by Morgan James
Mia smiled. “Smart.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. I was glad she approved of my choices.
“You seem to be pretty good with this”—she waved her hands around to encompass the room—“girly stuff.”
“Um...” I froze like a deer in the headlights, and Mia laughed.
“Do you like to decorate?”
I lifted one shoulder. “Sure, I guess.”
“Well... I’m getting married soon, and I could use some help.”
I turned a surprised gaze on her. “Congratulations. Who’s the lucky guy?”
She tipped her head at me. “No one told you?”
“Um... no?”
She let out a little laugh. “Jack and I are getting married at the end of the month.”
Jack? Like, Mr. Prescott? I couldn’t imagine the two of them together. Mia seemed so sweet and he was so... intense. She must’ve seen the surprise on my face, because she grinned. “I know what you’re thinking. He’s really a big teddy bear.”
I seriously doubted that, but I kept my mouth shut.
“I know I just met you and it’s a little weird, but... would you mind helping? I wanted to go shopping today.”
“For what?”
“Wedding things!” Her eyes lit up, her voice rising several octaves with excitement.
I couldn’t help but return her infectious smile. “Of course.” I followed her out the side door into the parking lot to a little sedan. As I rounded the car, my eyebrows lifted in surprise when I saw the license plate showed that the car was from Alabama.
Mia caught my curious gaze and smiled sheepishly. “It’s a rental. I’m just using it until I get something new.” After what I had done, I was the last person who would judge her. She must have mistaken my silence for doubt, because she continued almost wearily, “It’s a long story.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” I rushed to assure her. “You don’t have to tell me. I wasn’t fishing for details.”
Mia shot me a funny little look as she slid into the driver seat. “I have a feeling you’re a good secret keeper.”
My cheeks flushed, and I dropped my eyes to my lap as I clicked my seat belt into place, remaining quiet. Weren’t we a pair? We made small talk as Mia navigated the car down the winding mountain roads into Pine Ridge. She was bright and bubbly, and she immediately put me at ease. She told me about Briarleigh, and how she herself had just moved up here a little over two weeks ago.
“So where are we headed?” I asked. “Is there anything even around here?”
Mia threw me a guilty look. “I hope so.” My eyes widened in astonishment, and I couldn’t help but give a little laugh.
“I haven’t been down here to Pine Ridge but once or twice,” Mia admitted sheepishly. “But I did hear that there’s a little boutique in town somewhere.”
At the bottom of the mountain, Mia came to a stop sign. She turned left toward Pine Ridge. I knew that Eric’s house lay in the opposite direction, just a few miles away. Speaking of intense men who made me uncomfortable... Last night with Eric hadn’t been any easier. I was constantly on edge and had barely slept a wink. I’d be lying though if I said it was entirely fear keeping me awake. He hadn’t made a move, hadn’t really even acknowledged my presence, but I felt his eyes on me all the time. I was as acutely aware of him as he seemed to be of me.
Mia pulled into an angled parking spot and threw me a smile. “Ready?”
She had told me a little bit of the rivalry animosity between some of the townspeople. Not everyone was happy about the new ski resort, especially the man whose family had owned the land for generations. I glanced out the windshield at the town with no small amount of trepidation.
Mia let out a little laugh. “It’s safe, I promise.”
Pushing my door open, I followed her into the little diner. According to the hours posted on the door, it closed at two o’clock each day. I listened idly as Mia went about ordering catering from Rosie, the owner. Once we were done, we crossed the street to the florist. I was immediately enveloped by the sweet scent of roses and other unidentifiable flowers as I stepped over the threshold. A colorful array of poinsettias was set up in the display window, ready for Christmas. A pretty young woman greeted us from behind the counter, partially obscured by a vase full of bright, freshly cut blooms.
Mia ordered flowers, then we headed two doors down to the general store to look for decorations. It was huge inside and looked like nothing I’d ever seen. They had everything. From toys to medicine to animal feed, it seemed the general store was the place to buy whatever odds and ends the residents of Pine Ridge might need.
We passed several rows of groceries, and I slowed. I was still hungry from going to bed without food last night, but it was nothing I wasn’t used to. Uncle Massimo had kept me on a strict diet—more so before the wedding—to ensure I stuck to the coveted size two he preferred. The only reason he didn’t insist I lose more weight was because of my breasts. He’d said they were my best feature and would draw Nikolai like a moth to light. I’d been so thin at one point that I’d dropped an entire cup size. Uncle had thrown a fit when my wedding gown gaped open at the bust, and he’d finally given up trying to make me the perfect size zero.
The thought alone made me sick. A zero, like I wouldn’t even exist. And I barely had. I’d been so hungry sometimes, I thought I would starve to death. Some women were naturally slim—I, to my uncle’s consternation, was not one of them.
I eyed the row of canned goods I’d never been allowed to eat. As a child, our chef had always made dinner for us, typical two- or three-course Italian meals fraught with pasta that looked nothing like the label on the can of Chef Boyardee. I eyed it speculatively. It was the same basic ingredients: pasta, sauce, and meat or cheese. I refused to think too much on the meat part of it, but, really, how bad could it be?
I grabbed several cans and shoved them into my basket before moving on down the row. An orange rectangle caught my eye, and I picked up the package of instant noodles.
Beside me, Mia laughed. “I don’t think I’ve had those since college.”
I turned to look at her. “Are they good?”
“You’ve never had them before?” She rolled her lips together in an amused little smile when I shook my head. Reaching out, she grabbed a handful and stuck them in my basket. “They’re like a rite of passage for everyone.”
We shared a grin, and for the first time in forever, I felt like I’d found a friend.
Chapter 10
Eric
Things had been slow all morning, and I decided to take the time to check on the one thing that had been weighing on my mind since yesterday. Jules had obviously never registered the vehicle in any state, and I wanted to do some digging. There was a chance that my questions might raise some red flags, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to know exactly what I was dealing with if I was going to help her. Tapping the car’s plate number into the database again, I watched as Roger Egerton’s information popped up on the screen. I typed his name into the White Pages, and waited for the results to pop up. I wasn’t disappointed. There were only two listings, one of which appeared to match the man in question. Picking up the landline on my desk, I punched in the number and waited for the call to connect.
There was a soft click, and a man’s wary voice filled the line. “Hello?”
“Hello,” I replied smoothly. “Is this Roger Egerton?”
“Who wants to know?” he shot back.
I mentally rolled my eyes but forced myself to keep my tone level. “Sir, this is Sheriff Donahue from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Montana. I’m hoping you can help me.” I phrased it up as a request so he would hopefully be willing to help me rather than going on the offensive.
“With what?”
I could hear the suspicion in his voice, and it sent a tendril of irritation through me. Was he naturally suspicious, or did he have a reason to withhold information? Being sheriff for the nearly the past two y
ears had taught me a lot about politics and people. Sometimes you had to kiss ass to get what you wanted.
Infusing as much friendliness into my tone as possible, I continued. “I believe we found your car broken down on the side of the road. I was just making sure you had a way to remove it.”
“Not my car,” he replied.
“Oh?” I pretended to think on that for a moment. “Are you sure? I have a blue Cavalier here that was most recently registered to you. Is that not correct?”
“Damn people,” he grumbled on the other end of the phone. “Sold that car a month ago. Should’ve had it switched over by now.”
“No problem,” I continued placatingly. “I can just reach out to the buyer. Do you remember her name by chance?” My heart leapt at the thought of getting Jules’s real name, but I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.
“Her? No, no,” the man replied. “It was a guy. Didn’t say anything about a wife or a girlfriend, but I guess he could’ve been buying it for her.”
Dammit. I’d been hoping to get more than this small lead, but it was more than I had before. “No problem,” I reiterated. “Do you remember the gentleman’s name?”
The other end was silent for a moment while I assumed the man drew back a month ago to the purchaser. “Can’t say I do. Jake something, maybe? I talked to a lot of people interested in the car back then, so I can’t tell you for sure.”
I scowled at the phone, unhappy with the answer. Without access to the title, I couldn’t even track the new owner down. I made a mental note to check her glove box again. “All right, I replied. “One last thing—can you tell me which notary you used?”
“We went to a notary up in Broadview, off Clay Street. Name’s Steve, he’s a friend of mine. Everything was legit. Maybe he can help you. I think he keeps records of all that.”
They certainly did. I thanked the man and hung up as a lightbulb came on in my head. So Roger had sold the car to a man who’d then turned around and... what? Sold it to Jules? Let her borrow it? My lips pressed together in a firm line. I didn’t like either fucking option. More than likely, it meant the person knew she was in trouble and didn’t do shit about it. Absolute worst case I could contact the notary and have him pull files of his recent notarizations.
It hit me again that, if Jules came from money, maybe whoever was looking for her had the funds to find her. Maybe she’d specifically requested it this way, risking being picked up without a valid registration—or a license. Thank God it had only been me. God only knew what would’ve happened if someone in a larger city had pulled her over. Her ass would probably be in jail, worse off than she’d been before.
I knew Jules would never open up to me, so that was out. Hopefully she would be more comfortable with a woman. Decision made, I pushed out of my chair, ready to head to Briarleigh and enlist Mia’s help. First though, I wanted to run everything by Jack. He wasn’t at the lodge this morning when I dropped Jules off, so I wanted to catch him before he left for the day.
Things had been slow at the station; no surprise there. At this point during the year, people tended to hunker down and stay inside out of trouble. Christmas was coming up soon, so I would enjoy the last few days of peace before the holidays wreaked havoc on our town. Seemed like the holidays brought out the worst in some people. Those who didn’t have families tended to gather at Murdoch’s, the bar in town, or out at the Fox Hole. One thing always led to another, and with an infusion of liquor and negative emotions came fistfights. With a nod and a wave to a couple of my deputies, I strolled out the front door.
Snow had begun to fall over the past hour or so, and I took a few minutes to clear off the SUV before climbing inside. As soon as I turned onto the main drag, I saw that the snowplows had already been out and were working hard to keep the roads clear and safe. Our entire land department consisted of four people. It was a lot of ground to cover, and, especially in this weather, they tended to double up. They were always dealing with fallen trees or downed electrical wires. Because we were so far away from the big city and most of the electrical plants, they often had to do damage control to minimalize issues before the power company could get out here.
Snow clung to the branches of the trees, sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. Another half an hour and the sun would be gone completely, obscured by the mountain.
Pulling up to Briarleigh, I parked in the side lot along with the employees and climbed out of the SUV. I made my way in the side door and headed straight for Jack’s office, praying that Jules was still otherwise occupied. I wanted a few minutes alone to share the information I’d discovered—or lack thereof. He was on the phone, but the office was blessedly empty when he waved me inside. His brows lifted as I closed the door then took a seat in one of the chairs to wait.
A moment later he ended the call and stared across the desk at me. “Sheriff?”
“Everything good so far?” I asked.
He gave a curt nod. “She’s quiet, keeps to herself.”
I hadn’t expected anything else, and I didn’t know if it was a relief or not. “Well,” I remarked, “I don’t really have any news, but I do have a couple updates.” Jack eyed me with interest but remained silent. “I ran the plates on her car and found out they’re registered to a Roger Egerton in Illinois. It gets a little more interesting. Found out that he sold the car about a month ago...” Jack raised an eyebrow as I dragged it out. “...to a man.”
“Curious,” he remarked.
I nodded. “You see the bruise on her face?”
His expression darkened, and he gave an abrupt nod. “I tried not to make a big deal about it, just asked her if she had anything to worry about.” Jack spread his hands wide. “She said no, so she was either playing dumb or trying to keep it under wraps.”
I hated what that meant. My gut twisted into a tight knot at the thought of someone hitting her. No one deserved that, least of all Jules, who was one of the most reserved, mild-mannered women I’d ever met. “What’s your take?”
“Same as you,” Jack replied.
“Flight risk,” I said with no small amount of resignation.
“Flight risk, hell.” Jack snorted. “Girl’s got one eye over her shoulder and one foot out the door. She never gets within arm’s reach. I had to pass her off on Sam because I didn’t want to scare her off.”
“Sam?” The name didn’t ring a bell.
Jack nodded. “Sam Pickett, Gary’s son.”
I bristled. “That little shit?”
“I thought she’d be more comfortable with someone her age. Something wrong with him?”
Nothing was wrong with him—that was the problem. He’d never been in trouble that I could recall, and he seemed like a good enough kid. If I remembered correctly, he’d graduated five or six years ago with decent grades and an offer to play football at a state school. He’d come back to Pine Ridge about a year and a half ago, right after I’d been elected sheriff. Now he was working at his dad’s hardware store in town, putting the business degree he’d earned to good use. I was sure they’d hit it off. Damn it.
“Nothing at all.” Sarcasm leached into my tone, and I sighed. “What else?”
Jack shrugged. “Otherwise she’s smart, poised, doesn’t miss a thing. I think she’s still waiting on the other shoe to drop.”
“I know.” I gave a little shake of my head. “I don’t know what to do about that.”
From across the desk, Jack eyed me shrewdly. “What do you want to do about it?”
Hell, I didn’t know the answer to that myself. All I knew was a young woman who appeared to be on the run needed my help. I let out a little growl. “I wanna find the fucker who left those marks on her and make sure it never happens again.”
Jack dipped his chin in a nod. “She’s safe enough here. Maybe she’ll open up a little bit when she feels more comfortable.”
“Actually,” I admitted, “I really came here to enlist your help in that aspect. Specifically, Mia’s help
. I think Jules will relate better to a woman.”
Jack leaned back in his chair. “They’re out together right now doing some shopping. I’ll see if Mia can get anything out of her.”
“Appreciate it.”
Jack’s dark gaze darted over my shoulder to the door, and he gestured with his chin. “Open that.”
I didn’t hesitate to ask why. I just reached behind me and turned the knob, then used my fingertips to fling the door open away from me. Seconds later, feminine voices reached my ears—one I recognized as Mia’s; the other, Jules’s. I gave a little shake of my head in disbelief. I didn’t know how he did it. Fucker had a crazy sixth sense, at least when it came to Mia.
“They’re having a crap season,” Jack remarked.
I whipped my head toward him, my eyes widening in understanding, and I picked up the thread of conversation as I leaned back casually in my chair. “Offense sucks,” I commented. “Wouldn’t be so bad if somebody could catch the damn ball.”
The women appeared in the doorway just as I finished my sentence, and I glanced over my shoulder at them with a little nod. “Miss Hamilton.”
“Please.” Mia waved her hand as she entered the office and moved immediately to Jack’s side.
I watched as they exchanged a look before turning back to Jules. She remained in the doorway, as if afraid to step inside with all of us. I kept my posture casual in an attempt to put her at ease. “You all done for the day?”
“Um...” She looked over to Mia. “Do you want help carrying the stuff in?”
“No, no,” Mia assured her with a smile. “We can tackle that tomorrow.”
“If you’re sure...”
“What did we buy now?” Jack lifted a brow.
“Wedding stuff.”
“Wonderful,” he drawled. “Spending my money again, woman.”
“Our money.” Mia grinned cheekily. “And I prefer to think of it as greasing the hands of the locals.”
I bit back my grin. Jack sure as fuck had his hands full with Mia. Couldn’t say the asshole didn’t deserve it, though. I saw the expression on his face change as Jack watched his soon-to-be-wife, and I dropped my gaze away, uncomfortable. I peeked up at Jules, who surveyed them with a strange look on her face, like she didn’t know what to make of their interaction. I couldn’t blame her. I always felt like I was intruding on some personal moment any time I was in the same room as them. I could feel the love between them, as if it were a tangible thing that I could reach out and touch. Knowing something like that actually existed made me want to either run like hell or reach out to grab it for myself, I wasn’t sure which.