and that caused a spike in Sky’s anxiety. “I’ve never seen him since that run-in at the pharmacy.”
“But now Harper has two men in jail with assault and battery charges against them. And I know Gray is going forward with those charges. But I worry what Harper will do. Those men truck drugs all around the western United States. I know there’s ATF and FBI hanging around, trying to get into the trucking end of it, but Harper is slick.”
The waitress brought their meals. Sky put ketchup on her fries and her hamburger. Gwen was upset and worried. “Has Harper had a man or men brought up on charges before?”
“No,” Gwen said, spearing some romaine lettuce from her huge Caesar salad. “My son Cade is worried about what Harper will do, too.”
“Oh?”
“Harper strikes back. He came from Miami, Florida, shortly after Curt was killed by that escaped convict. Legally, he’s clean as a whistle, but the sheriff’s department keeps an eye on him.”
“What do you mean he strikes back, Gwen?” Sky picked up a French fry.
“Harper has a penchant for pretty young girls, Sky. In the time he’s been here, he’s stalked two women.” Her mouth thinned. “Neither wanted his attentions. When they each put out legal restraining orders on him, both of them disappeared.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that. And no one has found them. Cade knows that Harper did one of two things with these women. Either he sold them as sex slaves to Eastern Europeans or he had them killed.”
Her stomach lurched. “Oh, God, you’re kidding me.”
“I wish I was.” Gwen’s voice lowered. “You need to be really careful about this snake, Sky. He saw you. He approached you.”
“But,” Sky stammered, “Gray saw it and pushed him away from me.”
“And now Gray has been attacked by two of Harper’s men. You see the pattern here, don’t you?”
Sky completely lost her appetite and set the hamburger on the plate. “Harper gets even.”
“Yes.”
A cold shiver went down Sky’s spine as she sat contemplating the pattern Gwen was drawing for her. “And Gray’s going ahead with the charges.” Her mouth went dry. “What will Harper do?”
Gwen shrugged. “I wish we knew. Cade is on pins and needles about it. The whole office is. Harper hires outsiders to do his dirty work. I think he made a mistake having two of his drivers attack Gray. Now that implicates him even if there’s no proof he ordered those two jerks to do it.”
“Do you think Harper will try and kill Gray?” Sky hated even saying the words or thinking it out loud.
“I don’t know. But those other two women disappeared.”
Her hands trembled as she wiped her mouth with the paper napkin. Wadding it up, Sky put it aside. “But you know Gray is an ex-SEAL? That he can take care of himself? Wouldn’t that make the difference?”
“I knew he was a SEAL. But he was injured,” Gwen said softly. “Black-ops men aren’t immune. They’re terribly human just like the rest of us.”
Swallowing hard, Sky stared at Gwen. She was the mother of a deputy sheriff, and she knew a lot more than Sky did about illegal activities in the area. “Then...do you think Harper would put out a hit on Gray?” The thought terrorized Sky. Her heart was in the mix. She couldn’t forget how he’d loved her so tenderly, cared for her, protected her.
“No one knows for sure,” Gwen counseled, “but the possibility is always out there.”
“Has Cade or someone talked to Gray about this?” Sky managed, her voice growing strained. She couldn’t lose him! Not this way. Gray was so incredibly confident
in his abilities. He lived life with a vitality that she’d never seen in others. He seemed unafraid of anything, unlike her.
“Cade did warn him,” Gwen said with a nod of her head.
Frowning, Sky muttered, “He never said anything to me.” And then she realized her mistake because Gwen gave her a kindly look.
“You’re sweet on him, aren’t you?”
Sky wasn’t going to deny it. “Yes. I— It just happened, Gwen. Over time...”
“I’m not surprised,” Gwen told her quietly. “Gray is a man’s man. He stands out. There’ve been plenty of women interested in him since he came here, but he never paid them any attention.” Her eyes sparkled. “Until now. Until you came along.”
Heat rushed into Sky’s cheeks, and she groaned, hating the fact she blushed so much. “He’s a good person, Gwen. He does right by others.” Gray had done right by her, and now she was falling in love with him. The thought startled her. Made her feel afraid and, at the same time, made her yearn for his arms, his voice and his protection he bestowed so easily upon her.
Gwen gave her a warm smile. “When I met you here at Mo’s and you were looking through the want ads for a job, and I pointed you toward Iris to get an interview, I thought about Gray and you.”
Gwen Garner’s perception of people staggered Sky. Her eyes rounded. “You did?”
“Yep. You’re both ex-military. You share certain things that few others will ever experience, Sky. Gray isn’t the kind of man who wants a wilting lily or a shrinking violet as a woman at his side. He needs someone strong and his equal. You’re all of that.”
Sky didn’t feel as if she was that strong, but Gray’s words came back to her. He had repeatedly told her she had incredible resilience despite her trauma. She believed him because she trusted him and how he saw her. Gray had never been an enabler to her; rather, he supported her at key moments when she felt too exhausted to continue fighting the battles raging within her. She moistened her lips and held Gwen’s gaze. “You can’t be in the military and be a wimp,” she said half-jokingly.
“Cade was in the military, too,” Gwen said, “and I agree. The military draws a certain kind of individual. Strong people with strong convictions. You are all heroes, Sky. I hope you know that.” Gwen reached out and patted her hand. “And I so much admire you. I know you’ve had a rough patch while you were in, and I don’t need to know what it was. But you’re clearly a warrior.” She smiled.
“I don’t feel like a warrior,” Sky murmured. “Maybe ‘a survivor’ is a better term to use...”
Gwen pulled out her billfold from her quilt purse. “Gray likes you a lot, Sky. I hope you’ll let him be in your life. He’s a man who will do right by you.”
Sky felt heat rush up her neck and face again. She had hoped that with her teenage years, she’d have left blushing behind, but it stayed with her, showing the truth. Sky was protective of her relationship with Gray, but she could see the sparkle in Gwen’s eyes. “He told me the other day that no one gets through life by themselves.”
Gwen nodded and put the money down on the table. “Gray is right. So you keep trusting him, all right?”
Sky left Mo’s in a quandary. Gwen hugged her goodbye and walked back to her quilt store. The wooden walk was filled with hundreds of tourists. The plaza buzzed with activity. As she walked down the porch to where the ranch truck was parked, she felt the need to talk with Gray.
Sky looked around, like she always did. PTSD did have some fringe benefits, she supposed. She would never again not pay attention to what was going on around her. It wasn’t a bad habit to have, she decided, tossing her purse into the truck and getting in.
On her way out of town, climbing the long hill that would yield out to the valley floor, Sky felt hope more strongly than ever before. Jordana was someone who was confident and clear. It didn’t hurt that Sky understood the medical side of what an adaptogen did. Her knowledge of hormones would aid her fight to heal. As she crested the hill, the blue granite flanks of the Tetons rose into the afternoon sky. White snow still clung to the tops of the sharp, jagged peaks. It was a sight that Sky would never get tired of seeing. Ten miles farther down on the right was the turnoff for the Elk Horn Ranch. Looking at her watch, she saw she’d be just in time for Justin and his walk with his parents through the wildlife center.
Sky’s heart warmed toward the autistic boy. He was blooming here at the ranch, and she knew it was in no small part to her. To give the boy’s mother credit, Judy was carefully watching how she worked with her son. Sky had a good feeling that when the parents flew back to New York City to resume their life, the mother was going to make efforts to get Justin more involved through the things he loved.
As she drove into the driveway of the employee house, she saw Gray coming out of the wildlife center. Her heart leaped and began a slow pound. Even though he had been born in Wyoming, he stood out. Sky could see the military bearing in Gray, the way he walked with his shoulders squared, his posture proud and his walk balanced. She would never tire of watching Gray move like the soundless cougar he was. In the warmth of the afternoon sun, he was wearing a black T-shirt that embraced him like a second skin, Levi’s and scarred cowboy boots. That black baseball cap was always in place, the bill low, shading his eyes. A soft smile pulled at the corners of Sky’s mouth. She felt full of joy, of nonstop happiness.
As she climbed out of the truck, she waved in his direction. He saw her immediately and lifted his hand, changing his direction toward her. Sky stood by the truck, pulling the strap of her purse over her left shoulder. The look in Gray’s green-and-gold eyes told her he was happy to see her. He smiled as he approached and slowed.
“Good timing,” Gray said, taking off his cap and running his fingers through his short hair. “How’d everything go with Jordana?”
“It was all good, Gray.” Sky held up the cardboard box containing the test material. “Saliva test is next.”
“That’s great. In about three weeks, Jordana will have the test results. And then your life is going to change remarkably,” he assured her. “In the best of ways.”
Sky followed him into the house. She had to get into her ranch uniform of a white blouse, jeans and cowboy boots. Gray opened the door for her and stepped aside. Being this close to him was making her body turn hot and melting. The look in his eyes, that green-gold gaze burning and silently telling her he wanted her, lifted Sky and made her believe in a happiness she had never known to exist. Until right now. With Gray.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SKY SENSED A problem before they even got to the barn area where the trail ride would begin. There was a family trail ride the next afternoon that had been scheduled. She would be riding with the Bradford family. She spotted Judy Bradford with a wild, worried look on her face. Pete, her husband, was scowling and looking around. There were fourteen horses saddled and patiently waiting in the corral for their riders. All the families were standing near the lead wrangler, who would take them on the trail ride.
“Something’s wrong,” Sky quietly warned Gray.
Gray felt her hand on his, as if to caution him. Her fingers were warm, and his flesh tingled over her welcomed but unexpected touch. “Where’s Justin?”
That was it. Sky noticed Iris Mason, Rudd and Wes moving around the corral area, as if looking for something.
“Oh, no,” Sky whispered. “I wonder if Justin’s hidden somewhere?” Her emotions leaped and went into frenzied, terrorizing answers. Had Chuck Harper done something to get even with Gray for pressing charges against two of his men? Sky pushed those terrifying thoughts out of her head and peeled off from Gray, heading for Judy, who was pale and anxious.
“Judy?” Sky called. “What’s wrong?”
Judy rushed over to her, gripping her arm. “Oh, Sky, Justin’s disappeared!” She held her hand against her mouth, trying not to
sob. “H-he was in our cabin, and in the next moment when I looked around, he was gone! We were getting ready to come down here to the corral to all go on that ride with you and the others.”
Placing her hand on the mother’s shoulder, Sky soothed her. “He’s got to be around here, Judy. How long have you been looking for him?”
“Just a few minutes.” Tears splattered down her cheeks. “H-he does this all the time, Sky. It scares me out of my mind. I—I didn’t think he’d do it here. Justin seemed so happy here....”
Gray came up, hands on his hips, listening. “Judy, has anyone searched the barn over there?” He pointed toward the three-story red barn that housed the hay and feed for the horses.
“N-no, not yet. Pete thought he might be playing hide-and-seek around the corral. That’s why everyone is looking there right now.” Her hands trembled, and she gave them an embarrassed look. “I’m so sorry this happened....”
“Hush,” Sky murmured, sliding her arm around Judy and giving her a quick hug. “Justin is curious. He’s never been to a ranch before.” She twisted a look up at Gray, seeing his gaze settle on the barn. It was her thought, too. “Listen, walk over to Iris. Tell her Gray and I are going to start at the bottom level of the barn and work our way up. When all of you get finished around the corral area, and if you don’t find Justin, come join us. We both think he might be in the barn.”
Judy gave a jerky nod, hugged Sky quickly and headed toward the group down at the corral. Nearby, wranglers stood with the horses, who were saddled and patiently waiting within the corral for their riders.
“Let’s go,” Gray said, slipping his hand across the small of her back. Just getting to touch Sky, even briefly, was life-giving to him. Every look she gave him, that generous smile of hers, fed his heart and soul. He’d missed her in his bed. He understood her backing off. Sky was handling a lot, and Gray was sure their unexpected coming together hadn’t been in the cards. But it was now, and he was wrestling as to how best to deal with her under the same roof. Did she want him as much as he wanted her? Gray wasn’t sure. Not yet.
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