Kade swallowed a mouthful of the succulent roast beef. “I’ve had a lot on my mind. I needed a little exercise.”

Wyatt nodded. The men all understood how tough it was to run a ranch the size of the Diamond Bar, the stress Kade was often under.

“Seth spotted some strays up on Bear Tooth Ridge.” Roy grinned. “We can always use an extra hand.”

Kade chuckled. “I’ve got another project I’m working on. Which brings me to a topic I’ve been wanting to discuss.” He stood and motioned for Ellie to join him at the head of the table.

“I want to introduce you men to someone. You already know her name, but not the real reason she’s here. Ellie’s a damn fine cook—as you all know by now. But that’s not why I hired her. After Heather’s car turned up in the lake, I decided to start digging again, see if I could find the man who killed her. Ellie’s a private investigator. She’s looking for the man who murdered my wife. That’s the reason she’s here.”

Nobody spoke.

Seth turned a hard look on Ellie. “You’re a private investigator?” He made it sound like a crime, and Kade felt the tension building in the air.

“That’s right,” Ellie said. “I work for a company called Nighthawk Security in Denver.”

“So you came here to dig up dirt on all of us?” Slate accused.

“I don’t appreciate being spied on,” Roy added.

“Neither do I,” said Riley.

Ellie raised her hand. “Before all of you go completely ballistic, I want you to know that I’ve been looking at anyone and everyone who knew Heather Logan. I focused on you men first because you live on the ranch. I checked you out very thoroughly—and I’m pretty good at finding pertinent information.”

“And?” Wyatt pressed, clearly not happy he hadn’t been trusted with the truth.

“I found out that Kade has some very fine men working for him. You aren’t perfect—nobody is. But near as I could discover, you guys are loyal, honest, and trustworthy. Kade’s lucky to have you.”

Silence fell.

“Ellie’s still looking for the killer,” Kade said. “She’ll be doing that full-time from now on. But none of you are on her suspect list. I want this guy. I want him to get what he deserves. I hope you’ll give Ellie whatever help she needs.”

“That’s it, then?” Roy asked. “No more spying?”

Ellie smiled. “Where you guys are concerned, the spying is over. Anybody have any questions?”

“I do,” Wyatt said. “You been here a while. You got any idea who this guy is?”

“We got a little sidetracked with Frank Keller,” Kade explained.

“Now that Keller’s dead, Ellie’s back to work on Heather’s murder.”