Ride the Thunder

by Janet Dailey

  "I do believe you are a little insane, " Fletcher mused.

  "Do you? Why? Because I'm turning down not only your money but the considerable attraction of your daughter as well? You could be right. Maybe I am, " he conceded. "But I can promise you that I'm going to prove you killed Max—and I'm going to find out why. "

  "If you find a motive, I do hope you will tell me. " There was a taunt of arrogant amusement in his voice. "As you know, Max was the kind of man I could buy and sell a half-a-dozen times. If he was any sort of a problem to me, there were any number of ways I could have gotten rid of him without resorting to murder. "

  That was the part that troubled Brig, because he knew Fletcher was right He couldn't visualize Max posing such a large threat that Fletcher had felt the only way to dispose of him was to kill him. He could have ruined him financially. Brig suddenly wondered if that's what Fletcher had been doing. Perhaps he was responsible for the financial problems Max was having personally, as well as with the company. That possibility only complicated things. If Max was going under in a matter of months, why had Fletcher killed him now? There was an important piece missing in the puzzle. Brig had to find it somehow.

  "When I discover your reason, Fletcher, you will know. " Brig concealed his confusion and uncertainty. "Although I wont promise that you will be the first"

  "I wouldn't do it if I were you, McCord. " For an instant, hatred burned undisguised in his brown eyes. "You might be tackling something you aren't big enough to handle. "

  "Is that a threat, Fletcher?" Brig jeered. "Or just more impotent words from an old man? The truth is, you might have gone too far this time. Don't think you're going to get away with murder, because you will be making a mistake then. "

  Just when Brig thought he might have goaded Fletcher into letting something slip, a smooth mask slipped over the man's expression. He was looking beyond Brig and wearing a paternally benign smile.

  "Did you speak to your mother, Kit?" he asked and Brig realized that Kit and Jordanna were returning to the table. He smothered the brief flames of irritation.

  "Yes, I did... " Kit hesitated a fraction of a second as he sat down in his chair. "... and assured her that all of us were fine and quite unscathed. "

  "Death is never pleasant, but it's always a shock when it happens to someone you know, " Fletcher commented. "I hope you asked your mother to send flowers and our condolences to Max's family. "

  "I... didn't, but I'm sure she will, " Kit replied.

  "What is this?" Jordanna reached for the briar lying on the table top.

  For an instant, Brig was captivated by the sight of her long, slender fingers, their delicacy and their strength. Swiftly, he pushed it down and studied her face. She seemed genuinely ignorant of its significance. But, damn, he didn't believe her!

  "That's my good luck piece. " He reached out and took it from her fingers.

  "A stick of thorns?" She gave him a curious and skeptical look.

  "Yes. " Brig slipped it in his jacket pocket.

  "So much for rabbits' foots and pennies, " Jordanna laughed in puzzlement.

  Surreptitiously he glanced at the brother. Kit was wearing a frown. It quickly vanished when he saw that Brig was looking at him. He turned to his father.

  "Shall I make our return reservations?"

  Fletcher took a deep breath, flicking a brief glance at Brig before beginning his answer. "Yes, I... "

  "You aren't planning to leave now, are you?" Brig interrupted smoothly. He knew he was playing a dangerous game. But he didn't want Fletcher on the other side of the continent, not yet, not when there was a chance of uncovering some incriminating evidence. "I thought you came here to hunt bighorn sheep. That monarch is still waiting up in the mountains for you. Aren't you going after him? There's a couple of weeks of the season left and I still haven't earned all of my bonus. "

  Fletcher considered the suggestion for a moment "That's true. "

  "We've handled all the details regarding Max's accident. There is nothing to stop us from leaving tomorrow morning for the high country, is there?" Brig challenged.

  "But—what about the funeral?" Jordanna protested, "He was your cousin. Aren't you going to attend?"

  Brig turned to calmly meet her accusing look. "I'm not a hypocrite. The circumstances of my birth might have made Max my cousin, but I never liked him. I wouldn't have crossed the street to see him when he was alive. I'm not flying to New York to attend his funeral now that he's dead. " He looked at Fletcher in silent challenge. "We'll, what do you say? You claimed you wanted that bighorn. "

  "I do, " Fletcher stated. "Like Jordanna, I was under the impression that you would be attending Max's funeral. But if you are willing to take me after that bighorn, I can leave whenever you are ready. "

  "That settles it, then, " Brig pushed his chair away from the table and straightened. "I'll head back to the ranch and have Jocko get everything organized to leave tomorrow. "

  "Fine, " Fletcher nodded.

  But Brig noticed that neither Jordanna nor her brother looked enthused about the prospect. He guessed that they wanted to cut and run before their deed was uncovered. Fletcher wouldn't waste any time informing them that it was already too late. Brig walked to the bar to pay for the drinks.

  Trudie rang the bill on the cash register and handed Brig his change. "Are you leaving now?"

  "I have to get back to the ranch. " He pushed the money in the side pocket of his Levis.

  When he started to turn away, she said, "Brig Jake Phelps has been talking about marriage. "

  Stopping, he looked at her. They'd had some good times together before Jordanna had come along And Jake Phelps was a jealous man. Oh, well, hadn't he decided to stay out of Trudie's life? The long breath he released was a sigh of final acceptance,

  "He's a good man, Trudie. " It was her decision and Brig wasn't about to make a recommendation.

  "Yes, I guess he is. " She looked disappointed and he knew why.

  There wasn't anything left to say, so Brig walked toward the door. He was aware of the trio at the table silently watching him leave, but he didn't look in their direction as he pushed open the door and stepped outside. He paused on the sidewalk, wondering if they were plotting his death. He'd have to be extra careful in those mountains. His gaze turned to the ragged edge of the horizon. The prophecy he'd made about Max might come true for himself as well.

  "There you are, Brig. " Tandy's stocky figure came hurrying along the sidewalk toward him. "Are the Smith's inside?"

  "Yes. "

  "Where are you going?"

  "Back to the ranch. We're heading back into the mountains first thing in the morning to resume the hunt. I want Jocko to get everything organized. "

  "We're going back?" Tandy looked surprised.

  "Not you. Just Jocko and me. Frank is going to need some help at the ranch. I can handle the horses this trip. " He'd see to them all personally. There would be no briar slipped under his saddle. "Fletcher paid for his bighorn and he wants it. "

  "He don't sound too concerned that we just carried the body of a friend of his out of the mountains, " the cowboy sniffed.

  "Max wasn't his friend, " Brig corrected and walked to his truck. "I'll see you later at the ranch. "

  Chapter 19

  "Why are you going back out there, Dad?" Kit demanded when the door closed behind Brig.

  "I came here to get a trophy ram. I'm going back to the mountains for the same reason, " he replied in a voice that said it should be obvious. "I would have mentioned it myself, but Max was Brig's cousin. I wouldn't force a man to ignore a death in the family to fulfill a contractual obligation to me. But since he volunteered, I certainly don't intend to refuse. "

  "But doesn't Max's death mean anything to you?" he persisted.

  Jordanna's expression resembled the one on her brother's face. She, too, thought their father was being selfish and insensitive.

  "What do you expect me to say?" her father shrugged. "It was a regr
ettable accident. But he wasn't a close friend of mine. I barely knew the man. Life goes on. Nothing comes to a stop simply because one man dies. It's like putting your thumb in a pail of water and pulling it out. There's barely a ripple, let alone a hole. That may sound callous, but it's the truth, " he stated. "Brig knows that. I agree with him that it would be hypocrisy to pretend I felt a loss for someone I only knew superficially. "

  "It seems to me that... "Kit began.

  "Naturally, I don't expect you to come with me, " her father interrupted. "Your place is with your mother. After the accident, she will be worried about you. You are her only son. " There was an underlying tone of contempt in his voice, which was absent when he addressed Jordanna. "If you feel it's improper, I won't suggest that you accompany me either. "

  Improper or not, Jordanna knew she had to go. Brig was going, and—fool that she was—she had to go, too. "No, I'll go with you. "

  "I'm coming, too, " Kit stated.

  "I don't see any point in it this time, Kit, " her father declared coldly. "And don't try to pretend again that it's because of some desire to be with me. "

  Jordanna looked from one to the other in surprise. What were they talking about? Why else had Kit come? Everyone was talking in riddles. And she seemed to be the only one who didn't know the answers.

  "I'm coming You can't stop me. " Her brother's statement was issued in calm determination.

  Her father glared at him, then jeered, "You've been gone quite awhile now. Aren't you worried that your roommate might have found someone else to take your place?" There was faint, caustic emphasis in the reference.

  Kit's mouth whitened in anger, but just then Tandy Barnes walked into the bar. Whatever reply Kit had been going to make was checked by the appearance of the cowboy.

  "Are you folks ready to head back to the ranch?" He paused beside their table.

  Her father met Kit's determined look for a long second, men nodded, "Yes, I guess we are all ready to go. " He made no further protest of Kit's decision to accompany them on the hunt.

  The exchange between her father and brother troubled Jordanna. It wasn't until late that afternoon after they had returned to the ranch that she had an opportunity to question her brother alone about it And then it had occurred only after he had sought her out. She was in Brig's bedroom, where she slept, repacking her duffle when he knocked at the door.

  "I've been wanting to talk to you, " she told him as she let him in.

  But Kit didn't give her a chance to follow up on that statement. "Is there any way you can talk Dad out of leaving on this hunt?"

  "Talk him out of it?" she repeated incredulously. "He has his heart set on getting a trophy ram. I couldn't talk him out of that. " Immediately Jordanna leaped in with a question of her own. "Why doesn't he want you to go?"

  There was a cynically amused twist of his mouth. "Maybe he thinks I'll hamper him in some way. " His attempt at humor sounded grim.

  "Be serious, " Jordanna complained impatiently.

  "I am, " he smiled.

  "Then why is it. that you aren't making sense?" She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. "Nobody is making sense. I feel like you are talking in some secret code that I don't understand. Take that ridiculous remark Dad made about your roommate Mike. He knows very well that the apartment lease is in your name. Mike couldn't have anyone move in while you're away, so why did he say such a silly thing? And why did you get angry when he did?"

  His gaze fell from hers and he turned away. "You wouldn't understand, Jordanna. "

  "I wouldn't understand, " she repeated angrily. "I'll never understand if someone doesn't explain. I feel like a child with some adult telling me to wait until I grow up to ask the question. I am twenty-four years old. How much older do I have to be before I am capable of understanding? Or am I supposed to just stumble blindly on in ignorance for the rest of my life?"

  "You really haven't guessed, have you?" Kit looked at her sadly.

  "Guessed what? Will you stop talking in questions?" Frustration rang with silent fury in her demand.

  "I know we've never been close. But haven't you ever wondered why I've never brought a girlfriend home?"

  His response confused her. It wasn't at all what she expected. "If I gave it any thought at all, I imagine that I supposed you didn't want to expose them to the obvious hostility between Mom and Dad. " Her shoulders lifted in an uncertain shrug.

  "Jordanna, there weren't any girls to bring home, " he told her in a quiet and calm voice.

  She gave him a blank look. "What are you trying to say?"

  "Mike isn't my roommate. "

  Comprehension dawned in a blinding flash that reeled her backwards. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could force anything through the stranglehold of shock in her throat

  "No, " Jordanna denied in a choked voice. "I don't believe you. It isn't true. "

  "It is true, " Kit insisted in a gentle voice. "I know it's a shock. You can imagine how Dad reacted when I told him several years ago. I thought he was going to kill me. He made me swear that you would never find out It was a pretty easy promise to keep. You and I never really got along the way a brother and sister should, but I couldn't bear to have you look at me with the contempt and loathing that is in Dad's eyes. I was only kidding myself that you would never find out. It would have happened sooner or later. And I'd rather be the one who did it, even if it means... " One corner of his mouth twitched into a sad smile of acceptance. "... that you won't want to see me again. "

  "But... you are my brother, " Jordanna protested in an anguished whisper. "How could I reject you?"

  There were tears in his eyes. "So many have turned away. "

  "You are my brother, " she repeated. There was an enormous lump in her throat; and her vision was blurred by the welling of tears.

  In the next second, they were hugging each other, crying softly on the other's shoulder. Jordanna didn't think less of him for the tears. Her brother was a strong man or he would never have been able to stand up to their father. He would have run from him and hid the truth. He was her brother. She couldn't judge him.

  She wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "My God, we're becoming maudlin, " she laughed, sniffing at her runny nose.

  "I'd offer you my handkerchief, but I need it, " Kit joked.

  "I'll get my own. " She walked to the tissue box in her cosmetic case. After blowing her nose, she wiped away all traces of the emotional scene and turned to discover that Kit had done the same.

  "I'd better let you get back to your work, " he said with a warm half-smile. "Thank you for being my sister, Jordanna. "

  There was nothing for her to say so she just nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. He left the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes, Jordanna returned to her packing. With that secret revealed, it was inevitable that her thoughts turned to Brig. She glanced at the bed that they had once shared and where she now slept alone. Was the affair over? And was she simply too stubborn to admit it? She loved him. She refused to accept the possibility that there was no hope.

  Standing at the bathroom sink, Brig stared at his reflection in the mirror. The blade of the razor cut a path through the shaving cream on his cheek. It was late to be shaving when he would only have to turn around and do it again in the morning. He turned his head as the bathroom door opened.

  Jordanna started to walk in until she saw him standing at the sink. "Sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here, " she apologized.

  His senses leaped at the sight of her in that dressing gown. He remembered vividly the night he had taken it off her and let his hands roam her creamy smooth flesh. Turning back to the mirror, he rinsed the lather from the razor blade with the running water from the faucet

  "I must have forgotten to lock the door. " His hand didn't feel very steady when he touched the blade to his jaw.

  She started to leave, then hesitated for an instant to watch him. "Why do men always make such funny faces when they shave?" she wondered a
loud.

  In spite of himself, a faint smile touched his mouth. "To entertain the spectators. " He managed to avoid cutting himself as he stroked the razor along his jaw. "I'll be through shortly. Then you can have the bathroom. "

  Jordanna didn't leave. Instead she took a step into the room and reached out to lightly touch her fingertips to his muscled shoulder. As they traced a diagonal line from the point of his shoulder to the shoulder blade, Brig stood motionless, the razor poised near his cheek.

  "You took the bandage off. Is your shoulder better?" Her gaze sought his reflection in the mirror.

  "It's much better. " After briefly meeting her glance, Brig avoided and needlessly rinsed the razor again under the running tap water. His voice was low and stiffly controlled. "Do you mind leaving? I would like some privacy. "

  "Of course. " It was a subdued reply.

  Turning away, she bent her head. Her brown hair was gilded with scarlet under the light of the bare bulb above the sink. He watched her in the mirror until her reflection left its smooth surface. The door closed and Brig lowered his hands to the sink, gripping its porcelain edge and hanging his head. She was tearing his guts out. She was a willing accomplice to Fletcher's plans, if not more than that, but Brig still felt that gnawing desire to love and protect her. And she needed his protection about as much as a fully clawed tigress would.

  Jordanna lay in bed and tried to sleep, but she couldn't force her eyes to close. The only light in the darkened bedroom came from the single window where the dimness of a partially obscured moon made a square patch of dark gray and gave the room's furniture dark shape. It was late, nearly midnight, and she needed her sleep, but it wouldn't come. Restlessly, she turned, punching her pillow and trying to find a more comfortable position.

  After another fifteen minutes, she gave up. It was no use. She wasn't going to sleep. Jordanna threw back the covers and swung her feet to the floor. Reaching for her robe, she slipped it on and zipped it closed. When she couldn't sleep as a child, Tessa had always brought her a glass of warm milk. As near as Jordanna could recall, it had always worked.