The Colton Bride

by Carla Cassidy

  “Jewel Dempsy.” She looked at him expectantly, sure that he would recognize the name, but his blank stare told her otherwise. “She’s a fairly famous sculptor and painter here in the northwest. Maybe you know her by her professional name...Jewel Dee?”

  “Sorry, dusty cowboys like me rarely get a chance to study art or know people in the art world.”

  A rising irritation filled Cath. “What’s your problem, Gray? You’ve had a chip on your shoulder since we left Laramie. It’s not a big deal if you don’t know who Jewel is. I don’t care what you know or don’t know about the art world.”

  “I don’t know anything about art, or fashion or how to act at a cocktail party.”

  “You signed up for this duty. If you want out just say the word,” she snapped.

  His eyes remained dark and unreadable. “I didn’t say I wanted out.”

  “You’ve been cranky and difficult for the past couple of days. That’s supposed to be my job. I’m the one who is pregnant and having hormonal changes. As a matter of fact, I’m going to take a nap. That way I don’t have to talk to you and you don’t have to talk to me.”

  She didn’t wait for his response, but got up from her chair and went into the bedroom area where she curled up on her side facing the wall away from the doorway. She heard him move from the window and grab one of the books he’d brought from his staff room on the second floor, a room he’d kept despite their “marriage.”

  A grunt told her he was attempting to find a comfortable position on the chaise to read and although she had no intention of taking a nap, her eyes closed and she drifted off.

  Gray’s voice awoke her, telling her it was time to get ready to go to dinner. His mood didn’t appear improved and therefore hers wasn’t either.

  It was with a cool distance that they walked together to the dining room where the rest of the family was gathered for the evening meal.

  “Looks like the honeymoon is over,” Darla said snidely, obviously noticing the tension between Gray and Cath as the meal was underway.

  Cath poked at the smothered pork chop on her plate. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just not feeling very well tonight.” She wasn’t about to allow Darla to start a new round of gossip speculating on the status of the newlyweds relationship.

  “Are you getting enough rest?” Amanda asked, her concern evident in her voice. “You know how important it is to make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep.”

  “She’s a newlywed,” Tawny chirped with a sly grin. “I doubt if she’s getting that much sleep.”

  “I’m sleeping just fine,” Cath said, sorry she’d mentioned anything at all.

  “At least everything has been fairly peaceful around here the past couple of weeks,” Gabby said.

  “Boring is more like it,” Trip replied.

  “There’s nothing wrong with boring,” Trevor said.

  Trip snorted. “I’ll take boring when I’m dead.”

  Thankfully that ended anyone’s desire to continue with the conversation and the rest of the meal was finished in relative silence.

  Eating hadn’t seemed to change Gray’s mood, nor had it lightened Cath’s. She didn’t know what Gray’s problem was, but the idea of day after day of his current mood irritated her.

  “How long before we need to leave here for the appointment with your friend?” Gray asked once they were back in the suite that now felt far too small for the two of them.

  “It will only take us about fifteen minutes to get to her place so we have about an hour to kill before leaving.” Cath sank down in her chair and stared out the window, refusing to look at Gray, who paced the room like a caged tiger.

  She finally could stand it no longer and turned her gaze to him. “Did I say something? Did I do or say something that has made you angry with me?”

  He stopped pacing and stared at her. For a long moment he said nothing. Finally he released a deep sigh and raked a hand through his thick sandy brown hair as he cast his gaze away from her. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I guess I’ve just been worried about Dylan and what we’re going to find out, and I’ve been taking out all my frustrations on you.”

  “Then stop it,” she replied.

  “Is this our first fight?” he asked, a forced smile curving his lips.

  She eyed him seriously, remembering the time they’d spent together as a couple so many years ago. “No, you never fight, Gray. You get cold, you get distant and you withdraw, but you never confront and fight.”

  He shrugged. “I guess that just makes me a lover, not a fighter.”

  “When we were younger and you refused to fight with me, it always made me feel like I just wasn’t worth the effort.” She stood from her chair. “I’m going to freshen up a bit before we head out to Jewel’s place.” Before he could say anything else she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

  She lowered herself to the dainty chair in front of the dresser and mirrors, the place she usually sat to put on her makeup or fix her hair. She stared at her reflection without seeing it, instead seeing a vision of Gray there.

  What she’d said to him was true; he wasn’t given to arguing or fussing. Whenever he’d been hurt or angry, he’d retreated and sometimes that had driven Cath crazy. She’d wanted him to yell at her if she was wrong, and she’d wanted to yell back at him, to vent frustration instead of swallowing it.

  She wasn’t sure if she believed what he’d said about his current mood relating completely to concern for Dylan, but she knew no matter how hard she pushed him, he wasn’t going to share whatever was eating at him.

  She couldn’t fix what she didn’t know was wrong and she just had to accept that. She stood and brushed her hair, then refreshed her lipstick. It was time to head to Jewel’s place.

  If the truth was that Gray was concerned about what they might find out about Dylan’s mother’s past, then it was possible Jewel would have some answers. Whether those answers would ease Gray’s concerns or make them worse was yet to be seen.

  * * *

  Gray knew he’d been moody and distant since their trip to Laramie, and he knew the exact reason for it, although he would never admit it to Cath.

  He was falling in love with her all over again. When he’d initiated this insane marriage agreement to play full-time bodyguard to her, he’d truly believed himself immune from ever loving her again.

  He’d been wrong.

  He knew at the end of this protection gig his job was to walk away and let her find a future with somebody else. He’d known that from the beginning, but now he already felt the ache in his heart, the pain of her loss yet again.

  All he could do was see this through to the end and never let her know that she’d gained his heart once more. All he could do was remind himself again and again that this was a job he’d actively signed up for and it was a temporary stint as a pretend husband.

  When she came out of the bathroom, he couldn’t help the genuine smile that curved his lips. She was right, he’d been a jerk the past couple of days and it was his problem, not hers. It wasn’t fair for him to passively punish her for being the woman he loved.

  “Stuck Like Glue Private Investigations ready to spring into action again,” he said, hoping to see her return his smile. She did. It was one of the things he loved about her, the fact that she had never been able to hold a grudge for any length of time.

  As usual, before they opened the door to the suite to exit Gray had his gun in hand. He was wary at every closed door in the house even though there had been no hint of a threat toward Cath in the past week.

  He had no idea where or when danger might come. The perp had already tried to get her twice and had shown a willingness to murder. Gray had a feeling a husband wouldn’t detour him from his ultimate goal of getting to Cath. Gray was determined that wouldn’t happen, but that meant he had to stay wary and alert at all times.

  Once they were in Gray’s truck, Cath directed him to drive to the small town of Dead
. “I’m not sure I understand how an artist is going to be able to help us,” he said as he navigated the narrow dark road toward town. He glanced in the rearview mirror often to make sure they hadn’t been followed by anyone on the ranch.

  “You’ll see when we get there,” Cath replied mysteriously.

  “Why would a well-known artist want to live in Dead?”

  “Jewel is a bit eccentric and she likes her privacy. She’s originally from Cheyenne. She and I met at one of her showings and instantly bonded. She’s beautiful and talented, but something of a recluse when she isn’t on display at one of her showings.”

  “And she’s going to sculpt us some answers to our questions?” Gray asked wryly.

  “Something like that, just wait and see,” Cath replied with another mysterious smile.

  It didn’t take long for them to enter the edges of Dead, Wyoming. The little town, population four thousand, was aptly named for it appeared to be grasping on to its last gasp of life. Main Street was a mere two blocks long, with the requisite grocery store, bank and general store, along with a diner and a fairly decent restaurant.

  At the other end of the small town was a raucous bar that Gray had frequented on occasion as it was the nearest place to get a cold beer away from the ranch.

  “Turn here,” Cath directed as they came to a street on the right that veered off the main drag.

  “Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Gray asked with concern. This area of Dead definitely lived up to its name with the only businesses on the shady side of legal. A tattoo parlor nestled next to a convenience store where several thugs lingered near the door with a proprietary air.

  “Just keep going,” Cath replied. “And when you come to the next left take it and then take an immediate left again.”

  Gray did as she instructed. Within minutes, they were in a thick stand of woods, and nestled in those woods was a huge dark building that appeared to be a warehouse.

  “This is Jewel’s place,” she said as he came to a stop in front of the building. There were no windows and the place appeared deserted.

  “It doesn’t look like anyone is home,” he said but at that moment a door opened and a woman’s figure was silhouetted in the doorway.

  Cath jumped out of the passenger side of the truck and raced to her. The two women embraced as Gray got out of the truck and headed toward them. They disappeared through the opened door, and Gray followed after them. He took two steps inside and then halted, stunned by his surroundings. What looked like an abandoned warehouse on the outside was anything but on the inside.

  One half of the large area was obviously a studio with large skylights built into the roof and big and small sculptures in various stages of development. Easels were scattered around the area holding partially finished paintings. The atmosphere was one of barely controlled artistic chaos.

  “I’m Jewel,” the dark-haired woman said to Gray with an outstretched hand. “And I understand you’re Cath’s new hubby, Gray.”

  Her hand held the strength of a man’s, although she was petite and exotic-looking. With her porcelain skin, dazzling slightly slanted green eyes and winged black brows, she looked like an attractive creature from another planet.

  “Excuse my mess,” she said as she released his hand and gave a sweeping wave to her work area. “I suffer a bit from hyperactivity and manic energy and tend to get distracted easily so I always have a ton of things in flux.” She pointed to a door. “Come on in where things are a bit more normal.”

  Cath smiled at Gray as the two of them followed Jewel through the doorway that led to living quarters luxurious enough to rival Cath’s suite. Gray recognized that Jewel wasn’t just an eccentric artist struggling to make a living and achieving moderate success.

  She obviously had money, had come from money and it showed in the tasteful elegance of her living quarters. Gray was struck with the feeling of a fish out of water, a cowboy in a china shop who was afraid of breaking something or committing an unforgiveable faux pas.

  She gestured the two of them onto the cushions of a buttery leather sofa, then sank down in the chair opposite them. Jewel and Cath small-talked for a few minutes and then Jewel brought up the reason for their visit. “So, Cath, you mentioned you had a little work for me to do.”

  Cath pulled from her oversize purse the copies of Faye Frick’s marriage certificate and Dylan’s birth certificate that Dylan had given them. “We just want to authenticate these and we’d like to do it as quickly and quietly as possible.”

  Cath exchanged a quick glance with Gray and then continued, “We know we could send away for certified copies of the originals, but that could take weeks and we’d rather have answers sooner than later.”

  It was at that moment Gray noticed the large, state-of-the-art computer in a corner of the room, and it was also at that moment that he knew what Cath was asking Jewel to do for them...hack into the Cody, Wyoming, system of records.

  He realized Jewel was watching him, as if gauging his reaction to the idea. “I never use my skills for the dark side,” she said with a gamin smile. “I can be in and out of their system without them ever knowing I was there.”

  “Jewel is a computer hacking genius,” Cath said.

  “It’s a little work I do on the side, mostly for the purposes of battered women, lost children and hunting money that parties attempt to hide from rightful owners.” She shrugged. “What can I say? It’s a gift, like my sculpting and painting.”

  Gray tried to find a moral button to tell her he didn’t want her hacking into any system illegally, but then he thought of his friend and everything that had happened at the ranch. He realized he just wanted answers, and she appeared to be the correct tool to get them.

  “If you can help us, we’d appreciate it,” he finally replied.

  “Great. Before I get started can I get you something to drink, a glass of wine perhaps or some coffee?”

  Both Gray and Cath declined the offer of refreshments, and Jewel moved to the chair in front of her computer. Gray found all of this surreal...the surroundings...and the oddly beautiful artist hacker. As he remained seated on the sofa, Cath got up to stand just behind Jewel, watching her over her shoulder. Jewel’s long bloodred fingernails clicked across the keyboard.

  “This is going to be easy,” she said. “Vital statistic stuff isn’t usually overly secured unless you’re getting into the social security program. It’s just a matter of finding a back door, and most of these programs are written with one easily found if you know where to look.”

  Her fingernails continued to click and an edge of anxiety gnawed at Gray’s belly. He hoped she discovered that everything Faye had ever told Dylan was the truth, that the only thing his mother had gotten wrong was the name of the ranch his father had worked at when they’d been together.

  Dylan had adored his mother, and he’d mourned deeply at her death, still mourned for her, as did Gray and so many people at the ranch.

  Faye had been like a second mother to Gray, chastising him along with Dylan whenever the two found trouble, forcing mittens on his hands when it was cold and occasionally kissing him on the forehead just like Gray’s own mother might have done had she stuck around long enough.

  Gray realized he didn’t want Faye to be exactly who she’d said she was just for Dylan’s sake. He wanted to believe in her for himself, as well.

  “I’m in,” Jewel said, her voice pulling Gray from his thoughts. “And now it’s just a matter of checking the marriage licenses issued for the day in question.”

  The knot in Gray’s stomach tightened and Cath moved closer to Jewel. He watched Cath’s face as Jewel began to scroll through documents. The anxiety that rode inside his stomach was on Cath’s features.

  She understood how devastating it would be to Dylan to find out that his mother had lied about everything, that his entire history was bogus.

  “Well, the marriage certificate is a fake,” Jewel announced.

  “Are y
ou sure?” Gray asked, a lead weight landing in the pit of his stomach.

  Jewel grinned at him wryly. “This isn’t my first rodeo, cowboy. There’s no official copy on record. That means what you all have in your hand is a fake. A good one, but definitely fake.”

  “Maybe Faye was a single mother and she didn’t want Dylan to know he was born out of wedlock,” Cath said. She touched her stomach and then reached up and began to twirl a strand of her hair. “I can understand a woman doing that, making up a father who died to explain the absence of that man in a little boy’s life.”

  Is that what she was going to do when she and Gray parted? Would she tell her daughter or son that their father had died in a car accident, or maybe overseas in the war? Would she build the fantasy and make up a man who would have loved and devoted himself to her and her child if only he had lived?

  “Okay, so Faye wasn’t married to a man named John Frick,” Gray said aloud. “What about the birth certificate?”

  Jewel returned her attention to the computer, typing in whatever she needed to access filed birth certificates for the date of Dylan’s birth.

  Minutes crept by in agonizing slowness and Gray found himself holding his breath as Jewel cyber searched to confirm that Dylan Frick had been born at the Cody Memorial Hospital on the date listed on the certificate and by the doctor who had administered the live birth.

  “Let me check one more place,” Jewel said, her gaze focused on the screen in front of her.

  Cath came back to the sofa and sat down next to Gray, both of them united in their concern for their friend. He reached up and captured the hand that was twirling her hair and held it tight in his.

  “Not only is this birth certificate a fake, the doctor named on the document doesn’t even exist,” Jewel finally said.

  Gray looked at Cath in stunned surprise. “Then who in the hell is Dylan Frick?” His question hung in the air without an answer.

  Chapter 13

  The hotel ballroom in the Cheyenne Howard Hotel was already brimming with women in designer gowns and men in high-end tuxedos when Gray and Cath joined the fracas. Cath and her sisters had bought one of the tables at an exorbitant price, knowing that the charity was for children with cancer.