Sudden Setup

by Barb Han

  “You can’t hurt me,” he said with the smile that was so good at breaking down her walls.

  “Doctor says you’re going to be fine.” She looked into those blue eyes of his. Those gorgeous blue eyes.

  “He’ll let me out later today if everything goes well,” he said.

  “Is that a good idea?” Panic gripped her.

  “Yeah. I want to be with you.”

  “I’ll stay here,” she offered.

  “It’s not a bad injury. I’ll be fine by dinner. And there’s something I need to say that can’t wait.”

  Ella tensed, afraid he was about to drop the bomb that it was time the two of them parted ways. Her heart would shred but she forced a game face.

  “Life without you isn’t living, Ella. I’m all in. I’m in love with you and I’d be the happiest man on earth if you would do me the honor of marrying me. I know it’s early and we haven’t had a long time to get to know each other. But I feel like I’ve known you all my life. I’ve made a lot of mistakes but this is a choice I feel good about. The choice I’m making is you.”

  Ella dared to hope this could be real because she felt it just as strongly. “Are you sure this isn’t the medication talking?”

  “Not a chance. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I’ll wait until you’re sure.”

  “I don’t need time. I need you. Yes, I’ll be your wife.” Ella wiped away joyful tears streaming down her cheeks. “I fell in love with you the second I looked into your eyes and saw what kind of man you really are, the one I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know even better.”

  “I love you, Ella,” Holden said as he looked up at her. There was so much love in those blue eyes. “I’m done drifting. You’re my home.”

  * * *

  A WAVE OF gratitude washed over Ella as she woke from a good night’s sleep in her own bed for the second time since Alderant’s arrest. The other side was empty, so Holden must already be up. The doctor wouldn’t be thrilled but she had a feeling that Holden had a good handle on what was best for him while he recovered.

  Besides, knowing him, he was probably making a cup of coffee for May. Lucky her. Ella was more than pleased that two of the most important people in her life got along so well. Her brothers would most likely be more critical, protective instinct being what it was, but Holden was exactly the kind of guy they’d hang out with. And soon the two of them would be married. Her brothers would never argue against a man who made her this happy.

  Ella stretched and pushed off the covers. She could use caffeine and a pair of pain relievers.

  The news had broken last night about the scandal involving the chief of police. Apparently, the attorney general had wanted to act fast before word leaked of the kind of evidence in his possession. The internet couldn’t get enough of replaying a police chief in handcuffs. Holden would finally see justice served for his father and Karen. And when he’d gone to bed last night, it was as if a weight had been lifted.

  Ella moved to the dresser to find a pair of jogging pants to throw on so she could find her fiancé. Rose would be flying in later today and Ella couldn’t wait for her to see Hereford.

  A folded piece of paper caused Ella to freeze. She’d forgotten about the note her father had left there before his death. She picked it up, thinking that his hands had touched the same places not so long ago. Ella pressed the paper to her chest and forced back the tears threatening.

  She opened the paper and read the words.

  You haven’t hiked Devil’s Lid since you were little. A trip there might just help you find where you belong.

  —D

  Ella’s heart fisted and tears streamed down her cheeks as she realized that her father had been trying to lead her to Holden. That, even now, she felt like her father was looking out for her.

  And even though he was gone, she knew in her heart that he would always watch over her.

  * * * * *

  Look for more books in USA TODAY

  bestselling author Barb Han’s

  CRISIS: CATTLE BARGE miniseries,

  coming soon.

  And don’t miss the titles in her

  previous miniseries,

  CATTLEMEN CRIME CLUB:

  STOCKYARD SNATCHING

  DELIVERING JUSTICE

  ONE TOUGH TEXAN

  TEXAS-SIZED TROUBLE

  TEXAS WITNESS

  TEXAS SHOWDOWN

  Available now from Harlequin Intrigue!

  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  Tucker Cahill returns to Gilt Edge, Montana, with no choice but to face down his haunted past when a woman’s skeletal remains are found near his family’s ranch—but he couldn’t have prepared for a young woman seeking vengeance and finding much more.

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  HERO’S RETURN,

  A CAHILL RANCH NOVEL

  from New York Times bestselling author

  B.J. Daniels!

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  Hero’s Return

  by B.J. Daniels

  Skeletal Remains Found in Creek

  The skeletal remains of a woman believed to be in her late teens or early twenties were discovered in Miner’s Creek outside of Gilt Edge, Montana, yesterday. Local coroner Sonny Bates estimated that the remains had been in the creek for somewhere around twenty years.

  Sheriff Flint Cahill is looking into missing-persons cases from that time in the hopes of identifying the victim. If anyone has any information, they are encouraged to call the Gilt Edge Sheriff’s Department.

  “NO, MRS. KERN, I can assure you that the bones that were found in the creek are not those of your nephew Billy,” Sheriff Flint Cahill said into the phone at his desk. “I saw Billy last week at the casino. He was alive and well...No, it takes longer than a week for a body to decompose to nothing but bones. Also, the skeletal remains that were found were a young woman’s...Yes, Coroner Sonny Bates can tell the difference.”

  He looked up as the door opened and his sister, Lillie, stepped into his office. From the scowl on her face, he didn’t have to ask what kind of mood she was in. He’d been expecting her, given that he had their father locked up in one of the cells.

  “Mrs. Kern, I have to go. I’m sorry Billy hasn’t called you, but I’m sure he’s fine.” He hung up with a sigh. “Dad’s in the back sleeping it off. Before he passed out, he mumbled about getting back to the mountains.”

  A very pregnant Lillie nodded but s
aid nothing. Pregnancy had made his sister even prettier. Her long dark hair framed a face that could only be called adorable. This morning, though, he saw something in her gray eyes that worried him.

  He waited for her to tie into him, knowing how she felt about him arresting their father for being drunk and disorderly. This wasn’t their first rodeo. And like always, it was Lillie who came to bail Ely out—not his bachelor brothers, Hawk and Cyrus, who wanted to avoid one of Flint’s lectures.

  He’d been telling his siblings that they needed to do something about their father. But no one wanted to face the day when their aging dad couldn’t continue to spend most of his life in the mountains gold panning and trapping—let alone get a snoot full of booze every time he finally hit town again.

  “I’ll go get him,” Flint said, lumbering to his feet. Since he’d gotten the call about the bones being found at the creek, he hadn’t had but a few hours’ sleep. All morning, the phone had been ringing off the hook. Not with leads on the identity of the skeletal remains—just residents either being nosy or worried there was a killer on the loose.

  “Before you get Dad...” Lillie seemed to hesitate, which wasn’t like her. She normally spoke her mind without any encouragement at all.

  He braced himself.

  “A package came for Tuck.”

  That was the last thing Flint had expected out of her mouth. “To the saloon?”

  “To the ranch. No return address.”

  Flint felt his heart begin to pound harder. It was the first news of their older brother, Tucker, since he’d left home right after high school. Being the second oldest, Flint had been closer to Tucker than with his younger brothers. For years, he’d feared him dead. When Tuck had left like that, Flint had suspected his brother was in some kind of trouble. He’d been sure of it. But had it been something bad enough that Tucker hadn’t felt he could come to Flint for help?

  “Did you open the package?” he asked.

  Lillie shook her head. “Hawk and Cyrus thought about it but then called me.”

  He tried to hide his irritation that one of them had called their sister instead of him, the darned sheriff. His brothers had taken over the family ranch and were the only ones still living on the property, so it wasn’t a surprise that they would have received the package. Which meant that whoever had sent it either didn’t know that Tucker no longer lived there or thought he was coming back for some reason.

  Because Tucker was on his way home? Maybe he’d sent the package and there was nothing to worry about.

  Unfortunately, a package after all this time didn’t necessarily bode well. At least not to Flint, who came by his suspicious nature naturally as a lawman. He feared it might be Tucker’s last effects.

  “I hope you didn’t open it.”

  Lillie shook her head. “You think this means he’s coming home?” She sounded so hopeful it made his heart ache. He and Tucker had been close in more ways than age. Or at least he’d thought so. But something had been going on with his brother his senior year in high school and Flint had no idea what it was. Or if trouble was still dogging his brother.

  For months after Tucker left, Flint had waited for him to return. He’d been so sure that whatever the trouble was, it was temporary. But after all these years, he’d given up any hope. He’d feared he would never see his brother again.

  “Tell them not to open it. I’ll stop by the ranch and check it out.”

  Lillie met his gaze. “It’s out in my SUV. I brought it with me.”

  Flint swore under his breath. What if it had a bomb in it? He knew that was overly dramatic, but still, knowing his sister... There wasn’t a birthday or Christmas present that she hadn’t shaken the life out of as she’d tried to figure out what was inside it. “Is your truck open?” She nodded. “Wait here.”

  He stepped out into the bright spring day. Gilt Edge sat in a saddle surrounded by four mountain ranges still tipped with snow. Picturesque, tourists came here to fish its blue-ribbon trout stream. But winters were long and a town of any size was a long way off.

  Sitting in the middle of Montana, Gilt Edge also had something that most tourists didn’t see. It was surrounded by underground missile silos. The one on the Cahill Ranch was renowned because that was where their father swore he’d seen a UFO not only land, but also that he’d been forced on board back in 1967. Which had made their father the local crackpot.

  Flint took a deep breath, telling himself to relax. His life was going well. He was married to the love of his life. But still, he felt a foreboding that he couldn’t shake off. A package for Tucker after all these years?

  The air this early in the morning was still cold, but there was a scent to it that promised spring wasn’t that far off. He loved spring and summers here and had been looking forward to picnics, trail rides and finishing the yard around the house he and Maggie were building.

  He realized that he’d been on edge since he’d gotten the call about the human bones found in the creek. Now he could admit it. He’d felt as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And now this, he thought as he stepped to his sister’s SUV.

  The box sitting in the passenger-side seat looked battered. He opened the door and hesitated for a moment before picking it up. For its size, a foot-and-a-half-sized cube, the package was surprisingly light. As he lifted the box out, something shifted inside. The sound wasn’t a rattle. It was more a rustle like dead leaves followed by a slight thump.

  Like his sister had said, there was no return address. Tucker’s name and the ranch address had been neatly printed in black—not in his brother’s handwriting. The generic cardboard box was battered enough to suggest it had come from a great distance, but that wasn’t necessarily true. It could have looked like that when the sender found it discarded and decided to use it to send the contents. He hesitated for a moment, feeling foolish. But he heard nothing ticking inside. Closing the SUV door, he carried the box inside and put it behind his desk.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Lilly asked, wide-eyed.

  “No. You need to take Dad home.” He started past his sister but vacillated. “I wouldn’t say anything to him about this. We don’t want to get his hopes up that Tucker might be headed home. Or make him worry.”

  She glanced at the box and nodded. “Did you ever understand why Tuck left?”

  Flint shook his head. He was torn between anger and sadness when it came to his brother. Also fear. What had happened Tucker’s senior year in high school? What if the answer was in that box?

  “By the way,” he said to his sister, “I didn’t arrest Dad. Ely voluntarily turned himself in last night.” He shrugged. Flint had never understood his father any more than he had his brother Tuck. To this day, Ely swore that he had been out by the missile silo buried in the middle of their ranch when a UFO landed, took him aboard and did experiments on him.

  Then again, their father liked his whiskey and always had.

  “You all right?” he asked his sister when she still said nothing.

  Lillie nodded distractedly and placed both hands over the baby growing inside her. She was due any day now. He hoped the package for Tucker wasn’t something that would hurt his family. He didn’t want anything upsetting his sister in her condition. But he could see that just the arrival of the mysterious box had Lillie worried. She wasn’t the only one.

  * * *

  TUCKER CAHILL SLOWED his pickup as he drove through Gilt Edge. He’d known it would be emotional, returning after all these years. He’d never doubted he would return—he just hadn’t expected it to take nineteen years. All that time, he’d been waiting like a man on death row, knowing how it would eventually end.

  Still, he was filled with a crush of emotion. Home. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it, how much he’d missed his family, how much he’d missed his life in Montana. He’d been waiting for this day, dreadi
ng it and, at the same time, anxious to return at least once more.

  As he started to pull into a parking place in front of the sheriff’s department, he saw a pregnant woman come out followed by an old man with long gray hair and a beard. His breath caught. Not sure if he was more shocked to see how his father had aged—or how pregnant and grown up his little sister, Lillie, was now.

  He couldn’t believe it as he watched Lillie awkwardly climb into an SUV, the old man going around to the passenger side. He felt his heart swell at the sight of them. Lillie had been nine when he’d left. But he could never forget a face that adorable. Was that really his father? He couldn’t believe it. When had Ely Cahill become an old mountain man?

  He wanted to call out to them but stopped himself. As much as he couldn’t wait to see them, there was something he had to take care of first. Tears burned his eyes as he watched Lillie drive their father away. It appeared he was about to be an uncle. Over the years while he was hiding out, he’d made a point of following what news he could from Gilt Edge. He’d missed so much with his family.

  He swallowed the lump in his throat as he opened his pickup door and stepped out. The good news was that his brother Flint was sheriff. That, he hoped, would make it easier to do what he had to do. But facing Flint after all this time away... He knew he owed his family an explanation, but Flint more than the rest. He and his brother had been so close—until his senior year.

  He braced himself as he pulled open the door to the sheriff’s department and stepped in. He’d let everyone down nineteen years ago, Flint especially. He doubted his brother would have forgotten—or forgiven him.

  But that was the least of it, Flint would soon learn.

  * * *

  AFTER HIS SISTER LEFT, Flint moved the battered cardboard box to the corner of his desk. He’d just pulled out his pocketknife to cut through the tape when his intercom buzzed.

  “There’s a man here to see you,” the dispatcher said. He could hear the hesitation in her voice. “He says he’s your brother?” His family members never had the dispatcher announce them. They just came on back to his office. “Your brother Tucker?”