And then there was the fact someone was trying to kill her. If she hung around very long they might succeed. Of course, they’d tried once in Seattle so they could try again wherever she was. She wouldn’t be safe until whoever it was, got caught.
She gave herself a shake and concentrated on the ranch as they rode. She tried to remember the layout as they galloped along. It had been a long time since she’d ridden around it with Duke and she’d been a lot younger. Back then she hadn’t paid too much attention where they rode. She enjoyed riding and being with Duke.
Janna pulled lightly on the reins and Blaze veered to her right.
The sun beat down on her back. It felt good. So did the fresh air and the smell of cattle when she rode past a small herd. A little later she recognized the fencing between Duke’s place and the Hawkins ranch. Colorado spruce dotted the landscape along the fence. Farther along Janna spotted Green Mountain ash on a small hill. Janna smiled. She’d even remembered the name. Gradually things were coming back to her. There were some good memories here.
The motion of riding in the saddle felt soothing. She needed to do this more often. She’d forgotten how much she’d enjoyed her time on the ranch and she loved riding.
They headed toward the grove of tall pine trees at the back corner of the property. The tall trees were bunched close together. No sun got through their thick branches.
The grove bordered the Blackfeet land. It was the burial ground for Blackfeet chiefs, medicine men and other elder tribe members and was considered a sacred grove, a holy place. The Native Americans came here for guidance and to talk to their elders. It was on Duke’s property. Somehow the Blackfeet had never registered their claim and the grove became part of the ranch property. But Duke had always respected the Native American claim to the land, and they had free access from any side of the grove.
Now with Duke gone and her life being threatened the grove could also be in danger. She needed to protect it.
Janna reined in Blaze and halted a few hundred yards away. Leaning forward on the saddle horn Janna stared into the grove of Lodgepole and Ponderosa pine trees. They stood tall and stately, crowded close together to form a dark impenetrable forest. Other people, like Kye, said the souls of past native chiefs lived there and could only be seen by members of their tribe or the owner of the ranch. The story went that the spirits sometimes helped people with difficult decisions.
She’d asked Duke about it once. He’d told her the spirits lived in the grove and sometimes appeared to him and talked to him. He’d smiled and said, “If I have important questions, I ride out there.”
“Do they talk to you?”
Duke shook his head.
When she’d been a child, she’d hoped to see them. Now, as an adult, she’d dismissed them as a myth.
A shivered shook her spine. Smoke or low clouds formed amongst the trees.
Were their people there, in the smoke?
Hazy figures gradually took the wispy forms of the native Blackfeet chiefs and elders. A chill crept down her spine. Duke had been telling the truth. Now they stood tall among the trees regarding her.
Janna squinted into the darkness and swallowed several times.
Was her mind playing tricks?
The leader was dressed in the full Blackfeet chief regalia. A couple of others appeared to be medicine men and one was a woman.
They waited.
“I’m Janna. Duke left me the ranch.”
The forms, or spirits, as she was beginning to think of them, nodded.
“He’s dead.”
They stared at her.
Of course, if he left the ranch to her he was dead. They must think she was a complete idiot.
They appeared to be waiting for something—questions? Comments?
“Was Duke murdered?” It popped out of her mouth and shocked her.
Where had that come from?
The elder in the center nodded. The others followed in agreement.
Janna sat stunned. “Was it a robbery?”
This time they shook their heads.
If you believed in the spirits and what they had acknowledged, Duke had been murdered. Kye was right, but then he’d probably checked it out with the spirits, too.
“Who did it?”
They stared at her.
Okay, they didn’t speak.
“Am I in danger?”
They nodded.
She sat quietly staring into the grove.
“Should I keep Eli with me?”
This time they smiled and nodded.
“I am going to sell the ranch. Many people want to buy it. One of them is a government agency.”
The spirits shook their heads.
“So you’re saying I shouldn’t sell to them. What about the conglomerate that wants to buy it?”
Again they shook their heads. The smoke began to dissipate.
“I have more questions.” Janna watched the smoke disappear.
The dark forbidding grove stood tall and imposing. After several minutes she turned Blaze toward the ranch. Maybe the spirits only answered so many questions or stayed for so long. The encounter felt surreal. Janna tried to digest what had occurred.
March is Women’s History Month. Also, The Ides of March and St Patrick’s Day. It’s a busy month. 
