Home on the Ranch: Oklahoma: Defending the Rancher's Daughter / The Rancher Bodyguard

Jim frowned and absently plucked a piece of lint off his protruding belly. “Murder?” His gaze went from Kate to Zack. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“That’s what we’d like for you to find out,” Zack said. “I rode out to the place where Gray had his accident. How much investigating did you do into his death?”

Jim’s frown deepened. “It was an open and shut case. His head was on a rock, Kate and some of her men told me his mount had come back without him to the stables. It seemed pretty obvious what had happened. You should know these kinds of accidents happen occasionally out here in ranching territory.”

There was an edge of defensiveness in his tone. “Dr. McCain pronounced Gray dead due to head trauma. It was ruled an accidental death and that was that.”

And that was that. Those words resonated in Kate’s heart with a hollow ache. That was that. Her father was dead and nothing in this world would bring him back. She would never again have the opportunity to make him proud. She would never be able to tell him just how much she’d loved him.

“Did you check out the rock where Gray fell?” Zack asked.

Jim shrugged. “No reason to. When it looks like a duck, it’s a duck.”

Zack leaned forward, his eyes narrowed slightly. “It didn’t quack and it wasn’t an accident.”

“What are you talking about?”

As Zack explained what he’d found on the rock, Kate watched him. In the five years since she’d seen him, the lines radiating from his eyes were a little bit deeper, his mouth appeared more sensual than she remembered and his face held a strong maturity that hadn’t been evident years ago. His shoulders appeared wider, but his stomach and hips were as lean as when he’d been a teenager.

He’d always affected her on some base, visceral level. His nearness to her had always charged the atmosphere with dangerous electricity. It still did.

She frowned and tore her gaze from him, realizing she was studying him in an effort to distance herself from the details of her father’s murder. She became conscious of her ankle throbbing and told herself that when she got back to the ranch she needed to prop it up for a while.

“We’d like a full investigation into Gray’s death,” Zack said to Jim. “And of course we’ll do whatever we can to assist you.”

Jim leaned back in his chair and raked a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “If what you think is true and that rock was used to bludgeon Gray to death, it was kind of stupid for the murderer to leave it right there at the scene.”

“On the contrary, it was very smart. If the rock hadn’t been there then you would have instantly ruled Gray’s death suspicious. As it was, the murderer counted on you chalking it up to a tragic accident,” Zack replied.

“And that’s just what I did,” Jim said mournfully.

Kate wasn’t sure whether the sheriff felt badly about not fully investigating the situation in the first place or the fact that he now had to do something about it.

Sheriff Jim Ramsey wasn’t known for his energy and enthusiasm for his work. Most people in the town were hoping that retirement was just around the corner for him so they could vote in a new sheriff, somebody younger and more committed to the position.

“I’ll get right on it,” Jim said, and stood, as if to indicate to them that the meeting was over.

“We appreciate it, Sheriff.” Zack stood, as well, and shook Jim’s hand.

Kate got up, vaguely irritated that Jim had listened to Zack when he hadn’t listened to her two weeks before. The good-old-boy network was apparently alive and well in Cotter Creek.

As she and Zack left the office and got into his truck, she tried to tamp down her irritation. “It’s good that bad things don’t happen too often in Cotter Creek because that man is barely competent.”

“He’s just lazy,” Zack replied.

“He was certainly lazy in the way he handled Dad’s death.”

“He was the one who found my mother’s body when she was murdered. Of course, he was just a deputy then.”

His words shocked her. “I’d forgotten about your mother’s murder.”

He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. I was only six when she was murdered.”

There was nothing in his voice to evoke her sympathy, but sorrow swept through her as she realized she wasn’t the only one who had lost a parent to senseless murder.

“They never found the person who killed your mother, did they?”

“No. She left one night to get groceries in town and several hours later was found strangled along the side of the road.” He turned his head and gave her a quick look. “But don’t worry. We’ll find the bastard that killed Gray.”

She should have found comfort in his words, but she didn’t. Although she desperately wanted to know who had killed her father and why, she knew discovering those answers wouldn’t heal the hole left in her heart.

“How did you get through it? When you lost your mother? How did you get through the pain?”

“I was young. The only thing I really remember about that time was that it upset me because my father cried a lot.” He glanced at her again and this time the green of his eyes appeared darker, slightly haunted. “I think loss is more difficult to handle when you’re older and less resilient.” His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white as he directed his attention back out the truck’s front window.

They didn’t speak again until they reached the ranch. “I’ll take you to the bunkhouse and get you settled in,” she said as he parked the truck and they got out.

“Almost everyone in town knows I’m no longer working for Wild West Protective Services, so as far as anyone is concerned, I’ve just signed on here temporarily to help you out with the ranch work until you can hire new help.”

“That’s fine with me,” she agreed.

He reached behind the seats and grabbed a large duffel bag, then they began the long walk toward the bunkhouse in the distance.

As they walked she thought again of that look she’d seen for a brief moment in his eyes. She had the feeling that he knew intimately about loss as an adult and that made her curious.

It had been years since she and Zack had interacted in any way. She certainly liked to think she’d changed in that interval of time and wondered how he might have changed. What might have happened that had caused the darkness she’d seen in his eyes?

She knew that for several years he had dated Jaime Coffer, a gorgeous blonde who had one day simply up and left Cotter Creek. Somehow she didn’t think that had caused the dark shadows. He’d seemed fine after Jaime had left and had never lacked for female companionship.

“Did you enjoy all the traveling you did for the business?” she asked.

“It was all right.”

“I’ll bet you’ve met a lot of interesting people.”

“Interesting enough.”

“Are you always so chatty?” she asked dryly.

He stopped walking and turned to face her, his features once again partially shadowed by the brim of his hat. “I’m not here to socialize. I’m here to catch a killer.”

She felt the blush that warmed her cheeks. Nothing had changed. In the blink of an eye, in the tone of his voice, he’d managed to make her feel like the nuisance she’d been as a child.

Once again she was aware of the throb of her ankle. She was eager to get back to the house, prop up her foot and get away from him.

He continued to walk and she followed behind, remembering all the times as a young girl he’d made her feel like an interloper in her own life.

She reminded herself once again that she didn’t have to like him to need his expertise. She didn’t have to enjoy his company to use his investigative skills. But, perversely, she couldn’t help the fact that she wouldn’t have minded his arms around her one more time.