Chapter 10
10
T he weather was turning chilly. Gray, rolling storm clouds blanketed the sky. The wind kicked up, causing Travis to drop his chin to his chest and bring his shoulders up as Chloe ran smack into him before mumbling an apology. Travis didn’t need a weather app to realize the storm brewing had the potential to do some serious damage.
Mid-December weather was a crap shoot. Tornadoes were on the rise. Hailstorms were just as likely. Or it could be eighty degrees and sunny in the weeks leading up to Christmas. There’d been a terrible tornado on Christmas Day in the last decade. One that had caused severe damage in several counties east of Dallas.
So, yeah, Travis had learned to keep a healthy respect for Mother Nature and what she could do if you let your guard down.
The upcoming rodeo was on his mind, too. If the person who’d attacked him last night was still in the area and on the loose—as Travis feared was the case—how on earth would he keep folks safe? Especially in a town where locking doors and leaving cars running while you popped in to drop off your mail was the norm?
A headache banged away at his temples as well as the spot dead center between his eyes, and an even bigger question loomed. Could he keep Chloe safe?
“Are you ready to head out?” Chloe asked. Seeing her kept his nerves below panic levels.
“Anytime you are,” he said.
“Mind if we swing by to pick up one of those doorbell cameras?”
“Not a bit.” In fact, he’d been thinking along those same lines. “I’d also like to stop at the bar to pick up my vehicle—and swing by my office to pick up a new cell.” He would add his laptop to the list.
Chloe stopped for a second, regarding him as a mix of emotions crossed her features. She seemed to come to a conclusion when she asked, “How about I drop you at the bar, and then we each run errands before meeting back at my place?”
Travis hesitated.
“It’s still daylight,” she continued. “We have a few hours left before dark. Plus, I’ll be in crowds of people.” She glanced up at the sky. “There’s a storm brewing, so you know what that means.”
“Folks will be out picking up last-minute supplies.” He didn’t point out the fact someone had slipped ketamine in her drink at the bar under Jep’s nose. It wasn’t fair or apples to apples. No one had been prepared for something like that to happen. Awareness was a good defensive weapon against all crimes. Vigilance was even better. It was the reason neighborhood crime watches were effective. Folks who looked out for each other had safer communities. Period.
“And I’ll make certain to lock my car doors and keep watch for anyone who looks suspicious or is following me,” she said. The person who’d tried to follow her the night before last had drugged her. She’d been lucky to make it home before the full effect had hit. Otherwise, she would have been…
Travis stopped himself right there.
No use stressing over what could have happened. Chloe was safe.
“We’ll make better time if we split up,” she said with another glance at the sky.
“Okay,” he said. “Do me a favor.”
“Anything. Name it.”
“Don’t let Guy in the house until I get there,” he said. “Close your blinds so no one can see in, and don’t answer the door.”
“How will I know it’s you when you knock?” she asked, clearly a little taken back by the requests.
“I’ll text from my new phone,” he said. “The number should be the same, so you’ll know it’s me.”
“How can they do that so fast?” she asked before quickly adding, “Never mind. I’ll never understand technology. I’d swear Grayson would understand more than I do if someone explained it all to him.”
Travis smiled. “No one will accuse me of having a tech degree, but it’s useful to understand and use it as much as I possibly can. We have experts who work miracles.”
“I’ll swing by the grocery store and pick up food, too, so we have something to make for dinner and extras in case we get locked in for a couple of days,” she said.
Normally, crime completely stalled during a winter storm. The main job of law enforcement in his county became ensuring safety after someone hit ice while driving and ended up in a ditch. The tow truck business made big money during storms because there was always a small group who believed they could drive under any conditions. They were proved wrong time and time again without losing enthusiasm. Texas wasn’t prepared to handle ice of any kind unless you were talking about the kind that came in cubes and was used in iced tea. Folks couldn’t live without that kind.
“Let’s both make it quick in order to beat the storm,” he said. Being stranded out here during one of Mother Nature’s temper tantrums wouldn’t be cool.
“You got it,” Chloe said with a smile and that characteristic spark in her eye. Again, he wondered how he hadn’t noticed the incredible and stunning woman she’d become. However, those last three words she spoke would haunt him until his death if anything happened to her on his watch.
“And, Chloe…”
“Yes,” she said, freezing after taking a couple of steps. She turned her head to the side just enough for him to get a good look at her profile.
“Be careful out there,” he stated, resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to haul her against his chest and kiss her.
Being attracted to Chloe wasn’t a crime. Acting on an attraction would be unprofessional, so he wouldn’t—couldn’t.
On the drive back to the bar, he mulled over the conversation with Beau. The man had an attitude. He’d also made himself right at home in the Sturgess house. Had he been there before?
Considering the other children had moved away the second it was legal, Beau might have been at the ranch with his father. Would anyone have been the wiser?
Saddle Junction could be a gossipy town. Wouldn’t news like that have lit up the grapevine with the gossip Beaumont Sturgess had an illegitimate son? Or would everyone expect it from a man who’d held so little regard for his wife when she’d lived in town? Beaumont was feared, not respected. There was a big difference.
“What makes you think there aren’t others out there like Beau?” Travis asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
“I’ve had this conversation with my brothers,” she said. “We don’t know, except to say Beaumont only invited Beau to the will reading.” She paused for a few seconds. “Did you know someone took a picture of us at Beaumont’s graveside and sold it?” she asked.
“It’s disgusting the lengths some folks will go to in order to make a buck,” he said. Which also could make every living child of Beaumont’s a target. It dawned on him that the person who’d tinkered with Chloe’s drink might have done so to stage an accident meant to get rid of an heir. If there were others out there who could lay claim to the money and ranch, would they believe it safe to surface after six sudden and surprise so-called accidents?
It wasn’t logical, yet he couldn’t rule out the greed that would make someone act before thinking.
Which made him want to talk to Beau’s mother a little more. The conversation would have to wait until after the storm blew through.
Chloe pulled up next to Travis’s pickup. “Look at this chauffeur service. Parked you right next to your door.”
The bar’s lot was empty save for his vehicle. There wouldn’t be much action here on a Sunday night. Jep closed so his workers could have one day off.
“I’ll see you back at the house,” Chloe said.
“Sounds good,” he said before exiting her vehicle. It sounded a whole helluva lot better than good, but he couldn’t let himself go down that path right now.
Did he have a choice?
Chloe waved one last time before pulling out of the lot. The to-do list on her mind might keep her from missing Grayson too much. The knowledge that he was safely tucked away at the newly named Rescue Ridge Ranch helped, too. Peace of mind was a hard thing to come by as a parent of a toddler. Having her brothers home, even though most refused to stay at the main house, gave her a sense of calm. Trav had a lot to do with it, too. Though, she didn’t want to think about how much he contributed to her mental state. The all-too-real attraction needed to be tamped down.
On the dashboard, she could practically watch the temperature drop by the minute as she headed to the nearest do-it-yourself home center. If it dipped much lower, the light jacket she had on wouldn’t begin to keep her warm.
There was a blanket in the backseat belonging to Grayson. If push came to shove, she could wrap it around her shoulders and get by. This also seemed like a good time to check the gas gauge. Half a tank. Should be plenty to get her where she needed to go and back to her place.
The rain started, sounding like the tips of needles against her windshield. Her wipers needed replacing. This was a bad time to remember that fact. Her days off were spent with Grayson and Miguel while catching up on bills and sleep. There never seemed to be enough daylight to cover everything she had to stay on top of in her personal life. She’d make a note to have the wipers replaced on her next maintenance check when she got the tires rotated and the oil changed.
The do-it-yourself store was busy, as expected. There was a run on generators, also to be expected. Thankfully, home security wasn’t top of mind for most shoppers. The doorbell camera shelves were well stocked. She grabbed the best one she could find for the cheapest price and headed to the checkout.
In the line ahead of her, she saw a familiar face. Or should she say…profile?
“Hey,” she said to Guy, tapping him on the shoulder as he stayed focused on the do-it-yourself scanner. The store had taken DIY to the next level by having customers check themselves out. What was next? Would they be asked to stock the shelves, too?
Guy immediately straightened up as he snatched the bag off the wire holder. Was he hiding the contents?
“What are you doing here?” he asked as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Were his hands shaky as he pulled out a credit card?
“Buying one of these,” she said, holding up the security device.
He barely glanced at it as he paid and then moved the bag to his right side—the side most shielded from view.
Why was he acting weird?
“Trav wanted to talk to you,” she said.
“About?” It was just like Guy to ask a one-word question.
“Talk to him and find out,” she said as she stepped up to the register.
“Next time I see him,” Guy said.
“You won’t have to wait long,” she said. “He’s coming over in a little while. I’ll tell him to swing by.”
Guy nodded. His face muscles were tense, and he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Had she done something wrong?
Chloe couldn’t think of anything she’d said or done to put Guy off. The last thing she wanted to do to Guy was act ungrateful for everything he’d done, and was still doing, for her and Grayson. Add Annmarie and Miguel into the gratitude mix, too.
Try as she might, Chloe couldn’t shake the awkwardness of the conversation. She checked out and then headed to the grocery store. It was a ten-minute drive that took twelve and a half as the rain kicked up a few notches. The wind followed.
True to form during times of crisis, the potato chip aisle was almost barren. The only ones left were tortilla chips, so she grabbed a bag of those along with some white cheese queso and salsa. She also managed to grab enough supplies to throw hamburger patties on the George Foreman indoor grill. Lawry’s seasoned salt was her secret weapon, and she had plenty at home. Gathering supplies, it almost felt like she was cooking for a date tonight.
A strange tingly mix of anticipation and nerves struck.
What the hell, Chloe? This isn’t a date. You are simply cooking for a guest. The fact that said guest was drop-dead gorgeous and made her miss sex shouldn’t have a bearing on the evening.
Now that really was funny.
Ever notice how trying not to think about something made you think about it all that much more? Because right now, the word replaying in her thoughts was sex, sex, sex. And the image of Trav burying himself inside her caused her stomach to perform more of those flip-flops.
Seriously?
Going too many years without male companionship didn’t do good things to Chloe’s brain. Because right now it was trying to trick her into believing she had real feelings and a smoking, forest-fire-hot attraction to one of her older brother’s friends.
Trav was ten years her senior, not that she cared about the numbers. He might.
Back in the car, shivering as she waited for heat to flood the vents, she gave herself a mental headshake. According to the thermometer on her dashboard, the temperature had dropped below freezing.
Wasn’t that spot-on for Texas? The weather could change in a heartbeat. Mother Nature had a way of reminding people that she was still in charge and had a temper. One she wasn’t afraid to show off.
Chloe’s body was shaking as she pulled out of the parking lot. She hoped her days’ worth of supplies would outlast the storm. She regretted not picking up a couple of frozen pizzas just in case.
By the time her vehicle warmed up, she was pulling up next to the metal gate at her trailer park. Annmarie had asked why Chloe lived with poor people—in her words—and didn’t swallow her pride and go back to the ranch.
It was because this place belonged to the two of them. They decided if and when to put up decorations and take them down. No one interfered with her and Grayson’s lives. And the trailer felt more like home than the main house ever had.
Now, however, wasn’t the time to sing the praises of River Ridge. The name made no sense, considering no river was nearby, but her landlord said it created ambiance. Whatever. Chloe was in no position to argue.
Right now, though, the metal gate was stuck.
She banged on the keypad, figuring the keys were most likely frozen. Night had fallen on the way home, cloaking the area in darkness. The one good light illuminating the keypad area was flickering.
A pair of headlights pulled up behind her. Guy?
No, he’d be home by now.
Trav?
Her heart skipped a couple of beats at the thought of his name. She rolled down her window and waved to the person behind her.
An engine gunned, tires spewed gravel, and before she could shift gears out of park, the vehicle behind hers slammed into her car.
Chloe’s head jerked forward. The hit was hard enough to lock her seatbelt but not strong enough to deploy the airbags.
She braced her arms, gripping tightly to the steering wheel.
The next thing she knew, the door to the vehicle behind her opened, and a large male figure emerged. The linebacker-sized man had on all black with a face covering. A ski mask?
And he was coming right at her.