Reunion at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels Read Free Book Online Page B

soon-to-be-ex wife didn’t like it up here. Too isolated. Since you’re paying cash, I can arrange a rental agreement until the sale is final. You should be able to move in this evening. The owner is in a hurry to get out of town.”
    “Great.”
    “But this...urgency to get settled, it wouldn’t have anything to do with your...cat burglar, would it?”
    Laramie smiled to himself. “You sound like Austin. I ran into him earlier at the restaurant. Like I told him, I know what I’m doing.” He wished that was true.
    But he didn’t think the earlier incident was an attempt to kill him. Then what had it been? If the driver had wanted to scare him off, then he’d failed. Laramie was more determined than ever. He was counting on his cat burglar coming back for the painting. It was just a gut feeling, but a strong one, that for some reason she really needed that painting. And he really needed answers.
    He stood to leave.
    “Don’t forget this,” McKenzie said reaching behind her. She handed him what Theo Nelson believed to be the original painting.
    He stared at it, anxious to compare it to the one in his rented SUV. “Question, if I wanted everyone to know I’d bought the house, how would I go about getting the word out?”
    McKenzie laughed. “In a small community like Big Sky? Are you kidding? Everyone knows everyone else’s business. It’s probably already out there since the owner informed me to go ahead and change the security information to yours. You’ll need to change over the utilities and everything else as soon as you get into the house. But if you were to stop by the furniture store or the grocery and happen to mention you’d bought a house...”
    “Let me know when you have my key, and thank you so much. Oh, and one more thing. Have you ever heard of an artist by the name of H. F. Powell?”
    “Of course. In fact, one of his paintings is coming up for auction at the Christmas ball this year. It’s expected to go high. This interest in cowboy art...”
    “Just curiosity.”
    She laughed. “Uh-huh.”
    Laramie realized how little he knew about art in general as he left for Meadow Village. His plan was to do exactly what McKenzie had suggested. He had a feeling that his cat burglar kept her ear to the ground. How else had she known that the house was supposed to be empty last night?

Chapter Six
    Sid rubbed her back. It ached from hours spent painting. She hadn’t realized how long she’d been working. When she painted, time flew by. She hadn’t even noticed that her back was aching until a few moments ago when she finally laid down her brush.
    She also realized she was hungry. Going to the fridge, she peered in. She’d bought the basics at the store, but nothing appealed to her. The pulled pork barbecue sandwich came to mind. Why not go back there? Several good reasons came to her. Except once she thought of barbecue, nothing else would do.
    This late in the evening, Texas Boys Barbecue was quiet. Only a few booths were taken. She slipped into one and was thankful when a different waitress came out with a menu.
    “We have a special, if you’re interested,” the young woman said. She rattled off a variety of items, but all Sid keyed in on was the words ribs . Her stomach growled.
    “I’ll take the baby-back rib special.” She started to say “to go” but stopped herself. “And a beer.” As she started to whip out her ID, she realized the waitress wasn’t even going to ask for it. With relief, she put it away, sat back and took in the place in a way she hadn’t done earlier. It was nicely done. Comfortable and homey but without kitschy knickknacks. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming and the smells coming out of the kitchen were making her mouth water.
    It felt good to be out of her cabin. She sat back, relaxing—until she heard voices in the kitchen as the waitress brought out her beer. Taking a sip, she watched the back, hoping to get another look at Laramie Cardwell. From where