Wilde Thing

by Jannine Gallant

  “I guess I haven’t talked to either him or Griff in a while. I’ve been preoccupied with therapy since my shoulder injury. Where’s this house of Sawyer’s?”

  “Up in the mountains not far outside Denver. Devin’s doing real well in her new job at the museum, so they decided to take the plunge into home ownership.”

  “Good for them. I can’t believe both my brothers bought homes and are getting married. Sounds a little too domesticated for me.”

  “You own a home.” His dad shoved his hands into his pockets. “And, I heard from Eden you’re seeing Hannah.”

  Tripp shrugged. “I needed the house for a tax write-off. As for Hannah, we’re…dating. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy hanging out with her, but that’s all it is for now.”

  “Humph.” His grandpa scowled. “I always liked that girl. You better not break her heart.”

  “Christ, Gramps, you sound like Eden. Why is everyone convinced I’m such an asshole? I’m the one you’re related to. Shouldn’t you be worried about me getting hurt?”

  His dad smiled and gave him a slap on the back. “It’s because we know you so well we’re concerned…for Hannah. Let’s see, who was the little freckle-faced girl who followed you around in kindergarten? Mary Ann…Mary Beth…”

  “Mary Ellen.”

  He snapped his fingers. “That’s right, Mary Ellen. She was crushed when you started sharing your cookies with Tom Rayburn’s youngest girl. Your mother wasn’t very happy when she got a call from his wife after you got tired of Jeannette and made her cry. I remember the whole scene like it was yesterday.”

  Tripp crossed his arms over his chest and stared. “You’re kidding, right? What was I, five years old at the time?”

  “Yep, and that’s my point. To the best of my knowledge, you’ve been breaking hearts ever since.”

  “Not surprisingly, the women I date now are a little more sophisticated than Mary Ellen and Jeannette were back then.” He rolled his eyes. “We have fun together then part ways. They all know the drill.”

  “Does Hannah?”

  “Of course. She’s a whole lot smarter than I am. Believe me, she’s under no illusions when it comes to my character. Not that my character is so damn bad.”

  “Well, then, we won’t worry about her.” His dad turned to face the empty area that used to hold Sawyer’s workshop where he’d carved gnomes and elves and other little figures that sold for obscene amounts of money. “We could expand the tack room, which is packed full of miscellaneous crap. On the other hand, Eden’s been curing a lot of hides and working with the leather this winter. We were contemplating setting this space up for her. The shed she’s using now isn’t very warm.”

  “What’s she making with the leather?”

  “Handbags and belts, mostly.” His grandpa nodded. “Fancy stuff with silver and brass accents. Real pretty pieces. She started selling them online.”

  Tripp’s brows shot up. “I guess Sawyer isn’t the only Wilde with artistic talent.”

  “No, Eden has the knack. She’s learned patience for creating those intricate designs while working with her wild horses.” His dad turned away and headed toward the side door. “The tack room isn’t all that overcrowded, and Eden deserves to work in comfort. I’ll have a couple of the hands help her move her table and tools in here if she likes the idea.”

  “Decision made.” His cell vibrated in his pocket as they left the barn. Tripp pulled it out to glance at the display. An unfamiliar number, but the area code was for Wyoming. Maybe the rental company with the mechanic’s report?

  “I have to take this. I’ll catch up to you at the house.” When his dad and grandpa nodded and headed across the yard, Tripp answered, “Hello?”

  “Mr. Wilde?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Deputy LaGrange with the Teton County Sheriff’s Office. I need to follow up with you and Miss Ryder regarding the mechanic’s report for your rental vehicle. Can I meet you somewhere to discuss it?”

  “Not unless you want to drive up to my family ranch. As I mentioned last night, we had plans to leave Jackson Hole this morning.”

  The deputy let out a breath. “I’d hoped maybe you changed your minds. If you have a few minutes, we’ll have this conversation now. I can speak to Miss Ryder afterward.”

  Tripp walked over to the corral and leaned against the frozen fencepost. Some distance away, a pair of Eden’s wild Appaloosas eyed him warily.

  “Sounds ominous.”

  “After what you mentioned about recent accidents, I asked the owner of the auto shop to contact me directly once his mechanic finished his assessment of the vehicle. The brakes failed because the line had been cut.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “No, he was definite about the cause.”

  Tripp slammed his fist down on the top rail, and the horses skittered away. “So, someone really did try to kill us?”

  “I can’t speak to intent, but I’m still amazed Miss Ryder managed to drive down that hill without winding up in a serious accident.”

  “Son of a bitch!”

  “Do you know someone who would wish to harm you or Miss Ryder?”

  Tripp ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t imagine Hannah has any enemies. I’ve pissed off a few people over the years, but none of them would want me dead. At least I don’t think they would.” He huffed out a breath. “I know a few skiers who’d probably be happy if I didn’t compete in this year’s extreme skiing championship. We’re all competitive, but that doesn’t mean any of them would want to hurt me.”

  “Were any of those skiers around when this accident occurred?”

  “Zeke Copeland and Laird Johansen were both in Jackson Hole with me to film.” He tried to picture happy-go-lucky Zeke lying on the freezing ground to cut a brake line…and failed. “Hannah and I had dinner alone last night, but it wouldn’t have been difficult to learn where we’d gone. Still, I can’t believe either man would cut a brake line, for Christ’s sake. Also, I have no idea if either of them was in Tahoe when the steps were iced and the live power line wound up in the snow.”

  “You didn’t see anyone you knew at the restaurant?”

  “No, most of the people who worked on the film were partying together at the lodge when we left.”

  “Before I speak with Miss Ryder, can you think of anyone else who isn’t a fan of yours? Maybe you pissed off someone’s boyfriend or husband recently?”

  “Nothing like that.” Tripp closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We did see someone pushed off a chairlift at Squaw Valley a few weeks ago, and a body turned up not long before we left town. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the possibility that the remains they recovered on the mountain was the person we saw pushed.”

  The deputy was silent as the seconds ticked by. “You witnessed a murder?”

  “Maybe. Probably.” Tripp frowned. “But we were quite a distance away when it happened. We didn’t see the man who did the actual pushing. Later, I caught a glimpse of a guy who might have hidden the body. I didn’t recognize him, though, and my theory that he was involved is based purely on happenstance.”

  “I don’t suppose the man you saw was at the restaurant last night.” Sarcasm colored the deputy’s tone.

  “No. Anyway, why would a killer we aren’t able to identify come after us? Seems counterproductive to commit a second crime when we can’t even prove he committed the first one.”

  “Roundabout reasoning, but not without merit. I’ll contact the sheriff you spoke with to fill him in on the incident last night, just in case the two cases are related. Is there anything else you can think of that might be useful?”

  Tripp kicked the fence board. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “I suppose so.” Humor laced LaGrange’s words. “Is Miss Ryder handy? I’d like to speak with her.”

  “She’s here but not with me at the moment. You might try her c
ell phone.”

  “I will. Mr. Wilde…”

  “Yes?”

  “Please be alert at all times. If someone is trying to harm you, and based on what happened last night I have every reason to believe that’s the case, I don’t expect he’ll give up now.”

  “Terrific. I’ll definitely keep my eyes open.”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  Tripp clicked his cell off and stuck it in his pocket. His gaze swept an empty prairie stretching as far as he could see. Any stranger to the ranch would stand out like a coyote prowling around a herd of cattle. The threat would be identified and neutralized before any damage was done. Too bad he and Hannah couldn’t hang out here a whole lot longer, but he had a competition to prepare for.

  With a sigh, he pushed away from the fence. Time to go find Hannah and fill her in on the news…unless the deputy beat him to the punch. Either way, they definitely needed to talk.

  * * * *

  “What was that all about?”

  Hannah pushed her cell into her pocket then turned away from the window with its spectacular view of the mountains to the west to face Eden. As she dropped onto a plush pink chair, she let out a shaky breath. “That call was from a Teton County deputy.”

  Her friend straightened from a lounging position across her bed. Worry darkened deep blue eyes. “Is something wrong?”

  “More than I expected.” With an unsteady hand, Hannah tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “The brakes on our rental car went out last night. We could have been seriously hurt…or killed.”

  Eden jumped to her feet. “Oh. My. God!”

  “Yeah, those were some long, scary minutes before I managed to stop the car. The deputy just told me someone cut the brake line, so our crazy descent down the mountainside wasn’t by accident. Someone intended for us to crash.”

  Eden’s jaw sagged. “Why?”

  “I don’t have a clue unless it has to do with the murder we witnessed. But that doesn’t make a lot of sense since we can’t identify the killer. Apparently Tripp proposed an alternate theory, but everything is speculation at this point. I’m afraid I wasn’t much help.”

  “What murder?” She took a step closer. “What are you talking about?”

  “A few weeks ago, someone I know was killed.” Hannah’s voice cracked. When Eden knelt in front of her chair to grip her hands, the whole story of seeing the body fall from the chairlift and the recovery of Monica’s remains poured out. Drained, Hannah sagged back against pink pillows.

  “Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

  She sighed. “The other possible theory is that one of Tripp’s competitors wants to bang him up a little so he can’t compete at the Big Air Championship. Deputy LaGrange isn’t certain our brake failure had anything to do with what we witnessed at Squaw.”

  “Doesn’t an overzealous competitor seem more likely?” Eden’s brows creased. “If you can’t identify this woman’s killer, why would her murderer come after you?”

  “I’ve no idea.”

  “It makes more sense that Tripp was the intended victim of these accidents, and you just got caught in the crossfire, so to speak.”

  “I can’t imagine a skier he competes with would want to hurt him. That’s awful.”

  Eden rose to her feet and clenched her fists at her sides. “A lot of prize money is involved at these events, not to mention public recognition and the endorsements that follow. My brother has been at the top of the heap for quite a while now. I can believe someone wants to knock him off his pinnacle.”

  Fear shivered through her. Hannah rubbed her arms and let out a long breath. “Maybe he should back out of this competition.”

  Eden snorted. “You should know Tripp better than that. He doesn’t give up when he wants something.”

  “No, he doesn’t. The fact that I’m here right now is proof positive he’s extremely persistent.” Her chest ached, and she pressed a hand to her breasts. “He’s been off the circuit for over a month and is just itching to get back to competitive skiing. No, he won’t agree to skip the championship event.”

  “Doesn’t mean you should go with him and be in danger by association. If Tripp refuses to listen to reason and won’t withdraw from the competition, he might be able to keep a lower profile if he’s alone.” Her friend’s voice quavered. “I’m worried enough about my brother. I don’t want to worry about you, too.”

  Hannah was shaking her head before Eden finished speaking. “He’s never alone. His trainer will be with him along with the guy who handles his equipment and maybe his manager. I don’t see why my presence would complicate the issue. Anyway, we’ll be watching for trouble now that we’re aware there’s a potential problem.”

  “True, but still…”

  “I’d go crazy wondering what was happening to him if I stayed here or went home alone.”

  Eden’s gaze held steady on her. “You really care about him.”

  “Yeah, I do.” She held up a hand. “However, I’m not delusional. Tripp and I probably won’t work out, no matter how much effort I put into the relationship.”

  “So, why did you start something with him if you knew that all along?”

  Hannah shrugged. “Maybe I was tired of dating boring guys. You know what a giant crush I had on him back when we were in college. I guess curiosity got the best of me.”

  “And then your determination to finish what you started kicked in.” Eden’s lips tightened. “You’re as stubborn as he is.”

  “Probably. My emotions are definitely engaged. But just when my hopes start to rise, something happens to confirm my belief that we’re just too different to effectively compromise.”

  “What kind of things?”

  Hannah sighed. “A girl asked him to autograph her boobs. Tripp didn’t think it was a big deal.”

  “He wouldn’t.”

  “Exactly. So, while I appreciate someone more exciting than my usual choice in dates, in the long run, I want a man who’s adult enough to walk away from a situation like that. Maybe staid and circumspect is my destiny in life.”

  “Except, those guys don’t set off fireworks for you. You deserve a little excitement.”

  “Well, I’m getting plenty…for now.” Hannah sighed. “When the sparks fade, I’ll head back to my boring reality.”

  “And if they don’t?” Eden’s brow furrowed.

  “I may get hurt when I walk away. Wouldn’t be the first time.” Holding her friend’s gaze took an effort. “I can handle it.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Her blue eyes flashed. “You’ll push this new pain down with all the rest and ignore it. How much more can you take before you explode?”

  Hannah finally let her gaze drop to her lap. “Let’s hope we don’t find out.”

  Chapter 16

  To Hannah’s right, Eden scrubbed pots in the other side of the double sink while she rinsed plates before placing them in the dishwasher. Behind them, Dahlia Wilde scooped leftovers into containers then stored them in the big, stainless-steel refrigerator. A contented sigh slipped out.

  Eden gave her a quick grin. “Just like the good old days when we came home on college break. The men didn’t offer to help with the dishes then, either.”

  Dahlia stepped up beside her, dishtowel in hand, and reached for the dripping roasting pan. “Isn’t that the truth? Somewhere along the line, I failed when it came to training my boys at dish duty.”

  Tripp’s mother hadn’t changed much over the years. Tall, with short brown hair and the same green eyes she’d passed along to her sons, she exuded warmth and serenity. The polar opposite of Hannah’s mother, which was probably why Hannah had looked forward to coming home with Eden every chance she got.

  “We all have shortcomings. If that’s your worst failure, I say you did well.”

  “Not too bad.” Dahlia flashed a smile. “Sawyer was always my responsible one, and Griff has finally settled down now th
at he has Ainslee to keep him in line.”

  “Then there’s Tripp.” Eden put some extra muscle into scrubbing the gravy pan.

  “My free-spirited boy. Tripp has a good heart. He always wants to please everyone.”

  Eden laughed. “Not when it comes to sports. The man is competitive to a fault.”

  Hannah shut the dishwasher door and leaned against it. “He knows what he wants and goes after it…at least when he’s skiing. That kind of drive is why he’s such a success.”

  Dahlia’s eyes softened as they rested on Hannah. “One of these days he’ll transfer the same dedication to his personal life. I just hope the right woman is waiting for him when he’s ready.”

  Hannah’s cheeks heated. She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Uh, shouldn’t we take out the dessert?”

  “Heavens, yes. I forgot all about it.” Tripp’s mom hustled over to pull out bowls and spoons. “Eden, grab the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer. Hannah, you can carry in the berry cobbler.”

  “My pleasure.” She bent over the still warm pan resting on the counter and took a deep sniff. “This smells delicious.”

  “It tastes even better.” Eden set the last pot on the drainer and dried her hands on a towel. “I snuck a few berries while mom was making it. I’m surprised Grandpa hasn’t been in here asking for dessert. Cobbler is his favorite.”

  “Mine, too. I don’t eat food like this very often, so I consider it a real treat.”

  Dahlia patted her shoulder as she passed. “You don’t need to worry about your weight anymore, Hannah. You look stunning. Whatever you’re doing obviously agrees with you.”

  Eden waited until her mother led the way out of the kitchen to mutter, “Even if what you’re doing is Tripp.” She couldn’t quite keep a straight face, and a sly grin slid out.

  “Hilarious.” Picking up the cobbler, Hannah gave her friend a nudge. “Maybe we should discuss your love life for a change instead of mine.”

  “It would be a short conversation since I don’t have one.”

  “Why not? Are the men around here blind?”