“Is Dani with you?”
“With a sitter,” he said.
“At home?”
“I’m picking her up on the way home. Why?”
So that explained why no one had answered when she called his house. He must’ve picked up his messages from the road. Nothing sinister about that. Dear God, was she suspicious of everyone now, even Travis? “I just wondered how the roads are,” she lied, as she’d been driving home from the theater less than an hour earlier.
“Miserable.”
Sipping her chardonnay, she squinted through the swirling snow and saw taillights barely visible on the road. The hairs on the back of her arms lifted. Was it possible that he was passing by and not mentioning it?
“Are you anywhere near my place?”
“No. Why? Is anything wrong?”
Everything, she thought, as she watched the taillights disappear. Everything’s wrong. “Nothing but the weather,” she lied again.
“Let’s make a date when the storm lets up,” he suggested. “I’ll call.”
“Do that. You know, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
“Shoot.”
Jenna steeled herself. “Allie has it in her mind that you were in some kind of elite military group, some kind of special forces.”
“Does she?”
“Is it true?”
“Yeah, but not something I like to talk about,” he said.
“She also mentioned that you’re a private investigator.”
“Hell.” He let out a long breath. “Dani talks too much. Brags. It’s true. I do some insurance fraud or help attorneys find deadbeat dads or people who skip on their bills. That kind of thing. It’s not nearly as glamorous as television would like you to think.”
“And here I thought you were a rancher.”
“I am. But I supplement.”
“Do you carry a gun?” she asked.
“Only when I think I’ll need one, but yeah, I have a permit. Jenna, what’s with all the questions?”
“I was just curious,” she said, wondering why she couldn’t confide in him, why she suddenly didn’t trust him, why avoiding the truth seemed so important.
“Listen, I’ll tell you all about myself over dinner, but I’m afraid I’m not nearly as exciting or mysterious as my daughter would like people to think. Hey, I’m at the sitter’s, so I’d better go.”
“Tell Dani ‘hi,’ and don’t be too hard on her for bragging you up, okay?”
“Never,” he promised, his voice softening slightly at the mention of his daughter. “She’s the president of my fan club. Probably the only member. I’ll call later.”
He hung up and Jenna was left feeling ambivalent. Was he the caring father she’d thought he was, or someone she didn’t really know, a man with a fiercely guarded secret life?
Oh, get over yourself, Jenna. You’re jumping at every shadow that crosses your path. Travis Settler is a good guy. You know that. Trust your feminine instincts, for God’s sake, and quit longing for Shane Carter. Now there’s a man with problems!
She walked closer to the window. Through the blizzard, she saw a movement near the stable, a dark figure moving silently. Her heart jolted before she realized the man was Turnquist, walking the perimeter of the grounds. Just as he did each night. He varied the times he checked the fence line, sometimes taking Critter with him, sometimes wearing night goggles. He secured the stable, sheds, and barn, double-checking locks, doors, and windows, and rarely seemed to sleep. Yet Jenna didn’t feel completely safe and wondered if she ever would. She corked the wine bottle and put it in the refrigerator before carrying her near-finished glass upstairs. She heard water running and a radio blaring over the rush of water in the bathroom as Cassie showered. Allie, the dog at her feet, was curled on her bed and watching television. Critter heard Jenna in the doorway and lifted his head, his tail bouncing off the quilt in soft thuds.