Stella’s brother kept a Glock under the cash register. When we went down to the bar to check, it wasn’t there.”
“Are you thinking the missing gun could be the one they found?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Sky said. “Maybe we’d better keep that to ourselves till the lab checks for prints. If Stella and Nick are behind the murder, we don’t want Abner going in and spooking them too early.”
“I agree.” Beau’s hazel eyes narrowed. “But one thing keeps chewing on me. Stella’s a smart broad, and I get the feeling Nicky doesn’t even blow his nose without her giving the order. So if they killed Coy, why would they be sloppy enough to toss the murder weapon at the scene?”
Sky was about to respond when Will’s pickup came roaring around the house and pulled up to the porch, braking in a cloud of dust. After swinging to the ground, Will strode to the foot of the porch steps. His disapproving glare made words unnecessary. Sky rose, ready to spring into action if needed. Beau remained where he was, sipping the last of his beer.
“If you two have finished your break, I’ve got some news. Wildfire, a hundred miles to the south of here. It’s already burned a house and a barn. The owners were lucky to get their stock out in time.”
“You’re not thinking it’ll make it this far?” Beau was instantly on alert.
“From what I heard on the news, they stopped it from jumping the highway. But if a fire can happen there, it can happen here. If it does—and we have to assume it will—we’ve got to be ready.”
“Tell us what you’ve got in mind.” Sky was already thinking of his horses, everyone of them precious.
“For now, we’ll put every man we can spare to digging a firebreak around the barns and buildings—that means clearing away anything that’ll burn. Beau, I’m putting you in charge. Get Jasper’s advice. He’s fought fires before. Take the backhoe, any equipment that will make things go faster. Sky, you draw up an evacuation plan for the horses and other stock on the lower ranch. I’ll want to see a priority list—which ones to get out first and which ones to leave behind if there’s no time to save them all.”
No time to save them . . .
Leaden-hearted, Sky headed for the long barn. He’d seen what range fires could do to stock, seen the horror of it, and knew what had to be done. Starting with the most valuable, the animals would be trailered out in relays, probably to the cattle pens on the caprock. Any horses set free to run could be trapped by the fire or become lost to starve or die of thirst.
In his head, he was already assembling the priority list for Will, with Erin’s palomino foal and its parents at the top, to be followed by the other brood mares with their foals, the studs and the colts Sky was working to train. The older animals, like the paddock cows, docile old Belle, and the burro that kept the stallions company in their barn, would be left for last, perhaps even shot if the fire was closing in.
The process of moving so many animals would have to begin at the first whiff of danger. But there was one thing Sky knew. Regardless of Will’s orders, if a fire threatened the ranch, no matter how close it burned, he would not be leaving any animal behind, no matter how old or feeble. He would stay until every last one was safe.
Any fire that threatened the Rimrock would also imperil the Prescott Ranch. Did the syndicate-hired manager who was running the place have any experience with fires? Would he know what to do?
Sky hadn’t heard from Lauren since the night she’d driven him back to the house. She’d done a good job of hiding her anger until the very last. But her parting question, after he’d promised to be there for her, had betrayed her true feelings.
Will you? she’d demanded, then gunned the car and shot down the drive without giving him a chance to reply.
Sky couldn’t say he blamed her. He’d tried to do the best thing for them both, but clearly that wasn’t what she’d wanted. He missed her more than he’d ever thought possible. There’d been times when he’d almost called her. Pride had stopped him, but now he had a reason. If Lauren was still on the ranch, she would need to be warned about the fire danger.
Maybe it was a lame excuse. But the urge to hear her voice and know she was all right drove him to punch in the number and press the call button. The phone rang on the other end—once, then again and again before the recorded answer voice came on.
“You have reached . . .”
Never mind. The fire danger was on all the news broadcasts and in the paper. There was no way anybody with eyes and ears could miss it. He’d only been using it as an excuse to make an unnecessary call, and Lauren would have seen right through him.
Sky ended the call without leaving a message.
CHAPTER 12
Lauren slid into the booth at Burger Shack and greeted the smiling blond woman who waited for her on the other side of the table.
“Thanks for meeting me, Tori. When I called your number, all I wanted was the name of a Realtor. I certainly didn’t expect to be having lunch with you. Since you’re doing me a favor, I hope you’ll let me treat you.”
“Only if you promise to let me treat next time—and that there will be a next time.” Will’s ex-wife sipped the Diet Coke she’d ordered along with the mushroom pizza they’d agreed to split. She was a stunning woman, tall and slim, her loose, sun-streaked hair anchored by the sunglasses she’d pushed up onto her head.
Lauren had put off phoning her, hoping she could find a place to rent or buy on her own. But after weeks of scanning the ads in the paper and finding nothing, she’d summoned her nerve and called the number Sky had given her. Tori’s friendly manner had put her at ease right away.
The teenage waitress came to take Lauren’s order—a Coke to go with the pizza. Lauren had turned off her cell phone in the car. She didn’t want this visit interrupted by a call, especially from her father, grilling her about where she was and whom she was with.
“As I told you,” Tori continued, “Blanco Springs is a small town. There’s not enough business here to support a Realtor. But my work helps keep me on top of what’s happening. If you’ll tell me what you’re looking for, I can at least keep an ear to the ground.”
“Thanks,” Lauren said. “Things have become nonstop crazy with my father. He’s started tracking my every move. And he keeps pressuring me to date men who can help his campaign. I’ve got to get out on my own.”