by Terry Spear
“When did this occur?” Bill asked.
“Two months ago,” Nicole said. Her voice was strained. The whole affair was taking its toll on her.
“And?”
“Nicole found a man in her parents’ home who had shot the man involved in taking care of the estate. The shooter died, but his body vanished before the police arrived. Then this Boris sent her a letter telling her to take care of venison, as if he were concerned calling it Bambi would alert someone else who might read the note. Then too, he told her to watch for the sharks when she visited Galveston Island. He hadn’t had any contact with her in all this time. How had he known she was going on vacation, unless he was watching her? She figured, because of the numerous shark attacks along the coast, that’s what he was referring to.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“No. She thought some men had tried to run her over in the Gulf. I was stretched out soaking up some rays, so I hadn’t seen it.”
“So she tripped over you when she was trying to get away from the killers,” Ted said, the light dawning.
“Yeah. Anyway, they made several attempts. Unfortunately, after she ran over one with her car—”
Bill laughed with gusto. “Sorry. Go on.”
Ted and Hal were smiling.
Scott was stroking Nicole’s arm the whole time, and when Bill burst out with laughter, she wondered again if he thought Scott was still making the whole story up. She wasn’t sure about the other guys.
“The body disappeared before the police arrived, her car was stolen, an SUV tried to run us over, and we made a mad dash for it, trying to get through the flooded suburbs of Houston. We ended up in Salado, but they found us there. A little combat maneuver of mine landed one of the bad guys on his head, I guess. Anyway, it was another one of the men down…permanently.”
Bill studied Nicole for a moment, his face expressionless, then he turned to Scott. “And Bambi?”
“We returned to Nicole’s home in Killeen and retrieved Bambi.”
“Aww.” Bill stretched his long legs out. “If they were after the toy, why hadn’t they searched her place and gotten it from there?”
“It wasn’t there,” Nicole said. “Whiskers was sleeping on it at the kennel.”
“Whiskers?”
“My cat.”
“Oh.” Bill stroked his chin. “Anything else?”
“My girlfriend…well, I found out she wasn’t really a friend, had stolen my car and demolished it in a car accident, sometime after we left Houston. She had worked with me, scheduled our vacation, then backed out.”
“Her whereabouts?” Ted asked, getting into this.
“The morgue.”
Bill cocked a brow. “You ought to join the force. The bad guys wouldn’t stand a chance.” He rocked in the chair slowly. “Can you think of anyone else?”
“Just her old boyfriend, Major Tom Cromwell, who works at the same place that Nicole does. He is a military intelligence officer. He also knew where she was headed, and she’d broken up with him. He hadn’t liked it,” Scott said.
Nicole patted Scott’s leg. “And we think his car was parked near Scott’s house when he stopped by there to get some more clothes for the trip and kick his ex out of the house.”
“His ex-girlfriend? Bernadette? I thought she’d been transferred to Oklahoma,” Ted said.
Scott cleared his throat. “She had. The Army booted her out of the service for financial wrong-doing.”
They all grew quiet as Janice and her mother walked onto the porch with a tray of coffee and brownies. “Okay,” the mother said, “where did we leave off with the story?”
Chapter 17
After Bill, Ted, and Hal made their excuses for the night and retired to the cottage, Scott’s mother said, “All right, so now where do we plan on getting married?”
Nicole tensed. She wasn’t sure which was worse…facing the bad guys, or bucking horns with her future mother-in-law over wedding plans. Scott seemed to sense her tension and kissed her cheek, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
Nicole said, “We want something small. Maybe—”
“How about if we have it out here? We have a gazebo out back where a gathering of fifty or sixty people can be accommodated. Roses in full bloom line all the walkways, perfectly romantic. Unless you think somewhere else would be more suitable.”
Fifty or sixty people? How many relatives did his mother think she had? Still, the idea of having it in a quiet place like this appealed.
“I have no living relatives, but your offer of having it here sounds lovely.”
“Good. I’ll make all the arrangements then.”
Nicole took a deep breath.
“Oh, goodness, how pushy of me that sounds. Of course you must tell me exactly how you want this done. I just can’t believe Scott’s finally settling down.”
Scott had been quiet up to this point and Nicole wondered whether he was going to be any part of the planning process. He squeezed her hand finally. “You and Mom…”
Janice raised her brows.
“Well, and Janice can plan the whole thing. I get to work on the fun for after.” He tightened his grip on her hand while Janice and his mother smiled broadly. “I’m going to take Nicole for a stroll in the gardens and show her the gazebo and talk about a few things. Then, if she wants, we’ll go for a cougar run.”
“Sure thing, honey.”
Everyone rose from the porch seats. Scott opened the front door for Janice while she hurried inside with the silver tray of empty coffee cups. His mother walked over to Nicole and gave her a familiar Weekum embrace. “Welcome to the family, dear.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Weekum.”
“Please call me Josephine.”
“Josephine. I haven’t had any family in a while and well, you’ve all been great.” She just hoped she’d feel the same while trying to plan the wedding with his mother and sister.
“Boys,” Janice hollered inside the house and Josephine chuckled.
“Probably fighting over a show to watch. See you two in the morning.” She glanced down at Bambi Nicole still held. “Here, I’ll sew him up for you.”
“Thanks.” Nicole figured she still had her scissors handy. If she needed to, she could perform the surgery all over again.
While Scott walked Nicole through the tea-scented rose gardens, he had his arm wrapped around her waist and she rested her hand on it. “Your family is lovely.
He kissed her neck, enjoying a light wisp of perfume that tantalized his senses. “Sorry, I hoped they wouldn’t scare you off after I already got you to agree to marry me.”
“Fifty or sixty people? Your mother can’t be serious.” She studied the gazebo edged in a wooden ruffle. “It’s lovely here. But I only have maybe ten, excluding Tom, at the office who could come on my behalf. And maybe not even that. It’s an awful long way for them to come after all. I’m not sure anyone would bother.”
“I’d have a few from my office too. She’ll make up the rest.”
“I want to keep it simple.”
“Tell her so. She’ll be easy.” Though in reality he was afraid his mother might over-invite local folks anyway. To her, celebrating her children’s marriages was a big occasion and she’d do everything to ensure it would be celebrated right.
He walked Nicole over to a swing and sat down with her. “We were busy trying to get on our way and I didn’t have much time to delve into this other matter but—”
“I’m so sorry for spilling the beans about Bambi and all. I don’t know what came over me.”
Bambi. Heck, he wanted to hear how she loved him and then he was going to show her how he loved her.
“No problem. If my uncles and Hal believed any of it, they’ll futz around on the internet and see what they can find out. Bill has a lot of friends in police enforcement because he tracks down deadbeats who don’t pay alimony and child support. The only thing is, this isn’t the kind of case he normally deals with, so I figure he�
�d never get anywhere with it. Still, what if through some of his contacts, he did learn something? And Hal is a deputy sheriff, so he would have some contacts. Heck, in Yuma Town, Addison Steinacker, the sheriff’s wife, also now a deputy sheriff, is former FBI. Florence Fitzgerald who owns the bakery was CIA. And the loan officer and bank president, Yvonne and Rick Mueller were FBI. They might be able to shed some light on this.”
“Okay, good, then this could be the best move we’ve made yet.” Nicole caressed his hand and Scott cleared his throat as her touch was making him get all worked up over her again.
“So about this business with…I mean, when you said you loved me, I didn’t have time to tell you how much that meant to me. I wanted to…”
Footsteps on the brick path made them both turn. Bill’s face was grim as he quickly covered the distance to them with his long stride. “I have good news and bad news folks. The good news is we found out who Boris Nikolayevich is. The bad news is—”
“Bill, dear,” Josephine hollered. “There’s an urgent phone call for you in the study.”
Bill hurried back into the house to get the emergency call while Josephine followed him quite a distance behind with her shorter stride.
Nicole took Scott’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Scott, I’m afraid. I hadn’t considered involving your family in the mess I’m in, but—”
“I had. It’s not just your dilemma either, but ours. Whispering Oaks is like a safe house out here. Because of the work my uncle does, he always worried there might be some woman’s deadbeat husband who would come after our family for revenge. Some of these guys go to prison for nonpayment, you know. Even on my home of record and insurance policy, everyone’s identities are disguised.”
“What about Janice’s ex-husband?”
“They were married and divorced before we instituted all the changes. Nothing to worry about. He’s one of the deadbeats my uncle is after. He doesn’t care anything about seeing the boys, but he still needs to help pay for their support.”
“I agree. It’s sad though. Don’t the boys want to see their dad?”
Scott led her from the gazebo back to the house. “No, her husband was mean to her. The boys were terrified of him.”
They walked into the house where Josephine met them in the entryway. “Bill told me to tell you he and the others had to run into Amarillo for a bit. He’ll talk to you about what he learned tomorrow morning at breakfast. I hope you don’t mind, but I arranged for us to see the show Texas in Palo Duro Canyon, tomorrow night. Have you heard of it? It’s a terrific outdoor play set against the backdrop of the red canyon walls. Truly spectacular.”
“It sounds like something I’d really enjoy,” Nicole said.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“I’m turning in, dear.” She gave Nicole a hug. “We’re so happy for the both of you.” Turning to Scott, she added, “Be sure to tell her about which towels are hers and well you know the rest.”
“All right, Mom.” He hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight.”
She walked down the hall toward her bedroom.
“Do you want to run as cougars tonight?” Scott asked Nicole.
“I sure do. Will the livestock be okay with it?”
“Yeah, they’re used to us taking runs on the ranch and beyond.”
They went to her guest bedroom and stripped out of their clothes. She shifted before he could kiss her, and he laughed. She probably figured they’d end up in bed together before they could run.
He shifted and led the way down the stairs to the back door where they had a pet door to run out of.
Before they reached the door, he heard Roy say to his mom, “I want to run outside as a cougar.”
“You are supposed to be asleep already, young man.”
Scott hurried Nicole out the door before Janice sent her boys with them. He didn’t really think she would, since she knew Nicole and Scott were dating, but just in case…
Scott and Nicole raced all over the ten-thousand acres. They could run almost forty miles per hour, not long term, but she was moving fast. Both were nearly eight feet in length from their nose to their tails and were an imposing sight if they’d had any trouble with the men who’d been giving her grief.
She was having a blast and he figured she needed this, a way to release some of the tension of meeting his family and all the danger she’d faced prior to this.
They startled a bunny hiding in some shrubs and nearly missed tangling with some thorny cactus. Rolling hills, sandy creek bottoms, trees, and a lake. A place to hunt, fish, camp, play, swim and just relax, perfect for horseback riding, cougar running, lots of wide-open spaces.
The guest cottage where Bill, Ted, and Hal were staying was well-lit, and the main house, lights were on outside, but most of the lights inside were now out. Scott was hoping they’d all be sleeping by the time they got back, so he and Nicole could spend some intimate time together.
He wanted to sit out at the firepit one night and watch the sun set, but with the show tomorrow night in Palo Duro Canyon, they’d see it there.
Then Nicole tore off, heading straight for an enormous round bale of hay. He knew before she reached it just what she was going to do. Her claws extended, she grabbed hold of the side of the bale and pulled herself all the way to the top. With one leap from the ground, he landed on the bale near her. Their large paws and proportionally largest hind legs in the cat family gave them the ability to leap from a standing position anywhere from twenty to forty feet.
On top of the bale, Nicole was standing, panting, smiling. Her eyes glowed fluorescent as she looked at him, the full moon shown above, and sparkling stars filled the midnight blue sky. The night still warm, this was about as romantic a night as it could get while they were running as cougars. And luckily, no rain.
He licked her face in greeting and she nuzzled her body against his. He was so glad they had come here and gotten away from all the trouble in Galveston and Salado.
They curled up together on top of the hay and all their worries seemed like something in the distant past. Having Bill and the others investigate the situation was giving Scott a sense of security too.
He couldn’t believe he’d gone to the beach on vacation, picked up a she-cat who was in the worst sort of trouble, and ended up at his mother’s ranch, with the promise of marriage.
The guys he worked with would never believe it. But he didn’t need to take a picture of her to show off to them now. He’d bring her to the finance office to show her off. That had him thinking about having lunches with her too. Man, he couldn’t have lucked out any better than this. All because of the vision he’d had of the mermaid in the sea.
He glanced at her. She was watching a bat swooping down to catch insects. A bat house was set up somewhere near here and he saw her tail twitching. He smiled. Even though he knew she wouldn’t grab the bat, the instinct to catch a bird in flight was still there.
It was getting late after all the running they had done, and he wanted to take her to bed. He growled at her.
She nodded and leapt all the way off the bale of hay to the ground. And then she tore off toward the house as fast as she could run, him leaping off the bale and racing after her, determined to catch her.
But he couldn’t! She was amazingly fast. Too bad they couldn’t have used their cougar coats when the bad guys were after them earlier.
When they returned to the house, Scott lead Nicole up the stairs and into her room. They shifted and dressed. “Mom has the only bedroom downstairs. We have all the rooms upstairs.”
“The boys?”
“For now, they sleep with Janice in her big bedroom on a couple of cots. When they get older, there’s a nifty converted attic room that has a bathroom. For now, they’re too scared to sleep up there by themselves.”
“Ah.”
“Mom would have you sleep in the guest bedroom here.” He guided her into the bedroom furnished in soft-cushioned chairs and a quilt-covered bed. Bambi,
totally sewn, lay against the pillows. “My room’s at the end of the hall.”
Nicole touched his shirt. “Guess this is goodnight then.”
“I don’t want you to get scared or anything. If you’re uncomfortable with sleeping by yourself after all that’s happened— Besides, I really thought we could…share my bed like we have before.” He got the impression she didn’t want to upset his mom if they should make love in her house before they were married.
Chapter 18
Nicole wasn’t sure about the soundproof quality of the house. She could imagine waking everyone up if she made love to Scott in his room. “You said this was a safe house.”
He rubbed his lightly whiskered chin as his eyes twinkled in mischief in the soft hall light. “I guess I did. But sometimes old houses creak and make unusual sounds that might disturb your sleep. If you get scared—”
“Your room is at the end of the hall.”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “We’ve got to get married soon.”
She chuckled. “Okay, since your mother is making all the arrangements—”
He pulled her close. “I’ll tell her to hurry it up then.”
His lips pressed firmly against hers as he leaned her against the wall. “Hmm, you sure taste good.”
The door creaked open down the hall and Roy crept out of his mother’s room. “Uncle Scott,” he whispered. “Can you go with me to the kitchen to get a glass of water?”
“Foiled again,” Scott said and kissed Nicole’s cheek. “Goodnight, honey.”
“Night. I love you.” She nudged him toward his nephew. “Duty calls.”
She was certain he stifled a groan before he lifted Roy on his back to give him a horsy ride down the stairs. Before long, she’d settled onto the cushy mattress in the guest room, sinking comfortably into its depths. But at two in the morning, an old oak shaking its branches in the strong wind next to her window and the sound like a cat scratching on the glass woke her.
For some time, she listened to the unfamiliar sounds, then slipped out of bed. Pulling a short silk robe over her chemise, she walked out of the bedroom. A nightlight attached to a socket on one of the walls near the floor provided a tiny light. She grabbed ahold of the oak railing and walked down the stairs. A glass of milk should help her sleep.