Desert Heat (25 page)

“Maybe not.” She sighed into the phone. “At least we haven’t lost any more.”

“How ’bout Sully? They haven’t got to him again, have they?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Well, that’s somethin’, I guess.”

“You still plannin’ to do the rodeo in Albuquerque?”

“Got to. There isn’t time to get someone else. It’s a big show and I’ve given my word.”

“But after that, you’ll be home.”

“Absolutely. Believe me, I can’t wait to get there.”

“You take care of yourself, Charlie Carson. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

“I love you, honey.”

“I love you, too.”

Charlie hung up the phone. Annie had never been one to use the word
love
overmuch. It was a sign of how worried she was about him. Charlie searched his memory as he had a thousand times, trying to figure out who might have grievance enough against him to try to ruin his life, but no name came to mind.

Charlie sighed into the silence inside the trailer and hoisted himself to his feet. He might be quitting the rodeo business but until he did, there was still plenty of work to be done. Charlie tugged his hat a little lower and headed out of the trailer.

“You ready?” Dallas poked his head through the door of Patience’s RV. The rodeo, a night show, was over and he was taking her out for something to eat.

She was a little surprised he had asked her to go. The summer was close to over. She would be leaving next week, right after the final performance in Albuquerque on Sunday afternoon, and knowing their time together was nearly at an end, Dallas had been easing away from her, trying to put some distance between them.

At least he had been until the fire. Since then, he’d been protective of both her and Charlie, keeping an eye on both of them as much as he possibly could.

Unfortunately, his riding had suffered for it. During the saddle bronc riding tonight, he had been pitched off a horse named Locomotive and he was limping a little again.

Patience told herself not to worry. Dallas was a cowboy. Injuries were part of the sport.

“I’m almost ready,” she told him. “Just a quick second and I’ll be right there.”

Earlier in the day and for the past half hour, she had been making a final review of her thesis, getting ready to send it off on Monday morning. It should have felt momentous, an accomplishment that had finally reached culmination after years of hard work, but with all that had been going on around her, she was just glad to finally be done.

Shutting down her computer, she grabbed her cowboy hat off the hook above her bunk and headed for the door. She’d gotten so used to wearing it, she wondered if she’d miss it once she got back home.

“I asked Charlie to come with us, but he says he’s got some work to do.” Dallas flicked a glance toward the production trailer, saw the light still burning inside. “The sheriff’s got a couple of deputies patrolling the area. After the news he delivered this morning, I hired a couple of extra security guards. Charlie thinks they work for the fairgrounds and I didn’t tell him any different. You know how he is.”

“I think it’s a good idea. If whoever started that fire comes back, maybe the guards will spot him.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I was thinking. I also phoned Roy Greenwood in Las Vegas and asked him if he knew a good private detective. He called a guy named Carter Maddox. Maddox is flying out here from Vegas tomorrow afternoon.”

“Charlie won’t like it.”

“I’m not so sure. I’m betting he’s tired of sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think he’ll be glad to finally be doing something positive. I only wish I’d done it sooner.”

Dallas walked her over to his truck and helped her climb in, then went around to his own side, slid behind the wheel, and cranked up the engine. It was dark outside, just a quarter moon. Patience tried not to think how the smoke and fire last night had filled the sky and made the moon glow blood red.

The big Dodge rolled along the asphalt strip of highway toward town. With only a few cars on the road, darkness seemed to surround them, a pool of black broken only by the twin beams of the pickup’s headlights.

Patience looked over at Dallas, determined to turn her thoughts in a different direction. “So how’s Stormy holding up?” She had been worried about him ever since he had come to talk to her about Shari.

“Okay, I guess. I think he’ll feel better once Shari and Button have left to go home.”

“I can see how hard this is on him. I think he really loves her.”

Dallas just grunted. “Doesn’t seem to bother Shari much.”

“It bothers her. She loves him, too, but she doesn’t want the same kind of life Stormy wants. You can’t blame her for that.”

She was reminding him of his own change of career. He hadn’t wanted to be a doctor. He simply couldn’t be happy in that role. “No, I guess not.”

They pulled up in front of the Golden Spur Steakhouse and went in. The place wasn’t fancy, just a room full of wooden tables with paper place mats and little red candles in the middle. But the steaks were supposed to be big and juicy and she was surprisingly hungry.

And the place was full of old friends. Blue Cody and Reno Garcia sat with Bonnie Sweeney and Ruth Collins. Patience and Dallas stopped to say hello before sitting down at a table not far away.

They ordered a couple of New York strips that tasted pretty good, a little tough maybe but the baked potato smothered in butter made up for it. When they finished, they didn’t linger. She knew Dallas was worried about Charlie and wanted to stay as close as he could.

“We’ll see you guys later,” Dallas called over to the group of friends.

Blue waved at Dallas and winked at Patience. Dallas tossed him a look, jerked his hat a little lower, and kept on walking. They had just stepped out of the restaurant, headed for the lot where the truck was parked, when a loud clap sounded in the darkness. Just as they walked onto the porch, a chunk of wood splintered away from the doorjamb, missing them by inches.

“Get down!” Dallas shouted, shoving her to the ground, sprawling full length on top of her. Another shot ricocheted off the plaster at the corner of the building. “We’ve got to find some cover.” Grabbing her hand, he tugged her forward. “Let’s go!”

Keeping low, they edged over behind the low brick wall that surrounded the parking lot. Her whole body was shaking, her mouth so dry she couldn’t speak. Dallas molded himself protectively around her and she could feel the tension in the muscles across his chest. He jerked off his hat and peered over the top of the wall, scanning the darkness at the edge of the parking lot, trying to locate their assailant, but there was no sign of him.

A noise sounded. Someone running, then a car door closed somewhere down the block.

Dallas sprang to his feet as an engine roared to life. “Stay here!” Tires squealed as the car sped away and Dallas raced after it.

Several minutes passed. When Dallas finally returned, he was breathing hard, a grim look on his face. “He’s gone. It was a dark-colored sedan but I couldn’t make out what model. I tried to get the license number but I only got the first two letters, A Z something.”

Her knees felt wobbly as he helped her to her feet and his arm tightened around her. “Are you all right?”

She stared past him into the darkness but there was nothing there to see. “I can’t believe someone was shooting at us.”

Dallas turned, his gaze following hers. “Yeah. The question is, why?” Keeping an arm around her waist, he guided her back to the front door of the restaurant. Blue Cody and his group were just walking out.

“You guys still here?” Blue said.

“The good news is we’re still breathing. Take a look at this, Blue.” Dallas motioned toward the door and the Navajo cowboy turned to see the bullet hole left in the jamb.

Reno whistled and Blue stared in disbelief. “Somebody shot at you?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go call nine-one-one.” Ruth hurried back inside the restaurant.

Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, Blue pulled out his pocketknife, flipped open the blade, and started digging into the wooden jamb. He dug out a bent chunk of lead and held it up in the light from the Golden Spur sign above the door.

“Looks like a rifle. Big caliber. Thirty-ought-six, maybe.”

“Let’s see if we can find the casing.”

Patience waited with Bonnie and Ruth for the sheriff to arrive while the men searched for the shell casing from the bullets that had been fired. They returned a little while later, frustrated and shaking their heads.

“He must have picked them up before he left.”

“Why do you think he was shooting at you?” Bonnie asked, looking from one of them to the other.

“He must have been after Dallas.” Patience caught his hand and held on tight. “All of these attacks seem to be focused on Charlie. Dallas is the same as Charlie’s son. If the man is after some sort of retribution for something he believes Charlie did, killing Dallas would be the perfect revenge.”

Other patrons filed out of the restaurant, unaware of the incident that had just occurred. Loyally, the rodeo riders waited with Dallas and Patience for the sheriff to arrive, and a patrol car pulled up to the curb a few minutes later.

As briefly as possible, Dallas explained what had happened while the deputy, an officer named Horn, took notes.

“We’ve all been briefed on the Carson case,” the deputy said, a dark-skinned man who looked to be at least part Native American. “I’ll let Sheriff Kendall know about this. He’ll want to examine the scene himself.” He folded his notebook closed. “He’s a big rodeo fan. He’s taken a personal interest in this one.”

Patience felt Dallas’s hand at her waist. “We’ll be back at the rodeo grounds if he wants us.”

“Keep your eyes open,” the officer warned. “It looks like this guy means business. I’d keep a low profile until we can nail this joker down.”

“That’s good advice. Thanks, Deputy.”

“We’ll follow you back,” Blue said.

Dallas just nodded, grateful, it seemed, to have a man he could trust at his back. Scanning the streets as they went, they drove off toward the fairgrounds.

“Charlie’s going to go crazy when he hears,” Patience said.

“I wish I didn’t have to tell him.”

“You’ve got to, Dallas. He might be in danger himself.”

“I know.” He didn’t say anything more the rest of the way and neither did Patience, but her mind kept returning to the sound of gunfire, and she couldn’t help thinking how close she and Dallas had come to being killed.

He wanted her to go back to Boston. He thought she should simply pack and leave.

“Look, you’re going home, anyway,” Dallas said. “What difference does it make if you leave a week early? Once you’re in Boston, you’ll be safe.”

“No.”

“You know I’m right. Being around me and Charlie is dangerous. Twice now you could have gotten killed.”

He was right. It was stupid to stay and maybe get shot when she could be safe back home in Boston—assuming Tyler Stanfield didn’t give her any more trouble once she got there. But her adventure wasn’t over and she wasn’t ready to leave—not yet. And she refused to behave like the proverbial rat leaving the sinking ship.

“I want you to change your plane reservations,” Dallas said gently. “I’m asking as a personal favor. I want you somewhere safe. Will you do that for me?”

“It doesn’t seem right just to run away. You won’t be safe. Charlie won’t be safe. What makes me so special?”

Dallas drew her closer. “Because you
are
special, dammit, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

There was something in those blue, blue eyes…something she had never seen in them before. It made her heart squeeze, made her want to leave him even less.

A lump rose in her throat as she imagined how empty her life would be without him once she got back home and wondered how their parting could be so much easier for him.

“It’s only one more week,” she argued. “After Albuquerque, we’ll all be breaking up. Shari will be leaving to go back to Oklahoma and Charlie will be closing down his company and heading back to Texas. I want to stay until then. I refuse to let whoever did this ruin my last few days.”

“Dammit, Patience—”

Another male voice spoke up just then. It belonged to a tall, rusty-haired man with hard gray eyes. His name was Carter Maddox and he was the detective Roy Greenwood had recommended. He had arrived in Lea County aboard Roy’s private jet that afternoon.

“I hate to get in the middle of a personal dispute,” Maddox said, “but I’d advise you to listen to what Dallas is telling you, Ms. Sinclair. Whatever’s going on around here seems to be escalating. Being anywhere in the vicinity might be hazardous to your health.”

Patience’s gaze locked with his, hard gray and determined green. “There are a lot of other people here besides me. If I’m in danger, so are they. I’ll give what you’ve said some thought, but that is the best I can promise. In the meantime, Dallas has to ride. He needs to get ready.”

She reached over and caught his arm, started leading him away. Dallas grumbled something about hardheaded women, but didn’t resist as Patience dragged him off toward his pickup. Reaching behind the front seat of the truck, he pulled out his black and gold fringed chaps, propped one boot after the other on the running board to buckle them on, then turned toward her.

“At least promise you’ll stay away from me until you leave. Maybe by then the sheriff will have caught the guy who fired those shots.”

Patience batted her lashes and said in a too-sweet southern belle voice, “Why, darlin’, how could I possibly stay away? Ya’ll know how perfectly irresistible ya are ta me.”

Dallas shook his head. “You are
the
most irritating female I have ever met.” He jerked her against him, kissed her quick and hard. “And I’m crazy about you.”

Turning, he strode away, leaving her behind with her jaw hanging open. Dallas was crazy about her? He had never said anything remotely revealing about his feelings for her.

Well, she was crazy about him, too. She was wildly, desperately in love with him. But loving someone wasn’t always enough, and in a week they would have to say good-bye. Both of them knew it. Both were resigned to it.

Still, she wanted this last week together, wanted the memories that would have to last her a lifetime.

Now, more than ever, she didn’t want to leave.

Dallas couldn’t concentrate. The rodeo was a night show and all he could think about was the darkness outside the arena and that maybe someone was out there with a rifle, waiting to shoot him or Charlie or somebody else. The arena lights seemed too bright. The sound of the western music blaring over the loudspeakers grated on his nerves. He took a deep breath, tried to clear his head and concentrate on riding the big horse, Apocalypse, he had drawn for tonight’s performance, but it didn’t seem to help.

“You ready, Dallas?” Blue Cody strode toward him, ready to help him saddle his horse. Black hair glinted beneath his hat and his chaps flicked out in front of him.

“Ready as I’m gonna get.”

They both climbed up on the chute and Reno climbed up beside them, battered straw hat pulled down low. The horse laid its ears back and bared its teeth in challenge, and Dallas figured the way things had been going, there was every chance this was one match the big horse just might win.

They settled the saddle on the animal’s back, worked the cinch around, then the flank strap. Dallas straddled the chute, eased himself down into the seat, and shoved his feet into the stirrups.

The announcer’s voice echoed over the loudspeakers. “Next up—coming out of chute number two—the current reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy, Dallas Kingman. He’s drawn a horse called Apocalypse and they don’t call him that for nothing. The last cowboy who tried to ride him went out of the arena in an ambulance.”

The crowd roared at this gruesome bit of news and Dallas settled himself a little deeper in the saddle. Catching his nod, one of the cowboys on the ground jerked open the gate and the horse leapt forward. After the first two jumps, Dallas got into the rhythm and began to feel the adrenaline rush that came when he was riding well.

Then something metal glinted in the lights off to the left and Dallas jerked his gaze toward the possible threat. At the same instant, Apocalypse twisted and bucked, throwing him completely off balance. Two seconds later, unable to get back into position, he went over the horse’s head and landed hard in the dirt, sending a frisson of pain up his spine and into his neck and shoulders.

The big bay leapt and snorted, bucking past him with a look that said,
Ha! I told you I was gonna kick your butt.

Dallas rolled stiffly to his feet. Reaching down, he plucked his black felt hat out of the dirt and slapped it against his thigh, thinking he sure hadn’t ridden like The King tonight. More like the king’s fool.

He gave the crowd a wave and a smile and they gave him a burst of conciliatory applause. His knee was throbbing but he ignored it. He should have wrapped it before the ride, but in all the commotion, he forgot.

Patience stood waiting as he walked out the gate trying not to limp.

“You okay?” She slid her arm around his waist and leaned a little against him. She felt so good, fit against him so perfectly, he wanted to turn and wrap her in his arms.

Instead, he just nodded. He was fine, except that he felt like an idiot. He hadn’t seen a gun or any other sort of threat. He had to stop being paranoid and start concentrating on his riding. If he didn’t, he was going to lose his chance at the Finals, or wind up getting seriously hurt.

Once they reached the area behind the chutes, he turned Patience around to look at him. “I thought I told you to stay away from me.”

She just smiled and tipped her head toward a cluster of women in hats and jeans bearing down on him with adoring expressions on their faces. “Maybe I don’t trust you with all those buckle bunnies.”

A corner of his mouth edged up. “You’ve got no worries there, darlin’. If you haven’t figured it out, you’ve ruined me for other women.”

She smiled, but as the group surrounded him, asking for his autograph, her smile slipped away. Dallas knew what she was thinking. He’d had the same thought himself. Even if she stayed through the week, their time together was nearly over. Once she was gone, he would start dating again—and so would she.

He didn’t want to think about it. Forcing himself to smile at the women, he accepted the pen one of them held out to him and started autographing whatever they shoved in front of him. Dallas said a silent thanks that this was the final night of the show and that in the morning they would be traveling to Albuquerque.

He just prayed nothing else would happen before they got there.

And as much as he wanted her to stay, he hoped that Patience would go home.

It was four o’clock in the morning. Patience heard the trailer door open and blinked her eyes against the crack of moonlight that illuminated the inside of the little RV as Shari walked in.

Shari made kind of a sniffing sound and blew her nose and Patience realized that she was crying. Dragging sleep-tangled hair out of her face, Patience sat up in bed, reached over and turned on the small light above her bunk. She yawned and tried to wake up enough to make her mouth work.

“From the sounds you’re making, I take it you spent the night with Stormy.”

Shari nodded and wiped her eyes with a wadded-up tissue. “I knew we shouldn’t see each other again—not in a personal way. But he came up to me after the rodeo and said he needed to talk to me. He said it was important, so I went with him.”

“What happened?” Patience sat up a little straighter on the bunk.

“We went for a drive up into the hills. The stars were out and the sand was warm so we took off our shoes and sat down on a blanket. It was so romantic. I let him kiss me—he’s always been the most wonderful kisser. Kissing led to…well, you know…and we wound up making love.” She sniffed again and Patience caught the gleam of fresh tears. “Stormy still wants to marry me. He says he’ll wait for me…until I get through school. I told him waiting wasn’t the problem. I just…I didn’t want to marry a man whose whole life was rodeo.”

Shari blew out a ragged breath. “My dad was a cowboy, you know. All he ever did was make my mother unhappy. I mean, it was fine when he was home, but he was gone most of the time. Nothing mattered but riding some damned bull.” She shook her head. “He got killed at a rodeo in Kansas City. I don’t think I ever told you that. My mom never really got over it and I guess in some ways I didn’t, either.”

“Oh, Shari.” Patience stood up and enfolded her friend in her arms.

“I don’t want to go through that again, Patience. I don’t want to live that kind of life.”

“I don’t blame you. I know you care about Stormy. But you have to do what’s right for you, no matter how hard it is.”

“I know. I just wish Stormy understood. He thinks I don’t love him and that just isn’t true.”

Patience glanced out the small oval window over the dinette. Though it was still early, a gray dawn lightened the horizon. “You want some coffee or something?”

Shari shook her head. “I’d rather just get out of here. I’ve got one more rodeo before I quit for good. If you don’t mind, I’d just as soon we got going.”

“No problem. We’re both up. We might as well get rolling. We’ll stop and get coffee somewhere along the road.”

They pulled on jeans and sweatshirts, packed up the trailer, and climbed into the pickup. The stock trucks were in the final stages of loading, Patience noticed as they rolled across the grass toward the gate leading out of the rodeo grounds.

Shari groaned as she spotted Dallas’s rig starting up, then rolling toward the gate behind them. “Of all the rotten luck.”

“Dallas is always up early. Stormy was probably as eager to leave as you were and the stock trucks are ready to roll. Dallas probably wants to keep an eye on Charlie.”

Shari leaned back in the passenger seat as the pickup began to accelerate along the two-lane road. Through the window on Patience’s side of the truck, red rock cliffs rose out of the desert, a forbidding wall in the gray light of dawn. She thought of the early cliff dwellers, the long-vanished Anasazi Indians she had read about during her studies, and wondered if perhaps they might have once built homes up there, somewhere in that intimidating wall.

She glanced in the rearview mirror, saw the distant speck of black that was Dallas’s rig, followed by Charlie and the livestock trucks.

The speedometer read fifty-five miles an hour when the explosion hit—a huge blast that shook the pickup so hard the steering wheel nearly jumped from Patience’s hand.

“Oh, my God!” Shari stared out the back window in horror as Patience fought to bring the truck back under control. “Pull over! Pull over quick!”

Hands trembling, braking with a leg that shook against the pedal, Patience flicked a glance in the rearview mirror and nearly lost control again. The truck bumped several times as it slowed and she pulled onto the side of the road. As soon as the Chevy stopped rolling, both of them leapt out and rushed back to what was left of their trailer, not much more than the axle and wheels. The rest of the little RV and all its contents were strewn like confetti along the two-lane road.

“Oh, my God,” Shari said again. “It’s completely gone. There’s nothing left. Nothing!”

Patience fought to control her trembling limbs. “I know I turned off the propane. Maybe the line broke or something.” She swallowed. “Do you realize, if you hadn’t come home so late, we would probably still be sleeping? We would have left at our usual time, maybe an hour or so from now. We would have been asleep in the trailer when it exploded.”

Shari sank down on the side of the road, her face ghostly pale. Patience surveyed the wreckage strewn over the highway, thought of how close she and Shari had come to dying, turned and heaved behind a cactus at the side of the road.

On shaking legs, she walked over to the pickup and dragged a plastic bottle of water out from under the seat. She rinsed her mouth, then drank deeply and began to feel a little better.

She looked back to see Dallas’s truck pulling in behind her Chevy. Dallas leapt out of the Dodge, not bothering to turn off the engine, and ran toward her like a madman.

Then she was in his arms.

“God, what happened?” He pulled her tight against his chest and she could feel him trembling. “Are you okay?”

“The trailer…the trailer blew up.”

He looked over the top of her head. “Yeah, I can see that.”