Page 21 of Will (The Cowboys of Calamity, Texas #3)

Chapter Thirteen

Will walked out of the stable and squinted at the glare of the afternoon sun. Honey wasn’t back from town yet, and he was worrying.

He enjoyed having her nearby, but he wanted to keep her safe by having her stay at the ranch. However, she was determined to be active and independent.

Honey B. Hallgren put herself out there all the time, working her stories and interviewing all manners of people. And she was smart enough to balance that with caution and good judgment when needed. These were among the many reasons he was drawn to her.

That didn’t keep him from worrying.

Will took care of the horse while the Hallgrens did other tasks on the ranch..

The April sun beat down on him as he stood watching for Honey’s car on the country road that ran past the house. He was hot and tired, but it was a good tired. The kind that comes from working hard on the ranch, just like he’d been raised to do.

Taking off his cowboy hat, he placed it on top of the nearest wooden fence post, then headed for the water pump that was found just outside the stables.

He reached for the blue handle on the pump and yanked it up.

A moment later, a clear stream of water came gushing out, drawn from an underground spring.

Will bent and submerged his entire head in the teeth-clenching, ice-cold water, fresh from the earth. Closing his eyes, he relished the break from the incessant heat. The water washed over his hair and face, then ran down his chest and back, soaking the blue denim work shirt he wore.

He stood there for ten minutes, letting the water wash over him. When he’d finally had enough, he pushed down the pump handle to shut off the water flow.

Will smoothed back his wet hair with his palms, squeezing out the excess water. He still needed a shower to wash off the dust and grime, but he hadn’t enjoyed an outside pump bath in longer than he could remember.

Fifteen minutes later, Will walked into the feed room, water still dripping from his body. Holding his wet shirt in one hand, he circled a high pile of grain bags, then made his way to a wall cabinet.

He opened the cabinet door and retrieved the cell phone he’d placed there for safekeeping. That’s when he glimpsed the new message notification on his phone screen. It was from his supervisor in Austin.

Curious, Will opened the text message and read it.

Will, I’ll send the official report to you by email later.

But I thought you’d want to know the latest on the investigation into the potential threat against you.

There were no fingerprints or suspicious DNA evidence found on the letter or the envelope.

Given that there have been no more overt threats against you personally, the division has decided that you may return to work starting this Monday.

When you arrive on Monday, we will discuss any possible limitation to your assigned duties. Take care.

Will closed the app, then sat down on the nearest straw bale. That text had come as a surprise. He still found it hard to believe he could now retrieve his pickup truck from Dave and Joyce. He could head back to Austin to resume his normal life.

A normal life that would not feel so normal after the events of the past week spent with Honey. Would her life feel weird to her after this adventure they’d shared?

More importantly, would she remain safe after he was gone?

He checked the date, then stuck the phone in his back pocket. Today was Tuesday. If he left on Sunday, that would only give him four full days to make certain Honey was safe here.

He considered the possibilities. One or two, she might be open to. But the rest he knew she would reject outright. Which led him to another thought…

He could take her with him.

He smiled and brushed the dust off his jeans, aware of the audacity of that kind of thinking.

Honey had proven, on more than one occasion, that no one told her where to go or what to do.

Even though she planned to move to Austin soon for her new job, she’d likely want to do that on her own timeline, not his.

Doubts soon clouded his mind. What if his leaving Calamity made Honey and her family more vulnerable to attack? He knew from their conversation with Cyrus that his client lived here. Maybe The Destroyer would decide to strike once Will was out of the picture.

He was still deep in thought when someone approached and rested a booted foot on the straw bale beside him. Even before he looked up, he knew it was Theo by the cadence of his walk.

Honey’s older brother looked as dusty and worn out as Will felt.

“Looks like you’ve still got a good bit of cowboy in you.” Theo removed his cowboy hat and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Even though you’re living the soft city life now.”

Will could sense that Theo had something on his mind and let him keep talking.

“I’ve tried to keep quiet, but I can’t do it anymore. There’s just one thing I want to know.” Theo pointed his hat at him. “What are your intentions toward my sister?”

“Shouldn’t that be your dad’s line?” Will didn’t blame Theo for being frustrated. He was the only member of the family who didn’t know about those letters that both Will and Honey had received. But Theo must have sensed something was up, and naturally, he was protective of his sister.

“My dad trusts my sister to make her own decisions about her life. And I do, too.” Then Theo’s frustration dissolved into a bemused smile. “Not that Honey would ever stop doing something because I disapproved. But you’ve been around her long enough now to have learned that.”

“I sure have.”

Theo paused, looking him over. “I’m not sure if we should trust you. A lot can change in fifteen years. And it’s awful strange to me that Honey picked you up in a bar in the middle of nowhere, and you two have been together ever since.”

“I get it.” Will rose from his seat on the straw bale and faced his accuser. “What’s your problem with me , Theo? Because we’ve known each other since we were sixteen, and now you’re acting like I’m some stranger coming in to swoop up your sister and carry her away.”

“First of all, my sister wouldn’t let anyone swoop her up, unless she wanted to be swooped.” Theo took a step closer to Will. “And second, my problem is that I know you and Honey aren’t being completely honest with me. I knew that the moment I found you naked in her apartment.”

“I was wearing a towel.”

“That’s not my point, and you know it. But it’s just an example of how you try to redirect the conversation when I get too close to the truth.

” Theo shook his head. "You might have learned that at your job, but here..." He gestured to the scenic countryside with grazing cows. “We’re straight shooters. So, fess up, Will. What’s really going on between you and my sister?”

* * *

On her drive back to the ranch after the CCC meeting, Honey thought long and hard about their conversation at Blue Moon. It had taken some interesting twists and turns, especially after Wanda pulled up her pant leg, revealing that sock with the surprise message.

Maybe Honey been looking in the wrong places for clues from Ronnie.

When she turned off the road and onto the long driveway leading to the ranch house, she saw Will and Theo standing just outside the stable doors.

Unsurprisingly, Will was the one with his shirt off.

Not that she minded in the least. In fact, she enjoyed the view, but she was on a mission now and didn’t have time to stop and chat, so she drove past them and parked near the house. It would most likely be a futile mission, but that hadn’t stopped her before.

She now knew the one item she and Will had overlooked while scouring through everything from Ronnie’s locker.

They’d focused on his journal, and for good reason.

It was a treasure trove of notes and dates and appointments.

In his locker, there were strange things like a plastic bag of hair clippings.

A collection of hand-painted miniatures.

A fortune cookie about socks and world domination.

However, there was something they missed.

His new socks.

Honey headed straight to Will’s room where they’d stored the package of new socks and other items collected from the locker. Since Will and Theo were outside talking about something serious, such as who was likely to be chosen in the NFL drafts, she entered his room.

Just as she’d expected, the blue vinyl shopping bag rested on top of the dresser. She retrieved the bag, carried it to the bed and dumped the contents onto the quilted white coverlet.

After only a couple of minutes sorting through the collection of oddities, the bedroom door creaked open.

“What are you doing in here?”

Honey whirled around to find Will standing in the doorway, still shirtless and wet. Her breath hitched, and for a moment, Honey couldn’t remember why she was in his room.

“Socks.”

“Socks?” Will closed the door behind him and then turned to her. “Honey, are you all right?”

No, she wasn’t all right. Just the sight of Will had almost made her forget why she was here. She watched his gray eyes narrow with confusion.

Then he closed the distance between them.

“I’m fine,” she assured him.

He was standing awfully close, probably something he did to put interrogation suspects on edge. Well, it was working, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of backing away. She reached over to pick up the package of socks from the coverlet.

“I had an idea about—”

Without giving her a chance to explain, Will pulled her into his arms and kissed her. A long, slow, deep kiss that paralyzed her ability to think.

Before she could decide how to react, her body sank into his embrace, and her hands moved over his chest and shoulders. His skin was cold and damp to the touch.

Eager to share her body heat with him, she pressed against the full length of him. Then she rubbed her palms in long, firm strokes over his shoulders and back to warm him. The simple gesture worked, and it warmed her, too.