Shifting Calder Wind (Calder Saga 7)

“We all are,” she said and shrugged. “But there really isn’t anything we can do now except wait for the coroner to arrive.”

“I can see that.” Laredo took the hint. “I guess I’ll be going then.”

When he turned to leave, Jessy moved to his side and fell in step with him. “Thanks again for stopping,” she said, loud enough for her father to hear.

“Thanks aren’t necessary.”

“Probably not,” she agreed. When they reached the front entry, she pushed Laredo out the door and stepped out after him, darting a furtive and slightly anxious look behind her. “Be sure to tell Chase about Sally,” she said in a hurried undertone. “He probably doesn’t remember, but Sally’s been in love with him for years, even before he and Maggie were married.”

“Was he fond of her?” Laredo asked curiously.

“Fond is probably the right word. I don’t think Chase ever felt anything more than that for her,” Jessy admitted, turning thoughtful. “After Maggie died, I really thought the day would come when he would turn to Sally. But he never did. Instead Sally grieved herself to death over him. Do you see the irony in that? She died without ever finding out he is still alive.”

It wasn’t a question that required a verbal answer, and Laredo didn’t make one. There was little in Jessy’s expression that revealed the sorrow and regret he sensed in her. But he understood the stoicism she used to contain her feelings. She saw nothing to be gained from giving rise to them.

“I’ll make sure he knows about Sally,” he promised and turned as a set of headlight beams sliced an arc across the ranch yard, taking aim on The Homestead.

Jessy noticed them as well and swore softly, “Damn. It’s Logan. You had better go. Quick. Cat is bound to have said something to him about you.”

But Laredo knew that undue haste was the surest way to arouse a lawman’s suspicions. That knowledge prompted him to first touch his hat to Jessy and amble across the veranda to the steps. Halfway down them, he met Echohawk on his way up.

“Evenin’,” Laredo nodded to him as if he had nothing in the world to hide. But he felt the touch of those gray eyes on his back when he passed him.

Projecting every ounce of calm she could muster, Jessy waited for Logan to reach her. “I guess you heard about Sally,” she said in lieu of a greeting.

“Jenna called me at the ranch,” he said with a nod, then glanced in Laredo’s direction as he disappeared around the side of the house. “Is that the new man Cat was telling me about?”

“Laredo Smith, yes,” Jessy confirmed. She released an audible sigh. “I guess I don’t have to ask what Cat said about him.”

“I guess you don’t.” There was something gentle about the brief curve to his mouth. “I didn’t expect to see him here tonight.” Logan also hadn’t expected to see the bulge in the cowboy’s boot when he went down the steps.

“An ambulance parked in front of The Homestead tends to attract attention,” Jessy replied. “I would have thought less of him if he hadn’t stopped to find out what was wrong.”

“You’re right, of course,” Logan acknowledged.

“Does Cat know about Sally?”

He nodded. “She wanted to come, but Quint was already in bed asleep.”

“It’s just as well. There wouldn’t have been anything she could do.”

“That’s what I told her.” The growl of the pickup’s engine turning over drew Logan’s attention to the side of the house. It stayed there to watch Laredo’s pickup back into the ranch yard. When Jessy turned to go back inside, Logan asked, “Does he always carry a hideaway?”

Jessy swung back, frowning in genuine puzzlement. “A what?”

“A hideaway,” Logan repeated the term, then clarified, “That’s another word for a concealed weapon.”

“What are you talking about?” She let her frown deepen and mask the sudden shaft of unease.

“I noticed the thickness in his right boot when he was coming down the steps. I worked with a Texan once who always carried a hideaway in an ankle holster. His boot looked just like that. It’s something you remember if you want to stay alive in my business.” His tone had an offhand quality to it, but Jessy wasn’t fooled by its casualness. “I hope he has a license to carry that.”

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She feigned an indifferent shrug. “You should have asked him.”

“I’m here as family tonight. But there will be another time.” Logan copied her shrug while his gray eyes continued to study her with close attention. “Just how well do you know him, Jessy?”

“Don’t you start on me about him, Logan,” she said in exasperation. “Not tonight. I received enough grief about Laredo from Cat. I don’t need more right now.”