by B. J Daniels
She’d just had a bad dream last night, as he’d suspected.
His relief slipped away like fog as he recalled the first time he’d seen her. He could keep telling himself that it had just been a trick of the light. That there hadn’t been anyone standing behind her. And if there had been, there was nothing…evil lurking there.
But he’d seen something that wasn’t…of this earth.
And so had his horse. They’d both reacted to it. So how did he explain that away?
Marshall logged off the computer and checked his watch. He’d already wasted most of the morning, and he did have the cookies Emma had made to take to his new neighbors.
Grinning, he headed for the shower. Wouldn’t hurt to take a day off. His father and brothers wouldn’t miss him and it was only neighborly to stop over at the Wellington house and make sure Alexa was all right.
As he stepped under the warm spray of the shower, Marshall couldn’t shake the feeling that Alexa was in some kind of trouble and that, more than a bad dream, it was what had sent her running across the pasture last night—as if running for her life.
SIERRA STEPPED INTO THE room, closed the door and leaned against it, making it clear that neither of them was going anywhere.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Landon let me in—”
“Not this room. This house. Montana. What are you really doing here?” Sierra asked. “Did he tell you the house is haunted and you’ve come to exorcise our ghosts?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. My brother—”
“Is it so ridiculous?” She raised an eyebrow. “I saw your reaction to the house. You might be able to fool Landon, but you can’t fool me.”
Alexa took a step toward her. “I’m not having this conversation with you again.”
Sierra didn’t move. “You shouldn’t be here. Landon and I are technically still on our honeymoon.”
Alexa almost laughed. “And that’s why you invited five other people along?”
“They’re friends.”
Alexa felt her ire rise. “And I’m family.”
“Yes, but it is clear that doesn’t mean as much to you as it does to some,” Sierra said. “I wouldn’t say anything but you’re upsetting Landon.”
“He was upset before I got here. How many accidents has he had while in this house?”
Sierra rolled her eyes. “Who knew he was such a klutz, but then it is an old house and dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Landon doesn’t have much experience when it comes to handyman work.”
As if the rest of this bunch were card-carrying finish carpenters.
“There isn’t anyone here who might want to hurt him?” Alexa asked.
Sierra met her gaze with a steely-blue coldness that chilled Alexa to her soul. “I hope you didn’t come here to cause trouble for me and your brother.”
“I think there is already trouble enough in this house.”
Her sister-in-law sighed. “I just came up to find you and inform you that breakfast is ready. You’d hate yourself if you missed out on Gigi’s margarita pancakes.” With that she turned and left the room.
Alexa stood for a moment, trying to still the apprehension she felt for her brother. He had no idea whom he’d married. But Alexa feared she did.
EMMA HAD BEEN GOING CRAZY ever since the sheriff had told them that Aggie Wells was missing. They didn’t need to tell her that Aggie might be dangerous. The woman had abducted her only a few months ago.
But Emma couldn’t live her life in fear, and she especially couldn’t stand her husband hovering over her all the time. She knew Hoyt must be going crazy too. He needed to be out on the ranch working with his sons. It’s what kept him young.
“Just let me go to the grocery store alone,” she’d pleaded after the sheriff left; but, of course, he wasn’t having any of it.
By the time they’d reached town, though, she knew she had to talk him into dropping her off at the grocery store while he ran his errands.
“It’s the grocery store in broad daylight,” she’d argued. “You don’t really expect Aggie Wells to attack me in there, do you?”
“I don’t know what she might do and neither do you,” Hoyt said. “I told you I didn’t want you out of my sight until she’s caught.”
“And what if she is never caught?”
He shook his head. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I know,” she said, touching his handsome face. “I appreciate your concern.” What she didn’t add, but wanted to, was that she couldn’t keep living like this. This wasn’t Hoyt’s fault. Not unless you believed that he’d killed his other wives, which she didn’t.
Even Aggie Wells, the former insurance investigator who’d been after him all these years, no longer believed Hoyt was a killer. Instead, she had another theory—one that had almost gotten her locked up in the mental hospital. Aggie was now convinced that Hoyt’s first wife, Laura, had faked her accidental drowning and, being the jealous woman she apparently was, had become determined that Hoyt would never find happiness with another woman.
And that was why everyone thought Aggie was crazy. With the exception of Emma, who thought that was as good a theory as any.
The sheriff and Hoyt, though, believed Aggie was several bricks shy of a load and a dangerous, deranged murderer.
As Emma pushed through the doors into the town grocery, she shoved all thought of Aggie to the back burner and grabbed a cart. It just felt so good to be alone for a few minutes.
The town was small enough that she felt safe. She started in the produce aisle. The selection was pretty basic, but she loved fresh vegetables and began to load the cart. She nodded at other shoppers, spoke to a few and, after getting everything she needed plus some junk food she shouldn’t have, she started through the checkout.
Suddenly she felt someone watching her. As she looked out through the large plate-glass window at the front of the store, she felt a jolt of shock rocket through her.
Aggie Wells was standing across the street, staring right at her.
Her heart dropped—along with the half gallon of milk she was unloading from her cart—as her gaze locked with Aggie’s.
A van went by, blocking her view. Her initial shock changed into anger. As long as Aggie was on the loose, Emma was going to be a prisoner in her own home and she was sick of it.
Stepping over the spilled milk, she ran out through the exit and into the parking lot. As she started across the street, she was almost struck by a pickup. The driver hit his brakes, missing her by inches, as she rushed across the street to where she’d seen the woman watching her.
Aggie was gone.
Emma stood, breathing hard, heart racing. She leaned over to catch her breath, hands on her knees, telling herself how foolish she’d been to chase after Aggie alone, when she saw the envelope lying at the edge of the sidewalk.
Written on it was one word: Emma.
Emma looked around, thinking Aggie couldn’t have gone far. But there was no sign of her.
She picked up the envelope from the ground and stuffed it into her pocket as Hoyt drove up in the ranch pickup.
He gave her a surprised, questioning look that quickly turned to panic. Hoyt was out of the pickup in an instant and pulling her in his arms. Emma felt sick with guilt that she had resented this man’s protection.
His gaze scanned the parking lot. “Where is she?”
Emma shook her head. He’d known the moment he saw her so there was no point in trying to lie her way out of it. “She got away.”
He lowered his gaze to his wife and swore under his breath. “And the groceries?”
She glanced toward the store where a handful of people were gathered at the window, staring out at them.
“Everyone is going to think I’ve lost my mind,” Emma said.
“They aren’t the only ones,” Hoyt said as he gripped her arm. “Let’s go get our groceries.”
ALEXA HAD NO IN
TEREST IN margarita pancakes, but she feared that if she didn’t go down for breakfast, it could make things worse for her brother. She knew Sierra would use anything she could to put a wedge between her brother and her. The woman felt threatened. No doubt because Alexa saw through Sierra’s act and she knew it.
She had worried for some time that part of Landon’s allure had been the money their mother had left them. Remodeling this huge, old place was going to cost a fortune—even with free labor. Although Alexa hadn’t seen much work getting done so far.
As she started to follow Sierra into the kitchen, she saw her brother seated at the kitchen table, his head down as he cut into his pancakes. He looked up as Sierra slid into a chair next to him and put her hand on his arm.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
Sierra gave a little pout then looked over at Alexa.
Landon frowned as he followed her gaze, making it clear that he knew his sister had said something to hurt his wife’s feelings.
Alexa felt her stomach roil as she saw how easy it was for Sierra to manipulate her brother. Love was definitely blind.
The loud doorbell startled everyone, including Alexa. Everyone looked toward the front door with a mixture of surprise and suspicion. Apparently they didn’t get many visitors.
Since she was closest to the front door, she went to answer it. As the door swung open, she saw Marshall standing on the front step, looking up at the house and clearly giving it a mixed review. She felt herself smile, relieved to see him, and completely agreeing with his sentiments about the house that were written on his expressive face.
“Hello,” she said, breathing in the morning air and his freshly showered scent.
He smiled. “Hello again.” He removed his Stetson and handed her a small basket filled with what smelled like gingersnaps. “From my stepmother. A housewarming present.” He turned the brim of the hat in his fingers, looking more than a little nervous. She liked his large hands, the strong, well-shaped fingers, the pads callused from hard ranch work.
She saw him look past her, peering into the house almost warily and yet with obvious curiosity. “I’d invite you in, but I was just on my way into town to pick up a few things.” Not exactly true, but once said, she realized how badly she needed a break from this house and everyone in it. Also she knew Sierra would have a fit if she invited him in. And, even if she had wanted to share him, she had a pretty good idea of what the others’ reaction would be to this cowboy.
Marshall brightened. “Great, how about lunch then?”
Her first instinct was to turn down his offer. She tended to keep people at a distance. It was easier that way. “Well, I do owe you after last night,” she said, keeping her voice down so the others in the kitchen wouldn’t hear.
He grinned. “I actually had a good time last night.”
“Me too,” she said, realizing that as strange as it was, it was true. “All right,” she agreed. It was almost lunchtime and the last thing she wanted was margarita pancakes. “Why don’t I follow you into town? Just give me a few minutes?”
As she glanced toward Marshall’s pickup parked next to the house, she saw his dog sitting in the passenger seat and found herself smiling as she ran up to get her keys. There was nothing quite like a man and his dog.
“I’m having lunch in town,” she said, sticking her head into the kitchen. She got the impression they’d all been holding their combined breaths, listening to every word anyway.
“You’re missing margarita pancakes,” Sierra said.
“My apologies to the chef,” she said to Gigi, who obviously couldn’t have cared less what Alexa had to eat.
But Sierra was pouting again. Alexa shot a look at her brother. How could Landon not notice his wife’s obsessive need to control everyone around her?
Chapter Five
Alexa put her sister-in-law out of her mind as she drove through the rolling prairie, the morning sun warm, the sky a breathtaking blue. When she’d driven through Whitehorse yesterday, she hadn’t been paying much attention. Landon had given her directions to Wellington Manor, and she’d been more worried about missing her turn than looking around the small town.
Now, though, as she drove in behind Marshall, she took in the small Montana town. It seemed a lot like others she’d driven through on her way here.
Situated around the railroad, the main drag faced the depot. She saw several bars, a clothing store, a hardware store, and a bank and electronics shop before she parked diagonally across from the depot and small town park.
“We had a fire last winter,” Marshall said, when she asked about a newly graded area between two of the buildings. “Took out five businesses.”
“That must have been a devastating blow to a town this size,” she said.
“Fortunately, they all relocated into vacant buildings. Unfortunately, the population’s dropping every year, like most small towns in this part of Montana,” he said as he led her down the street to a restaurant. “But we also had a couple of new businesses start up this year, and some young couples are coming back because it’s such a great place to raise a family.”
Alexa smiled at his obvious love for this town. She could feel his close relationship with the land and this part of Montana. She liked that about Marshall Chisholm. She liked him.
The sign over the door of the restaurant read Northern Lights. He held the door for her and she stepped in, instantly assaulted by wonderful smells.
A young woman stuck her head out of the kitchen to tell them they could sit anywhere they liked.
“Thanks, Laci,” Marshall said and explained on the way to their seat that Laci Duvall and her husband, Bridger, owned the restaurant and now had two young children. Her twin sister, Laney, also had two children pretty much the same ages and the rumor around town was that they were both pregnant again. “It must be a twin thing,” he finished.
They walked over to a table by the window in time for Alexa to see a passenger train stop on the tracks just across the street in front of the small depot. By the time they’d sat down, the train had already loaded the half-dozen passengers waiting by the tracks and chugged off again.
“So how are you doing today?” Marshall asked.
“Better than I was last night. I apologize for waking you up and scaring you,” she said.
“You looked more scared than I was.”
She nodded and chewed at her lower lip for a moment. “I get nightmares sometimes, especially when I sleep in strange places.”
“Nothing much stranger than that house your brother lives in.”
She laughed. “You don’t know the half of it.”
A young waitress brought them menus and told them about the lunch special, which they quickly ordered: trout ravioli with the Northern Lights famous marinara sauce, salad and homemade garlic bread.
The owner sent out a carafe of red wine on the house, calling to Marshall to give his family her best and enjoy their lunch.
Alexa did. Both the food and company warmed her and she found herself opening up to this man she’d only just met. It wasn’t like her. But last night had definitely made her drop her guard around him. “You have five brothers?” She couldn’t imagine what that must be like and said as much.
“It’s just you and your brother?”
“He’s my half brother. We have a mother in common.” She looked away, hoping he didn’t ask about their mother.
“All six of us are adopted, three of us having the same mother and father,” he said. “My mother was Norwegian, my father Assiniboine. Three of my brothers are triplets. They’re blond and blue-eyed. We make quite the family.”
She loved hearing what it was like growing up in a large ranch family. “It must be wonderful.”
He laughed at that. “You haven’t seen the way we fight. But let anyone else pick on one of us and he’ll have all six to contend with.”
At his prompting, she told him about her job at the newspaper. “I love interviewing peo
ple, writing their stories. Mostly I do feature writing, no hard news.” She liked upbeat stories and was glad to let someone else write about fires and crime and misery. “Don’t laugh, but I’ve always wanted to write children’s books.”
“I’m in awe,” Marshall said. “I hate to write a check.”
They both laughed and he asked, “So where did you grow up?”
“California.” Fortunately the waitress brought them Laci’s famous flourless chocolate cake for dessert and Alexa was able to change the subject. “I haven’t eaten this much ever,” she said as she took another bite of the cake. “It was all so delicious.”
“Laci will be glad to hear it. Where in California?”
“The Laguna Beach area. So tell me about the Chisholm Cattle Company,” she said, steering the conversation away from her once again.
But she had the feeling that Marshall wasn’t fooled. Nor had she curbed his curiosity. His interest in her both flattered her and scared her. She had learned the hard way that once men found out who her mother had been, they suddenly felt uneasy around her and didn’t call again.
She liked Marshall, but she was only here for a few days and she had her hands full back at the house. She warned herself not to get too close. Or worse, let him.
“I really need to get back to the house,” she said at the thought of the trouble her brother was in.
Marshall looked disappointed, but quickly asked for the check. “Maybe we’ll see each other again. I’ll pick up more beer at the store in case you have another bad dream. Or just want to talk some night.”
Alexa felt the pull of this man and quickly thanked him for lunch. “Please thank your stepmother as well for the cookies.” As they left the restaurant, she told herself she wouldn’t see Marshall Chisholm again before she left town, and it was probably just as well.
