He didn’t even know of Kelsey’s existence three days ago, and now he was willing to die for her.
Dana cleared her throat. “Did you attack me outside of Auntie Mary’s house when I first arrived?”
Ben nodded. “I used the power I had learned from my research to immobilize you, but I encountered the wolf. Not that I planned to harm you…then.”
“And what about the rock? Did you use your newfound powers to sneak onto the McClintock ranch and throw that rock through Rafe’s window?”
“Joshua did that in a fit of jealousy.” Ben tilted his head. “You haven’t asked about the bow and arrow.”
Rafe shifted on the bench. Ben sounded offended she hadn’t asked. They were definitely dealing with someone unhinged…which might make taking him down easier.
“Do I need to ask? You noticed my interest in the rings and decided to get rid of me.”
To stall for more time, Rafe asked him about Brice’s cell phone.
Ben snorted. “Your deputy was too busy with Belinda Mathers to notice I slipped his phone from his jacket. I knew I could lure Jacey to the Shopco parking lot with a text message from Brice.”
Ben laced his fingers and cracked his knuckles. “That’s really quite enough. I tried to rid the tribe of women unworthy of their Ute heritage. I used the headband to signify their status as fake Native Americans, and then dumped their bodies in the construction sites scarring our land. But that’s over now. Before you and your daughter pass on to the next world, I’m going to take your power as my own and become a Ute shaman.”
Ben had several jars next to him, and with his free hand he began to pinch the contents of the jars between his fingers and toss the substances into the fire. He started to chant, and Kelsey’s chin dropped to her chest.
Dana moaned and her spine stiffened. Rafe reached for her, but Ben stopped him by leveling his gun at her.
“Hold it there, Rafe.”
Would Ben go into a trance as a result of this mumbo jumbo too? All Rafe’s senses went on high alert, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Kelsey slumped against her mother. Dana jerked up her head, pulling back her shoulders while chanting in a low voice. Startled, Ben dropped one of the jars, which cracked against the patio tile.
Dana’s voice rose, drowning out Ben’s. Rafe didn’t know if Dana was pretending or not, but her incantations were affecting Ben. His hands shook as he sprinkled some orange powder into the fire, creating a burst of flame.
Rafe tensed his muscles, wedging his palms against the seat of the bench, rising on the balls of his feet.
Ben yelled, “Stop! Stop trying to block me.” His gun wavered as he pointed it at Dana.
Ben’s eyes bulged from their sockets as a scream ripped from his throat, “The wolf!”
Staggering to his feet, Ben clutched his weapon with a shaking hand. Rafe lunged from the bench and jumped across the fire. He tackled Ben as Ben squeezed off a shot. Rafe clinched Ben’s wrist in a vise and forced the gun from his hand. With his other hand, Ben grabbed the can of lighter fluid and chucked it into the fire.
The flames roared to life, searing Rafe’s back. Leaving Ben writhing on the ground, Rafe skirted the fire, which licked at the wooden benches around the pit, and scooped up Kelsey in his arms. He pushed Dana back from the fire circle and hooked an arm around her waist, dragging her backward toward the open gate.
An explosion rocked the ground, propelling them forward and into the bushes. Rafe covered Dana and Kelsey with his body, and then scrambled to his feet, clutching Kelsey against his chest. Pulling Dana up against him, he asked, “Can you walk?”
“I’m fine. Is Kelsey okay?”
He glanced down into his daughter’s face, her lashes stirring against her cheeks. “She’s gonna be.”
Grasping Dana’s arm, he pulled her around the corner of the wall into the parking lot. The fire from the patio had spread to the cultural center building, engulfing one side.
They stood side by side watching the flames leap into the night sky.
Dana squeezed Rafe’s hand. “He’s in there, isn’t he?”
Rafe nodded. “It’s where he belongs.”
Epilogue
“He confessed to both of us and then took his own life by jumping into the fire.” Rafe dropped a stack of file folders in front of Agent Steve Lubeck. “Just trying to weed out the riffraff from the Southern Ute tribe.”
“You two did a great job.” Steve shoved the folders into his briefcase. “How did you figure out that mark on the girls’ throats came from one of those tribal rings?”
Dana held her breath while Rafe lifted a shoulder. “Call it a hunch.”
Steve rapped his knuckles on the stack of folders. “I’ll call it a gift and leave it at that.”
As Steve got to the door of the Silverhill sheriff’s station, he grabbed the handle and turned. “Enjoy your time off, Dana. We’ll put you back to work when you return.”
Dana blew out a breath as the door slammed shut. “I hope Steve doesn’t expect me to use my gift for every murder case we get.”
“About that. You never did tell me whether or not your chanting brought the wolf spirit. I sure as heck didn’t see or hear any wolf on that patio.”
“Maybe it did. Ben saw the wolf, so perhaps my chant came from somewhere deep inside.” She shrugged. “I really didn’t have the slightest idea what I was saying.”
An hour later, Dana hopped out of Rafe’s truck to unlatch the gate leading to the McClintock ranch. Ralph and Pam had insisted on throwing a party for their newly discovered granddaughter before Dana took her back to Denver. Whether or not they’d stay in Denver she didn’t know. She and Rafe never did finish that conversation.
Rafe pulled to a stop in front of the house and turned to Kelsey in the backseat. “Are you ready? You have a couple of uncles in there, an aunt, a cousin and some grandparents.”
“Let’s do this.” Kelsey clenched her hand for a fist bump, and Rafe’s knuckles met hers.
Dana rolled her eyes before they could tear up. “You two are the most social animals I know. Kelsey’s going to have the McClintock clan wrapped around her little finger in no time.”
As Rafe winked at his daughter and she grinned back, one of those tears trembled on the edge of Dana’s eyelashes. Then the McClintocks surged onto the front porch and engulfed her and Kelsey in a sea of love and acceptance. Even Pam showed a face of contrition and invited Kelsey and her little cousin, Shelby, to help her in the kitchen.
After they ate, Julia, the wife of Rafe’s middle brother, Ryder, took the girls to the barn to see the horses and baby foal born two days before. The McClintock men settled in the family room, and Pam brought bottles of beer to her stepsons and poured a shot of whiskey for her husband.
Ralph threw back the shot in one gulp and planted his gnarled hands on his knees. “I suppose you’re all anxious to hear about your half brother. Rod knows a little, probably more than he wants to know.”
These McClintocks led complicated lives. Dana perched on the arm of the sofa next to Rafe, and he curled an arm around her waist while Ralph told his sons about their half brother and his mother.
“So, you see, I offered the little gal money to take care of the baby, but she didn’t want anything from me. Skipped town before she even had the child.”
Rod jumped up from his chair and paced to the window. “You mean you tried to pay her off so she’d leave town and take the baby with her.”
A pain sliced through Dana’s temple. That story hit too close to home. Rafe squeezed her hip.
Ryder asked, “Where is this brother now?”
“Works in private security.” Ralph hunched his shoulders. “Moves around a lot.”
Dana patted Rafe’s thigh. “I’m going to watch the girls.”
He rose with her and followed her outside to the paddock to watch Kelsey, Shelby and Julia with one of the ranch hands and the baby foal.
Dana hung over the fence an
d waved. “She looks right at home.”
“She is.”
Turning to face him, Dana leaned against the fence. “I did a foolish thing keeping her from you, Rafe.”
His rough palm skimmed her cheek. “I know you did.”
“And honestly? I didn’t just do it for you because I thought your father would disown you. I did it to protect myself and my pride.”
“I know that too, sweetheart, but at eighteen we don’t have much more than our pride.”
“But I had so much more, Rafe. I had you, and I had our child. That should’ve been enough.”
“Is it enough now?” He placed both hands on her shoulders and drew her toward his warmth.
She gazed into his eyes and they never looked bluer. She couldn’t resist him any more than she could years ago. “It’s enough for me. Is it enough for you?”
His answer came in the form of a hard, possessive kiss. Then he weaved a hand through her hair, pulling her closer still, and that possessive kiss changed into something sweeter…something lasting.
Rafe finally broke away, leaving her breathless but wanting more. He held up one finger and then wound it around a lock of her hair. “Just a warning—I’m nothing like my father, you’re nothing like your mother and this is forever. I’ll never let you go.”
To prove his point, he captured her lips in fiery kiss that weakened her knees. She sighed as she snuggled against him.
She belonged in Silverhill. He was the Sheriff of Silverhill. And she’d never leave him again.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4664-9
THE SHERIFF OF SILVERHILL
Copyright © 2010 by Carol Ericson
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