“Denny.” Miah’s voice. He sounded surprised.
A woman spoke, but Abilene couldn’t hear. Still, if it was somebody Miah knew by name, it couldn’t be bad, surely. Far more curious than alarmed now, she carried Mercy past the kitchen to the front hall and stood beside Casey. A young woman about her own age was just inside the door—pretty, with a deep tan and a dark braid. She was dressed oddly, in yoga pants and flip-flops, with a blanket draped around her shoulders.
“There were camera flashes,” she said to Miah, with a glance at Abilene and the now-fussing baby.
“Through the bunkhouse window?” he asked, grabbing his boots from under the bench.
“No, a ways off, but bright enough to see. He was taking photos, over by the stables—”
In the distance, three pops—gunshots, unmistakably.
Footsteps came thumping down the front stairs, and a moment later Don Church joined them in the crowded hall, tucking his shirt into his pants like he’d just pulled them on.
“What on earth was that?”
“Gunshots,” Miah said, and jogged back toward the kitchen.
“Could be Jason’s,” the girl named Denny told Don, her face ghostly white now, voice shaky. “Somebody was creeping around near the bunks and stables. Jason and I were in the kitchen. He grabbed his rifle and ran outside, but the guy bolted as soon as the door opened. He chased him, and I ran over here.”
“You call the Sheriff’s Department?” Don asked.
“No,” she said, and let Miah brush past, rifle in hand. “My phone was in my bunk.” She disappeared after him out the front door, followed by Don once he’d laced his shoes. Abilene could hear him talking to a 911 dispatcher as his voice faded away. That left her and Casey standing around, staring at each other.
She cut him off when his mouth opened. “Don’t go.”
His shoulders softened. After a beat he seemed to submit. “Okay.”
“Someone’s sneaking around again?”
“Yeah, that was one of the ranch hands.”
“I figured . . . It isn’t James.”
Casey shook his head. “Doubtful. Not unless he’s a peeping tom as well as an arms dealer. C’mon, let’s get back where it’s warm.” He shut the door and they returned to the den. The fire had cooled to a pink glow and Casey fed the hearth a couple fat logs while Abilene settled once more on the couch. She kept the baby in her lap, feeling uneasy.
“I hope no one got hurt . . . I wonder what on earth it could be about.” Not her, she prayed, though it seemed unlikely.
Casey sat on the end of the couch, facing her, hugging his knees. “Maybe a thief. Times are tough, and there’s plenty of expensive equipment here. Or maybe some creep with designs on one of the girls.”
“‘Creep’ is an understatement, if they came armed.”
“True enough.” His gaze softened, settling on the baby.
“I feel like we should be doing something.” She bounced Mercy, more to soothe her own nerves than to calm the baby’s. There hadn’t been any more shots, at least. That was something.
“We stay put, keep the baby safe,” he said. “Fill Christine in if she comes down. Fingers crossed she managed to sleep through it.”
At that, they both fell quiet for a minute or more, the crackle of the fire dominating the still room. Her heart slowed a little, as moments passed with no further shots.
“That phone call you got earlier,” she said gently, wanting a distraction. “Was it what you’d thought it was?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a follow-up conversation tomorrow; then after that, it should be all cleared up.”
She pursed her lips, then spoke the truth. “I wish you’d tell me what it was about.”
Casey sighed, shoulders rising and falling. “I will, once it’s all settled. Right now . . . Whatever comes of it, it’s going to change things for me. Majorly. I’ll tell you once I know if they’re going to change for the better or the worse, but before then, I think I’ll keep the worrying to myself.”
“I’m worried all the same. You make it sound like you’re waiting on a cancer diagnosis.”
His smile was weak and he didn’t meet her eyes, and that only made her fret more. It was crazy how attached she’d grown to this man since last summer, and then in earnest, just this past week. Not dependent, for a change—not attached out of survival, as she’d become with way too many guys. Rather, emotionally tied up.
It was a strange space to be in with a man, caught in the no-man’s-land between friends and lovers. Serious lovers. If it weren’t for the baby, all she’d need was some minuscule sign that this could be real, and she’d be head over heels for him at the snap of his fingers. In it deep and fast and reckless, as she hadn’t been since she’d been fifteen, and mixed up with her very first love. She hadn’t fallen for James this way, nor any of the other men between her first love and Casey. Those in-between guys . . . she’d needed them too badly to fall.
Real, giddy love required surrender and trust and a touch of wonder, and such things were luxuries she hadn’t been able to afford during her toughest years. Now, though . . .
Even amid the recent drama and the upheaval of new motherhood, even unsure how she’d make ends meet or where she’d live, her heart felt treacherously ready to tumble for this man.
They’d both spaced out, and the sound of the front door opening made Abilene jump. Miah appeared shortly. He looked tired and annoyed. Footsteps followed and his dad stalked through the den, heading toward the office with his phone in his hand, looking too cross for chitchat.
“No luck?” Casey asked Miah.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Jason chased him, but the guy was armed.”
Abilene’s hand flew to her lips.
“Jason’s fine—they were sky shots, he thinks, but he quit following all the same. Said he heard a vehicle start up down the road and take off due west, but that’s about it.”
“A dark pickup, no doubt,” Casey said.
“Got my money on it.” Miah sank into the rocker, tilting his head back and sighing his exasperation. “Man, this pisses me off. Got a whole bunkhouse full of spooked hands now, thinking we’ve got a poacher or a thief or a pervert on the loose.”
“Well, you might.”
“What about the security cameras?” Abilene asked.
“Dad’s checking them now, and there’s deputies on the way, to get Denny and Jason’s statements, and cruisers headed downtown, to look for the truck. I’m not holding my breath, though.”
Casey swore softly.
“Maybe it’s personal,” Abilene said. “Somebody who has a beef with one of your employees, maybe?”
“Personally, I bet it’s a burglar. A bold one. If this asshole’s spying on any of the girls, or stalking somebody, why would they be taking pictures of the stables?”
Abilene nodded, feeling a little calmed by that. Burglary was impersonal, at least.
Miah thumped the arms of the rocker with his fists, looking like a man who’d be too keyed up to sleep tonight. “I’m gonna go see if my dad’s found anything on the security tapes.”
Casey watched him go, looking agitated, then stood himself. “I’ll be back. I want to see what the tapes might have to show.”
She nodded. “I’ll probably get ready for bed.” Mercy was already out cold.
“Yeah, you might as well. I think we can safely let our guards down, if only for the night.”
She hesitated, unsure if she needed to tell Casey he was welcome to join her, or if it was implied by now. She imagined it was the latter—the condoms he’d bought at the drugstore with her weren’t exactly subtle, as signals went.
“You can, um . . . you can join me, if you want,” she said. “When you’re done down here.”
He nodded once, gaze skimming her body in a thoughtless, restless way. “I will. Right after I make sure Miah gets a stiff drink.”
“Good idea.” She held Mercy to her chest and stood. “See you if I’m not asleep.”