“What you came here to search for.” The man sneered. “I figured you must be after something, Loretta. I was waiting for you to lead me to it.”
He must have entered the tornado shelter while they were getting the trunk open. Was it simply bad luck that he’d returned early from church, or...?
In El Paso, Loretta had gone out alone once and come back with a couple of magazines. It hadn’t occurred to Kate that her companion might have been careless and charged them.
That would be all it took. Once Billy Parkinson learned Loretta was in Texas, he would have been watching for her.
“You haven’t introduced me to your friend.” The man blocked their escape, standing with legs apart. He wore a gun in a holster.
Kate squared her shoulders. “I’m Kate Bingham, sheriff of Grazer’s County, California. Loretta comes from my jurisdiction.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you’re here on business?” taunted the man. “You got a warrant, sheriff?”
He’d caught them dead to rights. Still, Loretta was only trying to take something she believed was part of her inheritance.
“I think we can get this straightened out to your satisfaction, Mr. Parkinson,” Kate said. “If we’ve caused any damage, I’ll be happy to pay for it.”
“First, I’ll take that.” He held out his hand for the music.
Loretta clutched it to her chest. “Absolutely not! This meant something special to my grandmother. She sang it once in a concert in Milan.”
“I’m not big on sentiment.” Billy stepped toward her. “If you won’t give me what’s mine, I might have to burn it. Along with the rest of the stuff your grandmother left. And any intruders that just unfortunately happen to be in here when the place catches fire.”
It struck Kate that this man had no intention of letting them get away, even if Loretta did give him the music. He’d thought out his plan too clearly.
“What about your friends?” she asked, trying to stall to give herself time to figure out what to do next. “Tiny Wheeler’s gang. Are they going to be a party to murder?”
In view of the fact that these very men had tried to shoot her and Mitch several times, she didn’t suppose they would quibble about killing her and Loretta. But she wanted to know if she was dealing with one man or four. If she could delay Billy until his employees came home...
“They got held up in Santa Fe with a little medical problem, but I’m expecting them any minute.” Billy removed the pistol from its holster. “Don’t worry, girls. I can handle the two of you myself.”
Kate would have leaped at him, if she could be sure Loretta would seize the chance to escape. At least one of them might survive that way. If a fire broke out in this enclosed space, neither of them had a chance.
But the other woman wasn’t thinking about out how to save her life. She was clutching the manuscript and staring at the cowboy in disgust.
“You set me up!” she said. “All that stuff about how much you liked me? You’re nothing but a liar!”
“What about you?” He gave a disdainful laugh. “A broken heart that sent you scurrying back to home-sweet-home on the range?”
“Okay, you’re even,” Kate said. “Let’s go outside and she’ll give you the manuscript.”
“I won’t!”
“You will,” Kate said. “Outside.”
“Unfortunately, there’s one other little matter,” Billy said. “Our nosy friend here had a bad habit of sneaking around. That means there’s no telling what she might have overheard.”
“Such as you planning to lure Mitch onto your ranch and shoot him, then pretend you’d interrupted a break-in?” Kate hoped Loretta was getting the point. We have to get outside. This man is a killer.
“I didn’t hear them planning anything.” The younger woman sounded dazed.
“Even if you didn’t, you might say you did to save that cousin of yours,” snarled Billy.
“You think I’d lie to a jury?” A pinch of color returned to Loretta’s cheeks. “You think I’m dishonest because you are, don’t you? Mitch was right. You did steal the ranch. I don’t know how, but you must have. You don’t know how to do anything decent.”
From outside, Kate heard a car door slam. Then another. The Tiny Wheeler gang must have arrived. She had to act now.
“Get out!” She shoved Loretta forward and to one side, hoping she would dodge around Billy.
The younger woman stumbled. Billy snatched the music from her hand, shoved it into his belt and raised the pistol.
Covering them both, he edged back through the outer room. “I’m sure my boys would like to say goodbye to you ladies, but they have an unfortunate tendency to trip over their own feet.” With one hand, he untwisted the lid from a metal container. Gasoline fumes filled the room.
“You wouldn’t...” Loretta caught her balance by stepping in front of Kate. “That’s too horrible!”
“We’ve got to rush him!” But the younger woman was blocking her.
With a flick of the wrist, Billy tossed the container’s contents onto the boxes. Then he reached into his pocket and drew out a lighter.
That was when a dark shape came flying through the door behind him. With a curse, Billy fell to his knees.
Kate couldn’t see their rescuer clearly, but her heart knew him at once. It was Mitch.
Chapter Fourteen
Thrilled as she was to see Mitch, Kate knew he could die in here. They all could. It wouldn’t take much of a spark to set the place ablaze.
While he struggled with Billy, her first job was to get Loretta to safety. Grabbing the young woman’s arm, Kate hauled her forward.
The two men plunged by, narrowly missing the women. Loretta reached out and grabbed something from Billy’s belt.
It was the song for which she’d risked her life. All their lives.
And then they were outside at the foot of the steps, blinking at the intensity of the midday sun. Kate sucked in great breaths of the sweet air.
“Go on!” she said. “I’ve got to help Mitch.”
But someone was descending toward them. A big, beefy man wearing a furious scowl.
“Chief Novo!” Loretta wavered at the bottom of the steps. “What are you doing here?”
Kate’s heart sank. The man was Billy’s friend and, judging by the ambush in Oak Creek Canyon, his accomplice.
To her surprise, he moved aside and let Loretta pass. “You must be Kate,” he said. “Get on up there.”
“But Mitch—”
The chief frowned as he caught a whiff from inside the shelter. “Is that gasoline?”
From the top of the stairs, Loretta called, “I can see the van coming up the drive! It’s Tiny Wheeler!”
Chief Novo muttered an oath. “I’ve got to head them off. Fetch the hose, you two! That place could go up like a tinderbox!”
He took off at top speed. Kate ran to get the hose, which lay tangled in a heap at the back of the house. After tucking the sheet music onto the rear porch, Loretta hurried to help her.
It took an agonizing length of time to unknot the mess. Kate kept expecting to hear the blast of gunshots or, worse, smell the choking harshness of fire.
Finally she yanked out the last kink and Loretta tossed her the nozzle. “Go ahead! I’ll turn it on.”
“Full force!” Grasping the hose under her arm, Kate pounded toward the shelter.
As she reached the entrance, she heard masculine grunts and the thud of bodies. Thank goodness, they were both still alive.
“Here goes!” cried Loretta.
The hose inflated with the weight of the water. Kate reached to twist the nozzle into the On position.
Her hand wrenched at the metal, in vain. The thing was jammed.
She planted herself in the stairwell to get a better grip. A scuffling noise from inside startled her, and then Mitch shouted “Move!” barely in time for Kate to jump out of the way.
Through the entrance lunged the two men. Billy fell backw
ard, hit the steps with a painful crack and lay still.
Mitch stood over him, breathing hard. His chin bled from a scrape, his upper lip was swollen and one cheek had begun turning a spectacular shade of purple. A yoked blue shirt clung to his broad shoulders and heaving chest, and raw fury blazed from eyes the color of molten gold.
Kate had never seen, never dreamed of such pure masculine power. None of Agatha Flintstone’s knights in shining armor could ever have looked so devastating.
To her amazement, in spite of what she’d just been through, she yearned to drag the man into the barn, pull off those sweat-soaked clothes and thank him every way she could for saving her life.
Instead, she lifted the hose and said, “Want a shower?”
“Not in my face, thank you, Fireman Kate.” With a crooked grin, he hoisted Billy’s inert body up the steps and onto the weedy ground.
“I’d better dilute that gasoline before the whole place goes up.” She gritted her teeth and, using her shirttail to get better traction, grasped the nozzle.
“Don’t go inside!”
“I’m not stupid.” She yanked, hard, and finally twisted the nozzle. Water spewed in through the door.
Some of the outer room’s contents might suffer damage, but it couldn’t be helped. At least, Kate thought, most of Grandma Luisa’s treasures could be saved.
Mitch prodded Billy with his boot to make sure the man wasn’t regaining consciousness, then came to take the hose. “Where’s Novo? He was right behind me.”
As she reached the top of the stairwell, Kate spotted Loretta standing to one side, peering past the house and down toward the front drive. The younger woman responded with a thumbs-up signal.
“Apparently he’s just captured the Tiny Wheeler gang.” As Kate spoke, she heard a tremor in her voice. Then she realized her knees were shaking, too. “I feel funny.”
“You’re not going to faint, are you?” Mitch turned toward her, momentarily forgetting to watch the hose. Until, that is, water crashed against the front of the shelter. It bounced off and enveloped them in a fine, cold spray.
Kate started to laugh, and found that she wanted to cry, too, but she wasn’t sure why. It was a relief when Mitch turned off the nozzle, and then she heard eager shouts coming from the far side of the hill.
The ranch hands had returned from church in time to give Mitch a warm welcome, and assist Chief Novo in bringing everything under control.
IT WAS SEVERAL hours before the tumult died down.
A fire crew arrived, summoned by the chief, and hauled half the contents of the tornado shelter into the yard. The local doctor took charge of Billy, who had suffered a concussion but would recover to face charges.
There would be two counts of attempted murder stemming from that day’s events. And, after all three of his accomplices broke down under questioning, he faced further charges in the death of Jules Kominsky.
The gang members were wanted in Arizona in connection with the pileup in Oak Creek Canyon, and of course in Grazer’s Corners. It would be up to the respective district attorneys to work out who got them first.
The reign of Billy Parkinson and the Tiny Wheeler gang at the High C Ranch had come to an inglorious end.
Although the title to the land remained unclear, no one objected when Mitch, Kate and Loretta stayed at the house after the police and firefighters left. It was a good thing, because, even after her shivering wore off, Kate didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything except stay close to Mitch.
The three of them retreated to the living room. Loretta, suffering from a delayed reaction, huddled in a love seat with a comforter wrapped around her.
Kate nestled on the couch and gazed through the bay window at the ranch spread out below. Green land patched with shrubs and etched with fences stretched into the dusty distance. Cattle and horses clustered placidly near a stream that sparkled in the June sunshine.
No wonder Mitch’s grandfather had chosen this site to build his home. Its pastoral view brought peace, slowly but surely, seeping into Kate’s turbulent soul.
Towering above her as he paced the floor, Mitch seemed different from the man she had come to know these past weeks. No longer a fugitive, watchful and restrained, but lord of the manor, his mind filled with responsibilities.
Kate could feel his attention shift across the landscape from a broken fence to a potholed trail. All the way up to a sagging trellis that stood by the front porch, and a climbing rose grown scraggly from neglect.
A lot of work needed to be done as soon as he regained his deed, and he must be eager to get started. This was a magnificent ranch.
Part of Kate’s heart belonged here with him. And part of it was firmly lodged back in Grazer’s Comers, the town that had always been home, and especially at the school that still needed her.
She decided not to think about it today. She just wanted to sit here and delight in the fact that all three of them were safe. And that Mitch, whatever the future might bring, was no longer a wanted man.
Not wanted except by her, she admitted with a sigh. And she wanted him with every fiber in her body. Wanted to kiss the bruises from his face and strip away those dusty clothes and heal them both in the most elemental way.
But this wasn’t the moment. Especially not with Loretta so uncharacteristically pale. Once the fact had sunk in that they’d nearly died, she had withdrawn into herself, not even glancing at the sheet music she’d set on a table beside her.
“You haven’t told us how you came to bring the cavalry to our rescue,” Kate said, almost as interested in piquing Loretta’s curiosity as in satisfying her own.
A moment passed. Then Mitch turned away from the window, blinking as if newly awakened. “I’m sorry. I’ve been noticing how badly Billy let the place run down.”
“Maybe we can use the building supplies he left.” Loretta perked up. “Mario’s good at carpentry. It’s thanks to him the place isn’t in even worse shape.”
Gingerly, Mitch lowered himself onto the split upholstery of an easy chair. “I hope you’ll stick around for a while and make suggestions. It’s going to take me a while to get my mind focused on running a ranch again.”
“I’d love to.” Loretta let the comforter slide from her shoulders. “So, how did you get Chief Novo on your side?”
“Well,” Mitch said, “it all started when I walked into the church and the pastor looked up and said, ‘Ah, the prodigal son has come home.”’
OVER A HUNDRED FACES had turned toward him. But where Mitch had feared to see disgust or anger, he saw mostly sympathy and support.
The townspeople believed in him. That fact buoyed him on as he announced, “I’ve come to turn myself in. But first I want everyone to know that if I die in custody, don’t believe any stories about me trying to escape or attacking the police chief. You see, he’s already tried once to have me killed.”
Chief Novo hadn’t denied it, or blustered. He had stood to face Mitch and said, “What the hell are you talking about?”
Mitch told him, and the assembled worshipers-turned-witnesses, about his search for Sarah Rosen in Oak Creek Canyon, and how he’d been ambushed. As he spoke, the chief’s face darkened with fury.
“I never set you up,” he said. “It was Billy. I told him where you were going, but I never... Where is he? Anybody seen him today?”
No one had. Then a rancher mentioned spotting Loretta’s car heading for the High C.
“She was looking for something valuable,” Mitch said. “I guess she’s trying to sneak back onto the premises. Billy might have figured it out and set her up.”
And Kate, he had thought with a rush of panic. Kate would have stayed with her, if she knew Loretta was coming back.
“What are you waiting for?” the chief had demanded. “Let’s hightail it over there!”
And so they had.
“Thank goodness you came when you did,” Kate said.
The filtered sunlight gave her face a warm glow, or per
haps it came from within. Mitch had to fight the impulse to take that defiant chin in his hand, and kiss her until they both forgot how tired and dirty they were.
But he couldn’t. He had too many things to sort out, deep inside.
Like the fact that when he’d driven onto the ranch ahead of Chief Novo, he had felt nothing at all for this place that had haunted and obsessed him for the past ten years. The only thought in his mind had been that he couldn’t bear to lose Kate.
He’d wrenched open his door as soon as the truck stopped, and hit the ground at a run. A roaring abyss had opened in his gut at the realization that if he failed Kate, nothing would ever have meaning for him again.
And now? Mitch still cared about this place, his family home. He knew its scents and textures in his soul, and he felt an obligation to claim it and restore it.
What he no longer knew was himself. Who he was. What he wanted from life. And until he did, he had no right to make demands on Kate.
“I don’t believe it!” The cry from Loretta jerked him from his reflections. His cousin had picked up the top page of the yellowing manuscript and was squinting at it.
“It’s damaged?” Kate asked. “Surely it can be restored.”
Loretta shook her head. “No, it isn’t that. It’s...it’s not by Mozart.”
Mitch hadn’t paid much attention to the explanation Kate had given him earlier, about his cousin’s quest. Now he recalled something about Grandma Luisa bringing the song from Italy more than fifty years ago.
“Well, that’s hardly surprising,” he said. “How would she have come by such an old, rare piece of music? Not to mention the fact that Mozart was Austrian, not Italian.”
“But she told me...” Loretta chewed on her lip. “I guess she was delirious. Or I misunderstood.”
“Who did write it?” Kate asked. “It’s obviously an original piece of music.”
The younger woman touched the edge of the paper lightly, as if trying to reassure it, or herself, that all was not lost. “It’s by a composer named Pietro Mascagni. He was a conductor that she worked with at La Scala—I remember her telling me. He died several years later.”
The Cowboy & The Shotgun Bride (The Brides of Grazer's Corners #1) Page 19
