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She rolled her eyes and smiled. “You know for a tough guy-army ranger-cowboy-federal agent, you sure are sweet and silly sometimes.”
“You will learn, my dear Harper, that I am a man of many talents and desires.”
“Yes, and one of those desires is currently poking at the button-fly of your Levi’s.”
“You and I can see to that later. Right now, you, Harper Logan,” he said, pulling her to her feet, “are going to go start whatever amazing thing you’re planning to cook for Dusty and me. And I am going down to help Dusty. Do you want me to do anything special with Mattie?”
“No, she’s good. Dusty will know if she needs an extra blanket. She doesn’t like to be cold.” She trailed her fingers down his chest. “Neither does her owner.”
He took her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the tips of her fingers. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He turned her towards the kitchen and gave her backside an affectionate swat. “Go. Cook. The menfolk are going to be hungry.”
Harper laughed and headed into the kitchen.
* * *
Spence walked down to the barn and called for Dusty, who came out of one of the stalls.
The old man regarded him with wariness. “I saw you put your duffle in her room. I take it you’ll be staying with us for longer than solving this case?”
Spence felt a need to tread lightly. Dusty was Harper’s family, regardless of the fact they shared no DNA.
He nodded. “I went to see her after she won to congratulate her, get to know her, and let her know I knew she was the woman I’d seen from a distance in Yellowstone last year, stampeding a wild mustang herd. I knew then I wanted to get to know her better. Nothing that’s happened since then has made me change my mind. It has only served to confirm my belief that we could have something special.”
Dusty looked him over. “Well, if that’s the case and since I didn’t hear any shots and neither of you look the worse for wear, I’m going to assume you and Harper have reached terms.”
“We have. Dusty, you and I are on the same side. Neither of us wants anything but the best for Harper. Maybe between us, we can keep her safe. Harper and I did talk some about Dulcie earlier. Did you ever get to know her sister?”
“A little bit. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with her. They weren’t able to spend a lot of time together in person, so they tended to be greedy of each other’s time. Dulcie was a good lady. She loved Harper something fierce. I worry that her being gone hasn’t really hit Harper yet.”
“Not completely. She pushes it away and focuses on other things, but then it’ll creep up on her. I think she’s doing remarkably well. I’m impressed with her ability to cope and still provide useful information.”
“Does she know anything about what might have been behind Dulcie’s death?”
“She doesn’t think so, and I don’t know what to think. I know if she knows something, she doesn’t know she knows it. What we talked about this afternoon was Dulcie as a sister and a bit about her career. It’s easier for me to figure out what might be going on if I know where they were to begin with. I have a much better picture of who Dulcie was in my mind’s eye than I did before. I gave some of that information to my team as a leaping off point. Any information we can gather, whether it seems helpful or not, is valuable.”
“Do you know much about what happened to Dulcie?” Dusty asked.
Spence normally played his cards close to the vest where an investigation was concerned, but then, he didn’t normally get involved with the victim’s sister—something that wasn’t setting right with his team.
“What do you mean you’re staying out at her sister’s ranch?” asked Alice, his unofficial second-in-command.
“I know it’s unorthodox…”
“‘Unorthodox’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. Have you lost your mind?”
Deciding to shade the truth, Spence replied, “No. Harper and I have traveled in the same circles for years. We got together at the World Show. I got your call and she offered to bring Tank back to her place, so I didn’t have to worry about him. By the time I found out Dulcie was her sister, we were already involved.”
“The suits aren’t going to like it,” Alice said in a resigned voice.
“I’ve never cared what the suits liked. If they want to fire me, so be it. Let the hotel know I won’t be back. I never got anything put away. I didn’t have a rental, as the locals picked me up and then I was with Harper. I can come into town to do updates and we can conference by phone.”
“No problem, boss. It’s your funeral. I just worry what some defense lawyer might make of your relationship with the victim’s sister.”
“They can make what they want of it. But I expect all of you to challenge me on anything you think might be off base or overly prejudicial. I won’t give up Harper. If it comes to it, I’ll resign.”
“Whoa. I never thought I’d hear the day Colton Spencer left his job for a woman.”
“Not just any woman, Harper. Start running down those leads and we’ll meet in the morning. The sheriff has a small conference room he’s offered for our use. Let’s get over there and get it set up.”
