Death Cry. James Axler

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      Nate knelt down to be eye level with her. “Hi, Sophie. I’m Emily’s brother, Nate.”

      Emily watched as the child’s eyes lowered shyly. The little girl’s arm latched tighter on to her uncle’s leg.

      Emily’s heart went out to the forlorn looking girl. It was obvious she’d been through some kind of tragedy…but to lose both parents. She knew all too well what it felt like to lose someone you loved. Even after a dozen years, she still missed her father.

      Emily shook away the memories and put on a smile. “Sophie, remember me?”

      The child raised her eyes and nodded. Just that slight response tickled Emily. “How about you and I go up to the house and have some lemonade and cookies while your uncle tends to his horses?”

      Emily looked at Reece for permission. “There’s no need for you to feel you have to watch her.” Reece said.

      Emily took Sophie’s hand. “Since I’m not needed at the movie set until tomorrow, Sophie will be doing me a favor. And since you need to take care of those beautiful animals, your niece and I can entertain each other.” She glanced at the child. “What do you say, Sophie? You want to go with me?”

      Sophie turned her big brown eyes on her uncle and saw him nod. “It’s okay. I’ll come and get you just as soon as I care for Toby and Shadow.”

      Holding on to her raggedy bear with one hand, and with the other in Emily’s, the two started off toward the house.

      Reece watched them walk away. He should be happy that his niece was responding to someone. Except that it could be a problem. Sophie could get too attached, and their time in Haven was only going to be temporary. Reece remembered too well how much it hurt when he’d gotten too attached to a person when he was growing up. He couldn’t stand that happening to Sophie.

      “She’ll be okay,” Nate said.

      Reece came out of his reverie. “What did you say?”

      “I can assure you that my sister is good with kids. It’s men she’s been known to be hard on.” A friendly grin appeared. “I guess my brother Shane and I had something to do with that. We used to tease her, but she gave back as good as she got.”

      Reece didn’t want to hear about Emily Hunter’s attributes. He had to stay focused on the reason he was here. The money he’d make would go a long way in helping him to achieve his goal of buying his own ranch.

      Shadow whinnied and Reece returned to the present and his responsibilities. “Would you mind if I let the horses loose in your corral? It’s been a long trip.”

      “Sure, let me help,” Nate said as they walked to the animals. “I hear you’re from California. Do you own a ranch there?”

      He wished. “No, just an apartment in L.A. I board my horses out in Riverside.” He’d worked out a deal with the ranch owner, Jerry Holt, to train horses in trade for boarding his black mare and bay gelding in between jobs.

      Reece took Shadow by the reins and led him into the corral, while Nate brought Toby. Reece glanced around the freshly painted barn. “You’ve got a nice place here.”

      “Thanks.” Nate closed the gate and removed the lead rope from the horse’s bridle. “The Double H had been in the family for generations, but we’d lost it when our father died. I bought it back about ten months ago.” A sudden sadness masked Nate’s face. “It was shamefully run-down. My brother Shane, owns a construction company, and he’s responsible for all this restoration work.”

      Reece released Shadow and the animal ran off. “I take it he’s the one building the movie set?”

      Nate nodded. “The producer is a stickler for detail, so we’re replicating the original homestead.”

      Reece had worked for Jason before so he knew the man’s desire for realism. He was anxious to see the location, but he also needed to get Sophie settled for the night.

      “Do you know what the accommodations will be?”

      Nate nodded. “The actors will have trailers. Jason and I have an agreement for the crew to stay in the new bunkhouse. There are five female crew members that will share the foreman’s house.”

      “You’re being pretty generous with your place.”

      Nate watched the horses gallop around in the sun. “I haven’t exactly got the ranch up and running yet so I’m not using most of the facilities right now. At the moment I just have a small herd and a few saddle horses. My hope is to have things up and running by the spring. The truth is I’m not even sure how big an operation I want to handle, and if it will be cattle, or mostly horses.”

      Reece wouldn’t have any trouble deciding at all. “If I had the money and a place like this, I’d do both, but I’d definitely breed horses.”

      Nate smiled. “My great-great-grandfather was a horse breeder. He had a line of champion stock that was well known around this area,” he said. There was obvious pride in his voice.

      “Must be nice to trace your family back so far,” Reece said. Hell, he didn’t even know his father.

      “Damn straight. That’s why it’s only right the Hunter family story be told where it all began. For a while there, we’d lost everything, but we still had each other. That’s the most important thing. I take it you’re Sophie’s only family.”

      Reece nodded. “Her mother died recently, and her father was never in the picture. I’m her guardian now.” He didn’t want to go into any more details. “And I need to talk to Jason. Is he around?”

      Nate shook his head. “He flew to L.A. earlier this morning, but he’ll be back Tuesday.”

      “Did he happen to mention about arrangements for a place for me?”

      Nate’s eyebrow drew together. “No, he didn’t say anything to me.”

      “Damn, I was afraid of this. I can’t work on the movie if I don’t have a place for Sophie and me to stay, and someone to watch her while I work. Jason promised to help me out.”

      Nate raised a hand. “Let’s not panic. I’m sure Jason has something in the works, but in the meantime, why don’t you move into the bunkhouse. It’s just sitting empty.”

      That wouldn’t solve Reece’s long-term problem, but he was grateful he and Sophie would have someplace to sleep that night. “You sure it’s okay?”

      Nate smiled. “It’s my bunkhouse. So relax. Now, let’s get out of this heat and go up to the house.”

      Reece hesitated, but ended up following Nate. He wasn’t going to stay long. They’d spend the night, but there was a good chance that this job wasn’t going to pan out. He glanced toward the mountain range. That was a shame. This sure was beautiful country.

      In the ranch kitchen, Emily sat on the hardwood floor with Sophie. The child played silently, putting a dress on one of Emily’s old dolls that they’d found in the attic. Emily tried to interact, but the little girl seemed more comfortable on her own.

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