Page 2 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

“Thank you,” the Colonel said, taking a seat on the couch. Right away Smokey ran up to him and deposited his ball in his lap.

“Smokey,” Ridge admonished.

“It’s fine,” the Colonel said. He picked up the slobbery ball and tossed it across the room while Smokey took off after it, nails scrambling on the floor.

“Is everything all right, sir?” Ridge asked. The Colonel had never come to his home before, and he was dressed in civilian clothes, another first.

“I, uh, have a kind of favor to ask,” the Colonel said, shifting uncomfortably.

“Anything,” Ridge said and meant it. He owed the Colonel a lot, basically his entire career and the wellbeing of his sister-in-law, Amelia.

“It’s about my daughter,” the Colonel hedged, clearly uncomfortable.

Ridge’s heart stuttered and stopped. “Jane?” If Jane and Blue were having problems, Ridge might lose the best hacker in the industry. It was a selfish thought, but he couldn’t seem to help it. Plus Blue was a friend, both to him and to Maggie.

“Not that one. Jane’s doing well. You know, I never would have guessed Blue would turn out to be son-in-law material when I plucked him out of that prison, but the boy’s grown on me. He makes Jane happy, and he treats her well. No, Jane’s not the problem. It’s Bailey.”

“Bailey, sir?” Ridge asked. The Colonel was notoriously private and protective of his family life, and with good reason. He was a high value target, and that meant his family could always be in danger, too. In fact, until recently, Ridge hadn’tknown anything about the Colonel’s children until they had a case that required Jane’s expertise, which the Colonel volunteered. Jane was the middle of three daughters, but Ridge didn’t know the names of the others.

“My oldest. She’s recently been honorably discharged, and you know what a rough transition that can be.”

“Yes, sir.” Even shifting from SEAL life to being an undercover agent had been challenging. The military had a way of conditioning people for life.

“She’s been living with her mother and me, and, uh, I don’t know how to say this, but, uh, well, she’s driving me crazy. It’s not that I don’t love her, I do, but we’re too much alike to be under the same roof for this long. Besides that, she needs something, some job or project to take her focus off things until she figures out what she wants to do next.”

“Yes, sir,” Ridge said, understanding the problem. “How can I help?”

“You’re more plugged in to the everyday nitty gritty of what we do. Bailey’s a worker. She needs to get her hands dirty to feel good. I want you to keep an ear out. If you hear of anything for her, send it my way.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, but this seems contradictory to what you told me about Jane,” Ridge said. The Colonel had practically threatened to end him if anything happened to Jane while on his watch.

“The situation is different, and so are the girls. Jane is soft and gentle, a civilian to the core. Bailey can handle herself, and she thrives on the danger, on the adventure. Try to coddle her, and she’ll cut you.”

“She does sound like you, sir,” Ridge said, his eyes alight with amusement.

“The difference is I learned my lessons. The girl’s got morecourage than brains some days. Ah, this looks delicious,” the Colonel said, standing as Maggie rejoined them.

She had purposely lingered in the kitchen, giving the men a chance to talk, Ridge knew. It was a tricky thing to have a higher security clearance than his wife, but Maggie was good about slipping away, about not pressing him to tell her things or trying to finagle information or secrets out of him. Thankfully there weren’t many things he couldn’t tell her, and this one wouldn’t make the list. He would appeal for her help with Bailey Dunbar because Maggie had good people sense. If what the Colonel said about his daughter was true, he would need all of Maggie’s intuition and then some.

Chapter 2

Two days after the surprise visit from the Colonel, Ridge had another shock—his brother called.

It wasn’t that Calhoun never called, but rather that he always called with purpose—Christmas, Thanksgiving, and occasionally a birthday. Cal was six years older and immeasurably tougher. It was telling that Cam was a decorated Navy SEAL, had killed more people than he liked to count, and was still labeled “the sensitive one” in the family.

“What’s up, bud?” Cal began, another oddity. He never called simply to chat or exchange pleasantries. Usually they discussed their parents or the ranch or financial matters. As part of his inheritance, Cam owned thirty percent of the ranch. Upon their father’s death, he would have to decide if he wanted to continue to maintain his portion or allow Cal to buy him out. For now all his profit from that ownership went into a trust.

“Not much, Cal. How about you?”

“Same here. How’s LS?”

LS was Cal’s nickname for Maggie, Little Sister. The two hadn’t spent much time together, but what they had had been enough to form a mutual adoration society. As she did with everyone, Maggie had a way of bypassing outer defenses andgoing straight for the heart, even with his straight-laced older brother.

“She’s good. The change in seasons has been inspiring her to bake up a storm.”

Instead of the usual jokes about Cam getting fat, Cal surprised him again. “Tell her to send some of it this way. I’ve been craving pie and babygirl can cook.”

“How’s Isabel?” Cam asked and inwardly winced at the unintended comparison. Isabel could not cook, nor did she try. He knew Cal loved her, but when side by side with Maggie, his sister-in-law came up cold, shallow, empty, and standoffish.

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