The Brothers of Hastings Ridge Ranch

At first, the streets and sidewalks were crowded and all he had to do was drive slow and stay behind her. She kept making turns that led her away from the artsy-craftsy streets toward a row of ordinary houses, circa 1950. He stayed as far back as he could, her gold hair a beacon up ahead until she turned another corner and he sped up to find her again.

Many of the houses on this street were in the process of renovation but a few looked as though they hadn’t been tinkered with for decades. He stopped as she opened the gate to one such house and walked across the barren yard. It appeared to him she knocked before unlocking the door with a key she took from her shoulder bag.

So, what had he learned? Not much. She apparently lived on a street showing signs of promise in a house whose property value undoubtedly superseded the worth of the structure.

As he sat there undecided about what to do next, the door opened again and a small older woman emerged wearing nothing but a baggy sleeveless dress. The door swung closed behind her as she walked across the yard and out through the gate, right into the middle of the street. She stopped suddenly and stared down at her bare feet, clutching her thin arms with her hands, her gaze traveling the block as though trying to place herself.

Frankie looked toward the door. No sign of Kate.

He pulled the car forward and got out. He stood there a second, kind of lurking behind a bush, willing Kate to come out and take care of this woman before he had to blow his cover and do it himself. The door stayed closed. A car came around the corner and started down the street and he knew it was time to act. He took off his jacket as he crossed to the woman and draped it over her shoulders. The car sped by them and Frankie suppressed a wave of anger lest the old woman thought it was directed at her.

“Can I help you?” he asked gently.

She didn’t respond. He applied soft pressure to her arm to urge her to come with him back to the curb. She looked up at him as though just aware of his presence. “Do you know where Dennis is?”

“No, ma’am, I’m sorry, I don’t,” he said.

She looked down the street but didn’t move.

Another car had pulled to a stop a few feet away and the impatient driver tapped the horn. The old lady jumped.

Frankie cast the driver a look that would have sent a pack of coyotes off at a run. “Ma’am, please,” he said. “Come with me.”

She peered at his face and blinked. “Do you know where Dennis is?”

“Gram!” Kate yelled from the yard. She tore open the gate and ran out into the street, glancing up at Frankie as she ground to a halt in front of him. To say she looked surprised to see him was an understatement. Shocked was more like it. The old woman gazed at Kate without changing expression. Kate’s arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. “Your dinner is almost ready, Gram,” she said softly. “Let’s go back inside. It’s chilly out here.”

“I can’t find Dennis,” the old lady mumbled.

“We’ll look for him in the house,” Kate promised as she led her grandmother back to the yard where Frankie now saw another woman waiting on the porch. Kate took Frankie’s jacket from around her grandmother’s shoulders, hooked it on the gate and glanced back at him, anger blazing in her eyes.

“Kate,” he said but she shook her head and held up a hand as if to silence him. Without another word, she took her grandmother’s arm and ushered her quickly inside the house, the other woman following behind. The door closed with a resounding thud.

Frankie, still in the middle of the street walked toward the car that had honked. The driver’s window rolled open.

“You proud of yourself?” he asked the driver.

A narrow-faced man about his own age responded. “Just get off the damn street before I run you down!”

There had been a period in Frankie’s life where he would have pulled this bozo out of his car and punched him square in the nose. The desire to do just that was still there but time had tempered him. He stepped toward the curb and the car sped by.

Frankie retrieved his jacket from the fence and stood there awhile, sure Kate would come back outside and demand an explanation although he wasn’t sure what he could offer. The door stayed resolutely shut. She’d really meant that final shake of her head. He finally got back in his car and drove off toward the airport where he rented a room for the night.

Would Kate show up tomorrow? Doubtful bordering on hell, no. He didn’t have her phone number. Of course, he could call Gary and get it, but then Gary would sense there was a problem...no thanks, he didn’t want to start fielding questions, not yet anyway. Besides, part of him admitted he’d already intruded enough.

The older woman was obviously Kate’s grandmother but who was Dennis? Did these people have something to do with Kate’s desire to stop the filming of the documentary?

Why hadn’t he quit following her when it was obvious she wasn’t going to a business meeting? What had compelled him to know about her? Was he treating her like an adversary? That was fine if that was the case because she was an adversary, she’d chosen that role when she announced her intentions.

As he lay in bed that night, he knew that he had probably just sabotaged his own project and he swore under his breath. If Kate refused to talk to any of them again and went instead to the backers fueled by her anger with him, he didn’t think he’d have the stomach to try to stop her.

* * *

“IS THERE ANYTHING I can get you before I leave?” Rose McFadden whispered from the doorway.

Kate glanced from her slumbering grandmother to the retired nurse and shook her head. Her voice equally soft, she responded. “No thanks.”

“I’m going home to pack a bag but I’ll be back tomorrow morning bright and early, okay?”

“I don’t know,” Kate said. “I’m not sure—”

“Now, please, child, listen to me,” Rose said, stepping into the room. “I’d hate to see you cancel your trip because of what happened today. Anyone can make a mistake and forget to lock the door after themselves.”

“I never have before,” Kate said. She’d been preoccupied when she got home, her mind processing the lunch with Frankie Hastings, reliving the conversation, wondering if she’d slipped up anywhere. And as a result, she hadn’t relocked the door and her grandmother had walked outside into the middle of the street. If Frankie hadn’t been there who knows what would have happened?

“I’ll be here like we arranged,” Rose said. “I promised Mr. Abernathy I’d help you and your grandmother and I intend to keep my word. Try to get some sleep.”

Kate sat in the darkened room for what seemed like hours, the sound of her grandmother’s breathing the only noise in the whole world. Today was the longest she’d been gone in a year. How could she leave again? What had she been thinking to agree to this?

List your choices, her subconscious demanded. Easy: zero.

She glanced from the stack of bills on the corner of the desk visible through the open doorway to the unframed window she was in the process of replacing here in the bedroom. The house needed new plumbing, the roof was forty years old and she suspected termites had had their way with the foundation. She was going under, not slowly, but fast.

When Kate’s grandfather had died, Kate had cried for days. That was the last time she’d allowed herself tears. She didn’t even cry for Luke because she was afraid if she started she’d never quit. But now she felt them swell in her eyes and roll down her cheeks and she seemed unable to stop them.

“Dennis?”

Kate’s head jerked toward the bed where she found her grandmother staring up at her. “No, Gram, Grandpa isn’t here right now. It’s just me, Kate.”

Gram blinked a couple of times as though trying to process Kate’s words. She’d once had dark blue eyes like Kate’s but as the fire inside her soul slowly fizzled away, it seemed her eye color followed suit. Kate hastily wiped at her cheeks, but her grandmother caught a tear on her finger and touched it to her own lips.

“Oh, Gram,” Kate said. It had been two decades since Gram had done the exact same thing when Kate ran her bike into a mailbox and gave herself a black eye.

Kate scooted down on her chair until she could rest her head on Gram’s pillow. The old woman grasped her hand and Kate started talking in a soft, unhurried voice. “A week ago, I met an old friend of yours named Greg Abernathy,” she began. “He’s been abroad for years but he recently moved back to Seattle and came to see you. He was so sad that Grandpa had...well, he got all choked up. And then he told me something.

“He and Grandpa were coworkers a long time ago. He remembered Grandpa telling him about a long distant uncle who was a diamond merchant. When this guy stopped during his travels, he would put his diamonds in the bank of whatever town he was staying in. Well, it turns out that this one time, the bank was robbed and the diamonds were taken along with the gold. He never made a claim on what he’d lost because he didn’t want anyone to know what he did for a living.

“Now this is where fate takes a hand,” she continued. “Mr. Abernathy and Grandpa shared an office at the college. When Mr. Abernathy left to teach overseas, he stored a whole lot of boxes of books and papers. When he got back to Seattle recently, he decided to clean out the storage and it was while he was doing this that he found a file of Grandpa’s in with his things and in the file was a copy of a paper detailing where the diamonds had been hidden after the robbery. He came here to give the file to Grandpa and to ask if Grandpa had ever tried to recover them.”

Kate lowered her voice. “Mr. Abernathy could see that we’re...struggling. Those diamonds are yours now, and they could make all the difference in the world. It’s not a fortune, but it’s probably enough to get the house up to code so we can remortgage and get some of the bills paid. The trouble is, they’re on the land of a greedy, possessive man. If he were to claim the diamonds as his own and take us to court—well, how could we pay for that and, anyway, by the time it was settled it would be too late for you...for us. I have to find them, Gram. Mr. Abernathy said he would go but he’s old now and, besides, this is my obligation, not his. It’s an opportunity and I can’t think of anything else to do. Only thing is, it means I have to leave for a couple of days...”

Gram’s hand had grown slack. Kate turned her head to find the older woman’s eyes closed. Kate had a very strong premonition that if she left her grandmother’s side it would be for the last time. Of course, she felt that way every time she left the house, every time she kissed her good-night. It was always goodbye.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered into the night.

* * *

FRANKIE ARRIVED AT the car rental place early armed with coffee and a sheaf of papers Gary had given him to look over. He’d give Kate an hour to stand him up and then he’d hit the road.

A female shape pushed off from where she’d been leaning against a fence and he recognized Kate’s lovely face despite the huge sunglasses resting on her nose. As she approached, he reminded himself to close his mouth instead of gaping in shock. She’d come?

Why?

As he grabbed the door handle to get out of the vehicle and start the process of renting her a car, she opened the back door, shrugged off a backpack and set it on the seat where it clanked as it landed. A second later she slipped into the passenger seat.

Today she wore jeans and a black windbreaker. Her long, blond hair had been woven into a thick, loose braid that trailed down her back. She took off the sunglasses as she turned to face him. Dark smudges under her eyes were more pronounced than they’d been the day before.

“I can’t believe you came,” he heard himself say.

“Neither can I but I said I would so I did. Let’s get something straight, though. My grandmother is none of your business.”

“I—”

“You went behind my back. You asked me to trust you and then you—”

“Sneaked around,” he interrupted. “I know. I’m sorry. I wish I could take it back—” The scowl on her face cut his words short. “Okay, I get it. Well, let’s rent you a car and get on our way.”

“There’s no need now,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to know where I lived. I like my privacy.”

“I sort of figured that,” he said dryly.

“Let’s just go.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said, and started the engine before she could change her mind.

Chapter Three

As the luxury car ate up the miles, Kate didn’t have the slightest idea what to say to the man behind the wheel. He’d offered her his untouched coffee but she’d declined—she didn’t drink coffee anymore. The nerves that had taken up residence when this situation began made almost everything taste like dirty dishwater and sit uncomfortably in her stomach.

He seemed as willing to let the miles pass in silence as she was but probably not for the same reasons. Yesterday, sitting outside with the breeze ruffling their hair and the sound of seagulls mingling with the chatter of other diners, Frankie’s energy and charisma had been hard enough to handle but not as over-the-top scary as now.

She took a deep breath that didn’t help as the subtle scent of his aftershave wafted into her nose. She was aware of his hands on the wheel, his long fingers almost graceful. Her hands looked more like work hands than his did and she squashed the urge to sit on them.

“You’re very quiet,” he said, glancing at her. His dark lashes coupled with his grayish eyes made his gaze so intense her cheeks felt hot. That’s what a guilty conscience could do to a person.

“Just tired,” she said and that was the truth. After deciding to scrap this adventure, she’d tackled that stack of bills and reality had settled once again on her shoulders. She needed money and quite a bit of it if she was to keep Gram safe. She couldn’t afford to allow fear to rule her decisions. Premonitions were notoriously overrated. She’d be back in two days, tops.

She’d had to leave so early this morning to catch the bus to the airport that she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to Gram. Rose would take care of her and goodbyes never lasted in Gram’s memory for more than a few seconds anyway, but it added to the unease churning Kate’s gut. She turned her face toward the window where her pal, Mr. Sun, warmed the glass. Her eyes drifted closed.

She woke with a start, heart racing. Where was Gram? Had she gotten through the door again? Full consciousness returned with a sucker punch and she took a deep breath as she scanned her surroundings. Frankie Hastings stared at her. He’d pulled up in front of a diner and Kate’s stomach growled.

“We’ve been on the road for four hours,” he said. “We’re almost at Dave Dalton’s place. He’s the guy I told you about who’s descended from the lawyer who left town after the robbery. I’m kind of hungry and it looks like we could get a sandwich here if that’s okay with you. It isn’t fancy, but it’s convenient.”

She sat up straight. Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with old socks. She blinked a couple of times. Her wallet held about forty dollars and that had to get her back home. What she needed most and could actually afford was a free glass of water.

“I meant to remind you,” he added. “LOGO, that’s the name of Gary Dodge’s production company, intends to cover your expenses for this trip. That included the rental car that you didn’t use but is still an option when you want to return to Seattle.” He smiled at her and added, “And no, we’re not trying to buy you. I don’t imagine you come cheap.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he said, and for once, he looked ill at ease, which strangely made her feel better.

“I am thirsty,” she said.

“Good. Let’s give this place a try.”

The diner turned out to be a far cry from the waterfront bistro of the day before. Kate ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and it actually seemed to sit okay in her stomach for once. Toward the end of the meal, Frankie took out his cell phone and studied it. “I’m reminding myself how to get to Dave Dalton’s place,” he explained.

“Do you know what it is he wants to show you?”

“Not a clue. I’m curious, of course,”

“Is he expecting me to be there, too? If it’s awkward, I can sit outside in the sun or something.”

“I doubt your being there will be an issue but no, he’s not expecting you. I arranged this meeting about a week ago, before I knew you’d be...with me.”

“Before I made trouble,” she said.

“Yeah. Listen, as long as I have my phone out, why don’t you give me your email and cell number? Phones don’t always work out at the ranch, but—”

“I don’t have email or a cell phone,” she said.

He stared at her a second as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard her say.

“I moved here from Arizona over a year ago,” she added. She had to give him some explanation so she went with the truth. “My grandparents didn’t have internet or the...inclination...to install it. When my tablet died, I just, well, people lived for generations without computers, right?”

“You sound like my father’s kind of girl,” he said. “He’s not big into them, either.”

She did not want to be compared to his father. “I loved my computer. I mean, you can’t get through college nowadays without...well, those days are long over. Now there are other things to keep me busy.”

“Like what?” he said.

She looked down at her hands and shrugged. “You know, work.”

“What kind of work do you do?”

She should have anticipated these questions. They were the kind almost everyone asked, she was just woefully out of practice fielding idle curiosity. Not sure why she felt the need to take the sting out of her words, she smiled. “Remember that whole I like my privacy thing?”

“Yes,” he said. “Sorry.”

She pushed herself away from the table and they both stood up. “Thank you for the sandwich and the tea,” she added. “I’m going to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back, I know you’re anxious to get going.”

“I’ll wait for you in the car,” he said as he stood. As she watched him walk to the cash register, the strangest pang of longing came over her.

Now what was that all about?

* * *

DAVE DALTON LIVED down a tree-lined lane a mile or so outside Spokane, Washington. The road was rutted with parallel tracks. Kate had gripped the edges of her seat as Frankie did his best to stay in the ruts, but inevitably the tires found all the uneven spots. Dalton needed to grade his long, bumpy driveway.

Frankie’s gut feeling that Kate was hiding something just wouldn’t go away. Sure, she was touchy, but it had to be more than that. Touchy was understandable. She’d accepted an invitation from a virtual stranger who openly questioned her convictions. He was a little wary of her, too. But it was something more, like the way she avoided direct answers to simple questions, hiding behind the privacy thing. Still every once in a while, he caught an unguarded comment or look and it made him smile inside.

When had he last been serious about a woman? Almost a year, he realized with a start. She’d been a nurse at the urgent care center, pretty and fun-loving, full of hopes and dreams. He’d broken it off with her when she got too clingy and talk of her dreams became talk of “their” dreams, dreams he didn’t share.

Right after that, he’d started building himself a very private home even his family didn’t know about. Years before, his father had given each of his sons their choice of land on which to construct houses when and if they wanted. Frankie’s oldest brother, Gerard, had chosen a river view parcel not far upstream from the main house. He and Kinsey lived in it and would soon be joined by their baby who was due momentarily.

Next in age came Chance. He’d built himself an A-frame. His fiancée’s name was Lily and she and her small son lived on the ranch, too. Pike came next. He’d renovated a barn into a really cool house. His girlfriend, Sierra, split her time between the ranch and New York City.

Frankie knew he didn’t quite fit into his family of overachievers. It was difficult being the youngest of four brothers, all with different mothers, all very capable ranchers and businessmen. His designated title as a kid had been the screwup. And now, between one thing and another, he just liked to keep part of his life to himself, hence his secret hideaway. Half the time when his family thought he was in town carousing or causing mischief, he was actually working on his place.

So, in short, he knew a thing or two about privacy and keeping secrets, but there was only one that made him break into a cold sweat every time he thought about it. With Kate, that seemed to happen constantly. She acted like she was under a lot of stress from a lot of directions and despite how prickly she could be, he felt for her.

But right now she was hanging on to her seat and staring straight ahead as a small house finally appeared in a clearing at the end of the private road. He pulled to a stop and heard her expel a long breath.

“You okay?”

“Just glad to have that road behind me.”

“Don’t forget we still have to get back to the highway.”

“Let me enjoy walking around for a minute.” They got out of the car and she took several breaths. Some of the color started to return to her cheeks as she gazed around them.

“It’s quiet here,” she said. “And warm.” She unzipped her windbreaker and started to pull it over her head. As she raised her arms, her blouse rode up with the jacket and three inches of creamy, smooth, velvety skin appeared at the delicious curve of her waist. By the time she got the windbreaker off and tugged her clothes into place, he had looked away, alarmed at how enticing he found that tiny peek of her flesh.

The house had a small concrete slab for a front porch and a steeply pitched roof, probably because it snowed here in the winter. A trio of moldy, faded garden gnomes sat by the bushes in front of the window. Frankie knocked against the wooden door and they stood there waiting as insects droned in the tall grass.

“Are you sure he’s expecting you?” Kate asked.

“I should have texted him to confirm things. Let’s check and see if his car is here.

The detached garage shared the same shabby, spare construction as the house. A door that slid across a wide opening was slightly cracked. Frankie rolled it open enough that he could see a sleek white car so new it still had the dealer’s advertisement where the license plate would eventually go.

“Wow,” Kate said as she looked under his raised arm.

“Funny what people spend their money on, isn’t it?” Frankie said. “The house looks like it’s about to fall down while there’s a seventy-five-thousand-dollar car sitting in the garage.”

“Seventy-five thousand dollars,” Kate said, whistling. “I repeat, wow.”

“Well, he’s probably here. Let’s go knock again.”

No one came to the door this time, either. Kate walked out onto the grass opposite the front window, approached the glass cautiously and peered inside.

“See anything?” Frankie called.

“Yeah. It looks like a...” She stopped talking as her hands flew to cover her mouth and she quickly backed away from the window almost stumbling over her own feet.

“Kate! What’s wrong?” Frankie asked as he started to walk toward her.

“No, open the door. Hurry,” she cried, casting him a wild-eyed look. “Open the door.”

He turned back around and tried to twist the knob, then he rammed his shoulder against the door.

“Hurry!” Kate said.

Raising his leg, he kicked at the thing and this time the old wood creaked but it still didn’t budge. He ran to Kate’s side. “What is it?”

Her skin had drained of color. “A man,” she said. He glanced at the windows but from that distance, all he saw were their reflections. “I think he’s...he’s dead,” she mumbled.

Frankie grabbed one of the plaster garden gnomes and smashed it against the window. As glass shattered to the ground the foul odor of rotting flesh all but slammed him in the face. Kate turned her back to him, braced her hands on her knees and retched as he peered into the heavily shadowed room.