A few minutes into his interview with the detective, Will realized he had zero real evidence for his suspicion that an unknown cowboy had put something in Jordyn’s drink. He’d seen that cowboy once, and all the guy had done was wink at Jordyn. It was hardly proof that the stranger had tampered with her punch.
Plus, Will’s best argument that a mind-altering substance had been slipped in the punch was his on-the-fly marriage, which neither he nor Jordyn could clearly recall. Will wanted the detective—and everyone else in town—to believe that his marriage was the real deal. He didn’t want to say outright that he and his bride had been in no way a couple before July Fourth.
He did admit that both he and Jordyn had become strangely intoxicated that night and that they’d both suffered serious hangovers the next morning. They’d each downed several cups of punch, yes, but that had been over a seven-hour period. And Jordyn had been reassured by the bride that there wasn’t enough alcohol in the punch to get anyone drunk, anyway.
The detective nodded. “That was my understanding, too. The punch contained only a very small amount of sparkling wine.”
Will began to wonder if the detective knew more than he was telling. “So you were there that night?”
“That’s right.” Campbell said he’d been recruited by the sheriff to provide a police presence at the wedding reception—not because anyone expected trouble, but because the venue was a public park. Campbell said he’d seen the way people behaved that night. He reminded Will that lots of folks had gotten wild.
And Will asked, “Are you saying you suspect that someone put something right in the punch bowl?”
“I’m not saying anything,” replied the detective. “Not at this point. But I’ll talk to Sheriff Christensen about what you’ve reported. I promise you, we’ll check into it.”
Will left the sheriff’s office with no more answers than he’d had when he went in. But Russ Campbell had definitely seemed interested in why so many people had behaved so strangely that night. Will believed the detective when he said he’d look into it.
He went back to the ranch. Jordyn drove up while he was still unloading his pickup, so she helped him haul the rest of the stuff inside. They put the perishables away together, making fast work of everything.
In the meantime, the goats showed up at the back steps, and the billy started wailing again.
“We really need to feed them,” Jordyn said.
So they lured the goats into the smallest of the nearby pastures, which was next to the barn and pretty overgrown. They fed them, filled the water trough and left them to graze on the weeds. They also scattered feed in the backyard for any random chickens.
Jordyn carried the rest of the chicken feed to the barn. Will went inside and opened a beer.
Five minutes later, she bustled back in, washed her hands and grabbed the roasted whole chicken he’d bought at the store for their dinner. She took the bird out of its plastic container, plunked it on the pull-out cutting board, grabbed a big knife and sawed it in half.
“Jordyn?”
“Hmm?” She tossed half the chicken back into the container.
“What are you doing to our dinner?”
She rinsed and dried her hands. “There’s a mama cat with five kittens in the barn.” She rolled off a long strip of paper towel and scooped up the other half of the chicken in it. “She needs protein to feed that litter.”
“If there’s a mama cat in the barn,” he helpfully explained, “she’s supposed to catch mice for her protein.”
Jordyn ignored his remark and headed for the door. “I’ll pick up some cat food tomorrow on the way home from work,” she said as she went out.
Will let her go. She had that look. He knew damn well she would feed that cat no matter what he said to try and talk her out of it. He finished his beer and made a mental note to ask his Realtor if the former owners had left a pregnant cat behind along with the goats and the chickens.
Jordyn came back inside ten minutes later. By then it was after five.
Will made a decision. “It’s only a half hour to Kalispell. Let’s go there for dinner.”
She started in with all the reasons that going out was a bad idea. “It’s a waste of money.”
“I’m a rich guy, remember?”
“We’ve got a lot of stuff to put away. And I’m sweaty from wrangling goats.”
“The stuff isn’t going anywhere. You want a shower, take one. Ten minutes and we’re out of here.”
“Ten minutes! Are you crazy?”
He suggested, “You’ll never make it if you waste your time arguing with me.”
Fifteen minutes later they were on their way.
They’d both liked that Italian place where they’d eaten the other day, so they went there again.
As they ate, he told her about his visit with Detective Campbell. “The detective did remind me that a lot of people acted out of character on Saturday night. It got me thinking that maybe your punch wasn’t the only punch someone tampered with.”
She twirled spaghetti on her fork. “Now you think someone tried to poison the whole town?”
“I don’t know what to think—except that maybe I ought to leave this case to law enforcement.”
“So now it’s a case, is it?”
“Campbell’s going to be looking into it.”
She ate the forkful of spaghetti. “So we’ve got the law after the nefarious punch poisoner.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Now we just need to find out whoever writes Rust Creek Ramblings and blow their cover. We can think of it as a public service to the whole town.” She pulled garlic bread off the loaf. “Then again, we all love Rust Creek Ramblings...”
He chuckled. “You’re right. It’s funny and full of heart. We only hate it when one of the columns is about us.”
She leaned toward him, eyes alight. “But seriously, Will. Who do you think writes that column?”
“I’m the new guy in town. How would I know?”
“It’s someone who’s scarily observant, someone who has a way with words. Maybe a teacher, like Willa Traub, the mayor’s wife. Or Kristen Dalton. Do you know her?”
“I don’t think so...”
“Daughter of Charles and Rita Dalton? Has a twin sister, Kayla?”
“Sorry. Not ringing a bell.”
“Well, Kayla’s quiet, shy as a mouse. Kristen, though, she’s really feisty. She loves acting and she’s involved in a little theater here in Kalispell. Kristen never met a party she wouldn’t crash. Being a secret gossip columnist is something Kristen might do because she’s a rebel at heart.”
“How do you know the columnist isn’t a guy?”
“You’re right.” She laughed. “Maybe it’s Homer Gilmore.”
“Never heard of him.”
“He was at the wedding reception Saturday. In his eighties, rarely shaves, has a strange look in his eye?”
Will sipped from his water glass. “Nope. Don’t remember him, either.”
She playfully wagged a finger at him. “You need to get to know your neighbors.”
“Give me time, woman. I’ve lived here less than a week.”
“Homer’s actually kind of sweet. He’s originally from Whitehorn, came to town last year. I heard they found him wandering in the woods, claiming he was the ghost of Christmas past.”
Will grunted. “You’re not serious.”
“Oh, yes, I am.”
“I hope he got help.”
“He’s fine, really. Just quite a character—and then again, no. I don’t think he could be the mystery columnist. Maybe he has literary talents I’m unaware of, but someone was already writing the column when Homer showed up in town.” She shook her head. He watched her, thinking how cute she looked,
her hair pulled up in a loose ponytail, twirling another bite of spaghetti.
In fact, he was so busy admiring his temporary bride, he didn’t notice the woman approaching their table until she spoke.
“Will? Jordyn Leigh Cates? I don’t believe it...”
It was Desiree Fenton from Thunder Canyon, of all people. He and Desiree had dated a couple of years back. It hadn’t ended well.
Will put on a smile. “Desiree. This is a surprise.” And not really a good one.
Jordyn set down her fork and gave the other woman a little wave. “Hey, Desiree. How’ve you been?”
Desiree played it perky. “Terrific.” But then she frowned in thought. “Wait a minute. I remember now—Jordyn, you moved up here after the flood, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. Rust Creek Falls needed help with reconstruction.”
Desiree asked Will, “Didn’t your sister move here at the same time?”
He nodded. “They came together, Jordyn and Cece—and Jordyn’s sister, Jasmine, too.”
Jordyn put in, “We were looking for a fresh start, I guess you could say.”
“I heard all about it.” Desiree was smiling now, a knowing sort of smile. “So many Thunder Canyon girls, heading for Rust Creek Falls looking for work—and maybe for love. They called it the Gal Rush, as I recall...”
The Gal Rush. Will remembered those awful ladies in Crawford’s Sunday morning. He would not forget their snide remarks about the “Gal Rush women” descending on Rust Creek Falls to catch a cowboy.
But if the reference got to Jordyn, she didn’t let it show. She only shrugged and agreed with Desiree, “That’s right. We were part of the Gal Rush—Jazzy, Cece and me.”
Desiree swung her too-bright smile on Will. “And what about you, Will? What brings you to the area?”
He went ahead and told her. “I live here, too, now. I recently bought a ranch not far from Rust Creek Falls.”
Desiree blinked. Twice. “You bought a ranch? Already?” Sudden tension vibrated in her voice, and her fake smile had fled. Jordyn glanced from Desiree to him and back to Desiree again.
Will fervently wished that Desiree would give it up and go away. He answered gently, “Circumstances change.”
“Oh, well. I guess they do.” She gave a quick shake of her dark curls, and her lips tipped up in that too-bright smile again. “I’m here for a week or two, helping my aunt Georgina pack her things.” She flicked out a hand in the direction of a table by the window, where a sweet-looking gray-haired lady sat happily working her way through a big plate of pasta. “Aunt Georgie’s been failing lately. She was having trouble looking out for herself, so we’re moving her back to Thunder Canyon and into assisted living.”
Jordyn’s blue eyes were much too watchful. Will figured she’d probably heard from Cece that he and Desiree once had a thing. And right now Jordyn had to have gotten the picture that Desiree wasn’t exactly at peace with the way it had all turned out. “It’s, um, good you could come and help your aunt.” Jordyn nervously smoothed a loose strand of hair back up into her ponytail.
That was when it happened: Desiree spotted Jordyn’s ring. A tiny gasp escaped her. She shifted her narrowed gaze on Will again. He went ahead and lifted his left hand to grab his water glass for a leisurely sip, giving her plenty of time to confirm her suspicion that he wore a ring, too.
Desiree asked, “Why do I get the feeling that congratulations are in order?”
Will set down his glass. “Thanks, Desiree. Jordyn and I were married last Saturday.”
“Oh, really?”
Jordyn sailed into the breach. “That’s right. Will and I are newlyweds.”
A silence. Desiree hovered on the brink—of what, he wasn’t sure. But in the end, she only said, “I...hope you’ll both be very happy.”
“Thanks,” Jordyn replied softly. “We are.”
Desiree’s red lips twisted. “Well, um, great to see you both. You take care now.”
“You, too,” Jordyn said.
Will nodded. “See you, Desiree.”
And that was it. Desiree turned away at last. She marched across the room and rejoined her aunt.
The rest of the meal went by fast, with hardly another word shared between him and Jordyn. She seemed not to know what to say. And he didn’t want to get into all that old business, anyway.
They finished. He paid the check, and they left for home.
Once they were on the road, Jordyn asked softly, “Are you all right, Will?”
“Fine.”
She sent him a quick, unhappy glance. “You don’t seem fine.”
“I said I was fine. Can we leave it at that?” He said it harshly, taking the offensive when she didn’t deserve it, a ploy to end this conversation before it really began.
At first she was quiet. He dared to hope he’d been a big enough jerk that she would stay quiet. But she’d never lacked guts. She tried again. “I remember you went out with her. Cece mentioned you were dating her more than once. My mom mentioned it, too. And I know it was serious. Desiree seemed really upset back there. You didn’t seem very happy, either...” Her voice trailed off. He dared to zip her a sideways glance. She had her hands folded in her lap, and she stared down at them, mouth set, soft chin tensed.
“Leave it alone, Jordyn. It’s not a big deal.”
She kept staring at her hands. “You’re doing a crap job of lying to me right now, Will.”
“Leave it.” He growled the words.
Her bright head shot up. She looked straight at him. “Well, alrighty, then.”
The rest of the ride was as silent as the end of the meal had been.
At the ranch she made a beeline for the kitchen.
He followed her in there. She zipped over to the counter and got to work unpacking the grocery bags they’d left there.
“Leave that stuff,” he said. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Don’t you have homework you need to be doing?”
She had a jar of peanut butter in one hand and a can of cocoa in the other. “I’ll just—”
“I said leave it, Jordyn.” Maybe it came out a little gruffer than it should have.
She glared at him. Then she stuck both items in a cupboard, shut the cupboard door and put up her hands like he held her at gunpoint. “Fine.”
“What about your homework?”
She pressed her lips together. He was certain she would say something snippy. But in the end, she took the high road. “I need to get online to do it. It’s no biggie. I’ll just stay at Country Kids for a couple of hours tomorrow after work. Sara has Wi-Fi.” She added, defiantly, “So don’t expect me until after five—or better make it six, to give me plenty of time to get it all done.”
He should leave it alone. If she wanted to do her homework at Sara Johnston’s, what the hell did it matter to him? But somehow, his big mouth opened all by itself, and he issued what sounded way too much like a command. “Tomorrow you’ll do your homework here.”
“What in the world is going on with you, Will?”
“You heard me. You can do your homework here.”
“That is not what you said, and we both know it. You gave me an order, Will. You don’t have any right to go giving me orders. Where I do my homework is my business. And anyway, I just told you that I can’t do it here because there is no internet connection.”
“Tomorrow, first thing, the satellite guys are hooking us up. We’ll have TV and internet before noon.”
Spots of hectic color flamed on her soft cheeks. “Oh. Well, great. Terrific. I’ll just rush right back here after work.”
“Good.”
She bit her lower lip. “And right now I think I’ll go out and check on the animals.” She started for the back door.
He knew he should let
her go. But instead he reached out and caught her arm as she tried to brush past him. “Anything to get away from me, huh?”
She froze, blinked down at his fingers wrapped around her arm and then back up at him. Something arced between them, something bright and hot. And dangerous, too. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to say it.” He liked the feel of her smooth skin against his palm, liked it too much. Reluctantly, he released her.
“Are you finished?” She held her ground, waiting for him to stop being an ass and say something real.
So he did. “I just don’t want to talk about Desiree.”
“Then don’t.” She headed for the door again.
He ached to call her back. But then she would expect him to actually talk to her.
And he was not up for that.
So he just stood there feeling like ten kinds of hopeless SOB as she went out the back door.
Chapter Eight
Jordyn had a nice long chat with the goats. They agreed that Will was a great big butthead. She spent some time with Mama Kitty and her babies, fussing over them.
When she went back inside, Will had left the kitchen. The door to the master suite was shut, a sliver of light shining beneath it. Terrific. He could be a jackass all by his lonesome, locked in his room. Fine with her.
Feeling equal parts defiant and helpful, she put away the rest of the groceries he’d bought and unboxed the microwave, the mixer, the slow cooker and the electric can opener. She folded all the bags and put them under the sink next to the trash can, then broke down the boxes.
After that she went upstairs and spent the rest of the evening alone.
In the morning they ate breakfast in silence. She put a pot roast and veggies in the slow cooker for dinner and then headed for work without saying two words to him.
That afternoon when she returned, she spotted cattle grazing on the hill above the stock pond. The beginnings of Will’s herd must have arrived.
A circle of dusty pickups waited in front of the house. She recognized them as belonging to Will’s brothers. But inside, the house was quiet. They must all be out working, getting the cattle settled in, mending fences and who knew what all.
The Maverick's Accidental Bride (Montana Mavericks: What Happened At The Wedding Book 1) (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) Page 10
