Hero’s Return

by B. J Daniels

  “Glad you noticed. Thanks. So then you decided to take advantage of me.”

  “No, I...liked you. Maybe I felt a little sorry for you.”

  He swore under his breath but softened it with a smile. “And yet at dinner you read me the riot act.”

  She laughed. “I was caught between sympathizing since you’d lost the love of your life—at least according to you—and wanting to pick up a chair and hit you with it for being so...”

  “Stupid?” he suggested.

  “Susceptible,” she said diplomatically.

  Tucker chuckled at that. “And by the way, Madeline wasn’t the love of my life.”

  She shrugged and felt that ache in the pit of her stomach as jealousy reared its ugly head again. That Tucker still felt something for Madeline after what she’d done to him drove her to distraction. She told herself it was because of her brother, but she knew that was a lie. This man, stupid or vulnerable or susceptible, had gotten to her.

  “I’m going to want to see his journal,” Tucker said.

  “I know. Maybe that’s another reason I didn’t tell you until now. It’s—”

  He nodded as if she didn’t need to tell him and squatted down in front of one of the gravestones. “Private.”

  * * *

  MISTY DUNN. 10-12-1977–6-5-1999.

  What had Tucker hoped to find out here in this godforsaken place? Flint was right. He was looking for closure, but every door he opened seemed to slam shut in his face and leave him even more frustrated.

  “You planning to dig up the grave?” Kate asked as she squatted down next to him.

  He noticed something moving in the wind. It was the only color on the ground. A deep red petal caught in the base of the weeds. He reached for it, surprised to realize what it was. A rose petal.

  “Someone recently left flowers here.” He handed Kate the petal he’d found. She pressed it between her thumb and forefinger, then released it to the wind to watch it fly away.

  “It could have blown over from someone else’s grave,” she said and looked around. “Or not.”

  Not only did it appear that no one had been out here in years, but also there were no vases on the graves, not even plastic flowers next to any of the headstones. This place was forgotten.

  “So did your brother write anything about Misty Dunn?” he asked, still peeved over her keeping the journal a secret from him.

  “No. Just Madeline. I don’t think he knew anything about them. So who was she?” She moved closer to stare down at the stone. “Uh, Tucker?” Kate said as she knelt next to him. “Notice anything interesting about those dates?”

  His thoughts had been far away. Now he focused in on the date Misty had died and felt his heart lurch in his chest. “That was the year I graduated and left.”

  “Misty died not just the year Madeline died—but days after, right? You graduated just before Memorial Day weekend in May?”

  “Yes.”

  “But that isn’t the only thing.” Her voice sounded strange. “My brother had discovered Madeline’s real birth date. According to this gravestone, Madeline was born on the same day as her sister Misty.”

  He stared at the crude numbers cut into the stone. “That can’t be right.”

  “Unless they were twins.” Kate stood and let out a sigh of disgust. “Don’t even tell me there was more than one of them.”

  His stomach seemed to drop. “Madeline had a twin?”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  AS THEY DROVE back toward Clawson Creek, Tucker seemed lost in his own thoughts. Kate didn’t feel much like talking, either. She regretted not telling him right away about her brother’s journal. She could make all kinds of excuses why she hadn’t. In truth, she hadn’t wanted to share it with anyone. Nor had she. Not even her parents knew about it.

  So why had she told Tucker?

  Her phone rang, startling her since it had been quiet for so long. Earlier she’d wanted to check something online as they were leaving the cemetery only to find there was no cell phone coverage that far from town.

  She saw it was her mother and declined the call. If it was anything important, she’d call her when she got back to the hotel. Knowing her mother, though, she would keep calling. Turning off her phone, she pocketed it and leaned back in the seat to watch the landscape blur past.

  Madeline had been a twin? An identical twin? She couldn’t imagine anything worse. Had Misty still been alive, Tucker might have come face-to-face with the woman, thinking she was Madeline.

  She glanced over at him. Would he have fallen for the sister in Madeline’s place? No matter what he said, he would always be hung up on the woman. It riled her to no end but she wasn’t about to dredge through her feelings to understand why.

  As he started through town, she said impulsively, “Stop at the café.”

  Tucker shot her a look.

  “Please. I promise to be on my best behavior.”

  “I don’t know what that is,” he said but slowed and pulled into the parking lot next to the Busy Bumblebee Café. It was anything but busy.

  “I think it would be better if I went in alone,” Kate said and opened her door. She saw Tucker’s worried look but ignored it as she closed the door and hurried toward the ancient-looking diner.

  The inside was a lot like most small-town cafés she’d been in. There were four worn booths on one side and three tables on the other with a short counter across the back that looked into the kitchen. An old-grease smell hung in the air.

  A male cook looked up from the pass-through but lost interest quickly. A woman who’d been sitting at one of the counter chairs swiveled around but didn’t get up.

  Kate headed toward her, but the woman motioned for her to take one of the booths. She started to tell her that she wasn’t going to order anything when the waitress got up, hurried to her and whispered, “You’ll want to order something.”

  Taking a few steps back at the woman’s intent expression, Kate slid into the farthest booth from the kitchen. Carly Brookshire would have called and warned this woman that someone was in town asking about Madeline Dunn. She watched the waitress glance nervously toward the cook in the back before she pulled out her order pad and waited.

  “So what would you like to order?” the woman asked.

  Since she hadn’t even been given a menu, let alone wanted to order anything, she said, “What would you suggest?”

  “Maybe something to go like a grilled ham and cheese.”

  Kate smiled. “Perfect. I’ll have two to go.”

  “Good choice.” The woman took her time writing something on the pad she’d pulled from her apron pocket. With a flurry, she ripped the piece of paper off and placed it facedown on the table. Then she began to write on the next sheet.

  Confused, Kate watched the woman go back to the kitchen and in a loud voice order, “Two grilled ham and cheeses to go.”

  The cook mumbled something Kate didn’t catch. She waited, thinking the waitress would come back. She’d gotten the impression the order was just to keep the cook busy while they could talk.

  But the waitress stayed in the kitchen talking to the cook until she returned with a greasy brown bag and announced that it would be twelve dollars.

  Kate handed her a twenty and started to ask a question, but the woman cut her off. “Here.” Picking up the paper from her pad that she’d left on the table earlier, the waitress said, “You’ll want this,” and stuffed it in the sack with the sandwiches. “You have a good day.” Then she turned and went back to the kitchen.

  Realizing that the waitress wouldn’t be back with her change, Kate rose, grabbed the sack and walked out.

  “What happened?” Tucker asked as she slid in.

  “I’m not sure. It was...strange.”

  “What did you get?”

  She opened
the bag as Tucker pulled back out onto the street. The paper from the order pad was already starting to soak up grease. She looked at the writing and realized that the woman had written her a note.

  “Maybe not so strange.”

  “Do I get one of those sandwiches?” Tucker asked.

  She shot him a look. “Seriously?”

  “It smells good.”

  Shaking her head, she pocketed the note from the woman until she had time to think about it without Tucker’s input, handed him a sandwich and watched him eat every last bite. She knew what Tucker would say. Pure and simple extortion.

  The note had read: Want to know about Madeline Dunn? $500. Under that was a phone number.

  Kate’s stomach growled, making Tucker grin over at her. She ate half her sandwich and gave the rest to him. After that, she must have fallen asleep because she woke to find the pickup no longer moving. She sat up, feeling disoriented. For a moment, she’d forgotten where she was, who she was with, until she saw that she was sitting in front of the hotel in his pickup.

  “Nice nap?” Tucker asked, not unkindly. “You must be exhausted.”

  She nodded, realizing it was true.

  “I want to see Clay’s journal.”

  “I know. I don’t have it with me. It’s under safekeeping back in Helena.” Did he believe her?

  “If you say so.”

  “It’s true.” She desperately wanted him to believe her, but she had kept the journal from him and now he was questioning her honesty. “I can’t send for it. No one but you and I know about it. But I promise you can see it.” She thought of him reading it. “Unless you change your mind. I’m afraid a lot of it will upset you.”

  He smiled at that. “I won’t change my mind.”

  She unhooked her seat belt. “Well, thank you for taking me with you.”

  “Yes, it made for an...interesting day.”

  Having nothing more to say about that, she opened her door and got out. And now she was keeping the note from the waitress in the café from him. “Talk to you soon?”

  “Soon,” he said, making it sound like a promise. Or a threat.

  * * *

  TUCKER WATCHED KATE until she disappeared into the hotel lobby. All the time, he was wondering if he would ever see Clay’s journal. Maybe Kate was right. Maybe it was better that way. Not that he wouldn’t fight tooth and nail to read it, anyway.

  He drove back to the ranch only to find that his ranching brothers were out working. Soon he would have to return to the workforce, too. He’d done all types of work and had become handy at a lot of manual labor. So what did he want to do for the rest of his life?

  Tucker knew he couldn’t think about that now. He felt lost. Madeline had been a twin. If Clay had her birth date correct. He thought about calling Flint and seeing what he’d been able to find out about the Dunn family. As he pulled out his phone, he saw that his brother had called him and left a message. He hesitated, remembering that Flint had asked him to come by the sheriff’s department. He wasn’t sure if he was up to it right now.

  Tucker knew he was putting off facing whatever Flint had called about. But he also knew it was only a matter of time before his friends heard he was back in town. He’d left so abruptly without even saying goodbye and then he hadn’t kept in touch over the past nineteen years for obvious reasons. He wasn’t even sure any of his old friends would want to see him. But he didn’t want them hearing about his return through the Gilt Edge grapevine, so he put in a call to the friend he’d been the closest to, Jayce Burton.

  Jayce had become a lawyer with his own shingle located on the main street in town. There was no home number listed online, so he called the business number hoping to catch him before he left for the day. He expected he’d have to go through a secretary or receptionist but was put right through to his old friend.

  “Jayce Burton, attorney at law.”

  “Jayce... It’s Tucker.” Silence. “Tucker Cahill.”

  “Tucker?”

  “I’m back in town and I thought maybe—”

  “Hell, yes. You’re buying the first drink at Stacy’s tonight. Forget that. I’ll buy if you can make it in ten minutes. I’ll call the boys.”

  Tucker had to laugh. Nineteen years had passed but with Jayce it was as if he’d only seen him yesterday. “Ten minutes and I’m buying.” He hung up, glad he’d called.

  Looking around the ranch house where he’d grown up, he felt as if he’d never left. Nothing had changed and yet he knew it had. He’d changed. But it sure felt as if time had stood still in Gilt Edge. The small Western town had grown some, mostly spread out more into the valley.

  He couldn’t help but wonder how staying here all these years had changed his once best friends. He was actually excited to see them all again. It felt as if a weight had come off his shoulders, learning the truth about Madeline.

  He immediately felt guilty for the thought. Madeline was dead. She’d died that night in an attempt to con him out of money. Not that it made her any less dead. Or him feel any less guilty.

  Even though Kate wanted him to, he couldn’t hate Madeline. All he wanted to do now was put her and the past behind him. Seeing his old friends seemed like a good place to start.

  * * *

  “TUCKER!” JAYCE CAME rushing across the bar, a beer bottle already in hand, to give him a high five. “Damn, I can’t believe it. We heard you were dead. Or in prison.” He grinned to show that he was kidding and then pulled Tucker into a bear hug.

  “It’s great to see you. You haven’t changed at all,” he said, meaning it. Jayce was a tall, slim former cowboy turned lawyer. He stil1 wore Western shirts and jeans but he’d traded his white Stetson for a Cubs baseball cap.

  “Let’s get you a beer. The others should be here soon,” Jayce was saying as he steered him toward the bar. “When I called them, they thought I was kiddin’.” His friend studied him for a long moment. “The way you left... Well, I was worried.”

  Fortunately, just then the front door opened and Cal Bertram and Lonny Pence came through the door. Cal had always been big when they’d played football together, but now he was even larger. He let out a whoop when he saw Tucker.

  Tucker couldn’t help but smile as Cal lumbered toward him. While they were the same height, Cal outweighed him by a good hundred pounds. Cal grabbed him around the waist and picked him up off the ground, laughing.

  “I can’t believe it,” he kept saying as he set him down and cuffed his shoulder. “Where have you been?”

  “Let’s not get into that until we’ve all had a beer,” Jayce cut in, turning to Lonny. “What are you having?”

  Lonny said he’d take a beer. While the other two had seemed glad to see him, Lonny held back. Tucker got the feeling Lonny didn’t want to be here and wouldn’t have been unless Jayce had insisted.

  “Lonny,” Tucker said and held out his hand. “It’s good to see you.” While Jayce had been the star quarterback and the team captain, Tucker and Lonny had been backup quarterbacks, with Lonny spending much of his time on the bench. Lonny had never seemed to mind. He seemed to idolize Jayce, and since Tucker and Jayce were good friends, they all got along.

  “Tuck.” Lonny finally met his gaze. “I thought we’d heard the last of you.”

  Lonny was a little shorter than Tucker, slimmer built. At thirty-six, he’d grayed at the temples. While Jayce hadn’t seemed to change at all, Lonny seemed...tired.

  “So what are you doing now?” Tucker asked him.

  “Just working the ranch and helping out at the body shop with Cal and Rip.” Rip was Lonny’s cousin. “You going to ranch with your brothers? Or are you leaving again?”

  “Right now I’m just enjoying my family. I suppose you know Lillie is pregnant.” He shook his head. “It’s still hard to believe. She was only nine when I left. And Darby... He and his w
ife, Mariah, are also expecting. You have kids?”

  “Two girls, but they live with their mother in Spokane, Washington.”

  The bitterness in his tone brought Tucker up short. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not like it’s your fault. You have any kids?”

  Tucker shook his head. Fortunately, Jayce interrupted to say they should take a booth so they could all visit. Lonny accepted the beer Jayce handed him and took a long drink as the others stepped to the booth.

  “You all right?” Jayce whispered to Tucker.

  “Lonny seems...down.”

  “Been that way for years,” his friend said, keeping his voice down so Lonny couldn’t hear. “He married Annalise, you remember her? Cheerleader, tiny, top-heavy?”

  Tucker got a sudden picture of her. “She had a really wide mouth, right?”

  “That was her. Lonny was nuts about her. I think he still is,” Jayce whispered as they slid into the booth where Cal was drumming his thick fingers on the table to a beat only he could hear.

  But he smiled as Tucker slid in next to him and stopped drumming to ask, “So what happened? You left so quick. You take that girl with you?”

  Tucker blinked.

  “Cal,” Jayce said. “Give him a chance to enjoy his beer before you begin the inquisition.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Tucker said. “What girl?”

  Cal shot Jayce a look and began drumming again as Lonny sat down.

  Tucker saw Lonny look from Cal to Jayce. A silent message passed between them and his stomach dropped. The girl. These guys were with him that day in Denton when he’d met Madeline. He’d thought they hadn’t seen her, hadn’t known why he’d stayed behind. He’d thought they’d bought his story about running into an old friend. He’d told them he’d catch a ride back to Gilt Edge and that they should go on without him. Of course they’d seen through his ruse.

  “You saw her that day,” Tucker said.

  “So we’re finally going to be honest?” Lonny asked.

  “Knock it off, Cal,” Jayce snapped. Cal quit drumming and mugged a face.