Last Stand Ranch (3 page)

“That'll be Denise and Raymond,” Claudia said, leading the way into the kitchen.

“I hope I didn't interrupt your dinner,” Claudia called out to a woman with glossy, chocolate-colored hair, who stood holding a small basket heaped with corn-bread muffins. A man with shoulder-length, sun-streaked brown hair stood beside her.

“Oh, no.” The woman, who looked as if she might be a decade older than Olivia, smiled broadly. “Raymond and I finished eating a while ago. I baked a full dozen muffins when I made our supper and thought you and your guest might like a few of them.”

“Thank you.” Claudia took the basket and set it on the counter. “I'd like you to meet my great-niece, Olivia.”

“I'm glad to finally meet you,” Denise said. “It's so nice of you to come for a visit.”

Olivia exchanged glances with Claudia. Apparently her aunt hadn't felt the need to explain the real motivation for her trip to Painted Rock. “Nice to be here,” Olivia mumbled.

“Heard you had some trouble on the road,” the man standing beside Denise commented.

Olivia wasn't sure what to say in response. It wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with another stranger.

“Raymond keeps things up and running around here,” Claudia interjected.

“I'm looking forward to seeing the ranch in the morning,” Olivia said.

Claudia wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I'll bet right now you just want to take a nice hot bath, crawl into bed and get some rest.”

It was exactly what she wanted.

“Time for us to go,” Denise said to Raymond. She glanced at Olivia. “We just wanted to pop in and welcome you. We'll see you in the morning.”

“You hungry?” Claudia asked after they left.

“Starved.”

“Denise made fried chicken for supper, but we put it in the fridge after you called from the side of the highway to tell me you'd run into trouble. Shall we have a cold supper and turn in?”

Olivia nodded.

“You go on home,” Claudia said to Elijah. “I'll keep my phone turned on and by my side all night.”

Olivia frowned at Elijah, hoping he would leave. She wouldn't be able to relax with him around. Not with those muscular arms under that black T-shirt distracting her. Plus the fact that just about every time she looked at him, he was already looking at her. The dream of finally being able to let down her guard, even if just for a short while, was what fueled her determination to leave Las Vegas and make the drive here.

“I live close by,” Elijah said to her after a long pause. “My family's ranch borders Aunt Claudia's property. I can get here fast if I need to.”

Olivia nodded. Good to know.

“All right, I'll head on home.” He turned to Claudia. “Call me if you hear anything. And make sure you lock your doors.”

“Of course.”

Elijah headed out of the kitchen, across the dining area and toward the front door. The women walked with him.

He paused as he passed through the front room and glanced toward something on a bookshelf. Olivia followed his glaze and saw a framed photograph of an older gentleman with a long rectangular face, thick white hair and gigantic sideburns. He looked familiar. Olivia walked toward the picture.

“My Hugh,” Claudia said quietly, stepping up behind Olivia.

“Of course.” Aunt Claudia and Uncle Hugh had made a trip to Phoenix for a visit when Olivia was fourteen. She remembered now that Hugh was about a foot shorter than Claudia. She'd said hello to them and then scampered off to the mall with her friends. Hugh had died a few years later of a sudden massive heart attack.

“What's this?” Olivia asked, pointing to something brittle and crumbling in the lower right corner of the frame, underneath the glass.

Claudia laughed softly. “Hugh picked that daisy and gave it to me the morning he passed away. Of course it came from a flower bed that
I
tended.” Claudia touched the glass. “He was something, all right.”

Elijah hesitated instead of continuing out the door. Olivia was afraid he'd change his mind and stay. “It was good to meet you,” he finally said to Olivia. “Sorry about the circumstances.”

She nodded, willing him to go. He might be Claudia's protector, but he wasn't hers.

The second he was out the door she snapped the dead bolt into place. The porch light was already on. In the gap between the curtains and the window frame she could see light reflecting off his motorcycle as he climbed on and cranked up the engine.

Let the knight in chrome armor go rescue somebody else. Olivia Dillon was on her own. Especially now that she knew leaving Las Vegas hadn't made her any safer. She'd thought she could restart her life with a clean slate in Painted Rock, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. And there was no way she would put her great-aunt in danger.

She needed a new plan. Maybe Ricky the mechanic would give her a few bucks for her car. She could buy a bus ticket to a bigger city. Get lost in the crowd and stay in a shelter until she could find a job. She needed to run farther. And the sooner she left, the better.

THREE

E
lijah's mom taught him to be respectful of the wishes of a woman, so when a woman asked him to do something, he always listened. But that didn't mean he always did what she asked.

The morning after finding Olivia by the side of the highway, he steered his dirt bike toward the back of Claudia's house. Just after sunrise most mornings, he could find Claudia there feeding her chickens, looking over her property and greeting the morning sun. He found her right where he expected, dressed in jeans and an orange-checked shirt and wearing an old pair of Hugh's battered blue suede house slippers.

Olivia stood next to her, slump-shouldered, looking like a withered blade of golden grass. When he drove up she glared at him through bloodshot eyes. Probably the result of a sleepless night. And yeah, he'd gotten the message—she wished he would stay away. Too bad. Sorry, Mom.

“Morning, honey,” Claudia called out as he killed the engine. At least somebody was glad to see him.

“Good morning.” He got off the bike.

Claudia walked over to him, one of her chubby little beagles by her feet. “Have you eaten breakfast? Denise made a pineapple bread pudding.”

“Yes, ma'am, I already ate.”

He turned to Olivia, who'd sullenly followed her aunt. “How are you this morning?” He reached down to scratch Jasper behind his ears. “Did you get any sleep?”

“A little.”

A brittle spirit showed through in the pinched, angry expression on her face. Elijah knew that feeling well. He'd come home from Iraq and later Afghanistan fighting his own version of it.

It was likely she wanted to shove everyone away. It was a good thing she had Claudia, who was good at soothing hurts. Elijah's talent lay more in the realm of poking at whatever hurt until the person realized they wanted to lay down the hurt more than they wanted to coddle it. They appreciated his help in the long run. In the short run, not so much.

“Ricky told me it would take him at least a couple weeks to fix your car. I thought you might have gotten a ride to the bus station and moved on by now.”

“It would probably be safer for
your
aunt if I did.”

Boy, that “aunt” thing really bothered her. Too bad. Half the town referred to Claudia as “Aunt Claudia.”

Claudia waved her hands. “That's enough of that talk about moving on.” She turned to Olivia. “You're staying.”

Elijah watched Olivia look down, then look off into the distance. She took a deep breath and her eyes filled with worry. Afraid to stay and afraid to go, most likely.

He turned his attention to Claudia. “I just stopped by to let you know I'll be working on that section of fence damaged in that last storm.” He glanced at Olivia. “It's right at the boundary between Claudia's property and ours, not too far away.”

She shrugged as if it meant nothing to her.

Then he made a point of pulling the pistol out of the waistband at the small of his back, and replacing it, as if he'd just wanted to make the fit more comfortable. Olivia kept her gaze on the gun the whole time. When she looked at him, it was with just a little bit less hostility.

Good. He wanted her to know at least one person took her fears of being stalked by Ted Kurtz seriously. Even if that person happened to be a guy she didn't much like.

“Before you got here, I was asking Olivia where she'd go if she didn't stay here with us,” Claudia said.

“Good question.” Elijah nodded. “Where
would
you go and how would you know when you were safe?”

“Wow.” Olivia looked him up and down. “You really know how to make a girl feel better.”

“Running off in a blind panic could make things a whole lot worse for you.”

She hugged her arms over her chest. Elijah could see goose bumps on the surface of her skin even though she was standing in the sun.

“I'm so glad to have you here,” Claudia said, reaching out to squeeze her niece's hand.

Oh, yeah, that. Sometimes Elijah forgot to say the warm fuzzy words. A fair amount of the time he couldn't say them because he didn't really believe them. But in this case he knew they were true. Claudia had been very excited about the visit.

“I'm glad to be here.”

In the bright sunlight, Elijah could see the purple half circles under her eyes. Probably been missing out on sleep for a while. She was pale for a woman who lived in Vegas. And her clothes hung loosely on her. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she needed all the help she could get.

“Your house is beautiful,” Olivia said to Claudia, scanning the yard. Elijah watched her gaze settle on the junipers planted at the corners of the small guest cottage fifty feet away, current home of Raymond and Denise Bauer. Then she looked toward the numerous wooden sheds on the property, their interiors darkened and impossible to see into.

“You looking for Kurtz?” Elijah asked.

She snapped her attention back to Claudia, ignoring his question. “Painted Rock is such a pretty, peaceful town. It's everything I'd hoped for. I don't want to stay and ruin it for you.”

“If you leave, you'll break an old lady's heart.”

Olivia let go a laugh. “Please don't try to guilt me into staying.”

“I will if it works. And don't forget about the job interview I lined up for you at the senior center. Are you going to throw away that opportunity after all the effort I put into getting it for you?”

“You're merciless.” Olivia had already returned to scanning her surroundings. She looked toward Claudia's corrals and stables, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

“There's nobody out here,” Claudia said, following her gaze.

For a moment, there was only the peaceful sound of the breeze rustling through the trees and chickens clucking as they moseyed around the yard.

“I've got too many dogs for anybody to sneak up on us,” Claudia added.

“I don't know how much help Jasper, Feldspar and Opal would be as watchdogs,” Elijah said.

Claudia shot him a quelling look. Unfortunately, it looked as if today was his day to annoy Claudia as well as Olivia. Claudia obviously wanted to wrap her niece in comfort and reassurance. Elijah didn't think that was a good idea. Not now. Not if it made her ignore the fact that she was still in danger.

Now that he knew more about the danger she was facing, he wasn't so anxious for her to leave town. He still didn't want Claudia at risk—but Olivia didn't deserve to be constantly on the run, either. Not when her only crime was crossing the line to try to help someone who'd been hurt.

“If you stay here,” he added, “you'll have quite a few people looking out for you. If you take off running, you'll be alone. And it could be a very short run.”

Olivia's eyes glistened. Claudia sniffed loudly and brought her hand to her mouth.

Oh, yeah, Elijah had quite the way with the ladies.

“I don't want to go,” Olivia blurted out. “But I don't want to stay, either. Not if Ted Kurtz has tracked me here. And yet I'm so tired of hiding. It feels like I've been hiding forever.”

“Right here, right this minute, we're fine.” Claudia frowned at Elijah while she pulled a tissue out of her pocket and handed it to Olivia. “Sometimes we just have to focus on that.”

Olivia drew in a deep breath and wiped her eyes and nose with the tissue.

Both women were upset and on edge. Elijah's work here was done. It was a shame doing the right thing didn't always make people feel good. But it might keep them alive.

“I've got to get to work on that fence,” Elijah said to Claudia. “Call me if you have any trouble. Call 911, but have someone call me, too. I'll be closer. I'll get here faster.”

“Okay.” Claudia nodded.

Elijah climbed on his bike, cranked up the engine and headed back toward the Morales ranch. Mission accomplished. He'd found out what he'd wanted to know, he'd told the ladies what he'd wanted them to know and Olivia hadn't killed him with a look.

* * *

“I've got eleven hundred acres, most of it heading due east from here.” Claudia pointed toward the far reaches of her ranch. “It joins up with federal parkland so there aren't any public roads for a long ways. Ted Kurtz couldn't sneak up on us from back here even if he was in the neighborhood.”

Olivia gazed at the grassy land closest to the house, with stables, corrals and fenced pasture fanning out in every direction. The land to the north was rocky, forested foothills heading up into the mountains.

“Raymond will be out here doing his maintenance work and looking after what few animals I've got left.” Claudia sighed softly. “This place used to be a lot busier, but after Hugh passed away I sold off most of the herd and started leasing out my grazing land.”

“It's gorgeous.” Olivia wondered why her parents never came to visit. How come her dad, Claudia's nephew, never brought her out here?

“Getting outside always raises my spirits.” Claudia lifted her chin. “I've kept a few horses. Do you ride? I could saddle one up for you.”

“I never learned how to ride.” Until recently, Olivia didn't even realize she had a relative who owned horses.

“Well, now you'll have to stay around so you can learn.”

In the quiet, they heard the rumble of Elijah's motorcycle growing fainter. “So, Elijah likes to get into other people's business?”

Claudia laughed. “He's been that way since he was a kid. He's always on the lookout for trouble, always wanting to take care of things. He was an army ranger. I think he must have been pretty good at it, too. But he said he missed his family's ranch after a few years and he came back home.”

“I can see why he'd miss it. I wouldn't mind living in a place like this.” Even though she couldn't help picking out potential spots where Ted Kurtz or some thug he'd hired might be hiding. She was being irrational; she knew it. Jumping at shadows wouldn't do her any good. Elijah was right, much as she hated to admit it. She had to make smart choices, be logical. But she also had to stop letting fear control her life. She had to stop letting
Ted Kurtz
control her life.

“Fresh air and sunshine will do you a world of good.” Claudia leaned over to pull a weed from the flower bed. “I'm expecting a call—I've got to get back inside.” She tossed the weed aside and wiped her hands on her jeans. “You're welcome to come back in the house with me or stay out here. Your choice.”

Claudia was right. It really was her choice.

“You know what? I'm tired of being afraid.” What kind of life did you have if you were afraid to go for a walk in the sun? “I think I will stay out here and meander around a little bit. Maybe I'll find Raymond and see if he can use some help.”

“He's working in the stable this morning. He can always use a hand.”

Claudia went back into the house and Olivia headed across the yard toward the stable, where she could hear Raymond working as she drew closer. On the way, she passed a large shed with the door propped open. She slowed down, hesitated to pass, but saw only some trucks and farm equipment inside. No Ted Kurtz waiting to jump out and get her.

What a drama queen she'd become.

Raymond had turned a couple of horses out in a corral while he lugged feed from the back of a truck into a storage building.

“Hello,” Olivia called out.

Raymond started and spun toward her, a scowl slashed across his face. Then he stood and replaced the scowl with a thin smile. “Hello.”

“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.”

“Oh, it's my own fault.” His smile strengthened as he wiped the sweat off his brow with his lower arm. “I heard about what happened to you on the highway last night. I guess it's made me a little jumpy.”

“I feel like I've been jumpy forever.” She scratched her thumbnail against a loose fleck of paint on the stable wall. “Could you use some help?”

“Sure. There are always things to do. But don't you want to spend your time visiting with your aunt? Your vacation here will fly by before you know it.”

“Actually, I'm thinking about staying in Painted Rock.” Maybe her plan to get a new start here was back on again. There was no harm in mentioning it out loud and seeing how it felt. It felt pretty good.

“You think you might settle in here? Claudia must be thrilled. I wasn't sure she even had any living relatives until we found out you were coming for a visit.”

Olivia felt a twinge of guilt. She scratched at the peeling paint a little harder. “Just something I'm thinking about.”

“And you want me to put you to work?” He grinned. “You want me to help you figure out if you're cut out for ranch life?”

“Physical work might make me a little less jumpy.”

“It probably will.” He rubbed his hand across his chin while he looked around at the various sheds, stalls and other buildings on the property. “If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, I might have something for you to do. Most of these buildings haven't been cleaned out and organized in a while and I don't have time to do it.”

“I love organizing things,” Olivia said.

“I'm in the middle of a couple of projects right now. Give me until tomorrow morning and I'll set you up with something.”

“Sure.” She could feel her spirits lifting already. “Thanks.” This was a good idea. Coming to Painted Rock was a good idea.

He brushed his hands together to wipe off the straw and dust. “Enjoy your day off.”

Olivia relaxed into a genuine smile as she walked out of the corral, through a maze of gleaming white fences and across a section of pasture. Chin up, shoulders back, she was finally feeling like her old self.

Arms swinging at her sides, she ploughed up a nearby grassy hill toward the tree line. There was one particular pine she'd spotted from Claudia's back door. A big one with a wide, lacey-looking shadow underneath it. It would be an easy hike up there and she could get a good view of Claudia's ranch.