Page 72 of On His Ranch

“Sorry, Ma. I’ll get you some new ones.”

“Well, never mind. I guess we’re lucky they were here, else I don’t know what you would have done.”

Having removed the curtains, blackened in several places, they both looked at the charred pile of wood and plastic.

“What is it?” a breathless voice asked behind them.

Chase whipped around and scowled. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded. “Didn’t I tell you to get somewhere safe?”

She blanched at the sharpness in his voice.

Good. She needed to be afraid—although apparently it wasn’t enough for her to do as she was told. Well, he would have to fix that.

“I-I’m sorry, I… what… what is that… thing?”

His frown deepened. For one thing, he didn’t like her thinking she could go and just change the subject. For another, he was just now seeing her right cheek and the bridge of her nose bore the faint marks of soot.Wonder where that came from?

Seeing that he was deep in thought, his mother answered, “It was our ranch. Well, a scale model of it, anyway. Chase has had it nearly all his life.” Her voice sounded as broken and defeated as he felt seeing it smoking and ruined. “Senior made it for him when he was three, because he was too young to go out with him.”

Piper inched forward, looking closer.

He threw out an arm to stop her. “Don’t. Don’t go any closer. At least not until I make sure…” That what? That it wasn’t booby-trapped in some way?

“Why would someone do this? I don’t understand.” his mother asked, her expression confused and just a tad anxious.

He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing. He could count on one hand the amount of times he’d seen his mother cry in his lifetime, so seeing her wet cheeks always unsettled him. “I don’t know, Ma. But don’t you worry, I intend to get to the bottom of it.”

Piper’s head was spinning at what had just happened when she felt Chase’s gaze on her. The sight of his tight, angry features made her swallow hard, especially since they were directed at her.

“I think Piper and I better get dressed.”

“You should go back to sleep,” Patti answered, clearly distracted. “You’ve got an hour before sunrise at least.”

“We’ll try. Are you goin’ back to bed?”

Patti’s sigh was loud and long. “I don’t reckon I’ll be able to sleep.”

Chase murmured something comforting that she couldn’t hear, before signaling her upstairs with a pointed index finger.

She scampered to obey without even waiting for him. Her stomach filled with knots and they tightened with every step she took that brought her closer to the bedroom.Why didn’t I just listen to him? Why didn’t I obey and leave?

But she knew why. She’d been in shock—at least that was part of it. The other part was that she’d been frozen with fear, unable to stop from wondering if she was to blame for what had happened.

My good luck has run out and they’ve caught up with me. Dread filled her as the thought ran across her mind.I have Chase now, though. I have a daddy that loves me and wants to protect me. I’ll just tell him everything and then it will all be all right! We’ll figure it out together!

Reassured by the plan, Piper nearly collapsed onto the bed with relief.But… what will he think of me?

The other thought diminished the joy in all the others.What if he gets mad? Worse—what if hehatesme?There was no way she could stand that.

But before she could ponder either outcome any longer, Chase strode through the open door, kicking it shut behind him with so much force that Piper jumped.

“Daddy!” she squeaked. “What… what’s wrong?”

“No more games,” he growled. “Tell me who youreallyare and why you’re here!”

Piper’s eyes widened until she felt sure they would pop out and her vocal cords tightened.

“Tell me, damn it!” he demanded.

---