LITMIR.BIZ

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even though she knew he didn’t mean it that way. He was just referring to her barely over five-foot height compared to his children, most of them six feet or more.

      “I’m not letting Lexie out of my sight until I’m sure she has a strong detail assigned to her care,” Gavin said. “Not with the threat the shooter made—and we have no way of knowing if he saw her. If he did, well...”

      His worried tone sent her heart beating faster. “Do you think Adam could be in danger, too?”

      “I suppose it’s possible,” Gavin said. “But I wouldn’t expect your father to confide obviously valuable information to a kid. There’d be no point. If I was the killer, I’d focus on you, and then if I struck out, I’d move on to Adam.”

      “I concur,” Walt added. “Especially since your dad has never even lived with Adam and isn’t much involved in his life.”

      They both made valid points. Her father had blamed Adam for the loss of the love of his life. Not a legitimate blame, but her dad had associated Adam with the pain and never bonded with him. He’d also claimed Lexie resembled her mother and had hardly been able to look at her. He’d promptly moved her and Adam into Aunt Ruth’s house, where they’d both lived for the last fourteen years. So when Lexie’s heart was shattered by the loss of her mother, she’d lost her father, too. Now she’d lost him for good. Tears threatened again, but she firmed her resolve to keep it together until she was alone.

      “Still, we’ll take no chances, and we’ll watch over Adam, too.” Gavin lifted his chin as if daring his father to disagree.

      “That we will.” The sheriff kept his gaze leveled on Lexie. “So what’ll it be, sweetheart? Gavin drives you home or you come to the ranch?”

      Even with the simmering tension between her and Gavin, being at Trails End Ranch with this strong law-enforcement family was a safe place while she thought through the implications of all that had happened tonight. Besides, she missed his mother, Winnie, and his grandparents, Jed and Betty. Jed would offer to protect her and both of the women would fuss over her, and right now, she could use a little comfort along with the added protection.

      “I rode Misty over here, and I need to get her home and brushed down.”

      “You can do that at the ranch. ’Sides, Tessa and Kendall would let me have an earful if I didn’t bring you home. I won’t even put voice to what Winnie would do to me.” At the mention of his daughters and wife, a slow smile slid across Walt’s lips.

      “Tessa and Kendall are both at the ranch?” Gavin asked.

      “Not just yet. But seein’s how you’re in town for once, I figured we should get the whole family together, so I called them.”

      “I don’t think Lexie wants to get into the middle of all of that.” Gavin puffed out his chest, his white dress shirt straining at the buttons.

      Irritation shot through her. He’d not only gotten bossy, but he also seemed to think he could make her decisions for her when he had no right.

      “I’ll be glad to come to the ranch,” she said, ignoring Gavin’s disappointed look. “But I want to be sure no one tells Adam about Dad. I want to do it.”

      “Matt’s on duty,” Walt said, mentioning Gavin’s younger brother. “I’ll assign him to pick Adam up. Matt’ll keep it on the down low if I tell him to.”

      Gavin took a sharp intake of air through his nose, his nostrils flaring. He couldn’t have missed his dad’s less-than-subtle message that at least one son listened to him.

      Gavin turned to Lexie. “I’ll round up our horses and we can ride over together.”

      “Little late to be riding, isn’t it?” Walt asked.

      “We both got here just fine on horseback. We can get home the same way.” Gavin eyed his father for a moment as if challenging him to argue.

      Instead, Walt faced Lexie.

      Gavin strode off into the dark.

      “Stubborn boy,” Walt muttered.

      “Gavin’s thirty-five. Not much of a boy anymore.”

      Walt scowled at her and pulled a small notebook from his uniform pocket. “I’m guessing you have a horse trailer nearby as you sure as shootin’ didn’t ride cross-county on your horse.”

      “My truck and trailer are down by the cutoff at Wheeler’s old gas station.”

      “Then I’ll make sure someone escorts you back there at the end of the night and helps you load your horse.”

      One of the things she liked about Walt McKade was that, behind all his bluster and bravado, he had a compassionate side. Despite being ornery at times and tough on his kids, he was a gentleman through and through, and he’d raised his sons to be fine, responsible men.

      “I’m sorry about your father, Lexie,” he said, his words filled with earnest compassion.

      The soft tone coming from such a tough lawman made it even harder to keep tears in check, but Lexie managed it.

      “Thank you,” she said.

      He stroked his salt-and-pepper mustache for a moment as if trying to decide how to move forward. “S’posin you give me the details of what happened tonight.”

      She replayed the night, making sure to include every point she could remember, and he recorded them in his notebook.

      “Did you know before today that your daddy was back in town?” His pen hovered over the page.

      “No. He called after dinner, and that’s the soonest I heard about it.”

      “And he came back just to give you the envelope that was stolen?”

      She shrugged. “The plane was on the ground when I got here, so I don’t know how long he’d been here. He did say he had another appointment, so who knows how many people he talked to before me, or would have after, if he’d lived.” A lump rose to her throat but she swallowed hard. “The shooter mentioned that Dad was going to meet the head of a syndicate.”

      “Syndicate, huh?” Walt made a production of closing his notebook and stowing it with his pen, then tipping his hat back even farther and leaning on the car door. “A syndicate doesn’t on the surface suggest illegal activities, and I’m not at all saying your daddy was involved in something illegal, but being killed in relationship to it is a whole other ball game.”

      She’d been thinking the same thing—that was, when she could forget the horror of seeing him gunned down and think clearly at all. “All I know is it’s not normal for a man to disappear for a month, and when he does resurface, he’s killed.”

      “Agreed. Matt’s already working on tracking down the biker.” He pursed his lips. “We’ve secured the area and I’ve called in the ATF to investigate the explosion.”

      “ATF?” Lexie asked.

      “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They investigate bombs and have resources we don’t begin to possess and can pinpoint the type of explosion.”

      “How will that help find Dad’s killer?”

      “Forensic evidence from the bomb could lead us to where the suspect purchased or stole his supplies. Finding that could then lead us to the suspect.”

      “And what will your role be?”

      “My team will work the murder angle and try to locate this syndicate you mentioned. Since we’ve already tried to find a lead as to your father’s disappearance this past month and failed, I’m not sure how successful we’ll be, but I aim to try.” He shifted his duty belt. “I’ll also come up with a plan to make sure you stay safe, sweetheart.”

      “I’d appreciate that.” Her gaze drifted to Gavin, who was standing by the horses, his

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