Chapter Three
C ozy. Real cozy. Too cozy. Cassie had those words circling like a group of buzzards on a warm Texas afternoon in her brain.
She had read and reread the folder of information.
Then she and Randy walked through the scenarios at least two dozen times.
The fly in the ointment, or perhaps one of the dozens of flies that could go out of control at any given moment, was that they had had to scrap the plans that had brought them to Red Cliffs in the first place.
She had to invent a reason for Candy at the saloon to explain her sudden leaving that was plausible and then put it into play overnight.
“At least we aren’t meeting at dawn in some cold canyon,” Randy interjected into her thoughts as he handed her a cup of coffee before they parted ways.
“No. We will be meeting when possible, on a few thousand-acre ranch with lots of moving parts and people to be wary of,” she responded.
“So much better.” She couldn’t help the heavy sarcasm dripping from her voice.
“You are now a lowly cowhand. You do know how to ride a horse, right? Or even which side to mount from?”
“I rode a few ponies in my life.”
“Ponies?”
“Okay. So, they were miniature horses and at a kiddie park on Saturdays. But it is the same premise. Hold on tight and do not fall off.”
She slowly shook her head. “This can go so wrong in so many ways. With each person we involve in this scenario, the more avenues for trouble to run amok.”
“Well, while I’m in the bunkhouse and probably knee-deep cleaning horse stalls, you’ll be the presumptive lady of the manor…so to speak. Tough job.”
Jessie gave him a look that was meant to speak volumes of what she thought about his comparison.
“The sooner this cast of characters gets here and we find out that our time was probably wasted, the sooner we get back to the real work of the case. Just remember we met when you came to work for my family, and you are here to observe operations. It would be natural that we would be seen now and then chatting. You are the eyes and ears out on the ranch. And I will do my best to be the perfect ‘acting’ hostess in the headquarters.”
“I believe the word fiancée was used…not hostess.” His correction was meant to tease but it didn’t register as such by the look she gave him.
“As I said, the sooner this is over, the better for all our sakes. So, I will see you when I arrive precisely at nine a.m. We will make the introductions and make sure we are all on the same page.”
“Yes ma’am, boss lady.”
*
Boss lady. If that were true, she would not be in this ridiculous position.
She sat behind the wheel of her new conveyance, a sleek red Mercedes convertible.
But she had kept the top up. Only an idiot would run around on a Texas ranch on what gave all indications of being a scorcher of a day ahead in a ritzy little car with the top down.
The AC was already running in the early morning and still she felt stifled.
But then only she knew that it wasn’t just the heat of the day making discomfort.
It was the fact that she was now masquerading not as the sassy saloon keeper but as a refined Southern magnolia-type from a blueblood racing family in the South.
She knew she could pull that off. It was stock and trade to take on any number of masks.
But to add the fact that she was taking on a fiancée role to the insufferable rancher Cole Connors…
well that was stretching it even for her.
Although on one hand, it might prove amusing to pull his chain now and then in his own home.
Perhaps a perk of the job? Well, whatever would get her closer to nailing the man who was responsible for so much crime and deaths along the border…
and in particular to the real fiancé she had only been engaged to for one week before he lost his life in a drug bust attempting to capture the man behind all of this mess.
That determination was still there and would make her shovel manure into a pit of rattlers to achieve that result.
Yes, Cole Connors was about to get quite a surprise.
Sliding the straps of her leather handbag over her shoulder, she exited the vehicle.
A smile on her face…not too warm, not too aloof…
just professional. She punched the doorbell and waited.
*
The nightmare was about to become reality.
Cole had not slept much in the last forty-eight hours.
Not since Madeleine’s phone call about Emmie, and certainly less after the man appeared on his doorstep with badge and news that struck fear in his heart for his daughter and anger at the woman bringing such a menace to his doorstep and all on his ranch.
But whatever it took to put Madeleine and her threats out of their lives for good, and to keep his daughter safe, he would do what was needed.
And that included agreeing to a charade of such magnitude that surely something would go wrong.
And he knew he would breathe easier knowing that the chime of the doorbell heralded the beginning of the unknown and an agent would be on hand…
to ensure that harm would not come close to Emmie.
This person was their best for this operation, and he needed to trust her.
Her file had certainly been impressive. But all he really cared about was that it was her job to protect.
He knew what he and his wranglers were capable of and they would secure the ranch.
But the unknown was what could go wrong.
He stepped up and opened the door. Then he stopped.
There was something about the woman on his doorstep…
he couldn’t put his finger on it. And he didn’t have time to dwell on it as she spoke first.
“Cat got your tongue, cowboy? I assume that you emptied your house of any staff so that we can speak freely?”
What was it about this woman’s demeanor? Had they met before?
She held up a black leather ID case and a gold badge rested on one side and her photo ID on the other. Jessie Russell. The name did not ring a bell.
“In the interest of time, let me paint you a picture to help you get your brain in gear. Imagine me with big blue eyes, platinum curls, and tight jeans. Wouldn’t I give a big fat dollar to know what you are thinking right now.
But perhaps you should sit down before you fall down.
” She stepped around him and then shut the door behind her.
Light was dawning in a flash. And the woman before him was transposed in his memory of one with the name of Delilah and he felt speechless for the first time in a very long time. “The saloon. That’s you? And now you are here as someone totally different.”
“You catch on quick. The details of the case I was originally here to work…as the saloon keeper…has apparently morphed into another chapter and I am required here. I believe you were read into the plan? Trust me…it is vital to all concerned that you learn your part and don’t deviate from it…
for any reason. And no one else is to know anything of my real identity or what brings me here other than an adoring fiancé who I apparently can’t be parted from.
You flub up on our backstory and we all could be in jeopardy. ”
“Jeopardy. You say that casually enough. But this involves my daughter. She is the only reason I agreed to go along with any of this masquerade.”
“And that is the only reason I am here…as I am certain my boss spoke with you about. I’ve had experience dealing with children before in situations such as this.
And I can assure you that I will do all possible to safeguard her should there be a real threat.
Plus, I do have more than a fair share of knowledge about one or two of the players regarding this Desmonde person. ”
“You sound as though you might have some form of doubt about this whole situation?”
“Make no mistake.” She met his steady gaze.
“I have spent three years of my life tracking the elusive ghost who bankrolls the head of the Robles cartel’s main trafficking activities along the border.
If my chief believes that the intel is so credible as to pull me from the time invested already here in Red Cliffs, then I trust that this is where I need to be.
Have you been contacted again by your ex-wife regarding their arrival? ”
“Madeleine has never been much on sharing helpful information. She chooses to be secretive and spring her decisions on people just to keep them off-kilter. So, no, she has not deemed it necessary to share with me where her plans stand right now. She could just as easily drop on the doorstep in the next five minutes as five days from now.”
The shrill of the house phone came as if on cue, breaking the conversation.
“I have to pick that up. I’m expecting a call from the vet.
Excuse me.” He headed toward an open doorway which she could guess by the cluttered desk visible inside that was his domain of an office.
She moved deeper into the living room and allowed her gaze to take in its furnishings.
The deep leather couches and chairs were grouped around the large stone fireplace centered on the far wall.
Landscapes and bronzes of horses adorned the shelves and walls.
Her eyes were drawn to the photographs grouped on a long sofa table.
Most centered around a child. The infant held in the crook of Cole Connors’s arm and then others across the years with animals from puppies to horses, awards and ribbons in hand and always the smile of a happy child.
“Sorry about that. Where were we?” Her host strode into the room and took her attention back to the matter at hand.
Cassie decided to gain more insight into the incongruous attraction of a cowboy for a European jetsetter and vice versa. “How did you two meet?”