Hitched!

by B. J Daniels

  She knew, too, what would happen if she invited him into her bed.

  “Josey?”

  She froze, then said quietly, “Yes?”

  “Don’t ever follow me again.”

  She lay perfectly still, hearing the anger in his words and feeling her own fury race through her veins like liquid flames. She’d saved the bastard’s bacon. “No need to thank me,” she said sarcastically.

  “We both have our secrets. Stay out of mine and I’ll stay out of yours.”

  In the darkness, she touched the rope burn on her neck and felt the sting of tears. Sleep finally came as a godsend.

  RJ DIPPED HIS FINGERS into the salve and touched it to his shoulder, grimacing with pain. He glared into the cheap mirror as if Josey was on the other side, relishing at the thought of the pain he would heap on her.

  “I’m coming for you, bitch, and when I find you I’m going to hurt you in ways you never dreamed.”

  He opened one of the containers of prescription pills he’d found in the medicine cabinet. All of the pills were at least a year old, but if he took enough of them, he might be able to numb the pain, if not kill any infection.

  Downing the pills, he took a drink and listened.

  He felt better. His vision had cleared some and if he’d had a concussion, it seemed to be getting better. He’d turned on the radio, but hadn’t heard any news, so he figured no news was good news.

  Josey was smart. If he was right, she’d conned the driver of the Cadillac and was now on the Winchester Ranch miles from town. Hard to find, was what the clerk had said when RJ had made him give him the same directions he’d given the Cadillac driver.

  Yeah, not that hard to find. He just hoped she stayed put. He figured she would. She’d feel safe. Her mistake.

  He wanted to go after her right now. No holds barred. But even in his dazed state, he knew that would be stupid.

  First, he had to take care of himself. Get his strength back, patch up his wound. Hell, he wasn’t going anywhere without a vehicle.

  Josey always seemed to land on her feet. He hadn’t been worried about her going to the cops—not with a murder rap hanging over her. She knew what would happen to her mother if she ended up behind bars. The thought made him frown. She had the money in the backpack. Would she try to get her mother moved out of the rest home his father had stuck her in?

  Hell, yes. He stormed out of the bathroom, picked up the kitchen phone and called the nursing home.

  “Just wanted to check on Ella Vanderliner. I mean Ella Evans,” he said, when the night nurse answered.

  “I’m sure she’s asleep. May I ask who’s calling?”

  “Good. So she’s still there?”

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

  He hung up. Maybe he’d been wrong about Josey. Maybe her first thought had been to save her own skin without any thought to her mother.

  He glanced in the bedroom at the soft-looking bed and thought about curling up for a while, but knew he couldn’t chance it.

  He’d gotten almost everything he’d needed here and he didn’t want to push his luck. Now he just needed wheels. Unfortunately, all he’d found around this place was some old, broken-down, rusted farm equipment. No vehicle he could steal.

  That meant he’d have to hit the road and hope someone stopped to give him a ride. But first he’d find a place to get some sleep in the pine trees again. His head would be clearer in the morning.

  He wandered back into the bathroom, pocketed all the pills and a large bottle of aspirin. Pulling on the stolen coat, he took one last look around the kitchen, found some stale cookies and left Mobridge behind.

  THE NEXT MORNING Josey woke to find Jack standing on the small balcony outside their room. He looked as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. For so long, she’d been so involved in her own problems that she’d been blind to anyone else’s. That was what had gotten her into this trouble. Had she been paying attention—

  She slid out of bed, wrapping her robe around her, and stepped out on the balcony next to him. Without giving it any thought, she put her arm around Jack as she joined him.

  He glanced over at her, his smile shy, apologetic. “I’m sorry I snapped at you last night when I should have thanked you. But I was upset. You shouldn’t have followed me.”

  She looked over at him, her eyes narrowing. “You mean the way you shouldn’t have untied my scarf?”

  He had the good sense to look chastised. “I wanted to help you.”

  “And why do you think I followed you last night?”

  His gaze locked with hers. “You shouldn’t be worrying about me. You have enough—”

  “You can tell me what you’re after,” she said, lowering her voice. “I’ll help you. You helped me by bringing me here.” He started to argue the point. “Don’t even bother to tell me you didn’t know I was in some kind of trouble.”

  He smiled at her and touched her face. “Still,” he said, shaking his head, “it’s probably better that we don’t know everything about each other.”

  His words cut like a knife, even though she agreed with him. They both had dark secrets, and yet living here pretending to be lovers was another kind of hell.

  She pushed off the balcony railing and into the cool darkness of the bedroom, only to stop short at the sight of Enid standing in the middle of the room holding a stack of clean towels.

  “I didn’t think anyone was here,” she said. Her expression left no doubt in Josey’s mind that she’d heard everything.

  JACK MENTALLY KICKED HIMSELF at the hurt expression on Josey’s face as she’d left him on the balcony.

  A moment later, he heard Enid’s voice and swore. That damned sneaky woman. She’d probably heard everything. His fault. He should have been more careful.

  Enid would take what she’d heard to his grandmother, sure as the devil.

  But with a start, he realized he didn’t care. Let her run to Pepper. Maybe it would be better if Pepper sent him packing. Hadn’t he always known he might leave here empty-handed?

  The bedroom door closed behind Enid, and he saw Josey standing in the middle of the room looking worried over what the woman had overheard. A wave of desire washed over him so strong, he thought it might drown him.

  “She heard everything,” Josey said, as he stepped into the bedroom, closing the French doors behind him.

  He nodded, realizing he would have only one regret if he had to leave here—and it had nothing to do with what was or wasn’t behind that rock wall in the closed wing.

  “We should get down to breakfast,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

  She didn’t move as he stepped deeper into the room. “I think I’ll skip breakfast,” she said.

  He started to talk her out of it, hating the thought of eating alone with just his grandmother and his aunt. But he saw the stubborn determination in the set of her jaw and decided to let it go.

  They’d reached an impasse.

  “I think I’ll go for a horseback ride. Would you like—”

  “No, thank you. I’ll just stay in my room and read. I have a headache.” Her words made it clear who’d given it to her.

  “Should I have Enid send you up something to eat?”

  Josey gave him a look of warning.

  “I’ll tell her not to disturb you, then.” He stood for a moment, wanting to say all the things he felt, but unable to find the words. It was one thing to pretend they were husband and wife. It was another to get too close, and yet something like metal to magnet drew him to her. He wanted this woman. And not just for a week.

  He had to fight every muscle within him not to reach for her.

  As he descended the stairs, he found his grandmother waiting for him and groaned inwardly. Could this morning get any worse?

  “Jack, may I speak with you?” Pepper led the way down to the parlor before he could answer.

  The moment he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him as his
grandmother instructed, she asked, “Why did you come here?”

  Enid hadn’t wasted any time. “Because you invited me and I wanted to see the ranch again.”

  His honest answer seemed to surprise his grandmother, who raised a brow. “I know you blame me for your unhappy childhood.”

  “My childhood wasn’t unhappy.”

  “I kept your father from marrying your mother.”

  “Only until I was six. My father was an alcoholic and my mother spent her life trying to save him. Worse things happen to kids.” He thought of his grandmother’s children, that awful room on the third floor and what he’d seen scratched into the walls.

  “I’m no fool,” she snapped. “I know you want something from me, but I don’t think it’s my money.”

  As Josey said, the woman was sharp. “I have my own money, so it seems I came here to enjoy the ranch.” He got to his feet. “Speaking of that, I’m going for a horseback ride.”

  “Alone?”

  “Josey is resting. Please tell Enid she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

  Another raised brow. “Enid seemed to think that the two of you are going your separate ways when your week here is up.”

  “Enid should mind her own business.” He saw that his grandmother had no intention of letting him leave it at that and sighed. “Josey and I, well, we think we might have acted in haste. Probably a little time apart would be good after we leave here,” he said honestly.

  Pepper’s eyes narrowed, but when she spoke she said, “Enjoy your horseback ride. Don’t go too far alone.”

  “Yes, I wouldn’t want what happened to my grandfather to happen to me,” he said, and saw his grandmother’s expression darken.

  PEPPER TOLD HERSELF she didn’t care one way or the other about Jack and Josey’s marriage, and yet she found herself climbing the stairs to the far wing. She’d noticed there was trouble between the two of them, but things seemed to have been a little better after their horseback ride yesterday.

  Now, though, something seemed to have happened to drive them apart again. It seemed odd to her that Jack would go off on a horseback ride by himself. It was the first time he’d left Josey alone.

  “Jack said you were resting, but I wanted to check on you,” she said when Josey answered her knock.

  The young woman looked uncomfortable.

  “He’s gone for a horseback ride. I thought you and I might…” She looked past Josey into the bedroom. Her bedroom when Call was alive.

  “Would you like to come in?” Josey asked with obvious reluctance.

  Pepper stepped into the room, fighting off the memories that assailed her. She and Call had shared this room from the first night she’d come to the ranch. Had she ever been happy?

  Yes, at first she’d been deliriously happy. Naive, foolish, blind with love, but happy. It had lasted at least a week. Maybe even a month before she’d realized what a controlling bastard she’d married.

  And yet she’d stayed, believing that he would change. She silently scoffed at the thought now. There’d been a time when she really believed that love could conquer all. Why else had she not only stayed with him but also had five children with him?

  “Would you like to sit down?” Josey offered.

  Pepper smiled at the young woman. She was kind and thoughtful, clearly from a good family.

  “Thank you, I think that would be nice.” She took one of the chairs, noticing as Josey removed a folded blanket and pillow from the other chair.

  Josey must have seen her expression and smiled ruefully. “I’m sure you’ve heard that Jack and I have been having our problems.”

  “Enid is a terrible old busybody,” Pepper said, anxiously anticipating the day she would be able to get rid of the woman for good. Impulsively, she reached over and took Josey’s hand. “I know you and Jack aren’t legally married.”

  Josey opened her mouth as if to explain, but Pepper waved her off. “Jack thinks I’m an old fool. Of course I had my lawyer investigate. I like to know who is sleeping under my roof.”

  “I feel I should apologize for letting you believe—”

  “Oh, don’t look so aghast. I like you. I was truly sorry to find out the two of you weren’t married. You’re good for Jack, and from what I’ve seen, he’s good for you, as well.”

  JOSEY DIDN’T KNOW what to say. She had to admit that Pepper Winchester had caught her completely off guard.

  “Are you shocked that I’m not upset? Or that I actually care for my grandson?”

  Again the woman had caught her flat-footed. Before Josey could speak, Pepper laughed, easing the tension in the room.

  “I am capable of love and caring. I like Jack. I’m sorry I hurt him and his mother. But there is nothing I can do about that. You live to be this old, you, too, will have regrets. I unfortunately have more than my share.”

  “You are definitely a surprise,” Josey finally said, relaxing a little.

  Pepper smiled at that. “I just remember what it’s like to be in love.”

  Josey started to protest that she wasn’t in love with Jack, but stopped herself. Even if she and Jack weren’t legally married, they were still supposed to be in love. And she did care about Jack. Too much.

  “Jack seems to think that the reason you’re asking your family back to the ranch is because you’re not satisfied with the results of your son’s murder investigation,” Josey said, needing to change the subject. “That’s true.”

  “I thought someone confessed.”

  “Yes. Unfortunately, that person is dead, and I have reason to believe that there was a second person involved. I have no proof.”

  “You think Jack knows something?”

  Pepper smiled secretively. “I guess time will tell. If there is any chance that the person responsible for Trace’s death hasn’t been brought to justice…” She shook her head. “It’s something I need settled before I die.”

  “I can’t believe it would be someone in your family.”

  “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but my greatest ones were with my children. Their father was a harsh disciplinarian. Too harsh. I didn’t protect the older ones. But when Trace was born…” She cleared her throat.

  “Would you like some water?” Josey asked. Pepper nodded, and she stood and went into the bathroom, returning with a glass of cold water.

  “I should have stopped Call sooner,” Pepper said, after taking a sip. “I should have done so many things differently. By then my older children had no respect for me, and in my guilt I avoided them. That rift grew wider as Trace became my life, the only part I cared about.”

  Josey wondered why Jack’s grandmother was confessing all this to her. Just minutes before she’d opened the door to Pepper, she’d promised herself that she wasn’t going to get any more involved with this family. In fact, she’d been thinking that the best thing she could do was to make an excuse to leave sooner.

  “If one of my older children had anything to do with Trace’s death, then I am to blame for it.” Pepper nodded, tears in her eyes. “But I still want justice and I will still get it.”

  Josey felt a chill at the woman’s words as Pepper set down the glass on the end table and rose, picking up her cane.

  “Thank you for listening to an old woman ramble,” she said, seeming embarrassed. “I hope you don’t think ill of me.”

  “No,” Josey said. As she rose to escort Pepper out, she thought of her own father. He would have killed for her. He also would have demanded justice had anything happened to her. But he was gone, and there was no one to protect her or see that justice was done.

  “Please don’t give up on Jack,” Pepper said. “He needs you. I don’t think he realizes how much. He prides himself on his independence and taking on the world alone—but then you are a lot like that yourself, aren’t you?”

  Josey was startled that Pepper had realized that about her. “Sometimes we have to take on things alone because there isn’t anyone else,” she said, echoi
ng her earlier thoughts.

  “But you aren’t alone anymore. You have Jack.”

  “Yes,” she said, feeling guilty at how wrong Pepper was about that.

  Chapter Nine

  McCall had known that once the news hit the radio and newspaper the calls would start coming in. Most of them were from residents who’d seen someone suspicious hanging around the alley, heard a noise out back or thought someone had been in their house.

  Her deputies were running themselves ragged checking on suspicious characters, only to find the suspect was a relative of a neighbor or nothing at all.

  When she took the call from the dispatcher she was expecting just another bad lead.

  “It’s Frank Hanover down at Mobridge,” a man said. “We just got home from Billings and found our house has been broken into.”

  “What’s missing?” McCall asked, thinking Mobridge was near the Missouri River, near the crime scene.

  “Clothes, some of my shirts and pants, a coat, as far as I can tell. Cleaned all the drugs out of the medicine cabinet, ate some food and left a mess.”

  She sat up straighter, remembering the house at Mobridge. It was back off the road, no other houses around.

  “Took a pair of my boots,” Frank was saying.

  “What size do you wear?” she asked.

  “Eleven.” He seemed to hesitate. “Is that important?”

  It was to her. Ray Allan Evans Jr. wore a size 10½ loafer. He could make do with a pair of size 11 cowboy boots real easy. “What else was taken?”

  “About a hundred dollars in cash, the wife and I estimate. That’s all that we’ve found missing so far.”

  “Did he take one of your vehicles?”

  “Weren’t none to take,” Frank said.

  So RJ was still on foot. “I’m sending a deputy. Please try not to touch anything that the intruder left. You said he made a mess in the kitchen? Please leave it.”

  “He used our phone, looks like since he left the phone book out and a chair pulled up to it. Probably ran up our long distance bill,” Frank grumbled.