by Joanna Wayne
Dani was seeing red, so mad she was shaking as she followed Angela into the bakery to make sure she left without breaking anything.
A customer was at the counter, but Dani didn’t see Riley. She went back to the kitchen to check on him. He was calmly boxing cookies that she’d never had time to get to the display case.
“What’s the problem?” he asked. “You look like you’re ready to horsewhip someone.”
“I just found Angela Miles going through the drawers in my bedroom.”
“Did she take anything?”
“Probably not. My clothes would swallow her skinny body. I was so perturbed I fired her on the spot.”
“You had to see that coming.”
Riley tied a length of decorative string around the filled box, then leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek as he passed to deliver the cookies to the waiting customer.
Dani dropped to a chrome work stool and took a deep breath. There couldn’t be another man in the world like Riley. Dani’s Delights would never be the same without him. Neither would she, but she had known that going in.
* * *
ANGELA WAS FURIOUS. If Dani Boatman thought she was going to get away with treating her like that, she was dead wrong. Angela always found a way of getting back at people who mistreated her.
She shoved open the front door of the bakery. A man with a package in his hand blocked her path.
“That was quick,” he said. “I didn’t even ring the bell.”
He scooted away from the door to allow a couple entrance to the shop. She started to shove him out of the way, but the company logo on the brown envelope caught her attention.
Corinthian Court Lab. This was the envelope James Haggard was looking for.
“Are you Dani Boatman?”
“Yes,” she lied.
The man who was obviously new on this route handed her the electronic signature gadget. “Just sign here.”
She signed Dani’s name and took the package. She might give it to James. She might just toss it in the street. She walked to her car before opening the package. The enclosed document looked official.
“‘Results of paternity testing,’” she read aloud.
She kept reading. She’d definitely call James. He’d owe her big-time for this.
* * *
THUNDER REVERBERATED THROUGH James Haggard’s head as he read the lab report, growing louder and louder until he felt like a 747 was roaring through his skull.
The only woman he’d ever loved had been a slut. Not just in the later years when the addiction had turned her into a monster he didn’t recognize, but in the beginning.
Amber slept in his bed, told him how much she loved him, made him feel like a king.
He’d done everything but kill for her, and he would have done that to keep her with him. And all the while she’d played him for a fool.
Lenny had told James from the first that he couldn’t trust Amber, but it was his own brother he couldn’t trust.
James read the last few lines of the test results and then threw the document to the floor of his beat-up pickup truck.
“I don’t know why I’m shocked. Lenny treated me like I was stupid all my life. A stupid jerk who couldn’t do anything right without him interfering, so why would he have any qualms about sleeping with my woman?”
“Who are you so angry with?” Angela asked. “Constance’s mother or your brother?”
“Both, but Amber’s no longer alive to taunt me. It’s Lenny who’s still cheating and double-crossing me.”
“How?”
“He pushed and coerced me to go for the insurance settlement. Even when I wanted to drop it, he kept pushing.”
Angela leaned over and picked up the forms. “I don’t see how that’s so bad. Why not go after the money? He must have thought you were the father.”
“Lenny’s a taker, not a giver. If there was any money to be gotten, it would have ended up in his pocket.”
“I guess it will for sure now.”
“No. It damn sure won’t.”
“How can you stop him? He’s the father.”
“He’s also a wanted criminal who’d never be granted custody. That’s why he pushed me to do it. That’s why he kept harping about the birth certificate. He knew all along the DNA might show him as the father.”
A plan began to coalesce in James’s mind. “I’m going to need your help.”
“Not if you’re going to do something illegal.”
“You left me passed out in my pickup truck on a deserted road the other night. You were lucky I didn’t come back at you for that.”
“That was Mother’s doing. Remember? I told you. She goes ape when people get me high.”
“You got yourself high. And you will help in whatever way I tell you to, or I’ll leak those deep, dark secrets you told me. A dead child. The cover-up.”
“Stop.” She put her hands over her ears. “Stop saying those lies.”
“If they were lies, they wouldn’t be driving you crazy. Now, here’s what I want from you or your murderous secrets will climb out of their graves and drag you into the pits of hell with them.”
* * *
AT LEAST HALF the tables in the bakery were taken and there were several people in line when the group of three nicely dressed young men walked in. They walked over to the counter but did not get in line.
“May I help you?” Dani asked.
“Actually, we’re here to help you.” One of the men flashed his FBI ID. Brad Grogan. “I’m looking for Riley Lawrence or Dani Boatman.”
“I’m Dani. Give me a minute.” She handed the bag of assorted muffins to her customer, then went and summoned her young assistant, Sandy, from the kitchen with instructions to take over for a few minutes.
“Could we talk somewhere private?” Brad asked.
“In my office, just off my kitchen. Riley is upstairs. I’ll call him. He’ll definitely want to hear what you have to say firsthand.”
She called Riley while she led the men back to her office.
Riley bounded into the office a few minutes later. “Good news, I hope.”
“Not for Lenny Haggard, but we’re writing it up as a highly successful day for the FBI.”
They introduced themselves and the one already identified as Brad took the lead.
“At twenty-two past twelve this afternoon, the body of Lenny Haggard was found in one of the rental cabins at Bosley’s Bait and Tackle. He died from three gunshots at close range to the back of his head.”
“He’s really dead?” Dani asked. “You’re sure that was him?”
“No doubt about it.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this about a murder, but that is the best news I’ve had in months, if not forever.”
“His death will be a relief to a lot of innocent and not-so-innocent people,” Brad agreed.
“That was quick,” Riley said. “Less than twenty-four hours after we called with information that he was in Winding Creek, he’s dead.”
“It works that way more than you’d guess,” Brad said. “We search for months, get a hot tip and then wham. We have our man.”
“You said you found him dead. Does that mean it wasn’t one of your guys who shot him?”
“That’s what it means. Three shots to the back of the head is a trademark of Cecil Molina. Looks like one of his hatchet men got to Lenny before we could.”
“That doesn’t come as a real surprise, either,” one of the other agents said. “He was so desperate to get his hands on your niece’s trust fund he got careless. Stalking you. Showing his face around Winding Creek. Staying in a rental cabin that was registered in his brother’s name. Careless errors. That’s what desperation does.”
“Do you have James Haggard in custody?” Riley asked.
“Not yet. We’ll leave that to local law enforcement. Our agents have already talked to Sheriff Cavazos and he’ll be talking to you about charging James with vandalism, harassment and an attempted scam to steal money.”
“I doubt you’ll see him again,” the third agent said, “especially if he witnessed Lenny’s murder. He’ll be on the run and scared to death.”
“Then this is over,” Dani said. “My niece’s biological father is dead, so he can make no claims on her trust fund. James Haggard isn’t the father, but he is Constance’s uncle.”
“With an extensive criminal record, so his claim would never override yours. You can go back to running your shop.”
“I’m ready to have that life back,” she said.
“One more thing,” Brad said. “We’ve been hearing about your cinnamon rolls and chocolate-filled croissants all day from the lucky team hanging out inside the bakery.”
“So those were the guys consuming everything in sight. Can I offer you anything from my display case?”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
“Take a seat and I’ll serve you at your table. My assistant will take your coffee order. It’s all on the house.”
Riley put his hand to the small of her back as they followed the team of agents into the serving area.
“What an ending to a wild ride,” he whispered.
“It was that.”
Only she wasn’t ready for all the wildness to end.
* * *
“I’LL BE THERE for Tucker’s goodbye dinner by six, I promise. I just have to take the ham-and-cheese croissants out of the oven and drop them off at the ladies auxiliary planning meeting,” Dani said.
“We’ll wait on you.” Riley offered.
“No, we can’t,” Constance pleaded. “I won’t get there in time to ride horses with Jaci if we don’t leave now.”
“Didn’t you get enough of horses over the three days?” Dani asked.
“No. I have to practice a lot if I’m going to be a rodeo champion. We really need to live on a ranch.”
“Better forget the ranch idea and stick with becoming a champion barrel racer. You have a far better chance of success with that.” Dani gave Constance and Riley a quick hug and pushed them out the door.
It was early Friday evening. The streets were crowded with locals out for dinner, or shopping or just to grab an ice-cream cone or indulge in happy hour.
She wasn’t afraid and she wasn’t going to become a prisoner in her own shop. Besides, Sheriff Cavazos had promised to have deputies in the area constantly until James Haggard was arrested or until they were sure he’d left town.
She walked into the kitchen and breathed in the quiet, safe familiarity of her surroundings. She would have Constance and her bakery for years to come. No place had ever felt more like home.
As for Riley, she couldn’t imagine life without him, but she would never demand or even plead with him to stay in Winding Creek.
He was who he was. All she could do was love him for as long as he let her. And then she’d find a way to live with great memories and a breaking heart.
* * *
WHERE WERE HER car keys? Dani could swear she’d left them on the counter next to her croissants when she went back upstairs for her purse. Obviously she was mistaken, since they weren’t there now.
She turned around and then realized they were in her pocket. Oh, well, it had been an exciting day.
Someone banged on the door. Hopefully it was FedEx since she was yet to receive the promised official copy of the lab report. She started toward the door and stopped when she saw Angela—no doubt here to complain about being fired.
Angela had problems and needed help, but Dani had a bakery to run. She didn’t have the time, energy or expertise to take Angela on.
Still, she couldn’t very well ignore her. She walked over and opened the door. “You caught me at a really bad time, Angela. I’m already running late for a dinner engagement.”
“I’m not here to listen to your problems, bitch.”
So this was how it was going to be. “Get out of my shop this minute before I call 911.”
Angela shoved her hard, thrusting Dani back into the shop. “You want to keep living, you do as you’re told.”
Dani reached for her phone. Before she could punch in even one number, a large hand closed around her wrist and knocked the phone from her hands.
James Haggard had followed Angela in. The pistol clutched in his right hand was proof enough that this was not a visit to express his regrets.
“I didn’t kill your brother,” she said.
“I know. I did it. I killed the lying scum like I should have done years ago. Before he screwed me out of everything that mattered to me.”
He took a step closer and pointed the gun at her head. “I’m through with being cheated. By Lenny, by Amber. By you.”
“I’ve never cheated you, James. I don’t have anything that belongs to you. Constance isn’t your daughter. I have paternity testing that proves that.” Unfortunately, she didn’t have the copy at hand.
“I saw your tests.”
“How could you?”
“It doesn’t matter now. The results don’t matter anymore. I’ve settled that score. You stole Constance’s money and used it to buy this bakery. Money that belonged to me just as much as it belonged to you.
“No,” he continued, anger hardening his voice. “I’m even more deserving. I took care of Amber when she was pregnant. You never came around.”
He knew about the test results. She had no idea how he knew, but clearly discovering that Lenny was the father of Amber’s child must have pushed him over the edge.
“The money was never yours or mine, and was never Lenny’s, either,” she said. “I would never steal from Constance. Never. The money is in a trust fund just like I said. I didn’t lie to you. I’m not lying to you now.”
“You’re just like Lenny. All you do is run over people like me and Constance. I won’t be run over again.”
His face was twisted in rage. A cold, calculating rage. She’d never be able to talk sense into him. She needed a weapon or help from Angela. Only Angela had a blank look on her face, as if she was falling into a trance. No telling what she’d smoked, inhaled or shot into her veins.
There was no weapon in sight. Her only hope was to escape.
“I’m here to see that you finally get what you deserve, Dani Boatman.”
“Please don’t do this, James. If you kill me, you’ll go to prison. Is that what you want?”
“Only the stupid ones go to prison. I’m not stupid. Get the knife and the tape, Angela. Bind her wrists and her ankles the way I instructed. There’s no time to waste.”
“Why are you with him, Angela? He’s using you. You must see that.”
“Shut up,” Angela said, her voice suddenly shaky.
“Don’t do it, Angela,” Dani pleaded. “Don’t let this monster ruin your life, too.”
“She has no choice,” James said. “No choice at all. She and her dirty little secrets belong to the devil and now to me.”
Angela reached into her tote and pulled out a butcher knife and then two large rolls of duct tape, laying them all on one of the serving tables.
“Start with the wrists,” James ordered.
“Don’t do this,” Dani pleaded. “If it’s money you want, I’ll find a way to get it for you.”
“You had your chance. But you’re just like Amber. You take and take and take. You never give.”
“I’m nothing like Amber. I’ll take good care of your niece. I love her with all my heart. Doesn’t that matter to you?”
“The wrists. Now,” James demanded. “I can
’t wait all night.” He turned the gun toward Angela.
Dani’s pulse raced. It was now or never.
She made a run for the kitchen. She tried to close the door behind her, but James was too fast. She careened onto the top of her solid worktable and slid the three feet across the surface on her stomach.
It took a few complicated moves to enable her to land on the floor feet first instead of head first.
She squatted down so that James couldn’t see her, but now she could no longer see him. And there was nowhere else to run. If she went into her office, she’d be like a cornered rat.
She crawled on the floor behind the worktable, trying to find something she could use to defend herself. But there was nothing she could use to stop a bullet.
“Bring the tape,” James bellowed. “Dani has to pay.”
“I’m not going to prison for you. You’re on your own,” Angela shouted.
“You’ll do as I say, you murdering bitch.”
“Go to hell.”
A shot sounded. The sound of Angela’s scream reverberated sickeningly through the room.
“Why?” Dani screamed. “Why are you doing this?”
“Your slutty sister made a fool of me. So did Lenny. You’re not going to get that chance. With you dead, all of Constance’s money goes to me.”
The bell over the front door rang and Dani heard noises drifting in from outside as the door opened and quickly closed again.
“What the hell?”
The voice was Riley’s. Panic hit Dani hard and fast. She stood up behind the counter.
“It’s James,” she screamed. “In the kitchen. He has a gun.”
James pointed the gun at her, his finger on the trigger. The evil that darkened his eyes said it all. He was going to kill her now.
Instinctively, she grabbed the two overflowing flour canisters by their rims and swung them one by one in rapid succession, the contents covering him as if it was a blizzard of snow.
James clawed at his face as the flour coated his fury-flamed eyes.
He shot at her, but the bullet flew wild. He turned at the sound of Riley’s footsteps and fired in his direction. Fear paralyzed Dani as the shot rang out.
One shot, but it was James who went down.