Chapter Four
“SO YOU THINK SOMEONEmight’ve targeted the new heiress and killed the wrong person?” Barrett’s brother Laredo asked him the next day as they were riding along the fence, checking for any places that needed mending. They also needed to see if the night’s thunderstorm—just the rain that was forecast, his foot—had brought any destruction out in the fields and the forest. The houses and stables looked fine, and the animals were also fine. Thank God.
“It could be.” Barrett frowned. “The police are investigating.”
He understood his younger brother’s curiosity, but the question irked him for several reasons. First, the possibility of Zoey—that was “Tulip’s” real name—being in danger set his teeth on edge. Second, the discovery of her wealth sent him into a loop. But now he understood why something about her face looked vaguely familiar. Because she resembled his sister-in-law, her cousin Kennedy.
A wooden plank hung loose from the fence, missing a nail, so he dismounted and tied his horse, a beautiful young Appaloosa named Milky Way to a tree. Milky Way happily bent her head to graze. A part of him was grateful for the distraction of repairing the fence because so many thoughts about Zoey and the murder roiled in his mind. He winced.
No, he didn’t even want to think of Zoey and murder in the same sentence.
Laredo dismounted, tied his horse to the nearby tree, and held up the wooden plank for Barrett to nail into place. “That must’ve been horrible for your date to end with finding a dead body.”
Nothing could happen between Barrett and Zoey, and now that was clearer than ever. Not even a single date.
Irritation churned and spilled over as he hammered a nail in with too much force, narrowly missing his fingers. “It wasn’t a date. Zoey said as much. Plus, her memory of me is now tainted with a horrific image.”
He was supposed to be used to such images due to his profession. Still, a slight nausea soured his throat. He could only imagine how Zoey felt.
Another rusty nail looked loose, so he strengthened that plank by hammering it in. Or he just needed to release some of his frustration. He didn’t think he’d inherited his father’s anger streaks. None of the brothers had. But—well, it was best not to think about his dad. “And I imagine she has plenty of suitors, considering who she is. I–I don’t want her to think I’m after her fortune.”
Then he put a nail into a wooden plank that didn’t need it, just for good measure.
“You’re blushing!” Laredo laughed, which only added insult to Barrett’s grim mood. As children, they’d all teased each other a lot. But they weren’t children anymore. “Hold on a minute. You really like that woman. Huh.”
Barrett resisted the urge to roll his eyes, straightened out, and took a deep breath of fresh air sweetened with the scents of grass, foliage, and earth. His favorite scents. He needed to be calm before mounting because horses could feel anger and irritation, and Milky Way might get spooked. “Fine, I like Tuli—Zoey. But what’s the use? I have to stifle this ridiculous attraction.”
Usually, the beautiful sight of sprawling emerald-green hills, refreshed after the night’s rain, the sparkling river in the distance, and the endless blue sky brought him a sense of awe and peace. It did now, as well, but not to the same degree.
Laredo patted him on the back. He’d always been the most supportive of Barrett’s brothers. And maybe now there was an extra sense of camaraderie because, like Barrett, Laredo was still single. Though a lot of women, locals and tourists alike, sighed after his crooner brother when he played his guitar and sang country songs. “I heard from Austin who heard it from his wife, of course, that Zoey is going to stay in town for some time. From the same source, I heard how grateful Zoey was that you saved her life.”
“God saved her life. I was just in the right place at the right time.”
Laredo lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “What I’m saying is you might have a better chance than you think.”
Hope fluttered inside Barrett as he walked back to Milky Way, but he extinguished that hope. He was a realist, not a dreamer. Unlike Laredo, Barrett didn’t write love songs or even love stories in his imagination. “There’s a long winding road from gratitude to attraction, and it’s often filled with stones as roadblocks.” He suppressed a grimace at the memory of different stones hiding a body. “Besides, anyone would’ve done what I did. If... if I try to pursue her, she’ll think I’m a gold digger.”
A rabbit darted in front of them and disappeared into the tall grass.
Laredo’s gaze followed the animal. “Nobody who knows you would ever consider you a gold digger.”
“But Zoey does not know me.” Barrett’s frown deepened as he surveyed the rest of the nearby fence line.
“Yet. Listen, things worked out fantastically well between Kennedy and Austin, and they were in a similar situation.”
Hmm. Barrett took another deep breath of fresh, grass-and-soil-scent-infused air and patted Milky Way’s smooth coat, then reached into his pocket, and fed her an apple. The dappled gray was one of his favorite horses. So pretty with a white star on her forehead, she possessed the sweetest character. “Kennedy proposed to our brother. I have no clue even how to get to see Zoey again.”
“Aren’t you worried Zoey’s life might be in danger?” Laredo mounted Chestnut, a three-year-old bay American quarter horse.
“Of course, I am!” Barrett managed to keep his voice low and calm for Milky Way’s sake as he mounted. Still, she neighed and bucked, probably sensing his mood. He patted her smooth neck again. “But what can I do? Knowing Kennedy and her uncle, they most likely already hired Zoey a bodyguard. Or several.”
Milky Way moved forward but then turned her head back. Uh-oh. Maybe this wasn’t about his foul mood.
Was she spooked by something or someone else? A shiver ran down his spine. He scanned the freshly rain-washed fields and the nearby forest. If someone was behind the thick bright-green foliage, he wouldn’t be able to see the intruder.
“Not necessarily,” Laredo said. “Why don’t you step up and step in?”
Instead of answering his brother, Barrett listened intently to the murmur of leaves and the birds singing in the distance. The latter was a good sign. If there was a predator nearby, human or not, those birds would most likely be quiet.
Besides, Laredo’s horse didn’t show any signs of distress and trotted forward. Then Milky Way’s tail stopped swishing, and she joined her friend. Barrett stayed on guard, his stomach still twisted.
After over a decade, the habit of hypervigilance was taking a toll on him, but it had saved his life multiple times. As much as he loved his profession, sometimes he wondered how much simpler his life could’ve been if he’d decided to stay a cowboy, like Laredo here or most of his brothers. Though Laredo did have his music, as well.
At the same time, Barrett was thankful he had a profession that could be useful to others. Including Zoey. Especially Zoey. If only his feelings didn’t get tangled up. He’d never want anyone to feel as scared and unprotected as he and his brothers had felt growing up. Several times, when he’d been little and swallowing salty tears of pain, he’d promised himself he’d learn to defend himself and others when he grew up. He didn’t get justice as a child, but he was eager to bring justice for others.
It wasn’t just about defending Zoey, no matter how much he wanted to. It was about bringing the murder victim hidden in the cove justice.
He moved forward, grateful that Milky Way moved much calmer now. “If I offer my services as a PI and a bodyguard, would she think I had ulterior motives? What do you think?”
The fence looked fine so far, but they dismounted to haul a large bough off one panel. Last night’s winds must’ve broken it off. Milky Way munched on the grass again, not showing any signs of her previous distress, and Barrett breathed easier.
“But you do have ulterior motives,” Laredo said when they were back on their horses.
Barrett straightened in his saddle. “What? I don’t!” This time, he didn’t manage to keep his voice low, and Milky Way glanced back with silent reproach. Her nostrils flared. Thankfully, she still moved forward.
“You want Zoey to like you.” Laredo winked.
“Well, right, I do. But I know how to remain professional.” He’d have to remain professional. No other way about it. “I’ll fight this untimely attraction if it means keeping her alive and finding the culprit. The stakes are too high.”
“Well, as history shows...”
Barrett looked away from his brother and studied his surroundings for any damage from last night’s thunderstorm. He did not want to remember his rookie mistake at the beginning of his career. Heat rose inside him. “History won’t repeat itself. I fell for a client once, coincidentally the rich daughter of a man who was afraid she might be kidnapped for ransom.”
“In your defense, Ellie flirted with you relentlessly.”
He grimaced. “It’s still no excuse. Though nothing happened between us, I lost focus. It won’t happen again.”
It couldn’t. At that time, he’d been fired, and his reputation and career had been close to being destroyed. This time, Zoey’s life could be on the line.
Laredo nodded as if placated. “Then talk to Zoey and her family. You have an edge over other people. You can do both protecting and investigating. Plus, Zoey’s father and cousin know you well and can recommend you.” Laredo cuffed Barrett’s arm. “There’s a reason God put you in her path.”
Lord, what should I do?
Laredo continued, “The only question is—Can you keep your feelings and your job separate?”
Barrett ground his teeth so much that his molars felt about to crack. He wanted to believe Zoey nearly being run over was an accident because it was getting personal, but experience told him otherwise. And the dead woman resembling her from the back most likely wasn’t a coincidence. “I’ll have to. I need to make sure Zoey is safe. At whatever cost.”
Even if it was his heart.