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She walked into the room and sat on the arm of the couch. “Cody—”
“Geez, Mom, lay off, will ya? I’m sorry I brought up the lousy game. I thought you would be thrilled.” He turned his attention toward the TV, drank his lemonade and effectively ignored his mother.
After counting to ten, Dani said, “I’m glad you had a good time with Shane. I’m also happy that you enjoyed your game and that you won, but I’m just not that crazy about the gambling.”
“Why not?”
“Usually, when people gamble, somebody loses money they can’t afford.”
“Then they shouldn’t bet,” Cody said philosophically.
“Precisely.”
Cody slid her a knowing glance. “You’re just mad because of Dad, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard you say that Dad gambled all of his money away. Somethin’ about the cash he got from Caleb Johnson for his land. He went to Las Vegas or somethin’. Right?”
“Reno,” she replied woodenly. “But how did you know—”
“I heard you say a couple of things and then some of the kids at school. . . .” He shrugged one shoulder as if the subject were of total disinterest to him.
“Let me guess: Isabelle Reece.”
Cody grinned and finished his drink. “Yeah. Not too hard to figure, huh?”
Dani pursed her lips together. “Seems that Isabelle’s father knows more about our family than he does his own.”
“Maybe his own family is boring.”
“I’d be glad to take a little of that boredom right about now,” she whispered, slapping Cody’s knee affectionately. “Listen, Diamond Jim, just try not to get into any high-stakes poker games, okay?”
Cody laughed and nodded as he handed his mother his empty glass. “Okay, Mom. It’s a deal.”
It had better be, she told herself as she walked back to the kitchen and tried not to compare her son with his father.
* * *
The moonlight created a silvery ribbon that danced and fluttered on the rippling water. Chase waded carefully under the fence while darting glances up the hill toward Dani’s house. Nervous sweat ran down his neck and between his shoulder blades. If Dani caught him now....
Silently cursing himself for his duplicity, he carefully took the water and soil samples he needed, quickly labeling each one with the aid of a flashlight and waterproof pen.
“Damn you, Johnson,” he muttered, moving downstream and working as quietly as possible. His waders slid on the rocky bottom of the creek, but he managed to stay on his feet and slip the vials into his creel.
The sound of the rushing water filled his ears, but still he strained to listen for any noise disturbing the night and hoped against hope that Dani was safely tucked in bed and sleeping soundly. He heard the distant sound
of a dog barking and Runt’s sharp answer.
Go back to sleep, Chase thought. Whatever you do, dog, don’t wake the house! But Dani’s cabin remained dark, no lights flickered on.
By this time Chase had made his way to the cottonwood stand and he had to bend to avoid the overhanging branches of the scrub oaks and cottonwood trees. It was darker in the thicket, more private, but he couldn’t help feeling that he was betraying Dani even as he tried to help her.
You’re just trying to get to the bottom of this, he told himself for the thousandth time. And you can’t tell her what you’ve found until you’re sure.
Runt barked again and this time the sound was much closer. Chase froze. Damn! He squinted through the branches but could see nothing but the dark shapes of the cattle slowly moving in the adjoining fields.
Letting out a relieved breath, he placed the final sample in his creel and decided to get out while the getting was good.
