only known Tyler Pickens for little more than a day. Yet the man was continuing to consume her thoughts to the point where she could hardly make sense of the statements she’d taken yesterday from the Pine Ridge Ranch hands. Even though hours had passed since their meal and subsequent kiss, she couldn’t get any of their time together out of her mind.
From the moment he’d started talking last night, she’d felt herself being drawn to him. The rich textures of his voice and the subtle movements of his body had slowly and surely seduced her and when he’d kissed her, she’d reacted to him like a woman starved for the touch of a man. Dear God, she could only imagine what he’d been thinking about the hungry way she’d responded to him. The only saving grace about the whole ordeal was that she’d been the one to finally have enough fortitude to end the reckless behavior.
A brief knock on the door had her and Hank glancing around to see Brady Donovan walking into the office. A tall, lean man with tawny hair and handsome features, he’d worked as a deputy for several years and along the way been wounded in the line of duty before he’d eventually been promoted to undersheriff. Since his brother-in-law owned the Chaparral Ranch, she knew that solving the arson case was of utmost importance to him.
“You two have anything new to report?” he asked.
“Not yet,” Hank spoke up. “I still have several more people to interview on the Chaparral. The employee roster for that place is huge. You want me to include the women working in the business office, too?”
Brady said, “Everyone means everyone.”
“Seems like a waste of time to me. I can’t see a secretary or file clerk dragging a jug of gasoline into the forest and setting the place ablaze.”
“Maybe you can’t envision it, but I can,” Brady told him. “Anyway, women gossip. The office workers might have overhead remarks that could be helpful.”
The undersheriff leveled a pointed look at Rosalinda. “And before you say anything, men gossip, too. So have you uncovered anything interesting yet?”
“I’m about to type up my notes and go over them a second time. So far I’ve not found anything suspicious concerning the Pine Ridge Ranch hands. But I need to cross-reference all their statements to see if I can pick up any inconsistencies. And I’ve not interviewed the cook yet.”
“He should have been the first man on your list. The one person who can tell you the most about a group of men is the one who feeds them.”
“Oh, you mean the bunkhouse cook.” She tapped a pencil on her open notebook. “I’ve already had a lengthy discussion with him. I’m talking about Ty—er, Mr. Pickens’s house cook. Gib is his name. I’ll have to make another trip out there, I suppose.”
“No supposing about it. You’re going this morning.”
Rosalinda looked at him with surprise. “This morning? You think Gib is that important?”
“I’m not sending you out there to talk to him. I want you to take a look at the spot where the fire originated.”
Another trip to the Pine Ridge Ranch today. The order had Rosalinda unconsciously bracing herself. “I thought the fire marshal and his team had gone all over that area. What can I do?”
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