Rangers: Silver-Star Seductions: A Two-Book Box Set

by Ciana Stone

  “So that’s how it’s gonna be?” she asked. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to pick one of your friends to go for a ride.”

  He turned his head in her direction.

  “You wanna go, big boy?”

  The horse looked away. Willa just stood there and waited. After a few minutes, Jet turned in her direction. Willa smiled as he approached.

  She wandered slowly to the fence and he followed. She let him sniff the blanket, saddle and her until he was satisfied then showed him the bridle. He didn’t seem nervous but she spent a few minutes stroking him and talking to him anyway.

  Jet didn’t balk or shy away when she put the bridle on him. She led him out of the paddock and secured the gate. It took little time to get him saddled. Now came the real test. She grabbed the reins in her left hand and used that same hand to hold onto the saddle-horn as she inserted her left foot in the stirrup.

  Willa considered it a small victory that he didn’t move. “Good boy.” She gave his neck a rub. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Half an hour later, Willa reined Jet to a halt. They’d reached the southern edge of her property. Adjacent was Sam Newell’s place. Sam had fallen on hard times like many of the small ranchers and farmers in Calder County and rumor was that he was thinking of selling. There were also rumors of some unusual activity on his ranch, trucks coming and going at odd hours.

  Willa was normally not a nosy person, she tended to stick to her business, but she was a little curious and she was right there so she didn’t see that it would hurt just to take a look. She’d ridden Sam’s land since she was old enough to sit a horse, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. In fact, maybe she’d go check on Sam, just to make sure he and his wife, Martha, were okay.

  Jet was remarkably well-behaved, even when a long-eared jackrabbit darted out of some brush in front of him. Willa noted the sorry state of Sam’s pastures and lack of cattle in them. Obviously, Sam wasn’t buying and maybe he’d already sold off his stock.

  She crested a small rise that provided a view of the back of the ranch house and surrounding outbuildings. What met her eyes was nothing she’d expected to see.

  There was a slaughter taking place. Makeshift tables had been set up behind the main barn, pieces of plywood or slats of lumber laid across homemade wooden sawbucks. There were easily a dozen men visible, half of them Hispanic. The slaughter was not being conducted in any manner that could be considered humane.

  A cow was tethered to a stake in the ground via a rope around its neck, shot in the head and, once the body fell a man would slice the cow open along its belly. What was odd was that once that happened, another man was reaching in to pull out the stomachs and cut them open.

  Willa’s mouth dropped open as she watched. She’d heard about it but had never seen it. What was being removed looked like round clumps of plastic. Drugs. It had to be. As soon as the clumps were dumped from the stomachs, another man would take them to the spigot, rinse them and then put them on one of the makeshift tables.

  An overseer kept a sharp eye as the plastic-wrapped balls were opened and the drugs transferred to a satchel. Clancy Ellis was the overseer. Shit. Willa’s eyes moved from one man to the next. Sure enough there was Carl and his brothers Clarence and Carter

  It was definitely time to skedaddle. The last thing Willa wanted was to be spotted. She turned Jet and just as she did, a rattler appeared out of the brush. It coiled and rattled its tail in warning. Jet reared, whinnied and took off – in the wrong direction.

  Oh hell! Willa had no doubt she’d been seen. Which meant she needed to report it. Just as soon as she got this runaway horse under control. And that took a bit more time than she anticipated. Jet’s fear had him completely unresponsive. All she could do was hang on and let him run it out. They traveled almost a mile before his fear, or his energy gave out and he slowed.

  Willa rubbed his sweat-slicked neck, talking softly. “It’s okay buddy. You’re okay. We need to go home now. Come on, Jet. Trust me.”

  He balked once before he let her turn him in the direction of home. With him having galloped full out for so long, she didn’t try to force him beyond a walk, which made the return trip home take longer. That gave Willa time to think. If she called the Sheriff and told them what she saw, she’d have to give a statement. Which meant old man Ellis would find out who had turned him in.

  She knew she shouldn’t let the fear of the Ellis clan deter her from doing what was right, but she knew that family and had no doubt that if they found out it was her then they wouldn’t rest until she was six feet under.

  A sudden dizziness had her grabbing onto the saddle horn with her free hand. What the heck? Her heart was racing and she felt cold as ice. Come on, get a grip. Was she having a stroke or some kind of panic attack? Her vision swam and her body jumped involuntarily as Zeb’s face appeared before her. Do you remember?

  Willa bit down on her lip to keep from making a sound and spooking the horse. As quickly as the attack had come, it departed. It had to have been some kind of anxiety attack. That was the only explanation.

  And Zeb’s face appearing? And that voice? What the hell was going on?

  She didn’t want to answer her own questions. Zeb had been on her mind non-stop since the moment she opened the door and found him standing on her front porch. Truth be told, he’d never been far from her thoughts since she was eight years old. She’d grown up, had her share of men and even married one, but Zeb had always been there in the back of her mind.

  You’re my ever after. Willa could remember saying those words to him when she was nine years old. She’d meant it with all her heart and if she was completely truthful with herself she’d admit that even now she meant it. Despite the absurdity of it, she’d loved him her whole life and knew no way to un-love him.

  For all the good it would do either way. Zeb had left Calder County the first chance he got. He’d said goodbye. In a fashion. He and Ethan went out drinking and the next morning she found them both passed out in the barn. Zeb had gotten up, asked the time and then told Ethan he was taking off.

  Willa had watched, hoping he would say something to her. When he didn’t, she stayed silent, witnessing him and Ethan saying goodbye, and then followed them out of the barn to where Zeb’s old truck was parked.

  He and Ethan embraced in that manly sort of way, hands pounding at one another’s backs. When they parted, Zeb opened the door to his truck. Willa felt tears threaten. He wasn’t even going to say goodbye.

  Then he paused and turned to look at her. “You take care, pretty Willa.”

  All she could do was nod, and then sob as she watched him drive away.

  She hadn’t laid eyes on him since then until he showed up at her door this past week. She still didn’t know why he was back, but was willing to bet it wouldn’t be permanent if he had anything to say about it

  If she were smart, she’d put Zeb Childress out of her mind – or at least accept that those long ago spoken words were never going to become true. He was never going to be her ‘ever after’.

  Right now that wasn’t the most pressing thing on her plate. She had to do something about what she’d seen. The Ellis clan was a scary bunch, for sure, but her parents had raised her to do the right thing. She couldn’t keep silent no matter what the consequences.

  Ronnie was just coming out of the barn when she arrived. “Hey, you’re back. Would you mind cooling Jet down and watering him?” she asked as she dismounted.

  “Sure. How’d he do?” Ronnie took the reins.

  “Got spooked by a rattler and ran flat out damn near a mile.” Willa gave Jet a rub on the neck and face.

  Ronnie whistled. “Boy has stamina.”

  “That he does. But he’s gonna take a bit of extra work. I gotta go make a call. Thanks Ronnie.”

  “You bet.”

  Willa hurried inside and went straight for the old-fashioned phone mounted on the kitchen wall. She told the Deputy she spoke with, Gil Perkins what she’d
seen. He said he would write it up and tell the Sheriff and they’d probably send someone out to take her statement.

  She thanked him and hung up the phone. Now it would be what it would be. She’d done the right thing and she had to trust that the law would take care of Clancy Ellis and his bunch. If not? Well, if not, she’d walk that path when she had to.

  Until then, she had work to do and she had to focus on that. The money she made training horses was all that was keeping them afloat right now, until the next auction when she could sell off half her herd of cattle and hopefully three of the horses she’d trained for roping. Things were going to be tight.

  Willa shook off thoughts of her meager funds and the real threat that she might not last the year without having to sell off part of the ranch. She had to believe that things would turn around. Otherwise…well she couldn’t even let herself go there.

  Chapter Four

  Willa fixed herself a glass of hard cider on ice and wandered out onto the front porch. It was hot tonight but that wasn’t uncommon in July in this part of the state. At least there was a breeze, although it was the kind of breeze that heralded the coming of a thunderstorm.

  That didn’t bother her. They could use the rain. She took a seat on the porch swing, had a long drink of the cider and set the glass on the porch rail. With her hair wet from the shower and dressed in a pair of old cut-off off jeans that seen better days and a tank top, it was tolerable.

  Car lights coming up the driveway had her stopping the rocking motion of the swing and standing. The cruiser stopped and its lights went out. Still she recognized the figure of the man who stepped out of the vehicle. She tried to stem the rise of excitement.

  “What’re you doing here, Zeb?”

  He waited until he was on the porch before answering. “Need to talk to you about what you saw at the Newell place yesterday.”

  Disappointment threw a wet rag on her excitement. He was here on business.

  She gestured to the swing. “You wanna sit out here or go inside?”

  “Here’s fine.”

  She nodded, reclaimed her seat and waited until he sat beside her. She picked up the glass from the porch rail. “Cider?” She offered him the glass.

  Zeb accepted and took a drink. “Been a long time since I had hard cider. You make this?”

  “Polly,” she replied.

  Zeb nodded, took another drink and returned the glass to her. “I need you to tell me what you saw at the Newell place.”

  “I already told Deputy Perkins on the phone and signed a statement.”

  “Still, I need to hear it.”

  “Fine.” She recited the tale to him without embellishment. He remained silent until she finished speaking.

  “Perkins and Hawkins took a ride out there late yesterday. When their shift ended and no one had heard back from either, we tried reaching them on their radio and cell phones. No answer either way so the department sent another team out there. I went with them.

  “We found them both in the woods about a hundred yards from the house. Dead. Shot multiple times.”

  Willa felt like she was going to throw up. She rose and turned to the porch rail, both hands gripping it. This was her fault.

  “You okay?” Zeb got up and put his hand on her shoulder.

  She shook her head, trying to rein in her emotions before she spoke. But there was no reining in the pain or guilt. “This is my fault.”

  “How can you think that?”

  “Because it’s true!” She cut a look at him. “If I’d kept my mouth shut they’d be alive.”

  “Willa, you can’t think like that.” Zeb’s hand tightened on her shoulder and she shrugged it off. She didn’t want to be comforted. She didn’t deserve it.

  “It’s true and you know it. I could have just kept my mouth closed and it wouldn’t have happened. They’re dead because of me. And…” She turned to face him, hands clenched into fists at her sides. “And I bet a dollar to a donut that you didn’t find shit.”

  Zeb’s response was to reach up and remove his hat, place it on the rail and run his hand back through his hair.

  “I knew it! Shit. Shit, shit, shit!!”

  “Willa.” He tried to take hold of her arms but she swatted his hands away. “No, don’t. Don’t you try to make me feel better about this. You know as well as I that this is my fault.”

  Zeb blew out his breath and hitched one leg up to sit on the porch rail. “Well damn, Willa, I guess you’re right. It’s your fault that Ellis and his boys got into drug running. It’s your fault that old man Newell’s place is failing and he let himself be talked into getting in bed with the Ellis clan. It’s obviously your fault that someone decided to kill those deputies. They couldn't have pulled the trigger on their own. I can see that clear as day now. Why I should arrest you right here and now because sure as shit, everything that happened is your fault.”

  Willa wanted to slap his face. He was making fun of her. And he was doing it by pointing out the truth of things. It made her feel a little silly and that made her mad.

  “Fuck you, Zeb.”

  “Right here on the porch?”

  Willa snarled, unable to articulate a response. Zeb reached out, fast as a rattler’s strike and captured her wrist to pull her over closer. “Willa, I know it’s a terrible thing. I hate it just as much as you do but you know it’s not your fault.”

  “I just don’t want it to be true,” she said, choking back tears.

  “I know, honey.” He pulled her all the way in and wrapped both arms around her. Willa couldn’t resist the comfort of his embrace. She wound her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his chest.

  “I hate this,” she whispered. “All the meanness. It tears down everything, Zeb. Everything people have worked all their lives for. Poor old Sam. That place has been in his family for four generations. Now what’s going to happen to him?”

  Zeb hated to answer that question. “Honey, Sam’s gone.”

  “Gone?” She pulled back to look at him. “What do you mean? Did you arrest him? What about his wife? Her health isn’t good, Zeb. She needs him there to̶”

  “He’s dead, Willa. They both are.”

  Nothing could have hurt more than seeing the look of shock and grief that claimed her face. Tears streamed from her eyes and she made no attempt to wipe them away. “How?”

  “Same as the deputies. Found them in the house.”

  Willa shook her head and raised both hands to cover her face. A moment later, the first sob erupted. Her body shook with the force of her sobs, the sound so filled with pain that his heart nearly broke. Zeb slid off the rail and gathered her in his arms.

  “I’m sorry. Honey, I’m so sorry,” he crooned.

  A deep growl from behind them had him turning slightly with her still in his arms. When he saw the source of the growl fear spiked hot and sharp. He shoved Willa behind him and was drawing his weapon when she screamed and grabbed his arm.

  “No!”

  “Willa, let go,” he spoke as softly and calmly as possible, keeping his eye on the wolf who stood not three feet away with its head lowered, hackles raised and a snarl on its face.

  She did release him but what she did next scared the crap out of him. She skirted around in front of him, putting her back to the wolf. Visions of the animal attacking her had him breaking into a sweat and his heart hammering in his chest.

  “Willa, don’t move. I’m going to slide real easy to the side so I can get a bead on—Willa!”

  His heart nearly stopped when she pivoted and dropped down into a crouch in front of the wolf. “It’s okay,” she said to the animal. “He’s my friend. It’s okay.”

  Zeb nearly fainted when the wolf leaped toward her. But instead of attacking, it literally wrapped its front legs around her neck and started licking her face. Willa hugged the animal to her, burying her face in the thick fur of its neck. They stayed like that for a long time.

  Finally, she released the wolf a
nd stood. “Zeb, this is Lobo. Lobo, Zeb is my friend. You can trust him. Zeb, come here.”

  Zeb wasn’t at all sure he wanted to do that. She might trust the animal but he had reservations. Big ones. “That might not be a good idea.”

  “It’s fine.” She sat down and offered her hand. “Please.”

  Zeb hesitated, then holstered his weapon and slowly stepped toward her, keeping his eye on the wolf. It watched him as he took Willa’s hand and sank down on his heels beside her.

  “Lobo?” She used her free hand to rub the wolf along its head and nose. “Come say hey to Zeb.”

  Zeb wondered how fast he could get to his feet and draw his weapon if the need arose. The wolf moved toward him, and Zeb didn’t mind admitting that it scared him. That was a big wolf. With him sitting on his heels, the animal’s face was even with his.

  The wolf stopped, nearly nose-to-nose with him, sniffed the air, then lowered its head and sniffed at Zeb’s clothing and over to his hand that was joined with Willa’s. Willa released Zeb’s hand. “Offer your hand.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “He won’t bite. Just let him smell.”

  Zeb figured he had to have suddenly gone retarded because he did as she said. The wolf sniffed, then licked at the skin on the top of his hand. Zeb held his breath, expecting teeth to sink into him at any moment.

  To his surprise, the wolf wagged its tail and sat on its haunches.

  “See?” Willa said and rubbed the wolf. “Go on. He likes to be petted."

  Zeb reached out and ran his hand along the fur on the side of the wolf’s neck. It was thick and softer than he’d imagined it would be. “Lobo,” he said. “Hey, I’m Zeb.”

  Lobo yipped and thumped his tail on the porch floor and Zeb looked at Willa in amazement. “I have to admit̶ this is pretty amazing.”

  She smiled at him and he thought he’d never seen anyone so beautiful. Tear tracked cheeks and red eyes didn’t detract at all. She glowed with a beauty more pure, vibrant and real than any he'd ever seen. And in that moment something happened that had never happened before.