by B. J Daniels
She looked away. “We wouldn’t want them thinking that.”
* * *
THE MEADOW HAD come alive in a kaleidoscope of lights and noise. Gun walked toward it, mesmerized. He felt like a kid again. Also, his optimism had returned. Hope soared through him. Not only would he finish this commercial on schedule, but also the rest of his life would fall into place, as well.
He prided himself on finishing what he started. That was the problem with Hale. He lacked whatever it was that made a man have pride in his work. A loyalty to what he did for a living—even if it was running a cruddy carnival.
The noise of machinery and carnie music filled the night air. Hale had all the rides going. Empty, they whirled and chugged and creaked and wheeled as if being ridden by ghosts that only Gun could see.
He saw them, ghosts grinning from grotesque faces in a kind of glee that he understood too well. Had he been planning to stay in the video production business, he would have bought this carnival for himself and hired someone to keep it running day and night until it rusted and fell to the earth.
His gaze fell on Hale, who stood next to the Ferris wheel as if he’d been waiting patiently for him. “Ready for that ride?”
Gun looked up as an empty chair rocked at the top before making its descent. “I’ve never been more ready.”
Laughing, Hale brought the wheel to a stop with practiced ease and made a grand gesture at the empty chair before him. He noticed then that the man had a small handheld device and realized with a start that Hale planned to ride with him.
As he sat down, Hale slid in next to him, forcing him over. “Let’s go for ride, Old Buddy.” He didn’t bother laying the bar across them for security as he hit the button on the device in his hand and the chair began to rise. The music seemed to soar as they climbed higher and higher.
Gun tried to relax as he looked out over the countryside. He could make out the lights of the town in the distance, just as he’d known he would be able to do. The night air was crisp and cold, with the smells of fall. The lights, the music, the feeling of flying would have all been magical had he been alone.
At the crest before the chair began to descend, Hale brought them to an abrupt stop. The chair rocked dangerously, groaning under the weight of the two of them.
“Why did you stop it?” he demanded, annoyed as he grabbed hold of the side to keep from falling off.
Hale almost dropped the remote device as he, too, had to hang on without the bar down to keep them in their seat. The chair rocked precariously, the wind buffing it, and Hale hung on uneasily as if he didn’t like being up here. He seemed to wait for the chair to quit rocking before he said, “We need to talk, and I thought this would be a good place to do it. I guess I forgot how damned high it is.”
They were sitting so close that Gun would have had to crane his neck to look at the man. Not that he wanted to. If anything, he wanted to push Hale off and watch him fall, hitting the next chair and then the next until his broken body hit the ground.
But if anything, Gun was a pragmatist. He could probably climb down from here if he set his mind to it, but he’d rather use the remote gripped tightly in Hale’s hand. So he took a breath and let it out slowly.
“What is it you think we need to discuss?”
Hale cleared his throat. “Tell me I have nothing to worry about.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The older man chuckled. “How long have we known each other?”
He couldn’t believe Hale wanted to talk about this now. A gust of wind caught them, making the chair swing back and forth, groaning as it did. The carnival music was starting to get on his nerves. He’d been looking forward to this, and now he felt anger building in him. Hale was spoiling it.
“Get to the point, then get the hell off my ride.”
“Your ride?”
“Yeah, my ride,” he said turning his head to lock gazes with him. “I’m paying for this. That makes it my damned ride.” He watched Hale take a breath and let it out.
“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t planning to screw me out of my share,” Hale said, all his bravado gone.
In one swift movement, Gun grabbed the remote. The Ferris wheel shuddered and began to move again before he thumbed it to a stop. The chair rocked wildly. Hale was fighting to stay on.
“If I planned to cut you out of the deal, I would push you off this chair right now,” Gun said. “I hope that alleviates your concerns, and we won’t be having this discussion again.”
With that, he hit the button again. The chair jerked as they began to descend. Once they reached the bottom, Gun said, “This is where you get off.”
Hale was still clinging to the side of the chair as he shakily stepped off and, on wobbly legs, moved out of the way as Gun got his ride going again.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SHERIFF FRANK CURRY had been distracted all morning. He’d pulled off several men he had watching Emily Calder’s house at first light. He didn’t think Harrison was stupid enough to try anything until dark. He hoped he was right.
But what worried him was that he hadn’t heard on those prints for Sawyer. He was thinking about calling the lab tech, when his wife interrupted the thought.
“You haven’t touched your breakfast,” Nettie pointed out unnecessarily. “I made your favorite.”
He gave her a smile. “I know. Thank you. I’m just not—”
“Hungry. You’re starting to worry me, Frank Curry.”
Getting up from the table, he went to her, pressing her back against the sink as he cupped her face and kissed her. Desire stirred within him as strong as it had been as a teenager for this woman.
“What is it about you?” he asked. “Whatever it is, we should bottle it. We could make a fortune.”
She laughed at that, as she always did. “Aren’t you the charmer.” But there was worry in her gaze.
“I’m fine. Just not hungry lately. Once this blamed election is over...”
Nettie locked her gaze on him. “You’ve been saying that for months. Are you sure that isn’t all that’s bothering you?”
“I might have a surprise for you,” he said.
“I know that twinkle in your eye. You’re trying to distract me from worrying about you.”
He laughed. “Is it working?”
“A good surprise?” she asked, clearly playing along.
“I think it is. We’ll see what you have to say once I decide to tell you.” He moved away, anxious to drive by Emily’s and make sure for himself that she and her daughter and Alex Ross were all fine. He knew what a man like her former boyfriend was capable of. As an escaped convict, Harrison would think he had nothing to lose. Men like him always wanted to blame someone else for the way their lives had turned out. Harrison would blame Emily.
“When can I expect this...surprise you have for me?”
He heard the fear in her voice, even as hard as she was trying to hide it. Both of them were worried about election night. “As a matter of fact, I thought you might want to go for a ride with me later. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“I would,” she said sounding close to tears, which wasn’t like her at all.
What did she think he was going to tell her? He thought about just blurting it out, but held his tongue. He shouldn’t have said anything. Too late now.
He smiled and pulled her to him. “Everything is going to be all right. You’ll see.”
* * *
IT WAS OVER. The commercial wrapped earlier that afternoon. Everyone had gotten paid after dinner and now it was time to leave. The hotel was shutting down. A cleaning crew would be coming to clean cabins the next day.
Sawyer watched the carnival rides being taken down by the remaining crew. He no
ticed the two kitchen girls were also watching.
For the past two days, Ainsley had sworn that no one was following her. “I’d know, trust me. It had to have been Lance Roderick—just as you’d thought all along. Since his death, nothing. I haven’t felt anyone watching me, and since no one has tried to kill you...”
He couldn’t believe it was over just like that. For Ainsley’s sake, he was glad. But still it didn’t feel right. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been able to confront Lance Roderick that it felt...unfinished.
He tried to relax. The local sheriff’s department hadn’t been able to find the man who Roderick had fought with that night at the bar. Burt Jenkins seemed to have just dropped off the face of the earth. Or, more than likely, had taken to the mountains and was hiding out, which made him look all the more guilty.
Sheriff Curry hadn’t gotten back to him on the prints yet from the notes. That’s all he needed to finally quit worrying.
So why couldn’t Sawyer accept that it was over?
He knew the answer to that. Ainsley. If his work here really were done, then this would probably be the last he ever saw of her. She was planning to leave tonight—unless he could change her mind.
As he walked toward her cabin, he glanced over at Kitzie’s. It was dark inside. He hadn’t even seen her for the past forty-eight hours. With the commercial done, what happened now with her case? he wondered.
He tapped at Ainsley’s cabin door to find her packing. The sight reminded him how he’d failed. He’d done what he came here for. He’d discovered her stalker. Unless, of course, it hadn’t been Lance Roderick, a little voice in the back of his brain reminded him.
Frank still hadn’t called on the fingerprints. He wondered what was taking so long. Once he had verification that the prints from the notes matched Lance Roderick’s, then maybe he could relax.
“I wish you weren’t leaving tonight,” he said, surprised at how much he hated the thought of this woman walking out of his life. Since he’d overheard her on the phone with her sister Kat, she’d been...distant. He’d told himself that was probably best. Best to keep his distance and let this play out.
But he feared that once they left here, he wouldn’t see her again. Even if he followed her back to the family ranch outside of Beartooth, he wasn’t sure she would want to see him again. Unless he could turn things around between them.
You still have time.
“I think we need to go out again,” Sawyer blurted out, hating this pathetic attempt to postpone the inevitable.
She stopped packing to look at him. “That’s not necessary. You’re off the hook. My stalker is gone. No more babysitting.”
“You know it was more than that.”
Her gaze said she didn’t before she turned back to her packing.
“I enjoyed having dinner with you the other night,” he said, taking a step toward her. “In fact, it was the most fun I’d had in a long time. I’d like to do it again. You don’t have to leave tonight, do you?”
“Dinner. That’s...all you had in mind?” She kept her back to him as she finished folding a shirt and putting it into the suitcase.
“I wouldn’t mind having you in my arms again.”
Her back stiffened. “Is this about what you overheard me say to my sister, because if it is—”
“Then we should do something about it.”
Ainsley turned around to look at him. “I beg your pardon?”
“Why not do what you said you were going to do?” He held out his arms in a welcoming gesture.
Her face reddened. “You misunderstood what I—”
“Then let me be clear. I want you.” He shrugged as he took another step toward her. “Any way you want me—even if you plan to use me and move on—is okay. Though if I had a choice, that wouldn’t be it.” His gaze held hers. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until Ainsley released hers. He saw her struggling as if the old Ainsley, the one who’d always been the good girl, was fighting toward the surface.
“Cut loose, let your hair down, kick up your heels, unless you’re afraid to take a chance with me. That is what your sister was worried about, right?”
“So you heard everything.”
Sawyer closed the distance, taking her shoulders in his big hands. “I wanted you long before that. I can’t bear the thought of you walking out of my life right now. Ready to live a little dangerously?” he asked. “Unless the new you isn’t up for it.”
Her chin went up. “Are you actually daring me again?”
He grinned and lifted a brow. “Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.”
She gave him a horrified look.
Sawyer laughed. “I meant, maybe we can flush out your stalker if Roderick wasn’t the man and he’s still out there and have a wonderful dinner, as well.” He did his best to look innocent.
Ainsley was eyeing him skeptically. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re enjoying my embarrassment?”
He shook his head, sobering. “Not at all. I would be honored to be your first. That isn’t why I stopped the other night. Like I told you, I couldn’t, not until you knew why I was here. Stopping was the last thing I wanted to do and if I had another chance...”
She shook her head. “It is so kind of you to want to...help me out,” she said, her words heavy with sarcasm.
“My pleasure.” His grin broadened. “I’ll let you get ready for our date while I go change. If you need me—”
* * *
“I HAVE YOUR NUMBER.” Boy, did she, Ainsley thought as she watched him head for his cabin. What was she thinking? Was she really going through with this?
She was. She knew it sounded crazy what she was about to do. But Bo was right. Her virginity was something she needed to get taken care of, and who better than a handsome cowboy with no strings attached?
For a moment, a sadness filled her. After tonight she wouldn’t be seeing Sawyer Nash again. She’d heard him take a call just yesterday from someone asking when he would be ready to get back to work. Apparently they needed him as early as next week for another special assignment.
Ainsley closed the cabin door and turned to her closet. She’d been packing up everything she’d brought. The red dress Kitzie had lent her and the high heels were all that was left in the closet. She needed to return them, but not now.
Tonight she wouldn’t be wearing a sexy dress. Tonight she would wear one of her Western shirts and a pair of jeans and her best boots. Tonight she would be herself, the new, hopefully improved Ainsley Hamilton, a Montana cowgirl at heart. The other night hadn’t been the real her, and she wasn’t going to change for any man. Not that Sawyer would be around long enough to get to really know her. But that was okay, she told herself.
In truth, she had enjoyed wearing the red dress. It had made her feel like someone else. Someone sexy and desirable. But tonight she would see if it had been the dress—or the woman in it.
Are you sure you can do this and not want more than Sawyer was offering? She wasn’t, but she had no choice. She tried to think of it as just taking care of business. Once they’d completed this...arrangement, they could go their separate ways, even though he said he didn’t want it that way. It wasn’t like any of this had been serious. Also, she suspected he would feel differently in the morning.
She dressed and glanced at her watch. Shouldn’t Sawyer be back by now?
* * *
KITZIE COULD TELL that she was the last person Sawyer wanted to see when she’d cut him off before he could reach his cabin. She’d made it sound urgent, insisting she needed his help.
She knew him well enough that he wouldn’t be able to turn her down. She’d seen him whistling as he walked to his cabin after leaving Ainsley’s. She knew his good mood could only mean one thing. One last hot date.
“W
hat’s up?” he said now as she motioned him into her cabin and quickly closed the door after him, locking it.
“I was wrong. I need your help on this case.”
He looked as surprised as she knew he would.
“It’s more...dangerous than I thought.” She met his gaze. “I need to tell you what’s going on.”
Sawyer glanced at his watch.
“It won’t take long. Sit down. I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink. You have time for one drink and what I have to tell you, don’t you? Or would you rather have coffee?” She knew him so well. He’d think she was trying to seduce him with a drink. But not with coffee.
“Coffee would be great.” He sat on the edge of the couch as if anxious to get going. This wouldn’t be easy, she thought. Not even what she had to tell him might not keep him from Ainsley tonight. Apparently this was more serious than she’d thought.
Her stomach roiled at the idea that Sawyer could fall for someone so quickly. Especially when he hadn’t fallen for her as close as they’d been. Anger heated her skin as she stepped into the tiny kitchen to get them coffee.
She wondered when she’d see him again. She wouldn’t if he had his way, she thought bitterly. Look how hard it had been to just get him to step into her cabin. He couldn’t wait to get away from her.
He was all cleaned up. He smelled so good it made her hurt inside. She turned to see him sending a text. Not doubt to Ainsley saying he had gotten held up but wouldn’t be long. She’d been right about the hot date.
As she filled Sawyer’s mug with instant coffee, she saw her bottle of prescription sleeping pills sitting on the counter next to the sink. She’d lured him in with her jewel thieves case. She knew where the man’s true heart lay. But she could tell he was anxious to get to his precious Ainsley. Kitzie still couldn’t imagine what he saw in the woman. She was pretty, if you liked that bland girl-next-door type, but the two had nothing in common. What was Sawyer thinking?
“So what was it you had to tell me?” he asked, shifting impatiently on the couch.
