He grabbed her hand and they started running toward the front of the pickup.
Ill call 9-1-1, she shouted as she climbed in the passenger side of his truck.
Lucas nodded and headed across the open pasture. Wheres your car?
About half a mile back on the road.
He was there before she could finish her call.
As she climbed out of the truck, Lucas yelled over the incoming storm, Get out of here as fast as you can. I dont think it will spread on this wet grass, but you dont want to be caught in the middle of a grass fire.
She watched the flames shooting high in the air. Its not a grass fire. It was too big. Grass fires crawl along the ground. This was shooting thirty feet straight up.
He followed her gaze as another flame shot into the black sky a mile to the left of them. Youre right, he said. Something or someone is burning the barn. If it catches grass, it might spread to Kirkland land. Ill call him.
A half mile away, another flame shot up.
Another barn, Lucas shouted. This is no accident.
She reached for her car door, but just before she stepped in she heard him say, Ill find you when this is over. Its time you and I had a talk, Lauren. Until then, stay away from the fires.
CHAPTER FOUR
HELLO, DARLIN, SHERIFF Dan Brigman said into his cell phone as he drove toward the Collins ranch. I know Im calling early, but Im headed out to a barn fire and might not get a chance to call before you go to sleep.
Anything bad? Brandis voice came through, making him miss her ten times more than he had a minute ago.
No. You know nothing ever happens around here. How was your flight to Nashville?
I started missing you before I got off the plane. I slept part of the way and had this great dream about you.
Dan smiled. He loved his wifes sexy low voice. Tell me about it tomorrow night. I dont want to be driving and accidently miss a word. He couldnt stop thinking how beautiful shed looked when she left this morning. I miss you. Wish I could have gone with you this time. I know its only a few weeks, but itll seem like an eternity here without you.
I know. I feel the same, but Ill be working most of the time. The band is already here. Theyll watch out for me. Well start rehearsals tomorrow. Ill be home before you know it.
Ill be waiting. Better say good-night. Im almost to the ranch. I can see the barn burning even before I pull off.
Night, she whispered, then added, Be careful.
He drove the last mile thinking of his wife and not some fire in a barn on a ranch no one cared about. The owner had been gone for years, and his son ran the place like it was his own ATM. Dan had heard that the foreman, along with a few dozen cowboys, had all been fired yesterday.
Brandi, his wife, was three states away trying to get some sleep. How could he miss a woman so much whod only been gone a few hours? When this duty was over Dan knew hed be tempted to go home and call her again. Just to say good-night one more time.
Hed married her late into his forties. They might never make it to dance at their fiftieth anniversary party. Hed just have to love her in double time for the rest of his life to catch up.
CHAPTER FIVE
ONE BY ONE, Dakota turned on the lights in the beautiful old stucco home on Indigo Lake that her grandparents had built in the twenties. The day had exhausted her. Shed spent most of her time talking to people who didnt know what they wanted in a house. Window-shoppers were just part of the job; they didnt seem to realize that she didnt make money if they didnt buy.
Once in a while, when everything went wrong, she wanted to scream all the way to heaven. I cant take it anymore. Not one more step. Not one more ounce of worry. Not one more day of people wasting my time. Im not strong enough to carry the load.
But she had to be. There was no one else.
Just as she reached for the light in the kitchen, a gentle voice whispered from the shadows. About time you got home, little sister.
Dakota forced a smile as she flipped on the light. Sorry Im late. Being home before dark was a rule shed agreed to years ago. Not that Maria would ever complain.
Did you get all the canning supplies? Maria moved toward her, gliding one hand slowly over the counter. I thought I heard someone else on the porch.
Yes to both. Dakota tried to sound lighthearted but today seemed stormy everywhere. I got everything you ordered. Even picked up extra jars while theyre on sale. Wes, at the store, helped me load them. If that man gets any quieter hell be a mute. She followed her sister toward the porch. And, youre not going to believe it, Maria, but theres another Hamilton alive.
You saw one? Her sister turned back so quickly her dark, curly hair floated like a cape around her shoulders.
Not only saw, I loaned him our pickup. Dakota had already concluded that that decision probably hadnt been a bright move. First, he was a Hamilton. Second, he was a stranger. Third, he was a biker. Maybe she should have thought twice about being neighborly. The only thing the guy lacked was a prison shirt hand-painted with Looking for My Next Victim.
Lets go kill him now and save some time. Maria laughed as she slapped her hand over her mouth. Sorry. That just came out. Killing Hamiltons must be deeply buried in my DNA.
Dakota didnt want to admit shed already thought of that. Its been a hundred years since the Hamilton-Davis feud began. Maybe we should do some research to see if anyone remembers what started it. Maybe Grandmothers stories might just be thatstories.
But he might remember the curse, Maria whispered. He could be across the lake plotting our deaths right now. Grandmother swore Hamiltons are trained from birth to kill any Davis that sets foot on their land.
I dont think he knows about that oath. He would have mentioned it if he had. Dakota wasnt sure Blade would care either way. He seemed more like the type who hated all folks in general, so why pick on Davises. Were probably safe.
When Marias sweet face wrinkled into a frown, Dakota added, I did try to bounce him out of the pickup, but he hung on. Which was lucky, I guess, because he was still alive to help me get the supplies to the porch before it started raining.
Maria carried in boxes of canning jars. In the home she never tested her steps. She knew the pattern of the floor by heart. Tell me all about him. Then we murder the guy just so we know the curse is broken. She almost managed to sound serious. Oh, and before we pay him a visit, tell me, was he good-looking? Tall? Old or young? Ugly with wolf eyes?
Dakota joined her sister in the work of organizing everything exactly as Maria needed: flour in the left bin, sugar in the tin on the counter, cinnamon on the right side of the first shelf. Everything had its exact place for Maria. Wolf eyes, definitely. And tall, but mean looking. Not ugly. Young, I think; he was too muddy to tell. He was standing in the lake, covered in pond scum, when I met him. It didnt really go with his skin.
Maria giggled, sounding much younger than her thirty-three years. I have an idea. If hes just homely, one of us should marry him before we murder him. Then well get the land. Someone said there are plums growing all over that land. I could double or triple my plum jelly production.
What good is a place we cant step foot on? Remember what Grandmother said, Davises die when they walk over Hamilton land.
I dont believe Shichu. The older she gets the more stories rattle out of her brain. Maria moved her fingers lightly over the jars, counting them. How old is he? Ill marry him. It wouldnt matter to me if hes ugly.
Dakota watched her beautiful sister, wondering how she could speak so lightly about being blind. Forcing all emotion from her voice, she answered, Couldnt tell much about looks, but he had a nice build. I have a feeling hes meaner than a rattler though. He told me if I got wet I might shrink to elf size.
Maria, an inch taller than Dakota, reached in the kitchen drawer and drew her butcher knife. That does it. We kill him tonight. No one insults my little sister.
Dakota laughed as the vision of them tromping down the muddy road with their only weapons, a big knife and baseball bat, flashed through her mind. We cant go tonight. Its raining. Well both be elf size before we get to him and hell probably stomp on us with his biker boots.
Hes a biker? Like Hells Angels or the Bandidos? Does he have those biker tattoos? You know, the kind that frighten any woman when she rips off his shirt in wild passion.
I didnt look but next time Ill ask him to strip, then Ill come home and describe them to you. Dakota grinned, thinking she might like seeing Hamilton nude. Only for reference so she could report back to Maria, of course.
Maria seemed lost in her own dream. Ill bet he has a wicked tattoo running across his chest. I listened to this romance novel last month where the hero was a biker. He had a skull and crossbones on his chest and said he was a pirate who stole hearts. The story was so hot it burned my ears.
Dakota shook her head. Weve got to cut down your subscription to audiobooks. How many books did you listen to this week?
One nonfiction, one biography and only four or five romances. Maria shrugged. Sometimes I listen to the romances twice. I have a feeling if I could see, Id be an untamed spirit rushing out to midnight affairs and romantic afternoons with men whose names I wouldnt even bother to learn. Id call them all lover.
Youve never done anything wild in your life, Maria. Dakota couldnt imagine her shy sister ever being brave enough to talk to a man, much less draw him into an afternoon of passion.
I know I havent gone crazy yet, but Im making mental notes from the books. Once I find the right man, Ive got a list of things to try. Hed better have stamina.
They both laughed and began preparing dinner.
As Dakota worked on the wide, wood-block countertop that her grandmother had cooked meals on, the stress of the day slipped away. This house made of stucco and logs had withstood every storm that had come along for years, and it would withstand this one tonight.
So, Maria said as she made the salad, tell me about your day.
Dakota made a face but kept the worry out of her voice. I swear being the only Realtor in a rapidly growing small town is like chasing bees in a tornado. One retired couple from Amarillo just wanted to move to Crossroads because it was so tiny. They said they were tired of the big city and fighting traffic on a street called Soncy. They claimed theyd love the quiet of a little community and the fact they could get so much house for their money here. But then he complained that there was no golf course or gym. She asked twice how far the nearest mall was.
What did you show them?
Not much. They hated the row of new garden homes going up by the museumtoo small. The houses over by the school were bigger but too old, too many stairs, too plain. I showed them one three miles from town and he said it was too far out. In the end, I think they were just daydreaming.
Maria smiled as she worked. I know, its not fair, she said. You try so hard, but not everyone is serious.
Right. I told them to think about building. Good news is they said theyd consider it. Bad news is I wont make much money off the sale of a lot.
Anyone else?
Dakota felt a little of the days tension leave her shoulders. The mothers of a bride and groom were trying to pick out their newly married childrens home while the kids were on their honeymoon. I showed them everything in town and the mothers couldnt agree. My guess is Ill be showing the newlyweds the same houses next week.
They talked as they ate: Dakota about her work in town and what needed to be done on the farm every weekend before spring, and Maria about what fruit she planned to can tomorrow. Her business was growing, but another ten jars of jam sold next week wouldnt be enough to pay the bills this month.
As they finished supper, the rain finally stopped. Maria cleaned up and began setting her ingredients out for tomorrow. Dakota knew if the rain started again during the night, her sister would get up and create her delicious jams and jellies without the light. Since the accident that took her sight five years ago, Maria couldnt sleep if it rained or stormed, so she worked at what she loved: cooking.
Collecting her laptop, Dakota headed for the barn. Her day job might be over, but her studies were just beginning. If she ever planned to do what she loved, she had to workrain or shine.
CHAPTER SIX
BLADE HAMILTON WORKED half the night trying to pull his bike out of the Texas mud. Indigo Lake seemed determined to keep it. Finally, with the help of an old rusty winch from the shack of a barn on his land, he managed to drag the Harley out of the lake and get it on solid ground.
The night seemed to fight him as well, first with a chilling mist against his already wet clothes, and finally with shadows from the low clouds moving over the midnight land like creatures crawling toward him. Once, he looked up and swore he saw a figure, round as he was tall, glaring at him from behind a bare elm as if the intruder thought invisible leaves might hide him.
Blade thought he could make out white teeth smiling. Then the wind whipped up and the stout body turned, as if rolling into the night. Blade kept glancing toward the lone elm, but the figure didnt appear again. After cussing and yelling at it a few times, Blade calmed down and examined the damage to his bike.
Forget the round figure. If he didnt get this bike fixed hed be here forever, and tonight it was far too dark to even predict how many hours or days it would take him. The way his luck was running, hed probably have plenty of time to visit with the ghost.
Exhausted, he climbed into the pickup hed borrowed and drove back to Dakotas place. Her house wasnt far; hed seen the lights there go out hours ago. But, thanks to the lake, the road circled around, making it seem miles away.
When he crossed onto her property, he noticed a few buildings besides the main house scattered over the rocky, uneven land. Barns, sheds, a short house that looked like it might have been the original dugout when the place was homesteaded.