Page 39 of Cowboy Peril

Chapter Seventeen

After meeting DaniWyatt and realizing she wouldn’t be asked to leave the ranch, Parker headed for her tiny house the next morning to pack up the boxes the sheriff would send someone to collect. She glanced both ways before stepping onto the deck. Seeing Monster lying there, she relaxed. The dog would be on alert if someone was around who didn’t live on the ranch.

At least that was Parker’s reasoning. “Come with me, boy. I could use the company, and since I’m not supposed to be alone, you’ll keep me from getting into trouble with Colt.” Did the dog count as a guardian?

Her steps faltered at the sight of a shoebox next to her front door.

Monster’s ears perked. A whine came from deep in his throat before he sprang forward and nosed the box.

With trembling fingers, Parker removed the lid. Lying inside on a dirty rag lay a squirming, whining, newborn puppy. “Oh, you poor thing.” She scooped the puppy into her hand, keeping it wrapped in the rag. “Let’s get you to your mommy.” Then, she’d find Colt.

The gifts from Mark had to stop. This pup would’ve died if she hadn’t discovered it by nightfall.

Colt reached her by the time she turned and stepped off her porch. “Why are you alone? Don’t you listen to anyone, including the sheriff?”

“Monster is with me.” She thrust out her hands. “Another gift. Obviously, Mark is smarter than the cameras.”

His eyes widened as his face turned the color of a beet. He moved to her porch and studied the camera for a moment before waving his hand in front of it. Then, he dashed to the corner of the main house, Parker and Monster on his heels.

“Only the wire to the cameras has been cut.” He stared toward the thick trees behind the house. “How is he getting close enough?”

“He has to have help, Colton. Someone on this ranch must be helping him.”

“No. We trust them.” He shook his head.

“There is no other explanation.” She glanced toward the bunkhouse. “We need to talk to Dylan. First, let me return this baby.”

Colt escorted her to the barn and waited while she placed the puppy back with its mother and four litter mates. “I still want one when they’re old enough.” Parker smiled and straightened. “A little girl.”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”

They found Dylan in his office. He listened with a stony face as they told him about finding the puppy. When Parker started to explain her suspicions about one of the ranch hands, he held up a hand to stop her. “Let’s wait for the sheriff. I don’t want to ruin my breakfast more than it already has been.” He reached for his phone and made the call before heading for the dining room. “When is our next group of guests arriving?”

“Tomorrow,” Colt said. “Should we cancel? There will be six twelve-year-olds, all boys wanting to learn some camping skills.”

“Overnight?”

“No.”

Dylan nodded. “No need to cancel, then. Collins always seems to come under the cover of darkness.”

Parker couldn’t shake the idea that one of the ranch hands was helping Mark. What the ranch needed was undercover deputies, not rowdy children. Once Mark was captured and locked up, then life could get back to normal on the ranch. She followed the men into the dining room. Again, she thought of leaving. If she did, the danger would follow her. Her gaze landedon Colt’s strong back. But so would he—of that, she had no doubt. He’d committed to keeping her safe and wouldn’t stop from doing so, even if it meant putting himself in harm’s way.

The sheriff arrived toward the end of breakfast, and Parker followed him, Colt, and Dylan back to the ranch office. Arms crossed, she listened as Colt explained about her finding the pup and the cut wire.

When he finished, she interjected. “I think one of the ranch hands is helping Mark.”

Dylan whipped to face her. “Impossible. I trust them all.”

“Then you explain how he gets on and off this ranch.” She arched a brow. “Because it is impossible, unless he has help. Someone willing to cut wires and steal puppies from a nursing mother. It has to be someone here, or Monster would’ve sounded the alarm.”

Dylan shared a look with Colt. “But who? Willy has been here since day one. Maverick, Clay, Deacon, Ryder, and River almost as long.”

“That leaves the more recent hires. Bill, Lincoln, and Darryl.” Colt rubbed both hands roughly down his face. “Since Bill was killed a few months back, that leaves Lincoln and Darryl.”

“How well do you know them?” Parker refused to sway from her idea. “What do you think, Sheriff?”

“I think you’re on to something. Having someone helping him explains a lot.”

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