over at the office with Dalton,” Chase replied.
Meredith stood and grabbed her coat and purse from the booth. As she did she couldn’t help but notice that Chase’s gaze swept the length of her, then he glanced away, as if dismissing her as not worthy of his attention.
She’d known the man less than three minutes and already something about him made her want to grind her teeth. She fumbled with her wallet for money to pay her lunch tab.
“Don’t worry about it,” Savannah said. “I’ll get it this time. You can get it next time.”
Meredith flashed her friend a grateful smile, then straightened and looked at Chase.
“Shall we?”
As she exited the café; she was acutely conscious of the man following her. Handsome men weren’t anything new to Meredith. She’d been raised with five brothers who most women considered unusually attractive. But in that first instance of laying eyes on Chase McCall, uncharacteristic butterflies had flitted erratically in her stomach. Meredith wasn’t used to butterflies.
Kathy fell into step beside her as they walked toward the Wild West Protective Services office just down the street. “We thought we’d be staying with Dalton, but he said we’d be much more comfortable at the ranch,” she said.
Meredith thought of her brother’s one-bedroom apartment in town. “Dalton’s place is pretty small and not real welcoming to guests. The ranch is much better,” she agreed, although she wasn’t at all sure she liked the idea of sharing her home space with the tall, silent man who walked just behind them. “We’re used to company at the ranch.”
As they entered the Wild West Protective Services office, Dalton stood from the desk. “Ah good, I see you found her,” he said to Chase.
“Your description made it easy,” Chase replied, a whisper of amusement evident in his voice.
Meredith turned to look at her brother. “And just what kind of description did you tell him?”
Dalton’s cheeks reddened slightly as a sheepish grin stole over his lips. “It doesn’t matter now,” Chase replied smoothly. “We found you and that’s all that’s important.” He picked up the two suitcases by the door and looked at her expectantly. For somebody who was on vacation he didn’t look particularly eager to have a good time.
“Unfortunately I’m expecting a phone call that I need to take, otherwise I’d drive you to the ranch myself. But Meredith will get you settled in, then I’ll see you this evening at dinnertime.” Dalton smiled at her. “Take good care of them, sis.”
She smiled at Dalton, but as her gaze fell on Chase McCall, the strange feeling of disquiet swept through her once again, making her uncomfortable and, oddly, just a little bit afraid.
Chase McCall sat in the back seat of the fourdoor sedan, leaving the two women in the front to chat. As Meredith drove she talked to Kathy about the town and the unusual cold snap of weather and the family ranch.
“You’re here just in time for the Fall Festival,” she said. “There’s a parade on Saturday afternoon, then a big dance Saturday night.”
He stared out the window at the passing scenery, wishing he were anywhere else. He couldn’t think of anyone who needed a vacation more than he did, but this wasn’t a vacation and he was here under false pretenses.
He glanced up and in the rearview mirror he caught Meredith West gazing at him. As he met her gaze, she quickly looked away and he looked back out the side window.
She’d been a surprise. Dalton had talked a little about his sister. In the days that Dalton and Chase had spent together, Dalton had talked about all of his family. He’d told Chase that his sister was tough, committed to her work as a bodyguard and preferred the company of her horse to most people.
But there was a wealth of things he hadn’t mentioned about Meredith. Dalton hadn’t told him she had eyes the color of an early-summer lawn or that her legs were long and lean beneath her tight jeans. He hadn’t mentioned that her hair was dark mahogany or that her skin was flawless.
In that first moment of seeing her, a quick electric shock had sizzled through him; a shock of physical attraction he hadn’t felt for a very long time.
It reminded him just how long it had been since he’d held a woman in his arms, felt sweet satisfied sighs against the crook of his neck.
He suddenly realized the women had gone silent and Kathy had turned her head to look at him expectantly. “Did I miss something?” he asked.
Kathy looked at Meredith and smiled. “You’ll have to excuse my son. He sometimes forgets his social skills. Meredith asked you what you did for a living, dear.”
Again those green eyes flashed in the mirror. Not warm and welcoming, but rather cool and wary. “I’m a Kansas City cop.” It was the first of many lies he’d probably tell over the next couple of days.
“And is that where you met my brother? In Kansas City? she asked. The eyes disappeared from the mirror once again.
“Yeah, he was working the Milton case last year and we coordinated with him. Dalton and I struck up a friendship. We’ve stayed in touch through e-mail since then.”
“When Chase decided to take his vacation time and mentioned he was coming out here, I just insisted he bring me along,” Kathy said. “He stays so busy we rarely have quality time together.”
“Our place is just ahead,” Meredith said as she turned off the road and down a lane. Chase once again looked out the window with interest. He knew the West family was one of the largest landowners in the county.
He’d researched their entire clan before taking the assignment. Red West, the patriarch, had come from California to Cotter Creek as a young man and had begun his business, Wild West Protective Services. The business had grown along with his family.
He and his wife had six children before Elizabeth West was murdered. Since her death, Red had worked to establish Wild West Protective Services as one of the most reputable bodyguard agencies in the country.
On the surface the family looked for the most part like the American dream. But a couple of anonymous tips phoned into the FBI office said otherwise. His job was to dig beneath the surface and find any darkness that might be hidden, a darkness that might have led somebody in the West family to sell out an entire town.
“Here we are,” Meredith said as she pulled to a halt in front of a large, sprawling ranch house. It was impressive, the big house with its wraparound porch. As far as the eye could see were outbuildings and pastureland.
As they got out of the car and Chase got the suitcases out of the trunk, a tall man appeared on the front porch, a smile of welcome on his face. By the time they reached the porch another man had joined him. The short, gray-haired man had blue eyes that held a touch of wariness. “Welcome,” the tall man said and held out a hand to Chase. “I’m Red West.”
Introductions were made all the way around. The short older man was introduced as Smokey Johnson, head cook and bottle washer for the clan.
As Chase followed him through the front door, he had a feeling that Smokey Johnson was a man who might not be easily fooled. He and Kathy would have
