Page 128 of Starting Over

“We need to talk.”

“So talk. You said this was official business. I called in the officers.” He swung his hand around the room, showing me who was here, as if I couldn’t see for myself.

The corner of my mouth curved up as I shook my head. This wasn’t King’s first temper tantrum, and it wouldn’t be his last. I understood he had to work through it in his own time, but it had been a fucking week already.

“We found a body yesterday on the Powell Ranch.”

King sat up straight and looked at Ghost. “Find Winchester and tell him to get his ass in here.”

I held up my hand, indicating for Ghost to wait. “He doesn’t know anything about it. I told his brothers not to tell him anything until I talked to you.”

“What kind of body?” Gunner asked. He was the most somber of the group. He took his responsibilities seriously.

“Female. Looked to be mid-twenties. Brown hair, from what I could tell.”

“From what you could tell? What the hell does that mean?”

“It means, Colt, that a herd of cattle trampled her. Her face was unrecognizable, and the blood covering her masked her hair pretty well.”

“Why the fuck are you here, acting all secretive for a woman being in the wrong place at the wrong time?” King stood from his chair, ready to walk away.

“She was naked.”

King’s head snapped up and he finally looked me in the eye. He fell back into his chair, finally understanding how serious this was.

“What do you know?”

“Unfortunately, nothing. I had my deputies walking in every direction from the body, looking for something that would give us an indication as to what happened to her or where she came from.”

“Are the Powells suspects?” Cash asked, knowing this would affect Winchester.

“No.” Shaking my head, I told them what I told the mayor. “If they were involved, they would have just buried her. They have thousands of acres of land to choose from.”

“So, what do you need from us?”

“I told Allie I want this kept quiet. With nothing to go on, I don’t want the people in town to panic. Could be she was out there with her boyfriend, they had a fight, and she took off and ended up in the wrong pasture.”

“Or…?”

Looking at Blade, I needed him to understand why I came to them. Why I was giving them the information.

“Or there is someone who had that woman out there against her will. She got away from him and ended up in the wrong pasture.”

“How much can we share with the guys?”

“As little as possible. If this was foul play, it could be anyone. I don’t want him knowing what we know. Tell the women less, but make sure they are protected. No one goes out alone. It will be a few weeks until I get the autopsy back.”

Watching the faces of each man sitting around the table, I knew they were thinking the same thing I was.

Foul play was almost a given.

“Once we’ve had time to go through the evidence, we might have more.”

Cash stood, coming around the table to shake my hand. “Thanks for letting us know.” I knew what that was.

I had been dismissed.

“King, we need to talk.”

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