The Horseman's Son by Delores Fossen Page A

something violent.”
    He stared at her. Rather than getting angry about that theory, he actually seemed thoughtful before he shook his head. “Ruth loves me like her own son. I’m sure of that. I’m also sure that she wants me to be happy.”
    Collena wasn’t so certain of that at all. “And what about Millie?”
    Another headshake. “She’s not romantically obsessed with me. She sees other men. Heck, she was engaged to a guy from San Antonio just last year, but things didn’t work out between them.”
    “Well, that leaves Hank, and I’m not about to accuse a seventysomething-year-old man of murder and assault.” She paused. “Unless you think there’s a reason to accuse him.”
    “No reason at all. My dad died when I was a kid, and Hank stepped up to do all the things that a dad normally would have done. He was also a huge help to my mom when it came to running the business. When she died of breast cancer eight years ago, Hank took it as hard as I did.”
    So, Hank was family. Not that being family was a good enough reason to remove him from a list of suspects.
    “Hank is Ruth’s father and Millie’s grandfather,” Dylan added.
    “I didn’t know that.” She wondered if that bit of information was important. “I didn’t investigate him before I came to the ranch.”
    “All three—Millie, Ruth and Hank—are Sayers. Ruth was never married to Millie’s father, so that’s why they have the same surname.” Dylan looked at her again. “Do you want me to have them move out for a while?”
    Collena wanted to jump at the chance for that to happen. But it wasn’t fair. Not to them. Nor was it fair to Adam. Besides, Dylan was right. There were no solid indications that the women wanted to prevent him from being happy in love.
    However, she couldn’t say the same for Jonah.
    She really needed to do some more digging into his past.
    “What about the roads?” Collena asked. It was obviously time for a change of subject. The mood was positively gloomy. “Are they still impassable?”
    Dylan shook his head. “They’ve been plowed.”
    “Does that mean Jonah is on his way home?”
    “He left about an hour ago.”
    Well, that was something to celebrate, but Dylan didn’t look in a celebratory mood. And that brought her to something she should have already suggested. “Do you want me to move to a hotel?”
    “Absolutely not. We only have one hotel in town, and Curtis Reese is staying there.”
    “Right.” She definitely didn’t want to be near him.
    “Besides, it’s too risky for you to leave,” Dylan added.
    “You mean, too risky because of Rodney Harmon?” Collena knew he couldn’t verify that Rodney was the only risk, but she wanted to know if he was ready to admit that someone in his household might have been responsible for the car fire and the threatening call.
    “Rodney Harmon. Curtis Reese,” he verified. “Plus, there’s the wedding.”
    Yes. That.
    Despite all the other thoughts and fears that’d clogged her brain and prevented her from sleeping, Collena hadn’t been able to get the wedding off her mind.
    When she’d first come up with the marriage plan, it’d seemed like a solid idea, but now she was having her doubts. But she didn’t have another choice. Without being a married couple, they wouldn’t be able to put up a strong fight to stop Curtis Reese.
    Dylan scraped his thumbnail over the book that she’d laid next to her. “I’ve already arranged for the marriage license. The county clerk went to his office despite the holiday and expedited everything. And with the roads clear, the justice of the peace should be able to get here without any trouble. We’ll be able to do this soon.”
    “How soon is soon?” she asked.
    He cleared his throat. “This afternoon.”
    Of course, she’d known that Dylan intended to move quickly, but she certainly hadn’t anticipated they would say I do in mere hours.
    “You’re having second thoughts,” he said.
    Second, third and