Chapter Five
Slade shifted in thesaddle, eyeing the large herd of Charbrays grazing around a big lake., the midafternoon sun warm enough to still get by without a burdensome coat. A sense of proud accomplishment always spread through him when he saw so many of the hardy, hefty breed, a lot of them showing the bulge of calf bearing. This particular breed’s foraging attributes and sheer robustness enabled them to endure the cold winters. Their father had started raising the Australian breed with coats ranging from light red to cream after making millions off the oil wells on their land. Brett now handled the wells, leaving the beef production to him and Reed, working with the livestock and the comradeship he enjoyed with the hired hands what he loved best about ranching.
Spending hours a day riding the range afforded him the chance to indulge in the solitude he still craved when the guilt returned without warning. If the haunting memories arose at night, blurring the line between his morals and the need to protect others, he would sit in the barn’s open loft doors. He found peace in gazing at infinity through the star-studded inky sky.
Lately, though, it was the new neighbor who plagued his thoughts, which bugged him as much as his presence appeared to bug her. He had to admit, she’d done an admirable job covering her pique at their intrusion the other day. The only time he noticed it was when she looked at him, and damn if that annoyed spark in her blue eyes didn’t make him itch to pin her against a wall and cover her mulish mouth with his. Given his sexual preference for control and her penchant to shun most people, including him, that would never happen, but it didn’t prevent thoughts of her from distracting him.
She’s an anomaly, that’s all.Like every other challenge in life, he’ll deal with it then move on.
Until then, Slade planned on staying clear, which was what he told Allie this morning when she tossed out Nicole had mentioned wanting a horse but lacked riding or equine care experience. There were other options around here where she could get both. He was too busy to add another chore to his schedule. A shout from one of the hands cut off the nagging voice calling that excuse an outright fabrication. This time of year, work slowed down from the busy spring and summer months.
A shrill whistle refocused his attention, and he nudged Bandit forward to meet up with Keith and Riley riding his way. He’d narrowed down his suspect list to one person responsible for the malicious, costly vandalism incidents around the ranch during the last fifteen months. For the life of him, though, he couldn’t figure out why this part-time college student held a grudge against them.
“Hey, boss,” Riley greeted him, the three of them reining to a stop a few feet from a red-coated, heavily pregnant cow. “We’ve pulled this one and two more to bring into the barn. A few others we’re not sure about.”
“Katy. She’s so young.” Keith pointed to one of the cream-coated Charbrays who grazed with a barely discernible baby bulge.
He shook his head at the kid. “I’ve warned you about naming them. It makes it that much harder on you come market time.”
Keith eyed the young mother-to-be with fondness. “They don’t all have to end up on someone’s table, do they?”
Riley snorted. “They’d be out of business if they didn’t. Right?”
Not quite, but he had a point. “We don’t maintain a herd this size for pets.” Slade remembered the calf his dad gave him to raise and still didn’t believe their foreman’s excuse she had been put down due to illness. “Now, what aren’t you telling me? Where’s Evan and Jeff?” All four were assigned to this herd today.
“You tell him,” Keith insisted, his tone with his friend disgruntled.
“Hey, we tried talking them out of it.” Facing Slade, Riley said, “They took off after an elk bull they saw in the woods.”
Slade tensed with a grip of fury. There was no time for them to dress a kill and haul it back and finish moving this herd, so what the hell were they thinking? Before he could tamp down his anger, the pair emerged from the trees, close enough he could see their grimaces when they spotted him. The only thing working in their favor was the absence of gunfire echoing through the woods, a sure sign the chase was unsuccessful.
He didn’t waste time or words when they rode up. “You’ll both be docked a half-day’s wage. Get back to work.”
Evan’s usual resentful expression never changed, but Jeff’s face reflected relief as he replied, “Thanks for not firing us, boss. Won’t happen again.”
This crap is going to end,he vowed, watching the four of them return to their positions around the herd. Slade didn’t need one more thing tugging at his conscience and never took firing someone lightly. But damn it, his patience did have its limits.
Working with the guys, he helped drive the herd down to a lower pasture much closer to their barns where they would fare better come winter. Everyone’s tension eased when Jeff and Keith started joking around as they kept the horde of cattle together and moving at a steady pace. After sending him a few guarded glances, even Evan cracked a few smiles before they rode into the stable yard. When he dropped the attitude, the kid revealed a passion for ranch work and demonstrated a genuine fondness for animals, especially his current mount, Tuck. He always chose the brown quarter horse from the corral if one of the other hands wasn’t already riding him when Evan got here.
Slade dismounted at the rail, unsaddled Bandit, and turned him loose. He waited for the guys to release their horses along with the guys’ mounts before crooking a finger at Evan. “A word, please.”
Evan cast a look of unguarded longing toward the grazing horses before showing him his usual indifference. When the other three entered the stable, he asked, “Am I fired?” as if he didn’t care one way or another.
Leaning against the corral posts, he crossed his arms. As with Nicole, there was something about the kid’s attitude that reminded him of himself. “I should. You’ve been warned, repeatedly. Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you apply here, why do you stay if you dislike the job or me that much, or what’s your grudge? Take your pick.” He’d caught moments when Evan appeared to love ranch life, which didn’t jive with his behavior.
Evan gave him a cocky grin. “Who wouldn’t want a chance to work for the illustrious Kincaid brothers?”
Petty jealousy or something deeper he wasn’t getting? “Not many would turn down the opportunity if ranching was what drew their interest. So, either you’ve discovered it’s not your thing, or you applied for another reason.” Oh yeah. That hit a nerve. That backbone went ramrod stiff, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
“Am I fired or not? I rode here with Riley.”
“Not today,” he returned, giving up for now. The kid presented a puzzle he was determined to solve. “But it is your last warning and final pass. See you Monday.”
He nodded, a flash of relief in his green eyes before he turned and jogged to rejoin his friends. A definite conundrum Slade was determined to figure out. Driving home, he pondered what he could do about Evan short of letting him go or accusing him outright of the vandalism going on this past year. The answer still eluded him when he pulled up to his garage, but hearing Sam’s excited barking as soon as he opened the door took his mind off Evan. The loud clatter of boards coming together filtered through the trees, and he wondered what his neighbor was up to now. She’d told them on Sunday the contractor wouldn’t start until next week, so, unless she’d already hired other help, she was working on her own again.
Slade admired her drive, insisting he wasn’t concerned about her doing any heavy lifting or using tools he doubted she was familiar with. She was a grown woman who obviously preferred solitude. And hard work to keep her mind off...something. He respected that, and, besides, whatever had brought her to Wyoming to live alone in such a remote area was none of his business. He should call Deb and go out to Casey’s for a few hours. Spending time upstairs in their private space with his favorite play partner ought to relax him and take his mind off both Evan and Nicole. Deb loved bondage and leather, a multistrand flogger her favorite for him to apply.
For dinner, he tossed a couple of burgers on the grill, refusing to come up with something else just to avoid hearing any commotion from the other side of the woods. No one had done anything on Studman’s property for over a year, not since Cecil had asked him to check on it once in a while before going into assisted living. When it sold at auction, he was glad someone would put the land to good use. He’d grown used to the quiet was all. Why else would he continue to get distracted and bothered by the slight noise coming from that direction?
Slade carried the done burgers inside, wondering if Nicole would take a break to eat then swore he didn’t care one way or another. When he called Deb after downing dinner and couldn’t come up with a valid reason for the relief he felt when she didn’t answer, he gave up battling his curiosity. He changed into a heavier shirt to ward off the late-afternoon chill and traipsed through the woods again, telling himself this meant nothing more than doing the neighborly thing by checking up on someone.
Silence reigned around the yard as he strode toward the barn and stack of old lumber piled a few feet from the open door. He spotted nails sticking up on several worn slats before going inside. “Nicole, it’s Slade,” he called out, not seeing her or Sam. Taking a quick look around, he found the old stalls she’d started tearing down. Figuring she might have gone into the house to eat or quit for the day, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away without finishing this task for her.
I’m saving her a little time and days of aching muscles.Slade swore that was the motive behind his help, which didn’t explain the leap in his pulse when he emerged from the barn with an armful of boards and saw her stomping toward him with a scowl.
“Why are you here again?” she demanded, hands going to her slim hips.
His perverse side got a kick out of riling her. Why, he couldn’t answer yet. “I’m assisting you with this chore.” He dropped his arms, and the wood fell on top of the pile. “That should be obvious.”
Nicole turned her head, but he could still hear her mutter, “There’s something seriously wrong with you.”
“Why, because I’m friendly?”
“No, because I’m not. Hence, there’s something wrong with you because you keep showing up anyway,” she snapped, facing him again.
Well, that was honest and gave credence to the saying on today’s shirt – If you don’t like my dog you probably won’t like me – And I’m ok with that.
Damn it, he really didn’t want to like the woman. Before he could come up with a truthful reply, she bent to pet Sam who pressed against her leg at her angry voice. The over-large sweatshirt fell to the side on one shoulder, revealing a jagged scar that disappeared down into the sleeve. Slade’s usual firm control slipped enough to propel him forward, force his hand to cup her upper arm, and bring her close enough for him to confirm the knife wound. Fury toward whoever had harmed her coiled in his abdomen like a rattlesnake preparing to strike.
“Hey, knock it off!” Nicole jerked her arm, and he released her, taking a deep breath to get himself under control. Yanking her sleeve back up, she shot daggers at him without backing away. “You need to leave.”
Did that bravado stem from the attack or rile her assailant further? The strength of his anger on her behalf shocked him. Not that he was immune to the suffering of others, but he’d never reacted with such potent emotion with anyone except his family, especially without knowing the facts behind the injury. The thought of Nicole suffering such a painful, possibly dangerous ordeal produced a knot in his throat he couldn’t swallow past.
“What happened?” he demanded. “I have firsthand experience with weapons, know what kind of damage a vast assortment of them can cause, what scars they can leave behind. That is a knife wound.”
“Good for you, and none of your business. Go away.”
Slade took a moment to study her face and body language, correlating her rigid stance and uneasy expression with how he had felt when someone would pry into the reason for his abrupt departure from the military. Like her, he hadn’t wanted to talk about the incident that had such a profound effect on him with anyone, not even his brothers. He could now sympathize with how difficult it must have been for them to leave him alone when he insisted.
But Slade couldn’t let it go until she answered one burning question. “Is he locked up?”
Nicole’s eyes turned frosty. “No.”
Not what he wanted to hear. “Why not?”
“Because I killed him.”
***
NICOLE SHOULD TO STOPblurting it out like that. She’d shocked a few nosy people already with her blunt reply to questions about her attacker, receiving no satisfaction from their surprise. Slade’s jolted reaction also conveyed relief, which, of course, rubbed her wrong.
“You preferred hearing a man is dead?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth or attempt to read me, Nicole. We’ll get along much better that way. It’s getting dark and cold, but come help me and we can finish what you started in no time.”
She had enough guilt plaguing her, so, instead of apologizing, she took him up on that offer without comment. They hauled out the last of the torn-down stalls in comfortable silence, finishing in no time with his help. Dusk had fallen along with the temperature when they emerged from the barn carrying the last few slats. With a shiver, Nicole unloaded hers onto the heap, glad the outside lights on the house and barn came on automatically.
“That will make a good bonfire,” Slade commented, waving a hand toward the lumber pile, his tone much smoother compared to the deep rumble of his earlier hostility. “Not much else you can do with them since they’re rotted through, and bonfires make a good excuse to get together with your friends.”
“I don’t know anyone here that well yet,” she returned, his low voice in the semi-dark raising goose bumps. From the light above the barn door, she could see the lower half of his bristled face, but his hat shielded his eyes.
“You won’t get to know anyone, staying out here. I’m surprised you’re not uneasy living alone this far from town, unable to see another house.” He turned his head, as if scanning the area around the house then stepped closer to Nicole, near enough for his body heat and large frame to warm her.
Nicole rubbed her arms, not about to tell him there were moments at night when either the silence or the strange animal sounds made her wish for company. During the day, when she was busy and the sunny blue sky revealed the beauty of her property, the solitude worked to soothe her unsettled emotions if she’d suffered through another night of guilt-ridden dreams.
“I’m from Chicago. Not much scares me, and I prefer the quiet. The city’s never this peaceful. Shouldn’t you call someone to give you a ride home?” she asked, noticing how much darker the woods were.
Slade reached out, catching her off guard as he clasped her hand with a tug toward the house and a chuckle that rumbled from his chest. “I already texted Reed, and I believe that’s him coming up your drive. I noticed you didn’t offer to run me back.”
It took a moment for his last comment to register, her concentration blindsided by the tingles traveling from his warm, calloused grip up her arm. Disgusted with herself for allowing him to muddle her attention like a hormone-driven teenage girl, she yanked her hand out of his. “I’m not nice, remember?”
They reached her back door and stood under the light, Sam going around them to run inside as Slade opened the door, saying, “I’m not, either, but you remind me of myself about ten years ago. I would hate to see you, or anyone else, make the mistake I did by shutting out others. Call me or someone in the family if you hear or see something that leaves you unsettled. We’ll check it out. And don’t get cranky and delete my number after I leave.” Reed honked, and Slade pressed a hand to her lower back, urging her inside as if she needed prodding to turn away from him. “Good night, Nicole.”
“Thanks for the help,” she managed to reply in a civil tone before closing the door and leaning her head against the hard wood. Nicole groaned, baffled and annoyed with the instant rise in her temperature from a simple touch. Slade had made no apologies or excuses when she had greeted his unexpected arrivals with coolness instead of gratitude, ignoring her unenthusiastic welcome to continue as he pleased. His family had been just as determined to assist her in any way, insisting on giving her their phone numbers after Slade jotted down his. Tony was the only stranger she’d met who turned out to be that genuine and nice. Regardless of their good intentions, she didn’t want or need another man, or his family, on her doorstep every day.
Nicole had to eat those words the next morning when Lily called and asked if she wanted to meet Paul Westman, the man who had been floundering since losing his family. Lily’s timing was perfect, catching her as soon as she crawled out of bed, groggy after a restless night imagining every creepy villain from the slasher movies she used to watch hiding out on her property.
Damn Slade Kincaid for putting that in her head.
She gave Sam ample opportunity to romp outside while she ate a quick breakfast and downed coffee before dressing. Those vivid dreams left her eager to hire someone willing to live in the cottage once Jim completed the few repairs and laid new flooring, the first chores she would ask of him come Monday. The long drive into Casper eased her tension from the sleepless night, Lily’s early invitation giving Nicole time to shop a discount furniture outlet. Her mood improved tenfold after finding everything she needed to furnish the cozy space then locating the shelter using GPS and Lily’s instructions.
Slade’s soon-to-be sister-in-law was waiting for her outside, her long dark-brown hair pulled into a braid and wearing navy slacks paired with a cream, ribbed light sweater. Nicole slid out of her SUV, returning Lily’s wave as she closed the door. The clouds hid the sun’s warmth, turning the air cooler than she’d felt since moving here.
“I’m so glad you could make it in today,” Lily said, opening the door to a spacious entry. “The director called me when Paul showed up for breakfast, and she talked him into staying until I could take a lunch break. He’s interested in the job, which pleases everyone who helps at the shelter and has gotten to know him. I can’t imagine losing my family the way he did, then his job and home when he couldn’t cope.”
“No, I can’t, either.” Nicole never took for granted her parents’ love and support, or the way her two closest friends had stood by her without question after Tony’s death. “If he works out, this saves me a lot of time, and your recommendation eases my mind about asking him to live so close with no one else around.”
“No worries there. Reed did an extensive search on Paul and found he has a clean record as far as any criminal activity. Not even a traffic ticket. This way.”
She got a quick look at the main room filled with tables that were over half full with a line at the buffet as Lily veered down a short hallway. The man waiting inside the office stood and faced them, clutching a worn baseball cap. With thinning gray hair and a lined face, he looked older than the forty-one Lily mentioned.
“Mr. Westman.” Nicole held out her hand in the hope of putting him at ease. “I’m Nicole Wells. Thank you for talking to me today.”
“Paul,” he replied, taking her hand. His gaze slid toward Lily as she took the chair behind the desk.
They sat down, and Nicole explained the job, which involved preparing to take in rescued dogs and then assisting with their care, and the salary, which included the use of the cottage. “Are you okay with living in the country? Lily lives nearby if that helps.”
“She mentioned that. I’ve always liked dogs. I used to have...a long time ago...”
Nicole gave his arm a brief touch, his genuine grief sealing her decision. “Recently, I suffered a great loss and understand the desire to escape from everything that reminded me of it. The cottage is small, but it will be furnished, the kitchen and bathroom stocked with necessities, and ready next week. Think about it, and let Lily know your decision.”
Paul asked a few questions before standing again, still clutching the cap. “If you’re willing to take a chance on me, I accept your generous offer.”
Lily came around the desk, her face reflecting relief. “That’s a good decision, Paul.”
“For both of us,” Nicole stated, hoping he wouldn’t let depression or doubts alter his decision before he even started. He appeared grateful for the chance to work again, but an unexpected reminder of his loss could change his mind about reversing the course of his life. “I’ll let Lily know when the cottage is ready.” She waited until he left the office before turning to Lily. “Thanks for this. Fingers crossed it will benefit us both.”
“If the director and I didn’t think he was ready, we wouldn’t have brought it up to him. Keeping him thinking positive will be the hard part. I don’t have time for lunch, but Allie and I want to invite you to go with us to Casey’s this weekend,” she replied as they returned to the parking lot. “It’s a club the guys own – music, dancing, a mechanical bull if you’re daring enough.”
“Ina mentioned it, and it would depend on how many drinks I have whether I can get up the nerve to get on that. Thanks. Can I let you know?” she asked, hesitating due to the likelihood of spending that time around Slade. Restricting her activities because of a man who got under her skin one second and roused her senses the next pissed her off enough to change her mind. “On second thought, yes, I’ll go, but I’ll meet you there. I may not stay as long as you.” There. She felt better already.
“No problem. I’ll send you directions and the time. Thanks again for taking a chance on Paul. He’s a good guy and has helped a lot around the shelter.”
Nicole knew only too well how difficult it could be coping with loss and still couldn’t imagine the depth of his pain. She hoped the job would help him find the peace he needed to heal. A goal she herself could attain faster if her neighbor would quit intruding on her time and thoughts.