A Box Full of Trouble

by Carolyn Haines

  All right then, so Mr. Military is calling in reinforcements. That’s a good thing. His suspicions of her, however, are a very bad thing. I’ll have to do what I can to alleviate this misperception. Surely he can see that Ms. Gorgeous is not the Bonnie to her ex-husband’s Clyde.

  * * *

  Dirks knocked on Avery’s garden entrance long past lights-out at the ranch. As soon as she opened it, he said brusquely, “You shouldn’t be opening the door this time of night without checking to see who’s on the other side.”

  She shrugged. “If you didn’t want me to answer, you shouldn’t have knocked. But I saw you headed this way through the office window. I’ve been going over more of the mountains of accounts Carlee makes me read and e-mail approve for her. Besides, Trouble went to investigate without yowling so I knew it had to be more friend than foe approaching.”

  Dirks suspected from her smile that she wasn’t really sure she could count him as a friend or even neutral. As smiles went, it was wary and weary and barely friendly but at least she wasn’t glaring at him. He’d have to be happy with that.

  He nodded pointedly at the glass of wine she held in her hand. “Got more of that?”

  Although she seemed momentarily surprised, she moved back from the door. “Sure. Come on in.”

  He stepped in and pulled the door closed behind him. They stood for a heartbeat just looking at each other and the silence of the moment enveloped him. He liked the way she looked with a plush bathrobe knotted tight around her waist. He especially liked the way she had her hair piled on top of her head, tendrils still damp escaping and caressing the skin of her neck. Whoa. Damn.

  Avery was the one to break the silence and he suspected it was altogether deliberate. “White or red?”

  “Either.”

  She paused in the process of taking another wine glass from the cabinet and gave him a long look. “Would you rather a beer? Most people who don’t care if they’re drinking white or red would rather not be drinking wine at all.”

  “Beer, then,” he said, “because you’re right on that.” He took a seat at the granite bar without being asked.

  She handed him a cold bottle and an opener. “What are you doing here this late?”

  Her tone was blunt but not insulting so he decided to go with it.

  “Checking on you.” It was the truth – just not all of it. He drank from the bottle. The beer was dark and expensive and damned good.

  Instead of sitting beside him, she leaned on the countertop opposite him and sipped her wine, watching him over the top. A faint frown touched her forehead. “I’m fine.”

  “You were lucky.”

  “I suppose.” Instead of taking another drink from the glass, she put its moisture beaded surface to her forehead. “Lucky.” She gave a small laugh that held absolutely no humor. “This time.”

  “That’s pretty much my point. You may not be again. Your clients, as you call them, may not be.”

  “I know this looks bad for your review but I swear I’ll get all of this settled soon.”

  “How are you planning to do that? Pay off Danson’s gambling debts?” He was pushing and he knew it.

  “I won’t do that.” She sighed. “And even if I would, I probably couldn’t. If the sheriff is right, I’m afraid they’re much bigger than anything I could come up with.”

  Dirks took another swallow of beer, savored the taste of it. “And so, what now?”

  “Now, I just keep doing what I do.”

  “You’d be wiser to take some time off, cancel appointments for a little while. Things are dicey and seem to be getting dicier.”

  Her eyes widened and he felt like he was drowning in the green-gold depths of them. “Cancel appointments? I can’t do that!”

  He wondered at the hint of desperation in her tone and said reassuringly, “Just for a week or so until we can figure this out.” He hadn’t meant to say ‘we’ and had a moment’s gratitude when she didn’t pick up on it.

  “When I said I can’t, I meant just that,” she admitted reluctantly. “Summer Valley isn’t sinking by any means but Craig did put me, put the ranch, in a bind. Tucker and Leanne need their salaries and I have feed to buy and bills to pay. I can’t do all that without income from clients coming in and I can’t afford to lose those clients permanently. Many of them are referred by physicians. They need this place, what we offer. If they can’t get it here, they’ll have to be referred elsewhere. I’d owe them that. There are other reputable places not that far away. I’ve already talked to Leanne and Tucker and Carlee. We’ll all be extra vigilant.”

  Dirks shook his head. “What if that – being vigilant – isn’t good enough to keep you, them, and whoever the hell else, safe?”

  She placed the wine glass carefully on the granite. “Look, I don’t beg ever. I work and sweat and bleed if I have to but I don’t ask for what I don’t earn. Just don’t write off Summer Valley Ranch, please, not yet. We have so much to offer the veterans who have given everything to our country.”

  The words came as if wrung from her and he could tell the cost to her pride. He wanted to reassure her but he couldn’t. “No decision yet.” It was as much as he could offer. And he could tell by the disappointment in those beautiful green eyes that it was no reassurance at all.

  Chapter Nine

  Avery closed the door behind Dirks firmly. No matter the outcome of Dirks’ investigation, she would find a way to do what she felt driven to do. Just as she’d found a way to do everything else of importance to her. And she’d do it alone. Too late, she’d realized that Craig was a deterrent rather than a help to things that mattered. She’d trusted him once. Trusted him implicitly. She wouldn’t give that kind of power to any man ever again.

  She couldn’t help her brother, couldn’t even find him, but there were other veterans who needed her, who would allow her and the horses into their lives. Those she could, and would, find a way to help whether she was approved to participate in the government’s program or not. Maybe not on as large a scale, but everything and anything she could do would count. Not Dirks Hanna or anyone else could stop her there. It might hurt that he thought her unworthy, but it wouldn’t stop her.

  As she emptied her wine glass and placed it in the dish washer, she felt Trouble twining around her ankles. She stooped to give him a rub but her fingers barely brushed his fur as he walked from her to the glass door that led to the garden. She’d need to close the solid inner door before she turned in for the night, but she liked having it open more often than not, liked the night sky and the sense of space. There’d been a time she’d been secure enough in this haven she’d created to leave it open as she slept, that glass the only barrier between herself and the outside world. She didn’t feel that safe anymore.

  The realization made her restless. When Trouble turned back to her again, she suspected he felt as agitated as she. She glanced at the monitors and found the view they gave of the barns reassuringly quiet. At least that view should have been reassuring. She felt as uneasy as Trouble looked.

  The cat gave a plaintive yowl and she shook her head. “You just came in, fellow. Let’s get settled for the night.” Even as she said the words, she realized she hadn’t yet heard Carlee come in. The young woman had her own entrance to the house. They’d created a separate living space, small but comfortable, even adding a tiny kitchenette though Carlee preferred to share meals with Avery. Usually Avery could hear the sound of her moving about or perhaps it was more that she sensed another presence. But not tonight.

  Avery didn’t like to hover but the temptation to check on Carlee was strong. She’d finish her office work, first, she told herself. By then, her step-daughter would likely be home so she’d give it at least that long. Carlee was a grown woman, after all. The fact that recent events were unnerving didn’t change that reality.

  The damaged saddle heaped on her dining room floor was all the reminder she needed of just how unnerving those events had proven. Ben Farley was sending so
meone to pick it up for evidence first thing tomorrow. He’d promised to have it dusted for prints but she and the sheriff both knew there’d be nothing to find that would incriminate anyone. The only prints on that saddle would belong to people who had no reason to wear gloves or wipe the saddle clean of any trace they might have left behind.

  She battled her inner, and Trouble’s outer, anxiety another hour before she tried Carlee’s number. It rang the requisite three times before going to voice mail. Avery didn’t leave a message. Carlee would get in touch with her as soon as she saw the missed call. She’d always been good about that, even as a teen-ager, certainly in the years that she and Avery has become a team.

  After a quick check confirmed that Carlee’s car was not where she normally parked, Avery made herself accept that Carlee had gone out for the evening and might or might not return that night. Pulling on a pair of jogging pants, she hit the elliptical. As hard as she had worked today, stress was overriding any benefits from the activity. A work out was the only thing that might combat the ill-effects of tension and her fall. She could definitely not afford a sleepless night.

  When her cell phone finally rang, she nearly fell off the exercise machine reaching to answer it.

  “Carlee.” She didn’t try to hide the relief in her voice.

  Silence, then, “No, this is Leanne.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t look at the caller ID.” Avery held her disappointment in check. “Everything okay out there?” Leanne had insisted upon spending the night with Jack again, just as Tucker was on a cot close to the field of yearlings. Avery suspected those efforts were either for nothing or unnecessarily risky but she hadn’t been able to dissuade them.

  “Avery, I’m not there. Carlee didn’t tell you?”

  Avery rubbed at the sudden tension between her brows. “I haven’t talked with Carlee. Tell me what?”

  “She sent me home, said I hadn’t been married long enough to be spending my nights in a barn alone. But, Avery, I’m worried. She didn’t answer my text message so I called and she didn’t answer that either. She promised she would – it’s the only way I agreed to let her do this. I’m already on my way but ...”

  Even as Leanne talked, Avery had been pulling on her socks. “I’m going to the barn. I’ll find her.” She clicked off, not bothering to answer when Leanne rang her right back. Leanne would only want Avery to wait until she could get to the ranch, and Avery had no intention of doing that.

  Avery grabbed a lightweight hoodie from the basket in her closet and headed to the mudroom where her boots waited. Trouble trotted through the darkened house at her side.

  For one brief moment, she thought of calling Dirks for backup but her feelings were still stinging from their last exchange. Instead, she called Tucker who answered on the first ring. “What’s up?”

  “Go to Barn One. I’m looking for Carlee.”

  * * *

  Carlee’s vehicle was parked in the shadows close to the side entrance of the barn. Tucker waited for her there and shook his head. “Everything’s quiet inside. Carlee isn’t there.”

  The fact that Carlee’s transportation was there, but not Carlee, couldn’t be a good thing. Before Avery could voice that concern, Trouble yowled once then streaked past both of them. Avery’s reaction was gut-based and immediate. She couldn’t recall the exact moment she’d come to trust the cat’s instincts or knowledge or whatever it was that propelled him in a given direction. She only knew that he’d displayed an uncanny accuracy for detecting trouble long before the humans around him.

  Avery broke into a run right behind him, disregarding the night shadows that made speed hazardous. The flashlight that Tucker snapped on did little more than disorient her with its bobbing, shifting beam. She heard Leanne’s truck sliding into the gravel at Barn One, the slamming of the truck door, and Leanne’s voice calling to her. She saved her breath for running, knowing Leanne would find them soon enough.

  Trouble moved quickly along the fence rail that ran behind the barns, passing the wide gates of the first two pastures. At the farthest gate, he stopped briefly and yowled again as if urging them to catch up before he shot forward toward the two and three year old horses. Typically, they huddled together, taking comfort from each other as they slept. They were still gathered, but milled restlessly about.

  Avery lost sight of Trouble momentarily. “Carlee?” she heard the panic in her own voice and forced herself to take a deep breath, before calling out again.

  “There!” Tucker said, lifting his flashlight. “I see green cat eyes gleaming.”

  * * *

  Easy does it. Thank goodness for smart humans. Avery tells Tucker to turn off the flashlight and warns both him and Leanne to move slowly so as not to spook the young horses. They seem as large as adults to me but I sense their immaturity. Carlee is sitting up but not moving. She may be hurt or just dazed but she is much too close to those sharp hooves. These young equines are already disturbed. Any sudden movement could send them into a panic. My speed and agility could put me over the fence in a trice, but Carlee might well be trampled.

  There now, Ms. Gorgeous is kneeling beside Carlee. While the humanoids evaluate Carlee’s need for medical attention, I’ll do a bit of investigating on my own. Hmmm, nothing to tell by the appearance of the ground except that there seems to have been a scuffle of some sort. Unfortunately, the ground is much too hard and dry for anything as clear as footprints. Not to mention the fact that the young horses have been stomping about. It will be a wonder if none of them has trampled Carlee already.

  Ah, what have we here? Some sort of halter it appears but nothing like the quality that Ms. Gorgeous purchases for her ranch. Instead of leather stitched to solid metal connections, this is made entirely of rope with its own lead line built in. Interesting and really a quite clever device. I believe Mr. Military must see this and, it comes as no surprise to me that he has already arrived on the scene.

  * * *

  “Carlee, are you hurt?” Avery crouched down, careful not to bump against her step-daughter. She looked across Carlee to Tucker who was level with her on the other side. “Tucker, we may need an ambulance.”

  “No,” Carlee said at once but her voice sounded weak and thready to Avery’s anxious mind. “I’m fine. Shaken a little and pissed a lot, but fine. He shoved my face in the dirt before he took off, probably to make sure I didn’t get a better look at him.”

  Tucker growled and rocked back on his heels. “I’ll kill the bastard for that.”

  “At least the pasture babies are safe. The jerk jumped the fence so I know he didn’t get any of them.”

  “Did you see who it was? Could you describe him?” The sound of Dirks’ voice so close startled Avery but she realized almost at once that it shouldn’t have. He had an uncanny ability to track misfortune.

  “I wish. I’m not even real sure it was a guy, but I think so, broad shoulders and all that.”

  Carlee’s voice seemed stronger, now, Avery thought, and even more irritated. But, still, she’d taken a hit and could have injuries more serious than she was aware. “Maybe you shouldn’t talk right now. Let’s at least get you inside and comfortable. I want to see you in the light.”

  “I probably look like warmed over death with a few scrapes and bruises and a covering of dirt thrown in, but I’m fine, Avery, I promise. I’m just glad I got restless in the barn and stepped out for some fresh air. The first inclination I knew that something was up was hearing the colts snort and blow. I thought maybe a coyote had gotten into the field.”

  “Avery?” Leanne’s voice pulled her attention from Carlee. “I think you need to take a look at what the cat’s found.”

  But it was Dirks who reached down and took the rope halter from between Trouble’s sharp teeth. He held it toward Avery. “Recognize this?”

  “No,” she said slowly. “It’s definitely not one of ours.”

  Anger burned through her at the realization of what he held. There was no doubt in her min
d now. Someone had actually tried to steal one of Jack’s babies and may even have succeeded if not for Carlee. There was also no doubt in her mind that Tarant was behind this. Markham wasn’t the type for stealth-in-the-dark activities, but Tarant probably had many on his payroll who had both the temperament and the skills. If Tarant wanted a fight, he was going to get one. She’d make damned sure of that.

  * * *

  Dirks found himself amazed at the way Avery held to her routine the next day, even after all that had happened. Most women – hell most men – would be in stress mode. If Avery was stressed, he couldn’t tell. If anything burned in her this morning, it was probably a lingering fury.

  Once Avery was convinced Carlee wasn’t seriously injured, he’d seen the anger take over. In full view and hearing of every one of them crowded into her kitchen the night before, she’d pulled up Craig’s number on her cell phone. Her warning, more of a promise than a threat to Dirks’ mind, had been issued in clear, concise terms.

  “I didn’t expect you to answer, Craig, not when you saw my name on your screen, and that’s fine, but I know you’ll listen to this message. You need to hear, know, and understand something. You’d better call off your dogs - Tarant and any others - and make them believe that nothing on this property belongs to you. If anything happens – if Carlee, if any of my team gets hurt or any of these horses are taken – you’re going to pay way more than any debt you owe them. In fact, you’d better pray that none of my horses even come down with a cough, because I’m going to blame you and I’m going to come looking for you. Bet on it.”

  When she clicked off, she’d glared right at Dirks as if daring him to comment. He hadn’t. Nor had any of her team, though they probably wanted to applaud her as much as he did.