by B. J Daniels
“I doubt that’s the case.”
Big Jack smiled. “Nice of you to say but a man makes enemies, even within his own family.”
Will said nothing, since he’d seen the man arguing with both of his sons at one point or another. He suspected this wasn’t what Big Jack had hoped would come out of this trip.
“I’ll let everyone know what time we’ll be leaving,” the man said, sounding defeated. “But, Will, I wanted to thank you for opening up early for us. Even with the...drama, I’ve enjoyed being here. I need to make some changes in my life and this retreat has helped me make my decision. I spent a lot of wonderful hours here on this ranch as a boy. It was nice to come back one last time.”
His words startled Will. “I hope it won’t be your last,” he said, suddenly afraid the man was terminally ill.
Big Jack laughed. “So do I, but we never know, do we?” With that he walked over to the group still around the campfire to announce that they would be leaving after breakfast. No one seemed upset by that news as he walked away.
Will looked toward the main lodge. He could see that Poppy’s light was on in her room upstairs at the lodge. He caught movement behind the curtains and quickly looked away as he struggled with his feelings. Earlier, his plan in the kitchen was to tell her he knew what she was up to and that it wouldn’t work. That he didn’t want things to be awkward between them. That he hated that she’d come up here looking for retribution—if Dorothea was right about that.
But he couldn’t get the words out. Dorothea was convinced that Poppy had put a love curse on the food she’d served him. As crazy as that sounded, it seemed that she had.
He smiled and shook his head as he said good-night to the guests still around the campfire and headed toward the lodge. While Poppy’s culinary skills were nothing short of amazing, it wasn’t just her food. The woman had gotten to him—just as Dorothea had warned would happen.
So what was he going to do about it?
Nothing. He reminded himself of the girl Poppy had been and how he’d hurt her all those years ago. He couldn’t do that to her again. As tempted as he was, if they ended up in that big bed of his upstairs he feared they would both regret it. He’d have to stay clear of her. Keep it all business. He’d get her to leave in the morning with the guests. It was the only way.
As he headed to his office, though, all he could think about was her standing in the ranch kitchen, the sun coming through the window and lighting up her hair. And then her turning and him thinking about kissing her and carrying her upstairs.
Closing his office door, he resolved not to let that happen. He thought of the other women he’d been attracted to and how quickly he’d moved on for one reason or another. Even as he argued that Poppy Carmichael wasn’t like any woman he’d ever known, he couldn’t bear the thought of her being just another woman he’d loved—for a while.
He dove into the paperwork waiting for him on his desk.
CHAPTER TEN
LAMAR REACHED THE barn a little before midnight. On his walk there, he didn’t see anyone. But he noticed that the temperature had dropped and a chilling wind had come up. Clouds scudded across a dark sky, a sliver of moon playing peekaboo as he made his way toward the barn. The wind kicked up dust, whirling it around him. He was glad for the heavy coat and stocking cap. As he bent his head against the wind and cold, he felt foolish for agreeing to this rendezvous and, at the same time, a little on edge.
The guest ranch was so quiet that when an owl screeched from high on the barn, he jumped a foot. “Calm down,” he told himself impatiently. “You have nothing to worry about.” But he was worried. He’d been worried ever since he’d spoken with his father. Maybe there was even more trouble at the company than he thought.
He couldn’t imagine what Allison had to tell him—in the middle of the night—instead of merely pulling him aside and saying whatever it was. She wasn’t hitting on him, was she?
That thought made him chuckle under his breath. Could he really not tell the difference? He needed to get out more and not spend every waking hour taking care of On the Fly. As his father had pointed out, the business wasn’t even his. He was merely the owner’s oldest son and the guy who got left with all the work and worry, he thought, grumbling under his breath.
When he reached the hulking structure of the barn, he hesitated. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness inside. He stood for a moment out in the wind and finally, chilled, stepped in. Once inside, he realized that there was a faint light in the far back, but still it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. If possible, he felt colder in the barn than he had outside. He wished he was in his warm bed. Better yet, off this mountain and back in sunny California. This clandestine meeting had him not just chilled but jumpy.
At a sound behind him, he spun around. Allison rushed in and motioned for him to follow her to a dark corner out of the light. Seriously? He groaned inwardly, but followed her, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.
She seemed even more nervous than he was. She kept looking at the barn doorway and past it to the cabins as if expecting that she’d been followed.
“Allison, I have no idea why you—”
She shook her head, interrupting him to say, “There’s something I thought you should know, okay?” Then she hesitated.
Oh, for the love of God. He moved restlessly, trying to keep his feet warm. “What is it, Allison? It’s freezing in here and what’s with all the secrecy?”
“There might be something going on at On the Fly.”
He stopped moving, stopped trying to stay warm. “Like what?”
She looked away. “I don’t know exactly. It’s just—”
He groaned, reminded of his father saying he just knew that something was wrong at the company. “Allison, it’s too cold for this. Spit it out.”
“Okay,” she snapped, looking as if she wished she hadn’t started this. “I saw someone the other day at the plant. He pulled into the back after-hours. I could tell he was there to meet with someone.”
Lamar shook his head, losing patience. “Someone to meet someone. Get to the point, please.”
“The man I saw was a drug dealer.”
He stared at her. “A drug dealer?”
“I know what you’re thinking.”
“I doubt that. Is he your drug dealer? Is that how you know him?”
“No. That is, I know who he is, all right? It was a long time ago. Another life.”
“Look, if you used to buy pot from some guy—”
“He isn’t that kind of drug dealer. He wasn’t at On the Fly to sell someone a dime bag,” she snapped impatiently. “He’s big-time.”
Lamar felt himself go still and even colder. “Who was he there to see?”
“That’s just it. When he saw me, he recognized me and turned around and left. Clearly he hadn’t expected me to be there. I wouldn’t have been, but I was running late and got this call...” She sighed. “I’m sorry, but the fact that he was coming in the back way as if he’d been there before...”
His head was spinning. “What is it you’re saying, Allison?”
She looked away and bit at her lower lip for a moment. “Just that it got me thinking. He was there. He had his business face on. So...” She finally blurted it out. “Someone could be using On the Fly to send out more than fly-fishing vests.” She pulled her coat around her as if suddenly as chilled as he was.
He didn’t know what to say. His first instinct was to laugh it off. Just because she saw some drug dealer at the back of the plant...
“Look,” she said, grabbing his arm tightly. “You can’t tell anyone that you heard it from me,” she pleaded. “It’s bad enough that he saw me, you know?”
He didn’t. He knew nothing about the drug world. He didn’t want to know. “Thank you for telling me.”
She smiled as
tears filled her eyes. “I have to leave.”
He nodded, thinking she meant go back to her cabin.
“I can’t stay at On the Fly. Not now. If you start asking questions...” She swallowed and looked terrified. “He’ll know it was me. I have an aunt who lives down south. I might go there.”
That seemed unnecessary, to uproot herself and run away, but she knew more about that world than he did. She’d known the man. She would know what she had to fear. Though he couldn’t imagine it being that serious.
“Have you told anyone else?”
She shook her head.
“Not Mick?” Another head shake. “Not my father?” She shook her head but added a shrug. Was it possible Big Jack knew? Or suspected? Is this why he was so upset about the business?
“I have to go. Please promise you won’t tell anyone it was me.”
He promised and watched her go, feeling numb and scared at the same time. He thought about hiking down to Big Jack’s cabin and demanding answers. But it was the middle of the night. And surely if his father thought someone was running drugs through the company he would have...
With a snort of derisiveness, Lamar realized he wasn’t sure what his father would have done. Maybe something as crazy as an impromptu retreat at an isolated guest ranch high in the mountains of Montana, where he invited all the suspects.
* * *
POPPY COULDN’T SLEEP. She’d tried reading but after a few minutes realized that she didn’t know what she’d just read. She put the book aside and walked to the window, surprised. The wind had come up. She’d heard it howling along the edge of the eaves. One of the wranglers had doused the campfire earlier. Now the wind hurled ash into the air. The pine trees swayed, reminding her of other nights up on this mountain when she was young and couldn’t wait to wake up. Each day back then had been filled with so much hope and promise.
She realized that she’d felt the same way her first night here. Being back on the ranch, seeing Will... Poppy pushed that thought away as she let the curtain fall back into place. The howling wind outside made her worry about the approaching storm. Had Will talked Big Jack into leaving early? She hoped so. And yet, the thought made her sad. She didn’t want to leave. She told herself it was because she hadn’t accomplished what she’d come up here to do.
But even as she thought it, she was no longer sure. Had she really wanted Will to hurt as much as she had when he’d broken her heart at twelve? Or had she wanted him to finally see her? See that she wasn’t a kid anymore. She was a woman. Is that what she really wanted? She no longer knew.
Worse, she felt as if her plan was backfiring. Her feelings for Will had grown stronger as she’d gotten to see the man he’d become and he saw the woman she’d become. No longer was it a young girl’s crush on an older boy who treated her like a kid sister. What she felt when she was around him was a powerful chemistry. It seemed to electrify the air. One little spark and boom!
The game she was playing had become dangerous. Over the past two days, she’d realized that Will had grown into a man she could love. Not for a retribution fling, but for long-term.
Angry with herself, she headed back toward bed when there was a knock at her door. “Who is it?” she asked as she grabbed her robe and snugged it around her as she moved toward the door.
“Will.”
Her pulse quickened. She glanced toward the mirror on the wall. Earlier, she’d showered and now her hair was a mass of damp curls that hung around her shoulders. Her face, without even a little makeup, looked like a field of freckles on snow.
“Poppy?”
Her throat had gone dry. She opened the door and couldn’t help herself. She smiled. Every time she saw him, it made her smile, but especially to see him standing at her door with his Stetson in his hand looking almost bashful.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s late. I got busy downstairs in the office and didn’t realize the time.” His gaze met hers. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“You didn’t,” she assured him.
“This will only take a moment,” he said. “I talked to Big Jack. They’ll be leaving right after breakfast.”
Her heart sank because she knew what was coming next.
“I thought you might want to leave then, as well.” He didn’t sound as if it was what he wanted.
“Are you and Dorothea and the wranglers leaving tomorrow morning?” she asked.
“We’ll leave as soon as we get everything closed up here. This storm sounds like a big one. We’ll move down to the main ranch to help with calving until the guest ranch opens for the season.” He closed his mouth as if he realized he was talking too much. Him being a little nervous made him all the more irresistible.
“I’m sure you could use help getting things closed up in the kitchen,” Poppy said lamely.
He shook his head. “I think it would be best if you went when the guests leave. That way I don’t have to worry about you, too.”
She nodded. He couldn’t make himself any clearer. “If that’s what you want.”
He let out a curse and shook his head. “That’s just it. It’s not what I want.” He raked his free hand through his hair. “When Dorothea told me that you’d only taken the job to put some kind of curse on me, I laughed it off. Then I saw you, tasted your food and realized, hell, bring that love potion on. Other women have tried to rope me in so I wasn’t worried. But, Poppy, I swear, you throw a mean lasso.” His gaze tenderly grazed her face. “I don’t want you to leave. But that’s the best thing you can do. If you stay...”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “If I stay?”
He let out a chuckle as he looked down at his boots for a moment, then back up at her. His eyes locked with hers. “Then all bets are off.” Her heart swelled to near bursting as he reached for her, cupping the back of her head as he buried his hands in her hair and pulled her into a no-nonsense kiss.
Her lips parted. She breathed in the night air and the scent of the campfire on his clothing as she leaned into his strong, masculine body and opened herself for his kiss. His mouth took hers possessively, the tip of his tongue brushing teasingly over hers before it got serious.
Lost in the kiss, neither of them heard Dorothea’s door open until it slammed loudly. They both jumped, pulling apart and looking embarrassed as if they’d been caught by their parents making out on the couch.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Will said as their gazes met again. “I promised myself that I would keep my distance. That if there was any chance that I could hurt you again...” He stared at her. “Do you see now how dangerous this could get? We’re playing with fire here, Poppy. I don’t want to see either of us get burned.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but she had no idea what. She didn’t get the chance before he said, “But damned if I haven’t wanted to kiss you since seeing you standing in my kitchen that first day. Good night, Poppy.”
She could only nod mutely as he walked down the hall to his apartment. Dorothea opened her door and peered out before slamming it shut again. Poppy stepped inside her room and closed the door. She locked it, leaned against it and smiled as she tried to catch her breath. This time when she curled up in bed, sleep welcomed her as the wind roared outside the lodge, making the old building creak and groan.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHEN POPPY WOKE AGAIN, it was dead quiet. Until she heard the bloodcurdling screams.
For a moment, she thought she’d only imagined them. Then she heard the thunder of Will’s boots on the hardwood floor in the hallway outside her room and Dorothea’s frightened voice asking what was happening.
Getting up, she hurriedly dressed and rushed downstairs. She stopped abruptly at the bottom of the stairs. Through the front windows, she could see nothing but white for a moment. Snow was falling so thick that she caught only an occasional glimpse of the barn in the distance.
As she stared in horror, realizing that the storm had blown in much sooner than predicted, the front door flew open. Ruby stumbled in wrapped in a down comforter from her cabin and a pair of flannel pajamas with moose on them. She was followed by Dean, who looked as if he’d dressed in a hurry, and Kirk, who was wearing sweats and his On the Fly winter coat. All three of them had snowflakes melting in their hair and on their clothing as they closed the door behind them.
“What’s happened?” Poppy cried as she started toward them. “I heard screams.” Ruby looked as if she was about to say something when the door blew open again. Lexi limped in, looking terrified. She’d gotten dressed, including her coat and boots. Snow had soaked her shoulders and made her hair hang limp. Clearly she’d been out in the storm longer than the others. She stepped to the fireplace even though there were only black embers remaining from the day before.
Everyone looked at Lexi, including Poppy. “What...” she started to ask when Lexi burst into tears. Through the woman’s sobs, she was able to make out enough of her words to understand that someone was dead and apparently Lexi had been the one to find the body.
“Who?” Poppy cried.
Lexi looked up at her and choked out two words, “Big Jack,” before she began to wail again. Ruby moved to her, to put her arm around her, but Lexi shrugged it off.
Poppy was debating what to do when Dorothea came bursting in from outside. She took one look at Poppy and ordered, “Build a fire.” Then she went to the old black landline phone and picked up the receiver as if to call the sheriff, but Poppy saw at once that the line must be dead because she put the receiver back down with a curse.
“Has anyone been able to make a call?” she asked.
There were head shakes. Lexi didn’t seem to hear or care. “No cell service,” Kirk said. “Remember? It’s in your damned brochure. So now the landline isn’t working, either? Don’t you have, like, a two-way radio?”