Love Finds You in Last Chance, California (14 page)

Justin nodded and seemed to relax. “Thanks, ma’am, and I apologize for my surprise. Guess when I heard the name, I assumed that
Alex
would be a man.” He waited for Alex to sit and then followed suit, pulling Toby onto his lap. “I’m here because I’d like a job.” He held up a hand when she started to reply. “One thing, though—Toby is part of the deal. I won’t give him up. If that’s a problem, I’ll keep moving.” He settled back and wrapped his long, muscular arms around the boy, who appeared content to hold still for the moment.

“I see.” She glanced at his boots and then at his horse tied to the hitching rail. “Do you know horses? And—are you willing to work for a woman?” This time she held up her hand. “Just a moment. Let me clarify. I’ve lost a few hands who didn’t think a woman should be running a ranch. I assume you can ride, or you wouldn’t have a horse. Same with the rifle in your scabbard. But I don’t just need someone who can sit a saddle. I need someone knowledgeable about horses who will take orders from a woman without question.”

A small smile cut across the somber planes of Justin’s face and then deepened, creating a dimple at the corner of his mouth. “Reckon I can, ma’am, if they’re sensible orders. But I can’t promise not to question. I wouldn’t promise that to a man. And to answer the riding and shooting, I think I’ll do.”

Martha leaned forward and broke her silence. “I’ll take care of the boy, if you want to hire him. It would be a mercy to have a little one scampering around under foot again.”

Alex frowned and tilted her head. “Are you sure that would be wise, Martha? You have a lot of energy, but chasing a child around on top of all you do now?”

Joe cleared his throat and tapped his cane against the porch. “I’ll help. The boy can help me around the place, can’t you, boy?” He reached out to Toby and tweaked his nose, eliciting a giggle.

“Toby help. I wide the horsey.” He pointed across the grassy area toward the pasture where the mares and foals grazed.

Joe laughed and slapped his knee. “I declare, the boy has a one-track mind. Sure, lad, you can ride the horsey, if Miss Alex gives your pa a job.” He turned his gaze to Alex and raised bushy brows.

Alex grinned and shook her head. “Sounds like I’m not being given much of a choice….” She glanced at Justin, but her words came to a halt at the sound of a horse running up the lane. She pushed to her feet and shaded her eyes. “Uncle Joe, can you see who that is?”

Joe leaned on his cane at the edge of the porch and stared at the figure coming into sight. “Looks like Frank. He’s been out at the west pasture checkin’ on the stock. What’s got him so riled?”

Silence blanketed the group until the rider pulled his lathered horse to a sliding halt, throwing chunks of grass and gravel. “Joe, the horses…” He paused, drew a deep breath, and tried again. “I just came from the pasture on the far side of the valley. The geldings—they’re gone.”

Alex grabbed the snorting horse’s bridle and stared at Frank, certain she’d heard wrong. “Gone? What do you mean, gone?”

Frank drew a soiled handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his sweating neck. “I left them for an hour or so when I tracked one that wandered off. I found him, but when I got back, the rest was gone.”

Joe shook his head and rapped his cane against a nearby post. “Don’t make sense. You check for prints? See where they headed? Somethin’ must’a spooked ’em.”

“Yes, sir. I done that. Found shod prints pushing the herd into the brush. Tracked ’em for a while but figured I’d best get back here and let you know.”

Alex stepped closer to the rider. “You’re sure? How many shod horses? Could they be our riders?”

“I don’t think so. I didn’t recognize the tracks, and most of the boys are fixing fence right now. Davis and Will are on the other side of the plateau with the main band. There were only about thirty head, mostly geldings, and it looked to be only two riders pushin’ ’em.”

Joe started limping toward the steps, but Alex reached out and grasped his arm. “Uncle Joe, where are you going?”

“After those horse thieves, girl.” He brushed her hand off and turned away.

“No. I won’t have you riding. Doc said your hip won’t hold up. My horse is saddled and I’ll take Frank back with me.”

Justin took off his hat and ran his fingers through his dark blond hair. “You haven’t said whether I have a job, Miss Travers, but you can count me in.” He threw a glance at Martha, who held Toby’s hand. “That is, if Miss Martha will keep an eye on Toby.”

Martha nodded. “I’ll care for him, and my prayers go with you all.”

Alex threw her a grateful glance and turned to Justin. “I appreciate the offer, Mr. Phillips. You do this for me and you’ve got the job.”

He slapped his hat back on his head and met her eyes. “I’ll do it whether I get the job or not, ma’am.” He stalked to his horse, pulled the reins, and swung into the saddle. He turned his attention to the silent child standing by Martha. “You be a good boy, you hear?”

“Yes, Papa.” The little boy leaned his head against Martha’s skirt, and she stooped to place an arm around his shoulders.

Alex strode to the other end of the rail and untied her horse. She pulled a pair of gloves from her saddlebag and slipped them on. Catching movement from the corner of her eye, she jerked her head in time to see Joe sidle up next to Justin’s leg. She barely caught the low rumble of the older man’s voice.

“You watch out for my girl.”

Alex swung into her saddle and pulled her gelding’s head around. “I can take care of myself, Uncle Joe. You’d best tell him to watch out for himself.” She jerked her head toward the two waiting men. “Enough talk. Let’s find my horses.” She touched Banner’s flank with her heel and didn’t have to ask twice. The spirited gelding broke into a trot that quickly changed to a ground-eating canter.

Justin rode his liver-chestnut stallion in silence and watched the slim figure a few yards ahead. He’d made a fool of himself for the third time. After nearly knocking over the woman he now knew as Alexia Travers, he thought he’d done everything possible to make a bad impression. Why hadn’t he kept his shock to himself? Why hadn’t he paid attention when the parson referred to Alexia? He thought back to Ben Travers’s telegram mentioning Alex. All this time he’d assumed Alex to be a son, not the attractive woman riding in front of him like she’d lived most of her life on horseback.

She sat astride her mount wearing trousers, with no skirts to impede her movement, and a hat atop her small, attractive head. Her long, rich brown hair lay in a braid down her back, but a few strands had pulled loose and tossed in the breeze created by the fast-moving horse. She seemed focused on their task, riding with confidence and purpose.

He’d seen something in her face back at the ranch when Frank delivered his news: Vulnerability and a quick flash of uncertainty, both appearing for only a moment and gone so fast he’d almost doubted their appearance. A complex woman for sure—the kind he liked to avoid.

He turned to check on Frank. The wrangler lagged behind on his big chestnut gelding, allowing the horse to recover from his hard run across the valley floor. Or could there be another reason the man didn’t seem to be in a hurry to return? His mind flashed back to Travers’s warning that he keep quiet. Had some of his own wranglers been working against him?

The hill on the far side of the plateau finally came into view. Alex continued the brisk gallop across the grazing land, skillfully skirting the manzanita brush and gopher holes along the way. He’d doubted the wisdom of a woman riding along on a potentially dangerous mission, but she handled a horse as well as any man—better than most, in fact.

Alex slowed her horse and held up a gloved hand. “Frank.” She turned and waited for the wrangler. “Is this where the horses were when you headed into the hills after the stray?”

He drew up beside her and glanced around. “Yes, ma’am.” He pulled his horse to the side and pointed. “And there’s the tracks of the shod horses. I trailed them for about a half mile into the hills then doubled back to the ranch.”

Justin nudged his mount forward and leaned over the side, staring at the prints on the churned-up ground. “Looks like two shod horses loped into this area and swung around the band.”

He kept moving. Alex and Frank followed, but he didn’t look back. The band of horses was easy to trail, but the shod tracks appeared intermittently when a hoof landed on a bare patch of ground or chunks of grass were dislodged. “They’re headed toward the hills, all right, and being careful.” He gestured toward the direction Frank had indicated with a nod. “Want to go after them, Miss Travers?”

She shot him a glance and moved ahead. “That group of geldings was shipping to the army next week, and I can’t afford to lose them.” She touched a spur to the horse’s flank and surged forward. “Let’s go.”

The small group stayed close together for the next half mile, following the tracks as far as Frank had gone. Then they slowed to a trot. Alex scouted ahead, with Frank and Justin fanning to each side. As far as they could tell, no stragglers had dropped out or headed into the narrow canyons branching off to the right.

As the ground became steeper and rockier, the tracks grew less distinct and the riders were forced to slow to a walk. Alex waved an arm and brought the men to a halt. “There’s a shallow valley up over this ridge.” She pointed to the hills above them. “Move slow and keep your ears open.”

Justin loosened his rifle in its scabbard. It went against everything in his nature to allow Alex to take the lead, but seeing her determination, he kept quiet. It certainly wasn’t common for a woman to take charge of a ranch, but it wasn’t totally unheard of, either—especially when a death in the family forced her hand. But a woman leading a hunt for missing horses that could lead to a shoot-out? He shook his head. As much as he wanted a job, this might be more than he cared to tackle.

Of course, working for Travers’s daughter would enable him to settle his debt once and for all. And it seemed that Alex needed all the help she could get. The missing horses might have spooked and the shod-horse tracks been made by the other wranglers, but Justin doubted it. What was it that Travers had written? “
Ranch in trouble and life in danger.”
Was there more to his death than a heart attack and a fall from his horse? The doctor didn’t seem to think so. But something about the horses’ disappearance didn’t sit right with Justin.

They worked their way around loose boulders and skirted a small section of shale, slowing the ascent. Justin watched the trim figure ahead with grudging admiration. She hadn’t done anything foolish so far, and hopefully there wouldn’t be a problem on the far side of this ridge.

Alex pulled up her horse before she crested the ridge. She stepped off and hunkered down against the ground. Smart. She didn’t plan on sky-lining herself where a potential attacker on the other side could take a shot.

Justin eased himself from the saddle and looked around at Frank, who spat a stream of tobacco against a rock before stepping down, as well. Justin led his horse the last few paces.

Alex looked from one to the other. “Ready?”

Frank let loose another stream of tobacco and nodded. Justin pulled his rifle from his saddle and moved to her side. “Let’s go.”

She glanced at the rifle then turned to her horse and withdrew hers. “Right. Keep a sharp eye out.”

They ground-hitched their horses and moved on silent feet for the last few yards, bending low and keeping their heads down. No one spoke for several minutes as they crested the ridge and surveyed the small valley below. Finally Alex eased back and dropped down on a rock. She glanced from one to the other. “The horses aren’t there.”

Justin set his rifle butt on the ground and nodded. “Want to wait a few minutes and then take a look?”

Frank bit back a curse. “I tell you, the riders moved them horses into this valley. You seen the tracks.”

Alex pulled off her hat and plunked it on the rock nearby. “Well, they’re gone now. There’s no rocks or brush big enough to hide them.”

“So whadda we do now?” Frank let loose with another stream, which hit a small pebble, making it bounce.