Shadow (Military Intelligence Section 6 Book 4)

by Heather Slade

  It hadn’t really mattered in the end, because Quint hadn’t roped the steer anyway.

  Was it the only time they were eliminated in the first round? Hell, no. Was it the first time they were eliminated because Quint shouldn’t have been competing anyway? Yep.

  Last night had been one of the best of his life. Some may think he was overstating it if he were to say it out loud, which he never would. But it had been. Darrow was everything he told her she was and more.

  She was damn smart, had a quick wit, and a smile that lit up everything around her. Sure she was beautiful, but she was so much more than that.

  It was the drive home from the Branch that had sobered him up, not from the booze, but from the headiness of spending an entire day and evening with her. Under any other circumstance, he would have invited her into his bed. There was no doubt in his mind that having her naked body next to his, burying himself in her warmth, kissing her like he’d longed to do every minute he was with her, would have been spectacular. Mind-blowingly so.

  He could only imagine the conversation Darrow had with Wren this morning. He cringed thinking about the earful his sister would give him when he got home on Sunday. He’d say it was none of her damn business, but she’d warned him to leave Darrow alone, and while he hadn’t made a move on her, he’d all but done so.

  They were halfway home last night when he thought about telling Darrow he was leaving in the morning, but then he wondered why he would. She wasn’t there to spend time with him; she was there to see Wren and to “start a new life.” He wasn’t going to be a part of that life, so why insinuate himself now?

  “Hey, Quint,” he heard a quiet voice say. He looked up at the cute barrel racer he’d hooked up with from time to time.

  “Hey, Kayleigh.”

  “You goin’ over to the saloon?”

  “Not tonight, darlin’.”

  “You want some company?”

  He didn’t. The only company he wanted was back at his ranch, and even if he was there with her right now, he had no business keeping it.

  “Sorry, sweetheart. I won’t be good company for anyone tonight.”

  “Everyone breaks barriers, Quint.”

  He nodded.

  “Okay, then. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He tipped his hat. He hadn’t even bothered to stand when the woman approached. His mama would be ashamed of him for that.

  Instead of popping open another beer, Quint went into the trailer and poured himself a glass of whiskey. He threw some ice in it, not because he liked it that way, but maybe it would slow him down a bit. He wouldn’t be driving anywhere tonight, but if he got drunk, Lord knew what kind of other mistakes he might make.

  BY THE TIME they left Big Bend on Sunday, everyone on their team was in a foul mood, and it all stemmed from Quint. He’d been surly, and quite frankly, an asshole. They didn’t place in a single event, and after his disastrous out on Friday night, Quint didn’t even bother entering any.

  He hoped that Decker would ride home in one of the other trucks, but right before they pulled out, he got in with Quint.

  “Never known you to just give up,” he said when they were an hour into their drive.

  “Leave me alone, Deck. Everyone deserves to have a bad go without getting constant shit for it.”

  “And if that’s all it was, you wouldn’t be hearin’ a word about it. This is different. You aren’t yourself. One day, who cares. Three days? Somethin’s wrong.”

  Quint looked off at the horizon that stretched ahead of them. Once they pulled through the ranch gates, he intended to continue to make himself scarce. Better to tell Deck that now than to have him question him in front of potential witnesses.

  “Darrow is here mainly because of a bad breakup, and while I normally wouldn’t pay any attention to shit like that, I think she’s lookin’ to rebound with me, and that can’t happen. God knows how long she’ll be at the ranch, and when things go south, which we both know they will, what the hell do I do then? Not to mention, Wren would put my balls in a vice.”

  “I could take her off your hands if it will help.”

  “You lay one fucking hand—” Quint stopped short when he saw the look on Deck’s face.

  “That’s what I thought,” said his friend.

  “You’re an asshole.”

  “Pretty sure you got me beat there.”

  They were almost home before Quint spoke again. “I’m gonna be takin’ a few days off.”

  “Where you headed?”

  “Don’t know yet.”

  Deck nodded. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do besides run the whole damn operation while you go off and hide like a scared bunny rabbit.”

  Quint didn’t respond. There was no point in getting mad; that’s what Deck was after.

  “What do I say when Wren asks where you went off to?”

  “Tell her I went to see a man about a horse.”

  10

  When Quint came home a week later, it was as though their night at the Long Branch had never happened. In fact, it was as if he hadn’t spent any time with Darrow at all. He was polite, but that was the extent of it.

  The first couple of days, Darrow came out of her room when she heard him in the kitchen, hoping they could at least have a conversation. Both days he’d finished his coffee, told her to have a good day, and walked out.

  The third day, she waited until she was sure he was already gone before going out and making herself a cup of tea, like she had every day that he was gone.

  She and Wren had gotten accustomed to checking with Decker about what needed to be done each morning. He never went easy on them. Often her hands were blistered by the end of the day, but she wouldn’t tell Wren that let alone Quint. Not that he paid any attention to her.

  At first, he ate dinner with the guys at the bunkhouse, but after Wren mentioned it, he and sometimes Decker started joining them. He rarely spoke unless asked a direct question, and even then he kept his responses to as few words as possible.

  By the next week, when Quint came home from yet another weekend rodeo and his behavior was no different than when he left, Darrow was fed up. Instead of spending each day feeling unwelcome, she decided to go and visit friends who were in the Washington, DC, area. The situation wasn’t such that she could stay for more than a day or two. She’d decide between now and then whether she’d go back to England from there.

  That night at dinner, she decided to broach the subject since Deck hadn’t joined them. “I want to thank you for your generosity and hospitality.” Both Wren and Quint stopped eating and looked at her. “I’ve decided it’s time for me to move on, but I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

  “What do you mean?” Wren asked at the same time Quint said, “Where are you going?”

  Darrow looked between them. “I have friends on the East Coast who have invited me to visit. From there, I’m not certain what I’ll do, but whatever it is, will be a grand adventure.” She’d plastered a fake smile on her face so often in the last three weeks, it almost felt normal. As long as she didn’t have to say anything more, she might just be able to keep up her ruse.

  Quint got up from the table and took his dishes to the kitchen even though it was obvious he wasn’t finished eating. Moments later she heard the back door close.

  “I don’t understand,” said Wren.

  Darrow squared her shoulders. All she had to do was convince Wren that she really wasn’t cut out for a life she’d grown to love more each day.

  “I have to admit this is much more difficult work than I ever dreamed,” she began.

  Wren threw her napkin on her unfinished meal. “Stiff upper lip and all that, right?”

  She’d hit the nail on the head. “I don’t know what you mean,” Darrow lied.

  “What’s really going on? I won’t relent until you tell me the truth.”

  Wren’s statement reminded her of the day with Quint when he told her that he wa
s stubborn enough not to give up until she told him why she’d left England.

  “It’s Quint, isn’t it?”

  “No—”

  Wren stood up and put her hands on her hips. “What happened between the two of you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she repeated. How many times could she use that line?

  “First, he disappears for a week without any explanation. Now, you’re leaving. I was sick for one damn day. What happened?”

  God, what was she doing? The woman had been nothing but nice to her, even letting her stay on for a month after she’d showed up unannounced. “I’m sorry,” she began, putting her hand on Wren’s wrist. “If you’ll sit back down, I’ll tell you.”

  She told her about their day and how they’d gone to dinner that night. “We talked for hours and danced, and had what I thought was a wonderful evening, but on the way back to the ranch, it was as though a switch flipped. Quint went from magnanimous to withdrawn. The next morning, he was gone, and well, you know what’s happened from there.”

  “I see. So why are you leaving?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve made the poor man uncomfortable in his own home, for God’s sake.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Please don’t. I’ve honestly had enough humiliation for one year. Let me leave with my head held high, I beg of you.”

  “But I’m going to miss you so much.”

  “I’ll miss you too.” When she saw a tear run down Wren’s cheek, Darrow couldn’t hold her own back any longer. “Maybe you could come to DC?”

  Wren shook her head. “I can’t.”

  She almost asked why not, but thought better of it. If the woman said she couldn’t, there must be a good reason for it.

  11

  Q uint stood just inside the back door, eavesdropping on every word Darrow said to his sister. He could tell by her voice at the last bit that she was crying.

  When Darrow arrived, it was like a light went back on inside of Wren, and now, because of him, it would go out again. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to figure out a way to get Darrow to stay without letting on that he’d heard their conversation while at the same time not leading her on like he had the night they went to the Branch.

  The hardest part, and the reason he avoided talking to Darrow as much as he did, was he feared if he had even a simple conversation with her, he’d let on how he really felt.

  It wasn’t just for Wren’s sake that he wanted Darrow to stay. He lived for every time he caught a glimpse of her smile. She didn’t know it, but several times a day, he’d go and check on them, always staying far enough away that neither Darrow nor Wren would spot him.

  He’d berated Decker for working her too hard, especially when he saw her standing at the sink in the barn, running her blistered hands under cold water to ease the pain.

  He’d believed that by keeping his distance, she’d forget about him. Like Wren said, it was one damn day. It didn’t matter that it was a day Quint would never forget.

  He eased the door open and went out to the porch as quietly as he could and sat in the darkness. He saw Deck inside the brightly lit barn, but he needed time to think on his own, so he stayed where he was, wishing that he’d grabbed a beer.

  A few minutes later, Wren came out and joined him. “I thought you might like one of these.” She handed him a bottle.

  “You read my mind.”

  “Quint, I want to talk to you about Darrow.”

  “She asked you not to.”

  Wren paused but then smiled. “You heard us.”

  He nodded. “Chicken-shit move, but yeah, I only pretended to leave.”

  “I was wrong to interfere. I know you’re a good man, Quint.”

  He looked up at his sister. “I’m not, Wren. Not when it comes to Darrow. You were right to warn me away.”

  “Why are you saying that? What would you—”

  “I’d want everything from her. Everything. I would take her and possess her and never want to let her go. I bet I could talk her into staying here, and that would be the absolute worst thing that could happen. She wants more out of life than what I could offer. A lot more, in fact.”

  “You’re being awfully melodramatic.”

  “Am I?” He took a long swig of his beer and then stood. “Mark my words, Wren.”

  THREE DAYS LATER, he was sitting at the dinner table, thinking about everything he still had to do that night in order to leave for the first of the team-roping qualifiers for the World Championships in November.

  So far he’d heard no further mention of Darrow’s departure, but what in the hell would he do if he left tomorrow and she was gone when he got back on Sunday?

  When they finished eating, Wren stood and began clearing dinner dishes. When Darrow got up to help, his sister playfully pushed her back into her chair. “I’ll get it. You can relax tonight.”

  “There’s a team-roping qualifier this weekend you might be interested in seein’,” Quint said to Darrow before he talked himself out of it.

  She immediately looked over at his sister. “That sounds like fun. Wren, do you want to go?”

  If there was ever a single time in his life he wanted his sister to play along with him, this was it.

  He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he heard Wren say, “I’d love to, sweetie, but I have that report I have to finish up.”

  “Report?” Quint mouthed, making sure Darrow didn’t turn around and catch him.

  “Oh, well…”

  “You should go,” pushed Wren. “It’s a lot of fun, and Quint and his partner are ranked pretty high this year.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “Positive,” said Wren, winking at Quint behind Darrow’s back.

  “Thanks,” he mouthed to Wren and then turned to Darrow. “We’ll leave tomorrow right after morning chores. Be ready to go by eight or so.”

  She nodded. “What should I bring?”

  Quint leaned forward. “I wouldn’t mind any if you brought that pretty yellow dress and those sweet shorty boots along.”

  “Also bring jeans and work boots,” Wren added. “Quint, you’ll want her to see everything that goes on behind the scenes too. That’s more than half the fun.”

  He excused himself from the table and went out to the barn. As he’d expected, Decker was already loading their gear.

  “There’s been a development.”

  “Oh, yeah? What’s that?” Deck asked without looking up.

  “Darrow is coming along.”

  “Guess I’ll be sleepin’ with the horses.” Deck growled, but Quint caught a glimpse of his friend’s smile.

  “You can sleep where you always do. Darrow won’t be sleeping in the trailer.”

  Decker laughed. “Right.”

  12

  When the sun rose the next morning, Darrow was still wide awake. She’d been stunned last night when Quint invited her to go to the rodeo and even more so when Wren made up an excuse as to why she couldn’t go along. Darrow couldn’t believe they thought she didn’t see the unspoken messages going back and forth between brother and sister.

  Once she’d gotten into bed, she immediately started over-thinking everything from the abruptness of the invitation to the weirdness of Wren’s response. What kept her awake all night, though, was her worry that what had happened between them the last time would happen again. If it did, she’d be on a plane back to England the day after she and Quint got home from the rodeo.

  There was no way she could go through that uncertainty again. He’d hurt her, and the minute things settled into some kind of normalcy between them, Quint invited her to spend the weekend with him.

  That was what he was doing, wasn’t it? Or was he just inviting her to go along to help? She knew that there was another woman who was part of the team. When Wren had told her that a few days prior, Darrow immediately assumed that had been the reason for Quint’s sudden personality change immediately following their night out
. It all made sense until Wren added that she was the fiancée of one of the other team members.

  If he had invited her along only to work, wouldn’t he have said so? Wouldn’t either he or Deck tell her what they expected of her?

  On the other hand, why would Quint tell her to bring “that pretty yellow dress” if it wasn’t something more.

  “Argh,” Darrow growled, looking up at the ceiling. These were the same thoughts that rolled around in her head all night long, and she still wasn’t any closer to figuring out what Quint’s motive was.

  “Knock, knock,” she heard Wren’s voice at her door.

  “Come in.” Darrow sat up in bed.

  “I brought you some tea.” Wren walked over and handed her the cup.

  “Thank you,” she said, wishing Wren had brought her coffee instead. The few times she’d had what Quint brewed in the morning, she’d really liked it. The only reason she went back to drinking tea was because she was mad at him.

  “Are you all set?”

  “I don’t know.” Darrow got out of bed and walked over to where she’d laid clothes out. “What do you think?”

  Wren joined her and looked at the mess of clothes. “Take this, but not this,” she said, separating everything from one pile into two. “I’ll be right back,” she said after more than half of Darrow’s clothes were moved to the “don’t take” side.

  She came back with an armful of garments that were far dressier than what Darrow had picked out.

  “Half the fun of going is at the parties every night. You’ll want to dress up a little for those.”

  “I have this one,” she said, holding up the yellow dress.

  Wren took it and held it up to her. “I like that one a lot.” She moved that back over to the “take pile” and held up another dress that was pink. “What do you think of this one?”

  “I love it, but you haven’t even worn it yet.” She pointed to the price tag that still hung from the sleeve.