A Home in Hill Country (Harlequin Heartwarming) (20 page)

They only found Garrett at the desk. He looked up from some sort of paper he was filling out and grinned at them. “How are you two cowpokes doing?”

“We can’t find the kittens
anywhere.
”

Garrett’s brow furrowed. “Can’t say as I’ve seen those little rascals lately, either.”

Hayden bounced from one foot to the other. “Then where’s Ryan or Dad? Maybe they know.”

“Ryan’s working one of the colts on the trails across the highway. Your dad…last I saw him, he was in here talking to Leland on the phone about new breeding contracts for next spring. Leland’s on his way out, so your dad should be around someplace.”

“You don’t think anyone gave them away, do you?”

“I doubt it.” Garrett chuckled. “I think everyone knows how much you and your sister like those cats.”

Hayden slumped into one of the big leather chairs in front of the desk, and Cody followed suit, the missing kittens the only thing he could think about.

Until the name
Leland
finally registered. “Uh-oh.”

He slithered down in his seat, trying to remember Aunt RaeJean’s long message. It was probably
really
important, and both she and Mom would probably be really mad about him forgetting.

“What’s wrong, kid?” Garrett smiled at him. “I’m sure the kittens will turn up. Maybe they’re out having a hunting lesson with their momma.”

“I forgot to tell my mom about that man’s race car.”

“
What
man? Who has a race car around here?”

Both Hayden and Garrett were looking at him now, and Cody sat up straight, feeling important at having such cool news to share. “The guy with the funny name. Leland. Aunt RaeJean says he has a fast race car, the color of the deep ocean. I was ’sposed to tell Mom, but I didn’t write it down and I forgot.”

“That’s dumb,” Hayden scoffed. “Leland doesn’t race cars. He’s just an old guy.”

Hayden hopped out of his chair and headed for the door, then stopped so suddenly that Cody nearly piled into him. “Hey, watch out!”

His cheeks red, Hayden gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs.

Standing in the doorway was a tall man in a suit, and he sure wasn’t smiling. “I don’t know where you get this sort of information, young man, but it’s not true. Not true at all.”

L
AST
S
ATURDAY
, Ryan had asked her out for tonight, and she’d been looking forward to it all week. Not because of the food or the ambience—or the chance to get away from her usual routine on a Friday night.

She’d been looking forward to spending time with Ryan.

But he didn’t call during the week or stop by. And at four o’clock today, he’d called the clinic to give his regrets with just a vague mention of a family obligation.

Cody had been so excited about going to Nora’s for a long trail ride Kristin couldn’t change his plans. So she’d waved goodbye as Nora’s truck bounced down the long gravel road to the highway. After rambling around her old house restlessly for an hour, she grabbed her purse and drove into San Antonio to explore the quaint Riverwalk shops.

With Ryan, it would have been fun just walking down the street, people watching and listening to
music filter out of the coffee shops. Alone, she felt empty. As if she’d left a big part of herself behind.

It wasn’t, she admitted, a welcome revelation. In less than eight weeks Ryan would be leaving and taking her heart with him, something she’d wanted very much to avoid.

By ten o’clock she’d driven back to Nora’s ranch to pick up Cody, and now the two were back on their front porch.

Vaguely uneasy, she tested the door first—locked tight—then peered through the glass into the darkened living room. Everything was just as it should be, with nothing out of place—the TV and stereo undisturbed. Even her digital camera was still perched on the fireplace mantel.

Just your imagination.
She stepped inside and flipped on the lights with her hand on the cell phone in her bag.

“Can I stay up and watch a movie?” Cody pleaded. “It’s Saturday night!”

“Bedtime, kiddo—soon as you take your bath.”

“Aaaw, mom!” But despite his apparent misery, she’d seen him yawning all the way home and knew he was tired.

“You and Nora rode for three hours while I was gone. I’ll bet that bed of yours will feel mighty good tonight.”

After putting away her groceries, she checked the lock on the back door and turned out the
kitchen light, then headed to the den, while Cody filled the tub.

An unexpected, cool draft wafted over her stocking feet as she touched the door. Hesitant, she pushed it open and took a half step back. Across the room, the lace curtains swayed fitfully on the night breeze.

At a window she
always
closed before she left home.

She instinctively took another step back and grabbed her cell phone, hitting the speed dial for 911 in horror.

There was no sign an intruder was still here.

But she’d set up a small home office in the corner of the room, and the filing cabinet hung open and askew. Papers were strewn everywhere.

It hadn’t been the wind, and it clearly hadn’t been some stray animal after food. Someone had been searching for something.

And if she’d scared him away by arriving late at night, then that person might come back.

S
HE REACHED
C
ODY
just before he stepped into the bathtub, and ordered him back into his clothes, pronto.

He regarded her with frightened eyes. “Why?”

“We’ll be fine, honey. I just think that someone might have been here while we were gone. I’ve
already called 911, so the sheriff or his deputy should be here soon.”

After debating the wisdom of going back out in the dark and locking themselves in her truck, she figured they were safer inside the house.

Keeping him at her side, she double-checked the locks on every door and window, shutting every blind and switching on all of the lamps until the house was ablaze with light. Then she stood with him in the living room, her heart hammering in her chest.

She managed a smile. “Kind of an adventure, don’t you think?”

He shrugged. “Can I watch TV now?”

The resiliency of childhood made her laugh. “Yes, you can. Just keep it really low, okay?”

He put in one of his favorite DVDs and turned on the TV, while she listened for sounds that shouldn’t be there, and prayed that their intruder had long since headed over the hills.

Within ten minutes the welcoming wail of a siren came up the highway, and soon flashing lights were spinning across the hillsides, painting them an eerie shade of red. A second patrol car arrived moments later.

Her heart still pounding, Kristin looked gratefully out at the circus of strobe lights and vehicles, then bent to give Cody a loving squeeze. “See, honey? We’re fine.”

He flipped off the TV and went to stand at the windows, his eyes wide. “Wow!”

Wade dispatched his deputy to search her house while he started taking a report from Kristin.

“Any ideas at all?” Wade asked, after taking down general information. “Anyone say anything to you—threaten you in any way?”

“No one.” She smiled at Cody. “Maybe you should go sit on the sofa for a while and watch your movie. You don’t want to miss the best part, right?”

She waited until Cody left, then lowered her voice. “I haven’t had any personal threats, Sheriff. I don’t owe anyone money. I haven’t had any bad business deals. There’ve been no difficult patients at the clinic to speak of. I’ve been looking into my Dad’s death, but only you, my aunts and I know about the fender, and that the report came back.”

“Have you talked to any locals about the accident? Made anyone edgy?” Wade frowned as he jotted notes on his clipboard.

“Max at the clinic knows I’ve been working on this, but he’s newer in town than I am. Buddy…but he could’ve hidden that fender instead of giving it to me, so he’s just been helpful. And Ryan—but he’s trustworthy.”

Wade looked at her sharply. “You told a
Gallagher?
”

“Inadvertently…sort of.”

“Ma’am, if someone was after your father, who would be the most likely suspect?”

Clint Gallagher.
But how could she be sure of that…and how could she explain that the man’s eldest son was different? “I…I’m working on it.”

The deputy came back with his own clipboard and frowned at Wade. “Just as she said, boss. I found TVs, a DVD player and a digital camera, all in plain sight. A jewelry box on her dresser upstairs, and it didn’t look like anyone had pawed through it. But the den—the suspect was trying real hard to find something in those files.” He turned his attention to Kristin. “Any idea what he was looking for?”

“Money? Credit cards?”

“Then he would have taken small valuables, too. We’ll check for fingerprints, but that’s a long shot—local troublemakers wouldn’t be in the system, and a pro would wear gloves. If you can figure out what’s missing—or what someone tried to find—we’ll have a better chance.”

She shivered as she met and held Wade’s gaze. “Evidence about my dad’s accident?”

He nodded. “Given the circumstances, that’s my guess, too. Now we need to figure out who might have been driving that car.”

K
RISTIN LEFT
all the lights blazing for the rest of the night. Long after Cody went to sleep, she
worked through the papers that had been thrown about in the den.

The deputy was right. A random burglar would have taken valuables. Someone was after specific information, but the range of possibilities was frighteningly narrow.

Ted certainly wasn’t after anything to prove her less than competent as a mother—he wasn’t particularly happy about Cody’s weekend stays anyway and had never pushed for full custody.

No one could imagine, looking around at her spare furnishings and the condition of the house, that she would have secret treasures hidden away. Even in these days of identity theft and credit card fraud, surely a thief would pick on someone who appeared much more affluent.

And that left the possibility that her father’s killer knew about her quest…and wanted to either frighten her or take whatever proof she might have found.

Buddy and Wade had been nothing but helpful. Nora and RaeJean were certainly trustworthy…though RaeJean had a penchant for gossip and didn’t always get her facts straight, so she might have inadvertently said something to the wrong person.

And then there was Ryan. A man she’d loved all these years, whether she’d admitted it to herself or not. But what would he have to gain? The truth hit
her like a fist slamming into her stomach, taking her breath away.

Millions.

She sat back on her heels. Years ago, he’d defied his father because of her. He’d lost his inheritance, his future at the Four Aces and his close family ties. Now, facing the possibility of permanent disability and the end of his military career, wouldn’t he want to regain the good graces of his father?

And if Clint had caused her father’s death, there would be no better way than to stay close to her, keep close tabs on what she discovered and then find a way to eliminate that evidence. Or give her a warning.

He’d canceled their date. Perhaps he’d watched the house, hoping she would leave…. But surely she couldn’t have been so wrong about him.

She leaned against her desk and stared at the wall…and wondered if she’d been a fool after all.

“C
AN WE GO OVER
to the ranch, Mom?” Cody begged on Saturday morning, around a mouthful of his favorite chocolate-chip pancakes. “I bet I can find the kittens. Please?”

“Actually, I got a call from Hayden’s dad this morning.” Kristin refilled his glass of milk. “They did find Target, and said they’ll drop her
off around four this afternoon on their way out of town.”

But she hadn’t heard a word from Ryan…which seemed so strange.

“Hayden’s going away again?” Cody’s face fell. “I wanted to go over there to play, or maybe have him come here this time.”

She ruffled his hair. “Sounds like they’ll be pretty busy. They’re packing up for a horse show in Dallas, and I hear Hayden and his sister have to help pack their motor home. Maybe there’s someone else at school you can call.”

“Na-a-ah.” He pushed the rest of his pancakes around in the sea of syrup on his plate.

“Want to go riding this morning? It’s such a pretty day. When we get back, we can get ready for that kitten of yours.”

He perked up. “Can we go on the trail across the highway?”

They’d been over there once before, but they’d left too late and dusk had sent them home again before they’d gotten very far. According to Miranda, the trail wound through another parcel of the K-Bar-C land destined for new owners under the Home Free program, but it would be the last area developed. “We should have plenty of time, honey. We could even pack some sandwiches and juice, if you’d like. Help me clear up these dishes, and we’ll go.”

T
HE CRISP
O
CTOBER BREEZE
and bright sunshine made every mile a delight, as did the endlessly rolling Hill Country, with vistas waiting around every bend. Kristin could have gone on forever, but by two o’clock in the afternoon, Cody was ready to turn home.

Rebel, who’d trudged patiently down the trail with his nose nearly on the ground and his ears at half-mast, was a different horse the moment they turned back. Ears pricked, head high, he eased into a fast walk that kept Boots at an intermittent jog just to keep up.

“I think he must be hungry,” Cody said, laughing.

“Rebel is
always
hungry.”

“Can we lope? I bet he’d really go, now!”

Kristin shook her head. “He’s a sweetheart, but I’d hate to have him get away from you. That highway is coming up.”

Cody dutifully slumped back down in his saddle.

She watched him ride. He was so much more confident now and so much happier than he’d been when they first moved to Homestead. Whatever else she had to deal with here, this move had been a good one for him. A place to put down roots, with his great-aunts close by and the wide open spaces offering a taste of freedom, a departure from the urban life they’d had before.

When they reached their driveway, Cody kicked Rebel into a slow jog and rounded the last bend. A second later, she heard a whoop of delight.

“They’re here, Mom! They came!”

By the time she caught up, Cody had dismounted and tied his horse to the hitching rail, and had run over to the Gallagher’s motor home parked in front of the house.

Garrett stood leaning against a front fender, his legs crossed at the ankles. “Afternoon, ma’am,” he said. “Looks like we made someone’s day.”

Wearing the biggest smile she’d ever seen, Cody already had the kitten in his arms. “Isn’t she beautiful, Mom?”

“It sure was nice of you to stop by.” Kristin dismounted and led Boots over to Garrett. “I’m sorry you had to wait for us. You’re probably in a hurry.”

“I got here a little early.” Garrett shrugged. “No problem. Trevor and the rest of them went on ahead with the big rig, because we figured it might be too tight to turn it around down here.”

“What do you say, Cody?” Kristin prompted.

“Thanks a
million!
Target is the coolest kitten ever!”

Garrett grinned back at him and touched the brim of his hat. “I think so, too.” He opened the door of the motor home, climbed behind the wheel and switched on the ignition. Resting the crook
of his elbow in the open window, he winked at Cody. “A whole lot cooler than having any ole green race cars, right?”

In a cloud of dust, he headed up the lane.

“What did he mean by that?” Kristin asked casually, leaning down to scratch the kitten gently behind one ear.

Cody’s gaze veered away. “Nuthin’.”

His sudden edginess told her that wasn’t exactly true. “Nothing?”

He put the kitten back in its carrying cage. “We were just joking around.”

He went over to the hitching rack and began unsaddling his horse. She watched him struggle with the girth, then went over to help him. With a few deft tugs she released the long latigo strap and hauled the saddle off, handing Cody the saddle blanket.

“It wasn’t true anyway,” he muttered, his lower lip stuck out in a pout reminiscent of his preschool days. “Hayden thought I was stupid.”