Page 27 of Operation Wolf: Hunter
“Nice to meet you too,” Leta replied before releasing her to give Kia a critical eye. She then reached out and pinched Kia’s waist, causing her to squeak again. “You’ve got a real nice figure, but I’d feel a lot better if you put a bit more meat on your bones, Miss Nash. Let’s see if we can do something about it.”
Bemused, I set the other bag on the table and watched as Leta unpacked containers of macaroni and cheese, ribs, creamed spinach, and large, round biscuits that made my mouth water just looking at them. Even Kia looked ravenous as she came back from the kitchen with a stack of plates and silverware. Leta’s cooking had that effect on people.
“I do hope I brought enough,” Leta said as she served us both. “You two look famished.” She folded up the paper bags, tucking them under her arm, and then she picked up her purse and prepared to leave.
“You’re not staying?” Kia asked around a mouthful of biscuit.
“Oh no,” Leta said. “I’ve still got more work to do back at Golden Cattle Ranch before I turn in for the night.” She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “You two be good now.”
I walked Leta to the door, making sure she made it to her car safely. Generally, there was no danger out in these parts, but coyotes and wolves sometimes crossed onto ranch property, and I was still feeling edgy after that strange man’s visit today. I needed to talk to Kia about what I’d found out and make her understand just what it was we were up against.
When I returned to the dining room, I found Kia scooping a second helping of ribs and macaroni and cheese onto her empty plate.
“I thought you weren’t hungry,” I teased, settling back down to my own plate of food.
“It’s amazing what a compliment and the sight of good food can do for one’s appetite,” Kia said dryly, but there was a twinkle in her eye. Her frozen dinner had been shoved off to the side, practically untouched. She paused for a moment. “I appreciate your apology, Hunter. Some guys don’t have what it takes to admit they’re wrong.”
I snorted. “I can’t say I don’t struggle with that issue every once in a while,” I admitted, “but I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us. But, really, Kia, I found out some important stuff today that you need to know about.”
Between bites of food, I told her about my visit with Mrs. Jones and Johnny. Kia interrupted occasionally to ask a question, but for the most part, she listened in silence, a look of intense concentration on her face.
“Did the ranch hand corroborate her story?” she asked.
I nodded. “Johnny pretty much said the same thing—that Old Daniel had fired off most of his workers, drastically cut down on Johnny’s own hours, and became extremely tightfisted about money.”
“I don’t know what the hell was going on,” Johnny had said, scowling off into the distance. “I thought maybe Mr. Nash had lost a bunch of money on an investment or a wager, but I can’t see why he’d have risked the ranch on something foolish like that. The only thing I can think of is that he was being blackmailed, but I can’t think of what someone would have over a sweet old guy like him.”
“Do you know who that slicker works for?”
Kia frowned. “Um . . . hang on a sec.” She dug a card out of one of the front pocket of her jeans. “Samuel Bradley,” she read. “President of Bradley and Radcliffe, Inc.”
I scowled. “Mrs. Jones said she thought the man who’d tried to buy the ranch off Old Daniel might’ve been Branson or Branford. It’s too much of a coincidence.”
Kia sat back, her plate practically licked clean. “You think Samuel was the same man who tried to buy the ranch from my great-uncle?”
“It’s a strong possibility,” I answered. “Mrs. Jones said the man seemed pretty insistent about buying the ranch, so I can’t imagine him not coming back out of the woodwork once he discovered Old Daniel had died.” I frowned again. “You know, I can’t help but think I’ve heard the name Bradley and Radcliffe somewhere,” I mused aloud. “I think I’ll call up my brother in the morning and see if he knows anything about the company.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Kia stood up and started clearing the table. “I think it would be best to see what you can find out about this guy before we make any kind of decision. I’d hate for us to go after a man who’s innocent.”
I snorted. “Trust me, I’ve done business with men like Bradley. He’s far from innocent.”
The man’s reptilian gaze sent shivers down my spine.
Samuel Bradley was stone-cold, no doubt about it. The kind of guy who would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. I could easily imagine him blackmailing an old man in an attempt to force him to sell off the ranch.
Putting aside the subject for the night, I helped Kia clear the table. Then I took up a position in front of the farm sink and started filling it with water. “I’ll wash,” I said, tossing Kia a dishrag. “You dry.”
We worked in silence for a long while—me scrubbing plates and setting them in the dish rack, Kia hand-drying them and putting them away. She was fast, I observed. I picked up my own pace to try to keep up with her. She was drying the dishes faster than I could hand them to her.
“You used to do this for a living or something?” I asked, half joking.
Kia’s answer surprised me. “I had a dishwashing job at the college cafeteria,” she told me without pausing from her work. “Between that and the freelance photography work that I did later on in my college career, I was able to afford my books and my share of room and board at the dorm.”
I frowned. “Didn’t your parents help you out with any of that?”
Kia shook her head. “No. When my father left my mother for another woman, he cut me out of his life too. And, well . . . my mother wasn’t good for much of anything, except a bottle of whiskey.” She spoke matter-of-factly, but I knew she had to be hurting about it still. “I worked my ass off in high school, so I could earn an academic scholarship to NYU. I got my undergrad degree in photography and imaging, and I haven’t looked back since.”
“Wow.” I pulled the plug, allowing the sudsy water to drain out of the sink. “Well, your mother must have at least been proud of you, right?”
