Page 5 of Desert Angel

“I’m visiting my sister and her husband. You may know him, if you’re familiar with Antelope Pass. He’s a border patrol agent, Dan McMillan.”

“You an agent, too?” Wayne’s harsh tone had lessened some but Dylan knew he wasn’t happy with the situation.

“No, I’m a security advisor. I was just visiting my sister and decided to drive over and see Nikki. When I found out she’d had her house shot into, I offered to share some of my expertise.”

“Well, someone needs to fix that window—” Wayne started only to be interrupted by Nikki.

“We were just getting ready to order the glass. I’d offer to get you a cup of coffee, Wayne, but you can understand that I need to get that order in as soon as I can, right? Thanks for coming by to check on me.” Without another word, Nikki glanced at Dylan and smiled then headed toward her house.

He watched her shapely, jean-clad figure step into the shade of the covered portico and then turned to Wayne. “Nice to meet you. I’d better get in there and help.” Turning his back on the man he knew would rather take him out than breathe, Dylan felt the hard stare in the middle of his back and his stab scar tingled as he stepped into the cool house.

3

He grinned as he followed Nikki into the living area.

“Not so keen on Wayne’s attentions are we?”

“Not sure what you mean,” she said as she went into the kitchen. He trailed after her, his confidence increasing with every step. “It’s just that the man is interested in more than fixing your window. And you don’t seem to reciprocate the feelings.”

She huffed a sigh and then turned to him. “Wayne French’s family and mine have been in the region since our ancestors came out to mine and work on the railroads. My great-grandfather some generations back bought land and so did his. For some reason, he’s living in the 1800s when children of ranchers marry to consolidate their holdings.”

“I don’t think that’s the only attraction to him.”

“You don’t know Wayne,” she muttered. “He has several thousand acres and I have the only land not his in this end of the valley.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, he’s been hinting broadly for a couple of years now and I keep hinting back that I’m not interested.”

She opened a door he hadn’t noticed at the back of the kitchen and he wondered at his lack of attention to detail. Hank would have his hide if he knew.

She returned with a small laptop and closed the door securely behind her. After setting the laptop up on her table she turned to him and offered him a cup of coffee. When he declined, she sat and started typing. “The internet is lousy here but I have to have something for my business. Cross your fingers it’s working right now.”

“Do you have a satellite provider?” he asked and sat next to her.

“No, it’s wireless but it’s also iffy at best. I’ve considered using a satellite program but right now, I can’t justify it.”

“What is your business?” He wondered, since she could technically raise her goats without the internet, though in this technological age, it was inconvenient.

“I sell goat milk products, lotions, soaps, and so on.”

“You make money at that?” Dylan’s look of surprise brought a chuckle from Nikki and she glanced at him before turning back to the computer.

“I do, at least enough to pay a few bills and the goat’s milk doesn’t go to waste. That and the pecan and pepper crops have kept me just above water. I guess I should consider remote work but I’ve tried not to go back to the work I was doing before I moved back.”

“And that was—”

“Five years ago and I worked in accounting for a big company in Albuquerque. Granddad wanted to keep the ranch in the family so I came home when he passed.”

“Do you miss the city?”

“Not really. Well, convenience, I do. I can’t go to a restaurant or grocery store on a whim. When you live here, everything has to be planned.”

“You’re from the city?”

“My parents lived there until they died in a car accident. Grandad took me in when I was five. I loved living here with Grandad when I was young. Moving back was the right thing to do.”

“No other family?”

“I think my father had some distant cousins in the east, but no, no other family. My mom was an only child and my grandmother passed away before I was born. I have some distant cousins on the coast too, but the family wasn’t close after that branch of the family moved out of state.”

As she typed, Nikki became intensely aware of the man sitting beside her, his gaze intent on her. When he didn’t say anything for a minute, she asked. “You said you were visiting your sister. Are you from the area?”

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