Delores Fossen - Cowboy Above The Law

That relief was probably about the being dressed part though. It would have been too much of a trip down memory lane if she’d just been wearing her nightgown—or nothing at all—since Court had brought her here a couple of times when they’d still been dating.

“I wore my clothes to bed,” she said, making a beeline for the coffee. That way, if they were attacked, she would be ready to run or fight back. “I’ll need to go back to my place and check on the horses.”

“I sent a couple of the ranch hands over to do that. I didn’t think it was a good idea for you to be out in the open like that.”

No. It wasn’t a smart idea, but Rayna still wished she could at least see the horses. Just being around them usually calmed her, and she desperately needed that right now.

“Thanks,” she muttered. She was surprised and glad that Court had thought to do something like that. Of course, she’d probably been on his mind most of the morning, not in a good way, either.

“In case you’re still in pain.” Court slid a bottle of pain meds across the counter toward her. It was the prescription stuff the doctor had called into the pharmacy for her. Apparently, someone had picked it up and brought it to the ranch.

She thanked him again but wouldn’t take any. Her head was already cloudy enough without adding those to the mix. “Please tell me you have good news.”

His shrug didn’t give her much hope. “My dad’s still not conscious, so we haven’t been able to ask him about Janet or whoever the heck she is. But we did get back your results from the blood test the doctor took, and you were drugged. It was a barbiturate, definitely meant to knock you out.”

Then it was mission accomplished for her attacker, and he’d likely done that so she wouldn’t show up in town at the same time as Hallie Ramon, the woman in red who had been near the sheriff’s office. And either the woman had been there to shoot Warren or else Hallie had been set up, just as someone had attempted to do to her.

“What about you?” he asked. “You remember anything new about the person who drugged you?”

She had a long sip of coffee and shook her head. “But last night I called the company that installed my security system. They insist no one who works for them would have given out my code to disarm the system.”

“Even if they had, there’s the problem with the key,” Court pointed out. “There were no signs of forced entry.”

“No, but getting the key would have been easier than getting the security code. I don’t take my house key off the ring when I give it to the mechanic for an oil change.” Though she would do that in the future. “I also don’t know if the locksmith I used made a copy of the key and gave it to someone.”

She knew she was sounding a little paranoid, but Rayna needed to look at all angles here. Unfortunately, there were probably other times when maybe her purse, and therefore her keys, had been out of her sight long enough for someone to make a molding of the house key.

Yes, definitely paranoid.

He paused to have some coffee, as well. “Unless you forgot to lock the door. Maybe forgot to set the system, too.”

Rayna was shaking her head before he finished talking. “I don’t forget those things. Not after what happened with Bobby Joe. I know you don’t believe it, but he’s out there.”

No, Court didn’t believe it. She could see the doubt in his eyes. And maybe he was right.

Rayna huffed. “If Bobby Joe’s dead, I didn’t kill him, and that means if he’s not out there, then his killer is. That’s why I lock the doors. That’s why I have a security system.”

He made a sound that could have meant anything. “Why did you stay if you think Bobby Joe or his killer will come back?”

She heard more of those doubts, and while Rayna didn’t think she could make him understand, she tried anyway. “I wasn’t born into money. And, no, that’s not a dig about you and your family. It’s my clumsy way of saying that I can’t just pick up and leave even if that’s what I wanted to do.”

Which she didn’t. That house was her home where she’d been raised. Where once she’d been happy. She was hoping to reach that happy status again.

“Besides,” Rayna added a moment later, “training horses is something I love doing, and I’m fortunate enough that it pays the bills.” That along with the money she got from boarding horses from some folks who lived in town. The occasional riding lessons, too.

Court stared at her, and he obviously had something on his mind. “You never collected Bobby Joe’s life insurance money. It was for fifty grand, and he left it all to you.”

Yes, he had. Considering the big blowup Bobby Joe and she’d had just weeks before his disappearance, it surprised her that he hadn’t changed his beneficiary. But then if he’d truly wanted to set her up for his murder, he would have left her name on the policy.

“I have no intentions of touching that money,” she said.

Court stared at her, cursed under his breath, and he paused a long time. “I’m sorry about what happened yesterday when I tackled you like that. I was half crazy when I went out to your place.”

That was true, but it was a craziness she could understand. She didn’t get a chance to tell him that though because his phone rang, the sound shooting through the room. Her nerves were so frayed and raw that it caused her to gasp.

“It’s Thea,” he said when he glanced at the screen.

He knew the call could be important, and that was why Court answered it right away. He also put it on speaker.

“Your dad’s awake,” Thea stated, and with just those three words, Rayna could hear the relief in the deputy’s voice. “He’s still pretty groggy, but I thought you’d want to come and see him.”

“I do.” Court reached for his keys and his Stetson. He was already wearing his holster and weapon. But he stopped and looked at Rayna.

She could see the debate he was having. He didn’t want to leave her there alone, but Court probably didn’t want her near Warren, either. The debate didn’t last long though.

“Rayna will be with me,” he said to Thea. “What kind of security is in place at the hospital?”

“There’s a guard posted outside Warren’s door. Egan is there, too. And so is Griff.”

Two lawmen and a security guard might not sound like a lot, but in this case, Warren was well protected.

“Good. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Court assured Thea, and he ended the call.

Since it was normally about a twenty-minute drive from the McCall Ranch to town, Rayna guessed that they’d be hurrying. And they did. Court didn’t waste any time getting her into the truck parked directly in front of the cabin, and they drove on the ranch road and then got onto the highway that led to McCall Canyon.

“It won’t be a good idea for you to go into my father’s room,” Court said several minutes later, and he didn’t give her a chance to disagree with that. “You can wait with Griff while I talk to him.”

Court was right. She wanted to know if Warren had hired the dead PI, but he was far less likely to own up to anything with her in the room. Still, it wouldn’t be a pleasant experiencing waiting with Griff. Yes, he would keep her safe, but he was firmly on the side of Warren when it came to anything, since Warren had practically raised Griff and his sister after their parents had been sent to jail for selling drugs.

“Keep watch,” Court reminded her.

Even though she was already doing that, it caused her pulse to jump. The attack from the previous day was still way too fresh in her mind. Plus, she was having some pain, especially where the idiot had injected her with that drug. The seat belt was pulling right across the tender bruise.