Page 36 of Rawhide and Ransom

She chuckled again. “About Chayton’s stepbrother…” Her smile faded. “What little I know about him, he seems like a nice guy. Chayton never had anything bad to say about him, other than the fact he’s the emotional baseball bat his parents used to whack him out of their lives.”

Hawk didn’t like the sound of that. “How so?” he demanded.

“They were opposed to Chayton marrying me,” she admitted in a smaller voice. “They never really said why, but it was kind of obvious. I started off as a teen mom, and they thought he could do better.”

“Their loss,” he declared gruffly.

“They were a little more civil to me after I inherited Gilbert Farm, but just barely.” Her lips twisted. “Actually, Ace Dakota was the only one who thawed out a little. His second wife, Rosamund, has never liked me and has never bothered to hide it.”

“You aren’t kidding.” Hawk gave a huff of agreement. “Johnny, you should’ve heard the woman at the hospital. She was like a cobra ready to strike. Purposely took something Annalee said out of context and used it to throw her out of Ace Dakota’s hospital room.”

“Brutal,” Johnny muttered.

“Anyhow…” Annalee muffled a sigh. “Ace threatened to disinherit Chayton and leave everything to his stepson if Chayton went through with our marriage, which he did. Then his father followed through with his threat, and they never spoke another word to each other. It was so sad,” she mourned. “I hated being the wedge that drove them apart.”

Something about her story didn’t add up for Hawk. “I’m not so sure you were,” he growled. “Your thoughts, Johnny?”

“I’m right there with you, bro,” his friend agreed. “Their entire disagreement reeks of outside interference.”

“Or inside interference,” Hawk countered. A new theory was forming in his mind, one in which a new stepmother had entered Chayton Dakota’s life and had immediately gone to work usurping his relationship with his dad. Her end game was easy to imagine since her son was now in line to inherit Dakota Farm —lock, stock, and barrel. But how far had she gone to secure her son’s inheritance? Had she been willing to kill for it? It was a chilling thought.

Also, what was the point of the venom she was still spewing in Annalee’s direction? Rosamund Dakota had won, hadn’t she? So why did she still view Annalee as a threat?

Hawk didn’t voice his questions aloud, not wanting to upset Annalee any more than she already was. However, his gut told him there was more to the story. What they knew about Chayton Dakota’s life and death right now was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

“One more thing.” Johnny sounded like he was winding down. “Seems as if Rosamund Dakota is back in the hospital.”

“Oh?” Every cell in Hawk’s body went on full alert. “Any chance she was recently involved in a vehicular collision?” A hit-and-run one, to be more precise.

“No idea. According to my sources, she’s undergoing some cosmetic surgery. It sounds like it’s something she does on a regular basis.”

“It is,” Annalee affirmed. “What’s she getting done this time?”

“Nose job.” Johnny’s voice was dry.

A nose job sounded, well, on the nose to Hawk. Was Rosamund Dakota truly getting cosmetic surgery, or was it simply her cover story for getting all bruised and banged up while trying to kill Hawk and Annalee? As far as Hawk was concerned, the fact that she was currently receiving any medical treatment at all made her a prime suspect in the case.

He addedalibi for Rosamund Dakotato his list of things to ask Johnny for in private later.

Chapter 7: Seeing Double

One month later

Annalee plunged her hands into the soil that would soon form a flowerbed, loving the feel of soft, pliable dirt around her fingers. Her fingernails were painted a shade of yellow that Miley had called kayak.

Like a boat on a lake, Mom,she’d said.

Annalee should’ve worn a pair of gloves this morning to protect the manicure her daughter had given her, but she rarely wore gloves. She was too hands-on for that. It was cute, though, seeing her bright yellow fingernails weave in and out of the topsoil.

For the fun of it, she’d pulled a matching yellow hoodie over her head this morning. It was lightweight since it was made from one of those cooling fabrics that were perfect for workouts, or gardening in her case. The long sleeves also helped protect her skin from the sun. At the last minute, though, she’d decided to pair the hoodie with cutoff jean shorts. Since she spent most of her time bent over or squatting, her legs rarely got as much exposure to the sun.

“Hey, Mrs. Gilbert!” One of the girls who lived next door to Hawk rolled up to Annalee on her bike. “Mind if I ride on your track?” She’d proudly informed Annalee the other day that she’d officially graduated from kindergarten and would begin the first grade in August.

Annalee smiled and ushered her toward the dirt track that one of the local residents had just finished grading flat. “Go for it, kiddo. The track is for the whole neighborhood.”

“Yay!” The child happily pedaled off, standing up on the pedals and pumping her skinny little legs as fast as she could. Her dusty pink bike was soon zooming around the track. No doubt she wanted to get a closer look at the playground that was under construction behind a chain link fence.

A layer of sand would go down on the track next, then some crushed granite. They eventually hoped to pave it. Hawk was in the process of crafting a sign that read,No Motorized Vehicles. Both now and later, the track was for walking, bicycles, and strollers only. Not too far down the road, the rez already had a skateboard park and dirt bike trails.

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