The Strong, Silent Type

by Jule McBride

  “What’s the big deal?” she said, her defensive tone indicating that it was the sheriff who was being unreasonable.

  Sheriff Sawyer’s sudden growl of frustration reminded Alice of how much she and Jan had feared this man’s wrath when they were kids. “I’m only asking one more time, Alice. What did you mean when you first saw that man?”

  “Mean?” she parroted innocently, buying time to think. Not that it would help. She’d known the man from birth. He could be as tenacious as an angry pit bull. True, he was Jan’s father—Alice’s best firiend’s father. But when it came to Dylan Nolan, Sheriff Sawyer hadn’t been much help. To assuage his own pain, the sheriff had wrongly convinced not only himself but everyone in Rock Canyon that Dylan was a monster.

  But it wasn’t true.

  Alice knew better. Sure, for a second tonight, she’d thought she’d heard Dylan’s voice on the phone, confessing to the murder. But she was wrong. It was as simple as that. And now she had to be crafty. Her eyes settled on the injured man again. His face was contorted in pain now, his head tilted while a doctor probed the back of his head.

  Her gaze traveled hungrily over his face. Under the hospital’s bright lights, his skin was pale, like chiseled ice. Hard bones lay right below the skin. He had a sharp nose. Well-defined, full lips. Pretty lips, Alice decided, for such a gaunt face. His thick raven eyebrows didn’t exactly curl, but rose in diagonal lines above the man’s shut, black-fringed eyes. No, she’d never seen him.

  But those brown eyes were definitely Dylan’s. Her heart pounded too fast as she remembered the call she’d received again. But no, it simply couldn’t have been his voice.

  Somehow, she forced herself to look away.

  The sheriff’s voice turned low, demanding. “Dammit, Alice, c’mon. What did you mean when you turned that man over in the driveway?”

  “Turned him over?” What was she supposed to say? Her eyes darted around.

  The sheriff looked livid. “Outside, at your place. When you turned him over in the snow. You said he was Dylan.”

  She shrugged. “I was upset. Frankly, I don’t know why I said that.”

  “Do you know that man, Alice?”

  “No.”

  “Ever seen him before?”

  “No.”

  “Heard of him?”

  “No.” She’d seen the one, fake-looking ID in the man’s back pocket. It said his name was Gerald Williams. But it was Dylan. The thick wavy golden hair she used to love running her hands through was gone, but...

  She jerked her head toward the door to his room again. “Look at him. See? He’s got dark hair, Sheriff. Does that look like Dylan?” He had to have had plastic surgery, she thought. There was no other explanation.

  “No,” the sheriff said. “It doesn’t look like him.”

  “Well, it’s not him. And I’m just trying to help. That poor man’s got nowhere to go,” she persisted reasonably, though everything in the sheriff’s eyes said this wasn’t reasonable at all. No way would levelheaded Alice take a strange man home with her.

  “Nobody’s reported yet about whether or not he’s registered at any of the motels in the area. And I don’t think I need to remind you that there’s an unsolved murder in this town.”

  Her temper spiked. “Unsolved? Always seemed to me you’re pretty sure Dylan committed that murder.” Her gaze narrowed. “Even though there wasn’t enough physical evidence to take him to court if he came back,” she reminded.

  The fire in the sheriff’s dark eyes burned. He shook his head. “If your father were alive, he’d have your hide.”

  “Well, he’s dead.”

  “God, you’ve got a mouth on you,” he muttered, glancing away. Suddenly his eyes caught hers again. “You used to be a sweet girl, Alice. What happened to you?”

  “A lot,” she retorted. “That’s what’s happened to me.” A murdered friend. A husband who disappeared.

  “You can’t take that man to your place,” he said again, his voice rising. “This is absolutely insane, girl. Do you hear me?”

  Maybe it was insane. Because nothing was making sense. The injured man had opened his eyes again, and now she could feel him watching her warily. Even from here, those eyes were as warm and intense as they were watchful. No, she’d definitely never seen that face. Nothing about him was familiar—not his dark hair, straight nose, or the ridges and angles of his face.

  But the eyes.

  She’d know them anywhere. Because they were soft brown eyes, most people wouldn’t look twice. But beyond the brown were yellowish lights making them shine like honeyed caramel.

  They were Dylan’s eyes.

  Alice’s heart hammered. She fought to appear calm, and to ignore her self-doubt. But maybe Sheriff Sawyer had a point. Maybe she was crazy. Maybe she was losing it again, the way she had right after Jan’s murder and Dylan’s disappearance.

  Today had been stressful. She could admit that much. She’d been moments away from marrying Leland Lowell when the injured man appeared.... Minutes away from a wedding, when that sick phone call came. Suddenly, Alice felt weak and shaky. She tried to assure herself that the caller had been following the articles in the Rock Canyon Reporter. He was calling her, trying to get some sick kicks. He definitely wasn’t Dylan. She suppressed a shudder. What if she was just as mistaken about this injured man’s eyes as she had been about that voice....

  “Alice,” Sheriff Sawyer repeated. “Please be rational. You can’t take a stranger home.”

  She tried to focus, to keep her wits about her. “I am being rational. Even if you thought I’d gone crazy after my wedding.”

  The sheriff sighed. “You went through a real rough period, Alice,” he said carefully. “But you’re better now. Still, I can’t let you walk out of here with this man. He was trespassing.”

  “It’s my property,” she managed to say. “Mine and my mother’s. So, I guess he wasn’t trespassing, not if we don’t choose to prosecute.”

  “I need a reason to hold him.”

  “Well, I’m not going to give it to you. He had a couple of dollars in his pockets, an identification card. He’s not a vagrant.”

  The sheriff stared at her. “You can’t take him to the ranch! Your mother is alone in the main house, you’re in your own cabin. We have an unsolved murder. Not to mention the fact that Nancy Nolan was attacked. And my...my...” The sheriff’s voice broke. Reaching, he grabbed Alice’s upper arm and gave her a good shake. “My daughter’s killer hasn’t been brought to justice, Alice.”

  Fury boiled inside her. “You’re Jan’s father, and I’ve known you since I was a kid. I loved Jan, too. She was my best friend. But you convicted Dylan without a jury.”

  He dropped his grasp, and continued staring at her as if he’d never seen her. She felt herself waver. What was she doing? Was she really going to take some strange man to her home?

  “Fine.” Stepping away, he jerked his head toward the other end of the hallway. “I’ll just let Leland put in his two cents.”

  Alice didn’t budge. She simply stood there, watching the sheriff take long strides toward the nurse’s station. As much as he didn’t want to, he was probably calling his office. He’d have to leave here and head out to the wreck on the interstate.

  “Well?” Leland said, stopping in front of her.

  The man she was going to marry today looked every bit as mad as the sheriff. While he was rumored to have a hair-trigger temper, Alice had never once seen evidence of it—not before now. Maybe it was his flashing eyes that allowed her to stick to her guns. Maybe if Leland had looked hurt, or had any real desire to understand, she would have changed her mind, and not taken the stranger home.

  “Well?” she said.

  Leland’s jaw set. He was a wiry cowboy, tall and lanky, with light brown hair and a mustache. Usually he wore faded Wranglers and a thermal shirt, but today he had on dress slacks.

  For our wedding.

  “What’s gotten into you?” Suddenl
y he grabbed her upper arm with such force that it hurt.

  “Leland,” she protested, barely able to believe the aggression he was exhibiting.

  He didn’t let go. “Are you crazy? Saying you’re leaving here with some stranger?” He leaned closer, and she could feel his breath on her face. “This was our wedding day—”

  Her heart pulled with warring emotions, guilt among them. “It’s not my fault a man got hit by a car in the driveway,” she ventured, knowing how this must look to Leland.

  “Maybe.” He edged another dangerous inch nearer, anger coming off him in waves. “But now we’ve seen to the man.”

  Her heart kept pulling. As mad as Leland was right now, she owed him so much. “Leland,” she tried to explain, “I’m sorry, but...I can’t explain everything right now.” Can’t explain that I’m sure this man is really Dylan Nolan. “Helping him...is just something I have to do.”

  She winced as his grip tightened. “You’ll do what I tell you.”

  Her eyes widened. Flinching, she threw off his grasp. “Leland,” she found herself saying hotly, the stress of the day crashing down on her, “we’re not married yet.”

  “We’re as good as.” He grabbed her again. This time his fingers dug harder into her upper arm.

  She couldn’t believe this was really happening. “Don’t get physical with me. You’re scaring me.”

  And it wasn’t just the hold he had on her. His blue eyes had turned nearly violet with temper. There was something incredibly cruel now in the grim, pinched set of his lips. This man didn’t even look like the Leland Lowell she knew. Or had been about to many.

  As she stared into his angry eyes, stories about Leland’s occasional fights came back to her. “Just male-posturing stuff,” Jan had said once. “You know. They go out. Have a few beers. And the next thing you know, all those guys are cracking pool cues over each other’s heads.”

  Now Alice wasn’t so sure. Until this very moment, Leland had been nothing but the gentleman around her. He opened doors, pulled out chairs, asked her how her day had gone. And now he’d transformed before her eyes. God help her, she couldn’t believe she’d been about to many him.

  He’s dangerous.

  Using his grip on her arm, he jerked her closer. “I waited a long time for you, Alice.”

  A chill went down her back. “You waited a long time for Jan. I...” Where was the reasonable man she’d been about to marry? The man who had said he could never love her the way he’d loved Jan? Or the way she’d loved Dylan. “Our marriage...” Somehow, the sudden obsessive light she saw in Leland’s eyes had pushed the air right from her lungs. “Our marriage was a convenience, Leland...”

  The steel-like grip on her arms now brought tears to her eyes. “Was?”

  Only then did she understand what she’d said—and that she’d changed her mind. She couldn’t have married him. If the justice of the peace had arrived, probably she would have halted the ceremony before it was over.

  Swallowing hard, she glanced over Leiand’s shoulder toward the hospital-room door. The injured man was no longer visible. Maybe the doctor had taken him for more X rays. She hoped not. She’d thought they were finished here. And she needed to get the man alone. To find out what had happened. To make sure he really was Dylan.

  He has to be. Those are his eyes.

  Leland was still staring at her, looking murderous. She searched for the words. “Leland, we...we made the decision to get married in good faith. It made sense. You’re running the ranch now. And we’ve got so much in common. Besides, the people we loved most are...” She glanced toward the hospital room again, toward the man she was so sure was Dylan, and she swallowed hard. “Gone. Jan and Dylan are dead...” Or at least we thought so.

  There was something bone-chilling in Leland’s voice. “So, you’re going to leave me high and dry?”

  “No. But...” Even now, when his grip on her arm was causing her pain, she couldn’t stand to hurt him. And yet she had to. She couldn’t marry him. “Yes. I guess I am.”

  “If you think you’re gonna take that stranger home, you’re thinking wrong,” he choked out. “I’ve lost one woman to murder. And no woman of mine is going off with strangers.”

  Mine. She felt a stab of anger. “I don’t belong to anyone.”

  “You belong to me, Alice.”

  She didn’t think it possible, but the grasp around her upper arm tightened. Pain shot up through her shoulder. “Leland!”

  He let go.

  Or she thought he had.

  But when she whirled back around, she saw the stranger. His wavy dark hair was slicked back, his brown eyes narrowed and contemptuous. But while Leland’s cruelty was borne of pettiness, what Alice saw in this man’s eyes was borne of necessity. He’d grabbed Leland from behind. His two strong hands were squeezing Leland’s arms, holding them like a vise. “Leave the lady alone,” he said.

  The voice wasn’t exactly Dylan’s...but it was close enough, if rougher and deeper. Alice watched as he abruptly released Leland. Leland staggered a few steps forward, then whirled around. Instinctively, Alice backed up, flattening herself to the wall, and she scrutinized the hallway, hoping she could signal someone to send security guards. She waited for Leland to lunge.

  Surprisingly, he didn’t move.

  Neither did the man. Alice’s heart thudded in her chest, making her breath shallow. Her eyes sought his. Yes, they looked achingly familiar. She could swear she’d stared into them a thousand times. But was this really Dylan? Was this possible? Plastic surgery was the only thing that would account for these changes, Alice thought again. She glanced between the two men, feeling the full power of their gazes. Their anger was palpable. Maybe even murderous.

  And then it was over.

  The stranger broke the gaze, then settled those assessing caramel eyes on Alice. “C’mon,” he said simply. “Get your coat, Alice. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Four

  Alice. There’d been nothing familiar about the way he said her name. She’d strained her ears, hoping to recognize that voice, to feel a connection or hear some remembered loving softness.

  Now he said, “C’mon.”

  Still nothing. The maniac on the phone had sounded so much more like Dylan than this man. At the sudden recollection of the call, the hairs at the back of Alice’s neck prickled. Or was her physical response simply from how this man touched her? She suppressed another unexpected shudder at the feel of his strong fingers curling under her elbow, warming her skin through the navy wool of her dress.

  As he silently urged her down the hallway, her feet seemed to follow as if by magic, and she felt ungrounded, as if she were floating over the cold floor tiles. She glanced up, into his eyes—and felt even more unsettled. Yes, she’d recognize these eyes anywhere, but...oh, God! Up close, there was truly nothing else familiar about him. The color of his hair had somehow changed from golden to black, from straight to wavy. His nose was thinner and straighter, his jaw stronger, the cheekbones more noticeable, the lips fuller. As a nurse, she’d witnessed the marvels of plastic surgery, but she’d never seen such extreme changes.

  At the very least, she expected to see recognition in his expression now—surely Dylan would wink or offer a knowing smile, something to let her know it was him!—but there was no hint in his gaze that he’d even seen her before, much less ever been in love with her.

  That lack of recognition made her head chum with wild ideas. What if Dylan had witnessed Jan’s murder and suffered a trauma so severe that he’d run away? What if traumatic amnesia had made him repress memories of the murder—and everything else in his previous life? Had Dylan somehow forgotten who he once was and the love they’d shared? If so, maybe he couldn’t even remember ever living in Rock Canyon.

  But that was far-fetched. Oh, Alice knew such occurrences were possible. In nursing school, she’d learned of similar real-life cases. But they were rare. One in a million. Which meant Dylan probably remembered exactly who he wa
s.

  And who I am, too.

  She glanced around the crowded hallway, then ventured in a hushed tone, “Dylan?”

  The man stared down, squinting against the pain caused by his injuries, or maybe just against the bright lights of the hospital corridor, Alice wasn’t sure which. He grunted softly. “Huh? What did you say?”

  The sheer blankness in his gaze was jarring, and her voice came out sounding strangled. “Why aren’t you talking to me?”

  “What did you want me to say?”

  That you’re Dylan Nolan. A group of doctors were passing them, so she said, “Uh...nothing.”

  He glanced away, steadfastly ignoring her. Those same brown eyes that had looked glazed by painkillers moments before were now fixed intently on the red-digital exit sign above the ER doors. Was he pretending to be more seriously injured than he really was? Alice swallowed hard. She needed to talk to him some more, but there were still so many people in the corridor. And Leland...

  She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Leland following them, but he was gone. As angry as she felt at his manhandling, a wave of heartache came over her. Leland deserved better than this, even if they could never be more than friends. Alice knew that now. When he cooled off, they needed to have a serious talk. She was sure he’d soon realize that breaking off their engagement was for the best. Still, she wished there was a way to explain why she was leaving the hospital tonight with a seeming stranger.

  Seeming being the operative word. She stared harder at the strong, silent man beside her. Dylan must have had surgery, she decided once more as her eyes hungrily roved over his dark hair and the hard edges of his cheekbones. There was no other logical explanation. If this was really Dylan—and Alice was so positive it was—he’d changed absolutely everything about his appearance and mannerisms.

  Except what was unchangeable—his eyes.

  “Here,” she managed to say, since he was limping, favoring his right leg. “Let me help.” Disengaging her elbow from his hand, she risked slipping her arm beneath his navy pea coat and around his waist. When he stiffened, she felt a sudden, unexpected flare of temper. Why are you flinching? Don’t you want me touching you?