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Mercy, what was he doing here, filling up her kitchen? Grandpa Barrington, from whom she’d inherited her ranch, spoke often of the Hart dynasty. Ace Hart was Angie’s vet, and Miss Sarah volunteered to feed and groom her small animals. Colt and his sister, Dinah Hart, and even the cousins, Dylan and Beau Adams, traveled in different circles from Angie. All were hotshot rodeo jocks, and Angie had long since seen through that veneer.
However, of all the clan, Dylan, whom Ace and Austin called Duke, intrigued her. He seemed nice. At church he came across as a gentleman. Truthfully, he was one of the few men near her age in the area that Angie gave a second look. And here she was, up to her elbows in oats and apples, hot, sticky, her hair in a braid—not the impression she’d prefer projecting to a man known to give her heart a hitch and a half.
Recovering enough to close her mouth, Angie quickly slid the remaining cookies off the sheet, shucked her oven mitts and set them aside. “I...ah...assume you’ve brought me some kind of a stray,” she said, fussing with her braid. “If you’ll give me a minute to bag the cool cookies so they don’t get too hard, and deal with a tray due out of the oven in two minutes, I’ll join you outside and see what you’ve got.”
To keep from thinking about how he might judge her messy kitchen and her, Angie set to work bagging and sealing the treats. It crossed her mind that Dylan acted a tad flustered, which surprised her, because he always appeared quiet and collected.
* * *
DUKE FELT AWKWARD INVADING this feminine space. Not that he didn’t cook, he did. And he’d helped out in his aunt’s kitchen, and Dinah’s, too. But this was Angie Barrington’s kitchen. She had frilly curtains at her windows. And her head didn’t reach his shoulder. In a lot of ways she reminded him of Kelly Ripa on TV, except Angie’s hair usually hung below her waist. Today, without makeup and with her hair braided down her back, she looked about half his age when he knew darned well she was twenty-nine. His friend Austin Wright had shared that information. Duke often saw her entering Austin’s shop, so he’d asked if they were dating. His friend denied it so fast, Duke believed him. Austin said their dealings were all business.
“I’m not in any rush, so take your time.” Tired as he was, Duke stretched the truth. Still feeling uncomfortable on the unfamiliar turf, he rolled his hat in his hand and moved closer to her kitchen counter, watching as she placed a gold-and-black logo seal on packages filled with six treats. “Our horses out at Thunder Ranch love these things. I buy them by the case at Austin Wright’s shop. I’ve seen them sell like hotcakes at the feed store, too.”
“That’s good news. It’s a recipe I found in my grandmother’s recipe box after I moved here. The side business helps defray rescue expenses. Cookie sales are picking up. I’m considering expanding and hopefully hiring help, so I’m glad your horses love them.” She flashed him a smile.
“I didn’t bring you an animal,” Duke blurted; his knees melted under her smile, but he owed her an explanation for barging into her home. “There’s been another ranch break-in at Thunder Ranch. It’s their second.”
“Oh, I noticed you were wearing your badge. So, you’re out informing neighbors? It’s lucky I guess that everyone knows I don’t have anything worth taking.”
Duke didn’t know how to tell her that one of her neighbors said she might possess a stolen horse. “Ma’am,” he began, pausing as he fiddled with his hat. “At this ranch invasion thieves made off with an expensive horse.”
Angie glanced up, plainly startled. Just as she was about to speak, the screen door banged open and in ran an out-of-breath, sandy-haired, freckle-faced, gap-toothed boy. Excited, the kid stabbed a finger toward the door. “Wh-whose p-pickup and n-neat dog?” he stuttered. “Is it my dad?”
“Lucas, what on earth...!” Angie flushed.
The boy’s query had Duke stepping more fully into view. He had moved aside to avoid getting plowed into. The kid’s question gave him pause, since all of the gossip Duke had heard indicated the boy’s father wasn’t now or ever had been in the picture.
“Luke, the pickup and dog belong to Deputy Adams, and he’s here on business.”
The boy spun and squinted up at Duke. “Mom, he’s who brought f-fly-yers to my Sunday-school class.” The boy’s excited words exploded in a rush. “You know...’viting kids to be in the wild p-pony race. Did you s-s-sign me up, Mom?”
Pursing her lips, Angie turned at the sound of the oven timer and bent to retrieve two more sheets of cookies. “That’s not why Deputy Adams is here. I haven’t committed to letting you be in that race, Lucas. Besides, it takes three to make up a team.”
“You should sign him up,” Duke said, smiling at the boy he felt sympathy for. Duke knew what stuttering was like. He’d been plagued by the problem himself as a youngster, and it still hurt to think about the humiliation of it.
“The Wild Pony Race is good, all-around fun,” he said, addressing Angie. “For the past three years the sheriff’s office has sponsored the race, which is why I distributed entry packets to various kid groups.”
Angie eyed her son with a heavy heart. He had started stuttering last year in first grade. The truth was he got teased a lot, and he hadn’t made friends as she had hoped. “We don’t have close neighbors,” she said for Duke’s benefit. “During the school year I clerk in the elementary-school office. Between that, the escalating horse-cookie business and my rescues, I don’t have a lot of time for Luke to make playdates. You may recall that my grandfather was ill for some time. His care, the shelter and raising Lucas added up to more than a full-time job.” She fussed at the counter full of cookies. Moving the bowl of those still unmade, she said a bit stiffly to her visitor, “Thank you for the community update.” Her gaze cut again to her son.
Duke could see she didn’t want to worry the boy by mentioning the break-ins. “Uh, I never got around to telling you exactly why I’m here,” he said after clearing his throat. “Today a neighbor reported seeing a black horse in one of your fields. If you don’t mind, I’ll take a look around, since the horse fits the description of the stallion missing from Thunder Ranch.”
“You think I...?” She broke off to brace her hands on her hips. “Listen, Deputy Adams, if that stallion is in one of my fields, he got there without my knowledge. The only black horse I have is an old gelding Carl Peterson found wandering along the road outside his fence line. Obviously the horse got too old to serve any purpose to his former owner, except to cost him for feed. So they turned him out to fend for himself. That’s happening more and more in these down economic times.”
Duke frowned. “That’s terrible.” He realized Angie hadn’t said someone left the horse to die, but that’s what she meant. “I can’t believe the insensitivity of some animal owners. Those kinds of fools shouldn’t be allowed to own a horse,” he ended emphatically.
“I’m glad you feel that way,” Angie said. She reached over and shut off her oven, then put the uncooked dough in a walk-in pantry. “I’ll finish baking after I give you the grand tour of Barrington Rescue Ranch, Deputy.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Duke held open the screen and stepped back to let Angie and her son pass. “Call me Dylan, or Duke,” he said. “We do see each other at church and around town.”
“It’s a deal, if you stop calling me ma’am. Angie will do.”
“I l-like Luke, better than Lucas,” the boy said, bouncing along. “Your d-dog sni-niffed my hand,” he stuttered. “Wh-what’s his name?”
“Zorro. Have you seen the movie? Zorro wore a black mask, and my German shepherd has the same look about him.”
“Yep,” the boy said, squinting up at the tall man. “Hey, w-we rhyme, Duke and Luke. Isn’t that c-cool, Mom?” Luke said, giving a little hop.
She darted a sidelong glance at the man walking next to her, and found it charming how he grinned and tousled her son’s impossible cowlick. Her grandfather had been the only man in Luke’s life from the day he was born. Gramps doted on Luke until the old man took sick. His passing had been a blow to her and Luke—quite possibly harder on him. Still, Angie didn’t want to make too much of Dylan Adams’s show of kindness toward her fatherless child, even though his whole demeanor sparked a warm spot in the center of her chest. A man like that was worth a lot.
Chapter Two
Duke slowed his steps and smiled as he watched Luke playing tag with Zorro. “My dog loves all the attention,” he said, waiting while Angie checked the enclosure and the feed trough of a potbellied pig.
“This is Layman. I’m trying to find him a home. There was a time potbellied pigs were considered ideal pets. Once the novelty wore off, and people discovered they really were pigs with just a bit better disposition, a new animal fad replaced them, and they get discarded like old tennis shoes.”
“That sucks,” Duke grumbled, bending to scratch the fat white pig behind his ears. “Pets are part of the family.”
Angie had cut a shock of fresh lettuce from her garden as they walked past. She scattered the leaves in Layman’s trough. “Sadly, not everyone believes that,” she said, growing serious all of a sudden. “My grandparents ran this animal rescue ranch, but it’s grown since I took over. And costs keep rising.”
“Ace mentioned he treats your animals.”
“I hate calling him, because half the time he doesn’t charge me. And bless your aunt for spending time showering love on some of my neediest pets.” They walked on to a pen full of goats. “The family who raised these goats had to move when the husband found work in the city. The babies are so cute I can’t bear to part with them. I’ll probably wish I had when they grow bigger and start being pesky.”
“You have an odd assortment,” Duke remarked, when a very pregnant donkey lumbered up to the fence. “I would have sworn this was primarily cattle and horse country. Where do these all come from?”
“Oh, people drive out from surrounding towns and dump some off in the middle of the night,” Angie said. “Some bring abandoned animals that wander onto their land. I have three sheep from a family whose daughter raised them in 4-H. She went off to college. Her dad is a long-haul trucker, and his wife wanted to go on the road with him. They planned to sell the sheep, but the daughter couldn’t bear the thought of sending them off to be lamb chops.”
Duke laughed. “You’re as soft a touch as Ace, I can tell,” he said as Luke ran up followed by Zorro. The boy stuttered his way through telling his mom he wished their two dogs were this much fun.
“Honey, you know the dogs we currently have were mistreated. They’re afraid of people. We need to be patient.”
“I—I know,” the boy said, as he went to his knees and flung both arms around Duke’s big dog.
“There’s a tennis ball in the backseat of my truck,” Duke said. “If it’s okay with your mom, Zorro loves to play fetch.”
“C-c-can I?” His hazel eyes lit. Duke figured the boy’s father must have had brown eyes, because Angie’s eyes were almost a silvery-blue.
“You may,” she stressed, taking time to point out the difference between can and may.
The adults stood in silence as boy and dog tore back down the path. Duke broke the silence first. “If the only reason you haven’t signed him up for the Wild Pony Race is a lack of teammates, I can ask around and see if anyone in his age group is in need of a third person.”
Angie clamped her teeth over her bottom lip. “I guess you noticed my reluctance to commit about the race. I’m not being mean. His first year of school was difficult. Two weeks into the school year, practically out of the blue, he started to stutter. Our pediatrician says there’s no physical abnormality. He believes Luke will probably outgrow it. I had him tested by the school. When school starts in the fall Luke will meet twice a week with a speech therapist. Call me overly protective, but his condition worsened when other boys picked on him. He’s small for his age and, well, I can’t risk this pony race being another bad experience for him.”
Recalling the difficulties he had with the same problem of stuttering and being teased unmercifully as a kid, Duke nevertheless couldn’t bring himself to share such personal information with Luke’s mom, a woman he’d like to impress.
“I’m not trying to pressure you,” he said, “but I see all the entries and usually hear about kids wanting to sign up. I could pass on names of any seven- or eight-year-olds who need a partner, so you can check them out. There are a lot of good kids in Roundup.”
“Lucas has been badgering me since the Sunday he came out of class with that flyer. Okay,” she said slowly. “Call if you hear of anyone needing a partner.”
Duke sensed she still had reservations.
They meandered on and she stepped off the path to fill a scoop from a bin and then she scattered corn for the chickens. They saw a pair of barn cats slink away from where they hid in weeds to watch the chickens. “Those cats,” Angie lamented. “I need to find them homes before my feisty hens give them a lesson they won’t soon forget.”
Her companion didn’t comment, and Angie worried that she was talking too much and was boring him. “We’re nearly at the field where I have the horses turned out. I have an old Shetland pony and two gentle mares I rescued from a urine production line selling to a slaughter house. They’ll make someone good saddle horses. Ah, there’s the old fellow I told you about, plus a younger gelding I rescued from a rodeo-stock contractor who beat him to make him buck.”
As soon as they reached the fence, the horses wandered over. Angie had treats in her pockets, and the horses crowded in for their share.
Duke saw the old horse still had prominent ribs, but none of the animals in her care had defeat in their eyes. He liked that.
“The mares look so much better than when the Humane Society turned in the farmer who ran the operation. The Shetland came from an elderly lady’s farm. She couldn’t feed herself, let alone a pony, a dog and multiple cats.”
“I’m sorry to have troubled you,” Duke said, withdrawing his hand from the old horse’s muzzle. “Color is the only thing this old guy has in common with my aunt’s stallion. I’ll let you get back to your baking. I really wish Midnight had jumped your fence. Dinah is frustrated because the thefts are getting more frequent, and no one sees anything.”
Luke, out of breath from his game of fetch with Zorro, caught up with his mom and Duke as they turned back toward the house. “That was fun,” he announced, this time with no stutter. He handed Duke the tennis ball. As Duke tried to close his swollen left hand around the ball, he caught his breath at the sudden pain, and the ball fell and rolled down the path.
Angie saw and automatically reached for his puffy, discolored hand. She examined his injury in the light spilling from an outside barn light that had switched on. “That looks bad, Dylan. What happened? Have you had it x-rayed?” she asked, lightly stretching out his fingers.
Her whole demeanor spelled caring, which Duke found interesting, and sweet. He’d been around half his family for the better part of the day, and no one noticed the swelling. Or if they did they were so inured to rodeo injuries, they had taken his latest injury in stride.
“It happened Saturday at the Sheridan rodeo on my last ride. Haymaker was the bull’s name. I knew he was a rip snorter prone to burying his head and twisting midair to dislodge his rider. This was my fault. I wrapped the bull rope too tight around my hand. At the buzzer, I leaped off, but Haymaker spun away. He jerked me around pretty good until I was able to release the rope. Really, it’s minor,” he finished saying, because Duke certainly didn’t want Angie to think he was a wimp.
“Y-you ride b-bulls in the rodeo?” Luke got out, his eyes shining and wide. Plainly awed, the boy danced around Duke, asking more about the rodeo.
Duke noticed Angie purse her lips and settle her hand heavily on her son’s shoulder. “Back to the house, young man. Dylan’s leaving.”
“But, do y-you know my d-dad?” the boy blurted. “He’s in r-rodeo. He rides bucking horses.”
Angie stopped dead. “How... Where did you hear that?” she demanded, doing a bit of stammering herself.
Duke took the ball from the boy with his right hand, and motioned Zorro on down the path. It couldn’t be more plain that Angie was shocked by her son’s knowledge.
He heard her mutter, “Never mind,” when Luke said that his gramps had told him. Irritation sparked in Angie’s eyes as she herded her chatty son to the house. Suddenly she stopped, turned and called, “Goodbye, Dylan. I hope you find Sarah’s horse. I’m sure it’s a huge worry.”
He tipped his hat. Unsure whether or not she’d even consider entering Luke in the Wild Pony Race now, Duke nevertheless needed to establish if it was a possibility. “So, I’ll give you a call if I locate any partners like we talked about,” he said, raising his voice so she’d hear. Although she hesitated, Duke saw her nod briefly, and so he said, “You keep an eye out for strangers who may not know you think you have nothing to steal. Log the number for the sheriff’s office on your speed dial,” he shouted as she was closing the screen door. “Your ranch is isolated. The police number in the phone book will reach Dinah or me.”
“I’m good,” he heard her say. But, happy she hadn’t totally dismissed him over his bull riding, Duke let Zorro into the backseat, slid behind the wheel and drove off. The sun was barely a glimmer, but as he glanced in the rearview mirror he noticed Angie still stood in her doorway, watching him.
“That’s a good sign, don’t you think, boy?” Duke told his dog. Zorro whined and batted his paw on the back of Duke’s headrest.
Feeling the adrenaline drain after his lengthy encounter with a woman he found appealing, Duke admitted he was beat and running on empty. But he couldn’t stop thinking, and liking, how he and Angie lingered along the path to her horse field. He felt less constrained around her. Unlike women who gushed over him at rodeos, Angie didn’t act coy and she didn’t flirt. Neither did she talk down to Luke, or scold him when it was patently obvious she didn’t want him asking about his father. And she let the boy get through a sentence without rushing to finish it for him the way Duke recalled happening to him. That was all the more frustrating and only served to make a stutterer stutter more.
He set his phone on the console and switched on the Bluetooth feature. He hit speed dial and listened to it ring twice before Dinah picked up, saying, “Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Hart speaking.”
“Dinah, it’s Duke. I’m just leaving the Barrington ranch. The black horse Rob saw there is an old gelding. Anything else come in while I’ve been gone?”
“Not a single lead. It’s exasperating. Are you heading home to bed?”
“I thought I’d swing past the Number 1 Diner for their Monday-night special before I go home and crash. Care to join me for supper?”
“Rain check? I’m tired, too, and I still have to type up a report to send to the mayor.”
“Okay. I’ll come into the office early tomorrow. I want to make up a flyer with Midnight’s photo to tack up around town. I’ll make that the first page on the ranch website. And we should get notices out to auction barns, livestock and brand inspectors. Do you think anyone took any video of Midnight when Colt had him at the rodeo? If so, we can post it on YouTube.”
“You’ll have to ask Colt. I’m happy to let you handle all the techie stuff, Duke. Go eat, we can coordinate our next steps tomorrow. Hey, one last question. Did you think Mom looked okay, or should I worry about the strain this theft may have put on her heart? I don’t know much about angina, but someone said it could lead to other heart problems.”
“She took the theft of Midnight almost as hard as losing Uncle John’s special saddle. It is a blow just when it seemed the ranch might recover from its financial woes. She and Ace have to pay the loan they took out to buy Midnight, even if the horse isn’t there to earn his keep. But Ace or Flynn, or Leah would be better able to speak to your mom’s health. Last time I saw her before today was two weekends ago when I went with her to church. She referred to the bout of angina as a minor incident. Maybe we should take her at her word.”
“I suppose,” Dinah said, sounding a bit off stride herself. “When we do find the jerks who stole Midnight, you’ll have to keep me from wringing their necks.”
Duke laughed. Dinah talked tough, but she had the perfect disposition for her job. She knew Montana law, had grown up in Roundup, but her best trait in Duke’s opinion—she accepted people for who they were and looked for good in everyone.
“Laugh, but I want to nail the thieves working over our friends, family and neighbors so bad I can taste it.”
“Me, too. I think by upping their timetable they’re bound to get sloppy and make a misstep.”
“I hope so. Enjoy your club steak on toast and all the trimmings. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”
Duke clicked off as he pulled up in front of the redbrick diner. They all ate there so often they knew the nightly specials by heart. Tonight his timing couldn’t be better. A pickup about the size of his pulled out and left an opening where Duke could keep an eye on his vehicle from inside. “Zorro, be good while I’m in eating and I’ll bring you some steak.” The dog perked his ears, but he lay back down when Duke opened his door and cracked open a window far enough for Zorro to get his snout out for fresh air.
Sierra Byrne, who owned the diner, hadn’t grown up in Roundup, but she’d spent summers in her parents’ cabin on the nearby Musselshell River. And she served comfort food, which made her restaurant a hit with ranchers and rodeo cowboys who went for stick-to-the-ribs meals. Men and women alike enjoyed the mining theme. Duke wasn’t crazy about the tables with sparkly red Formica tops, but in general the place had a homey feel.
Several people greeted him as he entered and that, too, added to the diner’s attraction. Two members of the Roundup rodeo committee hailed him to sit with them. The town’s fair and rodeo loomed large in everyone’s mind as it was only a few weeks away. Preparation didn’t change much from year to year, but every year the committees jockeyed their events enough to claim the current rodeo/fair would be the best one yet. And it did seem to Duke that the fair added more booths, the parade got bigger and motels got booked quicker each year, which was good for the town coffers.
Farley Clark owned a gas station at each end of town. He also stored the movable bleachers at his ranch. Duke supposed Farley wanted to ask him to line up burly cowboys to assemble the bleachers. This evening, Farley and his tablemate, Jeff Woods, wanted to discuss the most recent robbery.
“Heck of a note,” Farley said, “Sarah and Ace losing that pricy stud. Thunder Ranch being hit twice puts me in mind that whoever’s doing this is thumbing their nose at Dinah. What’s she got in mind to do? Are there any leads at all?”
Duke shook his head. He hadn’t expected to get grilled about the burglary, or he probably would have skipped coming here. Not everyone in town had favored the idea of Roundup electing a woman sheriff. Farley had been one of the most vocal, and had supported Dinah’s opponent.
“I’ll take the special, with iced tea,” Duke called to Susie Reynolds, the waitress heading toward him. She gave him a thumbs-up, and turned back to deliver his order.
“You figure it’s a local?” Jeff asked, peeling the label off his bottle of sarsaparilla.
“Bound to be,” Duke answered. “Or else someone has spent a lot of time working out escape routes. They strike at night. Nobody hears or sees them make a getaway. Pete Duval’s ranch isn’t easy to find in broad daylight. Practically all of the ranches hit own dogs who haven’t barked in alarm. Dinah and I assume it’s guys who know the back roads and local ranch layouts.”
Farley Clark stirred two packets of sugar in his coffee. “Did you check at the bank if anyone is making deposits over and above what’s normal?”