Wildfire (7 page)

T
essa stilled at the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the hall toward her office. She moved farther into the room, easing her right hand to the trigger of her shotgun. “Who’s there?” she called out.

The steps drew closer. “Only me, Tess.”

At hearing Josh’s deep voice, an uncomfortable mix of relief and anger rushed through her. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “And how did you get in?”

“The back door was open. You need to fix that screen one of these days, by the way.” He appeared at her office door, propped up with one crutch, his face weary. “I saw all the lights, and thought maybe something had happened to Gus, so—Good grief, what happened in here?”

“I—I don’t know.” She waved a hand at the litter. “While I was gone, someone tore into my files and went through storage boxes. My computer’s external back-up drive is missing. When I tried turning on the computer, it started to sizzle and smoke, so they did something to it, too. Michael ought to be here any minute. When I called, he was just a few miles away.”

Josh hobbled into the room to survey the damage, his face grim. “I’m just thankful you weren’t here. Any idea what someone could be after?”

“Not a clue. Maybe money, but they left a couple hundred dollars in silver change in the bowl on the kitchen counter, and they didn’t take an expensive camera.”

A moment later, a knock sounded at the back door, and Michael walked in to join them, carrying a slender case. With a perfunctory nod at Josh, he gave Tessa a quick hug, then he stepped back, still gently holding her hands.

“Your sisters are going to worry when they hear about this,” he said. “After that gunshot wound, Janna wanted you to bring in a security system and a pit bull.”

“When you go home, tell her I’m fine. Do you think this is tied in to those cabin break-ins?”

He scanned the room. “What’s missing?”

“Other than an external backup for the computer, nothing that I can see. They walked right by valuables, but made a mess in here.”

“Then this would be a complete departure from the previous break-ins. Those thieves have gone solely after high tech, big ticket items—plasma screen TVs and the like. Or jewelry.”

“Maybe this was an attempt at identity theft—or a hunt for bank or investment account numbers,” Josh said.

“A lot of that happens through Internet and e-mail schemes these days, or with thefts from mailboxes, but this seems a lot more focused and personal.” Michael donned a pair of latex gloves and pulled some plastic bags from his briefcase, then began picking up random sheets of paper that had been scattered across the room. “With luck, your friends weren’t smart enough to wear gloves, and their prints are already in IAFIS.”

“What?”

“The nationwide database for fingerprints.”

“That would be just too easy,” Tessa said, dropping into her desk chair. “How long does it take to find out?”

“Jackson County doesn’t have its own crime lab. They have to be sent on to a latent print examiner in the next county, then go via a terminal to the state lab—then the FBI.”

“So we won’t know tomorrow.”

Michael shook his head. “A case like this one won’t take high priority. We might not hear for weeks.”

“In other words, someone has to die for them to care?”

“They care. They just don’t have the manpower.” Michael dropped the evidence bags into his case, then pulled out his clipboard and began jotting notes. “I’d definitely contact one of the three main credit bureaus to request a fraud alert, and you’d better contact your bank, too.”

He wrote a few notes, then looked up at Tessa. “Where were you this afternoon and evening?”

“I was with my mother until around six. I was on my way to take her home when I heard about Gus, so we went straight to the hospital.”

“How about you, Josh?”

“I was here, until Elvis insisted that something was wrong.” At Michael’s raised eyebrow, Josh added, “The dog just wouldn’t leave me alone, and kept running between me and the barn. I found Gus on the floor out there, then I followed the ambulance into town and stayed in the waiting room.”

“Tell me again about what brought you out to Wyoming.”

“A photo assignment. Though I’ve made zero progress on it, and time is flying.”

Michael smiled. “I’ve always wondered how that works. Are you salaried?”

“If you’re asking whether or not I’m strapped financially, the answer is no. And there’s no way I’d ever steal from a friend or anyone else.”

Michael met his gaze for a long, unwavering moment, then turned to Tessa. “What about Danny?”

“No matter what anyone says, he’s a good kid,” Tessa retorted. “Everyone around here wants to make him guilty by association, and that’s just plain wrong.”

“No one’s saying he’s guilty of anything. I just want to know where he was.”

“Working, so he
wasn’t
with his old buddies. He came up mid-afternoon to get things ready for one of our trail rides with a campfire supper. He would’ve been back with the clients around nine o’clock.”

“And what time did you get back?”

“After midnight. I dropped Josh at his place, then came to the house and discovered the ripped screen.”

“And you walked right in anyway.” Michael frowned at her. “Not a good idea, Tess. You should’ve called 911 and waited. What if you’d surprised someone?”

“I had a shotgun.”

He shook his head slowly. “You and your sisters are too independent for your own good. One of these days, you’re going to walk into a situation that you
can’t
handle…and then I’ll just be praying that I can get to you in time.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Can you?” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve never figured out who fired that shot at you. Was it accidental—or on purpose? Was it intentionally just a graze, or was that guy trying for center mass? There’ve been two other break-ins in the county, and so far, no one has been hurt. But whether the incidents are related or not, you’ve been a target twice.”

With Gus in the hospital, Sofia headed into town early the next morning, and Josh knew she’d likely stay there late. Tessa’s truck left the ranch a few minutes later and by mid-morning, Danny had left with a trio of fly fishermen for a three-day weekend pack trip.

Since her only hired hand was out of commission, Josh could guess at how overwhelmed Tessa must be, dealing with livestock and her outfitting clients.

He scowled at the cast on his leg. Nine days down and eternity to go. His leg didn’t hurt any longer, but the inconvenience had driven his frustration level to the limit. How could he sit around doing nothing, when everyone was dealing with so much?

From across the room came a tinny version of Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2,” courtesy of his cell phone. Leaving his crutches behind, he limped over to the counter.

“Where have you
been?
” The impatient voice of Sylvia Meiers, his editor, burst out of the phone before he could even say hello. We haven’t heard from you in three weeks!”

“Wyoming, as planned.” He eyed his cast in disgust. “Though I did run into a little difficulty.”

“I don’t want to hear about your ‘difficulties,’ Josh. I want to hear that this time, you’ll be e-mailing me your article and photos with time to spare.”

Her sharp voice felt like a stiletto driving into his ear. But the words she
didn’t
say—about articles he’d been unable to complete—rang in his ears nonetheless. And those words were even more painful, because they dredged up every memory he had of his years in the Middle East with
World Focus
magazine, and that terrible final day…

The job offer at
Green Earth
, a sister publication, had felt like a lifeline. A last chance to fulfill the only goal he cared about now.

But thanks to a speeding pickup and a narrow mountain road, he was going to fail once again.

“Did you find some ranchers who would cooperate?”

“Just as planned.”

“Well…good.” She definitely sounded suspicious. “You know, Josh, that I shouldn’t have given you this assignment. Harv Franklin wanted you fired.”

Her voice pulled him back to the present. “I’ve got it covered.”
Liar, liar.

“June 28th, Josh. I expect your e-mailed files no later than that. And no excuses, because I put my neck on the line for you. We’ve got the layout planned, and I need this material on time or I promise you, this will be the end of your career.”

Something, he supposed, that she could accomplish with a few well-placed phone calls. The parent company of the magazine owned eight of the biggest selling periodicals in the country, and Sylvia’s widespread connections in the industry were well-known.

But this would be his last assignment no matter what Sylvia did, and it wouldn’t be for her sake that he finished it.

It would be for Lara’s.

Long after Sylvia’s call ended, Josh slowly paced the room, forcing himself to bear weight on his injured leg. Ignoring the increasing pain until he finally flopped on the sofa, defeated. Toughing out the discomfort just wasn’t going to work.

The surgeon had said that the original cast would stay on for at least six weeks, depending on how fast he healed. She’d promised to consider a walking cast in four.

But that simply wasn’t good enough.

Josh could start his research on the Internet and begin writing the article. But he couldn’t sit here—he had to get out to interview ranchers and hear their views on the environmental issues surrounding grazing rights on this fragile, arid land.

And he had to be mobile—so he could hike into the higher ranges, where livestock grazed on government allotments. And that would be impossible with his cast.

Unless…he glanced out the window toward the barn, where Danny had left a four-wheeler parked by the front door, and smiled, for the first time in days. Maybe he could even find a good way to thank Tessa for her hospitality, before he left Wyoming for good.

With Gus in the hospital, Tessa had set her alarm for five, finished chores, loaded a horse into her stock trailer and drove down to Wolf Creek to pick up calf supplement at the feed store when it opened at eight o’clock.

After stopping at the hospital to see Gus, she went to the bank to notify them of the possible theft of identity information and bank account numbers, then spent the rest of the day on horseback, checking on the ninety cow-calf pairs pastured up in the Arrowhead Valley, and the broodmares closer to home.

Back at the ranch, there were a couple of two-year-old colts to work and chores to do all over again, and the thought of rustling anything up for supper sounded even more exhausting…except, she’d told Josh that he wouldn’t have to worry about cooking his own meals, and he certainly wouldn’t have any groceries to work with. What on earth was she going to feed him?

With a long sigh, she trudged up the steps to the wide, covered porch of the main house. Pulled open the front door…

And detected what had to be the most wonderful aroma this side of heaven.

“Sofia?” She closed her eyes for a moment in sheer bliss, then headed down the hall to the kitchen. “I didn’t think you’d be back this early—”

Josh turned away from the stove, a sheepish grin on his face. “I sorta let myself in. Hope you don’t mind.”

She glanced around the kitchen. “That’s fine. Where’s Sofia?”

“She’ll be home in a half hour. She called my cell just a few minutes ago.”

Surprised, Tessa took a closer look at him. “Y-you’re
cooking?
”

He tipped his head toward the stove. “I knew you’d have a long day and that Sofia would be back late. It’s the least I could do.”

“‘The least you could do’? It smells fantastic! What is it?”

He glanced ruefully at his cast, and the single crutch propped under his arm. “It was the easiest thing I could come up with. I found some steak in your freezer, and went from there. We’re having steak au poivre—with a few recipe substitutions—mashed potatoes and honey-glazed baby carrots. I couldn’t find the ingredients for much else, so it’s nothing fancy.”

Tessa’s stomach growled. “Nothing
fancy?
It sounds wonderful.”

He turned back to the cast-iron skillet on the stove and flipped over the steaks, then ladled on a sauce. “It’s all ready, and you probably shouldn’t wait for Sofia. I can take my plate out to my place…”

“Please, stay. I’ll set the table for all three of us.” While he tended the stove, she washed up, then set the dining-room table and filled the water glasses.

It wasn’t until she came back into the kitchen that she noticed Elvis curled up contentedly at the end of the counter, his eyes riveted on Josh.

Josh followed her gaze and smiled. “I…couldn’t help it. He was running all over, trying to find Gus, then he took a look at me and must’ve decided I was a good enough second-stringer. He’s been my shadow ever since. He…um…didn’t want to stay outside alone.”

She didn’t have to taste dinner to know it would be wonderful—the aromas were already out-of-this-world. The thoughtfulness of his effort was touching.

But a man who cooked, and who would befriend a lonely dog pining for its beloved owner? The combination was potent…and just like that, her heart melted.

And that was bad news.

It had been okay, having Josh here at the ranch. It had been the right and neighborly thing to do, and she’d managed to keep a cool distance that betrayed none of her old emotions.

But what was she going to do now?

J
osh started with that incredible recipe for steak.

After that, he made something different every night, finding odds and ends in the freezer and pantry, and coming up with mouth-watering menus that had her looking forward to getting back home after a long day in the saddle.

Sofia, exhausted after her days at Gus’s side in the hospital, had been dubious at first. And then she fell under Josh’s spell, too, during her late-night, re-heated dinners back at the ranch—especially when he insisted that he’d like to make meals several times a week after her husband came home, so she’d have one less thing to worry about.

But soon things would go back to normal—almost.

Sofia had moved Gus from the hospital to a skilled care facility, and he would be there for a month. He’d probably be laid up at the ranch for weeks after that, and there still hadn’t been any viable responses to Tessa’s employment ads in the local newspaper.

She’d managed to cover the daily ranch work for the past week by herself and Danny was handling all of the trail rides and trips, but now, Josh was asking for the four-wheeler keys so he could go sightseeing, which presented a new worry.

“You’re
sure
you’ll be okay?” She glanced down at his cast. “The quad isn’t exactly new. What if you have engine problems and you’re too far away to walk back?”

He grinned and dangled his cell phone by its little antenna. “I’ll call.”

“
If
you’re in range. And I won’t necessarily be in range, either, so I wouldn’t go too far, if I were you.”

He held up two fingers in a scout salute. “Promise.”

“Do you know the boundaries of the ranch?” Without waiting for a response, she walked into the tack room in the barn, then returned with a brochure from her outfitting business and opened it up on the hood of her truck. “Here’s a map. We have a little over a thousand acres. To the west, it’s all government land—Kilbourne Creek marks that boundary.”

“Got it.”

“Four Winds Ranch is to the south—and that’s owned by my sister Leigh’s future husband, Cole Daniels. There’s private land to the north, and beyond that, a condominium and resort complex, which is also private land. So going to the north is out. Obviously, the mountains are to the west, and that’s mostly federal land.”

“Understood.” He frowned, and tapped the next ranch to the north. “So, what’s that land used for?”

“Mostly cattle—same as Four Winds and Snow Canyon Ranch. In Iowa, it might take three or four acres to support a single cow, but here it takes a good thirty-five to forty. Our ranches have to be
huge.
”

Josh’s eyes twinkled and his dimples deepened. “That’s just amazing, to an Easterner like me.”

“Even so, we couldn’t make it without our grazing leases on government land to stay afloat.” She folded up the map and handed it to him. “Owning enough land would be impossible for most of the ranchers around here.”

“I suppose the government has endless regulations, though.”

“Of course, but it’s in our interest to comply. We have to rotate pastures and limit the number of head per acre, because the land is so fragile. Ruin the land, and our ranching lifestyle is gone.”

He whistled. “Have you thought about relocating?”

“This ranch is home, and I’ll never leave,” she said simply, tossing him the quad keys. “Now, be careful and don’t get yourself lost or hurt, okay? And try to stay on the trails if you go up into the high country.” She watched him climb aboard the vehicle by gingerly lifting his cast into position first. “You’re bringing food and water?”

He shrugged his backpack into better position. “You bet.”

“Rain gear? Weather changes fast, around here—especially up at the higher elevations.”

“Got it.” With a wave, he turned the ignition key and sped across the barnyard in a cloud of dust, heading toward a pasture gate. “I’ll be back before dark,” he shouted over the noise of the engine.

She watched him go, amused by his exuberance over being free of the limitations of his crutches and cast…though another thought niggled at her.

He’d been friendly. Sociable. And as usual, she’d been totally disarmed by his lazy grin and that flirty twinkle in his eyes.

So why did she have the uneasy feeling that he’d been fishing for information, and that he had a hidden agenda for being here?

“How dare you bring that man here,” Claire snarled, her white-knuckled grip on the back of a chair threatening to snap the wood in two. “Did you think I wouldn’t remember the name?”

Tessa had been hoping, but she probably should’ve been
praying
on it.

She tipped her head toward the plate of burgundy beef stew and biscuits on the table. “Have some lunch. You haven’t eaten since early this morning.”

“You don’t remember what he did? He abandoned you without a care in the world. Never looked back.” Claire snorted in disgust. “Then he went off and enjoyed some fancy career and left you to—”

“Enough,” Tessa said firmly. “I don’t want to discuss it.”

Claire huffed. “I’ll bet you never told him. Not even now. What kind of—”

“Mom.”
The common maternal endearment, one Claire had always disliked, had the effect of a splash of ice water, just as Tessa expected.

Claire glared at her, then snapped her mouth shut.

“Please, your food is getting cold. I’ll sit down and eat with you, okay? It’s absolutely delicious—even better warmed over from last night.” And Josh had made it, though she certainly wouldn’t mention that, or the plate might go flying against the wall.

Claire, caught between pride and the wonderful aromas of the meal, hesitated, then jerked the chair away from the table, its legs screeching against the floor.

She sat down, ramrod straight, and poked at the entrée with her fork as if expecting it to startle and take flight. “What did Sofia do to this beef?”

“The recipe makes a savory, rich glaze. It’s really good.” Tessa took her place across the table from Claire and served herself from the stoneware baking dish sitting in the middle of the table. She took a bite, closing her eyes to concentrate on the explosion of flavor on her tongue.

“And where is she?” Claire demanded.

“Gus had a heart attack, remember? She’s been spending a lot of time with him at the care center, helping with his therapy.”

A flash of confusion crossed Claire’s face, then cleared. Like a bloodhound, she picked up her target scent again. “Don’t you think it’s a little ironic that Josh Bryant would end up at your ranch?”

Tessa coughed on a forkful of parsley-buttered new potatoes. “You think he engineered a plan to stay here? No one would purposely risk an accident like his. He was nearly killed, and he needed
surgery.
”

“But he was
here.
In the area.”

“Why would it have anything to do with me? I haven’t heard from him since college.” Tessa took a long sip of sweet tea. “And it’s obvious that we aren’t wealthy, if you think he’s after money.”

“It’s too coincidental.”

“That’s all it is, Claire. A coincidence.” But she couldn’t quite meet her mother’s eyes.

“He said he’s a photographer,” Claire snapped. “So what’s he after?”

“I doubt it’s anything
sinister.
”

“Are you really that naive?”

Tessa silently counted to ten. “The first time I saw him, he said he’d come to Wyoming for a photo shoot, and he was taking pictures of plants along a trail. That doesn’t sound like any big secret to me.”

“But isn’t that how those tree huggers work?” Claire sniffed. “Don’t forget that commotion over grazing rights on BLM government land last year. Those photos hit the papers clear to Billings and Denver.”

“I’ll talk to him, okay? Would that help?”

“Think what you will, but that Josh is a no-good, manipulative, self-centered, irresponsible—”

“Mom!”
Tessa clenched her hands in her lap, biting back the words she’d regret.

“You know better than to call me that, young lady. I’ll have some
respect.
”

It wasn’t a request. It wasn’t framed with a please or thank you. And to most mothers, “mom” was hardly a derogatory term. But then, Janna had said she was noticing an increase in Claire’s outbursts lately, as well as increasing forgetfulness and confusion. Added to her imperious nature, the progress of her dementia was becoming even more challenging.

“I hear you’re going to town for a doctor’s appointment on Friday,” Tessa said, trying for a breezy tone. “That’s good.”

“It’s a waste of time. I’m not going.” Claire dug into her lunch, polishing off the last morsel before looking up again. “Already take too much medicine as it is—and that’s a waste of good money. Doesn’t work, anyhow.”

Janna had made the appointment in hopes that a change in medication would help, but no one could deny Claire’s grim future—especially since she refused to take her medicine half the time.

The back door squealed open and Sofia charged up the three steps into the kitchen, her face damp with perspiration.

“I think you need to call your sister Leigh right away,” she exclaimed, breathing hard. She nodded a greeting at Claire, then she turned back to Tessa with an expression of distress and lowered her voice. “It’s your mother’s horse, Socks. I found her loose in the barn, with the feed room door open. I don’t know how full that sack of calf supplement was, but it’s all gone now…and that horse sure doesn’t look right.”

“What was that?” Claire barked. “Something about my horse?”

Tessa grabbed her cell phone and ran for the back door. “I’ll go check it out, Mom,” she called out. “You stay here with Sofia.”

By the time Leigh pulled up in her vet truck, Tessa had tugged and coaxed the mare out of the barn, and had her front hooves planted in a couple of low, black rubber tubs filled with cool water. Tessa held the lead rope in one hand and a slowly running water hose in the other, to keep the water cool and circulating.

Despite her instructions to the contrary, Claire had followed Tessa to the barn, and now she and Sofia were standing to one side. But for once, Claire was silent. Watching. Her face was a mask of worry.

“Just the front hooves were hot, Leigh. It must have taken me ten minutes to get her out here. She was in a lot of pain.” Tessa tossed the end of the hose into a stock tank on the other side of the fence.

Leigh pulled her long, strawberry blond ponytail through the back of her ball cap and frowned at the mare’s stance.

No wonder. Already, Socks had adopted the typical stance of acute laminitis, with her front legs extended to relieve the intense pain and pressure inside the unyielding outer walls of her hooves.

“How long would you say it’s been since she got in the feed?”

“Everything was fine this morning when I did chores.” Tessa reached out to stroke the mare’s sweaty neck. “I always double-latch the feed room door, and I double check it before I leave. And I always check the stall doors, too. Everything was fine before I left for the Lodge to get Claire. But when we got back here, I didn’t go to the barn—it was lunchtime, so we went straight to the house.”

Leigh jogged into the barn and looked into the feed room, then came back outside. “How full was that bag of calf supplement?”

“I hadn’t opened it yet. It was a twenty-five pound bag.”

“Has she been rolling or showing any signs of colic?”

“Nope—thank goodness.”

“Did you give her any medications yet?”

“I thought about it, but you said you could get here right away, so I thought I better leave everything up to you.” Tessa managed a small smile. “You’re the expert, after all.”

Leigh darted a glance at Claire, clearly waiting for a sarcastic remark and surprised that their mother didn’t offer one. “I’ll do my best for your mare. I hope we’ve gotten to her in time to minimize any permanent damage.”

She bent over and lifted one hoof and then the other, moving aside the water tubs and first holding the hoof between her hands to check for heat, then palpating for the digital pulse just above each hoof, at the back.

With a grim expression, she jogged back to her vet truck and retrieved syringes and small bottles, then came back and drew up three syringes of medication that she handed to Tessa.

After palpating the mare’s neck and finding the right vein, she delivered the medications slowly, one after another.

“I’ve given her Bute, which is an anti-inflammatory, and some DMSO. I also gave her a vasodilator to increase her blood flow. She’s going to be feeling a lot better soon, but she needs to be on deep, soft bedding in her stall.” Leigh frowned. “Keep her on stall rest, and you can continue to give her Bute for the pain if she needs it. Give it to her in the muscle, though.”

“She’s going to be okay?” Claire asked.

Her voice was so soft and shaky that all three women turned to look at her in concern.

“Leigh has done everything right,” Tessa said. “She’s gaining quite a reputation in these parts.”

Claire moved closer and rested a hand on the mare’s nose. “Socks is an old gal. I’m not sure how well she’ll come through something like this.”

“I’ll do X-rays tomorrow, and then come back a few days later and check her again,” Leigh said, handing the bottle of Bute to Tessa. “If she still isn’t doing well, we’ll need to look at other measures.”

Claire nodded, then rested her forehead against the mare’s cheek. “Thank you, Leigh. I—I’m not sure I ever said it, but I’m proud of what you’ve done, being a vet, and all.”

Obviously taken aback, Leigh looked up and met Tessa’s eyes before reaching out to briefly touch their mother’s arm. “Thanks.”

Surprised at Claire’s brief display of affection, Tessa stepped away and hurried down the aisle of the barn to prepare a stall for the mare by tossing in two extra bales of sawdust and fluffing it with a pitchfork.

After the mare was back in her stall, Sofia took Claire down to her cabin for a cup of coffee, but Tessa lingered in the barn with Leigh.