by B. J Daniels
“I’ve noticed that,” he said with a grin. “But let’s see how you feel after your bath, okay?”
“That sounds wonderful. Join me?”
“I will for the movie. I’ll bring the popcorn and candy. Wait for me in bed?”
“Where are you going?” she asked drowsily. He could see that it would be a while before she was her old self again, as hard as she tried to hide it. All of this had taken a toll on her, not to mention she’d fought off a killer not that many hours ago.
“There’s something I need to take care of. I promise I won’t be gone long. You have your phone?”
She nodded and smiled. “Hurry back.”
He kissed her and promised he would. There’d been something nagging at him, and as he’d told Blaze, he didn’t like to quit until he’d finished what he’d started. He drove into town to Pastor Westlake’s house only to find that the pastor was still down at the church. When he walked in, he found Wilber writing furiously on a sheet of paper.
“Sorry to bother you,” Jake said, making the man look up, startled. “You really should lock your door. Anyone could come in when you’re working.”
“It’s a church. We welcome anyone,” the pastor said, smiling.
“Even a man like Frank Anson? He came to see you to apologize, didn’t he?”
“You missed my sermon Sunday. It was about forgiveness.”
Jake nodded. “Was that meant for your parishioners or for you? I suspect that when Frank apologized, you did forgive him.”
“Of course. The man had a tormented soul.”
“I’m sure he did. Pastors are like priests right? They can bare their souls and you keep their secrets.”
“I’m sorry, what is it you’re trying to ask me? If there is something you’d like to unburden yourself of, I’d be happy to listen.”
“I’m thinking it was you who might want to unburden yourself, Pastor. You were the sheriff’s anonymous caller. You were smart enough to know that a person wouldn’t give up that kind of information without asking for something. But you didn’t want the five hundred dollars for yourself. I saw that you’re raising money for a new roof.”
The man rose from his chair. “That’s quite a theory.”
“I think I know what happened. Frank bared his soul and then worried you would tell, threatened you. No,” Jake said, “he threatened your daughter. So for sixteen years, you never told his secret—until now.” Jake took a step toward the door, then turned to look back at the man. “I heard you finally have enough money for that new church roof. God does work in mysterious ways, doesn’t he?”
* * *
TRUE TO HIS WORD, Jake wasn’t gone long. As he came into the house, he smelled the bath salts that Blaze loved and heard the television on down the hallway to one of her favorite movies. The thought made him mentally shake his head. How could a woman who fought a romantic happy ending so hard love them so much on the screen?
He promised himself that he would move heaven and earth if that was what it took to give her one of those happy endings as he made the popcorn just the way she liked, dumped the candies into the bowl with it and followed that alluring scent down the hallway to her bedroom.
As he peeked in, he saw that the television was on to the Christmas movie, candles burned on the nightstands and Blaze was curled up in the bed—sound asleep.
He tiptoed in to blow out the candles. She didn’t stir. Not even to the smell of buttered popcorn. That alone told him how exhausted she’d been.
He carefully climbed into the bed beside her and began to watch the movie and eat the popcorn and candy. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so alive, so happy and so content.
Looking down at his beautiful sleeping fiancée, he wondered if Blaze already knew that they would be coming back here to take over the ranch, buffalo and all. He’d noticed how sad it had made her when she’d thought about selling the ranch. She’d once been happy here. He knew she would be again. This ranch, this life had always been calling her. She might even like raising buffalo. Or not, he thought with a chuckle.
It didn’t matter. He could see the future etched in the landscape as their children grew up here and they continued her father’s legacy.
When the movie ended, he put the bowl of half-eaten popcorn aside and turned off the television. Curling up next to his soon-to-be wife, he breathed her in and closed his eyes. Blaze stirred just enough to nestle in his arms and whisper, “I love you, Jake Horn.”
He’d never get tired of hearing those words, he thought as he whispered back, “And I love you.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Heartbreaker, the next book in New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels’s Montana Justice series from HQN Books.
Heartbreaker
by B.J. Daniels
HER EYES FLEW OPEN, her fight-or-flight response already wide-awake. She jerked up in the bed, blinking wildly, terrified and yet unable to believe what she was seeing. Three hulking black forms appeared out of the dark shadows of the large bedroom. One of them tripped over her duffel bag on the floor where she’d dropped it. He swore. She realized that must have been what had awakened her as she tried to banish the men back to the nightmare they must have climbed in from.
This couldn’t be happening, because their being here tonight made no sense.
But before she could open her mouth to speak, the largest of the three reached her side of the king-size bed, pushed her back and clamped a gloved hand over her mouth. Any hope that this was only a dream vanished as he roughly held her down. This was real.
She tried to scream, but the gloved hand over her mouth muffled the sound. Not that it would have done any good if she had screamed to bloody hell. There was no one else in the house to come to her rescue—let alone nearby.
Frantically, she shook her head as she met the man’s eyes, the only feature not hidden by his black ski mask, and tried to communicate just how wrong this all was.
“Don’t fight me,” the man said in a hoarse whisper as he renewed his efforts to hold her down. “We don’t want to hurt you.”
But she did fight, because they were making a terrible mistake.
Panic rocketed through her system. Her heart banged against her rib cage, her thundering pulse deafening in her ears. She fought to pull the gloved hand from her mouth. Failing that, she struck out with her fists as her legs kicked wildly to free themselves from the covers until he pressed his body weight against her chest with his forearm, taking away her breath.
“Did you find it?” the man holding her down demanded of the other two. They’d produced flashlights and were now searching the room. She could hear one of them at the dressing table knocking over bottles of expensive perfume and rejuvenating skin creams.
Moments later, she saw the smaller of the men motion that he’d found something as she tried to breathe. “Got it.” He pocketed what appeared to be a cell phone before the men turned to her.
Hope soared. They’d found whatever they’d come for. Now maybe they would leave the way they’d come in, like phantoms in the night. It wasn’t as if she’d seen their faces. Nor was she going to report this, but they didn’t know that, did they?
Her slender thread of hope died as she heard the man holding her down say, “Help me with her.” The words sent a fresh stab of fear coursing through her. She fought even harder. Kicking free of the covers, she got a leg out and struck the smaller of the men in his masked face as he tried to grab her legs. She got his nose with her heel, and it gave a loud pop. He let out a wounded cry as he backed off.
“Dammit,” the first man said. “I need help here.”
The other man who’d been searching the room earlier climbed onto the bed, crawling across the mattress toward her. She caught him in the jaw with her fist before he pinned her arms down as he climbed on top of her.
She struggled to breathe from the weight of him, gagging at his smell. What had he eaten tonight? Pizza with anchovies? She tried to turn her head away as she bucked in an attempt to throw him off her, but he was too heavy. All she could do was heave and squirm under him, terrified at what these men now planned to do with her. To her.
“Come here,” ordered the man who still had her mouth covered. The one she’d kicked in the face appeared off to her side, still holding one of his gloved hands over his bleeding nose. “Cover her mouth.”
She caught the angry glint in the man’s pale eyes before the men made the switch. She tried to tell them about the mistake they were making, but before she could get out more than a word and a breath, the broken-nosed man covered her mouth roughly with his bloody glove. She gagged at the smell and feel of the warm fluid on her lips. But it was the look in his eyes that sent her heart rate off the charts.
He would kill her if he got the chance.
Panic had her gasping for breath through her nose as she watched the first man pull a syringe from his coat pocket. She fought with all the strength she had left in her. But even as she did, she knew it was useless. She had no chance against three men. She felt him jab the needle into her neck as she continued to fight until her body went limp.
As she lay like a rag doll, helpless on the bed, she heard a sound that turned her blood to ice. Someone was tearing duct tape into strips.
Copyright © 2020 by Barbara Heinlein
ISBN: 9781489297037
TITLE: RESTLESS HEARTS
First Australian Publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 Barbara Heinlein
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