don’t know for sure, but maybe. It looks like the Dry Wash location is the next acquisition target. That’s why we brought you in.”
Lenny clicked a key and the view screen zoomed in on the county plat map. The Bar M and the Flying W property lines reappeared in clear, clean lines.
Cameron stood still, his heart pounding in his chest and his thoughts racing ahead to the Bar M Ranch, his father, mother, brother and sister. Were they in danger? Surely they wouldn’t target an entire family to get the property. There were five of them, counting himself.
His gaze shifted to the Flying W, unless they planned to go after the low-hanging fruit. Hank Ward’s wife, Louise, had died eighteen years ago. They’d only had one child.
Jennie.
The air left his lungs in a rush. JennieWard. His Jennie.
Only she wasn’t his Jennie anymore. She’d married right after he left ten years ago. Although widowed now, she had no children of her own, that left just the two Wards—Hank and Jennie.
“What’s the game plan?” Cameron’s gaze swept the room coming to rest on Evangeline.
“We think the Wards and the Morgans need some warning about what might happen, and we recommend bodyguards.”
Cameron snorted. “Neither one of the families will ever believe they need a bodyguard. They’re ranchers. They take care of their own.”
“I was thinking of sending Jack in to speak to them,” Evangeline continued.
Already shaking his head, Cameron shot a look at Jack. “No offense, but they won’t listen to an outsider. My father might listen, because he knows Jack. Hank Ward is an entirely different story.”
“You know him?” Evangeline asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Cameron dropped his hand, running the brim of his Stetson through his fingers. “But he won’t listen to a stranger.”
“Then could you go with Jack to make sure they take the threat seriously?” Evangeline asked.
The air in the room pressed in around Cameron. Go to the Flying W? Would Jennie be there? Ten years was a long time. Why did he still feel such a strong tug in his chest when he thought of Jennie? “The Wards and the Morgans have been feuding for close to thirty years. Don’t think it would do much good.”
Evangeline’s blue eyes darkened. “I don’t care if the Hatfields and McCoys are feuding, someone has to tell these people what they’re up agai—”
“I’ll go.” Cameron couldn’t believe the words jumped out of his mouth. The more he thought about it, the more he realized Jennie could be in danger. Jack was an excellent agent, one of the best, and he’d do a good job. However, Cameron couldn’t live with himself if something happened to Jennie and he wasn’t there to stop it. “I’ll go,” he repeated.
Evangeline’s mouth was still open from her last word. She shut it and tipped her head to the side. “You’re the right man to inform your family, but maybe Jack should speak to the Wards.”
“Look, I never went along with the feud. I thought it was a stupid waste of time.” That had always been the problem in his father’s eyes. If he’d stuck to the Morgan’s side of the fence, he never would have fallen in love with Jennie and he and his family would still get along. “Let me speak to the Wards.”
JENNIE SWUNG HER LEG over her mount and dropped to the hard-packed dirt. With Lady out of commission, she’d had to ride Little Joe and his gait wasn’t as smooth as Lady’s. Every muscle and joint ached from fourteen hours in the saddle. Thank goodness the temperatures had only been in the seventies.
She loved the spring. After the long months of winter with the wind howling through the valleys, she looked forward to the warmer days and clear blue skies. On the other hand, she dreaded the long hot days and dust of summer.
With the three-year drought and cattle prices down, they’d had to let the extra hands go. Which meant, along with Stan Keller, their foreman, and Rudy Toler and Doug Sweeney, the two remaining cowhands, Jennie rode fences and checked cattle every day. This year had to be better than last. They couldn’t afford to keep the cattle and the ranch if they weren’t making enough money to buy feed, much less pay the hands. So far the year had been one disaster after another.
Her father had always managed the books, but being shorthanded meant doing all the work themselves. Every able-bodied man and woman would be out tending stock and fences, except the housekeeper, Ms. Blainey. Her job was as important as tending cattle. She cooked the meals for the worn-out cowhands.
Her stomach rumbling, Jennie hurried to feed, brush and curry the bay gelding. After reapplying the dressing to Lady’s injury, she made her way to the house intent on soaking in a hot shower before dinner. She still didn’t have a clue where the razor blade had come from and none of the hands owned up to leaving it in the tack room. She’d warned them to inspect their gear before saddling up, just in case.
Her father should be back from checking on stock in the north pasture soon. He knew how upset Ms. Blainey would be if he missed supper. Jennie smiled. Rachel Blainey was the same age her mother would have been if she’d lived this long, and she was a nice addition to the staff. Jennie hated cooking with a passion. She’d rather wrestle an ornery bull-calf than bake a cake. Her smile slipped. She hoped they could keep Ms. Blainey on, as tight as the money was.
Vowing to stay awake long enough to review the accounts that night, Jennie trudged up past the bunkhouse. When the sprawling cedar-and-stone cabin came into view, she spied a strange, black four-wheel-drive pickup parked in the gravel driveway. Company? They weren’t expecting any company, were they?
She frowned down at her filthy shirt and dusty jeans and sighed. Couldn’t be helped. Whoever it was would just have to understand she’d been out working. Her mother would have rushed her back inside and made her take a shower before greeting guests. But that was when she was ten and her mother was always at the house, clean, pressed and looking like a model fresh from a magazine shoot, instead of a cattle rancher’s wife.
After eighteen years, Jennie could still remember the smell of her mother’s perfume and envision the smile, very much like her own. Sometimes she missed her mother more than she could bear—usually when times were toughest. But her father had done the best he could and loved her enough for both parents.
Jennie stepped in through the back door. She could hear the low rumble of a male voice coming from the living room and the happy sound of Ms. Blainey’s laughter.
Maybe she did have time to shower and change before she came out. Easing her way down the hallway, she was almost to the staircase when a soft, feminine voice called out, “Hank? Is that you?” Rachel Blainey rounded the corner from the living room, her dark hair pulled back from her face, her white cotton blouse wrinkle-free and snowy white. “Oh, Jennie, I’m glad you’re back. We have a visitor, someone I think you know.”
“I’m really not dressed for company,” Jennie said, eyeing the staircase and wondering if it would be rude to race up to the bathroom and slam the door.
“Oh, nonsense. I’m sure he’s used to dusty ranchers. After all, his family is in ranching.”
Curious now, Jennie allowed Rachel to snag her elbow
