Lone Rider

by B. J Daniels

  He’d smiled. “I love you, Bo. That won’t change.”

  “But you think I’ll change my mind again.”

  “A little time won’t hurt anything, will it?” he’d asked.

  She couldn’t bear the thought of them going back to the way they’d been the past five years. She thought about their lovemaking on the mountain, the promises they’d made. True, they both needed time to heal. But fate had brought them together again, and she wasn’t going to let Jace go without a fight.

  He could have all the time he wanted. But that didn’t mean she was walking away. She picked up his favorite pizza and beer and bought a movie she knew he would like. Her car smelled like sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza as she drove out to Jace’s ranch. She hadn’t been out here for five years. The house, though old, was freshly painted white with pale green shutters. The barn looked new and so did the corrals.

  She thought about what Emily had told her. How had Jace, just a teenager, saved the ranch after his parents’ deaths? He’d even gotten good grades while working two jobs. She thought of the tuxedo he’d rented with money he’d saved and how excited Emily said he’d been.

  It made her heart ache to think what he’d been through at such a young age. She considered what had happened to her up on the mountain. Jace’s hardship had turned him into the man he was now. It would take time to know how much her capture on the mountain had affected her.

  But she’d survived it. She had awakened grateful and filled with new hope. She felt stronger, more confident, more sure of what she wanted in life. What she wanted was Jace. Now all she had to do was prove it to him.

  Balancing the pizza, a six-pack of cold beers and the DVD she’d bought in town, she knocked at the door. She could hear voices inside the house and felt a moment of panic.

  What if there was another woman here?

  Of course he might have a girlfriend. But wouldn’t Emily have mentioned that? Wouldn’t Bo have heard he was dating?

  The door opened. For a moment, she didn’t recognize Brody McTavish, a neighboring rancher. Brody was dark-haired like Jace and equally as handsome.

  “Well, look who’s here!” Brody said over his shoulder, then gave Bo a wink.

  “Who is it?” Jace called from somewhere deep in the house.

  “Dinner, I believe.” Brody grinned. Taking the bag with the beer and movie, motioned her inside. “How do you feel about pizza?” he called to Jace.

  “You ordered pizza?”

  “I couldn’t have ordered something you needed more,” he said more quietly to Bo as he led her back to the large living room.

  A fire crackled from a stone fireplace, bathing the nicely furnished room in warmth. Jace sat in an overstuffed leather chair, his casted leg resting on an ottoman. Surprise registered on his face, then curiosity. “Bo?”

  “I heard somewhere that you were a fan of pizza,” she said.

  “And beer,” Brody said as he pulled two bottles from the bag. “Let me get an opener for these.” He disappeared down the hall.

  “If this is a bad time...”

  “Your timing couldn’t be better,” Jace said as Brody returned with the beer and opener. “I was getting to the point where I couldn’t take another of this man’s jokes.”

  Brody laughed. “He loves my jokes. Don’t let him kid you. Oh, look at the time,” he said glancing at his watch. “Call if you need me.” He grinned, picked up his cowboy hat from where he’d apparently tossed it earlier and, tipping the brim, turned to leave.

  “Please don’t go on my account. I should have called.”

  “Later,” Brody said.

  “Thanks for saving me,” Jace said, then turned serious. “Really.”

  Bo stood in the middle of the suddenly much too quiet room after Brody left.

  It was Jace who broke the ice. “Did I hear him say you brought pizza?”

  They ate in front of the fire and talked about everything but their ordeal on the mountain, senior prom or the foundation’s missing money. Bo figured Emily had already told him about the overseas hacker.

  The time passed so quickly that they didn’t get around to watching the movie before she had to leave.

  “Thanks,” Jace said as she pulled on her jacket. “Dinner was delicious.”

  “Do you like barbecued short ribs?” she asked impulsively. “I was thinking I might put some on tomorrow. I could maybe—”

  “That movie you bought?” he asked. “Maybe we could watch it tomorrow.”

  * * *

  IT WASN’T UNTIL after dinner and the movie that Emily told Alex about Harrison Ames and how he had controlled her.

  “There’s something I need to tell you, then,” he said.

  When he told her about the man who’d been watching her, Emily’s throat closed, strangling any speech.

  “He’s been there the past few times when you’ve taken your coffee break,” Alex said. “Big guy, lots of tattoos, longish dark brown hair, driving one of those large older-model American cars.”

  She nodded numbly.

  “You know who he is?”

  “No.” But if he’d been watching her, she had an idea why. Just as she had a pretty good idea who had probably sent him. “You’re sure he’s—”

  “I’m sure. As soon as you leave, he watches you, then he drives away.”

  She clasped her hands together to keep them from trembling as she thought about the break-in at her house.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Alex said. “I thought you might know him.”

  Emily shook her head, but the description could fit any number of Harrison’s friends.

  “Emily?” Alex reached over and placed his hand over hers. “I took down his license plate number. If you really don’t know him, maybe I should take it to the sheriff.”

  She flinched at the thought. If it was one of Harrison’s friends... “I can’t believe you did that,” Emily said.

  “I hope you aren’t angry.”

  “Angry? No, it’s just that Harrison is dangerous, and if this guy is a friend of his...”

  Alex laughed. “I’m tougher than I look.”

  She tried to smile, suddenly scared. “He could have been sent by my ex.”

  “Why would he send... Sorry, it’s none of my business.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said.

  He nodded. They’d been sitting out in front of her house. Now he killed the engine and opened his door. She was already part way out of his car when she realized he was coming around to her side to open her door for her.

  She felt like crying as he held the door open and she slowly climbed out. Her eyes burned, and her throat contracted with disappointment. She’d felt the change in him the minute she’d said she was sure it was nothing.

  They both knew that wasn’t the case, but she didn’t want him seeing that side of her old life. And now he had.

  “I had a nice time,” she said as he walked her to the door.

  “I’m glad,” he said, stopping on the bottom step. “I did, too. Emily, I’m here if you need me.” He held up a hand. “I know. You can take care of yourself, but we all need someone sometime, okay?”

  She nodded.

  He reached to draw out his wallet. “Does your babysitter need a ride home?”

  Always the gentleman, she thought.

  “No, my landlady lives next door.”

  He held out a twenty.

  “That’s too much,” she said, not taking it.

  He dug out a ten and looked at her.

  “It really isn’t necessary.” He pushed it into her hand. An awkward few moments passed.

  “Alex—” His gaze met hers, and she felt a warm rush of strong emotion.

  “I guess
I’ll see you Monday,” he said.

  She nodded, even though she wasn’t sure the foundation’s doors wouldn’t be closed forever by Monday.

  He turned and walked back toward his car. She wanted to call after him, but she didn’t know what more she could have said. She’d hoped that she’d put that old life behind her. More than anything, she hadn’t wanted that life to touch this new one she was building.

  But hearing about the man who’d been watching her, Emily knew she hadn’t escaped. Her old life had found her and at the worst possible time, just when she was starting to feel good about herself. Harrison might be locked up in prison, but she would bet that he’d sent someone to see what she was up to.

  As Alex drove away, she looked around, scared. Not for herself. But for Alex. It would be just like Harrison to have someone hurt Alex if he thought she cared about the man. She was just thankful that Jodie wasn’t Harrison’s child.

  She didn’t see anyone parked down the dark street, but she couldn’t be sure that the man hadn’t been watching her both at work—and at home.

  Which meant he knew about Jodie.

  She grabbed the end of the porch railing as her knees threatened to give way. For a moment, she couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t think or move. Of course that had been the man who’d broken into her house and taken the photo of her and Jodie. Harrison must think that Jodie was his.

  What was she going to do? Maybe more to the point, what was the man watching her going to do?

  When Emily entered the house, she found her landlady snoring on the couch. She went straight to her daughter’s bedroom. Jodie was curled up in her bed, fast asleep.

  As she looked at her baby’s angelic face, her emotions bubbled up. She wanted more than anything to be a good mother. She’d made so many mistakes and feared she would make more. But above all else, she had to protect her daughter.

  Finding her wouldn’t have been a problem because she’d come home to the area where she’d grown up. So why bother watching her?

  She wiped at her tears, realizing she was crying, and thought of Alex and their date. She’d had fun. That surprised her more than she would ever admit to anyone.

  Alex was smart and funny. She liked him. She hoped she would see him again. He didn’t seem like the other men in her life who’d let her down. She hoped that would prove true. As Jace always said, she had a real trust issue.

  Jace. She’d been so worried about him, and for a good reason, as it turned out. At least he was safe now.

  She’d heard there was another storm coming in. Earlier she’d seen the clouds over the Crazies. Now she heard the plink of rain at the window and glanced up.

  Through the grate her landlady had put on Jodie’s window, Emily saw a face looking in at her.

  She screamed.

  * * *

  JACE COULDN’T HAVE been more surprised to see Bo at his door. Since they’d gotten off the mountain, he’d told himself that they didn’t know each other anymore. That the five years they’d been apart this last time had felt like a lifetime and too much water had run under the bridge.

  Also, he’d worried that once safe, Bo would realize the same thing.

  Then she’d shown up with pizza, beer and a movie. “You remembered my favorite pizza,” he’d said earlier as they sat in front of the fire.

  “I remember everything,” she’d said without looking at him.

  He’d nodded to himself.

  The evening had been pleasant. He’d forgotten that they used to be friends. Or that she probably knew him better than he knew himself.

  Take things slow, he warned himself now, then laughed. With his leg in this huge cast, the only way he would be taking things was slow. He had weeks laid up. Way too much time to think.

  But Bo was coming back tomorrow with short ribs, another of his favorites. He smiled to himself.

  “So how did it go?” Brody asked when he called not ten minutes after Bo had left.

  “Are you hiding outside my house?” Jace joked.

  “I just happened to see her SUV go by. Mere coincidence. Well?”

  “It was...nice.”

  “Nice?” Brody laughed. “Let me ask you this. What is Bo’s favorite pizza?”

  “Pineapple and Canadian bacon.”

  “Uh-huh. The woman loves you.”

  “What if it is too late for us?”

  “How can you even say that?”

  “Because what happened up on the mountain happened because she thought we were both going to die the next day. Now that she’s back home—”

  “Wait. Did what I think happened on the mountain happen?” Brody laughed, knowing he wasn’t going to get an answer. “You overthink life. This isn’t like running a ranch, buying and selling cattle. It’s love. It doesn’t take a lot of thinking. It just is.”

  “Spoken by the man who has avoided love for thirty-some years.”

  “I just know it when I see it. Holler if you need me, but I’m assuming Bo will be back tomorrow.” There was a smile in voice. “Did you happen to leave me any pizza?”

  * * *

  ALEX GOT EMILY’S call before he reached his house outside of town.

  “I think it was the man you saw,” she cried. “He was standing outside Jodie’s window. He...” Her voice broke. “I think he was the one who broke in a few days ago. I thought nothing was missing, but then I realized that a photo I had by my bed of me and Jodie was gone.”

  “Did you call the sheriff‘s office?”

  “Yes, they were just here. I told them you might have the man’s license plate number. He fit the description of the man you told me about. The deputy wanted us both to come down there. I know it’s late—”

  “I’ll pick you up. Do you have someone to watch Jodie?”

  “My landlady. I scared ten years off her life when I screamed. Woke Jodie up, but she’s fine now. My landlady is making her hot cocoa.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  When he arrived at the house, Jodie was curled up on the couch with Emily’s landlady.

  “Are you all right?” he asked as he and Emily drove to the sheriff’s office.

  “I’m fine. I was just startled.”

  He glanced over at her. She seemed calm, in control. She wasn’t the kind to get hysterical. Instead, she seemed even more protective of her daughter. He liked that about her.

  The deputy was waiting for them. After taking down the information, he asked Alex more about the times he’d seen the man.

  “You’re sure he was watching Miss Calder?”

  “Definitely. That’s what made me notice him. He seemed so intent on her comings and goings.”

  The deputy turned to Emily. “You say he might have some connection to your former boyfriend, Harrison Ames?”

  “I don’t know that for sure. It just seems likely.”

  The deputy studied his notes for a moment. “You say entry into your house was through your daughter’s window and that the photo taken was of the two of you.” He glanced at Alex, then back to Emily. “Where is the baby’s father?”

  “He’s out of the picture.”

  “Is it possible this man has a connection to the baby’s father?”

  Alex found himself waiting for the answer, as well. The man’s interest in Jodie worried him.

  “There’s no connection,” she said with a shake of her head. “Jodie’s father didn’t travel in the same circles as my ex-boyfriend.”

  The deputy seemed to think about that for a moment. “This man seems interested in your daughter. If he is a friend of your ex-boyfriend, who I understand is serving time in prison, then...is there any chance that Harrison Ames thinks Jodie is his?”

  When Emily didn’t answer, Alex looked over at her. Her face h
ad crumpled, and he could see that she was fighting tears. He reached over and took her hand.

  “If it would be easier, I can leave,” he whispered to her.

  She squeezed his hand and shook her head. Lifting her face, she met the deputy’s gaze. “I became pregnant shortly after Harrison’s arrest. Her father is married, an upstanding member of society in Billings, a decent man. He and I...it was a moment of weakness for him. I asked for a paternity test after Jodie was born, not because I wanted anything from the man, but so I knew who my daughter’s father was. It wasn’t Harrison.”

  Alex squeezed her hand back.

  The deputy nodded. “It seems Harrison might be thinking otherwise. Would you be willing to have another paternity test done to assure him he is wrong?”

  She nodded.

  “We’ll talk to this man. I doubt we can get him on breaking and entering, but we’ll try. Mostly we just want to make sure he doesn’t continue shadowing you,” the deputy said and got to his feet.

  As they left, Emily said to Alex, “You didn’t know what you were getting into, did you? I would understand if—”

  “I told you, I want to get to know you.”

  “Well, you’re getting to know me. I’m so sorry.”

  He shook his head. “Hey, we all come with a past. Someday maybe I’ll tell you about mine.”

  She looked over him as they walked out of the sheriff’s department, into the beautiful summer night. She saw a sadness in his expression as if he was thinking about that past. Maybe he, too, had regrets. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”

  Alex caught her hand and brought her to a stop. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her. As he drew back, he smiled. “I had a wonderful time tonight.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Even a visit to the sheriff’s department?”

  “Next date I think we should go to a movie that Jodie can see.”

  Emily smiled through her tears. “That sounds wonderful.”

  * * *

  WHEN RUSSELL DROVE up to the cabin the next day, he didn’t see Sarah. Normally she would have come out on the deck. He felt a jolt of worry. What if the press had found her? Reporters had been clamoring to get her story. It was why he’d hidden her out here. What if she’d fallen and—