“Looks like it.” Jake walked past Robert. He wouldn’t give his brother the satisfaction of riling him. “Although, Mom’s bringing this one home, not me.”
“Right. And having her there won’t disrupt your schedule at all.”
“It shouldn’t.” Then because he knew his mom, Jake groaned. “But it probably will, won’t it?”
Robert’s laughter turned to a scowl. “Won’t Widow Wheeler be jealous when she hears you’ve got a beautiful stranger recuperating at the ranch?”
Jake bit back a growl. The mere mention of the rich, young widow was enough to set his blood to boiling. “I know this is a small town, but I’m not planning on telling her.”
Robert wiggled his brows. “Oh, I’ll make sure she hears. This could work to your advantage.” He groaned. “But then she’ll double her efforts on me. It’s been horrible ever since Ben married Amy.”
“No kidding. She’s been relentless.” Jake rolled his suddenly tense shoulders, as he recalled the way Debbie threw herself at him on their date following the Bachelor Auction last Fall.
She stopped by the ranch at least twice a week to check on the mare he boarded for her. He did his best to avoid her, but it wasn’t easy.
Married twice, widowed after the second marriage to a much older, wealthy man, Debbie was looking for husband number three. And she’d set her sights on Robert or Jake. Never mind she was five years older than Jake, and he wanted nothing to do with her. Being independently wealthy, and able to buy whatever she wanted, she did not take “no” for an answer.
Before parting ways in the parking lot, Jake tipped his head toward the hospital. “Do you really think she’s still in danger?” He wished he knew her name. It would be nice to call her something other than “she”.
Robert shrugged. “I don’t know. Her ‘please don’t let them kill me’ makes it sound like there was more than one captor. Which makes me wonder where the other one is.”
“Where would the car have been heading? The only thing out that road is the lake.”
“Hmm... maybe I should cross-check property holdings around the lake with the identity of the driver.”
“Do you think someone will claim the driver’s body once news of the accident gets out?”
Robert nodded. “I’ll talk to the morgue and give them instructions not to release Barnes’ body to anyone without first contacting me. Too bad you’re tied up with the ranch; you’d make a good deputy.”
Jake smiled. “Nah, that work’s too dangerous for me.”
Being an officer of the law in the small town of Providence was more boring than it was exciting. Something as exciting as this accident rarely happened around here. Except for the kidnapping of his cousin’s daughter over a year and a half ago, things in Providence were blissfully boring.
“That’s right, breaking horses and wrangling steers is much safer.”
“Yep.”
Chapter 4
Vince Cooper climbed from his Ford Expedition and stretched. The cool morning breeze carried the song of birds, the rustle of leaves, and the scent of pine trees and the lake. Appreciating the fresh air, he sucked in a deep breath before letting it out in a long, low whistle.
The current boss’s lake house was nice—two stories, mostly glass, hanging right over the water. The people who hired him and Frankie always owned nice homes, and cars. Extravagances they usually came by illegally.
I haven’t been fishing in ages.
Maybe he and Frankie could wrangle an extended vacation here once they took care of the woman and ensured the evidence disappeared.
Climbing the three steps to the front door, he knocked—three taps followed by another two. He waited for Frankie to open the door, hoping the woman hadn’t given him any problems.
When the door didn’t open, he pounded on it with the side of his fist. Still nothing.
Cursing under his breath, he rounded the house to the garage and punched in the code the pompous fool, he now called boss, had given them. He popped his knuckles while waiting for the garage door to rise. He couldn’t wait to be done with this job. It had gotten complicated yesterday when the target’s sister showed up.
Vince hated complications.
He stared into the empty garage.Where’s Frankie’s Lexus?
The instructions had been clear.Take the woman to the cabin and wait for me to arrive.But it had taken Vince longer to search the two apartments than he’d expected, so he’d spent the night in Spokane and driven out this morning. He’d called last night but didn’t get an answer. Chalking it up to poor cell service by the lake, he hadn’t been concerned. Frankie was more than capable of taking care of the woman.
