Cain laughed out loud.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AWHITE SHERIFF’SSUVSAT IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE THE FOLLOWINGmorning when Jenny walked out of the guest room into the living room. Cain was nowhere to be seen.
Had something else happened at the hotel? Cold dread washed through her. She shouldn’t have left. She had a duty to her employees; she had responsibilities.
She went in search of Cain and ended up in the kitchen, found Maria Delgado cleaning up the breakfast dishes.
“I’m sorry, I must have overslept,” she said. “I didn’t mean to miss breakfast.”
“You are a guest. You can sleep as late as you like. I will fix you something to eat.”
“There’s a police vehicle outside. I need to find Cain.”
“Deputy Landry is here. They are out in the stable. What about your breakfast?”
“Thanks, but I don’t have time.” A sheriff’s deputy, not the police. The news didn’t lessen her worry. Jenny rushed out the back door and ran toward the barn. Cain and a man in a beige uniform were just walking out from inside. Jenny hurried toward them.
“Is there a problem at the hotel?” she blurted out, interrupting the men’s conversation.
“Not that I know of,” Cain said. “Deputy Landry, this is Jenny Spencer. She owns the Copper Star in Jerome.”
“Ms. Spencer.” He touched the brim of his flat-brimmed, beige hat.
“It’s nice to meet you.” She glanced anxiously at Cain, hoping for more information.
“Deputy Landry is here to give me an update on the theft of my stallion. Sun King was stolen several weeks ago. Apparently, there’s still no sign of him.”
Jenny frowned, wondering why Cain had never mentioned it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s not a problem,” Cain said. “We were just finishing up.”
“As you know, several valuable horses in Yavapai County were also stolen,” the deputy said to Cain. “None worth the half-million dollars your stallion would bring. But the good news is, one of them has been found.”
“I heard that. The mare showed up at an auction in Tucson. Owner’s son happened to be there. Just blind luck, it would seem.” There was a touch of disdain in Cain’s voice that made the deputy’s jaw tighten.
“We’re still working on finding the others.”
“I’m sure you are,” Cain drawled, and Jenny figured she must be getting to know him because she could hear the sarcasm in his voice.
The men talked a moment more, then Deputy Landry headed for his white patrol SUV and drove off down the lane toward the highway.
“You never told me someone stole your horse.”His half-million-dollar horse.Thinking about it, Jenny felt oddly hurt. She’d thought they were friends. It was stupid. A man like Cain Barrett had more than enough friends already. He certainly didn’t need any more.
“It happened a couple of weeks ago,” Cain said. “Sun King’s a champion cutting horse. We train them here. Take a walk with me, and I’ll show you some of the others.”
She went with him, but somehow the excitement of seeing the ranch had dimmed a little. He hadn’t tried to seduce her, but he had made his intentions clear. She was nothing special, just another of his women.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
“Do you ride?” Cain asked.
“I used to, but not in a long time. I had friends in Cottonwood who owned horses.”
“Best way to see the ranch.” He glanced down at her feet to see what she was wearing.
Smiling, she pulled up the leg of her jeans to show him the pair of worn brown cowboy boots she had put on that morning. “I figured if I was going to visit a ranch . . .”
