Read Online Silk and Spurs by Cheyenne McCray - Free Book Online Page B

pantry were short on a couple of items that she figured she’d grab, too.
    Funny, but her reasons for wanting to be out of town, away from Tucson, had changed. She hadn’t even thought of Carl and she found that it didn’t hurt to think about him.
    When she reached the general store, she parked and headed inside to get what she needed. She pushed her basket through the store, went around the electronics aisle, and almost ran her shopping cart into another person’s.
    She looked up from her shopping list and her skin crawled when she saw the person she’d nearly run into.
    Phoebe.
    The blonde woman glared, her eyes glittering with hate. “You bitch,” Phoebe spat. “You ruined everything.”
    “What—?” Jessie started.
    “You will regret crossing me.” Phoebe reminded Jessie of a cat with her back arched and hissing. A crazed look was in her eyes. “You will regret it. I will make sure you pay.”  
    She turned her cart around and walked away from Jessie. The woman looked over her shoulder once with hate-filled eyes then she continued around the corner of an aisle and was gone.
    Jessie shuddered at the thought of the look in Phoebe’s eyes. I’m not worried , Jessie thought as she stared in the direction that Phoebe had gone.  
    Putting aside Phoebe and her threats, Jessie finished her shopping and headed back to the Bar C.
    •  •  •
    After she’d taken everything she’d purchased into the ranch house and put it all away, she grabbed her camera and went out to the barn. She hadn’t photographed anything inside it yet and she was sure she would get some great shots.
    She swept her gaze over the buildings and corrals as she walked, hoping to see Zane. He’d gotten up long before her this morning and was gone when she made it out of bed and fixed herself breakfast.
    He was nowhere in sight so she walked through the barn doors. Immediately she caught scents of dust, hay, cattle, and horses. They weren’t unpleasant scents. She’d photographed sheep and cattle during the county fair in the arenas and in the holding pens, so she was familiar with the smells.
    On the barn walls hung antique shears, a small shovel, horseshoes, a yoke, groomers, a scythe, a pick, and other things that she didn’t recognize. It made her wonder if all of the tools and items had been used at the ranch sometime during its long history.
    She photographed everything, enjoying the coolness of the barn, the soft whicker of horses, and occasional sounds made by the animals in the stalls. She didn’t want to spook any of the animals, so she’d wait to photograph them when Zane was around.
    A loud thump sounded over her head and she looked up. Overhead was a hayloft. Was someone up there?  
    With a mental shrug, she continued deeper into the barn. It was an extensive barn that stretched a good distance. When she reached the end, there was a set of closed doors along On one side was a place for tack, supplies, barrels of grain, a sink and a small shower. On the opposite side was a workshop.
    After she took some photos, she headed back toward the front of the barn. Zane had never left her mind even as she’d busied herself with her job.
    Now that he’d broken it off with Phoebe, she really didn’t need to show him the pictures of Phoebe and the other man. Although it might make him even more sure of his decision when he saw just how close he’d come to that bullet that he’d managed to dodge.
    She shook her head. No, it might hurt him and that wasn’t something she wanted to see. There was no point.
    As she was passing from beneath the loft, Zane walked through the barn doors. The next thing she knew he was rushing toward her and then her breath whooshed from her lungs as she hit the ground hard with Zane on top of her. Her camera dug into her chest and she felt pain slam into her from him having landed on it, pinning it between them.
    At the same time she heard a loud sound that didn’t quite register.
    “Shit.” He said