I was sure he expected some sort of applause from the staff, but all he got was a couple of halfhearted claps. It wasn’t a time for clapping. The body count was at six and more would come, I was sure of it.
“Tonight I want you to focus on the individual. Talk to people, put the rumors to rest and let them know that we aren’t going anywhere.” I could see the strain in his face as he spoke. The ranch was in trouble. Revenue was down and Tate knew the financial forecast had to be turned around before he lost his inheritance.
Two-Bit raised a hand up out of the crowd and said, “Do the cops have any leads on the killer?”
The answer eluded Tate for a moment. “The police are following every lead they get and they assure me that it’s only a matter of time.”
“Why don’t they arrest Tumbleweed already? We all know he’s guilty.” I was surprised that the voice belonged to Dallas. He’d never voiced an opinion on the subject and his certainty caught me off guard.
“We don’t know that Tumbleweed is involved,” Isabelle said from beside her brother. “He’s still gone on one of his hunting trips. When he gets back the police will certainly bring him in for questioning.”
The words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them. “He’s already back.”
I felt the entire room turn to face me. I hadn’t told anyone that I’d seen him, not even Dallas. “He was in the forest on the valley trail yesterday,” I said. “He spooked the horses real bad.”
“You saw him?” Isabelle spoke as if it were crucial information.
“He was wearing face paint, but yes, I saw him.”
The room erupted in conversations and theories on the subject until Tate released a shrill whistle. “Hey! The cops will talk with Tumbleweed when we are able to find him again. Until then we have a party to throw.”
The finality was there in his voice, even if it wasn’t there in the room. We broke apart to our own assignments, but as he moved away from me I heard Dallas whisper under his breath, “He’s going to keep killing people until he’s stopped.”
The determination in his voice released ice in my veins. I’d seen firsthand what happened when innocent people tried to take on true evil. Aunt Stella had been stolen from me, and I prayed Dallas wouldn’t fall to the same fate.
♦ ♦ ♦
Tourists swarmed around the bonfire like gnats to a light. Tate’s plan had worked, at least for the most part, but I still worried that he was setting lambs up for slaughter. The staff had been charged to make sure every guest had an exceptional experience. The goal was to prove everything at the Rockin’ B was normal, though that was far from the truth. I spotted Dallas talking to someone across the fire. His smile warmed me as he caught my eye. The fire had nothing on what was crackling between the two of us.
Because of my lack of desire to create small talk, I spent my time filling drink orders and running errands for the guests who required them. As I emerged from the lodge with a tray full of sloshing cocktails, I stopped short of slamming into Vanessa.
She caught the tray before it collided into her body. “Oh geez, sorry Lindy.” Her mistake dawned on her face like a light bulb. “Sorry, Cassidy.”
I shifted my weight back and righted the drinks. “It happens,” I said without too much animosity. Wiley and a guest were within earshot, but locked in conversation. Her slipup hadn’t cost me my identity. “Can I get you or Ryder anything to drink?”
“I’ll take a beer,” she said, “but Ryder will probably take a soda or something.” My face betrayed my confusion. Vanessa smiled as if she knew a secret. “Ryder doesn’t drink. I assumed with your history that you knew that.”
I pressed my lips together to keep the words inside. “I’ll bring them right over.”
Passing out the drinks to previous guests, I thought of my time with Ryder. Our first drink had been a cola at the bar where I’d been conducting surveillance. The night of the masquerade I told him I never drank and he said he would stop as well, but I never imagined that he actually would.
“Do you need any help?” Dallas asked from my far right. “You’re running around crazy. I was hoping to spend a little time with you tonight.”
His voice clashed against Ryder’s memory in my mind. “I’m trying to keep people happy. I’m sure it’ll calm down.”
As his fingers traced the length of my arm that held the tray, my heart jumped into my throat. He had a way of distracting me like no one else ever had, at least not since my days with Amos. I gave in to the slight pressure and stepped toward him. “Fine, take these drinks over to Isabelle’s guests. That will take some pressure off of me.”
Dallas ducked into me and lightly kissed my cheek. “Whatever frees you up faster.” He disappeared into the lodge to fill the request and I set to work stacking discarded cups and napkins on my tray. I could see a few stragglers along the fringe of the firelight and I wondered if I should warn them to stay close. Before I could make it across the crowd to speak to them, they were gone. I glanced out into the night with fear in my heart for their safety. This was exactly why I didn’t want Tate to bring in extra guests. It was too hard to track every person, and I was sure the killer knew that.
I spotted Tate talking with a woman near the lodge. A sticky grin peeked out at his cheeks, and his hat cocked to one side. His chest bulged, as if he were holding his breath to make it thicker. Tate’s body leaned toward the leggy blonde as he traced a butterfly tattoo on her arm with his pointer finger. His version of flirting resembled a predator on the prowl and though his target didn’t seem to mind, it sent red flags soaring in my mind.
Tate spotted me as I approached. “Cassidy, what do you want? I’m busy.” His eyes emphasized the last thought.
“I thought you would want to know that people are slipping off and exploring the rest of the ranch.”
Tate rubbed one of his eyes with two fingers. I could smell traces of alcohol on his breath, but he didn’t appear buzzed. “It’ll be fine. Relax and enjoy the party.” I started to object again, but he shrugged. “Lock your cabin if you’re worried something might get stolen.”
That was the last thing on my mind and he knew it. I hated that I was the only one who felt as if something was brewing. The crowd might as well have been bleating sheep and I was a shepherd with my hands tied.
I searched through the unfamiliar faces for Dallas and when I did, my heart sank. On the other side of the fire, I spotted him talking to Ryder. To the outside viewer, it probably looked like old friends catching up and shooting the breeze, but I could see the bared fangs behind the tight smiles.
Dallas caught my eye and motioned me to join him. Reluctantly, I complied. They were in the middle of a conversation as Dallas slipped his arm around my waist. I shouldn’t have felt awkward since Vanessa hung off Ryder like a good luck charm, but it still felt wrong.
“I would take a quarter horse over a thoroughbred every single time,” Ryder said in response to something Dallas had said.
“Sure if you’re looking for something steady and boring, but if you want excitement you’ll need a thoroughbred.
“There’s nothing wrong with reliability,” Ryder countered.
“I could say the same about spontaneity,” Dallas said. A heavy silence clung to the air before they both laughed through the tension. Dallas turned to me and asked, “Do you have a break in drink orders? Do you wanna dance?”
Ryder spoke before I could. “Cassidy doesn’t dance.”
“Unless the circumstances are right,” I said, wanting to correct him.
My cowboy’s head leaned toward me as he asked, “And are they?”
He often left me unhinged and my natural smile spread unhindered. “Absolutely.”
The fire warmed my skin as Dallas led me to the open space designated for dancing. “Do you two step?” he asked as he found a clear spot.
The country music blared and I had to speak close to his ear to be heard. “I don’t know what that means.”
&nbs
p; His good natured laughter floated around me as he pulled me close. With one hand on my waist and his lips close to my ear he counted the movement, “Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow…” We moved in a circle around the bonfire with the other dancers. Every time I would lose the count and stumble, my laughter would bubble from my chest. Eventually, he worked in a few turns and my head spun with excitement. I felt the glare of a certain artist, but I ignored him the best I could. He’d made his decisions, and then I’d made mine.
The quick beat faded and a slow song slipped over the speakers. I pulled away from Dallas with every intention of thanking him and returning to work, but his strong arms held me steady as he shook his head.
“That was nothing but a warm up.” My arms easily slipped around his neck as his pressure pulled me close. “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he confessed. “I’ve been waiting for a second alone with you.”
I laughed and motioned to the crowd around us. “I’m pretty sure we’re anything but alone.”
Instead of joining my laughter, he let his gaze travel over my face. “Anytime I get to hold you close, I feel like we’re the only two people in the world. I’m crazy about you, Cass. There’s something special about you.”
“I like you too, Dallas,” I said aloud, more for my own benefit than for his.
“Do you believe in fate?” he asked after a moment. “That things happen to bring us together?”
I’d never given much faith to fate. I tended to side on the logic of coincidence. Hindsight fallacy was one of the rules psychology had taught me early on. Everything looked as though it followed a pattern once you could look at the past behind you. However, I felt as though Cassidy might not take such a stringent view.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I believe choices matter, but I am grateful to be here in this moment with you.”
Dallas pressed his thin lips together as he considered his words. “I feel like the universe sent you to me, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to let you go.”
I wondered if he would feel the same if he knew the whole truth about me. The universe hadn’t sent me; a filthy rich artist had sent me to help his ice queen mother, no fate about it. The desire to tell him everything burned into me like the fire, but my need to keep him as my own held my peace. I had no response for him that would satisfy the hopeful look in his eye, so instead I pressed my lips to his. Our swaying stopped for a moment and we were alone in the world, two people lost in each other’s embrace and adoration as the warmth of the fire swirled with the passion I felt in my heart.
I heard a little whoop go up from the sideline and I knew it was Two-Bit who’d let it fly. Blushing, I pulled away and our dance resumed. Dallas tucked a couple of loose strands behind my ear and said, “I’m going to take you out soon, on a real date.”
“How are you going to work that? We’ve never had a day off together.”
The night and firelight highlighted his chiseled laugh lines as he smiled. “I’ve been working on Tate. He said no to the overnight, but he’s open to days off together if we can swap them out with someone else.”
My eyes drifted over the crowd behind us and only briefly rested on Ryder. The dark brown of his eyes and the set of his jaw told me he was upset, but I couldn’t understand why. I had the right to move on as well. I turned my attention back to Dallas and asked, “So what would we do on this date?”
His nose scrunched together, making five lines across the bridge of it. “I wanna take you swimming.”
Fear turned my body rigid. “I don’t swim.”
“Trust me, I remember, but I could teach you. There’s a little spring nearby. The water isn’t too deep and I could hold you the whole time.”
His ulterior motive made me laugh and relax a bit. “I don’t know. I really hate the water.”
“I know, but I’m dying to see you in a bikini,” he teased.
I shoved him away as I giggled, but he pulled me back to him and fit his mouth over mine. My knees crumbled beneath me, but he steadied me. His desire rushed my veins, but what surprised me was my own passion, the way my fingers pressed in at the skin on his neck, the way my toes lifted me up into him and the hunger that poured out of me every time he kissed me. He was everything I’d never expected to want and it felt good.
Dallas broke the kiss first and stared down at my face for a moment. He was about to speak when something caught his eyes and he tensed in surprise.
“Isabelle, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
I turned sharply and found Ryder’s mother glowering at me. “Geez, Isabelle, what is it?”
She ignored my informal tone and said in clipped words, “You’re needed in the cabin. It’s a family matter.” She shot Dallas a pointed stare before she added, “Come alone.”
As she left us staring after her, Dallas’ head thumped against my shoulder in defeat. “I just lost my job, didn’t I?”
“No,” I said, “that was all about me. I won’t let her fire you.”
He kissed my cheek and said, “You better go before we’re both unemployed.”
I smiled back at him, but left before I could get sucked back into his arms.
Chapter 22
I knocked. Because of the tension of the night, I knocked on the cabin door. Tate yanked the door open and ushered me inside. “I told you—”
“Yeah well,” I interrupted, “your sister feels differently. What’s going on?”
“Ryder wanted an update on everything you know, and Isabelle wanted to be here for it.”
Dread planted my feet into the floor. “No one told me he was coming.”
Tate’s annoyance showed. “He surprised us all.”
I followed him into the living room with the panoramic view of the black night. Vanessa wasn’t present, but that was where the good news ended. Ryder stood near the fireplace, a strong inferno blazing behind the steel grate. I knew his defensive look well; tensed muscles, narrowed eyes and tight lips that struggled to keep his objections quiet. Isabelle stood on the opposite side of the room with Detective Spencer Dayton nearby. Her arms remained crossed as Dayton pled with her, but it was obvious he wasn’t getting anywhere.
“I want to talk to him, that’s all. Can’t you bring him in yourself? Stay in the room. We need to talk to him if you want to clear his name.”
“You can’t talk to Tim,” she said. “He’s mute.”
I wanted to give up her secret, but I kept my little tidbit to myself for the time being. Dayton continued to try to bargain. “Fine, then we’ll sign or write, whatever it takes. Please, Belle, for me, bring him in so we can prove this innocence you insist on.”
“She never will,” Tate said as he strode into the room. “She’ll lie and cheat and protect him until the day he cuts the life right out of her. Then she’ll probably make excuses for him with her last breath.”
An animal rage exploded from Isabelle as she lunged at Tate with her long fingers bared like claws. Dayton gripped her waist and held her back, but it was Ryder who moved to calm her.
“Mom, listen to him. Maybe they can interview Tumbleweed here, at his cabin, or at the lodge. I know you believe him, but he’s the most likely suspect.”
Isabelle crumbled back into her son’s arms and cried softly against his long sleeved sweater. Ryder’s exhaustion showed as he held her. I wondered if the manor staff hadn’t been that far off when they had talked about Isabelle’s fits of rage.
“Lindy,” Detective Dayton turned his attention on me, “glad you could make it.”
I wore my suspicion all over my face, and it didn’t do me any justice as I asked, “Which begs the question, why am I here?”
Ryder still held his mother, but informed me, “Mom feels like you’re keeping information from the rest of the group,” he cocked an eyebrow, “and I had to agree that it’s possible.”
It was physically painful to share the same air as Ryder, to see the look of distrust in his face when I’d given him no reason to feel t
hat way. “What do you want to know?” I asked.
“Everything,” Isabelle sniffled, “everything you’ve found.”
It wasn’t in my nature to divulge every secret, but they’d tied my hands. I started at the beginning, explained what they already knew, the murders had started off hesitant, but had increased in ability and accuracy. I reminded them of the stunner, the five gallons of deer blood in Tumbleweed’s fridge, and informed them of the book I’d found between his mattresses as well as the map beneath his bed. I retold the story about the waterfall, and for the first time saw concern and fear on Ryder’s face. At least until I mentioned Dallas had saved me, then the walls went right back up. I mentioned the ride in the storm, my fall and subsequent sighting of Tumbleweed Tim in the shrubbery. As I told the story of the shower many faces betrayed their disbelief until I mentioned the handprints.
“I heard Tate and Isabelle arguing last night, and I believe Tate attacked Tumbleweed.” I glanced between Tate and his sister and asked, “Am I correct?”
They exchanged a look before Tate said, “I roughed him up a little, that’s all. I tried to get some answers out of him.”
“And now we can’t tell if the bruises are from the waterfall, or Tate,” I pointed out. “But maybe that was part of your plan, Tate.”
“Wait, Tim can’t talk. How were you going to get answers if he can’t talk?” Dayton asked. He glanced at Isabelle, “He’s mute, right?”
I held my tongue and waited for her answer.
“He can talk, but it’s not safe,” she said.
Dayton’s head fell forward. “Belle, I stuck my neck out for you.”
She started to explain herself, but she’d tried to make me look like a liar and I couldn’t let it ride. “Actually, Isabelle, I think if anyone is keeping important information from the group, it’s you.”
Dayton narrowed his eyes and scrutinized his girlfriend. “What’s she talking about?”
Ryder’s arms fell away from his mother as he took a step back. Without him there to hold her, Isabelle became very small. My frustration at her treatment of me spilled over. “Come on, Isabelle, you can tell them or I will.”
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