“Would you like to come with me into town? I know you want to stay on the ranch for fear of Dirk being around, but you need to get out of here every once in a while. We could have lunch, some pizza if you want? I have to go over to the bank to sign some papers, but that won’t take long. Are you game?”
Tucking her lower lip between her teeth for a moment, Cari avoided the pleading look in Chase’s gray eyes. The man knew how to make a woman melt.
“You’ve been here on the ranch since you arrived, Cari. Come on, this isn’t going to hurt anything. I’ll be watching for Dirk if he’s around, which I don’t think he is. Dan just talked to the sheriff in California and they said Dirk was spotted yesterday at a homeless tent area in Los Angeles. He got away. But they are looking for him, big-time now. So, I know he’s not here in Wyoming. I’ll keep you safe.”
“They saw Dirk?” she whispered, her voice suddenly off-key. Her hand automatically went to her throat.
“Yes, a city cop spotted him. He walks a beat in one of the tent city areas and saw him at dusk. With things getting dark, Dirk slipped away into the night. Now they are handing out his picture to everyone in all the tent cities, letting them know he’s an escaped convict. The reward for him is ten thousand dollars, and the sheriff said that anyone who spotted him trying to use the cover of a tent city would turn him in, in a heartbeat.”
“That’s good to know. So, he’s in Los Angeles?”
“Yes. Why?”
“That’s where he had his later connections. He’s probably gathering up his group again.”
“In one way,” Chase said, giving her a sympathetic look, “you know where he is. I guess this is the first sighting they’ve had of him. Dan also called your parents on the burner phone he keeps at the office. He gives them a weekly update on you. They were relieved to hear where Dirk is located.”
“I know they’re frightened, too,” she whispered, frowning, looking away and fighting back tears. How she missed her mother! They couldn’t talk for fear Dirk, who was a gamer and a software code writer, would hack into a cell phone, or their desktop, to get information on where she might be. They had not been told where she was, to protect her and themselves.
“Hey,” Chase called gently, placing his hand on her shoulder momentarily, “I hate to see you sad like this, Cari. I know it’s hard on you. It would be on anyone. Since you know Dirk isn’t in Wyoming, why not have a lunch with me in town? I’ll do my bank business after that and then we’ll come home.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “I do need to get out a little bit.”
“Let’s drive back to my office, pile in one truck, and take off.”
* * *
Cari tried to hide her yearning for a more private and intimate relationship with Chase. She kept reminding herself that he was her employer, she knew office romances rarely worked out and if they did, someone had to leave the company. Not that she was sticking around long-term, which was now a painful jab into her heart, but she had a two-year contract she’d signed, to bring the family’s honey business to fruition.
As they entered the town of Silver Creek, Chase began to point out businesses to her. She spotted the Mariposa Hair Salon, a pink two-story building a block away from the main drag. She liked that everyone seemed to recognize Chase, waved to him from the sidewalk or another vehicle. He waved to them in return. This was a productive town and it seemed very busy!
“Is the traffic always like this?” she wondered.
“No. We’re into tourist season from June first through the end of October. There’s a lot of cabin rentals around the valley and people stay in them. There’s fishing, hiking, swimming in nearby lakes, and all kinds of things for people who love the outdoors to do around here.”
“I’m surprised you don’t have cabins for rent on your ranch.”
“My family, right or wrong, wanted to maintain our privacy. Logan Anderson feels the same way. But some see it as a good source of income. So, a cottage industry of sorts took off. Some of the other ranchers have either added cottages or they’ve gone full-on with dude ranches for tourists. Which is fine,