Paul shook his head. “Nope. The fire marshal says it was purposely set. There have been a string of arsons in the area. Four in the past nine months. Unfortunately, Josh and his investigators haven’t found the perpetrator. The other ranchers have been able to rebuild, but Clint’s injuries make it unlikely he’ll be able to.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He stroked the nose of one of the horses. “They’re fine animals.”
“They were traumatized by the fire. Lawson has been working with them, but they still spook easily. It’s going to take some time for them to fully recover, too.” He motioned toward the mare at the end. “Plus, this one is pregnant. The vet has been keeping a close eye on her since the fire.”
He didn’t like the idea that an unknown arsonist was operating in the area, but he knew that wherever he took Melissa, there were always going to be criminals around. That was just the way of the world. It didn’t mean they posed any threat to his witness or to his family. And in this particular case, he was glad his family had been there to reach out to the Woodwards.
He nodded at Luke Mitchell, who continued to shoot him an accusatory stare. He was probably as unhappy to see a stranger asking questions about him as Miles was at having a stranger around. He still didn’t feel great about having four juveniles he didn’t know hanging around, but his brothers were on a mission to mentor and teach them. He couldn’t fault Josh and Lawson for that, especially when it had been his choice not to be around. He had left the ranch behind years before to focus on his career.
He glanced back at the house and spotted Melissa through the window. At least he hadn’t had his entire life turned upside down the way she had. His problems paled in comparison to those of Melissa and her son. He had no reason to complain, even if it saddened him to realize that his existence was empty. Work was all he had and he wanted so much more. He wanted a wife and a family. But that kind of family life didn’t appear to be an option for him.
“It’s good to have you home for Christmas,” Paul stated. “I know Mom and Dad are glad you are here. So am I.”
“I’m glad to be here. Glad I—” he remembered he was supposed to be married and rephrased “—we can be here.” He saw Paul glancing at him and felt the need to explain himself. “My job often keeps me away.”
“You don’t have to explain that to me. It’s been a few years since I’ve been home for Christmas. Lawson and Bree will be home on Christmas Eve and Kellyanne is hanging around until New Year’s. If Colby was here, Mom and Dad would have the whole family together.” Their brother Colby was an FBI agent and, like Miles, often gone for work.
Miles took comfort that his secret assignment would bring his parents a good bit of enjoyment during Christmas...at least until it was time to leave.
* * *
After a family breakfast, Miles and Melissa returned to the cabin to change for church. She made do with a dress she’d borrowed from Kellyanne and made certain Dylan looked presentable.
Miles appeared, clean-shaven and with his hair still wet from his shower. He was wearing a suit and tie with his cowboy boots and she felt herself flush, thinking how well he cleaned up.
“Are you sure you don’t mind going to church with my family?” he asked. His insistent questioning made her wonder if he wanted her to give him an excuse to skip the service, but she wasn’t going to do that. Going was the least he could do for his parents, especially given the whopper of a secret they were keeping from them.
She moved toward him and straightened his tie. “Growing up, my mother had me in church every time the doors opened.”
He smiled. “Same here. Do you still attend church as an adult?”
“I did. After Vick died, I had no one but my mother to lean on. God was my strength during that time. But now... He seems so far away. What about you? Do you still attend as an adult?”
He shook his head. “Not regularly. I’m a member of a church, but my job keeps me away so frequently that no one blinks if I miss several weeks in a row. But I’m there so irregularly that there’s no connection there to anyone.”
He shrugged like it was no big deal, but Melissa felt for him. Without her faith, she wouldn’t have made it through pulling her life back together after Vick’s death. But it was her mother who had been her real strength. Now, she was gone, too.
He glanced at his watch. “We should get going. We’ll meet them at the house and follow them into town.”
Melissa was nervous by the time Miles pulled into the church parking lot. She’d grown up with her faith and it had meant a lot to her, but now with everything that was happening—her mother’s death, them running for their lives and living in secret and danger—she was questioning everything, including God’s presence in her life.
Where was He and why had He allowed this to happen to her?
She walked inside with Miles. Word had obviously spread about their marriage, and everyone crowded around to wish them well. She accepted the congratulations, but she felt wrong just being here, lying to everyone. The people they met were welcoming and Melissa wished her real life was this way. Even before the revelation of her mother’s past, she hadn’t had any close friends. Her mother had always frowned on her getting too close to anyone. Now, Melissa understood why she’d been the way she had, but she’d promised herself that Dylan would grow up differently, that she would get him involved in social activities. She’d hoped to be the one with the house where he and his friends wanted to play. A tear slipped from her cheek. That would never happen now. She would end up raising Dylan just as her mother had raised her—overly cautious, because they would have to be. His life depended on her keeping him close and viewing others with suspicion.
She took a seat with the family and Miles’s hand on her back was a relief. They were only pretending to be married, but she found comfort in the gesture. She felt safe with him. Safe and protected. And it only served to reinforce how different this life was from what she was entering into.
She wiped away a tear that slipped from her eye. She was already crying and the service hadn’t even started yet. How was she ever going to explain that?
The music was wonderfully soothing and she leaned into the melody of it. She missed God, missed the closeness she used to share with Him, but that had all been based on a lie, hadn’t it? How could God ever bless a secret life, a lying life?
Dylan shifted and fidgeted and Miles’s father pulled him into his lap and comforted him. He settled down quickly enough. She was ever so thankful for this family that had taken her in, but she wondered what would happen when they discovered it was all a lie. Dylan was becoming close with them, as they were with him. They believed they finally had a grandchild and she and Miles would soon take that away from them. What a heartless and cruel thing to do.
She sat down and listened to the preacher and her heart ached. She longed to feel the Holy Spirit moving, but God seemed so far away from her now. Since her mother’s murder, her old faith seemed hollow and naive. God wasn’t there. Not for her, not anymore.
When the service ended, she excused herself and walked to the ladies’ room. She splashed cold water on her face and tried to rein in the emotions the service had stirred in her. She couldn’t fall apart. She had to remain strong for Dylan. She wiped her face and smoothed down her hair, but the wedding ring on her finger glinted in the light, a reminder that she was lying to everyone she’d met today, even the pastor. All those well-wishers from earlier had been deceived and she didn’t deserve their friendliness. When the truth came out, they would all know they’d been misled.
Suddenly the hairs on her neck rose as she sensed someone nearby. She saw no one in the mirror but still spun around. She pushed open each stall door. No one was there. The restroom was empty except for her. Why then did she still feel eyes on her, watching her?
She rubbed away the goose bumps on her arm. She was just being paranoid. No on
e was there. No one was watching her, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling until she was back in the SUV with Miles on the drive to the restaurant where they were going to have a family lunch. He reached across the seat for her hand and held it, and she liked the way her hand felt wrapped in his.
“You seemed pretty emotional back there. I guess that’s to be expected.”
“I hate this,” she told him. “I hate the lying and deception. It doesn’t feel right.”
He pulled his hand away and she regretted her words. She hadn’t meant to sound as if she was criticizing him or the way he was handling things. She felt safer with Miles than she had since this entire nightmare had started.
“I’m just anxious,” she confessed. “I’m worried about all of this.”
“I know you are, but I’m not going to allow anyone to harm you or Dylan. That’s a promise.”
She appreciated him saying so, but she knew he might not be able to keep that promise. She’d been found before, three times, and her and her son’s lives had been in danger over and over again. What made this time so different?
“Being on the ranch means I can protect you and Dylan a lot better. I trust my family, Melissa. You’re safe here.”
She wanted to believe him, because she loved being here—and so did Dylan. He was starting to remind her of his old self, how he’d behaved before this nightmare began, and they’d only been here a few days.
But this would all be over too soon. They would be transferred to another place, another city, another marshal, and Dylan would once again be traumatized. She wondered if they would be here for Christmas and what a Christmas celebration with a family like the Averys would be like.
The tree in the corner of the living room was twice as big as any she’d ever had and the lights and decorations were amazing. This family took Christmas seriously and not just the gift-giving part. They celebrated the real reason for Christmas, the birth of Christ, just as she had with her mother. The two celebrations were different in the particulars, but similar in that aspect.
How had her mother done it? How had she had such faith after all she’d been through?
Miles parked and she unbuckled Dylan from his car seat before following him into the restaurant, where his family was waiting. His mother was so busy with projects for the upcoming Christmas banquet at the church that she didn’t have time to make Sunday supper, as usual, so the family had chosen to eat out. Melissa joined them, taking a seat beside Miles as Kellyanne took Dylan from her arms and buckled him into a booster seat beside her. Miles’s sister was getting so attached to Dylan and while she was pleased for the attention for her son, she worried about the aftereffect once they were gone. Kellyanne would be heartbroken to learn this marriage had all been a ruse and Dylan wasn’t, in fact, her nephew.
She hated to think that these people would be punished for being kind and welcoming. If they’d been less open, less eager to accept her, they wouldn’t be as hurt by her leaving and taking Dylan with her. They were good people. She could tell in the way they watched out for one another and treated her and Dylan as family, despite their absolute disbelief when they’d learned Miles had gotten married without telling them. Strangely, she realized that none of them seemed too surprised by his actions once they’d calmed down from the initial shock. Based on her conversations with Kellyanne and Mrs. Avery, it seemed that Miles was known to be aloof and extremely private. Of course, she understood his reasoning for not telling his parents or his siblings about his work, but it was a little surprising to hear that his family accepted him as he was without a need for explanation. Had this man always been so stoic and unassuming? And how was it possible that someone so handsome didn’t stand out in a crowd? She supposed it had to do with his training. In his job, the less he stood out, the more protected his witnesses were.
A chill rushed through her and she shuddered and rubbed her arms.
Miles slid his arm behind her and leaned toward her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Just a sudden chill.”
She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but the same feeling of being watched suddenly besieged her again. She glanced around. The restaurant was crowded and anyone could be looking her way. She scooted her chair closer to Miles. She couldn’t explain the feeling and couldn’t see anyone watching them, but she felt the angry, bitter stare burrowing into her.
Miles put his arm around her. “You’re shaking. What’s the matter?”
Her chin quivered and she felt silly. “I don’t know. I just... I feel like someone is watching me.”
He glanced around the restaurant, then leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to have a look around. Don’t worry. You’re safe here at the table with my family.” He stood and excused himself, then walked off. Paul and Josh followed him a moment later.
Kellyanne looked surprised when they left. “What do you think that’s about?” she asked her parents.
“I have no idea,” her mother commented.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” her father said, shrugging away the issue. He seemed to have an easy faith in his children.
Melissa reached for her glass and pretended to sip it, hoping Kellyanne wouldn’t look to her for an explanation. She didn’t. Instead, she turned back to giggle at Dylan, who was making a mess with a bowl of mashed potatoes.
Miles and Paul returned to the table several minutes later.
“Josh got called to work,” Miles told the table. “Something about a bad wreck out on the highway.”
“Oh, dear, I hope no one was injured,” Mrs. Avery said. “We’ll wrap up his meal and take it home with us. He can reheat it later if he likes.”
And with that, the conversation turned to something else.
Melissa leaned into Miles and whispered in his ear. “What did you find?”
“Nothing. You’re perfectly safe.”
She turned back to her meal, realizing how silly she was being. Of course, she was safe. No one could possibly know where she was or who she was with. She’d never felt as secure as she did at the Silver Star with Miles. She chalked up her fears to lingering paranoia. She’d been on guard for weeks. It was normal that she was having trouble adjusting now.
And that probably explained why her delicious meal tasted bland in her mouth.
FIVE
Miles spotted his brother Josh waiting for him on the front porch when they returned to the Silver Star. He motioned toward Miles as he parked.
“Why don’t you take Dylan and go into the house,” he suggested to Melissa. He didn’t take his eyes off her and Dylan until they were inside. Then he turned to his brother.
Josh stepped off the porch and headed for the barn, away from the house, and Miles followed him. “We were able to track down the two men from the video. Twenty-two-year-old Michael Davis and twenty-one-year-old Steven Gideon. I had Cecile bring them into the station and interview them about their activities yesterday afternoon.”
Miles nodded. Cecile was Josh’s chief deputy in his office, and Miles knew her to be extremely competent in her duties.
His brother continued. “They both claimed they were on the property for hunting and had no intention of shooting anyone.”
Miles was relieved at the innocent explanation and once again wished he hadn’t jumped to conclusions. “Thank you, Josh. And thank Cecile for me, too.”
“This isn’t the first time either of them has been ticketed for illegal trespassing. They have four incidents between them, so they’ll each have to pay a hefty fine. Beyond that, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, but I’m happy to delve further into their lives if you think this has something to do with whoever is after Melissa.”
Miles grimaced as Josh revealed he knew about the danger Melissa was in.
Josh shrugged. “Paul told me. I wish you had told me.”
“It’s noth
ing.”
“It must be something. You’ve been edgy and cautious ever since you arrived home. Whatever it is, we can help. We want to help.”
He pulled a hand through his hair. He hadn’t meant to alarm his brothers and he certainly didn’t need them looking into anything. But keeping them on alert for potential hazards might be helpful.
He guarded his words, careful not to give too much away. His WITSEC involvement was still a secret from his family and he intended to keep it that way. “Melissa’s mother was killed a few weeks ago. She was shot in her home. Melissa walked in on the shooter and barely escaped herself.”
“So she can identify him?”
“Yes, she can. The killer managed to escape and he’s still on the loose. I don’t believe she’s in any immediate danger because I don’t believe he can track her here, but you can understand that we’re both a little on edge.”
“I’m sorry to hear about her mother.”
“Thank you. I overreacted to the shots being fired.”
“I understand why you would, but don’t you think this is something you should have told me? If Melissa is a target, I can help protect her.”
“I do have a few skills in that area myself, Josh. I’m perfectly capable of keeping her safe.”
“I know you can. I didn’t mean to step on your toes, Miles. I only want to help and I am the sheriff.”
“Thank you, but it’s not necessary. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone else, either. Melissa is trying to make the best of things for Dylan’s sake.”
Josh nodded. “Understood.”
He left his brother and walked inside, a little miffed at Paul for mentioning anything to Josh. He knew his brothers were there for him if he needed them—that was part of his reasoning for bringing her here. But he wasn’t looking to pull his family into this situation any further than they already were. As long as Melissa’s identity was hidden, he wouldn’t need the extra protection they were offering.
Texas Holiday Hideout Page 6
