smiled gently.
Hawkeye could feel himself melt. The woman needed to smile more often. She went from pretty to stunning in less than a second.
“I wouldn’t dream of taking you away from your ranch. I know how hard it is to keep things running. Besides, I can’t afford to pay much.”
“I’ll take it,” CJ said. He turned to his stepfather. “I’ll do my chores before I leave the house and when I get back.”
“And how will you get there and back?” Ernie asked, a sneer pulling at one side of his mouth. “You have school starting in a couple weeks.”
“I’ll manage.”
Ernie snorted and turned back to Olivia. “If he steals something, don’t come crying to me. He’s been nothing but a pain in my rear since I brought him to the ranch.”
CJ’s eyes flashed, but he kept his mouth firmly shut. How he put up with Ernie, Hawkeye had no idea. Just standing near the belligerent jerk made Hawkeye itch to shove his fist in the man’s face.
“Fine.” Ernie waved at Olivia and his stepson. The drunk swayed and practically fell into the backseat of the sheriff’s SUV. As he leaned out to close the door, he said, “He’s your problem now.”
“You got a way home, CJ?” Sheriff Scott asked.
The teen nodded. “Yes, sir.” He glanced toward the sheriff’s vehicle as if it was the last place he wanted to be.
The sheriff shook his head and slid behind the wheel. A moment later, all Hawkeye could see of Ernie Martin were the taillights of the sheriff’s SUV disappearing at the end of Main Street.
Olivia clapped her hands together. “Well, that was lovely. I have the help I needed.” She smiled at CJ. “How soon can you start?”
The young man dug his hands into his pockets. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to start in the morning. Right now, I need to get home.” He gazed in the direction his stepfather had gone.
“Do you need a ride?” Hawkeye asked.
CJ shook his head. “No, sir. I’ll just let my boss know I can’t work here anymore. I have a bicycle. I’ll get myself home.”
“That’s got to be about five miles out of town. And it’s getting dark.” Olivia frowned. “Let one of us take you.”
The young man shook his head. “I’ll need my bike to get to work in the morning.”
“I live three miles out of town,” Olivia said. “Between you living on one side of Grizzly Pass and me on the other, that’s over eight miles several times a day. You need some other way to get there and back.”
“I promise.” CJ stepped forward. “I can do it. I’m used to riding long distances. It’s nothing.” He edged toward the tavern. “I really need to get home.”
Olivia still frowned, but she stepped out of the youth’s way. “Tell you what—don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.”
“Thank you, Miss Dawson. I’ll be there in the morning, right after I do my chores.” The teen darted into the tavern, leaving Hawkeye and Liv where they’d been when the ruckus started.
“Are you two ready to go?” a voice said behind Hawkeye. Kevin Garner descended to the bottom step of the staircase leading up to the loft apartment.
“Not quite. We had a little delay.” Olivia started to reach for the door.
Hawkeye beat her to it and opened it wide for her and Garner. As his boss passed, Hawkeye nodded. “I’ll fill you in as we wait for our orders.”
Liv cradled the food containers on her lap in the backseat of Kevin Garner’s truck.
The Homeland Security agent dropped them off at Hawkeye’s truck where he’d left it parked with the utility trailer. After disconnecting the trailer from his truck, Hawkeye rolled it around to the back of Garner’s and dropped it onto the hitch.
Garner helped Liv into Hawkeye’s truck and then extended a hand. “Be careful and let me know of anything out of the ordinary, even if it seems inconsequential. All the little pieces add up.”
Liv fumbled with the food, but managed to take the man’s hand. “I haven’t been home in nine months. How am I supposed to know what is out of the ordinary?”
“Anything strange and unusual, just give me a buzz.” He squeezed her hand.
Liv snorted. “Things seem to have changed drastically. This used to be a nice, quiet community filled with neighbors who looked out for each other.”
“Apparently, trouble has been brewing for years,” Garner said. “Antigovernment sentiment isn’t new.”
“I suppose.” Liv sighed. “I loved being on the ranch and working hard. I guess I didn’t have time to hang out on the street corners grousing about what I couldn’t change.”
With one last squeeze, Garner released Liv’s hand. “Trust Hawkeye and your own instincts.”
Hawkeye slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Ready?”
Using the food containers as an excuse not to look Hawkeye in the face, she nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” For a moment, the events of the past few days threatened to consume her. This was not the homecoming she’d anticipated at the end of her five-year promise.
All through college and the three years following graduation, Liv could think of nothing she wanted more than to come home to Grizzly Pass. Her promise to her father had kept her in Seattle. Now she was back in the county and the thought of going to the home she grew up in nearly tore her apart.
She sat in the passenger seat, a lump the size of her fist blocking her throat, her eyes burning from unshed tears.
“I take it we go out the way we came into town?” Hawkeye cast a glance in her direction.
All Liv could do was nod, afraid if she tried to get a word past her vocal cords, she’d break down and cry. And what good would crying do now? It wouldn’t bring her father back. Crying wouldn’t unbreak Abe’s leg and make everything all right again. Nothing could fix her world. All she could do was to take one day, one hour and one breath at a time. Her father had taught her a long time ago that cowgirls didn’t cry.
Damn you, Dad. This one does.
As they neared the gated entrance to Stone Oak Ranch, her chest tightened and she couldn’t manage to take that one breath.
When Hawkeye didn’t slow, Liv was forced to squeak out, “Turn here!”
Hawkeye jammed his foot on the brake pedal. The truck skidded to a stop in the middle of the highway, several yards past the ranch entrance.
Liv flew forward. The seat belt across her torso snapped tight, keeping her from jettisoning through the windshield.
“You could give me a little more warning next time.” Hawkeye shifted into Reverse and backed up several yards. Then he drove up to the gate.
Liv shot out a hand, touching his shoulder.
Again, he hit the brakes and turned to her. “What?”
The relentless pressure on her chest refused to subside. “I can’t breathe,” she whispered. “I can’t breathe.”
“What’s wrong?” Hawkeye’s brows dived toward the bridge of his nose. “Olivia, look at me. Tell me what’s wrong.” He reached for her.
She shrank from his hands. If he touched her, she’d fall apart. And she couldn’t fall apart. Not now. With her father and her foreman