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“You are well informed,” he noted.
“The girls know I worry about them, so they keep me in the loop. Oakley had been at the general store before that. Looked like she bought a bunch of supplies. Want me to give her a message?”
He shook his head, thinking that when he’d seen Oakley she’d been loading supplies into the back of her truck. He’d assumed they were for the ranch since Tilly used to do a lot of that before she was banned from the ranch. He hoped that was all it was, but even as he thought it, he had his doubts. After what CJ had told her about him...
He walked down to the general store before it closed, unable to shake the bad feeling that had settled in his gut. “I’m just checking to see if I need to pick up more supplies for Oakley Stafford. Did she get everything she needed earlier?”
The man behind the counter replied, “Doubt she’ll need more dynamite. She got enough to blow up a half dozen stumps out on the ranch.”
Dynamite? She’d been headed for the ranch with a whole lot of dynamite? The one thing she wasn’t blowing up was stumps, he thought as he left the store and almost ran into Tick Whitaker as he came out of the hotel bar.
“Just the man I wanted to see,” Pickett said, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice. “Heard your company is doing some drilling out on the Stafford Ranch. They need any extra hands? I could use some extra money, you know...off the books.”
Tick grinned and Pickett caught alcohol on the man’s breath. “Wish it was my company.” He chuckled. “Drilling in the morning out on the Stafford Ranch. Equipment went out today. As for a job, you’d need to talk to Douglas Burton.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that. You know where they’re drilling in the morning on the ranch?” he asked. “Maybe if I just showed up—”
Tick shook his head. “Top secret.” He put a finger to his lips. “To keep the damned vandals from causing trouble.” He laughed and patted Pickett on the shoulder. “Sorry.” With that, the geologist walked toward the café.
Fortunately, Pickett knew who to ask. Unfortunately for CJ Stafford, he planned to do whatever it took to get the information.
*
DUFFYSAWTHATPickett was calling and excused himself from the table. “Hey, I was going to call you.”
“Have you seen Oakley?” He sounded upset.
“No, but I talked to her. You know about the drilling rigs?”
“That’s why I’m on my way out to the Stafford Ranch to see CJ.”
“That’s a bad idea,” Duffy said. “Oakley wants us to meet her at midnight.”
“Where?” Pickett demanded impatiently.
“On the creek between the two properties. I’m sure she’ll let us know before midnight.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Pickett said. “Oakley bought explosives in town earlier.” The ranch hand swore, something he seldom did. “I’m afraid she’s planning to take things into her own hands. I plan to stop her—if it’s not already too late.”
Before Duffy could say another word, Pickett disconnected. Duffy felt the weight of his betrayal. He should have called his friend earlier. Not that Oakley had let on as to what she was up to—or where the drilling was happening.
He pocketed his phone and spurred his horse forward toward the boundary between his ranch and Stafford’s. Going to the Stafford Ranch to confront CJ was a bad idea. His first instinct was to try to stop Pickett, but he knew his showing up as well would only make things worse.
Instead, he needed to stop Oakley himself. He recalled Treyton saying to their father that there was a spot near the creek just opposite Stafford property that he had wanted to drill.
“It’s a large coalbed in there according to the geologist I talked to,” Treyton had said. “If we don’t drill there, you know your old girlfriend will.”
His father had been furious, saying he would never drill there, and neither would Charlotte. It would destroy the creek.
Maybe Charlotte wouldn’t, but Duffy bet CJ would.
At least he would check that spot out first. Maybe by then he would hear from Oakley or Pickett if the ranch hand wasn’t already behind bars or worse. As he rode, he kept thinking about the worry in Pickett’s voice.
Oakley was going rogue? He tried her number. Straight to voice mail. He told himself there was still the chance that she would contact him before midnight, but he feared Pickett might be right. Oakley was planning to do this alone—and not at midnight.
So why hadn’t Duffy realized that? Because he’d been too busy worrying about Oakley and Pickett—and feeling left out.
That Pickett seemed to know Oakley better than he did wasn’t lost on Duffy as he neared the creek between the two properties.
