Suspicions of the Heart (13 page)

"I couldn't begin to guess," she
answered between gritted teeth. They walked toward Cherokee and
opened the saddlebag.

When her hand met something moist, she
pulled the ball of fur out and into both hands. It was the most
beautiful little black and white rabbit with the biggest, floppiest
ears she had ever seen.

Candy's face brightened her anger
dissipating. "Oh, isn't he adorable, Joe?" she called out, unable
to stifle her glee. "Where did you find him?"

Apparently, Joe didn't hear her, so she
ran toward him, forgetting all animosity, and repeated her
question.

"I found him scuttling about my garden
the other day," Joe said. "Acted as though he needed a mother
rather than a reprimand, so I thought of you. But it's hard to tell
if it's a him or a her at this point."

Despite the implication of his
statement, Candy couldn't control her zeal as the tiny rabbit
sniffed at her fingers. "He's precious." She had every intention of
thanking him, but when she looked up at Joe, he was heavily
engrossed in conversation with Roscoe and walking away from
her.

Fargate, who had watched her, came up
and reached to pet the small creature, his hand brushing Candy's.
Their eyes met, but there just wasn't any magic there anymore.
"Looks like you're insinuating yourself pretty deep out here. I
think I've lost my influence over you completely, haven't
I?"

Candy shrugged. "Animals are my
weakness, don't you remember?"

"Only too well. But what of
men?"

Candy kissed the rabbit. "What about
them?"

"Oh, Candy, now I remember what
attracted me in the first place to you."

"Oh, and what was that?"

"You're so damned different, so
refreshing."

"That's me, refreshing," she purred. It
was nice having a gentleman's attention again, even if it was
Fargate. Not that she lacked for male companionship. Only days ago
she had been in Joe's arms.

Of course, that was completely
unexpected, but a man's arms nonetheless. She hadn't invited Joe's
kisses, had she? The memory of his lean body against her own, the
way they seemed to fit together so perfectly, sent a thrill down
her spine. His lips had tenderly coaxed hers to part and respond.
But, good grief, what was wrong with her? She had to stop thinking
about Joe Munroe. She wasn't the kind of girl to fantasize. But it
was no fantasy the way she responded in his arms. She had to
remember she didn't trust Joe, and she didn't trust herself around
him, and that made her mad.

Fargate left her side to tell Roscoe
something and, suddenly, she found herself nearly arm in arm with
Joe. Facing him before they went inside, she muttered rather lowly,
"Did you have to invite him to stay with you?"

A slow, sensuous smile spread across
Joe's face as his eyes twinkled into hers. "No ma'am. I could have
invited you instead. Wish I had thought of that sooner."

Immobilized by the lurid suggestiveness
of his comment, she stood agape.

"Tell me, did Fargate inspire the
dress?" Joe asked as his eyes strayed to the daring neckline once
more.

"No, the weather inspired it. In case
you haven't noticed, I am a female and prone to wear dresses on
occasions."

As though her answer delighted him, his
hand ran lightly down the side of her flushed cheek. "Oh, I've
noticed." His voice went husky as his eyes held her. "Better scoot
inside, Dumplin', before I'm tempted to show you just how much I've
noticed."

In spite of all her best intentions,
Candy felt drawn to this man--like metal seeking a magnet.
Confusion seemed to dog her lately. In other circumstances that
might have been fine, but she couldn't trust that open smile, or
his silky voice.

Safely inside the trailer, she inched
away from Joe and her heartbeat slowed to normal. Without regard
she handed the rabbit to Fargate, who was eyeing her closely, and
turned anxiously to her uncle's side to help.

Fargate froze, as the little animal
began to sniff and move, then he hurriedly dumped the little
creature into Joe's arms. Joe chuckled and cuddled the rabbit
against him.

"Oh, no, you don't young lady." Roscoe
scolded Candy as she attempted to shatter his masterpiece. "Only
one cook to a kitchen, and tonight that's me. You are temporarily a
lady of leisure, so try to enjoy it."

Candy laughed at the seriousness of
Roscoe's statement. "Better watch out, you'll spoil me."

Roscoe nodded and went back to stirring
his beans, adding just a touch more chili powder.

"So, what shall we do with Dumplin'?"
Joe asked, his eyes trained on Candy.

"Dumplin'?"

"Dumplin'." Joe anointed the rabbit,
and then challenged Candy with his eyes. "If that's all right with
you?"

Candy pinked. "Why not?"

Roscoe shook his head. "Just what we
need around here - another pet for her to dote on. Well, let him
loose in the trailer and don't forget to take him out occasionally,
'til I can get him a cage built."

A round of laughter released the
tension. Candy took the rabbit from Joe and cuddled it to her
breast.

"Like him?" Joe's voice softened just
enough for her to notice.

"Of course I do," she cried, her eyes
closing as she rubbed the ball of fur against her cheek. When she
opened her eyes, they locked onto Joe. The trailer seemed suddenly
too small and…hadn't it gotten much warmer?

It was a beautiful gesture and she
couldn't help how she felt about animals, she reasoned.

"Soups on." Roscoe broke the spell that
was fast weaving between them.

After washing their hands, everyone
gathered around the small table. They were eager to sample Roscoe's
culinary arts. The aroma had everyone digging in.

Fargate choked with the first bite,
until Roscoe thumped him on the back. "Goes down a might hard the
first bite, but once it sizzles your gut, you can't get
enough."

Fargate reached for his water and
gulped it down. After a long silence Joe glanced at Fargate, who
was snuggling himself as close to Candy as possible.

"So, what brings the law to the High
Plains?"

Fargate looked around the table, as all
eyes went to him. "Nothing more than a beautiful woman,
Joe."

Candy nearly choked. She wanted Joe to
think there was more than there really was, but Fargate was
practically confirming it now.

"Sounds like a
reconciliation?"

"Actually..." Candy meant to cut
Fargate off before everyone got the wrong impression, but she
wasn't fast enough.

"This is just a visit, but I'm hopeful,
yes!"

A hush fell over the entire
trailer…

Chapter Eight

"What's all this talk about a rifle
shot?" Fargate insisted, helping Candy clear the table and wash the
dishes.

"It's nothing, really." Candy didn't
want to bring it up. Her gaze darted accusingly to Joe, who was
sitting at the other end of the couch, watching the two of them
from the corner of his dark, brooding eyes.

"Someone took a shot at me the other
day, that's all. Or at Lancer," she explained hesitantly, her
expression purposely bland.

"A shot? Why haven't you mentioned this
before?" Fargate shrieked in bewilderment, placing the dried plate
on the cabinet. "This could be serious. Was it to scare you, you
think?"

"I have no idea." Her gaze strayed once
more to Joe.

In one lithe movement, Joe was on his
feet and moving towards them. "What she's so delicately trying not
to say is--she thinks I'm the one who shot at her. But she's way
off base. It isn't me." He stood menacingly close, his eyes boring
into her with dead precision. "The last thing I'd want from her--is
a corpse."

The meaning didn't penetrate Fargate
but captured Candy's full attention. The suggestive gleam in his
eyes sent an electrical current racing through her.

"That isn't all, either."

"What do you mean?" Fargate met Joe's
glance.

"I doubt she's mentioned the first
attempt either." Joe looked quizzically at Fargate.

An inter-change of facial expressions
had Fargate frowning. "No, she hasn't!"

Joe nodded. "It figures. At the rodeo
someone let one of the meanest bulls loose in the arena, while she
laid face first in the dirt. It was no accident, and she knows it.
Maybe you can talk some sense into her."

Joe apparently assumed Fargate played
an important role in her life. Boy was he ever wrong. She bit her
lower lip not to tell him so.

"Who would want to harm you?" Fargate
asked as though it were absurd in the first place. "I mean what
possible reason could there be behind all this?"

Candy grabbed the dishrag and rang the
excess water from it, pretending it was Joe's neck. "I don't know,"
she said, exasperated. Scrubbing the table much harder than
necessary, she added, "I can't be sure it wasn't just an accident.
Maybe the chute wasn't latched, maybe a car backfired. Maybe I'm
paranoid." She shot Joe a look of cool indifference. "I suppose I
did accuse Joe but only because he was always around when things
began happening. He's the only one who was, as far as I
know."

"Not true, I was there too, honey,"
Roscoe called out.

Candy cast her uncle a quick glance.
"Well, if there is anyone I can be sure of, it's you."

"Candy, this should have been
reported," Fargate swiftly informed her. "It could be
anyone."

"That's my point," she cried facing
Fargate, and feeling Joe's eyes on the back of her head. "It could
be anyone. And, until I'm sure, I don't want to say anything to the
authorities. Why, they'd start questioning Uncle Roscoe, and I
won't have that."

There was another loud hush to the
room. It was obvious to everyone she was upset. So, no more was
said. But it had put a damper on the evening.

Later, Candy drove Fargate over to
Joe's place. She hadn't been over, so she had to follow behind
Cherokee. She hadn't planned on setting foot on Munroe land, but
Fargate was afraid of horses and asked her to drive him.

A monumental shock riveted through her
and Fargate as well, as they passed the well-kept fields of wheat
and grain sorghums that filled the barren land in the moonlight.
Open prairies housed a small herd of Longhorns in the
distance.

"Isn't that something?" Fargate
marveled aloud.

Candy begrudgingly acknowledged it, her
eyes straying to the rear view mirror as the fields faded away. It
was too dark to see in detail but she had seen enough. Joe Munroe
was no slouchy cattleman.

As Candy pulled up behind the corral,
she heard the brief conversation that bounced back and forth
between boss man and range foreman.

"Did you get those poor cows in the
back pastures moved?" Joe asked, ignoring his guests.

"Yes, sir," came a quick reply from a
short man with a bushy mustache. "And we separated those two
Longhorn bulls just like you said. Put them on the West
lands."

"Good, see ya tomorrow then,
Sam."

"Night, boss," the man drawled, his
eyes flitting to the truck, then to Candy.

"Tell me, Joe." Fargate stretched as he
got out of the truck and joined him near the fence railing. "Are
all cattlemen as modest as you about their ranches?"

Joe shuffled his feet, crossed his
boots and leaned against the fence, his arms folded over his chest.
"Modest?"

"Yes, I mean all this--" Fargate
gestured. "I had no idea you owned such a place. Somehow I had you
pictured as one of the struggling cowboys of the west."

Joe tipped his hat back with one
finger, allowing himself a better view of the man beside him. The
corners of his mouth quirked upward. "It's a good sized ranch, I
expect. I don't keep it a secret. Anyone around could tell you. But
in case you hadn't noticed, the land around here is full of big
ranches, some much larger than mine."

"And do you intend to raise Longhorns
here?"

"I am doing it, but I've got a long way
to go. I may not live to see them grazing like all other cattle in
masses, but maybe my babies will."

"Babies?" Fargate's face illuminated in
the moonlight. "I didn't know you were married, Joe."

A low chuckle echoed through the thick
night air. "I'm not—yet," he said as Candy approached them. "But I
intend to be, and I also intend to raise a house full of
kids."

Fargate abruptly pulled Candy to his
side. "We bachelors have to stick together, else the beauties like
Candy here will make us lose our heads."

"If you can manage from here, I'll be
saying goodnight," Candy offered softly through the stillness,
backing away from the possessive hold Fargate had on her. Her hands
went to the back of her hip pockets of her jeans. Why she insisted
on changing before driving him she didn't know. She was doing a lot
of silly things lately.