She followed his long strides out of the kitchen, traveling over polished wood-plank floors, past a dining room lit by an antler chandelier and furnished with a copper-topped table surrounded by eight high-backed leather chairs. A wine cellar with a glass door was tucked into one wall, something she wouldn’t have expected.

His study reflected the same combination of mountain and western décor, with beautiful oil paintings, dark wood furniture, and colorful Indian throw rugs on the floor.

Kade didn’t sit down, just closed the heavy door.

“What’s going on?” Ellie asked.

“You’ll hear about it anyway. Not many secrets on a ranch. Someone shot a steer up in the north pasture. Probably just some hunter who couldn’t tell the difference between a cow and a deer, but the men have all been told to stay alert.”

“Did you call the sheriff?”

He nodded. “Sheriff Glen Carver. He’s working on it, but the ranch covers a lot of acres, and it’s been raining, which destroys any footprints or tire tracks. With luck, the guy is long gone and won’t be bothering us again.”

“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open just in case.” She smiled up at him. “No extra charge.”

Amusement touched his lips, and Ellie felt it in the pit of her stomach.

“I assume Maria showed you your room.”

“She was busy working on supper. I’ll bring my stuff in later and ask her to show me.”

“I’ll help you bring it in. I saw where you parked. Let’s go.”

They walked back into the hall but turned the opposite direction, went through a mudroom, and out a door leading onto the wooden deck that wrapped around this side of the house. As they headed for the Jeep, a black-and-white border collie raced up to Kade and gave a single bark.

“That’s Smoke. Short for Smokin’ Joe because he can run like the wind. He’s friendly. You don’t have to worry.”

She knelt and stuck out a hand so Smoke could sniff her fingers. Ellie ran her palm over his glossy coat. “He’s your dog?”

“He’s the ranch dog. He kind of belongs to everyone, but I watch out for him.”

She loved dogs. If she lived there, she’d have at least two or three.

Kade grabbed both her bags out of the rear of the Jeep and started back toward the house while Ellie slung her laptop case over her shoulder, grabbed her big leather purse, and fell in beside him.

Kade went back inside through the mudroom and opened a door off the hall. There was a nice big bedroom with a small sitting area off to one side and a private bath. An old-fashioned quilted spread covered a queen-size bed with an ornate wrought-iron headboard.