The Reluctant Rancher~Badlands (Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense) (3 page)

Cami nodded. “E.J. has never been anything but nice to me, so I’m with Loretta. Let’s not lump him together with Eldon just because his last name is Kincaid.”

Loretta smiled brightly. “That’s right. Give him a chance to prove himself.”

Reba raised her eyebrows. “Not convinced. He was probably just buttering you up so he could get his
grubby paws on your property. The Kincaids are like that. If you’ve got land, they want to it.” She shot a dark glance at Cami. “After all, didn’t Eldon murder Silky so he could get her property?”

Cami shook her head and side-stepped the question. “Who knows?” She turned to Loretta and asked, “What time is
my first appointment tomorrow?”

“Eight-thirty.
Sara Beth Jessup is bringing the baby in for a checkup…and you’re busy until lunch time. Then you and Reba can trek out to old man Forster’s place to check on him and the missus.”

Cami grinned. Only in Langston did the doctor actually make house calls with a little black bag and a rough and ready nurse by her side. “See you ladies tomorrow morning.
Cut E.J. some slack, Reba. He’s not such a bad guy.”

She pushed out through the door before Reba could make a come-back. Cami knew far too much about E.J. Kincaid.
Perhaps more than he knew about himself, and she was sworn to keep his secrets. She climbed into her car and experienced a twinge of guilt, knowing that she kept this secret from her own husband. But Breck, being an attorney and an officer of the court would be bound to turn her information over to the proper authorities…and it would serve no good purpose. She had used her knowledge to leverage Eldon into making a confession to her Aunt Silky’s murder and at the time, that was all she'd cared about.

At least that was how she justified her actions in her own mind. She started the car and headed out of town, toward the ranch she shared with her husband. After their marriage, Breck had moved into the Victorian home Cami’s great-aunt had left her. Breck’s father was a semi-invalid and had a live-in caretaker who kept the Ryan household and him in tip-top shape. Breck visited every day to make sure they had everything they needed, but he had moved into Cami’s place so she could continue her work to restore
the house to its former glory.

Cami drove by the church where she was now a regular attendee, thanks to Breck's encouragement. She passed the bank and Tiny's Diner, and waved to Greta Olmstead who
was just getting into her car.

Leaving town, she pulled onto the long stretch of highway that led past some of the smaller spreads on the way to the land she shared with her new husband.

When she turned into the circle drive, she always experienced a sense of home.
This is my home. I have a home
.

A warm feeling spread through her chest
. I have a husband
.

She got out and closed the door of her Lincoln, noting that Breck’s truck was not parked out front. No surprise. He could be at his law office in
Langston or at the county court house in the neighboring town. Or he could be anywhere on the many thousands of combined acreage of the Ryan and Carmichael ranches. Anxious to talk to him about E.J.’s visit, she considered calling him on his cell, but thought better of it. She wasn’t really certain she wanted to go to a prison to visit a man she abhorred, but she was absolutely sure she didn’t want to be told she couldn’t go by her macho husband.

Breck hadn’t been a fan of the Kincaids before she had come to Langston, but since E.J. had made a determined effort to pursue her, Breck absolutely loathed E.J. even more. She tried to convince him that she and E.J. had never been anything more than friends, but Breck continued to consider
him a serious romantic rival.

“Hey,
Miz Cami!” Her ranch foreman, T-Bone Mullins called out to her. He had been the foreman here for a long time. When he was a much younger man he had come on board to work for her great aunt, Silky. He was intensely loyal and swore he would do anything to serve Cami’s interests with the same fierce devotion with which he had labored on Silky’s behalf. He had mixed feelings about the joining of the two huge ranches with the marriage of Cami to Breck, but, so far, the Carmichael and the Ryan ranches were functioning independently and that was fine with him. He made no secret of his feelings that the ranches should remain separate.

Cami smiled and waved, well aware that her aunt’s old foreman wanted to remain the top hand on Moon Shadows Ranch. For the moment, she was content to let things remain the same, as long as she didn’t have to be involved in the day-to-day decisions pertaining to the ranch. When it came to a choice, she knew the men went to Breck for his judgment.
What do I know about ranching and cattle, anyway? I’m a doctor, after all.

She
visualized her Aunt Silky, who had inherited this ranch from her parents. She’d managed to run it efficiently until the day of her untimely death. And she had trusted that Cami would be able to run it just as efficiently in her stead.

Cami
walked up onto the porch and turned around. As far as she could see in all directions, this land belonged to her, or her husband. The thought that they possessed so much was rather humbling. The only other ranch in the area that was near the size of the Carmichael and Ryan ranches was the Kincaid spread. She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. Best not to think of Eldon Kincaid and her near-fatal encounter with him. Best not to mention his name in Breck's presence, and best not to mention her get-together today with Eldon's handsome son, E.J. Not if she wanted to enjoy a peaceful evening with her new hubby.

~*~

Jenna Lewis climbed into her truck and slammed the door. What a day! First, she had almost been run off the road by E.J. Kincaid. She muttered a mild oath. And then, his foreman, Leon Harwell, hadn’t been prepared so she’d had to wait while he got ready.
My time is valuable. Trust me, Mr. High and Mighty Kincaid--This is going to show up on your bill.

She started up the vehicle and revved the motor, taking out her frustrations on the gas pedal.
Drawing in a deep breath, she let it out slowly. No point in letting one bad encounter spoil an otherwise beautiful day. It was Friday and there was a live band at the Eagle’s Hall. She had every intention of burning a hole in her boots tonight.

Since Breckenridge T. Ryan had fallen for Silky Carmichael’s great-niece, there weren’t any men worth dancing with, but still…she remained hopeful. Sometimes cowboys from neighboring towns drove over for the live bands. She wished there would be just one with an educatio
n and some manners.

At twenty-seven, Jenna’s biological clock was ticking. She was ready to commit
, ready to settle down and ready to make babies with her future husband. But, he had to have something to bring to the table.

Jenna eased forward, skirted the pens and out buildings and drove past the pretentious
“Beverly Hillbillies” style mansion the pretentious Eldon Kincaid had built as a monument to himself.

Her gaze flicked over E.J.’s Jaguar and she snorted in disgust.
“Jackass!”

~*~

E.J. heard the truck pull away and glanced out the beveled glass insert in the front door in time to see Jenna driving by. He shook his head. The little red-haired veterinarian might be considered attractive if she wasn't always on her high horse hurling insults at him.

He huffed out an impatient breath and turned away. He made his way to the ground floor office that his dad had used and now he had fallen heir to. It opened out on
to the back deck and pool area.

Even with his
MBA, he couldn't seem to fathom his father's financials. E.J.'s title had been Chief Financial Officer when Eldon had been heading up the corporation, but he had been CFO in title only. In truth, Eldon had always played his cards close to the vest, not even trusting his own son with his secrets.

E.J. knew that his dad was guilty of some underhanded dealings, but he couldn't imagine that he had murdered an elderly woman
. Yet he confessed to the crime and would probably spend the rest of his days behind bars.

Although he had spent the past few years rebelling against his father's rule, E.J. now found himself in the role of protector of the
vast Kincaid fortune and land holdings.

He logged onto his father's accounting file and opened it. He saw files labeled ranch and cattle and oil and rental property and another labeled miscellaneous. One by one, he opened each file and poured over them, searching for any cl
ue as to what drove his father.

First
, there was the ranch. E.J. had no idea what it took to run a ranch, but thankfully, he left the day-to-day decisions to the foreman, Leon Harwell. He was a big tough cowboy who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Leon was probably just the kind of man to make little Jenna swoon.

E.J. snorted in disgust. He shook off the notion that he even cared what would make a woman like Jenna swoon.
Back to business...

He saw entries noting the number of acres in the various holdings and what the land was being used for. He stared at the spreadsheets and noted the profits attribute
d to different parcels of land.

After a couple of hours, E.J. pushed back from the computer and rubbed his eyes. He stepped out onto the front porch and filled his lungs with fresh air. He knew that, were his dad standing here, he would be waxing eloquent on the beauty of the countryside and magnificent vista.
Yeah, right.

"Hey, boss." Curly, one of his men
, pulled up close to the porch in his truck. "Are you going to town tonight?"

"Hadn't planned on it," he said.

"Heck, you're missing out on all the fun. Big dance at the Eagles Hall." He ground the gear into idle. "Live band from Amarillo. People are driving in from all around. Ya' oughta go." He shifted gears again and roared off in a cloud of dust.

E.J. recalled the time his dad had taken him along to the Eagles Hall last winter. That was where he had met the enigmatic Camryn Carmichael. Of course, Eldon had been counting on that. He had hoped that E.J. would sweep her off her feet and marry her, the result being Eldon's easy acquisit
ion of the Carmichael property.

He felt his jaw tighten.
Daddy Dearest always had an angle
.

He blew out a huff of air.
Not that he hadn't been attracted to Cami, but she wasn't interested in him.
Only as a friend
. He leaned against one of the big white pillars on the porch. Too bad. He had genuinely grown to care for her and hadn't expected her to fall in love with Breck Ryan. But that was old news. He hadn't seen any other women worth a second look...but maybe he hadn't been looking. Maybe he needed to take a look around...Maybe tonight.

~*~

Sara Beth Jessup looked out the window of her consignment shop, checking both ways before she bundled her three month old daughter and turned out the lights. She stepped outside and locked the door before hurrying to her old car and fastening the infant into her car seat. She climbed inside as quickly as possible, locked the doors and secured her seat belt. The metallic click set her teeth on edge. She glanced in the back seat to make sure it hadn't wakened the baby, but she slept peacefully, unaware that her mother's nerves were frayed.

Since Nick had been gone almost a month, she was feeling pretty anxious, and she hadn’t heard from him at all for almost two weeks. That wasn’t like him. He usually gave her a call jus
t to check in, if nothing else.

She started up the car and drove through Langston to the edge of town. She needed a few things at the grocery store, but just didn’t want to get out. She could make do for another day. Turning onto the highway, she tried to dispel the fee
ling of dread hanging over her.

On the one hand, she wanted to get home, but on the other hand, she hated that they lived so far from town and the community she loved. It was fine when Nick was home, but he had decided he needed to be bringing in more income than the small farm could produce, especially now that he
had a daughter to provide for.

Sara Beth had to admire that, but she wished he hadn’t signed on to work as a relief driver with a long
-distance trucking company. She didn’t even know where he was now and when she tried to call, the cell went to message.

She turned onto the caliches road leading to their small farm house. She had always thought it was cozy and the sight of it
usually warmed her heart…but not tonight. All she wanted to do was get inside with her precious baby and make sure the doors were locked tight.

The sky was darkening and she could smell rain when she stepped from the vehicle. She leaned back in to retrieve the baby and the first raindrop fell on the windshield. Covering the baby’s face with the blanket, she ran to the house and fumbled with the lock. Once inside, she set Cami Lynn on the floor in her car seat and secured the dead bolts. Then
, she went around the house making sure all the windows and the back door were still secured.

She returned to the front and took Cami Lynn out of her car seat and held her
daughter against her chest. “I don’t know where your daddy is, but I’m thinking I should go to the sheriff tomorrow. Maybe he can help us.”