Deadly Christmas Pretense

by Dana Mentink

  “Tense as a cat in a rocking chair factory?”

  She smiled, looking up into the denim wash of his eyes. “Yeah, something like that. A cook I used to work with used that one, too.”

  “We’re going to unravel all this, but in the meantime, let me get you settled in the saddlery, okay?”

  She nodded, casting a longing glance down the hallway into the kitchen.

  “You want to go cook somethin’, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. That’s when everything makes sense to me, when I’m cooking for people.”

  “All right, then,” he said, taking her hand and leading her to the kitchen. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

  * * *

  She was tentative at first, in someone else’s kitchen, but soon he saw her shoulders relax and the tension drain from her expression as she stirred up a creamy batter and turned out a perfect circle into a sizzling frying pan. The batter transformed into a crisped brown pancake. Her slender hands moved around the stove as easily as his held the reins. He could watch her cook all day, he realized.

  “This is ridiculous,” she said. “You just ate.”

  “My philosophy is that life’s uncertain and there’s always room for more.”

  Laughing, she slid the pancake onto a plate. The fragrance of it took him back to his childhood kitchen, his mom frying up funny-faced pancakes for him and Helen. He hadn’t thought of those silly things in years. He blinked away the memory and ate the pancake with gusto.

  “Delicious,” he said.

  “You’d say that anyway.”

  “Nah. Light and fluffy. Who taught you how to cook? No offense to your sister, but she isn’t exactly the Betty Crocker type. Between the two of us, we couldn’t even make a sandwich.” He wasn’t sure he should have made reference to him and Tammy together, but being with Maggie loosened his tongue. She was so very different from her twin.

  “This reminds me of cooking in our restaurant one Christmastime. Two cooks came down with the flu and all of the waitresses were stuck on the freeway after a pileup. Tammy and I were only sixteen, but I manned the kitchen along with our lone cook, and she waitressed her heart out next to Mom and Aunt Linda.” She laughed. “I don’t think the patrons were totally wowed with the food I put out, but Daddy was impressed enough with my work ethic to let me take an afterschool shift as a sous chef. He said we should start my cooking education at the beginning, so we spent a whole day just on breakfast foods. Pancakes were the first thing Daddy taught me how to cook, but Tammy never wanted to learn. I was so proud of myself.”

  A pang cut somewhere inside him. “It’s a good thing, to love your daddy.”

  “I do. I adore him. He and mom owned a restaurant for decades until a fire burned it down fifteen years ago. Daddy was out getting supplies when it happened. I was manning the kitchen with a couple of other employees when the grease caught and set fire to the ventilation hood. It spread from there. All the employees got out but...” She became suddenly busy cleaning the counter.

  “But?” he prompted.

  “I tried to put out the fire, stupidly, instead of leaving like a smart person would have. For a while it seemed like I’d actually managed to snuff it out, but I passed out due to smoke inhalation. I would have died if Tammy hadn’t dragged me out. We were seventeen. She saved my life.”

  He could imagine Tammy doing something like that and, what’s more, he found it easy to believe that Maggie would be the type to risk everything to save what her father loved. “She did the world a favor.”

  Maggie’s cheeks went rosy. She continued wiping the already clean counter. “Anyway, that’s my mission in life, to buy a place and reopen Daddy’s restaurant. He’s not working now, staying home to take care of Mom since she got breast cancer, but he still cooks every day. I’m going to call it Ruby’s like he did. That’s my mom’s name.” She shot him a shy smile. “We’ll serve plenty of pancakes, no doubt.”

  Liam wanted her to go on talking, so he could listen to the quiet passion in her words, watch the glimmer of love and pride twined in the syllables. The cadence of her voice was as soothing as an easy ride across brilliant acres of ranch land. He willed her to continue. Instead she asked him a question as she washed the pan and spatula. “What about your family? You said your mom died. Is your father still living?”

  “Yeah, lives somewhere in Colorado, last I heard.”

  Her lips curved in a tender expression that made his throat thicken.

  “You’re not close, I take it?”

  The words were so soft he could not bear it another moment. “Aw, you don’t want to hear about my old man and me,” he said, twirling the fork in his fingers. “It’s a sad tale that comes out sounding like a country-and-western song.”

  She didn’t take the bait, her gaze intensifying. “It’s your turn to share,” she said gently.

  He shrugged and cleared his throat. Was this the price to be paid for listening to someone share her heart? It was a price he’d never been eager to pay before with another woman. Listening and supporting, sure, but sharing his own stuff? He’d never told anyone on the ranch, not even Tammy, the truth about his father. Squashing down the discomfort, he made his mouth say the words. “Dad couldn’t be a dad after Mom died. That’s about all there is to it.”

  She wanted more and he wanted to give it to her, but how could he say it? How could he tell her how his dad had abdicated his role? Explain how Liam had become a professional charmer, fooling everyone into thinking they had a functional parent when Liam was basically running the household at age seven? He forced a yawn. “Man, it’s getting late. Let’s get you settled in for the night.”

  He felt her gaze linger on his back as he turned away. Share with her, his heart commanded. But the words could not find their way through the layers he’d grown, new identities he’d assumed, uniforms he’d put on, masks he’d made. No one could get through all those layers. Tammy hadn’t; he hadn’t wanted her to. He wasn’t sure he even knew himself how to unwrap all the trappings and lay bare his soul.

  He felt Maggie draw next to him and then her arm was around his shoulders and he was turning, lost in those eyes the color of the forest in autumn. Though he knew he shouldn’t, he allowed his palms to trace the contours of her shoulders.

  “If it helps, my father always told us he was a poor excuse for our real Father, but he was doing the best he could,” she said.

  He held back a derisive snort. “That’s not my story. My old man didn’t do his best, not even close. He gave up when it got too hard, instead of getting help.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said and there was such sincerity in her voice, such tenderness.

  He shrugged, trying to sound cavalier. “Doesn’t matter. I became pretty good at being a man and taking care of Helen. We didn’t need him. Don’t need him now. I can take care of everything.”

  Then suddenly the reality hit him again. He was being gradually unmanned one day at a time, stripped of his hearing. “Until I’m stone-deaf anyway.” Had he said that aloud? Almost admitted that deepest fear? Or had he infused it with the right amount of cocky humor? His heart hammered in his chest as her gaze captured his.

  She didn’t say a word, just embraced him, her cheek on his chest. What was she thinking? Sorry that she’d asked? Thinking him foolish? Worst of all, pitying him for his disability and his tattered past? But as the embrace warmed him, his senses thrilled at the feel of her. With the sweetness of maple syrup still on his tongue, he found he did not care so much.

  The moment passed. They made their way, her to the saddlery and him to the bunkhouse, yet the strange sensation of calm lasted well through the night. Thinking of her nestled safe, cocooned at the ranch he loved, he let himself drift off to sleep.

  TEN

  Maggie awoke in the saddlery, momentarily disoriented. She inhaled deeply the fragrance of leather.
As she dressed, she considered what had passed between her and Liam the night before.

  Tammy had said Liam was fun to be with, highly intelligent with a ferocious wit, but he wasn’t the one for her. She wondered if Liam had ever told Tammy about his father and why he had chosen to share the precious burden with her. And why was she pondering her relationship with Liam in the first place? Deep down he was much more than the happy-go-lucky cowboy he tried so hard to portray, but that was not her business. He was only helping her because of his history with Tammy and she would be wise to remember that pertinent fact. You’re Tammy’s sister to him and that’s all. Still, she could not quite let go of the feel of his arms around her.

  Resolved to move ahead, and grateful that the Chuckwagon was closed on parade day, she let herself out of the tiny living space to find Liam in the workshop area holding two mugs of coffee. Jingles trotted over to greet her. She accepted the coffee and the dog licks with a laugh.

  “Do you go everywhere with this dog?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I can’t get rid of him. He’s like a shadow.”

  She drank the coffee, unable to sustain her good cheer against a sudden wave of tension. “I’m dreading this morning. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and get my sister in more trouble. I called her earlier and told her about the police and Joe.”

  “How’d she take it?”

  “She cried and said she’d text him and meet us at the station. I told her I could handle it alone, but she won’t hear of it.”

  “A stubborn Lofton sister? Imagine that.”

  “No more stubborn than a Pike sibling,” Maggie said.

  “Fair point.”

  “I’m just not suited for this kind of thing. My sister’s always been the one to seek out drama and danger. She’s exotic gourmet food and I’m more of a meat loaf and mashed potatoes temperament. Plain Jane.”

  “Being good at what you love doesn’t make you plain.”

  She shrugged. “I’m not the kind of woman most men seek out, let’s just say.”

  “Only the smart men.”

  She quirked a look at him. “Most men prefer my sister’s type, and I don’t blame them. You, for example.”

  Liam gulped his coffee a little too fast. “Tam is a wonderful woman, but don’t sell yourself short because you’re different.” He smiled around his mug. “I think I’m beginning to recognize I like meat loaf and mashed potatoes more than exotic food.” His blue gaze lingered on her a moment and then he got busy looking out the window and checking the time on his phone as if he was trying to distract himself and her from what he’d just said.

  She was not quite sure how to respond. It felt both strange and soothing to be able to mention his relationship with Tammy, but she was not sure how to continue, or if she wanted to. Tammy’s ex was becoming a fixture in her soul whether she wanted to recognize it or not, but she could not assume he felt the same way, regardless of their kitchen chitchat.

  They finished their coffee, the conversation light and practical as they got in Liam’s truck and delivered the muffins they’d taken from the van to the Veteran’s Hall. They rode to the police station, past streets that were being barricaded.

  “Does everyone in town turn out for the parade?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She heard Jingles snuffling around a box in the back seat.

  “Stay outta there,” he commanded. “That’s for the parade.”

  “Are you helping?”

  He grinned. “Oh yeah. Wouldn’t miss it. Not to brag, but really, I’m kinda a star with the under ten crowd. Kicks off in about an hour.” He shot her a look from under the brim of his cowboy hat. “You, uh, want to go? I mean, it’s the main holiday attraction around here aside from the Train of Lights. Tammy went with me last year and...” Liam did not exactly blush, but the conversation sputtered and died.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “We both know you dated my sister. It doesn’t need to be a taboo topic.”

  “It’s just...weird.”

  “Yes, weird.”

  “I mean, you’re not weird. I was just, er, saying the situation was out of the ordinary, in a good way but...”

  The giggles started, probably borne both of her growing nervousness about the police meeting and the humor of seeing the self-assured cowboy pink with embarrassment.

  He sighed, gaze riveted on the road ahead. “I think I’d better put myself on a talking time-out before any more stupidity materializes.”

  “It’s okay, really,” she said when the giggles subsided. “No need for that. Besides, it’s very entertaining watching you all off-kilter.”

  “Great. Glad I can provide some amusement.”

  “It’s out of the ordinary for me, too.” She squared her shoulders. “We’ve had a rule in the past...sisters’ exes are strictly off-limits.” But Tammy always said rules were made to be broken. She was glad she kept that last bit to herself.

  He nodded. “Of course. Sure. Absolutely. Anyway, uh, here we are.” The police station was a modest one-story building. A receptionist greeted them and pointed them to Danny Patron’s office.

  The chief of police was a red-haired man in his early forties with a forthcoming smile and a photo of three young daughters on his desk. Several crayoned pictures festooned the corner bulletin board and a selection of plastic action figures was arranged in a row around his computer.

  He rose when they came in and gestured for Maggie to take a chair. Tammy entered next, holding on to Helen’s arm and limping. Maggie hugged her sister fiercely and drew her into the next chair. Liam offered his seat to Helen, but she refused.

  “I have to pop across the street to make sure my Lodge guests have their reserved seating area for the parade. See you in a few.”

  Danny grinned as he looked from Tammy to Maggie. “Because I am a keen police observer, I’m going to speculate you two are fraternal twins.”

  Maggie smiled. “Yes, sir.”

  “No need for ‘sir.’ You can call me Danny—” he winked “—or Head Bottle Washer, whichever you prefer. Can I get you some terrible coffee? It’s the only kind we serve, but it’s hot.”

  Both sisters laughed, declined the offer, and Maggie felt a twinge of hope. Maybe this would work out all right coming clean with the police. She launched into the story with Tammy adding notes as she went.

  “I think I get the gist of it from your perspective,” Danny said.

  “It’s the truth,” Tammy insisted. “I would never steal from Bill. I just wanted to protect the jewelry until I could get to the police. It was an impulsive decision.” She sighed. “I’m sort of famous for those.”

  Maggie squeezed her hand, concerned about her sister’s pallor. “Impulsive, not criminal.”

  “Not in the eyes of the law,” Tammy said, her voice wobbling.

  Danny jotted something on the notepad in front of him, his smile disappearing. “And I’ll talk to the Sand Dune police and your boyfriend Joe to corroborate, but there’s something you should know. Come with me.”

  Maggie helped her sister follow Danny and Liam down the hall into a conference room. Two people were already seated there, an elderly man and Virgil Salvador.

  Panic slashed through Maggie at the sight of him. Virgil was composed, legs crossed, dressed in nice slacks and a button-up shirt.

  “They arrived ahead of you,” Danny said, “and they’ve got a different story to tell.”

  Virgil looked from Maggie to Tammy, his eyes roving in a way that made Maggie go cold inside. “I never knew you had a sister, Tammy.” He smiled. “She’s beautiful, too. Is she a thief like you?”

  * * *

  Liam wanted to knock the smug smile clean off Virgil’s mug, but Maggie commanded Danny’s attention. “I don’t know what he’s told you, but he almost killed me at the lighthouse on Wednesday night.”

/>   Danny frowned. “And you’re just reporting this?”

  Maggie’s cheeks went rosy. “Liam urged me to, but I was waiting to contact my sister. That was foolish, I see that now.”

  Liam gave her an encouraging nod. “She was under pressure and scared for her sister.”

  “Okay. Timing aside, can you make a positive ID?” Danny said. “Did you see his face?”

  “No,” Maggie admitted. “I was blinded by the lighthouse beacon.”

  “Liam?” Danny rubbed his nose. “You were there. Can you ID Virgil as the lighthouse attacker?”

  Liam grunted. “Same height and build, and I know his voice. That’s him, but no, I didn’t see his face clearly.”

  Virgil’s smile broadened. “You see? I told you Tammy would make up any story to get herself out of trouble. Doesn’t surprise me that she’s got her sister helping.”

  Liam stood taller. There was no way he was going to let the women be railroaded by some gel-haired slicker in loafers. “The trailer. Virgil met Maggie there for sure. Threatened her.”

  “I was merely offering to help as someone trashed her trailer.”

  “You did it,” Liam said.

  “Can you prove it?” Virgil said.

  He ground his teeth. Knowing and proving were two different things as Mitch had pointed out to him on occasion.

  “Didn’t think so,” Virgil said. “The fact of the matter is that Tammy stole my uncle’s jewelry. That hurt us both deeply, because we are really fond of her. We never imagined she could do anything like that.”

  Tammy took a step toward Bill. “I didn’t... I mean... I was trying to help keep your wife’s things safe. Please, Bill. I can’t stand having you think I would steal from you.”

  Bill looked from face to face, his expression dazed. He did not answer Tammy. Virgil patted his shoulder. “My uncle is confused from time to time. It’s been so hard since his wife passed away. She fell down the stairs, so it was very unexpected. He has had a difficult time adjusting. He hardly slept at all last night.”