Lindsay McKenna - Night Hawk

Cat leaned against the baler. “Know what you mean.” She looked around the barn, cooing sounds echoing every now and then. “The Triple H was in the Holt family for a hundred years. Sandy got breast cancer at age forty and, sadly, she had to sell the place to get the money to pay off her medical bills.”

Kai wrinkled her nose and took a break. “That’s horrible.”

“The worst,” Cat agreed softly. “I’ve known Sandy since she first contracted breast cancer. I was working at the fire department then as a paramedic. We became good friends and I’d drop over to that small, awful apartment, which was all she could afford. She loves reading, so I’d read to her, share lunch with her and try to get her to eat.”

Kai felt warmth flow through her heart as she studied Cat. “And you knew her for how long before Talon got home?”

“Five years,” Cat murmured, smiling. “I kinda knew Talon from the photo scrapbook that Sandy showed me. I knew just about everything about their family, the love she had for her two husbands who both died unexpectedly.”

“And Cass told me that her breast cancer had returned.” Kai felt badly for the woman. Cancer scared everyone.

Nodding, Cat said, “It did. Talon had gotten wounded nine months earlier, and so did his dog, Zeke. He was coming home after he got discharged from the hospital, to take care of her.”

“And is Sandy’s cancer gone yet?”

“It is. But she’s got an aggressive kind and I worry.” She nibbled on her lower lip. And then her eyes sparkled. “But I think with Cass coming into her life, it’s helping her to rally.”

Kai smiled a little. “I think they like one another. Don’t you?”

Cat chuckled. “Just a little. Cass is forty-nine and Sandy is the same age. They’re good together. He can get her to eat and has actually helped her gain back some of her lost weight. That’s a miracle in and of itself.”

“I feel love is the greatest healer of all,” Kai said quietly, holding Cat’s worried look. “I mean, I don’t know if there is love between them or not, but loving care makes the difference.” She ought to know. She’d reached out, opened her arms to Gil, who was clearly suffering and in anguish, and helped him. She saw Cat’s face soften and become pensive.

“Love is the greatest of healers. You’re right.” She lifted her chin. “My husband was very wounded in so many ways as a SEAL operator. He came home to a mess with Sandy. She’d given up hope and refused any more treatment to stop the return of her cancer. He was dealing with a lot. I just happened to walk into the picture at that moment.”

Kai studied Cat, the silence ebbing gently between them. “But you fell in love with Talon?”

“I did, but I didn’t want to. I’d screwed up my life, too. I didn’t want to involve Talon in it.”

“I think life is messy at best,” Kai muttered distastefully.

Laughing a little, Cat nodded. “No argument there. The good news is that we’re starting to get a workable foundation under us to bring the Triple H back into great shape.”

“Gil said the ranch went into a state of disrepair for nine years.”

‘Yeah. Easterners bought it, one after another playing cowboy, and they knew nothing at all,” she said grimly, wrapping her arms around her chest. “I can’t tell you how many times Sandy cried over the guilt of having to sell their family ranch for her medical bills. It was a horrible, stressful burden on her.”

“Guilt is a bitch,” Kai agreed, just as grim. “But she’s better now? Coming back home?”

“Yes. The doctors cleared her a month ago, proclaimed her free of cancer. Again.” Cat shook her head. “I just keep praying it stays away this time.”

“Don’t you think that the shock of having to sell her ranch brought it back a second time?”

Giving her a searching look, Cat said, “Funny, I always thought the same thing. I mean, I never talked to Sandy or Talon about it.”

“But you’re a paramedic. You see how shock devastates a person on every level.”

“Yes, it does. You’re pretty sharp and observant, Kai.”

Grinning a little, she wiped her hands on a rag. “I see patterns in people’s lives. I look for cause and effect.”

“Hmm, well, that’s not a bad way to approach it. Sandy was always weighted down by the loss of their ranch. I saw her at least three times a week and she always talked about it. Cried over it. She couldn’t let it go.”

“How did you get the ranch back?”

“Miss Gus, over at the Bar H, which is next door to our ranch, bought it back for Sandy. She’s eighty-five years old and a matriarch here in the valley. Gus is tough, no-nonsense, but that old woman has a heart of gold. All she wanted in return for buying the ranch back for Sandy was a twenty-year lease on two hundred of the five hundred acres we have on this ranch.”

“Wow,” Kai murmured, “that’s incredible. She must be very rich, then?” Because Kai had seen other ranches for sale in the valley in the local newspaper and they were going for millions of dollars.

Cat nodded. “Yes, she is. I hope you get to meet her soon. She’s a love. Feisty. Tough but fair. She worked hard for every penny she has. Gus usually drops over to see Sandy at least once a week.” With a grin, Cat added, “And she’s always snooping around to see what else we’ve done to get the ranch online.”

“Well, it’s sort of her investment, right?”

Chuckling, Cat eased to her feet. “Right. She and Sandy had been ranch neighbors ever since Gus came here from across the state. So when Sandy got ill, lost her ranch, Gus decided to try to get it back for her. And, eventually, she did.” Opening her hands, Cat gestured around the barn. “So here we are. We’re putting our money to good use, thanks to Cass. He’s a brilliant math guy and he also works with Griff McPherson, who is married to Val, Gus’s niece. Griff has an MBA from Harvard and sometimes he and Cass get together to go over the business plan for our ranch. We’re really lucky to have both of them.”

“Well,” Kai said gently, “I think Sandy is lucky to have Cass.”

“Oh, Cass loves being Sandy’s keeper. Talon and I both feel that sooner or later, love is going to blossom between them.”

“It looks like it has already.”

Shrugging, Cat said, “Sandy’s fallen in love twice, Kai. And each time, she married that man. And then, she lost him. Gardner died when Talon was ten. And then she met Bradley Holt, and he died unexpectedly in a car accident. I don’t know if she has enough of her heart left to fall in love again. She hasn’t said anything to me, but I can see it in her eyes. She’s afraid to fall in love a third time.”

“Because she’s afraid she’d lose Cass like the other two men?”

“Bingo,” Cat said. “Cass knows her history. I pulled him aside when he first came and gave him the lowdown. He’s just naturally a caregiver besides being a brainy dude. Never mind he was Special Forces. The guy rocks in my book and I love him like a big, hairy, fuzzy brother.” She grinned. “Cass grows on everyone.”

Kai smiled. “I liked him from the moment I met him.” She crossed her fingers and held them up. “Let’s hope Sandy gets through her fear of loss and lets Cass into her heart. I feel if she does, she won’t have any more bouts with cancer. Love heals.”

CHAPTER FIVE

ON MONDAY, KAI had driven into Jackson Hole to the John Deere store to pick up the items she’d need to repair the Triple H’s tractor. They’d had their 9:00 a.m. meeting and Gil had given her permission to go into town and get the items she needed. As she walked in, she saw a number of shiny new green-and-yellow tractors.

Seeing a sign that said Repair, she headed across the waxed white tiled floor toward the opened window. As she did, she spotted a man in a white cowboy shirt and dark brown slacks talking with a John Deere salesman on the floor. He had looked up as she entered, his dark brown eyes assessing her intently for a moment. Kai felt the power around the man, a sense of control and of his importance. He was dressed like a rancher, not a businessman, but she spotted a gold Rolex watch on his thick wrist peeking out from beneath the white cuff of his shirtsleeve.