Finally Home

Chapter 14

Kate backed the trailer onto the cement pad that had been built for it just outside the machine shop. The area was clear and level, so she unloaded the horses. Doodle followed her while she unsaddled and brushed down Ajax. Of course, she had to groom the little guy, too. He’d had a big day. She talked to both horses as she worked, then led Ajax to the pasture where the other horses were and let him loose. She checked the water and hay to make sure the horses were set for the night and then made the rounds to all the animals with Doodle tagging along. She opened the gate of the white picket fence and let Doodle into the yard. He zoomed to the back of the house. Obviously, the little guy was hungry. Kate headed into the house. She stopped before opening the screen door. The front lock to the house had been damaged, and the door was open a bit. She spun and grabbed her phone, calling Tegan.

Trying to open the gate and hold the phone to her ear at the same time, she heard the line connect and Tegan’s voice. “Tegan, someone’s broken into your?—”

A blast of pain sent her to her knees. She rolled to her side, grabbing her head. She lifted to her knees in time to see a man with dark hair sprinting into the tree stand to the east of the house.

She felt the blood from her head dripping down the side of her face and used a string of cuss words that would make a Delta blush. She half fell, half sat down on her butt. Her vision was a bit wonky. She wiped her eyes and realized it was probably blood making her vision blurry. She blinked and looked around, trying to find the sound that kept repeating. Kate blinked at her phone. How had it gotten there? She carefully shifted to pick it up.

“Kate!”

“Tegan. I’m bleeding.” She swiped at the blood going into her eyes again. “Damn it. A man. Dark hair. He’s going through the trees.”

“Kate, I’m on my way with the sheriff.”

“I’m probably going to need a doctor. Shit.” She blinked again when blood dripped from her eyebrow.

“Where are you hurt, babe?”

“Ah, my head. I’m bleeding, but that stands to reason, doesn’t it? Good thing I’m not afraid of blood.” Kate leaned her head back. “I haven’t fed Doodle.” As if she’d summoned him with the sound of his name, the little horse was in front of her. He sniffed her and then reared back, stomping down and moving away from her. “Yeah, I’m sure it doesn’t smell too good, huh?”

“Kate, talk to me, honey.” Tegan’s voice called her back to the phone.

“I’m sorry.” Kate swallowed hard. “The front door. You could tell someone had jimmied the front door. I didn’t go in.”

“That’s smart,” Tegan said, his voice tight and strained.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought until that asshole hit me. What the hell did he hit me with?” She turned slowly to examine the ground. “Oh.” She blinked and pulled the object into focus. “I think he hit me with a horseshoe.” She glanced at the thing. “It’s got blood on it.”

“We’re getting closer, babe.”

“Okay,” she said, using her free hand and the fence to assist her in standing up slowly. “I’m going to go into the house and get something to stop the blood.”

“No, babe, the sheriff doesn’t want you to go into the house in case someone else is still there.”

She went over to the horseshoe and stared at it. “If they’re still in there, I’m going to show them how it feels to be hit over the head with a fucking horseshoe. Excuse my language, but I’m starting to get pissed. Where are your guns?”

“Guns? No. Kate, honey, we’re almost to the turn-off. Can you hear the sheriff’s siren?”

Kate turned toward the road and then chuffed out a puff of air. As if turning would help her hear. She swatted at the dripping blood again. “No.” Just then, the warble of the siren pierced the evening air. “Yeah, I can hear it. God, it’s getting cold. Or is that just me? Am I going into shock?” Kate leaned against the fence. “That’s one of the signs of shock.” She blinked and looked at the house. “But I feel fine otherwise. Except for my head, which fucking hurts. Why would someone break into your house? Wait, did you lock your door?”

“Yes, always.”

“Well, he got in.” She moved and then winced as her neck spoke up and said it wasn’t happy either. She stood with the phone to her ear as the sheriff’s SUV slid to a stop in the gravel. Before the vehicle stopped, Tegan was out of the front passenger seat and running to her. He vaulted the fence and was holding her the next instant.

He took the phone from her. “Jesus, babe.” He winced when he looked at her.

“I think that was what Doodle thought, too.” The little horse pranced back and forth about five feet away from them.

Tegan turned and spoke to him, “Doodle, go find Leon. Go on.”

“He’s not a dog,” she chided him.

“Don’t tell him that. Doc Johnson is on his way. Let’s go sit down out here.” He opened the gate for her and helped her to the SUV.

She glanced back, wincing as she turned. The sheriff entered the house. “He gets to go in by himself?”

“He’s got a gun,” Tegan said. “It makes a difference.”

“You’re telling me nothing new. I’m going to start carrying a gun. I wonder if I can buy a nine mil like I had in the Army. I was damn good with it. The M4 and I were not friends. It was way too long, and I barely qualified every year.” She tried to roll her shoulders to release the tension in her neck, but it didn’t help. Lawrence’s truck roared down the road, followed by another vehicle she didn’t recognize. “Ah, hell. He’s going to be all worried now.” She squinted at Tegan. “I’m cussing a lot. I’m sorry.”

“You get a pass.” Tegan opened the passenger side of the sheriff’s SUV, and Kate sat down.

Pointing at the tree line, she said, “That’s where he went. Right between the two big cottonwoods.”

“Okay, I’ll let Ken know.”

She could hear the trucks stopping in the gravel. “If you had military working dogs here, you could track him.”

“Babe, why would we have military dogs here?”

“What?” She glanced up at Tegan. “Because they’re awesome? And no, I’m not hallucinating or anything.”

“Kate.” Lawrence jogged up to them and then stopped short. “Holy fuck.”

She wiped at the blood again, then wiped her hand on her jeans. “You men are going to give me a complex.”

“Gentlemen, can you give me some room?” A tall man she somehow recognized edged past Lawrence and backed Tegan off with a gentle hand. “Well, red is not your color.”

“You’re Stephanie’s husband.” That was where she’d seen him before.

“I am. My name is Zeke, and I’m going to see what kind of damage we have going on.”

“He hit me with a fu … sorry, a stupid horseshoe.”

Zeke stopped and turned around, looking at the shoe on the ground. “Well, that would lacerate your scalp like this; that’s for sure. Did you lose consciousness?”

“Maybe? I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. I went down, and then, when I got to my knees, the guy was all the way over to the tree claim. That’s quite a distance, so maybe?”

“Okay, well, let’s take a look. Gentlemen, I’m sure there’s something for you to do while I do my exam?”

“Nope,” Tegan said. “Not a damn thing. I’m not leaving.”

“Ditto,” Lawrence said, and they both crossed their arms. The doctor sighed but started looking at the wound, then into her eyes, doing all the normal emergency triage things she’d witnessed doctors and medics in combat zones do. Even though she was a vet, she’d helped out the medics and doctors, assisting them when they needed an extra hand.

“Tegan,” Ken Zorn said from the porch of his house. “Could you come here for a minute?”

Tegan looked at Kate, and she waved him toward the sheriff. “I’ll be fine. Lacerations to the scalp bleed like crazy. Go. Besides, Lawrence will stay here and glower twice as hard to make up for you taking care of business.” Tegan hesitated, and Kate sighed, “Go, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. You’re covered in blood,” Tegan pushed out the words and shook his head. “Ken can wait.”

Kate ate up the growly possessiveness. That was the Tegan she knew in the bedroom, and she loved how protective he was, but right then probably wasn’t the time for him to go all caveman.

“If you want a doctor’s opinion, she’s going to be okay. I’d like to take her into the clinic and stitch up that cut. You can ride with me,” Zeke said as he finished his exam.

“No, I’ll take her. Tegan, you handle the situation with your house with Ken. I’ll take her in and bring her back here if you aren’t done by the time we are.” Lawrence stepped back so the doctor could stand up and strip off the gloves on his hands.

Kate stood and scooted around the doctor toward Tegan. He put his hands on her hips. “I’m a big girl, Tegan. I’ve served for many years in the military, and I’ve seen my fair share of trauma. This isn’t a big deal. Go help Ken figure out who in the hell did this.” She lifted onto her toes and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Tegan nodded, his eyes saying what he couldn’t. She tried to emulate the look of love in his eyes and shine it back at him before turning to her brother. Lawrence put his arm around her as he helped her to her truck.

* * *

Ken nodded toward the drive.“How is she?”

“Going to the clinic. Stitches right now.” He shrugged. “Who the hell hits a woman with a horseshoe?” He said a string of cuss words he’d been holding in. “What in the hell is happening here, Ken?”

“I don’t know. The house is clear, but whoever was in there tore up the place looking for something.”

“Like what? I don’t keep cash …” Tegan stopped. “My gun safe?”

“Locked up tight as a drum,” Ken said. “Is that the horseshoe?” He pointed to the metal lying in the grass.

“Yeah.” Tegan nodded and crossed his arms. “Ken, I need to tell you about a conversation I had with Barry.”

Ken leaned against a porch post. “Shoot.”

“We were talking after having lunch at the diner. He said that on his dark days, he could tear up the corrals, board by board, and destroy it. And then it happens. I hate thinking he could be the one to do it, but …”

Ken nodded. “When I saw that sledgehammer, I thought the same thing. But I got a call from Senior when I was in the house. Barry and Rusty were together all day today from sunup until Senior called me. He isn’t the one who did this.”

“Then who would?”

“Have you had any threats or anything like that?” Ken walked down the steps and leaned over the horseshoe.

“No. Nothing.” Tegan looked down at the metal. “That’s for a draft or working horse.”

Ken looked up at him. “How do you know?”

Tegan bent down and pointed without touching the shoe. “Here in the front of the shoe, this point, and these two areas here at the back. The back is for traction when they pull. The front lip keeps the shoe tight against the front of the hoof. Most everyone has normal shoes on their horses around here unless they’re working them on concrete or pavement, like for parades and such. Then, the smith can add material to the base of the shoe for grip. The front and the size of the shoe tell me it’s for a draft horse.” Tegan stood up and looked over at the barn. “Ken, the guy I bought Max from, the one I thought was one of those meth heads from up north.”

Ken turned to look at him. “Why would he tear up the corrals?”

“Looking for the horse? Maybe he figured he’d steal him back and sell him again?”

Ken frowned. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but how would he know to come here?”

“My address is on the bill of sale, just like his is. He matches Kate’s description. Dark hair. I may be grasping at straws here, but if it wasn’t Barry, that guy was the only one I’ve had any interaction with.”

Ken nodded. “Or this could be two totally separate acts.”

Tegan nodded. Ken made sense.

“I’m going to need you to go in and see if you’re missing anything.” Ken nodded to the house.

“All right, but give me a minute. I want to make sure Max is okay. He’s in the barn.”

“I’ll go with you.”

They walked to the barn in silence. Tegan switched on the lights because it was getting dark, then made his way to the end of the barn. Max walked to the gate and rubbed his head against Tegan’s shirt, looking for a treat. “I don’t have any today, buddy.” Tegan scratched his head and looked into the stall. Nothing seemed amiss. “He looks fine.”

“Then let’s get to the house.” Tegan stroked the horse one more time before they headed back to the house. “Do you have that bill of sale?” Ken asked as they mounted the steps.

“I do, and if it’s missing, the stockyard maintains a copy, both paper and digital.” Tegan opened the door and blinked. Pictures hung crooked, and cushions were tossed off the couches. Every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen was open. Tegan glanced at the cabinets and pantry. “A frying pan and a small saucepan are supposed to be in here. I’m missing food. Canned stuff, non-perishables.”

“How much?” Ken said from over his shoulder.

“Quite a bit.” Tegan opened the fridge and freezer. Nothing was touched.

He went into the utility room. Doodle’s food was dumped on the floor, and the plastic bin with a locking cover was missing. He detailed the destruction to Ken as he continued to look through the house. He went to the open closet when he reached the spare bedroom upstairs. “All my hunting gear is gone. The overalls, the jacket, stocking hat, gloves, all of it.”

“Can you describe the clothing?” Ken had a pad out and was scribbling the details as Tegan recalled each garment.

They moved to the guest bathroom. All the drawers were open. “I had all the toiletries for a guest in here. Toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, soap, it’s all gone.”

They made it into his bedroom, and all the dresser drawers were open. Tegan lifted several drawers and pointed to one. “Dude, he stole my socks.” Tegan shook his head. “Sounds like a homeless person ransacked my house.” He made his way to his nightstand. “My handgun is missing, and I kept fifty bucks in this drawer. It’s gone, too.”

Ken kept writing. “What was the make and model of the handgun?”

“A three-fifty-seven magnum. A revolver. Old school but efficient.”

“No shit.” Ken chuffed. “You got the serial number?”

“Yeah, in the gun safe.” Tegan walked back to the safe and unlocked it. All his hunting weapons and a couple of guns he’d made by himself were lined against the back of the vault. He pulled out a booklet from one of the shelves and read the serial number to Ken. There were stacks of cash on the same shelf. Ken’s eyebrows raised. “Ever think to put that into a bank?”

Tegan chuckled. “I’d probably just find more.”

“What are you talking about?” Ken gave him a puzzled look.

“Well, Grandpa didn’t trust banks much, so he’d fill quart mason jars with cash and bury them in the backyard in addition to putting money in the bank. His parents lived through the thirties and had instilled in him their distrust of banking institutions. I think he did this, so if there was a run on the bank, he’d still have cash. When I was planting my garden a couple of years ago, I found this.” Tegan shrugged. “I figured I’d keep the old guy’s wishes and not put it in the bank.” He shut the gun safe and spun the wheel to make sure it was locked. “That handgun had six bullets. What if that bastard hurts someone with my gun?”

“A legally owned gun that was stolen from a locked and ransacked house. Not your problem.”

“That doesn’t help much.” Tegan would hate it if someone were hurt with his weapon.

“I’ll get the report going on this break-in and Kate’s injuries. Garth will come back out tomorrow and get your statement. Right now, we’re trying to work both of these crime scenes. I’ve already taken pictures. I did that before I called you in. Are you going to have any problem repairing the front door?”

Tegan shook his head. “I’ll put up something until I can get a new door and frame ordered.” He hadn’t looked too closely at the damage, but he wasn’t too worried about it. He was handy with wood and a hammer; plus, he had all the wood stacked for that fence he needed to put up.

“I’m going to go take a look out in the tree claim and see if I can figure out where this guy went.” Ken put his notebook in his pocket. “If you hear gunfire, bring all your toys out of that safe and call Garth.”

“Why don’t you call Garth now?”

“I can track better by myself. I don’t think I’ll get far. The sun is fading fast, but I’m going to get a start, and then I’ll have a plan about what to do when the sun comes up tomorrow.”

“You know it’s supposed to snow tomorrow, right?”

“Which is why I’m heading out there tonight.” Ken gave him a salute and went out to his SUV. Tegan watched him grab a flashlight, pull on a stocking cap, and take his rifle out of the slot he’d had built for it in the console. “Stay in the house. If I see something move, I’m going to draw down on it.”

Tegan lifted his hands. “I have enough to do here.” He watched as Ken headed out to the tree claim. There was nothing but pasture beyond. The road was where he’d go if he were running, but if the person wanted to stay out of sight … maybe to the next pasture over. There was a draw they could work their way through.

Tegan pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Lawrence’s number. “How’s she doing?”

“Doc’s got her in the exam room and wouldn’t let me in. But he assured me she’ll be fine.” Lawrence harrumphed a bit. “The kids know I’ll be late, and Craig is locking up the house. I told him to take down his four-ten, load it up, and put it on the rack in his room out of Hailey’s reach. Never felt the need to have any loaded guns in the house until today. Hailey is sleeping in his room until I get home. I’ll call before I step in the house, so I don’t scare him and end up with buckshot drilling me. Craig is telling Hailey it’s an adventure. She’s smart, but she’s still a little one.”

“Right? Man, I’ve never heard of someone breaking into a house around here.” Tegan sighed. “Shit, Lawrence, I need to get into town to pick up Kate, but Ken is looking through the woods to see what he can find.”

“Getting kind of dark,” Lawrence said in passing.

“Yeah, but it’s going to snow tomorrow, and he won’t be able to see anything then.”

“True.”

“So, you’ll give Kate a ride back, right? I mean, I could drive the tractor, but that would be a bumpy ride back for her.”

Lawrence laughed. “Did I tell you about the time Craig and Hailey tried to drive into town on the tractor?”

“No. Dude, that could’ve ended badly.” Tegan put the phone on speaker and started picking up things in the kitchen and putting them away.

“Right? Luckily, Ken and Sam, when she was still on the highway patrol, stopped them before they got too far and turned them around.” Lawrence sighed. “I’ll bring Kate out when she’s done getting stitched up.”

“Thanks, I’ll take good care of her and have coffee on.” Tegan turned around. “If I still have coffee.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whoever ransacked my house took the most random stuff. As if they were homeless, you know? My all-weather hunting gear, food, socks, my handgun.” He lifted the coffee can from the floor and shook it. About half a can. That would do.

“Is there anyone around here who would need food and clothing that badly? I mean, the churches and women’s circles are always helping people.”

“I’ll mention that to Ken when he comes back this way.” Tegan finished setting the kitchen straight as they talked. “I’m going to have to do a temporary fix to the door to be able to lock it.”

“I can reframe it for you tomorrow. I’ll bring the kids over. They’d go crazy for that petting zoo you have over there.” Lawrence chuckled.

“I don’t know how it got so big.” Tegan laughed and headed to the utility room with a couple of plastic bags to scoop up Doodle’s food.

“I do. You’ve got a big ol’ marshmallow heart,” Lawrence said. “You can’t let anything suffer.”

“I don’t know, man. I’d gladly let whoever hit Kate suffer for more than a minute.” The feeling prodding him now was akin to hate. Yeah, he hated the son of a bitch; that was for sure.

“True,” Lawrence growled. “Hey, Garth is here. He’s probably going to want a statement from Kate. I’ll call you when we’re on our way over.”

“Sounds good.” Tegan cleaned the utility room and put some food in Doodle’s dish. When he opened the sliding glass door, the small horse darted to the utility room. “You’d think you hadn’t eaten in a year.” Tegan shut the door. The icy cold wind was bone-chilling. He didn’t envy Ken one bit, which reminded him—he went and put a pot of coffee on.

Tegan placed furniture cushions back where they belonged, righted pictures, and picked up the television remotes that had been scattered around the room. Doodle came and found him when he was done eating. Tegan stopped what he was doing and gave him some attention. A knock on his door brought him to his feet. “Who is it?”

“Ken.”

“Come in.”

Ken pushed the door open and then closed. “I followed him through the trees. He didn’t go to the road.”

He knew it. “To my next pasture. The draw.” That was where he would have gone to get away without being seen.

Ken nodded. “I saw where he entered, but I didn’t want to break my neck by slipping down that gulch out in the middle of nowhere. If it hasn’t started to snow at daybreak, I’ll bring Garth out here, and we’ll keep searching. He was dragging something heavy.”

“Probably my plastic container.” He nodded toward the utility room. “It was on wheels.”

“Yeah, that would make sense out of the marks I saw.” Ken took off his hat. “I sent Garth to the clinic to get Kate’s statement. He and the hands from Hollisters’ ranch fixed up the fencing and got all the cows into a safe enclosure. Senior told him to tell you they fed them extra hay.”

“Good, thank you.” He’d halfway forgotten about the cows, which, given the severity of what was happening, still should have registered on his radar.

“You want some coffee?” Tegan pointed into the kitchen.

“Can I get a cup to go?” Ken looked at his watch. “I’ve got paperwork to do before I can get home to the missus.”

“Sure.” Tegan pulled down one of his insulated cups with a lid and poured the coffee in for Ken. He pointed to the cream and sugar, and Ken doctored his cup as he spoke.

“I’m going to ask you to keep what this guy took to yourself. It”s baffling, but it could be a lead.”

“I told Lawrence,” Tegan said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “He won’t say anything to anyone, but I’ll stress that when he brings Kate back out here.”

“That will do. I’m having a hard time drawing a link between what happened here and what happened at the stockyard.”

“I can’t either.” Tegan leaned against the counter. “But I think people should be made aware someone is breaking into people’s homes, and they should start locking up. Most people around here don’t.” They didn’t lock vehicles or homes, but they needed to start considering it.

Ken nodded. “My concern is someone will get shot who doesn’t need to be shot.”

“Well, I’m packing from now on. I’ve got other handguns, and all of us know about the Castle doctrine. My home is my castle, and I don’t have to back off; the intruder does.”

“Which is what I’m worried about.” Ken sighed. “I don’t need ranchers dead tired in the middle of the night shooting at kids coming home late or a hand needing to get something from the kitchen.”

“You have a point. Maybe have a door-knocking campaign to remind everyone? Maybe post some fliers at the Bit and Spur, the diner, and Sanderson’s grocery.”

Ken blinked at him. “Damn smart idea.”

“I have them every now and again.” Tegan followed him to the door.

Ken turned before opening it. “So, you and Kate, huh?”

“Since about twelve years ago,” Tegan admitted. “We took off from where we stopped. I wish she hadn’t left, but she was obligated to the Army, and I had Grandpa, so I couldn’t leave.”

Ken smiled at him. “I’m damn sure happy for you. Is she why you never dated much?”

“That and I’m awkward as hell around women.” He laughed. “Kate saw right through that. She’s direct to the point of being abrupt.”

“The Army taught her that, I’m sure.”

“No, not really.” Tegan took hold of the door as Ken opened it. “But it sure as heck refined it.”

Ken barked out a laugh. “Be careful. Don’t get jumpy. He’s not coming back here.”

“How do you know?”

Ken turned around and shook his head. “He got what he wanted from you.” He pointed at the barn. “He’d have ridden that bag of bones out of here if he wanted it back, so I’m not so sure it’s one of the people from up north. But I’ll make a visit up there just in case. Been a while since I saw Vince. I’ll go north and have a chat with him.”

“Whoever it is will probably freeze if they’re trying to live outside.”

Ken opened his car door. “Seems to me they took all the right things to survive.”

After he lowered into the car and shut the door, Tegan went back inside and saw Doodle standing at the glass door. “You ready to go to bed?” Tegan asked as he made his way through the house. He opened the door, and the horse went straight through the yard at a gallop. He watched the horse head to the barn he’d constructed for Leon and him. Tegan chuckled. “Well, some things never change, do they?”