“Why don’t you tell me?” Trask hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans and leaned his shoulders against the fireplace. His intense gaze bored into Keith’s worried face.
Keith immediately sobered. “What’re you talking about?”
Trask’s eyes narrowed. “Someone followed Tory and me up to Devil’s Ridge this afternoon. Not only did this guy have a rifle, but he decided to use it by taking a shot at us.”
“What?” Keith spun and faced his sister. “What’s he talking about? Why would you go up to the ridge with him after what he did to you?” Keith became frantic and began pacing from the den to the hallway and back again. “I knew that McFadden couldn’t wait to bring up all the dirt again!” He glanced over his shoulder at Trask. “What’s he talking about—someone shooting at you? He’s not serious—”
“Dead serious,” Trask said tonelessly. “Then later, at Neva’s place, someone decided to use the back of my head for batting practice.”
Keith’s face lost all of its color and his cocky attitude faded with his tan. “You’re not kiddin’ are ya?”
“Hardly,” Trask said dryly, approaching the younger man in long sure strides. “And that same person has been calling my sister-in-law, threatening her to get me to stop this investigation.” Keith looked as if he wanted to drop through the floor. “I don’t suppose you know anything about that, do you?”
“I…I don’t know anything.”
“So where were you tonight?” Trask ground out.
“Tonight? You think I did it?” Keith seemed genuinely astounded. He looked pleadingly at Tory before stiffening at the sound of Trask’s voice.
“Where were you?”
“I’ve been in town.”
“Until two in the morning?”
“Yeah. Rex and I went into town, looking for a part for the combine. When we couldn’t get it, I stayed at the Branding Iron for dinner and a few beers. Later I went over to Rex’s place. He and several of the hands had a poker game going.”
“And someone was with you all night?”
“For most of it.” Keith’s indignation flashed in his eyes. “Look, McFadden, I’ve done a lot of things in my life tha
t I’m not particularly proud of, but what happened to you and Tory today has nothing to do with me.”
“Why do I have difficulty believing you?”
“Because I’ve made no bones about the fact that I hate your guts.” He pointed a condemning finger at Trask. “You nearly single-handedly destroyed everything my dad worked all of his life to achieve; you not only sent him to prison, but you took away all of his respectability by using his daughter and publicly humiliating her.”
Trask’s face hardened. A muscle worked in the corner of his jaw and his eyes narrowed fractionally. “I’ve made my share of mistakes,” he admitted.
“Too many, McFadden. Too damned many! And tonight is just one more in the string. I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to you tonight.” He was shaking with rage. “Now I think it’s about time you left.”
Trask’s eyes glittered with determination. “I’m not going anywhere, Wilson.” He sat down in one of the chairs and propped the heels of his boots on the corner of the coffee table. “As a matter of fact, I intend to spend the rest of the night right here.”
“Get out!”
“Not on your life.”
Keith glared at his sister. “He’s your problem,” he spat out before stomping out of the den and treading heavily up the stairs to his room.
Tory took a seat on the arm of Trask’s chair. “You were too hard on him, y’know,” she reprimanded, her brow knotted in concern. “He’s not involved in this.”
“So he claims.”
“You don’t believe him,” she said with a sigh.
“I don’t believe anyone—” he looked into her worried eyes and smiled slightly “—except for you.”
“Not too long ago you didn’t trust me.”