And, best of all, returning with him from a horseback ride and adjourning to the barn for a very private riding session in the hayloft.
Once he’d proven his innocence and reclaimed his ranch, he had to find a way to make her stay.
Chapter Eleven
Kate’s newfound sense of relaxation, of letting time drift and eddy, sustained her until Monday morning. Then, as the hour to confront Loretta drew near, knifeedged tension replaced it.
Mitch withdrew into his own world. The amber eyes grew opaque; the jaw tightened; and he grimaced whenever he flinched, as if angry at his own body and its residual soreness.
While they stowed everything away in the camper in preparation for a possible rapid departure with Loretta, a stranger once again moved beside Kate. His gaze was far away, and, after he finished sweeping the floor, he went outside without a word.
She didn’t object. The truth was, her mind had developed a turmoil of its own.
Something fundamental had changed inside her this weekend. When she and Mitch first made love, Kate realized, she hadn’t been emotionally prepared to accept a complete reordering of her plans and dreams.
After yesterday, however, she could no longer fool herself into believing that life would ever go back to the way it had been. She couldn’t marry Moose.
She wasn’t sure she could marry Mitch, either. But he had awakened an unsuspected part of her, a tender, passionate woman who wanted a man capable of arousing her.
Outside, Kate could hear him disconnecting the water and electrical hookups. With a sigh, she finished stacking clean dishes in the cabinet and turned to pack her clothes.
Over the past few days, she’d begun keeping her things in a drawer instead of her suitcase. Now it occurred to her that, depending on what happened today, she and Mitch might have to part company quickly, even if, she hoped, temporarily.
Pulling her suitcase from beneath the couch, Kate snapped it open. From the bathroom, she fetched her swimsuit, which had finally dried but still smelled of chlorine.
She held it to her nose, swept by memories of lounging in the hot tub after making love to Mitch. She didn’t want to leave Santa Fe, or this trailer park, or this camper. Not ever.
She didn’t want to go back to being Kate Bingham of Grazer’s Corners, ever-practical, always tightly in control of her emotions. But she wasn’t sure who else she could be.
They had to take things one step at a time, she told herself firmly. Until they found Loretta and cleared Mitch of the murder charge, there was no point in speculating about the future.
Forcing herself to focus on the task at hand, Kate tucked the swimsuit into the suitcase and folded a knit top with such meticulous care that not a single wrinkle survived.
AS HE ADDED a quart of oil beneath the truck’s hood, Mitch’s thoughts flashed back to a day nearly twenty years ago when a tornado alert had been issued for the Gulch City area.
He and his father had dropped everything to batten down the hatches. With the help of the ranch hands, they’d brought in the cattle, put the goats and horses in the barn, cooped up the chickens and nailed boards across every window.
With the threat of annihilation hanging over their heads, nothing else had mattered. Mitch’s eager anticipation of college, his father’s concern about paying off the loan, even the worry over his mother’s diabetes, had momentarily disappeared.
When black clouds blotted the daylight, everyone had retreated into the tornado shelter, a pair of underground rooms lined with thick concrete. One of the Hispanic workers had strummed a guitar, leading the others in songs like “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “Streets of Laredo.”
They’d emerged to find only minimal damage, a few ripped fences and some shingles knocked from the roof. After a brief period of jubilation, the everyday joys and cares had returned to center stage.
Preparing the camper for their departure roused in him some of the same feelings of girding against impending disaster, and there was no guarantee that the ending would be so fortunate. Anything could happen today, including the possibility that Loretta might have Mitch arrested or that the Tiny Wheeler gang would show up and shoot him. Or that his cousin or Kate might be injured.
Kate. He wanted his mind to linger on the way she’d felt yesterday when he was inside her, and how they’d slept with their arms around each other. But the looming confrontation drove away everything except this day and the events that might unfold.
Shortly after noon, with the camper packed and the truck humming, they arrived outside the adobe headquarters of the Pocket Opera Company. Among the scattering of vehicles, Mitch didn’t see his cousin’s silver Taurus.
“I’ll check inside,” Kate said. When he started to come with her, she gestured him back. “Just in case Loretta posted a lookout for you, I’d better go alone.”
“If you’re not back in five minutes, I’m coming in.”
She started to laugh. “Mitch, this isn’t a den of desperadoes! We’re talking about music auditions here. Do you think somebody’s going to knock me unconscious by singing a high E-flat?”
“One of the Tiny Wheeler gang could be hiding in there,” he grumbled.
“Subtlety isn’t exactly their style, in case you hadn’t noticed.” She jumped down, shut the truck door and went into the building.
Mitch drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and watched the street. He’d parked to one side, closer to the adjacent dentist’s office than to the opera building. Nevertheless, Loretta might notice him, so he had to make sure he spotted her before she could flee.
Just when he was starting to get concerned, Kate marched back to the truck. Her forehead puckered as she climbed inside, and at first he thought something must be wrong, but then she said, “No sign of her. Everything looks normal.”
“Was the singing that bad?”
“What?”
“You’re frowning.”
“Oh. No, that’s not the problem.” She sank back in her seat, blond hair spilling across the worn upholstery. “They’re doing Cosi Fan Tutte.” She said the title of the opera as if it ought to mean something to him.
Mitch searched his memory. His grandmother had sometimes played a recording of the Mozart work, but all he recalled were some pretty melodies. “Sorry, I don’t see the problem.”
“It’s about these two men who make a bet that their fiancées will be loyal, no matter what,” Kate said. “The men pretend to go off to battle, then return in disguise and court each others’ girlfriends.”
“So?” Mitch said.
“And the women fall for them! They’re so fickle! Am I like that? Do you think I’m fickle because I left my groom on my wedding day and got involved with another man?”
“I hadn’t thought about it, and frankly, I don’t care.” It was the most honest answer Mitch could give.
She stared gloomily out the windshield. “It’s depressing! For two hundred years, people have been poking fun at those two disloyal women. What would they say about me?”
“Look at it this way,” Mitch said. “There are worse fates than being immortalized.”
“Nobody else in Grazer’s Corners has ever run off on their wedding day,” Kate continued as if she hadn’t heard. “You won’t catch Jordan Grazer pulling a stunt like that. Or Hailey Olson, either.”
“Who are Jordan Grazer and Hailey Olson?”
“The other June brides.” Kate sank deeper into her seat. “Look at the legacy I left them—a bunch of bullet holes in the church walls. I always thought the townspeople would remember me as a shining example of something-or-other. They sure will, but that something-or-other isn’t mentionable in polite company.”
Mitch wasn’t sure whether to chuckle or put his arm around her. He did neither, because at that moment his gaze fixed on a silver Taurus tooling along the street toward them.
“That’s her,” he said even though he couldn’t yet make out the driver’s face or the license number.
“Ho
w can you be sure?”
“Her car pulls to the right.” He shook his head. “How can she drive across the country like that?”
“She should have asked you to fix it.”
“She should have asked me to fix a lot of things.” He studied the other vehicles on the street, but there was no sign of the rusty van. Maybe luck was with them and Tiny Wheeler and crew had gotten sidetracked.
The Taurus turned into the lot and parked in front of the building. The driver’s door opened and a slender, stocking-clad leg descended.
“I don’t see how people do that,” Kate muttered as they waited for the rest of Loretta to emerge.
“Do what?”
“She’s wearing a gold chain around her ankle. I tried that once and it snagged my stocking.”
“Kate,” he said, “what’s wrong with my cousin? Why isn’t she getting out?”
He heard a tongue click beside him. “Obviously, she’s collecting her stuff.”
Sure enough, a moment later Loretta stepped out, a large purse hooked over her shoulder and a sheaf of sheet music beneath one arm. She swung around to lock the car.
“Now?” Kate said.
“Now.”
They jumped down and crossed the lot with long strides. By the time Loretta had finished fumbling with the lock and picking up the sheet music she managed to drop in the process, the two of them came abreast of her.
“What... Oh, my God!” Wide olive-colored eyes stared at Mitch. He glimpsed a trace of the hero worship that had been her customary expression as a child, and then her expression hardened. “How dare you! This is my life, and I want you to stay out of it!”
“Loretta?” said Kate. “Do you remember me?”
Tossing back her curly brown hair, Loretta swung around. She blinked, and then recognition dawned. “Miss Bingham! What are you doing here?”
“Your friend Horst said I inspired you to go back to the ranch.” Mitch knew Kate well enough to realize she was struggling to find the best words to get through to his cousin. “So I felt responsible when I found out you might be in danger.”
Loretta tightened her grip on her music. “The only dangerous person around here is Mitch! He’s a wanted criminal, did you know that?”
Kate nodded. “I’m the sheriff in Grazer’s Comers now. I’m well aware of his status.”
The younger girl’s mouth twisted in disbelief. “You’re the sheriff, and you’re helping him?”
“The Tiny Wheeler gang knows you’re in Santa Fe.” Kate spoke gently but firmly. “We think they want to eliminate you as a witness.”
A tiny gulp betrayed Loretta’s reaction, but she braced herself, feet apart. “Look, Miss Bingham, I appreciated your help in raising my scholarship, but my life isn’t your problem. I can take care of myself.”
The girl might be twenty-five, but she hadn’t matured much. “For Pete’s sake, use a little common sense!” Mitch blurted. “You can’t deal with a bunch of armed men!”
She refused even to look at him. “Excuse me, Miss Bingham. I’ve got an audition scheduled.” With that, Loretta wheeled and marched into the building.
Mitch would have followed, but Kate put a warning hand on his arm. “We’ll make things worse if we intrude. Besides, we need to keep a lookout for the van.”
Reluctantly, he yielded. But what if Loretta slipped out a back door?
“I’ve got an idea. Come this way.” Catching Kate’s elbow, he guided her to the side of the building, where potted trees shaded a bench. “You can sit here in comfort and watch the front without anyone noticing.”
“What are you going to do?”
“A little alley skulking,” Mitch replied. “Can you whistle loud?”
“You’re talking to a school principal here.” Putting two fingers in her mouth, she let out a blast so sharp it made him jump.
“Thank you for waking up the entire neighborhood,” Mitch said dryly. “I guess I’ll be able to hear that.”
“One whistle if it’s Loretta, two if it’s those maniacs,” Kate said.
“Three if you want the sonic boom to level the entire city,” he couldn’t resist adding as they parted.
The alley was a service lane that ran the length of the block. On the far side, it was edged by two postage-stamp backyards, one nearly overgrown with trees, the other crammed with a swing set and ride-on toys. From one of the small houses, he heard the clatter of pots and pans and a woman calling to her children.
The opera building had a smooth-walled back, except for a single door, which stood open. Mitch moved as close to it as he dared, then lounged against the wall.
From inside, he heard a man speaking. A piano began the familiar chords of a Mozart aria.
Mitch hadn’t heard his cousin sing in more than a decade, but he recognized her voice instantly. It sounded like Grandma’s, the same round, sweet tone and effortless high notes, only younger and fuller.
He remembered enough Italian from his childhood to recognize that she was singing about remaining as immovable and steadfast as a rock. But it wasn’t the words that mattered, it was the music.
A shiver ran through him at her pure clarity, and he realized he was also reacting to the heartfelt emotion of the song. All the openness and yearning that Loretta refused to display in real life, she channeled into her art.
When singing was so obviously what she loved, why had she put it aside to go back to the ranch? Why had she stooped to taking a job as Billy Parkinson’s secretary?
In some way, Mitch suspected, whatever she was seeking must be tied up with the music that ran through Loretta’s veins. But what was it?
The final notes of the aria drifted into the afternoon air like a breath of perfume. He hardly dared swallow until it ended.
The man began talking again. Mitch caught the words already cast and perhaps later and Musetta.
He recognized the name of a character from the opera La Bohème. Apparently his cousin had missed her chance with the first production but might have a shot at a later one.
Just in case Loretta decided to exit this way, he waited until he heard a sharp whistle from Kate. It came only once.
He strode around the building in time to see the two women facing each other next to Loretta’s car. As he approached, he heard Kate saying, “They laid an ambush for us in Arizona. We were nearly killed.”
Disbelief and scorn flashed from Loretta’s eyes. “You mean you drove out here with Mitch? Just the two of you? You’re involved with him, aren’t you, Miss Bingham?”
He half wished Kate would lie to preserve her credibility. But he knew she was incapable of it.
“Not at first, but it turned out that way,” he heard her say. “That doesn’t change anything.”
“It makes you a little less than objective!” snapped Loretta. “Let me give you a warning, Miss Bingham. Mitch doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”
He came closer. “Loretta, I wish I’d explained things to you earlier.”
She flinched at the sound of his voice, and for an instant he saw vulnerability and embarrassment on her face. Then the icy facade returned, like a mask. “You wish you’d explained things, or that you’d given me excuses I might have swallowed?”
“Loretta, I was trying to save the ranch.”
“Oh, sure!” Her lip curled in distaste. “Then why did you spend the money on law school instead of paying off the loan?”
“Billy had already foreclosed,” he said. “I tried to arrange payments but he refused.”
“Besides, this isn’t about the ranch anymore,” Kate added. “Mitch is facing a murder charge and he needs you to testify that he fired in self-defense.”
“He’s a lawyer,” Loretta snarled. “He can get himself off! Besides, if he hadn’t shown up, I was right on the brink of...” She caught herself. “...of nothing!”
Her eyes brimming with unshed tears, she wrenched open the car door. Then she shot them a defiant glare.
“There’s no po
int in you following me, because I won’t help you!” she said. “I’m just going to pick up a few things I left at a motel room—the other people there, they’re musicians, kind of free spirits, so don’t try to involve them.”
“Friends of yours?” Kate asked.
Loretta shrugged. “I invited them to a party, and they stayed. It got kind of crowded for me, so after the first night, I decided to hang out at Sally’s place.”
“They’re not living off you, are they?” Mitch demanded.
His cousin glared. “I’m not stupid. I just paid for one night and then they made their own arrangement with the manager. Anyway, the opera’s already cast, so I’m leaving. If you come after me, I swear, I’ll call the police!”
She jumped inside, slammed the door and took off without fastening her seat belt. Kate look as if she wanted to call out a reminder, but thought the better of it.
Mitch watched in dismay as his only hope of proving his innocence vanished down the street. After such a long journey and so many close calls, he felt frozen in place by disappointment.
Kate grabbed his arm. “What are you waiting for?” she demanded. “After her!”
He was about to remind Kate that chasing his cousin would only get him arrested, when something occurred to him. If Loretta had charged her night at the motel on her credit card, Billy Parkinson might have tracked her down. If so, and if she were now headed to the motel to visit her friends, she would have a reception committee waiting for her.
He broke into a run toward the truck. Kate pelted after him.
AS THEY ROLLED down the street in the wake of the Taurus, Kate was surprised and not entirely pleased to find herself reacting to Loretta’s stubbornness with relief.
If his cousin had agreed to vouch for him, Mitch wouldn’t need Kate’s help anymore. Their odyssey would end, either with her return, alone, to Grazer’s Corners, or—
Or what? She hadn’t figured that out yet, and she was glad to have the day of reckoning postponed.
The Cowboy & The Shotgun Bride (The Brides of Grazer's Corners #1) Page 16
