Chapter Seven
Vaughn took another batch of hay and deposited it in the last of the feed buckets along the side of the corral. She took a break and leaned along the railing, removing her hat to wipe her brow with the back of her arm. It wasn’t even ten a.m. and the heat was already oppressive. It hung heavy in the air with the remnants of last night’s humidity ruining her usually hot and bone-dry mornings. But that was August in the Valley of the Sun. Hot and humid, caused by the occasional monsoon. She supposed she ought to be used to it by now, being a valley native, but the humidity was never welcome. And August, well, August was always just a bitch of a month to plow through.
One of the horses neighed as if in agreement. It was Charlie and she was slowly walking up to her. “Hey, girl.” Vaughn peeled off her gloves and stroked Charlie’s neck. She was a stunner of a horse, with a shiny black coat and rich, glossy eyes. “You come to stand in the shade with me? It’s hot, huh? Too hot.” A few of the other horses had come to stand on her side of the corral as well, seeking the shade of the ramadas, the morning heat already too much for them. “How ’bout a cool down?” Vaughn walked over to the hose and uncoiled it. She hollered at Benny to turn on the faucet at the stable. She felt the water, noted the warm temperature, and waited a few minutes for it to run cooler, then she sprayed Charlie down. “There you go,” she said. “Feel good?”
She adjusted the nozzle to create a mist and continued to wet Charlie down. Soon a few of the other horses sauntered up to her for their own cool down. A hot breeze began to blow through and Vaughn smiled, knowing it would help in cooling the horses with their wet skin. “There you go, you guys should be good for a while.” She yelled again for Benny to turn off the water and rewound the hose. She was wiping her hands off on her jeans when Benny whistled at her and pointed beyond the corrals. She followed his line of sight and saw a vehicle pulling up on the drive. She squinted, trying to make out who it was in the white SUV. She left the corral and was halfway to the car before she could make out the writing on the side. The vehicle was with the fire department. Vaughn silently cursed and looked back toward the guesthouse. Natalie was nowhere to be seen.
A man climbed from the SUV carrying a hard-cased folder. He adjusted his sunglasses and stuck out his hand.
“Wesley Locke,” he said. “Fire investigations. You Vaughn Ruger?”
Vaughn shook his hand and sank hers in her back pocket, nervous.
“Sure am. What brings you out this way?”
“Someone here called in a car fire yesterday evening and I was just following up.”
“Right.” She’d almost forgotten that Gram had called in to report the fire. So much had happened it had slipped her mind, which was unusual for her. She was usually very keen and on top of things. Natalie’s presence had disrupted not just her home life, but her thoughts as well. She briefly wondered what else she would disrupt.
“The caller was…” He opened the folder and flipped to the correct page. “June Ruger.”
“She’s my grandmother. But she isn’t the one who saw the fire. That was me. I came upon it as I was returning from town.”
He made a note. “Did you happen to see the driver of the vehicle?”
Vaughn wavered. She didn’t like to lie, but Natalie’s location might be blown if she didn’t. Thoughts of Aunt Sissy and all the trouble she’d gone through with her divorce came once again. She thought of how damaged she seemed to be from it all. The bruises on Natalie’s neck also came to mind. No, she couldn’t tell. She couldn’t do that to Natalie.
She shook her head. She might not have done enough to support her aunt during her rough divorce, but at least now she could try to make up for that by helping Natalie.
Wesley glanced up at her over the rim of his sunglasses as he paused his pen mid stroke. “No?”
She shook her head again, unable to voice the lie.
“You just saw the vehicle then?”
“Yes, sir. I saw the vehicle.”
He scribbled some more and closed his folder. “Did you see anything else unusual? Another vehicle maybe?”
“No, sir. It was storming so I didn’t stick around. I just continued on home.” She felt her face flush with guilt and she prayed he wouldn’t notice.
“Guess the driver found another way home.” He secured the folder against his hip and slid his pen into his shirt pocket. He dug into his back pocket and retrieved a business card. “Call me if you think of anything else. Anything at all.”
“I will.”
“Thank you for your time.” He shook her hand again.
“No problem.” He walked away, turning to look at Vaughn one last time as he was climbing in his SUV. She waved, watched him drive away, and headed back toward the corral. She had her head down, staring at the ground when she heard her name. She looked to her right and saw Natalie jogging up to her from the vicinity of the guesthouse. She seemed breathless when she reached her, but Vaughn could tell it wasn’t from the brief exertion of the run.
“Who was that?” she asked, looking back at the retreating vehicle. Its tires were kicking up dust as it drove back down the long drive and out of sight.
“A fire investigator.”
“Shit. Really?” Her eyes grew wide as she searched Vaughn’s face. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him I didn’t see anyone. That I just saw the fire and continued on home.”
“Oh my God, thank you. Thank you so much.”
Vaughn stared off into the blowing trees, feeling uncomfortable about the whole encounter. “You’re welcome.” She started walking again. Natalie followed.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure.”
“You don’t sound it.”
“No? How do I sound?”
“You sound kind of pissed.”
“Nope.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
Natalie lightly gripped her arm, causing her to pause. Vaughn held her gaze for only a moment before she looked away. She didn’t want to upset her or cause any trouble. It was best left alone. Besides, she wasn’t one to hash things out. She preferred to let things be.
“Tell me,” Natalie insisted. “Please.”
Vaughn chewed her lip, debating. She felt Natalie’s grip tighten on her arm as she pleaded again. She could tell Natalie wasn’t going to let her off the hook, so she spoke freely.
“I don’t like lying,” she said. “Under any circumstances.”
Natalie seemed at a loss. She stammered. “I—don’t either. But this is different. I’m—trying to hide—he—” She stopped. “If it bothers you, I can go. I don’t have to stay. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
Vaughn looked into her eyes. They were so crystal clear and green, almost the color of her mother’s birthstone ring. The one she always wore unless she was painting. She hadn’t seen that ring or her mother in close to a year. She suddenly longed for her to visit and she wondered what she would think of Natalie.
“You don’t have to leave,” she said. She wanted her to stay, wanted her to remain safe. Yet, she wasn’t quite sure why she felt so protective of her. Was it because of her aunt and her experience? Or was it something more?
“Vaughn, I really don’t want you to do things that make you uncomfortable. And lying…I understand why you don’t want to. I hate lies. Allen…he lied to me about nearly everything. I—” She shook her head. “I understand.” She dropped her hand.
“Just forget about it,” Vaughn said. “It’s over. Over and done with. He shouldn’t have a need to come back.”
“Yes, but he’s going to know it was my car, if he doesn’t already. There’s the license plate and the VIN number. I’m doomed.”
“He didn’t mention your name,” Vaughn said. “Or even suggest that you were here.”
“Still, Allen could find out that my car was found. He has ways. Private detectives and shady friends who do things for him. I don’t know what I was thinking believing I could hide from him.”
“Hey,” Vaughn said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Try not to worry about it, okay? Should he come here, we’ll deal with it. And I’ve been thinking…” She looked back toward the driveway. “I’m going to put up some no trespassing signs and lock the gate. Maybe put a little camera up so we know when someone is approaching. I’ve been meaning to do it, to prevent theft and such. We’ve had some trouble in the past. And with those ranch hands still out there doing God knows what…it’s best if I do something to deter them from coming back. They aren’t welcome here anymore.”
Natalie seemed grateful. Her eyes softened and sparkled in the sunlight. “I’ll stay as long as you’re okay with it. But the second you aren’t, I want you to tell me and I’ll go. I’ll be gone so fast you won’t even know I was here. Deal?”
She extended her hand. Vaughn eyed it for a second and then took it in her own. It was smooth and warm. Not at all like her own or anyone else’s she knew.
“Great,” Natalie said. “Thanks.”
She hitched her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to go get back to it. You good?”
Vaughn adjusted her hat, trying to ignore the emptiness she felt in releasing her soft hand. “Yep, I’m good.”
“I’ll see you at lunch?” She started walking back toward the guesthouse.
“You will.”
She smiled and turned to continue on her way.
Vaughn watched her go, amused at her liveliness and good spirits. For a woman who was dealing with so much trauma and trouble, she sure seemed to be handling things well.
As she started her own walk back to the horses, she thought about Natalie and her future. If only things could work out for her so she could truly be happy and not have to worry so much.
If only.