Texas Tough (6 page)

“There's a spring here somewhere,” he said. “We'll water the horses and then head back. If you want to leave Storm Cloud with me, I'll stable him and drive you home in the pickup.”

“Fine.” Lifting her hat, she raked her fingers through her coppery hair, holding it off the back of her neck. The motion tugged her thin shirt against her breasts. “I don't think he's up to a ride home in this heat. I know I'm not. Tell Beau I'll be back tomorrow to work on the spreadsheet.”

Sky willed himself to ignore the tightening of his body. “I can hear the spring. It should be just beyond that clump of mesquite.” He swung the gelding toward the sound. The mare followed without any urging.

The spot where the cold spring formed a shallow pool was overgrown with watercress and ringed with moisture-sucking tamarisk bushes, which would need digging out if the water was to be of much use—but what was he thinking? Why make plans for a property he didn't plan to keep?

The horses lowered their heads to drink. Lauren slid off the mare, flung back her hat, and crouched to splash water on her hot face. Sky eased off Storm Cloud, looped the reins around a branch, and joined her, wetting his face with his hands and slicking back his hair. “Now this is more like it,” he muttered.

Lauren shot him an impish glance. Lifting her hat free, she scooped the crown full of water and dashed it over his head.

“Why, you little—” Grinning, he made a grab for her. She laughed and scooted out of reach.

“I'll show you a thing or two!” Sky lunged to his feet. In a lightning move, he caught her up in his arms. He'd meant to toss her in the water. But her closeness put entirely different ideas in his head. Her wet shirt clung to her half-exposed breasts. As his body responded, he lowered his head and nuzzled their softness. Lingering traces of her perfume crept into his senses, rousing him to a fevered ache. He cursed silently. The woman was driving him crazy.

She arched against him with a little purring sound. Her hand dropped to brush his swollen sex. “Sure . . .” she whispered.

He'd tucked a condom in his wallet, so the only problem was where. Lifting his gaze, he glanced around for someplace that wasn't either wet or prickly. Damn it, he'd take her standing up if he had to, but there had to be a less awkward way.

As he turned with her, he felt his boot heel come down on something slick and rigid that gave beneath the pressure of his weight. Sky tensed, his danger instincts quivering.

“What is it?” Lauren had sensed the change in him.

“Something isn't right.” Sky had an idea what it was, but before he checked it out, he needed to make sure Lauren was safe. “I'm going to put you on the mare,” he said quietly. “Ride out of here the way we came, slow and easy, like nothing's wrong. If you hear anything—a voice, a gunshot—get away fast. Otherwise just keep going easy till I catch up with you.”

“And if you don't show?”

“Don't worry, I'll be fine.” He boosted her into the saddle. “If something goes wrong, don't take any fool chances. Just go. Got it?”

She nodded, her eyes wide and questioning. Sky gave the mare a light slap on the haunch to get her started, then watched until she was clear of the brush and headed back toward the ranch. Only then did he crouch to examine what he'd felt on the ground.

What he found was what he'd expected—a length of three-quarter-inch black PVC pipe, lightly buried under a layer of dirt and leaves. Emerging from under the water in the spring, the pipe ran back through the tamarisk and beyond. Keeping low, Sky followed it through the scrub to a battery-operated siphon pump, duct taped to a half-dozen black hoses, running off in different directions like the legs of a spider.

Too bad he hadn't brought a gun. Unarmed as he was, it would be risky to go on. In any case, there could be no doubt what he'd find if he followed those black hoses far enough.

Somebody was farming marijuana on his land.

Right now he needed to get back to the horse and make sure Lauren was all right. But he planned to return and investigate when he was better prepared. Something told him he'd stumbled on the missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle—a piece that could connect to Jasper's shooting and to Marie's appearance in Blanco Springs. But he couldn't be sure of anything until he had more evidence.

Picking up a broken branch, he began brushing out his tracks as he backed away. At the same time, he scanned the ground. There were no horse signs and no vehicle tracks, which meant that the weed growers were coming and going by some other route. But marijuana plants needed water, especially in this drought. Somebody would need to maintain the pump and make sure the pipe was clear.

The tracks, when he found them, appeared to be several days old. But they were distinct enough for Sky to recognize the same motorcycle boot and the worn, narrow print he'd seen near the spot where Jasper had been shot.

Sky used his cell to snap quick photos of the pump and the tracks. He had just slipped the phone back in his pocket when a faint but unmistakable sound reached his ears. It was the metallic rumble of a big motorcycle—a Harley, he guessed—approaching fast from the direction of Blanco Springs. The rider might have a camp near the marijuana patch. For a fleeting second, Sky was tempted to sneak back for a look at him. But he'd left the horse by the spring, and there was Lauren. If she was headed for the ranch, she'd be in the open, exposed and vulnerable.

The sound of the approaching bike had grown to a roar. Abruptly it stopped, the silence more unnerving than the noise had been. Sky reached the horse and freed the reins. Springing into the saddle, he kneed Storm Cloud to a lope. For once the unruly gelding behaved. Soon they were clear of the brush and headed back toward Rimrock land.

Had the biker heard him ride away, or even seen him? If so, the marijuana growers would be on high alert. Anyone getting too close would run the risk of being shot—like Jasper had been shot. Except that Jasper hadn't been anywhere near this place. One more missing piece of the puzzle.

Slowing the horse to a walk, he scanned the parched grassland ahead for Lauren. Taking the mare at an easy pace, as he'd told her to, she couldn't have gotten far. But there was no sign of her.

Sky's throat jerked tight. How much time had passed since he'd sent her off? Five minutes? Ten at most. Even riding away at a gallop, she'd have left a trail of dust that would linger in the air.

Where was the woman? Had one of the bastards grabbed her? He'd seen no one, heard no one except the biker. But anything could have happened.

He was about to go back and look for her when he heard the rapid pounding of hooves coming up behind him. Turning, he saw Lauren on the mare.

He waited for her to catch up. By the time she did, anger had flooded the hollows worry had left.

“I told you to get away,” he snapped. “What the hell were you doing?”

“Hiding in the brush while I waited for you. Did you really think I was going to ride off and leave you when I knew something was wrong?”

“Blast it, Lauren, don't be stupid! Anything could've happened to you back there. And it would've been my fault. The next time I tell you to do something, just do it.”

Lauren's silence told him what she thought of that idea. “What did you find back there?” she asked after a long pause.

“Nothing.” Sky was mad enough to lie to her. “Just a place that looked like some homeless people were camping out. Since they weren't on ranch property, I decided to leave them alone.”

“I heard the motorcycle. Did you see anybody?”

“No, that was when I decided to leave. You know about Jasper getting shot, don't you?”

“Everybody does. It was on the news. Do you think the people back there might have done it?”

“Maybe. But since I didn't have a gun, I decided not to stick around and find out the hard way. I don't want you going near the place again.”

“Why should I? What reason would I have to come back here?” Lauren's response made it clear that his orders meant nothing to her. “How is Jasper, by the way?”

“Mending.” Sky was relieved to change the subject. “He should be home in the next couple of days. From what I hear, he's really put the hospital staff through their paces.”

“He sounds delightful. I've never had the chance to meet him, but I'm looking forward to it.”

“Fine, but be warned. Jasper says exactly what he thinks—and he doesn't think much of your family.”

“Sometimes I don't think too much of them, either. We'll get along fine.” Lauren laughed—that low-pitched, sexy laugh that sent Sky's thoughts spinning in all the wrong directions. He'd had sex with her on a desk and almost had sex with her on the bare ground. A bed would be a nice change. Maybe he should ask her out on a real date—dinner in Lubbock followed by an adventurous night at a first-class hotel. If she was worried about her father, they could always come home earlier—but Lauren was over twenty-one and accustomed to running her own life. Beau had even mentioned that she'd been engaged once. Why should it matter?

The more he thought about the idea, the more sense it made. He'd bring it up when he drove her home, after he'd put the horses away.

They'd made it back to the corral and were just climbing off their horses when a low-slung red Maserati came speeding up the lane toward the house. As if the driver had spotted them, the car made a sudden swerve toward the corral and braked in a cloud of dust. The man who climbed out appeared to be in his early forties, his health club body dressed in a tailored blue suit with a silk shirt open at the throat. His thick, sandy hair was sculpted into a pompadour that would hold up in a norther. Sky had never set eyes on the man before. But he certainly seemed to know Lauren.

“Here you are!” His grin showed movie-star-perfect veneers. “I hope you don't mind my coming by. Your father said I might find you here.”

Sky glanced at Lauren, trying to gauge her reaction. She was cool, unreadable.

“Hello, Josh.” She wiped her dusty hands on her even dustier jeans. There was mud on the knees where she'd knelt by the spring to splash her face—and to splash
him
. “This is Sky Fletcher. He's been giving me a . . . riding lesson.”

“Sky, this is Mr. Josh Hardesty. I met him at a fund-raiser for my father.”

“Hardesty.” Sky offered a hand.

Hardesty pumped it vigorously, a politician's handshake. “This girl made quite an impression on me, Fletcher. So much so that I just dropped by the Prescott Ranch to give the congressman a nice little contribution to his campaign—I suppose it would be bad form to say how much.”

“That was very kind of you, Josh.” Lauren spoke as if she were reading lines from a play. “I know how much my father appreciates your help.”

Hardesty grinned. “Well, he did tell me that if I came over here and found you, you might consent to have dinner with me.”

Lauren glanced down at her dirt-stained clothes. “I appreciate the invitation, but—”

“No problem. I'll just run you home and visit with your dad for a bit while you change and freshen up. I got us a table at the Texas Tower. Best prime rib in the country, but it's a down-home place, so no need to dress fancy. If Fletcher here doesn't mind putting up your horse, we can leave right now.”

Sensing Lauren's hesitation, Sky looked away. She wasn't his property. He hadn't even asked her out, though he'd meant to. If she wanted to go to dinner with a rich older man, why should he give a damn?

“Your dad was
mighty
grateful for my help,” Hardesty added, no doubt pushing Lauren's guilt buttons. “And since I have the governor's ear, I promised to see that he endorsed the nomination.”

“Fine,” Lauren replied with a toss of her hair. “Sky, now that you don't need to drive me home, you won't mind taking care of the horses, will you?”

“It's my job.” Sky's tone was flat with indifference. “Can I still tell Beau you'll be back here tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Head high, she strode over to the open door of the Maserati and lowered herself to the leather seat.

By the time the red car roared off down the lane, Sky was already leading the horses toward the long barn. After turning the mare over to a stable hand, he found an empty stall for Storm Cloud, unsaddled him, and gave him some hay and water. The gelding was too warm and too tired to misbehave. A sigh of contentment eased through the big body as Sky began rubbing him down with a towel. Sky usually found the job relaxing. But right now his thoughts were tumbleweeds in the wind.

Lauren's departure had left him smarting, but she was the least of his worries. The discovery he'd made today had to be dealt with. That would mean involving Will, Beau, and ultimately the law—most likely the DEA, since Abner Sweeney didn't seem competent to handle anything more serious than a traffic ticket.

But first he needed to talk with Marie. He'd hoped for a free afternoon to drive into town and catch her before the bar got busy. But it hadn't happened, and now he couldn't wait any longer. He would go back to the Blue Coyote tonight before closing time, and he wouldn't leave until he found out what she was doing in Blanco Springs.

The little girl he remembered was long gone. He could only hope the hardened woman who'd taken her place would tell him the truth.