Siren Rock Read Online Free PDF Page A

I’m glad you did, but how did you get on the grounds?”
    “The gate was open.”
    Case clenched his lips. “Damn.”
    Larina sat down and began to glance around. “So I noticed when I was here earlier you don’t have as many animals as you use to.”
    Case turned his head to survey the property. “No. I’ve had some bad years off and on here at the ranch.” He turned back to Larina. “I guess I could get more. I don’t know. Until I figured out what was behind it, I didn’t think I should. And it’s okay really. I’ve rather come to like the simplicity of what it is now.”
    He gave Bandit’s head a tousle. “I have Bandit here, Robust, Sas, their best buds over there.” He motioned in the direction of two pygmy goats. “That one on the left is Doe.” He pointed to the other. “Rae.” And then he pointed to himself. “Me.”
    This caused Larina to laugh. Case chuckled. “Sorry, little something I do with Timmy now and then.”
    He got up and put some more wood on the fire. “It was sad, though, seeing so many of the animals pass.”
    She leaned forward. “I’m sorry. How, when?”
    He tended to the fire with a stir of the ashes. “It’s been years now. Actually it happened shortly after you left town. I was told that they’d eaten something bad. A substance was found in their feed.”
    Larina’s eyes opened wide as they filled with a mist. “Oh no. How could that have happened?”
    He scrunched his mouth. “The authorities said not much could be done. I had my suspicions, but nothing I could prove.”
    He poured hot water into her mug, searched around for a utensil, and then finally stirred the drink with his finger. “Yee…okay ...little hot.” He grit his teeth.
    She smiled as he put his finger in his mouth to cool the burn before he handed the mug to her.
    “Thanks.” She took a gingerly sip “What are your suspicions?”
    He let out a slow breath. “Oh, at the time, I had a few. Initially, I thought someone was trying to run me out of Dodge, if you will. I thought maybe the town had their eyes on my property or something. I came up empty with that theory though. I really thought maybe Annette was getting back at me for not being with her. I still haven’t ruled that out. At one point I even suspected some old rodeo ties. Several were upset when I quit and pursued music. A lot of people had been invested in me.”
    He rested his forearms on his knees. “But how about we talk about that another time? I’d rather hear about you. Your practice is doing well I see. I check your web page. I still follow you on Facebook, and now Twitter, in case you never noticed.” He stroked his chin. “And by the way, you need more pictures of yourself on both.”
    She raised a brow. “Think so? And, yes, I did notice.”
    “You give a lot of free advice. That’s nice. Aren’t you ever worried people will take your guidance and resolve the simpler problems on their own?”
    She said, “No, I’ve found the more you’re willing to share, the more they trust you. Besides, it really is about the animals.”
    “Makes sense, good business sense too.” He lifted his tongue to his tooth. “How many calls do you get just to get you to come by… so they can see you?”
    She giggled. “You’re too kind. And just a small percentage.”
    He lowered his head, and he gazed through his lashes as he spoke.
    “So, do you ever peek at my sites?”
    She squirmed in her seat before answering. “I’ve seen them from time to time. I’ve heard you on the radio. I’ve bought your songs.”
    He chuckled. “Oh, that was you.”
    She fanned herself, and Case wondered if it was her drink, the fire, or maybe he was getting to her. He hoped it was the latter.
    He rubbed his neck. “Could you tell which ones I wrote for you?”
    “No, I don’t know. I did want to ask about your covers though. When did cowboys start wearing muscle shirts and no hats?”
    He laughed. “When it started selling songs.”
    “You