The Reluctant Rancher~Badlands (Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense) (11 page)

“Leave your bag in the truck, honey,” Breck directed. “They won’t let you take it inside.”

They were admitted after a metal detector determin
ed they had no weapons on them.

“I’ll wait for you right here.” Breck fixed her with a solemn gaze. “Remember what I said.”

She nodded and was ushered into a room with chairs placed in front of a thick glass partition.

She waited. The sound of buzzers and metallic clanging made her jump. Her nerves were getting frayed and she was beginning to wonder why she had insisted on attending this charade. Then there was a loud buzz and a door on the othe
r side of the partition opened.

Eldon Kincaid, clad in an orange jumpsuit, was being escorted into the room with manacles on his wrists and ankles. When he was seated behind the glass, the guard fastened his leg irons to the chair and removed h
is wrist cuffs.

Cami found that her tongue was
stuck to the roof of her mouth.

He appeared to be older, grayer and much smaller now than at their last encounter. He reached for the telephone receiver attached to the wall and pointed to the one on her side of the glass. “Afternoon, Cami.” He gazed at her sorrowfully. “Or should I say, Mrs. Ryan?”

She sucked in a deep breath. “Cami is fine.”

“I appreciate you coming all this way.”

It occurred to her that he was nervous too. “Breck---my husband—He drove me.”

He nodded. “Glad things are working out for you.” He swallowed hard. “And I appreciate you staying friends with my boy. He didn’t have anything to do with---the things I did. That was all me.”

Cami bit down the angry retort, knowing there was nothing more she could do to avenge her great-aunt’s murder. “E.J. is a fine man.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m worried about him. I think he’s in danger and I don’t know how to protect him...You...You know the truth about his birth.” His brow furrowed and he gazed into her eyes, a plea
ravaging his face.

Ca
mi nodded. “I’ve told no one.”

“Good,” he said, lowering his voice. “I want you to do me a favor though.”

“A favor?”
Why would he think I would even consider doing him a favor?

He glanced around to make sure the guard was gone. “You kn
ow these phones aren’t secure?”

She shook her head, suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

He held a finger up to his lips cautioning her to silence. “Just listen. You remember what you found in the caves?”

The spiral of fear teasing her spine reached out to strangle her. “Yes,” she whispered. “How could I forget?”

“I want you to find it now. I want you to call the sheriff and tell him what you found, but that’s all. Let him do his job.”

She was confused.
He wants me to tell the sheriff I found two mummified bodies in the caves on my property?
“Eldon—I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. If you don’t, I’m afraid that someone will come after E.J...Someone who will do him real harm.”

She shivered...wanted to leave...was sorry she had come in the first place. “Why now?”

He took a deep breath and sighed. “Believe me, it’s not what I want to happen, but it’s the only way to keep E.J. safe.”

Eldon’s grim expression told her that the man was telling the truth,

“Are you certain? Isn’t this going to impact E.J. when he finds out...
”

He held up a hand to silence her. “What’s to find out? There isn’t any link to him.
Just the answer to a local mystery.”

Cami nodded. If she understood him correctly, he wanted her to report the discovery of the bodies, but not the link to E.J.
Oh, why didn’t I listen to Breck?

“Now,
I’m trustin’ you, Cami, not to hurt my boy. I’m tellin’ you, he’s in real serious danger. Something that’s likely to get him killed, and you’re the only one who can help.”

She heaved a sigh, Breck’s dire warnings ringing in her head. “E.J. doesn’t know about the danger?”

An imperceptible shake of his head.

“Shouldn’t he be told?”

Eldon’s voice dropped even lower. “Please don’t. That would put him in even greater danger.” He raised anguished eyes to plead with her. “Don’t you understand? I’m trying to save his life.”

“I have to tell him something...and Breck. They’ll want to know why you summoned me here.”

“Tell him...Tell him I wanted you and Breck to help him learn to run the ranch. God knows he’s not cut out for this...but he’s got to learn. You and Breck could take him under your wing and mentor the boy.”

Cami snorted. “Like that will ever happen. Breck is not too fond of E.J.”

The guard came back in the room. “Time’s up.”

“You can make it happen, Cami.
I’m trusting you.” Eldon hung up the receiver and stood.

Cami replaced the receiver and left the room quickly, not wanting to see the shackling of a once proud and formidable man.

Breck was waiting for her in the outer room. When he saw the look on her face he opened his arms to receive her.

She buried her face against his chest. “Please take me home.”

He kissed the top of her head and hustled her from the grim facility.

She was silent on the way back, but he glanced at her from time to time, weighing her down with his unasked questions.

She felt a huge sense of relief when Breck pulled into the circle drive in front of the old Victorian that had been in Cami’s family for generations and now belonged to her. He pocketed the keys and came around to open the passenger door. “C’mon down, honey. It’s been a hard day.”

She eased down into his arms and he escorted her inside. He helped her remove her jacket and hung it on the peg by the door. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll listen. Just remember that old bastard has been conning people for decades and I won’t stand by while he takes another piece of your heart.”

“I—I just need to think.”

“That’s fine. Just don’t act until you talk it over with me.”

“Thanks, Breck.” She leaned heavily against him, burying her face against his chest. “I love you so much.”

He blew out a deep breath. “I love you too. Just please don’t get yourself entangled in anything Kincaid.”

~*~

When E.J. picked her up, Jenna was ready. Apparently she hadn’t heard from her city sisters that she should keep her beaus wait
ing...Just a little power play.

She greeted him at the door with a big grin.
Oh, God!
He loved to see that grin. He gave her a hug and brushed his hand over her hair. And she didn’t spray stuff on her hair, so it was soft and smelled great.
Not bad for a girl who spent much of her day wading through horse shit.
“Ready?”

She lifted her face for a kiss and he leaned down to capture her soft lips. But as soon as his mouth touched hers, he wanted more. The first kiss led to another and another after that.

She pulled away, laughing. “Wow! I see where this evening is going.”

He felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that he had led her to believe they had been intimate. He wondered if she would be so agreeable if she knew the truth. Now their relationship had leapfrogged to another place, a place built on false assumptions.
Okay, built on a lie
.
Tonight. I’ll tell her the truth tonight and then whatever happens will happen. She may dump me.

That thought hit him like a Greyhound bus.
I don’t want her to dump me. I can’t tell her…But I have to tell her.

She gazed up at him, a perplexed look on her face. “What are you thinking about?”

“About how much I like you,” he answered truthfully. His voice was thick, revealing too much emotion.

“Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?”

He pulled her into an embrace. “It sure feels right to me.”

He stood for a moment with his arms around her, trying to get hold of his feelings before he made a complete idiot of himself. “Let’s go get something to eat,” he said gruffly. When he looked
down at her, the expression on her face clutched at his heart. She appeared to be content; even happy in their pseudo-relationship.

Well, why the hell not? If she wants a relationship
, I’m sure as hell going to give her one.

He ushered her to his car and waited until she was tucked safely inside before closing the door and circling around to the driver’s side. Taking a break from those big green eyes gave him a chance to clear his head.
I can’t settle down here. This is not what I want. I want a life back in Dallas. I need to shake this hick town dust off my boots and beat it back to the city.
He opened the door and slid onto the low-slung seat. Sticking the key in the ignition gave him another second to ignore the beautiful vortex pulling him into this small town miasma.

He turned over the engine, listening to it purr.
Sweet baby!

He managed to drive the five blocks to the Mexican restaurant. “Is this okay, or would you prefer something else?”

Jenna laughed, soft and sexy, forcing him to turn her way. “Since we only have three choices, this is fine.”

He liked seeing her laugh. Liked the way her mouth looked when she was happy.
Aw, shit!
He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, kissing her lips like a starving man pouncing on a pork chop. He kissed her hard. He kissed her deep. “Damn!” he said pulling away.

“Damn?”

“Yeah, I just like you too damned much. Come on!” He got out of the car and rounded to her side to open the door. He pulled her from the depths, but when he did, she landed against him and he was kissing her in front of the entire audience of diners at Tio’s restaurant.

He gazed at her fiercely. Her little pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips and he had to kiss her agai
n.

She grinned. “Is this an appetizer or the entertainment?”

He drew a deep breath and expelled it. “C’mon.” He took her hand and entered the restaurant.

Milita
Rios greeted them at the door, obviously having observed the events taking place in her parking lot. “Um...Good evening, folks. Table or booth?”

“Booth,” he replied tersely. As he gazed around at the occupants, they smiled and turned back to their food. He followed Jenna in the direction
Milita was leading. He removed his jacket and placed it on the seat across from Jenna, then scooted in on the same side with her. She looked pleased.
I am in so much trouble.

Milita
handed them menus, but he gazed up at her. “What looks good tonight?”

She said, “Well the special
today is the ranchero plate...” She rattled off all the items on said plate. “Or my father can grill you a nice steak.”

“That sounds good to me.” He slid his arm around Jenna.
“How about you?” At her nod, he handed the menus back.

When they were alone, Jenna slipped her hand in his. “You’re in a strange mood
…or is it? I honestly don’t know you well enough to know if this is a strange mood.”

He kissed her temple. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“Oh, of course...Your dad. I’m sorry. How is Eldon holding up?”

“Not so well.” He recalled his dad’s haunted look when he’d seen him last. He wished he had some idea of what Eldon was concealing. Hell, he wished he had some idea how to read Eldon
’s cryptic bookkeeping records.

Jenna reached out and squeezed his wrist and then laced her fingers with his. He took comfort from the things she did, large and small. Things were changing too fast. Last week he was wallowing in a sea of discontent, consumed with his father’s situation and burdened by unwanted responsibilities. Now, just because one sweet and beautiful woman was holding his hand, the scena
rio didn’t seem quite so bleak.

A few of Jenna’s friends came by the booth on their way out to say hello. Jenna introduced them to E.J. as though everything was normal; as though she wasn’t in the company of a murder’s son. She seemed to be okay with the re
lationship that was developing.

Tonight, he would tell her. Tonight, he would find the right way to let her know that he had just been messing with her and t
hat they had not been intimate.

After dinner he took Jenna back to the Kincaid compound. He let her choose a movie and got some refreshments together before ushering her to the media center.
Her eyes grew large when he opened the door and gestured for her to precede him.

“Wow! This place is better than the movie theater over in
Colby Springs. Pretty fancy.”

“My dad’s idea.”
He watched her spin around once.

“You could charge admission,” she said.

“I think not. I like just being here with you.”