This time his smile held more than a hint of a challenge. "Then you're going to have to man up and show everyone what you're worth."
"Woman up, you mean?"
He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Whatever works for you."
"You're giving me advice now?"
"Just passing on the benefit of my experience."
"Like you ever had a problem fitting in here. Your family founded the darn town."
He handed her the blood testing kit. "Which means I went into the Marines thinking I was special. I had to make a quick decision about whether I was willing to do what it took to stay in the Corps or drop out whining like a little kid."
"You stayed."
"I manned up. Hence my giving you advice." He met her gaze. "Now show me how to do the blood test, and I'll leave you to finish up alone."
* * *
Prickly.
Yeah. That about summed up Jenna McDonald. Like one of those little hedgehogs he'd seen on the Internet. Cute, but deadly. He liked her determination and the way she went about her work. It didn't mean he wouldn't check out her references, though. He'd bet the ranch that her uncle hadn't bothered to call them himself.
Not that she wasn't competent from what he'd seen. He also understood her current prickliness because most of the ranchers around Morgantown had dealt with Big Mac for forty years and didn't like change. They'd only accepted Dave because he was Mac's son, and Jenna was something else altogether. He didn't have a problem with her being female. He'd learned during his military service that women were just as capable as men.
"Blue?"
He looked up to see Jenna emerging from the barn. He'd gone to check on the feed bins and traps set out for the various vermin that liked a free meal.
"I'm in here."
She came over to him lugging her bag, strands of her hair stuck to her cheek and her long-sleeved T-shirt clinging to her curves. Blue made himself look her in the eye.
"You're finished?"
"For now." She actually smiled at him.
"Then come up to the house and have something cool to drink before Roy gets you out looking at those pigs again."
"Sure."
This time he didn't even try and take charge of her bag and just started walking. Three of the dogs from the barn came along with him, running in circles and jumping like they were a circus act. Behind him, Jenna started to puff as the incline increased.
He glanced back at her. "Why don't you have a special truck like Big Mac for all your equipment?"
"Because Dave inherited the truck, and there isn't enough money to buy another one."
"Bummer."
He reached the porch, climbed the steps, and held open the screen door, which thanks to him no longer squeaked. "You can leave your boots in the mudroom if you like. It's on the left next to the small bathroom."
"Thanks."
He turned right and went into the kitchen, where the heavenly smell of bacon still lingered. Roy and Ruth sat at the table with January. The three of them were making enough noise for a town meeting.
He washed up and poured himself a cup of coffee and listened to the arguments, which were for the most part amicable. Despite the noise he didn't think he was going to have to intervene and play peacekeeper. Not a natural role for him anyway. He'd always preferred to be the one causing the trouble.
He spotted Jenna hovering in the doorway and held up his mug of coffee.
"You want coffee or something colder?"
Ruth looked around. "There's lemonade in the refrigerator. Help yourself, Jenna, dear."
"Thanks, Ruth."
Blue pointed at the nearest chair. "Sit down. I'll get it for you."
For a second he thought she might start arguing, but she nodded instead. "Thanks, that would be great."
The lemonade looked so good that he took a glass for himself and sat opposite Jenna at the table. Ruth pushed a plate of oatmeal cookies down toward Jenna and continued her animated discussion with Roy. Blue ate a cookie and reached for another one at the same time as Jenna did, resulting in a tangle of fingers and an unintentional fist bump.
January looked over at him and pulled a face, rolling her eyes at Ruth, who was now having a long discussion about what the proposed site for the cabins had been used for back in the dark ages or something.
Just as Blue was about to intervene and get the discussion back on track, Jenna cleared her throat.
"I hate to be rude, Roy, but I have to get back before three to help with afternoon clinic, so if there is anything you want to ask me about the pigs, go right ahead."
Roy looked up, his gaze taking in Blue and Jenna.
"Horses okay?"
"Yes. Blue chose very well."
"Knew he would. I taught him." Roy grinned, showing the crooked line of his teeth, which had come off the worst in a couple of bucking incidents. "The pigs are good. I was just wondering when their next round of shots is due."
Jenna frowned. "I'll have to check with Dave. He was here last, right?"
"Don't you guys keep everything online now?" Blue had to ask. "It would make sharing information a lot easier."
"I know. It's something I'd like to do, but Uncle Ron isn't keen on keeping anything on the Internet in case it gets taken over by hostile forces or something."
Roy nodded. "Well, I can see his point. I don't understand all that googling nonsense myself."
Jenna finished her lemonade and rose to her feet, wiping cookie crumbs from her lips. "I'd better be going." She focused on Blue. "Unless there's anything else?"
"I'm good. I'll give you a call when I'm planning on seeing some new horses. Maybe you could come out with me?"
She blinked at him. "I'd like that."
Ruth gave him a pointed look, so he followed Jenna out to her truck, which he thought had once belonged to Dave and was perfectly suited to the rough terrain of the local ranches. He waited as she stowed her bag and got into the driver's seat.
She lowered the window and looked down at him consideringly.
"What?" he asked.
"You're really okay about me coming out with you, or did you just say that to keep Ruth and Roy happy?"
"I don't say what I don't mean."
"Then I'd love to come." This time her smile transformed her face and left him staring at her mouth before she blew him a kiss and drove away.
Chapter Three
Blue braced himself and took the seat opposite his father at the table. Roy and Ruth had gone to check out the pigs, January was working on her thesis, and for once the ranch was quiet.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Blue asked.
"Sure." Billy sat back, a wary expression in his blue eyes, which wasn't surprising seeing as Blue spent most of his time trying to avoid acknowledging his father's existence. "What can I do for you?"
Blue opened the speckled black composition notebook he'd bought in Maureen's store and uncapped his pen. "I've got a few questions for you about the night Mom and Rachel disappeared."
Billy frowned. "I thought Chase was setting some private detectives to finding out what happened to them?"
"He will be once I get all the facts from you." Blue wrote the date on the top line and underlined it hard. If he handled this like a military investigation, he wouldn't need to get emotional about shit. "So let's go over this again. The last time you saw Mom was in this kitchen when she attacked you with a butcher's knife."
"That's right."
"But you didn't see her leave."
"During the struggle I fell against the wall and was knocked out for a minute or so. By the time I opened my eyes, she was gone."
"And you didn't realize she'd taken Rachel with her."
"No, I came to and ran straight out into the yard to see if Annie's truck was still there. When I came back inside, Chase had come downstairs and I told him to call nine-one-one while I went and searched for your mom. I didn't even think about Rachel sleeping in the crib by the fire." Billy hesitated. "Do you remember much about that night yourself, BB?"
"I remember the screaming and yelling and trying to distract the twins, who were getting upset, yeah." Blue forced himself to meet his father's gaze. He didn't want to talk about himself in relation to anything. "It's not one of the best memories of my life."
Billy briefly closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, son."
"So you said. Shall we move on? You'd already decided to take the blame, saying you attacked her, and made Chase lie to the cops for you."
Billy swallowed hard. "I thought it would give Annie the chance to be free of me and the ranch. I thought she was leaving by herself, you see."
"When did you realize Rachel was missing as well?"
"Not until the sheriff started questioning me at the jail. And then I kind of lost my goddamned mind trying to get out of there . . ." Billy swallowed hard. "When I calmed down a bit I realized that if she'd taken Rachel, she probably hadn't killed herself. She loved that little girl so much."
Blue wrote another note. "Eventually, after the seventy-two-hour mandatory hold the sheriff let you go due to lack of evidence of a crime."