Page 17 of Harrison Hyde and the Runaway Bride

Willow said, “My parents raise thoroughbreds on nearby Sky Dancer Ranch. These are two of them. Butch and Sundance.” She patted her horse as she spoke. “I have my own house on the property.”

“Her parents are Wes and Taylor,” Trevor said. “My dad’s Elliot, youngest of the Brand brothers. My mom is Esmeralda. She immigrated from Mexico, lost all her ID to coyotes on the way, and had to start fresh here. But before this was Brand land, it belonged to her ancestors. So my connection to it is twice as strong.” He said it with pride.

Willow rolled her eyes. “And it belonged to my ancestors, before any of them,” she reminded him.

“Sorry, Will,” he looked sheepish. Then he grinned at Harrison and said, “You aren’t expected to learn all the names. Not just yet, anyway.” Then he winked.

Willow nudged her horse into a trot and rode off the trail to the pond. She paused there to let her horse drink.

Maria slowed until Harrison was once again riding beside her with Trevor close behind. Quietly, she said, “We all inherit the ranch jointly, when the time comes. Willow thinks it should be given back to the tribes.”

“And our cousin Baxter thinks it should switch from raising cattle to raising crops,” Trevor said. “And Bubba wants to build a honky tonk on his share.”

“We all have very different ideas about what to do with it.”

“What doyouwant to do with it?” Harrison asked.

He was talking to Maria, but Trevor thought otherwise and answered the question before she could. “Rodeo!” he said. “We put in three show rings, huge stands, concessions, the whole nine.”

“I guess youdohave different ideas.” He glanced Maria’s way, met her eyes and knew she didn’t want to talk about her own thoughts on the matter. He read her look, gave a subtle nod, and didn’t ask again.

The ride took nearly two hours, and Maria assured him they hadn’t put a dent in the property. He was shown pastures, the prettiest family burial ground he’d ever seen, and a large chunk of woodland near the stream that was fenced off for no apparent reason. As he frowned at it, Willow rode up beside him. “My mother is an archaeologist,” she said. “She discovered some pottery on this site, and did some informal digging. She’s sure a native village thrived here once, so we don’t let anyone in.”

“Is she planning to excavate it?” Harrison asked.

“No,” Willow said. “We just leave offerin’s and let it be.”

Harrison nodded, understanding her position on what should become of the land in a way he hadn’t before. Willow’s phone pinged, she glanced at it. “Uncle Garrett says they just picked up Billy Bob. We’d best get to the station.” She sent Harrison a smile. “That was even faster than I predicted!” Then she gave a little whoop and kicked her horse into a gallop.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Idid not steal any goldern car!” Billy Bob slur-shouted from somewhere in the back of the small adobe building.

Maria rolled her eyes, leaned up closer to the man beside her, and said, “Sounds like he’s drunk again.” Harry wore a light denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and she found her eyes kept getting stuck on his forearms. Had she ever found a man’s forearms sexy before? His were. They had the finest dusting of light hairs, and she wanted to touch them and see what they felt like.

She and Harry were standing just inside the double doors with the words SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT on the glass. The public-facing portion of the department was a large beige room with orange plastic chairs for waiting. A plexiglass partition with slots for speaking, separated the waiting area from the rest of the building. Behind the glass was a tall counter, and beyond it, desks, computers, and deputies going about their business. Beside the partition stood a single locked door.

“My dad’s the one who brought him in,” Maria said.

“Your dad, Lash, the chief deputy,” he repeated, as if to remind himself of the details.

“Right. He got a tip. Caught up with Billy Bob at a bar just over the county line. It was a few miles outside his jurisdiction, but Dad hauled his carcass back here anyway. “C’mon, this way.” She quickly texted her father to let him know they’d arrived.

Seconds later, her father popped out from the door beside the partition. He hugged Maria then turned to Harry. “I’m Lash, Maria’s father.”

“Harrison. Good to meet you, Deputy Monroe,” Harry said.

“Lash,” Lash repeated. “You can come on back.”

“Thanks for getting the guy.”

“Thank me after we recover your car. It’s not goin’ well.”

“Why not?” Maria asked, noticing the worry that appeared immediately in Harry’s eyes. “Billy Bob bein’ difficult?”

“Full on denial, and his lawyer’s on the way.”

They traversed a narrow hallway, passed the first door, marked INTERROGATION and entered the second door, which was right beside it. Inside, there was glass separating the two rooms. On the other side of the glass, Billy Bob sat at a table with his hands still cuffed behind him. Willow stood in front of the table with her back to the glass. Her hair was bundled up, her uniform shirt tucked into her uniform pants. She’d left her weapon behind.

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