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“She knows you too well,” Snake chortled. “Good to meet you, Wren. Watch this guy. He’s all attitude and mouth. I’m going to get Sophia. Do you want me to take her to the barn?”
“You’re a load of laughs this morning,” I told him, chuckling at the way Wren was nodding in agreement. “And I’ll do it. Correction. We’ll do it. Won’t we, my wayward bird?” I pulled her to the fence, tipping my head toward the sky. “Besides, I thought maybe you’d like to see the ranch.”
“I’d love to, but not on horseback. It’s been years,” Wren admitted. “Although I miss being around horses.” The look in her eyes gave me pause. She was so enamored that it made me realize how much I’d taken for granted over the years.
“It’s like riding a bike. Horses know when their human is scared. They are highly intelligent.”
“Not a chance, cowboy. But they are majestic animals. Do you have any idea why someone shot two of them?”
“Not a clue.” I wasn’t prepared to get into any conspiracy theories at the point. I just might scare her away.
“Why do I have a feeling you’re not telling me something?”
As Snake led Sophia toward us, I took a deep breath. “I’ll never lie to you. That’s not the kind of man I am. There’s just no indication of why or who at this point. Gage is working on it.”
“You’re close with the sheriff.”
“We go back a lot of years.” As Sophia whinnied, I studied the smile on Wren’s face. She was a ray of sunshine in yet another dark period of my life. I could almost see having her around for a long time.
The thought was as terrifying as it was riveting. We weren’t a good match. It wasn’t just about our age difference either or our families. She had her whole life to live and I was just uncertain I cared about living mine. Still, the weekend was turning out to be something entirely different than I thought it would be.
“Seems everybody knows everybody in this town,” she said in passing.
That was part of the problem in my opinion.
As she brushed her hand down Sophia’s muzzle, she took a deep breath. “Yes, I would love to see the ranch. Maybe one day I’ll get to ride you, sweet girl.”
Sophia snorted in response.
“She likes you. She’s very special, the kind of horse who comes along once in a lifetime.”
“I agree with you but be careful keeping ugly secrets.” While she laughed, I sensed she was searching for answers, just like she’d done the night before and would do again.
Secrets were the only option at this point, although they were dark and ugly, and I had no doubt that one day they’d come back to bite all six of us.
* * *
Wren
There was no adequate way to describe the feeling of freedom that flowed through me as he drove the miles of roads and paths showing me his ranch. I’d gathered a sense of pride as well as the same haunting sadness I’d seen in him so many times. He was at a crossroads in his life, which wasn’t entirely different than what I was going through. I’d even envisioned myself living here, which was absolute madness. We weren’t well suited for each other, not by a long shot.
But what if…
Stop it. You’re leaving in a couple of days.
The ugly thought brought me back to reality.
“Your ranch is just incredible.” As he returned to the house, I eased against the seat, still staring at the mountains. “I’d forgotten how beautiful Missoula really was. Trees. Mountains. Rivers. Lakes. I miss it. You have a river running through the center of your property with green all around it and that tree is huge. Just gorgeous. You could do anything you want with the land. I don’t think you want to be a rancher, right? So make something with it. I’m not talking about a development, but maybe a vacation spot or something.”
“A sanctuary?” Phoenix asked, his laugh sending a chill through me.
I threw him a look. “No. That’s not what I meant, but it’s a shame you don’t enjoy what you have.”
“Yeah, I never thought about it. I learned my dad had a couple offers on the place. I checked his files. He was seriously considering selling it.”
“You’re kidding me? That would be a real crime. How did you end up with it?”
He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I just told him I was moving back. The truth is that my grandfather willed it to me when he died, his only living grandchild. However, the will was complicated so I’m certain my father had his high-priced attorney figure out a way to use the property against me.”
