she felt. She could only hope he’d read between the lines and understand.
* * *
Brock Tolman rode Haroun, his prize Arabian stallion, into the barn, dismounted, and turned him over to the groom. An hour spent riding around the ranch usually helped lift his black spells. This time it hadn’t helped. If anything, his mood had darkened.
Leaving the stable, he strode up to the house. He’d fully expected to find an apologetic Shane waiting for him when he returned from his business trip. But the ungrateful wretch had taken him at his word. Shane was gone, with his truck and all his gear, and he hadn’t come back. Hell, he hadn’t even called.
Brock’s ill-fated marriage had given him no children, and he had no plans to marry again. The scrawny, fatherless teen he’d taken in ten years ago had been the closest he’d ever come to having a son. He’d even dreamed of a future in which Shane became a world-champion bull rider, raised a family on the ranch, and one day took over.
Basura, as the Mexicans would say. Garbage. He should have known he couldn’t count on the damn fool ingrate to stick around. In the end, as he should have learned by now, there was nobody he could count on but himself.
The old man who managed the house was waiting on the porch when Brock came up the steps, still in a foul mood. “Scotch,” he growled, sinking into a chair. “Just bring the damned bottle and a glass.”
While he sipped the whiskey, he let his gaze wander over the bulls in the pasture. By now, most likely, Chip Harris would have made an offer on Whirlwind. But as long as the deal hadn’t been signed and the money paid, Brock wasn’t ready to give up. He was already making plans to put the financial pressure on the Alamo Canyon Ranch—a sweet piece of property that he wouldn’t mind owning. For starters, he was negotiating to buy the neighboring hayfield parcel from the investment company. And if Aaron Frye wanted to keep his job managing the property, he’d be smart to sell Brock his small parcel, too. That done, Brock would start squeezing the Champion sisters until they had no choice except to sell Whirlwind—and maybe the ranch—to him.
There were just two women—three, counting Bert’s widow. How hard would it be to convince them that he was doing them a favor?
CHAPTER TEN
THE SUN ROSE OVER THE AJO MOUNTAINS, ITS LIGHT FLOWING LIKE slow water over the yellow hills of the Tohono O’odham reservation and up over the rocky bank of land that marked the boundary of the Alamo Canyon Ranch.
Riding fence along the upper pasture, Lexie felt the heat as the sky brightened to the glossy hue of polished turquoise. The rains had moved on, leaving days of muggy heat that parched the ground and sapped the energy from humans and animals alike.
Two days had passed since her visit to Rianne’s parents and her e-mail to Shane. She’d heard nothing back, not even an acknowledgment that he’d gotten her message. She was trying not to worry, but that was a losing battle. She’d lain awake most of last night, wondering why she hadn’t heard from him. Was he just putting her off, or had something gone wrong?
A collared lizard, sunning on a rock, flicked its tail and vanished as Lexie approached. She paused a moment, resting the mare and taking a moment to look out over the ranch. From here she could see the house and outbuildings, the pastures, and the road to Aaron’s property in the near distance. The two boys were working in the pasture with the younger bulls, giving them water and unloading feed from the four-wheeler ATV. All peaceful, she told herself, or so it appeared.
To the south, the road to the pass zigzagged up the long, steep slope. A moving vehicle had just emerged over the pass. Shading her eyes against the glare, Lexie saw that it was an older, dark blue pickup. She couldn’t see the driver, but it had to be a stranger. No one she knew owned a truck like that one.
Turning back the way she’d come, she trotted the mare back along the fence line. The truck was coming down the road now, moving a little too fast. She had yet to identify the driver.
Nudging the mare, she reached the yard and dismounted as the blue pickup pulled in and stopped. The driver’s side door opened. Shane climbed out.
Lexie