by B. J Daniels
“She does now. I told her to practice. Jake,” she cried plaintively. “She is terrified of LJ and obviously with good reason. I told her to get pepper spray, but if you could have seen her... Then, after what happened with you...”
He raked a hand through his hair. She noticed how tired he looked. All of this had been a strain on him, too. Not to mention the beating he’d taken. Now this thing with LJ. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”
Jake shook his head and stopping pacing. “You didn’t get me into it. Anyway, there is no other place I want to be than with you. I’m just frustrated. People are trying to kill us—”
“The gun wasn’t loaded and she wasn’t going to shoot me even if it had been.”
“It’s gotten more dangerous and we aren’t any closer to finding Frank’s murderer.”
“We should both quit and clear out of here.”
He turned to look at her for a moment before he pulled out his phone. She listened to him calling the hospital for an update on LJ.
“Stable,” he said as he got off the phone and sighed. “Stupid fool could have killed himself. He was so out of control...” Jake pocketed his phone and dropped into a chair across from her. For a moment he stared down at his boots before lifting his head to meet her gaze. “I have a bad feeling about this that I can’t shake. Let’s leave. Your father’s out of jail. Bud will eventually find Frank’s killer or not. It’s not our problem.”
Even as he said it, Blaze knew that until the killer was caught, the suspicion would hang over her father and Allie. He was the one who said they couldn’t leave because of that.
He must have seen what she was thinking, because he swore and got to his feet again. “I’m going to take a hot shower. Will you be all right?”
She nodded and started to tell him that he could use her shower but he was out the door, his long legs carrying him across the yard to the bunkhouse.
* * *
BUD COULDN’T BELIEVE what he was being told. “You’re sure Jake Horn didn’t have something to do with this?”
The deputy shook his head. “The evidence is pretty clear. LJ smashed into the back of Horn’s pickup numerous times before he lost control and rolled down into that gully. Horn’s statement substantiates it. Says LJ came after him at a high rate of speed.”
Bud rubbed a hand over his face before waving the deputy off.
“Sheriff?” He turned to see the doctor headed his way. His heart lodged in his throat, his pulse a deafening thrum. For a moment he thought he’d have another panic attack and end up on the floor again.
“My son? How is my son?”
“He is very lucky. He has a minor concussion and some lacerations.”
Bud let out the breath he’d been holding. “Unconscious?”
“He’s conscious,” the doctor said. “We’re going to keep a close eye on him. I’d suggest you go on home.”
He nodded, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. He couldn’t remember ever being this tired. Why had LJ done such a fool thing? But he knew. LJ had gone after Horn because he’d heard about Bud’s collapse. Of course he blamed Jake Horn and, being LJ, he’d decided to go after him.
Bud groaned inwardly as he climbed into his patrol SUV and sat for a moment looking out at the cold winter afternoon. So many people he knew left this time of year for Arizona. Sunshine and cacti. Lorna had always wanted to go. Told him he could take up golf. Golf! He shook his head.
Maybe it would have saved their marriage, though, if he had retired and gone to Arizona in the winter. But he knew that it wasn’t winter and Montana that had caused the problem between them. From the time LJ was born, he’d watched his wife looking at her son as if waiting for the truth to come out. Every time LJ got into a fight at school. Every time the boy threw a tantrum. Every time their son behaved badly. He’d watched Lorna pull away from LJ and finally Bud as well, as if distancing herself from the truth.
He sighed and started his patrol SUV. He didn’t give a damn about other people’s truths. LJ was his son. Right now, he wanted to wring the young man’s fool neck. But as he drove away from the hospital, he didn’t see any way to keep it from LJ. Too many people knew. Too many people like Jake Horn and Blaze McClintock, who wanted to make something of it. He worried what it would do to LJ when he found out the truth. Maybe he already had.
Wasn’t that what scared him? Horn had practically accused him of murdering Frank. He rubbed the back of his neck as he drove down the main drag of Saddle Butte. How long before LJ was accused of the same thing? Especially if they found out that LJ no longer had his favorite rifle, a .30-06. The same type of rifle that had killed Frank.
LJ had sworn that he’d forgotten to lock his truck and someone had stolen the rifle. But when Bud had wanted to write a report so LJ could turn the loss in to insurance, his son had said he felt bad enough about it and just wanted to forget it.
The next day LJ bought a new rifle, a .30-06, just like his old one. Except the new one didn’t have his name carved into the stock, a little something extra Bud had done when he’d given the boy the rifle on his fifteenth birthday.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
WHEN JAKE DIDN’T come back, Blaze went over to the bunkhouse to check on him. She found him sprawled facedown on his bed, wearing nothing but a towel. She’d gotten everything out of the refrigerator to make quesadillas and thought he might be hungry.
“Jake?” She touched his bare shoulder. He made a sleepy sound but didn’t stir. She stared down at his broad back. Her fingers ached to run down the hollow between those broad shoulders to the edge of the towel.
It would have been so easy to climb in next to him. The thought of him taking her in his arms made her feel weak with something more than need for this man. She took hold of the towel covering his behind. It felt damp. She gently tugged on it and it came loose. Hanging it over the bed frame, she pulled one of the old quilts over him. She stood for a moment, listening to him sleep before she headed back to the house.
On the way across the yard, her cell phone rang. It was Emma Jean Westlake. “I just wanted to be sure you were coming to tomorrow morning’s service at the church. Your father and Allie have agreed to attend. Bring your friend... Jake Horn, isn’t that his name?”
Blaze was too surprised to hear that her father and Allie were coming back from Billings to attend church tomorrow to say more than “Yes.”
“Wonderful. See you then.” And the line went dead.
It had been years since she’d been in that church. She’d quit going after her mother left. She didn’t want to psychoanalyze her reasons. She’d lost a lot of hope after her mother left. It had changed everything. It had especially changed her father.
She thought of what Allie had said. Had she had reason to worry that Monte would take his own life? Blaze found that hard to believe, but if true, her father had been putting on a good front for her while all the time suffering badly. The only person he’d shared it with had been the woman on the ranch next door.
* * *
BUD KNEW THERE was only one way he could keep his five hundred dollars safe and at the same time, make sure that he got what his anonymous caller had promised him.
Last night, once back at home, he’d called one of his deputies. He hated this kind of underhanded bullshit, but he also couldn’t afford to lose five hundred dollars right now. One of the ushers at church was behind in his alimony and child support. The man’s ex had been bugging Bud for several months to help her get her money since she knew that they both went to the same church.
Gambling that Earl Harper hadn’t been his anonymous caller, Bud had told his deputy, “Pick up Earl. Maybe a night in jail is what he needs to cough up some money for his ex and the kids.”
“You’re seriously going to lock him up?” the deputy had said in surprise.
“Just overnight. See if he takes
paying his child support more seriously after a night in jail. I’ll spring him after church.”
He’d then called Pastor Westlake to tell him that Earl couldn’t make Sunday services and volunteered to be an usher. This morning, he’d prepared the envelope, put the five hundred dollars into it and sealed it. He had the envelope in his pocket, folded in half, as he entered the church.
To his shock, he saw his son sitting at the back of the church. “What are you doing here?” he demanded in a hushed tone.
LJ laughed. “You’ve been trying to get me to come back to church since I was twelve. Now I’m here. I thought you’d be glad. I thought maybe I needed it.”
Bud couldn’t argue that. But why today of all days? “I thought you weren’t getting out of the hospital until tomorrow.”
“I told the doc that I needed to be in church. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
“I am, son. I am.” He patted his son’s shoulder and took a seat, the money feeling as if it was burning a hole in his pocket all through the first part of the service. He was relieved when it was finally time to pass the collection plate. As he started down the aisle, he pulled out the envelope and placed it on the plate, then handed it to the first person on the far side of the church.
Bud never took his eyes off the plate as it was passed down the row, then to the next row before it came back. He watched parishioners drop something in and pass it. A few merely passed it.
When the plate reached him, he noticed that the envelope was still in there. What would he do if no one took it? How would he explain taking it back out? He felt blood rushing to his head. Now was not the time to have another panic attack. This had been one of the stupidest things he’d ever done.
When the tray came back after it had gone down another two rows, he almost pulled out his envelope but realized someone might see him and think he was stealing. He cursed himself and watched the collection plate go down another two rows and then another two and another two until it came back to him.
Bud realized he was sweating. He wiped at his upper lip, wishing he’d never agreed to this as the plate made its way toward him. This had been a fool’s errand.
The plate was slowly making its way to him. A man in the last row added a few dollars and handed it off to LJ, who dug out a dollar and dropped it in before passing it on to the next few people in the row.
When the last man handed Bud the collection plate, he almost dropped it. His envelope was gone. He stared down at it, then at the rows of individuals seated in the last two pews as the organ music swelled and Pastor Westlake finished speaking to one of the men at the end of the row and took his place at the pulpit. He knew all the men and women in those rows. Which one of them was his caller? Which one of them was now five hundred dollars richer?
Everyone looked toward the front of the church as Pastor Westlake began to speak. The next thing Bud knew, the whole congregation was on its feet. Music swelled. He felt someone tap him on his shoulder and sleepwalked along with the other ushers back to the office, where they would leave the money collected today. His hands were shaking. His envelope with his money was gone. He thought he might throw up.
He left the head usher to take care of the offerings and headed to drop into a space on the back row of the church. He needed to sit down.
But as he slid into the pew, he saw Blaze McClintock sitting in the opposite back row. She glanced at him, then back at the pastor. He felt his pulse throb in his temple. What was she doing here? He looked around for her boyfriend but didn’t see him anywhere. Blaze had come to church alone? That was when he saw the woman next to her. Allie Anson. Allie was holding Montgomery McClintock’s hand.
He realized with a start was that the rumors were apparently true. Allie Anson was pregnant and definitely showing. It struck him as odd that they would attend church today since it had been a very long time since he’d seen Monte here.
And they were in one of the last rows, the rows where his money had disappeared. He tried to calm himself. His anonymous caller could be anyone. He tried to remember everyone he’d seen but he’d been so shocked to see the money gone...
Blaze glanced at him again. She almost looked concerned. He felt light-headed, but was determined not to have another attack. Worse, he’d been had and was now five hundred dollars poorer. The only good news was that LJ was out of the hospital and...
But as he looked past Blaze to her father and his...girlfriend, he thought what a trick of fate it would be if Monte were his anonymous caller. He wiped his face, his hand coming away wet with perspiration. He knew he was being ridiculous. Why would Monte tell him where he’d hidden Bethany’s car unless...unless he wanted to be caught?
He wasn’t thinking clearly. Monte hadn’t been the caller. It made no sense. He’d just lost five hundred dollars for absolutely nothing but his own gullibility. Whoever had pocketed his envelope would be laughing his ass off tonight. Bud felt sick as he tried to concentrate on the sermon about forgiveness.
* * *
JAKE WAS WAITING outside the church when Blaze came out. “Up for lunch?”
Blaze realized she was starving, but when she looked to her father and Allie, both declined.
“You two go on,” Monte said. “Allie’s not feeling well. I think we’ll go back to her place.” His gaze met hers and held it for a moment. “Thank you for coming to church today,” he said to her. “It’s been a long time.”
“Not since Mom was here,” she said, and he nodded and smiled.
“Let’s go to that burger joint on the edge of town,” Jake suggested and Blaze quickly agreed. As she and Jake started toward his pickup, she remembered the container she needed to return to the pastor’s wife. “Go on ahead. I’ll meet you there,” she said, opening the passenger side of her pickup to pull out the container. She’d washed it, but she liked to think it still smelled like cinnamon rolls.
“Tell her thank you,” Jake said. “That was definitely the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever eaten.” He grinned. “And thank you for saving me one. I’m not sure I could have been as strong as you and not eaten them both.”
She laughed and headed back. Only a few stragglers were driving away. She saw the man who’d been with Sandra Dean in church earlier. She started to speak to him when she noticed what he was doing. He had something tucked against his side and was trying to get into LJ’s pickup.
“Lonny?”
The man spun around, keeping whatever he had in his other hand tucked behind him. “Oh, it’s you.” He took a couple of steps back, opened the rear door of the sedan parked next to the pickup and tossed what looked like a rolled-up rug into the back, then slammed the door. “You startled me.” He turned to face her. “I hope you aren’t here harassing my in-laws.”
“I was returning a container your mother-in-law lent me.” He seemed angrier than he should have been. “Isn’t that LJ’s pickup?”
“I thought he’d left his lights on.” He was lying and they both knew it. But why? Because of whatever he’d been trying to put in LJ’s truck?
“LJ’s inside visiting with the pastor, something about turning over a new leaf, if you need to talk to him.” She’d believe it when she saw it.
Lonny nodded. “Well, I’m sure he won’t be that long that his battery will run all the way down. I need to get home to Sandra.”
“How is she feeling?”
“Fine. The doctor wants her to stay in bed for most of the rest of her pregnancy, though.” He took another step back and opened his car door.
She couldn’t help being curious. She took a few steps toward the sedan. She got only a glimpse of the back seat. She’d been right about the package he’d been carrying being something wrapped in a rug.
The contents had slipped out of the rug in his hurry to throw it into the back seat of his car. She saw the barrel of a rifle. Had he taken it from LJ’s pickup or was
he putting it back?
“I thought you didn’t like guns,” she said as Lonny followed her gaze to the back seat of his car.
“It’s none of your business, but I’ve been keeping it for LJ. I was just going to return it.” He grabbed her arm roughly. “You really need to butt out of everyone’s business.”
“Lonny!” Emma Jean called from the front of the church. “I’m so glad you haven’t left. Sandra’s on the phone.”
He let go of Blaze’s arm. “Tell her I’m on my way home.” With that, he slid behind the wheel and took off, making the tires squeal.
She thanked Emma Jean as she returned the container but felt distracted over her encounter with Lonny. On the way to the burger place, she couldn’t get it out of her mind.
“Are you all right?” Jake asked as she joined him in a booth.
She told him what had happened in the parking lot of the church.
“He said he’d been keeping the rifle for LJ? Any chance you could tell what caliber the rifle was?”
Blaze shook her head. “You think it might be the murder weapon?”
“Well, if it is, Lonny’s getting rid of it right now.”
“I suppose asking LJ about it—”
Jake chuckled. “Probably not a good idea under the circumstances. You said he was at church today?”
She nodded. “Turning over a new leaf. It seems my father is, as well. It’s as if he is starting his life over, new soon-to-be wife, new baby...”
“Are you feeling left out?”
She laughed. “Strangely, no. I’m happy for him.” She realized it was true. “But did you notice people looking at him after church? They believe he’s guilty and that he got away with murder. The fact that he’s with the dead man’s wife doesn’t help.”
“I’ve been doing a little footwork this morning while you were seeking salvation,” Jake joked.
The waitress at the local burger joint came up to their table to take their orders. They asked for cheeseburgers, fries and chocolate milkshakes. “So, what have you been up to?” she asked after the waitress left.