Matchmaking with a Mission

by B. J Daniels

  But she knew it wasn’t ghosts that made her fingers tremble as she unlocked the front door and reached for the light switch. It was a fear that whatever horrors had happened in this house would act like a magnet to attract new evil as they did in those scary movies she’d watched with her sister Faith.

  As she climbed the stairs to the third floor she told herself that kind of thinking was crazier than believing in ghosts. Dormant evil attracting evil. Really.

  When she reached the third floor, the glow of the light spilled across the hardwood floor of the landing. She hesitated, positive she hadn’t left the light on.

  Taking a step toward the room, she started, her hand going to her mouth as she saw someone standing at the dormer-side window. Her breath caught in her throat and it was all she could do not to cry out.

  But it wasn’t a man next to the window. It was her sister Faith’s jacket that she’d hung on what was left of the curtain rod.

  The paint samples were on the windowsill where she’d left them. She hurried over and picked them up, hating how anxious she was to leave. Once I have new locks and am moved in it will feel different. Once I have my horses out here, it’ll be all right.

  As she turned out the light and started down the stairs, she heard a soft thump downstairs.

  She froze, one foot balancing on a step, her hand gripping the wood railing. Listening, she heard the wind in the cottonwoods and the soft scrape of what had to be a limb against the side of the house.

  Once she lived here she would get use to the house’s noises, she told herself as she let out the breath she’d been holding and continued on down the stairs.

  She tried not to hurry, telling herself this wasn’t like her, turning on lights as she went and turning them off behind her. Down the stairs, through the living room, locking the door behind her as she crossed the porch and dropped down the stairs.

  She didn’t scare easily. But after the day she’d had—She tried to reassure herself. Her family ranch was only a few miles down the road. This was her country, her land. There was nothing to fear.

  Something hit her the minute she reached the last porch step. What felt like a hand slammed into her back, and she went sprawling into the weeds, the air knocked from her.

  For a moment she was too surprised to do anything more than gasp for breath. Then she was up, scrambling to her feet, running as fast as she could toward her pickup. She didn’t dare look behind her. She knew it was the man who’d called himself Hal Turner. She knew he was right behind her, breathing down her neck, and that any moment he was going to grab her and—

  She reached the pickup, flung open the door and dived inside, slamming the door behind her and hitting the locks. She was shaking all over as she looked out the windshield. Darkness cloaked the house and trees, deep shadows stretching across the yard. A breeze stirred the cottonwoods in a flicker of light and dark.

  Where was he?

  She fumbled the key into the ignition. The engine roared. She snapped on the headlights, bracing herself for when he came at her again. In her imagination she could see him coming at the truck with something to shatter the side window and grab her before she could—

  Her mind raced as she shifted the pickup into First, wanting only to get out of there. She was trembling with fear—and confusion. Someone had pushed her down. She’d felt the hand in the middle of her back. A hard shove that had sent her sprawling.

  But if the person had meant to harm her, why hadn’t he come after her?

  She hadn’t imagined being pushed. She hadn’t. But where had he gone. And why—

  Suddenly her pickup cab was filled with the glare of a set of headlights as a vehicle came rushing toward her.

  Chapter Nine

  As his headlights splashed over McKenna’s pickup, Nate Dempsey watched her kill her engine. He saw her hurrying to get the pickup going again, only to back into one of the fence posts.

  He slowed, wondering what the hell was going on. Stopping his truck and horse trailer in the beams of her headlights, he climbed out, leaving his engine running, and walked cautiously through the glare of her headlights toward her.

  When he reached the side of the pickup, he could see her face behind the wheel. It looked stark white, her blue eyes round as tumbleweeds. Both hands were gripping the wheel, and it seemed to take her a few moments before she recognized him. What had happened?

  As he tapped on her side window, it came partway down and he caught a whiff of her perfume. It mingled with another smell he recognized at once. Fear.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, seeing that she wasn’t. Worse, she seemed afraid of him.

  Her eyes flooded with tears, her voice breaking as she stared at him. “Someone was here. He…struck me.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know where he went.”

  His gaze went to the house. “I’ll make sure he’s gone.”

  “No,” she cried. “He’s dangerous.”

  If her attacker was who Nate believed it to be, the man was more than dangerous. He was a cold-blooded killer. “Lock your doors. Honk if you need me. I’ll be right back.”

  He turned and left before she could argue further. Once out of the sweeping glow of the pickup’s headlights, he pulled the gun from his shoulder holster and moved cautiously toward the house.

  First he checked the area around the house, then made sure the doors were locked before he holstered the gun again and went back to her.

  He was glad to see that she’d done what he’d told her to do. As he neared her pickup, she put her window down partway again, as if not sure who she had to fear.

  “Feeling better?” he asked. He could see that she was. There were no more tears and she seemed to have steadied herself. He wasn’t surprised given what he knew about her.

  “Did you see him?”

  Nate shook his head. “I’m sure he took off when he saw me coming up the road. You think it was the same man who was here earlier?”

  “I don’t know.” She seemed confused, definitely upset. “You didn’t see any sign of anyone?”

  He shook his head, studying her. “What did he do?”

  “He…he pushed me.” She looked uncertain.

  “He pushed you?” It dawned on him that she’d been half-afraid it had been him. That was why she’d reacted so oddly to him earlier.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but someone pushed me. He knocked me down.”

  “But other than that, he didn’t do anything to you?”

  “No. He pushed me and then I guess he left.” She shook her head as if realizing her story didn’t make a lot of sense. Why would someone just push her and take off?

  “All that matters is that you’re okay.”

  She nodded. She wasn’t okay. He could see that.

  Apparently this had just been another message for him. “Well, it won’t be a problem after tonight. I’ll be here. But maybe you should consider staying at your family’s ranch until I catch him.”

  She was shaking her head before he even finished talking. “I won’t let him run me out of my own home.”

  An admirable attitude that he feared would get her killed. Except Roy Vaughn didn’t have a score to settle with this woman. He was after Nate. Fooling with McKenna Bailey was just Roy Vaughn’s way of letting Nate know he was in town—and was coming for him.

  The problem was McKenna Bailey had inadvertently put herself right in the middle.

  “If you’re determined, then I’ll just have to make sure no one bothers you,” Nate said. “Were you working late?”

  “No. I’d been over to the neighbors’ and was headed back to the ranch when I remembered I’d left my paint samples in the house.” She glanced toward the front yard. “I dropped them when—”

  “I’ll get them,” he said. “I have a flashlight in my rig.” He started for his truck when he heard her get out of hers. Turning, he watched her walk back toward the house, her own flashlight beam bobbin
g through the darkness as she moved.

  He waited as she shone the light on the front of the house, then on the ground. He joined her even though he could see that she’d already found what she was looking for.

  He walked her back to her truck. “Do you want me to follow you as far as your ranch?”

  “No, it’s not necessary. I’m fine now.” As she climbed behind the wheel, he saw her hesitate. “I was afraid you’d changed your mind about staying out here.”

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry I was so late. I decided to have dinner in town. I thought you might still be here working, so I brought you something.” He walked over to his pickup and came back with the foil-wrapped package. “It’s just a piece of peach pie.”

  She peeked under the foil, seeming touched by his thoughtfulness, making him feel even more guilty. “Mmm, it smells wonderful. I think I forgot to eat today.” She looked up at him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “How did you know my favorite pie is peach?”

  He smiled. “I guess I just got lucky. Well, see you in the morning.”

  “Wait, I forgot to give you a key to the house.” She reached into the glove box for one of the extras she’d had made. “That will open the back door. This one’s for the front. Be careful. That man might not have gone far.”

  “Don’t worry.” He took the keys, stepped away from her open window and, giving her a nod, walked to his truck.

  Nate could feel her watching him all the way, as if she suspected he was the last man she should be trusting. Or it could have been his conscience that dogged him all the way back to his pickup—if he still had a conscience.

  BEFORE GOING TO BED, Arlene Evans checked her e-mail hoping to see something more from Hank Monroe.

  What she saw almost gave her heart failure. She hadn’t completely forgotten about her young, handsome new client Jud Corbett. Originally she’d planned to pair him with her daughter Charlotte. That obviously wasn’t happening right now given that Charlotte was almost eight months pregnant and not at her best.

  So Arlene had set Jud up with a few local young women, feeling as though it was such a waste. A good-looking, eligible man like Jud. Jud’s father, Grayson Corbett, had just bought a huge ranch down by the Missouri Breaks.

  While Jud was the only one she’d seen so far, Arlene had heard there were four other brothers. She hoped they were as handsome and as eligible as Jud.

  She was still hoping that her daughter Charlotte would come to her senses, give up the baby, get her shape back and hook up with Jud Corbett when she read the e-mail from Jud and let out a shriek.

  She read it a second time, telling herself this had to be a bad dream. According to the e-mail, Jud had seen a woman on Arlene’s rural Meet-A-Mate online service who he was very interested in meeting.

  That was how the service worked, true enough.

  But it was the name of the young woman whom Jud was requesting that sent Arlene into a tizzy.

  Not only was the woman in question not a member of the online dating service, she wasn’t even in town. And Arlene certainly wouldn’t have put up the profile of her son Bo’s former fiancée, Maddie Cavanaugh.

  How had this happened? And now Jud was anxious to date the woman. Not only was Maddie Cavanaugh all wrong for him, Maddie was also Arlene’s least favorite person in the world. She wasn’t good enough for Jud Corbett!

  Who had put Maddie’s profile up on her Internet site? Arlene wanted to know. Was this supposed to be a joke? And how had Maddie’s photo and information gotten up on the site without Arlene’s permission? No one had that kind of access except for—

  “Bo!” she bellowed as she stormed down the hallway to her son’s room. “Bo!” She counted to ten before she threw open his door.

  Storming in, she shut off his blaring stereo and glared at her son. He was lying sprawled on the bed, looking bored, as usual, and annoyed that she’d turned off his horrible music.

  Bo was still handsome even though he had been letting himself go since his breakup with Maddie Cavanaugh. With him, Arlene still held out hope that he would meet the right woman and settle down.

  “Did you put your former fiancée’s profile and photo on my Internet dating service?” she demanded.

  His smirk said it all.

  “Why would you do such a thing knowing how I feel about Maddie Cavanaugh?”

  “I thought you’d want to see her married off so she leaves me alone.”

  He had a point, although, as far as she knew, Maddie didn’t want any more to do with Bo than he did with her. Maybe a whole lot less.

  Arlene shook her head. If she didn’t have a meeting with Hank Monroe, this little incident would have ruined her whole week.

  “Leave my matchmaking business alone,” she ordered. “Tomorrow I’ll fix it so you won’t be able to pull something like this again.” Had she once hoped that she could interest her son in her business? That they could work together? What had she been thinking?

  “Why don’t you get out of this room and find yourself a nice young woman?” she snapped.

  “What would I want with a nice young woman?” he asked with a leer.

  She cuffed him on the side of the head.

  “Hey, what was that about?” he whined, sounding hurt.

  It was her lot in life, Arlene thought as she left his room, the loud music in her wake.

  But she was determined not to let anything spoil her good mood. She was going to see Hank Monroe tonight. Not even her horrible children were going to spoil this.

  She’d just e-mail Jud and tell him that Maddie Cavanaugh’s profile was a mistake, that the girl didn’t live here anymore, and then she’d find him someone else he could date until Charlotte came to her senses.

  Still, it worried her. Jud had sounded way too interested in Maddie. Not that there was much chance Maddie would ever come back to Whitehorse for more than a visit.

  But just in case, Arlene swore she would go to hell in a handbasket before she’d let Maddie Cavanaugh have Jud Corbett. She was saving him for Charlotte. One way or the other.

  AFTER A NIGHT RIDDLED with bad dreams, McKenna awoke determined to put an end to her fears about the house—and Nate Dempsey.

  She told herself she should be grateful that he showed up when he did and it was time to stop second-guessing herself. But even as she thought it, she wondered if he’d spent the night digging up on the hillside behind the house—even though he said he hadn’t the other time.

  Skipping breakfast, since she’d eaten the peach pie Nate had brought her last night—and felt guilty the whole time for mistrusting his motives—she drove into Whitehorse to the sheriff’s department.

  Sheriff Carter Jackson would become her brother-in-law next month on the Fourth of July. Independence Day. McKenna had pointed that out to Eve, who’d only laughed.

  “I like the idea of fireworks on our anniversary every year,” Eve had said, getting that faraway look in her eyes.

  McKenna had known Carter Jackson all her life, so she didn’t feel strange showing up at his office with the paper she’d discovered under her floorboards. Carter would no doubt think she was overreacting for bringing it to him. But after a sleepless night worrying, she felt she had to show it to him.

  “McKenna,” he said, sounding happy to see her. But then, he’d been happy ever since Christmas when her sister had accepted his marriage proposal.

  She gave him a hug, then took the chair he offered her.

  “So what can I do for you?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. “Tell me Eve didn’t send you here with last-minute changes regarding the wedding.”

  “No, it’s about the old Harper House.”

  “I heard you bought the place.”

  From his tone she could tell that her sister had shared her concerns with him. McKenna wished those concerns were unfounded. She opened her mouth to tell him about the man who’d pushed her last night, but in the light of day, she wasn’t so sure a
nyone had pushed her. It made no sense. Why would the man hang around just to push her down and then take off? That was something a kid would do.

  And, anyway, Nate would be staying on the property for a while. So the problem, if there even was one, was solved. And this way, word wouldn’t somehow get back to her sister Eve. The last thing she needed was Eve worrying about her just weeks before big sis’s wedding.

  What concerned McKenna was what she’d found under the floorboards at the house. Even after twenty-one years, if there was any chance the people who’d worked there were in danger…

  “I found something in the house that is…disturbing,” she said as she removed the paper from her purse and carefully unrolled it to hand the sheet to him.

  Carter frowned as he peered down at the bloodstained document. “What is this?”

  “From what I can tell, it’s a contract, a blood oath to take revenge against the people who hurt them.”

  “Where did you find this?”

  “Under the floorboards in the house. I found out that it was once a home for troubled boys. Given the date of the Whitehorse Days event on the back, I can only assume those are the names of the boys who lived there twenty-one years ago.”

  “I heard rumors about the place when I was growing up,” Carter said, studying the paper a moment before handing it back.

  “So you don’t think I should be concerned about it?” she asked him, knowing that was exactly what she wanted to hear.

  He shook his head. “You know kids. At the time I’m sure they were angry and wanted to feel they had power over their lives. But, like you said, it’s been twenty-one years. If they haven’t acted on it by now…”

  “They were too young to act on it back then, though. Now they’d be men in their late twenties to mid thirties,” she said, wondering why she didn’t just agree with him and leave it at that. “They would finally be old enough to make good on their threats.” Not to mention consequences if not carried out.

  “But why wait twenty-one years? They’ve been plenty old enough for years.”