Deadly Secret

by B. J Daniels

  “We are so happy for her. You could tell that the two of them were in love.” Zane had to agree from what he’d seen of his father and Emma together.

  “Did she ever mention if she had family around here?” he asked each of them and got the same sad shake of the head.

  “I think she might have had a family, maybe lost a husband or even a husband and a child. I sensed that about her,” one woman from housecleaning told him. “I know she used to talk to her father on the phone. They seemed close.”

  “Any idea where he lived?” No. “A name?”

  “I think I heard her call him Poppy.”

  As for employment records, Zane was told he would have to wait until the morning and talk to their supervisor. Initially, he was surprised that his father hadn’t mentioned Emma had worked at the hotel. But then he realized his father wouldn’t have found that little tidbit of information important. He probably also knew it might bias his sons if they’d known that from the beginning.

  Zane was ashamed that was the case. He was realizing more and more that his father was a better man than he or his brothers were.

  “Did she ever mention Caliente Junction, California?” he asked. No. “How about where she was from?” No.

  “She never talked about the past.”

  But everyone had made up a past for Emma, a painful one filled with loss and regret.

  He got the same answers from the bartender at closing. “Why does her past matter so much to you?” the young man asked as he wiped down the bar. The place was empty. The man and woman at the bar hadn’t even made it until last call for alcohol. Both had been gone when Zane returned to talk to the bartender again.

  “Her past is the only way I have of trying to find her,” he said.

  The bartender looked skeptical. “You’re sure you aren’t just trying to dig up some dirt on her?”

  Zane couldn’t deny he’d been worried when his father had rushed into marriage with a woman he clearly knew nothing about. “I like Emma,” he said truthfully. “We all do. I just want to find her.” That last part might not have been completely true.

  If Emma had left his father of her own accord, then he was going to have to tell his father, and he doubted any dirt in Emma’s past would be more heartbreaking than her deserting him.

  * * *

  Jinx told Dawson about the rustlers’ plan to reach the first corral on the way out of the mountains and bed down the cattle for a night.

  The cattle would be tired. If they didn’t get them water, food and rest, the rustlers would lose them. Some would fall behind, and without support to pick up the stragglers, they would be left to die.

  He swore under his breath at the thought. “So they are stopping at an old abandoned corral down the mountain for the rest of the night, then moving the cattle farther down tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “They had planned to move the herd tomorrow on down to the next abandoned homestead. There’s a large corral there for their horses.”

  “Then the next day, they push them on to the county road and the semitrucks waiting for them,” Dawson said. “Where is this rendezvous spot?”

  “If any of us got lost or anything happened, we’d meet at one of the corrals.”

  He nodded. But with her missing, he wondered if the rustlers wouldn’t change their plans, try to move things up. They could move the cattle only so far each day without losing most of the herd.

  “You realize that once I take my cattle back, your life will be in even more danger,” Dawson said as they sat around the small fire he’d built. He’d made them coffee and they now sat next to each other, both staring into the flames. “There will be hell to pay and who do you think they are going to blame?”

  “You just worry about getting your cattle back,” she said without looking at him. “I can convince Rafe to let me tell his boss what happened,” she said into the stony silence.

  Dawson shook his head. “You and Rafe are that close?”

  She let out an irritated sigh. “If you’re asking if Rafe and I are lovers, the answer is no. I did what I had to do to get in with the rustlers, but there are lines I won’t cross.”

  He glanced over at her, wondering if when she’d tried to seduce him earlier she would have crossed that line. He thought there was probably a better chance of finding himself with a gun barrel stuck in his ribs.

  “This quest for justice, it won’t bring your father back.”

  “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing if it was your father,” she said. “My father was a lot like you, determined not to let them take cattle that didn’t even belong to him. It cost him his life.”

  Dawson rose and walked to the cave entrance. The fire had burned down to embers again, making the back of the cave glow warm with light and heat. But where he’d gone was dark. Starlight bathed the meadow in a shimmering silver.

  He heard her come up behind him and tensed for a moment but didn’t turn. In that instant, he knew she would have to overpower him. It was the only way he was going to let her go back to the rustlers.

  She joined him in the cave opening, the two of them silhouetted against the night. He could make out a sliver of moon over the trees, the pines etched black against cobalt-blue. The air was crisp and fresh and he couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so aware of a woman. The night seemed alive with an electric current that made everything about it more intense.

  As he looked over at Jinx, he wondered what it would have been like to have met under other circumstances. She met his gaze. A shudder moved through him and it took all his strength not to pull her into his arms.

  “You should try to get a couple hours of sleep,” he said as he turned to go back into the cave.

  * * *

  Jinx let out the breath she’d been holding. Just moments before, she’d felt a connection to this man.... She shook her head, telling herself that she’d only imagined it. All Chisholm cared about were his damned cattle.

  She followed him back into the cave. He seemed almost angry as he tossed her his bedroll. “We leave before daybreak, so you should get some rest. We are definitely going to need the element of surprise.”

  “I don’t want to take your bedroll,” she said and held it out to him. He didn’t take it. Instead he asked, “So it was just you and your dad?”

  Was he testing her? Was it possible he still didn’t believe her story? She was too tired to care. She spread the bedroll out in front of the fire and sat down on it, leaning back against the cave wall. “My mother died when I was a baby.”

  Kindness filled his eyes. “I’m sorry.” He sat down next to her. “You’ve had a lot of death to deal with.” He leaned back and she saw exhaustion and something more in his eyes.

  She’d heard about his father being arrested for murdering one of his wives. The story had made all the major papers because of who Hoyt Chisholm was. His arrest was one of the reasons she’d talked the rustlers into hitting Chisholm Cattle Company.

  “I was fine with just my dad,” she said. “I was raised on the ranch, started riding on my own as soon as I could sit a saddle. That life gets in your blood.”

  “Doesn’t it, though,” he agreed.

  “What about you, Chisholm?”

  He smiled. “You already know my story. You got it when you researched my family ranch to steal our cattle.”

  She didn’t deny it, but she was sorry that he’d figured out the part she’d played in all this. Was this any better than him thinking she’d slept with Rafe to get her spot with the rustlers?

  Jinx knew his story. With no father in the picture, he and his brothers had been adopted by Hoyt Chisholm. The triplets, Colton, Logan and Zane, had also gotten lucky—Hoyt later adopted them after their mother died in childbirth. All had been young and had needed a home where they wouldn’t be separated. Hoyt Chisholm had provided it.

/>   “At least you had your brothers. I was an only child. I did have a great-aunt who used to visit once in a while, though.” She laughed softly at the memory. “If anyone influenced my life’s decisions, it was Auntie Rose,” she said, still smiling at the memories. “She was a rebel, a true outlaw, and she taught me everything I know about surviving in a man’s world.”

  Chisholm shot her an amused look. “You obviously learned well.”

  Did she sense conflict in him? He’d said all he wanted were his cattle, but she wondered if he was having a hard time letting the rustlers get away—even when she assured him she wasn’t going to let that happen.

  “About the morning,” she said.

  “Don’t try to talk me out of it.”

  She just didn’t want to get him killed—and she feared she couldn’t prevent it if he went after his cattle. “It’s your funeral,” she said, giving his own words back to him.

  He said nothing, but when she looked over at him, she saw his dark eyes lit with amusement and his full sensual mouth turned up in a smile.

  The kiss was so unexpected, Jinx gasped. One moment he was smiling at her and the next his lips were on hers. It couldn’t have lasted more than an instant, but she felt herself melt into it, drawn to a desire that didn’t take her completely by surprise. She’d felt the sparks between them at the front of the cave. Now she knew without a doubt that she hadn’t imagined any of it.

  He jerked back, looking as surprised as she felt. The next moment he was on his feet. But for that instant she’d seen the chink in his armor—she’d glimpsed the man behind the mule-headed, arrogant cowboy. Her heart beat a little faster because of it.

  She said nothing as she watched him pick up his saddle and pour himself the last of the coffee before he headed back toward the cave entrance.

  Did he expect Rafe to come back? Or was he just keeping his distance from her?

  Chapter 6

  Jinx came out of a deathlike sleep. She jerked awake and reached for her gun, only to find it gone. It took her a moment to remember where she was—and with whom.

  She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dim light, to find Chisholm standing over her. She felt such a wave of relief. For a moment she’d thought it was Rafe. Not that she would admit it to Chisholm, but Rafe scared her.

  “What is it?”

  “Time to go.” He was looking at her strangely, giving her the impression that he’d been standing over her for some time watching her sleep. The thought made her heart beat faster.

  “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” she asked as she threw off the sleeping bag and got to her feet.

  “If you’re asking if I trust you, the verdict is still out,” he said as he tied up the bedroll and turned to head out of the cave.

  “I’m asking if you’re going to let me go once we find the rustlers,” she said to his retreating backside. There was something in the set of his shoulders that told her the verdict was still out on that, as well.

  As she started after him, she noticed that their saddles were gone. She’d slept right through him packing up everything and apparently saddling their horses. Exiting the cave into the clear, cold darkness, she spotted their mounts in the starlight below them on the mountain. Without needing to check her watch, she knew it would be daylight in an hour or so. By then they would have reached the first corral.

  Glancing over at Chisholm, she wished there was some way to talk him out of going with her. But she could see by his expression it would take nothing short of death.

  Jinx gave only a moment’s thought to taking off on her horse and trying to reach the corral before him. That was if she could outrun him. Her horse was fast, but she didn’t like the odds, given what she’d seen of the rancher. After all, he’d caught her before and risked life and limb to stop her.

  She didn’t doubt he would do it again.

  Warning Rafe and the rest of them would only get Chisholm killed. She was determined to keep that from happening. But he wasn’t making it easy.

  She would have to bide her time. All she could hope was that she got lucky and found a way to still get what she desperately needed—the leader of this rustling ring and the man she held responsible for her father’s death. She would bring him down—then the others.

  “I’m going to need my gun back,” she said as they reached the horses.

  Chisholm swung up into his saddle and she thought for a moment he hadn’t heard her. “You’ll get it back after I get my cattle.”

  “That’s a mistake,” she said as she mounted her horse. “You’re going to need all the help you can get once we find the rustlers.”

  “Arming you could be an even bigger mistake. There is nothing like a woman bent on revenge.” They were close enough she saw the gleam in his dark eyes. He thought she was dangerous. Determination had hardened the lines of his handsome face. But it was no longer just about his cattle. He was mad at himself for kissing her.

  * * *

  Emma woke to darkness. She wasn’t sure at first what had startled her awake until she heard movement and rolled over to find Aggie standing over her.

  “What is it?” she cried, hurriedly sitting up.

  Aggie hadn’t said a word. Nor had she moved. And yet Emma sensed something had happened and was filled with fear at the thought that she might never see Hoyt again. Under the fear was a deep ache that made it hard to breathe. Before Hoyt, she had never known this kind of love.

  “What’s happened?” she asked, sliding back to rest against the wall. It felt cold and yet solid, and right now she needed solid.

  “Hoyt doesn’t believe you left him,” Aggie said. There was anger and frustration in her voice as she snapped on a flashlight, blinding Emma for a moment. “He seems to think something has happened to you.”

  Emma tried to hide the pleasure she felt. She’d prayed that Hoyt would know she would never leave him, that she believed in his innocence and would stand by him no matter what.

  “Zane has gone to Colorado to try to find you.”

  She felt tears come to her eyes. Her wonderful stepsons—as tough as she’d been on them, now one of them was looking for her. Her heart swelled. Hoyt did know her. He wouldn’t give up until he found her—even from jail.

  Aggie looked disgusted in the ambient glow from the flashlight.

  “This got you up before daylight?” Emma asked as a thought struck her. Had someone called Aggie to let her know about Zane’s trip to Colorado? No, she thought with a curse. Aggie was probably still listening to everything that happened at the house. The sheriff either hadn’t gotten her letter about the listening devices—or hadn’t believed her.

  “You’re going to have to send Hoyt a letter,” Aggie said as if the idea had just come to her. “You’re going to have to convince him to call off his sons. For your safety—and theirs. Otherwise...”

  Emma didn’t want to think about the otherwise as Aggie left the room, locking the door behind her. Was she planning on mailing the letter from Denver to make it look as if Emma had gone there? Or somewhere even farther away from Whitehorse, Montana?

  It had never crossed her mind that Aggie might have someone helping her. She’d thought the woman had been acting alone. But now she feared Aggie had resources no one knew about, including perhaps someone as fanatical as she was.

  * * *

  The huge Montana sky was getting lighter by the time they neared the abandoned corral. With it just over a rise, Dawson reined in his horse, aware of Jinx beside him. He glanced up at the last of the stars glittering overhead and said a silent prayer, knowing they might need it, since they had no idea what was awaiting them just over this hill.

  Dawson could hear the cattle lowing in the predawn. The sound he had grown up with and loved now felt lonely.

  He looked over at Jinx and wished to hell he’d left her tied up in the cave. But h
e knew that might have put her in even more danger if the rustlers went looking for her after he took back his cattle and before he could get help.

  As Dawson studied her in the faint light of the new day, he wished he could change a lot of things. He was about to jeopardize both of their lives. The thought almost made him laugh. Even if he’d left Jinx in the cave, it wouldn’t stop her from going after the rustlers and their leader. There was nothing like a woman set on revenge—or justice.

  He turned his attention from Jinx to the best way to take the rustlers by surprise. The sky was lightening to the east. It wouldn’t be long before dawn. He figured with Jinx missing, the rustlers would be up early—and expecting trouble.

  They’d ridden through silvery darkness and now the old Mill Creek place was just over the rise.

  “We strike fast,” Dawson whispered now as he reached over and tied her hands with the hank of rope again—this time, putting her hands in front of her.

  She looked up in surprise.

  “I’m just trying to keep them from killing you,” he said. “If they think I took you prisoner, they might believe you. I wouldn’t bet on it, though.” He pulled out his bandanna. His gaze met hers as she leaned toward him so he could tie the gag.

  “Last chance to change your mind,” he said.

  She shook her head. He swore and gagged her.

  He knew there was nothing else he could say, and daylight was burning its way up the mountain to the east. If they were going to do this, it had to be now.

  “Good luck.” He felt his heart pounding in his chest painfully. “I’d tell you to be careful, but...”

  She nodded, a smile in her eyes. Then she spurred her horse and took off, as if like him, she feared what he might say. He was hot on her heels as they came up over the rise.

  * * *

  Sheriff McCall Crawford pulled up in front of the main house at Chisholm Cattle Company. It was early, the sun was just coming up off the prairie floor to the east, but she wanted to catch the Chisholms before they went off to do their chores.