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Londyn laughed. “Is anyone happy teaching fifth-graders? I know I was a handful then, as was every other kid in my class. So, she found her soul mate. You didn’t?”
Nash shook his head. “I wasn’t looking. When you’re in Special Forces, you never know when you’re going to deploy. You spend very little time at home. It’s not conducive to long-term relationships.”
“I guess not.” Londyn slowed, turned onto a gravel road and passed through a gate, bumping over the metal grate of a cattleguard. “Did you retire from the military?”
Nash looked at the dusty road ahead. “Medically retired, as are many of the people Hank hires. Not good enough for active duty, but we still have a lot of life left in us.”
Londyn tilted her. “You seem physically fit.”
Nash gritted his teeth. “Not by Army standards. Tell me what the premise of the movie you’re making is. I’ve only seen two scenes, and I have no idea.”
“It’s about a young Native American woman who inherits a ranch from a white man who raised her after her parents died in an automobile accident he was responsible for.”
“Sounds familiar,” he said, giving her a pointed look.
She nodded. “There are some similarities that make the part easy for me to portray. The difference is that my parents aren’t dead. At least my mother isn’t dead. I have no idea who my father is. And the man who raised me was truly my grandfather.”
“Okay, but you did inherit your ranch from the man who raised you.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I would think inheriting a ranch is a gift that would make the person happy. So, what is the conflict?”
“Besides missing the man she’d come to think of as a father figure, she owns a ranch. She’s a female in a male-dominated world. And she’s Shoshone in an area where many white men are highly prejudiced against Native Americans. It’s a story of her struggles to prove herself when others want her to fail.”
Nash frowned. “Have you run into situations like that, having inherited your ranch?”
She shrugged. “No one has been blatantly angry or ugly to me. However, I don’t get the same respect or treatment when I take my cattle to auction or purchase feed at the feed store. Men tend to think I’m not capable of managing a ranch. What they don’t know is that my grandfather taught me everything he knew about running the ranch, raising cattle and managing the land. I can ride as well or better than any man in the state of Montana. I’ve helped countless cows deliver breech calves, trained my own horse, and cut, baled and hauled hay. I’ve branded, culled and castrated steers. And yet, my male counterparts who don’t know me ask to talk to my husband or father when they want to discuss business.”
“And the character you portray?”
“Gets the same treatment and worse. The villain is angered by the fact she’s a female and Native American. He feels she doesn’t deserve the ranch and has no business owning or operating it in a white man’s world. He wants her to disappear and is intent on making it happen.”
“Do you think whoever is targeting you has the same issues with your inheritance?” Nash asked.
She shook her head. “I was doing just fine on my ranch with the help of my neighbor. There were no ‘accidents’ or attempts on my life. It wasn’t until I landed this role and came to work in Wyoming on the movie set that things started happening.”
“Could it be that your time on the film location is an opportunity for someone to sabotage your efforts without casting suspicion on himself back home?” Nash asked. “Someone who wants you to lose your ranch and maybe gain from your loss?”
Her brow knitted. “I can’t imagine who would gain from me losing my ranch.”
Nash tapped his fingers on the knee. “Has anyone approached you in an attempt to buy your property?”
“No.”
“If you lose the property because you owe back taxes, couldn’t someone pay those back taxes and take ownership of that property?”
“Maybe. But I’d think the bank that carries the mortgage would foreclose on it and try to sell it before the government could confiscate it for the back taxes.”
“Have any of your neighbors ever expressed an interest in buying the property?” Nash’s eyes narrowed. “It would make sense if one of them wants to expand their own holdings.”
“Our neighbors have always been there to help when we needed it, and we’ve reciprocated. I can’t imagine any of them trying to kill me in hopes of taking the ranch.” She flung her hand in the air. “I don’t know. I’ve always felt like we were all just trying to survive and had each other’s backs.”
“Greed can change?—”
The truck swayed suddenly.
Londyn gripped the steering wheel with both hands.
“What was that?” Nash asked.
“Something’s happening with the trailer. It’s tugging on the truck’s hitch.” Londyn took her foot off the accelerator, her gaze going to the rearview mirror.
