Burn

by HELEN HARDT

  “Only the best in the world.”

  She stood and took her plate to the sink. “I need to get groceries. Can I possibly borrow a car? I have no idea where mine is at the moment. I assume it’s still parked at the loft.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready to venture out on your own? In a car?”

  “I have to. I have to get back on the horse.” She laughed softly. “See, I’m speaking your language now.”

  “Yeah, I suppose.” I wasn’t a natural rider like Talon and Ryan, but I had been riding horses since I was barely able to walk. “And of course you can borrow a car. I have three.”

  “Okay. I’ll take a shower, and then I’ll drive into town and pick up some groceries for you.”

  “You mean for us.”

  “I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”

  “Melanie, you can stay here as long as you need to. Take this day by day. Right now, getting into a car and going to town for groceries is a big step. Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

  “I hate taking you away from your work,” she said. “I can do this, Jonah. I need to do this.”

  * * *

  I finished my work at the ranch, texted Melanie to see if she was okay, and upon her response, I decided to go and see Talon at the main ranch house, since I still had an hour before Melanie and I had to leave to meet the insurance agent at her loft in Grand Junction. I needed to talk to Talon about Felicia. He and Jade had given her the weekend off, so I didn’t risk running into her. I wouldn’t know what to say to her.

  I got to the main house and knocked. Talon’s mutt, Roger, came to the door, peering at me through the window, panting with a doggy smile on his face.

  When no one answered the door, I let myself in. “Hey there, guy.” I knelt down and gave Roger a pet on his head. “Where is everybody?”

  “Who’s there?” A woman’s voice came from the family room.

  I walked through the foyer, through the kitchen, and down a few steps into the large family area. Jade’s mother, Brooke Bailey, sat on the sofa, her legs propped up. She wore a brace on one knee. She had shattered her knee in the car accident that had nearly taken her life.

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you,” I said. “I’m just looking for Talon.”

  “He and Jade went off somewhere,” Brooke said.

  “Is Marj around?”

  “No, she’s in town for her cooking class.”

  Right. I had forgotten. Marjorie was now taking classes in the city. She left on Friday afternoons for an evening class, stayed for classes all day Saturday, and then drove home. She’d be home tonight.

  “Anything I can do for you?” Brooke asked.

  “No, thank you. Can I get you anything while I’m here? It must be hard for you to get around.”

  She smiled. Brooke Bailey was still beautiful. I had nursed a major hard-on for her when I was a teen. Funny that she would turn out to be Jade’s mother. Her hair was still dark honey blond but now was cut short in a pixie style, rather than the silken locks flowing over her shoulders that she had worn during her modeling days.

  “It’s a little easier now that I’m healing,” Brooke said. “But I would love a glass of iced tea if there’s any in the refrigerator.”

  “Sure, I’ll look.”

  “Get yourself a glass too,” she said. “I’d love some company for a while.”

  I checked my watch. I still had plenty of time to pick up Melanie to go to the loft, and I was a little parched. I poured two glasses of iced tea, went back to the family room, and handed one to Brooke.

  “Thank you.” She took a sip.

  I moved toward one of Talon’s leather recliners, but she patted the sofa beside her.

  “Sit here. Let’s talk.”

  I couldn’t imagine what Brooke thought we were going to talk about, but I didn’t want to be rude. She was Jade’s mother.

  “So, Jonah,” she said. “I hear you used to have my best-selling poster hanging in your bedroom.”

  My cheeks warmed. Not too many things embarrassed me at this late stage in my life, but Brooke Bailey had just succeeded in doing so.

  I cleared my throat. “That was a long time ago, ma’am.”

  She chuckled. “Ma’am? As I understand it, I’m only five years older than you are, Jonah Steel.”

  Jonah Steel? I wasn’t exactly sure why she was using my full name, but I got the distinct feeling she was trying to flirt with me. I squirmed in discomfort.

  “I suppose that’s true.” I took a sip of my iced tea.

  “When you get to be our age, a few years here and there certainly don’t matter, do they?”

  “No, I suppose they don’t.” Another drink of the tea. I desperately wanted to stand and get out of there. But she was Jade’s mother, and I couldn’t be rude.

  “It’s lonely here, you know. I’m alone here all day while Jade’s at work and Talon is out at the ranch. Marjorie comes and goes, working at the ranch or running errands in town. I’m by myself most of the day.”

  “Doesn’t your nurse come every day?”

  She nodded. “Oh, yes. Jade and Talon have been very good about seeing that I’m looked after. But it’s not the same as having a…friend to talk to.”

  “I suppose not.” I set my glass of tea down on the coffee table. “I really do need to be going.”

  She grabbed my arm just as I was about to stand. “Please, don’t go. I’d really like to get to know you better, Jonah.”

  Made perfect sense to me, and not in a good way. I looked into her blue eyes, so like Jade’s. No doubt, she was still a beautiful woman. One of her eyes was a little misshapen due to the accident a couple months ago, and lacerations had left her with a few facial scars, but it didn’t detract from her beauty and glow. She still had a model’s body, and she had one hell of a rack. Not quite as big as Jade’s, but more than Melanie had.

  Melanie’s weren’t small, but they weren’t huge either. They were pretty damned perfect in my opinion.

  “You must know how handsome you are,” Brooke said. “Your brothers are handsome too, but you… You’re rugged handsome. Dark handsome. Something in you longs to be set free. I can sense it.”

  I tugged on the collar of my shirt. I didn’t like how she was presuming to read me. This wasn’t going anywhere good. I wished I could run like hell out of Talon’s house.

  “I’m dying to know more about you.”

  I tensed, picking up my tea and gripping the glass. “What do you want to know?”

  “I’d like to know if you’ve ever kissed an older woman.”

  I jerked out of my seat. Up until the last several weeks, that answer would’ve been no. I had never been with a woman who was older than I was. But Melanie was two years older. Not that she looked a day over thirty. Then again, neither did Brooke.

  “Are you going to answer me?”

  “This conversation is heading into an area where I’m not comfortable,” I said.

  “There had to be a time when you dreamed of kissing me.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me back down onto the couch. “Now is your chance, Jonah Steel.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Melanie

  Spending a few hours in the town of Snow Creek shopping for groceries wasn’t as scary as I’d thought it would be. However, I did feel a little like a fish out of water. Everyone knew each other in this town. Two people walked by and called each other by name. People in the store stopped to chat.

  But no one knew me. I got a lot of strange looks from the Snow Creek residents. In a small town, any new face probably raised questions.

  It was a cool fall day, so after I picked up several bags full of groceries to replenish Jonah’s kitchen, I stored them in the car he’d lent me. I still had some time, so I walked around town like I had several days earlier. I forced myself to relive that day, to retrace that path. Waiting any longer would just have made it more difficult. I walked by the little eatery and the little antique shop where I’d see
n a phoenix figurine, to the little hardware store that doubled as an office supply place. Where I had bought…

  I still couldn’t bring myself to formulate the words in my mind.

  The package still sat in my loft, next to my filing cabinet.

  This was where I’d seen the mayor. Perhaps Gus and I were the last to see Bryce’s father. I walked into the store, a little bell on the door tinkling.

  Gus looked up from the book he was reading behind the counter. “Afternoon, ma’am. Can I help you with anything?”

  “Maybe. I was in here several days ago.”

  “Of course. I should have remembered such a pretty lady. What can I do for you?”

  “I believe the mayor was also in that day, purchasing some rope and duct tape?”

  Gus frowned for a moment. “You may be right. I haven’t seen him in here since, though.”

  I didn’t know whether I was at liberty to say that the mayor was missing. Perhaps Bryce wanted to keep that fact quiet, so until I knew for sure, I didn’t want to divulge the information. But I could ask some questions about the purchase.

  “Do you have any idea why he was buying those things?”

  “Are you a detective or something?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m a psychotherapist, actually. I’m a friend of the Steel family. I was just wondering why the mayor would be buying rope and duct tape.”

  “Everyone needs duct tape,” Gus said. “That and WD-40. Two things no household should be without.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If it’s stuck together but isn’t supposed to be, you use WD-40. If it’s not stuck together but it’s supposed to be, use duct tape.” He smiled. He was missing one of his lateral incisors.

  “That’s funny.” I chuckled a bit. “Tell me, how long have you lived here in Snow Creek?”

  “All my life. This used to be my daddy’s store. I don’t have a son or daughter to give it to, so when I go, it’ll close, or maybe someone will buy it from my estate.”

  A little more information than I’d wanted. “What about the rope?” I tried to replay the mayor’s purchase over in my mind’s eye. Was it the same kind of rope the masked man had used to bind my ankles? It was white rope, of a normal thickness. It could’ve easily been the same rope, or it could’ve easily been different.

  “Maybe Evelyn wanted to hang up some laundry. I have no idea.”

  “Evelyn?”

  “Yeah, she’s the mayor’s wife.”

  I nodded. This wasn’t getting me very far. “Do a lot of people come in here to buy rope and duct tape?”

  “Rope and duct tape are two of my biggest sellers. Everybody has need of one or the other at some point. What’s with all the questions?”

  “Nothing. I was just curious.”

  Of course everyone had need of rope or duct tape sometime in his life. A world-class detective I was not.

  “It was nice seeing you again, Gus.”

  “I didn’t get your name, ma’am.”

  I left the store without answering.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jonah

  “Look, I—”

  Brooke pulled me in against her and smashed her lips to mine.

  This would’ve been a dream come true for me…if I’d been fifteen. But I was thirty-eight and in love with another woman. I unclamped from her as quickly as I could.

  “Don’t you find me attractive, Jonah?”

  “Of course I do. But you’re Jade’s mother. And you’re in the middle of recovering from a terrible accident.”

  “I’m so lonely. My fiancé hasn’t contacted me in…I don’t know how long now.”

  Nico Kostas. Brooke’s fiancé, and the man Talon had convinced himself was one of his abductors.

  “I’m sorry you’re lonely. But I’m not going to do this.”

  “You want me. I can see it in your eyes. You spent many nights dreaming about having me in your bed.”

  “I won’t deny that. But I can assure you that was long ago, and I haven’t had a dream about you in the last twenty years.”

  “Please. I need to know that I’m still attractive. I need to feel a man against me. And you’re so…” She eyed me up and down. “You’re perfect—rugged, dark, and perfect. This is your chance to fulfill an adolescent fantasy.”

  An adolescent fantasy? I was so long past adolescence. I’d been forced to grow up at thirteen. As for Brooke? I wasn’t even tempted. Bryce would get a good laugh out of this. When he first found out Brooke was staying at the main house with Talon and Jade, he’d advised me to go for it. Brooke was indeed beautiful, but she was a mess inside. She had been a terrible mother to Jade, had basically abandoned her child for her modeling career, and had fallen in love first with a man who stole her fortune, and second with Nico Kostas, who had probably tried to kill her and was now nowhere to be found.

  I removed her hands from my arm and stood, walking away from the couch this time. She wouldn’t be able to get up and follow me, at least not quickly.

  “I’m sorry. You’re Jade’s mother, and it would be wrong for me to take advantage.”

  Her blue eyes were heavy-lidded. “I’m giving you the advantage.”

  Clearly, she was. And if I weren’t in love with Melanie, I might’ve given it a thought. But only a thought. She was Jade’s mother first, and she also wasn’t a very good person from what I knew.

  “It wouldn’t be right. Can I get you anything before I go?”

  She shook her head. “You know what I want from you.”

  “Please tell Talon I stopped by. I’ll call him later.” I walked as swiftly as I could without running to the door.

  * * *

  Melanie clutched at my hand as we got off the elevator on the fourth floor of her building. Her neighbor, Lisa, who I’d met a few days earlier, was just coming out of her door with a small dog on a leash. She lit up when she saw me.

  “Why hello there,” she said.

  “Hello,” Melanie replied.

  “Melanie, what’s going on? The police have been around.” Lisa arched her brows. “And here they are again.”

  Melanie bit her lip as a uniformed officer stepped off the elevator.

  “I’m afraid that’s…classified at the moment,” I said to Lisa. I hurriedly ushered Melanie to her loft, the officer following us.

  The door was still roped off with police tape. The policeman unlocked it, and we walked into the loft.

  “I’m Officer Loring,” the man said. “Look around. If you need to take anything with you, check with me first.”

  Everything was the same. It was in shambles, most likely made to look like a failed robbery.

  “I know this is hard for you,” I said, “but you have to figure out if anything is missing. Your insurance guy is going to need to know your losses.”

  “I know. I hardly looked at anything when we were here before. I just threw some clothes into my duffel as fast as I could. You’re right. I have to do this.”

  “Do you have anything that’s worth a lot? Sterling silverware maybe, or some jewelry?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing like that. I have a few pieces of gold jewelry, but they’re nothing.”

  “Let’s make sure nothing is missing.”

  I followed Melanie into her bedroom. It wasn’t in as bad of shape as the living area, although a few of her dresser drawers had been upended. She found her jewelry box and confirmed that nothing was gone.

  “I guess this will be easy,” she said. “The only thing insurance needs to worry about is replacing the ruined furniture and the door lock. At least nothing was stolen.”

  Except Melanie’s sense of security. But I didn’t voice those words. She was doing well, better than I could’ve expected. She’d roamed around town today alone, and now she was walking around her loft. I could tell she was frightened, the way she held on to my hand, the way she incessantly gnawed on her lower lip. But she was doing it, and I was so proud of her. Melanie Carmicha
el was the strongest woman I’d ever met.

  The insurance adjuster arrived, and I stayed by Melanie’s side as she answered his questions and he, along with the officer, looked around the apartment, making notes and taking photos.

  When the adjuster finally left, she fell against me.

  I kissed the top of her head. “You okay?”

  She nodded against my shirt. “Just…exhausted. And I suppose a little overdramatic.”

  “Is there anything you need? Gather some stuff, and then let’s go home.”

  “Home?”

  “Well, my home.” But that wasn’t what I’d meant when I said home. I had meant our home. Melanie’s and mine. How I wished that could be. But once she was strong enough, I would have to tell her the truth.

  “All right.” She unclamped herself from me and walked about the apartment, gathering things.

  She went into her bedroom for a few moments, and I sat down on what was left of the couch. Her book was on the floor. I picked it up and gasped. The word “bitch” had been scrawled on the front cover in black permanent marker. Melanie didn’t need to see this. I shoved the book under a cushion. The officer, seated in a chair across from me, eyed me.

  I quickly put the book back, hoping Melanie wouldn’t notice it.

  “Jonah!”

  I jerked upward, running into her bedroom. “Melanie? What’s wrong?”

  I found her in her walk-in closet, sitting on the floor, holding a towel and shoe.

  “This is the towel I was wearing when… And the shoe I tried to…”

  I pulled her up and took the items from her. “We’ll throw them away. Or we’ll burn them if you want. Anything to cleanse this place of his evil.”

  She chuckled nervously at that. “Now who’s being overdramatic?”

  “I’ll take them to the dumpster downstairs. We don’t need to burn them. Will you be okay here for a few minutes?”

  “Sorry,” Officer Loring said. “Those are evidence. They need to stay here.”

  Melanie nodded. “Of course. I understand. I’ll be fine. I didn’t want to go in the closet, but most of my clothing is here. When we were here before, I just grabbed clothes out of my drawers so I wouldn’t have to come in here.”