The Cattleman (4 page)

Chapter Three

Back in Chicago, Beth began every day in the gym. No exceptions. Her trainer worked her hard and kept her body humming. But mucking stalls and moving hay bales attacked muscles she’d never known existed.

“How do you do this every day?” she asked Juliet and Alan as she creaked to a halt, leaning on the back of a kitchen chair.

“I cook, dear. The only outside muck I come into contact with is the manure for my garden.”

“Speaking of which, don’t you need some around your corn, honey?” Alan asked.

“Don’t you even suggest this poor thing bring any to my garden. You know we don’t work on it during the winter. Now, out with you, Ronald Alan Burke. Go. Shoo.”

“This will tide me over until lunch.” Alan patted Juliet on the bottom and scooped up a leftover breakfast biscuit with his other hand. “You’ve done a good job, Beth. Thanks for helping out since Nick took off to the mountains yesterday.”

“Not a problem. Like you said, everybody needs to chip in.”

Alan left and Beth should have followed, but she was so tired from yesterday and the couple of hours she’d worked that morning, she didn’t think her feet would actually move.

“You should get cleaned up, Beth. Kate phoned and she wants you to meet her at the café. She’s going to Alpine and thought you might need some things.”

“Shopping? I’m not sure I can stand up long enough.”

“Come on, dear. Nick can’t teach you to ride in designer heels, and you can’t continue to borrow his two sizes too big boots.”

“You want me to buy cowboy boots? What will I ever do with them when I get home?”

“And jeans and a good sturdy coat.” Juliet looked down at the extra-large overalls hanging on Beth’s thin frame. “You never know when the weather’s going to change.”

“I have five coats back home.” Beth sighed at trying to fit another overcoat into her already overstuffed tiny front hall closet.

“We’re expecting the first cold front soon. Do you want to chance it?”

“No, ma’am. I’ll get cleaned up.”

The shower had made her feel human again, along with some serious stretching. She felt even more herself slipping into her Jimmy Choo shoes, then jumping behind the wheel. She loved driving the ranch’s Jeep. The top was off, the seats faded and mud all over the body, but it was the neatest car. The cool air from outside mixed with the blasting heater at her feet. She just felt...free.

Maybe she should get something like this when she got back to Chicago. Carroll and Elizabeth would kill her. It would be impractical and get horrible gas mileage in the city. But she didn’t care.

Then again, sitting in traffic she’d be choking from the other cars’ exhaust. No, she’d just enjoy the fresh air while she could here in Texas.

Parking at the café/gas station, she saw Kate McCrea wave from just inside the window. Her new friend gestured for her to come inside, but didn’t sit at the empty tables near the entrance. Instead, Beth followed her to the back corner booth. Cord McCrea pulled up a chair with one hand and balanced his son with the other. The remaining seat left her with her back to the door.

Exposed.

Knowing she could trust the Texas Ranger to warn her of impending danger, she sat and didn’t ask to move. She couldn’t complain to him or make a suggestion that he not sit with his wife. He was the boss and he’d placed himself against the wall.

In more ways than one. He was depending on her when no one else would.

Beth had only admiration for the man who’d pulled some strings to get her assigned to his three-man task force. In his shoes, she would have acted much differently. He and Kate had plenty of reasons not to want to be in the open, either. They had a long history with the cartel that included tragedy and victory over a vicious murderer just a year before. They’d divorced, remarried and now had a child. She understood exactly why he didn’t expose his back to the room.

“Thanks for the invite, Kate. Juliet assured me you’d know everything I needed to get for an extended stay.” She tapped her nails on the tabletop and quickly covered them with her other hand to keep them still.

“Oh, it’s entirely my pleasure. Do you want some tea or something?” Kate didn’t wait. She waved at Brandie and raised her own glass. “Add another iced tea to our bill, please.”

“You aren’t ready to leave?” Beth asked, eager to escape the peering eyes of Marfa citizens breaking for lunch.

“Believe me, I’m so ready. But we’re waiting for Pete and Andrea. They’re staying at the house and babysitting Danver. Cord and I have been called to Lubbock for a couple of days. We’re flying there when we get back.” She leaned across the table and brushed her son’s full head of soft hair.

“Keep your voice down, Kate. You don’t know who’s going to overhear,” Cord said, giving the entire room another look and landing on the mechanic leaning in the archway to the gas station.

Beth cringed at the thought of facing Andrea. The sheriff’s girlfriend had no reason to trust her abilities. Her inadequacy with horses had put Andrea in danger and was yet another reason Beth needed to learn how to ride.

“I’m glad you thought about me for a shopping trip.” Beth searched the occupants, too, giving the mechanic a closer look. He seemed too alert, watching his surroundings constantly. Almost like she paid attention to details and her surroundings. A well-toned body was hidden under his coveralls. He wiped his hands as if he was used to grease under his nails. Cord watched him for a couple of minutes, raised an eyebrow and the man left.

“You’re the perfect excuse to take off for the afternoon,” Kate continued, smiling at her husband. “Just girls. Baby and husband free for the first time in months. Cord only trusts me to be out with someone licensed to carry.”

“I’ve got a good reason for keeping you close,” the Ranger mumbled before turning to Beth. “You do have your weapon, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Kate ignored Beth’s response and her husband’s question, for that matter. “Shopping over the internet and in downtown Marfa’s just not the same as trying on clothes. And especially picking out things for someone else.”

“Where can you buy clothes here?” Beth lowered her voice so the rest of the café wouldn’t think she was complaining. If her cover was going to work, she had to make them think she actually liked their small town. “The commercial part of Marfa is about the same size of one block in downtown Chicago. Comparing the two just depresses me. Sorry, I know this is your home.”

“Not a problem. We know it’s a culture shock for most. I attended school in Austin. Cord’s originally from Dallas. Believe me, sometimes I really miss the convenience of a department store just a few minutes away.”

The bell above the door rang and Andrea entered, the sheriff at her side. Kate waved and called the couple over. Beth wanted to tap “Jingle Bells” with her nails, she was so nervous.

The last time she’d seen Pete Morrison, he’d been fanatically expressing his opposition to her being kept on the task force—agreeing with everything Nick said. Of course, she hadn’t been an asset rescuing Andrea from the gunrunners. She’d lost control of her horse, which had forced Nick to leave the group to rescue her.

The two couples shared pleasantries and Andrea sat next to her. While Kate invited Andrea to join them in Alpine, Beth could just nod and smile.

“Would you two want anything?” Brandie asked, handing Beth the iced tea.

“You should take the afternoon off and come with us, Brandie,” she said. Then the conversation couldn’t be about all her screwups.

“Sorry, I’d love to get some Christmas shopping done, but I’ve already sent the extra help home.”

Rotten luck.
Now it was inevitable that the afternoon girl talk would include men. The two women might even be bold enough to ask about her night in the mountains with Nick. She wouldn’t trade their night together, but the circumstances leading to it were consistently embarrassing.

Evade, tell the truth or lie? Three options she wasn’t looking forward to. Before she could dwell on a decision, the ladies stood, handed off baby stuff—including the baby Andrea now held—and were ready to leave.

Both women knew she worked undercover and both knew she was locating herself at the ranch as bait. But she still couldn’t let down her guard. She needed the shopping trip, but she needed to prove her abilities at the same time. From downtown Marfa, it was a thirty-five minute ride, straight highway with no traffic. She could keep things casual that long.

“Cord wants you to be on your toes. Both of you, of course,” Kate stated once they were on the road. “Having a conversation with both law enforcement entities should clue whoever’s watching exactly which side you’re on, Beth. Bait the hook, so to speak.”

“I figured.”

“A day off from hiding while you’re here in Marfa should be nice,” Kate said.

“Or hiding that I prefer city life in Chicago.” She couldn’t forget that she didn’t belong here. “My muscles are shouting with joy that they’re going shopping.”

“I’m done with cities. I love the stars too much,” Andrea said.

Beth was having an honest conversation she couldn’t afford to have at the ranch, even when she thought Juliet was the only person within earshot. The task force didn’t know who supplied information to the cartel. All the workers on the Rocking B had to be treated like suspects. As did almost all the residents of the county.

“You know,” she said, leaning back against the seat and stretching, “this is terrific. I’m in such a good mood. Nothing is going to stop me from feeling great. Not even Nick’s running away.”

Kate and Andrea looked at her from the front seat.

Oops.
She hadn’t meant to be
that
relaxed this afternoon. Should she have told the task-force team while they were sitting in the café? Yes. Instead she’d shared it with their significant others just a few moments later.

“Nick ran away?” Andrea asked, laughing. “That’s hilarious. Are you sure his horse wasn’t frightened?”

“Andrea, don’t make me referee. I haven’t been out in almost a year.” Kate was calm and firm.

“Okay, I’ll take the one hit that I don’t deserve. I told everyone up-front that I don’t ride a horse, but I do apologize for missing out on all the fun that happened while I was in the mountains.”

“If you’re talking about all the
fun
of being abducted, you didn’t miss much.” Andrea was still understandably upset. “I don’t know Nick very well, but I can’t blame him for not wanting to get involved further. Not after being shot last year and then almost shot a second time. I don’t want Pete to face any of those murderers again, but there’s no way around it. He’s the sheriff.”

“I know Nick very well.” Kate caught Beth’s curious gaze in the rearview mirror. “He’ll be back.”

If she pretended not to have an opinion, maybe the subject would change without her admitting anything. She’d seen Nick’s bravery up close. She was the reason he’d been caught and held at gunpoint. He was probably out there right now looking for signs of the cartel traveling across his land.

“Nick’s okay. He’s just stubborn,” she finally said.

Kate lifted her wheat-blond hair off her neck. “Cord forced this on him and he’s rebelling.”

“From what Pete tells me, you should know. Isn’t he an old boyfriend?” Andrea asked.

Boyfriend?
That must be a bit awkward for Nick. And a small detail Kate and Juliet had left out of their proposition. The awkward conversation was definitely revealing.

“I’ve known him since we were children. Nick was never my boyfriend, no matter how much everyone believes it.” Her eyes looked only into the mirror, connecting with Beth’s a second time. “Should you talk about this with the guys? You can call as soon as we get to Alpine.”

“His parents assured me he rides off for two or three days at a time and that he should be back tomorrow.” He’d better be back tomorrow. Her agency had extended her involvement, but only for a few weeks, whether part of a task force or not.

“You can help him with that, right? Help with the running away?” Kate hinted at Nick’s PTSD symptoms. “With you at the ranch, he has a reason not to run into the mountains when he’s upset.”

Kate looked and sounded genuinely concerned for Nick’s well-being. Andrea looked confused by the conversation. And Beth found herself unable or unwilling to lie or evade.

“Well, I might actually be what he’s upset about this time. He left right after I told him your idea for my cover.”

“He didn’t like the idea? I thought you guys were...well, you know,” Kate hedged.

“Sleeping together.” Andrea didn’t mince words. “What was Kate’s idea?”

“We’re keeping it professional, thank you.” Or would they? Could she keep straight when they were supposed to like each other and when they weren’t? Could Nick do that?

“Seriously, what was Kate’s idea?” Andrea asked again.

Ignore. She could ignore this topic. She didn’t have to confirm or deny anything.

“That she’s his former college girlfriend here for an extended stay,” Kate answered. She looked to Beth. “I still think you need to tell Cord about this development.”

“I promise if Nick’s not back tomorrow, one of the hands will help me find him.” Beth wished she could speak with confidence. But she had none.

“I’d pay to see you back on a horse.”

“Come on, Andrea. Let it go.” Kate quirked a well-shaped eyebrow that reflected in the mirror. “Finding him is easier said than done. Even I couldn’t find him if he doesn’t want to be found.”

Kate had been born in Marfa and knew the area like the back of her hand. If she couldn’t find Nick, what chance did Beth have? And Andrea was correct. There was no way she could get on a horse. But she certainly could try.

Andrea peeked around the headrest. “I’m done razzing you, Beth. I honestly wish you luck finding the smugglers in those mountains. No offense.”

“Juliet said I need a new wardrobe. I hope you know where to go, Kate.” Beth nodded and the subject was officially changed.

“We’re headed straight there.”

Beth had less certainty she could accomplish her mission. Mucking stalls and feeding animals was building her cover, but it wasn’t teaching her the essentials she’d need to track down a stash of guns or drugs. She had to accomplish that in less than two weeks or she wouldn’t be returning as an agent—to the Chicago office or any DEA office, for that matter.