Cole leaned out from behind her SUV. “Tell her to get in bed and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
After the door closed, he groaned. “I think Angie wants me more than Sophie does. I’m sorry, Mattie.”
“Don’t be.” She kissed him softly on the lips before rounding her car and getting in. “I hope you get a good night’s sleep. Brody and I will meet you up at the cattle guard.”
They said good-night, and as she drove away, she thought about all the changes she’d made in her life over the past year. Before, she’d isolated herself most of the time, but now she could reach out to others. Now she had friends, friends she could even call family. And honestly, she wanted to be a part of Cole’s family, to help care for these kids she’d grown to love. Maybe that wasn’t too much to hope for.
TWENTY-THREE
Tuesday morning
Cole arose well before sunrise with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that wasn’t wholly related to a short night’s sleep. The idea of tracking a tiger made him nervous, and he hoped they could capture it without anyone getting hurt.
And if he was being honest with himself, a killer on the loose up in the high country frightened him more than just a little. This would be someone who’d killed two men, not just one. A good high-powered rifle could help this guy rack up another kill easily, and he feared not only for Mattie but for himself as well.
Last night after he and the kids had gone to bed, he’d lain awake thinking. During times like these, he was confronted with his own mortality. If something happened to him, who would raise the kids? Olivia wasn’t in a place where she could do it by herself.
When he’d heard Jessie come home, he’d risen from bed to go downstairs to talk to her, to make her promise that she’d help Olivia raise the kids if something should happen to him before they were adults. Her promise had provided him with little comfort, but at least he’d finally been able to go to sleep.
Not wanting to awaken Jessie or the girls, he carried his boots and tiptoed downstairs in socked feet. Once in the kitchen, he flipped the switch to turn on the coffeemaker, which he’d set up before going to bed.
He’d also spent time during the night thinking about Mattie and how she fit into his life. Since his kids were dealing with the separation from their mother and the ongoing drama of trying to reunite, was it fair to thrust them into a situation where they would need to adjust to a new stepmother? But if he needed to wait, how could he deal with his growing desire to share his home and his spare time with the woman he loved? His was a world where he needed to get things done, and the quicker the better. Life didn’t always match that pace, and he hoped he could find a balance in all this craziness called family.
Cole filled a thermos with coffee, grabbed a leftover burger he’d fixed the night before, and left the house to go to the clinic. Mountaineer, the one horse he owned himself, resided in a corral attached to a loafing shed just north of his office. Late yesterday afternoon, he’d brought in three other horses from his dad’s ranch so that he could outfit the entire crew. It would take some time to saddle up and get the horses loaded into the trailer.
He paused at the tack room, an enclosed space at the end of the shed, and threw the switch on for the overhead yard light. A warm glow lit the area, making the horses mill around the corral. The early morning seemed darker than usual, and the chilly air told him a front had moved in during the night, changing the weather. Clouds covered the stars, and moist air touched his face.
Mountaineer met him at the gate, nosing his pockets gently for a bite of feed cake, a sweet mixture of grains pressed into the shape of a short cigar. He paused for a moment to smooth the gelding’s neck in slow, firm strokes, taking comfort in his horsey scent. This guy didn’t have a sly or dishonest bone in his body, and he was the one Cole would trust to carry Mattie. She feared horses, another residual left over from her time with Harold Cobb, but she’d come to an understanding with Mountaineer last month during their investigation up in the wilderness area, and the steady gelding would serve her well again today.
After placing a halter on the gentle giant, Cole looped the tie rope to the wooden pole fence and spent a few minutes catching the other horses. They circled the corral, trotting away from him, and Cole soothed them with his voice as he approached, halter in hand.
Duke, the bay gelding he’d brought from his dad’s for himself, dodged away at the last minute, making Cole lure him in with a handful of cake until he could slip a rope over his neck and buckle on a halter. Then he caught Honey, a palomino mare that would work for Glenna, and Fancy, a black-and-white paint mare for Brody.
He opened the gate wide and led all four horses at once to the rail, where he tied them in a row. His fingers warmed as he whisked grit and loose hair away with a currycomb and smoothed the hair that would be under the saddle.
He moved from horse to horse like he was working an assembly line, putting on blankets, saddle pads, and then saddles. Leather creaked as he swung the heavy western saddles onto the backs of the tall animals before drawing up cinches. From his dad’s tack room, he’d rustled up leather scabbards for carrying rifles, and he strapped those on last.
Cole first led Mountaineer to the open door of the trailer and then clucked his tongue to encourage the gelding to load. He stepped up into the darkened space without a fuss, and each horse followed until Cole had them all standing at a slant and tied to the same side. The door clanged when it shut, and he closed the latch firmly to make sure it would stay closed.
It was five o’clock when he pulled away from the clinic and drove down the lane. His headlights pierced the darkness and the windshield misted, making him flip on the wipers and scan the darkened sky. If it started to rain, it would ruin the whole plan, because rain would wash away the lion’s scent. Cole turned on the heater and reached for his coffee and burger so he could eat while he drove.
Despite his arriving fifteen minutes before the designated time, Mattie was already parked by the cattle guard. Brody exited the passenger’s side of her SUV and Mattie the driver’s side as Cole pulled in and parked his rig beside them. Both officers wore the brown Carhartt jackets favored by the Sheriff’s Department, which offered some resistance to the damp weather.
“Morning.” Cole greeting them both, while his eyes went to Mattie to check in on how she was doing. She gave him a thin smile, and although he could tell she looked worried, she didn’t seem frightened. He hoped she was getting used to being on horseback.
Brody rounded the front of their vehicle. “It is morning, although this weather sucks, so I can’t call it good. If it rains, we’ll have to scrap the whole thing.”
“This amount of moisture shouldn’t interfere. If anything, it’ll help us,” Mattie said as she went to the back to unload Robo. He hopped out, tail waving, and beat a path toward Cole to say hello. Cole leaned down and patted the big dog’s side.
Headlights appeared on the highway, and they all watched the oncoming vehicle slow and turn into the pasture. Mattie called Robo and bent to clip a leash on his collar.
Glenna Dalton parked and exited her truck, leaving her dog inside. “Hey,” she called, lifting her hand in a small wave before turning to Mattie. “Is your dog going to help with the scent work?”
Mattie shook her head. “He’s not trained for that. I’ll keep him beside me after we get into the high country.”
“Is he social?” Glenna gestured toward her truck with her thumb. “My dog’s used to running with a pack, but he’s an intact male. Can the two of them mingle without a fight?”