“Mark,” Con said from above her head, “what do you know?”
“It’s definitely arson. I spotted an ex-employee taking off as soon as I smelled smoke but couldn’t give chase until I got the horses out. I sent Jason out looking for him as soon as he arrived since he brought plenty of help.”
Tamara pulled away from Connor as the three of them started walking around to the front, having a good idea who Mark saw. “It was Neil Anders, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so. In fact, there they are now.” Mark nodded and Tamara turned to see Sheriff Monroe and Jason leading her handcuffed, disgraced ex-employee their way.
Before she could say anything, Grayson leveled his steely-eyed gaze on her and asked in his quiet, authoritative tone, “You want to tell me why you haven’t reported the vandalism going on around here, sugar?”
She felt Connor stiffen next to her and dreaded his response to the sheriff’s disclosure. This was not going to sit well with him.
“What vandalism?”
The very softness of Connor’s tone sent a shiver of unease down Tamara’s spine even before she looked up and saw him glaring in accusation at her. Jason also frowned as he added his two cents.
“You didn’t tell him about the raccoon, downed fencing, tainted feed or loose cattle?” Her foreman cuffed a sullen Neil on the back of his head. “The trouble he’s been causing.”
Tamara tried not to think about the way Connor shifted away from her or his sudden silence as she asked, “Neil, why?”
“Don’t blame me,” he snapped. “It was your boyfriend’s idea. If I hadn’t needed the money he offered after you canned me, none of this would have happened.”
“Sounds like a confession to me. Come on, asshole. Let’s get you booked and you can give me this other guy’s name,” Grayson said.
“It was Jeremy Hines, wasn’t it? And he’s not my boyfriend, hasn’t been for months.” Tamara couldn’t believe Jeremy would go to such extremes, but from the closed look on Connor’s face, she had more important concerns to deal with right now.
Every muscle in Connor’s body went taut with anger, disbelief and concern as he faced one of his worst nightmares. The fear that had gripped him when Tam had jumped out of his truck and run into the burning stable before he could stop her still threatened to choke him. To stand here and hear she had kept such vital information from him this past week regarding incidents that could have, at any time, impacted her safety reminded him of all the reasons he never should have succumbed to the temptation and her insistence they expand their relationship. All the while he’d been fucking her, those two men had been waging a personal vendetta against her that could have cost her so much more than damage to her property.
Connor looked down at Tam and his heart constricted at the soot on her cheek and the resignation in her eyes. She knew, even before he said the words, their short jaunt into an intimate relationship was over.
“Connor… Con, please listen,” she pleaded, reaching out for him.
He stepped back before she could touch him, his anger with her slipping out along with his anxiety as he stated, “No, Tam. You should have told me what was going on. My God, if anything had happened to you… if they’d hurt you in any way…” He couldn’t finish. His throat tightened at just the thought of harm coming to her, harm he failed to prevent or rescue her from because his fucking little head had taken over. “It was a mistake to give in to you regarding our relationship. We can’t continue as we have been this week. You’ll see I’m right.”
Connor turned from her stricken face and took long, ground stomping strides towards Grayson’s cruiser, vibrating with the need to relieve his tension and fury with physical exertion.
“Hold up, Grayson,” he called out before the sheriff could usher Tam’s tormenter into his vehicle.
“Problem?” Grayson asked, keeping a grip on his sullen prisoner’s upper arm as he faced Connor.
“Nothing this won’t help.” He didn’t hold back as he plowed a fist into Anders’ midsection, the punk doubling over on a gasp as Grayson kept him from crumpling to the ground with his tight hold.
“Feel better?” Grayson drawled as Neil straightened by slow degrees, his face flushed with anger and pain.
“No.” Connor got in Neil’s face and snarled, “I’m going to let the sheriff handle you and your accomplice, but if either of you show your face around here again once you get your asses out of jail, you’ll get more than that one punch. Got it?”
Neil struggled with his breath as he wheezed, “That… that’s assault. I… I’m charg… charging…”
“I didn’t see anything,” Grayson interjected. “Did you, Connor?”
“Not a fucking thing.” With a grateful nod to his friend, he pivoted and saw Amy and Tam distributing water bottles to the volunteers as the fire truck rumbled its way back to the highway. Smoke still drifted up from the charred side of the structure, but all the flames appeared to be out. He jumped in to help Caden and Dan put away hoses, a heaviness weighing his shoulders down that had nothing to do with his old injury or the work involved in setting as much of the Barton property back to rights as they could for now.
One week later
Tamara ran the brush over Galahad’s smooth flank, the big steed’s muscles rippling under her stroking hand. With the warm afternoon sun beating down on her back, a fresh breeze bringing the scent of spring and her beloved pet giving her his unconditional loyalty and support, she could almost set aside the tension of the past few days. Almost was as close as she’d come though. She’d always found grooming her favorite horse to be soothing therapy for when she was upset, but this fun chore failed to settle her mind even if it did ease the tightness in her shoulders. She wasn’t surprised. Nothing she’d tried this past week had worked to dispel her despondency over Connor’s change in their relationship or her exasperation with his stubbornness. He hadn’t called or come by, but she’d seen him every day, riding along the fences separating their property, keeping a vigilant watch on her and a constant lookout for trouble.
According to Sheriff Monroe, as part of a plea bargain, Neil confessed to aiding the rustlers by passing on information and even assisting by calling in sick when he was scheduled to watch, making it easy for them to grab those last few Barton cattle and would testify against them. When he was let go, he lost both his job and the payments from the cattle thieves, making him desperate to take the money Jeremy offered. He was still looking at jail time for arson and destruction of property and Jeremy would likely plea bargain out. Her ex had returned to Boise after she’d refused to take his calls. As far as she knew, he’d gotten the message when she’d given a statement against him to Grayson, outlining his harassment of her since their split. She didn’t know what the full extent of the legal consequences would be for either Jeremy or Neil’s actions, and at this point, didn’t care so long as they paid in some way for what they did.
Shifting around Galahad’s rear quarters, she smoothed the brush over his other side, the soft butt of his head to her shoulder drawing her smile. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You want your treat and a ride. Almost done, big guy.”