Lindsay McKenna - Night Hawk

If she hadn’t been so focused on getting parts for the tractor, she might have taken another look. He was a good-looking man, wearing a brown Stetson on hair of similar color. She liked that he stood tall and straight. Why she was even vaguely interested in him made her snort softly to herself. She had enough problems with Gil Hanford shadowing her life at the ranch right now. Still, she felt the stranger’s gaze linger on her as she stopped at the open window.

Kai knew Talon wanted her to get replacement parts for the tractor but if she could get, for instance, a rebuilt carburetor for the tractor instead of buying a new one, that would save them money. Talon was up on equipment and that shouldn’t have surprised her. Talon went over each item she’d found that needed to be replaced. He’d given her the name of Joe Hoskins, who repaired tractors for John Deere in the town. The balding man of sixty came to the window and smiled at her.

“What can I do for you, missy?” He placed his long, gnarled, darkly tanned hands on the opened door that served as a Dutch door to the repair department.

Kai smiled and introduced herself. “Joe? Do you have any of these items that are rebuilt and not new? I’m the mechanic for the Triple H and money is tight.” She liked his dancing hazel eyes and his quirky smile. The man, when he smiled, had two front teeth missing.

Joe studied the list. “Hmm, well, I can get half of this list on rebuilt. That’s a mighty old tractor, missy.” He looked into his repair room, which was filled with long rows of equipment on each shelf.

Kai grimaced. “I know it’s old. Do you have any parts here for it?” Kai knew from studying the tractors online that they were evolving remarkably from their forebears into electronic and computerized whizzes. The engines had changed and their old model was most likely a dinosaur to Joe.

“Well,” he murmured, “I don’t think so...but lemme go look...”

Kai stood at the window, her mind running over where else she could find the parts she needed.

“Got a little problem with your tractor?” a male voice inquired from behind her.

Turning, Kai looked up. It was the cowboy who had been talking to the salesman on the floor earlier. She smiled a little. “Just got an old tractor that needs some parts,” she explained. When he smiled, his whole face changed.

“I’m Chuck Harper,” he said, offering his hand to her. “I own Ace Trucking at the west end of town.”

Kai took his hand. It was the hand of a man who worked. She felt the calluses as she slid her hand into his. “Kai Tiernan. Nice to meet you.”

Chuck released her hand and looked toward Joe. “My trucking company has a very large state-of-the-art mechanical and repair shop. I heard Joe say your tractor was pretty old. Chances are he won’t have the parts you’re looking for.” He studied her with curiosity. “Are you working for someone around here? It’s kind of odd to see a woman with an equipment list in her hand instead of a grocery list.”

She felt his interest in her as a woman, mentally rejecting it. Harper was either in his late thirties or early forties. He was deeply tanned, his face long, with crow’s-feet at the corner of both his eyes. There was alertness in them. This man didn’t miss much. “I was just hired by the Triple H. They needed a mechanic.”

“Oh, yeah,” he murmured. “That ranch is broken.”

“Well,” she said, “it’s coming back. The Holts are putting their love into it, breathing new life into it.” She saw him smile a little and she could feel his interest growing in her. Man-to-woman interest. Glancing down, she saw no wedding ring on his finger, but that meant nothing nowadays. If he owned a trucking company, chances were he was fairly well-off moneywise and was married. Probably had a couple of kids, to boot. She was not interested.

“You’re a dreamer,” he teased, his teeth even and white as he smiled down at her.

“No, I’m a realist. The people I work for are like me. We know hard work will bring the Triple H back to her feet.”

Shrugging a little, Chuck said, “In my book, that’s dreaming. But hey, I wish you all luck. Here comes Joe...”

Turning, Kai saw the older gentleman come back with her list.

“Sorry to tell you, Kai, but none of these things are carried by our company anymore.”

Feeling down, Kai said, “Well, do you know of a parts dealer around here?”

“Naw, the only thing you can do is maybe call the John Deere dealer in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It’s the nearest large city to us,” and Joe pointed northward. “It’s a three-hour drive one way.” He reached down and pulled a business card from a tray. “Here’s their number. They might have something, but that tractor of the Holts is really out-of-date.”

“I know it is,” Kai said, taking the card and tucking it into her pants pocket, “but it’s still a good, hardworking machine. It has a lot of years left in it.”

Joe gave her a slight smile. “They make Deeres to last forever.”

“You know,” Chuck said, moving closer to her, “I have a complete repair facility. Do you know how to rebuild a motor? A carburetor?”

“I do. Why?”

“Well,” Chuck said, “I’d be happy to take you over there to check out our repair shop. If you bring in what you need repaired, I have the tools, the machinery and other items you need to do it. Now, I wouldn’t charge you anything but a fair hourly rate to use my equipment. If you needed spare parts, my man, José, could probably find the things you need in our spare parts department. Why don’t you come over with me? Check it out? Might save you the loss of a day having to drive to Idaho Falls and back.”

The idea was tempting. Kai said, “Let me call Talon Holt. I need his permission. Could you give me an idea of costs?” She liked that Harper was willing to help her, but it wasn’t lost on Kai that he liked her, either. Right now, as bruised as her heart and ego were from the blowout with Gil, it was nice to be appreciated by a man. Especially someone like Harper, who appeared to be kind and thoughtful.

Chuck took a piece of paper from Joe and scribbled down the rates and handed it to her. “I’ll wait by the door,” he said. “Let me know what Holt says.”

“Thanks,” Kai murmured, pulling out her cell phone.

* * *

GIL WAS COMING down the porch steps from the main ranch house near four in the afternoon when he saw Kai drive in. She parked her truck with the rest and climbed out. He saw her wrestle with a large cardboard box that was obviously heavy. He met her halfway.

“Let me take that for you,” he said gruffly, reaching out for it.

Kai scowled. “I got it.” She glared up at him.

Gently, Gil eased his hands around it. “Let me help you, Kai.”

Her heart twisted and Kai didn’t want him touching her, so she released the box to him. Why was she still so drawn to him? Why? It frustrated the hell out of her. “They’re parts. I need to take them to the green barn.”

“Okay,” Gil said, turning and beginning the walk around the ranch house. “Were you able to get the John Deere parts you needed?”

Kai fell into step with him, keeping plenty of room between them. “No. But I met a really nice guy, Chuck Harper.” Instantly, she saw Gil’s face go hard, and his gaze snapped to hers. He halted abruptly, staring down at her.

“Harper?” he snarled.

Shaken, Kai said, “Well...yes. Why?” She saw blackness in Gil’s eyes and it bothered the hell out of her. “I called Talon Holt about this hours ago,” she began defensively, her chin jutting out. “He gave me permission to use Ace Trucking’s repair facility to make the parts I needed for the tractor. Why?”