was upset and needed a babysitter. The stupid door was locked so she readied her key. Everyone in Blackfoot Falls left their vehicles open, windows half-down, everyone but her. She hadn’t broken the habit yet, and damn she wished she had because her hand shook too hard to get her key inserted. Of course she’d chosen the only truck at the Lone Wolf that didn’t have a remote.
Sneaking a peek to locate Trace, she saw him standing right where she’d left him. She didn’t have to see his watchful eyes to know they tracked her every move. On the third try she got the door open and climbed in, quickly checking the rearview mirror to see him slip behind the wheel of his own truck. She knew he’d follow her, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Cursing her unsteady hand, she missed the ignition twice before pushing the key home. After she’d pulled away from the curb she realized she hadn’t checked for oncoming traffic. So what? No traffic except for her and Trace. If she passed a single car in the next fifteen minutes to the Lone Wolf she’d be surprised.
Her hands were freezing, and she rolled down a window instead of using the heat. The warm air rushed in. She glanced at the speedometer, saw how fast she was driving and eased her foot off the accelerator. She hadn’t even left the town limits yet. All she needed was to get stopped and ticketed. Though she was pretty sure Roy was on duty, and the deputy would probably let her skate with only a warning.
Forcing herself to breathe in deeply shouldn’t have been hard. But she couldn’t seem to draw in enough air and panicked for a moment. Trace was the problem. He followed close behind and, God, she didn’t want him seeing her fall apart.
No, no, that wasn’t it. She didn’t even understand where the thought had come from. Even after what Matt had told her this morning, she hadn’t truly believed Wallace would die soon. She figured the bastard was too stubborn and mean...he’d hang on just to make everyone else miserable. Her worry wasn’t that she’d fall apart, but that she wasn’t prepared. Her emotional bank was empty, void, not even a hint of compassion had surfaced. How was she supposed to react appropriately?
She knew Rachel was with Matt, and Lucy had to be there, too. Maybe Petey was at the house. The wrangler knew the family well. And the doctor, of course, he’d still be there when she got home. Or maybe not...if she slowed down. What if she waited a couple of hours? She’d call so Matt wouldn’t worry....
No, she’d feel like shit if she ditched him. As if that wasn’t exactly what she’d been doing for weeks. He’d given her a chance to help even things out by asking her to see Wallace a final time. Oh, Matt had claimed he meant only to give her the facts this morning, but she’d understood the subtle suggestion that she step up and say goodbye, and she’d walked out anyway. She’d been too stubborn and defiant to give so much as an inch, and now... Oh, God, she didn’t know.
All she wanted was to stop thinking.
It was too quiet. Listening to music would help. She turned on the radio, knowing the signal sucked this far north. Her CDs were tucked in between the passenger seat and the console. She fumbled trying to find one, momentarily lost control of the wheel and weaved into the other lane.
She checked the rearview mirror, half expecting Trace to overtake her and force her to pull over. But he continued to stay at a sensible distance behind, and somehow the knowledge that he hadn’t overreacted calmed her. Deciding against risking her neck over a CD, she clutched the steering wheel with both hands and stared at the dark highway ahead. And the stars. Lots of them twinkled in the clear inky sky. So different from Houston with its pricey high-rise condos and gleaming skyscrapers blazing with lights. Not exactly a star-friendly place.
So Wallace was dead.
Okay, Nikki had known his end was coming, but she hadn’t seriously considered what life would look and feel like after he was gone. Matt planned on easing out of the rodeo circuit and running the Lone Wolf. He insisted half the ranch was hers, but she didn’t give a crap about inheritance. The place belonged to Matt, period. She had no interest,