Roping Ray McCullen by Rita Herron Read Free Book Online Page A

then.”
    Brett winced as the roof to the first barn collapsed. “You’re right. He should enjoy his honeymoon.”
    â€œYou said you smelled gas?” the fireman said to Ray. “I called our arson investigator. As soon as the embers cool enough for him to dig around, we’ll do a thorough search.”
    The blaze was beginning to die down, although the first building was a total loss. The front of the second building suffered damage, but hopefully the interior and stalls had been saved.
    â€œI should have had an automatic sprinkler system installed,” Brett said glumly.
    Ray detected an underlying note of blame in his brother’s voice. “You couldn’t have known this would happen.”
    The smoke thickened as the wind picked up. “Yeah, but it did.”
    â€œWe’ll discuss installing them in the future.”
    Brett gave him an odd look. “I didn’t think you were going to hang around.”
    Ray hadn’t planned to. But they still had the reading of the will and the bombshell about their father’s mistress and his son to contend with.
    â€œI’ll be here for a while, at least until things get settled.” Which would probably be longer than he’d first thought.
    Another siren wailed, and an official fire department-issued SUV barreled down the road. A sheriff’s car followed. Deputy Whitefeather had probably been notified by his 911 call.
    Both vehicles careened to a stop, the deputy climbing out followed by a tall, broad-shouldered man in a uniform.
    Introductions were quickly made. The arson investigator’s name was Lieutenant Garret Hawk.
    â€œWhat happened?” Lieutenant Hawk asked.
    â€œWhen I got home, I saw smoke and found the barn on fire,” Ray explained. “I called for help, then ran in to rescue the horses. That’s when I smelled gasoline.”
    Lieutenant Hawk acknowledged the other firefighters with a flick of his hand. “It looks like you lost one barn and part of another.”
    Ray nodded. “Thanks to your men and their quick response, or it could have been so much worse.”
    â€œYou think someone set the fire?” Deputy Whitefeather asked.
    â€œOur builders certainly didn’t have gasoline out here,” Brett said. “But I don’t know who would sabotage us this way.”
    Ray bit the inside of his cheek. The first person that came to mind was their half brother. If Bobby was ticked off and thought he’d been left out of the inheritance, maybe he wanted revenge.
    Then again, if Bobby expected to inherit a share of the ranch, why would he want to damage any part of it? Destroying buildings would only lower the value of the property. And if he was caught, he’d face charges and go to jail.
    Lieutenant Hawk moved closer to the edge of the burning embers. Ashes, soot, burned wood and leather covered the ground. He knelt and used a stick to push aside some debris. A cigarette butt lay in the pile.
    â€œAny of you smoke?”
    â€œNot me or Brett,” Ray said.
    â€œHow about ranch hands?” Lieutenant Hawk asked.
    Ray and Brett and both shrugged. “It’s possible,” Ray said. “But they know better than to smoke around the hay.”
    Deputy Whitefeather walked around the edge of the embers then went inside the second barn.
    â€œDid your father have any enemies?” Lieutenant Hawk asked.
    Brett shook his head, but Ray didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t ready to divulge the truth about his father’s indiscretion to a stranger, especially when Maddox and Brett were still in the dark.
    He would investigate the half brother himself. If he’d tried to hurt them by setting this fire, Ray would make sure he never saw a dime of the McCullen money or any piece of the land.

Chapter Six
    Scarlet jerked awake to the sound of the wind whistling through the small house. Startled, she sat up and scanned her bedroom.
    Outside a