Branded. B.J. Daniels
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She’d noticed that he’d been spending more time in the barn with his horses lately. Apparently, this is where he went when he was upset about something. She stopped just inside the door to watch him as he curried a palomino mare. Hoyt was in his late fifties, just a few years older than she was. He was a big, physically fit man with a thick head of blond hair that made the gray in it hardly noticeable. But what had stolen her heart like a thief was his penetrating blue eyes and self-deprecating charm.
She wondered about the other women who’d passed through his life and this curse her latest caller had mentioned. Had those women only known the Hoyt who laughed a lot and lived hard? Or had they stuck around long enough to know this Hoyt, the quiet, gentle rancher who Emma loved and worried about?
At breakfast she’d noticed that he was quieter than usual. Now she was sure something was eating at him and wondered how long it would take before he confided in her. Or if he would.
She was sure the other women who’d been in his life had been younger, slimmer and no doubt more beautiful than she was. She couldn’t help but wonder what had made him fall in love with her.
But whatever those other women had been like, Emma didn’t think Hoyt realized yet that he had a woman strong enough that he could lean on her.
He turned as if sensing her presence. His face lit up at the sight of her and sent her heart racing and her pulse drumming in her ears. It amazed her that this man had the ability to do that to her. She didn’t doubt that Hoyt Chisholm would be able to fill her with this same desire when she was ninety.
“Coming out here will only get you in trouble,” Hoyt said as he reached for her. He pulled her to him, nuzzled her neck, making her skin tingle. She felt his fingers slip under her Western shirt and skim across her bare midriff.
As he drew back, his gaze met hers, desire burning like a hot, blue flame.
“Have you ever made love in a hayloft?” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.
“Never,” she whispered back when she was able to catch her breath. Clearly he had something else in mind other than talking about what was really bothering him. If he thought he could distract her … Well, he was right.
“But you’ve secretly wanted to, haven’t you?” He was grinning at her and she knew she would have given him anything.
“How is it you always seem to know my secret desires, Hoyt Chisholm?”
Without another word he took her hand and led her through the barn to the foot of the hayloft ladder. “Ladies first.”
She saw the dare in his gaze and had a feeling no other woman had been up this ladder with him. Emma kissed him and began to climb.
“WHAT THE HELL is he doing here?”
Halley studied the man standing framed in the Granger house doorway. She vaguely remembered Sid Granger. She’d seen him around town when she was a girl because he’d worked for the city and probably still did.
“I need to speak with you and your wife,” Halley said flashing her badge. It had little effect on Sid, though. He stood glaring at Colton, looking as if he wanted to kill him. “Mr. Granger, I have something of your daughter Jessica’s.”
She held up the purse, finally getting his attention.
“That’s not my daughter’s.”
“It has Jessica’s driver’s license in it. I believe it is her purse.” Behind him a small woman appeared in a housedress and long apron, the quintessential home-maker. Millie Granger? When the woman’s eyes lit on the purse, her expression changed instantly. Suddenly she looked worried.
“Why don’t you ask your wife if it’s Jessica’s purse,” Halley said.
“It’s Jessica’s,” Millie said in a small voice. “Let them come in.”
Sid seemed surprised, but stepped back.
Halley shot Colton a look and said under her breath, “What did you do to make him hate you so much?”
Colton shook his head. “The son of a bitch was crazy when it came to Jessica.”
They followed the Grangers inside the house.
The interior of the house came as a surprise. Given the way Millie Granger was dressed, Halley had expected a lot of doilies, ruffled curtains and crocheted pillows. Instead, the feel was more masculine, including the huge stretched and dried rattlesnake skin that hung over the fireplace. She shivered. She’d never liked snakes, but she shouldn’t have been that surprised that Sid Granger did.
Sid turned abruptly the moment they were inside. “I don’t want him in my hou—”
“Colton found your daughter’s purse,” Halley said, raising her voice over his. “As I said, her driver’s license is in it along with a bus ticket from fourteen years ago and $200 in cash.”
Sid shook his head. “How is that possible?”
“That’s what we’d like to know. Did your daughter mention losing her purse?” she asked the mother.
Millie was a petite woman who looked as if she might blow away in a strong wind. The word mousy came to mind and, Halley noticed, Millie Granger was also clearly nervous. She was wearing a faded print apron. She kneaded the hem of it in her fingers, worrying at a hole in the fabric as she looked at her husband, as if fearful of what he might do.
Halley was wondering the same thing. Sid Granger’s jaw was set, his body practically trembling with anger.
“There must be some mistake,” Millie said in a small voice, her gaze still on her husband.
“You say you heard from your daughter last week?” Halley asked. Neither answered. “Is there a problem?” Clearly, there was, since Millie seemed to be waiting for her husband to say something.
“It’s a family matter,” Sid said through clenched teeth. “We don’t discuss family matters with—”
“She ran away fourteen years ago,” Millie blurted out, finally dragging her gaze from her husband. Sid shot her a lethal look.
Halley already knew from the letter Colton had received that running away had been Jessica’s plan. “Was there an argument?”
Sid Granger had his lips clamped shut. He was still glaring at his wife.
“We didn’t hear from her for a while,” Millie said timidly. “But then we got a letter from her.”
“So you’ve been in contact with her?” Halley asked. Again the Grangers exchanged a look. “You’ve talked to her?”
“She writes every year on her birthday, but there is never a return address and she mails the letters from different places. She doesn’t want us to know where she is.” Millie’s voice broke.
“It’s not us she is trying to get away from,” Sid bellowed. “It’s him!” He thrust a finger at Colton. “We lost
our daughter because of him!” He took a menacing step toward him. “I want this man out of my house. Now.”
“Let’s all settle down,” Halley said, giving Colton a warning look as she stepped between the two men.
“Jessica got away from him and I won’t have him—”
“You’re the reason she was leaving,” Colton snapped. “She would have done anything to get out of this house and away from you.”
“Maybe it would be better if you left,” Halley said, turning to glare at Colton. He was only making the situation worse.
“I’m not going anywhere until I see the letter from Jessica.”
Halley would have liked to haul him out of the house in handcuffs just as she’d warned