“Do you want to keep my pistol with you?”

“No, thanks, I have my own.”

That surprised her. “Snakes in the big city, too?”

“The worst kind,” Leif admitted. “The nutcases and grief-stricken family members who think I helped free a guilty defendant.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

She stopped at her bedroom door, afraid she was a few heated breaths away from issuing the invitation to join her in her shower and in her bed. She needed a closed door between them, quick.

“Would you lock up once you get your gun?” she asked.

“You got it.”

He leaned in close. One finger trailed a path from her forehead to her lips. Her defenses plummeted. Anticipation curled in her stomach, and wispy waves of heat knotted in her chest.

His mouth found hers and she melted.

Unrepentant

Cowboy

Joanna Wayne

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JOANNA WAYNE was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from LSU Shreveport. She moved to New Orleans in 1984, and it was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. Her debut novel, Deep in the Bayou, was published in 1994.

Now, dozens of published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and single-title novels. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestseller list for romance and has won many industry awards. She is also a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.

Joanna currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star State. You may write Joanna at PO Box 852, Montgomery, Texas 77356, USA.

To my good friend Deedee, who always loves my books, and to my own children and grandchildren, who inspire me to write about loving families.

And a special thanks to my readers, who keep buying my books year after year and still ask for more.

You keep my spirits up and make writing worthwhile even when the going gets tough.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Prologue

Chapter One

Excerpt

Chapter One

“We, the jury, find the defendant, Edward Blanco, not guilty on all counts in the murder of Evelyn Cox.”

A synchronized gasp filled the courtroom accompanied by cries of horror and heartbreak from Evelyn’s family. They knew that justice had not been served.

Members of the defense team pounded Leif Dalton on the back and reached for his hand. Edward Blanco flashed the same innocent smile he’d displayed for the jury through weeks of testimony. Only this time contempt for the trial and everyone connected with it burned in his ebony eyes.

Leif avoided eye contact as Blanco expressed his gratitude in gloating terms. Then Leif turned and managed a nod toward the judge and jury. The handshakes Leif exchanged with members of his defense team were forced and meaningless.

For the second time in his life, he was almost certain he’d helped a killer escape punishment and walk free to likely kill again—unless someone killed him first.

The prosecution hadn’t had a chance. The evidence to convict Blanco simply hadn’t been there. Everything their lead attorney fed the jury was strictly circumstantial, and that wasn’t enough for jury members anymore.

They wanted the kind of proof they witnessed every week in countless TV police procedurals. They wanted a DNA match. They wanted a killer who looked like a killer instead of the handsome, sophisticated man you’d choose for your own daughter to marry.

But he couldn’t fault the jury for being fooled by Blanco. Leif had had his doubts about the man when the firm pressured him to take the case, but Blanco had quickly won him over. Throughout the trial Blanco had given an Oscar-worthy performance.

Until two days ago when the final arguments had been made and the jury had gone into deliberation. Then, confident that he was going to walk from the courtroom a free man, Blanco had let one careless comment slip.

The comment was not an admission of guilt, but it was more than enough to convince Leif that not only was Blanco a psychopath capable of stalking and brutally murdering an innocent woman, but that he’d experienced no guilt afterward.

Leif had done his job. He’d argued his client’s case honestly and effectively. He’d given Blanco what every citizen was guaranteed, the right to legal representation and a trial by jury.

Knowing that did nothing to alleviate the rumblings of guilt and remorse in the pit of his stomach.

“Let’s go grab a drink,” Chad encouraged. Chad was always the first one on his team ready to get down and party.

“Best whiskey in the house on me,” another team member said. “Leif Dalton, still undefeated.”

“I smell a promotion,” Chad said as he offered another clap on the back.

Their enthusiasm failed to generate any gusto on Leif’s part. “Sounds like fun, but I’m afraid you guys are going to have to celebrate without me.”

“You’re surely not going back to the office today. It’s almost five o’clock.”

“Plus, it’s the Monday before Thanksgiving,” Chad added. “Half the staff is on vacation.”

“So am I, as of right now,” Leif said. “But the trial was grueling. I’m beat.”

“That sounds like code for you have a better offer,” Morgan, one of the firms young law clerks, mocked.

A better offer. Damn. He was supposed to have dinner with Serena tonight.

“You caught me,” he said, faking a grin and trying to think of a halfway decent excuse for getting out of his date with the ravishing runway star.

He should have ended his relationship with her weeks ago. It was going nowhere. Probably mostly his fault. Relationship problems usually were. But possessive women made him feel caged, and Serena was growing more possessive by the day.

They walked out of the courthouse and into the bruising gray of threatening thunderclouds. He ducked from the crowd to avoid the flash of media cameras and the reporters pushing microphones at him.

When he looked up he was face-to-face with Evelyn Cox’s mother. She crucified him with her stare, then turned and stormed away without saying a word. He was tempted to run after her, but there wasn’t one thing he could say that would make her feel any better or hate him any less. Her beloved thirty-two-year-old daughter, the mother of her two precious grandchildren, was dead and her killer was free.

When he reached his car, he called and left a message for Serena. She’d be pissed. He’d broken at least a dozen dates during the weeks he’d been working on the Blanco case.

Leif sat behind the wheel of his black Porsche, staring into space while the jagged shards of his life played havoc with his mind. He was only thirty-eight.

He’d accomplished every professional goal he’d set for himself. His coworkers didn’t know it yet, but the deal was already in the works. He’d be named partner in Dallas’s most prestigious criminal defense law firm next month.

So why the hell was he fighting an overwhelming urge to start driving and not stop until Texas was so far behind him he couldn’t even see it in his mind?

Finally, he started the engine and began the short drive to his downtown condominium. He flicked on the radio. A local talk show host was reporting on a woman’s murder in a rural area just outside Dallas.

The victim’s identity hadn’t been released, but the body had been found by a hunter just after dawn this morning. The hunter had told reporters the body was covered in what looked like wounds from a hunting knife.

Sickening images crept into Leif’s mind, remnants of crime-scene photos that had a way of lingering in the dark crevices of his consciousness long after the juries had made their decisions.

He frequently had to remind himself that the world was full of kind, loving, sane people. Psychos like Edward Blanco and whoever had committed this morning’s murder were the exception. That didn’t make it any easier on the victims’ families.

Leif listened to the details—at least the details the police had given the media. He knew there were a few they’d keep secret—identifying facts that only they and the killer would know.

The body had been discovered in a rural area southwest of Dallas near the small town of Oak Grove.

Leif had been in that area a few months back when he’d made a wasted trip to Dry Gulch Ranch. For all he knew, he might have driven by the victim’s house. She would have been alive then, planning her future, thinking she had a long life in front of her.

Or perhaps not. She might have been involved with drug addicts and dealers or a jealous boyfriend who’d kill rather than lose her.

A streak of lightning slashed through thick layers of dark clouds as Leif pulled into the parking garage. The crash of thunder that followed suggested the storm was imminent.

Leif flicked off the radio, left the car with the valet and took the key-secured elevator to the twenty-second floor.

Once inside his condo, he headed straight for the bar and poured himself two fingers of Glenmorangie. Glass in hand, he walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, pulled back the drapes and stared out at the city just as huge raindrops began to pelt the glass.

His thoughts shifted to the Dry Gulch Ranch and the infamous reading of R. J. Dalton’s will. Not that his biological father was dead, at least not yet. Or if he was Leif hadn’t been notified. He wouldn’t have made it to the funeral under any circumstances.

The old reprobate had had no use for Leif or his younger brother, Travis, when they’d desperately needed a father. Leif didn’t need or want R.J. in his life now. He definitely wouldn’t be letting R.J. manipulate his life as specified in his absurd will.

Leif took a slow sip of the whiskey and tried to clear his mind of troubling thoughts. Only along with everything else that was festering inside him tonight, the truth about his own failures forced its way to the forefront.

His failed marriage. The divorce. His relationship—or lack of one—with his teenage daughter, Effie.

His daughter had blamed the split between him and her mother totally on him. Leif had let it go at that, though the marriage had been a mistake from the beginning.

What they’d taken for love had probably been lust and their drives to succeed. In the end their shared workaholic, competitive tendencies had driven them apart. Marriage had become a stressful balancing act between two people who had nothing but their beloved daughter in common.

Celeste had suggested the divorce, but Leif had been the one who moved out. That was five years ago. Leif had been sure Effie would understand and come around with time. She hadn’t, and she was fifteen now.

His career move from San Francisco to Dallas hadn’t helped. What with his and Celeste’s schedules and Effie’s school and extracurricular activities, quality time with his daughter had become harder and harder to come by.

He saw Effie twice a year now, a week of summer vacation and the week between Christmas and New Year’s. He made the trip to California. In spite of his coaxing, she’d never once visited him in Dallas.

He downed the last of his drink and then went back to the bar and refilled his glass. He’d just set the bottle down when he heard a timid tapping at his door. No doubt one of his neighbors since a visitor had to have a key to the building or else be buzzed inside by a tenant.

He ignored the would-be visitor and loosened his tie.

There was another knock, this one much louder than the first. Irritated, Leif walked to the door and peered through the keyhole to see who was so persistent.

Tattered jeans. A gray hoodie. Bright amber eyes shadowed by smeared mascara peering from beneath strands of dark, wet hair that had fallen over her forehead. A jolt rocked along his nerve endings.

His hands shook as he opened the door to greet the last person he’d expected to see tonight.

Chapter Two

Effie lowered her gaze to the toes of her wet boots, suddenly sure that coming here had been a miserable mistake.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Effie. What are you doing here?”

Not the welcome most girls would expect from a father they hadn’t seen in months. She went back to staring at her boots since she didn’t have a great answer to his question.

He opened the door wider. “Come in. You’re soaked.”

“It’s raining,” she said, stating the obvious. She pushed her wet bangs to the side and leaned against the wall to wiggle out of her boots.

“There must have been some miscommunication,” her dad said. “I had no idea you were coming.”

“I meant to call first.” She shrugged out of her wet hoodie.

Her father took the hoodie and placed it on an odd-shaped granite-topped table that took up most of the marble entryway. “Where’s your mother?” he asked.

“She’s in England on business. But it was her idea that I fly down and spend Thanksgiving with you.”

“I’m glad she did.” Finally, he pulled her into his arms for a hug.

Once the hug was out of the way, the reunion grew even more awkward. He looked past her, picked up her two suitcases and set them inside the condo.

She shifted her heavy computer bag from one shoulder to the other.

“Here, let me take that for you,” he offered. Once the bag was on his shoulder, he closed and locked the door. “So you just flew from San Francisco to Dallas by yourself?” he asked, still looking puzzled.

“I’m fifteen.”

“And no longer a kid, I know. Still, I can’t imagine your mother letting you make the trip without checking with me first. What if I’d been out of town on business?”

“I was supposed to call, but then I forgot and...” She was never easy with lying. She’d actually hoped he’d be out of town. “If you have plans for the holiday, you don’t have to change them on my account.”

“I have no plans. If I did, I’d definitely change them. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you.”

His expression didn’t mimic his words.

She turned away, aware of all the leather, glass and mirrors that surrounded her. The room felt more like an impersonal waiting room in a fancy office than a home.

“When did your mother go to England?” he asked.

“Two weeks ago.”

“That’s a long time to be away from home. Does that happen often?”

“It has this year. Mom’s working on a big project.” And a new life. Which meant a new life for Effie, as well. It definitely wouldn’t be here in this condo. Not in London, either, if she got her way. Which was the real reason she was here.

“I didn’t realize she’s away so much.”

“It’s her job, Dad. And it’s not like I need her around every second. I have school and my friends. And I’ve been helping out at a local horse stable in exchange for riding lessons.”

“I heard about that. Your mother emailed a picture of you in the saddle. She said you were becoming a full-fledged cowgirl.”

“Not so much a cowgirl, but I like horseback riding.”

“So do I, though I haven’t done much of it lately. Who stays with you when your mother is away?”

“If she’s on a short trip, you know, less than a week, then she usually lets me stay with my friend Betts—not that I need a babysitter.” Try telling that to her mother.

“And when it’s a long trip, like this one?” he questioned.

“Grandma and Granddad drive down from Portland. They dropped me off at the airport before they drove home today.”

“How are your grandparents?”

“Grandma’s doing fine. Granddad’s having problems with his arthritis. He can’t get around as well as he used to.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She was tempted to bring up her other grandparent now, but she decided to wait. As her mother always said, timing was everything. And she couldn’t risk any problems with her plan.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I could eat. All they gave us on the plane was peanuts. They were selling sandwiches, but they looked as lousy as some of that stuff they pass off for food in the school cafeteria.”

“I can order pizza. You do still like pizza, don’t you?”

“Sure. As long as it doesn’t have weird stuff on it like asparagus or pineapple.”

“No way. I’m talking real pizza. Pepperoni, sausage, extra cheese, the works. But first we should probably call your mother and let her know you arrived safely.”

“I texted her when the plane landed and told her I’d made it to Dallas.”

“You should have called me from the airport. I would have picked you up myself or sent a car for you.”

“I called your office. They said you were in court so I took a taxi.”

“How did you get inside the building?”

“Easy. When the driver let me out, I dashed for the awning over the front door and just walked into the building with a woman who was fighting to close her umbrella in the wind. I figured if you weren’t here, I’d try calling your cell phone.”

“Thankfully, I came straight home from the courthouse. I got here a few minutes before you.” He took a phone from his pocket and ordered the pizza.

Effie looked around a bit more. There were several framed photographs sitting around of her and her dad together. Guess that meant he didn’t totally forget her when she was out of sight.

One of the photos was of him holding her in his arms when she was a baby. At least she guessed that was her. Another was of her holding his hand, a pair of Mickey Mouse ears propped on her head, the Disneyland sign in the background. Both of those had to have been taken long before the divorce.

The other photos included a shot of the two of them in the surf on Oahu and another with them zip-lining over a Puerto Rican rainforest. She remembered both of those trips well. Trips were okay, but she’d felt as if she were traveling with some big-shot stranger.

“You should slip into some dry clothes,” he said. “I can throw those in the washer for you.”

“Sure.” Stupid washing machine was probably so fancy he didn’t trust her to use it.

“I’ll show you to the guest room. There are clean sheets on the bed and clean towels in the adjoining bathroom. There’s also a guest robe in the closet if you want to get comfortable.”

Like they were going to spend a kick-back night together. He picked up her bags, and she followed him to a room that looked like it belonged in one of those Scottish castles they’d visited last Christmas. She couldn’t imagine throwing her jeans across the pristine white love seat or kicking out of her shoes and flopping onto a bed covered in a silk coverlet and piled down with designer-coordinated pillows.

“Has anyone ever slept in here?” she asked.

“No,” he admitted. “The room has never been used. Saving the christening for you.”

“How long have you lived here?”

“A little over a year. I was hoping I could persuade you to come here for Christmas vacation, but this is even better. It will be my best Thanksgiving in years.”

Her father set her bags down and opened the closet. “I can get more hangers if you need them.”

“That’s okay. I didn’t bring any dresses. My jeans and T-shirts are just fine folded.” And if things went as planned, she wouldn’t be here long enough to unpack or to spill a soft drink all over his expensive coverlet.

He opened the top drawer in a tall chest. “When do you have to fly back to California?”

“I have a flight for Sunday afternoon.”

“Great. That gives us almost a full week for me to show you Dallas—unless you’d rather go somewhere else for Thanksgiving. It’s late to set up a long trip, but there are some great dude ranches within a few hours of here. We can go horseback riding and hiking and toast s’mores around a campfire.”

Now they were getting somewhere. She hadn’t planned on rocking the boat quite so soon, but she was never going to get a better opening than this. She took a deep breath and took the plunge.

“I’ve been to dude ranches in California. They’re fun, but kinda corny. What I’d really like to do is visit a real working Texas ranch.”

“I can probably work that out. One of the attorneys in our firm has a spread in the Hill Country and he’s been trying to get me to come up for a long weekend. I’ll give him a call while we’re waiting on the pizza.”

“No.” The protest flew from her mouth before she could stop it. If she wasn’t careful, this would get out of hand. She didn’t want to go to just any ranch. “Why not visit the Dry Gulch Ranch?” she asked. “It’s only an hour from Dallas.”

From the look on her dad’s face, you’d think she’d just suggested they visit the devil himself. Her mother had warned her it would be like this.

“How do you know about the Dry Gulch Ranch?”

“I got a letter from my grandfather.”

Her father’s face turned a fierce shade of red. “R.J. wrote to you?”

“It was just a note, Dad. No big deal.”

“What did he write?”

“The basics. He said he was getting old and his health isn’t so good. He’s got a brain tumor. He said you knew about that. Anyway, he wants to meet me before he dies, so he invited me to his ranch.”

“Oh, he did, did he? Did you show your mother that note?”

“I did. She said that was between me, you and my grandfather.”

“It would have been nice if she’d prepared me for this.”

“R. J. Dalton is my grandfather. I don’t see why you’re getting so freaked out about my wanting to meet him.”

“I’ll tell you why. R.J. has never been a part of my life. He’s my father by blood only.”

“Blood is thicker than water, they say.”

Her dad was clearly not amused. “Did you answer R.J.’s note?”

“Yes,” she said, seeing no reason to lie about it. “I’ve written him several times. We have a lot in common.”

“Like what?”

“He’s into horses. So am I, and I’d really like to visit the Dry Gulch Ranch and meet him and the horses.”

Her dad looked as if he was ready to throw her back out into the storm. “That explains why you’re here in Dallas.”

She couldn’t deny that. “I told him I’d spend Thanksgiving with him. I thought we could both go. I mean, if your father’s dying, don’t you want to at least go say goodbye?”

“We said our goodbyes years ago. His choice.”

Kind of like he had when he’d moved out of the house and then across the country, ripping her life apart in the process. But she wasn’t there to deal with that, not when she needed him to take her side against her well-meaning mother.

She crossed her arms. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I’d really like to meet my grandfather. It’s important to me. Really important, Dad. It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving Day. We could drive out tomorrow.”

“R. J. Dalton is not the man you think he is.”

“Don’t you think I should find that out for myself?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well, I do. I’d like to meet him, and this might be my only chance.”

Her father raked his fingers through his hair. He looked older than she remembered him, but he was still handsome. And she didn’t just think that because he was her father. Betts thought he was handsome, too.

Now she just needed him to be reasonable. “Please, Dad,” she pleaded. “Can’t we just drive out to the Dry Gulch Ranch? We don’t have to stay long. If nothing else, I could see the horses.”

Her dad looked away and then exhaled slowly.

“Okay,” he said. His agreement took her by surprise. “I’ll drive you out to the ranch tomorrow, but don’t expect too much in the way of R.J.’s becoming a grandfather to you. Family relationships are dispensable to him.”

A trait her father had obviously inherited.

But R.J. had a ranch and horses and he wanted to know her better. He could be the answer to all her problems—if her father didn’t ruin her plans and her life yet again.

Chapter Three

Joni Griffin leaned over the injured horse, gingerly applying the flexible vet wrap over the pillow wrap. Her hands moved with precision as she made sure the bandaging fit snugly enough to hold it in place but not so tight it caused undue pain.

R.J. watched the procedure over Joni’s shoulder and muttered reassurances to the beautiful filly. “Poor girl. I should have been watching you more closely. Instead I let you get hurt.”

“Horses get wounds just like people do,” Joni said. “You can’t prevent all of them. The good thing is you caught this one early and the cut’s not all that deep.”

“You think Miss Dazzler will be okay then?”

“I think she’s going to be just fine, but you’ll need to keep applying the hydrotherapy a few times a day until the swelling goes down, and the bandaging will have to be replaced each time. I also recommend one gram of phenylbutazone twice a day to help with the swelling.”

“I can handle the bute and probably the treatment and bandaging if I have some help from Corky or Adam, but I don’t wanna go trusting Miss Dazzler to anyone who’s not a trained vet.”

“I’m sure Adam can judge if the wound is healing right,” Joni said. “Your son is amazing with horses. So is his wife, for that matter.”

“Right on both counts. I notice you and my daughter-in-law have spent a lot of time together of late.”

“Can’t help but like Hadley. And your granddaughters are adorable.”

“Yes, they are, but they’re a handful. That’s why I hate to ask Hadley to take on the full responsibility of Miss Dazzler, especially with Thanksgiving just two days away. She and Mattie Mae have been cooking up a storm.”

“Sounds delicious.”

“It will be. How about you join us for lunch that day?”

“I just may do that. Actually, Hadley has already invited me.”

“Good. I s’pect we’ll have enough food to feed half the citizens of Oak Grove.”

“Then I’ll definitely come and try to eat my share.”

“Good. Now back to Miss Dazzler. I want somebody who knows what they’re doing to take a good look at that wound every day, just to be sure it’s healing right.”

“I could show Adam what to look for.”

“He’s off at a cattle auction today.”

“What about Corky?”

“He’s a good enough cattle wrangler, but I don’t trust him to take care of Miss Dazzler’s injured fetlock. Not that he wouldn’t like helping you do it. I think he’s got a crush on you. Can’t say that I blame him, mind you. If I were younger—”

“Okay, enough with the flattery. I’ll see Miss Dazzler once a day until the fetlock is completely healed.”

“I sure would appreciate that.”

Joni smiled. It was hard to turn R.J. down, even though she already had a full plate this week. But R.J. loved his horses. That was always a plus in her book.

And she admired the way he hadn’t given up on living even with the inoperable brain tumor slowly stealing his health and his life.

Miss Dazzler nuzzled Joni’s neck as if she understood that she was to be treated like royalty.

“Hiring you to join his practice was the best decision Doc Benson made since he married that pretty little filly of his,” R.J. said.

“Thank you. Be sure and tell him that.”

“I do, every chance I get.”

The decision had been great for her, as well. Blake Benson’s practice offered the perfect opportunity for her to utilize her equine vet training. And he definitely had enough work to keep both of them busy.

Joni walked over to the freshwater spigot and washed her hands with a bar of soap hanging from rope attached to a large nail. “Will any of your other children be joining you for Thanksgiving?” she asked.

“Probably not.”

“So, no takers except Adam on the terms of your will?”

“Nope. Haven’t heard from nary a one of them except my oldest son, Jake. He’s called a time or two to bombard me with questions.”

“That shows he’s concerned about you.”

“Weren’t none of those questions about my health. I guaran-damn-tee you that.”

“Then what does he ask about?”

“The ranch. The will’s provisions? My sanity, though he don’t say that directly. I s’pect he wants to buy the ranch for himself—or find a way to beat me out of it.”

“Ah, an apple that didn’t fall far from the tree,” she teased.

“Probably why the two of us don’t gee-haw in harmony.”

Joni didn’t question R.J.’s sanity, but she could see why his children might think he was sliding into senility. He’d invited them all to the reading of his will without letting them know he was still alive.

Then he’d insisted they move back to the ranch and take part in its operation for one full year if they wanted to inherit their share of the eight-million-dollar estate. So far only Adam had moved back, but he hadn’t actually had to disrupt his life.

According to Hadley, Adam was just getting over injuries sustained while on active duty as a marine in Afghanistan and hadn’t even had a job, much less a successful career, when he’d made the decision to move onto the ranch.

Besides, R.J. had jumped in to help when Adam’s young daughters were abducted. That had given Adam a bit more incentive to get to know his father.

R.J. stepped away and spit a stream of tobacco into a spittoon near the back of the barn. “I don’t blame my kids for having no use for me,” he said once he’d wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his flannel shirt. “I was never a decent father to any of them. But it’s my money and I’ll do what I damn well please with it.”

“The one with the gold makes the rules?”

He scratched his ruddy, whiskered jaw. “Call it what you please. Blood kin or not, I’m not leaving my ranch or my money to someone ’less I get to know them first and figure they’re worthy.”

“Did you define worthy in the will?”

“No, but I should have put it in there. Might have my attorney go back and take care of that.”

Joni doubted he’d go that far. She was fairly certain that R.J. just wanted a chance to get to know all his children before the brain tumor claimed his life. And from what she knew of the crusty old rancher, he definitely wouldn’t be beyond a little manipulation to get what he wanted.

“Did I tell you that I’ve been in contact with one of my granddaughters?” R.J. asked.

“No. How exciting for you.”

“Yep. Effie Dalton. She lives in California, but she’s going to be in Dallas visiting my son Leif this week. She wants to come out to the Dry Gulch and spend a few days.”

Joni struggled to remember the basics of what R.J. had told her about his children in extensive detail over the past few weeks. “Is Leif the divorced defense attorney?”

“Yep. That’s the one. Haven’t heard a word from him since the reading of the will, but Effie thinks she can convince him to drive her out here.”

“I know you’d love that.”

“Doggone right, unless Leif’s coming would just mean trouble. I told Effie if her dad wouldn’t drive her out here to call me and I’d send a car to pick her up—anywhere, anytime.”

“How old is she?”

“Fifteen. She lives with her mother. But get this. She loves horses and she’s already talking about becoming an equine vet. I’d sure like for you to meet her while she’s here. Maybe give her some encouragement.”

“I’d love to. But now I’d best get to my next patient. You keep an eye on Miss Dazzler for me. And remember, she needs stall rest until the swelling is gone.”

“No problem. I’ll just come down and sit with her if she gets lonesome.”

Joni suspected that if he’d taken as much interest in his children when they were growing up as he did his horses now, he wouldn’t have to use bribes and manipulation to get them to visit him.

A horse at the far end of the elaborately renovated horse barn neighed.

“Old Bullet’s calling my name,” R.J. said. “Think I’ll have Corky saddle him up so I can take him for a short ride.”

“Should you be riding alone?”

He gave her a wink and a click of his tongue. “Are you hinting you want to go along with me?”

No doubt he’d been as much a womanizer in his younger days as the locals claimed. His flirting was totally harmless now, though.

“I’d love to ride with you, Mr. Dalton, but I have three other calls to make this afternoon. I’ll be lucky if I make it back here to check on Miss Dazzler by dark.”

“You’re too pretty to work all the time. You need a man to go home to. I’ve still got four unmarried sons, you know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Now you take care of yourself and I’ll be back first thing in the morning to check on Miss Dazzler.”

“You be careful and don’t be out on these old deserted roads by yourself at night. I guess you heard about Evie Monsant getting murdered yesterday.”

“I heard about a body being found yesterday morning. I didn’t know it was Evie’s until I saw the police tape all around her gate and house when I drove past last night on my way home.”

“The media are already claiming it might be the work of The Hunter,” R.J. said. “I don’t put no stock in that myself, though. I’d put my money on her knowing the guy who killed her.”

“Why?”

“She was a strange woman. Sticking to herself all the time. The way I heard it, she’d hardly say howdy if she met you face on. No telling what she was mixed up in.”

Joni wasn’t so sure. “The news reporters must know something if they’re saying her death could be the work of a serial killer.”

“Not necessarily. Those blowhards love putting the fear in everybody. Gets ’em higher ratings.”

“I hope you’re right. Not that it would make it any better for Evie, but the thought of a serial killer in Oak Grove is bloodcurdling,” Joni admitted.

“You just be careful,” R.J. said. “But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. This is about as peaceful a place as you can find in all of Texas. I figure Evie Monsant brought her trouble with her.”

“Maybe.” But unexpected anxiety skidded along Joni’s nerve endings as R.J. walked her to her aging pickup truck. She’d grown up in a rural area much like this one, where neighbors looked out for one another. She’d always felt safe, the same as she had since moving to Oak Grove nine months ago.

Still she might sleep with her shotgun in easy reach tonight.

She said her goodbyes to R.J., climbed behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition. The motor made a grinding noise and then sputtered and died. It did the same on the second try. On the third try, there wasn’t even a grind.

So much for getting through and getting home before dark.

* * *

EFFIE JUMPED OUT of Leif’s black sports car and rushed to the metal gate. She unlatched it and hitched a ride on the bottom rung as it swung open, her ponytail bouncing behind her.

Her excitement over arriving at the Dry Gulch Ranch equaled Leif’s displeasure. He’d done his best to talk her into a trip to anywhere but there. He’d even considered buying her a horse of her own when she got back to California, one she could keep at the stables where she worked.

That had felt too much like a bribe. Besides, his ex would have killed him, a fate only slightly worse than playing nice with R.J. all afternoon. But Leif was also spending time with Effie, so there was a silver lining to his misery.

Once he’d driven across the cattle gap, Effie took her time getting back in the car; her gaze was focused on a young deer that had stepped out of a cluster of sycamore trees a few yards in front of them. She stood as still as a statue until the deer turned and ran back into the woods.

His daughter had obviously spent far too much time in the confines of the city.

She fastened her seat belt. “Grandpa didn’t say he had deer on the ranch, too.”

Grandpa. The word sounded irritatingly strange when used by Effie for a man he barely knew and Effie didn’t know at all. “Who told you to call R.J. Grandpa?”

“I asked him what I should call him and he suggested Grandpa. That’s what his twin granddaughters call him.”

Leif seethed but went back to safer territory. “I suspect there are all kinds of creatures who call the Dry Gulch home.”

“What kind of creatures?” Effie asked.

“Possums. Raccoons. Armadillos. Foxes. Skunks. Rattlesnakes.”

“Rattlesnakes. Really?” She screwed her face into a repulsed scowl.

“Yes, but probably not out and about much this time of the year, though it’s warm enough today you’d need to be careful if you were traipsing through high grass or walking along the riverbank.”

“There’s a river on the property?”

“More like a creek, but they call it a river.”

“Can you swim in it? Not now, I know, but in the summer.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“It doesn’t matter. Grandpa says there’s a spring-fed pool for swimming. There’s also a small lake where he goes fishing. He said he’ll teach me how. Do you remember the ranch at all?”

“Not from when I was a kid.”

“When else were you here?”

“I paid a visit to the Dry Gulch a few months back along with your uncle Travis and R.J.’s four other biological children. We were given a tour of the ranch.”

“You had a family reunion?”

“More like a reading of R.J.’s commandments.”

“What does that mean?”

He knew he should let it go, but all Effie was getting from R.J. was propaganda. She should be exposed to a little of the truth.

“R.J. wants all his offspring to move back to the ranch and raise cattle. It’s a requirement if we want to be included in his will.”

“So if you move back here, part of the ranch will belong to you?”

That had backfired. Effie made it sound like manna from heaven instead of the bribe it was. “I’m not moving back here, so it’s a moot point, but, yes, that’s the gist of it.”

“Why not move out here? I mean, who wouldn’t want to own part of a ranch?”

“I’m not a rancher. I’m an attorney.”

“What about Uncle Travis?”

“He’s perfectly happy as a Dallas homicide detective. Believe me, he wants no part of R.J. or the Dry Gulch, either.”

Effie exhaled sharply. “Well, I do. You could inherit it and give it to me.”

He should have known not to get into this with Effie. Horses were her current phase. Naturally, she’d think living on a ranch was a super idea.

Effie went back to staring out the window. “Did you move to Dallas to be closer to Uncle Travis?”

“No. He moved here after I did. He was a detective in Louisiana before taking a job in Dallas.”

“So he moved to be closer to you?”

“No. He moved because he wanted a fresh start.”

“Did he get divorced, too?”

“No. He was instrumental in getting a crooked police chief sent to jail. Why all the questions?”

“No reason.” She went back to observing the passing scenery. The wooded area had given way to acres of pasture. A few head of cattle were off to the right, some grazing, most resting.

“Is this all part of the Dry Gulch?” Effie asked.

“So I was told.”

“Where’s Grandpa’s house?”

“We’re almost there. Keep watching and you’ll make out the roof and chimneys when we round the next curve.”

She stretched her neck for a better look and then started wiggling in her seat when the house came into view. The century-old structure in desperate need of a face-lift apparently excited her a lot more than his plush penthouse condo had.

A few minutes later, Leif pulled into the driveway that led to the separate three-car garage and stopped next to a beat-up pickup truck with a lifted hood. R.J. stood next to the right fender.

“Is that my grandfather?” Effie asked.

“That’s R. J. Dalton.”

She opened the door a crack and then hesitated, as if unsure of herself or of him. But when R.J. saw her and waved, she jumped from the car and ran to meet him much in the way she’d run to meet Leif when she was a little girl.

R.J. opened his arms, and Effie eagerly stepped into a giant bear hug. A pain so intense he nearly doubled over from it punched Leif in the chest. It had been years since Effie had hurled herself into his arms.

Reluctantly, Leif climbed from beneath the wheel and planted his feet on the concrete drive while R.J. and Effie exchanged greetings. He didn’t see the woman until he’d walked to the other side of the stalled truck.

She was leaning over the engine with an expression on her face that suggested she’d like to plant a stick of dynamite under the hood and put the truck out of its misery.

“What’s the problem?” Leif asked, thankful for any excuse to avoid dealing with R.J., even if only for a few seconds.

“Her battery conked out on her,” R.J. answered for her.

“With misfortune’s usual bad timing,” she muttered.

“It could have been worse,” R.J. said. “You could have been stranded on one of these back roads.”

“Like I was yesterday,” she said. “Fortunately, Tague Lambert happened by and gave me a start. He took a look at the battery and said I should get it replaced.”

“So why didn’t you?” Leif asked.

“I was planning to take it into Abe’s Garage in Oak Grove tomorrow. Wednesday’s my day off. Do you have a pair of jumper cables I can borrow, Mr. Dalton?”

“Sure as shootin’.”

Leif stepped in closer for a better look at the dead battery before turning to the woman. She wasn’t flagrantly sexy like Serena, but she had a natural girl-next-door kind of freshness about her. Impulsively, he checked her ring finger.

No golden band, but unless looks were deceiving she was much too young to engage in a tryst with a jaded, approaching-forty attorney like himself.

Not that he was interested in a new relationship. He hadn’t cleared the breakup hurdle of the one he was in yet.

“Even if you get the truck started, the battery is likely to give out on you again,” Leif said. “I don’t think you should try to drive it.”

“I don’t have a lot of choice. Sam Loden and his ailing mare are expecting me in about twenty minutes.”

“Don’t you go worrying,” R.J. said. “I’ll get you to Sam’s, but first we need some introductions.” He rested a thin, wrinkled hand on Effie’s shoulder. “This is my granddaughter Effie Dalton, the one I told you about.”

The woman wiped her hands on her jeans. “You must be the California granddaughter who loves horses?”

Effie smiled. “That’s me.”

“Then we have something in common. I love horses, too. And your grandfather has some of the most beautiful and spirited ones in the county.”

“I can’t wait to see them,” Effie said.

“You won’t have to wait long,” R.J. assured her. He turned back to the woman. “This is Joni Griffin, the best vet in six counties—the prettiest, too.”

A blush reddened Joni’s cheeks. “There you go again. Flattery will not lower your bill.”

“It’s not flattery when it’s true,” R.J. said.

Leif extended a hand to the woman. “I’m Leif Dalton, Effie’s father.”

“And R.J.’s son,” she acknowledged. “R.J.’s told me all about you.”

He wouldn’t begin to guess what that might include, since he figured R.J. knew very little about him except his name. And that he had a daughter who R.J. figured he could manipulate.

R.J. put out a hand to him. Leif had no choice but to take it or be seen as a total ass.

R.J.’s grip was much stronger than expected.

“Glad you and Effie are here?” R.J. said.

Leif only nodded. It was better than an outright lie. He turned back to the woman. “Can I give you a ride somewhere or take you to get a new battery?”

“You just got here,” she said. “You’ve hardly had a chance to say hello to your dad.”

An added benefit. “I’m sure he and Effie can find plenty to talk about until I get back.”

“Actually, that’s a dang good idea,” R.J. said. “You drive the doc to Sam’s place and I’ll have my wrangler Corky take her truck into Oak Grove so that Abe can install a new battery.”

Leif turned back to Joni. “I’m game if you are.”

“Sam’s ranch is off a dirt road. You’ll get your sports car layered in mud from last night’s rain.”

“Mud I can handle. Not too keen on driving through whatever made all those scratches on your truck, though.”

“You won’t. Those are from a few of my more adventuresome trips.”

“Through an Amazon jungle?”

“Close. Through Texas brush.”

“So that’s settled,” R.J. said. “You two go heal animals and get to know each other. Corky will get a replacement battery, and Effie and me will check out the horses and try out the cookies Mattie Mae baked this morning.”

Leif turned to his daughter. “Is that arrangement okay with you, Effie?”

“It’s better than okay. I can’t wait to see the horses.”

“Call me if you need me for any reason,” he said.

“Dad. I’m fifteen, not two.”

“She’ll be fine,” R.J. assured him, as if he knew the first thing about parenting.

Leif was relieved for the chance to escape R.J.’s company, but as soon as they started walking toward his car, he had second thoughts about driving off and leaving his daughter alone with his so-called father.

“Be sure Effie meets the twins,” Joni called back to R.J. as she stopped at the door to Leif’s car.

“Absolutely,” R.J. agreed. “I’ll give Hadley a call now.”

“The twins?” Leif questioned as he climbed behind the steering wheel.

“Lila and Lacy, your half brother Adam’s daughters,” Joni answered. “They’re three and too adorable for words.”

So Joni wasn’t the only grandchild to be welcomed into the fold. Leif had received word from R.J.’s lawyer that Adam Dalton had been the first offspring to move onto the ranch. He hadn’t realized Adam was married or had children, but then he hadn’t really given it much thought.

His hand rested on the gearshift, but he made no move to shove it into Reverse.

“You don’t have to do this if you’d rather stay here with Effie and R.J. I can find someone to give me a lift,” Joni offered, obviously misreading his hesitation.

“Driving you to Sam’s isn’t a problem. I’m just not sure about leaving Effie here with my infamous father. Effie probably isn’t as competent on a horse as she’d like everyone to believe. R.J. is liable to put her on some wild horse she can’t control.”

“R.J. would never do that.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I know him. He’ll watch over her like a mother hen. Hadley fully trusts him with the twins, and they’re only three years old.”

“Okay, so I’m overreacting a bit, but you can’t be too careful these days.”

“Are you sure it’s just that you’re being careful? It sounds more like vindictive.”

“Trust me—I have good reason for the way I feel about R.J.”

“I know he wasn’t much of a father to you or any of his children. He admits that. But people can change. You might even like R.J. if you gave him a chance.”

“He had lots of chances. He blew them. Case closed.”

She honored that request, and a few minutes later they were on a back road, his sleek sports car hugging the curves as they made their way to Joni’s next four-legged patient.

Leif turned and studied Joni’s profile. He’d always liked long hair on women, but Joni’s short, shiny hair looked great on her. The bouncy locks hugged her cheeks and highlighted her long, dark eyelashes.

Even without makeup, her skin was flawless, so smooth it almost begged to be touched. Her lips were soft and inviting, her smile a killer. But it was the cute, slightly turned-up nose that added the final seductive touch.

Cute, casual, no apparent pretense, outspoken. She could definitely spell trouble.

But not for him.

The sooner he got out of Oak Grove, the better. He wanted no part of any attachment that would bring him back into R.J.’s world.

* * *

JONI GAVE LEIF directions to Sam Loden’s ranch and then leaned back with her eyes straight ahead. The car, with its soft leather seats, had that invigorating new-car smell. She felt as though she were riding on a cloud. So why was she so uncomfortable?

Because R.J. had practically forced her on the man, that’s why. Driving a vet around who smelled of horseflesh and antibiotic ointment was probably the last thing Leif wanted to be doing today.

Worse, he smelled of musky aftershave and was wearing a shirt that probably cost more than anything in her wardrobe. His jeans no doubt carried a designer label. Hers had a rip in the right leg and not the fake kind people paid extra for.

She raked her fingers through her short hair, tucking the right side behind her ear.

“You really didn’t have to do this,” she said, then was immediately sorry when she feared it made her sound ungrateful.

Leif turned toward her, a half smile playing on his lips. “I’ve heard all about Texas cowboy chivalry. I’m just trying to measure up.”

“Is there no chivalry among attorneys?”

“Not a good day to ask me that.”

“Why not?”

“I won a case yesterday that has me reconsidering my choice of professions.”

“I’ve had days like that. But shouldn’t winning have had the opposite effect?”

“One would think. But enough of my complaining. Let’s talk about you.”

“There’s nothing much to tell. I’m an Oklahoma gal who wound up in Texas making barn calls and trying to convince the local ranchers that a female can be as capable as a man when it comes to dealing with sick horses.”

“You’ve already won R.J.’s heart.”

“I spent the night helping one of his favorite mares get through a difficult birth my first month here. That made me a golden girl in his mind.”

“How do you fit in with the rest of Oak Grove?”

“So far, so good, except for the day of the UT/Oklahoma football game.”

“Understandable. We Texans do take our college football seriously.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a Longhorn alum?”

“No. I went to UCLA and then law school at Stanford. I’m barely a Texan except by birth. After Mother divorced R.J., she moved to San Francisco with my brother, Travis, and me. I only moved back to Dallas five years ago.”

“Born a Texan, always a Texan,” she said. “So say the natives.”

“Is this the turn up ahead?” he asked.

“Yes, and then look for an old church that hasn’t been used in years. It only has half a roof and seriously leans to the left. Just past that you’ll come to the gate of Sleeping Dogs Ranch. That’s the Loden spread.”

Leif slowed and took the turn. “So what’s it like dealing with cranky old ranchers all day?”

“I wouldn’t know. Most of the time I deal with terrific guys who just want the best care for their horses. It’s my dream job. However, there are times when I’m standing knee-deep in mud with my arms up to my elbows in horse while I try to coax a contrary foal into the world when I think I should have become a rock star.”

“Do you sing?”

“Nothing that doesn’t make the dogs howl. Hence the choice of becoming a vet was probably a wise one. What about you? What would you like to be on days you wish you weren’t an attorney?”

“Independently wealthy or maybe a Walmart greeter. Those guys usually look pretty chipper and there’s always junk food nearby.”

She laughed, surprised to find that the tension she’d felt earlier was quickly dissolving.

Leif slowed as they approached the gate to the Sleeping Dogs Ranch.

“The gate has an automatic lock,” she said. “The code is 6824. Enter it in that control box on your side, and I’ll call and let Sam know we’re here. That way he can meet me at the barn, tell me what needs attention and we can get right down to business.”

“That sounds a little kinky,” Leif said, his voice teasing.

A slow burn crept to her cheeks. The possibility of a kinky encounter in a barn definitely had potential.

But not with Sam Loden.

“Have you been in a lot of barns, Leif Dalton?”

“None in recent memory, but I’m always open to new experiences.”

And new experiences usually sent her back into her shell. Maybe it was time she opened up to something besides work.

But not with Leif Dalton. He was a heartache waiting to happen. She didn’t have time for that.

Still, there was no denying the buzz of awareness she felt just sitting next to him in a car.

Who knew what the day might bring?

Chapter Four

Leif had totally expected the afternoon to be a drag. As it turned out, the hours were flying by.

The doc was a pixie in jeans whose gentle persuasion with four-legged patients ten times her size was amazing. More impressive, not one of the seasoned ranchers had questioned her techniques or treatments. She undoubtedly knew her stuff.

This was their third stop, this one an emergency. Joni was tending a colicky horse that hadn’t responded to the rancher’s attempts to alleviate the pain.

The fretful horse was a two-year-old gelding. The panicky owner was a girl named Ruby, who appeared to be about Effie’s age. Joni’s stall-side manner was equally as reassuring to Ruby as it was to the horse.

His phone vibrated. Leif stepped away from his viewing spot just inside the barn door and checked the caller ID. Serena. He started to ignore the call. But if he didn’t answer, she’d call again. Serena was a very persistent woman.

Besides, he felt a little guilty about ignoring her while he was pretty much mesmerized by a female vet.

“Hello.”

“Leif, hi. It’s Serena.” All signs of the irritation she’d exhibited at his breaking their date had disappeared from her sultry voice.

“Hi, yourself. What’s up?”

“I was just wondering how your day with your daughter is going?”

“Better than expected,” he admitted without explaining that he wasn’t actually with Effie.

“Does that mean you can escape that horrid ranch and return to civilization soon?”

“The ranch isn’t horrid,” he corrected her. He had nothing against fresh air, open spaces or even horses and cattle. “It’s the ranch’s owner I have a problem with.”

“Then tell him that and head back to Dallas.”

“It’s not quite that simple. My schedule depends on Effie.” And Joni’s truck that he sure as hell wasn’t about to mention.

“I have an offer neither you nor Effie can refuse,” Serena crooned in her sexiest voice. “If you leave for Dallas now, you’ll get home in time to show Effie how much more exciting Dallas society life is compared to hanging out with a bunch of smelly horses.”

“That would be a hard sell with Effie.”

“What if I throw in a fabulous outfit for her to wear? Just tell me her sizes and I can have one of the personal shoppers at Neiman’s pick out a dress and shoes and have them delivered to your condo.”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Mallory George called a few minutes ago. Her daughter and son-in-law canceled for the opera tonight and Mallory’s invited us and Effie to share their box.”

He tried without total success to keep from laughing. “You have about as much chance of talking Effie into an opera as I do talking you into a hoedown.”

“I’m not sure what a hoedown is but even the name sounds disgusting.”

“Exactly.”

“But I’m not just suggesting a musical performance,” Serena persisted. “Afterward, there’s a champagne reception for the world-famous soprano who has the starring role. It’s black tie. Glitz and glamour equal to any D.C. event.”

“I’m pretty sure Effie’s not high on glitz and glamour.”

“Nonsense. Any teenage girl alive would be thrilled with this opportunity. Your daughter will be so impressed, she’ll forget all about horses and that Dry Goon Ranch.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, and it’s the Dry Gulch Ranch.”

“Whatever.”

“Look, I appreciate the offer, Serena, but even if I wanted to give it a whirl, I can’t make it back to Dallas in time.”

“You could if you left now.”

“Sorry. No can do. This is Effie’s day, and she’s determined to spend it in the saddle. You go to the opera and reception and have a marvelous time. I’ll call you next week after Effie has flown back to California. We can get together then.”

And when they did, he’d be honest with Serena and try to explain to her and himself why he had no enthusiasm for continuing a relationship with one of the continent’s most beautiful women.

“After Thanksgiving I’ll be in Miami for two weeks on a photo shoot,” Serena said, sounding irritated. “And then I’ll be flying to London for a Vogue shoot. I won’t be back in Dallas until Christmas. I explained all of that to you last week. Did you forget?”

“Of course not,” he lied. “I’ll call you in Miami.”

“If that’s the best you can do, don’t bother.”

“I don’t think this is the best time to discuss this.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. It’s clear that I’m at the bottom of your list of priorities.”

That was about the size of it. Still he hated breaking up over the phone. It was kind of like leaving a note on the pillow the morning after. Zero class.

“We should talk, Serena, but now isn’t the time.”

“Save your breath, Leif. There’s nothing left to talk about.” She broke the connection.

He felt like a louse. A relieved louse. But to be fair, he’d warned her from the first he wouldn’t be putting a ring on her finger or going furniture shopping. He was not a forever-type guy.

His phone vibrated again as he slipped it back in his pocket. Evidently, Serena had more to say.

He took the call. “I’m sorry if I pissed you off,” he said, “but—”

“What?”

Damn. It was R.J. “I thought it was someone else on the phone.”

“Must have been a woman.”

“How’d you guess?”

“You started the conversation with an apology.”

“Good point,” Leif agreed. “Is the doc’s truck ready to roll?”

“Nope. Turns out the battery’s dying in my driveway might have been a blessing. That old jalopy has a slew of problems.”

“Like what?”

“An oil leak. Hoses that need replacing. An engine in desperate need of a tune-up. It’s a wonder the darn thing ran at all.”

“Sounds like Joni needs to become bosom buddies with the local mechanic.”

“Or else buy a new truck,” R.J. said. “In the meantime, I told Abe to go ahead and take care of what needs fixing.”

“Don’t you think you should have talked to Joni first?”

“Nope. No use to jaw about it when something has to be done. Can’t have a sweet thing like Joni riding around in a vehicle that’s likely to leave her stranded on some dark country road. When Abe’s finished, the doc’s ride should be as safe as a banker’s wallet.”

Leif had his doubts about that. He figured the only guarantee that truck would be safe was to replace it with a new one. “Did you get a cost estimate?”

“Don’t matter. Abe’s fair. He’s not gonna rip off anybody. I told him to bill the repairs to me. Joni can pay me back whenever she has some spare cash lying around.”

“That’s mighty generous of you.” And presumptuous. The same kind of controlling behavior that made R.J. think he could order his adult children around after ignoring them all their lives.

R.J. might convince Effie this sudden concern for family was genuine. Leif wasn’t buying it.

“Where and when do we pick up the truck?” Leif asked.

“Abe says it won’t be ready until late—maybe not until tomorrow. Just bring Joni back here with you and she can have dinner with us. After that one of us can drive her home if the truck’s not ready.”

There he went again. Making decisions for other people without consulting them. “Did it occur to you that Joni might have other plans for the evening?”

“Do you always go looking for complications, Leif? Sure you do,” he muttered without waiting for a response. “You’re a damned attorney.”

“I suppose you have a problem with that.”

“Don’t go getting riled,” R.J. said. “Didn’t mean it as an insult.”

Of course he had, but Leif didn’t give a damn what R.J. thought of him. “I’ll extend your invitation,” Leif said. “Whether Joni accepts or not is up to her.”

“Tell her Adam is grilling some Dry Gulch steaks. Hadley’s cooking up her twice-baked potatoes and Mattie Mae made a couple of her famous pecan pies. If Joni has plans, she’ll break ’em. Eatin’ don’t git no better than that.”

So Adam and presumably his wife and daughters and a woman named Mattie Mae would all be there. A family dinner; only they weren’t Leif’s family and never would be. Hopefully, Effie had come to that same conclusion after half a day with her illustrious grandfather and was ready to put the whole family togetherness scene behind her.

“Can you put Effie on the phone?”

“I could if she was around.”

“Where is she?”

“She and Hadley are riding the range. They’re liable not to show up back here before dark.”

“I thought Hadley had young children.”

“She does. Lacy and Lila are here with me and Mattie Mae. We got a mean game of Chutes and Ladders going.”

A doting grandfather—now that he was dying. “I’ll give Effie a call on her cell phone.”

“Capital idea. Let her tell you how much fun she’s having. That girl loves horses. Knows a lot about them, too. Bright as a new-mint penny and more spunk than you can hang on a barbwire fence.”

“Effie can do most anything she sets her mind to,” Leif agreed. Her mother had made that claim about her many times over the past fifteen years, not always as a compliment.

“Tell Joni if she has any questions about her truck to call me or Abe,” R.J. said. “Otherwise I’ll catch her up to speed at dinner.”

“I’ll see she gets the message.” Leif ended the call and punched in Effie’s cell number. She didn’t answer until the sixth ring. When she did, she sounded breathless.

“Dad. Guess what I’m doing?”

“You’re out horseback riding with someone named Hadley.”

“How did you know?”

“Your—” He barely caught himself before the word grandfather slid off his tongue. “R.J. told me. Sounds as if you’re having fun.”

“I am. We were galloping like the wind. I didn’t hear the phone until we stopped to let the horses drink from a creek that just appeared like a mirage.”

“I’m sure the horses appreciate that.”

“They do. You should see Aunt Hadley’s horse. She’s a beautiful chestnut filly that Uncle Adam gave her for her birthday.”

“What kind of horse are you riding?” he asked. Finally, Effie was communicating, and he wanted to encourage that—even if it was all about the horses at Dry Gulch Ranch.

“My mount’s a black quarter horse named Dolly and she’s perfect for me. She’s spirited, but she stood real still until I was in the saddle. And she responded to my every pull on the reins as if she had no problem letting me be in control.”

“That sounds like the perfect horse, all right.”

“Aunt Hadley named her horse Kenda. It’s an Indian name that means magical powers. Aunt Hadley says Kenda has the power to fill her heart with joy.”

“Nice name.” Aunts, uncles, a new grandfather. Effie was jumping on the family plan as if she was starving for relatives. Yet she’d all but closed him out since the divorce.

He’d tried everything he knew to get closer to her. It pissed him off royally that R.J. had gotten her to Texas with just a note and a promise of horses.

“We rode all the way to the gulch that the ranch is named after,” Effie continued. “It looks like a plain old gully to me, but it was dry as a bone.”

“I think I missed that on my tour.”

“We can go riding tomorrow and I’ll show you the gully and the pool we’re at now. Grandpa says he has the perfect horse for you.”

Probably one that would buck Leif off the second he settled in the saddle. And now Effie was talking about tomorrow like it was a done deal.

“There’s an old foreman’s cabin nearby,” Effie said. “No one lives inside, but I bet they could if they made a few repairs. I wanted to go inside and look around, but Aunt Hadley says it’s full of spiders and scorpions. We’re steering clear of it.”

“Very smart of you and Hadley.”

He’d like to stay clear of everything on the Dry Gulch Ranch, but if it took riding horses to connect with his daughter, then he’d have a sore butt and thighs by this time tomorrow.

That didn’t make R.J. the winner. Once Effie went back to California, R.J. would hopefully fade back into the woodwork.

By the time Leif finished his conversation, Joni, Ruby and the young rancher—a man named Latham Watson—had stepped outside the barn and Joni was giving them instructions for follow-up care.

He waited until Joni turned his way, smiled and motioned him over.

“Does this mean the patient is on the mend?” he asked.

“Benjy is resting now,” Ruby said. “I was afraid he was going to die, but Dr. Griffin knew exactly what to do.”

“But you need to watch what he eats,” Joni said. “No more leaving a bucket of apples where he can get to them.”

“I won’t,” Ruby promised.

“I guess I better watch what goes on in my own barn a little closer, too,” Latham said. “Got more on my plate some days than I can handle.”

“I told him he needs to find a wife,” Ruby said. “Mom’s been dead for two years. That’s long enough for him to get married again. Don’t you think so, Dr. Griffin?”

Joni put up her hands and waved off the question. “Can’t look to me for advice on that. I’m just the vet.”

“I told Ruby I’d marry again when I found the right woman,” Latham said. “You can’t go rushing those things.” They talked a minute more and then Joni was ready to move on.

The sun inched toward the horizon as Leif and Joni started back to his car, and the air started to grow cooler, though it was still warm for November. Leif had shed his lightweight denim jacket two hours ago.

The puddles from yesterday’s storm had vanished, leaving the carpet of grass beneath their feet bouncy but dry. Even the oppressive humidity that had refused to acknowledge the arrival of fall had dissipated in the wake of last night’s rain-producing front.

Leif took a deep breath, his lungs suddenly hungry for the fresh air. Somewhere along the way, without realizing it, he’d actually begun to relax. Thoughts of work and Edward Blanco had taken a backseat to watching Joni work.

He opened the passenger door for Joni and then walked around to his side and climbed behind the wheel. “Do you mind if I put the windows down?”

She laughed. “I understand completely. I get a little rank after a day in the stalls. You’ll probably have to have your vehicle fumigated after chauffeuring me around all day.”

“It’s not that bad,” he teased. “A half-dozen cans of deodorizing spray and it’ll be good as new.”

“Except for the odor of antibiotic ointment. That has a shelf life of forever.”

“Now you tell me.”

Leif started the car and headed back the way they’d come. “Actually, I was just thinking how nice and fresh the air smells out here.”

“Spoken like a man who spends far too much time in a stuffy office.”

“Everybody can’t be a cowboy.”

“Too bad. You’d look good in a Stetson and a pair of Western boots.”

“I’ll have you know, I own a pair of genuine, handmade ostrich-skin Western boots. When I wear them, I have to fight the urge to don a rhinestone jacket and break into a country ballad.”

“Oh, no. Not another urban cowboy. You should take me shopping with you, and I’ll point out when you look ridiculous.”

“While you snicker behind my back?”

“Never. I’d snicker to your face.”

“That’s helpful. So where to next?”

“I’m through with my scheduled calls, but I do have one more stop to make. I promised my favorite cowboy I’d bring him a special feed mix for his steer.”

“Your favorite, huh? Now you’ve gone and made me jealous.”

“You should be. Jeffrey is too cute for words. Of course, he’s also only eleven years old and the steer is one he’s raising for his 4-H project.”

“So where do Jeffrey and his steer live?”

“About a mile down the road we turned off on to get here. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the feed with me, which means I have to go back home to pick it up.”

“Where do you live?”

“About twelve miles from here, almost to the downtown area of Oak Grove, but near Abe’s repair shop. You can drop me there if you don’t mind. I have no idea what happened to Corky, but Abe surely has the new battery installed by now.”

“Unfortunately, I have bad news. It seems the battery is only the beginning of your problems. Abe is making a few additional repairs.”

“When did you hear that?”

“R.J. called while you were tending Benjy. The truck may not be ready until tomorrow.”

She grimaced, took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. “What else have you heard and why do I suddenly see dollar signs dancing in front of my eyes?”

Leif explained the situation, including R.J.’s taking charge.

“That sounds just like R.J. Always ready to jump in and help.”

Unless you happened to be a son he’d abandoned. Then you could live in hell and he wouldn’t bother to send you a glass of cold water. “How many miles does your truck have on it?”

“Just over 150,000.”

“Sounds as if it might be time to put it out to pasture.”

“Easier said than done. I’m emotionally attached.”

“To a truck?”

“Don’t laugh. It got me through four years of undergrad work, four years of veterinary school and a one-year internship with a clinic in Oklahoma specializing in equine insemination and breeding. Getting rid of it would be like dumping an old friend.”

Impressive. Joni was committed to a worn-out truck. Leif had never kept a vehicle long enough to need new tires. His record with relationships was worse.

But with that much schooling under her belt, apparently Joni Griffin was not as young as he’d assumed.

“Your old friend is not as dependable as he once was,” Leif said. “Maybe you should start looking for a nice retirement home for lovable metal scrap.”

“There’s also a money issue,” Joni admitted. “My school loans devour a huge chunk of my salary every month. I was hoping to make a dent in them before I had to purchase a new truck.”

“I could help you get a low-interest vehicle loan.”

The comment surprised him. He was not one to jump into women’s financial issues. Not that he wasn’t generous. He just didn’t like ties that might bind.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Joni said, quickly letting him off the hook. “Blake has already offered to front me the money if I need a loan. I’ll take him up on it if I have to—after I pay R.J. back for this round of repairs. Who knows? Abe and his mechanics may do such a good job that the truck will run for another fifty thousand miles.”

“Good luck with that. So, moving on, I have a proposition you can’t refuse,” Leif said.

“I can if it involves loans or getting rid of my truck.”

“Nope. It involves food, reputed to be as good as it gets.”

“You’ve got my interest.”

“Adam is grilling steaks, Hadley is making her specialty potatoes and Mattie Mae—whoever she is—is baking pecan pies.”

“My mouth is watering already.”

“Perfect since R.J. insists I bring you to dinner. And I’m sure I can use a little moral support around that table.”

“Something tells me you can hold your own. Tell R.J. how much I appreciate the offer, but this should be Effie’s special night with her newly found grandfather and a chance for you to connect with R.J., as well. I don’t want to butt in.”

“Trust me—you wouldn’t be butting in. This is not going to be the return of the prodigal son. Besides, Effie will love talking veterinary work with you.”

“I’d have to go home and shower first and then someone would have to take me home after dinner. That’s a lot of extra driving.”

“Not so much. I’ll take you home to shower and pick up the special feed, go with you to deliver it and then we’ll show up at the Dry Gulch just in time for dinner.”

“That’s really not necessary, Leif. I’ve already taken you away from your daughter too long.”

“I don’t appear to be missed. Effie’s horseback riding with Hadley and may not make it back to the house until dark. And you have to eat.”

“I have to admit it’s hard to turn down Mattie Mae’s pies,” Joni admitted.

“Then it’s settled. All I need are directions to your house and an explanation of how Mattie Mae fits into the Dry Gulch family.”

“She’s R.J.’s housekeeper, cook and longtime friend. She and her husband owned the neighboring ranch until he died a few years ago—or at least that’s what I’ve been told. Now she lives in a small house in town, just across the street from the Oak Grove post office.”

“The way R.J. talked I thought she lived at the ranch.”

“No, she has her own home, but she spends some nights at the ranch. She has a bedroom suite on the second floor with her own bathroom.”

“So she’s not a romantic interest?”

“Not according to Hadley.”

“It doesn’t really matter,” Leif said. “I was just curious as to whether or not R.J. was still chasing skirts. So which way to your place?”

“Go back the way we came. Take a right at the first fork and then turn right again when we get to the highway. The last turnoff is just before we reach the downtown area.

“I’ll tell you when to turn when we get there. But don’t expect much from the house. It’s old and furnished in what I lovingly call junk chic.”

“Sounds fascinating. Do you live alone?”

“Yes, it’s just me in a rambling old house that was meant for a large family. But after sharing an apartment with two other students for most of the past five years, all that space seems heavenly.”

They settled into an easy silence as he drove. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this relaxed with a woman, especially one as attractive as Joni. Maybe it was because she lived in R.J.’s world, and that made the possibility of a romantic entanglement a total impossibility.

There was something about her that got to him, though. He wasn’t sure if it was the perky personality, the cute nose with its spattering of freckles or her smile. But together, they were awesome.

There had to be a lot of cowboys fighting for her attentions.

“Take a left at Baxter Road,” Joni said after they’d driven for about eight miles. “Then mi casa is two miles down on the right.”

Once Leif made the turn, the scenery changed from fenced pastures to heavily wooded areas. An occasional driveway, some with multiple mailboxes, wandered into the thick clusters of trees. Now and then a house was partially visible through the pines and golden-hued oaks.

The isolation was a chilling reminder of the Oak Grove murder. A woman alone in any of these houses would be an easy target.

“Is your house visible from the—” Leif stopped midsentence as streams of bright yellow police tape came into view. It wound around and through the links of a metal gate and a chain-link fence that edged the road. This time the drive sported only one rusted mailbox.

A pickup truck had pulled onto the shoulder and a man was leaning out the window snapping pictures of the house that would have gone unnoticed were it not for the bright-colored tape. As it was, Leif could barely make out a railed front porch and part of the roofline.

Two sheriff’s patrol cars were parked in the driveway near the road. Leif pulled to the shoulder just past the pickup truck for a better look. No defense attorney could turn down a crime scene.

“I guess you heard about the Oak Grove woman who was murdered sometime yesterday,” Joni said. She shuddered and pulled her arms tight around her chest. “That’s where she lived.”

“Did you know her?” Leif asked.

“I know her name was Evie Monsant and that she lived alone.”

“That’s more than they were reporting last night.”

“She kept to herself. I’ve seen her at her mailbox, but she always looked away and pretended not to see me wave. She does the same with the other neighbors.”

“She must have talked to someone.”

“Not unless she had to. She’d only been in the area a few months. Gossip was that she was a recent widow and still grieving.”

“Seems unlikely that a grieving widow would move to an area where she had no friends or family and then make it a point not to meet anyone.”

Joni lowered her window a couple of inches. The slight breeze ruffled her short hair, sending dark wisps dancing about her face. “The news report I heard said she might be a victim of The Hunter. I would have never expected that in Oak Grove.”

“That’s merely speculation,” Leif said. “I wouldn’t put any trust in that at this point.” Leif shifted into Drive, pushed down on the accelerator and sped away.

“But it does sound like his other murders,” Joni argued. “An attractive woman living alone. An isolated setting. Leaving her in the woods after sexually assaulting her and then inflicting wounds with what appears to be a hunting knife.”

“If the murder was the work of The Hunter, he’s probably long gone from here by now,” Leif said. “He’s never killed in the same area twice in the past and his murders have always been months apart.”

Still, Leif was getting bad vibes about Joni living so close to the victim.

A few minutes later they reached her drive. It was on the same side of the road as the victim’s. The woods surrounding her house were just as thick.

He pulled into the dirt driveway leading to her house. Lengthening shadows crept across the gray clapboard porch, intensifying the feeling of isolation as Leif stopped a few yards from the front door.

Joni sat up straighter, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. When she turned toward him, her eyes mirrored the same dark thoughts that were eating at him.

He put an arm around her shoulders. She nestled against him, and a surge of protectiveness swept through him, stronger than any in recent memory. That was far too quickly followed by a kick of arousal, especially when Joni snuggled closer in his arms, her head resting beneath his chin.

Joni pulled away quickly. He didn’t know what she was feeling, but there was no denying the sensual jolt he’d experienced. He should run and run fast.

Instead he killed the engine and stepped out of his car.

Chapter Five

Joni unlocked the front door and pushed it open, her blood still thrumming from the rush of emotion she’d felt in Leif’s arms. She’d always been too cautious to let a man get to her like that.

Mostly she’d been so busy with college and veterinary training that she hadn’t had time for a boyfriend. But even if she could squeeze a relationship with Leif into her schedule, he was only passing through and in a big hurry to put his day in Oak Grove behind him.

“Sorry for that mini-meltdown,” she said as he followed her inside.

“Don’t be. That’s what shoulders are for. And I wouldn’t call that a meltdown. More like a reasonable reaction to a hideous neighborhood crime.”

“Seeing the house did get to me. You don’t expect that type of crime in Oak Grove. The worst they’ve had since I’ve been here is vandalism at the high school and a brawl after a rodeo where two guys got busted for fighting.”

“No place is immune to crime these days. If you’re nervous staying here alone, maybe you should spend a few nights with a friend or I’m sure R.J. would put you up at the Dry Gulch.”

“I have two very good friends who are never far away. A Smith & Wesson pistol and a shotgun.”

“And I guess you’re an expert at using them, Annie Oakley.”

“I am. Blake and the Lambert family made sure I learned to use both shortly after I moved here.”

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