by B. J Daniels
She turned on her heel, threw open the door and stormed out. He stared after her, realizing he’d just admitted to himself how he felt about not just Poppy but running the guest ranch. His father had loved it and left it to his sons to continue the legacy. Will had grown up with guests coming and going. The only break they had from guests was in the winter when there were chores to do down at the valley part of the ranch.
Just the thought of walking away scared him and excited him. Just as the thought of Poppy did. Her coming here had triggered his discontent with his life more than even all the death and destruction.
But what was he going to do now? He felt as if he had the rest of his life stretched out before him with more options than he’d ever considered. Was he really ready to bail on the guest ranch after having his first and only guests and running it alone? The thought made him laugh. Who wouldn’t after everything that had happened?
He wondered if this wasn’t really just about Poppy and it was the thought of going back to the way it was—without her.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to make the decision right now. Instead, he had guests that needed to be fed. And there was still a killer at the guest ranch. Hopefully his brother had gotten the message and the sheriff was on his way. Otherwise...they would wait it out until the phone line was up again.
As Will stepped out into the main room of the lodge, Huck came charging in. “It’s Kirk. Someone broke him out. He’s gone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
WILL COULDN’T BELIEVE what he was hearing. He’d been the last one on watch over the camp. Just before daylight, he’d come back to the lodge to get a few hours’ sleep. Also he’d remembered that he hadn’t put the envelope Lamar had left with him in the safe. He’d left it lying out and had been worried that someone might have taken it.
Fortunately, when he reached his room, it was right where it had been before the barn exploded. Before he and Poppy had almost made love. That thought had brought it all back in HD clarity. He’d ached with a desire that felt more than sexual.
He’d put the envelope in the safe and collapsed on his bed, too tired to even dream. And yet sleep hadn’t come quickly. Instead, he’d thought about Poppy just down the hall until exhausted, he’d let sleep take him.
Will swore now. This just kept getting worse. “Anyone else missing?”
“I have no idea,” Huck said. “Do you want me to start going from cabin to cabin? I could get Slim to help.”
“No,” he said, stepping past him and outside to ring the dinner bell. It was time to find out what was going on. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would break Kirk out—unless that person knew he was innocent. Or unless that scrap of paper Poppy had found in the basket was true. There were two people in on this. But why break him out and call attention not just to Kirk—but to themselves? Unless Kirk knew too much and they broke him out to silence him. Which meant they would be finding another body before the day was out.
He rang the bell again and then stepped back inside where it was warm to wait and see who showed up. As he did, he went through the dining room to the kitchen to let Poppy know what was going on. Dorothea was there with her. He realized he’d interrupted something, but didn’t have the time to even worry about what they might have been talking about. Probably him.
He met Dorothea’s I-told-you-so look across the room when he told her about someone breaking Kirk out of his cabin. Well, she’d certainly hit the nail on the head this time. This retreat was cursed. Bad luck had come in spades.
“I rang the bell to get them all up here to see who else might be missing.”
Poppy looked worried. “Breakfast is almost ready. Dorothea was just about to let you know.”
He nodded, hating that there felt like a wall between not only him and Poppy. Dorothea wasn’t a fan of his right now, either, he could see. His fault, but that, too, was something he didn’t have time to think about right now. He had to find out what was going on with his guests. While he seldom listened to Dorothea, she’d been right about one thing. He just hoped she was wrong about how much bad luck they still had coming their way.
At the sound of someone coming in the front door, he headed back into the main lounge.
* * *
AS LAMAR ENTERED the lodge, he saw that Allison and Dean were already seated in front of the fire. Channing came in behind him a few moments later.
“Has anyone seen Mick?” Lamar asked and glanced around at all of them before he turned to Will. “I woke up this morning and he was gone.” He saw Will exchange a look with Huck, who was standing by the door.
“Someone broke Kirk out close to daylight this morning,” Will said. “If it was your brother, why would he do that?”
Lamar let out a curse. “I have no idea.” He frowned. “They couldn’t go far, even though it’s finally quit storming.”
“Where’s Ruby?” Dorothea said. “Appears Mick’s not the only one missing.”
Will hadn’t even noticed since Ruby caused the least amount of problems. “Good question,” he said as he went to ring the bell again before returning.
Allison began to cry. “When are we going to get out of here?”
“Oh, turn off the waterworks,” Channing groaned. “You aren’t the only one going through this. Give the rest of us a break.”
“The landline was working earlier,” Will cut in. “My brother called. I asked him to call the sheriff, but then the line went dead again. I don’t know if he got the message or not, but if he did, help is on the way.”
“And if he didn’t?” Dean demanded.
“My brothers will probably head this way, anyway, to check on us,” Will said. “I’m sure Garrett’s worried, that’s why he called. So within the next few hours, help should be arriving. That’s why I want you all to stay in the lodge from now until then.”
“What about my brother?” Lamar asked.
“If he and Kirk took off, then they’re on their own until help arrives,” Will said. “I’m sure the sheriff will organize a search party if they haven’t returned by then. I don’t want any one of you going looking for them. Two people missing are enough.”
“Three people,” Dorothea reminded him. “You don’t think Ruby went with them, do you?”
“She’s probably the one who broke him out,” Channing said. “Not Mick.”
* * *
“IN CASE ANYONE is hungry,” Poppy said from the edge of the dining room, “breakfast is—” Further words were lost at the sight of Ruby as she stumbled in holding a bloody towel to the side of her head.
Will raced to the woman, who was clearly unstable on her feet. He helped her over to the couch. “Get the first aid kit,” he ordered Dorothea, who was already on her way, mumbling about how she was expected to be a nurse, too.
“What happened?” Will asked her as he helped her out of her wet coat and boots and Poppy brought a throw from the back of a chair to put over her. Had she fallen down? Surely someone hadn’t tried to kill her, as well.
“I was attacked,” Ruby said in a weak whisper.
“Did you see who did it?”
“From behind. Dark.” She pulled Will down. Poppy could see the woman’s lips moving but couldn’t hear any better than anyone else in the room. But she did see Ruby press something into Will’s hand, which he pocketed furtively. Then the woman’s eyes closed.
Will left Dorothea to bandage Ruby’s head as the others stood around looking pale and scared. Poppy had been standing at the edge of the lounge after getting the throw, but as Will approached her, he motioned for them to go back into the kitchen.
He looked scared and upset as he pulled what Ruby had given him from his jacket pocket and held it out.
Poppy stared in shock. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked, keeping her voice down.
“Ruby wasn’t able to tell me much except that she’s
an agent with the DEA and...” He seemed to hesitate as he pocketed the badge again. “After she was struck, she found that her gun was gone.”
As if this couldn’t be more dangerous. Now, whoever had attacked Ruby had her gun. “Maybe it was Mick or Kirk and they took it and left the ranch and won’t be coming back.”
Will looked skeptical. She couldn’t blame him. Her theory was all hope and little substance. “They can’t get far. All of the vehicles are still here except for Slim’s pickup, which according to Kirk is stuck somewhere down the mountain. Maybe between the two of them they can get it out—if Kirk really did get it stuck to begin with. He could have been lying about everything, just as Mick had said.”
“If so, why would Mick help him?” she asked.
“It seems a lot was going on at On the Fly. Ruby’s been undercover at the company.”
Will stepped to the kitchen landline and tried the phone. No dial tone. “Ruby has a concussion. She needs an ambulance and we need—” Whatever he planned to say, he didn’t get a chance as a disturbance broke out in the other room.
“I’m going to get the food on the table,” she said. “Maybe...” But Will was already headed for the raised voices in the lounge.
* * *
“WHAT THE HELL?” Lamar cried as he jumped back from Dean as a collective gasp filled the room.
“What’s going on?” Will demanded as he came into the large lounge to find Dean brandishing a familiar-looking blade—clearly the one that Poppy had said disappeared from the table.
“He had the knife in his jacket pocket!” Allison cried. “He’s the killer!”
“Stay back, all of you!” Dean yelled as Dorothea finished bandaging Ruby and got to her feet. She hurriedly moved away from the man.
“Settle down!” Will ordered. Everyone had moved back away from Dean and the deadly looking blade. “Give me that knife,” he said more patiently.
Allison began to scream. Lamar told her to shush. “But he’s the killer,” she cried.
“No one was stabbed,” Lamar said. “But they could be, if you don’t shut up.”
“Dean, you can trust me,” Will said.
The man shook his head, holding the knife threateningly as he took a step to the side. “I don’t trust any of you. I’m going to leave here and none of you are going to follow me.”
“You’re probably only going to manage to cut yourself, Dean,” Channing said with obvious amusement. “I’ve seen the way you cut your meat at dinner.” She made a sawing motion and laughed. “You’re not going to slice anyone open.”
Lamar shot her a disapproving look. “Not helpful, Channing.”
She rolled her eyes. “Look, let him go. I don’t know why you’re trying to keep anyone here. The more who want to leave, the better. Anyway, the sheriff is probably on his way. If Dean doesn’t want to face him, then I guess Allison is finally right about something. Dean’s the killer.”
Will took a step toward Dean and the knife. “You don’t want to leave,” he said as the man worked his way toward the front door. “Poppy made breakfast. You need to eat. You don’t want to go outside. It’s still cold and there is too much snow to go anywhere. The plows will be working. If you just wait—”
“Wait and die.” Dean sounded close to tears. “Whoever is doing this is picking us off one at a time. There are only five of us left, which means one of you has to be the killer.”
“Unless Kirk and Mick are the killers,” Channing said, studying her fingernails as if all of this bored her. “Then you’ll be going out there into the snow where they might be just waiting for you to come along. Easy pickings.”
“Channing, stop it,” Lamar ordered.
She looked up, her eyes narrowing in anger and fear, Will thought, as she said, “Lamar, your days of telling me what to do are over. I say let Dean go. He pulled a knife on us. We don’t want him here.”
Allison began to cry loudly. Lamar snapped at her to quit.
“I don’t have to do anything you say anymore, either,” Allison said through her tears. “I quit. I never want to see any of you ever again.” She began to cry harder, but more quietly.
Having reached the door, Dean hesitated as he glanced outside, clearly no longer sure of what to do.
Will took a step toward him. “Give me the knife, Dean. It’s part of a set. Poppy noticed it was missing. She needs the whole set to cook in our kitchen.” He took another step. “Poppy, what are we having this morning?”
He could see her out of the corner of his eye standing at the edge of the dining room, watching and practically wringing her hands with worry.
Her voice broke when she first began to speak, but she quickly checked herself. “Biscuits and sausage gravy with eggs Florentine and home fries, along with a fruit salad.” She sounded almost apologetic that the meal wasn’t one of her usual works of art.
Will took another step. “Biscuits and gravy, Dean. Something to stick to your ribs. At least eat before you leave.” He was so close he knew the man could stab him before he could move away quickly enough. “Come on, Dean. You have to eat. You’re safe here with Dorothea and Poppy and me. Give me the knife.” He held his hand out, willing it not to tremble.
Dean’s face suddenly folded. His face contorted. He scrubbed at his eyes with his free hand. “I don’t want to die.”
“I don’t, either,” Will said.
Slowly, Dean handed over the knife. A collective sigh came up from the lounge with a few murmurings from Channing about what a chicken Dean was.
“Okay,” Will said as he took the knife, feeling a little shaky. “Let’s eat.” He shot Poppy a look of appreciation. Her eyes were bright with tears, which she quickly blinked away and took a breath as if she’d been holding hers. She gave him a shake of her head and a small, relieved smile that seemed more full of admiration than he deserved. “Breakfast now and no arguing.”
“You expect us to eat with Dean?” Allison cried.
“We just won’t let him have anything more than a butter knife,” Channing said and laughed. “Dean, you’re so scary.”
He put his head down as he took a seat, his lower lip trembling. Will couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. This group was never going to cut him any slack. He could certainly see how Dean might want to get back at them all, starting with Big Jack.
They all sat down, some of them still squabbling as Dorothea and Poppy brought out the food. Will thought this must be what it would be like to have teenagers. Just the thought of having his own children sitting at this table surprised him. He’d never thought of his own children—until Poppy.
He looked down the table at her. He’d never thought of a lot of things before her. Not that she didn’t still terrify him on so many levels. A woman like her needed a man worthy of her courage and strength. He wasn’t sure he was that man even if he wanted to be.
Everyone ate in a wary silence. Dean kept his head down, clearly embarrassed. Channing seemed to be in her own world as usual. Allison barely touched her food. She appeared worn out, as if she had no more tears to cry. Lamar kept glancing out the window as if looking for his brother and Kirk. Partway through the meal, Will went to check on Ruby. She was fine, confused and weak from her concussion. He tried the phone again. No dial tone. He prayed that she could hang on just a little longer.
* * *
POPPY WAS FINISHING up in the kitchen when Will came in after breakfast.
“Thank you for earlier,” he said, keeping his voice down.
She shook her head. “You scared me,” she said. “I was afraid he would stab you.”
His smile was self-deprecating. “You weren’t the only one. But I couldn’t let him go out there and try to leave. We would only have another body on our hands.”
“How’s Ruby?”
“Better. The others are resting. At least they seem to have quit
squabbling. Earlier, I thought I heard a plow down in the valley.”
“So maybe it won’t be too long,” she said.
“How are you holding up?” he asked, his gaze locking with hers.
“I’m okay. I don’t want you worrying about me.”
He chuckled. “Too late for that. When this is over—”
She put a finger to his lips. “Let’s not go there yet.”
Will took her hand before she could remove her finger from his lips and turned it to kiss her fingertips. “We’re going to get out of this.”
Poppy nodded as he let go of her hand. She’d felt his kiss rush from her fingertips all the way to her center. Coming here had been a mistake in so many ways, she thought as her heart ached. She met his gaze, wishing he would take her in his arms and hold her and tell her he couldn’t ever let her go.
“I should get back in there,” he said. “Don’t want them killing each other.” He grimaced at his bad joke and left.
Poppy watched the handsome cowboy leave, her heart breaking, and had to look away. Sunlight poured in through the window. She could hear dripping as snow and ice began to melt from the eaves outside. The air smelled of spring. The cold and darkness of the storm was gone. But the beautiful March day outside felt so wrong for the mood inside the lodge. So wrong for the way she and the others were feeling.
At the sound of the front door bursting open, she jumped and quickly looked to see who had come in. Her heart dropped as she saw Mick Hanson standing in the doorway. He was covered in snow—and blood.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CRIES CAME UP from the lounge as Will and Lamar rushed to Mick. The man staggered in, looking both exhausted and injured.
“Are you badly hurt?” Will asked, and Mick shook his head. There was a gash on his cheek that was still bleeding and blood on his coat and gloves.