Before The Night Is Over (4 page)

“
Come on in, baby. I’m in the bathroom.” Kimberly’s light blue eyes peeked around the edge of the doorframe. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

Kimberly’s blonde curls bounced as she nodded and her bottom lip stuck out.

“
Hang on, sweetie, and mommy will get out of the bathtub. Okay?”

The little girl nodded again and her thumb disappeared between her little pouty lips.

Laurel drug her body out of the tub and dried off quickly. Once she tugged it on, the threadbare T-shirt floated over her head and covered her body to upper thighs. Her boxer shorts covered all the essential parts down below.
Man. Is this sexy or what? If only Kale could see me now, he’d run for the nearest door.

“
Can I seep wif you?” Kimmy whined.

“
Sure pumpkin. Let’s get this bathwater emptied.”

The slow sucking sounds of the water disappearing down the drain reminded Laurel of how her life had went from bad to worse. After Dennis’ death and the particulars of her torrid affair were made public, Laurel had transferred to the homicide department and made detective. With no one to support her and her parents disowning her, she fought for everything she had and then some. Los Angeles was a rough town and being a homicide detective in Pasadena, kept her busy, until she got the call from Elizabeth.

“
Come on sweetie. Let’s hit the hay.” Normally, she didn’t let Kimberly sleep in the same bed, but tonight she needed the comfort of her little body snuggled up against her. Her child's limitless love and soft, warm hugs, kept her sane.

Laurel flipped the comforter down toward the bottom of the bed and set Kimberly on the bottom sheet. Her daughter scooted to the middle and Laurel took her spot as the little girl curled into her side and sighed.

“
I wuv you, Mommy.”

“
I love you too, baby girl,” Laurel whispered and then kissed the top of Kimmy’s head. “Go to sleep.” Kimmy’s soft breathing and the occasional sucking sound lulled Laurel into a dreamy state. Moonlight bounced on the ceiling with every rustle of the curtains on the window as they moved back and forth in the breeze. She trailed her fingers through her daughter’s curls, but she frowned when her thoughts drifted to Elizabeth.

After her sister’s call and the subsequent visit to her home, Laurel’s anger spiked high at the bruises already forming on Elizabeth’s cheek. She had taken off to the bar to face down her brother-in-law and give him a little of the treatment he’d inflicted on her sister. The plan hadn’t included running into the devilishly handsome Kale Dunn, owner of the Bar KD and Jeff’s boss.

“
Former boss,” she murmured out loud. “And too damned handsome for my sanity.”

The exchange in the diner came back to her mind and she smiled. Lust burned bright in his eyes when she sucked his finger into her mouth. Desire ran hot and explosive between them. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything to do about it. Finding a bedmate, lover, husband or whatever, wasn’t in the cards for her. The love she carried for Dennis still burned in her soul, but he was gone and had never really been available in the first place.

“
Why didn’t you tell me, Dennis?” she asked the empty room. “I loved you.” Burning pain seared her heart and a tear slid from the corner of her eye into the hair at her temple. Grief had been her constant companion over the last three years, but now she angrily wiped the tears away. “No more. I’m done with all of this. I don’t need a man in my life other than an occasional romp between the sheets. I’ll take care of Kimberly on my own.”

She sighed, closed her eyes, and abandoned the thoughts running through her mind and let sleep overcome her body. Tomorrow would be a long day.

* * * *

Kale wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Jeff this morning, but it had to be done. A man who abused his wife wasn’t welcome on his place. Drunk or just stupid—it didn’t matter. The man had struck a woman.

An irritated knock sounded on his office door and Kale knew it was showtime.

“
Come in.”

“
Kale,” Jeff said.

“
Have a seat,” he replied, noticing Jeff carried his saddle, chaps, bridle, and rope. “You can leave your gear right there.”

Jeff dropped everything and approached the desk. “Listen, Kale—”

He held up a hand to stop Jeff’s words. “There’s no explanation you can give me to change my mind.”

“
It wasn’t like she made it out to be.”

“
Did you or did you not strike your wife?”

“
Well, yeah, but we were arguing about me going out with the guys and—”

Kale held up his hand. “There is no excuse for hitting a woman under any circumstances.” The drawer slide open with a tug of his fingers, and he grabbed the check he had already made out for Jeff’s final wages. “Take it. I don’t want you on my land again.”

“
Son of a bitch,” Jeff cussed under his breath. “Laurel will pay for this.”

Kale narrowed his gaze on the man and spat, “You touch her and I will personally put your ass in the hospital. Do I make myself clear?”

“
What do you care? She’s nothing to you.”

“
It doesn’t matter what she is or isn’t to me. If you so much as grab her arm, I’ll break yours.”

Jeff folded the check and stuffed it into his pocket. The look on the man’s face told Kale he contemplated whether the threat was an idle one.

The door shut behind him and Kale let out a long, slow breath and raked his fingers through his hair. How he got caught up in this whole messy affair, he wasn’t sure, but it appeared he got himself smack ass in the middle of it whether he wanted to be or not.

No time for reflection now. The cattle in the north pasture wouldn’t bring themselves up for branding and the men waited. He pushed to his feet, grabbed his Stetson and sighed. Snapping blue eyes and a saucy smile flashed in front of him and right then, he swore to himself he would get that sassy red-head beneath him sooner or later and he preferred soon.

Over twenty men sat saddled and ready to ride when he made his way around the backside of the barn. At times they took ATVs but it was much easier to roust some of the stubborn ones from the brush on a horseback.

“
Hey, boss,” his foreman said with a tip of his hat.

“
Everyone here?”

“
Yeah, except for Jeff.”

“
He won’t be joining us.”

“
Oh?” the man asked with a questioning raise of his eyebrows.

“
I fired him this morning.” He swung up into the saddle and said, “Enough said. Let’s ride, boys.”

Several hours later, the sun hung low in the western sky in a spray of orange, reds, yellows, and blues. Sweat trickled down Kale’s back and chest as the last of the calves had Bar KD burned into their flesh. A good day’s work he figured. A hard day’s work, but it felt good.

Two of the hands put the equipment away while several others cleaned up the shoot and got ready to call it quits.

Kale noticed several buzzards circling above the ridge to his left and narrowed his eyes. “Are we missing any cattle?”

“
Not that I know of, why?”

“
Buzzards,” he replied, tipping his chin toward where several of the birds swooped and dove. “I’m gonna ride up and take a look.”

Two of the ranch hands agreed to go with him in case they might need to help an injured animal.

His horse took off at a fast clip with only a nudge of his spurs, beguiling the weariness and fatigue surrounded both horse and rider.

Something didn’t feel right, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It wasn’t unusual for them to lose a calf during this time. Those types of things came with ranch life. They weren’t terribly far from the main house and although buzzards were very bold birds, they scattered quickly when faced with intruders.

The thunder of pounding hooves scared the birds hovering near the solitary lump. The only thing even remotely close came in the form of the scattered scrub brush so common for this area. A small line shack on the other side of the hill would be the single sign of civilization except for the main ranch house.

Kale dismounted from his horse and tied the reins of the skittish animal to one of the bushes. “Easy boy. What’s got you all riled up?” he asked the horse, watching carefully as the animal danced around and snorted even under his usually calming hand.

Seth stepped down from his saddle and secured his horse next to Kale’s before moving off toward the pile of whatever they’d come to check out.

“
Shit! Uh, Kale? Fuck man,” Seth cursed, stumbling back and holding his stomach.

“
What is it?”

“
It’s…it’s a woman.”

“
What? You can’t be serious,” Kale said, walking to where he could see the form taking shape the closer he got. “Oh, hell. Jesus Christ!” He moved further away and fought the bile threatening to spew all over the ground near his feet.

“
Are you fucking serious?” Rick said from his vantage point still atop his horse. “It’s like a body?”

“
Yeah,” Seth replied, moving back near his horse.

Seconds later, Kale heard the distinctive sounds of retching and he fought the urge to follow suit. “Grab the extra blanket from behind my saddle, Rick, so I can cover her.”

“
Hell, no. I ain’t gettin’ nowhere near a dead body.”

“
Get me the fuckin’ blanket, man. She’s already been through enough from what I can tell. And grab my cell from my saddlebag. I need to get the sheriff out here,” Kale snarled, trying to breathe through his nose to keep from puking.

Rick grabbed the things he asked for and sidestepped closer, keeping plenty of distance between him and the woman. He nervously handed the blanket and phone to Kale and then shot like a bullet back to his horse.

“
Pussy,” Kale grumbled, taking several breaths to calm his stomach before he approached the woman.

Long blonde hair fanned out around her head, but he couldn’t tell much else about her. Her face was black and blue with multiple bruises, obliterating her features to almost unrecognizable. The remnants of a pink halter top clung to her waist after it apparently had been ripped from her body and the same scattered bruises covered her upper torso. A miniscule denim skirt bunched around her hips revealed the lack of underwear and the odd angle of her legs told him she’d probably been raped before she was killed. Absently, Kale wondered if he knew her.

“
I’m so sorry, darlin’. God, who could have done this to you?” he asked out loud as he covered her and stepped back. Wiping the moisture gathering at the edges of his eyes with his hand, he sniffed and flipped open his cell phone.

* * * *

Two hours later, the place swarmed with police and after he’d answered so many questions he couldn’t remember his own name, they released him. The two hands who rode into the mess with him were finally released, too, and the three of them trotted back toward the house together.

“
What do you say we hit the bar, Kale?” Seth asked.

“
Sure. I could use a beer or two, but I need to shower first. I stink.”

The three of them laughed. The same funk clung to their clothes and skin. Cattle mixed with burnt hair, sweat, dirt and sunshine.

“
The Saddle Club in, say an hour?”

“
Great,” Kale replied swinging down from his saddle. “I’ll see you guys there.”

The other two disappeared as Kale walked his horse toward the barn.