Rancher at Risk (2 page)

As he sat there shaking his head and willing his heart to beat again, the air left his lungs in a whoosh. Other reactions washed through him, no less powerful for the delay. A tremor that shook him from head to toe. And an immediate understanding of something he’d never before believed—in moments of extreme stress, life
did
flash before your eyes.

Not only your own life but those of people you loved.

In the street, a slim woman hurried over to the girl. A puppy bounded across the adjacent lawn to join them and looked up, tail wagging and head cocked as if to ask what had happened.

The woman led the child back to the sidewalk—where she should’ve stayed all along. What if—?

He swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence, even in his mind. Only moments ago he’d shoved a slew of year-old questions like that from his thoughts. Now he could barely think at all.

Both hands scrabbling, he unclasped his seat belt and shoved the door open. As his feet hit the ground, he nearly choked on the smell of scorched tires. A burning sensation raced through his insides. Pain-fueled anger flared. “Lady,” he shouted, “are you crazy?”

Even from several yards away, he saw her blue eyes narrow. She spoke, but he couldn’t catch the response.

Again he shook his head, wanting to chase away the memories triggered by the near miss. Needing to focus on the here and now.

She said something else, and still he couldn’t make out the words. Obviously she was wrought up, with good reason. But that didn’t account for the blurriness of her voice.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose. She’d risked her little girl’s life…. “Are you drunk?” he demanded.

“No, I am not.” She clipped off each word now, making a visible effort to speak calmly and clearly.

He frowned. Whether she denied it or not, something was up with her. “What the hell were you thinking, letting that kid run into the road?”

“I didn’t let her. She chased after her puppy, and it was too late for me to stop her.”

Too late.

Not, thank God, for this little girl.

“I’m sorry,” she said in a softer tone.

He could hear the ring of sincerity, but couldn’t shake off the visions of her child. Or his own. Under his breath he muttered what he’d been forced to learn: “Being sorry won’t save your kid.”

“I told you, it happened too fast.”

He blinked, willing to swear he hadn’t spoken loudly enough for her to hear.

Ignoring him, she turned to talk to the girl.

With neither of them paying him any mind, he sagged against the sun-warmed metal of the truck and scrubbed his hand across his mouth, glad for the chance to pull himself together.

He still couldn’t shake the images that had peppered his brain like buckshot the moment he’d seen the girl run into the street. He couldn’t stop the questions he had hoped to leave a thousand miles behind him.

Had memories flooded Jan’s mind in the seconds before the crash? From his booster chair in the backseat, had Billy seen the end coming, too?

From somewhere deep inside, he found the strength to slam a mental door shut on his thoughts. For now.

Avoiding the pair on the sidewalk, he stared down the length of the street, taking in the general store, the pharmacy and a cafe. When he could breathe regularly again, he checked out the lawn alongside him. The town green, evidently, judging by the formal look of the hitching posts spaced all around the property and the horse troughs overflowing with flowers decorating the walkway. It almost seemed like home.

Good thing he’d never been here before, because this would’ve been one hell of a homecoming.

And good thing he didn’t intend to stay long. Didn’t matter what his boss said about “fresh starts” and “taking a breather.” No one here but Caleb’s wife, Tess, and daughter, Nate, knew him, anyway. But even that didn’t matter. He would do his job, make things right with the man who paid his wages and move on to…who the hell cared where.

Trying to ignore the sudden stiffness in his shoulders, he focused on the building ahead of him. Tall columns held up the porch, though the structure looked sturdy enough to do without them. Beneath that sheltering roof stood a white-haired man impersonating an Elvis gone forty years past his prime.

Great.
If he’d had to ruin his grand entrance, couldn’t he have done it without an audience? The irony made his shoulders grow even more rigid. A year ago he’d hounded the sheriff’s office to come up with a single witness.

Maybe the way the old man stood squinting and patting his shirt pocket meant he couldn’t see a thing without glasses.

Naturally, all his good luck had run out. Elvis pulled a toothpick out of that pocket, stuck it in the corner of his mouth and crossed his arms over his chest. The old guy looked him up and down much the way Ryan himself inspected potential ranch stock.

Yeah, just great.

Distracted by movement, he looked toward the woman, who had turned to face him again.

A heavy feeling started in his chest and only got worse when she stalked toward him. Slim legs in below-the-knee shorts flashed gracefully but with as much determination as a filly headed for the finish line. He barely had time to take in the rest of her racehorse-lean frame before she came to a stop a yard from him. Her cheeks flushed pink with anger and her blue eyes flamed.

“I explained to Becky what happened,” she said, spacing her words, “and now I’ll explain some things to you.” She spread the fingers of one hand and ticked off each statement as she made it. “I am not drunk. I am not crazy. Becky is not my child.”

He shifted his shoulders again. She had a heck of a lot of points to get across, all on his account.

Beyond her he saw the little girl, as blond-haired as the woman in front of him. No wonder he’d taken them for mother and daughter. The child went onto one knee to pet the puppy.

“Becky is my niece. And—” the woman tapped her final finger, then curled both hands into fists and slammed them down in front of her “—I
can
take care of her.”

The sparks in her blue eyes made him fight not to wince. She had some justification for her anger. He wouldn’t deny that. He had good reason for getting upset, too.

But he didn’t have enough damn fingers for his list of regrets.

Yeah, at first fear had driven him. Once he saw the child was okay, relief had set in. But then, as with the drunken cowboy, he had let frustration take over.

He couldn’t lose it with her again.

“Look,” he said, “when I saw the girl, I thought—”

“We’ve covered what you thought.”

“Right. And you’ve said a mouthful about it. Or maybe a handful.” He gestured to her fists.

She looked down. Again she made a visible effort to gain control, to unclench her fingers and let her hands hang naturally by her sides. He ought to take notes.

When she met his eyes again, he gave her an unblinking stare.

“I’ve already apologized.” She spoke softly, indistinctly again, making him strain to focus on her words. “I’ll say it one more time. I’m sorry Becky ran into the road and gave you such a scare. But she wasn’t anywhere near you. You just overreacted.”

Another truth he couldn’t deny. No matter his unease about the woman, she was right. He
had
gone over the top with his reaction. The child had run into the road dozens of yards away from the truck, and he’d had plenty of time to come to a stop. Yet if he’d been closer to her, if he’d been distracted, if a car had come from the other direction… Too damned many ifs.

“You should have called her back,” he said flatly.

“She wouldn’t have heard me. She’s deaf.”

“Deaf?”
He shifted his shoulders, trying to shake off the extra guilt her statement had added to him. He’d really messed things up today. Earlier this week. In the past few months.

Once, he’d listened to folks instead of jumping to snap decisions. It made him a better ranch foreman. A better man.
Once.
And now? He took a deep breath and let it out. “Look, I’m sorry—”

“Because she’s deaf.”

“No—”

“Because you realize you shouldn’t have made assumptions about me.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“You already did, didn’t you? Why else would you have asked if I was drunk?” Her words now came through to him loud and clear. Her irritation practically rang in his head.

So much for attempting to save the situation.

Frustration clawed at him, yet guilt weighed him down. As fast as everything had happened, as incensed as he had been, he
had
jumped to conclusions about her. Keeping his tone as level as he could, he said, “You’re jumping to a few conclusions about what I’m trying to say, too.”

When he pushed away from the side of the truck, bringing them closer, she tilted her head back, keeping their gazes locked. “If you hadn’t kept making your points and cutting me off, by now I’d have told you I’m sorry this whole thing happened.”

She blinked and stared at him for a long moment. “Well,” she said finally, “in that case, I guess we’ve both said all we needed to say.”

He watched her turn and motion to the girl, who fell into step, her hands moving, as they walked away.

The dog sat on his haunches, wagged his tail and looked at him.

A good part Labrador with some shepherd in his bloodline, the pup had a dark coat but a tan-colored face. Dark fur circled one eye as though he stood staring with an eyebrow raised in question.

In answer, Ryan shrugged.

The dog whined, his thoughts plain enough to read.
Us
guys ought to stick together.
Tail drooping now, the pup turned and padded after the pair of females who’d left him behind.

Could things get any worse?

“Ahem.”

Startled, he turned to find the man had come down from the porch and moved to his side. Not good, letting himself get so distracted he’d given Elvis a chance to sneak up on him.

“I reckon that wasn’t the best way to start off,” the man said with a strong Texas twang. The woman’s blue eyes had flamed in irritation. The old man’s, a lighter shade of blue, seemed to bore right into him. And judging by his expression, the guy didn’t much care for what he saw.

Ryan faced him head-on, widened his stance and crossed his arms.

“Around these parts,” the man added, “folks respond better to kind words than to being called crazy.” He shifted the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other. “You’d best remember that if you plan on staying here for long.”

“What makes you think I’m staying?” he asked, genuinely curious. “Maybe I’m passing through.”

The man shook his head. “We’re too far from the interstate for sensible folks to detour through town. And we don’t get a lot of drop-ins all the way from Montana.”

Frowning, Ryan shot a look at the dirt-covered pickup truck behind him. Considering they stood broadsides to the vehicle, the old man couldn’t have seen the plate at the rear. “How did you figure out where I’m from?”

“Didn’t have to figure a thing. People keep me informed. They know I like to stay on top of what goes on in
my
town.”

Ryan stiffened. “
Your
town? Just who are you, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Don’t mind a bit. Lloyd M. Baylor.” As they shook hands, the man’s eyes squinted with his smile. “Welcome to Flagman’s Folly, Mr. Molloy.”

Ryan froze with his arm still outstretched. He hadn’t introduced himself. Instantly, he dropped his hand to his side, hoping the old man hadn’t noticed the hesitation. Not much chance of that. Those blue eyes hadn’t squinted from a smile after all but from a calculating stare.

Scrutinized like horseflesh once again—and passed over.

Just as when he’d spoken with the woman, his gut told him something wasn’t right. But this time, he wouldn’t jump to a response. Keeping his tone level, he said, “Have we met?”

“No, but I know all about you.”

“From Caleb Cantrell?” So much for a fresh start.

The older man nodded as if he’d listened in on Ryan’s thoughts. “Yep, heard all about you from Caleb. And there’s no need to get up on your high horse about it. He and I go back a long way. He trusts me just like I’ll trust you. If you don’t give me cause to do otherwise.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. And I’ll tell you something else. Flagman’s Folly is the nicest place anyone would ever want to visit, including you. Just make sure you behave accordingly and keep out of my place of business.”

The local saloon, Ryan surmised, judging by the man’s string tie and red suspenders. He gritted his teeth and tried for a grin. And promised himself he wouldn’t raise a glass in
that
barroom. “You’re not living up to Caleb’s talk about the town’s friendly reputation, Mr. Baylor. If that’s how you welcome newcomers, I’m surprised you have any customers at all.”

“Customers?”
The old man gave a gravelly laugh. “Never heard folks call it that, but I reckon the word works just as well as any other.”

He frowned. “What kind of place are you running?”

The man jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the building behind him. “You’re looking at it, son. This is Town Hall, and I run the courtroom.” After eyeing Ryan for a long moment, he added, “You’re more than welcome to stop by my office anytime. As long as you show up with a clean conscience and without a lawyer in tow.” He nodded once to underscore his words before heading back along the trough-lined path.

Ryan clamped his jaw shut and shook his head over that so-called invitation. What had Caleb told the judge about him, anyhow?

Swearing under his breath, he climbed into the truck and slammed the door shut behind him.

He’d picked a hell of a way to make a first impression on folks in Flagman’s Folly.

Chapter Two

A flash in the mirror above the dresser made Lianne Ward automatically turn toward the doorway of her temporary bedroom. Her sister lumbered into the room, both hands supporting her lower back.

“Here, sit down.” Lianne swept aside the freshly washed clothes she had piled onto the bed. In the two days since her arrival, she hadn’t had a single private moment with Kayla. If her good luck held until Becky came running into the room, maybe she could continue to avoid the conversation she didn’t want to have. If not, she might as well wave a white flag and surrender.