Page 1 of Tough Justice
1
Soft pink edged the clouds still blanketing the early morning sky. Duke Pierson stood on the back deck of the small house he’d recently purchased on the outskirts of Hillmore, Wyoming. Steam curled into the cool, December air as he sipped coffee from his favorite mug. He stared at the outline of the mountains and waited for the sun to break through to start the day.
Luck wasn’t something that was normally on his side, but he’d landed in a shit ton of it when he’d acted on impulse and shown up in his old buddy’s hometown months before. He’d found friends, community, and a place to lay down roots.
Not to mention a new job that didn’t toss him around, injuring his body the way riding a bull once had.
Life was good, and each morning brought a tiny burst of excitement in the pit of his stomach Duke never thought he’d experience again.
Not after the chaos that had followed him for far too long.
Pushing that stray thought from his mind, he refocused on the mountains. The hills and valleys of the land sprawlingbehind his home were so different than where he’d grown up in Texas.
His phone rang, breaking into his reverie. A quick glance at the screen brought a smile to his lips. “Hey, Heather. I was just thinking of home. Must have sensed it or something and had to check in on me.” Not like he was surprised. He and his youngest sister always had a special connection.
“Must have,” she said, humor lacing her voice. “How ya doing this fine morning?”
The hint of amusement in her words set him on high alert. “I’m good. Just starting my day on the deck with some coffee before heading to work.”
“You’re part owner in that fancy security company. Do you have to be there at a certain time, or do you make your own hours?”
He couldn’t help but snort out a laugh. “Fancy wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe Rough Ride Security. Lane and I are mostly installing security systems or following old men who’ve pissed off their wives. We’ve gotten into some private investigating, but that’s been slow going.”
“Doesn’t sound like the life of excitement you wanted.”
Leaning against the wooden rail, he set down his mug and refocused on the view. “You know, I think all that time I was searching for something I couldn’t find. Or hell, maybe running from something I didn’t want to find me. But here, everything’s kind of clicking into place. I feel at peace.”
An image of his buddy’s sister came to mind—something that happened more often than he cared to admit. Suzy Tipton was warm and kind, beautiful without trying too hard, and had a mind that worked faster than a train barreling down the tracks.
She was everything he’d ever dreamed about, but after getting into business with her brother, he’d put her in the don’t look, don’t touch, don’t even think about it part of his brain. Hisfriendship with Lane was fragile enough. Dating his sister would only add another complicated layer he couldn’t afford.
“Well,” Heather said, cutting into his thoughts. “I think that’s about to change.”
He frowned, uneasiness creeping along his gut like a handful of spiders. “You know I hate it when you’re cryptic like this. What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know,” she said in a sing-songy way that reminded him of their childhood.
When she was about to sucker punch him with some random shit that always knocked him off balance.
The distant sound of crunching gravel straightened his spine. “I think someone’s here. I’ll call you right back.”
“Okay. Talk soon.”
Shoving his phone back in the pocket of his jeans, he walked down the steps and rounded the side of his house. The dark wood of the little cabin matched the tips of his old cowboy boots. Frost coated the grass and spread over the mulch in the otherwise empty flowerbed.
Once spring hit, he’d plant some bulbs and bring more color to the blank canvass. Maybe find some perennials so he could have more than brown on brown for most of fall and winter. But the outside was low on his list or priorities.
Although technically turn-key, as soon as the sale went through, he’d gotten his hands dirty to turn the simple structure into the house he’d always wanted. Small, sectioned off rooms transformed into wide open space and a drab all-cream color palette was interrupted with deep shades of blues and greens to add depth and character that was one hundred percent him.
A car door slammed closed, hurrying him around the side of the house. He didn’t usually get visitors beyond Lane and his fiancé Celine, and Suzy—all who he’d see later that day. Hell, he still didn’t know most of the people in town. Yeah, he’d smile andwave and offer small talk, but that was different than making friends.
Something he was sure would happen the longer he was there.
At the front of the house, he spotted a silver sedan parked in the driveway. A petite woman with long, dark blond hair stepped out of the car. She hooked an elbow on the top of the open driver’s side door and stared at the cabin with a wide, toothy smile.
A slow grin grew on his face and excitement had his feet flying over the distance between him and his sister. “Heather? What in the world are you doing here?”
Facing him, she stretched her arms above her head in dramatic fashion. “Hopefully getting a break from that long-ass drive. You just had to move fifteen hours away from home, didn’t you? Couldn’t make it easy to get to you.”
