Her nerves were shot. Dammit, if only she had time for a cigarette. . . .
The thought triggered a desperate plan. The wind was blowing out of the west, back toward her pursuer. Yes, it could work.
Except for a few scratches, the Harley appeared undamaged. Opening one of the panniers, she took out a box of cookies she’d picked up days ago at Shop Mart. Dumping the cookies on the ground, she tore the box open flat, clicked her lighter and touched the flame to one corner. As the cardboard caught she tossed it under a tinder-dry bush. In the seconds it took to rev up the bike and speed away, a wall of fire flared behind her, wind blowing the flames toward the wash.
She’d covered a good half mile when she heard the blast of a fiery explosion. Behind her, a tower of black smoke rose against the sky. Marie’s mouth tightened in a satisfied smile. She hoped the scumbag who’d tried to kill her had been inside the SUV when it blew, but she wasn’t going back to find out.
With a war whoop of victory, she swung back toward the main road. She’d done it. She was safe.
By the time the wind shifted direction, blowing smoke and flame back toward the Rimrock, Marie was too far away to care.
CHAPTER 19
Sky stood next to Lauren as her father’s casket sank into the sunbaked earth. The brief service in the family plot was sparsely attended. Will and Beau were there to support Lauren and pay their respects to their lifelong neighbor. Natalie was working, but Tori had come, leaving Erin at a friend’s. A few near neighbors, along with Randall Clawson, who managed the ranch for the syndicate, and Reverend Bunker Sykes from the Blanco Springs Community Church rounded out the small gathering.
Jasper had refused to go, declaring that anything good he had to say about Garn Prescott would be a lie. Bernice, who’d sent over some fresh banana bread, had chosen to stay home and look after her brother.
Sky glanced at Lauren’s downcast profile. Beneath her narrow-brimmed, black straw hat, a lock of mahogany hair that the hot wind had loosened fluttered across her cheek. He’d seen no tears today. She and her father had barely had a civil relationship, let alone a close one. But he knew she was mourning all the same for what might have been and now could never be.
During the final prayer her hand
had crept into his, fingers holding on tight. He was all she had now. He wanted to let her know he’d always be there for her. But before he complicated her life with a proposal, Lauren would need time to heal and let go of the past.
It was a relief to get out of the burning sun and into the air-cooled house. Lauren lifted off her hat and tossed it onto the back of a chair. Only Sky knew how deeply the day had drained her strength.
“Sit,” he ordered, guiding her to the couch. “I’ll get you a plate and some cold lemonade.”
“Thanks.” She gave him a wan smile. “I’m going to sleep around the clock when this is over.”
“Do that. Anything else can wait till you’re feeling a hundred percent.” Sky walked to the buffet table, where he filled two plates with cold ham and turkey sliders, some potato salad, and some fresh strawberries. Will and Beau were on opposite sides of the room, their backs toward each other. Will was talking to Randall Clawson, the syndicate manager. Beau had cornered the reverend, maybe to discuss arrangements for his August wedding to Natalie. Since the news that he was leaving, the two brothers had barely spoken to each other. They’d even driven separately to the service, Will having made the excuse that he might have to leave early.
Returning to Lauren’s side, Sky found that Tori had joined her. After pulling up an extra chair, he set the plates and glasses on the coffee table between them. “Anything I can get you, Tori?”
“No, thanks. I’ll be going out with Natalie when she gets off work.” She sipped her lemonade, her gaze shifting from Will to Beau. “What are we going to do about those two? This can’t go on.”
“Beats me,” Sky said. “They’re both as stubborn as . . . mules.” As stubborn as their father, he’d almost said. “Beau won’t be leaving for a few more weeks. Maybe between now and then they’ll work things out.”
“I don’t know about that,” Tori said. “I keep remembering the last time, when Beau quarreled with his father and didn’t come back for eleven years. Erin’s heartbroken. She was so excited about having a little cousin to play with. Now . . .” She shook her head. “I’m afraid this might be my fault. Not long ago I warned Natalie not to let Beau move her into the ranch house. Heaven knows, I meant well. I didn’t want her marriage to go the way mine did. Now I realize I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Tori.” Lauren laid a hand on her friend’s arm. “It was Beau’s decision to take his old job back.”
“But don’t you see? If I hadn’t given Natalie that advice, maybe she would’ve talked Beau out of leaving.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Tori,” Sky said. “Beau and Natalie are grown-ups. We can’t make their decisions for them.”
“Speaking of decisions,” Tori said, changing the subject. “I apologize for the bad timing, Lauren, but I need to ask you this. There’s a family interested in buying the Axelrod house. I told them they were second in line. Do you want me to hold it for you?”
Lauren hesitated, but only for an instant. “No, that wouldn’t be fair. Not with—”
The rest of her response was cut off by the jangle of Will’s cell phone. He’d turned it off for the graveside service, but he must’ve switched it on again. Heads swiveled toward the sound as Will grabbed the phone out of his pocket.
“What is it, Jasper?” He stepped into a quiet corner of the room, his fingers tightening on the phone. “What? . . . How close? . . . Hang on. We’re on our way.”
He turned back toward the people in the room. “Fire on the Rimrock, this side of the east boundary.” Will’s voice and manner were amazingly calm. “Jasper’s called nine-one-one, but it might take the firefighters some time to get here. In the meantime, our first concern is to get everybody safe.”
“You can count on me to help, Will,” one of the ranchers said.
“No, Sam, you’ve got your own property to protect,” Will said. “If the wind changes, the fire could go anywhere. Randall—” He glanced toward the Prescott Ranch manager. “This place is the closest to ours. It could go next. You’ll want to get your buildings hosed down and your stock out of the way.”