by B. J Daniels
“Sorry, I was thinking.” He turned his gaze on her. “After we have lunch, I thought you wouldn’t mind giving me a ride back to town, so I can pick up my truck. Then...”
She felt the full impact of his look. He wasn’t just hungry for food apparently.
“When you were a teenager, where did you go to make out?”
“Seriously?” She laughed nervously. “Aren’t we a little old for that?”
“I certainly hope not.”
Their food arrived. Kat had ordered a cheeseburger, fries and chocolate milk shake, and Max had grinned in approval.
“You are a bad influence,” she said as she dug in.
He smiled. “Just wait.”
* * *
SARAH HEARD THE roar of an engine and stepped quickly to the front of the cabin. She’d been packing. Now that she and Russell were broken up, she couldn’t continue to stay in his daughter’s cabin.
She feared it was probably Russell coming back and braced herself. He’d been so angry earlier. Not that she blamed him. But she couldn’t see what further discussion would accomplish.
To her surprise it was Buck’s SUV that came to a dust-boiling stop in front of the cabin. She watched him get out and stomp toward the porch.
She opened the door and stepped out.
“Buck, you shouldn’t be here. What if one of the reporters followed you?”
“Like I give a damn. We have to talk.”
She motioned him into the cabin and stood for a moment watching the road, hoping he hadn’t been followed. She could well imagine what the media would make of him visiting her so soon after his wife’s death.
Finally she went inside the cabin to find him pacing up and down like a caged animal.
“What on earth has gotten into you?” she demanded.
He stopped pacing to stare at her. “I was going to leave Angelina for you.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she nodded. “I know. You told me.”
“Are you still engaged to Murdock?”
“No.” She met his gaze. “He knows that you’re the only man I’ve ever loved.”
“As far as you can remember.”
“Buck.” She sighed deeply. “Did you come racing out here to argue with me about my memory loss?”
“Sarah...” His voice broke. “That tattoo on your ass. It’s a pendulum. Don’t they tell the future with those?”
She frowned. “You’re not making any sense.”
“Aren’t I? What is the Prophecy?”
Sarah felt a small icy chill move up her spine. “Buck, what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the truth. Maybe you can’t remember the past twenty-two years, but you do remember college, right?”
She suddenly felt as if she needed to sit down.
“I need to know, Sarah. Were you some member of a radical antigovernment group who blew up buildings, robbed banks and killed people?”
She recalled the photograph that Kat had shown her. Now it all made sense. “I can’t believe you’d even ask me such a thing.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t answered my question.” He moved to her, dropping to his knees in front of her and taking both of her hands in his. He squeezed her fingers hard enough to make her wince.
“Sarah, I have to know the truth now.”
* * *
AS SOON AS the undersheriff returned, Frank relayed everything he’d been told by Max Malone and Kat Hamilton.
Dillon listened with interest before asking, “The Prophecy?”
Frank told him what Lynette had said about pendulums being used to foretell the future. “It all adds up. Even the way Sarah arrived back in town.”
What rattled him more than anything was how blatant the group had been, dropping her off by parachute.
Now he thought he understood. “They want us to try to figure it out. They’re challenging us. They could have dropped Sarah off beside the road, but they’d chosen to drop her by parachute and leave the evidence for us to find.”
Dillon rubbed his jaw. “That would make them pretty sure of themselves.”
“They don’t believe we can stop them,” he said.
“They might be right. We still don’t know what they have planned. But from the get-go, you’ve said it has something to do with the senator.”
Frank swore under his breath. He’d even let the FBI have a go at it, and they had decided Sarah wasn’t a threat. Even if they knew that she might have been “Red,” the brains behind the Prophecy, they couldn’t do much. No proof.
No proof, because Sarah couldn’t remember. Her brain had been wiped of that memory, as well as the past twenty-two years, if what Max Malone had told him was true.
“Can you imagine running the brain-wiping theory past the FBI?” he said to Dillon.
“Because of the family we’re dealing with, we need to be really careful here,” the undersheriff said, as if Frank didn’t know that.
“They showed Sarah a photograph of the Prophecy. Max said she didn’t seem to recognize them, but last night Max was attacked, and that copy of the photo was taken along with his notes. When he called the newspaper that had the original photograph, it was gone, as well.”
Dillon let out a low whistle. “So somehow they found out. Either Sarah told them or—”
“Or they’re monitoring her. They might be flaunting the fact that we can’t stop them, but they’re making sure we don’t get our hands on any evidence that will help us.”
Frank nodded. “Worse, I fear as Max and Kat do, that Angelina’s death opens the door for Sarah to get closer to the senator. With Angelina gone, there is nothing to keep Buckmaster and Sarah apart.”
“But surely, knowing what he does, Buckmaster would have his reservations.”
“He refused to even listen to them.”
Dillon rubbed his jaw. “But the senator is a smart man. He is going to put it all together. I wouldn’t be surprised if he confronted Sarah.”
“But if she really doesn’t remember...”
“What do we do now?”
The sheriff’s cell phone jingled as a text came in. He checked it and smiled. “That clinic in Brazil? Lynette just got a photo of Sarah and the elderly doctor she was assisting for the past twenty years down there. At least now we know where she’s been—”
“And why she can’t remember anything.”
* * *
“BUCK, THIS IS CRAZY,” Sarah said as she moved away from him and he rose from the floor. “It’s just like I told Kat and her friend. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“They showed you a photo. You didn’t notice a resemblance between the woman in the snapshot? Kat said it looked just like her when you were her age.”
“Kat.” She sighed as she turned to him. “I wasn’t the woman in that photo. I didn’t even see a resemblance. Maybe I can’t remember the past twenty-two years, but I remember college. I would know if I was part of some antigovernment terrorist group, wouldn’t I?” She took a step to him and placed a hand on his arm. “You know me, Buck. I’m the mother of your children.”
He pulled away, shaking his head. “Do I know you, Sarah? I thought I did. But then you got up in the middle of the night and drove your SUV into the river, trying to kill yourself.”
“I don’t know why I did that. Honestly, I can’t imagine doing it.” Her voice broke, and she felt how close she was to tears. She could understand everyone else not believing her, but Buck... Buck had to believe her.
“Like that damned tattoo and the way you arrived back in town,” he said. “How do you explain that, Sarah?”
“I can’t. I’ve tried to remember, but...”
“The Prophecy? That pendulum tattoo. The parachute. You’ve got to a
dmit, Sarah, this all looks very suspicious. Kat is convinced you are this woman who called herself Red and was involved in the deaths of five people back in the ’70s.”
“Buck, someone had to have done this to me. They want everyone to believe I am this woman, Red, who helped kill those people.”
“Are you saying someone is setting you up?” He sounded incredulous. “Why would they do that, Sarah?”
“Because I was once married to a man who will likely soon become the leader of the free world.” She saw that she’d finally reached him. “Whoever is behind this, they know how I feel about you.”
“Kat believes that this group, the Prophecy, is planning to harm me or, worse, kill me.”
Sarah felt her eyes widen in alarm. “No. Oh, Buck. If they’re using me...” She shook her head. “I need to leave Montana. I have to get as far away from you as possible.”
“No,” he said, closing the distance between them. He took a few deep breaths. She saw him calm down. He wanted desperately to believe her.
“If you’re right and these people are trying to set you up somehow for this, I will protect you,” he said at last.
“I’m not worried about my protection. What if Kat is right and they plan to kill you and use me somehow to make that happen?”
“We won’t let them. Sarah, I don’t want another hour, let alone another day, to go by without us being together. I want you to come to the ranch with me now.”
“Buck, no. Your campaign—”
“Screw the campaign. I’ll drop out. I’ll resign as senator.”
“I can’t let you do that.” She pulled away. “This country needs you even more than I do. The only way is to wait.”
“I have to be able to see you.”
“Isn’t there a house on the ranch, one of the small ranches you’ve bought, that I could stay in? You still go on your afternoon horseback rides every day when you’re home, don’t you?”
“But if I stay in the campaign, I’ll be gone more than I will be on the ranch.”
“It’s the only way. You can’t drop out. I can’t let you. I won’t take it away from you. We will be together. Once you’re elected...”
“I don’t know if I am going to stay in the race, but I don’t want to talk about that now. I can see that you’re packing to leave here. Do you remember the old Morgan Place that I bought? You can stay there. I’ll see that it is made comfortable for you. You have the vehicle I bought you, so you can come and go as you please. Even if the media finds out where you’re staying, they can’t make too big a deal out of it since you will be miles from the main house. You have every right to live on the ranch.”
“Oh, Buck, are you sure about this?”
“Yes.”
But he’d hesitated just enough that she knew he still didn’t completely trust her. She would gain his trust. She would prove herself to him. And soon they would be together, as they both wanted.
“Just promise me. Don’t drop out of the race. Promise?”
He met her gaze and held it. She could see the love in his eyes. “If that’s what you want. But if I win, you’re going to the White House with me as my wife.”
Sarah smiled. “When you win, I will be by your side.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
NETTIE WAITED UNTIL her husband was sitting down before she handed over the photograph of Dr. Ralph Venable and a blonde woman who was, without a doubt, Sarah Johnson Hamilton. She couldn’t help her excitement. The snapshot was taken at a festival of some kind. It was clear that neither the doctor nor Sarah realized that they’d been caught on camera.
“The man who sent me the photo said it surprised him how few photos of the two he could find—especially since they’d worked at the clinic for more than twenty years.”
It didn’t surprise Nettie in the least.
“So what do you think?” she asked, unable to contain her excitement.
Frank didn’t look up from the photo. “I think Russell Murdock was right.”
“Oh, speaking of Russell? The engagement is off. His daughter, Destry West, came into the store. She said her father is going on a cruise soon. I can tell you that she wasn’t the least bit upset that he wasn’t marrying Sarah.”
“Going on a cruise?” Frank shook his head. He couldn’t imagine anything worse, but then again he was a Montana boy, born and raised. The last thing he’d want to do was to get on some big boat with more people than lived in his whole county. “So where is Sarah?”
“Destry didn’t know where she was going. Apparently Sarah has been staying in Destry’s cabin up in the Crazies, but she planned to move out after she broke the engagement.”
Nettie could see that her husband wasn’t surprised by the news of the breakup. Buckmaster was free. Of course Sarah would want him back.
“I need to show this to a couple of people,” Frank said.
“You aren’t going to cut me out of the loop now, are you?” Nettie demanded, crossing her arms over her ample chest.
He looked up at her, clearly torn.
“I haven’t breathed a word about the brain wiping or our visit to White Sulphur Springs. I also found the doctor and got you that photo.”
Her husband smiled. “You’re right. I dragged you into this.” He seemed to hesitate.
She saw by this expression that he’d found out something else he hadn’t yet shared with her. “What?”
He told her about Max Malone and Kat Hamilton’s visit.
Nettie couldn’t believe this. “Antigovernment terrorists? I never saw that coming. The tattoo! The Prophecy! It all starting to make more sense now.”
He nodded. “But we still have no proof.”
“What are you going to do?”
“For starters, I’m going to show this photo to Max and Kat.”
“You think the doctor was one of the members of the Prophecy,” she said, making him smile.
“Another reason I can’t keep you out of the loop on this. I need that brain of yours. And, at this point, this is not a sheriff’s department investigation. Once it is...”
Nettie nodded. “I know. Back to being nothing but a store clerk.”
He got out of his chair to kiss her. “You are much more than a store clerk, and we both know it.”
“I like solving mysteries with you.”
“I know,” he said. “I like it, too. I’ve been thinking about that.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Frank smiled at her. “We’ll talk about it one day soon.”
* * *
“THIS IS IT?” Max asked as he looked out at the valley.
“Excuse me, I suppose you had a better place to make out?”
“The beach.”
Kat made a face. “Sand.”
He laughed. “I said make out, not—”
“I get the picture.”
He turned to look out at the valley again. “It must be pretty at night up here with the lights of town in the distance.”
Kat couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. “It beats where my parents first made out. They went to the West Yellowstone dump. They sat in the dark and waited for the bears to come out.”
Max laughed, smiling over at her. “And then what?”
“About the time the bars in town closed, the grizzlies would chase away the black bears. Everyone who was parked at the edge of the dump would turn on their headlights and watch the grizzlies dig in the garbage.”
“You Montanans really are a romantic bunch.”
She punched him playfully in the shoulder, and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. His kiss was pure sugar.
He drew back. “Not so sure about this making out in an SUV with a center console.”
“That’s why we al
ways got in the backseat,” Kat said, almost shyly.
Max laughed. “You minx, you. Come on.”
They both jumped out and climbed into the back of the SUV. “I hope you pulled up the emergency brake. I’d hate to go careening off this hill in case this car gets to rockin’.”
“You aren’t seriously thinking—”
He made her swallow the rest as he pulled her to him and kissed her again. “We’re just making out,” he said, meeting her eyes.
Kat felt tears prick her eyes. He knew. Somehow, he knew; that was why he was taking it slow. That and maybe he was as scared as she was, she thought. Both ideas endeared him all the more to her.
He drew her close again. The kiss was still sweet but hot. She felt passion make a wild gallop through her veins as he deepened it. She leaned into him, into the kiss. Again desire rippled over her skin and warmed her clear to her center. It had been so long. She had wondered if she could ever feel this again. If she would ever want another man.
Max was breathing hard as he pulled back to slip his hand up under her shirt. She arched against his warm fingers as his hand slid under her bra and cupped her breast. Her nipple was hard and aching. He brushed gently over it as he kissed her again.
Her cell phone rang, and she groaned as he pulled his hand free and drew back. “You’d better take that. It could be important.”
She wanted to argue that whatever it was, she didn’t care. But when she checked the screen, she saw that it was the sheriff. Getting control of her breath and straightening her clothes, she sat up and hit Accept on her phone. She felt like a schoolgirl caught doing something she shouldn’t be doing.
“Sheriff Curry?” she asked, a half dozen different fears running through her head.
“Kat, I think I know where your mother has been the past twenty-two years. I have a photograph of her with a man I’d like you to take a look at. Also, do you know how I can reach Max?”
“Max is right here. We’ll come into your office,” she said, glancing over at Max. He looked as disappointed as she felt and yet equally as curious as to what had happened now. “We can be there in twenty minutes.”
* * *
MAX COULDN’T WAIT to see the photo Kat told him the sheriff was anxious to show them. “So he thinks he knows where your mother has been. Do you think the man is another...husband?”
