Page 49 of Homicide in Water Creek

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he kissed her temple. “A figure of speech, but maybe someday it will be. Keene is always with Jackson on the ranch. Maybe, when everything settles, we should encourage them to consolidate their households. If they want to pretend to be friends to the rest of the community, that’s fine, but dammit, I want them to be happy and together for at least a few years. Don’t you?”

Jacks nodded. “Now it makes sense why Granddaddy has decided to close the school. He’s talked about buying a small RV and traveling to rodeos across the country as a spectator. Maybe that’s a dream they share.”

“Keene always talks about doing the same. I’ve been asking him over the last three or four years, since he sold off the rest of the cattle, why he hasn’t. He always has some vague excuse.”

“He was waiting for Granddaddy to retire.” Her phone beeped, and she read the message aloud. “Everyone is at the bar now, including our man,” she said, giving him a slight lip tilt. “It’s safe to proceed, but I wouldn’t dally. Our man is looking antsy.”

Before she could put her phone away, he was moving her toward the door. They’d cut behind The Whistle Wetter and take the path the cowboys use to and from town. It would be a long, cold walk, but they’d be in a good position to see the house once they were back on the ranch. With her leg tired and sore, Jacks had brought a crutch so she didn’t struggle to keep up. This might be their only chance to figure out who Chinos really is and why he’s on the ranch.

King grabbed her waist when she tripped on a root and started to fall. “Are you okay?”

“My leg is tired,” she admitted. “The last few weeks have been hard on it, but I’ll keep going.”

Kissing her temple, he sighed. “I know you will, but I wish you didn’t have to. As soon as this is over, we’re taking a long vacation somewhere.”

“Nice try,” she said, lifting her face to his for a kiss. “You can’t be away from the station, but I’ll settle for one night of uninterrupted sleep in your arms.”

“That I can arrange,” he promised as they neared the break in the path, where they could go left to the bunkhouses or right toward the main house.

“What do you think will happen if he doesn’t go to the house tonight?”

“If he knows Keene and Jackson are watching him, one of two things will happen. He will get twitchy and make a move we can trace back to his boss, or he will back off and either take off or ask for backup,” King said, holding back branches so she could walk through them.

“And if someone new shows up in town, we have another avenue to ferret out if his boss is Parenti.”

“Correct,” he said.

“And if neither of those two things happens and things remain status quo?”

“Then we hope we can get something from his prints, and I’ll bring Chinos in to talk.”

Jacks shook her head as they walked. “Chinos was sent here to do a job because his boss couldn’t do it himself.”

“And you think that’s because his boss is…”

“Someone we know,” she finished. “If they had to send someone we wouldn’t recognize, there was a reason.”

“I would say Vonita could be behind this, but he spoke to someone on the phone long after she had died.”

“Unless she had a partner,” Jacks added, biting her lip.

“That’s possible. We don’t have the list with the contents of any of Vonita’s bags yet, so we still don’t know why she was in town. All I know is that someone needs to make a move. Promise me that if I ever give you an order, even if it pisses you off, you’ll follow it. If I tell you to run, do not hesitate. If I tell you to shoot, do not hesitate, even if I’m in the way. Do you hear me?”

Jacks paused, grasping his arm to stop him. “I can’t run, and what if I don’t have a gun?”

The right side of his lips tipped up. “Baby, I know that little hop, skip, gallop thing you do doesn’t feel like running, but it gets the job done. I also know you always have a gun on you. I’d venture a guess it’s in your boot right now.”

She tilted her head side to side a couple of times. “The question is, which boot?”

He chuckled quietly as they started walking again. “You still haven’t promised.”

“On my honor,” she said, holding up three fingers like a Boy Scout, earning her a snort.

“You never told me what you’re going to do with the ranch when Jackson closes the school,” King said.

Did she want to tell him right now? Was it better to wait until they weren’t distracted by trying to snare someone in a net of deception? Then again, if she told him now, she wouldn’t have to see his expression if he hated the idea.

“You know how Joe Nash’s wife, Tobi, does equine therapy?” she asked, and he nodded, clearly distracted. “I’ll be breeding and training the horses for those ranches.”