by B. J Daniels
“I can make you somebody important,” Joe had said. “Would you like that?”
He hadn’t realized how much he’d yearned for normal, let alone what sounded to him like the promise of a rocket to the moon.
“Then you’re perfect for what I have in mind,” Joe had said. “All I ask is for your loyalty.”
He had it in spades. That had been eighteen years ago. Through Joe’s guidance and powerful friends, Jerrod was now the campaign manager of the next president of the United States. Joe had been like a father to him.
“Problems?” Joe asked now as he took the call.
“Not really, though Buck is still struggling with—”
“Sarah. What now?”
“I don’t think Buck trusts Sarah. He’s worried about security election night.”
Joe chuckled. “Fool. Must be awful not being able to trust your wife.”
He said nothing, knowing that Joe and Sarah had a history, and she was a touchy subject for Joe sometimes.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Sarah. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. Just keep Buckmaster focused. We are almost to the finish line. I’m proud of you, Jerrod. You’ve done an excellent job at your end. I won’t forget it.”
He hung up, more than pleased. He’d pledged his life to The Prophecy because of Joe. He’d made the man proud. It was something he’d never been able to do with his own father, whoever the man had been who’d deserted him and his mother all those years ago.
* * *
WHEN THE SHERIFF got the note from Sawyer, he had the techs check it for prints hoping for the best.
“Looks like we have three separate sets of prints,” he was told.
“Did we get a hit on any of them?”
“Only one. Katherine McCormick, since her prints were on file with the FBI because she’s an agent.”
Frank leaned back in his chair in surprise. “But none on the others?”
“Sorry, whoever they belong to, their prints must not be on file.”
Frank called Sawyer to give him the news and ask how it was that a female FBI agent’s prints turned up.
“Kitzie,” the cowboy said.
“You know her?”
“Yep. She’s on an undercover assignment. Small world.”
Frank heard something in his friend’s voice and guessed there was history between Sawyer and... Kitzie.
“Now I’m wondering if Kitzie touched the notepaper when it was still in the main office. Or later when the note was on Ainsley’s door where I found it.”
“If she’s aware of why you’re there, that wouldn’t be very professional on her part,” Frank commented.
“No, it wouldn’t.” Sawyer sounded upset about that.
“There were two other sets of prints, but we didn’t get a hit.”
“Anyone could have touched that notepad.”
“So you don’t have any suspects yet?” the sheriff asked.
“I’m especially interested in the security guard, Lance Roderick. I’m taking Ainsley out to dinner tonight in town. If I’m right, Roderick will follow us.”
* * *
BUCK’S HEART DROPPED like a stone when he heard the news that Russell Murdock had regained consciousness. He felt instantly guilty for such thoughts. He’d never wished for the man to end up in the hospital in a coma.
But he also knew how his wife felt about the man she’d almost married. There was a connection between Russell and Sarah that worried him.
“I just heard about Russell,” he said when Sarah answered the phone. “Have you seen him?” He silently cursed himself for sounding so jealous. But he knew before she answered that Sarah would have run right to the man’s bedside the moment she heard.
“Yes, he’s...confused, but the doctor is expecting a full recovery.”
Buck closed his eyes and gripped the phone tighter. Sarah was going to put him in an early grave. If it wasn’t Russell, it was that weird Dr. Venable his wife had been seeing behind his back. “That’s good to hear.” He could almost see her bristle at his lukewarm tone. A part of him actually admired the man.
“It is good news. I’m sure his daughter and grandchildren are relieved.”
The sheriff hadn’t found Russell’s attackers, but Dr. Venable was suspected of being behind it. The doctor had disappeared right after that, and no one had seen him since. At least Buck hoped Sarah wasn’t seeing him behind his back again. She’d promised she would let him know if the doctor contacted her again.
He wished he believed her.
“You don’t have to worry about Russell,” Sarah said, sounding tired.
“We’ve all been worried about him.”
“I mean about me and Russell. I’m married to you now. I broke my engagement to him to be with you. Russell and I are...over.”
Buck couldn’t speak around the lump in his throat. His wife sounded so sad about that, so...broken. He finally asked, “Are you all right?”
“Just tired. The campaigning was exhausting. I have this other event later this afternoon, then I’m not going to do anything else until after the election if that’s all right with you.”
“Of course,” he said quickly. “Just take care of yourself. I’ll be flying home tomorrow or the next day. I’ll let you know. If Jerrod tries to schedule you for more, just let me know, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you. How are you holding up?”
He pretended to laugh. “Exhausted, too. But election night is almost here. Then campaigning will be behind us.” At least until the next election, he thought, but didn’t voice. He was dragging Sarah into a life she hadn’t wanted. He would try to make her life as easy as possible once he was president.
“I love you,” he said, hating that he sounded pathetic. For so many years, believing that she was dead, that she’d driven in the river all those years ago to escape him and their children, he’d been bitter. Now he had her back. Their daughters had her back. They were a family. Nothing could destroy that. Certainly not Russell Murdock.
But as he hung up, Buck couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that had been riding on his shoulders for months now. Did he really know the Sarah who had come back to him?
* * *
SAWYER HAD BEEN forced to cut short his talk with the sheriff when there was a knock on his cabin door telling him it was time.
He rode a horse in a half dozen takes before he was told it was a wrap, but that he should be ready for another shoot early the next morning. His leg was bothering him, and he wondered if he really was up to even this easy of an assignment. Well, it had sounded easy anyway.
The rest of the afternoon he spent trying to find Lance Roderick. He’d glimpsed him going between the cabins earlier after he and Ainsley had come back from their ride. But when he’d tried to catch up to him, Lance had been nowhere around. There had been no answer at his cabin, and when Sawyer had tried the door, he’d found it locked. He really would have liked a look inside.
He’d been headed back to his own cabin when he’d spotted the two teenage girls from the kitchen. He watched them break off their conversation and hurry back inside. That’s when he saw Lance. The man was half hidden in the shadows. Sawyer wondered if he’d been watching him—or the teenagers. While apparently not working today, Lance was wearing his uniform shirt. Medium height with brown hair, he had the kind of face and body that would be considered average. The kind of man who could blend into the scenery. The kind of man who liked to watch others.
“I think I have my man,” Sawyer said under his breath as Lance quickly disappeared around the edge of the cabin where he’d been hiding. But before he left, Sawyer noticed that, like him, Lance was limping. From yesterday up on the cliffs?
His cell phone rang. Sawyer stepped awa
y from the cabins to take the call. “Hope you’ve got some information for me,” he said when he saw the caller was the sheriff.
“I ran Lance Roderick through the system again. Nothing came up. I know you were hoping for at least a restraining order on him from the past, but I couldn’t find even a speeding ticket.”
Sawyer couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“Sorry. You’re sure he’s the one?”
“That’s just it, I’m not sure.” Sawyer swore under his breath. The man stalking Ainsley either hadn’t been caught before, or this was his first time. “The problem is that until he does something, I might not know for sure. By then it might be too late. Let’s see if he follows us tonight.”
* * *
AINSLEY COULDN’T REMEMBER the last time she’d gone on a date. The other night, fired up with alcohol, she’d been ready to do something audacious. While she didn’t feel ready to cut loose quite as much as she had, she still felt as if she’d missed out on life by being the “responsible” one.
She thought about earlier today in the hot pool and felt herself flush at the memory. She’d never done anything like that. It had felt so...liberating.
But at the same time, her behavior scared her. She was starting to like Sawyer too much. With him egging her on to be more adventurous and her own desire to be more daring, she feared where this might lead.
She wasn’t fool enough not to realize how easily she could get her heart broken or worse. Her father was about to become president of the United States. The last thing she would ever want was to have her behavior reflect badly on him. What if someone had seen her earlier in that hot spring with Sawyer?
Going out with him tonight seemed a bad idea. But at the same time, she had every right to date. She’d said yes, because...well, because she wanted to. Also she’d remembered the way he’d grabbed her just before the rock slide had come down and almost closed the canyon. He’d rescued her not just once but later that night.
A man like that was dangerous because he made her feel safe while, at the same time, he made her want to do things she’d never done before. He was too handsome, too charming, and she was...to put it politely, too inexperienced.
There that was again. Something else she’d missed out on. Only this time it was because she hadn’t met anyone she wanted to get that intimate with. Another reason that going out with Sawyer Nash was—at least for her—beyond daring. He stirred up desires in her that made her want to throw caution to the wind and have a wild fling with the cowboy.
And that was so not her. Another reason she should have turned down dinner. She was playing with a wildfire and bound to get burned.
She felt a prickle of fresh excitement at the thought of spending the evening with him, which proved how much trouble she was in. He excited her. She really never knew what he would do next. Or maybe worse, what he might challenge her to do.
But now, staring into her cabin closet, she realized she had nothing to wear. Well, it was too late to drive into town, even if there had been a clothing store that sold more than boots and jeans.
On impulse she did something also not like her. She left her cabin and walked over to Kitzie’s. The woman had never spoken more than two words to her before last night when she’d invited her to the bonfire and supplied her with drinks.
Ainsley didn’t blame her. She was sure that the woman thought she was doing her a favor. She’d heard whispers behind her back. Everyone thought she was a straitlaced prude and soon to be an old maid. She’d often thought the same herself since she’d never felt an overwhelming desire for a man—until Sawyer Nash.
Now she tapped on Kitzie’s door and waited, almost chickening out. The door swung open, framing the kitchen manager in the light. “Ainsley?” Kitzie looked past her as if expecting her not to be alone.
“I have a favor to ask. You don’t happen to have a dress I could borrow tonight, do you?”
“A dress?” Kitzie frowned. She was holding a half-empty glass of red wine. “Hot date?” When Ainsley just shrugged, Kitzie motioned her in. Her cabin, though like all the others, looked more homey. Probably because she’d added throw pillows and a few more personal items. Ainsley had come with a suitcase full of work clothes, so she only had jeans, boots, shirts and jackets.
“I might have something,” Kitzie said, eyeing her up and down. “Let me take a look.” She disappeared to the back of the cabin.
Ainsley stood in the center of the so-called living room and waited.
“How about this one?” the woman asked, returning with a bright red short dress.
Her eyes must have widened at how low-cut it was, because Kitzie laughed and said, “It’s a date, right? I even have some heels that should fit you.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It isn’t that kind of date.”
Kitzie laughed. “Then you definitely need to wear this dress. Trust me,” she added with a wink.
“I trusted you last night with the iced tea,” Ainsley reminded her.
“So true,” the woman said with a laugh. “Apparently it didn’t hurt your night. I saw Sawyer Nash coming out of your cabin this morning.”
“It wasn’t like that. He only rescued me from myself.”
“Then, don’t let him do that tonight,” she said and thrust the dress at her. “Let me get the heels.”
* * *
SAWYER HADN’T KNOWN what to expect when he knocked at Ainsley’s cabin. If anything, he thought she’d come up with an excuse why she couldn’t go to dinner. Nothing prepared him for what he saw when the door opened.
Ainsley, as beautiful as ever, her blue eyes sparkling, her blond hair floating around her slim, sun-tanned shoulders, wearing a dress he had hoped to never see again.
“Is everything all right?” Ainsley’s earlier excited expression had turned to one of concern.
He quickly checked his shocked, horrified look and shook his head. He would kill Kitzie. He unfisted his hands at his sides and tried to relax. “Everything is...amazing. You’re amazing. I’m sorry. I’m stunned at how beautiful you look.”
She looked embarrassed as she ran her palms down the length of the red fabric. “The dress isn’t too much?”
The dress was way too much, but he wasn’t about to tell her. “You look beautiful in it.” That much at least was true.
“I borrowed it from Kitzie, the kitchen manager.”
He nodded. Kitzie was the last person he wanted to talk about ever with Ainsley. Right now if he could have gotten hold of Kitzie, he would have strangled her. “Ready?”
Ainsley nodded, and he took her hand as she climbed down the cabin steps, a little unsteady in the high, high heels.
They took Sawyer’s pickup and drove into the nearest town. Open Range was like a lot of small Montana towns. Once a bustling community, it had shrunk to a post office, a gas station, a bar and a café.
He ushered her into the café and asked to be seated by the window. The sun had set, leaving Montana’s big sky a silver gray. Lights came on across the small town, twinkling against the dark of the pines.
The café was warm. Ainsley pulled her long blond hair up, making him aware of her slim neck, as she fanned herself. She wore a necklace and dangly earrings of tiny silver stars that glittered in the evening light like real stars.
“You’re sure the dress is all right?” she asked again, looking unsure as she let her hair fall like down feathers around her shoulders again.
“All I see is the woman in it,” he said truthfully. He was doing his best to ignore the dress and Kitzie’s blatant in-your-face cruel trick that she’d played on him. But Kitzie had made one fatal error. The dress fit Ainsley better than it had her. It clung perfectly to her curves, plunging at the neckline to hint at the full breasts. Everything about Ainsley in this dress made him ache with desire. He was sure th
at hadn’t been Kitzie’s plan.
He thought of Ainsley’s naked silhouette against the moonlight and quickly ordered them both drinks.
“I’ll take a beer,” she said and flashed him a smile. “I’m a Montana girl.”
He ordered the same, smiling across the table at her. The café was busy but not overly noisy. He tried to relax as they made polite conversation.
But his gaze kept going to the parking lot outside. All the way here, he’d surreptitiously been watching his rearview mirror. As the waitress brought their beers, he saw the car pull up and recognized it at once from the ones that had been parked in front of one of the cabins back at the production company site.
Just as he suspected, they’d been followed—and by his number-one suspect. The blue sedan that pulled up out of the lights from the café belonged to Lance Roderick.
CHAPTER NINE
KITZIE WAITED UNTIL Murph took a break in the kitchen before she hurried into the room the production company was using as an office.
It took her a few minutes to find the spare keys for the cabins. She’d just pocketed Gunderson’s when she heard Murph returning. She slipped out and ducked behind a log beam just as the woman rounded the corner.
That had been too close for comfort. Murph hardly ever left the office, and when she did, she usually locked the door. She either took her job very seriously or there were papers in there that she didn’t want anyone to see.
Kitzie hadn’t decided if Murph was only part of the video production company or also involved with the burglaries. Refusing to worry about how she was going to be able to return the key without getting caught, she hurried around the back of the cabins.
Minutes ago, she’d heard Gunderson and the carnival owner talking. Hale had said he wanted to show the boss something, and the two had headed for the meadow and the carnival equipment.
She knew she wouldn’t have much time. But at the moment, everyone seemed to be occupied. Staying in the shadows, she moved to the back of Gunderson’s cabin. The structure was small enough that there was only one door. She stood at the back listening. When all seemed quiet, she moved along the side.
