Chapter 3
Cal frowned at the mention of the Ivy Ridge Ranch. “Do you really think a man like Hank Stephens would resort to shooting you just to get your ranch?”
“When you put it like that, no,” Dillon admitted. “He’s an ass, but I don’t think he’s a killer.”
“Then again, he has let it be known he wants your place.”
“I should tell you I know Hank.”
“Of course, you do,” Dillon said with a roll of her eyes.
Cal turned his head to her. “Just because I know him doesn’t mean I’m helping him or whoever is after your ranch. I’m not. I give you my word.”
“I don’t know you, Mr. Bennett.”
“And yet, you hired me.”
A beat of silence passed before she said, “So, I did.”
“If I were working for someone else, would I have saved your life this morning?”
Dillon shrugged and blew out a breath. “I don’t know.”
Cal let the topic drop. It was obvious that Dillon was weary and scared, though she hid it well.
If he hadn’t witnessed the shooting, he probably wouldn’t have believed the situation was so serious.
Individuals and companies tried to acquire huge swaths of land all the time.
Few millionaires and billionaires didn’t own land.
Cal could well see Hank trying to purchase the Bar 4.
But Hank wouldn’t try to kill Dillon for it.
“What else has happened?” Cal asked.
Dillon glanced at him, a frown furrowing her brow. “What?”
“Besides the attempt on your life, what else has transpired? Emmett referenced that things couldn’t keep happening.”
They reached the edge of town. Dillon slowed when she came to the stop sign and waited for her turn before continuing through town. “Small things.”
“Like?” Cal pushed.
Her nostrils flared, showing her irritation.
“The gate being open sometime last night and the prized quarter horse stallion I just purchased—Legacy—getting out. A feed container I inspected the day before and found clean filled with rats. Fences that had just been checked ending up cut with cattle getting loose.”
“Do you think it’s someone working for you?”
“What?” she asked incredulously, jerking her head to him. “No. Absolutely, not.”
“You said you lost a couple of workers. Could they be to blame?’
She shook her head. “I saw the letters they received. Whoever sent them told the men to stop working for me or their families would be harmed. They didn’t want to take the chance, so they quit.”
“They could have written the letters themselves.”
“It’s a possibility I’ve considered, but they aren’t the only ones who received them. Everyone who works for me got one.”
Cal rubbed his right temple. “It sounds like someone is trying to make it impossible for you to run your ranch.”
“That’s exactly what they’re doing. I’ve sunk a lot of money into the new stallion. My aunt founded a breeding program that has sustained the ranch far better than cattle ever did. I’m continuing it. Without that stallion, I can’t recoup the money I invested.”
“Not to mention losing two workers, getting rid of the rats, and constantly fixing fence that was purposefully cut.”
She slowed again and put her blinker on to pull into the parking area in front of Ike’s. “Exactly.”
Cal pointed to his ten-year-old black Chevy Z71, the only vehicle in the parking lot.
He waited until Dillon parked beside it before saying, “Whoever wants your ranch must not want to wait for you to throw in the towel. That’s the only reason I can think of for things to have escalated to the shooting this morning. ”
“I wasn’t supposed to be in that part of the ranch. I was there looking for Legacy,” she said as she met his gaze.
“You think someone let the stallion loose so you would look for him?”
“I do.”
“How would they know where you would go?”
She shrugged and rested both hands on the steering wheel. “I’m the one who found the gate open. The horse would’ve had to go through two pastures to get to the other side of the ranch. It was a clear shot to where I went, which is why I chose it. I called Emmett to let him know what was going on.”
“But you told him you didn’t see any tracks.”
“I saw them leading toward the area you were in. After that, nothing.”
“So, that’s why you said I attempted to steal a horse.”
She twisted her lips. “Oh, you definitely did. Your mistake was trying to take Houdini. No matter what we’ve used to secure his stall, he always gets out.
We leave it open if he wants to go in, but he prefers to remain in the pasture at night.
I should also point out that he’s not let anyone ride him since Dolly died.
Somehow, you managed to get a bridle on him and a saddle out. ”
“Well, hell,” Cal said as he looked away, embarrassed.
Her words jogged a faint memory of him struggling to get a halter on a horse.
“I thought for sure that was a dream. Every time I put the saddle blanket on the horse and turned to get the saddle, I’d turn back around, and it would be on the ground. ”
“That’s Houdini.”
He inwardly grimaced. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life. I’ve also never been that drunk. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
She faced forward and sighed. “You don’t have to return to the ranch.”
Cal was shocked by her words. “But you just hired me.”
“Because Emmett was making a big deal of things.”
“I was there, Ms. Young. It was a big deal.”
Her head swiveled to him. “Call me Dillon. And it doesn’t matter who is around or where I am. If someone wants to kill me, they’re going to do it. You and I both know that.”
Anger sliced through Cal. “The hell they will.”
“You’re one man. What are you going to do?”
“Keep you safe.”
Her powder blue eyes watched him for a long moment. “It’s fine to say you need the money.”
“I do, but that isn’t the point. Call it Fate if you want, but something made sure I was at the Bar 4 today so you’d find me, and I’d be there to save you.”
“How do I know you didn’t let Legacy out?”
He’d been waiting for her to ask that question. Despite knowing that she would, he didn’t have a response. Not one that would cause her to believe him, anyway. “I was raised with livestock. I know how important locked gates are. I would never willingly open one.”
“I hate to keep pointing out the obvious, but you trespassed on my land and attempted to steal Houdini.”
“If I did, it was for a reason.”
She licked her lips, her gaze telling him that she didn’t believe a word he said.
“I may not remember last night, but I’m not the type of man who leaves someone in a bad situation if I can help,” he told her.
Dillon turned her head to look out her window, her shoulders sagging. “I may be new to running a ranch, but I’m not stupid.” She turned back to him. “I don’t know you. And while I do need help, I’m not sure hiring a stranger is the right way to go.”
“I can track,” he said suddenly. Cal wasn’t sure what had prompted him to blurt the words. All he knew was that he wanted—no, he needed—to stay with Dillon. Because if he didn’t, he knew she would be dead in a matter of days.
Her blue eyes narrowed on him. “What?”
“Let me come back to the ranch. If I can track Legacy, let me stay to work and protect you.”
She studied him for a long minute.
He saw her waffling. “My daddy taught me well. I can find the tracks. I can find your stallion.”
“All right,” she said. “You’ve got a deal. Find Legacy, and I’ll hire you.”
He smiled, not sure why he was so happy. “You won’t regret it.”
“I’d better not. I’ll meet you back at the ranch.”
“I’ll follow you,” he told her.
Cal didn’t think about keys until he went to open his door. He felt his front jeans pockets, and, thankfully, found the set. He fished them out and climbed into the cab. In seconds, he started the truck and pulled out behind Dillon.
On the drive back to the ranch, Cal kept thinking about what Dillon had told him.
The things happening at the ranch had seemed relatively small, but they had leapt forward significantly this morning.
He couldn’t help but think that more had been happening that Dillon hadn’t shared.
Not that he blamed her. She didn’t know who to trust. Not to mention, he was a stranger. Why would she open up to him?
Cal needed to talk to Emmett. It was obvious the old cowboy cared about Dillon. If anyone would tell him the complete story, it was Emmett. With that sorted, Cal shifted his mind to the missing stallion.
His head felt measurably better, and his stomach was finally sorting itself out. Getting on a horse should be the last thing he did, but he would do it anyway. A broken collarbone hadn’t stopped him from riding in a rodeo. A hangover headache certainly wouldn’t now.
He leaned to the side while driving and pulled the leather bag onto the seat from the floorboard.
It had belonged to his grandfather and his father.
The leather had a beautiful patina from use to go along with its soft, pliable texture.
He unzipped it with one hand and dug into the side compartment for a bottle of ibuprofen while never taking his eyes off the road.
Cal hooked the bottle with his left thumb and forefinger while the rest of his hand held the wheel, then opened the cap with his right hand.
He dug out three pills that he tossed into his mouth and swallowed before closing the bottle and returning it to his bag.
If he were lucky, the medicine would dull his headache.
Back at the ranch, he had Dillon show him what had occurred that morning when she found the stallion gone.
She took him through all of it, step by step, pointing to the southwest. Cal walked along the pasture’s fence, searching for any clues.
The ground was dry, firm, and trampled enough from others that it made it hard for him to determine tracks.
But he did find some. He climbed the fence and jumped inside the pasture.
He stayed close to the fence as he let his gaze slowly move over the grass.
“What do you see?” Dillon asked.
“I count two horses. One outside the paddock. One in.” He pointed to a spot in the middle of the paddock near the gate where the grass had been flattened. “The stallion circled there several times before running out.”
Dillon met his gaze. “Legacy had only spent two nights here. He was learning the ranch.”
Cal studied the area near the gate that still stood open. He made his way to it and knelt to analyze the impression of a boot heel in the grass. It was deeper on the outside. Unfortunately, that was the only print he found. The stallion had covered anything else during his run.
“You don’t happen to have security cameras, do you?”
Dillon walked around the pasture to the gate. “There hasn’t been a need before now.”
Cal didn’t point out that she hadn’t answered his question.
He reminded himself that she had no reason to trust him, and every reason not to.
He straightened and adjusted his hat as he squinted against the bright sun and looked into the distance.
“We need to go now. The longer we wait, the harder it’ll be to track. ”
“Let’s go.”
His head swung around to see Dillon already headed to a paddock. Cal followed to see her lead out a female with a shiny black coat, four white fetlocks, and a white star on her forehead. Dillon tied the horse to the fence and began brushing the mare.
“Take your pick of horses,” she told him.
Cal strode into the barn, impressed by the design and the attention to detail.
Dillon hadn’t been joking when she said the quarter horses made the ranch more money than the cattle.
It was obvious by the barn. Since quarter horses were used in many aspects of ranching, not to mention rodeos, he wasn’t surprised.
He gazed over the impressive animals available until he found himself looking at a sorrel gelding.
The horse stared at him. He had a suspicion it was Houdini.
As much as Cal wanted to get to know the horse after his encounter, now wasn’t the time.
Instead, Cal chose a bay and led the gelding outside.
After the horses were brushed, he and Dillon got saddles and bridles from the tack room and readied their mounts.
The minute his foot hit the stirrup, and he swung his leg over, a smile pulled at his lips.
It had been entirely too long since he had been on a horse.
The anxious feeling that had been with him for most of his life, lessened.
He couldn’t explain it, and he didn’t want to try.
He used the reins and turned the gelding. The rolling hill country stood before him, and somewhere, hidden in the picturesque landscape, was someone out to harm Dillon—something he had no intention of allowing to happen.