Rancher's Deadly Risk (15 page)

The random snowflakes continued to fall, almost like a harbinger of things to come.

* * *

It would have been so easy, Cassie thought, to decide to pack up and tell Les on Monday morning that she no longer felt safe here. She was sure he would let her out of her contract for that reason.

But even as the desire to get away scrambled around in her head, she had other memories rising up, memories of how pleasant most people here had been to her. How welcoming some of them had been. The pie from Maude today was just one of the incidents that had warmed her since her first day here.

The neighbors who had helped her unload her moving truck, and had been so willing to carry heavy items to exactly where she wanted them. The fellow from two doors down who had mowed her little patch of grass a few times until she found a neighbor boy she could hire. The ladies who had come over with casseroles and other delicacies so she wouldn’t have to cook while moving in.

She closed her eyes, focusing on those people and on her fellow teachers who had been nice enough. No, whatever was happening, Linc was right, it involved a small few. While many might be wondering what was actually going on, the truth was, it was only a few who were taking it to the extreme.

But it sure didn’t make her feel safe.

The deputy who arrived was a good-looking man in his fifties. Linc introduced him as Virgil Beauregard, but called him Beau. He walked around the car with a flashlight, shaking his head, and squatted down to examine the tires.

“I’m gonna start sounding like our last sheriff,” he remarked as he straightened. “This county is going to hell in a handbasket. This about that detention thing?”

“Probably,” Linc answered. He sketched the other incidents for Beau, whose frown deepened.

“This seems awfully extreme over a detention,” Beau remarked. “It won’t keep the kid from playing basketball.”

“Nope. Not unless he gets another one.”

“Somebody’s going to get detention in the county jail if they don’t look out.” He pulled out a notebook and scribbled. “Whoever they were, they discovered it’s harder to puncture a tire than you’d think. Unless there’s damage I can’t see, they let the air out of the other three after puncturing one. I’m gonna get some other guys out here and we’ll talk to neighbors. Maybe someone saw something. It was kind of early in the evening to pull a stunt like this. You all go on inside.”

It might be early, but it was also dark, Cassie thought as she led the way inside. Her house also sat in a puddle of shadow between streetlights that weren’t terribly bright to begin with.

“Coffee?” she asked, even as she automatically started to make a pot. Somehow she didn’t feel as if she were going to sleep tonight, caffeine or no caffeine.

“Thanks.” Behind her, she heard the chair scrape as he sat at the table. “You’re being awfully quiet about all this.”

“What should I do? Erupt? That won’t change a thing.”

“No, but I wouldn’t blame you for being furious.”

She started the coffeemaker and joined him, sitting across from him at the table. “Right now I’m frightened. Maybe I’ll get angry later. Or maybe I won’t. There’s nothing that’s been done that can’t be fixed.”

“Except the part about you being frightened.”

All too true, she thought, resting her forehead in her hand and drawing aimless circles with her fingertip on the tabletop. “I just wish I knew how far this is going to go, and for how long.” Unanswerable questions. “Do you think someone might get violent?”

“A week ago I’d have said no way. I don’t even get
this
. A lousy detention? It’s not like Ben Hastings can’t play because of one detention. If he gets another, or gets suspended, that would be different, but that hasn’t happened. All he has to do is behave.”

She lifted her head, having noted that he hadn’t really answered her question about violence. Her nerves tried to stretch tight, and she drew a deep breath. Violence over a detention? All it would take was one unhinged person.
Stop,
she commanded herself. Get back to reality.

After a minute or two, she spoke again, trying to remain reasonable. “Maybe someone is afraid I’ll push the bullying issue. That
should
have got him suspended. He’s now on a knife edge, and apparently that’s got some people worried.” She paused. “One of the teachers must have talked out of school, after our meeting on Monday.”

“Why do you say that?”

“How else would everyone seem to know about James Carney? And certainly, having me as part of an antibullying program.... Oh, that was a mistake. I’m the new broom and it probably looks like I’m sweeping through demanding changes, and likely to make a serious issue of future bullying.”

“Will you?”

She looked up and saw him smiling faintly. “Yes. I was demanding suspension when I walked into Les’s office last week.”

“Good. Maybe it takes a new broom to make us realize we need to change some things. When things become too familiar, it’s easy to overlook them. Plus, there seems to be a lot of ‘kids will be kids’ mentality running around. That needs to change about this issue.”

She nodded. She had heard the coffee finish brewing, so she went to fill a couple of mugs. “I’m sorry I can’t offer much to eat. I don’t keep many snacks around and tomorrow is shopping day. Or was. I guess it’s going to be car day instead.”

“I know the couple who run the auto repair shop. I’ll give them a call in the morning and have it all taken care of.”

She slid into her seat and made a face. “What if they’re on the pro-Hastings side?”

“Whatever side Morris is on, if he’s even on one, he’ll do a good job for you. Besides, I’ll bet most people around here haven’t even picked a side. The championship may be important, but most people probably don’t consider it important enough to try to mistreat you. I can understand some folks wanting to argue with you, but beyond that...” He shook his head. “It’s got to be one person who vandalized your car. The bumps on the dance floor were probably some of Hastings’s friends. And I’m trying to minimize this.” He gave her a rueful expression. “I guess I shouldn’t do that. This is new territory for me.”

The doorbell rang. Linc offered to get it, and a minute later he was bringing Beau into the kitchen.

“Coffee?” Cassie asked automatically.

“No thanks. I’ve had my limit tonight. Okay, neighbors didn’t see anything. Some weren’t home, others were busy watching TV. As far as they knew, the street was quiet. We’re looking around for evidence, but you might as well turn in for the night. Although the floodlights are going to be bright.”

“Can I scrape her rear window off?” Linc asked. “I don’t want that word there come morning.”

Beau hesitated. “I’ll do it when we’ve collected all the information we can.” He turned to Cassie. “I’ll let you know if we find anything.”

“He won’t,” Cassie said after Beau left. “It’s just some vandalism. It hardly requires the sort of investigation a major theft or murder would get.”

“You might be surprised. Beau probably feels like you have the entire county on trial in your mind.”

“Well, I don’t. Not yet. But I may get there if this keeps up.”

“Cassie?”

She looked his way. “Yes?”

“You’ve got a choice. I can camp on your couch tonight or you can come out to my place and use one of the spare bedrooms for the weekend. Either way, I’m not leaving you alone tonight.”

She was startled and grateful all at once. “Are you that worried someone might try to hurt me?”

“Hell, I don’t know anymore. I never would have thought this much would have happened. But what I do know is you’re frightened, with good reason, and that’s enough to make me feel you shouldn’t have to be alone tonight.”

It was all she could do not to gape at him. The turnaround he’d made this week was astonishing. The guy who had tried so hard not to connect with her was now suddenly there, connecting in a myriad of ways. Taking her to his ranch, taking her out to Maude’s, dancing and now this?

Part of her screeched to back away before he did. Because he probably would. He must have had some reason for treating her as if she were contagious for the last couple of months. But now he was in her corner, totally and completely.

A white-knight complex? That promised nothing good, because as soon as he felt she no longer needed protection, he might well pull away again.

But she had to admit, the idea of being alone tonight bothered her. She’d lived by herself most of the time since she left college, and never before had it disturbed her, but looking at the night ahead, she really didn’t want to be on her own after the deputies finished.

“Pack a bag,” he said, making the decision for her. “I’ve got plenty of room. Plan on spending the weekend. I’ll have Morris take care of your car in the morning.”

She wanted to object just because she preferred to make her own decisions, but she realized that would be cutting her nose off to spite her face. She
wanted
to spend a weekend at his ranch. She liked it out there. She’d get more of a window on him and how he lived.

And she sure didn’t want to stay here. Her home didn’t feel as friendly or safe tonight. Nor did sleeping on the couch strike her as very comfortable for him, not as tall as he was.

Finally she nodded and went to pack. Escape sounded so good right now, even if only for a weekend.

The drive to the ranch seemed mysterious along isolated and dark country roads. With the sky clouded over, all she could see was the area illuminated by the headlights and a stray snowflake or two. Even the mountains to the west had vanished, the same inky color as everything else.

“It gets so dark out here at night,” she remarked. “I’m used to places where there’s at least some light. I didn’t know a night could look like this.”

“You’ll have to come outside with me if the clouds clear out. You probably never saw just how many stars are up there. The first time I really noticed them was when I’d been away at college. Sometimes I think we don’t look up often enough.”

“Meaning?”

“Maybe we’d realize just how small and unimportant most things are.” He paused. “Once we get to the ranch, if you feel like it you ought to sit outside for a while. Let your eyes adapt. With this cloud cover, I can promise you’ll see a glow from neighboring ranches. It’ll be faint, but you can see it. On a clear night, you can’t.”

“Maybe I’ll try that.” Because sleep was the last thing on her mind.

No, with each passing mile her other concerns and fears faded in an increasingly intense awareness of the man beside her. When they had been dancing, there’d been enough going on and enough people around to keep it in check, even during the slow dance when she had wanted to melt against him.

But there was nothing now to keep her mind in check. Not one thing. She was away from town, away from the person or persons who were so angry with her. Safe. And safety awoke a new kind of danger.

* * *

Linc felt like throwing up his hands in surrender. He’d failed in every single resolution to keep his distance from this woman. A handful—well probably just a handful, if not just one—of bullies had pushed him right toward her like a plow pushing snow. Nor did he see anyone else stepping up for her. He was still annoyed that Les had put the onus on her for this entire situation. With the best of intentions, he was sure. Who would have expected this kind of reaction?

It remained, his own resolve had failed. He’d known from the moment he first saw her that he wanted her. He thought he knew better, and had made up his mind to stay clear.

Now here he was, taking her to his place for the weekend, a woman who had just tonight mentioned canceling her contract. Leaving. Just like Martha. But even worse, Cassie certainly had ample reason to wonder if she should remain here.

God, he couldn’t fathom this. Not at all. A week ago he would have said this was impossible. People might talk among themselves—well, of course they would. They might even argue about it. Hastings’s parents would certainly feel confrontational. But
this?

He understood the importance of the championship. The school wasn’t that big, and didn’t have that many students to draw on for its teams. A star came along maybe once every ten or twenty years. In fact, he seemed to remember the last time the school had been in line for a basketball championship had been about twenty years ago. Since then they’d had a track-and-field star, and one football team that had made it to the state playoffs. So yeah, this was a big deal.

Everyone knew scouts had been looking at Hastings. This could be his ticket to college and a very bright future. People were rooting for that kid at least as much as they were rooting for the team. Something bright and wonderful was hovering in the wings, providing a change to the ordinary routine, a few months of pride and something different to talk about.

He could also understand how those who were personally close to Hastings, like his mother and friends, might want to yell at Cassie or even bump her on the dance floor.

But the rat was on a whole different level, as was the vandalism of her car. He’d tried to dismiss that rat to Cassie, even accepting her initial arguments about it, but somewhere deep inside he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling they were dealing with a disturbed mind.

Now he was sure of it. People getting into arguments over the detention, even dismissing the wrongness of bullying the Carney kid, that didn’t rise to this level.

Frankly, he admitted to himself, the idea that someone, just one person, was disturbed enough to pull this stuff had him far more worried than if there’d been a mob in the streets. You could deal with a mob. They were out there where you could see them. But one sicko slinking around in the shadows? That’s what worried him.

He glanced over at Cassie just before he turned onto his road. She was folded up on herself, staring blindly out the window into the night. It was a good thing the road was bumpy and he had to keep both hands on the wheel. Otherwise he might have wrapped her up in his arms, and then all hell would break loose because he wanted her with an ache as deep and wide as the open spaces out here.