A Killing Frost

by Hannah Alexander

  “I’ve been told I metabolize that stuff quickly.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Can’t remember.”

  “The last nurse who took care of you in surgery?”

  “Could be,” Monty murmured.

  “Such as the time you had the stroke and didn’t tell anybody?”

  “Stop stalling. What’s going on between you and my new ranch foreman?”

  Jama grinned and kissed him on the forehead. “Nothing right now. You got sick, and we dropped everything else.”

  “So Tyrell isn’t harassing you?”

  Jama hesitated. “Well…”

  “I told him not to, and he’s usually pretty good about minding his father.”

  “I know. But he’s worried about you right now, and he’s not thinking straight. Our concern is for you today.” For a moment, Jama saw Tyrell’s dark blue gaze in his father’s eyes, and she saw the challenge in them. Monty’s concern warmed her, saddened her and stirred her gratitude as she thought about what might have been.

  “You telling me to butt out?” Monty asked.

  “Would I tell you that?”

  “No, you’d just sidestep my questions until I really did have a heart attack. Do you believe in long engagements?”

  “I never gave the subject much thought.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  All Jama could think of right now was Doriann. Monty’s beloved granddaughter.

  “Your mom and I had six years of engaged bliss.”

  Jama loved it when Monty referred to Fran as her mom. As if she really were.

  Then his words registered. “Six? Now here’s something rare-a story I haven’t heard.”

  “Long engagements are wonderful-even though the engaged couple doesn’t usually see it that way. I sure didn’t when I proposed to Fran. She accepted with the condition that we wait until we had both completed high school.”

  In spite of everything, Jama laughed. “You were in seventh grade?”

  “Ninth. Our parents insisted we complete two years of higher education before we spoke our vows.”

  “So you waited.”

  “It was the best time of our lives. We had the chance to know each other well, and because our parents were so strict, Fran and I were best friends for a long, long time.”

  “And you’re so happy together.”

  “Best friends always make the best marriages.”

  “I think you’re trying to tell me something.”

  “You and Tyrell are best friends?”

  “Of course.”

  “So the real problem is that my son has not given you the option of an engagement length of your choosing.”

  “We didn’t talk about it, Monty.”

  “Maybe you should. It could make all the difference. If you don’t feel the pressure of a wedding and marriage for four years, you can relax, enjoy one another’s company, and take some time to see if this is really what you want. I think it is, and you just don’t know it yet.”

  “Monty,” she warned.

  He winced, then tapped himself on the forehead. “There I go, telling you what you’re feeling. I promised Fran I wouldn’t do that. You won’t tell her, will you? She’s already upset enough today.”

  “I won’t tell, as long as you stop now.”

  He grinned, then sobered. “Jama Keith, I don’t like to see someone in my family carrying more burdens than even I can haul. Want to talk about it? I may have a tricky heart right now, but seeing you suffering is even harder on me.”

  “Montrose Mercer,” came Fran’s quiet voice from the doorway to the hospital room, “don’t you even joke about that.”

  “Who’s joking?” Monty asked as his wife joined Jama at his bedside.

  “I don’t see how you can be so intrusive to the woman who saved your life today. You’re barging in on Tyrell’s territory.” Fran leaned in for a kiss, and then, to Jama’s delight, slid her shoes off and carefully climbed onto the narrow hospital bed beside her husband.

  Jama was accustomed to their affection. They used to embarrass their kids to death when they smooched in front of any school friends who might be at the house. Jama also had many memories of being shooed out to play with all the other kids so Fran and Monty could be alone.

  Some of Jama’s best times were spent with the Mercers, even before Dad’s death. She remembered riding home with the family from a movie or dinner or a picnic. Monty would start singing a song. Fran would harmonize, and the rest of the kids, though they rolled their eyes, grudgingly, joined.

  When the kids all grew up and went their separate ways, Jama was disappointed the singing ended.

  How she missed those days. She would love to return to that period in her life, when she believed Monty and Fran could carry the world on their shoulders.

  She knew now that they’d never done that. They were human, made mistakes, endured pain, interfered too much in the lives of their children, had bad breath in the morning and struggled with financial decisions just like everyone else.

  She stepped from the room and left the loving couple alone. Jama prayed that their lives weren’t soon to be shattered by tragic news of their granddaughter.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The day darkened. Doriann froze. She’d been studying an anthill while waiting to see what Clancy and Deb would do next, and now she had the most horrible feeling that Clancy had sneaked out of the barn while she wasn’t paying attention, and was standing between her and the sun. Hovering over her. Waiting for her to look up.

  She looked up. She took a quiet, deep breath and let it out just as quietly. A bank of clouds had drifted between her and the light she needed to navigate by. The clouds meant she couldn’t tell which direction to go when she left here. She really needed to get that cell phone. She’d already practiced using the GPS system. She could find her way out of here and lead the police to the killers.

  According to Grandpa, cloud cover also meant that there probably wouldn’t be a killing frost tonight.

  “This hay stinks.” It was Clancy, talking as if he’d never knocked Deb silly.

  Doriann listened for Deb to reply, but she didn’t.

  “It’s moldy,” Clancy said. “How can you just lie in it like that?”

  “You’re no rose garden,” Deb said at last.

  The relief Doriann felt surprised her. Deb was wicked. She and Clancy were a threat to River Dance. But Doriann didn’t want to have to remember for the rest of her life that she’d been earwitness to a murder.

  “So,” Deb said, her voice kind of slurred. “Why don’t you tell me how you killed all these people they’re talking about on the radio. Did you really do it?”

  Doriann sat up straight, confused. Had that hit messed up Deb’s brain? Wasn’t she there when the killings took place?

  Clancy snickered. It was a dirty sound, and it gave Doriann goose bumps. “They’re after you, too, you know.”

  “Can’t be. I just met you.”

  “Yeah, but they can’t tell the difference between one skinny broad and another. I had another skinny broad before I met you. We’re all just a bunch of worthless druggies to the docs and the Feds.”

  “So what happened to the other skinny broad?” Deb’s words weren’t slurred now.

  “Selma got all freaky on me and got religion. Told me she was going to turn herself in.”

  “To the cops?”

  “Who else? God?” He snickered again. “I told her the old guy in the sky wanted her dead, anyway, not just rotting in a cell somewhere. So I did God’s work for Him.”

  Doriann’s eyes went buggy.

  “You killed your girlfriend.” Deb’s voice shook.

  “You got a problem with that?”

  Deb startled Doriann by laughing. “Guess she got a surprise visit to the great beyond, huh? How’d you do it?”

  “Slipped her an extra dose in the needle.”

  “The best way,” Deb said. “How’d you do the others?�
��

  Doriann stared at the side of the barn, feeling sicker and sicker while Clancy bragged about his acts of murder and Deb egged him on, asking for more stories.

  Doriann had to do something, or more people were going to die. She’d just have to wait.

  Tyrell rode shotgun, staring out the side window as Jama crossed the bridge over the Missouri River on the way back to River Dance. He was pretty sure his thoughts mirrored hers. They’d been banished from Monty’s room and reminded that they had work to do. Tyrell had left the farm truck for Mom in case she needed it. Too bad the Durango was at Joe’s Auto Service; it would have been easier for her to drive.

  “It’s best we didn’t stay, anyway,” Tyrell said. “Dad’s worried about the frost, so he’ll feel better knowing that’ll be taken care of. And Mom’s worried about your job.”

  “Monty’s going to be fine,” Jama said. “The surgery was a success, barring any unforeseen complications.”

  Tyrell looked at her. “Is that doctor talk for ‘He’ll be fine, but don’t blame me if something goes wrong’?”

  “I mean that it’s never a sure thing, just as in life. We can’t know for sure what the outcome will be in any situation.”

  “I wanted to hang around and make sure Mom doesn’t wear herself out at Dad’s bedside. She’s like that, you know.”

  “I do.” Almost five years earlier, Fran had stayed by Jama’s bedside in the hospital after the wreck.

  “I spoke with Dr. George before we left,” Jama said. “Someone from maintenance is probably, at this minute, removing the television from Monty’s room for ‘repairs.’ Not that he ever seems to have time to watch much, but right now he might get bored.”

  “Mom could hear about Doriann’s kidnapping out in the lobby or the cafeteria.”

  “Dr. George is having meals brought to her as well as Monty, and he has instructed the staff to encourage Fran to participate in Monty’s care. Dr. George will stress to her the importance of watching Monty closely for signs of decline. A sleep chair is being brought to the room for her. Everyone agrees Monty could use a few more hours, or even overnight, to heal and rest before he is told about Doriann. This is particularly important considering the stroke he had after Amy’s death.”

  “You arranged for all this while I was talking to Dad?”

  “It didn’t take much,” Jama said. “Dr. George understands what’s going on.”

  “You’re pretty handy to have around sometimes.” Tyrell shot her a glance.

  “There will also be a cease-fire on the marriage proposal discussion,” she said.

  “I agree. This is no time to talk about love and commitment.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “I may regress, though, when I think about Doriann. She was the one who’s been telling me for three years that I should marry her aunt Jama.”

  “You’re such a liar.”

  “I’m not lying. That’s what she-”

  “You said you agreed to the cease-fire, and now you’re firing with both barrels.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Then maybe you should stop trying to distract yourself and start talking about what’s really bothering you.”

  As Jama turned onto Highway 94, Tyrell stared across the flat river bottomland, seeing the face of his niece. “Anger,” he admitted.

  “Of course you’re angry,” Jama said. “I’m afraid to even mention what I’d like to do to the creep who abducted her.”

  “That’s the problem. Sure, I want to get my hands on whoever took her, but as much as I love my sister, I sometimes want to grab Doriann, myself, and bring her to the ranch so Mom can shower all the love and affection on her that she showered on us when we were growing up.”

  “It seems to me that Renee’s already doing that.”

  He nodded. Renee, the epitome of earth mother.

  Jama drove in thoughtful silence for several moments while Tyrell returned his attention to the view out the side window, the flat fields dotted by houses and silos. Some houses in the middle of the floodplain had been built on stilts.

  The view of the rich green fields served only as a reminder that his father was depending on him to protect the family’s livelihood. Besides the cattle, the vineyards were the main cash crop for the Mercer Ranch.

  “You were good with Heather,” Jama said. “I don’t think she could have picked up your feelings on the phone.”

  “Good. Now is not the time for me to comment on Doriann’s upbringing.”

  “You’re a good brother.”

  For some reason, that simple statement made Tyrell feel better. Jama had a knack for doing that. She knew what he was thinking just by looking at him. It was Jama, more than his siblings, who laughed at his jokes even when others didn’t catch the meaning.

  It had taken his bright little niece to point out Jama’s devotion to him.

  And for the first time, he’d actually paid attention to Jama’s expression when they were together. He realized Doriann was right.

  Granted, Tyrell had never had a problem with self-confidence. Even after Jama refused his proposal, he didn’t doubt her love. When he took the time to consider why he had never married, he realized that he hadn’t actually loved another woman before Jama.

  For some people, there was one love for a lifetime, only one match that could be right, and for him, it was Jama. It was impossible to pinpoint why he knew this to be true. She was kind, loyal, independent, and he loved those qualities in her. But he’d met plenty of women over the years who had those same qualities. She was gentle, but she wasn’t the only gentle, beautiful-inside-out woman in the world.

  She was the only Jama, though.

  Jama reached up and touched her ear and said, “Ruth.”

  “What?”

  Jama looked at him and indicated the Bluetooth earpiece. “I’m calling my director. I set up the voice recognition while we were at the hospital. Amy and I used to wear ours all the time at the hospital, even when they weren’t on. It kept people from thinking we were crazy when we talked to ourselves.”

  “You did that a lot, huh?”

  “Sure. We were residents, always memorizing and studying procedures, anatomy, medications and dosages. It was tough, but-” She broke off, then said, “Yes, Ruth? It’s Jama. I’m on my way back to River Dance. Will you need-”

  She paused, grimaced. “Okay, I’ll see you in about twenty minutes. Maybe thirty. I need to drop Tyrell off in town to pick up his mother’s car.”

  Again, the grimace.

  Jama disconnected, than glanced at Tyrell. “You know, you got me into this.”

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “This loan from the town of River Dance was your idea.”

  “It was a good one,” he said. “You needed the loan, and you wouldn’t take it from Mom and Dad. You’re so independent. Admit it, Jama, you shot yourself in the foot when you disappeared for six months with no explanation about where you had gone. I’m surprised you weren’t penalized for defaulting on your other school loans.”

  “I got an extension. The loan company knew I wasn’t defaulting. The counselor knew I was recovering from the accident.”

  “Yes, but when you disappeared from the face of the earth-”

  “We all grieve differently. The loan companies didn’t need a play-by-play of my life. It wasn’t anyone’s business.”

  “Not anyone’s business? You might have considered your worried family.”

  “I told Monty and Fran I’d be okay. They trusted me to take care of myself.”

  “You think they didn’t worry anyway?”

  Jama gave him a “back off” look.

  Tyrell resisted the strong urge to ask where she’d gone. Later, maybe, she would tell him.

  “So what’s the deal with your director?” he asked. “She did seem a little put out with you this morning for leaving.”

  Jama rolled her eyes. “She’s already judged me and found me wanting because our gossi
ping mayor filled her in on some of my…activities in high school.”

  “You’ll prove to her soon enough that you’re not that kid anymore.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I’ve dreaded coming back home. I’m tired of having to prove myself. She’s a grump.”

  “Give it some time. Some of the grumpiest people turn out to be okay once you get to know them.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard, but I’ve never actually seen proof.”

  “So tell me about what just happened.”

  Jama shook her head. “She’s not angry, she’s just cold. The clinic is currently swamped because of a fire at the winery. Several employees were brought to the clinic for treatment instead of being sent to Fulton or Jefferson City, and I’m not there to help. I might expect some anger, but there was nothing, just the demand I return to the clinic immediately.”

  “Then you need to go straight there. Maybe you could use my help until it gets sorted out. I still have my paramedic license up-to-date. I can triage.”

  “You have crops to save.”

  “What’s more important, crops or people?”

  “Maybe I should get there and see what’s needed first. It wouldn’t hurt Ruth to cancel interviews for the rest of the day and see to the injuries. Let’s hope she has her priorities straight.”

  “Put yourself in her place. She’s a stranger in a town full of people she doesn’t know.”

  “I’ll give it some thought.”

  He studied the fine, tense features of Jama’s exquisite face. “Sweetheart.”

  She looked at him. He lost himself for a brief moment in the depths of those beautiful blue-green eyes.

  “Give Ruth some time.”

  “I will.” She returned her attention to the road, but a faint flush turned her cheeks an alluring shade of pink.

  “More than a day,” he said.

  “Of course.”

  “And give yourself some time, too. You’ve never done well with that. You’re always so impatient with yourself. I happen to know everyone in River Dance will welcome you with open arms.”

  She glanced at him again, her eyes reflecting mild humor…and another emotion. Affection. More than affection. “I get it, Tyrell. Okay? Don’t worry about me. We have a lot more important things to think about today.”