Cowboy to the Core

by Joanna Wayne

  “He’s a monster,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken.

  “Who’s a monster?”

  “The man in the vision.”

  “He can’t hurt you, baby. It was only an image.”

  Only a vision, but it was tearing her apart. It was pure anguish to watch her go through this, but nothing like the hell it must be for her. “Do you want to talk about it now or is it better to wait?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. It was the nightmare all over again, only in more horrifying detail.”

  “The one with the green dress?”

  She nodded and looked away.

  “What were the new details, Dani? What changed?” He tilted her face toward him so that she’d have to make eye contact.

  “Nothing important.”

  Her eyes said differently. “It wasn’t Ella wearing the green dress, was it?”

  “No,” she admitted, “but it was a mistake. He thought I was someone named Helena. He thinks Ella or Helena or whatever her real name is betrayed him, that she took a lover.”

  “He said that.”

  “More than once. The killer has to be Kevin.”

  “Did you see his face?”

  “No, but he’s her boyfriend. Who else could she betray?”

  “I’m not sure, but Ella being the victim’s pseudo name fits with her using a fake social security number. What else was different?”

  “The violence. The attack. He hit and…” Her voice cracked. “There’s no use to repeat it. He was just angry and violent and out for revenge.”

  “But you’re sure the man thought he was harming someone else?”

  “Yes, so as long as I don’t put myself in a position to be confused with Ella, I should be safe.”

  She was trying to explain away the danger to herself the way she always did. He was convinced now that was for her benefit as much as his. If she believed she couldn’t be touched by the reality of the violence, the visions couldn’t destroy her.

  Granted Marcus didn’t know much about psychic visions, but he trusted his own gut instincts. He wasn’t leaving her on her own until the man who’d already attacked Ella was locked behind bars.

  He trailed his fingers down the smooth column of her neck to the collar of her pajamas. “You should get out of these wet clothes.”

  “These are the only pajamas I have with me.”

  “If I owned a pair of pajamas, I’d lend you a top.” She’d probably surmised he didn’t since he was wearing only a pair of boxers now. “I can lend you one of my T-shirts. It’ll swallow you, but it should be comfortable enough.”

  “That’ll work.”

  “Good. I’ll get it. You just stay here and try to think calming, pleasant thoughts until I get back.” And not the kind of thoughts that had jumped into his mind at the image of her in one of his shirts. What was it with him that no matter how serious the situation, he couldn’t totally escape the chemistry between them?

  She was in the bathroom when he returned. He heard the steady stream of water running in the basin and figured she was washing her face in the cold spray, trying to get her bearings again in the real world. Only with her, the nightmares had a way of becoming reality.

  “Shirt’s hanging on the door,” he called.

  “Thanks.”

  A nice dismissal. He should go back to his room now, walk away before he got a look at her draped in his shirt that would skim her body and hang to about mid-thigh. But he couldn’t leave, not until he knew she was okay.

  She opened the door a crack and grabbed the shirt. Seconds later she stepped out and trudged to the bed. She crawled in and pulled the covers to her waist. The shirt drooped, revealing one creamy shoulder.

  “It’s raining,” she said. “I didn’t realize that before.”

  “Yeah, it’s been falling most of the night.”

  She rose to one elbow to plump her pillow. She was shivering when she finished and dropped her head again. “I wonder what goes on in a killer’s mind on a dark, rainy night. Does he think about the upcoming kill? Does he imagine what it will feel like when he thrusts the dagger into a victim’s heart?”

  Oh, God. She was still trapped in the agony of the trance. He dropped to the edge of the bed. “We can talk a while if you like.”

  “I don’t want to talk.”

  “I hate to leave you alone in this state.”

  “Then don’t leave.” She looked up and stared into his eyes. “Stay with me, Marcus. Please, just stay with me and hold me until I fall asleep.”

  It wasn’t much to ask, unless she knew what it would take to stop at just holding her in his arms. But what kind of selfish bastard would say no to that request?

  He crawled into bed beside her. Keeping his body on top of the covers, he slipped his left arm beneath her head.

  She cuddled against him. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.” Any time at all or every night for the rest of his life.

  He stiffened. What the hell was he thinking? And even more frightening, why did it feel so right?

  THE TEMPERATURES HAD dropped to a cool fifty-one degrees by morning, but the sun had reappeared in all its glorious splendor. Dani had decided to go riding with Linney and the girls. Marcus had stayed behind. He’d used the time to check in with the local sheriff and see if he had new info regarding the attempted murder case.

  He’d heard nothing but negatives. There were no prints on the dagger left in Ella’s chest. The weapon was in the ancient Renaissance style, sold on the premises from two different vendors, and no record was kept of purchasers unless the customer used a credit card. Many didn’t.

  It had been verified that Kevin Flanders was in fact Ella’s live-in boyfriend. He’d cooperated fully with the sheriff, insisting he wanted to get the dirty scum who was responsible.

  His alibi for the time of the assault checked out, though it was far from ironclad. Supposedly he was playing cards and drinking beer with some male friends. Billy Germaine had vouched for him.

  So much for Marcus’s morning. He might as well have gone riding with the females. They were back at the house by eleven. After that, they’d eaten a quick lunch and left for Austin in Dani’s car.

  Marcus had left his truck at the ranch, figuring he could rent a car to get back to the Double M and drop it off in The Woodlands. He’d suggested Dani leave her car at the ranch and come back for it later. She’d balked at the idea, which in his mind meant she had no plans to return to Dobbin any time soon.

  But apparently last night’s trip to the outer realms had convinced her that Ella might not be the only one in danger. She hadn’t put up any new arguments against his returning to Austin with her and taking enough luggage with him for a few nights’ stay. As far as Celeste knew, he was merely coming to the area on a business trip and would be staying with them.

  Marcus had taken over the driving chores. They were on the outskirts of Austin now, and traffic had practically come to a standstill. A guy behind him laid on his horn.

  That’ll do a lot of good, buddy.

  “We’re getting nowhere in this traffic jam,” Dani said. “Take the next exit, and we’ll stop by the nursing home and see my grandmother.”

  It was the first he’d heard of a grandmother. He worked his way into the exit lane, no easy task considering no one wanted to give an inch of freeway ground.

  “Any special reason for the visit?”

  “It’s on the way,” Dani said, “and Celeste hasn’t seen her in a while.”

  “Good. I’d love to meet her.” He suspected there was more to the visit than what Dani was willing to say in front of her daughter and Katie.

  “I can’t promise Grams will know any of us are there,” she said, “but occasionally she has lucid moments.”

  For Dani’s sake, he hoped this would be one of those days, though he didn’t know what she could say that would ease Dani’s mind or shut off the visions.

  Traffic came to a complete stop as they waited
to exit. “This is almost as bad as Houston rush hour traffic.”

  Dani adjusted the flow of air from the air conditioner. “Life in the city.”

  “More reason to avoid them.”

  “We can’t all live on the Double M.”

  True. That’s why Texas was rich with ranches, many of them in the beautiful hill country all around them. He’d be thrilled even with a small one, land of his own and a roof with a spot beneath it to hang his Stetson. He’d get there some day.

  “Visitor parking is in the side lot. You can drop the girls off at the door, and they can go to Grams’s room and surprise her. I’ll walk in with you.”

  Yep. She had her reasons for visiting Grams today, and he was about to hear about them, sans the two girls who’d been wired into their iPods for most of the trip.

  He let them out and parked between a new Mercedes and a Porsche. Grandma’s nursing home was most definitely not in the poverty zone.

  He killed the engine. “Is this one of those talking moments?”

  “It is,” she said. “Grams is battling senility now, so her mind tends to wander into time’s hinterlands more often than not. But when she was younger, her clairvoyant powers were legend.”

  So Grandma was a psychic, too. “Does Celeste know that?”

  “No. Grams’s powers diminished quickly after her first stroke. Celeste was only six at the time, so I was spared her learning the truth of her heritage.”

  “Have you ever thought of telling her? It’s not as if it’s something to be ashamed of.”

  “Don’t go there with me, Marcus. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He’d pushed a button with that question, and this was not the time to rile Dani. “Is your mother also a psychic?”

  “No. It’s rare for the trait to be passed on. I’m praying I’m the only cursed offspring. Now, let’s go in. If Grams seems cognizant today, I’d like a chance to talk to her alone. If she’s totally out of it, there’s no reason to bother. I’ll take care of getting you out of the room if it comes to that.”

  “Your call,” he said as they got out of the car and headed for the door.

  The girls had gotten sidetracked by an elderly resident in the entry hall who wanted them to help her untangle a necklace that looked as if it had gotten caught in the spokes of a bicycle. They were all too glad to escape when Dani enlisted a volunteer to take over the task. An attendant greeted them and accompanied them down the hall.

  Next stop, Grams. Another psychic, this one grappling with senility. Why did he think this couldn’t be good?

  Chapter Nine

  Lucille Alevesta Alano sat in a wooden rocker in front of a window that looked out on an atrium. Songbirds flitted among the trees and fountains splashed in clear view of wheelchair-accessible walking paths.

  A plaid shawl was draped over the woman’s legs. Her blouse was almost the same shade of blue as the veins in her wrinkled face and hands. Her thin, white hair was neatly groomed but barely covered her scalp.

  “Look who’s here to see you,” the smiling attendant announced. Lucille continued to stare out the window. “It’s Dani and Celeste, and they’ve brought friends.”

  Still no response. Undaunted, Celeste hurried over and gave her grandmother a hug. “Hi, Grams. Guess what? I went horseback riding this morning and not at the stables. I was on a real ranch with cows and everything.”

  Ms. Alano smiled and scooted her chair around to face them, obviously not nearly as feeble as she looked. “I like horses.” Her voice had a clatter in it, like an old car that needed to be tuned.

  “Me, too, Grams. And we went to a Renaissance wedding. That’s like from history, with knights and queens and ladies-in-waiting and all of that. Katie and I were fairies, but our wings got kind of bent.”

  “Dani was a beautiful bride.”

  “Yes, but this wasn’t Dani’s wedding, Grams. It was her friend Bethany Sue.”

  “You remember Bethany Sue,” Dani said. “She used to come to our house when we lived in Louisiana.”

  “In Louisiana.” Ms. Alano smiled. “We had flowers in the garden.”

  “Lots of flowers. Roses and peonies and night jasmine. And there was honeysuckle on the back fence.”

  “A magnolia tree.”

  “That’s right, Grams. There was a huge magnolia tree in the front yard.”

  “Old Fred Dawson’s dog got bitten by a copperhead,” Ms. Alano added, her memory much better for things from long ago.

  “That, I don’t remember,” Dani admitted. “But I remember that big black cur. He was always growling at me.”

  Dani pulled up a chair so that she sat right next to her grandmother. She took the old woman’s frail right hand in both of hers. “This is my friend Marcus Abbot and Celeste’s friend Katie.”

  The glazed look returned to Ms. Alano’s eyes. “What did you say your name was?”

  “I’m Dani, Grams. I’m your granddaughter.”

  “Dani.” The woman nodded. “Do you want some candy? There’s some in that bowl on my dresser.”

  The conversation went on like that for about ten minutes. Dani did most of the talking, and Celeste and Katie jumped in from time to time. If Dani had come here hoping for some kind of psychic epiphany concerning Ella, she was probably going to leave disappointed.

  Dani turned to Marcus. Her eyes were creased with worry lines that he was almost certain hadn’t been there two days ago. This was taking a toll on her.

  “There’s an ice cream shop on the next block, Marcus. Would you mind walking down there with the girls?”

  Celeste sprang from the side of the bed where she’d been sitting. “Oh, yeah. Let’s go there. They have the best hot fudge sundae in the world—with mounds of whipped cream.”

  “Is that the place you told me about?” Katie asked. “The one where the fudge sauce tastes like real fudge?”

  “Yeah, and they’ll give you extra if you ask.”

  “You can pick up ice cream for Grams while you’re there. She loves the chocolate mint. Just one small scoop in a cup.”

  So she’d decided to try to get through to her grandmother. He’d take the bait and leave her alone for a few minutes. If he didn’t she might lock him out of the town house.

  “We can go by ourselves if you don’t want to go,” Celeste offered.

  “And miss out on the best hot fudge sundae in the world with extra topping? No way!”

  Dani reached for her purse.

  “I’ll spring for the ice cream,” he assured her. “Anything for you?”

  “A Diet Coke with lots of ice.”

  No wonder she stayed so thin and fit into that slim pencil skirt and buttery soft sweater so well. All chic, all the time. Definitely a sophisticated, city woman.

  Bear that in mind if you ever start to think you have a real chance with her, cowboy.

  “I have my cell phone,” he said. “Call if you change your mind about the ice cream or if you need anything at all.”

  “Ice cream,” Grams said. “Chocolate mint.”

  Dani only nodded.

  DANI KNEW HER GRANDMOTHER’S mental limitations. She was approaching her ninety-sixth birthday, and senility had set in with a vengeance. She regretted now the years she’d lost with her, years when Dani had tried to escape her psychic background by avoiding contact with the woman who had bequeathed her the dubious gift.

  Fortunately, she’d reconnected with Grams a few years back and had been there for her when she’d had her first stroke. From that point on, her psychic abilities had dimmed. If she had visions these days, the staff mistook them for side effects of her many medications. Dani wasn’t convinced that Grams had lost all her powers.

  She waited until she was sure Marcus and the girls were out of hearing range. Dropping to her knees in front of Grams, she positioned herself where she was at eye level with her. “I’ve been having visions, Grams. Very frightening visions.”

  Grams said nothing, but she didn’
t look away. Dani took that as a good sign. She didn’t want to frighten her grandmother, but she’d always had such strong insights into apparitions and the paranormal. And Dani desperately needed guidance now, for her sake and Ella’s.

  “I keep seeing this woman in a green Elizabethan ball gown. Someone is trying to stab her with a dagger.”

  Still no response. “A woman was stabbed the night of the wedding. She looks almost just like me, Grams. A woman about my age who looks so much like me, people could get us confused. We could be twins.”

  “Twins. Baby no-name.”

  “She’s not a baby, Grams. She’s my age. She has a name, maybe two names. Ella and Helena. She sells Renaissance-styled clothing.”

  “Baby no-name. You found her?”

  “No, not a baby. A woman, like me.”

  Grams squirmed and rubbed her hands together, seeming to grow more alert. “Your mother couldn’t help what she did. She was young, and we were poor. No men to help us. No one to take care of the farm.”

  Grams had drifted back into her past. If Dani persisted in trying to reach her, it would frustrate both of them. “Let’s take a walk through the atrium, Grams. A little exercise will do us both good.”

  Talk of baby no-name and tales of Grams’s ancient past definitely wouldn’t.

  MARCUS FOUND DANI and her grandmother in the atrium. He knew from the look on Dani’s face that she’d gotten nowhere. No surprise there. He handed Dani the cola and the ice cream. “Your grandmother had better eat this quickly,” he said. “It’s already starting to melt.”

  “I’ll get her a real spoon from the kitchen,” Dani said. “She hates the plastic ones.” She hurried off and left him with Ms. Alano.

  Marcus shifted from one boot to the other. He was never all that comfortable with elderly women. He could talk war, sports, daily news and livestock. That never seemed to fascinate them.

  “Young man.”

  Something about him had captured her attention. His being here might have upset her. Her voice sounded different than it had earlier. It still clattered, but the speech was more distinct.