Chapter 13

Jed headed straight for his office in the main house when he and Mik returned. She’d led him to a pond in the northeastern quadrant of the ranch. Creek fed, it was a favorite watering spot for the cattle and horses alike as there was plenty of shade and lush grazing in the area. And an area they’d used more of late.

He’d taken water samples but didn’t need an analysis to prove it was the source of the poison. The water stunk to high heaven of chemicals.

Mik wandered in behind him with two glasses of iced tea. She placed one on the desk and took a seat on the old, worn leather couch across the room as Jed placed a call to his brother, Jesse.

To everyone’s great surprise, Jesse had announced last week that he was taking a job with the County Sheriff’s Department as a detective. Jed was stunned. Proud but stunned. He’d figured Jesse would stick with the rodeo until he was either too old or too broken up to compete.

Having Jesse put his education to use made Jed proud. He just hoped for Jesse’s sake that the decision was the right one. Right now, it was a good one for him. No one he’d trust more to investigate the poisonings than Jesse.

“Hey. We found something,” he said as soon as Jesse answered. “The pond in the northeast pasture stinks of chemicals. We have samples. How do we go about getting them analyzed?”

“I’ll swing by later and pick them up. And I’ll want to have a look at the site.”

“Sounds like a plan. Call when you’re on your way and I’ll be waiting.”

“Will do.”

Jed hung up and turned to look at Mik. She was still a little pale which worried him. “Honey why don’t you go upstairs and crawl in my bed and get some rest.”

Mik’s smile gave him cause to curse himself. Even knowing she had to be weak, all he could think of was joining her in bed. To sleep? Yeah, at some point.

“You gonna share your bed with me, handsome?”

“Much as I want to say yes, I don’t know that’d be too smart right now. You look worn out, Mik.”

“Wow, talk about getting shot down,” she replied then quickly added, “Hey, just teasing. Don’t get riled up. And you’re right. I am a little tired. But I think I’d be more comfortable in my own bed.”

“Long as you get some rest.”

“Okay.” She stood and walked over to stand between his legs, looping her arms around his neck. “You should try and chill out, too. This thing isn’t over and it’s going to be stressful dealing with all the insurance people and owners of the horses.”

“I’ll be fine,” he promised. He would. Somehow, he’d find a way to make things work. How he was going to do that, he hadn’t a clue. Hopefully the solution would present itself. If they could prove it was foul play maybe it would ease the liability of the ranch.

Mik leaned down and kissed him softly. “Come join me when you’re done?”

“You can count on it.”

She gave him another kiss and left. Jed watched her go then turned and logged onto his computer. He needed to get an idea of what kind of financial hit they were going to take and now was as good a time as any.

*****

“I’ll let you know when and if I want you to release the information,” Deidre spoke into the cell phone. “Until then do nothing. Your fee has been transferred into the account you designated.”

She ended the call and put the phone into a padded envelope. She’d have to remember to have it delivered. She wouldn’t need it again except as further evidence against Dalton.

The phone was registered in his name. It was one of those “pay as you go” plans. She’d had it purchased to use for communication with the people they used to have the fluoride delivered to the Nash ranch.

Now that all applicable parties had been paid, she intended to have it planted in Dalton’s penthouse, in a place he’d not think to look. Everyone had those places in their homes; closets and drawers they rarely opened. The phone would find its way into such a place at Dalton’s.

Then, should the need arise, the authorities could find it and add another nail to the coffin that would transport Dalton to jail.

Deidre smiled to herself. Sometimes she was beyond brilliant. She had Dalton right where she wanted him. The little worm. And soon she would have Jed Nash and his brothers right where she wanted them.

Not to mention Mikayla Morgan.

“Yes, when are we doing to deal with that one?” The voice came from behind her.

Deidre turned to find Sara standing in front of the fireplace, her hands outstretched to the fire as if warming them in the flames.

“We’ll deal with her when the time is right.” Deidre replied. She was getting a bit tired of the way Sara tried to call the shots in this relationship. Sara should be damn grateful that Deidre had agreed to help her in her revenge. Without Deidre, she’d just be another aimless wandering ghost.

Sara turned, as if reading Deidre’s thoughts. “And where would you be without me?”

“Exactly where I am. Don’t forget who’s in charge here, dear.”

Sara smiled sweetly. “Never.”

Deidre’s smile was smug as she turned her back on Sara. The ring of her private cell phone drew her attention. Her contact on the Nash ranch. Eagerly she answered.

“Yes?”

Her smile vanished and her eyes took on a hard glint. Jed Nash had made a mistake taking up with Mikayla Morgan. He should have continued to heed the curse and remain alone.

“Keep me informed,” she barked and ended the call.

Her mind started to whirl, possibilities presenting themselves. With Dalton securely boxed in it was time to turn her attention to refining the details of her plan to make the Nash family suffer.

Her smile returned.

*****

It was a somber group that sat around the kitchen table in the main house of the Rocky River Ranch. At present, everyone’s attention was on Jesse. Mik could feel the tension rolling off Jed and knew he was holding his temper at bay with sheer will power.

She didn’t blame him. She was mad enough to bite a ten-penny nail in half. The thought that someone would deliberately poison the water and cause Jed and his brothers such trouble had her ready to round up a lynch mob.

If only she knew who it was that needed to be lynched.

“The analysis showed a near lethal level of fluoride in the water.” Jesse announced. “With that we have enough to warrant an investigation but so far we don’t have a lead. I’ve had casts made of tire tracks we found near the pond as well as casts of footprints. The forensics team found flakes of what appears to be plastic but so far haven’t determined the source or whether that’s connected.

“In short, we don’t have much to go on. We’re contacting every manufacturer and distributor of fluoride in the state to see if we can determine the origin of the chemical but that’s going to take a while.”

No one commented. Jake looked at Jed who was sitting with arms crossed and eyes hard as flint. Mik reached out and put her hand on Jed’s arm. After a moment, he turned to look at her. Some of the hardness in his eyes faded when her fingers tightened in a slight squeeze.

Finally, he blew out his breath. “Thanks, Jesse. I appreciate everything you and the Sheriff’s Department are doing.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jake added. “Although it’s still downright strange to think of you as Detective Nash.”

Jesse smiled. “Well, you know I’d always planned on putting that degree to work. Now seemed as good a time as any.”

“Yeah?” Jake asked. “Now when you’ve got three gold buckles and a damn good shot at another?”

“Ever hear of going out on top?” Jesse asked and winked at Mik. “Ask her, she’ll tell you.”

Mik smiled. She and Jesse were kindred souls when it came to the rodeo. And she understood completely. If you walked away a champion, you never had to face what some endured who hung on past their prime. Namely, the hurt and disappointment that came when your day was done and you started to lose out to the younger, faster, and stronger. Yeah, it was an ego thing, but it was also a smart thing. Not only for the sake of winning. Rodeoing wasn’t the safest line of work on the planet.

But then neither was being a detective. “I think you’ll make a fine, detective, Jesse.”

“Thanks, beautiful. You sure you don’t want to ditch the old man and hook up with a younger, better-looking Nash?”

“Naw, I’m fine. But thanks for the offer.”

Their banter helped ease the tension but only for a moment. Jed blew out his breath and pulled the laptop on the table closer. “Well, this is how it stands. With what we’ll have to pay out to the owners who lost animals, what we’ll lose on the cattle and having the pond drained we’re gonna be lucky to be left with our hats.”

“That bad?” Jake asked.

“That and more,” Jed replied. “Couple of the folks who lost horses they boarded with us are threatening to sue.”

“With it being a criminal act, we may be able to stall that,” Jesse remarked.

“Not according to our lawyer, Melvin. We’re still liable for the well-being of the animals entrusted to us.”

“Shit on a stick!” Jake slammed his fist down on the table. “I’d like to get my hands on the sonofabitch behind this."

“We all would,” Jed agreed. “But that’s not going to solve our problems.”

“What will?” Mik asked.

“I’m going to go to the bank tomorrow and see if I can get a loan.”

“Not a good economy for borrowing,” Jesse pointed out. “Banks aren’t keen on lending right now.”

“Unless I can put up the ranch as collateral,” Jed said.

There was a long silence. Mik knew what the ranch meant to all of them. It wasn’t just a job, or a place to live. The ranch had been in the family a long time. It was the one constant in their lives. The thought of losing it had to cut hard and deep.

If only there was something she could do to help. She looked around at the men and suddenly she couldn’t take it. She had to get out of the room, or she was going to display a moment of purely female weakness and bawl like a baby.

“Excuse me. I’ll be back.” She gave Jed a kiss on the cheek then hurried out of the room.

Ellen was sitting in the den, in a padded rocker by the fireplace. The television was on, but the older woman wasn’t paying attention. Her expression seemed far away as she stared at the flickering flames in the fireplace.

Mik took a seat on the hearth and Ellen turned her eyes to Mik. “Are they going to lose the ranch?”

Mik shook her head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t look good, Ms. Ellen.”

Tears spilled onto Ellen’s cheeks that she made no move to hide or wipe away. “When I first realized Jed was in love with you, at first it worried me. Nash men aren’t good at marriage.

“But I watched the two of you and realized that you’re like him in a whole lot of ways. Not just that you love animals and ranch life, but you’re like him and the rest of the boys. You have that way.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Mik didn’t know Ellen well, and wasn’t comfortable discussing her abilities.

“Whispering. You have that way with animals. And with Jed.”

Mik smiled. “Yeah, I guess. Only with Jed I’m not sure if I have that way with him or him with me.”

“Maybe it’s some of both.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Mik turned and picked up a fire tool to poke at the fire. “I wish there was something I could do. I can’t stand the thought of them losing this.”

“You got any money socked away?”

Mik barked a laugh. “I wish. I had to sell the family farm and take this job so my sisters could have what they needed to start new lives here in North Carolina. I’m afraid all I have was what I showed up here with.”

“You sold your family home and didn’t take a cut?”

“They needed it more,” Mik said and replaced the tool before facing Ellen again. “I’d do it again.”

“More to you than meets the eye isn’t there, Mikayla?”

“More to most of us that meets the eye, don’t you think?”

“I suppose.”

Jed stepped into the room. “I wondered where you got off to.”

“Just enjoying a moment with some female company,” Mik said as she stood. “You have a good night, Miss Ellen.”

“You too, child.”

The response surprised Mik. She put her hand on the older woman’s shoulder and squeeze lightly then strode across the room to Jed. “Sorry to bail on you. I thought maybe you and your brothers needed some time alone.”

He took her hand and led her outside to the back porch. He stopped at the railing and propped both hands on it, staring out into the dark sky. “Things don’t look good, Mik. I don’t know if we’ll weather this.”

“You can’t think like that!” She pulled him to face her. “You can’t Jed. You’re a fighter and you can’t give in.”

“I didn’t say I was giving in, honey. But in every battle you have to face the possibility that you may not win.”

Mik had forgotten that Jed had spent a good part of his adult life as a soldier. She wondered if he missed that life. “You ever wish you’d stayed with the Rangers?”

He shook his head. “Life has a way of taking you where you’re supposed to go, I reckon.”

“Oh?”

He smiled and cupped her face in his hands. It never failed to surprise her how someone so big and strong, so fearsome, could be so gentle. “Look at you, Mik. You gave up your home and walked away with nothing. And that was a loss, honey. No matter what you say, it had to hurt. But you did it. And it brought you to me.”

“That it did.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Not for one second. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“Even though it means you might end up on the street with me, a horse, and an old trailer?”

“Hey, at least we’ll have transportation.”

“You’re a hell of a woman, Mik.”

“Yeah? You think so.”

“That I do.”

“Well, now, you know I’m more of a show-me gal, stud. So why don’t we mosey on down to the lake house and I’ll introduce you to hellacious Mik.”

“Hellacious?”

“Hmmm, ummm.”

“Well, hell, darlin’ let’s get movin’.”

Mik smiled and took his hand. They both knew the lightness was a façade, but at the moment, they both needed it—to throw a blanket over the worry and escape. Tomorrow was soon enough to rejoin the battle.