by B. J Daniels
“Have you given any more thought to moving up to a guest cabin?” Dana asked.
“I have. Like I said, I’m touched by the offer. But Natalie has been through so many changes with Nick’s death, I think staying at the cabin in her own bed might be best. We’ll see, though. She is having such a great time at the ranch and as the wedding gets closer...”
“Just know that I saved a cabin for you and Natalie,” Dana said. “And don’t worry about your daughter. We have already adopted her into the family. The kids love her and Ford....” She laughed and lowered her voice, even though the kids weren’t paying any attention behind them. “Have you noticed how tongue-tied he gets around her?”
They both laughed, Allie feeling blessed because she felt as if she, too, had been adopted into the family. The Cardwells were so different from the Taylors. She pushed that thought away. Just as she did the memory of that instant when she would have sworn she saw Nick at the rodeo.
Every time she thought she was getting better, stronger, something would happen to make her afraid she really was losing her mind.
* * *
“HEY,” BELINDA SAID, seeming surprised when Allie and Nat walked into the barn that afternoon. “Where have you been? I thought you’d be here working.”
“We went to the rodeo!” Natalie said. “And now I’m going to go ride a horse!” With that she ran out of the barn to join the other kids and Dana.
“You went to the rodeo?”
“You sound like my in-laws,” Allie said. “Yes, I was invited, I went and now I will do the last-minute arrangements for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow and it will all be fine.”
Belinda lifted a brow. “Wow, what a change from the woman who was panicking because she couldn’t find her keys the other day. Have you been drinking?”
“I’m taking my life back.” She told her friend about the candle, Nick’s shirt and what she did with it. Also about chasing the man she thought was Nick at the rodeo. “I almost caught him. If someone hadn’t grabbed my arm...”
Belinda’s eyes widened in alarm. “Sorry, but doesn’t that sound a little...”
“Crazy? Believe me, I know. But I was sick of just taking it and doing nothing.”
“I can see you thinking you saw someone who looked like Nick at the rodeo....”
“He was wearing his favorite shirt and his new ball cap.”
Belinda stared at her. “The shirt you’d burned a few nights ago, right?”
Allie regretted telling her friend. “I know it doesn’t make any sense. But all these things that have been happening? I’m not imagining them.” From her friend’s expression, she was glad she hadn’t told her about the dresses or the new clothes she’d found in her closet.
“Sweetie,” Belinda asked tentatively. “Did you give any more thought to making that call I suggested?”
“No and right now I have work to do.”
“Don’t we all. Some of us didn’t spend the day at the rodeo.”
Her friend actually sounded jealous. Allie put it out of her mind. She had to concentrate on the wedding. The barn looked beautiful. After the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night, she would get ready for the wedding. All she had to do was hold it together until then.
Megan came in with her list of last-minute things that needed to be tended to before the wedding rehearsal.
“I’ll meet you down in the meadow in a few minutes.” Left alone, Allie looked around the barn. She was a little sad it would be over. Jackson and Ford would be returning to Texas. Nat was really going to miss them.
And so are you.
* * *
ALLIE WASN’T SURE what awakened her. Dana had insisted she take the rest of the day off and spend it with Natalie.
“You have accomplished so much,” Dana had argued. “Tomorrow is another day. The men are all going with Tag for his bachelor party tonight. I plan to turn in early with the kids. Trust me. We all need some downtime before the wedding.”
Emotionally exhausted, Allie had agreed. She and Nat had come back to the cabin and gone down to the river until dinner. Nat loved building rock dams and playing in the water.
After dinner even Natalie was exhausted from the full day. After Allie had put her down to sleep, she’d turned in herself with a book. But only a few pages in, she had turned out the light and gone to sleep.
Now, startled awake, she lay listening to the wind that had come up during the night. It was groaning in the boughs of the pine trees next to the cabin. Through the window, she could see the pines swaying and smell the nearby river. She caught only glimpses of the moon in a sky filled with stars as she lay listening.
Since Nick’s death she didn’t sleep well. The cabin often woke her with its creaks and groans. Sometimes she would hear a thump as if something had fallen and yet when she’d gone to investigate, she would find nothing.
One time, she’d found the front door standing open. She had stared at it in shock, chilled by the cold air rushing in—and the knowledge that she distinctly remembered locking it before going to bed. Only a crazy woman would leave the front door wide open.
Now, though, all she heard was the wind in the pines, a pleasant sound, a safe sound. She tried to reassure herself that everything was fine. She thought of her day with the Cardwell family and remembered how Jackson had saved her by having the Cardwell brothers make their famous Texas barbecue for supper. She smiled at the memory of the brothers in their Texas Boys Barbecue aprons joking around as they cooked.
She’d overheard one of the brothers say he was glad to see Jackson loosening up a little. Allie found herself watching him earlier at the rodeo, wondering how he was doing as a single father. She didn’t feel as if she’d done very well so far as a single mother.
Ford was having a sleepover at the main house at the ranch again tonight. Allie knew if Nat had known about it, she would have wanted to stay, as well. But she suspected that Dana had realized that she needed her daughter with her tonight. What a day! First a run-in earlier with Mildred and Drew... Allie felt a chill at the memory. They had both been so furious and no doubt hurt, as well. Then thinking she saw Nick. She shook her head and, closing her eyes, tried to will herself to go back to sleep. If she got to thinking about any of that—
A small thump made her freeze. She heard it again and quickly swung her legs over the side of the bed. The sound had come from down the hall toward the bedroom where Natalie was sleeping.
Allie didn’t bother with her slippers or her robe; she was too anxious as she heard another thump. She snapped on the hall light as she rushed down the short, narrow hallway to her daughter’s room. The door she’d left open was now closed. She stopped in front of it, her heart pounding. The wind. It must have blown it shut. But surely she hadn’t left Nat’s window open that much.
She grabbed the knob and turned, shoving the door open with a force that sent her stumbling into the small room. The moon and starlight poured in through the gaping open window to paint the bedroom in silver as the wind slammed a loose shutter against the side of the cabin with a thump.
Allie felt her eyes widen as a scream climbed her throat.
Nat’s bed was empty.
Chapter Seven
Jackson felt at loose ends after the bachelor party. Part of the reason, he told himself, was because he’d spent so little time with his son. Back in Texas on their small ranch, he and Ford were inseparable. It was good to see his son having so much fun with other children, but he missed him.
<
br /> Tonight Ford was having a sleepover at the main house with Dana’s brood. He’d wanted to say no when Dana had asked, but he had seen that Ford had his heart set and Jackson had no choice but to attend Tag’s bachelor party.
Fortunately, it had been a mild one, bar-hopping from the Corral to Lily’s brother’s bar at Big Sky, The Canyon Bar. They’d laughed and joked about their childhoods growing up in Texas and talked about Tag’s upcoming wedding and bugged Hayes about his plans with McKenzie. Hayes only grinned in answer.
Hud, as designated driver, got them all home just after midnight, where they parted company and headed to their respective cabins. That was hours ago. Jackson had slept for a while before the wind had awakened him.
Now, alone with only his thoughts, he kept circling back to Allie. She’d had fun at the rodeo—until she’d thought she’d seen her dead husband. He blamed her in-laws. He figured they’d been laying a guilt trip on her ever since Nick Taylor had been presumed dead. Her run-in with them that morning must have made her think she saw Nick. He wanted to throttle them for the way they treated Allie and shuddered at the thought of them having anything to do with raising Natalie.
Allie was too nice. Did she really believe they meant well? Like hell, he thought now. They’d been in the wrong and yet they’d made her feel badly. It reminded him too much of the way his ex had done him.
It had been fun cooking with his brothers again—just as they had when they’d started their first barbecue restaurant. Allie’d had fun at the barbecue, too. He’d seen her laughing and smiling with the family. He’d enjoyed himself, as well. Of course Austin still hadn’t arrived. But it was nice being with the others.
As much as he’d enjoyed the day, he felt too antsy to sleep and admitted it wasn’t just Ford who was the problem. He tried to go back to sleep, but knew it was impossible. He had too much on his mind. Except for the wind in the pines, the ranch was quiet as he decided to go for a walk.
Overhead the Montana sky was a dazzling glitter of starlight with the moon peeking in and out of the clouds. The mountains rose on each side of the canyon, blacker than midnight. A breeze stirred the dark pines, sending a whisper through the night.
As he neared his rental SUV, he decided to go for a ride. He hadn’t had that much to drink earlier and, after sleeping for a few hours, felt fine to drive.
But not far down the road, he found himself slowing as he neared Allie’s cabin. The cabin was small and sat back from the highway on the river.
He would have driven on past, if a light hadn’t come on inside the cabin.
Something about that light coming on in the wee hours of the morning sent a shiver through him. He would have said he had a premonition, if he believed in them. Instead, he didn’t question what made him turn down her road.
Just as he pulled up to the cabin, Allie came running out.
At first he thought she’d seen him turn into her yard and that was why she’d come running out with a flashlight. But one look at her wild expression, her bare feet and her clothed in nothing but her nightgown, and he knew why he’d turned into her cabin.
“Allie?” he called to her as he jumped out. “Allie, what’s wrong?”
She didn’t seem to hear him. She ran toward the side of the cabin as if searching furiously as her flashlight beam darted into the darkness. He had to run after her as she headed around the back of the cabin. He grabbed her arm, thinking she might be having a nightmare and was walking in her sleep.
“Allie, what’s wrong?”
“Nat! She’s gone!”
He instantly thought of the fast-moving river not many yards out the back door. His gaze went to Allie’s feet. “Get some shoes on. I’ll check behind the house.”
Taking her flashlight, he pushed her toward the front door before running around to the back of the cabin. He could hear and smell the river on the other side of a stand of pines. The July night was cool, almost cold this close to the river. Through the dark boughs, he caught glimpses of the Gallatin River. It shone in the moon and starlight, a ribbon of silver that had spent eons carving its way through the granite canyon walls.
As he reached the dense pines, his mind was racing. Had Natalie gotten up in the night and come outside? Maybe half-asleep, would she head for the river?
“Natalie!” he called. The only answer was the rush of the river and moan of the wind in the pine boughs overhead.
At the edge of the river, he shone the flashlight beam along the edge of the bank. No tracks in the soft earth. He flicked the light up and down the area between the pines, then out over the water. Exposed boulders shone in the light as the fast water rushed over and around them.
If Natalie had come down here and gone into the swift current...
At the sound of a vehicle engine starting up, he swung his flashlight beam in time to see a dark-colored pickup take off out of the pines. Had someone kidnapped Natalie? His first thought was the Taylors.
As he ran back toward the cabin, he tried to tell himself it had probably been teenagers parked down by the river making out. Once inside, he found Allie. She’d pulled on sandals and a robe and had just been heading out again. She looked panicked, her cheeks wet with tears.
“You’re sure she isn’t somewhere in the house,” he said, thinking about a time that he’d fallen asleep under his bed while his mother had turned the house upside down looking for him.
The cabin was small. It took only a moment to search everywhere except Nat’s room. As he neared the door to the child’s bedroom, he felt the cool air and knew before he pushed open the door that her window was wide open, the wind billowing the curtains.
He could see the river and pines through the open window next to the bed. No screen. What looked like fresh soil and several dried pine needles were on the floor next to the bed. As he started to step into the room, a sound came from under the covers on the bed.
Jackson was at the bed in two long strides, pulling back the covers to find a sleeping Natalie Taylor curled there.
Had she been there the whole time and Allie had somehow missed her?
Allie stumbled into the room and fell to her knees next to her daughter’s bed. She pulled Nat to her, snuggling her face into the sleeping child.
Jackson stepped out of the room to leave them alone for a moment. His heart was still racing, his fear now for Allie rather than Nat.
A few minutes later, Allie came out of her daughter’s room. He could see that she’d been crying again.
“She’s such a sound sleeper. I called for her. I swear she wasn’t in her bed.”
“I believe you.”
“I checked her room. I looked under her bed....” The tears began to fall again. “I looked in her closet. I called her name. She wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere in the cabin.”
“It’s all right,” Jackson said as he stepped to her and put his arms around her.
Her voice broke as she tried to speak again. “What if she was there the whole time?” she whispered against his chest. He could feel her trembling and crying with both relief and this new fear. “She can sleep through anything. Maybe—”
“Did you leave the window open?”
“I cracked it just a little so she could get fresh air....”
“Natalie isn’t strong enough to open that old window all the way like that.”
Allie pulled back to look up at him, tears welling in her green eyes. “I must have opened it. I must have—”
He thought of the pickup he’d seen leaving. “There’s something I need to check,” he said, picking up the flashlight from where he’d laid it down just moments before. “Stay here with Natalie.”
Outside he moved along the side of the house to the back, shining the flashlight ahead of him. He suspected what he would find so he wasn’t all that surprised to discover t
he boot prints in the soft dirt outside Nat’s window.
Jackson knelt down next to the prints. A man-size boot. He shone the light a few feet away. The tracks had come up to the window, the print a partial as if the man had sneaked up on the toes of his boots. But when the prints retreated from the child’s window, the prints were full boot tracks, deep in the dirt as if he’d been carrying something. The tracks disappeared into the dried needles of the pines, then reappeared, this time headed back to the house. When the man had returned Natalie to her bed—and left dried pine needles and dirt on the bedroom floor.
* * *
ALLIE SAT ON the edge of her daughter’s bed. She’d always loved watching Natalie sleep. There was something so incredibly sweet about her that was heightened when she slept. The sleep of angels, she thought as she watched the rise and fall of her daughter’s chest.
Outside the now closed window, Jackson’s shadow appeared and disappeared. A few minutes later, she heard him come back into the cabin. He came directly down the hall, stopping in Nat’s bedroom doorway as if he knew she would be sitting on the side of the bed, watching her daughter sleep. That was where he would have been if it had been his son who’d gone missing, he thought.
She was still so shaken and scared. Not for Natalie, who was safe in her bed, but for herself. How could she have thought her daughter was missing? She really was losing her mind. Tucking Nat in, she checked to make sure the window was locked and left the room, propping the door open.
Jackson followed her into the small living room. She held her breath as she met his gaze. He was the one person who had made her feel as if she was going to be all right. He’d seen the black cat. He’d sympathized with her when she’d told him about misplacing her car keys and messing up her date book.
But earlier he’d looked at her as if she were a hysterical woman half out of her mind. She had been. Maybe she was unstable. When she’d found Nat’s bed empty— Just the thought made her blood run cold again.
“I swear to you she wasn’t in her bed.” She could hear how close she was to breaking down again.