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She didn’t even try to hide her annoyance as she looked at me. “Is it?” She raised a carefully sculpted eyebrow, then sighed. “Listen, I’m not really in the mood to chat today, so if you’ll excuse me—”
“I understand,” I interrupted. “I honestly don’t feel like talking to anyone these days either. I’ve got so much on my mind lately with the ranch.” I paused, then added. “I almost think it might have been worth it to sell the place when you made that offer.”
She sat up and her eyes went wide for a split second before she was able to school her expression again. It had been quick, but I’d seen enough to know that she was still definitely interested.
“Really?” she asked, giving me a sideways glance. Suddenly she felt like chatting after all. “Well, unfortunately, I probably couldn’t give you as good a deal as the one I offered before, but I’d still be willing to talk business with you if you’re seriously interested.”
“What makes my ranch so special, though?” I asked. “Surely you have plenty of land already. We’re not even neighbors.”
She gave me that patented fake smile. “My daddy always told me I could never have enough land or money. Turns out, he was right. I have plenty of both, but…” She shrugged. “Sometimes a girl just needs more.”
I had to turn away for a moment to keep from making a face. I wondered if that was the same ridiculous line she’d tried to lay on Derek when she’d made an offer on his land.
Sometimes a girl just needs more?
That wasn’t a reason to buy land, and she wasn’t fooling this girl.
But whatever. That wasn’t my main concern anyway. Finding out her motivation for buying would have definitely been a bonus, but it wasn’t what I was there for. And since that hadn’t panned out, it was time to change my tactics.
“All of these poisonings lately just have me scared, you know?” I shook my head, giving her a worried look that wasn’t entirely for show. “I never thought the day would come when I wouldn’t feel safe in my own home, but…” I let the statement linger a moment, then asked, “I’m sure you’ve heard about the poisonings, haven’t you? And the fire at Derek Winslow’s ranch?”
I studied her face for a reaction. Now that I’d planted the idea, I wanted to see if I could catch that overly-eager look again. Better yet, if she really was the one behind the poisonings, I hoped that our little conversation would make her think she was winning.
If she thought her plan to drive me off my land was working, she’d surely try it again. If she was feeling cocky about it, she might even slip up. And when she did? We’d be waiting.
She didn’t get that same spark in her eye this time, though. Instead, she blinked and swallowed hard. “I heard.” She nodded. “It happened to me, too. My stallion, Lucky… he was…” She turned away, and her shoulders heaved as she dashed at the tears that had started to roll down her cheeks. “I thought I was going to lose him.”
I reached out to rub her shoulder before I could stop myself. I didn’t know what to do. I’d never seen Nora show feelings before—not real ones, anyway. And if those tears weren’t real, then she was the best actress I’d ever seen.
“It’s okay,” I said, still feeling more than a little conflicted about being nice to her. And even though I still didn’t really like her, I could at least sympathize with almost losing an animal. Even Nora deserved a little compassion for that. “You didn’t lose him, though. He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?”
She sniffled, then nodded. Her eyes were still full of tears when she turned back to face me again, and I felt another little pang of guilt for all the uncharitable thoughts I’d directed her way lately.
“I’m sorry," she said. "I can’t believe I’m getting so emotional. It’s just that… well, that horse was the last gift I got from Zachary on our anniversary. It was shortly before he died, and I still think about him every time I look at Lucky.”
I honestly didn’t know what to think anymore. I was having a really hard time believing she had poisoned her own horse—especially one that obviously meant so much to her. But if Nora really wasn’t behind the poisonings, then who could it be? She was the only real suspect any of us had come up with over the past couple of weeks, and now we were back to square one.
“Janessa?” Linda waved from across the salon, interrupting my thoughts. “Are you ready?”
I nodded, then gave Nora an actual, real smile. First time for everything, right? “It’ll be okay,” I said. “Whoever is behind all of this won’t get away with it.”
She returned my smile but didn’t say anything else. We’d shared our moment, and there honestly wasn’t anything left for either of us to say.
And even though I’d tried to sound confident that the person behind the poisonings would be caught, I was less certain than I’d ever been. Whoever it was seemed to be staying two steps ahead of the rest of us. The way things were looking now?
Yeah, they really might just get away with it.
Chapter 18
Janessa
I was still feeling conflicted when I got back home. I needed to talk about what I’d found out from Nora, but I also needed… well, I just needed Cade and Boone.
Instead of going into the house after I parked my car, I walked across the yard to the bunkhouse, hoping I’d find them there. I had almost reached the door when I saw them pull up in Cade’s pickup.
“Hey, darlin'.” Cade grinned, leaning out the driver side window as he stopped the truck next to me. “You need a ride?”
“You know I do,” I said, laughing. “I don’t even care where you’re going as long as you take me with you.”
