Montana Hearts

by Darlene Panzera

  “Have you seen Delaney?” he asked, his heart beating a mite too fast.

  “She borrowed our drone,” Nora said, narrowing her gaze. “But I told her it didn’t have night vision capability and—­”

  “We saw her go across the trail toward Mr. Woolly’s property,” Nadine finished.

  Jace’s heart slammed into his chest. “She went over there—­alone?”

  The twins nodded and Nora called after him as he took off in Woolly’s direction. What was Delaney thinking going over there without him? She should have waited for him to get back. Maybe she had been afraid she’d lose the light. Still not an excuse. No, he’d seen the look in her eye when Bree told them the news from the PI. Delaney had been planning this even then. Which meant she hadn’t wanted to involve him. The question was . . . why?

  He found someone had forged through an overgrown path into the back half of Woolly’s property. Following the series of soft scuff marks from a boot and a ­couple broken twigs along the brush, he tucked his gun under his arm and kept himself in a half crouch to prevent himself from being seen. The path wound around the horse pasture and came up about a hundred yards from the back end of the mobile unit Isaac used as a registration office. A larger field lay to the left, partially wooded, and Jace thought he could make out a figure crouched low behind a bush. A black cap covered the top of a small head, but when it lifted above the top of the field grass again, Jace could see a few tufts of blond hair sticking out beneath the rim. Delaney.

  He made his way toward her and saw she held the black controller of the drone in her hands. Glancing up higher, he spotted the drone itself hovering in the air, a small red light blinking to show the camera on the device was recording. Letting his gaze drop to the field below, he drew in a sharp breath. Salt licks. Dozens of them.

  A small herd of deer had stepped from the wooded patch on the other side of Del and walked up to lap at the salt and mineral mixture set out to attract them. A larger buck appeared behind them, and a hunter in an orange cap, one of Woolly’s men, raised a rifle and took aim.

  Geez. Delaney was going to capture the poacher in action. This might be exactly the kind of proof they needed to shut Woolly’s outfitting business down. He held his breath, waiting for the poacher to take the shot and keeping his eye on Delaney at the same time. The blast pierced the air like a rocket, but instead of dropping the deer, the bullet dropped the drone.

  The hunter ran forward, chasing the deer off in different directions, and picked up the shattered remains of the drone in his hand. Turning his head, the guy then scanned the area and pointed in Delaney’s direction.

  “She’s over there,” he called, and in a matter of minutes five more men entered the field behind the first hunter.

  Jace leaped forward and said, “Delaney, run!”

  Her head jerked his way, and rising from her position, she ran toward him, only glancing once toward the hunters, still a few hundred feet out, who were closing in. Jace stretched out his hand, intending to grab her as soon as he could so he could get her safely off the poacher’s property and back to her own ranch.

  Then all at once a deer bounded past her, one of the does, and flew past him as well. And there was another animal, a large dark beast chasing after the deer, tearing the brush apart as it bounded forward, claws exposed, with its mouth open in a snarl showing a jaw full of sharp teeth.

  Bear!

  Jace barely had time to raise his gun before the bear rose up on its hind legs behind Delaney. She stumbled to the right, not even realizing the beast was there, and fear, unlike he’d ever known, shot through him the same time the bullet shot through his rifle. He wasn’t sure if the noise he heard was a growl from the bear as it went down or the sound of his own gun, but a second later, Delaney fell against his chest, knocking him backward onto the ground.

  Lifting her head, Delaney glanced over her shoulder and let out a shrill cry, but the bear didn’t move. “I didn’t see it coming,” she whispered.

  He nodded, and held her tight, unable to push any words over his tongue until he drew in another ­couple of deep breaths. “Delaney, you could have been killed.”

  “You protected me,” she said, her face reflecting the horror of what could have happened had he not.

  “Sometimes it’s necessary to take a life to save one,” he said, his body tense as he awaited her reaction. She wasn’t going to hate him for saving her life, was she?

  The bushes rustled and a loud clicking sound froze them both in place. “Oh, Jace,” a low voice chided as Isaac Woolly stepped toward them. “I’m not sure who’s going to be more disappointed—­your mother or your sweet dear Delaney. You don’t happen to have a tag to legally shoot bear, do you?”

  Jace sprung up to a sitting position, pulling Del up with him, and stared at the camera in Woolly’s hand. “I fired in self-­defense.”

  “I suppose you could offer the public that argument once the media gets wind of this,” Isaac taunted, “but I got just as good a shot as you did. Except instead of a bear, my video footage is going to kill your mother’s career.”

  “We’ll tell the media the truth,” Del said, defending him.

  “By then, it’ll be too late, won’t it, Jace? We all know how the media likes to embellish a good story and I think it’s safe to say they’ll have a field day with this one. I can already see the headline: Jace Aldridge Arrested for Poaching. ”

  “You can’t do that,” Delaney said, shaking her head.

  Isaac grinned, revealing a mouth full of crooked teeth. “I’m afraid once the press finds out Collins Country Cabins lodges poachers, your reputation won’t fare much better.”

  “Leave them out of this,” Jace warned.

  “The sheriff’s already on his way. I had one of my guys make the call,” Isaac told them, and sneered. “Now I’d suggest you get yourselves off my property before I have you arrested for trespassing as well.”

  THE TEARS FELL before they reached the main trail. Delaney couldn’t control them and the torrent was so fierce it was almost useless to even try to brush them away.

  Darkness closed in more heavily second by second, and Jace drew her into the stable where the soft golden lights illuminated the aisle between the stalls. “Delaney,” Jace soothed, drawing her into his arms. “Everything’s going to be all right. We’ll figure it out. Together.”

  Delaney pulled out of his warm embrace and stepped away from him, her heart breaking as she shook her head.

  Jace’s eyes widened. “You know if I didn’t shoot the bear, he could have torn you apart.”

  She glanced up at the ceiling and squeezed her eyes shut, unable to face him. Unable to suppress the nausea burning her insides raw. Gathering her courage, she looked into his handsome face, those beautiful green eyes, memorizing every facet, and swallowed hard.

  “It’s not the bear.”

  “Then what’s wrong?” he asked, his gaze boring into her. “Are you afraid I’ll be arrested?”

  “It doesn’t matter if you are or not,” Delaney whispered. “You heard what Isaac said, your reputation will be in ruins after the video is released to the public.”

  “I expect there will be an investigation,” Jace admitted. “But we can fight this.”

  “I—­I can’t,” Delaney said, and winced. “I . . . just can’t. My lawyer called this morning. He says Steve’s going after full custody of Meghan.”

  “What?” Jace stared at her as if in disbelief. “I thought he didn’t care anything about her.”

  “He doesn’t.” Fighting back another onslaught of tears, she added, “But he figures if he takes Meghan, he won’t have to pay me.”

  “He can try but he’ll never win,” Jace told her. “You said he isn’t even working.”

  “He just got hired as head clerk for a prominent lawyer’s office. The top lawyer in the firm is his new
rich girlfriend’s father,” she said, her chest tightening as she thought of all the money and emotional stress a court battle was going to cost her.

  “I don’t care who your ex has on his side,” Jace said, his expression fierce. “There’s no way he’s ever going to take Meghan. He’d have to prove you are an unfit mother.”

  “Which he can do once the newspapers are flooded with news I’m dating a ‘poacher,’ ” she exclaimed, trembling. “The trouble our ranch has had over the past summer is bad enough, but if they use you against me, too—­I’m sorry, Jace, but I can’t take that risk. I’m scared. And I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  The Adam’s apple in his throat bobbed up and down and Jace’s face pulled tight as if fighting back his own tears like she’d seen him do that first day at the rodeo. He didn’t cry, although his eyes were glassy. True cowboys never did. But she could see by the torment on his face, and the conflicting emotions he was going through, that he thought her fears were justified. She watched him swallow again and her stomach squeezed tight, knowing he was feeling the same way she did. Surely in the days ahead she’d cry enough for the both of them.

  “I never wanted to hurt you,” he said, his voice hoarse.

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “I love you.”

  Dear God, how will I ever get through this? Her throat tight, she couldn’t speak, but stepped forward and threw her arms around him. His big, strong arms came around her at the same time and he pulled her so tight against his chest she could hardly breathe, nor did she want to. She only wanted to stay safely tucked in Jace’s embrace and never let go.

  He pressed a warm, moist kiss to the top of her forehead, then stepped back and gave her one last long look, during which a thousand things they’d never had time to say passed between them. Then as Delaney’s breath caught on a sob, he turned and slowly walked out the door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  JACE STOOD IN the middle of the wide swath of fenced-­in dirt the Collinses had designated as a parking lot to stay within range of the satellite strength he needed to call his mother on his cell phone.

  “I’m sorry,” he said after he’d explained what had happened over at Woolly Outfitters. “He caught me and now we need to prepare ourselves for the worst.”

  “I don’t blame you, Jace,” his mother said after sniffing into the phone. “This isn’t your fault, it’s mine. Isaac Woolly is after me. There’s no doubt my campaign’s going to suffer from the rumors that are bound to swirl. But it’s too early to think it’s going to knock me out of the race. We’ve dealt with bad publicity before.”

  “Like when the animal activists blamed me for hurting Rio at the rodeo?” That had been his fault, too, and it was possible the media could remind the public of that fiasco all over again, along with their new poaching story.

  “Actually, I was thinking of the time I was invited to a debate in front of the state capital building. I stepped forward to shake my opponent’s hand but somehow ended up tripping him and he fell down the steps. His face was a bloody mess and the newspapers claimed I did it on purpose. They called me ‘Un-­Grace-­ful Aldridge’ after that.” She sighed. “It took a long time to turn my image around. But I did it, Jace. And we’ll do it this time, too.”

  “But perhaps not in time for the election,” he said, feeling lower than he ever had in his life. His mother had spent her entire life working to get to this point. And now he’d gone and blown it. Just like he’d blown it with Delaney.

  “There will be other elections,” his mother said softly. “We can’t always win. Sometimes we have to take a loss.”

  He thought of their reputations, their careers, their monetary income derived from their fame. “Mom,” he warned. “We could lose everything.”

  “Not everything,” she countered. “We’ve still got each other and that’s the important thing. How’s Delaney? How’s she handling this?”

  Jace glanced up at the empty roof of the stable, then the sky, with no moonlight yet visible, and he remembered the intense hug they’d shared right before he’d left.

  “I’ve lost her,” he murmured into the phone. “I might have lost her for good.”

  Delaney hadn’t said anything when he told her he loved her, but he knew she loved him, too. He could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, and feel it within her tight, desperate hold. He wasn’t one to give in to defeat. When he lost a round at bulldoggin’, he’d pick himself up again, brush himself off, and plan to do better the next time around. But he wouldn’t do anything to put Delaney’s court case in jeopardy either.

  He planned to talk to her lawyer to discuss possible solutions, but in the meantime, he feared she was right. It was in her best interest, and Meghan’s, if they stayed away from him.

  Before he left Collins Country Cabins, Jace decided he’d pay Gavin McKinley another visit.

  “Jace,” Gavin greeted, showing him in. “Didn’t expect to see you again after you turned down my offer twice.”

  “I don’t think you’ll want to partner with me once the newspapers label me a poacher,” Jace told him. “I shot a bear to protect Delaney and Woolly caught the whole thing on video. Of course the media will take that shot, along with my reputation of being an ‘avid hunter,’ and twist the whole thing around. You can’t whip me up a fake bear tag to put on my hunting license before all this comes out, can you?”

  Gavin’s eyes widened. “If I did, the authorities would think I’m leading one of those confounded poaching rings that they’re trying to find.”

  “What if you talked to Woolly and put in a good word for me?” Jace suggested. “You might be able to get him to shelve the video. I could pay you both. In fact, I’d pay a lot to have that video in my hands.”

  “What makes you think Woolly and I are friends?” Gavin demanded.

  “The fact his daughter works for you?”

  Gavin scowled. “What?”

  “I could be mistaken,” Jace said, then arched his brow. “What’s Alicia’s last name?”

  Gavin hesitated. “Alicia Stevens.”

  Jace looked him in the eye and corrected, “Alicia Stevens Woolly.”

  The large man did a double take and began to pace the room. “How do you know this?”

  “A private investigator found it on her birth certificate.”

  Gavin sucked in his breath and gave him an incredulous stare. “Woolly sent over a spy. The bearded gorilla must want to know how he can bring me down!”

  Jace had hoped he could get Gavin to admit the two had been working together to set him up and bring down the Collinses, but it was clear Gavin had not known about Alicia.

  “Thanks for telling me,” Gavin said, putting a hand on Jace’s shoulder. “A guy’s got to know what he’s up against.”

  “I know what you mean,” Jace said with a nod, wishing he knew what kind of trouble that video would release. He glanced down the hall to Gavin’s extra guest rooms. “Mind if I stay here tonight? I’m not exactly welcome at the Collinses’ anymore.”

  Gavin shook his head and stepped back. “I’m sorry, Jace, but I’ve got a reputation to protect. If what you say is true, the reporters are going to be all over you by first light and I can’t have anyone accused of being a poacher staying here.”

  After returning to the Collinses’, Jace loaded Rio into the trailer and headed toward the Tanners. He’d called first to make sure it was okay, in case they didn’t want him either, and was told they had plenty of room for both him and his horse. Maybe if he’d known them better, he would have stayed with them from the beginning. But if he had, he never would have gotten to know Delaney. And despite how things worked out, he wouldn’t give up the time they’d shared together for the world.

  Ryan helped him settle Rio into a stall, then Jace made his way up to the Tanners’ single-­story house where his aunt Lora gre
eted him with compassionate tears and a warm, welcoming hug.

  “Get a good night’s sleep,” she told him. “And in the morning everything will look better.”

  He’d often scoffed when he heard those same words from his own mother over the years. But occasionally she was right. Hopefully this was one of those times.

  DELANEY DIDN’T SLEEP. She couldn’t stop thinking of Jace, the intensity of his gaze, the depth of emotion behind his words. His smooth, baritone voice saying, “I love you,” reverberated inside her head, bouncing back at her from different angles and leaving her exhausted.

  Meghan didn’t sleep either. The night before she’d looked out the window and seen Jace load Rio into the trailer and drive away. “He didn’t say goodbye,” her daughter had pouted. “When is Cowboy Jace coming back?”

  “I don’t think he is coming back,” Delaney told her.

  Meghan burst into tears and threw her plastic replica of Rio on the floor, but later she’d picked it up again and took the toy horse to bed with her. Then she’d tossed and turned, tangled the sheets, got up three times for a cup of water, and five more times to use the bathroom. Delaney kissed her on the forehead and assured her little girl they’d be fine. But her words sounded hollow. And as she thought of the way Meghan had bonded with Jace, her inadequacies as a single mom flew up to haunt her and scared her into thinking having one parent wasn’t enough.

  Tossing on her old overalls, and throwing her hair up into a ponytail, Delaney trudged down the stairs with her camera to take her siblings’ engagement photos.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Bree asked, startled by her appearance. “We can do this another time if you aren’t up for it.”

  “Sweetie, I’m so sorry,” Sammy Jo said, her voice so apologetic Delaney didn’t even take offense to being called “sweetie.”

  “I’m fine,” Delaney said, lifting her chin. She tried to think of a positive quote her grandma would use in this situation but couldn’t think of any. “Let’s do it now before it snows.”