She had to deal with the fact that John would never return. Grief was one hell of a roller coaster, but she seemed to have left the anger behind. And the bargaining. Nothing she could do, say or promise would bring her husband back.

  She sighed, dragging herself into the present moment. Retracing those steps wouldn’t help anything. It certainly wouldn’t help her move forward in a world without John.

  It was a wonder Mitch hadn’t washed his hands of her long ago. Steadfast, he’d become a rock for her. When she had let him.

  Like now, helping her to clean up this mess. A lot of detritus from the break-in was gone, but there were still plenty of things to put right. Like the living room.

  Oddly, as she watched it take new shape, a kind of relief started to ease through her. Maybe she should have asked for Mitch’s help sooner. Keeping most of the house like a museum wasn’t changing a thing. It certainly wasn’t making anything better.

  She looked down at her hands, still bandaged, although not as thickly. She was supposed to be flexing them now to avoid stiffening. Tomorrow she’d visit the doctor again and find out just how much more she could do. When she could get rid of these bandages. Just their mere presence had become seriously annoying. Thank goodness for Lila, because Grace sure as the dickens couldn’t have cared for herself the last few weeks.

  She even suspected that she still wouldn’t be able to do much once the bandages were gone. Through the layers, she could feel tenderness.

  Meanwhile she was beginning to feel as if she had a target on her back. She hadn’t mentioned that fear to Mitch because she didn’t want to appear silly, but this had just been too much. A fire and now this?

  She couldn’t help but feel stalked.

  As she scanned the world beyond her porch, she wondered if she was being watched right now. A shiver passed through her even though the day was warm.

  Who then?

  She guessed she had to wait for the sheriff’s findings to be sure, and she and Mitch had felt there was a link between the events. But they hadn’t discussed how this was making her feel. Or him, for that matter. She’d shied away from talking about it. Conspiracy theories had never been her thing. She had always resisted them.

  But this?

  Bill and Jack had finished their beers and now started discussing how to move the chair onto the pickup.

  “It’s not that heavy,” Bill insisted. “Maybe three hundred pounds and it’ll be split between us. We’re strong enough to do that.”

  Mitch set his bottle on the porch beside his chair and went down to them. “I’ll help. Then nobody will break a back.”

  “Thanks,” Bill said. “I was thinking about making a ramp but dragging this damn thing will be as hard as lifting it, maybe more.”

  “I absolutely agree,” Mitch said. “We just gotta be careful to balance it or somebody’s gonna take it on the chin. Find a spot to grab, guys.”

  “I’ll count to three when we’re ready,” said Jack.

  “Just one thing,” Mitch said. “Everyone counts to three, but no one ever says whether to lift on three or just after the number is said.”

  The two other men exchanged looks.

  “Good point,” Bill said. “Okay, right on three, the number being the lift when it’s spoken.”

  On the porch, Grace had to smile. She’d never thought about that. Count on Mitch not to miss a detail.

  All three squatted down, feeling around as they sought purchase on the wood frame.

  “It’s gonna want to tip,” Mitch said. “Toward the truck, so you guys lift your ends a little higher than me.”

  Which was going to put more weight on Mitch, Grace thought, but didn’t say anything. Mitch knew what he was doing.

  Two minutes later they had the chair loaded. Bill and Jack said they’d take care of tying it down, so Mitch came back to sit with Grace.

  “No major injuries,” Mitch remarked.

  “And that’s why I never moved it. Is your back okay?”

  “It is. Now that chair will go to its FRP.”

  She raised her brows. “Its what?”

  “Final resting place.” He gave her a crooked grin. “Maybe you don’t have the problem, but I’ve noticed that when you set something down it almost never moves again.”

  “I like that.” In fact, it tickled her.

  “At least the guys won’t have any trouble getting it off there. A couple of good shoves and it’ll tumble away.”

  The afternoon was waning as the two cowboys drove away. A little coolness had entered the breeze, feeling good. The wind caught wisps of her hair and she had to shove them away from her face. Despite her uneasiness earlier, she began to relax. It was so beautiful here with the western mountains changing color throughout the day and she hadn’t been noticing for a while.

  But she needed to bring the subject up. “Mitch?”

  He turned toward her. “Yeah?”

  “I’m feeling watched.”

  She saw him sit bolt upright, his face creasing with concern. “Since when?”

  “Today. Just today. Well, maybe a few times before the barn burned.”

  “Hell.”

  “I can’t imagine where anyone would be hiding.”

  He could. There were a few copses of trees out there. And then there was the side of the mountain, not too far out of reach for a good pair of binoculars. “Why didn’t you mention it before?”

  “Because it sounds crazy. Totally off the wall. This is the middle of nowhere, and it’d be hard to hide around here.”

  He hesitated, then said, “Let’s go home. Dinner will be ready soon, and we can talk about this later. And trust me, you’re not crazy.”

  She’d begun to wonder. She’d cut herself off from everything since John’s death. She’d allowed Mitch to show up from time to time, and she’d made friends with Betty.

  But still, without much to wind her mind around other than grief, she wondered if her mental wheels had come off the rails.

  Time would tell.

  * * *

  No, Mitch thought as they drove back to his place, it wouldn’t be impossible for someone to watch without being seen. Especially if no one was looking for it.

  Watched? He hadn’t thought of that part. No one would actually have to watch Grace to do these things. The barn had burned while she was there. She’d been home so rarely since her release from the hospital, anyone could have done this at almost any time.

  Except for Lila’s visits to pick up clothes or other items Grace wanted and her checks on the house.

  Someone would have to watch to figure out Lila’s schedule, to know for sure when the house would be empty. A truck sitting out front didn’t mean much, especially since he’d put Grace’s pickup in the new barn to protect it. It could have been her truck out there.

  Regardless, someone had to watch to be sure when Grace’s house was empty.

  Someone who needed enough time to get into the house and trash the place thoroughly.

  “Nothing was taken,” he said aloud as they drove up his drive.

  “Nothing I can tell.”

  Which made this even weirder. “We’ll check again tomorrow to make sure nothing else is missing.”

  “I have a doctor’s appointment at three.”

  “We can do both. Besides, there’s more cleanup I can help with.”

  Jack and Bill had ridden out to check on the herd, and Lila said they didn’t plan to be back for a couple of days.

  Mitch wasn’t surprised. The cattle had been needing attention and they always needed to be watched for problems. Jeff couldn’t do it all single-handedly, although he’d sure as hell try.

  All three of his hands were good men and he was lucky to have them.

  Speaking of which, it was getting on time to check on his shepherds and take them the staples they’d need, including a little extra that Lila always baked for them. Plus the hot meal he’d carry in the pails.

  Since Grace had come into his care, he’d been letting matters slide a bit too much. Especially his bookkeeping. The longer he let that go, the more of a headache it became.

  As Grace made her way to the living room after dinner, he stepped outside into the long twilight of summer. Scanning the view, he wondered if someone was really hiding out there.

  Grace had felt watched, and that sense was often true. Not often, but too often to be ignored. Well, there were groupings of trees all over the land since he and Grace had enough water. Easy to hide in one of them.

  Or on the side of the mountain as he’d thought earlier. One really good pair of binoculars would make that possible.

  But how could anyone ramble around too much without being noticed? The folks around here made a tight-knit group. A stranger would be noticed, maybe remarked on. Well, more than maybe after that barn fire. No one had caught attention.

  Weirder and weirder.

  Night crept slowly in, starting to reveal some of the brighter stars. He kind of missed the days when he’d slept out there with his bedroll, his horse and the cattle. The sounds they made had been his lullaby.

  He shook his head, deciding he might take a look around Grace’s place the day after tomorrow. But first the doctor. He hoped she’d get the news she could stop bandaging.

  Not that that would help her discomfort.

  Hell, he thought. Just hell.

  He was a man who liked to be in control as much as possible. Life didn’t always allow that, but right then he felt totally helpless. Helpless to solve this problem. Helpless to make Grace safer. Helpless to make her feel better.

  Tired of his rambling thoughts, he went inside to join Grace. At least this evening he could make her comfortable and make her safe.

  He should have guessed what was coming, but he knew Grace well enough that he shouldn’t have been surprised.

  * * *

  “I’m going home,” she announced as they drove from the doctor toward his place. Her hands, freshly unbandaged, still looked red and sore. Those blisters had been really bad.

  She was ready to take up the reins of her life, and he had no way to stop her except by argument. When had a disagreement ever stalled her? Never, of course.

  Stubborn. Cussedly stubborn.

  “When?” he asked after a minute or so.

  “I’d like to go tonight.”

  “Grace...”

  “I know,” she answered. “I know. Okay, tomorrow but no later.”

  “Of course not.”

  “Mitch, I can’t leave the place unattended any longer. Look what happened because I wasn’t there.”

  True, but it was also a signpost she was choosing to ignore. It could get worse.

  The idea clamped his stomach into a knot.

  How to handle this? He wondered why she’d let him do anything at all. There’d been very little she’d allowed him to do since John had died.

  He stifled a sigh and kept driving. He had to figure out a way to stop her. But he doubted he could.

  * * *

  Grace had gone from frightened to furious. If someone was attacking her for any reason, he was going to meet the business end of her shotgun. She knew how to use it and wasn’t afraid to.

  Especially not now. Shock after shock had knocked her back on her heels, but no more. It was time to stand up for herself against this shadowy threat. Time to reclaim her life and protect her ranch.

  No one was going to get away with doing this to her.

  She sensed Mitch’s disapproval and wasn’t surprised. He’d spent the last two years trying unobtrusively to look after her. He’d be wanting to make her safe right now.

  Except he couldn’t do that. No one else could make her safe. She was absolutely certain that if he could find a way to stop this and protect her, he would.

  There were no answers to this conundrum. What could he do? Camp on her porch? He had important duties on his own ranch and couldn’t afford to let matters go. She knew he’d been doing a lot of that while she stayed under his roof.

  Enough. Short of abandoning her ranch to more mischief, she had to stand up for herself.

  In a way, the idea pleased her. She didn’t like being weak, and this threat was weakening her because she wasn’t facing it squarely and standing guard.

  “Can I borrow a horse?” she asked.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake.”

  “No, then. I can understand why after the barn.”

  “Damn it, Grace you saved those horses and risked your life doing it. It’s not that I’d be afraid for a horse.”

  “Then what?” she demanded,

  “I’d be afraid for you.”

  That silenced her.

  * * *

  Mitch knew what she was going to do. She was going to get on that horse and start riding around, looking for any evidence of a campsite or a campfire on her property. Looking for traces of the perp.

  She’d be out there all alone, a perfect target for a serious mishap. The idea that he’d convinced her to carry a sat phone didn’t make him feel any better.

  Worse, if he’d ever found a way to divert her when she was set on something, he didn’t know it. Even John hadn’t been able to. As far as Mitch knew, John had only been successful when it came to the goats she wanted. And knowing Grace, John had been obliged to sit down and show her the numbers.

  Not just the cost of a fence, either. But the reality that there wasn’t enough forage for goats, who didn’t graze the same greens as sheep. Which meant nutritional supplements and additional food.

  Want them or not, they could become very expensive out here if you had more than a few. As near as he could tell, goats bred, too. Then what?

  He might have laughed about it all if Grace hadn’t decided to do something that he considered remarkably foolhardy in these circumstances. But he could also understand her desire to protect what was hers and put any threat to bed.

  He’d have felt the same himself. Except he had hired hands to stand with him. She had no one but him.

  Oh, crap. He could see the storm coming.

  Chapter 14

  Two mornings later, Mitch took Grace over to her house and helped clean up some of the last of the detritus because he didn’t want her overworking those hands.

  He also didn’t lend her a horse.

  “You simply can’t go riding with your hands in that condition. No way.”

  He wouldn’t budge, either. Part of the truth was he didn’t want her riding alone when there might well be someone out there watching her, possibly with worse intentions that just messing up her property.

  He needed to go to town for some feed, but she didn’t want to accompany him. Of course not. She was determined not to leave her property unprotected.

  He got that. Totally. But however strong and brave she might be, she was still alone.

  He dealt with that by asking one of his men to keep a distant eye on her.

  And whether she liked it or not, he was coming back with his own shotgun to stand guard with her. He’d have skipped going for the feed except he’d let that go too long while spending more time with her.

  The devil and the deep blue sea, he thought. That famous rock and a hard place. Scylla and Charybdis. The problem was so common to life that there were any number of references to it.

  He was not a happy man as he headed out. He didn’t want Grace mad at him, and he didn’t want her alone. He couldn’t completely fail to take care of his cattle, however.

  He could have asked one of his men to run for the feed, but he was getting uneasy about his animals. Whatever was after Grace might extend to his herds. Especially if this turned out to be that operation that wanted his land, as well. A brief gallop by one of his men over to check on her would be okay, but he didn’t want to reduce the watch on his cattle for too long.

  Hell. He hurried into town as fast as he could. The feed store was ready for him and loaded his truck bed quickly.

  Another reason for the trips to town was to grab something at Maude’s diner. It always gave Lila a break from making him lunch and dinner and he thought she appreciated it.

  Grace wouldn’t be able to cook right now. She might be able to manage a peanut butter sandwich, but no more.

  That decided him. He dropped into Maude’s and placed a very large takeout order. He could cook for both himself and Grace, but she’d probably get edgy as twilight deepened, and he didn’t want her standing out on her porch.

  Hell, he thought for the second time. Maybe he needed to get a horse over to Grace’s for himself. Maybe if he rode around, he could ease her mind on that score.

  Or, he might just make her mad.

  He sighed. You couldn’t deal with a prickly pear cactus without getting stung by spines. Grace would just have to get over it.

  Maude quickly delivered him a couple bags full of his order as if she sensed his urgency.

  Then he had another thought. He couldn’t drop the feed off at his own place. Not without leaving Grace alone for longer. Another cuss word escaped him. He gave in to need.

  So he called Bill. “I’ve got the feed, but I need to stay with Grace. Can one of you bring me a horse and get the feed?”

  Of course they could. He thought once again how lucky he was in those three men.

  When he reached Grace’s, he carried the bags inside to discover she’d managed to make coffee. She’d also found it necessary to bandage her palms again.

  “Hurting?” he asked as he put the bags on the counter.

  “A little,” she admitted. “Not quite ready to have things brush against my hands.”

  “Hardly surprising. You know they’ll be tender for a while. Well, I brought us some food. No cooking for you. Whenever we’re finished eating this, I can cook. Believe it or not, I know how, and while it’ll be simple fare, it won’t require an outdoor grill.”