Free Roping Ray McCullen by Rita Herron

winced as she climbed in the passenger seat of Ray’s Range Rover. “I could have called someone else, Ray. You don’t have to drive me home.”
    Ray’s jaw tightened. “It’s not a problem, Scarlet. We need to talk anyway.”
    Talk? Had he told his brothers about her and Bobby? Had he already found a loophole to exclude them from their inheritance?
    She rubbed her forehead and waited, not sure she wanted the answer. She’d fight for her share for the children at the home.
    But she was tired right now, her head ached and she needed to pull herself together.
    â€œWhere is your place?” Ray asked.
    She gave him directions, anxious as he made the turn onto the street where she lived. The houses were small but well kept. The children’s toys in the yards indicated it was a family neighborhood. That was one reason she’d chosen it. She liked the homey feel.
    â€œThe one at the end,” Scarlet said.
    Ray pulled into the drive, but made no comment. He seemed to be assessing the place, though, as they walked up the path to the house.
    â€œCan I come in?” he asked when she unlocked the door.
    She supposed she might as well get it over with. “Sure.” She went inside and dropped her purse on the table by the door, then walked to the kitchen.
    â€œCoffee?”
    â€œDon’t go to any trouble for me.”
    â€œI’m not, I need a cup,” Scarlet said. “It’s been a long morning.”
    She made quick work of brewing a pot while he simply stood and watched her, his silence as unnerving as the dark intensity in his brown eyes.
    When she handed him a mug, their fingers brushed and a tingle traveled up her spine. Her gaze flew to his, and something sparked in his eyes as if he’d felt it, too.
    Dear heavens, was she so shaken and lonely that she was imagining a connection between the two of them? An attraction?
    Ray probably saw her as an enemy or a problem he needed to get rid of.
    Ray cleared his throat. “What exactly happened today?”
    Scarlet carried her coffee to the den, turned on the gas logs and sank onto the couch. Ray followed, but stood by the fireplace, his posture rigid.
    â€œI went to The Family Farm to check on things. Then I was on my way to the office to meet with this couple about an adoption.”
    â€œAnything unusual about that? Any problems with the adoption?”
    She frowned as she replayed the morning in her head. “Not with the adoption. Corey’s parents died in a car accident and he has no family. So there was no one contesting the adoption, if that’s what you mean.”
    Ray gave a small nod. “Your car was running okay on the way there?”
    A shaky sigh escaped her. “Yes. Although...I thought someone was following me when I first left home.” She picked at a thread on the afghan. “It was a black sedan. I noticed it down the street when I left and it pulled out behind me.”
    Ray’s brows arched. “Did you see the driver?”
    â€œNo.” She dragged the afghan onto her lap. “Although my nerves were on edge because last night I woke up and the door to the outside was open. I locked it before I went to bed, so I was afraid someone was inside.”
    Ray’s expression hardened. “Did you report the break-in?”
    She shook her head. “I searched the house, but there was nobody inside. Nothing was disturbed or taken. I figured the police would just think I left the door unlocked, and that the wind blew it open.”
    Ray made a low sound in his throat. “So you had a break-in, then you thought someone was following you this morning?”
    â€œYes. The sedan stayed behind me for a while. I turned into a gas station to see if it followed, then the car went on.”
    â€œYou know anyone who drives a car like that?”
    She sipped her coffee. “No, not that I can think of.”
    â€œWhat about Pullman?”
    â€œI