Page 40 of Wrangled Up (Menage a Trouble #2)

Claire held her breath while the judge passed by Letty’s canned wares two times…three times. Christian squeezed her hand in support.

A tremble ran through her, and he knew she was more excited that Letty might win than she had been at receiving that blue ribbon for Boom Boom.

Well, he hoped that both of his favorite women won today.

The judge licked his lips and used the small spoon to sample Letty’s sauce once more. Then he swished some water around his mouth and walked five paces to another woman’s sauce. He repeated his ritual.

“Jesus, just pick her already. It’s the best up there,” Tucker muttered, kicking at the only bit of dry earth within the fairgrounds .

Claire shot him a grin then returned her attention to the judge. The man was just abusing his power, as far as Christian was concerned. He wasn’t singlehandedly choosing the next American President.

“C’mon, judge. It’s obvious who the winner is!” The holler left Christian’s lips before he realized he was about to do it. Guess Claire’s impulsiveness has rubbed off.

Claire snapped around to stare at him and Tucker broke into hysterical laughter. Seated at the long table, her hat primly seated atop her tiny skull, Letty grinned. She and Christian’s gazes met. In that instant, he knew he had her on his side and might never have to resort to eating brains again.

Well, maybe once in a while, just to keep her happy.

“And the winner is…” A long, drawn-out pause ensued. Letty squirmed. Claire was an electrical current coursing through a fence wire.

“On with it,” Tucker called.

The judge gave him a steely eye. “The winner is number fourteen, Letty Bishop. ”

Claire squealed and surged out of Christian’s hold to reach the table. Letty stood and they embraced, rocking and bouncing together.

Tucker’s gaze was riveted to the women, just as Christian’s was. “Two ribbons won. I say we take our horses and head on home.”

Shock flitted through Christian. “What? Not show your horses?”

Tucker waved a hand. “I don’t need ribbons. I can sell them for top dollar without. I know two rodeo guys who want them right now.”

An hour later, the horses and Boom Boom were tucked in the trailer, and Letty’s prize-winning tomato sauce wrapped in quilts and in the trunk of her car. Her applesauce had taken second place, which had been fine enough for her.

During the drive home, Christian’s mind whirled with the events of the day. Learning that Claire had tried to keep Leon off Tucker’s back—the same way Christian had coerced Dale—didn’t set well with him.

He didn’t want Claire involved. Keeping her in her safe world was a necessity. And Tucker was right—they had to convince her to quit working at the diner and take on the ranch full time as her job.

For long minutes, Christian thought about how he could earn more from his side business but it wasn’t as if people were knocking down his door, demanding he trim their trees.

By the time he registered what he was seeing out the window, they were home.

He peered through the rain-spattered windshield, straining to understand the sight before him.

Claire slapped a hand against his thigh, leaning forward too. “Is that…?”

“Horses,” Tucker growled. He floored the truck and spun up gravel. It clinked off the bottom of the metal horse trailer. In seconds, they were in front of the barn. Tucker leaped from the truck and took off running.

Horses scattered. Alpacas skittered all over the yard and one was up in the pasture, running full tilt for the tree line.

“Leon—it’s gotta be.” That volcanic look that had once scared Christian crossed his lover’s face again. He exchanged a knowing nod with Tucker and they each grabbed one of Claire’s arms .

“Hey!” She dug her heels in as they dragged her toward the house.

“Just listen to us this once, sweetheart.” Christian eased his command by rubbing his thumb over the leaping vein in her wrist.

“No. I’m part of this ranch.” Her voice faltered and she swung her gaze toward Tucker.

He stopped in his tracks. Water ran off the brim of his hat but his eyes beneath were nothing but fire. Fire and love.

He leaned in and planted a hard kiss on Claire’s lips. “You know you are. We’re a team. But you’ve gotta stay inside in case there’s trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Tucker started towing her toward the house again. He fished in his pocket for his keys and unlocked the door, which had never been locked before his relatives started their crap.

Christian opened the door and they bundled their fighting woman inside. “We don’t know what kind of trouble yet. But you’re not going to be part of it. ”

Tucker closed the door in her face, but not before Christian got a good look at the determined wrath on her pixie features.

“She ain’t gonna stay put. She’ll run out the back,” Christian said.

“Probably, but hopefully her anger will keep her from thinking straight for a few minutes. Let’s go.” Tucker jumped off the porch steps in one bound.

Christian followed and they stormed toward the barn. One sweep of the inside told them that the horses here hadn’t been tampered with. Only those in the corral and the alpacas.

“Come out, you lowlife bastard,” Tucker bellowed.

“This might be a good time to tell you that I caught Dale here the other day.”

“What?” Tucker spun, fists clenched and jaw locked. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well, I…roughed him up a little and sent him on his way.” And tried to blackmail him as Claire did with Darcy.

Tucker seemed to sense there was more. He opened his mouth to speak, but a cracking noise from the back of the barn distracted him. Smoke and the acrid scent of gasoline drifted to Christian.

“Fuck—my horses.” The choked way Tucker ground this out sent Christian running. He hurled himself into the dim recesses of the barn. Tucker followed, and they started wildly opening stall doors and slapping thousand-pound animals to get them to run out.

Fire licked up the rear wall, very close to the place where Tucker’s favorite riding horse was kept. “I’ll get Rapid Fire,” Christian called, running.

Something whizzed past his ear. Every hair on his body stood up, but it took a moment for him to register what had happened.

Until a second shot was fired.

He jerked around to see Dale through the open rear door of the bar, a rifle at his shoulder and sights trained on Christian.

“Tucker, get down. Get out,” he roared and hurtled on toward the stalls to free the rest of the horses.

“He’s got a gun.” Tucker’s statement was really a question. Christian could only imagine the shock Tucker was feeling that his own family member would resort to this over money.

One misplaced bullet…

Claire. He frantically looked around but thankfully didn’t see her. With any luck, she would remain in the house like a good girl, but it was as unlikely as talking Dale down from this skyscraper he’d built.

“Jesus, boy, what are you thinkin’?” Tucker raged. He gave Christian a fleeting look and a jerk of his head to remain out of the line of fire. Then he spun and sprinted out of the front doors.

Sneaking around the side, Christian guessed. Tucker wasn’t armed though. Did he plan to disarm his cousin with nothing more than a pocketknife?

The fire was spreading. About ten more horses were trapped behind a wall of flame. The old wood went up like a dry Christmas tree.

Smoke choked him, and he coughed violently, leaning over at the waist. Another shot whizzed through the barn, from back to front. If someone walked by that door …

“Jesus, Claire. Please don’t come out of the house.” He fumbled for his phone, thinking to text her, but it was too late. Her high-pitched shriek resounded from just outside the barn.

“Get in the house,” Tucker roared from somewhere near the back. The bellow gave up Tucker’s position and intention of sneaking around and stopping Dale.

The horses pawed at the stalls and reared, their massive bodies making the wood tremble.

I’ve gotta try.

Christian looked for a path to the horses through the flames. Claire appeared in the wide double doors at the front of the barn, her face wild with terror.

“Get out,” Christian called, his throat a burning hell from the smoke. She shook her head and came forward.

Another shot rang out, this time from the front of the barn.

Claire whirled, a hand to her mouth. Then suddenly Letty appeared in the entrance too, a rifle in hand.

“Shot me a trespasser. Claire, go call 911 while we get these horses out.” The older woman started into the barn, but Claire bodily removed her.

With them safe and Dale obviously injured or dead, Christian threw himself into the water trough.

Water filled his nostrils and every crevice of his jeans and shirt.

He threw off his hat with a shake of his head and made sure his hair was saturated.

Then he jumped back out of the trough and ran through the flames.

* * * * *

Panic seized Claire’s chest. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, think, feel, register anything she was seeing.

Letty standing with her rifle like a geriatric gunslinger.

Dale crumpled on the ground, bleeding from the upper thigh.

The barn on fire and Christian inside, trying to save the remaining horses.

Crazed horses, running wild across the muddy turf to escape the smoke and fire. And alpacas roosting like chickens in every corner of the ranch yard.

Boom Boom was still in the trailer, safe and sound .

But a few important people were unaccounted for. Darcy, Leon…and Tucker.

“Call 911, Letty,” she cried as she ran past her aunt. She shoved her phone at her, knowing there was no hope for that barn. By the time the fire crews showed up, the structure would be ash.

Claire took off in a run around the barn, searching for Tucker. He should have shown his face at the sound of Letty’s gunshot, but he hadn’t, and that meant something bad.

With water in her veins and jelly knees, Claire searched through the rain for one of the men she loved.