Page 26

A lthough Adam could have stayed on that deck all day, kissing Claire until the midnight sun settled behind the mountains, the ranch would be coming alive… if it wasn’t already.

Not waiting for a response to his declaration of love, he pulled Claire into his arms again, kissing her without even asking.

Did he have to ask if she was his? He didn’t think so.

His father would come home after working all day, sneak up behind his mother, and then lower her into a deep dip as he kissed her.

Then she’d push him back, ordering him to take a shower.

Adam pulled back and sighed. “We gotta go.”

“I know…” Claire lifted on tiptoes again. “Adam?”

“Yeah?” He smiled at the sound of his name on her lips.

He knew he should tell her not to call him by his real name, but the thought of her calling him Thomas — nope.

Never gonna happen. He would ask that she continued using Stableboy before another man’s name fell from her lips — even his brother’s name. Especially his brother’s name.

“I love you, too,” she spoke softly. “I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you since kindergarten.”

Adam gave himself permission for one more kiss. He wrapped his arms completely around her, pulling her off her feet. “For the record, I like how short you are. For me, you’re perfect.”

She smacked his chest playfully. “So, Stableboy… No tall and curvy Lala for you?”

“God no!” He nearly choked on his reply. “I mean, she’s pretty and all, but… Claire, you’ve got to know. It’s always been you. Plus, she slept with my brother. To mimic your hotdog remark, eww …” He threw in a shudder to drive the comparison home.

Claire burst out laughing. “Oh my gosh, you did not just compare your brother to a hotdog.”

Adam shrugged. “Anyway, definitely no Lala for me. But since you brought her back up, Clara Mae’s concerned about what Lala might do… To me, maybe, but mostly to you, I think. I didn’t even know Lala was your cousin.”

“Step-cousin,” Claire clarified. “My grandmother married her grandfather shortly after I was born. Lala’s from California, so I only saw her a handful of times over the years — until her step-father shipped her up here. We get along… mostly. Why would Clara Mae have concerns about Lala and me?”

“Clara Mae knows I took you out, and she mentioned Lala’s real father…”

“Oh?” Claire twisted her mouth. “ Him ? Yeah, he’s …

kind of a… smooth talker. I’ve only seen him a couple of times, years ago.

My parents didn’t like him, usually found a reason not to visit during holidays when he was there.

But then Lala’s mother divorced him… and married this new guy, and I haven’t —”

“Claire,” Adam stopped her. “We have to go, but I have to know… Why would Clara Mae be worried about you, concerning Lala’s father?”

Claire bit down on her lip, then peeked around Adam, looking back at the trail. “Because Lala’s father — Lalo, oddly enough, which I think is short for Eladio —”

Adam sighed.

“Sorry, I’m just trying to paint the picture without coming right out and saying what’s speculation on everyone’s part.”

“What’s everyone’s speculation about him?”

Claire squeezed her eyes, then opened them. “That he’s… cartel.”

“What?” Adam spun away, leaning over the railing. He didn’t even know where to start with that answer. He was thinking some high-falutin California businessman, not a cartel leader. “Lala knows this?”

“Well, she doesn’t go around flapping her jaws, but she gets whatever she wants. And she knows it.”

“And she wants Thomas, even though she hasn’t seen him in nearly two years?”

Claire nodded.

“ Faaaa … Holy crap!” For the first time in his short life, Adam nearly cussed, really cussed — the big one. “ Why ?”

“Because Thomas was her first.”

Adam laughed without humor. “I meant, why is this happening to me?”

Claire moved toward him, shaking her head. “Lala will get over it. She knows she can’t always get her way. Grams sure doesn’t put up with her tantrums.”

“Are you sure? If you saw her face the other day — I wasn’t sure if she was confused or mad. But now, some of what she said makes sense.”

Claire stepped back and crossed her arms. “What did she say?”

“Nothing important, believe me.” He waved his hands.

They were running out of time, and he needed to know what this man might be capable of.

“When you say cartel… Do you mean like… the cartel? The kind of men who chop off fingers if you screw up — remove appendages if you mess with their daughters?”

She winced. “God, no! I mean, Lala’s a brat, but we’ve been family for fourteen years.

She even stood up for me when Boyd…” She literally shook off the thought.

“I’ve seen her throw tantrums over not watching her favorite show, but ordering her father to cut off appendages …

Maybe we should just tell her the truth. ”

Adam ran his hands down his face, scratching at the hair growth. He hated it, but he didn’t have clean clothes, let alone a razor.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Claire said, stepping toward him again. “I’ll tell her the truth.”

“You can’t, Claire. I’m sorry, but that’s not the answer. Someone’s still after Thomas.” He couldn’t tell her that the eight men sent to kill him were dead. “Alaska’s big and all, but there aren’t that many people between Anchorage and Falcon Run. When the bad guy finds out —”

“But… you said… those guys killed Thomas. Wouldn’t they have reported his death back to whoever ordered it?”

Once again, Adam realized how bad he was at all this deception.

If he’d been hooked up to that lie detector, it’d explode right now.

Nope ! He shook his head as he remembered the events of that night.

There was no one to report that Thomas was dead — or the eight bad guys , for that matter .

They just wouldn’t show up, which meant the real bad guy would send more.

Claire touched his arm. “You shook your head no . What does that mean?”

It means I’m a horrible liar — or concealer , he thought.

According to his mother, one meant the same as the other.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, which meant not telling the truth was a lie of omission.

But unlike what Thomas did to him, no way would he pull Claire in any deeper than she already was.

And if he admitted to anyone else that Thomas was dead, the police would show up next, asking why he hadn’t reported the murder.

And their next question would be: who took out the shooters? And my prints are on that damn gun !

“It means… I need to break up with Lala before she learns about you and me.”

* * *

The entire way back to the ranch, Adam wrestled with what to do next.

Last night, he’d nearly lost it in the truck, imagining what that dirtbag might have done to Claire — only to find out she’d taken him down herself.

Then came the report to Clara Mae. Instead of firing him, she’d promoted him.

For a moment, it had felt like things were finally turning around.

But now, he was back at square one, as his father used to say.

When the riding path opened up to the dirt road leading back to the barn, Claire double clucked her tongue, urging Buttercup to move up beside him.

“You’ve got your thinking cap on again,” Claire said. “Care to clue me in?”

Adam heard her question, but the commotion outside the hands’ quarters drew his attention.

“What’s going on?” Claire asked, her voice rising in tension.

“Something we never got around to talking about,” Adam said calmly, no sense in getting Claire riled up as much as Clara Mae clearly was. “Hey, do me a favor. Head to the corral, and tie off Buttercup. I need to assist her.”

Adam didn’t wait for an answer. Claire knew how to take care of her horse better than any of the borders he’d seen here so far.

“ Hi - ya !” Adam shouted, squeezing Bolt at the same time.

Adam had started this, so he needed to be there. He just never imagined Clara Mae would fire the man before the day had even started — and without Rusty or him backing her up.

What was she thinking?

“Crazy old lady!” Frank screamed as Clara Mae jabbed a rod against the guy’s rear.

She pulled back, but held the rod like a sword, daring him to come closer. “Smoking! In my buildings! Feet away from my horses!”

Adam tugged Bolt to a stop and hopped off at the same time. He tied him off outside the hands’ quarters just as Frank lunged forward, swatting at the — cattle prod , Adam realized.

Clara Mae shocked him on the leg.

“Bitch!” Frank screamed, leaping toward Clara Mae.

Adam didn’t think — just moved. One second, Clara Mae stood alone, the next, he was between her and Frank, catching a fist meant for her.

Instead of going backward, trying to avoid the punch, he moved into it, driving his body into Frank’s midriff and wrapping his arms around the man.

Adam’s momentum lifted Frank off his feet and onto his back in one move.

“What the hell?” Brett bellowed from across the way.

“Your cousin ,” Clara Mae screeched, “was smoking in his — my cabin. I smelled it from outside, so I opened the door.”

Adam straddled Frank, pinning his wrists to the hard ground. But it didn’t matter. The man was out cold. Good. Bowing up against a lady when he should have been running… Served him right.

Brett’s boots tromped toward Adam.

Clara Mae stepped between the older man and Adam, zapping her poker again. “Touch the boy, and I’ll light you up, Brett.”

Brett held back. Seemed everyone but Frank knew the woman didn’t play.

“Number one rule, Brett,” Clara Mae growled. “He knows it. You know it. No one smokes around my horses.”

“Clara Mae,” Brett cooed. “Be reasonable.”

“Reasonable?” She tapped a boot. “Today, I decided to check out my barns. First thing I found was moldy feed. The next was supplements that expired a year ago. When I went to find you, I smelled smoke —”

Frank groaned, so Adam looked to Clara Mae for direction.