Special Agent

She wanted to tell him how truly thankful she was that he’d made himself available but did not. Her instinct to trust had been so ravaged by Vern’s betrayal and her father’s rejection she couldn’t rely on her instincts. Not yet. Besides, considering all she’d learned about law enforcement in the past few months, Max was probably only being nice to her in order to catch whoever had menaced her or set the bomb at the ranch. Or because he still had doubts about her innocence. Given his job and her background, she figured the agent would become even more suspicious if she acted overly friendly.

Katerina let her thoughts wander as she perched on the edge of the bed in the too-big green scrub outfit the nurses had provided. Her own clothes were ruined. The back of the shirt she’d been wearing looked as if it had been blasted with a shotgun, as her tender shoulder blades kept reminding her. Jeans were tougher but hers were so dirty she’d refused to put them on. Her leather cowboy boots were about the only thing she could still wear, although they slipped without thick socks.

“I should fix my hair,” she muttered, wondering why it mattered when she wasn’t meeting anyone but Agent West. Nevertheless, she slid off the bed, took a second to steady herself, then made her way to the bathroom mirror. Nurses had helped her shower and the hospital had provided a comb but her long, wavy hair resisted efforts to tame it. Pulling on tangles made her scalp hurt unless she carefully held each portion, so the job took a while and was less than perfect. Well, too bad. If her volunteer taxi driver didn’t approve, so what?

That hostile attitude not only struck her as wrong, it made her blush. Whatever his motives, Max was no chauffeur. He was going out of his way to be nice to her. The least she could do was try to look presentable.

A knock on the door startled her. She steadied her balance on the sink and called, “Come in.”

One look at him today, when she was fully lucid and aware, took her breath away. Not only was he tall and ruggedly handsome, his dark blue uniform shirt fit the way it should, displaying a powerful form with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, unlike many men his age. How old was he? she wondered. It was impossible to tell, although her best guess put him somewhere in his early thirties. Definitely not over-the-hill. Far from it.

Max acknowledged her with a brief nod. “Ready?”

“Absolutely.” She began to move toward him, hiking up her sagging scrubs as the pants started to slip.

He eyed her. “Nice outfit.”

“The boots are mine. The rest is borrowed.”

He cleared his throat but Katerina still heard the chuckle he was trying to mask when he said, “Glad they had your size.”

“I could fit two of me and a couple of the ranch dogs in here at the same time,” she quipped, stopping and spreading her arms to better display the two-piece scrub ensemble. That was an error. The room started to tilt and she made a grab for the doorjamb. “Whoa.”

Beside her in a fraction of a second, Max caught her around the waist. “Easy. You sure you’re ready to leave?”

“I’m signed out and everything. Just had my chickens scattered, as Mom used to say.”

“Your parents are divorced?” He was guiding her toward the open door.

“No. My mother passed away when I was fourteen. That’s when I started putting all my efforts into training horses.”

“So, last year?”

Katerina knew he was teasing to try to lift her spirits and played along. “I’m twenty-two, going on forty, which my file should tell you.” Leaning on his big, strong arm as they walked, she asked, “How about you?”

Max gave her a wry smile. “Older than dirt.”

“That old, huh?”

Pausing at the doorway he looked back. “Do you have anything to take with you? Meds or bandages or anything?”

“Just that plastic sack of ruined clothing at the foot of the bed. Since I’m on a tight budget I need to try to salvage the jeans.”

Making sure she was well balanced, he fetched the bag and picked up where they’d left off. They were almost to the exit when a nurse spotted them and tsk-tsked. “You’re supposed to leave in a wheelchair, ma’am. We don’t want you falling.”

“As you can see I’m in good hands,” Katerina said, smiling and leaning her head toward her stalwart companion, genuinely glad he was by her side.

It wasn’t until they left the hospital and she saw his formidable black SUV that she sobered. Lighthearted moments aside, there was big trouble in the little towns in and around historic gold country. First there had been the drug busts and now somebody was setting off bombs. Other incidents had been reported on the local news so she knew her family ranch was not the only target. The question was, did somebody destroy the barn as retribution for her former ties to Vern? It was certainly possible, and terribly disconcerting.

She remained silent as Max helped her into the SUV. Above all, she wanted him to find the perpetrator and put him in jail.

And not blame an innocent bystander. Like her.

“So, where do you live?” Max asked casually.

She arched an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t already know? That’s not very comforting.”

“Okay, I know,” he said with a smile, flicking a brief glance across the seat at her. “I figured you might have a shortcut or better way to get there. These winding roads are hard on Opal.”

“Who?”

“My K-9 partner. She usually rides closer to me but I put her in her portable kennel box in the back when I have a passenger. You’d have met her if you hadn’t been knocked unconscious.”

“Oh, I love dogs! Is she a German shepherd?”

“No. And don’t you dare laugh. She’s a boxer.”

“A what?”

“You heard me. I get teased almost everywhere we go. She’s really great at detecting bombs but people are more used to seeing breeds with longer noses.”

“No kidding. Why in the world would they train a boxer for that? I mean, they can’t have as keen a sense of smell with such a short muzzle.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“I’d like to meet her. Dogs and horses were my best friends while I was growing up. There’s a darling black lab at the ranch that I’d adopt in a heartbeat if Dad would let me.” She hesitated, seeming sad. “So, tell me more about your dog. How old is she and how long have you had her?”

“She’s about four. My team has begun rescuing at least one pup for every mission we go on and we don’t rule out any capable canine, purebred or mutt. Opal’s a good example of hidden talent. She showed aptitude for detecting explosives and hearing or smelling electronics such as detonators, et cetera, so she was trained and assigned to work with me.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “We’re not master and dog, we’re partners. We both have badges. I just happen to be the only one with a driver’s license and a gun.”

Katerina chuckled quietly. “That’s comforting.” Pointing to an upcoming turn, she said, “May as well take 49 and double back a little. My place is between here and the ranch.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask more about the horses in that burning barn.” He was surreptitiously watching her expression and most likely wondering if he would find out more than she intended to reveal.

“Heath had Moonlight and her stablemates in the trailer, remember?”

“Yeah. Handy.”

“What was?”

“That that barn was totally empty when the bomb went off.”

“You don’t think Heath was responsible, do you? I mean, he’s been with the family since he was a teenager. I trust him like an uncle.”

He hardened his jaw. “What about your father? Could he have needed insurance settlement money?”

“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then you realize who that leaves.” His gaze was telling, as it was meant to be.