Rustler's Moon

by Jodi Thomas

  No, she’d never go for that.

  To say he didn’t understand her was an understatement. They weren’t just from different planets; they were from opposite solar systems. She was mad at him for opening her door. Hell. That made no sense. And besides, she hadn’t mentioned much of anything about her fiancé. He thought all women ran down every old lover within the first two hours of meeting anyone new. It was a comparison-shopping kind of thing.

  “Okay, Angie, you don’t have to say thank you.” He kept his voice calm. All his anger was turned inward as he realized he’d been dating girls by their bust size and not their IQ. He wouldn’t be surprised if a few he’d picked up at the Two Step around closing time didn’t know how to open a car door. He usually drove them home and gave a quick kiss, then spent the rest of the night wondering why he’d put his tongue in the mouth of someone who was brain-dead.

  “Fair enough,” Angie said, unaware he wasn’t paying attention to her as they passed down the main street of Crossroads. “I had fun talking with you and Yancy over dinner. I usually eat meals alone. Just me and Doc Holliday.”

  “Doc’s been gone for quite a while, Angie. You talking to his ghost?”

  “Doc Holliday is my cat.”

  Damn! Now he felt sorry for her. She ate all her meals with a pet. “You should try eating meals with Uncle Vern. He’ll make you long for silence.”

  “How long has he lived with you?” she asked, as if just making conversation.

  “All my life. But he doesn’t live with me. He has his own place on the ranch. I think my grandfather built it for him when he was about thirty and hadn’t moved off. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but when I was in the army, I missed the old guy. My folks were always busy with their lives. I was simply an accident they had to raise, but Uncle Vern always had time for me.”

  Wilkes almost laughed aloud. “Some of his stories go on for days. He can remember every detail about the blizzard of ’72, but can never find his truck keys. Even in his seventies, he’s still the best cowboy around. Last winter we were in the saddle for days during a storm. Heifers were dropping calves in the snow. He found twice the number I did and brought them home to his cabin so the newborns could thaw out. If it’s below freezing, ice forms on the calf’s mouth and he can’t suck.”

  She didn’t ask any questions as they turned down the road toward the museum. He guessed he was telling her more information than she wanted to know.

  Wilkes expected her to ask about what he’d done in the army, but she didn’t. Which was fine. He’d been telling his stories for so long he wasn’t sure which were memories and which were lies.

  An hour with Angie reminded Wilkes of what a boring man he’d become. He’d earned a degree. He’d traveled all over the world, mostly to places no sane man would want to go. But he couldn’t keep a conversation going with this clever woman who had a love for history, a subject he once majored in.

  When he pulled up to the only vehicle left in the museum parking lot, he lowered his voice. “Angie, I don’t want to frighten you, but there is a car parked near the entrance with a man sitting in the driver’s seat. Not something we see around these parts. He had to pull off the main road and into weeds to park there.”

  She leaned over the console and looked out his window. “I thought I saw it sitting there earlier. It looked like a Mercury Marauder.”

  “Could be some guy just pulled over to check his phone messages.”

  She shook her head, brushing away her curly hair that had long since tumbled out of the hair band. “No, the car was parked there before dark. I’m surprised you noticed it at night. I barely saw it.”

  “There was a time I was trained to notice things out of place. Old habits die hard.” Like now, he thought. He’d never forget the smell of her hair. No hair spray or dye, just fresh as a spring breeze.

  Even in the dashboard lights he could see the tension in her face. The car frightened her. Maybe everything frightened her. She’d been afraid of him when they’d met. But in the café, she’d seemed calm.

  “Maybe he’s waiting for the museum parking lot to be empty so he can rob the place.” Wilkes doubted his own idea. All the items in the museum were priceless to the folks around here, but they would be a hard sell on an open market.

  “Maybe.” She didn’t sound as if she believed him. “Can I ask a big favor?”

  “Sure.” If she wanted him to confront the guy in the car, he’d take the .45 in his glove box with him. If the guy was simply checking his messages, he would have stopped at the historical marker a quarter mile back, not in the weeds behind a line of trees. Only, from the marker he wouldn’t have been able to see the front of the museum.

  “Would you drive me home?” she whispered. “If he stays here when we leave, I’ll notify the sheriff to watch the museum.”

  “And if he follows us, you think he’s looking for you, right?” Wilkes couldn’t help but wonder what kind of trouble someone who looked so innocent could be in. Cupcake thief? He frowned. Maybe the Mercury belonged to the ex-fiancé who never got over her honey kisses. Maybe Jones changed his mind about the marriage and moving to Texas.

  “Right,” she whispered again. “He could be looking for me.”

  Wilkes frowned. Damn if her voice in the darkness wasn’t turning him on. “So, I take you home and lose the guy on the way. That’s the plan.”

  She nodded. “If he knew where I lived, he’d be waiting for me there.”

  Wilkes pulled out of the parking lot and headed through the entrance. The stranger’s car pulled in behind him. He grinned, already knowing exactly where he was going. “How about a tour of the canyon, Angie? Within ten minutes I’ll have him so lost on the trails, it’ll take him till dawn to figure his way out. Once we’re at the bottom, I’ll speed up and lose him.”

  Angie turned in her seat so she could look out the back window. She watched the car following them as they took the winding road down into the canyon.

  The black car dropped farther behind, probably trying not to be noticed. When Wilkes reached the bottom, he turned off the main road taking first one trail and then another, speeding up on the turns. The black car couldn’t have caught them even if he’d tried. Then Wilkes took a sharp right into a camping area, killed the engine and turned off his lights.

  Minutes later the Mercury raced past, barely making the curve.

  Wilkes took her hand in the darkness. “He’s gone, Angie. You can breathe now.” His thumb moved over her small fingers in comfort.

  After a moment she straightened and pulled her hand away.

  Using only the moonlight, Wilkes slowly retraced his path, watching the dark outlines of brush on the sides of the dirt road as his guide. When he made it back to the main road, he flipped the lights on low and drove out of the canyon.

  “We lost him,” she whispered near his ear as she watched out the back window.

  He reached over and brushed her cheek lightly. “And we know two things. One, he’s not planning to rob the museum, and two, he is looking for either me or you.”

  “Do people ever chase you?” she asked.

  “Never.” He turned his head slightly. For a moment he just breathed her in.

  Then, slowly, she turned those summer-green eyes at him, and he had no doubt Angie guessed what he was doing. She shifted back in her seat without a word.

  He turned his eyes back to the road and felt like an idiot. They weren’t a couple of teenagers on a first date. He was simply helping the curator out.

  Twenty minutes later they were at her cabin. He grabbed a flashlight from the backseat and climbed out of the car a few seconds behind her. She could follow his flashlight beam as he circled the house, then returned to the car. Angie stood and held up her hand as he walked toward her. “Thank you, but you don’t have to walk me to the door.”


  Wilkes closed his fingers around her raised hand and lowered it to her side as if he were opening an invisible gate latch. “I was checking the perimeter to make sure no one has been here.”

  “Oh,” she whispered.

  Wilkes studied her outline in the shadows. She had the sexiest whisper without even trying. If he were a blind man, he’d fall for her with that voice alone, and the way she smelled and how her kiss tasted and the soft feel of her skin. Hell, if he’d been a blind man, he might not notice that she was too short.

  He tried to relax, hoping she would, also. “I guess I should give you your hand back,” he said, without turning loose of her.

  She laughed, and he felt a little of the tension between them ease.

  He slipped her hand, still surrounded by his, in his pocket. “On second thought, I think I’ll keep it. I like the feel of your skin, Angie.”

  She tugged and his whole body moved closer to her. “You have to give it back, Wilkes. I’m afraid it’s attached to the rest of my body.”

  This wasn’t the time or the place, but he leaned close against her cheek and whispered, “Kiss me, Angie. I need to know if you still taste like honey.”

  “I...” She might be trying to think of how to say no, but her body moved closer and she was no longer trying to pull her hand away.

  “You can, if you want to, Angie. I wouldn’t mind.” For some crazy reason he wanted her closer. He was positive he wasn’t attracted to a woman like her, but his body hadn’t gotten the message.

  “I don’t want to,” she said and stepped back.

  He let her hand go. Her fingers slid out of his pocket, and before he could react, she was hurrying toward her door.

  Wilkes stood on the first step and stared at her blocking the doorway. If she wasn’t going to kiss him, he doubted she would invite him in. “Thanks to the rain it was easy to tell no one has been around here. I found some deer tracks out behind your cabin and a few more on the trail to the lake, but nothing else. My guess is this isn’t a place even locals could find easily, and Mr. Mercury is not a local.”

  “How do you know?”

  “If he was, he wouldn’t have been dumb enough to follow me into the canyon after dark.”

  “Thank you for checking for me,” she said.

  “You don’t have to thank me, Angie. I’m happy to help. We’re friends. Well, almost anyway.” He headed toward his car. “You got a phone in there?”

  She nodded. “A landline left by the owner. The sheriff said he usually rents the place in the summer, so he leaves it on. I’ve also got my cell.”

  “Good. Call the sheriff and tell him what happened, then ask him for a ride to work in the morning. If a black car comes down the hill to the lake, it will have to pass Dan’s house. My guess is before it pulls down your drive, there will be a sheriff’s car following it.”

  “What about my van?”

  “Don’t drive it until I have a chance to take a look at it. Leave it exactly where it is. If he was waiting for you, he might have messed with your van just to make sure you didn’t run off.”

  Angie stepped out onto the porch, her arms wrapped around her waist, her head shaking. “I’m afraid, Wilkes.”

  He knew he should stay away from her, but in three steps he reached her. If ever there was a woman who needed a hug, it was Angie.

  He wrapped her in his arms and held on tightly, half expecting her to bolt.

  But she didn’t. She rested her head on his chest and cried softly. She must know something he didn’t. Maybe she knew the reason someone might be following her.

  “Want to tell me why someone’s looking for you?” he asked as his hand cradled her head.

  “No. I can’t,” she whispered. “I don’t have a clue.”

  Several ideas of what she might have done came to mind, but none of them fit. She hadn’t committed a crime, or the police would have walked right up to the museum and arrested her. She couldn’t have escaped from a biker gang, no tattoos. However, he wouldn’t mind doing a complete search. Just for the sake of making sure, of course.

  “Don’t worry, you’re safe here.” He doubted he was right, but the words might help. “If you get scared, run to the sheriff. If he’s not home, there’s a back road by the dam. It dead-ends at the north corner of my land. Cross over the cattle gate and you’ll be able to see the lights of my house.”

  She straightened. “Thanks. I’m sorry I fell apart. I’m usually stronger than that.”

  “No problem.” He moved his thumb over her cheek to wipe away a tear. “You don’t happen to want to kiss me, do you?” If she did, it might be interesting. If she didn’t, at least it would take her mind off the black Mercury.

  She laughed, just as he hoped she would. “No, thanks.”

  To his surprise Wilkes felt greatly disappointed.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Lauren

  FRIDAY NIGHT OF homecoming seemed magical. Lauren could almost feel the excitement in the dorm. Both her mother and her father had sent money for a new dress, and, for once, Lauren spent every penny. Red dress, black shoes and red-and-black wrap that cost almost as much as her dress.

  Her date might not be the one she’d hoped for, but she was still excited. Her first real party on campus. Her first college game. Part of her saw this as the caterpillar she’d been all through high school finally turning into a butterfly.

  She told herself she would have talked it over with Lucas if he had called, but she hadn’t heard from him all week. Lucas was special to her; he had been since the night he’d saved her life two and a half years ago, but he never once said they were boyfriend and girlfriend or that they shouldn’t date others. Maybe he did get in late Sunday night and maybe he did work every weeknight at the AG barn, but surely he could have called. They could have talked, or met for coffee downstairs.

  Her roommate, Polly, sat across the room watching Lauren get dressed. “Now, let me get this straight,” she said. “The guy we went out with last Friday isn’t the one taking you to homecoming. You know, the redheaded one. Tim, right?”

  “Tim is just a friend and he is not my date,” Lauren said.

  “And the guy who calls, the one you talk all mushy-like to, isn’t the one taking you.” Polly looked terrible, hungover and depressed, but she seemed to be trying to get her brain working enough to figure out Lauren’s dating life for some reason.

  “Right. Lucas is the one who calls and he’s working this weekend.” Lauren didn’t want to mention Reid Collins’s name because Polly would only ask more questions. “I’m just going with someone from back home. He probably asked me because his dad and my dad are friends.”

  “Okay, but why didn’t he ask you out for a hamburger and not to a hundred-dollars-a-plate dinner if he’s just being nice?” Polly frowned. “Oh, never mind. My head hurts too much to care, so I’ll just get to the big questions. How come you have a date tonight and I don’t? I’ve been going out every night since we started rooming together. Now, the biggest date night ever, and I’m left behind.”

  “I don’t know, Polly. Gotta go. See you.” Lauren grabbed her wrap and decided to wait downstairs for Reid. Every conversation she’d had with her roommate was always about Polly. The girl couldn’t have passed second-grade science. How could the planets rotate around the sun when Polly was convinced the world revolved around her?

  Tim was the one waiting for her in the long lobby with its scattered, uncomfortable couches and a few study tables. In a sweatshirt and jogging pants, he obviously wasn’t going to the spirit dinner or even the game.

  “Hi, Tim.” She smiled. “I can’t go hang out tonight. I’m going to homecoming with Reid, remember?”

  “I know. I just dropped by hoping to get to tell you one more time not to go.” He looked defeated. “I know I�
�m wasting my breath, L.”

  He’d used her initial, something he hadn’t done since middle school.

  She didn’t appreciate his concern. Just because Reid and Tim were no longer friends didn’t mean she should turn Reid down. She’d gone to every one of Reid’s birthday parties since they were five. She’d known him as long as she’d known Tim. The only guilt she felt tonight was that she hadn’t had a chance to tell Lucas. Maybe, since they weren’t really dating, he didn’t have a right to know if she went out with someone else. But deep down she knew she should have told Lucas.

  Before Lauren could answer Tim, Reid came through the far door looking Bond-like in a black suit with a Texas Tech tie. He was one of those rare people who’d been born into a family where everyone was good-looking, and he wore his genetic gift as easily as a second skin.

  When she turned around to see Tim’s reaction, her old friend was gone. Vanished amid the columns between the seating areas.

  “Evening, Lauren. You look hot!” Reid smiled. “Spin around for me. I’ve never seen your hair curled like that.” He made little circles with his finger. “You’re going to look good on my arm tonight.”

  She twirled round, letting her long hair float like a cape. “I know I look better than in high school. My boobs finally filled out.” She laughed remembering how he’d teased her about being flat chested.

  “I hadn’t noticed.” He took a deep breath and asked, “Lauren, just for tonight...could we forget that we’ve known each other since we were kids? I’d just as soon my frat brothers think I lucked out in finding a pretty and smart girl for a change.”

  His compliment made her blush. “So no stories about how you lost your trunks in the town pool or how you...”

  “No stories. I promise to be a perfect gentleman.” He took her hand. “I already got the call from my old man and your dad warning me that if I step out of line, they’d take turns killing me. Dad even said that since Charley is finally acting halfway sane, I could easily fall out of the favorite-son chair.”