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  “What is it?” her sleepy voice sounded. Looking out the window into the darkness outside, he heard another thump but the security lights didn’t come on. “Shit!” she hissed. “Is someone out there?”

  Realizing it was darker than normal in the room, he looked to the bedside table and the blackened screen of the clock radio, and then tried to turn on the lamp. Nothing. There was no power. Getting to his feet, he hoped the asshole was still outside the house. He’d had enough of this. As he slid on the sweatpants he’d shed earlier, he squinted to make out her face in the darkness.

  “Is your cellphone in here?”

  “Yeah,” came her soft response.

  “Good. Lock the bedroom door behind me, and then call Myles.”

  “Stay in here, too.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Just lock the door.”

  In the stillness of the dark house, he heard a metallic, scraping sound as he hurried down the stairs, and snuck closer to the front door. Pulling back the curtain on the front room window just a crack, he saw a figure, dressed all in black, shoulders hunched, in front of the door, trying to jimmy the locks. Pissed, he tried to quietly unlock the first of the locks on the door, but heard the thumping of the intruder’s footfalls on the steps. Cursing, he rapidly unlocked the rest and then swung the door open, his eyes scanning the area around the house but not seeing any movement whatsoever.

  A little while later, Rory stood outside with Saffron as Myles’s cruiser pulled up. He’d had Saffron call back to say it wasn’t an emergency, and that the intruder was gone, and Myles alone responded, arriving without lights or sirens, mindful of the late hour and their neighbours. He exited the cruiser and held a hand up in greeting to the couple as he approached.

  “He was here again, Myles,” Saffron’s words exited on a rush of worried breath. “He tried to break in again.”

  Myles turned to Rory. “You were in the bunkhouse when this happened?”

  “No, he was with me,” Saffron answered before he could.

  Myles seemed mildly surprised, but didn’t comment. Instead, he moved to examine the front door lock, then perused the door, and surrounding windows, before looking to Rory again. “What did you see?”

  “Not much. A guy dressed in black from head to foot, including a baseball cap. He cut the power so it was really dark. I couldn’t see his face. If I had to guess, I’d say he was fairly young by the way he moved. He was trying to force the lock, but I surprised him and he took off.” He shrugged. “I tried to turn the lock quietly, but he heard it, and ran away.”

  “Yeah, you scared him away, but he’s persistent, and something tells me he’ll be back. Damn it, what does this guy want?”

  “Maybe the land?” Rory suggested. “Someone who had their eye on it, and is pissed that Saffron bought it first?”

  “No, I already looked into that,” Myles responded, “because sure, that sounds like a reasonable explanation. But no one’s heard of anyone who said they wanted it. I talked to Brad, and no serious enquiries were made about the property, aside from Saffron’s. I can’t find anything that points toward a likely perpetrator.”

  “I’m sorry you came out here for nothing,” Saffron said.

  “No, not for nothing,” Myles returned with a shake of his head, “I’m glad you called me. If nothing else, this is another incident report on record for when we catch this guy, and charge him. Don’t apologize for calling, it’s what you should do.”

  After shaking Rory’s hand, he bade them both farewell, and left. Rory embraced Saffron, and then kissed her temple.

  “I hope you weren’t too frightened by that.”

  “No, I would’ve been, if you hadn’t been here, but I’m okay.” Pulling out of his arms, she smiled. “Well, now that we’re both awake …”

  The suggestive lilt to her voice had his dick hardening. “You’re insatiable.”

  “Well, if you’d rather not …”

  “Did I say that?”

  Crooking a finger to beckon him, she then turned to go in the house, and he smacked her ass playfully. Laughing, she scurried through the house, and he heard her rush up the stairs. As he locked the front door, he figured he’d deal with the power situation in the morning. What they were about to do didn’t require light.

  Chapter 38

  It had been a month since Rory had started work at the ranch, and Saffron had made a celebratory meal. She hadn’t mentioned it to him, wanting to surprise him, and he’d surprised her by asking for dinner a little later than normal, citing a need to go to town after ending work for the day. She drummed her fingernails on the tabletop waiting for him, not angry with his lateness, truly only anxious to see him. It had been a week since he’d moved in the house with her. Unsure why she’d agonized over asking him to move in, she’d been on cloud nine since, even with the attempted breakin two days ago. Living with Rory felt so right, so natural, but then again, every moment spent with him did. Always desiring to be with him, she wanted him to share more than her bed, more than her house. She wanted to share her life with him, and knew he wanted the same.

  At the sound of the front door opening, she stood up from the dining room table, adorned with her best tablecloth, and her grandmother’s china. She wore a dress she’d bought last week, in anticipation of tonight. It was a black, bodycon dress, just above knee-length, with a cute frilled hem, that hugged her curves, minimized the swell of her tummy, lifted her butt, and gave her a silhouette she adored. She knew Rory liked her body just as it was, always telling her how much he loved her ample hips and ass, but she’d been intent on looking her best for him, and that included being confident in what she wore. His words, and actions, had her more accepting of her figure, but she still held her insecurities, even if his loving nature had softened their blow. Her heels clicked on the wooden floorboards as she entered the hallway to see him pulling his cowboy boots off at the front door. He’d changed, now wearing a charcoal suit, with a white shirt, and plum tie. He’d gotten a haircut, and, after he placed his boots neatly on the rubber mat by the front door, retrieved a large bouquet of flowers from the small table in the hallway. Seeing her, his responding smile had her rushing into his arms.

  “Happy one-week anniversary,” he said as he held up the flowers. “Wow, do you ever look sexy tonight. You’re always beautiful, but, well, nice dress. I’m looking forward to peeling it off later.”

  “Happy one month work anniversary, and you look great.” She took the flowers from him, a bright collection of daisies, carnations, and lilies, in purples and pinks.

  “It’s been a month?” he questioned.

  She loved him more. He was celebrating their anniversary only, not his. He’d done all this after a week of living together. Her future looking even brighter, she took his hand to lead him to the kitchen.

  “Ooh, heels, too,” he cooed behind her. “Maybe you could leave those on tonight.”

  Laughter bubbled from her lips. She could hardly believe how happy he made her, or how much he’d done for this night, to him only their celebration of living together for a week. He had restitution payments to make, so she knew he had to have devoted all that was left of his paycheque to what she saw now. A haircut, new clothes, and flowers. All for her. Fear that it would all end spiked through her. It was too good to be true. There was no way it could last.

  As they ate, discussion turned to the ranch, as it always did. Opening day was a little more than a month away, and they were both ecstatic about it.

  “You still need to get a sign up on the gates,” he reminded her. “Any luck coming up with a name?”

  “No. All the ones I’ve come up with suck.”

  “They can’t be that bad. Let’s hear them.”

  “They are that bad. Little Critters Ranch.” She watched him stifle a smirk. It was a horrible name, like all the others. “Rory, they’re all bad. The only one I even like a little is Piece of Heaven Homestead, and it’s not very good. I mean, yeah, this is my little
piece of Heaven, but I don’t think it works for a name.”

  “It’s not terrible,” he offered. “It’s just that it doesn’t convey what the ranch is all about, that’s all.” He reached around the vase containing the bouquet he’d brought her, to take her hand in his. As his calloused thumb ran over her knuckles, it caused a ripple of arousal in her as it always did. “You’ll come up with a perfect name. I’d help, but shit, I don’t have any suggestions for you. Some of the ranches around here have great names, but they’re all commercial ranches. This place is different, and should have a name that reflects that. I’m sorry I can’t come up with a suggestion. I’d love to be able to help you with this.” She knew he would if he could. He did anything he could for her. Again the fear their relationship would end took hold, and she shivered. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she lied. Maybe she needed meds, she could be suffering a mental illness, for she should be overjoyed right now, but wasn’t. She had everything she’d always wanted, and still lived in fear, and not even from the intruder any longer. That threat hung dangerously over her, of course it did, but she had a greater fear than losing the barn again, the house, or even the alpacas. Her greatest fear was losing Rory. He’d given her no indication he wasn’t committed to her, but the fear he wasn’t, that he couldn’t be, gnawed relentlessly, with teeth comprised of her uncertainty and self-doubt.

  Chapter 39

  The next night found Rory lying awake, staring at the ceiling, thoughts of what the intruder might want filling his head. His stomach churned with the idea the man might be interested in more than merely scaring Saffron. Trying to drive that horrid suggestion from his brain, his eyes roved over the hatch door that led to the attic, and he vaguely wondered if Saffron had ever opened it. With the house still devoid of much furniture, he doubted she’d needed to store anything yet.

  As a thought struck him, he sat up, and then looked to her. She was sleeping soundly, and while he itched to explore the attic, he didn’t want to wake her. Connecting the pieces, he drew a conclusion and, frightening as it was, it made perfect sense. He knew what the intruder wanted. Burning down the barn, and killing Lucy, were things done to scare Saffron away. With Myles’s claim that no one was interested in owning the property, it didn’t make sense for someone to scare her away in order to buy it. Therefore, if they didn’t want the land, maybe they wanted the house. More specifically, something in the house. It had sat empty for quite some time before she purchased it, and someone could have hidden something in it. Then, considering she was an out-of-town purchaser, they wouldn’t have heard she was coming to take possession of the house.

  The more he thought about it, the more sense it made to him. This man wanted something he’d hidden in the then-abandoned house, a perfect hiding place. Saffron’s appearance thwarted his recovery of what he’d hidden, and he’d decided to scare her away so he could access the house. After all, he’d tried to break into it twice.

  Gingerly sliding out of bed so he didn’t wake her, Rory was confident he’d deduced the man’s motives. He thought about calling Myles, but then uncertainty reared again. It was a good theory, but calling Myles out to the house late at night for what was a hunch might be jumping the gun. Deciding he’d look around first, to see if anything unusual caught his eye, he quietly left the bedroom.

  Finished checking the upper level, he slowly descended the stairs, carefully placing his feet so the floorboards didn’t creak, desperate to not awaken Saffron over what could be a dumb idea on his behalf. After searching through the kitchen, living room, dining room, laundry room, and main floor bathroom, he stopped, shaking his head inwardly. Maybe this was a dumb idea. Sure it explained the intruder’s actions, but his search had turned up nothing. He’d thoroughly examined the house, going as far as to check for loose floorboards or cupboard panels, but hadn’t found anything.

  Wishing he could check the attic, just to be sure, his eyes rested on the door that led to the basement. He’d never been in it, and doubted Saffron had. Similar to the attic, unless she had reason to store something, it seemed unlikely she would have ventured there. Still, if something was hidden in there, breaking in through the front door made little sense, the man could’ve just broken a basement window. He sucked in a breath. The basement windows had bars on them. He’d seen them from outside the house some time ago and had meant to suggest installing them on all the windows to Saffron, but then had forgotten. If it was his intention to do so, the man wouldn’t have been able to access the basement from outside the house.

  Opening the door, Rory flicked on the light switch, not surprised when it didn’t turn on. Returning to the stairs a few moments later with a lightbulb and a flashlight, he descended the stairs carefully, and then used the flashlight to find the bare ceiling receptacle. As he screwed in the fresh bulb, light flooded the room, allowing his first sight of the area. Several old boxes sat piled against the walls amidst the odd piece of abandoned furniture. Noting one wall with nothing before it and a visible square on it, he drew closer. It looked to him like someone had cut the square through the drywall with something sharp. Placing the flashlight and dead bulb atop a nearby box, he wriggled the piece of drywall, and it popped out, revealing a hiding place. He stared wide-eyed at its contents.

  Several plastic zip-top bags containing pills were stacked in the space. It was probably the fentanyl Myles was searching for. Rory didn’t know much about drugs, but guessed this amount was worth quite a lot of money.

  “What are you doing down here?” Almost jumping out of his skin at the sound of Saffron’s voice, he spun to see her crossing the floor toward him.

  “I found something, drugs I’m pretty sure,” he told her.

  “Drugs? In the house?”

  “Yeah, I think it might be fentanyl,” he replied. “Myles is looking for a dealer, and I think I just found the guy’s stash.”

  “How? I mean, how did you know to even look here? Why were you looking?” He explained the conclusion he’d drawn, and his actions over the last hour or so. “I’m calling Myles. He needs to get those out of here now.”

  Gently placing the drywall piece on the floor, he followed her upstairs to wait for Myles. As usual, he wasn’t eager to see the cop, but maybe this visit would signal the end of Saffron’s woes.

  Chapter 40

  “For fuck’s sake! I can’t believe you just asked me that!” Rory was furious, and Saffron thought he had every right to be. Having arrived a few minutes ago, Myles had listened as Rory explained how he’d deduced the intruder was after something in the house, then how he’d searched it until he found a hiding place in the basement, one he was certain contained drugs. Myles then asked Saffron to relate her actions that night leading up to when she’d called him. The trio had then gone to the basement. After looking into the hiding spot, Myles had turned to Rory and asked him how he was involved in the placement of the drugs within Saffron’s house.

  “How can you even think I’m involved in this?” Rory continued. “I just found them. I told you everything, how I thought maybe something in the house was why that guy was trying to break in, and I started to look around. What the serious fuck?”

  Myles shrugged. “It would explain you applying for a job here. That your actual motivation was to recover the drugs. Then, when she wouldn’t hire you, you engaged in a fear campaign to scare her out. When she didn’t leave, you devised a way to get close to her. She hired you, and you put the moves on her, worming your way into the house. All you needed was a partner to continue harassing her, to make you look innocent. She caught you recovering the drugs, so you told a half-truth, the hiding and trying to recover part being real, and therefore sounding plausible. You only left out the part where you put them in there in the first place, which was why you were able to find them.”

  Saffron’s heart pounded madly in her chest. Part of her screamed that Rory would never do something like that to her, but another part insisted it made sense. It explained everyth
ing, absolutely everything. He wouldn’t do that though, not Rory. He loved her. Yet it made so much sense. It would certainly explain his interest in you. When has a man ever been head over heels in love with you? Never. It was a ploy all along. You could never land a man like him, never in a million years. You were a fool, as always. He played you well, and you fell for it, every step of the way.

  “Saffron?” Rory called. His eyes fell on her, questioning her. He was pale, and almost looked sick. Was it just an act though, him playing the part he had for the past month? She looked away, tears burning hers.

  He could have done it. It was possible he did all those things she’d first suspected him of doing before she hired him. Then, since he’d been here, he still could’ve done some things, like start the fire. It happened before they were sleeping together. He could have started the fire, and then made a show about putting it out, an act that made him look innocent. As far as what had happened when they were together, Myles was right, all Rory needed was a partner. It could have been anyone he slipped a few bucks to, someone who’d agreed to come to the house at night, cut the power, and then attempt to break in. Then, when Rory ‘caught’ the man in the act, he again looked innocent. He easily could have planned and executed all of that. It all could have been an act. That would mean he calculated every aspect of their relationship, slowing drawing her in, merely to access the drugs. All of it was meaningless to him, their first dance, and their ‘anniversary’, along with everything else they’d shared. Each moment she treasured was a part of his plan. It all made sense. When something seems too good to be true, it is.

  Hesitantly, with tears coursing down her cheeks, she looked back at him. The questioning look on his face turned into an angry one, pulling his lips—the lips she’d kissed and treasured—into a deeply trenched frown.

  “Sweetheart, tell me you don’t believe any of that.” When she stayed quiet, he blew out a furious-sounding breath. “You believe I could do this, set you up like that? That nothing we shared was real?”