Elle James - Hot Zone

Her gut clenched and she tightened her fingers into fists. “What do you mean? Do you think someone killed him?” Dear Lord, what had happened to her father?

Garner lifted his shoulders slightly. “We don’t know, but if someone was out there, your father could have run across something that person didn’t want to get out.”

A sick, sinking feeling settled in the pit of Liv’s belly. “When my father’s horse returned without his rider, my foreman went looking for him. He found my father on the far northwest corner of the ranch, where he’d gone to check the fences.” Liv swallowed hard on the lump rising in her throat. “That corner of the property borders federal land.”

“Olivia, let me position one of my men on your property,” Garner pleaded. “He can appear to hire on as a ranch hand and help you mend the fences. It will give him the opportunity to keep an eye out for trouble, while protecting you.”

Liv bristled. “I don’t need someone to protect me.”

“No one can watch his or her own back,” Hawkeye said. “As a member of the armed forces, I know what it means to trust the guys behind me. You need a battle buddy.”

“I do want to find out if my father was murdered. And who might have done it.” Liv chewed on her lip a moment before sighing. “Who did you have in mind?”

Garner smiled. “The only other man still in this room besides me.”

A thrill of something she hadn’t felt in a long time—if you didn’t count the recent kiss—rippled through Liv. Taking on Hawkeye could prove to be a big mistake in more ways than one. “What choice do I have?”

“None,” Hawkeye said, his tone firm and final.

For however long it took to find her father’s murderer and stop this insanity going on in her community, she was stuck with Hawkeye. And despite her initial reticence, she had to admit to herself she might just need him.

“Don’t look so worried. You can trust Hawkeye,” Garner said with a smile and a wave before he turned to go back to the maps spread across the table.

It wasn’t Hawkeye she didn’t trust. What bothered her most was the reaction she’d had to his kiss. Hell, she wasn’t sure she could trust herself around the rugged army ranger.

Chapter Three

“We’ll get that meal you wanted and then we’ll head for your place.” Hawkeye cupped Liv’s elbow and guided her through the loft apartment’s door.

For once she didn’t argue or pull away.

Hawkeye counted that as progress.

“Damn. The sun’s already setting.” Olivia shaded her eyes and looked toward the west.

“We can skip the tavern and head right for the ranch,” Hawkeye offered.

She shook her head. “You said yourself that your truck is where you left it on a dirt road. By the time we retrieve it and make it back to the ranch, it’ll already be dark. We might as well get something to eat and take it with us. I can guarantee there’s nothing edible that doesn’t have to be cooked at the ranch.” She started down the steps ahead of him.

“I’ll be down in ten minutes to take you out to Hawkeye’s truck.” Garner followed them onto the landing. “You’ll need it with Liv’s farm truck out of commission.”

“The sheriff called a tow truck,” Olivia said. “The way it was smoking, I’m sure my dad’s old truck is a total loss.” Her lips turned downward. “I’ll be in the market for a used, cheap truck or we won’t be able to haul the hay to the barn before winter.”

“You can use mine until then,” Hawkeye offered.

Instead of nodding, she frowned. “I can’t rely on a man who is at best a temporary solution to a much larger problem.”

“That being?” Hawkeye asked.

“I need more than a truck out at the ranch. I need my foreman, or at least someone who can do some of the heavy work. Tossing hay bales isn’t easy.” She chewed on her bottom lip.

The motion made Hawkeye’s groin tighten. He wanted to pull that lip into his mouth and kiss her worries away.

Why?

He didn’t know. He’d just met the woman. That she was willing to risk her life to pull a full-grown man out of a smoking truck said a lot about her character. Not only was she strong, she was tough and cared about the people around her.

“I’ll be at the ranch,” Hawkeye said. “While I’m keeping an eye on things, I can help with hay hauling and doing other chores as needed.”

Olivia snorted. “Thanks, but you won’t be around for long. I’m sure, once Kevin and his team figure out what’s going on, you’ll be back with your unit. I need a permanent solution. It took both my father and our foreman to manage the ranch with seasonal help. Even if Abe wasn’t laid up with a broken leg, I’d have to find more help. The kind that will stick around for the long haul.”

Hawkeye raised his hands palms up and smiled. “In the meantime, you have me. Use me while you’re advertising for additional staff. What can it hurt? You’re getting my services free.”

Olivia’s stiff shoulders relaxed slightly. “You’re right. And thanks.”

“Don’t sound so ungrateful. Wait until you see what I can do. I’m strong, and I’ve hauled my share of hay in my younger days.” He stopped at the bottom of the staircase and pulled Olivia around to face him. “And I have a special skill.” His lips twitched.

Her breath hitched and her gaze dropped to his lips. “Oh yeah?” she said, her voice a whisper.

Hawkeye leaned toward her, as if he might kiss her, his lips passing her mouth and going toward her ear. “I know the difference between a steer and a cow.” He leaned back and smiled. Yes, he was flirting with her, but he could tell she needed a little levity in a bad situation. Having lost her father and now with her foreman off the ranch, she had a lot weighing on her shoulders. Hawkeye winked.

Olivia’s lips pressed into a tight line.

Not exactly the reaction he was aiming for. For a moment, Hawkeye thought he might have gone too far flirting with the pretty rancher, and she might slap his face again. Just in case, he leaned back a little farther.

A moment passed and Olivia’s firm lips loosened and spread into a wry smile. “You don’t know how important a skill that is.” She stuck out her hand. “For however long you’re here, you’re hired.”

With an accord reached, Hawkeye shook her hand, an electric shock running up his arm and shooting low into his groin. The woman had an effect on him he hadn’t counted on. Rather than kissing her, like he wanted to, he turned her toward the tavern entrance and ushered her inside with a hand at the small of her back. With everything going wrong in Grizzly Pass, helping Olivia was the first thing that felt right.

As Hawkeye opened the door, a young man was thrown through. He stumbled, fell and landed on his knees on the sidewalk.

A man with a scruffy beard and unkempt brown hair lurched through the door, his face red and splotchy, his breath reeking of booze. “No damned stepson of mine is going to be a dishwasher in a saloon, carrying out other people’s trash.” He pointed a finger at the boy. “Get home, where you belong. You have your own chores to do.”

Olivia crouched to help the teen to his feet.

Once upright, the young man shrugged off her hands and faced the angry man. “I finished the chores before I came to town.”

“Don’t talk back to me, boy,” the man growled.

Hawkeye recognized the drunk man as one of the men Garner had on his watch list. Ernie Martin. A man who had a gripe with the government over the discontinuance of the subsidies on his livestock.

“Get back to the ranch,” Ernie said.

The teen lifted his chin and set his feet slightly apart as if ready to do battle. “I have a job. I need to be here when I said I would.”