Chapter Eight

Had Rico set all of this in motion?

Dyna let the hot shower water cover her dirty, smelly hair and body and wondered again about Jonah’s warning to her earlier. This had all started after Rico had shown up.

And Edwin had yet to make an appearance. Where had he been all day? Too many questions and all she could think about was Domino.

Was her beloved saddle bronc still alive?

She hoped and prayed Domino was safe. The horse connected her to her daddy and maybe being sentimental was stupid but she couldn’t part with him. Not now, when she was being backed into a corner and needed to stay strong.

She finished the shower and tossed on clean clothes, her stomach growling. Needing to be out there searching, instead she was at home and none too happy about it. But Sean and Rico made a formable team.

“I’ll take you out first thing tomorrow. Tonight you rest, eat and talk to the fire inspector,” Rico had suggested when they’d arrived back at the ranch. “Sean is already putting out alerts. The agency has a system that is wide-spread for this very reason. Let them take over and you and I’ll keep watch here and handle the sheriff and everything else. Meantime, you’ve got men out there searching all around the property.”

“You’re not in charge here, you know,” she’d retorted while she hurried through the stables and hoped Domino would turn up on his own.

Rico had stayed on her heels. “No, I’m not. But Domino is smart and strong. You on the other hand, look like you’re about to collapse. You should have rested after inhaling all of that smoke.”

“I can’t rest.”

When Sean had shown up, tall, handsome, and favoring Rico with his thick dark hair, she’d become outnumbered. Add to that, her mother’s admonishments and the stack of messages Wendy had handed Dyna and well, she’d caved. But only until she could grab a bite and run through the most urgent concerns. They might send her to her room, but she could research on her own. Or sneak out the back balcony the way she used to when she was a teenager.

But when she got back downstairs, dressed in sweats and her hair still damp, Sean seemed to have the situation well in hand. “We’re generating electronic flyers and posting on all social media. Somebody had to have seen something. I’m coordinating with the sheriff’s department since they work with us when we’re called in on anything rodeo related. This doesn’t involve the circuit since Domino was stolen off of private property, but every stock contractor, arena manager and rancher within a three-state radius has gotten the information by now. I’ve also alerted all area veterinarians to watch out for any incoming horses or to alert us if they get calls regarding any sick or hurt horses. Jesse and Michael are working their end of things, too. We’ve got Montana, Wyoming and Nevada covered.”

“Have you put the word out at auctions and slaughter houses?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes. “Rico said you’d do that.”

“Done.”

“Thank you,” she told Sean. Eying the clock, she saw that it was near midnight. Would this day never end?

Now she walked into the kitchen and found her mother with Rico, Edwin and another man. Surprised that Edwin had finally made it back, she schooled her aggravation into a calm smile.

Her mother introduced the stranger. “Honey, this is Willis Hinze, the fire inspector.”

“Thank you, Mother,” Dyna said, watching all of their faces. “What did you find, Inspector Hinze?”

The older man with a mustache gave her a solemn stare. “Someone set off a Molotov cocktail in your barn, Miss Malloy. We found what was left of a broken whiskey bottle and we’ll have to determine what kind of explosive they used. But this was definitely arson. Most likely threw it through a window near the hay you had stored at the back. Set it off immediately.”

She whirled to Rico. “Just as you suspected.”

Sean nodded. “Easy, really. But … whoever did it has to have some knowledge of homemade incendiary devices.” He glanced from Dyna to Wendy. “We’ll need another print-out of your employees as far back as you can go. We’ll check those with military and construction backgrounds first. But this type of device can be created by just about anyone.”

“I can get that,” Wendy offered. “We’ve had several veterans working for us over the years but none who seemed capable of this type of thing. I don’t know about construction workers.”

Dyna thought of Rico. He’d told her he had been in the military. No, she wouldn’t go there because Rico had been with her most of the day anyway. The man had nothing to gain by stealing her horse. Did he?

And yet, Edwin had brought him here. Rico had been with her when the barn had exploded but could he have put people in place to set the barn on fire and snatch Domino?

Edwin stood off to the side, a cup of coffee in his hand. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help. Just don’t make sense. Barn burned down and Domino missing. What’s going on around here?”

Dyna took her time gazing at Edwin and her mother for a couple of moments and then she turned to Rico and Sean.

“Whatever it is and whoever it is, I’ll figure it out and … I’ll make them pay.”

She hoped that the culprit wasn’t standing right here in this room. But right now, everyone was a suspect.

* * *

Rico found Dyna in her daddy’s office.

“I thought you’d gone to bed,” he said, taking in the way she tried to fit in her daddy’s big chair. Her hair had dried naturally and now hung in soft waves around her neck, the smell of honeysuckle and vanilla wafting from the shimmering strands.

“You need to rest.”

“I really wish everyone would quit telling me that,” Dyna replied. “I thought you’d left.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“I don’t care either way.”

“I was about to go back to Sean’s place,” he said. “But … your mother asked me to stay here.”

Dyna got up and hurried around the desk to face him, her eyes bright with anger and stubbornness. “She shouldn’t have done that. This place is secure and I don’t need a babysitter.”

“She’s concerned and … she has a good point. If they find Domino, Sean and I will need to give him a thorough once-over.”

“Did she ask Sean to stay, too?”

“No, but … I’m here for Domino. And for you.”

“My mother has latched onto you because you’re a single male, Rico. She thinks if I have a man in my life, I’ll lighten up.”

“Can we test that theory to be sure?”

At least that made her smile. Then she lifted all that glorious hair off her neck and shook it out. “I’m sorry. Your first day didn’t go very well, did it?”

“I’ve had better,” he replied.

She pointed to a worn leather sofa. “Let’s sit. I know it’s late but … did you ever eat?”

“I didn’t,” he said, weariness catching up with him.

“Never mind the couch.” She took his hand. “Let’s raid the refrigerator.”

Surprised at her one-eighty turnaround and new attitude, Rico followed her up the long central hallway and into the dark kitchen. Wendy and her helper Sharon had passed out sandwiches but Rico had only taken a bite or two of his. Concern for Domino and Dyna had ruined his appetite. Now, he was completely starved. But this hunger had to do with a lot more than food.

He liked being with this woman.

“We have leftover chili,” she said on a husky whisper. “When I’m really stressed, I love ice cream. I keep a supply around here.”

“Chili and ice cream.” He rubbed his stomach. “I feel a heartburn coming on.” And not just from the food.

“Which do you want first?”

He wanted to kiss her first and get that out of his system but he was tired and a little punch-drunk. Best to hold off on that notion. “Chili sounds good. With cheese.”

“My kind of man.” She grinned. “And I have chips.”

“A chili pie.”

“Whatever you want to call it.”

Soon they were sitting at the massive table, munching away on chunky chili smothered in cheese and chips.

“This is good,” Rico admitted, a smile on his face.

“I was so busy I never fed you,” she said, pushing her empty bowl away. “Or myself either.”

Then her smile vanished. “I don’t know what happened today but … first those calls, the threat and the fire and then … Domino disappears. Someone is definitely out to do me in.”

Rico pushed away his bowl. “Yes. We can’t seem to locate James Roy. Did he have any type of explosive experience? Military? Construction work, maybe?”

She shook her head. “No. James was always a cowboy. Grew up on a small ranch not far from here. Not well educated but … he knows horses. I can’t see him doing this. He loved Domino even if his tactics were extreme. I think he made Domino mean and now that he’s gone, Domino is rebelling. I don’t know anymore.”

Then she lowered her head. “There is my ex to consider.”

Rico went still. There always had to be an ex, right? “Go on.”

“Chip Hatfield. He worked odd jobs in construction and pretended to know horses. Well, actually he did know horses but he hated Domino. What is with that? Had me fooled and only hung around because I had money. He wanted more pay as a special consultant. But I wised up to him and booted him off my land after I found out he was consulting with other women late at night. But that was nearly a year ago.”

“Where is he now?”

“Last I heard, hauled his butt back to Waco, Texas.”

“He needs to be added to the list.”

“Already done. I told Mother to put his name on the list.”

“I think there’s more to this story.”

“Yes,” she said. “More than I want to talk about right now.”

“Well, at least I get why you didn’t want me here at first. Same song, different tune.”

“You are nothing like Chip Hatfield,” she said, her tone strong enough to mean it. “At least, I’m hoping that.”

“Good to know.” Rico stood to take their bowls to the sink, hoping his silent acceptance would give him brownie points. But she had to have some doubts. “Try not to worry. With the posse we’ve gathered, we will find out what happened to Domino. And if your ex is involved, I’ll be the first in line to deck him.”

“I don’t like the way you worded that,” she said, one hand against her head.

“What? Me decking your ex. I think I’d enjoy that.”

A soft smile. “No, I’d buy tickets to that. It’s what you said about Domino. You’ll find out what happened? Because you don’t think you’ll find him alive?”

“I can’t predict that,” he said, being honest.

And because she looked as if she was about to fall asleep at the table, he came around and tugged her up out of her chair. “You need to get some sleep.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“What can I do?”

“Go home.”

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“You don’t have to be sweet. I’m a big girl.”

“Yes, I can see that,” he said, taking his time gazing at her lips. “But … it’s okay to let someone else bear the load, you know.”

She looked down. “I’m not used to that.”

Rico gave in and lifted her chin with his hand. “Get used to it,” he whispered against her lips. Then he kissed her, a soft quick feathering that left him wanting more.

She sighed, kissed him back in a gentle way and then looked him in the eye. “Nice to meet you, Rico Knight.”

“Nice to meet you, Dyna Malloy.”

Then they went back into the office and Rico watched her fall asleep in his arms.

He wasn’t going anywhere tonight.