Page 31 of For Always
“I’m standing right here, Dessie,” Gabriella said.
“You are but you’re recovering from a fall, so you’re not talking sensible right now. Tyler do what I said,” Dessie snapped before leaving them standing in the foyer.
Gabriella rolled her eyes at Dessie’s retreating back.
“She’s bossy,” she said with a frown.
Tyler chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it. You should see her when she’s trying to get you to take some godawful medicine.”
He shook his head. “It’s not a pretty sight.”
She cracked a small smile and replied, “I’ll bet it’s not.”
They were only a couple feet away from each other but it seemed like miles. Tyler hadn’t touched her since she’d whispered another man’s name. It was probably his fault. When he’d asked her about being happy this morning, he should have just come right out and asked if she were seeing someone else. But during her first tour of the ranch when they were at the equestrian center, she’d told him she wasn’t interested in getting involved with any man. He’d taken that to mean she was single. If that were the case, then who the hell was Austin?
“Well, I’d better get you upstairs,” he said and moved toward her.
She moved back. “I can manage. Really, Tyler, I’m sure you have things you need to get done around here.”
“Nothing more important than making sure you’re okay,” he said truthfully. “Once you’re settled I promise I’ll leave you alone.”
For a moment he thought he saw sadness flicker across her face. But he was wrong, he was certain of that. He went to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and said, “Let’s go, Ms. Bennett. You’re officially a patient at the Westwind Rehabilitation Center.”
When she looked up at him and smiled, Tyler felt that constriction in his chest again. He also felt like punching anyone named Austin.
Chapter 9
Tyler stood at the window, staring out into the darkness and lifting a glass to his lips. This was his glass of whiskey for the day. It had been added to his daily routine since returning to Hobbs Creek. In return, he ran an extra mile each morning. Except this morning. He’d been doing something else this morning.
“Who knew you and Ms. Bennett were going out for a ride?” Sheriff Alvarez asked.
“No one,” Tyler replied without turning around.
He knew everyone closed in the office with him tonight. The sheriff, Stephen and Clyde—people whom Tyler assumed he could trust.
“Who got the horses ready for the ride?”
Tyler didn’t want to answer any more questions. The answers weren’t getting them anywhere. But the sheriff had a job to do and Tyler could respect that.
“I did,” he said solemnly. “I went down to the equestrian center at four. Gabriella arrived at a little after five. We set out around five-thirty and were only going to ride around the line of the property. We were going at a steady pace, out for no more than forty-five minutes before the shots came.”
“From which direction?”
“I don’t know.”
“Found some shell casings behind those trees,” Stephen said.
Tyler turned then. He hadn’t seen Stephen since the man had walked off when they were down in the field. By the time they’d returned from the hospital, Stephen was out taking care of more ranch business. Dessie had taken Gabriella dinner in her room and Tyler had closed himself down here in his father’s old office.
“So that’s where he stood waiting?” Tyler asked, his fingers tightening on the glass.
The sheriff had taken off his hat. Tyler saw it sitting on the edge of the desk. His hair was still mostly black, with the tufts of gray staying cooperative at his ears. He scratched his head and raised a brow as he stared at Tyler.
“Why do you think it’s a man?”
Tyler shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s a man or a woman. I don’t know who it is, sheriff. That’s the problem. Somebody killed my parents. Then somebody vandalized my property. Then somebody took shots at me and my…a guest on this ranch. Male or female, something is definitely going on here.”
“He’s got a point,” Stephen added with a nod. “We’ve never had problems like this here at Westwind. After the vandalism we tightened security around here. Added the electronic gate with the call-box entrance and attached security monitors at measured intervals along the perimeter. Nobody gets onto this property without going through security.”
