Facing the Fire Page 7

  But until he met the man in person, Brandt was keeping them to himself.

  He wasn't stupid. Maggie had it bad for that cowboy. Brandt knew how to behave.

  "I'm ok. Resolved. Brandt, I want you to meet a close friend of mine. Marin Talley. Her family owns the diner and the inn. Her sister Miranda is the woman who smuggled me and Violet to Mel in the first place."

  He took a long look. Beautiful, in an ethereal way, with blond hair barely touched by gold red, if you looked close enough. The eyes were huge and blue and dominated.

  The woman held a thin hand out to him. He shook it and let it go. Fast.

  "Yes. You will do, Mr. Barratt. Welcome to Masterson County, you'll find exactly what you are looking for here."

  He shot her a look of surprise, then glanced at Maggie. "Excuse me?"

  "Don't mind Marin. She reads auras."

  "Yours is a beautiful jade, Mr. Barratt. It will match well...with who you will find here." The blonde stood, a mysterious smile on her lips. One that shouted happiness. What a strange duck, his grandmother would have said. "Maggie, sweetie, I'm going to tell you again. Stay right where you're at. It will benefit you all the most. Mr. Barratt, I'm going to head to the kitchen. Check on something with my baby sister. Welcome, and we'll have your room ready when you get to the inn."

  With that, the odd blond walked away.

  Leaving him looking at Maggie with utter confusion filling him. "What was that about? Auras?"

  "I don't get it either, but she's an excellent judge of character and she seems to know who will...meld...as she calls it. A word of advice—if Marin ever tells you to duck, hit the ground, fast. She's never wrong. It's rather annoying, really."

  "I see." Brandt said, watching the woman as she stopped to say hello to an older man with gilded blond hair and an expensive suit. She disappeared into the kitchen.

  "So...why are you really here?" she asked, as a woman called out from the kitchen.

  The blonde reappeared, a younger brunette with hair just touched with red at her side. She was redheaded, but didn't resemble Maggie in the least. He’d gotten the impression just about every redhead in her county was a cousin or something. "Relative?"

  "Not really. A few cousins off the tree. That's Meyra, Marin's younger sister. She’s very shy and quiet, so be nice."

  "I see." Brandt studied the girl carefully. Beautiful, in that wholesome cowgirl kind of way. Her cheeks were milk pale. The eyes, were huge and innocent. So damned innocent the sweetness radiated from her. The exact opposite kind of woman he routinely engaged with.

  That was one reason he was so fascinated by Maggie at times. She was real.

  As real as his cousin Houghton's wife Mel, his cousin Clay's wife Bailey, and his cousin Turner's wife Annie, now that they were around all the time. They were real, kind, snarky, intelligent, and fascinating. He envied his cousins a great deal. That didn't mean he was ready for a woman like them of his own. Not like Mel had been hinting. Said a woman would settle the restlessness in his soul, or something like that.

  Mel was a real romantic at heart.

  She'd tried to set him up with Maggie at least three times in the last five months. While he adored Maggie—he wanted nothing more than friendship.

  Maggie felt the same. They’d had a lot of fun yanking Mel’s chain, though, during those five months.

  Brandt look at the blonde and her sister again; the redhead in the apron with the big green eyes and the hair in two thin braids...was gorgeous. Definitely worth a second or third look, too.

  Too bad he wasn't in Masterson County looking for romance. Not that he would ever look in that direction—a woman like her shouted commitment. That wasn’t Brandt’s thing.

  Yet.

  It was in the plans, just several years down the road.

  He was there to build an empire. Something his future family would be proud of. It was time he got started. "I'm looking for ranches to buy. Every single one that's out there and for sale that meets my standards; they’re going to be mine."

  Maggie gave a breathless squeal that had attention shifting their way for a moment. She practically clapped her hands. "You're really doing it? The plan?"

  He and Maggie were both planners, at heart. She was the one person who knew exactly what he planned, and what motivated him. When he’d learned her rancher-cop had come for her yesterday, he’d decided there was no time like the present to start going after his own future.

  That would let him keep an eye on Maggie right now, too.

  "Yes. It's time to get started. I can't let Powell keep being the overachiever." He had two older brothers and a twin sister who had already made names for themselves in Finley Creek. He wasn't exactly the family screw up, but he'd been working for ten years to build his property management and construction companies into what they were today. But in Texas, his name blended in with all the other Barratts of Texas.

  He wanted to see what he could make on his own. To see what he could do, without his name paving the way.

  Now it was time to branch out. And that meant anywhere other than Texas.

  Masterson seemed like a good place to start.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. Talk to Flo, Marin’s grandmother. She’ll know every ranch up for sale right now.”

  “I’ll do that. Now…truth…how is the cowboy treating you?”

  A confused look went through the blue eyes he loved so much.

  Yep. Brandt had suspected all along, even with what she’d told him—Maggie had it bad for her cowboy. Still.

  Head-over-heels and hiding it from herself.

  Brandt was going to have to do his best to make sure the cowboy deserved her.

  Good thing he wasn’t going anywhere for a while.

  14

  Violet was not happy. Clint knew it with one look. She wanted something that he couldn't give her. He knew exactly who she wanted. He wanted the exact same woman.

  "Mag-mag!" The big eyes were wet and the little mouth trembled, absolutely destroying Clint.

  "Maggie will be back in a little bit, honey. But Daddy’s here." He lifted his daughter and carried her to the rocker in the living room. He'd rocked her there a hundred times before. It took little time to get her to sleep. He considered putting her in her crib, or at least the playpen nearby, but he'd missed five months with his daughter. He wanted to hold her as much as he could now.

  Violet was happy, healthy, and utterly beautiful. But she was a lot of work. Maggie had taken care of her so well while they'd been apart. It was obvious she loved Violet.

  He wanted nothing more than for Maggie to see that he and Violet loved her, too.

  Fear of losing Maggie had him staring out the window while his daughter slept on his shoulder. He had just shifted her to her playpen when someone knocked on the door. Clint answered before the knocking and the dog barking woke his baby.

  Rex stood on his porch, dressed in casual clothes for once. Clint opened the door and waved the other man in. Rex would stop by occasionally. He was about the only man who would.

  Rex stopped by the playpen and watched Violet sleeping for a moment. "She's gotten even prettier. Prettiest baby I've seen in a while."

  "I know."

  "Odd, since she looks just like you."

  "No kidding." There were tiny hints of Amy, but not many. Grief hit him. The knowledge that she'd never gotten to see the baby she had loved so much would always hurt. Always. "What are you doing here?"

  "We have a problem."

  "You have a problem. I'm not touching anything law enforcement related with a ten-foot pole." He'd made himself a vow the day he'd finished that last case. He wanted nothing more to do with the seedier side of life. He was going to surround himself with the land and the mountains and the animals—and try to forget the animal that was humanity. "I'm a rancher now. And that's it. I have other, more important things to worry about now."

  "I know. Where is Maggie, by the way?"

  "Doctor and lunch w
ith a friend of hers." Maggie was eager to jump back into the life she'd left before—with everyone but him. He suspected she was going to find ways to spend as little time at the ranch with him as possible during those damned two weeks of hers. Clint was going to have to find a way around that. "What do you need?"

  "Someone has been digging around in Clive's old files. Some boxes have gone missing. And I can’t seem to locate some evidence reports. I was wondering if you had copies." Rex sent him a level look. "I know you've copied everything that man touched when he was the sheriff. I want to make certain you’re not accused of tampering with anything. There are a few people who are still pissed at what happened. And I want to compare what you have versus what I’ve found for inconsistencies."

  "They’ll have to get over it. I've got copies of everything from when he was sheriff of Masterson County before Joel Masterson." Clint shot a level look at the other man. Rex was a force of nature. And a master manipulator. If he wanted something from Clint, he could just about damned well get it. "You are welcome to copies of everything I have. That's it."

  “I’d appreciate your help.”

  “I still have about a dozen of his case files to go over, then you are on your own. I…need to forget Clive and what he’s done to screw with my life. Need to move forward with Maggie and the kids.”

  Someone else would have to clean up after Clive. Clint had turned over everything he thought was important—to Rex, and to Joel Masterson. Two of the only cops out there he trusted. He’d also sent copies to Miranda. Just to be on the safe side. Dated, time-stamped, official copies of everything—to cover his own ass. She was keeping them in her home office for him. And he’d sent copies to her official FBI: PAVAD email. And paper copies to her home.

  Just in case someone lied.

  Whatever happened next with it was up to them. "I have more important things to focus on. Like the fact that the woman having my baby in less than two months wants absolutely nothing to do with me. I have less than two weeks to change her mind."

  Rex swore. "How are you going to do that?”

  "I don't have a clue. She's agreed to stay here for a few weeks. I'm going to do my best to show her I'm not such a loser, after all."

  "Good luck with that. How can any man ever know what a woman wants, anyway?"

  "I have no clue." The dog barked from the porch. He always stayed there, watching over his kingdom. He’d shown up as a half-grown pup four years ago and stayed. Amy hadn’t had the heart to get rid of him. Neither had Clint.

  Now he adored the idiot. So did Maggie.

  The dog was barking his excited, happy bark. Clint checked the window as Marin’s little SUV bulleted up the drive. That woman…she was a traffic cop’s dream—speed, speed, and more speed.

  “Maggie’s back.”

  “Then I guess you’d better get started convincing her to stay, then.”

  “No kidding.”

  15

  "Thanks for the ride," Maggie said again as Marin drove like a demon over the potholes in Clint's half a mile long driveway. He’d somehow found time to clear the last of the melting snow and ice off the drive, but that didn’t help. The holes were deep—and sloshy. "But can you try to avoid the potholes? Every time you hit one, I have to pee even more."

  "I'd slow down—but then you may go tinkle in my passenger seat." Marin shot her a wicked smile. This was a familiar argument. Marin was terrifying behind the wheel. She hadn’t gotten any less terrifying behind the wheel in the five months Maggie was gone. "So what will it be?"

  "Whatever it is, I need a bathroom soon. Baby is jumping around in there today." She instinctively looked for Clint’s new truck, but it must have been in the barn. The place looked deserted. He must have taken Violet in the truck with him to clear the long drive, then put the truck in the barn to remove the plow.

  It looked abandoned now.

  Scary.

  Maggie pushed aside the memories. She wasn’t about to let herself be afraid of Clint’s house. No more.

  The dog greeted them when they arrived, with a soft woof and ridiculous snuggles for affection. Maggie didn't stop to pat him on the head. It wouldn't matter, the dog was fully in love with Marin, anyway.

  When Marin was around, no one else existed.

  Maggie had one objective in mind: t

  he bathroom at the end of the hall between her bedroom and Clint's.

  She barely even registered the sight of two far-too-handsome men in the living room watching every move she made.

  Clint and Rex stared at the redheaded whirlwind as she booked it as fast as she could down the hallway. Clint knew what that most likely meant, and he smiled. "It's a long drive from town."

  "No kidding," a smooth female voice said, from his front doorway. Marin stepped in. She'd been in and out of his place a hundred times when Maggie was his housekeeper. She and a few of her cousins were close friends of Maggie's. They’d always brought life and laughter with them when they’d come for Maggie. "I wasn't certain we weren't going to have to pull off alongside the driveway. Hiya, boys, you’re both looking rather…healthy…today.”

  Rex practically growled.

  She turned to the other man in the room. "Commander Weatherby, I almost didn’t recognize you without the undertaker suit." Her expression told them both what she thought about Rexford Weatherby. And it wasn’t favorable.

  Rex practically growled.

  She could be just as contrary as her older sister when it came to needling a man. Not many people even attempted to needle Rex Weatherby.

  No nice to see you for Rex, apparently. They'd met before, on the case where Maggie had been targeted. Rex and Marin hadn't exactly clicked back then. No surprise there, by the book Rex and free-spirit Marin were as opposite as two people could be.

  "Hello, Madam Zelda, you predict the future any today?" Rex mocked.

  "Of course. I just knew to wear my shit-kicking boots today." She shot him a beautiful smile as she slipped out of her coat. Marin was a gorgeous woman—Clint had seen grown men stutter when she smiled. Rex just scowled, apparently immune. “Bend over, Commander. It's time to get kicked."

  Rex almost growled again. Those two were going to tear each other apart someday. Clint had to admit it would be entertaining to watch. On the sidelines, far from the fireworks. With flack jacket on.

  "Hey, don't wake my kid, you two. Marin, thanks for giving Maggie a ride today." Clint stepped between the two, to play peacemaker.

  "Anytime. Maggie’s ordered a delivery from the diner—we do that now, by the way—for dinner. So I'm staying. I'm here to play with my little god-niece when she wakes. And we're going to look at furniture ideas for the house Maggie plans."

  "Rex and I have some paperwork to go through in my office. You think you can keep to your corner if I keep him to his?" Clint shot a look at the other man.

  He was glowering, straight at Marin. She wore a flowing skirt with a silk scarf tied around her waist today. There was a matching scrap of silk tied around one thin wrist to flow as she moved. The collar of her sweater was cut low, to hint at what was beneath.

  She looked good. And she knew it.

  Rex’s dark jeans and sweatshirt did nothing to disguise what a dangerous asshole he was.

  The two were polar opposites—who he didn’t fully trust to behave themselves if he left them alone. Neither one of them had what exactly could be called filters.

  "I think I'll be fine. Maggie needs me tonight. She's a bit unsettled." She shot Clint a mild look. "Your doing, I believe, big guy."

  He didn't say anything. Maggie was heading back down the hall and Violet was fussing from her playpen.

  Maggie stepped over to the baby. "Hi, baby. Did you have fun with Daddy today?"

  "Mag-mag! Up!"

  Maggie bent over and scooped his daughter into her arms. She turned toward him and smiled. A beautiful, perfect smile. For him. For a while there he’d thought he’d never see that smile again.

  "Hi. Did
she have a good day?"

  Clint just nodded, unable to speak.

  His whole world was right there, looking directly at him.

  Marin laughed.

  "The man has it bad for you, Mag. I see real drool now. And not from Vi," Marin said. "Give her over. I've spent five months not getting cuddles. It's time you shared.”

  Maggie handed the baby to her friend. "Be careful. She's soaked."

  Marin was already grabbing for a dry blanket and diaper from the stack nearby. "I'll change her and then we'll sit in the living room and make jokes about Clint and his little buddy here, while we wait for Meyra to deliver dinner. And you can tell me more about that hot rich guy who followed you back from Finley Creek. I was practically drooling eating lunch with him today. Talk about a beautiful, beautiful man. We rarely see them that tall and broad shouldered around here. Those eyes, and those shoulders…seriously yummy."

  "What?" Clint couldn't help himself. It just slipped out. "Who?"

  "A friend from Finley Creek is temporarily moving to Masterson. He's going to be buying some of the local ranches to start some sort of agri-business industry up here or something. I'm not clear on what he does. But he's excited. It could bring good things here. He texted me this morning to let me know he's in town. He joined us for lunch today. He and his twin sister were some of my closest friends in Texas. I'm glad Brandt's here."

  Clint just stared like an idiot.

  He’d just known there would be a bunch of rich assholes sniffing around her, down there. Clint just

  hadn’t expected one to follow her back to Masterson. Not so soon.

  Marin shot Clint a wicked look as she carried the baby down the hall toward the nursery for her diaper change. "Don't worry, big guy, he's not for Maggie—he'll marry a Talley before too much longer. Not me, though. But that’s our little secret.”

  "Seriously?" Rex rumbled next to Clint. "Now she matchmakes, too?"

  Marin didn't hear him; she was already well down the hall. Maggie headed down the hall to put her bag in her room.