Legend Hunter

by Jennifer Mckenzie

  Chapter Twenty-One

  At seven in the morning, a nurse bustled into Kiera’s room and woke her for breakfast and another round of vitals. Ben’s chair was empty.

  “Do you know where the man went who was here last night?”

  “No, but he left a note for you.” She pointed to the bedside table with an envelope and his scrawl on the back.

  I’ve gone to make a few plans. Here’s my cell number. Call me.

  “Can I use a phone please?” She asked the nurse.

  “Go ahead. You have to dial 9 to get an outside line.” And the woman hurried out of the room.

  Kiera called the number. She was a little resentful that he’d left her and very put out that he hadn’t said he was leaving. When he answered, she launched into him. “What plans are so damn important that you’d leave me alone?”

  “I can’t tell you.” He sounded so cheerful and happy. She gritted her teeth.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I have to do it properly.”

  “Do what properly? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Ah. You don’t remember waking up last night, do you?”

  “No. I remember asking you not to leave. That’s what I remember.” She was being unreasonable and she didn’t care. She wanted him here.

  “I wouldn’t have unless it was important. Did Jeremy come see you yet?”

  “No. No one’s here.” Childish. She was being childish.

  “He’ll be there soon. I love you, baby.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. “I love you, too. Ben—”

  He interrupted her. “Don’t go anywhere.” And the connection was gone.

  Jeremy showed up about ten minutes later and Kiera was crying. “Hey! What’s all this?” He sat down on the bed and patted her hand.

  “I told him not to leave and he went off to make some plans.” She blinked the tears away. What was wrong with her?

  “Well, I’m sure he had a good reason.”

  She glared at Jeremy. “You know what he’s doing, don’t you.”

  “Don’t you?” Jeremy smirked.

  “He said you have something to tell me. So tell me.” She crossed her arms and pouted.

  Jeremy cocked his head. “I haven’t seen you look like that since you were nine.”

  She glared at him again. “Spill it, Covey.”

  He sighed. “We found the evidence we need to prove Gavin killed Bobby Angelos and Beth Lauder.”

  “Really? Where?”

  “His house. The reason he killed Bobby was there. Papers in Gavin’s safe showed Bobby was helping the McBride brothers fake the Bigfoot encounters.” Jeremy showed her some files. “But Bobby decided he wanted a political career. He tried to blackmail Gavin into getting him onto the city council.”

  She couldn’t believe it. “That’s crazy. Gavin couldn’t have made that happen.”

  “No, but he could have provided the contacts and the money,” Jeremy said. “Gavin kept the letters from Bobby. He also kept the stuff he had on your father.” His dark eyes flicked up to hers and back to the file. “It’s love letters.”

  Kiera sat up straight. “What?”

  “Gavin kept love letters from Beth that were written to your father.”

  “But Jeremy, my father didn’t sleep with Beth Lauder.”

  “I know that. I don’t think he ever saw these letters. I think Gavin was supposed to deliver them and never did.” Jeremy sighed. “There are only two sets of fingerprints on the letters. Beth’s and Gavin’s.”

  “She must have thought my father was cruel.” Kiera shook her head. “How sad.”

  “I think Beth found out but it was too late.”

  “What evidence do you have that Gavin killed Beth?”

  “We found some old receipts that Gavin saved for who knows what reason. It was for rope and a step stool.” Jeremy rubbed a hand over his face. “It’s not enough to convict him in a court of law, but we’ve got him cold for Bobby Angelos.”

  “How?”

  “We found Gavin’s DNA on the rope.” Jeremy nodded to the door. “I told Ben the results. When Gavin raised Bobby up in the tree, he left skin cells on the end of the rope. It wasn’t John who hung Bobby up.”

  “What about Shirley McBride?” Kiera asked.

  “We can’t prove it, but she was probably in on it. I don’t think she knew about the murders, but she knew about the fake footprints and phony sightings.” Jeremy stood. “Right now, she’s in trouble for inciting a riot.” He grinned. “She won’t be creating any chaos for a while.”

  “That family was messed up.” Kiera shook her head.

  “Well, Gavin and John had a pretty ugly childhood. You don’t remember, but Arthur McBride was a money grubbing man with a vicious mean streak.” Jeremy’s tone was hard. “He rode those kids, ridiculed them. He taught them to hate Indians and love money. It doesn’t excuse what they did, but it may explain it.”

  “Have you told all this to Amanda?”

  He nodded. “She’s taking it well.”

  “So? What’s up with you two?”

  Jeremy glared at her. “Nothing.”

  She grinned. “Liar.”

  “Listen. Just because you’ve fallen for Mr. Weirdo, don’t try and pair me off.”

  “I didn’t do it,” Kiera protested. “You were well on your way before I said anything. After all, I didn’t even like the woman before I knew who she was.”

  “She lied to me. I don’t like lies.” He pursed his lips.

  Kiera sighed. “So, you can have compassion for a killer because he was raised by an asshole, but you can’t forgive Amanda who found her sister hanging from a ceiling.”

  He shifted his shoulders and stared at a spot on the wall to her right. “How can I ever trust her?”

  “How can she ever trust you?”

  His eyes jerked to hers. “What the hell do you mean?”

  “You never tried to find out why she took those police files. I’ve said it before. You wanted to distrust her. All your life, you’ve kept your distance with people.” Kiera pinned him with her gaze. “With her, you don’t. It sucks, doesn’t it?”

  His glance narrowed and shifted away. He mumbled, “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Sure you do.” Kiera sighed impatiently. “You go do it. Tell her. Talk to her. Jeez. What’s the matter with you guys?”

  “You’re one to talk, McConnel.”

  “Well, get going.” Kiera glared at him. “I promise I’ll talk to Ben if you go deal with Amanda.”

  “Fine.” He turned on his heel and strode towards the door.

  “And I don’t mean manhandle her,” she shouted after him.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes,” his voice drifted back.

  Kiera grinned to herself. Poor Amanda had no idea what was coming her way.

  Ben strode into the room and Kiera’s stomach flipped. His frown back over his shoulder was puzzled. “Where was he going in such a hurry?”

  “Oh, he’s going to do the caveman routine on Amanda. Do you think it’ll work?”

  Ben’s eyebrows rose. “I saw him kiss her once. I’d have to say she seemed to enjoy it.”

  Kiera sighed. “I think they’ll work it out.”

  Ben shrugged. “They love each other.”

  “You really think love conquers all?” Kiera searched his face for any sign that he regretted his words to her.

  “I don’t know if it conquers all,” Ben spoke in a careful tone. “I do know it helps to get through the tough times.” He sat in a chair, scooted beside her bed, and took her hand in his. “My parents have faced everything together side by side. Love didn’t make their troubles go away, but it made their troubles more bearable.” He stared at her hand. His voice was low. “I never thought I’d have that.”

  Hope filled Kiera’s heart. Could she do that? She wanted to, but she wasn’t sure she knew how. “I’ve never seen that. How can I do something when I don’t know the first thi
ng about how it works?” Tears stung her eyes. What could she bring to him besides a broken childhood and years of bitter resentment?

  Ben’s gaze met hers. “You know how it works. Somehow, Kiera, even though no one showed you, you’ve given it to me.”

  “Are you sure?” she whispered. “I’m so scared. What if I mess it up?”

  “We’ll mess it up together.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Say you will, Kiera. Say you’ll mess it up with me.”

  The tears leaked from her eyes. “I’ll mess it up with you. I can’t think of anyone else I’d like to do it with.”

  His smile lit the room and the knots in her stomach unraveled. It was all going to be okay. Whatever came, they’d face it as a team. She let out a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding.

  He placed a small box on the bed and flipped in open with one hand as he held onto her left hand. Then, he placed a beautiful ring on her finger.

  “If you don’t like it, I’ll get you whatever you—” He never got to finish that sentence since she bounded out of the hospital bed and kissed him. It only took a heartbeat and he wrapped his arms around her.

  Safe. She was safe. Whatever happened from then on, she’d never have to face it alone again.

  A little while later, he asked her if she liked the ring and she was startled to realize she didn’t even know what it looked like.

  He’d bought her an emerald ring with a gold band. Its sparkling green color was gorgeous. “It reminded me of your eyes.”

  She stroked his cheek. “That’s so sweet.”

  He’d climbed up beside her on the bed and held her close. “So, I’d like you to marry me. I think you got that, right?”

  She grinned. “I was pretty sure that’s what you meant.”

  He tipped her chin so she’d meet his gaze. “When will you marry me, Kiera? I find I’m impatient now that I’ve got you.”

  “Whenever you want,” she told him.

  “You need to make an honest man of me.” He brushed her lips with his.

  She smiled. “Maybe your sisters should bring a shotgun.”

  “It wouldn’t be our kind of wedding without one. After all, that’s how we met.”

  She had an attack of nerves. “How is your mother going to feel when you tell her that you’re marrying a woman who greeted you with a .308?”

  He stroked her hair. “She’ll probably ask why you didn’t shoot me.”

  * * * *

  How odd to be going to Sacramento instead of the place she’d always called “home”. But there was no home to go back to. Kiera waited for Ben to come and pick her up in Jeremy’s small house just south of the Hoopa reservation. A week with Jeremy was quite enough. The man was stubborn as a rock and he’d been a bit broody. Kiera wished he’d just give and beg Amanda to move in with him. But she stayed out of it. Probably because Ben suggested she let Jeremy and Amanda duke it out.

  Eagerly, she peered out Jeremy’s living room window. She hadn’t seen Ben for a week since he drove down to Sacramento to get everything ready so Kiera could move there.

  It wasn’t until Jeremy said ‘goodbye’ this morning that Kiera realized she wasn’t going to live there anymore. A momentous change. It didn’t even phase her.

  The crunch of gravel sounded Ben’s arrival and she bounded up off the couch. She met him at the door and threw her arms around him. “I missed you.”

  He grinned and kissed her. “I missed you, too.”

  “Your mom left yesterday.” She hefted her purse on her shoulder. It seemed so final, so permanent. Her bags, her purse, her life, all going into Ben’s truck. “Jeremy is still brooding.”

  Ben hauled her duffle bag out and loaded it up. “They’ll work it out.”

  “I am officially in the family,” she said. She couldn’t help feeling a little smug. Ben had been so nervous about his mother’s arrival. Though he hadn’t said anything, Kiera knew he was worried his mother wouldn’t approve. But Kiera could be charming when she set her mind to it. She’d charmed Mrs. Harmon, that was for sure.

  “So I was told. What did you do? Get her drunk?”

  She gasped dramatically and tried not to laugh. “Me? Are you implying I can’t be appealing?”

  The glance he gave her sent heat along her skin. “Appealing? Yes. Sexy? Hell yes! Prim and proper which is what my mother would want? No.”

  “Oh, I think your mom is different than you think. She liked me.”

  “Did you tell her that you insisted on going with me to my haunted houses, exorcisms and Bigfoot sightings?”

  “Hell no!”

  Ben laughed and hugged her. “We’ll keep that under wraps until after we’re safely married.”

  When Ben started the truck, she didn’t glance back. But she had one last thing to do. “Can we go by the house?”

  “I thought you might want to.” He glanced at her. She thought he looked worried. Did he wonder if she really wanted to leave? She wondered too.

  He cleared his throat. “Is your mom going to sell?” Ben had tip-toed around the subject of their future together. Kiera wasn’t sure she knew the answers.

  “She left it up to me.” She sighed. “Now that she and Don are married, she doesn’t really want the house.”

  “He certainly swept her off her feet.”

  “She was already off her feet,” Kiera shot back and then grinned. “Mom is happy and that’s all I really care about.” And I’m happy. As long as I’m with you. Well, that settled it then. She’d implied that she’d go with him but he knew she loved her home. Yet, without Ben, she wouldn’t be home.

  It was a shell now with the summer wind whipping through what was left of the walls. There hadn’t been much left. Ben hired an army of people to sift through the rubble. It must be nice to be famous with a shit load of workers at your beck and call. They had found very little. Pictures, heirlooms, papers were all lost, gone in the flames started all those years ago.

  She hopped out of the truck and Ben stood beside her, his hand wrapped around hers. How did she feel now? All those years of suffering were over, ashes in the dirt.

  The shed was still there. All of her father’s equipment and history was packed up and moved so the small building stood empty and silent.

  “It is beautiful here,” he said and she nodded.

  Funny. It wasn’t as hard as she’d thought to leave. Not when she had Ben. “We can always come back to visit.”

  “Need a minute?”

  She met his gaze, leaned up and kissed him. “I’ll be right there.” He dropped her hand and climbed back in the truck.

  As the wind rustled the trees, Kiera stared at the place that had been her childhood home. Purified by the fire, the land was clean now. No more ghosts or curses lay there.

  She closed her eyes and could almost see her father. The times they’d begun an adventure together came back to her. She remembered the gleam in his eye, the excitement in his voice, and the enthusiasm in his demeanor. Hadn’t it given her a sense of wonder, a sense of exploration? It was a gift he’d given her. Maybe the legacy he’d left her wasn’t all bad.

  In the truck behind her was the future. As she turned to climb into the passenger seat, she met Ben’s gaze. Damn if he didn’t have that same expression on his face, his eyes bright and alert, his smile contagious. Somewhere, deep down, the last tight cords inside her unraveled and she sighed.

  She leaned over and kissed Ben.

  “What was that for?” He cupped her face and smiled.

  “I love you.”

  “Good reason. I love you, too.” He grinned and started the motor.

  “Where are we going now?”

  “Well, we could go to Sacramento. But if you’re up to it, I got a call yesterday from a couple in Washington State. They’ve got a ghost.”

  “I’m up to it. Let’s go.”

  Her home disappeared in the rearview mirror, and she faced the road ahead. Another adventure awaited her.

  The E
nd

  About the Author:

  Once upon a time, there was a little girl…

  I loved Harlequin romances when I was little and used to sneak them from my mother's bookshelf. But my father influenced me with Agatha Christie, Ngiao Marsh and Arthur Conan Doyle. I always loved to write but never thought about becoming an author.

  In 2003, a profound experience changed that. My mother showed me a manuscript written by my father. No one had ever seen it. No agent. No editor. No one. He died in 2002 never realizing his dream to be a published author.

  I wondered if that would be my fate. Would my family come across my attempts at storytelling and shake their heads in pity? I vowed that I would at least try.

  Romance seemed to be my genre, but there was a small problem. Dead bodies kept showing up. Apparently, I couldn't write a romance without a little mystery. Luckily for me, romantic suspense is a thriving genre.

  Jennifer McKenzie was born when I wanted to write erotic romance. I'd loved reading it and wanted to take a shot. It turned out that writing erotic romance was as much fun as reading it. The more I write, the farther I want to go.

  I live with a Redneck, who loves to brainstorm with me on occasion, and my two dirt-faced Okie kids in the Northern California Boonies. And I write all my love scenes with Thomas the Tank Engine in the background.