Page 5 of Chance (Wild River Ranch #3)

C hance tossed yet another bale of hay onto the frozen ground of the western pasture. The sun wasn’t even up yet, so why the fuck was he? Because he wasn’t getting any sleep anyway, that’s why. He might as well get some work done.

He should have let her spend the night at the ranch. Had she made it to the shelter in Wilder? Had she gotten any sleep? Was she safe? He was such an ass. He told himself he didn't want her to stay for the safety of those at the ranch. But was it the ranch he was worried about or himself?

The ranch had been his sole responsibility for the past seven years. Sure, everyone pitched in to help, but he was the one who made the decisions. If everything fell apart, if they lost the family ranch, that was all on him.

Whenever he tried to do something for himself, he worried about what was happening at the ranch. If he felt the need, he’d leave mid-afternoon and drive to The Red Barn. An evening of play with a willing sub was normally enough.

At least, it was until a tiny blonde photographer with a smile that went straight to his dick had crashed into his world. He still didn’t have time for the distraction she would be, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

She had looked so defeated when she left. What kind of man let a woman unfamiliar with the area, or snow for that matter, drive off in a car that was so unsafe for the conditions? If something happened to her during the night, he would never forgive himself.

It took all his self-control not to forget about the chores, jump in his truck, and drive into Wilder to check on her. Come to think of it, he did need to stock up on some supplies, so he’d drive to town later and at least run by the church to make sure she’d gotten settled in all right.

Two hours later, his muscles aching from dropping and spreading hay, he took a break to answer his phone. Fuck. Recognizing Sam Nelson’s number, he took the call, hoping against hope it had nothing to do with Joy.

“Morning, Sam. You’re not usually up this early. What has the Chief of Police calling me?”

“Morning, Chance. I need you to come down to the station. I had a call about an hour ago from Detective Chris James that I think you’re going to want to know about. Can you stop long enough to run into town?”

He ran through everyone in his family. They were all on the ranch, safe and sound. No one got on the ranch now. Not after everything they’d gone through with Boone and Tildi.

Was something going on with the town? That couldn’t be it. Why would some detective he’d never heard of be calling Sam about Wilder? He had a sneaking suspicion who this might involve.

Damn it. He’d forced her off the ranch. Sent her on her way. And now she was in trouble. That was the only explanation. And if she was in trouble, it was his fault.

“Of course, I can, Sam. But you want to give me a hint on what this is all about? ”

“This is the kind of conversation best had in person.”

Damn. “All right. I can be there in an hour.”

The relief in Sam’s voice couldn’t be missed when he said, “Good. That’s good. I’ll see you in an hour.”

Chance made it to the police station in half that.

Sam waited for him in the main room of the police station. “Appreciate you coming in, Chance. Let’s go back to my office.”

The tightness in Chance’s chest intensified. When the office door closed, he was done. “I’m gettin’ tired of being kept in the dark, Sam. What the hell is going on? And what does it have to do with me?”

“I hated not getting to the Friendsgiving yesterday. I hear you had a real good turnout. I need to talk to you about one of the people who was there.”

If Chance’s chest got any tighter, his heart would shoot out of his eye sockets. “Who?” he asked, even though he knew. It had to be Gypsy Joy.

“I got a call from a Detective James in a town just west of Austin, Texas, early this morning. He’s concerned about one of his confidential informants, a young woman named Calliope Joy Joplin.

She’s a small-town photographer who, just over a week ago, happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessed a drug hit.

She even managed to take pictures and turn them over to the police.

They took her statement, then told her to ‘disappear’ until they could get all their ducks in a row to take down the main players. ”

Drugs? How in the hell had Joy gotten mixed up with drugs? A tiny thing like her witnessing something so horrific. She must have been terrified.

“I met her,” Chance said. “She was tryin’ to make money taking pictures out at the ranch.

” And he’d accused her of conning people out of their money.

He ought to be horse-whipped. He’d done everything possible to make sure she had as little protection as possible.

“Why in the hell would the law down there send her out alone with no protection?”

“I asked him that. He said he had arranged for her to stay in a hotel in Austin. He gave her a burner phone and told him to call in every day. She disappeared and they haven’t seen any sign of her until yesterday.

She evidently used her credit card when she got to town.

The man who is heading up the trafficking down there manages a bank, so they’ve been looking for something to show up on her card. ”

“Holy shit. She might as well have called them and told them where she is.”

“That’s what Detective James thinks, too. He’s hoping we can find her and keep her in protective custody until he can get up here to take her back to Texas.”

Thank God Sam was taking it seriously. Chance had to fight back the urge to take a trip to Texas and deal with the threat himself.

The idea that anyone would want to hurt his gypsy — damn it!

He had to stop thinking of her as his. She wasn’t, and she never would be.

He had too many people depending on him already.

Which was why Sam calling him into the station to tell him all this gave him a sinking feeling in his chest. Still, the thought didn’t bother him as much as it should. Best to lay all the cards on the table. “And you called me because…”

“I called you because the only thing I can do is throw her in a cell. That’s a mighty cold, scary place for a young thing like her to be. We don’t have a separate area for men and women, and there’s no telling what the Miller boys might say to her. You know how they let loose on the weekends.”

Damn it. Joy was too friendly, na?ve, and way too innocent to be in a jail cell.

From what he’d seen, she would go stir crazy in about a minute and a half.

He knew where his friend was leading him, but Chance wanted him to say it.

“True enough, but that doesn’t answer my question. Why are you telling all this to me?”

Sam glared at him. “You know damn well why. Wild River Security has the best protection services in the state. Add all the extra security you’ve added to your ranch in the past few weeks, and the best place for her to be is on Wild River Ranch.

If you could watch over her for a day, two at best, the detective should be here to pick her up.

He said he knows of a ranch down there where she can stay until the trial.

Honestly, from what he said, it sounds similar to your spread. ”

His muscles tensed at the mention of her staying with someone else. What was that all about? He didn’t need her around. Hell, he didn’t want her around.

If you’re gonna lie, at least don’t lie to yourself.

Fine. He hated the idea of someone else keeping her safe, though he didn’t want to think about why that bothered him so much. It was for her sake, not his. What if they didn’t do a good job? She’d be practically in the backyard of whoever was after her.

Did they know her? Did they know they’d have to keep an eye on her? Even as little as he’d been around her, he knew the person she needed the most protection from was herself. He still shuddered at the sight of her standing in front of Bullwinkle, damn it, Ironside.

Fuck. He’d known she was trouble from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. But he hadn’t expected anything this big. No way was he allowing that back on his ranch.

Like you are going to let anyone else try to keep her safe.

“You know that town she’s from, Nameless? You should look it up. It might give you a new perspective on Miss Joplin.”

What the hell did that mean?

“I don’t have time for games, Sam. If I decide to let her back on the ranch, she’d only be there for a couple days. No need for me to be looking stuff up about her for that. Out of curiosity, what made you call me?”

The sheriff shrugged. “Like I said, you’re the obvious choice. Even better now, since you’ve obviously met her. Now all we need to do is locate her. I checked the hotels, and they don’t have anyone registered who fits her description.”

“If they saw her, they’d remember it.”

A knowing gleam Chance didn’t appreciate filled his friend’s eyes. “Really? Good to know. I can help you look. There aren’t that many places in Wilder she could be unless she’s already left town.”

Chance’s gut clenched at the thought of her traveling around by herself. It was a miracle nothing had happened to her already. He wasn’t sure how she’d kept that car of hers on the road.

Why did his palm always itch within minutes of him thinking about her? The woman didn’t need a keeper; she needed a warden.

“I know where she is. At least I know where she’d better be.”

A slow grin spread over his friend's face.

Leaning back in his chair, Sam drawled, “I knew you were the right man to call.”

Standing, Chance said, “I’ll let you know when I find her.”

“Good deal. If she doesn’t want to stay on the ranch, let me know. I’ll try to come up with somewhere else.”

“She’ll stay.” He kept the “whether she wants to or not” to himself.

She’d made the choice to come onto his ranch in the first place. When it came to her safety, what she wanted took a back seat. He just needed to make sure she understood the rules before she agreed to stay. And the consequences of breaking them.

An hour later, Chance knew two things. Joy Joplin was no longer in the town of Wilder. And if anything happened to her, it was all his fault.