Diamond in the Rough (Precious Gems) (6 page)

“Yes, I was.  Is there a problem?”  Cheyenne asked.

“You are lucky that he didn’t kill you.  He has not been
ridden in over three years and was a rodeo horse that Charles bought to breed.  It is not safe to ride him.”  Maria explained.

“Did you hear what I said?  I was shot at and he saved my life.  I don’t care how long it has been since he has been ridden.  He did wonderful with me.
I would say that I am lucky that whoever was shooting at me did not kill me.  How long will it be until the vet gets here?’ Cheyenne demanded. 

Before Maria could respond
, a large Ford truck pulled into the drive way.  A stocky older man jumped from the driver’s door and ran to the wounded horse.  As he began to work he said, “I am Doc West.  Maria said this horse was shot.  How did it happen?”

Cheyenne explained what had transpired as Doc
began to work on the animal.  Shaking his head, he filled the gash with salve, before giving him an injection and began stitching the wound. 

“We are lucky, the bullet just grazed him.  Flesh wounds on a horse bleed pretty badly though.  We just need to watch him for infection for the next week.”

“Doc, aren’t you going to say something to her for riding him?” Maria asked with a knowing look. 

“I figure that she is a grown woman and can ride just about anything that she sets her mind to.  If she was able to ride him, then I guess he is good with her.” The doctor shot back.

“Thank you Doc.”  Cheyenne said gratefully as she rolled her eyes in Maria’s direction.  

Maria walked back into the house and shut the door behind her.  Cheyenne led the injured horse back to the stall and put the salve Doc had left with
her into the tack room. 

“That woman is spiteful
.  Charles was too old to try and ride Blaze, but that did not make the horse unable to be ridden.    She pushed him to put the horse down many times.  It was almost as if she was jealous of him.” He said. 

“
Charles fell just short of moving him into the house when he first bought him.”  Doc laughed as he ran his hand down the muscular flank, admiring the animal.  “He sure is a fine horse.”

After Cheyenne got the horse settled, she changed pants and sat at the table to eat
lunch.  She was clearly shaken up but was determined to keep her composure.  She wouldn’t tolerate another break down like she had earlier.  Cold cuts and cheese were laid out but Maria was nowhere in sight.  Just as she was taking a bite of sandwich there was a knock at the front door.

“Come in!” Cheyenne screamed from the table. 
  Detective Brian Russell entered the room looking as handsome as he had the night before.  Today, he wore starched jeans and a button up western shirt.  Cheyenne had not had time to notice his appearance earlier during all of the commotion.

  “I was just about to have lunch if you would like to join me…” Cheyenne asked hopefully.  Brian was stunned
, but the thought of sharing a meal with her brightened his day. 

“Yea, that’s sounds great.” 

“Did you find anything?” she asked hopefully.  The look on his face told her that he had not. 

“Patrolme
n are still searching the tree line, but I think that whoever shot at you is long gone.  Has anything weird or out of place happened today?” He asked.

“You mean something weirder than someone shooting at me?” Cheyenne exclaimed.
  The sarcasm was not intended for Brian but his face flinched none the less.

 
“Every since the will reading this morning I have had an uneasy feeling.  I can’t explain it but it is overpowering.”

“It’s
way too early to have a will reading.  The autopsy isn’t even complete.  What are these people thinking?  Anyway, what happened at the reading?” he asked, full of concern.  Cheyenne recounted the video to Brian as he sat, hanging on her every word.

“Five million?” he questioned.

  “That doesn’t sound right.  Charles was worth far more than that.  Were there any provisions for the rest of the money?” he asked as he pursed his lips together.

“No, but that was not what made me feel on edge,” she explained.  “I went to the stable after a confrontation with Jason and he followed me there.  I completely lost my composure and he comforted me but I still had t
he feeling I was being watched,” she stated, making sure to avoid the details of her breakdown.  It made her feel weak and vulnerable and that did not set well with her.

“Now that I think about it though, I had the same feeling last night when we spoke on the patio. It was like someone was watching every move I made.  I confronted Maria after you left.  She actually told me that she felt it was part of her job to eavesdrop.  It was bizarre behavior, but I did let her know that I expect
ed privacy.”

“Well, to be honest with you, the chief asked me if I thought you needed a guard.  At the time, I told him no, but now
, I know that I was wrong.   Whoever killed your father is still out there and we don’t know why he was murdered; now you’ve been shot at.” He explained. As he spoke, Cheyenne was mesmerized by his full pink lips.  With every word he formed the shape of his lips changed making them pucker occasionally and her imagination ran wild.  Realizing what she was doing, she looked away, embarrassed but full of lust. 

“If you like
, I can take the assignment but it would need to start no later than tomorrow morning.”    The thought did not completely throw Cheyenne off.  She knew that something about this place gave her the creeps and she would rather be protected than not.  The idea of having Brian around for a while was comforting and even a bit exciting.  She had only known him for a little over twenty four hours but she already felt like she had known him a lifetime.  The ease with which she could talk to him amazed her.  If anyone would have to babysit her she would rather that it be him. 

“I think your right Brian and I would prefer if you were assigned to do it.” 

“For the night, I will post guards at your door and I will move in tomorrow morning.”

“The results are back from the autopsy. 
The toxicology report will not be back for a week or so but the physical exam states that the cause of death is from a single gunshot wound to the temple.  At least we know that is was from a nine millimeter.” 

She took all the information in.  Sitting silently, she stared into his eyes.  “Do you have any leads?” she inquired. 

“None that I am at liberty to discuss at this point, but as soon as I can talk freely about it, you will be the first to know
,” he informed her.   

Both sat making small talk as they ate their lunch.  She enjoye
d hearing about his career.  Cheyenne noticed how his eyes brightened when he talked about it and she knew that he truly loved it.  It was refreshing to see someone enjoy their profession so much.  She had never loved her job and it had become a place she was forced to go in order to pay the bills.  Now that she had five million dollars, she had not thought much about what she would do for a living.  Knowing that the corporate world was not her cup of tea, she was sure that she would not be stepping into her father’s company.  Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone coming into the room.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Ed Crowley said as he shuffled to the table.

“Where have you been Ed?”
Cheyenne asked.

“I took a nap in one of the guest rooms.  I wanted to speak with you before I left but when I looked up, you were gone.”
  Ed explained.

“Mr. Crowley, I am Detective Brian Russell with the HPD.  Can you have a seat and answer a few questions for me?”

Ed Crowley sat at the dining table and reached for a slice of cheese to snack on as the detective withdrew a worn notepad from his breast pocket.

“Mr. Crowley, what was the purpose of having the will reading so quickly?”

Ed Crowley sat silent for a moment.  A look of deep reflection crossed his face as his eyes drew almost shut, squinting at the young detective. 

“Charles would have wanted it that way.  There was no sense in delaying the proceedings once Cheyenne arrived anyway.  Her lack of attendance would have been the only reason to postpone.” 

“It just seems rather sudden considering that his autopsy is not even complete.” The detective quipped.

             
“Charles was an impulsive man Detective Russell.  He would have had it no other way.”

             
      Cheyenne contemplated his statement for a while.  This man seemed to have known her father well.  She felt a fondness for this gentleman even though she had only just met, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was still so much more to find out. 

             
“Can you get me a copy of the video?” The seasoned detective inquired of the Ed.

            
“I will have my secretary forward one to the precinct as soon as possible.”

             
          “You can just messenger it here.  I will be staying for the foreseeable future.  Someone shot at Cheyenne today while she was riding in the front pasture.”

             
“Oh, my dear,” Charles began as he reached out for her hand. “Are you okay?”

             
          “I am fine Mr. Crowley, just a little shook up.  They hit Blaze though.  He was just grazed, but he’ll be down for a while.”

             
       “I can’t imagine who would do such a thing.  Detective, I hope you catch the person.” Ed said compassionately.

             
    “Cheyenne, I will schedule lunch with you at another time.  We can sit and talk and get to know each other properly.” He bent and kissed her cheek as he left.

             
      Brian was staring at her when she returned her attention to him.  There was no price she could put on the sense of wellbeing she felt when she learned he would be staying with her.  Cheyenne knew that Brian was a special man.  She had never encountered someone who could put her at ease as quickly as Brian did.  Not wanting to be a tired cliché she did not try to convince herself that he was her soul mate, but defiantly someone she was interested in getting to know better. 

Cheyenne dreaded infor
ming Maria of the detective’s plans.  She would surely have an opinion and Cheyenne was convinced that the she wouldn’t like it.  The women had already gotten off to a bad start.  Maria came off as nosy, opinionated women who had no boundaries if she did not agree with the topic.  At times she could be sweet but other times it was obvious she had a hateful streak a mile wide.  Cheyenne decided that Maria would just have to understand, after all, this was her home now. 

As the evening began to wind down, Brian left and Maria and
Cheyenne cleaned from the day of company.

“Cheyenne, this is my job.  I can ma
nage by myself,” Maria insisted.

  “I have never had anyone wait on me except at a restaurant.  I don’t mi
nd helping, it makes me feel useful,” Cheyenne said. 

The two women made small ta
lk for a while when Maria said, “I am going out of town tomorrow morning.  The house on Galveston Island needs to be opened and I would really like to see it again, since it now belongs to me.”

  Cheyenne was excited.  Now, she didn’t have to explain Brian’s presence and the thought of having the whole house to their selves gave her butterflies in her stomach.

“Do you know how long you’ll be gone?”  Cheyenne asked. 

“Probably just a few days,” Maria replied as she wiped down the kitchen counters and turned out the light above the sink.
 

“I would like to talk to you about Jason also,” she added. 

“I know that you have had a lot of change in the past day, but I need for you to listen to me.  I think that Jason is responsible for Charles’s murder.  He had been sending threatening letters to your father for the past year, although Charles did not believe me when I told him of my suspicions.  You need to be careful in your dealings with him.  He is a dangerous man in many ways.  I would bet that he was the one who shot at you today.” 

Cheyenne was stunned.  She knew that Maria had a distaste for Jason but she had no idea that it ran this deep. 

“Maria, do you mind me asking why you dislike Jason so much?” Cheyenne asked.

“There are many reasons that will be revealed
all in good time,” she said as she flipped off the lights in the kitchen. 

“So no explanation tonight?” Cheyenne pressed.

“Not tonight but maybe another time,” Maria said with finality in her voice that Cheyenne picked up on.

  “Detective Russell seems to think
that I need protection.  He’ll be moving in tomorrow morning.” Cheyenne said, confused as to why she decided to tell Maria.  Maybe it was just to ruffle her feathers a bit.

Maria stopped straightening the pillows on the couch and stood up.  A strange look came over her face.  Cheyenne could almost see the sweat break out over her top lip.