Cowboy Secrets

“Maybe some water and another box of tissues,” Sierra said, putting an arm around Tess. The nurse hurried away and once again Pike and Sierra exchanged bewildered looks. He could imagine what she was thinking because he was thinking it, too. Tess was in trouble and it was up to the two of them to make it go away.

“You’ll be safe at the ranch,” he assured Tess as she sipped the glass of water the nurse delivered. “We’ve had our share of trouble and we know how to take care of ourselves and our own. You’ll be safe. One of us will be near you all the time.”

This seemed to calm her, and eventually she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

“May I speak with you outside the room?” Sierra whispered to him. They walked down the hall a few paces, then stopped. Sierra looked exhausted and he felt for her.

“I understand where you’re coming from,” she said in a very soft voice. “I want to make it all go away for her, too. But we can’t hide an eyewitness to a murder. She’s going to have to grow up real fast starting very soon, because she’s right about the murderer knowing who she is. Who’s to say he won’t come gunning for her next? And you and I have both lived enough to know that safety is an illusion.”

“She needed something to hold on to,” Pike said. “It was all I could think to offer.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I know what you mean. You’re right.”

“We need to inform Doug, too. Tess is going to need her dad’s support in the months to come. I get the feeling Doug is a path-of-least-resistance type of guy.”

“He’ll listen to me,” Pike said, and he knew it was the truth. He’d bent over backward to be decent to the guy, both for Tess’s sake and, truth be told, for his mother’s.

“And I need to talk to the police and find out what’s going on,” she added. “Trouble is, I don’t know if any of this can be adequately accomplished over the phone.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m not sure yet. We’ll have a chance to talk to Tess when we drive back to your ranch. We have to make her see she has an obligation to Danny and society and to herself, too.”

He nodded and tried to look positive about their chances, but Pike realized he might actually know Tess better than Sierra did. He’d be stunned if she agreed to return to LA without a fight.

* * *

“NO WAY,” TESS SAID. A few hours had passed and she sounded more like herself, though obviously close to the end of her rope from the stress of the past several days. Her nose was still red and her eyes watery.

“Be reasonable,” Sierra said gently and reiterated her conviction that they needed to inform Doug and the police in person.

“I won’t go,” Tess said. “Pike said I’m safe here, and I believe him.”

“You have to talk to the police,” Sierra said for about the fifth time. “They’ll have questions only you can answer.”

“I’ll tell you everything I know. You talk to them.”

“And leave you here alone?”

“I won’t be alone, I’ll have Pike. And while you’re in LA, you can see my dad and tell him what happened. If he cares. He probably doesn’t. Oh, and you can go to Mona’s house and get my things.”

Sierra had to admit she was a little startled by Tess’s refusal to budge. She herself lived in a world of cooperation with law enforcement. She could hardly imagine Tess shirking this basic responsibility. On the other hand, Sierra had seen a man shot dead once, too, and it had shaken her down to her bone marrow. She tried again. “Your dad won’t listen to a word I say so there’s no point in my talking to him. And Mona is not going to let me rifle through her house looking for your stuff.”

“Then Pike should go.”

“But if you aren’t going to explain things to the police, I have to. Even then, they’ll probably have someone in Idaho come debrief you or even send one of their own investigators. And that’s a best-case scenario. When they catch the murderer you’ll have to testify at his trial. If you don’t, they could issue a warrant and make you return.”

“I’ll do whatever they want as long as I don’t have to go back to LA. And if one of you has to talk to Mona and Dad and the other one has to talk to the cops, then both of you go.”

By now they were coming over the hill into the main house’s yard. The house was well lit, shining like a Christmas-card picture with the clear skies overhead full of twinkling stars. In a way, Sierra hadn’t really believed such quaintness still existed.

Grace met them at the back door, fussing and nervous, and for a second, Sierra thought it had to do with them bringing Tess back to this house, but she soon realized she was mistaken.

“It’s those television people,” she said. “Frankie said they wouldn’t come until the weekend but then they got wind a storm is expected and they decided to drive here straight away.” She waved an irritated hand and turned her attention to Tess. “Oh, you poor thing. Come with me. We’re going to get you all comfy in the downstairs room. I already moved the humidifier close to your bed. I’m going to spend the night with you. It’ll be like a slumber party! But don’t you worry, Frankie and your Uncle Harry will be on alert. Pike called and gave us a heads-up. You’re safe here with us.”

“I’ll stay with her—” Sierra began, but Tess had already allowed Grace to put an arm around her and lead her down a short hall. Sierra gazed up at Pike, who smiled at her.

“Feel like you’ve fallen down a rabbit hole?”

“Kind of,” she admitted. “I can’t believe how stubborn Tess is being.”

“She’s had quite a day, you know.”

She shook her head, a reluctant smile playing with her mouth. “Are you always so kind?”

“Not always, no.”

“She’s settling in,” Grace said a second later when she returned. “She asked if she could stay here with us while you and Pike take a short trip to LA to ‘fix things.’”

“I would never ask such a thing of you,” Sierra said, horrified.

“Don’t be silly. Tess is Pike’s sister so she’s one of ours. There are more than enough of us to keep an eye on her and I mean that in every sense. You have to remember, she’s visited here before, stayed in this house, cared for the horses. She feels at home here in a way, don’t you think, Pike?”

“No doubt,” he said.

“Exactly. And remember, last summer you took her all around, to see the ghost town and the old gold mine and the hanging tree and the lake up in the mountains? That gives her a sense of place and nothing makes a frightened person more comfortable than a sense of place.”

“I wouldn’t argue with you,” Pike said diplomatically.

“You know what family means to me, Pike. Everything. Go do what you have to do. I’ll try getting her used to the idea she’s going to have to return to California.” She looked closely at Sierra and shook her head. “You look almost as tuckered out as your sister does.”

“I’d be happy to sleep in Tess’s room,” Sierra said.

Grace shook her head sadly. “It’s too small for three of us and Dr. Stewart asked that I stay with her through the next couple of nights.”

“Then another room?”

Grace was the soul of hospitality and Sierra could see it pained her to have to shake her head. “I’m so sorry. The television people will be here until about midnight and they’re taking all our extra rooms. I don’t know why they couldn’t wait to get here until morning like ordinary people. Pike, I didn’t offer your place for lodging, so you have room there for Sierra. Now you get her home and tucked in before she falls over.”

Sierra opened her mouth to protest, but what was the point? Grace was doing what the doctor ordered and the truth was she was so tired that her ability to process any more information seemed doubtful.

“I believe Gerard put Sierra’s suitcase in your SUV so it’s ready to go,” Grace added, directing her comment to Pike. “He said to leave Kinsey’s car here and he’d pick it up later. And Sierra, I spot-cleaned your jacket. It’s hanging in the closet—Pike, get it for her, will you? I don’t know what to say about your boots,” she added.

“I’ll brush them, they’ll be fine,” Sierra assured her.

“I hope so. Gerard told me what happened. I don’t know what got into that dog. Give me a minute and I’ll put soup in a thermos so Pike won’t have to cook.”

They left a few minutes later, laden with soup and freshly baked bread. Sierra had finally given Pike back his jacket, and hers, while clean as a whistle and way better fitting, wasn’t as comfortable as his had been.

“What exactly did Grace mean when she said that thing about family meaning everything?” Sierra asked as they walked to Pike’s vehicle.