Page 34 of Cowboy Jeopardy

“You aren’t so bad.”

“Really?” Her eyes shone in the moonlight. “What have you done in comparison?”

“I killed someone.”

She halted. “Okay, you win.”

“It was self-defense, but it still messed me up pretty bad. I was at a party with my buddies, smiled at a pretty girl, not knowing she was taken. The boyfriend took offense and came at me with a broken beer bottle. I shoved him, he fell, and struck his head on the side of the house. He died from a brain hemorrhage.” That night still gave him nightmares.

“Did your wife know?”

“Yep, and she married me anyway. Lauren is the main reason I got over that night. She helped chase away my demons. It’s because of her I have this ranch. Hiring wounded veterans, whether physically or mentally, was her idea.”

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

“She was.” He leaned on the paddock and reached out to pet Clarence.

“I wonder how she’d feel about you hiring me as nanny to her sons.” She folded her arms on the top rail.

“She’d have insisted.” He turned and leaned sideways to face her. “I don’t regret hiring you, Dani. Not for a minute. The boys like you. They haven’t liked any of their nannies before.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” She sighed. “I received another text today at the diner. He gave me a week to come up with the money.”

His heart dropped. “What are you going to do?”

She shrugged. “Not much I can do. Mom has thirty thousand she collected as a down payment for Roberto, but that’s a far cry from a hundred.”

“I’ll mortgage the ranch.” The words blurted from his mouth so fast they surprised him.

She shook her head hard enough for hair to fall from the hair clip holding the strands back from her face. “You know as well as I do that giving into these demands will have the man coming back for more and more until—” She took a deep breath. “It won’t end well, is all.”

“We need to let the sheriff know. He has friends in the FBI. They deal with this sort of thing all the time.”

The moonlight shone on the tears coursing down her cheeks. “I can’t believe you offered to mortgage your ranch for me.”

“I’d do anything to put a stop to this.” He brushed her tears away with his fingers. “The man is close. Too close.” He had to admit she was right. The chances of him stopping at one hundred thousand was slim.

“Mom and I want to set a trap.”

“No.”

“Listen.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “What if the FBI agrees? I could be the bait, then they could pounce and come to the rescue like knights in shining armor?”

Hewanted to be her knight. “How can you make light of this?”

“It beats walking around under a dark cloud all the time.” She stepped away. “I promise not to explore the idea any further unless law enforcement agrees with me.”

Dylan had no choice but to go along with the idea. He had no claims on her. “I don’t have to like it.”

“No. Neither do I. Why did you want to take a walk, Dylan? To ask me what my plans are?”

“No. I’ve been trying to do something for two days.” He moved closer.

“What?”

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