Dead Ringer & Classified Christmas

by B. J Daniels

  “Are you all right?” Ledger said when he reached Abby. He fell to his knees in front of her.

  “Vance saved my life,” she said between sobs.

  His gaze went to the man.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Vance said. “I was coming up the stairs not paying attention.”

  “I startled him. He started to fall backward,” Abby filled in as they both seemed to be trying to catch their breaths.

  “She grabbed me, but I was so off balance...” Vance finished with a look of such regret as he rubbed his shoulder. “I could have killed her.”

  “But you didn’t,” Ledger said. “You saved her. Is your shoulder hurt?”

  “I think I might have pulled something,” Vance said.

  “I’ll call the doctor to look at it.” Ledger touched Abby’s face, pushed back a fallen lock of her hair and wiped away a tear. “I’ll have him take a look at both of you. I thought we agreed you’d stay off the stairs?” he said to her, smiling with such gratitude that she was all right. When he’d first seen her... If Vance hadn’t grabbed for her at his own peril...

  “Believe me, I’ll take the elevator from now on,” she said and let him enclose her in his arms. Past her, Ledger studied Vance.

  “You’re a hero,” he said to his brother. “Thank you.”

  Vance shook his head. “I’m far from a hero.”

  * * *

  VANCE’S HEROISM WAS the talk of the dinner table that evening. He’d pulled a muscle in his shoulder and had to ice it. Abby’s ribs were even more sore from his saving her, but now when she looked at him, it was with gratitude as if her earlier suspicions were gone.

  He tried to breathe, but his shoulder hurt like hell, and all this talk of how amazing he was hurt even worse. He’d had a chance to let Abby tumble down the stairs and instead he’d saved her—after she’d tried to save him.

  “Maybe you should both stay off those stairs,” Travers joked. “Seriously, I’ve given all my other sons a piece of land for them to build on one day, if they can be talked into staying on the ranch.”

  The table had gone deathly silent.

  A piece of land? Vance swallowed.

  “We can look at a map of the ranch later if you’d like and you can pick out a section you might want,” Travers was saying.

  “That is very kind of you.”

  “Kind?” The man laughed. “Son, this is your birthright.”

  His birthright. He hung his head, muttering, “Thank you.”

  “Here’s to your future,” Travers said, lifting his wineglass. “May it be everything you’ve ever hoped for.”

  When he looked up to lift his glass, he saw the cook standing in the kitchen doorway looking right at him. His heart took off at a gallop. She would report all of this to Huck.

  Vance took a sip of his wine and felt it instantly curdle in his stomach. His future was anything but bright.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ABBY STOOD AT the window looking out over the ranch. “I can’t stay here,” she said, more to herself than to Ledger as she shifted her gaze to him. She could see that he wanted to argue the point.

  “You can’t go back to your apartment. Not alone,” he said.

  She had a feeling that if she went back to her apartment—back to town—more of her memory would return. Travers was getting more attached to Vance. She’d heard Travers offer him a piece of land on the ranch. She knew that was a mistake. She just didn’t know why.

  “Wade doesn’t know where my apartment is and there’s the restraining order...”

  Ledger cursed under his breath. “You aren’t that naive. He’s just waiting for you. And if you think a restraining order is going to stop him...”

  “What about my job?”

  “You don’t have to work there anymore.”

  She shook her head. “Ledger, I enjoy my work. I miss the people. I miss feeling like there is a little normal in my life.”

  He sighed deeply, pain in his eyes. “What is it you’re running from? Is it me?”

  Abby quickly shook her head as she turned to him. “Never you. But I’m still married to Wade. I can’t move on until I put that behind me.”

  He nodded. “You need time. I understand that.”

  “What will people think, my staying here with you?”

  “Is that what you’re worried about? What people will think?”

  The moment she said it, she realized she sounded like her mother. The same mother who was growing pot in her root cellar, the same one who guilt-tripped her into staying in a bad marriage because it was to her benefit—not her daughter’s.

  Abby touched his cheek. “I want a fresh start.”

  “With me?” Ledger asked.

  She smiled. “Oh, yes, with you. But I jumped into one marriage. I won’t jump into another even with you.”

  He dragged her to him and kissed her. “I want you so badly.”

  “I feel the same way. It’s been awful knowing you are just in the next room. I can’t tell you how I have fought the need to come to you.”

  He let her go as if he felt the chemistry that arced between them as strongly as she did. “I’ll wait as long as it takes.” He grinned. “I’ve waited this long.”

  She had to smile.

  “But you have to know Wade isn’t finished with you. A man like him? His pride will be hurt. He’ll take it out on you and this time he’ll probably kill you.”

  “I know.” She hated that she sounded close to tears. She’d cried so much over all this. “How do I get him out of my life?”

  Ledger shook his head. “I don’t know. But I wish you would stay here until the divorce is finalized. Maybe by then he will have realized it’s really over. Maybe he will move on.”

  She nodded, but she knew neither of them believed that. He reached for her again. The memory hit her so hard, she cried out, jerking back.

  Ledger looked alarmed as if he thought he’d hurt her.

  “I saw them!” The memory hung before her, crystal clear, before it flickered and died away as she tried to see more. “I know where I’ve seen Vance. It was at the house. He was with Wade and Huck.”

  * * *

  LEDGER DIDN’T KNOW what to make of what Abby had told him. He found his brother Cull downstairs and pulled him aside.

  “Since the first time Abby saw Vance, she felt she’d seen him before, and wherever it was, it wasn’t good.”

  Cull lifted a brow. “In other words, she just had a feeling about him.”

  “Something like that, only just now she remembered where she’d seen him. He’d been at her house talking with Wade and Huck.”

  “What?” Cull rubbed a hand over his face. “Okay, if this is true—”

  “Why are you questioning it?”

  “Because Abby’s had two concussions in a row. Her memory isn’t the most reliable. After what happened earlier today on the stairs... Then add to that, the garage at the house is supposedly where she fell and got her first concussion...”

  Ledger could see his point. “What if it’s a true memory, though? What would Vance have been doing with Wade and Huck Pierce?”

  Cull frowned. “Nothing good. We were led to believe that he didn’t know anyone around here.”

  “Exactly. You think we should tell Dad?” Ledger asked.

  “No,” his brother said quickly. “It will just upset him. And after everything that’s happened, including Vance saving Abby yesterday on the stairs, I wouldn’t suggest it. Anyway, if it’s true and Vance denies it, it would be his word against Abby’s.”

  Ledger nodded. “It could put her in danger if I’m right and the three of them are up to something other than the obvious.”

  “The obvious being that Vance isn’t
our brother,” Cull finished for him. “Then how do you explain the DNA test?”

  He felt a shiver race up his spine. “The day Vance was tested, Huck Pierce was in the lab. He was flirting with one of the techs.”

  “Interesting, but certainly not conclusive. We could do another test with another lab, I suppose,” Cull said. “It would mean getting DNA from Vance. That shouldn’t be too hard. We could have him tested against one of us.”

  Ledger smiled at his brother. He knew he could depend on Cull. Boone would have stormed upstairs and tried to throttle the truth out of Vance.

  “This shouldn’t be too hard,” Cull said. “Let me handle it. In the meantime...”

  “Right, just be cool.”

  * * *

  WADE WATCHED HIS father storm up and down the floor, half expecting the floorboards to crack.

  “He saved Abby! Saved her!” Huck roared. “Came out looking like a damned hero.”

  “Maybe that works to our benefit,” Wade said when his father had calmed down a little.

  Huck spun on him. “What?”

  “When something happens to Abby, Vance will look innocent.”

  His father stopped pacing and stared at him. “You really aren’t as stupid as you look.”

  “Thanks.” Wade realized how sick he was of his father’s belittling. He would be glad when they got the reward money. He was leaving town, putting all of this behind him for good. But then he thought of Abby. Did he really want her dead? No. Could he stop his father? It was too late for that, he feared.

  Huck was muttering to himself as he paced again. “I think we need to step up the ending to all this.”

  Wade had no intention of being around to see whatever his father had planned. “When do we get the reward money?”

  “My friend talked to the attorney. He offered to cut a check today, but my friend insisted it be cash, saying he wasn’t alone in finding Oakley, that the others want to remain anonymous. Jim Waters doesn’t care. He said he’d get the money. Won’t be long now,” Huck said, smiling broadly.

  His mood could go from happy to furious in less than a heartbeat. Wade realized his own wasn’t much better. The sheriff had the gall to suggest he go to something called anger management. He’d been insulted at the time, but maybe once he was gone from here, he’d check into it.

  “So what happens now?” Wade asked, not sure he wanted to know.

  * * *

  WATERS LOOKED AT the stack of bills inside his briefcase. Five hundred thousand dollars. Travers had been adamant about going ahead and paying the reward.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to wait a little longer?” Waters had asked. “Maybe run another DNA test.” He knew it was the wrong thing to say. Voicing his suspicions wasn’t doing him any good.

  But he was still shaken. Travers had known about him and Patricia all along. He’d known and not said anything. As he’d said, he’d wanted to see how it all played out.

  The only thing the man hadn’t known was that he was being systematically poisoned.

  “Just pay the reward, Jim. Oakley is home. Boone will check out this lead on Jesse Rose. I feel good about it. So I suppose we should discuss your...retirement.”

  That had been plain enough. But at least he could continue billing the bastard until then. And he would, he thought as he slammed the briefcase. First he would get rid of this money. He felt as if Travers was throwing it away, but what did he care?

  Vance wasn’t Oakley. Waters would bet his stock portfolio on it. He had no proof, just a gut feeling. The same gut feeling that told him Patricia was going to take him down with her.

  He looked at the briefcase again. His passport was up to date. All he had to do was book a flight to anywhere there was no extradition. He could live comfortably on what was in that case—even if he couldn’t get his money out of his retirement.

  Waters let out a laugh. He didn’t even think Travers would turn him in to the sheriff. Instead, he’d pony up another five hundred grand to pay the reward and keep his mouth shut.

  With a start, Waters realized this was exactly what the cagey old fool hoped he would do. This was kiss-off money. Travers expected him to run.

  * * *

  LEDGER FOUND HIS father in his office, but one look at him and he felt his heart break for him. “What’s wrong?”

  Travers looked up in surprise as if he hadn’t heard his son come in. For a moment, he seemed at a loss for words. “It’s your mother. She’s doing...worse. I blame myself. I should never have taken Oakley out to see her. Of course she expected a six-month-old baby—not a grown man. The doctor said she’s trapped in that night twenty-five years ago.”

  “It isn’t your fault. She asked to see him. You couldn’t keep him from her.”

  His father laid his head into his hands, elbows on his desk. This was the most distraught he’d seen him. For so long, the man had lived on hope that his kidnapped children would be found. Ledger suspected it wasn’t going quite like he’d hoped.

  “I’m sorry,” Travers said, lifting his head. “You wanted to talk about something?”

  Now that he was here, Ledger almost changed his mind. “I want to marry Abby.”

  His father chuckled. “Son, that’s not news.”

  “I know. I never got over her.”

  “I blame myself for that, as well. I should have let you marry her when you wanted to. I can’t believe what she’s been through.”

  Ledger nodded. “But your advice was good. Abby had a lot of pressure from her mother and Wade. Also she was lied to. I don’t blame her for doubting me. I didn’t handle things well.”

  “All water under the bridge.”

  “Yes. That’s why I hope you don’t mind her staying here a little longer.”

  “You know I don’t. I just worry. She’s still married to Wade.”

  “Yes, but not for long. She’s filed for a separation. Unfortunately, she has to wait six months in Montana before she can file for the divorce. At least here at the ranch, she’s safe. But I can’t keep her locked up here for six months.”

  * * *

  VANCE HELD THE phone away from his ear and looked toward the big house. He didn’t think he could be seen from the shade of the trees where he stood. Nor did he think anyone was home. But Abby.

  “Are you a complete idiot?” Huck demanded.

  He didn’t bother to answer.

  “You could have finished it right there on the stairs.”

  “She saved my life. I would have fallen if she hadn’t grabbed me.”

  The deputy let out a string of curses. “You sound like my addled son. Now you have a soft spot for the woman, too?”

  “No.” Actually, he was scared of her. He kept watching her, thinking she was going to remember. While she seemed less standoffish since their incident on the stairs, she still had that memory lodged somewhere in that head of hers. Once it came out...

  He heard a vehicle coming up the road to the ranch. “I should go.” He was hoping it was Travers back from town. His “father” had gone in to set up a bank account for him.

  “I should have thought of it before,” Travers had apologized. “A man needs a little spending money.”

  Vance wondered what his father thought was a little spending money. Hopefully enough so he could take off in one of the ranch trucks and never look back.

  “Any word on the reward money?” he asked now into the phone.

  “Not yet,” Huck said.

  A lie. Travers had told him that the reward was being paid today by special messenger. That had surprised him. He’d thought the lawyer, Waters, would be handling it and said as much to the man.

  “Jim Waters is no longer in my employ,” Travers had said.

  That had surprised him even more. “I t
hought he was like family.” At least, that was what Waters had told him once.

  “Family,” Travers had repeated. “It’s odd what makes a family, don’t you think? It isn’t always blood. But even blood sometimes can’t hold a family together. I think it’s trust and love.” The man had smiled. “One day my sons will all marry and our family will grow. I hope to see grandchildren before I die.”

  Vance had thought of Cull and Nikki. “I would think you’ll be hearing wedding bells before you know it.”

  “Yes. I hope Jesse Rose is here to see it. This family won’t be whole again until she’s home. And her mother, too.” Travers had brightened. “At least you’re home.”

  “You still there?” Huck asked over the phone, sounding even more irritated.

  “I’m here.” Right here at home.

  “Just do your job.”

  Vance disconnected and headed for the house. Once Travers handed him that checkbook... And yet as he walked up the back steps, he felt a pang. If only he truly was Oakley McGraw. Surprisingly it wasn’t the ranch or the money or name that pulled at him. It was the idea of having a father like Travers McGraw.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “HERE, LET ME help you with that,” Ledger said as he saw the cook struggling with a large box. He’d been busy making him and Abby a picnic lunch. He planned to surprise her with a ride around the ranch.

  The fiftysomething matronly woman had just come into the back door with the box and seemed anxious to put it down. But when he tried to take it, the cook turned away from him. “I have it,” she said, sounding as if out of breath. “But thank you.” She set it down carefully.

  He noticed that the top had been taped closed and wondered idly what was inside that so much tape had been used. Live lobsters?

  She turned, looking nervous, and he realized he was making her so. “Did you need something?”

  “No—sorry.” He tried to remember her name. Louise? Elise? Eloise? He couldn’t be sure. They’d had the same cook from as far back as he could remember. It was hard since they’d gone through a few before they’d gotten this one. Also he had the feeling that, like the others, she wouldn’t be staying long. His family was a little too infamous and Patricia’s arrest hadn’t helped.