Special Agent. Valerie Hansen

could fit two of me and a couple of the ranch dogs in here at the same time,” she quipped, stopping and spreading her arms to better display the two-piece scrub ensemble. That was an error. The room started to tilt and she made a grab for the doorjamb. “Whoa.”

      Beside her in a fraction of a second, Max caught her around the waist. “Easy. You sure you’re ready to leave?”

      “I’m signed out and everything. Just had my chickens scattered, as Mom used to say.”

      “Your parents are divorced?” He was guiding her toward the open door.

      “No. My mother passed away when I was fourteen. That’s when I started putting all my efforts into training horses.”

      “So, last year?”

      Katerina knew he was teasing to try to lift her spirits and played along. “I’m twenty-two, going on forty, which my file should tell you.” Leaning on his big, strong arm as they walked, she asked, “How about you?”

      Max gave her a wry smile. “Older than dirt.”

      “That old, huh?”

      Pausing at the doorway he looked back. “Do you have anything to take with you? Meds or bandages or anything?”

      “Just that plastic sack of ruined clothing at the foot of the bed. Since I’m on a tight budget I need to try to salvage the jeans.”

      Making sure she was well balanced, he fetched the bag and picked up where they’d left off. They were almost to the exit when a nurse spotted them and tsk-tsked. “You’re supposed to leave in a wheelchair, ma’am. We don’t want you falling.”

      “As you can see I’m in good hands,” Katerina said, smiling and leaning her head toward her stalwart companion, genuinely glad he was by her side.

      It wasn’t until they left the hospital and she saw his formidable black SUV that she sobered. Lighthearted moments aside, there was big trouble in the little towns in and around historic gold country. First there had been the drug busts and now somebody was setting off bombs. Other incidents had been reported on the local news so she knew her family ranch was not the only target. The question was, did somebody destroy the barn as retribution for her former ties to Vern? It was certainly possible, and terribly disconcerting.

      She remained silent as Max helped her into the SUV. Above all, she wanted him to find the perpetrator and put him in jail.

      And not blame an innocent bystander. Like her.

      “So, where do you live?” Max asked casually.

      She arched an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t already know? That’s not very comforting.”

      “Okay, I know,” he said with a smile, flicking a brief glance across the seat at her. “I figured you might have a shortcut or better way to get there. These winding roads are hard on Opal.”

      “Who?”

      “My K-9 partner. She usually rides closer to me but I put her in her portable kennel box in the back when I have a passenger. You’d have met her if you hadn’t been knocked unconscious.”

      “Oh, I love dogs! Is she a German shepherd?”

      “No. And don’t you dare laugh. She’s a boxer.”

      “A what?”

      “You heard me. I get teased almost everywhere we go. She’s really great at detecting bombs but people are more used to seeing breeds with longer noses.”

      “No kidding. Why in the world would they train a boxer for that? I mean, they can’t have as keen a sense of smell with such a short muzzle.”

      “You’d be surprised.”

      “I’d like to meet her. Dogs and horses were my best friends while I was growing up. There’s a darling black lab at the ranch that I’d adopt in a heartbeat if Dad would let me.” She hesitated, seeming sad. “So, tell me more about your dog. How old is she and how long have you had her?”

      “She’s about four. My team has begun rescuing at least one pup for every mission we go on and we don’t rule out any capable canine, purebred or mutt. Opal’s a good example of hidden talent. She showed aptitude for detecting explosives and hearing or smelling electronics such as detonators, et cetera, so she was trained and assigned to work with me.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “We’re not master and dog, we’re partners. We both have badges. I just happen to be the only one with a driver’s license and a gun.”

      Katerina chuckled quietly. “That’s comforting.” Pointing to an upcoming turn, she said, “May as well take 49 and double back a little. My place is between here and the ranch.”

      “I’m surprised you didn’t ask more about the horses in that burning barn.” He was surreptitiously watching her expression and most likely wondering if he would find out more than she intended to reveal.

      “Heath had Moonlight and her stablemates in the trailer, remember?”

      “Yeah. Handy.”

      “What was?”

      “That that barn was totally empty when the bomb went off.”

      “You don’t think Heath was responsible, do you? I mean, he’s been with the family since he was a teenager. I trust him like an uncle.”

      He hardened his jaw. “What about your father? Could he have needed insurance settlement money?”

      “Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”

      “Then you realize who that leaves.” His gaze was telling, as it was meant to be.

      “Me? No way. I’d never endanger people or animals. How many times do I have to say it? I am one of the good guys.”

      “Until I believe it.” Another sidelong glance caught her evident consternation.

      “I don’t care if you believe me or not, Mr. Big Important Government Agent, except that you’re wasting time. Instead of harassing me you should be out looking for whoever is really behind the bombing, not to mention the lowlife who tried to grab me from the hospital.”

      “I’m keeping my eyes open,” he vowed soberly.

      “It’s not your eyes I’m worried about,” Katerina countered, “it’s your closed mind.” She turned her face to the window and added, “‘There is none so blind as he who will not see.’”

      Max knew she was quoting scripture, although he couldn’t recall exactly where in the Bible that phrase was found. He didn’t mind her doing that. What bothered him was the slim possibility she might be right.

      * * *

      Katerina’s apartment was a tiny space above a boarded-up, vacant storefront on a side street in South Fork. It had been all she could find when she’d been ousted by her father and, although she was now employed, anything else was still beyond her budget. If she hadn’t worked at a diner, eating might have been, too. Not that she wanted anyone to know. The way she looked at it, as long as she had a roof over her head and enough to eat, she was blessed.

      If the K-9 cop/agent was surprised by the appearance of her current dwelling in contrast to the posh Garwood Ranch he hid it well. That pleased her. She’d already had so-called friends from her ranch days turn up their noses at her efforts to make a home out of a veritable hovel. This handsome man with his perfectly pressed uniform and gleaming car never batted an eye.

      “I’ll get Opal.” He eyed her scrubs and smiled. “That shade of green sure isn’t your color.”

      Katerina returned his grin. “Oh, I don’t know. It matches my skin whenever I move too fast and get dizzy.”

      He was chuckling to himself as he opened the hatchback and released his dog. Katerina waited to see what a boxer in uniform looked like. Since the idea was ludicrous