“Absolutely,” she said, hoping it was true.
The walk back to the ranch house was a lot faster than the one to the damaged fence. But going in this direction, they didn’t need to check for any indication of where the cattle were or who’d rustled them through that fence.
Or whether there were any more charms on the ground.
Not until tomorrow.
And, yes, she would be going along with Casey. It was important to her to do the best job possible here. This ranch had become her refuge after leaving her past behind, and she adored its cattle. She intended to help to save the stolen ones. Period.
She had to give Casey credit for not grumbling or protesting when she said, as they started back, “So I assume that, as the first person to find evidence in your crime investigation, I can come along tomorrow and continue to help you.”
“I assume so,” he said resignedly. He shot her a crooked sideways smile. “And, yeah, we can do the kind of stakeout you described.”
She couldn’t help smiling back and was careful not to make it appear she was gloating. Or at least not too much.
Besides, Casey was one good-looking guy, so it wasn’t hard to smile at him.
Not that she had any intention of allowing her goal of helping to find the missing cattle by working with this guy turn into any kind of personal interest in him.
She’d learned her lesson not too long ago. It was why she had left her Texas home and found a job here, in Arizona, as a ranch hand, after her ugly, depressing divorce.
She knew now that it hadn’t been the smartest thing to marry her high-school sweetheart, Travis Ellison, and follow him to Dallas. They’d only been married a couple of years before Travis, who’d become a big-city banker, had left her for a colleague, a much younger woman named Loretta Lane.
What had made it even more heartbreaking was that Travis had told Melody she was a “country girl,” and he needed a “real woman.”
Whatever that meant, it had hurt. A lot. She had sometimes suspected the worst about Travis before then, that he was cheating on her, but since she’d thought she loved him, she’d stayed with him, hoping they could work things out. At least she’d tried, but it had also hurt that he didn’t seem to care.
That insult had finally led to the inevitable end of their relationship.
And, if being a skilled and happy ranch hand meant she was a country girl, then that was fine with her.
She realized she’d somehow sped up even more as she allowed her thoughts to go—as they often did these days—in that painful direction.
“Hey, what’s your hurry?” Casey called as he caught up with her again. “Got a hot date tonight?”
She slowed a bit and turned to look into his face. His expression was teasing, yet she read some curiosity there, too. “Yeah, sure. With some horses. I need to make sure they’re taken care of, and also want to figure out which’ll be best on our stakeout.”
“Right. Good idea. But you do understand, don’t you, that I’m planning to stay out there till I—we—find those missing cattle? You can return to your place at the ranch anytime, of course, but—”
“And you’ll love it if I quit, won’t you? Well, don’t count on it. I’m in this to win, too. Those cows…well, they’re kind of my wards now. They’re mine, though I don’t own them and just care for them. That’s my job and my vocation. And I’ll do anything to bring them home safely.” Including argue with him, to save the cattle she cared for.
She was surprised that Casey stopped walking, but she did, too. She couldn’t quite interpret his expression, but he appeared impressed, somehow.
Or maybe that was what she hoped he felt.
“Bringing them home safely is my job, too. And I’m glad to have someone like you helping me.”
A warmth spread through her. He looked serious. But—
“But you didn’t want me around and only gave in because I did something helpful.”
He gave a brief laugh. “That’s the point, isn’t it? Something helpful could grow into more. Or that’s what I’m counting on. Do more of it!” He chuckled again.
“Count on it,” she said, hoping she was capable of doing what she had just promised.
“And in case you’re concerned, I understand that the stakeout you described involves sleeping outdoors for possibly several nights, camping out. I’m sure you understand that, too. But…well, if it makes you uncomfortable being alone with me that way, feel free to back out anytime and go home.”
“Same goes for you,” she said, liking his attitude…kind of. He wasn’t meeting her eyes, as if he was embarrassed. But being alone with this man, sleeping alone with him out in the open…well, yeah, it made her uncomfortable, mostly with her own feelings. Damn if she didn’t find this dedicated, uniformed sheriff’s deputy too appealing. Too sexy.
But she wouldn’t act on it, and wouldn’t allow him to, either.
And, in fact, she reminded herself—as if she needed to—she had good reason not to become attracted to him or any other man. Not now, certainly. Not so soon.
And definitely not until she got to know someone well enough to feel sure he wasn’t just playing games with this “country girl.”
“If I get too suggestive with you,” she continued, still trying to keep the conversation light, “or you become uncomfortable for any other reason, well, I’ll keep looking for my cows and you can go home.”
He laughed. “Sounds like a challenge to me. Who’ll get most uncomfortable first?”
“Not me,” Melody lied, already feeling as if, despite everything, she’d have to work hard to control her own attraction to this man.
Casey wished just then that he could read minds. That way he would learn what Melody was thinking.
The idea of their sleeping out in the pasture together didn’t seem to bother her. She’d sounded quite professional. She probably didn’t feel the attraction he felt toward her, which was a good thing.
As they walked quickly, her expressions changed from light and humorous, to dark and apparently introspective and sad, and he was intrigued.
But he never asked her to explain. Figured she wouldn’t answer, anyway. And now, he and the lithe, lovely ranch hand had reached the main house. The single-story, deep red structure had rich-looking wood and a beige roof.
Right now, his work vehicle, a black sedan with Sur County Sheriff’s Department on the front doors and a light on top, was parked out front.
Beside it was a black luxury sedan. Clarence’s? Casey asked Melody. “Yes, that’s his.” Melody looked down at the watch on her wrist. “He usually doesn’t come home until around seven, but it’s only five. I wonder if he’s heard anything or—”
Before she finished, the front door to the house opened and the selectman stepped onto the porch. “Hey, you two. You’re back. Did you find my cattle?” He had changed from the suit Casey had seen him in earlier into a long-sleeved charcoal T-shirt with the OverHerd Ranch logo in white. He clumped down the steps in his boots. Dressed this way, he looked a lot more rustic and older than Casey was used to seeing him. He still appeared relatively slender, but the skin at the corners of his eyes sagged and lines on his forehead were appropriate for his age…or was it stress that caused them to stand out?
“Not yet, sir,” Casey said as the man reached them and faced them on the paved