Deliverance at Cardwell Ranch

by B. J Daniels

  She looked horrified at the thought, verifying what he already suspected. She didn’t remember.

  “Can you tell me your name?” He’d hoped that she would be more coherent this morning, but as he watched her face, it was clear she didn’t know who she was any more than she had last night.

  She seemed to search for an answer. He saw the moment when she realized she couldn’t remember anything—even who she was. Panic filled her expression. She looked toward the door behind him as if she might bolt for it.

  “Don’t worry,” he said quickly. “The doctor said memory loss is pretty common in your condition.”

  “My condition?”

  “From the bump on your head, you hit it pretty hard in the accident.” He pointed to a spot on his own temple. She raised her hand to touch the same spot on her temple and winced.

  “I don’t remember an accident.” She had pulled her arms out from under the covers. He noticed the bruises on her upper arms. They were half-moon shaped, like fingerprints—as if someone had gripped her hard. There was also a cut on her arm that he didn’t think had happened during her car accident.

  She saw him staring at her arms. When she looked down and saw the bruises, she quickly put her arms under the covers again. If anything, she looked more frightened than she had earlier.

  “You don’t remember losing control of your car?”

  She shook her head.

  “I don’t know if this helps, but the registration and proof of insurance I found in your car, along with the driver’s license I found in the purse, says your name is Rebecca Stewart,” he said, watching to see if there was any recognition in her expression.

  “That isn’t my name. I would know my own name when I heard it, wouldn’t I?”

  Maybe. Maybe not. “You were wearing a watch...”

  “The doctor said they put it in the safe until I was ready to leave the hospital.”

  “It was engraved with: ‘To Gillian with all my love.’” He saw that the words didn’t ring any bells. “Are you Gillian?”

  She looked again at the door, her expression one of panic.

  “Don’t worry. It will all come back to you,” he said, trying to calm her even though he knew there might always be blanks that she could never fill in if he was right and she had a concussion. He wished there was something he could say to comfort her. She looked so frightened. “Fortunately a highway patrolman came along when he did last night.”

  “Patrolman?” Her words wavered and she looked even more terrified, making him wonder if he might be right and that she’d stolen the car, the purse and the watch. She’d said none of it belonged to her. Maybe she was telling the truth.

  But why was she driving someone else’s car? If so, where was the car’s owner and her baby? This woman’s fear of the law seemed to indicate that something was very off here. What if this woman wasn’t who they thought she was?

  “Where am I?” she asked, glancing around the hospital room.

  “Didn’t the doctor tell you? You’re in the hospital.”

  “I meant, where am I...?” She waved a hand to encompass more than the room.

  “Oh,” he said and frowned. “Bozeman.” When that didn’t seem to register, he added, “Montana.”

  One eyebrow shot up. “Montana?”

  It crossed his mind that a woman who lived in Helena, Montana, wouldn’t be confused about what state she was in. Nor would she be surprised to find herself still in that state.

  He reminded himself that the knock on her head could have messed up some of the wiring. Or maybe she’d been that way before.

  Her gaze came back to him. She was studying him intently, sizing him up. He wondered what she saw and couldn’t help but think of his former girlfriend, Tanya, and the argument they’d had just before he’d left Texas.

  “Haven’t you ever wanted more?” Tanya hadn’t looked at him. She’d been busy throwing her things into a large trash bag. When she’d moved in with him, she’d moved in gradually, bringing her belongings in piecemeal.

  “I’m only going to be gone a week,” he’d said, watching her clean out the drawers in his apartment, wondering if this was it. She’d threatened to leave him enough times, but she never had. Maybe this was the time.

  He had been trying to figure out how he felt about that when she’d suddenly turned toward him.

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  Obviously not. “What?”

  “This business with your brothers...” She did her eye roll. He really hated it when she did that and she knew it. “If it isn’t something to do with Texas Boys Barbecue...”

  He could have pointed out that the barbecue joint she was referring to was a multimillion-dollar business, with more than a dozen locations across Texas, and it paid for this apartment.

  But he’d had a feeling that wasn’t really what this particular argument was about, so he’d said, “Your point?” even though he’d already known it.

  “You’re too busy for a relationship. At least that is your excuse.”

  “You knew I was busy before you moved in.”

  “Ever ask yourself why your work is more important than your love life?” She hadn’t given him time to respond. “You want to know what I think? I think Austin Cardwell goes through life saving people because he’s afraid of letting himself fall in love.”

  He wasn’t afraid. He just hadn’t fallen in love the way Tanya had wanted him to. “Glad we got that figured out,” he’d said.

  Tanya had flared with anger. “That’s all you have to say?”

  And he’d made it worse by shrugging, something he knew she hated. He hadn’t had the time or patience for this kind of talk at that moment. “Maybe we should talk about this when I get back from Montana.”

  She’d shaken her head in obvious disgust. “That is so like you. Put things off and maybe the situation will right itself. You missed your own brother’s wedding and you don’t really care if they open a barbecue restaurant in Montana or not. But instead of being honest, you ignore the problem and hope it goes away until finally they force you to come to Montana. For once, I would love to see you just take a stand. Make a decision. Do something.”

  “I missed my brother’s wedding because I was on a case. One that almost got me killed, you might remember.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I remember. I stayed by your bedside for three days.”

  He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “What I do is important.”

  “More important than me.” She’d stood, hands on hips, waiting.

  He’d known what she wanted. A commitment. The problem was, he wasn’t ready. And right then, he’d known he would never be with Tanya.

  “This is probably for the best,” he’d said, motioning to the bulging trash bag.

  Tears flowing, she’d nodded. “Don’t bother to call me if and when you get back.” With that, she had grabbed up the bag and stormed to the door, stopping only long enough to hurl his apartment key at his head.

  “Where are my clothes?”

  Austin blinked, confused for a moment, he’d been so lost in his thoughts. He focused on the woman in the hospital bed. “You can’t leave. Your husband is on his way.”

  Panic filled her expression. She tried to get out of the bed. As he moved to her bedside to stop her, he heard the door open behind him.

  Chapter Five

  Austin turned to see a large stocky man come into the room, followed by the doctor.

  “Mrs. Stewart,” the doctor said as he approached her bed. “Your husband is here.”

  The stocky man stopped a few feet into the room and stood frowning. For a moment, Austin thought there had been a mistake and that the man didn’t recognize the woman.

  But the man wasn’t looking
at his wife. He was frowning at Austin. As if the doctor’s words finally jarred him into motion, the man strode to the other side of the bed and quickly took his wife’s hand as he bent to kiss her forehead. “I was so worried about you.”

  Austin watched the woman’s expression. She looked terrified, her gaze locking with his in a plea for help.

  “Excuse me,” Austin said as he stepped forward. He had no idea what he planned to say, let alone do. But something was wrong here.

  “I beg your pardon?” said the alleged husband, turning to look at Austin before swinging his gaze to the doctor with a who the hell is this? expression.

  “This is the man who saved your wife’s life,” the doctor said and introduced Austin before getting a page that he was needed elsewhere. He excused himself and hurried out, leaving the three of them alone.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” Austin said.

  “Marc. Marc Stewart.”

  Stewart, Austin thought, remembering the name on the driver’s license in the purse he’d found in the car. “And this woman’s name is Rebecca Stewart?” he asked the husband.

  “That’s right,” Marc Stewart answered in a way that dared Austin to challenge him.

  As he looked to the woman in the bed, Austin noticed that she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. “I’m sorry, but how do we know you’re her husband?”

  “Are you serious?” the man demanded, glaring across the bed at him.

  “She doesn’t seem to recognize you,” he said, even though what he’d noticed was that the woman seemed terrified of the man.

  Marc Stewart gave him the once-over, clearly upset. “She’s had a concussion.”

  “Old habits are hard to break,” Austin said as he displayed his badge and ID to the alleged Marc Stewart. “You wouldn’t mind me asking for some identification from you, would you?”

  The man looked as if he might have a coronary. At least he’d come to the right place, Austin thought, as the alleged Marc Stewart angrily pulled out his wallet and showed Austin his license.

  Marc Andrew Stewart, Austin read. “There was a car seat in the back of the vehicle she was driving. Where is the baby?”

  “With my mother.” A blood vessel in the man’s cheek began to throb. “Look Deputy...Cardwell, is it? I appreciate that you supposedly saved my wife’s life, but it’s time for you to butt out.”

  Austin told himself he should back off, but the fear in the woman’s eyes wouldn’t let him. “She doesn’t seem to know you and she isn’t wearing a wedding ring.” He didn’t add that the woman seemed terrified and had bruises on her upper arms where someone had gotten rough with her. Not to mention the fact that when he’d told her that her husband was on his way, she’d panicked and tried to leave. Concussion or not, something was wrong with all this.

  “I think you should leave,” the man said.

  “If you really are her husband, it shouldn’t be hard for you to prove it,” Austin said, holding his ground—well, at least until Marc Stewart had hospital security throw him out, which wouldn’t be long, from the look on the man’s face. The woman in the bed still hadn’t uttered a word.

  For a moment, Marc Stewart looked as if he was about to tell him to go to hell. But instead, he dug into his pocket angrily and produced a plain gold band that caught the light as he reached for the woman’s left hand.

  “My wife left it by the sink yesterday,” Marc Stewart said by way of explanation. “She always takes it off when she does the dishes. Sometimes she forgets to put it back on.”

  Austin thought, given the bruises on the woman’s upper arms, that she had probably thrown the ring at him as she took off yesterday.

  When she still didn’t move to take the ring, the man snatched up her hand lying beside her on the bed and slipped the ring on her finger.

  Austin watched her look down at the ring. He saw recognition fill her expression just before she began to cry.

  Even from where he stood, he could see that the ring, while a little loose, fit close enough. Just as the photo ID in Rebecca Stewart’s purse looked enough like the woman on the bed. He told himself there was nothing more he could do. Clearly she was afraid of this man. But unless she spoke up...

  “I guess I’ll leave you with your husband, unless there is something I should know?” Austin asked her.

  “Tell the man, Rebecca,” Marc Stewart snapped. “Am I your husband?” He bent down to kiss her cheek. Austin saw him whisper something in her ear.

  She closed her eyes, tears leaking from beneath dark lashes.

  “We had a little argument and she took off and apparently almost got herself killed,” Marc said. “We both said and did things we regret, isn’t that right, Rebecca? Tell the man, sweetheart.”

  Her eyes opened slowly. She took a ragged breath and wiped away the tears with the backs of her hands, the way a little kid would.

  “Is that all there is to this?” Austin asked, watching her face. Across from him, he could see Marc gritting his teeth in fury at this interference in his life.

  She nodded her head slowly, her gaze going from her husband to Austin. “Thank you, but he’s right. It was just a foolish disagreement. I will be fine now.”

  * * *

  FEELING LIKE A fool for getting involved in a domestic dispute, Austin headed for Cardwell Ranch. Last night, a wrecker company had pulled his rental SUV out of the ditch and brought it to the motel where he was staying. Fortunately, his skid into the ditch hadn’t done any damage.

  Highway 191 was now open, the road sanded. As he drove, Austin got his first real look at the Gallatin Canyon or “the canyon” as his cousin Dana called it. From the mouth just south of Gallatin Gateway, fifty miles of winding road trailed the river in a deep cut through the mountains, almost all the way to West Yellowstone.

  The drive along the Gallatin River was indeed breathtaking—a snaking strip of highway followed the Blue Ribbon trout stream up over the Continental Divide. This time of year, the Gallatin ran crystal clear under a thick cover of aquamarine ice. Dark, thick snowcapped pines grew at its edge, against a backdrop of the granite cliffs and towering pine-clad mountains.

  Austin concentrated on his driving so he didn’t end up in a snowbank again. Piles of deep snow had been plowed up on each side of the road, making the highway seem even narrower, but at least traffic was light. He had to admit, it was beautiful. The sun glistening off the new snow was almost blinding in its brilliance. Overhead, a cloudless robin’s-egg-blue sky seemed vast and clearer than any air he’d ever breathed. The canyon looked like something out of a winter fairy tale.

  Just before Big Sky, the canyon widened a little. He spotted a few older cabins, nothing like all the new construction he’d seen down by the mouth of the canyon. Tag had told him that the canyon had been mostly cattle and dude ranches, a few summer cabins and homes—that was, until Big Sky resort and the small town that followed at the foot of Lone Mountain.

  Luxury houses had sprouted up all around the resort. Fortunately, some of the original cabins still remained and the majority of the canyon was national forest so it would always remain undeveloped. The “canyon” had remained its own little community, according to Tag.

  Austin figured Tag had gotten most of his information from their cousin Dana. This was the only home she’d known and, like her stubborn relations, she apparently had no intention of ever leaving it.

  While admiring the scenery on the drive, he did his best not to think about Rebecca Stewart and her husband. When he’d left her hospital room, he’d felt her gaze on him and turned at the door to look back. He’d seen her take off the ring her husband had put on her finger and grip it in her fist so tightly that her knuckles were white.

  Trouble in paradise, he thought as he reached Big Sky, and none of my business. As a deputy sheriff, he�
�d dealt with his share of domestic disputes. Every law enforcement officer knew how dangerous they were. The best thing was to stay out of the middle of them since he’d seen both husbands and wives turn on the outsider stepping in to try to keep the peace.

  Cardwell Ranch was only a few miles farther up the highway from Big Sky. But on impulse, he swung onto the road to Big Sky’s Meadow Village, where he suspected he would find the marshal’s department.

  His cousin Dana’s husband, Marshal Hud Savage, waved him into his office and shook his hand. “We missed you at the wedding.” The wedding, of course, had been his brother Tag’s, to Lily McCabe, on July 4. He knew he would never live it down.

  “I was hoping to get up for it, but I was on a case...” He hated that he’d missed his own brother’s wedding, but hoped at least Hud, being a lawman, would understand.

  “That’s right. Deputy sheriff, is it?”

  “Part-time, yes. I take on special cases.”

  “As I recall, there were extenuating circumstances. You were wounded. You’re fine now?”

  He nodded. He didn’t want to talk about the case that had almost gotten him killed. Nor did he want to admit that he might not still be physically a hundred percent.

  “Well, have a seat,” Hud said as he settled behind his desk. “And tell me what I can do for you. I suspect this isn’t an extended family visit.”

  Austin nodded and, removing his hat, sat down, comfortable at once with the marshal. “You might have heard that I got into an accident last night. My rental SUV went into the ditch.”

  “I did know about that. I’m glad you weren’t hurt. We couldn’t assist because we had our hands full down here with a semi rollover.”

  “I was lucky I only ended up in the ditch. What made me hit my brakes was that I came upon a vehicle upside down in the middle of the highway last night.”

  Austin filled him in on the woman and everything that had happened up to leaving her about thirty minutes ago at the hospital in Bozeman.