As Rachele, wearing her uniform of a sleeveless T-shirt and canvas shorts, jumped to the ground, Shari was again struck by the contrast between her employee’s confident demeanor and her petite body. Just the same, Rachele looked more serious than usual.
“Have you heard anything more from Maco?” she asked.
“He must be furious.”
Shari had told Rachele about the vandalism but of course not what had taken place before he’d gotten the call from his brother.
“He called about an hour ago. The loader can be salvaged, but it’s going to need a new engine. We didn’t talk long because the sheriff and the man from Homeland Security were there.”
“Any idea who did it?”
“Any number of people, unfortunately. I keep thinking about the ranchers I met the first day I was at the site. They were far from friendly. They’re scared that once the dam fills, most of the water will be sent south without enough left for local agriculture.”
“Do you think their fears are justified?”
“I don’t know.” Shari pressed a hand to her temple. “I have to confess I haven’t kept up with the issue.”
“A bit busy, are you?” When Shari started to reply, Rachele held up her hand. “You don’t need to answer that; I know how full your plate is. Who else qualifies as a suspect?”
“Greenspeakers. Have you heard of them?”
Rachele ran her hands through her hair. “Yeah. We need to talk.”
“What about?”
“Why I’m late.”
Shari’s heart felt as if someone were squeezing it. “Go on.”
Shaking her head, Rachele stared at the ground. Because it was easier than studying her employee, Shari did the same. A number of ants were crawling over what was left of an insect.
“I used to date a man who’s a Greenspeakers member,” Rachele said.
“You did?”
“Yeah, unfortunately. I didn’t know that at first; we didn’t have that many conversations, if you know what I’m saying. If you saw him, you’d understand the physical component.”
“Go on.”
“Yeah, I need to. Before long he started in on me to go to one of their meetings.”
Could Rachele have taken what Shari had told her about Maco’s operation to Greenspeakers? That was why Rachele hadn’t been able to stay last night and was late getting to work today. Tight with dread, Shari continued to study the ants.
“We pretty much broke things off a while ago,” Rachele continued. “He wanted me to play the helpless female, but I couldn’t do that.”
“No, you can’t.”
No more than I can.
“What made admitting we didn’t belong together complicated for me was his body. I had hopes, boy, did I. Dyson’s a bodybuilder and power lifter, a Greek god. Shame there isn’t enough of a mind to go with the physique.”
Dragging her attention off the ants, Shari eyed her employee. “How long did it take you to figure that out?”
“Longer than it should have. Like I said, certain things kept distracting me.” Rachele dug her fingers into her windblown hair. “Okay, here’s where things get even more complicated. He’s obsessed with the whole defend-the-environment thing.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Shari asked around the renewed tightness in her heart. “Lots of people feel that way.”
Her fingers still in her hair, Rachele shook her head. “There’s committed and then there’s obsessed, which he is. According to him, Greenspeakers can do no wrong. He buys everything about their position. He says the end justifies the means even though I’m not sure he grasps what he’s saying.”
“Did you go to any of their meetings?”
Rachele blew out a long breath and kicked dirt at the ants. “A couple. I figured I’d better see what it was all about. It didn’t take long to decide they were too radical for me. I tried to tell Dyson he was being brainwashed, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Two ants crawled out from under the thin dirt layer and headed off. Too bad she wasn’t as distractible as the little insects. “What does this have to do with why you’re late?”
“Shit, all right. Here goes. Dyson called a few days ago. He apologized. Hell, he practically cried, saying he’d made a terrible mistake letting me go.”
“
Letting
you go?”
Rachele’s features tightened. “His words. And for the record, I did the walking. He wanted to give us another chance starting with inviting me to a special Greenspeakers meeting. That’s where I was last night, attending it with him because I can’t help but worry about him. He’s such a follower. Anyway, the meeting was supposed to be about developing a platform so the public will realize they aren’t as fanatical as the press makes them out to be. He wanted us to warm up with a little horizontal gymnastics, but I wouldn’t. As a result, things were a bit strained between us.”
Rachele withdrew her hand only to again rake it through her hair. “Unfortunately we were in his car so ditching him wasn’t an option. Shari, he lied to me. Either that or they did the lying to him.”
“You think they’d do that?”
“Yes, I do. If they ever need an enforcer, he’s a natural for the job. They’re even more fanatical than I’d believed. That was the most insane meeting I’ve ever been to.”
“In what ways?”
“The dogma, for one. They’re positive they’re right. Bureaucrats are the enemy. Anyone who accepts government money to, as they call it, destroy this precious land needs to be stopped.”
“Wait,” Shari blurted as a horrid possibility slammed into her. “Dyson called you out of the blue?”
Rachele looked at the ants and then lifted her head. Her eyes were bright, her nostrils flared. “That’s right. I’ll say it before you do. Dyson knows I work for Working Dogs. He said he’d heard that Mustang Construction is buying two of your guard dogs.”
“How’d he—?”
“I don’t know,” Rachele interrupted. “I pushed him about that, but he wouldn’t say. Another thing. At that farce of a meeting, everyone fell all over me. They were so glad to see me again. Delighted Dyson had gotten me there.”
“And they wanted you to talk about your employer’s association with Mustang Construction, didn’t they?”
“Yeah.” Rachele’s voice dropped to a near whisper. “It was all cloaked in what they tried to make me think was casual curiosity, but I saw through the b.s. Had I been out to the site and what did I know about what security beyond the dogs. They were damn disappointed when I told them I didn’t know.”
“What did they want to know about the dogs?”
Either Rachele had caught her tension or was already at that point because her expression became even more somber. “Everything. It didn’t take long to go from chitchat to full-out pressure, but I told them that was none of their business.”
“Dyson joined in?”
She frowned. “Not really. I could tell he was having trouble keeping up with the barrage. I ordered him to take me to my apartment and told him I never wanted to see him again. He left, then came back and kept ringing the doorbell. Neither of us said anything, but it was forever before he gave up. Then I couldn’t sleep. Finally dozed off around dawn. That’s why I’m late.”
Rachele pinched the bridge of her nose. “Maybe you should fire me.”
“Why?”
“So those damnable Greenspeakers members don’t get any more ideas about trying to use me to get to you or the Graves River Dam. There’s a lawyer in the bunch, at least that’s what he said he was. He said he could subpoena me if necessary.”
“That’s crazy.”
I think.
“He didn’t bother me as much as a few of the others. They had that used-car salesman mentality.”
“Pushing.”
“Exactly. I swear, if I’d brought my car I think they would have grabbed the keys to keep me there.” She bent and straightened her fingers several times. “When it got really intense, I hid behind Dyson and played the scared female card. Didn’t light into him until I felt safe.”
“You felt you were in danger?”
“I don’t know.” Rachele chewed on her lower lip. “I do know I was out of my element and that I don’t want you in the same position. Fire me.”
“The hell I will. The dogs need you. So do I.”
“You mean it?”
“Of course I do. Who else would put up with these working conditions? I’m not going to fire you, and if you quit, I won’t accept your resignation.”
“You’re hardheaded.”
Shari couldn’t help but smile. “I take that as a compliment. You handled what happened last night like a pro. How can I not want you watching my back?”
Taking her hand, Rachele held it between both of hers. “Thanks.” Her wink ended her serious expression. “The whole time I was driving out here, my thinking kept coming back to one thing. No matter what the consequences, I was going to be honest with you.”
Rachele’s words clung to her as they hugged. Finally she reluctantly pulled away and held her gaze on Rachele. “Maco and Jason need to know what you told me.”
12
“D
amn,” Maco muttered. “Double damn.”
“Do you think I want to tell you this?” Sheriff Bill Horton asked.
“I know you don’t.”
“You can’t be surprised.” The sheriff kicked the ground, adding a smear to the countless footprints around the disabled loader. “There’s no way we can pick through all of these and find the prints that don’t belong to an employee. For all we know, the vandal’s working for you.”
Maco hadn’t been that surprised when the sheriff himself responded to Jason’s 911 call. And although he hated admitting it, he agreed that identifying who was responsible from the available evidence was about as good as finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Dusting for fingerprints was equally useless. Best guess was the culprit had done his work during the night and had come on foot. It would have been different if the dogs had been here earlier.
“I hate thinking that one of my employees is responsible,” Maco admitted. “I want to believe they’re loyal or, if not that, they aren’t about to risk having the operation shut down and them out of jobs.”
Despite his official position, the sheriff seldom wore a uniform and was almost never without a baseball cap. Taking it off his nearly bald head, he wiped sweat from his temple. “I used to try to figure out what makes people tick, but this job has shown me that’s impossible. I want to make a splash with the media about this. Get people to talking. If you offer a reward—”
“Done.”
“I’m glad you said that. Some people will turn in their own mother for money. The more the word gets out about the investigation, the more likely someone’s going to boast when they should have kept their mouth or mouths shut. They’ll inadvertently let it out that they know something. There’s a chance that’ll get back to my department via a responsible citizen. Truth is, most people see themselves as law abiding.”
“That could take a while.”
“Unfortunately. In the meantime, you’re going to want to increase your security. I’m glad to see I won’t have to give you that lecture. Hopefully the dogs will make the difference.”
Maco joined Bill in admiring the nearby pair. “I hope so, too. I’ve seen them in action. They’re well trained.”
“Sure they are. I know who trained them. They didn’t come cheap, did they?”
“No.”
“But at this point, you can’t argue price, can you?” The sheriff shrugged. “I don’t want to have to say this, but someone capable of doing this”—he indicated the loader—“might not think twice about killing them.”
“I’ve thought about that,” Maco admitted. He had no intention of telling Bill that should that happen, his concern for Shari’s reaction exceeded what he personally felt about the dogs. “Maybe the bastard or bastards won’t take a chance on making that kind of noise.”
“I hope you’re right. They’re beautiful animals.”
Maco had let the dogs loose to run as soon as he’d reached the site. Watching them check out their new home and get to know the horses, he wished their abilities included identifying the scent or scents that didn’t belong followed by immediately running down and tearing apart the responsible party.
“Shari Afton does good work,” Bill said. “I watched her dogs perform in a statewide law enforcement competition back in April. I’d gone there looking for ammunition aimed at getting at least one for our department. I’m hoping there’ll be room for that come the first of the year. I’ve already talked to her about that.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” Bill cocked his head. “Tell me, what do you think of her?”
“What do you mean?” Maco asked more quickly than he’d intended.
“Good as she is at what she does, I don’t take anyone at face value. Occupational hazard. She showed up here about a year ago saying nothing about where she came from or where she learned her training techniques. Why did she, a woman alone, choose a basically rural area to set up business? Makes me curious, that’s all.”
Equal parts anticipation and reluctance warred inside Shari as she approached the dam site. Much as she was looking forward to seeing Maco, she wasn’t sure she was ready for the change in him from lover to determined and maybe angry business owner. Bottom line, she wanted back the man who’d so easily brought her to climax.
Nothing more.
Although it was nearly 80 degrees, she’d opted for open windows instead of air-conditioning. As a consequence, the roar of monster-sized helicopter blades attacking the air somewhere thrilled her. Just listening to the great beat-beat-beat filled her with awe for the minds and machinery capable of creating something like that. Had Maco had a hand in the machine’s design?
From where she sat inside the Bronco, she couldn’t see the aircrane, and the great whirring was so all-encompassing she couldn’t be sure of its location. The way the sound bounced and reverberated it could be behind her and about to attack.
After stopping, she got out and looked around. There it was above and beyond her, blocking the sun, a great silver, screaming, manmade beast. She wasn’t close enough to the edge to see into the canyon, but she had no doubt the aircrane was positioned over it.
Was Maco piloting?
A long cable with massive metal claws at the end swung from the aircrane’s belly almost like a whale fishing line. The machine slowly descended, now putting her in mind of some great bird deciding whether to land. The aircrane was still several hundred feet above what she assumed was the canyon bottom when it stopped lowering. Even from here, she felt the wind pressure from the blades. Much closer and it might knock her off her feet. The rearing horse logo was barely discernable, but it didn’t matter because she remembered the marriage of freedom and strength.
Looking both infinitely patient and too heavy for the air to support, the aircrane waited for whatever was being done to the cable to be completed. Occasionally the aircrane dipped one way or the other only to stabilize. She imagined Maco’s hands at the controls effortlessly reining in the beast around, over, and under him.
Not long ago those same hands had handled her.
He was no longer married to the woman who hadn’t wanted anything to do with the land of his birth. Whatever else might complicate their relationship, that wasn’t in the mix. But he had been married, which meant he might have scars from the relationship, things he didn’t want to talk about.
Like her. After all, she hadn’t even told him her real name.
After some ten minutes, the aircrane started lifting. Disturbed dirt raced over the ground and dusted the air but didn’t reach her. Soon after, a massive yellow loader, looking like a dead rodent caught in a hawk’s talons, came into view, and she surmised that the ruined machinery was being taken wherever it needed to go by the only means available.
Feeling both abandoned and impressed by Maco’s ingenuity, she watched the aircrane head north and disappear.
She should have told him she was coming, but then she’d have to give him at least a hint when she believed this needed to be done face-to-face.
According to what Jason had told her, Maco shouldn’t be gone more than an hour so. Shari decided to remain at the construction site. Between calls on his cell phone, an obviously distracted and busy Jason invited her to wait in the trailer/office. Instead, she spent the time walking with the dogs over as much of the area as Jason deemed safe from errant machinery.
Instead of being the only female there, she discovered that Mustang Construction employed at least two women. Both worked side by side with the men and handled the machinery as competently as she drove her vehicle.
Everyone who saw Bruce and Tucker wanted to make their acquaintance, which allowed her to explain that as guard dogs, they needed to be left alone to do their job. As for the dogs, they were thrilled to be someplace new. They were particularly fascinated by the two horses that shared their interest in another four-legged species but weren’t intimidated. Several times she had to remind the dogs to focus on her and not just their surroundings. Fortunately all she wanted them to do was familiarize themselves with equipment they’d never seen. The pair would have the run of the place, especially at night; they needed to know where the boundaries were, but that would have to wait until Maco returned.
The helicopter blades announced his return with a sound she had no doubt would always send chills down her spine. Along with the rubbernecking dogs, she watched as the aircrane minus the cable neared and gently settled on to a level spot. More dust than earlier flew in all directions, forcing her to turn away while the stiff wind blew her hair about. Her blouse hugged her upper body. The whirring blades slowed and eventually stopped, leaving a hollow silence behind.
Soon she’d be talking to Maco again. Not touching him. Fighting to maintain a professional relationship. Adding more to what he carried on his wide shoulders.
“Jason told me you were here,” Maco had explained when he walked over to her. Instead of suggesting they go into the trailer, he’d indicated the ground. Now they sat cross-legged on the ground across from each other, separated by their folded legs and maybe a foot of space. Denim pressed against her crotch to increase her awareness of herself as a woman. Despite her mission, she loved being close to him. “Otherwise I would have stayed at the shop while the mechanics went through the loader.”
“Does that mean it can be repaired?”
Maco explained that a decision about what if anything of the engine might be salvaged would come down to money once the damage had been assessed. When they’d heard about what had happened, workers at the county’s only diesel repair shop had promised to put a rush on the work. Despite her attempts to concentrate on more than how wonderful Maco looked with his ever-present Colt, the Stetson framing his face, and his shirt sweat-stained, his words flitted around her.
“Let me know. Hopefully you have insurance to cover at least some of the cost.”
“Jason’s looking into that. We’re not sure how the company’s going to address the vandalism issue. I hope this won’t raise our rates.”
“I do, too. You don’t want to know what I pay for liability coverage.” When his gaze went to her breasts, she tried folding her arms only to wind up resting her hands on her knees. They both looked somewhat the worse for wear, hardly like a man and a woman trying to impress the other. “What does it feel like to be in control of one of those things?” She nodded at the aircrane, which now looked lumbering and tons too heavy to do anything except sit.
“I love it. In some respects it reminds me of working with a wild horse.”
His exuberance made her smile, and the life simmering in his eyes reinforced his simple words. What she wouldn’t give to watch him astride an untamed, powerful stallion. “You don’t ever feel overwhelmed? No fear of crashing?”
“It crosses my mind when it’s particularly windy, but when I’m at the controls, I understand why Andy—that’s my oldest brother—used to try to ride Brahmas.”
Maco wasn’t simply the owner of a construction company or even the man she’d had sex with. The youth he’d once been had returned. She envied what had to have been his carefree childhood. “Man against muscle? That’s the appeal?”
“Not against so much as connected with all that power.” He briefly closed his eyes. “Maybe if I say there are a lot of similarities between flying that chopper and good sex it’ll make sense.”
“Oh.” With his confession standing naked before her, she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“You didn’t expect to hear that? What could wrapping my body around a woman’s and being surrounded by metal have in common?”
Although it took effort, she met his gaze. “Sex takes me away from the everyday world,” she admitted. “I become selfish and self-absorbed. That feels damn good.”
“Selfish? In other words, it’s all about
your
pleasure. If the man gets off, good for him, but it’s not your priority?”
“I plead the Fifth.” Damn, but a lighthearted conversation felt good. “Okay, admit it, when you’re about to come nothing but getting there matters, right?”
“Point taken.”
His smile said he’d learned something about her from the short exchange. Maybe more than she wanted him to. Then although she’d rather keep this line of conversation going, she took a breath in preparation for passing on what she had to.
“I didn’t want to do this over the phone,” she explained. “Bad news needs to be delivered in person.”
He leaned forward. “What kind of bad news?”
“I’m not sure.” No matter how hard it was, she had to keep her hands off him. Otherwise, no way could she stay on task. “It involves Greenspeakers.”
“Damn it, they didn’t come to your place, did they?”
“No,” she reassured him and passed on everything Rachele had told her. His nostrils flared and he clenched his teeth but didn’t interrupt.
“What a convoluted mess,” he said when she was done.