AK-Cowboy

by Joanna Wayne

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore tonight. And I want no more talk about your leaving the ranch. You could have been killed tonight. I can’t let that happen.”

  She swallowed hard, fighting the tears. “If protection is all you have to give, I don’t want it.”

  “Don’t, Julie. I need time. I…”

  “Get out, Tyler. Please. Just go.”

  She turned over and buried her face in the pillow to muffle the sobs she could no longer hold.

  Her emotions were too raw even for her to fully understand, but she knew that it was over for her and Tyler. Even if she’d been honest from the very beginning, there would have never been a happy ending.

  She’d always known that. So why did hearing it in his voice and seeing it in his eyes hurt so much?

  JULIE JERKED AWAKE, SHIVERING and freezing cold. She sat up quickly, rubbing her tear-swollen eyes and checking to see if the door to the garden had been left open.

  The curtain was closed and unmoving, yet an icy draft swept over her body and lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. Her teeth chattered as she pulled the quilt to her neck. Nothing helped. The frost was bone deep.

  An eerie shadow moved across the bed accompanied by a whispery sound like the rustle of silk. Fingers locked with hers. A ghostly figure coalesced over her bed.

  She tried to scream. There was only silence.

  She was lost in a nightmare and couldn’t wake up.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Don’t be afraid, Julie. I’m not here to hurt you.”

  The voice was ethereal, like music coming from her soul. “Who are you?” Julie whispered. “What do you want?”

  “To warn you.”

  “Warn me of what?”

  “The evil that is searching for you. It is coming for you just as it came for Muriel.”

  This wasn’t real. It wasn’t happening. Julie would wake up and the presence would vaporize and disappear.

  Instead gossamer tatters of white swirled about the room.

  “What evil?” Julie begged. “I must know what to watch for.”

  “You will know. Don’t let it destroy you. My son needs you.”

  Julie lay perfectly still, rapt by the ghostly essence that darted about the room, disappearing only to change shape and then recreate itself again. “Are you talking about Tyler?”

  “Yes. My son needs you. He needs his father. You must stay alive.”

  “Make me know you’re real, Helene. Give me a sign.”

  “The sign is love.”

  “Your son doesn’t love me.”

  “You must help him learn how.”

  Ribbons of color danced across the ceiling. “Take care, Julie. Don’t let evil win. Muriel will help you find the answers you need. So will Guy.”

  “Help me how?”

  “Trust your instincts and you’ll know.”

  The image disappeared and the room became so hot Julie thought it must be on fire. She kicked off the covers, then moaned as pain burned red hot in her ankle.

  But just as suddenly the room cooled back to normal. The draft died. The frigid cold had burned off.

  Helene’s ghost was gone.

  But humans only talked to ghosts in fiction and fantasy. If the paranormal world existed at all, it never intermingled with reality. It had only been a nightmare brought on by the sniper attack and the emotional meltdown with Tyler.

  Or maybe, it was just Julie’s subconscious reminding her that she hadn’t finished what she’d come here to do.

  There was evil in the form of the sniper who’d fired on her tonight. Evil had come looking for her.

  But how could Muriel help her? And Guy?

  Julie’s mind drifted back to Guy Cameron and the way he’d looked at her tonight.

  Could he have been more than Muriel’s boss?

  Had he and Muriel been having an affair?

  What help could he possibly offer?

  She had to talk to him, face-to-face, demand answers. But she wouldn’t ask Tyler to drive her there. She’d just have to suck up the pain and drive herself. Luckily, it was the left foot that she’d strained.

  Beware of the evil. But how dangerous could it be to visit Guy Cameron in his office? He was a successful businessman. It wasn’t as if he could just kill her and wrap her up in a rug.

  First thing in the morning, she’d make that call.

  JULIE WOKE AS EXHAUSTED AS if she’d been jogging Hill Country hiking paths all night. She’d lain awake for two hours after the ghostly nightmare, straining to hear any strange sound and watching for any unexplained movement.

  When she’d finally fallen asleep, her dreams had been haunted by memories of the scene with Tyler. They’d both been overwrought from the sniper incident and she’d thrown him some pretty serious curves when she’d explained her true identity.

  Perhaps getting it all out in the open had been for the best, but she still didn’t like the thought of leaving things that way. She slid out of bed and gingerly tried a bit of weight on the ankle. The pain was not nearly as severe as it had been last night and some of the swelling had gone down.

  Hobbling was doable as long as she took it slow. She made it from the bed to the dresser and then to the closet for her luggage.

  She’d brought little with her. It wouldn’t take long to pack. But before she got started, she’d make that call to Guy Cameron.

  It took five minutes of hold time before his secretary finally put her though to him.

  “Mr. Cameron, this is Julie Gillespie. We met last night at the Bluebonnet Festival.”

  “Yes, I remember. What can I do for you?”

  “I’d really like to talk to you.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “What I want to talk about could be better done in person, today if possible.”

  “I’ll have to put you on hold while I check my schedule for the day.”

  “I’ll hold. I won’t take much of your time, but it’s important that we talk as soon as possible.”

  His checking took only a matter of seconds.

  “How about two o’clock this afternoon in my Austin office?”

  “Perfect.”

  “I’ll put my secretary on again and she can give you directions.”

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  “But I should warn you, Miss Gillespie, that everything I know about Muriel Frost’s murder, I told to Sheriff Grayson years ago. So if you’re hoping for deep, dark secrets, you’ll be disappointed.”

  That was exactly what she was hoping for. And she had leverage to secure them. She had a feeling Guy Cameron would be shocked once again.

  “Come alone,” he said. “I never deal with reporters who travel in packs. And no photographers, not even Collette.”

  “You got it.”

  That done, only the packing remained. When she finished what she had to do today, and when she drove away from Willow Creek Ranch for the last time, she’d put the past completely behind her.

  WHY WAS FIGHTING A WAR SO much easier than maintaining a relationship with a woman?

  The mental question was rhetorical. Tyler knew he couldn’t answer it.

  And yet, when Julie had suggested he go with her to the horse barn to see Guinevere, he’d jumped at the chance. He needed to apologize for the things he’d said in anger last night. He might even have to beg her forgiveness. He would, if it came to that.

  There was no way he could let her go through with her threat to leave the ranch today, not with a killer on the loose.

  He’d been in many a battle over the last four years. Some scary as hell. All with the potential for fatalities. But he’d never known the kind of panic he’d felt last night when he’d seen the blood on the car and thought she’d been hit.

  Julie limped to the back steps from the table where they’d just finished a plate of Troy’s famous hotcakes. “The ankle doesn’t hurt the way it did last night, but I’ll still have to move slow,” Julie reminded him.
>
  She hobbled down the one step. There were two more to go.

  “Wait,” he teased, though his heart wasn’t in it. “I better go back and pack a lunch. This could take all day.”

  “Okay, I’ll do it on my own.”

  “I have a better idea.” He bent over. “If you won’t ride a real horse, try this one out for size, but no spurs allowed.”

  “You can’t ride me piggyback all the way to the barn.”

  “Sure I can,” he said. “I tote backpacks that weigh more than you over rocky mountain trails. The army doesn’t tolerate wimps. Climb aboard.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I never offer what I’m not sure I want to give. Come on. Wrap your legs around my waist and let’s go.”

  She finally gave in. Crazy but he liked the feel of her bouncing along on his back with those great legs of hers wrapped around his waist. And she was lighter than some of the packs he had to carry on mountainous missions.

  The barn door was open. A wasp buzzed around the entrance. Tyler swatted it away and carried Julie inside, setting her down next to Guinevere’s stall.

  “You two are up early,” Collette called from the back of the barn. She flicked her sleeve across her forehead to bat away a fly.

  “So are you,” Tyler said. “I thought you might sleep in today and let one of the wranglers take care of your chores.”

  “I missed Guinevere. So what’s with the piggybacking?”

  “I sprained an ankle,” Julie said. “Tyler was playing knight in shining armor.”

  “Actually I sprained it for her,” Tyler said, “so I owed her the ride.”

  “How did you sprain her ankle?”

  “I was a bit overzealous in my body shielding technique,” Tyler explained.

  “Better sprained than shot,” Julie said. “How’s Dylan?”

  “Fine. I tried to get him to sleep in this morning, but he was up with the sun, as usual.”

  “Can’t keep a good man down,” Tyler said. “Do you need some help with the horses?”

  “Sure. How about taking over for me with getting their fresh water? I’ll switch to the feeding routine.”

  “I can handle that.”

  “And I’m sorry for getting bent out of shape last night. I think the sniper incident was too close to my own brushes with danger. Anyway, I didn’t mean the harsh accusations, Julie.”

  “I wouldn’t blame you if you had,” Julie said. “I have caused trouble for the Ledgers. I’m just glad Dylan was not seriously hurt last night.”

  “Me, too.”

  Tyler walked to the back and started filling pails with water from the hose. Best to let the women talk. Collette’s change in attitude might make persuading Julie to stay a dab easier.

  JULIE HUNG ON GUINEVERE’S stall. “She’s so adorable. I can see why you’ve grown so attached to her, Collette.”

  “I’m attached to all of my horses, but I’m pretty sure Guinevere will stay a favorite. Do you ride?”

  “No,” Julie answered quickly. “The adult horses are much too big for me. I’d never feel secure in the saddle.”

  “You’d learn. You just have to let your horse know who’s boss. And you have to respect them. Remember those two things and you’ll be fine.”

  “I may give it a try one day. But not yet.”

  “How are things going in the Ledger household? Are you sleeping okay?”

  Julie wondered if she should be reading something into the question. “Shouldn’t I be?”

  “It’s rumored to be haunted, you know.”

  “Yes, we talked about that the first night I was here. I don’t believe in ghosts.”

  “Neither do I, but…”

  Julie knew exactly what Collette was thinking. “I must confess that I woke up last night and the room was frigid.” She’d lowered her voice so Tyler wouldn’t hear her confession.

  “The very same thing happened to me when I was sleeping there. And then it’s like there’s a presence in the room, a presence that is very protective of the Ledger sons.”

  Julie backed away, suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation. “You do know that it’s probably just our overactive imaginations?”

  “Absolutely,” Collette agreed.

  They were both lying.

  “Troy said I’d probably find you here.”

  They all turned at the brusque male voice.

  “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  “Dad, what are you doing here?” Collette asked.

  “I’m making a call in my official capacity as sheriff. A right pleasant call, I might add.”

  “In that case, it’s a real pleasure to see you.” Tyler turned off the hose and walked to where Sheriff McGuire was leaning against a roughhewn support post. “What’s the news?”

  “We now know the exact location of Zeke Hartwell.”

  Julie hobbled closer. “Where?”

  “In my jail. We got a tip from a man out walking his dog last night. He gave us the license plate number of a guy he saw driving like a maniac away from the park. Said he thought the man might have stolen something from the catering trucks parked out back.”

  “What time was that?” Julie asked.

  “Minutes after that bullet barely missed you. Deputies arrested him at a truck stop just this side of Austin. Guess he planned to lay low for a couple of days.”

  “What about the weapon?”

  “He had several on him, none licensed to him. One stolen recently. We’ll have to wait on a ballistics match from the FBI to see if one of the weapons fired the bullet that I recovered next to your car. But there’s no doubt in my mind that Zeke’s the man who left the threats and then tried to kill you.”

  “Which means he must be Muriel’s killer,” Julie said as the truth slowly sank in.

  “I s’pect you’re right, Julie. You’re a hell of an investigative reporter. You’ll go far.”

  She swallowed hard at the compliment. “Actually, I’m not sure that’s the career for me, but right now I’m so happy I could cry.”

  Tears started rolling down her cheek to prove her point. “I just can’t believe that Muriel’s killer will finally face trial.”

  “Neither can I.” Collette did a quick two-step with a pitchfork. “Celebration at my house. Everyone invited.”

  “You really don’t need to do that,” Julie protested.

  “Of course, I do. Dad, you’re expected. Oh, and we’ll invite Bob Adkins and his wife. And naturally Sean and Eve, and Troy and Tyler. And Joey and Sparky. Who am I leaving out? I know,” she answered herself. “I’ll invite Abby.”

  “Does seven o’clock work for you, Julie?”

  How could she say no, even though it would mean one more night sleeping in the same house as Tyler without touching him. And one more night with the ghost of Helene Ledger.

  “Seven works,” she agreed.

  Collette left with her father, leaving Julie and Tyler alone with the horses.

  He snaked an arm around her shoulders.

  “You did it,” he said. “And you were right. You didn’t need me.”

  Nothing had ever been less true.

  He kissed her, slow and sweet and frighteningly final. If there had been time, she might have taught Tyler to love just as Helene’s ghost had said she should. But time had run out.

  She’d go on with her life, whatever that turned out to be. Tyler would go back to active duty on the other side of the world.

  A breaking heart left success painfully bittersweet.

  GUY CAMERON STOOD AT THE plate glass window of his twenty-third-floor office and looked out at the city of Austin. For a kid who’d grown up stealing other kids’ lunch money so he could buy milk for his baby brother, he’d come a long way.

  He had all the trappings of luxury that money could buy. A house on Lake LBJ with a yacht docked at the marina. A condo in Cabo San Lucas. A six-bedroom cabin in Vail. And a mansion in the most exclusive section inside Austin city l
imits.

  And he had a wife who lived on prescription drugs to keep her mental condition halfway stable. She had no idea of the sacrifices he’d made for her. He’d given Candice everything she wanted except love. He didn’t have any love to give.

  He hadn’t really felt much of anything for eighteen years.

  And then it had been for Muriel.

  But it was the all grown-up version of Lenora Frost he had to deal with now. He’d practically grown comatose when he’d seen her last night. It was as if Muriel had come back from the dead.

  Only a close blood relative could look that much like Muriel. Only a niece with a mother who’d been Muriel’s twin.

  He wondered if given the same choices he’d had then, he’d make the same decisions. He’d never know. Candice’s family inheritance had been a major temptation. He’d have never had the capital to wind up where he was now without it.

  The phone on his desk buzzed.

  He punched the speaker button.

  “Miss Gillespie is here to see you.”

  “Good. Show her in. And why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off, Jerri? Start your weekend early. It’s a gorgeous spring day, and I won’t need you again before Monday.”

  “Why, thank you, Mr. Cameron. Enjoy your week end.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Julie limped to the proffered seat on an oversize leather sofa. Guy didn’t sit, but rather walked over to stand near the window and divide his attention between her and the magnificent view.

  “What is it you think I can help you with, Miss Gillespie?”

  “I’d like to ask you a few questions about a former employee.”

  “I know who you are, Julie, so we can skip the part where you pretend to be an investigative reporter with no personal ties to Muriel Frost.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure you do. You’re Muriel’s niece, her only niece, the one who witnessed the murder. And you’re here on some kind of quest for revenge and justice.”

  No use to fake it. It would be better this way. “How long have you known?”

  “Since I saw you at the dance last night. So let’s start over. Why did you insist on seeing me today?”