by B. J Daniels
* * *
TRASK LOOKED AT his watch, then at the ribbon of dirt road that stretched across the valley. No sign of a vehicle. Lillie had probably forgotten about the spot where they used to leave notes for each other. Even if she went to the tree and found it, that didn’t mean she was going to come.
She’d been pretty clear about how she felt. He’d broken her heart and she wasn’t going to let him do it again. Mentally he kicked himself. He should have stayed all those years ago and faced the music. But he feared he would have spent the past nine years in prison if he had. The evidence against him was damning.
Or maybe he’d just been too young and had seen only one way out—run. He should never have asked Lillie to go with him. At first she’d said she couldn’t leave, but he’d known that she would. She would do it just for him. He still regretted asking her. At least he’d come to his senses before he’d picked her up. She had a good life here. She and her brother had made a go of the stagecoach stop. He remembered how excited Lillie had been about turning it into a bar and café and preserving the building.
He was thankful that he hadn’t taken her away from her family for a life on the run. He’d seen her waiting outside the stagecoach stop that night in the moonlight. It had taken all of his strength to keep going.
It had killed him to do that to her. No wonder she couldn’t forgive him. She’d been ready to leave everything behind to go with him. How long had she waited in the cold morning air for him to come for her?
He couldn’t bear to think about it.
With a sigh, he told himself Lillie wasn’t going to show now. Had he really expected her to? It was probably for the best anyway until he cleared his name.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw dust boiling up in the distance. His heart raced. Lillie?
It wasn’t until she was a few hundred yards away that he recognized her pickup. He told himself that she might have called her brother and that it could be the sheriff now racing down the road toward him.
But in his heart, he knew it was her.
The pickup came to a dust-boiling stop yards from him. Sun glinted off the windshield, hiding her face behind the wheel.
The driver’s-side door opened and he waited where he stood.
Lillie stepped out and came around the front of the truck. She stopped, hands on her hips. He smiled at her, thinking he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life as this woman with her dander up. “I’m going to help you clear your name. But that’s it.”
Trask couldn’t help being touched. He shook his head. “No, darlin’, you’re not. I have to do this myself. I can’t have you involved. I only contacted you because, like I said, I couldn’t let another day go by without telling you how I feel.”
“Let me finish,” she said, those beautiful gray eyes of hers catching fire in the waning sunlight. How he’d missed this fiery female. Whatever she did, she did it with a passion. He was glad she hadn’t changed. “I’m going to help you whether you like it or not, but it doesn’t change anything between us. I have to move on.”
* * *
LILLIE WAITED FOR Trask to say something.
He took off his Western straw hat and raked his fingers through his thick hair. His blue eyes never left her face. “Why are you helping me, since you say you don’t love me anymore and that you’ve moved on?” Trask finally asked. “It isn’t because once I clear my name you’re hoping I will leave, is it?”
Lillie had told herself that Trask couldn’t get to her anymore. But that blamed grin threw her off balance. She was reminded of the first time they’d made love. The memory sent an arrow of desire straight to her core. She’d believed they were made for each other. She’d also believed nothing could tear them apart.
“Don’t do that,” she said.
“Don’t do what?”
“Look at me like that.”
“Like I want you more than my next breath?”
She turned away.
“Lillie,” he said, touching her arm and gently turning her back to him. “None of this matters without you. Nothing does. Even if I go to prison—”
“You’re not going to prison.”
“You know that morning I was supposed to pick you up?”
She waved a hand through the air in an attempt to shut him up.
“I couldn’t take you away from here, away from your family. I couldn’t take you on the run with me.”
She glared at him. The last thing she wanted to be reminded of again was that morning when she’d waited for him for hours only to have her brother Darby find her bawling her eyes out after Trask stood her up.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
He raised both hands. “If you have any doubts about me...”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Doubts? You can’t be serious. I think I’ve lost my mind. I know I have.” She turned her back on him, had to. She didn’t want him to know how badly he’d hurt her. Didn’t want him to see how much she’d loved him, would always love him. He was her first. Her only. But loving Trask was one thing, trusting him again with her heart was another. Trask was her Achilles’ heel. He could destroy her if she let herself fall for him again.
“We’re just old friends. I’m helping an old friend,” she said, turning back to him. “That’s all I have to offer you.”
He settled his hat back on his head. She could feel the heat of his gaze and braced herself. “Okay, you’ve moved on,” he said after a moment. “Just know this. I am not leaving. I’m sticking it out. I love you, Lillie. That will never change no matter what. Trust me.”
“Trust you?” She let out a croak of a laugh. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you know me.”
“Do I? Maybe you don’t remember, but I do. The weeks before Gordon was murdered? I didn’t recognize the man you were back then. I loved you still, but I was almost afraid of how angry and upset you were before Gordon’s murder.”
“It wasn’t something I could talk about.”
“So you left me in the dark and you were surprised when I hesitated leaving with you all those years ago? That was before you convinced me to go and then left me without a word. You want me to trust you now, when you still aren’t telling me the truth?” She started to turn away from him, but he grabbed her arm and turned her back to him, this time not letting go.
“I was protecting Johnny.”
She stared at him in surprise. Johnny had been his best friend since they were kids. “Protecting him?”
He nodded. “There was a problem between us. I didn’t want to tell you. I thought I could fix things...” He shook his head. “Like I said before, I was young and foolish. But I never wanted to scare you with my dark mood. I just didn’t know how to handle the situation.”
She pulled free of his grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. “But you’re going to tell me now.” She saw him hesitate and was about to turn to leave when he finally spoke.
“I saw Johnny loading material from one of the jobs into his pickup. The moment he saw me, I knew he was stealing it.”
“Stealing from the construction company where he worked?” She thought of earlier when she’d confronted Skip and J.T.
Trask nodded. “He said it had been ordered incorrectly and that he was returning it.”
“But you didn’t believe him.”
He shook his head. “Then one day he stopped by the Quinn ranch, where I was working in the stables,” Trask continued. “I saw him take one of Caroline Quinn’s silver-and-turquoise bracelets that I thought she must have dropped after her ride that morning.”
Lillie was having a hard time believing this. “Johnny?” Unlike Trask, Johnny had grown up with two parents, a nice home, an easy life. An overbearing, demanding father, but still... “He tried to steal it?”<
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“That’s what’s so crazy. He said he’d found it on the floor and was putting it back. But I distinctly saw him take it out of his pocket when he realized I’d seen him.”
“That is crazy,” Lillie agreed. “He didn’t need the money, so why would he take it?”
Trask shook his head. “I knew he was keeping something from me.”
“Did you ever find out what?”
“Johnny told me that he didn’t find Caroline’s bracelet on the floor of the stables. He found it in the office trailer at the construction company. Caroline had left it on one of her visits to the office.”
“So she really was having an affair with Skip Fairchild,” Lillie said.
Trask nodded. “Johnny had seen the bracelet and picked it up, afraid if Gordon stopped by the office, he would recognize it and realize what was going on.”
“But why steal the construction materials?”
“He said his father had instructed him to pick them up and return them.”
“So he wasn’t stealing them.”
Trask sighed. “I didn’t believe him. I wasn’t even sure I believed the story about Caroline’s jewelry. Something was going on between the partners, but Johnny wouldn’t tell me what. Then Gordon was murdered with everyone believing I killed him and that was that.”
“There was a rumor going around that Gordon was pulling out of the partnership. I talked to Skip and J.T. earlier. They didn’t confirm it, but my asking certainly upset them.”
“Lillie, I don’t want you—”
“I told you. I’m going to help you, whether you like it or not.” Lillie sighed. “Johnny is now one of the partners with Skip and his father. If there is something going on there...”
“I know. That’s why I’m still worried about him. But you know how he is when it comes to his father. He is determined to make the man proud, no matter what. I’m worried Johnny’s in over his head—and was nine years ago, as well.”
It was so like Trask to be worried about his friend instead of himself. She thought of the times she’d run into Johnny since Trask left town. She’d always liked Johnny and wasn’t angry at him for telling Trask what she’d been up to after he’d left. But Johnny and his friendship with Trask reminded her of the past and right now she couldn’t deal with that.
“Johnny is upset that I’ve come back. I don’t think he’s comfortable with the possibility of anyone discovering we’ve been in contact all these years.”
“Johnny has to know that you want to clear your name. That you couldn’t have killed Gordon. I would think he would applaud what you’re trying to do.”
Trask shrugged, but she could see the hurt. Trask made friends for life. He and Johnny went way back.
“We should talk about the murder,” she said, determined to stay on track. Still she hesitated before she said, “You were seen leaving the stables just minutes before Gordon was found dead. You didn’t tell me you went back that night.”
“Because I didn’t. Who said they saw me?”
She shook her head. “Flint wouldn’t tell me. But whoever it is, that person is his eyewitness who puts you at the murder scene.” They stared at each other for a long moment.
“The killer must have heard my earlier argument with Gordon. I was the perfect patsy, wasn’t I?”
“The eyewitness saw the real killer leave but mistakenly thought it was you,” Lillie said. “Or the eyewitness is actually the killer.”
“Lillie, you are brilliant. All we have to do is find the eyewitness,” Trask said and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and swinging her around. He swept her off her feet, literally. In his arms, all those old feelings rushed at her like a locomotive. She felt a drowning wave of desire, but even stronger was that old bond between them.
He set her down carefully as if feeling some of the same emotions. A heavy silence fell between them. “We were so young when we fell in love, weren’t we?” Trask said softly into the golden late afternoon around them.
Her throat tightened at the memory.
“We were so innocent. Remember?” She felt the heat of his gaze at even the mention of their initial lovemaking. It had been the first time for both of them. Heat and passion. It had always been that way between them back when Lillie had still believed in soul mates and true love everlasting.
Heart pounding, she found her voice. “That was a long time ago.” She turned toward her pickup. “I have to go. I have a date.”
CHAPTER TEN
JUNIOR WAINWRIGHT WAS TALL, handsome and wealthy, something he was more than a little aware of. But when she wasn’t being critical, Lillie had to admit there was something also shy about him—at least when it came to her.
“You look...amazing,” Junior said as she opened the door. He almost blushed. Word around the county was that he was a ladies’ man and yet she’d never seen him with a woman at the bar. Nor had she ever heard of him being serious about anyone.
She felt guilty when she thought of how she hadn’t wanted to go on this date. She could see how much it meant to Junior. As crazy as it seemed, she felt as if she were cheating on Trask. She mentally smacked herself. She and Trask weren’t together. Might never be together again, but she couldn’t go there right now.
“Thank you,” she said. “You look nice yourself.”
Junior smiled. He had a nice smile, the kind made by an orthodontist. She well remembered his crooked teeth from grade school.
“I thought we would go to the steak house. Not a lot of options in town. If I’d been thinking, we would have left earlier and gone to Billings.”
At least she could be thankful that he hadn’t been thinking earlier. “The steak house is just fine.”
They descended the stairs from her apartment over the bar and walked to his car parked out back in the pines. She didn’t look around. If Trask was out there, good. Let him see that she’d moved on. It was for the best, she kept telling herself.
At the front of the bar, there were a half-dozen pickups. She could hear the thump of the bass coming from the jukebox inside and the sound of voices. While there were more trucks per capita in this county than cars, Junior had driven a luxury sedan.
“Are you trying to impress me?” she joked.
“How am I doing?” he asked as he opened the passenger side for her.
She didn’t tell him that she would have been happy with an old pickup and burger at the In-N-Out. Too bad the drive-in theater was closed. She would have loved a date like that.
Or maybe she was just remembering her first date with Trask, splitting a large cola, a bucket of popcorn and a box of Hot Tamales. She couldn’t recall being more happy.
They talked little on the drive to the steak house. Junior asked how she’d been. Fine. He’d been the same. Had she seen the new subdivision outside of town? She hadn’t. Well, it was his development. His and Pyramid Peak Construction Company. They’d teamed up together, he said. “Johnny Burrows is involved. He’s as excited about it as I am.”
She ground her teeth at the thought of the men involved in the construction company. Not to mention she hated to see pasture turned into rows of identical houses and realized she sounded like her father. She didn’t like change any more than Ely did. Also, she liked old things, not cookie-cutter houses in long, boring rows. But she tried to be polite, since it was clear that Junior was very proud of the project.
“That’s right, Johnny is one of the partners along with his father and Skip Fairchild,” she said, thinking about what Trask had told her.
“They’re an ambitious bunch over there,” Junior said, smiling. “Johnny works harder than the other two, I can tell you that. But he’s young and eager.”
She had to chuckle. “Like you.”
He almost blushed. “I’m arrogant enough as it is.” He s
miled as if he’d heard that she thought he was arrogant.
Lillie felt bad that she’d thought it about him.
The steak house was dimly lit and only half-full. Junior had made a reservation, so they were led right into the back to a quiet, secluded booth. She could tell it was what he’d asked for. She almost felt sorry for him. Where did he think this bet date was going?
He ordered champagne, overruling her argument that he was overdoing it. The waiter poured them both a glass, then left. “Remember, I promised dinner, maybe dancing, and definitely champagne.” He raised his glass and waited for her to do the same. She complied, regretting not reneging on this date.
“How many times have I asked you out?” he said when she finally lifted her glass.
Did he really expect her to remember?
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. I know I had to practically trick you to get you here.” He waved his free hand through the air, not wanting her to answer that. “But I’m serious about liking you. A lot.”
She couldn’t think of what to say and was thankful when he touched the rim of his glass to hers and took a drink.
The bubbles made her want to sneeze. She drank half the glass and put it down. Feeling as if she was compelled to say something, she searched for an answer to his words. What came out surprised them both.
“You put a frog down my blouse in sixth grade.”
He seemed startled at first but then laughed. “That’s what you have to say to my confession? You’re not any better at this than I am.”
That made her smile because it was true.
“I know you’re still in love with Trask,” he said and stopped her from arguing the point. “But he’s gone. I’m here and I’d like to see you on a real date unless this night goes so far south that you never want to see me again.”
All the arrogance she usually saw in him had been dropped. He was just a man doing his best with a woman he liked.
“That seems fair” was all she could think to say. Because Trask wasn’t here in the restaurant, but he was back. He was teetering on the edge of every breath she took.
