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She lowered her gaze and gave a faint shake of her head. “All I’m sayin’ is that before you bring Claire into this, you need to make certain that Esmerelda understands.”

A sharp pain ripped at Adam’s gut. What the hell had Thomas gotten him into ?

Before he could ponder the implications of what Clara Mae had laid out, the woman clapped her hands, breaking him out of the haze that had fallen over him.

“Rusty! You’re up. What did you have to talk about that you needed our new hand here for?”

Rusty carried three cups of coffee to the table.

Adam didn’t drink coffee — couldn’t stand the stuff — but he figured it might raise another red flag if he refused. After all, Thomas drank coffee.

He wondered what else he didn’t know about his brother — God rest his soul, he added, as his mother would have in this situation. Yeah, he loved Thomas almost as much as breathing, but his brother had created an awful mess that Adam, somehow, had to figure out how to clean up.

“Boyd Landrum.” Rusty pulled out a chair about as far away from Clara Mae as the table allowed. Along with her snake gun — whatever that was — did the woman also throw coffee mugs?

“What did the boy do now?” Clara Mae lifted her mug, gently blew on it. The action was about the most ladylike thing Adam had ever seen her do, but he averted his eyes when she caught him watching.

So it wasn’t the first time Rusty had a run-in with Boyd .

Adam had never liked Boyd, but he didn’t know him well.

Boyd hadn’t gone to their school in Talkeetna, but Thomas hung out with him at The Pitts — a kind of middle ground for teens from the Denali region and Mat-Su Valley to hang out.

Knowing Boyd had been dating Claire — and whatever he’d done to make her quiver in Adam’s arms — was all Adam needed to ban the guy from the ranch.

“ Boy ?” Rusty growled. “Clara Mae, I know you use boy as an endearment, but that boy’s eighteen, and he’s not been a boy for a long while.”

“Duly noted,” Clara Mae said dryly, still testing the coffee’s temperature.

Rusty tapped on the table to get her attention off the coffee.

Clearly frustrated, she lifted her hands. “I’m listenin’, Rust. Can we move this along, though? I got a lot of paperwork to do, and I’m plum worn out.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. Not really. Boyd attacked Claire… right at the drive-in. I heard her scream, saw her crawling backward out of Lala’s Blazer. If I hadn’t come ’round, he might’ve dragged her off into the woods. He was madder than a hornet.”

Clara Mae looked up. “ Madder than a hornet ?”

Rusty dipped his head. “Figured one of your Texas-isms might get your attention.”

She released a long breath, then looked at Adam.

“Did you witness this, too?” Before he could answer, she turned back to Rusty.

“If I throw out Boyd, his father’ll pull all their horses.

And yep, that man’s got a nasty sting. He’ll fight just to fight.

Might take several of the other boarders with him. ”

Rusty shrugged. “So? You’ve been wanting to move forward with selling horses more than boarding anyway.”

Adam was shocked to see that while he’d been led to believe that Brett was in charge, Rusty sure seemed to have Clara Mae’s ear.

She looked back at Adam. “Well?”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. Did you ask me something?”

She sighed and lifted her hands, tossing Rusty a knowing glance.

“Now, don’t get me wrong, I trust Rusty.

But let’s be honest, most folks ’round here — no matter how long they’ve been here — haven’t exactly treated Alaska Natives fairly.

My great-granddaddy homestead this land, but even he didn’t get it right.

If I’m gonna confront Mr. Landrum, I’d feel better with more than one set of eyes on what happened.

So, tell me straight — did you see Boyd lay a hand on Claire? ”

“No, Ma’am. But she told me the entire story. And tonight, when a similar scene came on the movie, she was shaking like a quaking aspen. Took me a while to calm her down.”

“Damn. I might have to get Claire involved. But we’ll see. It’s my ranch. If Rusty says he needs to go, maybe I won’t give a reason. Don’t have to.” Clara Mae sighed, then glared at Adam. “As for you, maybe you shouldn’t be taking sixteen-year-old girls to R-rated movies.”

Adam wanted to argue that Claire would be seventeen soon, but he told the real truth. “I definitely won’t make that mistake again, Ma’am.”

She inhaled deeply then whooshed out the breath. “You don’t have to call me ma’am every time you address me; Clara Mae’s fine.” She clapped her hands again. “Anything else?”

Rusty stood, but Adam figured now was as good as time as any.

“Yes, Ma’am — Sorry, Clara Mae. I’ll honestly try to stop doing that, but you knew my father.”

She dipped her head. “I did. Great man.”

Rusty sat back down, then looked at him, eyes narrowed. “What else you got, kid?”

“Well…” Adam gulped down the lump in his throat. “I think I should talk with Clara Mae alone.”

Rusty groused, “Figures,” then stood.

Clara Mae reached out, putting a hand over his, but looked at Adam. “Anything you have to say, you can say in front of Rusty.”

Hmm … Adam thought. He’d been thinking that something was going on with Clara Mae and Brett. This was better.

“Well,” Adam started again, nervous, but he had to stand up for the horses. “I found some things. You knew my father. He trained me… on everything. I’m not just guessing —”

“For Pete’s sake, boy, spit it out!” Clara Mae said.

“The horses are being starved and the supplements are… what is it called? Fake?”

“Placebos?” Clara Mae asked.

“That’s it!” Adam said.

“How do you know this?” Rusty interrupted.

“I know what the supplements smell like. Like I said, my father trained me.”

Clara Mae leaned forward again. “What do you mean their starved ? The truck comes weekly, the bins are filled.” She looked at Rusty.

He shrugged again. “Per your request, that’s Brett’s area. He asked; you folded. He orders the feed and supplements. Checks them in. Frank feeds the horses.”

Adam pushed back the chair and moved backward toward the door. “Maybe I —”

“Get back here!” Clara Mae said. “You make an accusation like that after two days here, you better back it up! Sit!”

Adam returned to the table but didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned on the table and drilled Clara Mae with a fierce glare. If Rusty was part of this, he didn’t care. He’d say his piece and leave if that’s what they wanted.

“It’s not an accusation,” Adam said calmly.

“The supplements — all of them — aren’t real.

They’re plain powder of some sort. As for the feed.

Someone’s not tossing the old grain, just dumping new bags on top to make the bins look full.

Most horses won’t eat the moldy crap, and they can’t speak for themselves, so they just get thinner.

The ones that do eat it start looking sickly…

or worse. And the reason the barns smell like urine is because Frank hasn’t been mucking them out right.

He’s just scraping off the top and throwing down fresh chips.

” Adam took a calming breath, then finished with, “The log book shows the correct amount of deliveries, so my guess is that someone cut a deal with the supplier.”

Adam stood in place, waiting for the two of them to throw him out. He didn’t care. He’d use the tainted money, take Bolt with him, and he and Peter would go to Fairbanks if they had to.

Except… Claire. I can’t leave Claire .

Rusty didn’t throw him out. Instead, he looked at Clara Mae. “Told ya that punk was up to something!”

“Hush!” Clara Mae said, sighing. “Damn. This is the last think I need right now.” She ran her hands over her head, then stood.

Adam started to move away from the table again, but Rusty wordlessly directed him to sit down, so he sat.

A minute later, Clara Mae walked back to the table but didn’t sit.

“Brett’s outta here. First thing tomorrow.

Both him and that good-for-nothing cousin of his.

” She pointed to Adam but still spoke to Rusty.

“His father was Samuel Belgarde. You met him a few years back — the horse trainer. I tried to hire him umpteen times, but he wouldn’t leave Falcon Run, said Wasilla was getting too citified for him.

” She shook her head, looking at the table for a few seconds, then nodded to Rusty.

“Teach the kid everything you know. He’s gonna be the new head hand. ”

Rusty jumped up so quickly the chair nearly tumbled behind him before he caught it. “Clara Mae!”

Clara Mae narrowed her eyes. “Don’t get fresh with me.”

“But you promised —”

“And I intend to keep that promise. But this boy figured out what was happening in two days. Even better, he wasn’t afraid to tell me.

” She scooped an envelope off the island that divided the dining area from the kitchen.

She tossed the envelope to Rusty. “Besides, I won, which means I need you in Texas. I don’t owe that S.O.B. one penny or an inch of my land.”

Rusty jumped up and ran to her. “And I…”

“You and my baby girl are gonna run it. She’s keeping things going right now.”

Rusty hugged her. “Thanks, Mom! I promise. I’ll take care of both!”

Adam’s brain stalled. Mom ? Baby girl . What the hell ?

“Don’t go thinking I’m dying just yet. I’m going back with you. We’re gonna turn that ranch around. Right after we teach Adam here how to run this place.”

Rusty turned. “ Adam ? I thought his name was Thomas.”

Clara Mae smacked the table like a judge delivering a final verdict.

“And he didn’t know you ran off and married my daughter.

We’re all enigmas, aren’t we? Okay, boys, I trust y’all to keep each other’s secrets.

Right now, let’s figure out how to get Brett, Frank, and the Landrum family out of here without bringing down the entire ranch. ”

“Clara Mae?” Adam said softly. He considered bringing up the joint he’d found in the barn but decided it was overkill. Besides, there was something more pressing. “Thank you for the opportunity… I was wondering —”

“Are you gonna question my orders? We ain’t up and leaving you tomorrow. Rusty’s gonna teach you.” She leaned on the chairback. “Your father claimed you got brains and boots to spare, said you were a born-and-bred Midnight Son. You ready to grow a pair, son?”

“I am! I was just going to ask… Do you have an alarm clock I can borrow until I can get to the store? And maybe I can buy back the Winchester my brother sold you?”