Page 81 of Ironwood Ranch Cowboys

Her grip shifts on the camera. “That’s encouraging.”

I shut the door behind me. “Duke told me about the note.”

Her expression changes. “Of course he did.”

“He also told me about the SD card.”

She looks away for half a second, which from Annie qualifies as a confession.

“Were you planning on telling me that something of yours went missing under my roof?”

She sets the camera down carefully on the bedspread. “I wasn’t planning anything.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the one I have.”

I take a step into the room. “Someone went through your things.”

“I know.”

“Someone followed you today.”

“It seems like it, yes.”

“And you said nothing.”

Her eyes flash. “What exactly do you want from me?”

I ignore the edge in her tone because if I answer it directly, this gets louder than it already is. “Why?”

She folds her arms. “Because I didn’t know you’d want to be involved. But I still have the note if you want to see it.”

“Do you have any idea what could’ve happened if this escalated and no one knew? You should have told me.”

Her laugh is short and carries no humor in it. “Right. Because that definitely felt like the smart move.”

“It would’ve been.”

“No,” she snaps, pushing to her feet. “No, it wouldn’t.”

I’m starting to think this is fear, but Annie’s dressing it as irritation first.

“Explain that,” I say.

Her chin lifts. “You want the polite version?”

“I want the true one.”

“Fine.” She takes a breath that does nothing to soften what follows. “I didn’t come to you because I’m new, because this ranch already runs on enough tension to qualify as a hostage situation, and because I didn’t need my boss deciding I was suddenly too much trouble to keep around.”

I can’t believe what she’s saying. “I wouldn’t have fired you.”

She throws her hands in the air in frustration. “How exactly was I supposed to know that?”

“Because I would’ve taken it seriously.”

“Really? Because I was worried that marching into your office with ‘hi, I think someone stole one of my camera cards and maybe left me a creepy note’ would become a great way to get looked at like I’d become a liability before I’d even finished untangling your books.”