Chapter Three
D ale stood on the front porch of his father’s Craftsman-style house, watching Sadie back out of her driveway. She’d transformed from a cute teenager to a beautiful woman. Oh, he’d definitely noticed her when he was a senior, but with his sights set on the Navy, he’d kept clear of any type of entanglements. The timing was all wrong back then.
Now?
Exhaling, he scratched his jaw. The woman was a beautiful contradiction of capability and vulnerability, and he was a sucker for the combination.
But the timing wasn’t much better.
His father was his priority.
The warmth of the mid-day sun did little to ease the chill of unease that settled in his chest. He glanced at the lush green lawn stretching out before him, its tranquility a stark contrast to the storm of thoughts swirling in his mind. The events leading up to his father’s accident didn’t sit right with him, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story.
Pulling out his phone, Dale scrolled through his recent calls and found Gabe’s number. He hesitated for a moment, staring at the screen. Gabe was the sheriff and no doubt busy. Dale hated to waste the guy’s time if his hunch amounted to nothing.
But what if it didn’t?
In the teams, Gabe had been a reliable, steadfast ally, someone he could count on. Always. If anyone could help him get to the bottom of this, it was Gabe.
Dale hit the call button and listened to the ringing. It felt like an eternity before his buddy’s familiar voice answered, slightly breathless as if he had just finished a run.
“How’s your dad doing?” Gabe’s voice was warm with concern, tinged with the casual camaraderie that came from years of alliance. “Any change?”
“He’s hanging in there,” Dale replied. “Look, I need a favor. I hate to bother you during work, but can you meet me at the ranch? I want to check out the field where the accident happened.”
There was no hesitation on the other end. “Yeah, sure. I can be there in about twenty minutes. You okay?”
He blew out a breath, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, it’s probably nothing, but something doesn’t feel right about this whole situation. Since you were there when my dad was found, I’d like to see the exact spot and have you walk me through the scene.”
“Roger that,” Gabe said, his tone shifting to serious. “See you soon.”
After the call ended, Dale slipped his phone back into his pocket and made the short ten-minute trip to the house where he’d grown up.
He drove his pickup down the familiar dusty driveway, taking a deep breath to brace himself for the changes he knew he would find. The sun blazed over the sprawling fields, barn, and house. After years of combat and chaos, it felt strange to be back on the property where he’d grown up.
Parking in front of the two-story ranch house, he stared at the wide wraparound porch where he’d spent countless evenings watching the sun set over the horizon.
The peace that used to settle over him was absent. The home, once full of life and activity, now seemed quieter, almost as if it had aged along with its former occupants.
He climbed out and stared at Orion and Triton grazing peacefully in the pasture, oblivious to the tension hanging in the air. The latter was his brother’s twenty-year-old quarter horse with a beautiful sorrel coat. A stark contrast to his father’s brown and white Paint horse.
Dale took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. The past few days had been a whirlwind, and the feeling that something was off gnawed at him, refusing to be ignored.
It could be the exhaustion he was fending off. Horses spooked and threw their riders all the time. Didn’t mean his father’s accident wasn’t an accident.
Either way, he aimed to find out, then develop a plan to move forward.
True to his word, Gabe arrived within minutes, his SUV kicking up a small cloud of dust as it rolled up the driveway. He stepped out, his expression a mixture of curiosity and concern. The man had a way of carrying himself that always seemed to bring a sense of calm, a trait Dale greatly appreciated right now.
“Hey,” Gabe greeted, walking over to him. “You look like you’ve been chewing on something heavy. Spit it out.”
Dale gestured toward the field. “I don’t know, Chief…I mean, Gabe,” he corrected. It was going to take a while to remember to use civilian names instead of call names. Surprisingly, he’d done pretty good at the hospital earlier. “The more I think about my dad’s accident, the less it makes sense. He’s been around horses all his life. For one to suddenly get spooked and throw him like that? It doesn’t add up.”
The sheriff nodded, his brows furrowing as he listened. “You think it was more than just a freak accident?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “I want to take a look at the area. See it for myself.”
His buddy nodded. “Roger that. Follow me.”
The two men walked in silence, the only sounds the muffled thuds of their boots and the distant calls of birds. As they hopped the fence, Dale pictured his father riding his horse hard across the field.
“We found him lying here.” Gabe stopped and pointed to the ground.
Dale crouched down, examining the ground where the horse had thrown his father. The grass was flattened, a clear sign of something heavy disturbing the area. There were hoofprints and faint footprints in the surrounding dirt too, but nothing out of the ordinary.
He wasn’t sure what he was looking for but “ordinary” wasn’t it.
Gabe squatted next to him. “The tracks are mine and the paramedics.”
Dale nodded, having already assumed as much.
Out of the blue, a strange prickling sensation bit at the back of his neck, like the hairs were standing on end. He glanced around, scanning the open space, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
“Feel that?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Gabe gazed off into the distance. “Someone’s watching us.”
The field was bordered by a line of trees, their dense foliage casting long shadows over the grass. Both Orion and Triton seemed undisturbed, lazily flicking their tails as they grazed.
Damn.
They were vulnerable. Out in the open. Clear targets.
Him and Gabe, too.
Pretending not to notice, Dale rose to his feet and nonchalantly walked toward the horses, and Gabe did the same.
As they neared Orion and Triton, they instinctively scanned the tree line, which was much closer now. The sensation of being watched grew stronger, a palpable tension in the air. He narrowed his focus on a particularly dense cluster of bushes. The leaves rustled slightly, but there was no wind.
“See that?” Gabe asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he withdrew his firearm. “We go on two.”
“Affirmative,” he replied, wishing he hadn’t left his gun in the glove compartment of his truck, where he’d stowed it before entering the hospital that morning.
“One, two,” the sheriff mumbled, and they both rushed the thicket, now only a few yards away.
Tension thickened with each step, reminding him of active duty. But this was home. His family’s ranch. As they reached the edge of the tree line, the rustling stopped. They stopped, too, and listened intently. Dale’s heart pounded hard in his chest and adrenaline sharpened his senses.
The sheriff edged closer to the bushes and carefully pushed aside the branches. The underbrush was dense, making it difficult to see anything clearly. Dale stepped up beside him, peering into the shadows.
For a moment, everything was still.
Then, a sudden rustling erupted again, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps.
“This is the Harlan County Sheriff. Stop!” Gabe shouted as they both lunged forward, trying to push through the branches, but it was no use. They were too thick.
It was also too late.
Whoever had been there was gone, leaving only the faintest sound of their retreat behind. By the time they managed to get into the woods, the perp would be long gone.
“Damn it,” he muttered, scanning the surrounding area, frustration upping his pressure. “Bastard must have been watching us.”
Gabe cursed under his breath. “Whoever it was, they were quick.”
Dale’s mind raced, piecing together the implications of what they had just discovered. “This isn’t just about the horse getting spooked. Someone’s been here, watching, and they might have had something to do with my dad’s accident.”
His buddy nodded grimly. “You need to be careful. If someone’s targeting your family, you can’t take any chances.”
He inhaled and steadied his thoughts. “We’ll have to keep an eye out, maybe set up some cameras around the property in case they come back.”
“Roger that,” Gabe agreed. “I’ll talk to Mac. We can get some equipment from ESI, and have it set up by tomorrow, both here and at your dad’s house in town.”
Mac was an old Delta Force buddy they’d worked ops with overseas. Now, he owned and operated Eagle Security and Investigations, a security and investigation company with former military as agents. Even he had received an open-ended offer from the guy a few years ago.
“Good,” he said, then cursed as realization hit him.
His dad was a target no matter where he resided.
Dale opened his mouth to voice his concern, but Gabe held up a hand and withdrew his phone with the other.
“I’m on it. Setting up a detail outside your father’s room right now.”
Although he was grateful the sheriff made the call, Dale was also disgusted that it was necessary.
Who knew how long the bastard had been on the property, or what he’d been doing.
“I’d better check the inside of the house and barn, too,” he stated.
As they cleared each structure, the sense of unease lingered. Dale knew they had to act fast. The safety of his family depended on it. He glanced over at Gabe, grateful for his friend’s support and expertise.
“I can’t tell you how thankful I am that you’re the sheriff around here,” Dale said after they exited the house, and he locked the door. “I know there’ll be no stone unturned.”
Gabe smirked. “Don’t forget about ESI. This town is full of your military buddies, and I know they’ll be all over this. We’ve got your back, Delta . We’ll get to the bottom of this, whatever it takes.”
Hearing his call sign and Chief’s reassuring words brought a sense of calm he readily embraced.
“Hooyah!”
Gabe echoed the battle cry and cupped Dale’s shoulder. “When’s the last time you ate?”
He blinked. “What day is it?”
“Thought as much.” His buddy shook his head. “Come on, I’ll buy you a burger and fries, and if I’m not called out, I’ll even spring for some Boston Cream donuts at the local bakery that Dean and RJ’s wives own.”
Not at all surprised Gabe remembered his favorite donut, he nodded. “Roger that.”
He’d heard all about the bakery from several of his former SEAL buddies and a few Deltas. Maybe he’d grab something for his dad before heading to see him later.
Dale wondered briefly if he should grab something for Sadie too. An image of the beauty rushed through his head of her confessing her crush on him and the resulting blush deepening the warmth in her brown eyes, sent an answering wave of warmth through him.
But that wasn’t good.
There was danger around him and his father right now. He wasn’t about to expose her to any of it.
No. He was going to have to keep his distance, but after this threat was neutralized, then, oh, yeah, then he was very interested in exploring that crush.