Code Name: Nanny (SEAL and Code Name #5)(65)

Patrick Flanagan smiled as he put down the phone. Life was good.

And it was about to get even better.





[page]chapter 22

The Lazy W Ranch straddled fifty acres of some of the prettiest grazing land in Wyoming, bordered by dark waves of fir and oak. A river wound through the rolling hills, alive with rainbow and brown trout.

But the ranch’s value didn’t come from mineral rights or long-term investment potential. Though his family had a number of residences scattered over the country, the Lazy W was really home to Tate Winslow—the place where he’d learned to hoe an irrigation ditch, tie a fly lure, and lay down a barbed-wire fence. The clean, rugged hills of the Lazy W held his heart, fed his dreams, everything that Washington, D.C., was not.

Which was why, for Tate, even an hour spent here wiped away months of exhaustion, cynicism, and doubt.

He smiled as Sophy charged past, running straight into the arms of Bud Fowler, ranch foreman for over thirty years. The old cowboy caught the little girl tight and swung her around in a circle.

“How about we get Peaches ready for a dawn ride, Sophy? We can head up north and watch the sun break over the mountains.”

A well-briefed and trusted family retainer, Bud was too polite to comment on the pink gloves Sophy was wearing. Instead he swung the little girl up onto his shoulders, then beckoned to Audra. “You been working on your casting arm, Audra? A lot of fat trout are waiting in that stream, you know.”

“I don’t have so much time right now, Bud. Not with school and . . . everything.”

“Darlin’, even a grade-A student’s got to take some time off. Just wait till you taste a nice, fat trout grilled on the fire, minutes from the water. Add a little cornmeal, a pinch of salt, and cook it up real fast in olive oil. Heck, no fancy restaurant’s gonna come close to that.”

Audra smiled shyly. “I packed my fishing gear, just in case.”

“Well, you trot on down to see me tonight after dinner and I’ll work on a new move with you. You’ll have a trout in no time.”

“Can I try, too?” Sophy demanded, bending forward over Bud’s head and blocking his view.

“Sure can, honey. And my Elly just may have some fresh peach ice cream hidden somewhere.” He glanced at the senator. “Fresh chocolate chip cookies, too. Assuming anyone is interested,” he added dryly.

“You tell Elly her last shipment of cookies was well-received.” Tate grinned at his old friend. “Only problem was that I made the mistake of taking them out of my office. My campaign spending bill got more support that one day than it had for the six months preceding.”

“In that case, I’ll advise her to lay in more flour and sugar, Senator. By the way, your mother called twice and your brother called three times. Nothing that was an emergency, they said.” With Sophy still riding firmly on his shoulders, Bud turned to Cara. “Good to see you again, ma’am. I’ve got a nice mount ready for you tomorrow, if you’ve a mind to join the girls.”

“Can I tell you later?” Cara resolutely avoided Tate’s eyes—and the flush that threatened. “Dawn may be a little too early for me.”

“No problem. Me and the boys’ll wrangle these two cubs just fine. You can take things easy up here. I hear that big trial is keeping you busy as a gopher in quicksand. No court dates or dockets here, ma’am.” He tickled Sophy’s leg. “Just mile-high sunsets and nights so quiet you can hear the aspens growing.”

“Bud, can you really hear—”

Audra cut her sister off, but her laugh was light, freer than Cara had heard it for weeks. “Of course you can’t, silly. It’s a—a figure of speech. Right, Bud?”

The old cowboy rubbed his jaw. “Hard to say about that, honey. Last night it was so quiet, I cudda sworn I heard a coyote cough over in the next county.”

Even Audra laughed in delight at this example of a tall tale, for which Bud was justly famous.

“And that was with my earmuffs on,” the old cowboy added, all honesty. “But just you tell me about this new beast you brought with you. What do you do with a ferret, anyway?”

Excited, the girls held up Liberace’s cage.

“Stop worrying, Cara. They’ll be safe here. So will you,” Tate said quietly, touching her cheek.

“I know. At least, the rational part of me knows. But I’m worried about Gabe and Summer. Have you heard anything yet?”

“Still too soon, honey. Gabe should check in when they arrive in Los Reyes. Don’t worry, they won’t be working alone down there.”

“You still haven’t told me—”

Tate slid his arm across her shoulders. “Later, Counselor. If we don’t hurry up, that steak I was telling you about is going to get up and amble back to the herd.”



Up ahead, Sophy lowered her voice. “Look, Bud, he’s kissing her again.”

“That bother you, honey?” Bud’s tone was casual.

“Not really. It’s just—I mean, I don’t get why grown-ups do that stuff all the time. Phillip Howland kissed me once and it tasted like crayons. Ick.”

Bud kept a carefully straight face. “Boy oughta be horse-whipped and no mistake. What about you, Audra?”

“Yeah, do you like kissing?” Sophy demanded.