Rancher On the Line Read online

  RANCHER ON THE LINE

  Barb Han

  TorJake Publishing

  Copyright © 2021 by Barb Han

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editing: Ali Williams

  Cover Design: Jacob’s Cover Designs

  To my family for unwavering love and support. I can’t imagine doing life with anyone else. I love you guys with all my heart.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Also by Barb Han

  About the Author

  1

  Dane Firebrand didn’t shy away from a fight. Not in the fifth grade when a kid three years his senior bullied his best friend; not against his twin cousins when they’d decided to gang up on him once in middle school; and not against countless enemies seen and unseen during his time in Kandahar. So, why now? Why did he feel the need to retreat from his family’s ranch before anyone spotted him?

  The July heat hit with full force. Sweat beaded on his forehead. And yet it was nothing compared to what he’d experienced at Bagram. This was doable. It didn’t hurt there were no dangerous dirt roads, bombs, or terrorists to contend with in Lone Star Pass. All he planned to do while in Texas was pay his respects for a grandfather he grew up around but couldn’t say he knew or respected. Marshall Firebrand didn’t get close to anyone as far as Dane remembered. The man had done his level best to divide the family, which he’d excelled at, and now that he was gone, Dane doubted that anything would change.

  This trip would be in and out, a couple of days max. He owed his mother that much, considering he’d only come home a handful of times over the years and never stayed long enough to wear out his welcome. Dreading it to this degree caught him off guard.

  Tonight, he needed a place to stay. The home that had been built for him on ranch property would be too obvious. There would be no flying under the radar until he was ready to make an appearance if he stayed there.

  Come on, man. The whole reason he’d come home was to show his face before moving on to a permanent location. Why was he struggling so much?

  He issued a sharp sigh, not ready to unpack the answer to his question. The cabin owned by his best friend’s family would provide a good cover until he could get his bearings. Jacob wouldn’t mind, having enacted an open-door policy a long time ago. Taking a day to get his bearings shouldn’t be a problem. His family might know he was on his way home, but he didn’t commit to a date. He’d been cooling off on a former tobacco farm in Virginia, waiting for clearance to rejoin society. What would one more day hurt?

  The familiar burn in his right hand caused him to flex and release his fingers. Nerve damage was for the birds. IEDs were for the birds. Being home was for the…

  Before he went headfirst down that rabbit hole again, he walked over to his rental sedan, opened the door, and claimed the driver’s seat. No one would recognize the vehicle, which would buy him even more time. Plus, he had no plans to park in front of Jacob’s place. The fishing cabin would be empty now that his friend’s family had moved to Houston to be closer to an aunt. He knew the layout like the back of his hand so moving around without a light on wouldn’t be a problem. He’d park his rental in a safe spot nearby. All things considered, a decent last-minute plan.

  Dane stayed lost in thought on the drive. At close to midnight, there were no other vehicles on the road. He cut off headlights as he neared the fishing cabin, a place he could get to from memory after all the summers he and Jacob had spent there after chores, of course. To get any kind of freedom, Dane’s work had had to be done, responsibilities that took up most of the day, six days a week while growing up. Much of the time, Jacob would sneak over to help to buy time for them to hang out.

  Dane would never know why so many of his brothers and cousins had stayed on to work the land and play constant mediator to a father who never had time for them and an uncle who was just as bad. Most of his good childhood memories happened off the cattle ranch and away from his family. In places like this.

  There were half a dozen cabins on this stretch of road. At one time, he’d personally known the owners of each one. Now, he was only certain about the last three belonging to the Reeds, Jacob’s, and the Meirs. As he passed the Reed family cabin, he noticed a vehicle parked to the side. A glow came from the master bedroom window. He didn’t, and wouldn’t, recognize the two-door convertible sedan. For all he knew, the family could be renting the place out now that the internet made it available with one click. If memory served, there was a small opening in the trees in between Jacob’s and the Meir’s cabins. Teenagers used to park there for privacy. It had been so long since Dane had been here, the place could be grown over by now.

  He rolled on past Jacob’s place toward the Meir’s. There were no streetlights on the gravel road. He risked flashing his fog lights and saw the opening right where he remembered it to be. The little spot was still there. And that was the first bit of comfort he’d experienced since arriving in town five hours ago and hiding out on his family land.

  Ditching the black, four-door sedan would be easy for now, especially under the cover of night. He may have to find a better place for it at first light. Or, better yet, drag some downed tree branches over for cover.

  Dane grabbed his rucksack from the backseat and locked up the vehicle, his step a little lighter now that he’d bought himself more time. He pressed a button to start the timer on his watch. It was important to know how long it would take to get back to his escape vehicle. The move was habit at this point, and probably unnecessary in a small town like Lone Star Pass, but it could mean life or death where he’d spent the last seventeen years. Here in the civilian world, there probably wasn’t the need to know that if he walked this in four minutes and fifty-two seconds then he could run it in a hair over one minute flat. The knowledge only served to remind him that he’d forgotten what it was like to be anything but a soldier.

  Now that he’d medically boarded out, his new plan was to stay away from as many people as possible until he figured out how to be a civilian again.

  Dane tried the door of the two-bedroom cabin. Locked? That was a first. Or maybe it had just been that long since he’d been back. Did he expect everything to be the same as before he left? The short answer? Yes. As unrealistic as the thought might be, he’d had it just the same. He was starting to realize the saying about never being able to go home again might be more accurate than he’d given credit.

  While slipping his hand inside his rucksack, another thought occurred to him. If people used locks, they might have alarms now too. He gripped the universal key, deciding to investigate. He moved around the building, peering in room after room. The last thing he needed was Sheriff Lawler making an appearance tonight, full-on lights, alerting everyone to Dane’s presence. There was nothing like disturbing his neighbor to help him make a new friend.

  Room by room, Dane checked for the telltale red dot on a wall or near a door to indicate Jacob’s family had put in an alarm system. Dane was beginning to think he should have called, but then that would be another first.

  There we
re no dots to be found. He circled the cabin once more just to be certain there were no more surprises; his eyes had long ago adjusted to the dark. Being outside meant being more in his element than he cared to admit. Being alone in the woods, near one of his favorite fishing holes, brought back a flood of good memories he’d forced out of his mind. Had he blocked out all the good from Lone Star Pass along with the bad?

  Leaving this place and getting as far away from his feuding relatives as possible had been the right move. Besides, he couldn’t imagine working a cattle ranch the rest of his life. The job had been forced down his throat as a kid where he’d worked long hours with little reprieve. Hard work wasn’t the problem. Lack of choice about how and when he worked was.

  Dane slipped the universal key inside the lock. He twisted and jiggled it a couple of times before hearing the telltale snick. He shouldered his rucksack, opened the door, and made a move to step inside.

  A tree branch snapped to the left, not fifteen feet away. Dane slipped into soldier mode, crouching low to the floor while placing his rucksack next to the door without making so much as a sound. He pulled out and then unsheathed his Ka-Bar knife, the stacked leather handle feeling a little too natural against his palm as he closed his fingers around it. The seven-inch blade was sharp enough to trim the hair on the back of his hand, so imagine what it could do to a person’s skin.

  Dane intentionally left the door open and waited. Patience won battles. And he’d been one of the best soldiers.

  Catalina Ivey froze.

  Less than ten minutes ago she’d heard gravel crunch underneath tires. She’d thrown off her covers and ducked into the second bedroom of her rental where it was dark with one question...had she been caught? She’d made it to the window in time to catch the blacked-out car as it inched past the cabin. Fear had seized her.

  Still in yoga pants and a sports bra, she’d thrown on an oversized t-shirt and slipped into her running shoes, which were positioned beside the door just in case. Being constantly on guard was becoming second nature. She’d been careful. She’d taken every precaution she could think of, renting the cabin in cash, making a fake ID and renting the convertible from a small dealership. Nothing should tie her to this place. Had they found her?

  Frustration nipped as she’d bolted through the tree line, keeping the vehicle in view. The minute it had diverted off the gravel path, she’d known she was in trouble.

  Trekking back slowly toward her rental, curiosity and fear got the best of her. She’d stopped at the cabin in between the vehicle and hers, and waited to get a good look at the driver. The blacked-out vehicle tipped her off to the fact this person was not on a family vacation.

  Thick trees formed a screen in between each cabin to afford plenty of privacy. It had been a main selling point for the place and one of the many reasons she’d chosen this location. The Wi-Fi was spotty but she made do. In fact, her former boss would rule out looking for her in an area like this because of it. Being discovered was not an option. And here she’d been so careful in the past week since arriving, keeping a low profile. Even a sharp sigh couldn’t rid her of her frustration—frustration at having to lose precious time relocating when all she wanted was to be with her infant son.

  Adrenaline thumping, her fight, flight, or freeze response kicked on high alert. This was a complication she couldn’t afford. She still had too much code to write. The app would never get up and running at this rate. This nightmare would never end.

  Catalina half expected to get caught at some point. She just didn’t anticipate being found this fast. Her ready bag was always packed just like Lucas had taught her. In fact, she was pretty much relying on all his war stories for guidance at this point. They were the reason she’d made it through the past three weeks after realizing her boss had other plans with the pet project she was developing. She remembered like it was yesterday. She’d put on a smile, gotten through her workday, and then wiped out her computer’s hard drive before walking out.

  Since then, she’d secured the one thing that meant most to her in the world and had gone on the road. Frustration nipped at her because she was inching along with writing the code, making some progress at least. She’d already found five bugs and fixed two.

  She wasn’t sure how long she could outrun Tech Corp. A little voice reminded her she’d be on the road forever if she didn’t finish this code and get it in the right hands. She knew exactly who to sell it to…the competition.

  Catalina knew for a fact Hanson Tech would do the right thing with the app. But she couldn’t do anything until she finished. Once she had the finished product, and therefore a bargaining chip, she could take it to Hanson himself and then there would be no reason for her former boss to come after her. Hanson could provide protection no one else could. All she had to do was keep herself alive long enough to finish.

  She froze, standing so still that no one would even hear her breathe as she caught sight of a dark figure.

  Panic seized her chest. She’d walked too slowly, been too careful, and the driver of the vehicle had beaten her to the cabin. Curiosity had gotten the best of her when she wanted to know what he looked like, who they’d sent.

  Her eyes now adjusted to the dark, she saw a hulk of a man step inside the cabin. She listened for the sound of the door closing, locking. It never came. Catalina gripped the mesquite tree where she’d been standing several minutes now, waiting for a light to come on inside the cabin. Wouldn’t there be a light?

  She took a slow step to the side, and then back without making so much as a sound. She risked another, fighting the instinct to turn toward her rental and run. She could only hope that coming to Lone Star Pass hadn’t been the critical mistake she feared it might turn out to be. Lucas’s friend was from here. Tears threatened at the thought of Lucas even though it had been a year. Gone too soon.

  A few more minutes ticked by. She heard nothing, not one sound other than chirps and clicking noises from insects in the trees. She figured it was safe to turn around and head back to her cabin.

  Once there, she needed to grab her laptop, throw it inside her ready bag, and get out of Dodge.

  As she turned, she practically slammed into a wall. It was immediately clear she’d just stepped into a man.

  “What are you doing, spying on me?” The man’s voice was a low, angry rumble. She ignored the vibration of attraction it caused to rocket through her body. Fear could do the same thing to a person, excite the nervous system and cause a response that mirrored attraction. This was no different.

  In the heat of the moment, his actual words barely registered. All she could think about was getting far away from this person. She couldn’t afford to get caught or have her identity revealed. More than her life was on the line and the temporary arrangement she’d made for her son wouldn’t last forever. Tucking Luke away and far from her was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Ripping her heart out of her chest couldn’t be for nothing, and she couldn’t allow herself to consider never going home again. There was no backup plan for Luke being brought up by someone else. The only living relative she stayed in contact with, her granny, was too old to take in an infant for the long haul. Granny might be independent now, but she wouldn’t be forever. The very real possibility she wouldn’t be around to see Luke’s first day of kindergarten stabbed Catalina in the chest. If she didn’t find a way out of this mess, her precious son might end up in foster care, brought up by strangers.

  The thought fueled her. She pushed off the Hulk and tried to take off in the opposite direction. His hand clasped around her wrist, creating a steel vise, stopping her dead in her tracks. She balled her fists, lifted her hand as high as she could before dropping it down in one swift motion. Nothing.

  When the next move didn’t work, she dropped down to her knees. Or, at least, she attempted to. The hulk of a man didn’t give her an inch. He brought his other hand up to grip her forearm, holding her in place in front of him.

  “You didn’t answer my qu
estion.” His voice was akin to a volcano erupting, threatening to cause the same amount of damage.

  There was no way she was giving away the sound of her voice. He wasn’t getting any more information than he already had. She had to think.

  Think. Think. Think.

  Since her arms were of no use, she brought her knee up, angled the heel of her foot at his shins and fired off a kick. Her heel connected, and, pain shot through her foot. Somehow, she figured she was the one who took the most damage. He grunted, clearly not amused, but her heel screamed in pain.

  Out of nowhere, he chuckled, causing all kinds of rage to fuel her next move—a move she gave no thought to. Instead, she went as wild as she could, holding back nothing. Who laughed at pain? Keeping the image of her son in her arms close to her thoughts, she gripped Hulk’s arms. Trying to turn the tables on him, she dug her fingernails into his flesh. At the same time, she stomped on his foot before drawing her knee up to land where no man wanted to be struck.

  He took a step back just in time to avoid contact.

  Catalina let out a yell that would rival any wild animal as she twisted and wriggled her body, trying to break free from his grasp.

  “I’ll give you want you want. I’ll let you go.” His voice was a study in calm despite the barrage she’d unleashed on him.

  Then the first words he’d spoken to her started to sink in. What are you doing, spying on me?

  Would someone from Tech Corp ask this question? Reason crept in, whereas she’d been running on pure adrenaline and emotion. Was it possible he had nothing to do with her former employer?