Chapter 7

Tyler

By the time I finally get to Burt’s room, I’m convinced this is the last day I’ll spend at Laughing Cat.

Most of the old crew are gone, and from the state of Burt, he’s not going to be there either.

Hooked up to a monitor and looking as pale as the sheets, Burt gives me a weak hello.

I’m surprised when Ethel rises from her seat and gives me a hug. “Righto. Tell him that horse is okay, would ya? Driving me batty.”

She doesn’t say anything else just jabs her finger at Burt. “No more misbehaving. I’m still your big sister you know.”

A pang strikes my middle reminding me of what a normal sibling relationship can be.

She hobbles out the door, so I take a seat beside Burt’s bed. His voice comes out a wheeze. “Star okay?”

I nod. “Put her out to pasture.”

He snorts and shakes his head. “Looks like I’m heading that way too. Doc says I won’t be back working any time soon.”

His eyes mist. “Sorry, boy. Didn’t want to let you down.”

My throat tightens and I have to fight to keep my emotion in check. “You didn’t.”

He blows out a sigh. “Where’s that Zoe? Not with Liam I hope?”

If Zoe leaving and Leah’s disclosure about Meg wasn’t enough for one day, telling Burt about it is about more than I can handle.

“She’s gone.”

His eyebrows raise. “Thought she was booked in for the long weekend?”

I lean back in my chair and shrug. “Guess she didn’t like the ranch as much as she’d hoped.”

Burt’s eyes narrow. “You kept her away from Liam, I hope? Beautiful girl like that.”

I swallow but manage a wry smile. “She barely saw him. We got stuck in Joel’s fishing cabin Saturday night. A tree blocked our path and Liam couldn’t come get us.”

Burt’s eye near pop out of his head. “And you didn’t leave her there and walk back?”

I laugh because he’s right. I never go out of my way for guests. Even pretty ones. “No.”

He nods slowly, a knowing look on his weathered face. “And she didn’t mind being locked up for the night with a surly so and so?”

I shrug. And try not to let my voice or my gaze waver. “No. She was…”

I can’t even finish my sentence. Mainly because she’s so many things, most of which I can’t repeat.

But Burt’s lips twitch into a smile that only grows as he talks. “You’re sweet on her?”

Since it doesn’t matter now, I tell him the truth. “Even if I was, Liam talked to her right before she took off.”

Burt’s monitor bleeps and I see his blood pressure increase along with his heart rate. “Well, damn it, boy. You’re going to let him…”

His voice trails off and he seems to catch himself before he talks about the woman we’ve both been avoiding discussing until now.

He shakes his head. “You don’t need an old coot like me interfering. Not then, not now. But I may not be for this world much longer, and since your dad isn’t here, there’s something I’m going to say in his stead.”

He looks so serious I shift in my seat. His voice comes out strong as though he needs me to pay attention. “I never said anything. But Meg wasn’t right for you.”

When I move to say something, he shakes his head. “Hear me out.”

Since he’s recovering from a heart attack, despite not wanting to, I listen.

“You remember the day your father bought you Gypsy? You tried to ride her and she bucked you.”

I smile at the memory. “Still have the scars.”

Burt nods. “But you didn’t break her or try to tame her so everyone could ride her, you made sure she was your horse.”

I stare at his monitor, slowly letting his words sink in when I’d rather not admit he may be on to something.

“I can saddle Gypsy, and with a little sweet talk, maybe I could manage a walk, but I try to gallop her, and she won’t be moved. She’s still as wild and spirited as she ever was.”

Shit. I don’t even need for him to finish to see where he’s going.

He carries on “Things were easy with her. That’s not you, boy. Not for a long time.”

I run a hand over my face. “You think I want things to be difficult?”

He shakes his head. “I’m saying you need a woman to challenge you. Just like you needed a horse with spirit.”

Even though it’s like barbed wire through my heart, I know what he’s saying is true.

I thought I loved Meg. I thought I had a future with her. On paper, we were a good match, but in reality, we were already drifting apart.

I was too busy dealing with dad and trying to keep the ranch going, to really notice how we were.

She was nice, kind, sweet, didn’t make a fuss. Until Liam, she was steady, solid, dependable.

I cringe inwardly. Star. I’m comparing her to a fucking horse. Am I that much of a jerk off, I classify women the same way I do horses?

Tightness grows in my chest. My voice comes out choked. “You ever met a woman who drove you crazy?”

A wistful smile grows on his face. “Like roping a wild mustang and riding her bareback.”

I’m not sure I want all the details of his youth and he seems to notice.

He jabs his chest with his thumb. “Biggest regret in my life is not chasing her until I caught her. We get one heart, boy. Listen to it while you can.”

I’m not sure my heart can take any more right now but I’m not about to disagree with him. “Get some rest. I’ll stay in touch.”

Burt nods through a yawn. “You do that. And go find that Zoe. I like her, she’s got spunk.”

I frown at him as I rise to my feet. “It’s not that simple. She lives in Houston.”

He gives me the closest thing to a reprimand I’ve gotten since I was a kid. “Make sure you rope her before someone else does, you great dolt.”

A choked laugh escapes. “We just spent the night together. I don’t think she wants to be roped.”

He stares at me so long my skin starts to itch. “How often you flout Liam’s rules just so you can spend the night with a woman you just met?”

“Never,” I mutter. I didn’t sleep with Meg until we’d been dating for six months. And even when opportunities presented themselves before I was with Meg, I’ve never bothered with casual sex.

This time he just narrows his eyes. “And why was it didn’t you ask Meg to marry you, again?”

I don’t have time to go into that. “I never thought about it.”

“And there’s your answer. You never thought about it. Because you knew you could live without her.”

I shake my head, not prepared to carry on this conversation. “Get some rest, old man. I’ll come back when you start making sense.”

I’m sure I catch him grinning when I leave, feeling more off-balance than before I came here.

***

Sunday 4.23pm

Zoe

I’m just about to eat a quick bite when there’s a knock at my door. My heart speeds and for one ludicrous moment, I think Tyler may have chased me back to Houston.

I check the hallway mirror, decide I look reasonably presentable, if not a little travel weary and open the door and am enormously disappointed to find Derek standing grinning at me.

Judging by the way he’s slouching, it’s obvious he’s had a few already.

He shoves a bottle of wine at me. “Knew you hadn’t gone away.”

I smother a groan. I don’t know what he thinks is going to happen if he keeps showing up here. I know he’s not going to leave, he won’t force his way inside, but he also won’t accept it's over, which is just as bad.

Rather than have an argument on my doorstep, I open the door and allow him inside.

He seems to take it as an invitation to kiss me. I haven’t even closed the door when he lunges for me.

I step back and shove his chest. “That is not why I let you in.”

He doesn’t even break stride just heads towards the kitchen. I follow him, ready to tell him I’m done with his constantly appearing at the worst possible time when he turns his killer smile on me, reminding me of Liam Cooper.

“But you did let me in.”

He leans closer and I catch the sweet scent of dope clinging to his clothing. “You’re high? You came to see me stoned? What the hell is wrong with you?”

He grins again and puts the wine on the counter. “Relax. I have a prescription for it.”

I lean against the counter and fold my arms. “Oh, really.”

His smile falters and he shrugs. “Can’t you switch off for just one second?”

He knows I can’t. When I start working on something, I don’t stop until I’ve figured it out. No matter how many hours it takes, I find it impossible to disconnect until I solve a case.

That, his substance abuse and his inability to keep it in his pants is why we have no future. “I don’t know how many times I need to say this. But we’re over. You can’t keep coming by. You can’t keep calling me when you’re in town.”

He ignores me, infuriating me further. Instead of admitting he’s in the wrong, he does what he always does, he deflects and places the blame on me. “What’s the big deal? Don’t you get sick of being so repressed? So uptight?”

Anger flickers in my chest. He thinks he knows me so well. It’s incredibly satisfying to wipe the smile off his face. “I met someone while I was away.”

He chuckles. “Bull shit. If you went away it was for work.”

I pull my shoulders back and hand him back his bottle of wine. “I didn’t have time to work. We were too busy in bed. Well, some of the sex was in bed.”

His eyes widen as he accepts the bottle. Spurred on by his shock, I gesture to the door. “So, if you came here for a booty call, you’re a day too late. I am thoroughly and shockingly satisfied.”

He looks so confused; I almost feel sorry for him. But I have work to do, and even thinking about Tyler is enough to make me wish he was here, so I gesture to the door.

“But, you don’t hook up with guys…”

I shrug. “I don’t. But for him, I did, and I loved every moment of it.”

I twist the door handle open and he stumbles through the door, looking equally baffled and dazed. “So, what you finally had a one-night stand?”

I know that won’t be enough to keep him from my front door. I sigh dreamily and find myself answering way too honestly. “He’s incredible. Sexy as hell. And the things he did to me. There’s no way I’m leaving it at one night. As soon as I can, I’m going back to him.”

He shifts his weight, still not convinced. “You don’t do shit like this, babe. It’s not who you are.”

I glare at him. “Maybe you don’t know who I am? Maybe he does?”

He shakes his head and looks me over. “You don’t even like sex that much.”

I frown hard at him. “Maybe you didn’t know what you were doing?”

Anger flashes across his face. “I know what I’m doing. You never complained.”

I answer immediately without thinking. “That’s because I didn’t know what I was missing.”

He jerks back like I’ve hit him. “Right. Whatever.”

He walks away, shaking his head as I close the door.

I exhale a long sigh. I may have dented his ego a little, but aside from being a great way to get rid of him, it was also the truth.

I didn’t know what I was missing in bed until Tyler.

Derek has been in and out of my life for months now. Coming and going, and occasionally when I’ve been lonely, I’ve been stupid enough to think maybe he’s as good as it gets.

I slump against the door and wince as hot tears sting at my eyes.

I’m half annoyed that Tyler got what he wanted.

I will never be able to see men romantically without comparing them all to him.

***

Tyler

In the time it’s taken to get back to the ranch, dark clouds have rolled in, along with a ten-wheeler parked just up from the gates.

When I note the interstate license, and a company name I don’t recognize, I know Liam is up to something.

The last time a big rig was here, Liam was getting furniture delivered. It was the first of a dozen deliveries that came all within the first month dad died.

I grit my teeth, knowing more bad news is about to arrive. To confirm it, Gary is waiting for me when I drive back through the gates.

The second I park his truck, he’s standing beside me, a grim look on his face.

Since I wasn’t gone more than an hour, I’m fairly certain his demeanor has nothing to do with me.

I climb out and hand him his keys. “What’s going on?”

He gestures at the office. “Liam’s selling some of the stock.”

Fire starts to flood my veins as I start to stalk towards the office. Gary is at my shoulder and I know he’s going to tell me to calm down when he blocks my path. “You can’t stop him from selling the animals.”

When he doesn’t move, and he reminds me of the fencing bordering the lake that needs fixing, I take a step back.

Normally, I’d go help, but when I see Liam at the top of stairs shaking hands with the truck driver, I no longer have any desire to fix the fence or deal with any of the other problems on the ranch.

I’m sick of it. All of it. I’m working myself harder than anyone else here. Aside from the time I spent with Zoe, I haven’t had a day off since dad got sick.

How much longer am I supposed to stand by and watch him tear down everything dad built up?

Liam catches me glaring at him and pointedly ignores me until the driver has walked out of hearing distance.

Gary looks uneasy as he glances sidelong. “I can’t be in the firing line on this. I’ll be up at the fence if you need me.”

I don’t blame him for not wanting to get involved. He’s a good worker, and he’s got a wife and kids to feed.

Liam has no concept of the commitments most of the guys working here have. He’s blissfully ignorant and unaware of what strain he puts on his staff when he changes things every five minutes.

He stalks towards me, effecting the cocky swagger he lays on for the guests' benefit.

The same swagger he always amped up when Meg was visiting. My stomach tightens as he stops directly in front of me. “You done having a tantrum?”

I glare harder. “You padlocked the door and now you’re selling stock?”

He sniffs. “Bookings are down. Costs are up. It was unavoidable.”

I shake my head. “You should have talked to me first. Selling calves now is idiotic.”

His nostrils flare. “You don’t get to tell me how to run a business. The ranch doesn’t need animals anymore. Tourists don’t give a flying fuck about cattle or sheep. They want a horse trek and room service. That’s where the money is.”

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t waste my breath explaining the calves weigh less this time of year. He doesn’t care. About the animals, the ranch, about the people who work here. He only cares about himself, what he wants.

He’s so oblivious he’s not even making sense. “You think the guests will come here when there’s no actual ranching work being done?”

He folds his arms across his chest. “As usual, you’re overreacting. I sold a few calves a little earlier; it’s not a big deal.”

I have to slow my breathing before I do something worse than taking off for a few hours without telling him. “And what about padlocking the office door? How are we supposed to do our jobs without access to keys?”

“I’ll be giving the other hands a set of keys for when I’m away.”

His lips twitch and I know he’s about to reprimand me. “You keep breaking rules; I can’t trust you. You can ask one of the other hands for access when you need it.”

I’m so angry, so frustrated, I just laugh. “And what about at four am when I’m the only one on-site?”

He doesn’t even acknowledge how ludicrous he’s being; he just gestures to the workshop. “I’ve made you a list. I’m going to Silver Falls. Get them done.”

Without another word, he spins on his heel and leaves me cursing under my breath.

Too angry to do anything else, I head to the workshop and check the whiteboard with the assigned jobs.

With every new task he’s scrawled on the board, my anger grows until I know I’m close to breaking point.

He’s given me every shit job there is. I can only guess it's both punishment and his way of making sure I stay clear of the guests for the next few days.

My resolve to keep my promise to dad is the only thing stopping me from quitting.

To distract myself, I think about Zoe and how pissed Liam would be if he knew about the night I spent with her.

Despite myself, I smile as I head to the stables.

***

Zoe

Sunday 8.13pm

By the time Christine gets back to me, I’m warding off yawns, in serious danger of reaching the obsessive levels I’m known for.

“I got a judge to sign off. And I’ve spoken to the cell carrier and put a little pressure on them; they’re granting you access right now.”

I blow out a breath. “What would I do without you?”

She chuckles. “A lot more waiting around, probably.”

She’s right. It can take days or weeks to get a cell carrier to comply. “I owe you big time. I’m not sure how much time I can spend on this after the weekend is over.”

“Only you would pick up a new case when on holiday.”

I can’t deny it. “I know. I’m hoping it’ll be a fast fix now I have the cell records. If I find anything, I might need a warrant to search the ranch.”

“That’s going to make you popular in Montana.”

I grimace. “I know. But I have a contact there. I’ll make sure the Sheriff stays in the picture. I might need his help.”

She sighs wearily. “I’ll stand by for warrants. I expect a bonus for this.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I’m distracted when she ends the call, and I can see Liam’s phone log.

I ignore my grumbling stomach and scroll through, checking against Meg’s phone number.

It’s boring and tedious. Most of Liam’s phone calls are to the same numbers.

Which makes it easier to cross-reference them against suppliers, local businesses and staff members.

Not surprisingly, given the lack of coverage, Liam hasn’t used his cell that much during the hours of 6am and 9pm.

I’d need another warrant to get Tyler’s cell records. But I can see enough phone calls between Meg and Liam to confirm they were having more phone conversations than Liam has with anyone else.

Not only phone calls lasting a good length of time, but hundreds of text messages all sent in rapid succession on set days, making me think they arranged to contact each other on specific days.

I go back to the beginning of the record of Liam’s phone and do a double-take; sure I’m reading the dates wrong.

Heart speeding, I open a new screen and check to find the death notice for Jack Carlson.

Jack died in November. According to statements, Liam arrived in September.

The phone record isn’t wrong. Liam Cooper was texting Meg regularly in August.

Right around the time Jack got sick.

Up until now, everything has been a coincidence. Liam met Meg while she was caring for Jack Carlson.

The nurse who cared for Jack Carlson until weeks before his death, knew Liam before he arrived at the ranch.

It’s possible they were just hiding a relationship from Tyler, and if she hadn’t gone missing, I’d probably have accepted that.

I stare at the photo of Liam, then think about the ease in which he tried to convince me Tyler was involved.

If I’d been more impressionable, he might have succeeded. I can only imagine how easy it was to convince a dying man.

There’s no doubt they knew each other. But it will take more time than I have to try to figure out how they may have crossed paths as early as August.

Since it’s logical they may have met at the hospital; I’ll need another warrant.

I slide the mouse to a tab I left open and blow out a breath as I check the flight times.

The quickest and easiest way to get the hospital to grant me access to their records is in person.

I’m on the clock on what was only a missing person case. If I even give a hint of my personal involvement with Tyler, my boss will consider me compromised.

My fingers slide to the book button and I take a breath as I click.

Even though time isn’t, I have two things on my side.

Liam doesn’t know I work for the FBI.

If his ego is as big as I think it is, I have a chance to get him to talk.

I’m not a field agent. I don’t even use a gun. My badge number gets me places and gets people to talk.

I pick up the phone and dial the Sheriff’s office. If I’m going to do this, I’ll need more than probable cause on my side.

I’ll need all the help I can get.