Page 14 of Silverstorm

“Nice to meet you.” Cat shook Aria’s hand with a handshake firmer than most men, and Aria hid her shock that the ranch mechanic was a woman.

“Dean often says this place would stop functioning without Cat,” Naomi said, affectionately patting the other woman on the shoulder. “She can get any piece of machinery or equipment back up and running.” Aria didn’t doubt it. This woman looked fit and athletic, and highly capable. Not someone to be messed with. But Naomi was clearly fond of her and so Aria decided she must not be all hard edges and sharp eyes; she’d delay her judgement until she knew the woman better.

“Are you coming down for afternoon tea?”

Cat scowled at the tractor as if it held some untold secret it wasn’t letting go of. “Yes, I’ll be there,” she finally agreed. “I need a break from this heap of crap, anyway. Dean reckons I can fix anything, but I’m not so sure about this one.”

“Good, I’ll see you in twenty minutes, then.” And with that, Naomi took off, leaving Aria to scurry behind her.

Next, they visited the stables where she met Clayton, Penny’s boyfriend—they shared a couple’s cabin and were the ranch’s latest loved-up pair, according to Naomi. Poor Clayton, he tried to hide his slight awkwardness at Naomi’s oversharing, but then Aria guessed you either got used to her boss’s bubbly persona, where everyone was an open book, or you simply didn’t work at Stargazer. She was then introduced to Tom and Emily, who’d just returned with a group of guests after having taken them horse riding through the foothills. Another loved-up couple. Aria was beginning to wonder if there was something in the water. The stables were abuzz with noise, people chatting, horses snorting as they were being unsaddled, and it was warm and friendly out of the wintry breeze. Aria had never been on a working ranch before. She might’ve been born in a small country town, but this was all completely alien to her. She decided she liked it; the camaraderie and the banter, the musky smell of the horses and sawdust.

Then she and Naomi went back to the lodge, just in time to join the rest of the staff for afternoon tea. Cat was already there, helping herself to a slice of delicious-looking chocolate cake and berating Dean about his old-fashioned stance on having to fix everything, instead of replace it. She was introduced to Joseph, the head chef, and Stella, the amazing French cook who’d created the pastries she’d been offered the other day, along with the new apprentice cook, Markus. Then there was Gordon, the activities coordinator, a Scottish gentleman with a smart, gray beard who reminded her of the comedian Billy Connolly. As soon as Gordon saw Naomi, he took her by the arm and dragged her aside to ask her about whether he should set up the outdoor archery kits for some of the child guests this afternoon. The ranch crew piled in through the door, Clayton, Tom, Emily and another two she hadn’t met yet, but who she knew must be Steph, an older lady who’d worked at Stargazer forever, and their new recruit Jimbo, from Naomi’s descriptions.

Stella took a chair next to Aria and smiled at her warmly. Aria might’ve had her mouth open, gawping at the group of busy, cheerful people, because Stella said, “We’re like one big happy family. And this isn’t even all of us. We have two ladies who come from town and help with dinner service, and an assistant cook, Violet, who’ll arrive later on this afternoon as well. There’s also Myrna, the full-time cleaner, who lives in town, plus a couple of other extras when we’re really busy.”

“Wow. It’s a big crew,” Aria breathed.

“Yes, it is. But everyone has their place, and we all work well together, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. You’ll fit in as well, don’t worry,” Stella assured her.

Aria was beginning to learn that this place took a village of people to keep it running. It was a complex web of personalities and jobs, and if any one of them broke a link, it might all come tumbling down.

And Stella might just be right. She might enjoy working here. She could see herself fitting in. Perhaps this’d been the right move after all.

She had a new job and a place to stay—no longer homeless and living out of her car. They were definitely steps in the right direction. And even though she hated to be thought of as a charity case, she was glad she’d accepted Jude’s offer of the cottage in his backyard. It was the best two nights’ sleep she had in a long time. She was determined to pay him rent from her first paycheck, just to prove to him—and to herself—that she could indeed stand on her own two feet.

While lying awake, luxuriating in the soft bed on the night Jude had brought her back to his place, she’d even wondered if this might turn into a permanent solution. If she could perhaps start paying him rent and live in the cottage full-time. But that illusion had been shattered the following morning when he’d kissed her. Or had she kissed him? Or was it somewhere in between? Whatever the truth, she’d been avoiding Jude ever since. She wasn’t in the market for a relationship at the moment. Things were way too complicated. And if he found out she was an unwed mother-to-be whose boyfriend had kicked her out when he learned about the baby, then Jude was likely to do the same. And even if he didn’t evict her, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her from that moment on. Of that much, she was sure. Perhaps she wasn’t giving him enough credit, because he did seem like a nice guy, but her experience of men had taught her that they were often selfish beings and weren’t to be trusted.

Stella interrupted her introspection by handing her a plate filled with cake and other pastries, which Aria accepted gratefully. All that weight she’d lost while living in her car was about to go back on her hips in one afternoon if she ate this lot. And if this was how they ate at the ranch every day, she wouldn’t need to worry about the pregnancy showing too soon, as she’d be as big as a house before long.

Half an hour later, Naomi beckoned Aria back to the office. Aria pushed the plate away and patted her stomach. Her good intentions not to finish everything on the plate had gone out the window as soon as she tasted it. No need for dinner tonight.

Now, the two women settled back behind the desk, and Aria took the initiative to ask a few questions before Naomi got too bogged down in all her plans and ideas again.

“Is there a budget for this new venture?” Aria hardly dared to ask. But she needed to know. Naomi was talking big picture stuff, new buildings, infrastructure, livestock, and even employing new staff to help out. But Aria wondered about the smaller details, like, was there money allocated for the marketing side of things?

“A budget?” Naomi seemed surprised. “Well, no, not really—”

There was a knock on the door, and both she and Naomi looked up from their papers to see Penny standing nervously in the doorway.

“Deputy Wilder and a detective are here to see you,” she said hurriedly before Naomi could ask.

Aria’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Jude’s name. He was here. In the flesh. Crap. She needed to stop that reaction. This was no longer a schoolgirl crush. She needed to remind herself to keep her distance and stay cool. It never occurred to her that a deputy and a detective arriving together could mean anything sinister.

Naomi straightened and replied, “Well, send them in. Can you clear a pathway for the two gentlemen?” she added to Aria, pointing at the papers strewn all over the floor.

Just as Aria got down on her hands and knees, Penny said with an awkward grimace, “Um… It’s actually Aria they’ve come to see.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

JUDE SAT IN the passenger seat next to Detective Brady as they drove out to Stargazer Ranch. Jude kept his face blank, but inside he was seething. Brady was the homicide detective dispatched from Missoula to investigate Tango’s murder, and already Jude didn’t like him. Tall, clean-shaven, dressed in designer jeans and dark overcoat, the man was cocky and sure of himself. He’d marched into the Cusack house demanding to know if anything had been touched or moved, demanding to know if the next of kin have been told yet, then grilling the sheriff to make sure protocol had been followed to the letter, and generally treating the sheriff and the deputies with the disdain he thought they deserved. He’d even winked at Susan when he’d asked her to go and retrieve a piece of equipment from his car for him, as if she were some topless waitress at a local strip joint and he’d asked her to go and get him a beer. The other two officers that accompanied him treated Brady with professional regard, but Jude could see their equal distaste hovering beneath the surface. At least Jude knew he wasn’t alone in his dislike.

Brady had recently been transferred to the Missoula office, and this was the first time they’d had the pleasure of working with him. Jude hoped it’d also be the last, as did Susan, if her glower at the man was anything to go by. Susan hated any form of male chauvinism and this guy was handing it out in spades. And if the man kept up his obvious lack of regard for the way the sheriff’s office conducted their business, it may well be his last job in Stevensville. Hank didn’t take kindly to being told what to do, or treated like a snot-nosed kid fresh out of deputy training. Hank’s mustache was getting a workout as he tugged viciously on the ends every time Brady made a comment.

After a thorough examination of the body, the house, and the surrounding garden, Brady had called in his findings to his superior. The guy was doing everything correctly by the book, and Jude couldn’t fault Brady’s procedure, it was just his attitude that stank. By that stage, the sheriff had left in a huff, ostensibly to go and handle a fender bender up by the local gas station, telling Jude and Susan to keep him updated.

The detective had asked for the names of the next of kin because he wanted to talk to them immediately. Susan had told him that Tango had two daughters currently in town and Brady wanted both home and work addresses. Jude thought about Aria, who’d be nearly finished her second day at a new job and had argued they could at least wait another hour and a half until she came home. He knew without having to be told that she’d be mortified if her new boss, as well as everyone at Stargazer, were to see two police officers arriving to talk to her.

Jude had argued until he was blue in the face, but Brady wouldn’t be swayed. He wanted to talk to Aria Cusack as soon as possible, and then Iliana. But Aria was first on his list, especially after he found out that she’d only returned to town a few days ago. Around the same time as her father was murdered, in fact. In Brady’s words, he wanted to confront her, which Jude didn’t like the sound of, as if Brady thought she had something to do with Tango’s death.

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