Her heart raced, not sure what was going on. Her animals had been inside before she'd left for the funeral.
Had someone come to let them out?
Impossible! No one knew that she'd be gone for this long of a period, which was why she'd brought them with her earlier when she'd taken one of her horses out on her daily ride, giving both Elf and Midget lots of exercise and fresh air.
Had her mother or father come over? No, her mother was in Gabain, visiting with Droon and Lina, one of her older brothers and his wife. Her dad had been out on the south range today. She'd seen him leave.
The mystery was very odd, but she rounded up her little family and brought them inside.
That's when she saw the flowers. Red roses. They were in the middle of her kitchen table, looking very innocent. But as Halley stared at them, she felt a shaft of fear stab through her chest. Someone had been inside her house!
She walked over to the flowers, looking for a note. Nothing. Her mother was gone, her father definitely wouldn't have brought her red roses, nor would any of her brothers or sister, Fleur.
Mike?
No! He wouldn't have broken into her house. And he definitely wouldn't have let her dogs and cat out. He knew better! There were coyotes, bobcats, bears, and other wild animals that would love a fluffy cat or chubby dog for a midnight snack. Everyone knew to keep their pets protected in this area of the wilderness.
"Come on guys," she commanded the dogs. Bozo was already curled up on the sofa, her tail twitching with disgust for being left outside.
The dogs immediately jumped up, eager to go wherever she wanted them to go. Halley wasn't really sure where she was going, but she didn't want to stay here. Not right now.
She grabbed the flowers and stuffed them into her garbage can which, oddly, was empty. In fact, her whole house was … clean? Halley wasn't a messy person, but as she looked around, she noticed small touches. The clean dishes she'd stacked beside the sink were no longer there, the pillows on her sofa were straightened, her books more neatly stacked … something was very weird!
This had to have been her mother's doing. She must have come home early. Or maybe Fleur? No way. Fleur was too busy with her new baby. Emma was a handful, no way would she have the time to come over here and clean.
More than slightly freaked out, Halley rushed out the door again and opened the back door of her SUV to allow both dogs to jump inside. They happily bounced onto one of the seats with Elf taking up the passenger seat.
Five minutes later, she pulled up outside of her parent's house, relieved to see the lights on inside.
Walking in without knocking, she called for her mom.
A moment later, her father came around the corner. "Hey honey, your mom is in Gabain. What's up?" he asked as he enveloped her in a bear hug.
Halley loved her parents. They were always so loving and gentle. Just feeling her father's arms around her made her feel better.
"Did you go over to my place and clean up?"
He snorted as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her deeper into the house. He took a moment to greet both of her dogs, then continued into the house. "Clean your house? Not likely."
She hadn't thought so. The mystery deepened.
Halley came to an abrupt stop when she saw the other men. They were sitting around the table and she groaned. Joe, the oldest son in the DeBron clan, Vince the third oldest, and Hunter, their best friend, fellow rancher and now, brother-in-law since he'd married Fleur a couple of years ago, were all sitting around the big table, watching her. And Mike.
Poker night! Darn it! She'd forgotten about poker night! The men got together to play poker once a month, but their nights weren't as much about playing cards as it was about eating junk food while drinking beer and whiskey. Some serious poker was played, but the majority of the time, these guys were sitting around joking about stuff or talking about ranching.
Mike took one look at her and stood up, coming around the table. With grim determination, he took her arm and walked her away from the others. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
Halley thought about the roses, her dogs being outside, and the odd cleanliness of her cottage. She was being silly, she told herself. There wasn't anything going on. A family member had just helped her out.
"Nothing," she finally replied, her chin tilting up as she forced her mind to stop freaking out.
Mike looked carefully at Halley's pale, tight features and knew she was lying. "Why are your dogs with you? Is Bozo okay?"
He kept hold of her arm, feeling the slight trembling in her body, and he knew that something was very wrong. Halley was a strong woman, confident and sure of herself. She had a thriving business breeding prize-winning horses. People came from all over the world to purchase one of her offspring or to breed with one of her horses. She'd bred her first Kentucky Derby winner when she was eighteen, and her herd's offspring had enjoyed increasing success ever since.