by AJ Attard
"This is ridiculous," Lexi said out loud, causing some of the horses to swing their heads in her direction with looks of great curiosity, their jaws still peacefully munching their hay, "There has to be something here," she said and put her hands down to push herself up. The heel of her hand hit something hard and she yanked her hand up instantly in reaction to the sharp pain. Carefully she lowered her hand again, sliding it under the layer of paper-thin wood until it closed upon a hard oval object. Ever so slowly Lexi raised her hand, shavings falling by the wayside as she brought the object up where she could see it. A large, gold cufflink, covered in a fine layer of shavings dust, was pinched between her forefinger and her thumb. She brushed it off carefully with her other hand, the gold, once revealed, immediately winked at her in the beams of sunlight that streamed into the stall.
“I believe that belongs to me.”
Chapter 20
Lexi leaped to her feet, almost dropping the cufflink, as she looked into the chiseled face of Peter Monteque.
He stood in the stall door, his height and shoulders filling the space and effectively boxing Lexi in. She subconsciously tensed her muscles, easing partway into a fighter’s crouch, the cufflink tightly gripped in the fist of her left hand, the hardness of it pressing unforgivingly into her flesh.
“Where is my horse?” She demanded of him, fury making her reckless.
“You know I didn’t realize I had lost that,” he tipped his head toward her hand, “until I got dressed this morning,” he spoke calmly as if they were having a conversation about absolutely nothing, his words even and easy, flowing as companionably as if discussing the weather, “You can imagine my dismay when I discovered its absence.”
“I asked you a question,” Lexi returned through clenched teeth, her chin thrown back defiantly, her breath coming deep and heavy in her chest.
“I heard you,” Peter answered, stepping into the stall, a small, ominous smile pulling the sides of his toothpaste commercial perfect mouth upward, “Such a good horse woman,” he clucked in appreciation, “Even at such a time when you should be worried about yourself, your concern lies with your horse,” he smiled and nodded, “Alright, I’ll tell you. He’s fine, for now at least. He is safely ensconced in a building on the back of my property,” he said regally as if bestowing his kindness upon her, “You know he is quite the fighter,” he added thoughtfully, “he almost got loose, not to mention almost killing me,” he sighed contently, “but as I said he is safe and sound at my place now.”
“It’s the Smith’s place,” Lexi shot back fiercely, “and I want him back safely. Now,” she added with her eyes dark, blazing bottomless pits.
“I’m sure you do,” Peter laughed heartily, his whole chest shaking with his delight, “however,” he continued through a lingering chuckle or two, “I’m sure you know that’s impossible, especially since you have obviously figured out the situation, or at least enough of it to be a problem, ” he amended, leaning against the stall wall and crossing one ankle over the other. He was next to the door, giving her an opening he would never let her take, a glimpse of freedom with the knowledge it wasn’t possible, he would make sure of it.
“Why?” Lexi asked shifting slightly but retaining her battle stance, “Why would someone like you, who has everything in the world going for them, want to get involved in horse theft and cattle rustling?” She questioned, her mind going a thousand miles a minute as she tried to figure a way out of this.
“Money of course,” He said simply as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, “You see,” he began, “once you have money, you want more of it,” he shrugged philosophically, “Horses and cattle sell for tremendous amounts of money these days and my life is so very expensive to maintain, I’m sure you can imagine,” he smiled at her suggestively, “I actually have several of these kinds of things going to support my, shall we say, wants and needs. It takes a lot to afford such things,” Peter let his eyes meet hers unflinchingly, “Such is life.”
Suddenly a light bulb went on in Lexi’s mind, the thing that had been nagging at her came out from the recesses of her memory and became crystal clear with startling ferocity. She had heard those words before, said in exactly the same way, not so very long ago in Alaska.
“We’ve met before,” She said, in momentary awe. How had she not recognized him before? Why hadn’t she made the connection? She shook her head in amazement and lifted her eyes to meet his.
“I am delighted you finally remember,” He said, coming up off the wall and taking a step toward her, a big grin on his face, illuminating his features, “I was wondering if you would,” he said, tipping his head sideways and continuing his movement closer to her.
“You were in Alaska when Colton died,” Lexi said, feeling a strange sensation of frozen terror beginning to move up her body, “You were with the insurance men, you introduced yourself, with the men in the black suits,” she continued, placing one hand over her mouth, the other still tightly clasping the cuff link. Lexi so desperately wanted to scream, but no one would hear her but the horses and that would only serve to panic them.
“You have an excellent memory,” Peter applauded her, “I am quite flattered that you remember, even if it took you a bit. You were so very traumatized at the time,” he was so close now that Lexi could feel him breathing, the inhale and exhale of breath as his chest rose and fell next to hers, “So very lovely and traumatized,” he said, reaching a hand up to trail down her cheek.
“Get off me,” She snapped, stumbling backwards and crashing into the wall behind her. Peter only laughed, a huge hearty laugh that rang off the eves of the barn and again drew the attention of the horses.
“I told you,” He said, his eyes glittering with frightening sharpness, “I like a girl with some spirit,” he closed the space between them with one step and pinned her against the wall. He bent his head down to kiss her and Lexi turned her face, pressing her cheek hard against the smooth wood walls.
“Release her, Monteque,” the words were so clear, so nonchalant, and so firm that any option other than obeying never seemed to be a consideration. Peter immediately released Lexi and stepped back, smoothing his disheveled clothes and running his fingers through his blonde curls.
Lexi looked at the person who now stood in the stall door and this time there was no holding back. She screamed for all she was worth.
Chapter 21
“Hello to you too, honey,” Colton Majors said to his wife, keeping the revolver aimed unwaveringly at her, “You look well.”
“What in the hell?” Lexi demanded, regaining her senses, a sudden feeling of rage bringing her mind back into focus, “You are supposed to be dead!”
“That’s not very original, Dear, and is that anyway to greet your long lost husband?” Colton asked with his familiar unemotional smoothness.
“I can think of another way,” Lexi snapped back, “but I have no intention of going to jail so I’ll have to forgo it,” she told him fiercely.
“Ah, Lexi,” Colton smiled and shook his head, “Always so fiery, so passionate, so emotional about things,” his smile suddenly froze and his eyes hardened, “Unless it had anything to do with me, that is,” he said, refusing to release her gaze.
“What in the world are you talking about?” She demanded, “and where have you been? We thought you were dead for heaven’s sake!” She spat at him, beginning to pace back in forth across the back of the stall. Peter Monteque looked from one to another, looking as if he didn’t relish having to cross either of their paths at the moment, “Your son was heartbroken! He cried and cried, you son of a bitch! Let’s not forget your mistress either; she was an emotional mess, sobbing all over town like a rag doll. You should have seen the poor girl,” Lexi snapped at him.
“Ah, poor Jenna,” Colton said, a brief smile softening his face, “It was a bit of shame to have to treat her that way. She wasn’t the brightest light bulb in the box but she certainly was a willing little thing. Unlike you,” Co
lton’s face again hardened and his eyes turned cold and piercing.
“I gave up my life for you,” Lexi all but shouted, “I mean I moved to bloody Alaska for heaven’s sake! I gave up my family, my horses, everything to support you and your dreams. You had to get away, you had to live in Alaska, you needed space, and it was all about you. Never once did you ask what I may have wanted,” Lexi was on a roll, the revolver and back from the dead husband be damned, she was mad.
“Everything was for you, so you would be happy and you know what? You never were, ever. You were, or I guess you are, the most miserable SOB I have ever met in my life. You had a wife and a son that loved you and all you could do was complain and take the misfortunes of your life out on us,” She tossed him a ferocious look, “Then you go and pretend you are dead so we damn near drown in debt you had acquired, without my knowledge, not to mention get stalked by the likes of this horse’s hind end,” she tossed her head in Peter’s direction. Peter’s face was blank as if he wanted no part in this and he pressed himself against the stall wall, moving slightly toward the open door. Lexi’s chest was heaving and her eyes blazing and Colton looked at her with concentrated interest.
“Are you done?” He asked with condescending politeness.
Lexi stood panting in the middle of the stall, pausing for a moment to consider if she really was or not, “I guess,” she said slowly, “Although I reserve the right to continue if I want to,” she added, and by the way what happened to your nose?”
“Of course,” He agreed to the first condition before continuing on, “Your damn horse is what happened to my nose. Now, are you interested in what actually happened?” He asked with dispassionate tones as if talking to a small child. Lexi narrowed her eyes in response but nodded, crossing her arms in front of her chest and tossing back her head, pleased that at least Red had managed to maim her husband even if she couldn’t.
“You,” he began, “were such a disappointment to me,” he sighed as if the words themselves were desperately depressing to him. He took a deep breath and continued: “When we met you were so ambitious, so fiery. Horses and ranches and successful showing, you wanted it all. I, of course, wasn’t about to live in Texas with your family here. All they wanted to do was intrude. They wanted to help, they wanted to participate, they wanted to give you their thoughts, they wanted to take MY PLACE!” He yelled the last words, sending horses to the backs of their stalls, forgotten hay drifting aimlessly to the ground, “They didn’t realize that you belonged to me,” he said after regaining his composure, “So,” he said slowly, “We had to get away. I wanted to go to Alaska, I have always wanted to go to Alaska. My family is a blatant pain in the ass and from the time I could remember I wanted to get as far away from them as possible, hence Alaska. So you see, it was imperative that we go there,” he looked at Lexi for confirmation that she did indeed understand and she shrugged her shoulders in response. He frowned at her but continued, his annoyance evident in his voice, “You, however, failed to hold up your end of the bargain. Once we got there all you did was cater to me. I told you I would treat you as badly as you would let me and let me you did. I pushed you around and you never, never pushed back, like you were supposed to do, instead you became some mealy-mouthed people pleaser, desperate for me to forgive you and for me to give you a pat on the head, and tell you what a good job you were doing. You only got worse once Jake was born. You were utterly pathetic,” he screwed up his face in distaste, “No wonder I had to seek solace elsewhere,” he said shaking his head in self sympathy, “Jenna was really a necessity, I guess you could say,” He added, “but I did also have my ways of consoling myself besides her. Then you started talking to your mother more and more, and I knew it was just a matter of time before you left me. I knew you would take Jake and leave,” he said, tilting his head back so he had to look down at her, “Between your family and that stupid horse there was no room left in your life for me.”
“You are crazy,” Lexi interrupted, “I was never going to leave you. I missed my family and was talking to them but I wasn’t going to leave. Yes, I was unhappy in Alaska, but I was trying to make it work with you,” she said, careful to manage her rising temper, keeping her tone even and nondescript, “Now where is Red?” she asked.
“LIAR!” Colton screamed, ignoring her question, the gun wavering in his hand as he shook with uncontrollable rage. Peter Monteque took the opportunity to make a break for the door but Colton stopped him, back in control and swinging the gun in his direction deftly, “Not another step,” he commanded.
A crescendo of fear rolled up Lexi and she knew the situation was quickly getting out of hand. Desperate to take things down a notch she spoke again, as calmly as she could, “So what did you do?” She asked, “How did you make this all work?”
Colton suddenly smiled and took a deep breath, “I thought you would never ask,” he said, clearly pleased that she had, “I wanted to hurt you,” he said, “before you could hurt me. I had, by that time, gotten into some business dealings with some people of shall we say, doubtful character, one of which was this guy,” he motioned to Peter who looked like a deer caught in the headlights, “From there it was relatively easy. Watch the weather, make sure a storm was coming, set fire to the boat, pretend I’m dead, come down here and start the ring stealing horses and cattle, and wait for you to come home just like I knew you would,” Colton said with grim satisfaction, “It worked like a charm too, in case you didn’t notice,” he pointed out immodestly, “Quite frankly it was a win win situation for us,” he said rather thoughtfully. “Old Monteque here and his crew got to make some extra money, (me too for that matter), and I got you. I did,” He admitted, shifting the gun back her direction and taking a step toward her, “in the end, have to have a little extra help. This fool,” he said motioning to Monteque again, “was not enough. I needed someone who really knew you, someone who you trusted implicitly.”
“Oh yeah?” Lexi pressed, feeling cocky, “and who was that?” She asked smartly.
“It was me,” Mrs. Jenkins stepped out of the shadows of the barn looking old and decrepit. Her skin was a sallow, yellow color and her eyes were laden with heavy black cirles
“I’m so sorry, Lexi,” she said, her voice hoarse and cracking, “So very, very sorry. Please know I had no choice, no choice at all.”
Lexi looked at the woman she had known all of her life in pure shock. Her mouth hung open and her breath caught in her chest painfully.
“Ah,” Colton smiled, “Now there is the response I was hoping for,” he said with a great deal of satisfaction, “You didn’t see that coming did you?” He asked in delight.
“Why?” Lexi asked, the word croaking from her throat, her knees feeling quite weak suddenly.
Mrs. Jenkins shook her head sadly. A single, solitary tear slipped down her face and she sighed heavily, “I got behind on the mortgage,” she took a gulp of air before continuing, “When my husband, Arthur, got sick, I took out a second mortgage on the store, the house, the ranch, everything,” she closed her eyes momentarily, other tears joining the first as she cried silently, “The store makes a good profit, but Arthur was very sick. His cancer got worse and worse and dragged on and on. Suddenly I found there wasn’t enough money. I sold the land to Peter first in an attempt to save the house and the store. It wasn’t enough though, and soon I was going to loose the house and the store. My kids, my grandkids, my family’s heritage and contribution to this town was about to go up in smoke. I had to do something. I was desperate,” she opened her eyes and looked intently at Lexi, “I’m so sorry. I hated every moment of this,” she said before continuing, “That was when Peter came to me with a proposition. He knew I couldn’t say no. He knew I had to give in or I would lose everything,” she pressed her lips together, her tear soaked cheeks shiny in the barn light, “So they paid off the loans on the house and the store and I did exactly what they told me to. I gave them you.”
“Perfect plan, don’t you think?” Colton
asked, pleased it had all worked out so well.
“Not so much from my perspective actually,” Lexi answered, tipping her head sideways, “It was you that Jake saw that night at Luke’s,” she said more than asked, her thoughts spinning rampant circles in her brain, “It was you I saw earlier, in the shadows. You’ve been here all along.”
Colton grinned at her and moved closer, momentarily closing his eyes and inhaling her scent, “That’s right,” he whispered, “So close I could almost touch you,” he exhaled shakily, desire making his voice thick, “Even now you have an effect on me,” he said hoarsely, “Perhaps I would be wise to take advantage of my husbandly privileges before I kill you,” he murmured with soft menace, “Pick up were your little cowboy hasn’t sealed the deal,” he said darkly, “Oh yes, I’ve seen you with him. You’ve loved him all along haven’t you? Even when you were with me, it was him you saw when your eyes were closed. Isn’t that true?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lexi said sharply, “When I was with you I was with you,” she said, “Nothing happened with Luke. If you were watching you would know that.”
