Grady was furious enough to knock some heads together. Dooley should have known better than to leave. Hadn’t they talked about this a dozen times a day? Karen was never to be left alone, not even if she insisted.

When he reached the bunkhouse, there was no sign of either man. Of course, if they’d been on the property in the first place they would have heard the sirens, if not smelled the smoke, and run to help. Which meant they’d left, probably for a night on the town.

On his way back to the truck, he kept an eye out for either of the hands, but he was within sight of Karen when he spotted the two men climbing from Hank’s pickup, horror evident in their expressions as they stared at the charred, smoldering ruins of Karen’s home.

“What the hell happened?” Dooley asked when he spotted Grady.

“That’s what I intended to ask you. Why were the two of you away from here tonight?”

“The boss insisted,” Hank said defensively.

“I told you we shouldn’t listen,” Dooley grumbled. “We should have stayed right here, just the way Grady told us to.”

“Where’d you go?” Grady asked.

“Into town.”

“ Winding River?”

“No, the other direction, over to Little Creek. There’s a bar over there with country music on the juke box and some pretty waitresses. It’s usually packed with hands from all over,” Hank said. “We didn’t stay long. We had supper and came straight back, because Dooley here was nagging me like an old woman.” Hank’s gaze strayed back to the fire. “Guess he was right to be worried.”

Grady paused, thinking about that. “See anyone you recognized?”

“The place was packed. It’s Saturday night, payday for most of the men around here,” Dooley said.

“Think,” Grady said. “Was there anybody in there you knew?”

For a long time neither man responded. Then Dooley glanced at Hank. “Didn’t I see you talking to Joe Keeley?”

“Who’s that?” Grady asked.

“He works for the Oldhams,” Hank said.

So, Grady thought, the Oldhams could have known that Karen was here at the ranch unprotected. One glance at Dooley and he saw that the old man had reached the same conclusion.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Dooley asked.

“We should tell the sheriff and let him deal with this,” Grady said, though he was itching to take on the task himself. The image of Karen’s tear-filled eyes and heartbroken expression was the deciding factor.

“Let’s go,” he said grimly. He faced Hank. “Karen’s in my truck. You go over there and sit with her. This time I don’t care if she tries to bribe you with a million bucks, you don’t let her out of your sight until we’re back. Is that clear?”

Hank nodded. “I’m sorry about what happened,” he said, casting a devastated look toward the house. “It’s been so peaceful around here lately, I thought it would be okay.”

“I know,” Grady said.

“If she asks where you’ve gone, what do I tell her?” Hank asked.

Grady smiled ruefully. “I suppose telling her not to worry her pretty little head about it is a bad idea.”

“Real bad,” Dooley concurred. “At least if you expect her to be talking to you again.”

Grady nodded. “Then tell her we’ve gone to visit a neighbor and that we hope to come back with some answers about what happened tonight.”

“That’s going to bring her running right after us,” Dooley pointed out.

“Not if Hank does his job,” Grady said grimly.

“Yeah, well, sometimes the boss has a way of sneaking around the best intentions,” Dooley said.

Grady exchanged a look with Hank. Satisfied, he said, “Not this time.”

He was counting on her staying put, just where he’d left her. Later they could argue about how macho and chauvinistic his behavior was. In fact, he’d be happy to discuss it with her for hours on end, once they were both safely tucked in his bed.

“He went where?” Karen’s shout echoed in the cab of Grady’s truck. It had gotten too hot some time ago, so she’d turned off the engine. The temperature had climbed another ten degrees just since Hank had made his announcement about Grady taking off to do a little informal investigating.

Hank winced under her accusing scowl. “To see a neighbor.”

“Without discussing it with me,” she muttered, mostly to herself.

“He was in kind of a hurry,” Hank said, defending Grady’s sneaky departure. “Dooley’s with him. He’ll be okay.”

“I’m not worried about his safety. In fact, I’m considering strangling him myself. Didn’t he think for one single second that I might have a right to be in on this little visit?”

“Actually that did come up,” Hank said. “He thought you’d be better off here.”

Fury had her seeing red. “Oh, he did, did he?”

“I think he knew you might not like that,” Hank said, clearly trying to help by pointing out Grady’s deep understanding of her psyche.

“But he didn’t stop for one minute to reconsider, did he?” she snapped.

“No, ma’am.”

“Okay, then,” she murmured. She would just have to take matters into her own hands. “Hank, start the truck.”

“Ma’am?” He looked as if he’d rather climb on the back of a horse straight out of the wild.

“Which part of ‘start the truck’ did you not understand?” She reached for the key and gave it a twist. The truck sputtered, but didn’t start. “Get the picture?”

“Yes, ma’am, but I think it’s a really bad idea.”

She frowned at him. “Why is that?”

“Because Grady’s counting on you staying right here.”

“I’m sure he’ll learn to live with his mistake,” she snapped. “Start the car, Hank, or get out of my way.”

With painfully obvious reluctance, Hank started the truck, then put it in gear. “Where are we going?”

She frowned at the question. Hank had been very careful not to indicate which neighbor Grady suspected of involvement in the fire. She was reasonably certain he didn’t intend to share that piece of information now, which explained the deliberately vague expression on his face.

“If you don’t take me wherever those two men have gone, I swear to you I will not only fire you, but I will destroy any chance of your getting a job on any other ranch in Wyoming. Hell, I’ll make sure you don’t work anywhere in the whole damned country.”

Hank regarded her with an injured look. “I’m just trying to do my job, ma’am, the way Grady told me to.”

“You don’t work for Grady,” she reminded him, clinging to her patience by a thread.

“Maybe not, but the last time I ignored one of his orders, look what happened.” He stared miserably toward the smoldering remains of the house.

Karen sighed. “Turn off the engine.”

Hank nodded, looking relieved. “Good decision, ma’am.” His expression brightened. “And just in the nick of time, too. Here comes the sheriff.”

Karen glanced outside and saw Michael approaching the truck, his step weary.

“You okay?” he asked, when she stepped outside to greet him, still swaddled in the blanket.

“I’ve been better,” she said honestly. She nodded toward the house. “What’s the verdict?”

“Arson,” he said succinctly. “Not much doubt about it. There was evidence of gasoline about thirty yards from the living room window, along with some scraps of rags. Whoever did this probably tossed a firebomb into the house. I’m surprised you didn’t hear glass breaking.”

“I was taking a shower when it started.”

“Lucky for you you were upstairs. It gave you time to get out before the fire spread. Looks as if it moved pretty quick through the downstairs.” He glanced into the truck and spotted Hank. It seemed to take him by surprise. “I thought Grady was with you.”

“He was here until a little while ago.”

“Where is he now?”

“He and Dooley are checking into something,” she said evasively.

“You sure about that?”

“Of course,” she said, ignoring that brief flicker of doubt she’d felt earlier. This was no time to be discussing coincidences with the sheriff.