The Runaway Bride

by Patricia McLinn

  Downstairs, he found Gran leaning on her crutches at the counter, packing sandwiches. He stood still until she turned toward him, so she would see this wasn’t any romantic chase across the country. He was going so he could live with himself. Not in some wild hope of living with Judi.

  Gran studied him then sighed. “Well, at least you’ll have some food. The sandwiches are turkey.” She shoved the bag toward him. “Don’t try to drive all that way without sleep.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I found it!” Becky came around the corner at full tilt. “Here—”

  “Thanks.” He opened the wad of tissue paper and held up the bracelet. Yup, a gold heart about two inches long hanging from a chain with other gold trinkets. He closed the paper and put the lumpy package in his duffle.

  “How do you think that’s going to help Judi?”

  “I don’t know. I just know it’s what that ass was bellowing about. If she gives it to him, maybe she’ll be free of him.” He swung the duffle over one shoulder and grabbed the bag of food. “Take care and I’ll be back in a few days.”

  “A few days, but—” Becky bit her lower lip.

  It didn’t need to be spoken. The time for turning over Dickens would have passed before he could drive to Illinois and back.

  “I’ll take care of everything when I get back.”

  “We’ll be fine.” Gran’s certainty spread well beyond the days he would be away. She was saying that whatever happened with the money, with failing to preserve the ranch, maybe even with losing the ranch entirely, the three of them—the family—would be okay. “You be careful. And give Judi our love.”

  He pushed out the door, hoping he’d hidden a wince at her final words.

  “Thomas!” Gran called.

  He turned at the bottom of the steps.

  “How are you going to find her?”

  For the first time in more than a day, his mouth lifted in something resembling a smile. He’d memorized an address in Lake Forest, Illinois, but he had another idea to try first. “I’m going to look for a Hot Dog Inn—since that’s one thing she admitted remembering from the start.”

  The knock on the door of Room 4 brought Judi out of the bathroom where she’d been hanging washed-out underwear. She stood in the middle of the room, maybe the person would go away. Maybe they hadn’t seen the Do Not Disturb sign on the handle. Maybe—

  A second knock. This one louder and less patient.

  “Who is it?”

  “Open the damned door.”

  Joy came first, then surprise. They were both still at high tide when she pulled the door open.

  He stood there, holding the strap of a duffle bag over one shoulder, two days worth of beard, and probably the only man to look right wearing a cowboy hat within a hundred-mile radius of Chicago. She couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him.

  “So, your name’s not Helga.”

  “No.”

  “That’s one relief.”

  “I’m sure there are a lot of fine, upstanding women named Helga.”

  “I’m sure there are. It just never fit you.”

  Because she wasn’t a fine, upstanding woman. She swung the door closed, almost to where it would click shut. Almost didn’t cut it with Thomas. He pushed it open and brushed past her into the room, would have brushed against her if she hadn’t stepped back.

  “Tell me what this is about.”

  “Thomas—”

  “You owe me that much.” He let that settle, then added, “And I owe you—Becky and I talked. About the ranch, about Maureen, about the past year.”

  A proud man calling in one debt, and determined to pay off another. That’s why he’d come. To pay off a debt so he’d have no qualms later about cutting her out of his life. She probably should have told him tough luck, live with the guilt. She couldn’t. If peace of mind was all he would let her give him, she couldn’t deny him that.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed while he sat in the only chair, she told him. From running into Sterling that day on the street through the courtship to the moments at the back of the church. Her confusion. Her father’s question. Her sprint out of the church. The journey that had taken her to the Diamond V.

  By the end, Thomas’s frown had become a scowl. He’d interrupted only once—with a muttered curse when she repeated what the undercover woman had said.

  “How’d he find you? You didn’t—?”

  “No! I left that one message on my own answering machine for my family, and that was it. Apparently Sterling hired a private investigator, and…” She shrugged. “I guess there was some talk in town about the stranger at the Diamond V.”

  “As far as anyone in town knew, we had a health aide named Helga. How would anyone…? Becky. Becky and her friends…”

  “But Becky knew me as Helga, too, so—”

  “Give it up. I know about the real Helga coming—and going. Besides, you really aren’t much of a liar now that I’m looking for it.”

  His tone wasn’t as harsh as the words—if she hadn’t known better she’d have thought there was even a tinge of amusement in it. But she did know better.

  He shifted then spoke again. “So you figure this woman you overheard at the church was an undercover agent of some kind.”

  “Yes.”

  “How’re you planning on getting in touch with her?”

  “I called my answering machine from the road and retrieved my messages. There was one from my mother.”

  Actually, there’d been two-dozen messages from her parents with nearly as many from the rest of her family. But only this one particular message had to do with the situation Thomas’s stiff-necked pride demanded he help her get through so he could forget her with a clear conscience.

  “Mom said she’d received a call for me from the Church Lady, and to call a certain phone number. I knew Mom wasn’t talking about the Saturday Night Live character, so it had to be a way to contact the undercover woman. I called and asked for the Church Lady. She’s supposed to call me back. Sterling wouldn’t have tracked me down if he didn’t need something from me. He talked about putting assets in my name, so maybe he needs a signature or something. From what I overheard, Sterling’s supposed to have this shipment arrive the day after tomorrow—”

  The day after tomorrow. July 15. The deadline for returning Dickens to his owner to collect that crucial fee and bonus.

  “Oh, God! Thomas, you can’t stay. You have to get back and get Dickens to Upton. If you leave right now—”

  “I wouldn’t make it. Forget it.”

  “Forget it? How can I forget it? If you’re not there on the fifteenth to turn him over, you won’t get the bonus, and without the bonus… Oh, Thomas, you can’t! Not because of me.”

  “You’re not going up against that asshole alone.”

  “Maybe I won’t see him at all. But if I do, the undercover woman…I’m sure I won’t be alone.”

  “I’m sure you won’t either.”

  He took off his hat and flicked his wrist, spinning the hat past her and onto the bed in a blatant declaration that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. She watched it land near the pillows, fighting a bone-deep longing that it was Thomas, instead of his hat, settling in on the bed.

  She shook her head. Focus on what you can do something about.

  “Thomas, there’s no need for you to—”

  “There’s need. There’s one thing Gran was right about—” Judi wondered what Gran had said that he didn’t think she was right about. “We would have been hard-pressed getting by these past weeks without you. I owe you.”

  “You don’t owe me, Thomas. I wrecked the car to avoid hitting you and Dickens, but you saved me when that creek bank…” She couldn’t finish it—behind that memory too many others rushed in, each beautiful and painful. “Even without the early bonus, if you get back to turn Dickens over before Maureen’s money is due… You can do it, Thomas. You can. I’ll give you everything I have left from the salar
y you paid me, and—”

  “I won’t take money from you. It’s time we got back to relying on ourselves, not looking to outsiders.”

  Outsiders. The pain of the word drove her to her feet. She walked blindly to stare at a painting of dachshund puppies above the television. He saw her as an outsider who threatened the Diamond V, and him. Someone who’d intruded on their lives, then streaked off leaving devastation behind, just like—

  She spun around, moving so fast that he jerked his head up.

  “You think you’re ahead of schedule. You think I’m your dose of middle-aged crazy, like your Dad got about Maureen. You think I’m like her. But what if I’m your mom, Thomas.”

  “Pardon?”

  She shook her head in frustration. “It’s so clear in my head, and I’m saying it all wrong. I mean what if I’m in your life what your mom was in your dad’s? I make you laugh. I help with the ranch. We think the same things are important. Those are all the things you said about your mom and dad.”

  “I’m not here to talk about my mom and dad, or any of the other things I might have said to Helga.” He paused, letting that sink in like a dagger. “I’m here to make sure you get through this mess. Is that undercover person calling you back here?”

  His eyes were as cold and hard as his face. He wasn’t letting her in. Could she blame him?

  Would he ever realize his father had not been a fool in love with a selfish woman, but an honorable man trying to live up to his obligation. The original lone ranger.

  “No. I called from a pay phone, and left the number for another pay phone.”

  “Good.” It was the first word he’d said without that edge to it. “What time?”

  She glanced at her watch then reached for the keys. “I better go to make sure I’m there in time.” Maybe alone she could think of another way to get through to him—or come to terms with the idea that she never would. “I didn’t want anyone to know where I’m— Wait a minute! How did you find me?” She’d been so lost in emotions that had slipped right by her.

  His mouth twitched and one corner lifted for an instant before he quelled it. “Are you kidding? You think I was going to forget the Hot Dog Inn? When I tracked one down off I-90 on the way into Chicago, I knew I’d find you here.” He took the keys from her. “But we’ll take the truck I drove in. It’s in better shape and it doesn’t have the ranch name on it.”

  “That’s not neces—”

  “I’m coming.”

  “You’re just being stubborn.”

  He held the room door open. “Someone once said stubborn was what I do best.”

  “So, you put your IDs and valuables around the gas cap that night I saw you sneaking around your car.”

  “I wasn’t sneaking. But, yes, I put them there that night.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you didn’t trust me.”

  “You bet I didn’t trust you—you were lying.”

  “Yes, I was.” She shifted to face his profile. “About my name, and not remembering who I was. You thought that all along. And I figured eventually you’d look through my belongings trying to get the answers that would satisfy you.”

  “I should have. Don’t know how many times I told myself…”

  Her heart sped up. He should have—which mean he hadn’t. And the rest of his words meant he couldn’t make himself do it. Oh, Thomas… The honorable, brave lone ranger.

  Even with the door open, the old-fashioned phone booth was a snug fit. Too snug. He could smell her and feel her.

  But she’d suggested he stay in the truck, and there was no way he was going to leave her exposed in this glass box while he lolled around in the truck.

  The phone rang. She jumped then drew in a deep breath that brushed her back against his arm. Her hand shook as she picked up the receiver.

  She gave one-word answers at first, then a phrase he recognized from her account of what she’d overheard at the church—apparently the undercover woman was making sure she was really talking to Judi Monroe.

  Judi looked over her shoulder toward him and said, “No, I’m not. A…a friend’s here… I suggested that… No, I don’t think he will.” Another glance toward him that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes, I do.”

  The conversation seemed to shift, with uh-huhs from Judi indicating she’d followed what the other woman said. Then her expression changed, dismay spreading across her features. God, how had he ever fallen for her ridiculous lies—the woman’s face showed everything.

  “No, I don’t have it. I left it in Wyoming. I never thought—”

  He pulled the bracelet out of his pocket and reached over her. It clanked onto the metal shelf. “This?”

  Judi’s eyes widened. “Wait! Yes, I do have it. My friend brought it…. Yes…. Okay.”

  She picked up the bracelet, examining and dismissing trinkets until she came to the biggest one—the heart. Holding the receiver with her shoulder, she pried at it.

  He reached over her again and took the bracelet, leaning farther into the phone booth, so they were closer than they’d been since— No. He couldn’t afford those memories. He set the heart charm on the shelf, searched for the seam he’d found before and used the handle of his pocket knife to crash down on it.

  “We’re trying… Wait…”

  Two blows and a sliver of space appeared. He flipped open the knife and used the tip to pry the sides apart. In a hollow inside rested a safe-deposit box key.

  “Oh my God.” Judi looked up and smiled at him.

  He had to back out of that phone booth. Now.

  He dragged in air that smelled like earth and grass and hot asphalt, picking up enough from Judi’s side of the conversation to know the key was to a box that held the funds Carroll needed to pay for a smuggled delivery arriving the next night. Carroll had given her the key in the charm bracelet and had planned to transfer the box registration to her—a precaution in case something went wrong to make it look like Judi had been involved in the smuggling, not him.

  In order for the authorities to charge him, he had to make the payment. In order for him to make the payment, Judi had to get him the key.

  “She can’t tell me details until after they arrest him. I’m to call Sterling and tell him I’ll meet him tomorrow,” Judi said after finishing the call with the undercover woman.

  “We’ll meet him tomorrow,” he corrected.

  She stopped feeding the coins they’d picked up ahead of time. “What? No. You’re not coming with me. There’s no—”

  “I’m coming.”

  She stared at him another second, huffed out a breath, then kept feeding coins.

  “Sterling? It’s Judi. I… Don’t—…Sterling, if you go on like this, I’m going to keep it all. A pawn shop might not give me much for the earrings and chains, and that charm bracelet’s as ugly as sin, but… All right then. I don’t want anything of yours, especially the way you’ve acted…. As soon as possible…. No, not today. Tomorrow. I’ll meet you in Evanston—the parking lot at Northwestern’s Ryan Field at one o’clock. East side parking lot…. Yes, you can get to it off Central Avenue.” Thomas almost grinned at her irritation. Apparently Sterling required easy driving for his handoffs. “Because I’ve got errands to run and that’s convenient.” She glanced toward Thomas as she listened, then turned her back. “Not exactly… No—it’s none of your business. I’ll see you tomorrow at two. Goodbye, Sterling.”

  She hung up, took a deep breath, then fed more coins in.

  The undercover woman must have answered on the first ring.

  “All set…. Yes, I know where that is…. Okay, nine o’clock.”

  This time when she hung up, she sagged. He scooped up the bracelet, key and remaining coins in one hand and wrapped the other around her arm to guide her to the truck.

  “I’m all right.”

  “I know you are. To make sure you stay all right, we’re going to get some food.”

  “That sounds good.”

&nb
sp; “And I’m going with you tomorrow.”

  “There’s no reason for you to come.”

  Thomas rolled his eyes as he held the motel room door open when they returned after burgers. “Are you going to spend all night arguing?”

  “Not if you agree there’s no need for you to come with me.”

  He grunted and turned his back, surveying the room. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  Did he know the tiniest sliver of a question slid into that statement? No, or he’d have squashed it.

  “You don’t have to.”

  He looked at her. Over his shoulder first, then turning all the way to face her.

  “If I sleep in the bed, if we sleep in the bed…”

  They would make love. But it wouldn’t make a difference in the end. She understood he was telling her that up front. Telling her that he still would see her as an outsider. He still wouldn’t trust her.

  But she knew it was not only because she’d lied to him about having amnesia and being Helga. Not only because she’d had a fiancé she’d run away from. Not only because she was a stranger who’d shown up unexpectedly and who had never experienced ranch life before. It was because he didn’t trust that she could be anything else.

  Because he wasn’t willing to take the risk to find out.

  “I know.”

  Never breaking eye contact, he closed the space between them, then stopped. Giving her a chance to back away. Oh, Thomas.

  He slid one hand into her hair, his palm caressing her cheek. Without their bodies touching, his lips brushed hers. He lifted his head, looking into her eyes again. Then he kissed her for real. She opened her mouth to him, and closed the space between them, drawing him into her with her arms around his neck.

  Maybe knowing there would be nothing beyond this time should have made her run. Should have made her protect herself by pulling back. She couldn’t—no, she didn’t want to. She wanted to give him everything, and take everything. To leave him with this, when he wouldn’t let her give him anything else.

  His shirt came off, her blouse and bra were opened. But they didn’t slow to complete such niceties.

  Together they peeled away her jeans and panties. Together, they discarded his jeans and briefs. Together they fit protection on him. Together they found the fast, desperate rhythm. Together they exploded.