Desert Heart Page 11

  A howl that had gone quiet by now, but who knew when it might pipe up again, or where?

  Tex, the dog, came hurtling in a minute behind the horses, tail tucked so far between his legs it was a wonder the animal didn’t trip. He shot right into his crate in a corner and huddled there, panting and wild-eyed.

  “I have to go.” Tina’s voice cracked. If her mind was made up, her heart sure didn’t agree. He could see duty wrestle with desire in there. But she had the look of a warrior committed to battle, and it was pointless to stop her.

  So he didn’t try. He just grabbed his keys and followed her into the night.

  “What are you doing?” she cried.

  “I’m going with you.”

  “Rick, no—”

  He figured she’d protest, but if she was having her way, he was having his. “I’ll follow you in my truck until you’re safe at home.”

  “How will I know you get safely home?” she protested.

  Something in him twinged. His Amazon thought she had to protect him when it was the other way around.

  “I will get home safely. I’ll be waiting for you. Tomorrow.” I’ll wait for you forever, he nearly added.

  If he could freeze the look on her face… That I love you, you idiot look he’d be happy to catch glimpses of for the next fifty or sixty years.

  I love you, my princess. He formed the words in his mind and pushed them into the night, maybe hoping she’d catch a whisper of them in the wind.

  Tina didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But her nostrils flared just a tiny bit. Enough to make him wonder if maybe—

  “Let’s go,” she murmured, turning on her heel.

  And just like that, they headed back into the night. Tina drove her little hatchback the way she’d ridden Star: hard and fast, with Rick hot on her tail in his truck, working all eight cylinders mercilessly. He followed her eight miles, all the way to the gate of Twin Moon Ranch, where they rolled to a stop.

  Tina looked up at him, ducking to see past the frame of the cab. “Be careful. Stay inside.”

  Exactly what he was about to tell her.

  “Tina…”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow.” She was a woman on a mission, and his time was up.

  It was going to kill him to turn and drive away now, but the gate was like a trench line, and the bridge across the dry creek bed in front of him marked no man’s land. He’d never stepped foot on Twin Moon Ranch. He wondered if he ever would.

  The only part of the picture he could swallow was the fact that she had two tough-ass brothers, a bull of a father, and God knew how many burly ranch hands to keep her safe on the other side of that line. Back on Seymour Ranch, it was just him. Him and a washed-up cowboy who’d gone out drinking for the night. So yeah, Twin Moon was a better place for her to be tonight.

  Even so, it took everything he had to let her go. “You be careful.”

  “You, too.”

  She nodded, and he nodded, and that was it. The end of a nearly perfect night.

  He watched her go, and the desert went silent except for the muffled howl coming from his heart.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Hell of a night,” Kyle grunted, dropping to a bench outside the council house.

  “Damnedest thing.” Cody nodded, and even he looked serious and drawn.

  “Not a sign…” Kyle muttered, kicking at the ground.

  “Not a trace.” Cody shook his head.

  Only that terrible howling that sent a shiver through Tina’s nerves.

  The sun was rising, and most of the pack was gathered in front of the council house, weary to the bone. They’d been out all night tracking the hellhound in groups of three and four, to no avail.

  “That sound came from the mesa,” Cody murmured.

  “We heard it from the creek,” Rae said, looking at Zack.

  “Farther west, I thought,” her mate said.

  The only one who’d actually seen it was Beth, the librarian, who trembled while describing the glowing red eyes. Just a glimpse, and then it had taken off.

  “Where? Where did it go?”

  Beth shook her head hopelessly. “I don’t know.”

  Ty stalked back and forth, practically spitting fire, and even Lana couldn’t calm him down. She looked haggard too, after a long night on watch. A night of confusion, because no one could pin down where the howls had come from.

  “Goddamn ghost hound,” Ty cursed. “What do the coyotes say?”

  Zack looked grim. He and Rae had probably covered more ground than anyone else, and it showed. His eyes were hollow, his back stooped. “Atsa’s pack reported the same thing: it was everywhere, it was nowhere.”

  “Fucking hellhound has to be somewhere,” Ty grunted. He clenched his fists, and Tina could read the rest on his mind. And when I find it, I will rip it limb from limb.

  But even her brother would have a hard time doing that alone. How many might die, she wondered, trying to take the demon down? Who would pay the ultimate price?

  Tina studied the colors seeping slowly out of the sky as the sun rose higher. It was a dawn she’d been hoping to wake up to in a different place. Hoping to find a beautiful new day after a beautiful night.

  You should listen to me more often, her wolf murmured.

  She could still feel Rick’s gentle touch. See his chocolate eyes. Hear his thoughts in her head. And if that didn’t prove that he was her destined mate, nothing would.

  Except it also proved how careless she’d been. What if the hellhound had come down to Spring Hollow? What if it had attacked? Rick would be dead, and if she somehow survived, she’d have to live with the guilt for the rest of her life.

  “If that hound snuck on to the ranch while we were out searching…” Carly murmured the unspeakable, and Tina’s stomach lurched.

  If that had happened while she was away… If lives had been lost while she was off gallivanting with a human she had no right dragging into her world… She paled, imagining a dozen horrifying scenarios. Zack and Rae, caught out on the ranch border, fighting to the death, side by side, refusing to give an inch. Or Kyle and Stef, battling the hellhound at the door to their outlying home, desperate to save their child. Ty and Cody would come to help, but Lana and Heather would have to stay back to watch their kids, and if the hellhound stole around the back…

  Any of that could have happened last night, and she wouldn’t have been there to help because she’d only been thinking about herself.

  Our mate! Thinking about our mate! her wolf insisted.

  He’s not our mate! she screamed back. He never will be!

  Her gut twisted harder still, but her mind was made up. The pack had to come first. The pack always came first.

  “What now?” Carly asked.

  Everyone looked to Ty, who looked to Zack. “What do you think?”

  Zack scraped a hand through his hair. “It’ll have gone underground,” he said. “For now.”

  For now?

  “Gone away?” Lana’s voice was scratchy with doubt.

  “Could be, or…” Zack murmured.

  Everyone leaned closer to catch his low voice.

  “Could be, the hellhound just had his first look at the valley last night. If it decides to stay put, we have big trouble.”

  “And if it decides to move on?” Carly tried.

  “Then somebody else will have big trouble,” Rae sighed.

  That was the thing. The hellhound could attack anywhere, anytime, and even a pack as strong as Twin Moon was vulnerable. The children. The elderly. Even the most powerful wolf—the likes of Ty or Cody or Kyle—could only hope to survive a hellhound fight with superior numbers and a coordinated attack.

  Tina caught herself staring south, in the direction of Seymour Ranch. She dragged her eyes away with an effort and focused on the brand hanging above the ranch gate instead. Two circles overlapping by a third swung in the breeze. Twin Moon Ranch. This was her home. This was her place to defend.

  But
what about our mate? The wolf clawed at her insides

  She kicked it heartlessly into the cellar of her soul and slammed the door shut with a crash. A crash that echoed in her heart, because another door slammed there at the same time.

  She couldn’t think about herself at a time like this. Couldn’t! Only about her pack.

  “Right,” Ty barked.

  Everyone’s ears perked to attention as he started issuing orders. Some of the wolves were sent home to rest while others continued the search. Zack and Rae nodded and trotted grimly to the west, where they would rendezvous with a group of coyotes.

  “Like I can get any sleep with a hellhound out,” Cody muttered.

  “I need you fresh to take over later,” Ty muttered, unyielding.

  Cody glanced at Tina and rolled his eyes. Like Ty will ever take a break.

  Tina shrugged. At least he’s trying to delegate some things.

  He can’t do this alone.

  He won’t, she assured him. We’ll do it together.

  Cody managed a little smile before stumbling off on weary feet.

  The council house became a command post, with wolves scurrying in and out. Tina stayed all day, coordinating the details to the bolder brush strokes of Ty’s overall plan. He and Kyle bent over maps, considered distances, grumbled about the terrain. Lana popped in and out from her office across the way where she headed up communications with allied packs.

  “Anything new?” Ty asked the fourth or fifth time Lana strode in.

  She shook her head. “Westend pack in Nevada hasn’t seen a thing. No unusual reports from my contacts around the state, either…”

  When Ty turned away, Lana looked straight at Tina and tilted her head toward the door. There is one thing, she whispered into Tina’s mind.

  Nerves pinged through Tina’s body like overtight guitar strings as she followed Lana outside.

  Lana pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket and opened it slowly. Excruciatingly slowly.

  “What? What is it?” Tina’s blood pressure jumped.

  Lana exhaled slowly before starting. “This just came in.” She shook her head. “It isn’t about the hellhound. It’s about Seymour Ranch.”

  Tina glanced at the paper. Department of Water Resources, said the header, next to the state crest.

  “Remember the rumor about drilling for more water?”

  How could she forget?

  “Seymour Ranch filed the request. Yesterday.”

  Tina snatched the sheet out of Lana’s hand. Yesterday? Yesterday she’d woken up with Rick, then hurried to pick Carly up from the airport. A few hours later, she’d gone to meet Rick again.

  Hours he’d filled with more than just prettying up the horses for her, apparently.

  There’s no plan to draw more water. I swear there isn’t. Rick’s exact words to her, two days ago, when they’d looked over the books.

  He swore to her face.

  She stared at the paper, and there it all was. Dated, signed, delivered. Seymour Ranch proposal to increase output from Cameron aquifer, as per state regulation 45-596…

  Her blood stood still.

  Every guy is out to use women, in his own way. That’s what Carly said by way of goodbye the day before. Her warning echoed in Tina’s mind. What if this guy is using you, Tina? You ever consider that?

  Of course she’d considered that—and promptly dismissed it. Why would Rick use her?

  You’re the manager of one the biggest ranches in Arizona. Any number of guys would love to get into your pants. A, because you’re pretty fucking gorgeous, and B, because who knows what information or favors he might win along the way?

  Rick didn’t need information. He didn’t need favors.

  Every guy uses women in his own way.

  For a sunny Californian, her sister had an awfully bitter streak.

  Tina had dismissed the suggestion at the time, but now…

  There’s no plan to draw more water. I swear there isn’t. Rick had said that to her face.

  God, what if Carly was right?

  I swear… Rick had said. He swore! He promised.

  She looked back at the paper, feeling sick.

  How could he?

  She was about to spin on her heel and stamp to her car, purple with rage, when her wolf roared inside. How could you doubt him?

  He lied!

  Our mate would never lie to us!

  He lied! He… She couldn’t quite summon the willpower to continue.

  “Um, Tina?” Lana tilted her head. A breath of wind rustled the paper in her hand.

  Our mate would never lie! her wolf raged on.

  She snatched the paper out of Lana’s hand and studied it.

  “Tina, what is it?”

  Tina barely heard; all her concentration was on the fax. Would Rick really have lied to her?

  Our mate wouldn’t lie! her wolf growled.

  Tina squinted at Rick’s signature at the bottom of the sheet. Held the paper closer with shaking hands.

  “Tina, what is it?”

  She forced herself to steady the sheet with both hands. Closed her eyes. Recalled the ledgers in the Seymour office. The writing had changed over time, going from Henry’s years of record-keeping to a brief period of Lucy’s and finally Dale’s blocky print.

  Her eyes snapped open and scrutinized the form. Everything was filled in by that same brutish hand, right down to the forged signature.

  See? Our mate would never lie!

  Her mind spun. Was Dale working behind Rick’s back? She liked that scenario a hell of a lot better than Rick lying to her.

  For a second, she nearly rejoiced, but then the implications set in. What else might Dale be up to? And did Rick even suspect?

  Her stomach lurched as she recalled some of the entries in the ledgers. Dynamite. The note with the contact number for…what was it again?

  “Danielson…Davidson…” She looked up at Lana. “Danielson Resources? Davidson? Do you know them?”

  Lana scowled. “Davidson Resources. A mining company that just won’t quit. What does that have to do with—” Her head whipped around to the council house, where Ty was beckoning her with a question. “Sorry. I’ll be right back.”

  Lana strode off, leaving Tina alone with the fax and her thoughts.

  Dale. Water rights. Mining company.

  Dale working behind Rick’s back.

  Her wolf started snarling inside. Let’s get Rae and Lana and go snap Dale’s cheating neck.

  Tempted. She was sorely tempted. But her packmates were busy with far more urgent matters at the moment.

  Fine. Let’s you and me go snap Dale’s neck.

  That plan, she liked. She walked the first two steps to her car. Jogged the next three, and flat-out sprinted the last few. Then she peeled out of the driveway and out under the ranch gate.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Rick thought the night was bad enough: wondering about that beastly howl, worrying about Tina. But the day was proving just as bad. Not just waking up alone on a morning that should have started with Tina curled next to him, but waiting for a call.

  She’d promised to phone him. So why didn’t she? What was taking so long?

  He paced and paced and paced with that scrappy mutt Tex at his heels the whole time. The dog shadowed him everywhere, badly spooked by the beast in the night.

  Well, at least there was that. His crazy night had brought him two new friends: a brown horse named Blue and a mutt called Tex. Now if only he could persuade Tina to join his oddball team…

  He had to smile a little at that. From the San Diego Padres to the scrappy crew at Seymour Ranch. A team with a lot of promise, if only he could get key players on board.

  “Twenty days,” he sighed to the dog, who looked up with sympathetic eyes. “Ten down, ten to go.”

  Tex looked at him as if to say, And then what?

  A good thing dogs didn’t speak, because Rick didn’t have an answer for that one. “Just gotta get
through the first twenty, Tex. That’s the rule.”

  He couldn’t stand around fretting all day, but he couldn’t tear himself away from the house, because what if Tina called the land-line and not his cell phone? So he set about weeding the second half of Lucy’s garden while the dog snoozed in the shade nearby. Every weed he plucked brought thoughts of Dale, and every tenacious flower hidden in the mess carried images of Tina. What was she doing? What was going on at Twin Moon Ranch?

  Dale, for his part, seemed to have returned more cantankerous than ever from his last drinking spree. He wheezed and cursed and finally disappeared into the barn, all without any mention of the strange howling. Dale had eventually driven off on some errand at noon, and Rick went right on weeding and dreaming about the team he’d form at Seymour Ranch if he could. Get rid of Dale and hire a few new hands. Find a couple of young rookies who were eager to learn, plus a couple of experienced hands with a strong work ethic to guide them. He’d need someone familiar with those Heritage breed steer Henry had been so keen to try out, too. And once the ranch was back on its feet, he and Tina could…

  Could what? When? Would she ever come around?

  A raven cawed, and the sound echoed over the nearly deserted ranch. Rick wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed. Yeah, he had a lot of work ahead of him yet.

  The work, he didn’t mind. It was the wait that killed him. Waiting patiently while he sowed the seeds for his vision, and waiting for Tina’s call.

  When the phone rang, it was with a text tone and not the chime of a live call, but he jumped for it all the same. Exhaled in relief to see it was from her. He smiled at the screen, clicked to open the message, and promptly cursed.

  The dog jumped to its feet as Rick reread it and cursed again.

  Must talk to you. Urgent! Meet at Diablo Mine. Hurry!

  Of all the messages he’d imagined Tina writing, that sure wasn’t it. But it was her number, all right.

  Why would Tina want to meet him at Diablo Mine and not at the ranch? A thousand possible scenarios ran through his mind as he fired up his pickup and set off on the drive. He didn’t notice the dog trying to follow until about a mile down the road, when he caught a glimpse of the dejected mutt panting wildly in the rearview mirror. He was about to pull over to wait, but by then Tex had given up, so he drove on alone. No time to wait now, because his veins were itching with urgency. More and more with every mile of the long and lonely road up into the hills. Something was wrong.