by Alice Sharpe
“Dad said it was cheaper than renting them every time one of us hurt something,” he said. He looked at Tess and added, “How are you feeling?”
“Kind of empty inside,” she said.
“I’m sorry I had to tell you about Danny like I did.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m the one who snuck away. I’m the one who put both you guys in danger, something even my dad pointed out. I need a tissue. My nose is running.”
“When did you talk to your dad?” Sierra asked as Pike slid a box of tissues toward Tess.
“Before I went to sleep,” Tess said, dabbing at her nose. “You were already dead to the world. Aunt Grace said Dad deserved to hear from me before he heard from the police, so I woke him up and told him everything that’s been happening.” She looked down at her hands. “He says he wants me to come home.”
“Of course he does,” Pike said. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
She shook her head. “No thanks.”
“Honey, can you remember anything else about the men in the mine?” Sierra asked. “Maybe something about their voices, for instance?”
“They didn’t talk to me.”
Pike turned his gaze to Sierra. “Do you remember something?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “I told you one of them spoke to me. I don’t know what he said. I’m not sure what’s bothering me about it.”
“I thought I was safe here,” Tess blurted out, hugging herself and looking around the cheery room and shuddering. “I’m not safe anywhere, am I?”
“Tess—”
“I don’t want to go talk to the LA police.”
“We know,” Sierra said. “Maybe, because of your foot, they can send detectives here to interview you.”
Tess looked around the room again. “I don’t want to stay here but I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to see the man who killed Danny, not ever, ever again.”
“What about your father?” Sierra asked gently.
“He doesn’t really want me to come,” Tess said.
“Tess, you’re his daughter.”
“I’m just someone who gets in his way,” she scoffed.
“Don’t worry about it right now,” Pike advised. “Come sit down.”
“No thanks. I’m going to go sit by the fire,” she said and Pike opened the door for her to make her way through to the dining room.
“Should we have warned her about the film crew?” Sierra asked after she left. “Where are they anyway?”
“Out in the barn shooting pictures of the horses and interviewing Kinsey and Gerard. I don’t see any reason to feed Tess’s active imagination. I know I’m the one who brought up a snitch in their ranks, but it’s hard to really believe.”
“I guess.”
He pulled her to her feet and looked into her eyes. “Don’t worry about her,” he said.
Sierra leaned her head against his chest. “Things are going to get worse for her before they get better,” she said. “Even if the LAPD sends detectives here to interview her, sooner or later she’s going to have to go back for a trial.”
“I know,” Pike murmured. “In the end, she’s going to have to face Raoul Ruiz.” He kissed her forehead and she tilted her head so their lips could connect. The kiss was long and smoldering, and Sierra kind of lost track of herself as she ran her fingers through his hair.
The swinging door behind them ended the kiss. Harry Hastings stood framed in the doorway. His eyebrows inched up his forehead as he gazed at them, then he walked to the refrigerator.
“Time to meet up with my brothers,” Pike said against Sierra’s cheek and he kissed her a last time. “Later, Dad.” Sierra watched him leave until Harry cleared his throat and her gaze swiveled to him. He took a can of soda from the fridge.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked her before he closed the door.
“No thanks,” She glanced down to find she couldn’t get an internet connection. “Drat,” she murmured.
“Is there a problem?” he asked.
“The wireless must be down. May I restart your modem?”
“Lily already tried that this morning, didn’t work. It’s gotta be the tower outside of Falls Bluff. It’s not uncommon after a storm like this, should be fixed in a day or so.”
With a sigh, she closed the computer top and drummed her fingers. It seemed like forever since she’d checked email or anything else.
“Things move a little slower here than what you’re used to,” Harry added, pausing by her side. She looked up at him, trying to find some resemblance to Pike. Maybe around the eyes and certainly in height, but otherwise, she thought Pike resembled Mona more than his dad.
“I’ve noticed that,” she said.
He rapped his knuckles on the countertop. “Do you use Facebook and Twitter?” he asked.
“Yes. Do you?”
“Waste of time,” he said.
“Not in my line of work. What people post about themselves can be pretty revealing. Saves me a lot of legwork sometimes.”
He laughed. “I bet. A lot of it’s malicious nonsense, though.”
“But it helps keep me in touch when I’m away. I like to know what’s going on at home when I travel.”
“That’s right,” he said slowly. Though the expression on his face was friendly, there was a glint in his eyes as he added, “You come from a long ways away.”
“Yes, I do,” she said.
“Not just in miles, either, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Attitudes,” he said. “Expectations. The ability to find contentment. People are different in a big city than on a little chunk of countryside, where they’re outnumbered by cattle a hundred to one.”
“I’ve heard it said that people are all the same deep down,” she said.
He looked her straight in the eye. “You are a smart, accomplished woman, Sierra Hyde, but if you believe that, you’re also naive. Well, I’d better get back. Tess is waiting for me to teach her how to play poker.”
Sierra narrowed her eyes as he left the kitchen. She wasn’t positive but she was pretty sure he’d just tried to tell her something important.
Chapter Ten
It was a subdued gathering that met for a late dinner around the big dining room table. People were just plain exhausted, injured, preoccupied or a combination of all three. Even the normally jovial film crew ate the beef stew Grace and Lily had labored over in introspective silence.
Pike examined each of them as they ate and he was hard-pressed to see a man among them who would attempt murder. It was one thing to feel sympathy for a former coworker and help him create nuisances; it was another thing entirely to help plot the murders of two innocent people. Sierra had said something wasn’t logical. She was right. But what was it?
Toward the end of the meal, Gerard cleared his throat. “Today we found out that Leo is qualified to conduct wedding ceremonies,” he announced. “I asked Kinsey what she thought about getting married right away, you know, like tomorrow.”
“And I said tomorrow would be great,” Kinsey said.
Lily squealed. “That’s fantastic!”
“Will you be my maid of honor?”
“Of course I will,” Lily said.
“And Pike,” Gerard said, “will you stand up with me?”
“You bet. Do you have a license and all that?”
“We arranged everything a month or so ago,” Gerard said. “License, rings, the whole shebang. Leo being able to marry us made the timing perfect.”
“I got ordained online so I could marry my cousin and her husband last year,” Leo explained. “Doing this sure beats the heck out of watching it snow.”
“And it will be fun to have the wedding before Sierra has to lea
ve,” Kinsey added.
“That would be nice,” Sierra said with a quick glance at Pike.
“This is wonderful news,” Grace declared with moist eyes. “Let’s have the ceremony in the evening, okay, so I have time to get things ready.”
“Perfect,” Kinsey said. “Thanks.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you,” Grace said softly. “All those years ago I named you Sandra and when you came back into my life, you were Kinsey. At first I was sad you kept that name and then I realized it didn’t matter—what mattered was who you were and that we had a chance to get to know each other again.” Her eyes suddenly grew wide. “But Kinsey, your grandmother won’t be here for your wedding. We both owe her so much.”
“Not to worry,” Kinsey said. “I spoke to her this afternoon. She urged me to go ahead. We’ll fly to New Orleans when the baby comes. That’s all she really cares about.”
“Then it’s perfect,” Grace said. “Oh, Harry, there’s going to be a wedding on the ranch and then a baby! And it’s all happening tomorrow!”
“Not all of it, at least not tomorrow,” Kinsey said, patting her stomach.
“I couldn’t be happier for you both,” Pike’s dad said. His gaze shifted to Sierra and he smiled at her. She glanced down at her plate and pushed a piece of carrot around with a fork.
Then the old man turned his attention to Charlie and patted his knee. “Come here, boy,” he said and Charlie gleefully joined the man he considered his grandfather. Pike glanced at Chance and Lily as they watched this sweet little scene unfold and he knew a second wedding wasn’t far off.
Did he ever think about marrying? Maybe in a vague, someday sort of way, at least until recently. He glanced at Sierra. She was still pursuing the carrot with her fork and didn’t meet his gaze.
They all pitched in and cleared the table and did the dishes before they began wandering off to read or go to bed. Though the electricity was on and the television worked, the satellite receiver wasn’t functioning, no doubt due to how much snow had accumulated in the dish. Not that he minded. Snowed-in days were good times to draw close, to talk to others in the family and reconnect. He was looking forward to taking Sierra home to his barn, and he found her in the back bedroom with Tess. The two sisters were sitting side by side on one of the twin beds, Sierra’s arm around Tess’s shoulder. Tess’s eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks tear-streaked.
He sat down on Tess’s other side to lend support. Eventually, Tess excused herself to go wash her face and that left him and Sierra sitting alone.
“All the talk about a wedding got to her,” Sierra said. “She’s built Danny into the love of her life. I think I’d better stick close to her tonight.”
Disappointment flared, but he knew she was right. “Yeah, I can see that. Did you get a hold of Detective Hatch this afternoon?”
“Yes. He was shocked that Raoul Ruiz might have traveled here to silence Tess.”
“It seems strange to me, too,” Pike said.
“Yeah. Well, Hatch assured me that Tess doesn’t have to fly back to LA for questioning yet. They’ll send detectives to interview her here or even in New York if she decides to come home with me.”
He stared at her a second as though surprised. “Have you decided when you’re leaving?”
“As soon as I can,” she said. “I have obligations... You know how it is. I haven’t talked to Tess yet about coming with me.”
“This seems sudden,” he said softly.
She studied her hands for a second before darting him a quick glance. “Did you notice the way your father looked at me?”
“He likes you,” Pike said.
She shot him another look. “I don’t know if he does or not, but I do know he doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.”
“That’s crazy. If anything he thinks you’re way out of my league.”
“I don’t mean not good enough in the sense that I’m not smart enough or something. Earlier today, he started talking about New York... It sounded like he was reminding me that you and I are from two different worlds.”
“So what?” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“It got me thinking,” she continued, still avoiding his gaze. “I don’t fit in here. I’m not the kind of woman your father wants for you.”
He took both her hands in his. “Sierra, even if that were true, and I’m not saying it is, I’m not a kid. My father doesn’t get to decide who I care about or spend my time with.”
“But the thing is, I see his point.”
“We talked about our relationship right from the start,” he said. “There were ground rules. I haven’t meant to cross them—”
“It’s not you,” she interrupted. “It’s me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We were supposed to keep this thing between us light and breezy and then today I invited you to New York to experience every little season. Why did I do that?”
“Why?” he repeated. “Because we like each other? Because we want to spend time together?”
“No, Pike. The real reason is deeper and more self-serving. I think I wanted to see how you fit into my world. I can’t imagine living here, but I don’t think you can live any other way. These people... I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”
“You’re helping Tess—”
“Am I? What exactly have I done for her?”
He squeezed her hands. “We are both trying to keep her alive. That’s the major reason you are here.” He lifted her chin with his fingers and lowered his voice. “Don’t jump so far ahead when it comes to us. I promised you I could handle things and I will. No one has to move anywhere or live a life they don’t want.”
“Ah, Pike, all the good intentions in the world don’t mean a thing when your heart gets involved. You know that.”
His brow furrowed. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
She closed the gap between them and touched her lips to his. His hopes swelled and then shrank as she whispered, “I need to step back.”
“From me?”
“Yes.”
“Is everything okay?” a voice asked from the doorway, and they both turned to see Tess standing there. She hobbled over to them using one crutch and the furniture for support. She looked from one of them to the other. “What’s wrong with you guys?”
“We’re just tired,” Sierra said. “Everybody in this house is just flat-out exhausted.”
Pike knew it was time to leave. He stood up, ruffled Tess’s hair and walked to the door. “See you guys tomorrow,” he said, his gut clenching at the look in Sierra’s eyes. Her gaze dropped to her hands and he closed the door.
What had just happened?
He ran into Chance in the mudroom, where his brother was pulling on rubber boots. “Man, I hate going back to my place all alone,” Chance said. “Lily wants to wait to get married until this fall but I don’t think I’m going to make it that long. I want her and Charlie at my place with me.”
Pike sat down beside his brother. “Let me ask you a question,” he said.
“Sure.”
“You used to play the field.”
Chance nodded. “Yep.”
“I think I need some pointers on how to do it.”
Chance laughed. “Isn’t it too late for that?”
“What do you mean too late?”
“I just got the impression that you and Sierra had something special going on.”
“I’ve known her less than a week,” Pike said.
Chance smiled. “I remember the first time I saw Lily. That was it for me, but everyone around here, including you, recognized it before I did.”
“It’s not like that with me and Sierra,” Pike said.
“Yeah.” Cha
nce clapped him on the back, added a good-night and went out the back door into the cold, snowy world. Pike followed a few minutes later, and not long after that pulled up in front of his barn on the snowmobile. The headlight illuminated Daisy, who had heard the engine and had come outside to wag a greeting.
He trudged through the snow and kneeled down to pat her and she followed him inside. Once in the kitchen, he poured kibble into her bowl and the cat’s, refilled water dishes and grabbed himself a beer.
He sat down on the sofa and looked around the huge space. He’d never really thought too much about it, but in the back of his mind he knew he’d built this place for a future family. There should be kids in the loft rooms giggling themselves to sleep, a woman by his side who shared his values and hopes.
He heard Sierra’s voice in his head. She said his family didn’t approve of her. What if the truth was that she didn’t approve of them?
A streak of black announced Sinbad’s presence as he jumped onto the back of the sofa and curled his tail around his own feet. Daisy’s toenails clicked against the wood floors as she crossed the room to join them. It took her a few seconds to haul her pregnant body up onto the couch beside him, where she turned around twice before settling with her head in his lap. He smoothed her soft ears and she looked up at him with huge brown eyes.
He’d done the dumbest thing in the world when it came to securing happiness. He’d fallen for a woman who’d warned him a relationship with her would be “terminal.” She’d known the minute she stepped foot on this ranch that she would never dream of staying. She’d been open and honest about it. He’d been the delusional one.
“Well, you guys,” he said, looking at his critters. “Looks like it’s you and me.”
* * *
SIERRA WOKE UP to find Tess’s bed was empty. She looked out the big window that faced the icy river and found the sun shining. The glare from the snow was amazing. City snow wasn’t quite this white and pure. Ordinarily, such beauty coming on the heels of the last two days would have lifted her spirits, but today it was going to take more than a change in the weather.
For a second she lay there. This room was close to the kitchen and she could smell the aroma of a baking cake—Kinsey and Gerard would be married this evening and apparently Grace was getting an early start.
