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“He’d want us to,” Duffy said a little too quickly.
She laughed. “Pickett told us not to go without him.”
“You know how jealous he is of you and me being together alone.” Duffy grinned like he was kidding, but he seemed to be happy about the idea.
“I’m sure that wasn’t why he didn’t want us doing anything without him,” she said. “He’s worried about those men the CH4 hired to catch the vandals.”
“Don’t worry. I will protect you.”
She gave Duffy a shove. “I’ll protect myself, thank you very much.”
He laughed. “You’re no damsel in distress, that’s for sure. But it makes it hard to sweep you off your feet.”
She shook her head. As if that was what he was trying to do. She was used to Duffy flirting with her, but Pickett was usually around. She knew how Duffy was with women. She didn’t take him seriously, not with his reputation.
Still, the three of them had become a team. Tonight it would be just the two of them. She’d miss Pickett and couldn’t help worrying about him. He’d gone because of his family? What if he didn’t come back?
“Want me to pick you up at the usual time and place?” she asked. She always drove only partly because she liked driving. Her nondescript pickup was better to take to the meetings than a McKenna Ranch truck.
Duffy grinned. “Can’t wait.”
She hoped this wouldn’t be weird, reminding herself that it was Duffy. He was just goofing around as usual.
THESHERIFFSTOODon the edge of the reservoir, trying to see into the water. The natural spring had kept the reservoir from freezing, but he knew the water would still be freezing cold. Picking up a rock, he chucked it toward the middle. All that accomplished was making a circle of small waves that eventually lapped at the shore.
He turned to Dodson. “Ready?”
The deputy mugged a face and mumbled something under his breath that Stuart didn’t care to hear. Thanks to the local volunteer fire department, the deputy was attired in a rubber suit for cold-water rescues.
“All you have to do is make sure there is a vehicle in there and that it’s not so old that we’re wasting our time,” the sheriff said.
Nodding, the deputy pulled the hood over his head and began to walk out into the reservoir. Stuart watched, a hitch in his chest. He couldn’t shake the bad feeling that whatever they found wouldn’t be good. Like the rock he’d thrown into the water, he feared this could cause a ripple that would spread even beyond the Powder River Basin.
Dodson disappeared for a moment below the water, but quickly resurfaced to stand on what was apparently the top of a vehicle four to five feet under him. He waved his arms excitedly. Stuart’s stomach dropped.
WHENPICKETTHADtold him he had to fly back east because his father was ill, Holden had been surprised. In all the time the young man had been at McKenna Ranch, he’d never mentioned family or left to return home.
“I hope he’s going to be all right,” Holden had said. “Is there anything I can do? Do you need an advance on your pay?”
“No, I’m fine,” he’d said. “But thank you. I won’t be gone long.”
“Take as long as you need. We’ll miss you, though. Holly Jo will be bummed. She’s determined to learn to trick ride as well as you.” What Holden wanted to say was, “Come back.” Pickett had become like another son to him.
“Tell Holly Jo I’ll be back with a whole new trick for her,” Pickett said and left, driving his own pickup instead of a ranch truck.
Holden couldn’t help worrying about him. The young man hadn’t been himself. When Elaine walked in, he was standing at the window watching Pickett drive away.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said and turned to smile at her. “Pickett. His father is ill. He’s flying back east. Said he’d be back, though.”
“Really? I just assumed he didn’t have any family still alive,” she said.
“I think we all thought that. Seems odd, doesn’t it?”
“He’s just always been here. I’m guessing that when he arrived looking for a job, you simply hired him and didn’t ask any questions.”
“You know me so well,” Holden said with a laugh. “He was a kid, but there was something about him...” He shook his head. “I’m a sucker for strays, aren’t I?”
