Page 28 of River Legacy (Powder River #5)

“You want to see Vic?” Brand called from the barn doorway, clearly ignoring the angry look his brother shot him.

“Vic?” she asked and heard Ryder groan as she passed him on the way to the barn. Once inside the cool darkness, she breathed in the familiar scent and went to the stall where the mare and foal were.

“I thought you were going to check that fence,” Ryder said pointedly to his brother.

Neither Vicky nor Brand paid him any attention.

“Oh, he’s so beautiful,” she said of the new colt. “I swear he’s gotten bigger since I saw him earlier.”

Brand chuckled at that. “We were about to let them out into the pasture,” he said. “Glad you didn’t miss it.” Then he grinned and shook his head. “You really did come back.”

She met his gaze. “I had to.”

Brand nodded. “Try not to break his heart.”

For a moment, she thought he was talking about the new colt.

Then Ryder walked past her and opened the back of the stall to let the mare and her foal out into the pasture.

The foal took off at a run after his mother.

Victoria felt her throat close, and her chest hurt.

She couldn’t help getting choked up as she watched the colt chasing after the mare.

Her gaze went to Ryder leaning against the fence watching mother and son.

Her heart ached at just the sight of him.

She wanted to reach out, press her palm against his back, feel his strength through the sun-warmed fabric of his shirt.

She wanted to touch him so badly that it made her ache inside.

She felt her eyes fill with tears at the thought that he would turn her away again.

“I would imagine you two have something to talk about and I have some fence to check,” Brand said loud enough for his brother to hear. He tipped his hat at her and whispered “Good luck” as he picked up his horse’s reins from where he’d ground-tied them earlier and swung up into the saddle.

Victoria joined Ryder at the fence to watch the horses. Beyond them, she could see Brand riding off through the summer grass. They both seemed to watch him go, neither acknowledging the other.

She found herself holding her breath, half afraid of what Ryder would say, let alone what he’d do now that his brother was gone.

Securing the gate on the pasture, he turned to her. “Let’s go up to the house to talk.”

I n front of a window that he cleaned the dust from, Claude had set up a viewing station, realizing that CJ had been right.

He was high enough on the hill that he could see who came and went from the Stafford Ranch.

He’d found an old wooden box, and taking his binoculars over to the window along with it, he surveyed the property.

He was glad that he’d spent a whole lot of Wen’s money to get the really good binoculars.

He could see everything and zoom in on faces and license plates.

As he watched, he saw a dull red pickup turn into the ranch. He’d followed it in until it disappeared behind the trees and reappeared down by the barn. With a shock, he’d seen the woman who’d climbed out.

Victoria? He should have known she’d head back out there.

But what was she doing in that old truck?

More important, how was Ryder going to react?

The cowboy would have to be a fool not to run her off again.

But Claude would bet that the woman had made a fool of her share of men, and Ryder wasn’t the exception.

Claude had watched her disappear into the barn with both cowboys. Minutes ticked by. A cowboy came riding out on a horse headed north across the endless prairie. Where was Victoria?

His cell phone rang. CJ Stafford. He picked up. “Yeah?”

“Are you watching the ranch? Anything happening?”

Claude thought about mentioning Victoria and wasn’t sure why he didn’t. “A cowboy just rode off. I think it was—” He’d been about to say Ryder when he saw him come out of the barn with Victoria. “It wasn’t Ryder. Another brother?”

“Brand. Where was he headed?”

“He just rode north out across the pasture.”

“Good,” CJ said. “You’re doing great. Let me know when he comes back.” He disconnected, apparently only interested in Ryder’s brother.

Claude, though, was more interested in Victoria as he zoomed in on her as the cowboy led her toward the house.

R yder stepped into the living room, then turned to face her.

Clearly, he didn’t think this would take long so he didn’t bother to offer her a seat.

“What are you doing back here?” he asked again, as if still having trouble believing that she’d had the gall to return after the damning things Claude had told him—and she hadn’t denied them.

Now that she was here, she had no idea how to reach Ryder. She could tell by the set of his shoulders and the rigid way he stood that he was angry and hurt and didn’t trust her. But if he would give her even half a chance and a little time, she would prove herself to him.

The problem was, she didn’t know how much time they had. How much time she had before he threw her off the ranch. Or worse, her father got hold of the ranch.

“It’s not over,” she said quickly, realizing that she could be talking about her feelings for him. “I’m not sure why Claude said the things he did to you, but he is still working for my father. Which means they have a new plan of attack, and I think your brother CJ might be involved.”

She could see that even the mention of CJ and her father in business together upset him.

“Your father is not getting the ranch no matter who he is teamed up with,” Ryder said.

“You don’t want to underestimate him,” Victoria said.

“I think it will come down to how desperate your brother might be to gain control of the ranch and whether or not his real interest is the ranch—or what it’s worth in cash.

” She saw that she’d struck a nerve. “You said he wasn’t supposed to come out to the ranch and yet I met him upstairs.

Clearly, he doesn’t play by the rules—and neither does my father. ”

“Sneaking onto the ranch is one thing. Getting control of it?” Ryder shook his head, but she could tell he was worried. He knew his brother better than she did, but she suspected if he was anything like her father, this ranch would soon be up for grabs and her father would be waiting with the cash.

“You said CJ is your mother’s favorite. Also let’s not forget that our parents know each other.”

“My mother would never make a deal to sell the ranch,” he said emphatically, but she got the feeling he was trying to convince himself more than her. Hadn’t he said that Charlotte had left for months and had only recently returned? Maybe her interest in the ranch had waned.

“It might depend on what kind of leverage my father has,” she said.

Ryder stared at her in horror. “Are you saying he might have something on my mother that he could blackmail her into selling him the ranch?”

She could only shrug. “All I know is that he has found a way to get the ranch that doesn’t involve me or you.” Victoria saw his expression and felt her heart break. “I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t approached you at the airport—”

“Propositioned me, you mean?” he said, but there wasn’t a lot of bite to his words.

“That too,” she agreed. “My father already wanted your ranch, but once I got involved, I might have made it worse. That’s why I came back here today. I couldn’t just leave. I know my father. He’s angry at me right now, but I might be able to reason with him and get him to back off.”

“By agreeing to marry Claude or some other fool he picks for you?” Ryder was already shaking his head. “No way. This is my battle. I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself for—”

The front door flew open, and Brand stumbled in, his hand over the left side of his chest, blood oozing between his fingers. “I rode out to check that fence we heard was down. Someone took a potshot at me.”

A t the hospital, Ryder paced the floor of the waiting room, anxious to hear about Brand’s condition. He’d been agitated before Brand had stumbled in bleeding and telling them he’d been shot.

Now Ryder was incensed. He’d called the sheriff, who was on his way. Sheriff Stuart Layton had been at a wreck over by Broadus.

“Who would do this?” Ryder demanded as he paced, not that he expected Vicky to have the answers. But it was damned suspicious since she was the one who’d warned him her father wasn’t going to stop—no matter what he had to do.

“My father wouldn’t shoot anyone,” she told him as if she knew what he was thinking.

“What about Claude?”

“I doubt he’s ever fired a gun in his life,” she said. Their gazes met, both thinking the same thing. “Your brother?”

He swore and pulled out his phone. CJ’s phone went straight to voice mail. He called his mother. “Where is CJ?”

“I beg your pardon? Hello to you too, Ryder.”

“I don’t have time for niceties, Mother. Brand’s been shot.”

She let out a cry. “Is he—”

“He’s in surgery here at the Powder Crossing Hospital. Where is CJ?” He heard a chair scrape and his mother moving through what sounded like a restaurant, then silence again for moment. “Your brother didn’t shoot Brand. He was just sitting across from me having brunch.”

“What a coincidence that he just happens to have you for an alibi,” Ryder snapped.

“Brand’s in surgery?” she asked, ignoring his implication. “Did the doctor say how serious it is?”

“No. We don’t know anything yet. I just know CJ hasn’t been out twenty-four hours and Brand gets shot.”

“I’ll call Holden and let him know. We’ll come down to the hospital,” his mother said, reminding him that Brand was his half brother.

And the result of one of his mother’s and Holden’s little get-togethers out at the creek, a secret that had only recently been exposed.

Not even Brand had known. Holden hadn’t known until recently either. “Have you called the sheriff?”

“Stuart just walked in. I need to go.” He pocketed his phone and hurried over to the sheriff. “Someone took a potshot at my brother. Sound familiar?”

The same thing had happened to Oakley not all that long ago. When caught, CJ swore it had been an accident. He’d almost killed her.

“Where is your brother?” the sheriff asked.

Ryder wasn’t surprised that was Stuart’s first question. “Having brunch with my mother. Convenient, huh?”

The sheriff nodded, as if not surprised that CJ would have an airtight alibi.

As the doctor came out, he and the sheriff turned. Victoria was on her feet. “How is he?” she asked.

“Luckily, the bullet didn’t hit anything vital,” the doctor said. “He’ll be laid up for a while, but he’ll survive.” Even though the hospital was small, the doctor had taken care of his share of gunshot wounds.

“I’ll need that bullet if you have it,” the sheriff said. “Also, I need to speak with Brand.”

“It’s a .22 slug. I’ll see that you get it, but you can’t talk to Brand yet. He’s still in recovery. It will be a couple of hours at least before he’s awake enough to make sense. I’d suggest you come back later.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Ryder said and turned to the sheriff as the doctor walked away. “This has CJ written all over it.”

Stuart didn’t argue the point but asked, “Why would he want to shoot Brand? It would appear that whoever shot your brother wasn’t trying to kill him shooting him with a .22.”

“Or was a piss-poor shot,” Ryder said. “If it was me, I’d see if Treyton McKenna has a .22 rifle lying around.”

The sheriff groaned. “Everyone in this county has at least one .22 rifle lying around, but I’ll drive out and talk to him and pickup up whatever .22 he has. Again, why would CJ or Treyton want to shoot your brother?”

“Does CJ really need a reason other than he hates our family?” Ryder snapped. “Same goes for Treyton.”

Stuart shook his head. “He just got out of jail. If he breaks his probation, he’s going back behind bars. Worse, he could be looking at prison. Why would he risk it?”

Ryder looked at Victoria for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know.” The sheriff had a point. If CJ was after the ranch, why take such a foolish chance? And what was shooting Brand going to get him?

“Maybe it was an accident,” the sheriff said.

“Some kid with a .22 rifle not realizing how far a bullet can travel.” Stuart saw his expression and quickly raised his hands.

“Don’t worry. I’m taking the slug as evidence, and after I talk to Brand, I’ll go check out the spot where he was shot and take a drive out to Treyton’s place. In the meantime—”

“Don’t even say it. You don’t want me getting into it with CJ,” Ryder said.

“I think that’s good advice on any given day,” the sheriff said. “You both might want to leave since I’d like to speak to Brand when he’s ready. I could have someone call you when your brother can have visitors.”

Ryder rubbed a hand over his face and realized that he hadn’t introduced Victoria to the sheriff, who was now studying her openly. “This is Victoria Forester, my... houseguest.”

Stuart raised a brow. “Forester?” Ryder had called him numerous times to have Forester’s men thrown off the ranch.

“Don’t ask,” Ryder said.

The sheriff smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Forester.”

“Vicky,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Sheriff. I just wish it wasn’t under these circumstances.”

He nodded. “Might want to stay close around the ranch until we find out what’s going on,” Stuart said, then tipped his Stetson and headed off down the hall in the direction the doctor had gone.