Page 10 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

“They’d strike back, bigger and harder.”

“Will he retaliate if something is done to him?”

“Depends on what’s done. If it’s property or money, he’ll let it go. If it’s people, that’s a whole other matter.”

Maybe it was coming from Jinx and his words, but it felt as though the whole place was radiating with tension and anxiety, a pile of kindling waiting for a spark. “What do you suppose would happen if the first strike was something soft and subtle, not an out and out act of war but more of a micro-aggression?” she asked.

“I can’t rightly say, Miss Bailey. These people, and I hesitate to call them that because they act more like animals, these cartels, hacking people to pieces and putting their heads on pikes, they don’t operate like you and me. They have their own rules.”

Bailey was all too acquainted with the brutality of men. She’d seen it in action in combat, had seen some of the worst things men could do to each other with little to no provocation. She would have to tread carefully, much more than she first realized.

“Thank you, Jinx. This has been most informative,” she said.

“You talk real purdy, miss,” he said, tossing her a wink.

“Are you flirting with me?” she asked.

“Never could I ever resist a pretty girl,” he answered. Then,wonderingly, “That’s probably why I ended up with seven children.”

Bailey laughed out loud, and he smiled at her amusement. “Do any of them work the ranch?”

“All four boys,” he said. “The girls never took to it. I tried dadgum hard to get one or two of them married off to Cam or Cal but,” he shook his head sadly, “they all had other ideas. Can’t make kids do what you want them to for nothin’.”

“I’m sure my parents would sympathize with you,” she said.

“Well, now, I’m sure your parents must be real proud of you, Miss Bailey, a marine major and all.”

“Yes, but I’m not anymore,” she said, her smile dimming as she turned to look out the window.

“Well, you were, and that’s somethin’,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.

“Thank you, Jinx,” she said. “Where might I find the key to the airplane?”

“Cal keeps it in his office.”

“Think he’ll let me take it up for a spin?” she asked.

“Long as you don’t ask him to go with you, I don’t see why not,” Jinx said. They shared a smile, and he turned up the radio, singing along to a happy country tune.

Chapter 6

Cal was in his office when Bailey tapped softly on his door.

“May I take your airplane?” she asked.

He tore his eyes away from the computer screen, blinking at her while his brain tried to adjust. “Take it where?”

“In the air, for a spin,” she said in the tone of someone who thought maybe his brain wasn’t working quite right.

“You’re a pilot?” he blurted.

Her lips tightened, and he guessed he had offended her. He could almost see the list of possible retorts flashing before her eyes, something like, “Lots of women are pilots now.” Instead she simply said, “Yes, sir.”

He gave her a knowing, teasing smile. It wasn’t that she was a woman so much that she was so doggone cute. Her hair was up in the spunky little ponytail again, only today she’d added a baseball cap up top. She wore a gray t-shirt with tidy denim jeans. In fact all of her was tidy. It was hard to picture her with a hair out of place or a spot of food on her clothes, almost as if those things wouldn’t dare, not on her watch.

“Was there anything else you wanted to add, Major Dunbar?” he asked, taunting her to say what was on her mind.

“Would you like to come with me, sir?” she asked, eyesslightly narrowed.

---