It Had to Be Him

by Tamra Baumann

  “Hi, Mr. J.”

  “Hey, Eric. Like you to meet Josh. He used to live here too. He knows his way around horses.”

  Eric’s right hand instantly extended for a shake. A kid this polite would struggle with the thugs he’d met earlier.

  Just like he had.

  He returned the shake. “Nice to meet you, Eric. Can I give you a hand with something?”

  Eric shrugged his slight shoulders. “I’m done now, but thank you.”

  Mr. J cleared his throat. “Well, in that case, I’m sure Josh would like a look at the stock. Mind showing him around?”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  Jennings gave Josh a quick eyebrow hitch before he disappeared. It was now his job to try to get the kid to talk.

  Josh followed as Eric led him to the pasture behind the barn. There were a few horses nearby, quietly grazing. They all picked up their heads as Josh approached. They scented a stranger in their midst.

  Eric climbed up and stood on the second rung of the fence, his eye level even with Josh’s. “So, we have a few boarders. That big brown one there, the black one, and then the spotted white one. The other two are rescues.”

  The rescues were thin and forlorn. “Never understood how people could let a horse suffer like that. Any others?”

  Eric nodded. “Yeah. Some out in the far pasture. I’ll go get them a little later.”

  “Is Charlie still here?” It was probably ridiculous to think he’d still be here after all this time. The ranch made money by boarding and selling horses. Josh had raised Charlie from a colt, but he’d belonged to Mr. J, so maybe?

  “Yeah.” Eric smiled for the first time. “He’s one of my favorites. Mr. J told me he used to come if he was whistled to just right, but I haven’t been able to get him to do it.”

  Josh stuck two fingers in his mouth and blew out the long then short whistle he’d trained Charlie with. It wasn’t long before he saw him. A big caramel-colored Arabian thundering toward them at top speed.

  Josh’s lips stretched into a big smile as all his trepidation about coming back to the ranch instantly faded away. Amazing that Charlie still remembered the whistle.

  Eric laughed. “Wow! That’s awesome.”

  Charlie skidded to a halt in front of them. The horse butted Josh’s shoulder as if punishing him for being gone so long.

  “Hey, buddy.” Josh gave Charlie a thorough rub. “He looks great, Eric. You’re doing a good job. Ever worked with horses before this?”

  Charlie, obviously fond of Eric, moved to the side so the kid could pat him too. “Nope. Buck and Mr. J have been teaching me.”

  “It’s easier out here. Away from the others. Right?”

  Eric’s response was a shoulder jerk. The pain in the kid’s eyes told him things were worse than he let on.

  Josh took out his cell and shot a few pictures of Charlie, and then one of Eric with his arm around Charlie’s neck. “I’ll send you this one.” He tucked his phone away. “You can trust Mr. J. I finally did, and things got a whole lot better for me.”

  “You don’t understand. If I say anything, it’ll just get worse.” Eric hopped down from the fence and walked toward the barn.

  Josh gave Charlie one last pat, then followed behind. “Mr. J can help you without the others knowing. Schedule your chores at different times from theirs, things like that. You should tell him.”

  A fluffy black-and-white puppy scampered in front of Eric, nearly tripping him. Eric quickly scooped the pup up, terror widening his eyes, as two more pups wiggled out from behind the trees.

  Pets weren’t allowed. It was hard enough to find the funds to feed the kids and the horses.

  Josh leaned down and scooped up a pup. “Who are these little guys?”

  “Um. They just showed up one day with their mom. I save half my food for them. I don’t use any of the ranch’s feed.” Eric quickly gathered the puppies and put them back in their hiding place. When he reemerged from behind the trees, he asked, “Are you going to tell?”

  Eric was too thin as it was. The last thing he needed was to share his food with the dogs. “Nope. What I’m going to do is go into town and buy plenty of dog chow. Then Mr. J won’t have any reason to make you get rid of them. But in return, you need to tell him what’s going on with the other boys. Deal?”

  Eric’s eyes searched Josh’s for the truth. The kid was in a new world, away from his family, just figuring out that sometimes adults lie—or can’t always keep their promises. Eric glanced toward the trees again before he slowly nodded. Eric clearly cared for those puppies. Just as Josh had cared for Charlie.

  “Deal.”

  Josh laid a hand on Eric’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “I’ll get your e-mail address from Mr. Jennings and send that picture of you and Charlie, along with my cell number. Just in case you ever need anything.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Eric worried his bottom lip with his teeth. It looked as though he was going to say something else, but then he turned away and mumbled, “Thank you.”

  After he disappeared into the trees again, Josh let out a long breath. He couldn’t save all of them—he could only do his best to help whomever would take it.

  After getting the promised dog chow, Josh had the long drive home, along with a quick stop for dinner, to give himself a pep talk about staying detached. He’d had no problem doing it as an agent. Surely he could do it with the kids.

  He tugged the heavy wooden door open and walked into Brewster’s for the second time that day. He only had a few minutes to spare before he was supposed to meet Meg.

  His arrangement with Brewster to hold a dart-throwing contest giving a car away to the first person who could shoot ten bull’s-eyes in a row had its flaws, but if everything went just right, Meg would win a car fair and square and never have to know he was behind it. She was a damned good dart thrower.

  He’d whiled away a lot of hours in his solitude working to match her skills. It’d helped pass the time.

  When the door closed behind him, he stepped deeper into the packed bar. Loud country music mixed with laughter, and the aroma of fried appetizers filled the air.

  As his eyes swept across the dimly lit room, he spotted Meg beside the bar wearing a sexy, soft shirt, tall heels, and tight jeans. She was laughing with Brewster and drinking a beer. He liked that about Meg. That she drank beer, threw darts, and raced Jet Skis, and now he knew she could fly a helicopter too. The perfect woman.

  Shouldering his way through the crowd, he moved to the bar. When their eyes met, a little smile started to form on her lips before she caught herself and reined it back. “Hey, Josh. Uncle Brewster has Blue Moon on tap. Want one?”

  Uncle Brewster? “Sure. Thanks.”

  He eyed the big man standing nearby pouring out beers. When Brewster glanced Josh’s way, he smirked. “Thanks for sponsoring our contest tonight, Granger. Looks like it’s going to be a big hit. But Meg wanted to change the rules a bit.”

  Megan finally let that smile bloom. “The winters get long here and most everyone can throw a mean game of darts. We’re going to put everyone’s name in a bucket and draw for the order to shoot. Nice of you to give a car away, Josh.”

  Crap! Was everyone related to Meg in this damned town?

  Meg moved another inch forward. The press of people in the stuffy bar meant Josh was standing entirely too close to her. The heat pumping from him warmed her back.

  With a new car at stake, everyone huddled around the metal Pabst beer bucket as her uncle Brewster dug out the ninth person’s name to try their hand at winning it. The good thing was, because most of the Grants frequented a bar just outside of town, there’d be a good chance one of her relatives would win the car.

  When her uncle had called earlier and told her what her man was up to, she’d quickly amended the rules for the evening. No way was she letting Josh hand her a car. She might not have much, but she still had her pride. And then there was the lawyer part about not taking anything from hi
m.

  “It’s Toby!” Uncle Brewster called out.

  Everyone moved aside to give him room to throw. Toby shot her a cute grin, matching his earlier one on the lake. “If I win, I want the car and a kiss from you, Meg.” Naughty comments along with loud laughter cheered him on.

  Before she could tell him no, Gloria, rocking one of her typical bowling shirts, called out, “Older women have more experience. Sure you don’t want to save that kiss for me, Toby?”

  “I was saving a kiss for you too, Gloria. After I hit bull’s-eye number eleven.” That drew an even bigger laugh from the room. Toby was the worst dart shooter in town.

  Josh’s arm slid around her waist, pulling her against his solid chest. His warm breath on her cheek sent a cool shiver up her spine. “Who’s Toby?”

  She tilted her head back so she could see his face. “The first guy I ever slept with.”

  Josh’s jaw twitched as he watched Toby throw his first dart. When it barely connected with the bottom of the board and everyone moaned, Josh’s eyes locked with hers again. “Are you still sleeping with him?”

  She pulled out of his embrace and turned to face him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. Men aren’t a high priority for me right now. And I’m not taking a car from you, Josh.”

  While everyone else crowded by the bar to see who’d go next, Josh pulled her off to the corner. “I want you both in a car with air bags and antilock brakes, not some—”

  Brewster’s booming voice called out, “Granger, leave my niece alone so she can get up here and throw some darts!”

  Josh narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t being reasonable, Megan.”

  “Probably not.” She answered his scowl with her best smirk. Teach him to try to pull tricks on her. If they were going to live in the same town all summer, she had to establish a few rules.

  She made her way to the line and picked up the first dart. Just as she drew her arm back, her father called out, “Wait!”

  When had he gotten there?

  Her dad scanned the crowd, sending them his “don’t mess with me” scowl. “Are you asking me to believe nine of you couldn’t throw ten bull’s-eyes? Or is this a way to help Megan win a car and then sell it for cash to fix up the house? I’ve warned you all about this! She needs to learn to stand on her own.”

  She hadn’t even thought about taking the car and selling it, but now that she studied people’s guilty expressions, maybe they had all been missing on purpose. Well, except for Toby. He was just bad at it.

  It made her heart go a little gooey to think they’d all do that for her. And pay fifty bucks apiece on top of it.

  “We were just having fun, Dad. I’ll skip my turn, we’ll return entry fees, and Josh can keep his car.”

  Her father whirled on her. “Nope. You and I are going to throw until someone misses. The chances of you beating me are slim, but I’ll be fair. Winner gets the new car and the entry fees too. They were all going to throw their money away anyway.” He turned to the people gawking. “Does anyone have any objections?”

  Aunt Gloria said, “I do, but it won’t do any good to say so. Good luck, Meggy. I’m outta here.”

  Gloria had always been her favorite aunt, even though she wasn’t married to her uncle Brewster anymore.

  When the rest remained silent and looked away, Dad glanced at his brother. “How much is in that pot there, Brew?”

  “A grand.”

  Her father stepped aside and held his hand out. “Ladies first.”

  Damn him. He always ruined everything. God, she wanted so badly to beat him and embarrass him in front of everybody, but he’d probably just find another way to make her miserable if she did that. Or she could walk out and leave him standing there like a fool. But that would have consequences too. What she wouldn’t give to be anything other than an Anderson at the moment.

  Josh hated seeing Meg try her best to mask the pain and frustration in her eyes. Most probably wouldn’t notice, but he saw it. And it killed him. Meg’s father was an ass.

  “Hey, Mayor.” Josh moved beside Meg and pulled her against his side. Echoing her father’s words when they’d first met, Josh said, “Let’s see what you can do with someone closer to your own size. You win, you keep the car and fees. If I win, Meg keeps the car and the money.”

  She whispered, “You won’t have a chance. I’ll play him, but if I win you’ll have to keep the car.”

  It was time to turn the tables back around in his favor. “Nope.” He raised his voice so everyone could hear. “How about I take the mayor on? And let’s make it even more interesting. When I win, Megan gets the car, the pot, and she has to give me the title to her old car so we can all use it for target practice. I found out the hard way gun ownership is big around here. Any objections?”

  Everyone shook their heads again, all careful not to make eye contact with Megan’s father.

  Meg opened her mouth to protest, but her father cut her off. “I can beat a pansy-ass like you with one hand tied behind my back.” Then he turned to play the crowd. “Megan won’t be getting any free handouts tonight, people.”

  Meg’s eyes narrowed at her father’s remark. Then, probably because she thought Josh had no chance of beating her father, she said, “Let’s do it! I wasn’t going to take the car anyway.”

  The stakes had just risen another notch. He had to win the car for Meg’s sake. And to show the town how to stand up to Anderson.

  Megan’s father held his hand out toward the painted line on the floor. “Ladies first, Granger.”

  Ignoring the mayor, Josh moved into position. He drew his arm back, but stopped and mimicked the way Toby had smiled at Meg earlier. “When I win I want a kiss from Meg too.”

  While everyone laughed, Meg rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there are plenty of other women here who’d gladly kiss you, Josh.”

  Meg’s friend Pam, the hairdresser, lifted her hand. “Oh, I’d—” When Meg shot her a “back off” scowl, the woman slowly lowered her arm. “Wouldn’t. Nope. Not me.”

  Maybe Meg still cared after all.

  Nice.

  He turned and threw his first bull’s-eye.

  The room grew quiet as a cemetery when Anderson moved into place. Megan’s father made a big show out of twisting his left arm way behind his back before he threw a rocket of a bull’s-eye of his own. “You won’t win, Granger. Might as well give up now and go back to that rock you slithered out from under.”

  Screw him. Josh ignored the remark and focused on winning Megan the car.

  After twelve rounds of bull’s-eyes, each with a new insult from Anderson, Josh slowly moved into position. He glanced at Meg, who sent him a tight smile. It’d be a new personal record if he could hit that many in a row.

  He rolled his shoulders, took aim, and let the thirteenth dart go.

  It landed dead center once again—thank God. He wanted to beat that son of a bitch in the worst way.

  As Anderson moved up for his shot, his brother called out, “Number thirteen, bro. Your unlucky number. But don’t let that get to you. You need that car a whole lot more than Meggy does, so good luck.”

  Josh glanced at Brewster. The man sent him a slight chin hitch before he threw a little towel over his shoulder and crossed his massive arms. Maybe Megan’s uncle wasn’t so bad after all.

  Anderson wiped sweat from his forehead and growled. “It’s the principle of the matter and you all know it.” He let the dart fly.

  And missed. By a millimeter.

  The crowd went silent.

  Anderson walked over and drilled a finger into his brother’s chest. “You’ll pay for that, Brewster.” Then he turned and slammed two fingers into Josh’s shoulder, just above where he’d been shot.

  Stars appeared before Josh’s eyes while Anderson yelled in his face. “You’re going to be sorry you ever stepped foot into my town, Granger.” Then he stomped toward the door.

  It took all Josh’s control not to react. He’d just let t
he FBI handle Anderson.

  Anderson Butte might be short a mayor soon.

  After the door slapped closed behind Anderson, a deafening cheer rang out. Everyone surrounded Josh and Megan and patted them on the back.

  Brewster picked Megan up and plopped her on top of the bar. “Here are the keys to your new car and a thousand dollars to help with your remodel. Good luck, kid!”

  While everyone congratulated a reluctant Megan, Brewster appeared beside Josh. “You did good tonight, Granger. I don’t know what’s what with you and my niece, but I swear to God, I’ll make you pay if you hurt Meg or Haley again. Got it?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay, then.” After a slap on the back so hard Josh lurched a step forward, Brewster called out, “Drinks are on the house!”

  After she’d lost count of how many free drinks she’d downed, Meg thanked everyone again and then slipped off the barstool and onto her four-inch heels that still only made her a normal height. Tucking the keys to her new car into her back pocket, she started for the door.

  Then the floor rushed toward her face.

  If not for Josh’s big hand snaking around her arm to save her, it could have been really embarrassing. And potentially painful.

  “I’ll walk you home, Meg.”

  She was still miffed about being tricked into taking the car by that dart shark. The last time she and Josh had played he stunk at darts. She didn’t think he’d have a chance to beat her dad when she’d agreed to that bet.

  She wanted to yank her arm free, but wasn’t sure she’d be able to stay upright without his help. “This is Anderson Butte, not New York City. I’ll be fine.”

  Luckily, he just kept motoring her toward the door, then pushed it open. The cool, clean air slapping her in the face felt good after being in the stuffy bar all night. Her new car sat right out front. She couldn’t resist. She lifted the handle on the door, but it was locked, so she grabbed her keys.

  Josh plucked them from her hand. “Not happening.”

  “I wasn’t going to drive. Beep the locks.” After he did, she opened the door and slid behind the wheel. Tilting her head back against the seat, she drew a deep breath. “Wow, this smells nice. I’ve never had a new car.”