Plain Target

by Dana R. Lynn

  “Ernie Mitchell?”

  His eyebrows rose. “You know him?”

  “He attends Deaf church with me.”

  The mention of church was unsettling. He and Ernie had stayed in touch since college but they didn’t talk religion much. Seth blew out a relieved breath as his sister’s house came in view. Soon, he would be able to tell Dan everything. Then the police could take control of the situation. Jess would be safe and would no longer need him. That last thought made him frown. The idea of walking away from her now when she was in danger didn’t sit well with him at all. But sticking around held the risk of his becoming attached to her. He realized that he liked and admired her. The last thing he wanted was to see her hurt again. And he would hurt her. How could he not? He was his father’s son, after all.

  Pulling into his sister’s driveway, he frowned, feeling uneasy. Dan’s truck was there, but the minivan was nowhere in sight. And the blinds were closed. Maggie always opened the blinds. Getting out of his truck, he walked over to the garage and peered in. The motorcycle was there, but no van.

  Whipping out his cell, he sent his sister a text. Hey sis. Where r u?

  A minute later he received an answer. And groaned. Pittsburgh. Visiting Ty. Back 2morrow. Everything OK?

  Ty was Dan’s foster brother. What now? He would just have to keep an eye on Jess until Dan returned. He sent back a text to tell his sister he needed to see Dan as soon as they returned. Then he climbed back in his truck. Jess was watching him, those gorgeous hazel eyes wide and curious. How would she react to the news that she’d have to wait to talk with Dan? Would she give up on speaking to the police altogether?

  “Okay. Change of plans. Maggie and Dan are in Pittsburgh for the day.”

  A soft sigh came from the woman beside him. Relief or resignation? Hmm. Not sure he knew.

  “Do you want to go back to your place?” he offered. Man, he hated the thought of bringing her back to that ranch house alone. The stables were far too secluded. Her face paled.

  Taking a deep breath, Jess squared her shoulders and lifted her jaw. Probably trying to look brave. To his sympathetic eye, she looked vulnerable. And scared. As she glanced up, her posture shifted. Eyes narrowing, she looked closer at the fancy invitation trapped behind the sun visor. Her slender fingers reached out and touched the fine paper, hesitant, almost awed.

  “May I?” she asked. Unsure what she was thinking, he nodded.

  Jess plucked the card from its spot and brushed her hands across the return address on the engraved invitation. A stallion was prominently embossed on the front.

  “Ted Taylor,” she breathed. “You know Ted Taylor.”

  Huh? Her voice was almost reverent.

  “Yeah, that’s my uncle.” Seth gently pulled the invite from her fingers to glance at it. “I had forgotten this. He’s throwing a big blowout tonight.”

  “You could help me!”

  Seth found himself on the receiving end of a stunning smile. Jess leaned toward him, and he could practically smell her eagerness. For some reason his stomach tightened. He had the feeling he wasn’t going to like what she suggested.

  * * *

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

  Jess grinned and rolled her eyes. That was the third time Seth had complained. He was smiling and shaking his head as he said it, though, so she decided he wasn’t too upset with her. Plus, he was driving toward his uncle’s house.

  She couldn’t get over the fact that she had never connected him with Ted Taylor. Ted Taylor owned the most renowned stable for breeding racehorses in this part of the country. He was an influential man who sat on various committees dealing with equine care and treatment. His passion was abused horses. Just as Cody’s had been. His endorsement could sway public opinion in her favor.

  She shivered. On the other hand, a cold shoulder from him would convince many she and her brother were guilty. But she had to try.

  And he was also well known for throwing lavish parties. Like this one. Parties where everyone brought an overnight bag because one day wasn’t long enough to celebrate. Not to mention the fact that he lived almost an hour away from LaMar Pond on the outskirts of Spartansburg. Ted always opened the spring season up with a bang. Anyone who was anyone in the equestrian circle in northwestern Pennsylvania would be there. Breeders, coaches, trainers. All people who she and her brother had met in one capacity or another. It was possible that someone there might be able to provide some answers about what had really happened in the last few months of Cody’s life.

  “Are you sure you can spare this much time away from the stables?”

  Seth was precious when he was concerned. No way. Not going there. Even if it was true, it would do no good for her to become attached. The butterflies currently fluttering in her stomach would go away if she ignored them. She cut a quick glance toward him and met melting brown eyes. Instead of going away the butterflies intensified.

  What was the question? Oh, yeah.

  “The stables will be fine. I texted my staff so they’ll know to come in and take care of the morning chores. Even if I don’t show up for a few days, the workers keep things moving. We keep charts on which animals need what to be done, so someone will be able to pick up the slack.”

  As the truck sloshed through the back roads toward Ted Taylor’s party, she watched as the puddles on the road became progressively deeper. Rain continued to pound on the truck. The rhythmic swipe of the wipers could barely keep up. Her teeth tugged at her lower lip. Maybe convincing Seth to bring her to the party with him as his “plus one” hadn’t been a great idea. With weather like this, they wouldn’t be able to leave the party quickly or easily if she was treated badly by the other guests—which was a definite possibility. Many of them had treated her as if she had leprosy since Cody’s death. Or as if she were a criminal. Which certainly accounted for the fact that she had not received an invite to this weekend’s event for the first time in two years. Willa Taylor was a social snob.

  Of course, it was also possible that one of them was responsible for the accidents. She shuddered and promised herself that if she saw a dark green sedan parked outside the ranch house, she’d have Seth take her home again. She cautioned herself against relying on him too heavily. She had struggled hard to prove herself to be a strong, independent woman. It wouldn’t do to allow her former crush to gain too much leverage over her.

  “This water is getting really deep,” Seth stated, a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. Outside, everything was gray. Gray clouds, gray sky, gray pools of liquid surrounding them as they drove. They went over the bridge. Jess looked down and felt a niggle of dread. The water was higher than she had ever seen it.

  “There it is.” Seth raised one hand to indicate the sprawling ranch ahead of them. His blinker flashed as he steered the truck into the long winding lane that served as the Taylor residence’s driveway. The driveway was like the rest of Pennsylvania. It rose and dipped. It wasn’t the smoothest ride, but Jess still released a sigh of relief that they’d finally arrived. It was followed by a shriek as Seth’s tires hydroplaned. The back end of the pickup swerved to the right. Seth managed to get the vehicle back on track just in time to drive it through the next puddle. Only the puddle was more like a small pond. The motor sputtered and stalled. Stopped.

  They were stuck at the ranch.

  Seth tossed her a reassuring grin. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we can find someone to help us get the truck started again. Or a lift back to town. It’ll be fine.”

  She wasn’t fooled. His grin was strained, and his jaw was tight.

  Seth opened the door and splashed over to Jess’s side to help her down. Grabbing her overnight bag with her fancy dress and toiletries safely tucked inside, she let Seth take her empty hand and jumped out. She landed with a muddy splash and grimaced. She was a
lmost knee-deep in freezing water. Her cowboy boots would be trashed. Good thing she hadn’t decided to wear the dress and heels in the truck. Seth shrugged out of his jacket and slung it over her shoulders. And shushed her when she started to protest. Giving in gracefully, she allowed Seth to grab her hand again and pull her up to the lane to the house. Standing beside Seth, she tensed as he raised his hand and jabbed the doorbell with his finger. Within seconds, the door swung open and their host came out to grab Seth in a bear hug.

  Ted Taylor was an impressive-looking man in his mid-fifties. Now that she saw him and Seth side by side, she could see the resemblance in the shape of their faces and in the way they held themselves.

  “Seth! So glad you could make it, son!” His booming voice made the voices inside the house grow silent. “So many people canceled because of the weather. You and your girlfriend will make an even dozen.”

  Jess forced herself to stand still and smile as he turned kind eyes to her. “It’s good to see you again, Jess. I was very sorry to hear about your brother. Cody was a fine young man, and I for one have never doubted his integrity.”

  Blinking to clear her suddenly blurred vision, Jess cleared her throat. Even so, she knew her voice sounded more like a croak when she spoke. “Thank you, sir. It means a lot to hear that.”

  She stiffened her knees to cease their sudden trembling. If Ted believed in Cody’s innocence, and hers, there was hope.

  “What’s she doing here?” an angry voice said.

  Heat crawled up her face as Jess found herself the target of hostile stares. Apparently, Ted’s faith in her wasn’t universal. Well, she hadn’t expected it would be. Yet. Resigned, she turned to face Ted’s snobbish, socially conscious wife.

  “Aunt Willa, this is my friend, Jess. My good friend.” Her bruised heart warmed when Seth squeezed her hand.

  Hardly a good friend. But she appreciated the show of support when those gathered glared.

  “I’m surprised you would bring the likes of her into your family’s house,” his aunt said with a scornful sniff. “Or perhaps you saw a pretty face and didn’t realize what kind of girl she was.”

  What kind of girl she was? Seriously?

  “Actually, Jess and I go way back. Since high school.”

  Jess could just barely make out the sound of voices tumbling over each other. Yet even without hearing the words, she could tell by the frowns on their faces that the other guests were not pleased to have her in their midst. But none of that seemed to affect Seth. She read his lips and saw that he was basically telling his family that he believed in her and trusted her. Suspicion was nudged out of the way by shame and gratitude. Gratitude that God hadn’t completely abandoned her. And shame that she was still harboring a grudge against Seth. Mortified, she remembered her bitter words in the truck. Was that really just a couple of hours ago?

  “Seth, that girl’s brother was...”

  Ted shook his head at his wife. Sullenly, she quieted, but the baleful glint of her eyes let Jess know she was far from appeased. With false joviality, Ted pulled them into the house and began introducing them around. Jess found herself the recipient of several slights and sneers. It didn’t help that her hearing aids amplified all the noise of music and voices to the same level. The harsh jumble of sound made separating individual voices out from the background ruckus impossible. She was forced to rely totally on lip reading. Soon her eyes grew strained and she felt a tension headache coming on. She understood enough to realize that the majority of the guests had felt in some way cheated or betrayed by her brother, and they were quite willing to transfer that anger to her, even though she wasn’t deeply involved in the foundation. She should have been more invested. And maybe if she had been, she’d be more aware of what had occurred.

  At one point, she looked over in the corner and saw a familiar face. Her brother’s fiancée, Deborah, gave her a nod, but made no move to come over. She understood. Deborah had suffered enough. She had told Jess quite clearly after the funeral that she needed to put it all behind her. The man standing beside Deborah was familiar, too. Russ Breen, one of Ted’s star trainers. She had heard that Deborah had attached herself to a new man. It seemed a little quick, and Jess’s throat tightened seeing how rapidly Cody had been replaced in the other woman’s life. It had only been a few months. She couldn’t understand how someone could move on that easily.

  She sure hadn’t.

  Seth tapped on her shoulder. Glancing over, she was surprised to see anger tightening the skin around his eyes. What had she done? Her own eyes widened when she realized that he was angry with the others, on her behalf. He lifted his hands and signed to her.

  “We can’t stay here. Let’s get some help with the truck and go. I will help you find answers another way.”

  Glancing around, she swallowed. He was right. She wouldn’t be able to get any answers here. She nodded at him.

  Seth asked around to find out who could lend a hand with the truck. Soon they had a group of four men who agreed to help. She followed them outside and down the driveway. And gasped.

  The truck was where they had left it. Water was up to the top of the wheels.

  The bridge was gone.

  Further investigation confirmed what she already suspected. All the roads were under water as a flash flood washed in. The ranch itself was safe on raised ground. But every path out of it was blocked.

  Walking back into the house beside Seth, she folded her arms in front of her, rubbing her hands up and down them to bring some warmth back into her chilled body. The lights flickered, but thankfully stayed on. When she had suggested coming to the party with Seth, it had sounded like a good idea. She would have a chance to meet with people from the horse community and gauge their reactions. Maybe even be able to get some clue as to what had really happened. She had been so naive.

  Ted walked back over to where she stood with Seth. He said something in a low voice that she wasn’t able to catch. And he didn’t move his lips much, so she couldn’t read what he’d said. Seth angled his body and signed discreetly to her.

  “Uncle Ted says our rooms are ready if we want to go up and rest or clean up a bit.”

  Translation: the other guests were not happy with her presence. And she understood that he felt it was better if they were moved away from the party. She wouldn’t complain. The sooner she was away from the angry and disapproving stares, the easier she would feel. She walked up the stairs to her room ten minutes later, Seth behind her like he was guarding her back. Which, in a way, he was.

  In the hallway, a man with a cowboy hat approached from the other side. There was something familiar about him. She had probably seen him at some horse event, but had never been introduced. Odd, because she knew most of the equestrian crowd in the area.

  He never even glanced at her as he was passing. But instead, with a quick side step, he knocked her into the wall with his shoulder. Pain lanced through her as she hit the wall. He dashed down the steps.

  “Hey!” Seth turned, clearly intending to give chase.

  “No, please, Seth, I don’t want to be up here by myself.”

  He hesitated, but nodded, a grim look around his mouth. She was fairly certain that he wasn’t going give up. He’d be watching for that cowboy. And given his fantastic ability to recall details, he would be able to spot the man in an instant.

  Outside her door, there was a copy of today’s newspaper. On the front page was a picture of her barn, with a police car in the parking lot. The article was circled in red. Had the cowboy left it here? Was he the person responsible for the fire?

  Her breath caught in her throat. She was trapped with a house full of hostile people. And one of them was out to get her.

  THREE

  Seth pushed open the door to the guest room assigned to Jess and stalked inside. The anger simmering inside him demande
d action, but he had no outlet for it at the moment, other than making sure she was safe. Leaving no corner unchecked, he searched her room for any dangers, hidden or otherwise. It really burned him that someone had decided to play games with her. She was an innocent, no matter what her brother may have done. Or not done. Because right now, he was feeling like there was something other than revenge behind these attacks. Not that he could make that call. He wasn’t a cop.

  Speaking of calls, he pulled out his cell and glanced at it. Still no bars. He had tried to contact the police department on Ted’s landline, but couldn’t get through. He’d lived through enough flash floods and tornado warnings to know that the lines could get overwhelmed. Or that power lines in town could get knocked out easily enough. So now they were sitting ducks. Which meant that it was up to him to see that Jess was safe.

  He needed to have a talk with his uncle about the dude in the hallway. His gut said the man wasn’t the same person who had been following them earlier. Why act out in the open after being so secretive? But he was definitely a threat.

  “Okay, Jess. I don’t see anything,” he declared after ten minutes. “I think you can go ahead and clean up. I’m going to go downstairs and grab us something to eat. Lock the door behind me. I think we should stay up here tonight, and then tomorrow see if we can find a way out of this mess.”

  She nodded, but didn’t look comforted. Her mouth opened, then shut again. He waited.

  “Do you think someone is just trying to scare me? Or am I really in danger?” Her hazel eyes glistened, but she didn’t cry. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she had. The urge to comfort her and tell her everything would be fine was strong. But even stronger was his need to be honest. His father had taught him how to deceive, and he resisted any semblance of similarity to that man.