by Forsaken
Now she felt starved. Anger did that to her. Locking up the store, she walked over to the café. The Branding Iron was empty this early in the evening. Kate LaFond had inherited the store from the former owner after he’d died—not that anyone had known about that when she’d arrived in town. Nettie had known the woman was hiding something—and she’d been right.
But it gave her little satisfaction now. She and Kate had formed a kind of truce since all of the details about her past had come out. Or at least Nettie had quit butting into the woman’s business.
Kate was now married to Jack French and lived on his family ranch northeast of town. Nettie had expected Kate to put the café up for sale, especially after her only waitress, Bethany Reynolds, had gotten pregnant and quit.
As she pushed open the door, Nettie noticed the waitress-wanted sign in the front window. Kate looked up from behind the counter as the bell over the door tinkled.
“You’ve probably already heard,” she said to Kate as she took a stool at the counter. “Bethany had her baby. Ten pounds, four ounces. A boy.”
“I hadn’t,” Kate said. She was a dark-haired, pretty thirtysomething. Jack French had fallen like a rock off a cliff for her. “Good for Bethany. Clete must be excited.”
Nettie didn’t bother to tell her that Clete was up in the Beartooths. She’d told the undersheriff. Once the storm up there quit, he’d check on Clete and the three men he’d gone up there with. By then, Dillon would be able to take news of the baby. What would have happened if she hadn’t been there for Bethany? It made her angry at Clete for deserting his wife for a hike in the mountains.
“I see you have a help-wanted sign in the window for a new waitress,” Nettie said as she idly picked up a menu. The selection hadn’t changed much since Claude had owned the place. Nettie had memorized the menu years ago.
“Want the job?” Kate joked.
“What are you going to do with the apartment upstairs?” It was hard enough to rent the one over the store. Nettie was hoping Kate wasn’t going into competition with her.
“I’m thinking it might go with the waitress job if I can find the right person.”
“Good idea.” She put down the menu. “Turkey sandwich to go, please, with mayo and lettuce, no cheese.”
“Have you thought about getting help over at the store?” Kate asked as she put the order up and dinged the bell to let Lou, the cook, know they had a customer.
“The store isn’t that busy.” And what would she do all day if she didn’t have the store? The problem was that she wasn’t getting any younger, was she? She’d never given any thought to the day when she couldn’t work and sure didn’t want to now.
Earlier she’d felt young and alive. After hearing about J.D.’s lie, she now felt like a fool—and her age again.
Kate wrapped up her sandwich when it came out, put it in a bag and handed it to her. “I’ll put it on your tab. If you hear about anyone looking for a waitressing job...”
She nodded distractedly and left. While the mountains were socked in with the spring storm, it was still nice down here in the valley.
As she stepped off the boardwalk in front of the café and started across the street, Nettie thought about what she would say when she saw J.D. again then realized it was going to be sooner rather than later.
His pickup was parked across the street next to the store. His brother, Taylor, had just missed him. Something told her that hadn’t been a coincidence on J.D.’s part.
Nettie was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear the vehicle come roaring up the street. It seemed to come out of nowhere, engine revved. All she caught was a glimpse of chrome grille, and then she was flying through the air.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MADDIE FELT COMPLETELY devoid emotionally. Branch was gone. That loss had left a gaping hole in her heart, another one after the two she’d already suffered not that long ago.
Ahead, the snow obliterated everything. She knew these mountains and yet she couldn’t be sure she wasn’t going in circles. Had she been alone she wouldn’t have cared.
Her life, as tenuous as it had been, was now unraveling. That horrible whine they’d heard on the wind had died down with distance. But she could still hear it—feared she would always hear it echoing in her mind. Poor Dewey. He must have been so confused, so frightened.
And Branch, what had he thought of the sound? He’d been curious enough to try to find out what was causing it apparently. How else had he found the plane?
The reminder that Branch was gone hit her again. She would never be able to keep the ranch without him. It was over. On her father’s deathbed she’d promised him there would always be a Diamond C.
He’d smiled and taken her hand and told her to get married and have lots of children. He’d told her that the ranch would kill her. It had killed him at an early age. She and her mother and Branch had kept the ranch going after that.
But now everyone was gone but her.
Just the thought of Branch and how he’d died choked her up again. She didn’t want to cry. Her tears would freeze on her face along with the snowflakes. She hated to think of the kind of pressure she had put on him. Branch knew how much she depended on him. What had he thought when he found the plane full of drugs?
He had built the cairns so law enforcement would find the plane. Had he seen the bags of cocaine in the back? Had he not thought even for a moment that he could walk away from this lifestyle and never have to worry about money again?
Not Branch. He was as straight-arrow as they came.
She felt sick. He was gone and the drug runners had crashed in country she knew and loved. Now it felt violated, dirtied by their greed and violence.
“Maddie?”
She reined in as Jamison rode up next to her.
“Maybe we should try to get out of the storm,” he called through the whirling snow. He thought they were lost.
“The camp is over the next mountain,” she said, praying that was true. She’d lost track. Maybe they’d ridden too far. Or maybe, like she’d thought earlier, they were just going in circles. They were caked with snow, and she knew he must be as chilled as she was. They needed to get out of this weather and soon.
She spurred her horse forward, telling herself that if their camp wasn’t over the next ridge, they would look for a place to get out of the storm.
As they topped the ridge, she heard the sheep. She’d never been so glad to hear anything in her life.
* * *
“YOU DON’T REALLY believe aliens landed in the Beartooths, do you?” the undersheriff asked after Frank filled him in on what he’d learned from Dewey.
“I think Branch and Dewey saw something, and whatever it was, it got Branch Murdock killed. I believe the kid. He didn’t kill Branch.”
Dillon looked as worried as Frank felt. “Then Jamison and Maddie Conner are up there with a couple thousand head of sheep in a snowstorm with a possible murderer?”
“Let’s hope not. Either way, there’s no getting them out until the storm lets up, which probably won’t be until morning. Jamison is smart, and Maddie knows the area. If they have shelter, they should be all right.”
The dispatcher suddenly appeared at Dillon’s door. “There’s been an attempted hit-and-run in Beartooth.” Her gaze shifted to Frank. “Nettie Benton was almost run down. She’s...unconscious,” she added as Frank shot to his feet. “An ambulance is on its way.”
“Pam,” Frank said like a curse.
“We don’t know it was Pam,” Dillon said on his heels.
“Like hell we don’t.” Frank headed for his own rig. He could hear Dillon on his radio to any law enforcement in the area.
“Frank, damn it, wait for me.”
But Frank was already sliding behind the wheel of his patrol pickup, a prayer on his lips. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost Lynette.
He cursed himself for not telling her how he felt. If only he had asked her out. He’d wanted to not long afte
r her husband had left. But he’d figured she might need more time. What a fool he was for dragging his feet.
Now it might be too late.
* * *
NETTIE OPENED HER EYES. She could hear voices, but they sounded off in the distance. She blinked, blinded by the daylight’s brightness, and closed her eyes again.
“Nettie, can you hear me?”
At first she couldn’t put a name to the voice.
“Nettie?”
“The ambulance is on the way.”
She recognized that voice. Kate LaFond. And opened her eyes again.
“She’s coming to,” J.D. said as Nettie felt her eyelids flutter.
The relief on his face made her keep her eyes open. To her shock, she found she was lying on the ground at the edge of the highway through town. Several of the locals were standing over her, including Kate LaFond.
“What happened?” Nettie asked as she tried to sit up.
“Stay put,” J.D. ordered. “We’ve called for an ambulance.”
“I don’t need an ambulance,” she snapped. “I’m fine.” She pushed her way up into a sitting position, aware of the ache along her one side. She rubbed her shoulder and asked again, “What happened?”
“A truck tried to run you down,” J.D. said.
“What?” Nettie couldn’t make sense of his words.
“It’s true,” Kate assured her. “I saw it all from my front window. If J.D. hadn’t seen what was happening and thrown you out of the way...”
Nettie’s gaze shifted to J.D. “You saved my life?”
“It wasn’t that—”
“It was that heroic,” Kate interrupted him. “He saved your life.” She glanced at the others who had gathered. “Did anyone get the license-plate number on that truck?”
There was a general shaking of heads.
“All I saw was that it was dark-colored.” Kate looked to J.D.
“It happened too fast. You didn’t see the driver?”
Kate frowned. “I did kind of. I think it was a woman.”
The sound of sirens filled the air.
“I really don’t need an ambulance,” Nettie said and reached for J.D.’s hand so he could pull her to her feet. She would be sore tomorrow. “Thank you.” She met his gaze. “I appreciate you saving me, but you and I need to talk.”
Right behind the ambulance was a sheriff’s-department vehicle. The moment it stopped, Frank rushed toward her.
“Are you all right?” he demanded. “I heard there was a hit-and-run and that you were...” His voice broke.
“I’m fine. Please, send the ambulance away. I don’t need it.”
“I insist you let the paramedics take a look at you, and if they say you’re fine...”
Nettie sighed but realized she didn’t have the strength to fight him. As Frank led her over to the waiting paramedics, she noticed that J.D. had disappeared.
“I told you I was fine,” Nettie said after the paramedics had assured him that she didn’t seem to have any serious injuries and no broken bones. “I was just a little dazed there for a while.”
“I need to talk to the eyewitnesses,” Frank said. “You’re going to your house, right? There’s no reason for you to go back to the store this late.”
“Frank, don’t try to—”
He held up his hands in surrender. “So you’ll be at the store when I’m through talking to the eyewitnesses?”
“Yes, but I can’t tell you any more than they can. It happened too fast. Kate said all she saw was a dark-colored truck. She thought it was a woman behind the wheel.”
He chewed at his cheek. She could see how furious he was. Furious and scared that she’d been hurt. Damn him for doing this to her. For caring and making her care about him.
She turned away from him and started toward the store. She could feel his gaze following her and did her best not to limp even though her side still hurt. As she started up the porch steps, she noticed that J.D.’s pickup was gone. He’d saved her, but when she’d told him they needed to talk, he’d disappeared. “Men,” she muttered under her breath.
* * *
JAMISON WAS AMAZED Maddie had been able to get them back to camp. The world around them was a madding, whirling, cold white that messed up his equilibrium. He feared he would have still been going in circles if it had been left up to him to lead them back.
“Go ahead inside the tent and get changed out of your wet clothes,” he told her. “I’ll take care of the horses.”
“No, you’re as cold and wet as I am. This will go faster if both of us do it.” She called Lucy and the dog came running, slipping inside the tent to curl up on the rug between the cots.
Jamison had never been this cold, but then again, he’d never been caught in a blinding blizzard before.
They finished with the horses and hurried into the tent. He started the stove, anxious to get a fire going. Also wanting to give Maddie a chance to change clothes in private.
Once he had the fire going, he asked, “Coast clear?”
“Are you always such a perfect gentleman?” she asked, sounding amused.
He turned to find her grinning at him. She’d changed her clothing and was hanging up her wet things on the frame of the tent. “Not always.”
“Change your clothes. If you want I can step outside.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m not bashful.”
She laughed as she wrung melted snow from her long hair. “Aren’t you?”
He moved past her and the dog and began to strip off his wet clothing, his back to her. It was freezing inside the tent. Wind and snow buffeted the canvas, which had frozen from the cold. He could see the shadow of snowdrifts around the side of the tent.
“How long do these kind of June storms last?” he asked as he pulled on warm, dry clothing. The tent was starting to heat up a little. He was glad he’d stocked wood. They’d have enough that was dry to last them for a while, anyway.
He realized Maddie hadn’t answered his question. He turned to find her staring at him. No, she was staring through him.
“Are you all right?”
She blinked and her gaze rose to his. He saw the pain and sadness.
“Stupid question,” he quickly amended. “Is there anything I can do?”
Her expression mirrored the battle he knew had to be going on inside her. She’d changed into jeans and a flannel shirt, one so large he suspected it, too, had belonged to her husband.
As she shook her head and sat down on the edge of the cot, she said, “I was just thinking about Branch. He really was the last of his kind. This is the end of not just his life but an era. I won’t be bringing my sheep up here anymore.”
“Maybe by next June—”
“No.” She shook her head and leaned down to pet Branch’s dog. “It’s been coming for a long time. Branch and I both knew this might be the last year.” Her voice broke. “You know, as crazy as it sounds, this would be the way he’d want to end things. Up here in country he loved. Branch would have been miserable retired. He always said he’d take a bullet to his head over a rest home. I assured him he’d never see a rest home, that I wouldn’t let it happen.” Her eyes filled with tears.
He moved to join her on the cot and reached for her hand. To his surprise, she let him take it in both of his.
“Tens of thousands of sheep have grazed in these mountains as far back as the late-nineteenth century,” Maddie said. “I guess I’m glad the Diamond C will have been the last ranch to do it.”
He looked over at her, hearing the break in her voice, feeling her pain. “Maybe you can find another sheepherder—”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Sheep ranching has changed. It’s a dying way of life. I continued the sheep drive because it was the way my father and my grandfather had done it. But I can’t compete anymore with factory farming, and this is just too damned hard.”
She brushed at an errant tear and looked over at him. He’d forgotten how blue her eyes were. T
here was something so tender and so wounded about her and yet still so damned determined to stay strong. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her. More than hold her.
The wind whipped at the tent, shaking it loudly. A chill moved through in spite of the fire in the woodstove. Outside snow pelted the canvas, the drifts growing higher around the tent. It felt as if they were like the reverse of a snow globe as they huddled out of the blizzard and waited.
“It’s going to be a long night,” Maddie said and met his gaze.
He reached over to brush that errant lock of hair back from her face. “You are so beautiful.” She started to speak, no doubt to tell him that wasn’t true, but he pressed a finger to her lips. Her eyes filled and he saw her swallow.
“I have never known such an amazing woman,” he said as he cupped her face in his hands. “Maddie, I thought no woman could ever make me feel like this again.”
* * *
MADDIE TOOK ONE of his hands and pressed it to her lips. He made her feel as if she really was amazing, but inside she’d never felt more like a failure or more vulnerable.
She looked at him. His jaw was shadowed with four days’ stubble. They had both washed up each morning in the creek, but she hadn’t thought to bring him anything to shave with. With each day, Jamison looked more as if he belonged up here. Or maybe she’d just grown used to his being here.
Looking into his gray eyes, she was reminded of how she’d at first thought of a wolf. A lone wolf, at that. Now, though, the color of his eyes reminded her more of soft misty fall mornings. She had seen such kindness and gentleness in this man—along with strength—that it now seemed reflected in his silvery gaze.
She looked deeply into those eyes and found herself wondering about him. She had never wondered about other people’s lives. She’d been too busy with her own troubles to concern herself with anything else.
But the longer she’d spent with this man, the more she wondered what he was doing here. Not up on this mountain. But working as a deputy in Sweetgrass County, Montana. His recent breakup with his wife was part of it, but not all of it. She wondered what he’d come to Montana searching for and if he would find it.