Bulletproof Christmas

by Barb Han

  “I can see you’ve put a lot of thought into it,” he admitted.

  “Believe me when I say that I’m torn between doing right by you and right by them. The minute I start putting my needs above everyone else’s is the day I stop caring about anyone but myself. I definitely don’t want these girls to grow up thinking their problems are the only ones that count in life,” she said.

  Rory snapped his face toward her. “Our girls deserve everything we can give them, and that includes perspective.”

  It was going to take a minute for him to digest the fact that he was having twin daughters. For now, he had to keep the information on the back burner.

  “You think Dex or whoever is after me is going to make his move tonight, don’t you?” she asked.

  There was no use lying or trying to hide what he knew at a gut level. She deserved to know what she was about to face. “Yes. I think he’s going to come in with everything he’s got to stop you from walking inside that house. There could be so many things that we can’t account for. Extra foot patrols will help but that might not stop them from setting booby traps on the ranch. A lot can go wrong because he’s in control, not us. We can do our best to control access to the environment but once a target’s location has been identified, the rest becomes easy.”

  “And we already know he can shoot from a distance,” she agreed.

  “That rifle would have never been set up like that if he couldn’t.”

  “Do you think Dex is our man? What about those guys who tracked us to your place? How many more can there be?” She was firing a lot of questions at him that he couldn’t answer.

  “It’s an unknown variable, which is an enemy in a situation like this.” Rory’s cell buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket and checked the screen. “It’s Sawmill.”

  “I have news,” Sawmill started right in.

  “Okay. I’m putting you on speaker. I have Cadence Butler with me,” he informed the sheriff.

  “Good. You’ll want to hear this, too, Ms. Butler.” He issued a sharp breath before continuing. “We got a hit on the descriptions you gave us of the pair of men in the woods after my deputies canvassed the area. Does the name Martin Jenkins or Randol Fleming sound familiar?”

  Cadence looked to be searching her memory. She compressed her lips and her gaze darted around. “No. Not at all.”

  “They’re kin to a new hire on the ranch. Young man by the name of Rupert Grinnell,” he informed.

  All the color drained from Cadence’s face as she whispered, “Rupert.”

  It was impossible to believe that a ranch hand would be involved and especially with how close everyone was.

  “He was Dad’s last new hire. But how could he possibly be involved?” she asked. “And what problem could he possibly have with me? I didn’t know the guy from Adam before he came on board at the ranch. And all the men were interviewed after Dad’s death.”

  “Mr. Grinnell has an association with a man by the name of David Dexter Henley, who sometimes goes by the name of Dex,” the sheriff informed.

  So, Dex didn’t use a fake name like Rory thought he would have. The man must’ve panicked and given his nickname.

  “Rupert, Martin and Randol are related,” Rory pieced together. “Dex is...what?”

  “All we know so far is the four men are linked. Means, motive and opportunity are still open for question,” Sawmill stated.

  “Although, with Grinnell working on the ranch, it’s possible that he let the others in,” Rory said.

  “And that could end his involvement right there. We suspect he might not’ve given them access knowingly based on reviewing the file of interviews. We’re considering all possibilities at this point in the investigation,” Sawmill informed.

  “Do you have any theories?” Cadence asked.

  “I was hoping to gain more information from you in order to fit the pieces together, Ms. Butler.” Sheriff Sawmill’s radio beeped and buzzed in the background. “We’re in the process of tracking down last known addresses and making a list of family members to investigate. I know this doesn’t sound like much and I’d like to be able to give you answers, but this is a big break. It’s only a matter of time before we piece the story together and make an arrest.”

  “Where’s Rupert?” she asked.

  “We were hoping you could tell us that,” he said.

  “The information about his family members and address when not on the ranch should be in our files. Ed Staples can provide everything.” Cadence was cracking her knuckles and her gaze was darting around wildly, her nervous tics.

  “Sometimes witnesses remember something later. If that’s the case with you, please call my number directly,” Sawmill informed.

  This phone call was about to be over.

  “I wish we had some idea of why Rupert would be involved in this,” Cadence said. “He never struck me as a criminal and our office is good at vetting out unstable people. I know his background is shady but he seemed like an honest kid.”

  “Hereford has a great reputation for treating employees well and it’s widely known that it’s not an easy job to get,” Sawmill agreed.

  Cadence’s father had a weak spot for young men who needed a hand up. In Rory’s case, he would never have betrayed Mr. Butler. Okay, the irony of that thought smacked him square in the nose. He’d walked out on his relationship with his former employer’s daughter and had gotten her pregnant. That wasn’t much of a thank-you to the man who’d saved Rory’s life.

  Rory thanked the sheriff and ended the call.

  One look at Cadence and he could see that her mind was reeling from the news.

  “How old is Grinnell?” Rory asked.

  “He’s young,” she admitted. “He was barely eighteen when we gave him the job and that was about nine months ago.”

  “Seems odd a young guy could take the heat of being investigated,” Rory said, thinking out loud. “It has me wondering if he knew at the time that he’d allowed someone on the ranch.”

  “It’s possible that he could’ve been used and not known it. He’s a sweet kid who I felt didn’t belong in the system,” she informed.

  “The sheriff will send a deputy to turn this place upside down at any moment,” Rory stated.

  “I don’t like the fact that there’ll be so much chaos on the ranch during the will reading,” she admitted.

  “Me, either.” He put his arm around her and she leaned into him for support. It felt a little too right and she felt his muscles tense. Was he thinking the same thing as she was? Getting too close was going to hurt like hell when this was over. If a criminal had his way, that would be tonight.

  That old wall erected between them and she could feel the detachment growing. Was he distancing himself so it would be easier to walk away tomorrow? Like he’d done before?

  Cadence was an idiot to let her emotions get away from her twice. Especially when Rory had already proven he could disappear at a moment’s notice and not look back. The only reason he was in Cattle Barge and at Hereford was because her brothers had summoned him. And she was certain he was itching to get back to the land he loved.

  She wasn’t being fair to him and on some level, she knew it. Rory hadn’t exactly said he wanted to leave.

  “Sawmill has a direction and a few names. Now, it’s a matter of tracking those boys down and fitting the pieces together,” he stated.

  “The sheriff initially said that the top reasons people murder are for greed, anger and revenge,” Cadence stated as she stepped away from him. A look of hurt darkened his eyes, but what had he expected? He wasn’t the only one who could play the made-of-ice game. Plus, she needed to keep her emotions in check and maintain focus. “If I isolate greed, what could any of these boys hope to gain from Dad’s death?”

  “Anger seems like it would be more heat-of-the-moment. You co
me home to find your spouse in bed with the neighbor and lose your cool. You grab the gun in the cabinet before reason can set in and boom everyone’s life is changed forever,” he speculated.

  “Revenge is killing someone in cold blood while they slept on their ranch,” she said. “Rupert would’ve had access to my father. But everyone, and I mean everyone, was interviewed by the sheriff or one of his deputies. How could he have come out clean? He’s young and that’s a lot of pressure for someone his age to pull off. He never struck me as a coldhearted criminal and he’d have to be in order to murder the man who was giving him a chance at a better life.”

  “That’s all true and everything depends on his background. There are world-class thieves and liars younger than eighteen,” he stated. “Rupert could be in trouble. Someone could’ve paid him to look the other way.”

  “Seriously?” She’d read news that supported his accusation but it was almost impossible for her to believe someone like that could slip through Hereford’s hiring system.

  “I know it’s difficult for someone like you to believe,” he said.

  “What does that mean, someone like me?” she scoffed.

  “Someone who grew up in the main house,” he informed.

  “Don’t you mean someone who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth?” she snapped.

  It was the stress of the situation causing her temper to flair.

  “I didn’t say that,” he defended.

  “Why not? Am I too fragile to know the truth of how you really think about me?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cadence could feel her temper rising. It wasn’t good for the babies. It wasn’t good for her. And it wasn’t good for her relationship with Rory. Why did she let his words cut right through her?

  “I’m not sure what’s going on but I don’t want to fight with you, Cadence.” Instead of giving as good as he got, Rory’s voice was a study in calm. There was compassion there, too.

  “Same here.”

  “The sheriff has names. He finally has suspects. The investigation is about to break apart and your father’s murderer will be brought to justice.” He glanced toward her belly. “We might have a long road ahead of us and a lot to work out personally between the two of us, but I don’t want them to feel stress when they hear you talking to me anymore. I have no idea what they can sense or remember, but we need to be on the same page when it comes to them.”

  Everything he said made sense. Her emotions were about as overclocked as they could get, which wasn’t all Rory’s fault. It wasn’t right to take out her frustration on him. “I owe you an apology for—”

  “None needed,” he cut her off.

  “Let me finish,” she insisted.

  He nodded.

  “You made a good point. I have no idea what the real reason was for my parents’ divorce. Did they fight? Was he unfaithful because of it? I don’t even know what my mother was like. We never spoke about her. It was like some unwritten rule that she could never be brought up in conversation. And why? What happened that was so bad?” She paused to stem the flow of emotions and gather the rest of her thoughts. “You and I have a chance to do better. We can get this right for our girls.” She paused to take another breath. “I know what we did last night was a mistake and can’t happen again. I think we both know how much sex complicates the situation between us.”

  He nodded but an emotion flickered behind his eyes. Regret? Sadness? Feelings aside, they both knew what she said was for the best. He’d instinctively pulled away from her, even if he hadn’t fully acknowledged it yet.

  “I’ll always care about you, Rory. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Nothing’s going to change that.” Beyond that, her feelings were a hot mess, and she figured pregnancy and hormones were amplifying them.

  “Everything you said makes sense,” he said after a thoughtful pause. “Kissing you when we’re this close is as natural as breathing to me. But that muddies the water and we won’t just be hurting ourselves anymore if we go back and forth between friends and...” He looked to be searching for the right word before adding, “More.”

  “We owe it to these girls to find common ground,” she stated, hoping her heart would catch up. Everything they were saying was logical.

  He glanced at her belly. “I think we did the day we made those two.”

  There was a huge positive emerging out of all this. Rory seemed to be coming to terms with the fact that he was going to be a parent. It had taken Cadence months to do the same.

  “Right now, our main focus needs to be getting you through the next few days until the sheriff can get those boys off the street and get to the bottom of what’s happened.” There was so much sincerity in his voice.

  “Agreed.” Her heart fought against the idea of settling into a friendship with Rory. But their feelings were volatile and being a good parent had to come before everything else in her life. “It’s about time to go to the main house.”

  “As soon as I cover our tracks here,” Rory said, turning toward the kitchen.

  “What if there’s evidence here?” she asked.

  He stopped midstride. “I’ll text Sawmill to let him know where we’ve been hiding. He’ll be able to figure out how to best move forward with his investigation and, hopefully, keep our names out of the report until Grinnell is found.”

  “It’s so tempting to look through his things to see if we can figure out why he would be involved in something like this,” she admitted.

  “You were right before, though. We can’t risk damaging evidence. Not only is it illegal but it can hurt the investigation. I don’t want to do anything to make this harder.”

  Cadence glanced at the clock on the microwave in the open-concept room. “It’s getting late.”

  The severe look that crossed his features before he forced a smile worried her. It meant that the normally confident man was hiding something. Fear? She’d never seen him afraid of anything in his life. In his job, he’d stared down death countless times. But then there’d never been so much at stake before, she thought as she touched her belly.

  Rory fished his cell out of his pocket. He punched in a number she recognized as Dalton’s.

  Her brother picked up on the first ring. He and Rory exchanged greetings and confirmation that she and Rory were safe and doing well.

  “There haven’t been any attempts on any of us at the ranch,” Dalton confirmed. His tone was guarded with Rory now and Cadence regretted insisting on keeping their fling a secret. Her brothers and Rory had been close once and she could see that this had hurt their relationship. Since she was having Rory’s daughters, he would be in their lives as family no matter what. She made a mental note that she would have to smooth things over with her family once this was all said and done. She prayed she’d be around to be the one to do it.

  “You hear about Rupert Grinnell?” Rory asked.

  Dalton issued a grunt along with a strong word under his breath. “Yes.”

  “Any idea where he is?” Cadence interjected.

  “No. He’s probably damn lucky I don’t,” Dalton responded.

  Rory glanced at Cadence before asking Dalton, “Where are you right now?”

  “I’m heading home. Why?”

  “Are you coming from the east or west?” Rory didn’t answer Dalton’s question yet and Cadence immediately picked up on the reason.

  “West.” Dalton’s voice was tentative.

  “Mind a couple of extra passengers?” he asked.

  It sounded like it took a second for everything to click in Dalton’s mind. “I see what you’re saying. Where’s a good place to pick up my extra cargo?”

  “What’s the situation with the reporters?” he asked.

  “They’re lining the street half a mile on either side of the gate. Seems like they want to be certain they get a s
hot of anyone coming or going tonight so they’re sticking closer to the main entrance,” he admitted, and Cadence didn’t like the sound of the word shot.

  “We can make it to the road two miles out and coming in from the west side in twenty minutes,” Rory promised. “That work for you?”

  “I’ll see you both then,” Dalton said. Before ending the call, he added, “Cadence...”

  “Yes, Dalton.”

  “I know we gave you a hard time growing up but Dade and I are proud of you. Everyone wants you to know how much we love you.”

  “I love y’all, too.” Tears welled in her eyes. An onslaught of emotion nearly drowned her. Cadence steeled her determination. Crying wouldn’t do any good. Focus would. “And I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”

  The call ended with a bad feeling. She didn’t like the tone in her brother’s voice. It was filled with regret and had a quality that made her think he was afraid he’d never see her again.

  * * *

  THE NIGHT WAS pitch-black and cloudy. A cold front was blowing through and the temperature was expected to drop twenty-five degrees in the next hour. Cadence would be inside the main house long before then, warming up by a nice fire.

  Being outside on such a chilly night reminded her of all the times she and her brothers or Ella would sit out back and roast marshmallows over the fire pit.

  There was a large tire swing off to one corner of the yard. She’d spent a good portion of her childhood on it during lazy summer days.

  When she really thought about her life growing up on a ranch, she remembered how wonderful and different it had truly been. There were so many good times with her siblings. There were fights, too. She never doubted any one of them would have her back if she needed a hand.

  If she got bored with her siblings, there were always animals around. The best part about being at Hereford, though, was being surrounded by so many people she loved. What would her life have been like if she hadn’t? Would she have felt lonely? Granted, her girls would always have each other.

  The thought of bringing up twins on her own while Rory disappeared for weeks, sometimes months, on end hit her like stray voltage. Would she feel lonely? Alone? The freedom that was supposed to come with moving to Colorado was sounding more like a recipe for isolation. Babies were a lot of work. Could Cadence take care of them on her own?