Soul Deep (11 page)

Janet wrote all of this down. “Where was he
standing when he fired his weapon?”

Luke pointed to near where she was standing.
“He came up on me pretty close.”

The powder burns on Luke’s face and chest
seemed to corroborate that.

“How many shots did he fire?”

“Just the one.”

“How many shots did you fire?”

“One, I think. Maybe two.”

Jack rested a hand on Luke’s uninjured
shoulder. “Let’s get you fixed up first, and then we’ll talk about
what happened at the hospital.”

Janet knew Jack was right. If she’d been here
in an official capacity, her first duty would be to make sure that
anyone who was wounded received medical care. Statements could
wait. As it was, she was here as a guest, not an agent.

Jack gave her arm a reassuring squeeze,
demonstrating his understanding and his appreciation with that
simple gesture. “I’m grateful for what you’ve done for us tonight,
Luke, and I am sorry as hell that you were hurt.”

But Janet’s attention had shifted to Chinook.
The stallion was terrified. The whites of his eyes flashed. His
skin twitched. His entire body seemed to tremble. He bucked,
kicked.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Without thinking,
without asking anyone, Janet walked over to Chinook’s stall, opened
the sliding door, and stepped inside.

# # #

Jack helped Burt get Luke out of the barn,
then turned toward Chinook—and his heart seemed to stop.
“Janet!”

She’d gone into Chinook’s stall, hooves
slashing the air around her.

Jack ran toward her, then stopped, unable to
believe what he was seeing.

Chinook quit rearing and bucking, his
attention on Janet, who spoke to him in soothing tones, her arms at
her sides.

“It’s okay, boy. It’s all right now.”

Chuck glanced over at Jack, but didn’t say a
word, a look of shock on his face.

Jack walked slowly toward the stall, not
wanting to startle the stallion with Janet so close to him. “Janet,
honey, why don’t you ease on out of there?”

She didn’t answer, but continued to speak
softly to the stallion. “I’m sorry. I know you’re scared.”

The horse whinnied, snorted, then walked over
to Janet, still trembling.

“Good boy.” She patted the animal's neck,
took hold of his halter. “You’re all sweaty. I don’t want you to
get chilled out here.”

Jack stopped just outside the stall. “Chuck,
go get Chinook’s blanket and a curry comb and brush.”

“Right, boss.”

Janet crooned to the stallion, stroked him,
and Jack could see Chinook calm under her touch, his trembling
subsiding.

Then the stallion stretched his neck out
toward her, lowering his muzzle almost to the straw in a gesture of
affection and submission.

Well, I'll be damned.

“We ought to move him,” Janet said. “The
sheriff’s department is going to need to come in here and take
photos and comb the place for evidence. That won’t be good for
Chinook.”

She was right.

Chuck returned, blanket over one arm, curry
comb and brush in his hands. “Here you go, boss man.”

Jack took the items from him. “Get the other
stallion stall ready. We’re going to have investigators tearing
this place apart soon. We need to put Chinook somewhere he feels
calm.”

Chuck nodded. “I just can’t believe Kip would
do this. Yeah, he drank sometimes, but he was never the violent
sort.”

That thought had crossed Jack’s mind, too.
“Anger and pride can make a man do some pretty foolish things.”

“That’s true enough.” Chuck hurried off.

Jack carefully and quietly entered Chinook’s
stall, draped the blanket through the feed opening, then handed
Janet the curry comb. “You didn’t tell me you were a horse
whisperer.”

“I’m not—at least I don’t think I am.”

“Well, you nearly gave me a heart attack. If
you were one of my men, I’d fire you on the spot for being
reckless.”

“I’m not one of your men.”

“Thank God for that.” Still, he needed to
make his point. “You could have been killed. I’ve seen stallions go
crazy and injure experienced horsemen, men who raised them. You
took a real chance stepping in here.”

“I’m sorry I frightened you. I saw how afraid
Chinook was, and I just had to do something.”

He handed her the curry comb. “Most people
who saw a stallion in that state would see only aggression and feel
afraid. But you saw that the stallion was afraid, and so you had no
fear. You amaze me.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “That goes
both ways.”

He was glad to hear that. In the course of
the evening, he’d come to realize that he loved her. For the second
time in his life, he’d fallen head over heels in love with a
woman.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Janet helped Jack rub down Chinook, then
watched as he and Chuck got the stallion settled in a stall on the
other side of the building.

“I’ll stay with him tonight, boss.”

“Thanks, Chuck. Stay sharp. I’m walking Ms.
Killeen back inside.”

Janet wasn’t used to feeling protected. She
was used to being the one doing the protecting. Having a man fuss
over her like this felt strange, but it also felt good. If given
the chance, she might even be able to get used to it.

Jack walked over to her, took her arm in his
as they left the stables. His voice was calm, but Janet could feel
his rage. One of his men had been shot, almost killed, and his
prize stallion had again been threatened. He felt responsible.
“Burt and I are taking Luke to the hospital in Scarlet. Detective
Sergeant Taylor is meeting us there. As soon as I’ve paid the bill
and Luke has given a statement, I’ll catch a ride back home with
Taylor. He wants to search the scene for evidence tonight. Burt and
Luke will come back in the truck when Luke is released. It’s going
to be a long night. You should get some rest.”

“It doesn’t feel right to me to crawl into
bed with all of this going on.”

They stopped in the mudroom, and he helped
her out of her parka. “I’m sure it must be hard for you to sit
things out, but you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I’m not sure I
can
sleep.”

“Try.” He hung her coat on a hook. “I’ll be
back as soon as I can.”

Janet watched him leave, took off her boots,
and walked into the kitchen, where she made a pot of coffee—not the
wisest course of action if she wanted to sleep. But who was she
fooling? She wasn’t going to sleep with Jack gone and a shooter on
the loose.

She carried her cup of coffee into the living
room, stood there for a moment just looking around. It felt strange
to be alone in the big house. She walked toward the fireplace,
drawn by photographs on the mantel. One showed Jack standing with
Nate and a woman who must have been Theresa. The three of them
radiated happiness, their love for one another apparent.

Nate, who was in full dress uniform, had his
father’s jaw and blue eyes, but he’d gotten his cheekbones from his
mother. Jack looked younger with less gray in his hair and fewer
lines around the eyes. But it was Theresa who drew and held Janet’s
gaze.

Janet could see why Jack had been attracted
to her. She’d been a beautiful woman, her delicate features
ageless, her bearing sophisticated, her hazel eyes warm and full of
life. This house had been
her
home. Jack had been
her
husband.

What am I doing here?

Janet had no business starting a relationship
with anyone. She ought to be focused on getting her life back
together, not allowing herself to be distracted by the first
handsome man to show her kindness.

Then again, she’d come up here to relax and
celebrate finishing rehab. Was it so wrong to enjoy Jack’s
hospitality and his company?

No, damn it. It wasn’t.

Feeling on edge, she carried her coffee cup
to the kitchen sink, went to her room, and filled the big bathtub
with hot water, hoping to soak both the tension and her aches and
pains away. She sank into the hot water with a sigh and let her
mind wander, the heat immediately soothing to her sore muscles.

She found herself thinking over the case. It
was just habit. Before the shooting, she’d often ended the day by
relaxing in the tub and mulling over the details of whatever case
she was handling. Except this wasn’t a case—or it wasn’t
her
case. Still, she couldn’t get it out of her head, the details
drifting through her thoughts.

Chinook screaming in his stall. Luke shaking,
fighting tears, a deep graze in his shoulder. An angry ex-employee
trying to settle the score with Jack.

Janet hoped they went after this Kip and
brought him in for questioning. She wanted him behind bars, where
he couldn’t hurt Jack.

She let the tub drain, dried off with a
fluffy towel, then slipped into her pajamas, crawled into bed, and
was instantly fast asleep.

# # #

It was four in the morning when Jack walked
into the house. He took off his gloves, parka, and boots, stopped
for a drink of water in the dark kitchen, and headed for his
bedroom, mind and body exhausted. Luke had identified Kip from his
DMV photo in a photo lineup of six other random men. The kid had
never met Kip. If that wasn’t conclusive evidence, Jack didn’t know
what was. Luke had a deep flesh wound, but thankfully it wasn’t
serious. He’d be coming home in the morning.

Jack had ridden back with Det. Sgt. Taylor
and had watched as Taylor and his team scoured the area around the
stables and Chinook’s stall for evidence. They’d found a .45 slug
buried in the east wall behind Luke’s cot. They’d found two shell
casings—both 9mm from Luke’s Glock 17—and a single .45 casing near
the stable door, presumably from Kip’s weapon.

Like Chuck, Jack was surprised that Kip could
do anything as despicable as shoot man or horse. Then again, human
beings were nature’s least predictable animal.

As he passed Janet’s room, he noticed light
coming from beneath her door. He tapped lightly. “Janet, honey? Are
you okay?”

The moment she opened the door, he could see
she wasn’t. There were tear stains on her cheeks, and her eyes were
red. He was proud of himself for seeing both of these things before
noticing how sweet and sexy she looked in her silk nightgown.

You are the soul of decency and decorum,
West.

She kept her face averted, as if to hide her
distress from him. “I’m fine. I’m just having a bit of a rough
night.”

“You’re having nightmares again, aren’t you?”
He’d worried that tonight’s shooting would trigger her again.

She nodded, her chin quivering. “Every time I
close my eyes ... ”

“It was selfish of me to ask you to stay here
with all of this going on. I should have taken you back to Denver
today when the highway reopened.”

She pressed her fingertips to his lips to
silence him. “Please don’t say that. I’ve had a great time.”

“Give me a few minutes to get washed up, and
I’ll make you my special remedy for sleepless nights.”

“I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”

He reached out, ran his knuckles over her
cheek. “Just say, ‘Thank you.’”

“Thank you.” She smiled.

He hit the shower, brushed his teeth, then
dressed in a T-shirt and pair of sweatpants and walked to the
kitchen, where he found Janet reading yesterday’s paper, a silk
robe covering her nightgown, her feet bare.

She looked up. “How did it go tonight?”

While he heated milk in a saucepan on the
stove, he brought her up to date. “Luke identified Kip from a photo
lineup. Taylor says they’re going to bring Kip in tomorrow morning.
As soon as they get a warrant, they’ll search his place for
firearms. I wouldn’t have thought him capable of this, but I guess
you never know.”

“Why did you fire him?”

“He had a drinking problem. He never got
violent, but he did have a hard time presenting himself for work in
the morning. We gave him a few warnings. I even gave him time off
to go to alcohol treatment. But a few weeks ago, he missed his
shift again. I had to draw the line somewhere.”

“Was he resentful about being fired?”

“Not that I could tell. But enough already. I
don’t want you worrying about any of this.” Jack took the mug from
the microwave, sprinkled a bit of nutmeg into the milk. “Now we’re
ready for the secret ingredient.”

“Is that secret ingredient some form of
booze?” Her lips curved into a smile.

“Damn it, how did you know? It must be your
special agent training.”

She laughed. “Bourbon was the secret
ingredient in your chili. Hard cider was the secret ingredient in
your stew. Let’s just say I made an educated guess.”

“I feel transparent, exposed.” He got down a
bottle of Aberfeldy, poured out a shot, and stirred it into the
warm milk. “It’s bedtime. Let’s get back to your room.”

She pointed to the mug, confusion on her
pretty face. “Shouldn’t I drink that concoction first?”

He shook his head. “You’re going to be asleep
thirty seconds after you drink this, so unless you want to sleep on
the floor ... ”

She gave him a look that said she didn’t
believe him but grabbed her cane, got to her feet, and started down
the hallway.

When they reached her room, she slipped off
her bathrobe and sat on the edge of the bed, staring skeptically at
the mug in his hand.

He handed her the mug. “Drink it as fast as
you can.”

She took a sip, made a face, shuddered. “Oh,
God! That’s
awful
!”

“I didn’t say it would taste good.
Drink.”

She took a breath, clearly gathering her
resolve, then swallowed the drink in several deep gulps and
shuddered. “Oooh, God!”