Page 7 of Will (The Cowboys of Calamity, Texas #3)
Chapter Four
Five minutes after they left the cabin, Honey drove her car along the muddy country roads. She followed the twists and turns of the directions Joyce had sent to Will’s phone.
He sat slumped in the passenger seat, fast asleep, with his head propped against the car window.
Part of her sympathized with him, certain he was still exhausted from the events of last night. The other part suspected he might fake sleep to avoid answering any more of her questions.
Faking or not, his serene expression wound its way into her heart. The strength in his brows and jawline paired perfectly, with the softness in his closed eyes and slightly parted lips.
As a journalist, she’d interviewed plenty of law enforcement officers and knew he had attributes that must serve him well as a Texas Ranger.
His strength let perpetrators know he wouldn’t tolerate any underhandedness or violence, and his gentle side made witnesses feel safe enough to confide in him.
On the other hand, as a woman, she appreciated how his strength promised savvy competency and protection.
Those soft gray eyes could peer into her soul and know her as well as she knew herself, and his lips foretold secrets he would share only with her…
amid kisses that started at her forehead, lingered at her eagerly awaiting mouth, and trailed down to—
Honey jerked her attention back to the road and tried to blink away the image of the sleeping man beside her and return her thoughts to the concerns she’d been pondering before he had distracted her with his unwitting allure.
Questions. Yes. She still had plenty of them. Where were they headed? And why did Joyce want to meet him somewhere remote instead of at Crossroads Bar?
Will had been oddly quiet since receiving that text, even before he’d fallen asleep. Her reporter’s intuition said there was a story here, so she couldn’t wait to see how it all played out.
Honey hoped Will wouldn’t need another nap before their meeting was over.
When she came to the last line of Joyce’s directions, Honey slammed on the brakes and her Malibu skidded to a stop on the gravel road. “This makes little sense.”
Will jerked awake. “What’s wrong?”
She pointed at the directions. “I’m supposed to turn here, but it’s not even a road. It’s a gully. That has to be a mistake, right?”
He sat up straight in his seat and surveyed the scene in front of them. “It is a gully. But it’s wide and flat, and there are fresh tire tracks on it.”
She turned to face him, wondering if he was still too groggy to think straight. “You actually want me to drive on that?”
He lifted his shoulders in a small shrug and winced. “There’s some mud there, but it’s also full of rocks and gravel, so I think your car can make it.”
Honey stared at him, wondering if he was serious. This was getting more curious by the moment. Who would plan a meeting in a place like this? She suddenly remembered every Dateline episode she’d ever watched.
“This isn’t a plot to kidnap me, right?”
His jaw dropped. “Is that a joke?”
“Yes, of course it’s a joke. I’ve researched you enough to know you save people, you don’t hurt them.”
Confusion swam in his gray eyes. “You’ve been researching me?”
She realized her mistake a moment too late and decided it was time to move forward—literally. “Hold on! We’re going in!”
Her ruse worked because the gully was so rough that Will had to brace himself to keep from aggravating his injuries.
Fortunately, the gully ended with a slight right curve that led to a small, flat meadow filled with tall grasses and the blooms of pink primroses.
And just beyond the meadow was a pristine lake, perfectly hidden from the road on all sides.
“This is beautiful,” she said, easing the car forward.
There was a white Jeep Cherokee parked on the grass just ahead of them.
“It looks like Joyce and Dave are already here.” He turned to Honey. “You’ll always be safe with me. I promise you that.”
Something in his striking gray eyes made her stomach feel funny.
Despite her thoughts having turned to Dateline scenarios, she knew in her bones Will Pierce was an honorable man. There were so many examples of his courage and compassion in everything she’d read about him and in everything she’d seen in him when she’d had that teenage crush on him.
Yet, he’d deliberately provoked Steed into a fight last night, which didn’t match the character profile she’d been building of him and the most important thing to Honey was getting the story right.
First things first. “Does that Cherokee belong to Joyce and Dave?”
“It sure does,” he said, opening his car door. “Now, let’s go find out what exactly we’re doing here.”
Intrigued, she quickly climbed out of the driver’s seat, then closed the car door behind her. Hurrying to catch up with Will’s long stride, she couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
When they rounded a large overgrown hedge, she finally saw Joyce Gibson and her husband, Dave.
They sat in matching green lawn chairs at the lake’s edge, each holding a fishing pole. Both wore khaki shorts and matching Astros T-shirts, along with reflective sunglasses. Dave’s brimmed ball cap sagged under the weight of the fishing lures pinned on it.
A quick glance around showed no one else in sight and Honey sensed they’d somehow discovered this place and made it their own private paradise.
Joyce glanced over at them, then propped her sunglasses on top of her head. “We’re glad you two could finally make it. We’ve been sitting here so long even the fish are tiring of us.”
After the excitement of last night and the odd text from Joyce this morning, this wasn’t quite the greeting she expected, but she also sensed a strange undercurrent between the three of them that actually intrigued her even more.
In contrast to her initial lackadaisical welcome, Joyce put down her fishing pole and jumped out of her lawn chair. She ran over to Will and gave him a big hug. “I could kill you,” she said even as her voice quavered.
He crackled a grin.
“I’m so glad you’re all right.” She reached up and tenderly touched the bruises on his face. “Well, sort of all right. You poor thing. Does it hurt?”
“I barely feel ’em,” Will said.
Honey had overheard Will’s muted groans enough times this morning to know that wasn’t true, but he obviously didn’t want Joyce to worry about him.
“Okay.” Joyce cleared her throat, then stepped away from him. “Enough dillydallying. Time to get down to business.”
Perplexed, Honey looked between the three of them. “What in the world is going on?”
* * *
Will didn’t know where to begin.
He saw the confusion on Honey’s face and didn’t blame her a bit. Joyce usually didn’t reveal her tender side like that, especially in public.
The Gibsons had been like surrogate parents to him since he’d joined the Texas Rangers. Sometimes he thought they treated him like the child they’d never had. They’d certainly gotten him through tough times early in his career.
Joyce looked up at Will. “You haven’t told her?”
“Told me what?” Honey asked.
Will swallowed a sigh, knowing he couldn’t delay any longer. “The truth is… I may have a target on my back. About two weeks ago, my division received an anonymous letter that could be read as a threat on my life.”
“That’s one of the biggest understatements I’ve ever heard.” Dave was still sitting in his lawn chair, reeling in his fishing line.
Will turned his gaze to Honey. “Well, my superiors definitely took it seriously. In fact, they placed me on paid leave. And I’m not allowed back at work until they finish conducting their investigation and, hopefully, find the culprit.”
Honey’s brow furrowed, and he felt guilty for having unwittingly drawn her into his problem. “What exactly did the letter say?”
He paused, debating which would freak her out more… to sidestep her question or to lay it fully out there. Her impatient fidgeting prompted him to decide on the latter. “ Will Pierce is in danger .”
“So, the letter just had one line?” Honey asked.
Joyce narrowed her eyes. “Yes, but that’s enough to call for an investigation. Sometimes the simplest messages are from the most dangerous people.”
Will studied Honey’s face. The pieces were falling into place.
Honey met his gaze with equal intensity. “So that’s why you’ve been working at the Crossroads Bar. You’re not hiding exactly, but…”
“Just lying low,” he finished for her. “Plus, it gives me something to do. And I’m staying at the motel, so I get to spend time with Dave and Joyce, too.”
Dave glanced over at Will. “Now, don’t be modest. You knew we needed help because I was recovering from knee surgery. The good news is that we have our first lead with Mr. Whiskey Sour. Now we just need to see where it takes us.”
“I’ll manage that,” Will said. “You two are involved enough as it is.”
“Hey, wait a minute.” Honey held up one hand. “Who is Mr. Whiskey Sour and please tell me that’s not his real name.”
“We don’t know his real name,” Dave said. “But Joyce thinks he might be behind the threat to Will.”
“There’s definitely something suspicious about him.” Joyce nodded. “He kept asking me questions about Will after I sat down at his table for a friendly chat. That’s why I gave Will the signal to get out of the bar.”
Will nodded. “And that’s part of the reason I goaded Steed into hitting me. I wanted to see if Mr. Whiskey Sour would just keep watching me or run away.”
“Part of the reason?” Honey asked. “What was the other part?”
“Will’s pride,” Joyce said. “He didn’t like the way Steed was trying to keep him from saying your name.”
“It’s a nice name.” Will smiled ruefully at Honey. “I went too far and now you’re involved in all of this.”
“Well, it’s too late for regrets now,” Joyce said. “Because as soon as Mr. Whiskey Sour saw Will being carried to Honey’s car, he hurried outside, too.”
“No kidding.” Will ran a thumb along his bottom lip.