by Barb Han
Fischer introduced him as Special Agent Lund.
“We found that item we discussed,” Lund said, holding out an evidence bag with his gloved hand.
Fischer put on a pair of latexes and reached into the bag, pulling out the other half of Alice’s necklace.
“That belongs to Isabel.” Alice produced hers.
“I know,” Fischer said. “I read about it in the file.”
Tears stung the backs of her eyes as she processed what seeing the necklace meant. Isabel had been here. She’d been in that house.
And now she was gone.
* * *
“WHEN YOU SAID you owned a ranch, I thought you meant like a couple of acres and a one-story house with a barn in back,” Alice said, staring at the grand colonial two-story with black shutters bracketing the windows, grateful for the distraction from churning over the same dark thoughts about what might’ve happened—might still be happening—to Isabel. Alice needed to stay positive and there wasn’t much else she could do until Fischer let her know it was safe to go inside the ranch at the compound. She refocused on the house in front of her, trying to lift her mood. This place oozed holiday and family and love. Equally grand were the white columns adorned with thick strings of holly. Christmas-red ribbon twined throughout the greenery. Despite her heavy mood she couldn’t help but feel the spirit of the holiday looking at the house and wonder how much her boys’ faces would light up seeing a place like this. “Those French doors are gorgeous.”
Joshua smiled.
From each window—and Alice counted fourteen including the French doors—a massive wreath hung complete with a red bow on top and a candle in the center. The porch stretched easily to match the width of the house, although house seemed like such a small word for this grand place. Large pots of holly with red ornaments flanked the couple of stairs to the veranda where pairs of white rocking chairs were grouped together on both sides.
“Do you own this place?” she asked, feeling suddenly out of her element. The amount of time she’d known the cowboy could be reduced to days but in her heart she felt like she’d known him so much longer. So, this was a shock. This was another side to him that she had no idea. Besides, he acted nothing like the kind of wealthy man he’d have to be to own this place. Once again, he shattered all her preconceived notions about Texas cowboys.
“A piece of it,” he said and he sounded a little awkward about it. “My brothers own the rest.”
“I’m sorry. Is that a sensitive subject?” she asked as he parked, remembering that his parents had died.
“Not really,” he said and then shrugged. Not exactly convincing.
“I feel like you know everything there is to know about me, so I’m not going inside until you bring me up to date on you,” she said, not making a move to unbuckle.
“There’s not much to tell,” he said.
She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, my parents grew a successful cattle ranch. Dad built the business from scratch, slowly buying the land around us. Then, he started a rifleman’s club and, together, my parents made more money than they could give us or spend, so my mother threw herself into charity work.”
“They sound like good people,” Alice said.
“They were.”
“I’m really sorry for your loss,” she said, and meant it. Sitting in front of the house they’d built, on their land, she felt an unexplainable connection to them.
“Thank you.”
“I can tell that you loved them very much. So, forgive me for asking but why did you go into law enforcement? Don’t you like it here?”
“I love this land,” he said so defensively that it almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself, too.
“I wasn’t trying to question your devotion to your family,” she said, wishing she had better words to express herself.
“This is where I grew up and it holds a lot of great memories. I love my brothers and being close to them is the biggest bonus to being here,” he stared.
“But—”
“I never signed on in life to be a rancher. This path was chosen for me and I’ve always been expected to take my rightful place beside my family. I figured that I’d come to terms with that someday or convince my parents otherwise but then suddenly everything changed when they died and it felt selfish to chase my own dreams. So, I’ve done what was necessary to fulfil my role. I figured that I would want to at some point in my life after I’d gotten other things out of my system. I just never expected to come back this soon,” he said and she appreciated his honesty.
Alice touched his arm, ignoring the electricity pulsing through her fingertips, wishing a few words of comfort would come to mind. They didn’t.
“So, you gave up your job and moved back here?” she asked.
“Sort of. I’m on leave. My parents had homes built for each of their sons at various spots on the land. My place is on the northwest side of the property, next to Diamondhead Lake.” He took the key out of the ignition, unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the driver’s side door.
Alice met him in front of the Jeep.
“I miss being on the job. It’s part of who I am. So I understand what you’re saying.” Alice fell in step beside him. “Who lives here now?”
“A wing was opened up years ago for club guests and there are offices on the other side. Janis lives in the main house.”
A stab of jealousy shot through Alice. “Janis?”
“She worked with the family for years before my brothers and I voted to give her a share of the property. She’s like family,” he said, stopping at the front door.
“That was kind.”
“It was the right thing to do,” he said.
“You always do the right thing?” she teased, trying to infuse a little humor to break up the otherwise heavy mood.
Joshua turned to face her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. His lips were so close to hers, she could breathe in the scent of coffee. “No.”
He closed those intense green eyes. And then he kissed her.
Chapter Twelve
Kissing Alice wasn’t in the plan. Then again, most of Joshua’s ideas about his life had been turned upside down in recent months. Why should this be any different?
Pulling on all of his strength, he took a step back. She felt a little too right in his arms, fit him a little too well and he wasn’t sure what to do with that.
“Are you attracted to me?” she asked, lips full and pink. He tried not to stare at them.
“Without a doubt.”
“Then what’s the problem?” she asked with a flush to her cheeks that nearly did him in.
“If the timing was different,” he started but she waved him off.
“Don’t say it. I know,” she said. She was beautiful, no question. There was so much more that attracted him. She was smart and funny. He wasn’t much of a talker but conversation with her came easy and he actually liked it. There was something about the way her curves fit him when he held her while they slept. And for all her exterior toughness, he could see just how vulnerable she was inside—that was especially the part that drew him in. She was determined and could be a little reckless but only with herself. She was careful to protect people she loved and anyone she believed to be innocent.
Alice was pretty much everything that had been missing in the women he’d dated up to now. But she needed to be off-limits. As soon as the FBI called for an interview, he’d be gone and she needed someone who could stick around in her life. Be there for her and her boys. A stable force for Isabel. Besides, the father of her twins had just walked back into her life. There was no stronger bond than family and he had to give Fischer a fair chance at winning her back.
So that kiss pretty much went against e
verything Joshua believed in. And yet he still couldn’t help himself. No matter how powerful a pull his attraction to Alice Green became, Joshua needed to “man up” and be stronger. For her sake and that of her family. He’d never forgive himself for getting in the way of a family. Plus, he had nothing to give to her. His own situation was a mystery and he’d be gone the second the feds offered a job. If that didn’t happen, he needed time to reconcile his life. To make his brothers understand that he wasn’t abandoning their parents by choosing a different path. Whoa. Was that really how he felt?
If he was being honest? Yes.
What could he give her if he felt trapped in his own situation?
Against his better judgment, Joshua twined their fingers together and led Alice into the house.
Overanalyzing the kiss was a big mistake. It only led to more questions with no easy answers.
“The inside of this place is even more beautiful than the outside, if that’s even possible,” Alice said, motioning toward the dual staircase and he tried not to focus on how much he liked the sound of her voice. Or how right it felt for her to be there in his family home.
For the time being, he wanted to take her mind off her problems and get some food in her so she could keep up her strength. He tried to tell himself that was the only reason he’d opened up to her about his personal circumstance and not because of his growing feelings for her or that part of him wanted her to know the real him before she walked out of his life.
“Now that’s a table,” she said, blue eyes wide, as they walked into the kitchen. “I bet you could seat fifteen people if you needed to.”
“Janis always teases us that we have no manners but the truth is we all like eating in here better than the formal dining area. Always have. I guess we figured that room was meant for holidays and guests,” he said with a chuckle.
“What is he accusing me of now?” Janis rushed in, wearing her full holiday gear.
“Being a great cook,” Alice said quickly. “My boys would love being at a place like this. The decorations are beyond amazing.”
Janis was short, little more than five feet and she had those grandmotherly soft features and a figure that could best be described as round.
Joshua introduced the two of them with a half smile. “Janis goes all out this time of year through New Year’s. She keeps this place running and has been helping my family most of my life. Would you care for some cider?”
“Forgive the outfit.” Janis motioned toward her black pants, white shirt and red apron. Her head of white hair had been fixed in a loose bun. She could be a dead ringer for Mrs. Claus in that getup.
“I think it looks fantastic,” Alice said and her face lit up. “It would be a huge hit with my boys.”
“Where are they?” She looked around.
“I’m from Tucson. They’re home with a sitter while I investigate a missing teenager,” Alice said.
“Must be hard to be away from them this time of year,” Janis said and then embraced Alice in one of her warm hugs.
Joshua had squirmed out of that grip more than once as a teen, reluctant to show just how much he’d needed it at the time. He blamed teen hormones and all that came with them. He gave the two women a private moment while he scooped out two cups of cider that was mulling on the six-burner.
By the time he set them on the wood table, Alice and Janis joined him.
“The Nelson widow really outdid herself this year,” Janis said.
Joshua almost laughed out loud. “Does she normally wear her red silk robe to greet guests?”
“I was talking about the bronze,” Janis said on a laugh, shaking her head. “That must’ve been a strange sight.”
An emotion crossed Alice’s features that looked a lot like jealousy. She had no idea.
“Awkward is a better word,” Joshua said.
“I’m sure it was. A woman her age.” Janis made a tsk-tsk noise.
“How old is the Nelson widow?” Alice asked.
“She must be going on seventy by now,” Janis responded.
Alice’s tense expression broke into a wide smile. And then she laughed. The sound filled the air and brightened everything it touched.
“Sure, it’s funny to you,” he quipped. And then he laughed, too.
“I better change out of these old clothes,” Janis said on that note, turning to Alice. “It was nice meeting you.”
“She’s a wonderful person,” Alice said when Janis disappeared down the hall.
“Yeah? Don’t let her hear you say that. She’ll never be able to walk through the door again for how big her head’ll get,” he teased, enjoying a relaxed moment with Alice. There was so much trouble brewing around them, he liked being her temporary shelter.
“I heard that,” Janis quipped from the hallway.
“Good. That’s why I said it so loud,” Joshua said with a wink toward Alice.
Her smile was better than a string of a thousand sparkling lights. He’d given himself another problem because his thoughts kept rounding back to that kiss.
After warming up with a hearty bowl of vegetable soup, Alice’s expression turned serious.
“I feel like I’m so close to breaking this case open but answers are just out of reach.” She absently fingered the half-heart necklace. “Now that I know Isabel was there, I hope I can find something to give me a direction at the ranch house.”
“Sometimes, it helps to think about something else for a little while,” he said, glancing up at the wall clock after hearing the whop-whop-whop of chopper blades. Good. His delivery would be right on time.
“I probably shouldn’t ask this but I hear a helicopter outside. Does it belong to you?” Alice asked.
“It’s my brother’s but we all use it when needed.”
She leaned back in her seat as the text he’d been waiting for arrived. He palmed his cell and sent back their location in the kitchen.
“This is crazy. I mean, you don’t seem like a rich man and I thought all ranches struggled to make ends meet,” she said.
“Some of the smaller ranches have been affected by the economy but we’ve been fortunate over the years. This is a large place. We sell beef from longhorn, breed them with Hereford and sell that, and then there’s the Rifleman’s Club, although our members call it the Cattlemen Crime Club because they like to sit around and discuss crimes. I’d like to show you the property sometime.” One of the things Joshua loved—loved? Maybe appreciated was more the right word—about Alice was her strength. Her determination was a close second. Being in law enforcement suited her and that was fine. But when she came home, she deserved a place like this, a place he knew she’d be safe where she wasn’t constantly putting herself in harm’s way. Maybe the package he was about to deliver would make her think twice before she jumped into another dangerous situation.
“I’m sure your brothers need you around here and I’ve been taking up all your time,” she said. “If you want to drop me off at the station I can catch rides with some of the guys.”
“You asked me about law enforcement work before and I never really answered. The truth is that I do miss it. So, stop trying to kick me off the team,” he said, revealing another truth about himself he hadn’t planned on.
The conversation was about to change dramatically, he thought, as the back door opened and Ryder burst through.
“Everything okay?” Alice said with one look at him.
He was healing fine and that’s not what she was talking about. It was the distraught look on his face.
“Not really,” he admitted with a laugh. “I just spent two hours in a helicopter with a pair of twins. I don’t know how in the hell our parents survived our childhoods.”
An older woman walked in with a twin on each hip.
For the second time, Alice�
�s face lit up. “How on earth did you get here?”
A chorus of “Mama!” followed the twins’ entry.
Their bodies started twisting and turning as she hurried to them. Joshua noticed that she winced as she took them, so he moved to her side and helped get her to a chair. She sat, one on each knee, and must’ve kissed each of them a good twenty times. Her smile, that amazing smile lighting her face, was the best he’d ever seen.
The pint-size boys were the spitting image of their mother, both blonds but their hair was short and curly. Joshua could see their blue eyes from across the kitchen when they first came through the door on their babysitter’s hip. Darn cute kids.
“Hedi-copter,” one of the twins said, babbling in a language only his brother could understand.
“Was that fun?” Alice asked with the biggest smile Joshua had seen on her face yet. And there was something right about him being the one who put it there.
* * *
INTRODUCTIONS HAD BEEN made and the twins were finally settled for a nap in one of the guest rooms on the ground floor. Marla decided to rest with them, saying she could use a few minutes of downtime after the exciting helicopter ride.
Alice couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy. The boys loved crawling around the house and being outside in the backyard, and she enjoyed every minute of playing with them. She strolled into the kitchen as relaxed and happy as she could be under the circumstances.
“Thank you,” she said to Joshua. “How on earth did you arrange this?”
“I thought you could use a morale boost,” he said, offering a cup of coffee. “And I have my ways.”
“People say that laughter is the best medicine,” she said, taking the warm mug. “But I’d say those people must not have kids because one kiss from those pudgy faces and my mood is up here.” She held her free hand as high above her head as she could reach.
“Good. I’m glad my plan worked without repercussion. I wondered if you’d chew me out for putting your boys in a helicopter with my brother at the gears,” he teased.