Big Sky Dynasty

by B. J Daniels

  She could only nod. Nicci had blown into her life on a whirlwind and blown out just as dramatically. Was she really gone?

  “I think you should stay out at the ranch until Nicci is caught,” he said, looking as if he wanted to touch her but was afraid for some reason.

  Georgia shook her head. She didn’t have much faith in the police catching Nicci quickly or possibly ever. She wasn’t going to hide out until then.

  “I have knitting classes to get ready for,” she said. “I worked too hard for this shop to give it up now. This is my home. Nicci is gone, and if she isn’t,” she said quickly before he could interrupt, “she left her keys. She can’t get back in. I’ll keep the doors locked.”

  Dalton looked as if he wanted to argue, but he must have seen the stubborn determination in her. “The police will catch her.”

  Georgia didn’t argue the point because she knew it’s what he wanted desperately to believe, just as she did. But she wondered if the police would be able to hold Nicci—let alone convict her of anything.

  She said as much to Dalton and saw his expression change. He stepped to the window and looked out again. She could see the strong muscles of his back bunch.

  “There’s something I haven’t told anyone. A secret Nicci told me that night on the boat.”

  Georgia found herself holding her breath.

  “She told me that she killed her mother and made it look like a suicide.” He turned from the window. “I didn’t believe her. But my reaction to even her saying such a thing made her angry. She said I was the only one she’d ever told and that she thought she could trust me because we were married.”

  “You think that’s why she tried to kill you that night?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. Still, she had Ambrose following us in another boat so who knows what Nicci had planned?”

  “Isn’t it possible that she did love you? That she told you because she didn’t want any secrets between you? A test to see how you took it?”

  Dalton’s blue eyes widened. “You might be right. That’s what she said that night. I said sure, but I had no idea…”

  Georgia hugged herself against the cold chill that snaked around her even though the room was warm from the morning summer sun. “She confessed to you. Isn’t it possible she’s worried that you’re the only person left alive who knows the truth?”

  “WELL, AT LEAST that might answer one question,” Lantry said later at Trails West Ranch. “She showed up in Whitehorse to see how much of a threat you were to her.”

  Dalton studied the outline of the Little Rockies in the distance from his cabin porch. He thought about what Nicci had said about coming here to kill him and then changing her mind. He’d thought she was just playing games with him. Was it possible she’d been telling the truth?

  It had been almost a week now. There had been another sighting of Nicci in Minnesota. He was getting to the point where he wasn’t looking over his shoulder anymore.

  For the first few days, he’d stayed so close to Georgia that he’d become her shadow.

  “Dalton, we have to stop this,” she’d finally said after he’d insisted on sleeping in the apartment across the hall and had even hung around some of her knitting classes during the day. “Nicci is gone. Probably to some country that doesn’t extradite.”

  With Nicci’s money she could go anywhere in the world. Getting a passport in another name would be child’s play for her.

  “The sheriff says there’s enough circumstantial evidence to arrest her,” Dalton said now to his brother.

  “How many dead husbands have they found?”

  “Five so far. All men who took sailing lessons from Nicci and died at sea on their honeymoons. She used that husband’s name until she remarried. That’s how she disappeared. The FBI is still investigating.”

  Lantry shook his head. “You were damned lucky.”

  Didn’t Dalton know it.

  “What do you think makes her do it?” his brother asked.

  He shrugged. “Maybe she is looking for someone who loves her in spite of who she is.” He shook his head. That was as close as he would ever come to understanding Nicci.

  “What about this Ambrose? He must love her in spite of who she is. Or more likely because of it.”

  “If he’s still with her. He didn’t show here in Whitehorse. They could have parted company back in Tennessee after Nicci’s arrest.”

  “Or she could have gotten rid of him. Damn, I haven’t heard back about Ambrose from that highway patrolman in Tennessee. He’s got to have returned from vacation now. He and his family were some place out in the wilderness without cell phone coverage.” Lantry chuckled. “People in the cities don’t believe there is still such a place.”

  “Only because they haven’t been to Whitehorse,” Dalton said. “A mile out of town and there’s no coverage until you reach Lewistown, two hours to the south.”

  “I’ll call and get that information on Ambrose for you,” Lantry said pulling out his cell. “I left a message for him to call me.”

  Dalton hoped the day came soon when he never had to hear either the names Nicci and Ambrose again. “I just want to put this behind me.”

  His brother nodded and pocketed his phone again. “Well, you got your divorce so now you’re free to see all you want of your knit-shop girl.”

  Dalton wished it were that simple. He feared that all he did was remind Georgia of Nicci. “I’m giving it a little time. She’s been through a lot.”

  “You’re waiting for Nicci to be caught,” Lantry said and swore under his breath. “What if she’s never caught?”

  Dalton shook his head. He had no answer. All he knew was that he felt it was better to cool things with Georgia for a while.

  “Damn it, Dalton, you’ve let Nicci mess with your mind for the last nine years. How many more years are you going to give this woman?”

  He didn’t know. He kept remembering her words to him that night at the fair. You can’t have her. You can’t have Georgia. Don’t even try. You’re mine. Till death do us part, remember?

  Maybe Nicci really had spared his life because she loved him. But if she thought for a moment that he might find happiness with Georgia…Well, there was no doubt in his mind that even with the entire country’s law enforcement officers and the FBI looking for her, Nicci would come back to make sure he never had Georgia—just as she’d promised.

  AS THE DAYS WENT BY, Georgia felt Dalton pulling away. While she hadn’t wanted him guarding her 24/7, she missed the fact that he hardly ever stopped by the shop anymore. He still called occasionally, but they were so busy avoiding talking about Nicci that their conversations ended quickly.

  Georgia had hoped once Nicci was caught that they might be able to put her out of their lives. Nicci seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. Rory worried that she had found a job at another sailing school and was now picking out her next husband to kill.

  Just the thought sent terror coursing through her. She’d had Nicci living right here until her roof. Georgia knew how lucky she’d been, but wished the sheriff had been able to confirm some of the charges against Nicci before she’d escaped.

  This morning Georgia had finally put the Apartment for Rent sign back in the front window. For a while, she’d thought about not renting the apartment at all. But she needed the money and maybe having someone else in there would help ease Nicci’s memory.

  As her knitting class filed in, Rory getting bigger by the day, Agnes patted Georgia’s hand.

  “You look as if you aren’t getting much sleep, dear,” Agnes whispered. “Perhaps you should stay with your friend Rory for a while.”

  “I’m fine,” Georgia tried to reassure her. Agnes looked as if she hadn’t gotten much sleep herself. “Are you all right out there on the farm by yourself?”

  Agnes chuckled. “I’ve been on that farm for more than fifty years. I plan to die there. So don’t you be worrying about me.”

  Georgia had smiled and clas
s had begun. She’d kept busy enough that her mind hadn’t wandered too much. Agnes had brought her some fresh vegetables from her garden and one of her other students had given her a box of chocolates for her help unraveling some of her knitting.

  Rory stayed for a few minutes after class was over. “The doctor said I could deliver any day. I’m so hot and miserable, boy am I ready.”

  Georgia laid a hand on her friend’s stomach and smiled. “He sure is kicking up a storm today. Feels as if he’s ready to break out.”

  Rory laughed. “He has been more active than usual today. Maybe.” She crossed her fingers.

  “You call me, no matter what time of the day or night. I have Miss Thorp standing by for shop duty.”

  Rory hugged her as best she could. “How are you doing?”

  “Fine.”

  “No, really. You look a little peaked, as my mother used to say.” Rory studied her. “It’s Dalton. I know that look.”

  “He seems to have really backed off.”

  “He’s afraid if he gets involved with you and Nicci finds out…”

  Georgia shook her head. “I can’t live my life that way.”

  “Have you told him that?”

  “No, but—”

  “No buts about it. Tell him. You two need to talk. You can’t let Nicci ruin the rest of your lives. She is probably living it up on a sailboat in some tropical sea and not giving a thought to either of you.”

  Georgia could only hope.

  “Call him. Invite him over for supper. Cook up some of Agnes’s wonderful vegetables. Talk.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What for? I didn’t offer to cook,” Rory joked.

  “You are the best friend anyone could ever have.”

  THE INVITATION HAD come out of the blue. “Supper? Tonight?” Dalton searched around for a reason to decline, then mentally kicked himself. “Sure.”

  “I think we need to talk,” Georgia said.

  He’d been avoiding her. But he’d thought that best under the circumstances. Just the sound of her voice made him sorry he’d done that. If Nicci wanted to make their lives miserable she didn’t need an excuse. And it wasn’t as if she was hiding out in town watching them.

  “Great. What can I bring?”

  “Just yourself. Agnes dropped by some fresh vegetables from her garden this morning before class and a friend gave me some walleye fillets from Nelson that I thought would be good.”

  His heart soared at the happiness he heard in her voice. “You’re making my stomach growl. What time?”

  “How about seven? I’m really looking forward to this.”

  “Me, too. I’ll see you then. Georgia? Thanks for calling.” He hung up more excited about this date than any he’d ever been on.

  Georgia couldn’t contain her excitement. Rory had been right. Asking Dalton to supper had been a good idea. She could still hear the pleasure in his tone.

  She had taken Rory’s advice and was planning to cook the fresh vegetables Agnes had brought her. They wouldn’t take long to cook. Nor would the walleye fish fillets she would fry.

  Georgia had even bought a bottle of wine. What had gotten into her? She was half hoping they wouldn’t get to supper and felt her face heat at the thought and her heart race.

  In the distance she heard the rumble of thunder. Another summer storm. She hoped it rained and cooled things down. Her apartment felt a little too warm. Or maybe it was just thinking about tonight that had her temperature soaring, she thought with a nervous laugh.

  When she heard someone on the stairs, she glanced at her watch, surprised Dalton was early. He must be as anxious as she was, she thought as she checked herself in the mirror and started toward the door.

  She stopped halfway across the room as she heard a key in the apartment door lock. She’d left the back door open downstairs for Dalton. He’d promised to lock it before coming up. Now someone was turning a key in the lock of her apartment door.

  Georgia stood glued to the spot as her mind raced. No one had a key to her apartment. She’d thought about giving one to Rory, but she’d known her friend would never be able to find it if she needed it. So who could be—

  The door swung open and Georgia heard the slight tinkle of silver bracelets an instant before she saw the woman framed in the doorway.

  AGNES WOKE from her nap with a start. She’d been dreaming about her husband and wanted to cling to the dream rather than wake up without him.

  She looked around the cool bedroom, wondering what had awakened her. Wind blew the curtains into the room. Past them she could see that the late afternoon sky had turned black with thunderheads. As a bolt of lightning splintered the sky, Agnes felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

  Thunder rumbled over the large old farmhouse. It took her a moment to come fully awake. She’d slept longer and harder than she thought and that worried her only a little. It wasn’t as if she had something she had to do. Her life was her own and had been for years.

  Picking up her knitting from where she’d dropped it on the bed, Agnes swung her feet over the side and stood. She was a little hungry. She’d made a nice beef roast earlier with potatoes, carrots, turnips and onions from her garden. Maybe she’d heat some of it up for supper, then watch a little television and knit.

  She’d only taken a couple of steps when a thought almost struck her down. She wasn’t alone. She froze, listening for the creak of the old wood on the porch as someone moved surreptitiously across it. She heard nothing but the wind whipping the huge old cottonwoods that stood like sentinels around the house. Had she heard a car earlier? She couldn’t be sure, she’d been sleeping so soundly…

  Agnes clutched her knitting to her as she moved cautiously toward the front of the house to peer out the front window.

  She was almost to it, her hand reaching for the curtain to draw it back and peer outside, when she had a flash of dead trash birds followed instantly by a pain in her bruised shoulder in the spot where Nicci had dug in her fingers.

  She dropped her knitting as she felt the house go cold.

  GEORGIA SUCKED IN A BREATH when she saw the woman standing in her apartment doorway. She’d been so sure it would be Nicci. Her mind had been racing to understand how Nicci could have gotten a key to her apartment.

  That day when Nicci had borrowed the pickup. Georgia had handed over her keys. Nicci could have made a copy. Must have.

  But the woman standing in her apartment doorway wasn’t Nicci. This woman was tall with long blond hair and looked vaguely familiar.

  “What—”

  That was all Georgia managed to get out before the woman closed and locked the apartment door behind her.

  Georgia took a step back, looking for her cell phone where she’d dropped it on the end table by the couch. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “Take it easy,” the woman said, her bracelets tinkling softly as she stepped toward her. “You don’t want to do anything you’ll regret.”

  She sounded just like Nicci and she was dressed like her, including the three silver bracelets dangling from her wrist and the tiny silver sailboat necklace around her throat.

  A scream caught in Georgia’s throat. Screaming would do nothing since all the businesses around her had already closed for the evening and there was little chance anyone would hear her since the main street was empty.

  She took a step toward the couch and grabbed up her phone, remembering belatedly that she’d turned the cell off, not wanting to take any calls while Dalton was here for supper.

  The woman snatched the phone from her hand. “If you ever want to see Agnes Palmer again, you’ll chill, you hear?”

  The woman flipped her hair back from her face and Georgia remembered in a flash where she’d seen the woman before.

  She’d seen her from the upstairs window when the woman had stopped to ask directions from Nicci. Only the woman hadn’t been asking directions.

  “Come on, let’s go.”

&nb
sp; “Where are we going?” Georgia asked, edging away from the woman.

  “Agnes is waiting for us. If we’re late, well, you know Nicci. She doesn’t have a lot of patience.”

  Georgia couldn’t stand the thought that Nicci had Agnes and might be hurting her.

  “Also Nicci said to be sure and bring that sweater she bought you.”

  “The sweater? I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?”

  “Because Nicci asked me to.”

  Georgia felt terror burrow under her skin. “Who did you say you were?”

  “I guess no one told you about me.” She seemed amused. “I’m Ambrose.”

  DALTON KNEW HE WAS EARLY, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t wait to see Georgia. There was so much he wanted to say to her and he feared if too much more time went by, they might lose each other.

  That would be the real tragedy in all this. He felt something deep and abiding for Georgia and sensed she felt it too. If they let Nicci ruin this for them…

  Dalton just wasn’t going to let that happen, he thought as he studied the dark clouds on the horizon. The air blowing in his side window felt cooler already. He breathed it in and smiled to himself. He felt as if he’d been in limbo for nine years. Georgia had pulled him out of it. She’d shown him what his life could be like and damned if he wasn’t ready to fight for her.

  From up the road, he spotted a pickup coming toward him and frowned. Georgia?

  There must have been a change of plans. But why hadn’t she just called? He slowed a little, expecting Georgia to stop, but she sped on past headed south toward Old Town Whitehorse.

  Dalton blinked. It had been Georgia’s pickup and definitely her behind the wheel, but she’d seemed to make a point of not looking at him as she passed him. No way would she not have recognized his truck. Nor had she been alone.

  There’d been another woman in the passenger seat. Not Rory. Not Nicci either, he thought with relief. But the other woman had been blond. The hair though had been long and straight.