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“But what reason would I have to do that?”
“Make up one,” Laredo told her and went inside.
The scrape of hooves digging for purchase warned Jessy that Culley had started the climb. She moved quickly to the truck to watch for him. A few faint noises came from the cabin. Jessy could only guess at the source of them, but she suspected Laredo was spiriting Chase out of the cabin through one of the rear windows. All the while her mind raced to come up with a plausible story, but there simply wasn’t a logical reason to repair the old line shack. Her only choice was to come up with a completely illogical story.
A half minute later, Jessy spotted the dusty top of Culley’s hat. Within seconds more of it bobbed into view. The instant she could make out the brim, Jessy went through the motions of pretending to put something in the back of the truck, then made a natural swing around to make it appear that she’d caught sight of him at almost the same second that Culley saw her.
“Hi, Culley. I didn’t expect to see you out this way.” Her heart was hammering like that of a cornered rabbit, but she managed to sound unconcerned when she called to him, fully aware that her raised voice would alert Laredo. Culley immediately pulled up, and Jessy motioned him forward. “Come see the way we’ve been able to fix up this old line shack.”
The instant the invitation was issued, Jessy set out for the cabin, confident that her offhand manner coupled with Culley’s curiosity would impel him to follow her. The ploy worked as Culley rode his horse the rest of the way up the slope.
By then Laredo had already emerged from the cabin, communicating to Jessy with a small reassuring nod that Chase had made it safely out of the cabin. A second later, Laredo showed Culley a sunny smile and a fresh-faced innocence that was wholly deceptive.
Jessy threw a quick glance at Culley and saw the suspicious way he looked at Laredo. “Oh, Culley, I almost forgot—this is Laredo Smith. I hired him to do the repairs here. Laredo, this is Culley O’Rourke, the twins’ great-uncle.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. O’Rourke,” Laredo drawled.
Culley stared back at him, unfazed by the big grin. “Saw you at the funeral.”
“Oh, you mean Chase’s. I was there sure enough, but I can’t say I remember seeing you.”
“You talk like you’re from Texas.” Culley’s statement bordered on an accusation.
“It shows, don’t it,” Laredo replied easily.
Hattie picked that moment to step outside, drawing Culley’s attention. “I thought I heard you talking to someone,” she said, her smile pleasant but curious.
That’s when Jessy realized that she still didn’t know the exact relationship between Laredo and Hattie. She had no choice but to make up her own.
“This is Laredo’s mother, Hattie. Culley O’Rourke.”
“How do you do, Mr. O’Rourke? I’m sorry you didn’t arrive sooner. You could have joined us for lunch. But the coffee is still hot if you would like a cup.”
“No, thanks.” Culley continued to sit on his horse, both hands resting on the saddle horn while he openly studied the woman. She was tall and firmly muscled, making her a little on the thick side. His glance kept going back to the cowboy boots she wore while he tried to figure out if they were big enough to have made the prints he saw at the cemetery. It seemed possible that they might have, even though it hadn’t entered into his calculations that the second person there could have been a woman.
“Ty would really be pleased if he saw this place now,” Jessy murmured, drawing Culley’s glance to her. “We used to talk about someday fixing up the old Boar’s Nest so we could have a place where we could get away by ourselves, without phones or interruptions.”
Hearing Jessy spout such foolishness took her down another notch in Culley’s estimation. One thing Culley knew for sure, if Chase were still alive he wouldn’t have thrown good money away on repairs to this old shack. He wondered if Jessy knew that and whether that was part of the reason she had hired an outsider to do the work.
All of which raised the question of how Jessy had become acquainted with the Texan. But it wasn’t part of Culley’s nature to come right out and ask. His approach was more roundabout.
“Guess you’ll be goin’ back t’ Texas now that you’re done,” he said to Laredo.
“Not for a while,” he answered.
“Laredo just agreed to come to work for the Triple C,” Jessy explained. “I’m making a deal to lease the old feedlot to Monte Markham, and he’ll pay the ranch to feed the cattle, which means I’ll need some extra hands.”
Her announcement was another surprise to Culley. He couldn’t help thinking that Chase hadn’t been in his grave a month yet and already the face of the Triple C was changing. And not for the better.
“Guess you ain’t got nothin’ to draw ya back to Texas,” Culley remarked, trying to figure out how much this Laredo fellow might have influenced Jessy’s decisions.
“Not anymore,” Jessy answered for him. “They recently sold the ranch they had down there. That’s how they knew Chase.”
“Good friend, was he?” Culley said in a voice thick with skepticism.
“Obviously we never saw him all that often,” Hattie admitted smoothly, “but we counted him as a friend.”
Culley decided at once that Hattie had probably set her cap for Chase. She certainly wouldn’t have been the first woman who did. His own opinion of Chase Calder had never been all that high, but Culley had never been able to fault him when it came to the love he had shown for Maggie.
