Hearts On Fire

by Childs, Penny

  JD had nearly passed by the little shack in the dark. But luck had been on his side and he’d shined the light over just the right spot, catching the snow covered building. The windows were all shuttered which he counted as a blessing. The wind and cold would at least be blocked out. Riding the mare right up to the front door he eased Lizzie around and out of the saddle then slid her as gently as he could down the mare’s side and to the ground, wincing when she landed in a heap. Jumping off the horse he lashed the reins around a small tree and went to Lizzie, kneeling next to her. “You know, you could help me out a little,” he grumbled as he picked her up. Holding her to his chest he headed for the front door, praying it would be unlocked. He hated the thought of having to break in the door because it would then be a bitch to keep the cold out. Taking the knob in his shaking fingers he said a silent prayer and when it turned he let out a breath of relief.

  Shining the flashlight around he found lanterns scattered about the one room shack. A threadbare sofa sat before the fireplace. He deposited Lizzie upon it and went to the fireplace mantel where he found a lighter which he used to begin lighting the lanterns. When he had the room lit he did a quick survey and was rewarded by finding the wood box next to the hearth full of dry wood along with a smaller box containing kindling papers and twigs. “I’ll kiss ya, Josh,” he whispered as he began placing the makings of the fire in the wrought iron wood basket.

  In no time he had a fire started and rubbing his hands together briskly, he turned to Lizzie. She hadn’t so much as moved, which terrified him. God, she wasn’t even shivering. Was that a bad sign? Was that worse than her shivering her bones loose? He didn’t know, but he knew he had to get her warm as fast as possible. Standing, he went to the sofa and pulled it across the wood plank floor so that it was closer to the fire. That was fine and dandy, he thought, except it would take her forever to warm up that way.

  “It’s not like you haven’t seen her naked before,” he told himself. But then he’d wanted her. He’d loved her. “Still do, you fool,” he chastised himself roughly.

  He found blankets on a shelf and as the little shack finally began to warm some he gently began to remove her wet clothes, hanging them on a chair in front of the fire. A fluffy hat with ear flaps, insulated gloves, a heavy winter coat… the more he peeled off the more his blood heated. “You’ve been a lot of trouble this time around, Lizzie,” he told her as he covered her with the blanket. Squatting down next to her he smoothed some black strands off her cheek. At least her color was starting to come back and her lips were returning to their normal color. She shivered violently under the blanket and he took that as a good sign too. “All right darlin’, I’ve got a horse to see to and I’ll be back.” He wanted to get the mare as much out of the weather as he could and if he remembered right there had been a small shed type barn with a couple stalls in it. If Josh had been putting work into the shack he’d bet money he’d taken care of the barn as well.

  The mare nickered softly to him when he came back out with the flashlight in hand. “I know, sweetie,” he told her, brushing snow off the saddle and her hips. “We’ll see about getting you out of this shit.” Taking her by the reins he led her around the side of the shack through the knee deep snow, smiling when he flashed the light across the little barn. “See, all cozy,” he told her as he slid the door open and led her in. The only change he could see was Josh had taken down the partition between the two stalls and made one big area out of it. Closing the door behind them he walked to the front of the stall and out, flashing the light around. A few buckets sat in one corner along with a few bales of hay. An old hand water pump stood near the wall and keeping his fingers crossed he grabbed a bucket and started pumping, hoping the damn thing would prime. When water finally gushed out, rusty and smelling of iron, he nearly hooted. “We’re in luck, girl.”

  She drank the water down as he removed the saddle from her back and ate hay as he rubbed her thick winter coat out. Satisfied she would be all right until morning he left her in the stall and headed back for the shack. Back to Lizzie.

  She was much as he’d left her though he noticed she’d snuggled more deeply into the blanket, pulling it nearly to her nose. Standing over her he felt something stir in him and as much as he tried to tamp it down, he could not. He still loved her. “Damnit,” he muttered crossly as he forced himself to turn away from her. She’d crossed a line he wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to uncross. She’d taken money from his mother to hide his child from him. It made him ache all the way to his soul.

  Rummaging through the cupboards he found a glass container of instant coffee crystals, a jar of frozen peanut butter and half a bottle of whiskey. The good stuff. A shot glass sat next to it and he pulled both from the shelf. Pouring himself a shot he gave Lizzie’s form another long look. What he wouldn’t give for things to be different. But they weren’t. Tipping his head back he swallowed the shot, letting the liquid warm a trail from the back of his tongue to this stomach before walking back to her. She was still shivering under the blankets, her teeth chattering.

  “All right, honey.” He was only doing it to warm her. Nothing more. That’s what he kept telling himself as he removed his own clothes and slid under the blankets with her. That’s what he kept telling himself as he pulled her to him and wrapped himself around her freezing cold body. That’s what he told himself as he lay there listening to her soft breathing, letting it lull him to sleep.

  Chapter 29

  He stepped into the hospital lobby, his eyes scanning the room. It was late, so there weren’t too many people around. No one he knew. Which was good. It was time. Tonight. Things were coming to a head and now it was time to deal with Katy. He knew damn well she was faking her so called coma. He just knew it. She was a superb actress, as she’d proven so many times in the past with her little hustles and scams. He’d never seen anyone who could lie with the ease and success she could. She would have made a killing in Hollywood.

  Tonight he would end all of her lies. For good. He didn’t need her anymore. Now he knew where the money was hidden. And damn that bitch, Lizzie, she’d known too, hadn’t she? She’d thought to go get it for herself tonight but she’d managed to lose her horse.

  So he’d take care of Katy and then he’d go to the shack. He could be there by first light, before any of the search parties could make it there. Maybe Lizzie had made it there, maybe she hadn’t. Maybe JD was even with her. If he was… well, he’d have to be dealt with as well. No one was going to stop him anymore. He wouldn’t allow it.

  He’d taken the stairs to avoid running into as many people and as he rounded the corner in the nearly deserted hallway of floor 3 he looked to room 318. The sheriff’s deputy was nowhere to be seen. Just as he’d known he wouldn’t be. The guy had a new girlfriend and he liked to sneak over to the hotel across the street to meet her on his lunch hour.

  Good for him. Bad for Katy.

  Unable to sleep, Josh stalked the living room of the ranch house. Though he’d repeatedly told his mother JD was fine he wasn’t really as confident as he tried to make her believe. The snow was coming down hard. The wind was howling. The temperature had dipped below zero. JD had not come back to the ranch, so he was out there somewhere. Josh just hoped like hell he’d remembered the shack and made it there. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it would be shelter against this bitter cold.

  Stopping by the fireplace he added another log and stirred the ashes, his mind playing a hundred different scenarios through while he squatted there. Cursing himself for even entertaining thoughts of his brother freezing to death he poked the logs, sending sparks flying.

  “I always did like looking at you, cowboy.”

  Though the voice surprised him he didn’t jump up. Instead he turned slowly on the balls of his feet to look across the room at her. “Katy?” He wanted to smile, seeing her standing there like he had on numerous other occasions. But it was the middle of the night and she was supposed to be out cold in the hospital. If she�
�d woke, Sandra, a friend of his at the hospital, would have phoned him. So he was surprised she was here. Yet he wasn’t. Katy, he knew from experience, was always up to something. Standing and brushing his palms on the thighs of his jeans he calmly asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “My first choice was my sister but I can’t very well go strolling into the hotel looking for her.”

  So she didn’t know. He’d get to that in a minute. First and foremost he walked across the carpet to her. She looked like hell. Her face was pale, dark circles hung under her eyes and she seemed to need the support of the wall to stand. “I’m guessing they didn’t release you from the hospital.” He took her by an elbow and led her to the couch, where he sat her down. Taking a seat next to her, he said, “Far as I knew you had a babysitter at your door. How’d you con your way past him?”

  She frowned. “I didn’t. He was across the street getting laid.” Waving a hand at him, she sighed. “I take it you’re pissed off at me for the thing with your sister.”

  She was so blasé about it he did get pissed. “Thing?” he asked incredulously. “It’s more than a thing, god damnit. You were blackmailing her. And it got way out of hand, now didn’t it? Someone tried to kill you. And Julie… she tried to kill herself over this whole mess you made. That’s not to mention the danger you’ve put your own sister in.”

  She sat up straight, her eyes widening. “Danger?”

  “Grady Summers paid her a visit the other night,” he growled heatedly. “He held a knife to her throat and demanded she tell him where you’d hidden the money. If you don’t care about anyone else maybe you at least give a shit about her.” She still looked so frail he wanted to take her in his arms and protect her. He also wanted to choke her.

  Katy stiffened but managed to keep her poker face.

  “How could you employ the help of a piece of shit like Grady Summers after what you told me he did to you? Or was that all a lie to get sympathy from me?”

  She lifted a shoulder carelessly. “It was not a lie.”

  Josh wanted to grab her and shake her silly. “He raped you, Katy! Repeatedly! And you bring him into this little scam of yours?”

  “I know what he did,” she hissed, her face coloring crimson. “And I don’t answer to you, Josh.”

  He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache of monster proportions coming on. “No, you don’t. You don’t answer to anyone, do you?”

  Her chin lifted a notch. “Never have. Look, I came here for one thing.”

  He lifted a brow. “I can hardly wait to hear this. Because if you think I’m helping you break any more laws you’re out of your mind. What I ought to do is bundle you off to the sheriff’s station. I’m sure they have some charges they’d like to file against you.”

  She scowled. “I don’t need any of your shit right now, Josh. What I need is a phone. I don’t have my cell and you’d think pay phones had gone the way of dinosaurs.” She looked him in the eyes. “I need to get a hold of Lizzie right away. One phone call and then I’ll be out of your hair for good.”

  The corners of his mouth turned down. She was a pain in the ass but the thought of never seeing her again didn’t sit well either. “Well now, that’s gonna be a tricky request to honor.”

  Worry lines sprang up on her brow. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean your sister took off on one of my horses this afternoon. The horse came back to the ranch. Lizzie didn’t.”

  Katy jumped to her feet. “And you’re just sitting here on your ass doing nothing?”

  Calmly he said, “Pretty much. Matt as much as ordered me to stay home and wait. He’s not letting anyone go out looking right now and as much as I don’t like it I know he’s right. He’d just wind up with a bunch more people lost out there.”

  Her face paled again. “Matt?” she whispered.

  “Yeah. You know. The sheriff. We called him as soon as we knew we had two people missing out on the mountain in this storm.”

  “Two?”

  He squeezed the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. “Yeah. JD took off after her. The fuckin’ blockhead.”

  “JD.” Her voice held a twinge of relief.

  He told her about Lizzie conning her way onto a horse and him coming home to find not only her car down by the barn, but JD’s rig too. And then about the horse coming galloping back home without his rider.

  “Does JD trust Matt?” Katy asked, staring at the fire.

  Josh scowled. “What? Of course he does. They’re best friends. Or they were back in the day. They still hang out when JD visits.”

  Katy began to pace the room, muttering to herself.

  “Why would you ask if JD trusts Matt?” Josh asked suspiciously.

  “Which direction did Lizzie ride off in? Any idea?”

  “West. Why’d you ask about Matt like that?”

  “West,” she repeated thoughtfully.

  “Yeah. I’m hoping she was headed for the hunting shack or something and actually made it there. Maybe the horse got loose from her there.” He watched her pace. Watched her start biting a fingernail in earnest.

  “Of course she figured it out,” Katy muttered to herself just loud enough for Josh to catch.

  “Figured what— Damnit, Katy!” He stalked to her and grabbed her by the wrists. This time he did shake her. “You hid the fucking money there, didn’t you? Is that why Lizzie went there?”

  She tried in vain to pull away from him. “Oww!”

  “Why did you ask about Matt?” he shouted, wanting the answer, but also fearing it.

  She met his direct gaze with one of her own. “I think you’ve got it figured out, cowboy. But in case you don’t, he’s the one screwing around with your little sister. And he’s the one who tried to kill me.”

  He dropped her wrists as though they’d burned his hands and backed away from her. “I assumed… I assumed it had been Grady who had tried to kill you.”

  She smirked at him. “You know what they say about assumptions.”

  Backing up he allowed himself to sink into the sofa. “Matt?” he asked, still dumbfounded.

  “Yeah. Get over it. Did you mention the shack to him?”

  He scrubbed a hand over his face and looked up at her with fear in his eyes. “Of course I did. I told him everything. I even drew him a fucking map just in case he’d forgotten how to get there.”

  Katy closed her eyes and groaned. “We have to stop him before he goes after them.”

  Josh nodded his head. “We can call the state police. But we might be too late.”

  “What are you talking about? You told me he said it was too dangerous to go out in this weather.”

  “He did say that. But he could go alone. He’s a competition level cross country skier and he can snow shoe like no tomorrow. He could get out there if he really wanted to. And under the current circumstances I’d bet he’s really gonna want to get out there.”

  Her heart sank and her knees were weak. What the hell had she done? “Then we have to get there too, Josh.”

  Chapter 30

  Fingers skimmed across smooth flesh. Over her flat tummy, the flare of her hip, her ribs. He cupped a breast and when he heard his name on her breath he pulled her closer, nestling her to him. Still in that world between wakefulness and sleep he took in the subtle scent of the shampoo she used on her hair and soap she cleansed her skin with. It was something feminine but not overpoweringly so. She smelled like a summer rain storm. Never had the scent of a woman drew him so. Putting his lips to that sweet spot between her shoulder blades he found she tasted of the rain too.

  “JD,” she whispered urgently as his hands moved over her intimately. A part of her knew she should stop him now, knew he wasn’t awake. But she could not do it. One more time, she told herself. Let me love him one more time. So instead of moving away from him she moved to him, offering herself. “JD, please.”

  Just hearing her whispered plea drove him to the edge of sanity. If he was dreamin
g he knew he never wanted to wake. She stirred something in him no other woman had ever been able to. It was a hunger so primal he had no control over it. Nor did he wish to control it. Instead, he let it take over, just as he always did with her. Nothing else mattered. Nothing existed beyond his need for her. He was lost again. Always lost in her.

  Grady didn’t like being ordered around. No, not one bit. But in this case the guy giving the orders was a cop. A mean cop. So he knew he’d better shut up and do as he was told. “How do I know you won’t just take the money and split?” he asked petulantly as he watched Matt secure his skis.

  “You don’t.” He stood straight again and snatched a backpack from a bench in the old boathouse. Giving Grady a wicked grin he asked, “You wanna strap some skis on and come along?”

  “I don’t ski man. Never learned. Fuckin’ rich boy sport.”

  Matt’s family had been anything but rich. But he’d had rich friends who’d been more than generous with their money. Kinda like now, he thought with an inner grin. “Look, you do what I told you to do, okay?”

  “What makes you think she went to MacGreggor’s place anyway?”

  “Because she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. And because she was screwing Josh. And she has a soft spot for him. She’ll turn to him sure as shit.”

  Grady made a face. “Katy ain’t got a soft spot for nobody.”

  “She does for him, trust me.”

  “What do ya want me to do with them?”

  Matt frowned. “Sit on them. Make sure they stay put until this is over.”

  “What damn difference does it make? They’ve probably already called the state cops and told them about you.”

  He shook his head. “Nah. Katy won’t want to do that. She’s too greedy. She’s gonna want to make a move for the money. She’ll con Josh into helping her on the QT.”