Sudden Setup. Barb Han

Any chance I can convince you to come back to the main house with me?”

      “Sweetheart, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I really don’t need—”

      “Obviously, you need a place to stay.” She glanced around as if for emphasis. “We’re always looking for a good pair of hands around the ranch. It’s clear to me that you’d make a good addition and we need more men like you.”

      “You ought to be careful who you go offering jobs to,” he stated.

      “I trust you.”

      “That’s a mistake,” he said plainly.

      “No, it isn’t. But even if it was, it wouldn’t be my last.” One of her balled fists was on her hip now. She had a lot of sass for someone in such a vulnerable position. He’d give her that.

      This conversation was going nowhere so Holden did what he did best: went silent as he stared her down. She should be more afraid of him than she was acting. She had been earlier when she’d opened her eyes, and as much as he didn’t like it at first, her reaction was for the best. What had he done to make her so comfortable now?

      “You want coffee?” he finally asked, shaking his head. She was as stubborn as the stories he’d heard about her father.

      “That would be amazing, actually,” she said with a small smile.

      “Then get out of my way.”

      She twisted her mouth in a frown at his sharp tone but stepped aside. He walked straight past her without making eye contact even though she stood there expectantly for minutes afterward. And then she slammed the door shut. Not only was Ella stubborn but she had a temper. The nuances of her personality were none of his business. Period.

      Holden refocused on the facts. Ella Butler had been missing for two days. His position at the cabin had been compromised from the moment he’d witnessed the attack, and he could see now that it was a miracle no one had shown up. The situation was declining. Fast.

      There’d be a search underway by now. The news that “Maverick” Mike Butler was killed would be enough to create a full-scale media circus in Cattle Barge. Add a missing heiress to the equation and Holden couldn’t begin to wrap his mind around how out of control the coverage would be. He’d been so far off the grid that he’d missed all of it.

      The news that her father had been murdered before an attempt had been made on her life sat in Holden’s gut like he’d eaten a pack of nails. The media attention surrounding her disappearance—and that would be big news—must be the reason the person who’d chucked that rock at her hadn’t returned. Holden had been watching out for the culprit.

      She needed to know that the blow to her head wasn’t an accident. He wasn’t sure how she’d react, especially given the fact that she’d just lost her father. Normally, he’d suspect someone close to her, a family member. Money or greed would be motive for murder, and especially when considering the amount Maverick Mike had amassed. His fortune was legendary but so were his antics. He had a lot of enemies. Holden wanted to ask about the circumstances surrounding her father’s death but decided against it for the time being. He shouldn’t show too much interest in the Butler family. Once he settled into a new location far away from Cattle Barge, he could find out what had happened. Mike Butler’s death would be all over the news, so it would be easy to find.

      Holden glanced at his watch. Ella had been gone a full ten minutes. Should he check on her?

      A thousand thoughts rolled through his head. Adjusting while in action had always been Holden’s strong suit. He told himself this time would be no different. The door opened at about the time he’d made up his mind to mount his own search. She looked at him boldly.

      “Coffee’s getting cold,” he snapped. She needed to be afraid. He set her cup on the table that he’d made by hand after he arrived last month. The cabin was the first place he’d bothered to put together anything that resembled furniture. His thinking had always been “get too attached to any one place and leaving would be that much more difficult.”

      His plans had really gone south in Texas—but then he was beginning to see why the place was so appealing with its wide-open skies and thousands of stars at night.

      Ella moved to the table and picked up the tin mug. She cradled it in her hands like it was made of pure gold when she sipped. A little sound of pleasure drew from her lips. “This is really good. How did you do this?”

      “You haven’t had any for too long. Muddy water would taste good to you right now.” Holden kept the part that he liked giving her that small moment of happiness to himself.

      “I promise the coffee’s not this good at the main house.” She paused and then her eyes brightened. “I don’t know what I’ve been thinking. My brothers and sister are probably frantic with worry right now. There’s no chance you have a working cell phone, is there?”

      “No.” He was completely off the grid. There was no way to track him using technology.

      “I need to reach them and let them know that I’m okay. I know what I said earlier about our money being tied up, but if you’re in some kind of trouble I can help.” The determined set to her jaw said she meant it.

      Holden shook his head. The less she knew about his circumstance, the better.

      “I’m more concerned about you right now,” he said. “Besides, you’re news and that’s bad for me.”

      “You’re on the run from something.” She had part of that right.

      More like someone.

      Her gaze penetrated deep into him. “You know who I am, don’t you? You’ve always known.”

      He nodded.

      “And you’re not out to hurt me. So far, from what I can tell, you’ve been helping me,” she continued.

      “I want you to listen carefully to what I’m about to say. What happened to you out there was no accident,” he warned.

      She gasped. “Not you...”

      “No, it wasn’t me. But someone did that—” he motioned toward the gash on her head “—on purpose.”

      He let the revelation sink in for a minute.

      “It wasn’t you and it wasn’t an accident,” she said so quietly that he had to strain to hear.

      Holden handed her another cup filled with beans he’d warmed in the fire. “You’re used to better food, but this is protein and it’ll keep your stomach from growling.”

      Ella took the offering with trembling hands as his message seemed to be taking seed. “Who would want me dead?”

      He didn’t like that momentary lost look in her eyes.

      “I’m telling you because you’re going to want to be careful from now on. Take necessary precautions and don’t wander off alone.” Holden leaned his hip against the counter.

      She took a bite of food and chewed.

      “You said that your father was killed,” he continued.

      “Yes.”

      “You’ll want to look at people who stand to gain from your death after his to start. Scrutinize those closest to you,” he said, figuring with her money she could hire proper security who could keep her safe until the law found the man trying to kill her.

      “I have no idea. I mean, I think what you’re saying is that my brothers or sister might want me dead to get me out of the way or take my share of our inheritance, but I trust them with my life,” she said.

      “What happened to your father?” he asked. The look he shot her must’ve been interesting.

      “He was shot twelve times while he slept naked in the spare bedroom attached to his office in the barn,” she informed.