Cowboy Secrets

Sierra nodded, the assessing look back in her eyes. “Frankly, I’m surprised she wants me to come at all. She’s been angry with me for years.”

“I wouldn’t take it personally. She’s just kind of confused. And I, for one, am very glad you’re here,” he added. “I can tell she’s scared of something, but she insists she wants to talk to both of us. I was hoping you two had made some inroads with each other.”

“I wanted her to come stay in New York with me after our mom died,” Sierra said, “but Doug was her legal guardian and he insisted she stay with him in LA. There wasn’t much I could do about it. I think Tess thought I didn’t want her. And I don’t know... I was about eighteen at the time and she was what, six or seven? I’d seen little of her since before she started kindergarten. I tried to stay in touch but after her dad hooked up with that woman—” She paused and cast him a quick look. “Sorry, I forgot for a second that Mona is your mother.”

“I’m under no illusions when it comes to my mother,” he assured her. “She left about five minutes after I was born and never looked back. Don’t worry about offending me.”

“Well, in that case, let’s just say Mona got caught up in what was left of Doug’s Hollywood glamour. She didn’t want Tess around, or me, either, for that matter. Unfortunately, Doug is about as perceptive as a cantaloupe. Tess was problematic and he dealt with it by ignoring her. Those two people are hopeless as parents, but I’m still surprised that they didn’t do more to find her when she walked out in October.”

“Mom said that Tess stormed off in that car Doug bought her. She was eighteen, legally an adult. I think it was easier for both Mom and Doug to throw up their hands. And you have to remember this was right after Mona caught good old Doug fooling around at his restaurant and kicked him out. When Tess left the next day I think Mona said good riddance to both of them.” He shook his head. “People, right? Give me a horse any day.”

She studied him for a second and he glanced at her. “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing. I’ve just never met...well, someone like you before.”

“Someone like me,” he mused. “What does that mean?”

“You’re a cowboy.”

He flashed her a smile. “What gave it away? The hat, the boots, the saddle in the back? Or maybe it’s the subtle whiff of cow lingering in the air?”

“All of the above,” she said, but her voice revealed she knew he was teasing her. “Of course, in my line of work it pays to be observant.”

“And I bet you don’t miss much.”

“I’m not sure if I do or not. Exactly how far into the middle of nowhere is your ranch located?” she added as they left the Boise city limits.

“About two hours north of here.” He was aware of her disappointment upon hearing that. “Listen, there’s not all that much to see between here and there,” he added. “Why don’t you close your eyes for a while so you’ll be fresh when we get there?”

“I couldn’t do that,” she said.

“Why not?”

She shrugged lovely shoulders. The gesture seemed out of character for her, like a tiny little beachhead of uncertainty. “It would seem, I don’t know, too familiar, I guess.”

“Don’t worry. If you snore I won’t tell a soul.”

“I do not snore,” she said.

He smiled at her. “Go ahead. Close your eyes. I’ll turn on the radio so I can’t hear any little snorts or grunts—”

“I don’t snort or grunt, either,” she said, but this time she laughed. “Okay, I’ll try to get a little sleep. My eyes feel like sandpaper. Wake me up before we’re actually there, okay? I’d like to orient myself.”

“Sure thing.” He fiddled with the FM station until he found easy listening music that shouldn’t keep her awake, but realized almost instantly it would take a brass marching band to accomplish that. One second she was sitting kind of stiffly in her seat, tilted cautiously toward the window, and the next her head had rolled forward until her chin touched her collarbone. She didn’t look all that comfortable, but he resisted the urge to shift her. Something told him she was not the kind of woman to touch, even innocently, while she slept.

* * *

SIERRA OPENED DOOR after door along a darkened hallway. Each held the very same man, a guy of about fifty with a shiny bald head. “Have you seen Tess?” she asked each in turn and they all responded negatively in Greek. There was only one door left and she put her hand on the knob. At that moment the earth shook and she tumbled out of her dream and into an SUV.

Pike Hastings looked at her. “Sorry. I tried to rouse you when we hit Falls Bluff, but you were out like a light. I figured nobody could sleep through the cattle guard. It can be a little rough if you’re not used to it, though.”

She turned to look behind her, but there wasn’t much to see. In fact, there wasn’t a whole lot to see no matter which way she looked. Just mountains, fences, trees, a long line of power poles straight ahead and an endless stretch of rolling pastures. For a woman used to towering skyscrapers and hordes of people, it was disconcerting to see so much...nothing.

“Is this it?” she said. “Is this your ranch?”

“You sound disappointed.”

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “It all looks very...peaceful.”

“It can be,” he agreed.

She studied him again. He’d taken off the cowboy hat when he got behind the wheel, so she could see his profile clearly and there was nothing about it anyone could fault. The occasional flash of his dark blue eyes as he addressed her was pretty darn galvanizing as well, as was the clarity of his expression. He did not look like the kind of guy who lied or cheated or bamboozled, and she should know—she’d met her fair share of all of the above.

Of course, that could just mean he was really good at dissembling, but she kind of doubted it. Wearing jeans and a leather jacket, he looked decidedly casual and yet also as though he could fit in almost anywhere. This was a trait she valued as a detective. It was fine to stand out when you needed or wanted to, but you also had to be something of a chameleon to get the job done.

The drive down the more-or-less straight road seemed to stretch on forever. Here and there crossroads led toward the mountains and she caught glimpses of buildings, perhaps houses. “Is this all Hastings land?”

“It is.”

“Do you live in one of those buildings they have in old Westerns?”

“What kind of building do you mean?” he asked with a sidelong glance.

“You know, a bunkhouse.”

“No, I live in a barn,” he said.

“In a barn!” She sounded incredulous and he smiled.

“Yeah, a barn.”

“With animals and everything?”

“Yeah,” he said, with another quick glance. “This your first ranch?”

“You can tell?”

“I just guessed.” He drove up a hill and suddenly the view changed as a small valley spread below them. Bisected by a shimmering gray river, the acreage on the peninsula that the U-shaped bend in the river created looked stark and icy and terribly remote. A big, old, wood house sat in a protected alcove. Surrounded with covered decks, the house appeared well cared for. What looked like work buildings sat off at a distance. Pale winter light glinted off the frosty shore of the river.

“My father’s place,” Pike said.

“Is this where Tess is?”

“That’s right. She’s afraid to be alone.”

Sierra gestured at the half-dozen vehicles gathered in the back. “All family,” Pike said. “And I’ll be damned, Frankie must be here. That’s his truck. Haven’t heard from him in a couple of weeks, which in and of itself isn’t unusual. Of course, him being here probably means he’s brought some kind of trouble.”

“Frankie is one of your brothers?”