They continued the backbreaking labor till the sky lightened, turned to a washed-out gray-blue, then orange and gold as the sun came up. The sound of a chopper signaled the beginning of the water drops that would help bring the fire under control.

“Time to go home,” Kade said to her. “And no more arguments. We’ll let Chief Gifford and his men take over from here.”

Ellie stretched her neck and tiredly rubbed her lower back. “All right.”

“I’ve got a couple more things to do,” he said. “I’ll see you back at the ranch.”

Soot-smudged and exhausted, she just nodded. Kade sent her home on the back of Turtle’s ATV, watched until she was safely on her way down the road toward the house. The rest of the hands were heading back right behind them, all except Wyatt, who, like Kade, wanted to know what—or who—was responsible for the blaze.

Kade looked at the smoldering remains of the fire, thought of the two dead men in Phippsburg, and a chill ran down his spine that should have been impossible in the hot air generated by the flames.

* * *

Worried about Kade and wishing he had returned with her, Ellie headed for her bedroom. She intended to shower off the soot and smoke and get some sleep, but in the end, she decided to check her email first.

It took longer than she’d expected, but finally she headed into the bathroom to shower off the grit and grime, hoping to get a little sleep before Kade got home.

Pulling the elastic scrunchy off her ponytail, she shook her hair out, then climbed into the shower beneath the warm spray.

A deep, exhausted sigh escaped. As she washed her hair and scrubbed away the soot, worry for Kade hovered at the back of her mind, along with a notion that had been circling round in her head.

Two women dead, killed by their seducer, perhaps the same man. Two men murdered to keep them silent. Four dead people. Three in the past six weeks.

She heard a noise in the bathroom, felt an instant of fear as the shadowy figure of a man appeared through the frosted glass. Recognizing the height and solid, broad-shouldered build, she relaxed as Kade stripped away his clothes and opened the shower door.

“Mind if I join you?” He stepped in without waiting for permission, which he could surely read on her face. Just looking at him turned her on, the long, powerful legs, the ladder of muscle across his flat stomach. She rested her palms on his chest and felt the warmth of his skin, hotter than the spray rushing over them. Ellie’s insides softened in anticipation.

“Did you get the fire out?” she asked, forcing herself to concentrate.