Page 51 of Mountain Rescue
“Are they all married?”
“Only Cheyenne. Austin came close a few years ago, but when she found out she’d have to sign a prenup, she broke up with him. Obviously, he dodged a bullet with that one. The rule was put in effect by my great-grandfather when one of his daughters got divorced, which was pretty unheard of back then. Her husband tried to claim ownership of the ranch. Any Manning who marries without getting a prenup now loses their inheritance.”
“That sounds kind of harsh...losing your inheritance. I can understand the prenup, considering the size of your ranch and all. I checked out the ranch’s website when I found out June was going there. Talk about impressive.” Pink stained her cheeks. “I wasn’t snooping, just wanted to make sure she was going someplace safe.”
Pink was pretty on her. He wondered where else on her body she blushed...where he could make her blush. “The website is public, so you weren’t snooping. Your grandmother’s safe. I promise.”
“I believe you. So, what about you? Where do you fit in?”
And that was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? “I don’t know.” How’d the conversation get turned to him? He stood. “You cooked. I’ll clean. Why don’t you take the rest of your wine to the living room and relax? Or have a nice bath.”
She put her hand on his wrist. “Dallas. Where do you fit in?”
He dropped back down in the chair. “Nowhere. Shiloh and I are the youngest, and all the jobs were taken by the time we were out of school. That was why I joined the Navy, and she joined the Coast Guard.”
“If you could, what job would you choose?”
“The horses, but Phoenix has that covered.”
“So you’ll stay in the Navy when your leave is up?”
“Not sure.” He was sure, and the answer was no, but he couldn’t stand seeing the sadness in her eyes that was for him. “Nothing I have to think about today.” He stood again, and this time, she didn’t stop him. “Go relax.”
“Why don’t I help?”
“Nope. I got this.” Her phone buzzed, and he picked it up from the counter. He glanced at the screen. “It’s the detective.”
“I guess he’s calling to tell me they found Henri’s body. I’m not supposed to know that, right?”
“Right.” A minute later, his phone buzzed, TG’s name on the screen. “Talk to me.” He walked out to the porch. TG would know that Rachel was on the phone with the detective, and that meant TG had information he didn’t want her to overhear.
“How’s Rachel holding up?”
“Pretty good, although she took it hard learning how Henrietta’s body was disposed of.”
“Not surprising. That was harsh. I’ll leave it up to you whether to tell her or not, but a man showed up at the Wyoming ranch looking for her grandmother. He claimed to be her son.”
“Does June have a son?” Rachel hadn’t mentioned one.
“Negative. Unfortunately, they don’t have cameras. I’ve got a vague description and that he drove a black Escalade, and that’s it.”
“Shit.”
“My sentiments, exactly. But we got Rachel’s grandmother out of there before Hargrove’s men found her, and that’s what counts.”
“Thank you for that. I don’t think she could get over losing June. What about the FBI? I’m surprised Rachel hasn’t heard from them again.”
“Their focus at the moment is on diving into Hargrove’s involvement in his illegal activities. Most especially, they want to know who he’s selling arms to. They’ve decided that Rachel can’t help them with any of that for now, nor can she help them find him, so she’s not on their radar. She will be after they find him, and he goes to trial. She’ll be their star witness on the murder charge.”
“How the hell do you find all this stuff out?” He snorted. “Never mind. It’s one of those if you told me, you’d have to kill me things.”
“Affirmative, and I really don’t fancy taking you out. I know you’re being vigilant, but it’s time to start being extra cautious.”
“Copy that. Speaking of being cautious, I need you to do me a favor. Rachel and I went to a grocery store the first day I was here. Can you hack into their security and erase the footage they have of us?”
“I thought you were going to give me something hard to do. What store?”
He gave TG the store’s name and the date they were there. “I’m expecting Hargrove or his men to show up any day now.”
