“Yeah, at that one to the left.” She jerked her thumb in the direction of the window.
Duke tramped through her grass and her flower bed with his cowboy boots to inspect the window. He returned to the porch and lifted a shoulder. “From the flattened flowers it looks like someone was there.”
Julia rolled her eyes. “You mean the flowers were trampled before you trampled them?”
“Yeah.” His eyes widened at her tone.
Nobody in Silverhill expected Julia Stoker to fight back, but she was Julia Rousseau now and she didn’t take crap from anyone.
“I’ll dust the window ledge for prints.”
“You don’t need to do that. I told you it was Charlie at that window.”
“Are you going to let me in?” Duke gestured toward the entrance she’d been blocking with her body. She glanced toward the street once more before swinging the door open.
Duke stepped across the threshold and glanced around the room. “The 911 call said someone went after Charlie.”
“Ryder. He’s still out there looking for him.”
“Did Ryder see Charlie at the window, too?” Duke’s gaze tracked across the living room and stumbled on her ripped panties hanging off the edge of the coffee table.
A wave of heat surged from her chest to her cheeks. “N-no.”
“Too busy, huh?” His eyes shifted to Ryder’s T-shirt crumpled into a ball and stuck in the cushion of the couch, before lingering on her panties. “Maybe it wasn’t Charlie at all. Maybe it was just a garden-variety Peeping Tom enjoying the show.”
“You pig.”
Duke smirked. “No wonder you have stalkers after you.”
The titillation lighting his eyes turned her stomach and she clenched her hands into fists.
The half-open front door crashed against the wall, and they both jumped. In two long strides, Ryder ate up the distance between him and Duke and grabbed him by the throat.
Duke’s eyes popped out of their sockets as Ryder drew his fist back, the corded muscles of his arm visible and lethal. Duke choked out, “You can’t assault a sheriff’s deputy.”
“Get the hell out of here.” Ryder shoved him, and Duke stumbled backward. “I’m filing a complaint with your department.”
Duke’s chubby cheeks reddened. “I didn’t mean anything, Ryder.”
“Get out.”
When he reached the door, Duke threw a glance over his shoulder. “Did you find Charlie?”
Ryder crossed his arms over his chest, his legs in a wide stance, his lips a thin line. His taut, hard muscles signaled danger and Duke scurried out the front door without waiting for an answer.
Ryder swung toward Julia and cupped her face in his rough hands. “Are you all right?”
She snorted. “Did you think I was going to let that horse’s ass stand there and say those things to me without letting him have it?”
She’d been ready to lay into Duke herself, but Ryder’s protection sure felt good…and it totally turned her on. Not that she needed any more stimuli from Ryder to get her hot. Just feasting her eyes on the man’s bare torso with the planes of muscle across his chest and the tight six-pack abs was enough to send her into a swoon. It didn’t help that he’d never gotten around to fastening the top button of his jeans, which hung precariously low on his hips.
“I knew you wouldn’t accept that treatment from Duke or anyone else.” He kissed her lips. “I was just trying to protect Duke from your wrath.”
Skimming her hands down his back, she kissed him and then shot a sideways glance at the window, still uncovered. “I take it you didn’t find Charlie?”
“No, I didn’t. I wonder if his mother’s hiding him somewhere.”
“I don’t think Gracie would hide a killer, especially someone who killed Zack Ballard, even Charlie.”
“Maybe the stalking and the murders are unrelated.” He hooked an arm around her shoulders. “Maybe Charlie really did murder Zack in a jealous rage over Rosie and then murdered Rosie because he thought she was meeting me as a lover.”
“And the phone call to me from Zack’s phone and Dr. Brody’s card in Rosie’s possession were just coincidences? I think they’re all linked.”
He shrugged. “I think you and Shelby need to get out of town, whether that’s Paris or…somewhere else. Now let’s get this place closed up and head back to the ranch.”
His hand slid to her bottom and his warmth connected with her skin through the thin material of her skirt, curling her toes and weakening her knees. God help her, she wanted him again.
Even with the fear and uncertainty folding around her like a heavy cape, she wanted him again.
HE DIDN’T DESERVE a family. He specialized in breaking up families. If he’d kept his mouth shut about seeing his father with Pam all those years ago, his mother would’ve stayed. She knew about her husband’s philandering, but confronted with it in front of her family, she had to save face and walk out. But she didn’t just walk out on her husband, she walked out on her family. Ryder did that.
And what about Julia’s marriage to Jeremy?
He’d torpedoed that, too. When he first met her and felt that strong attraction rock him to his core, he should’ve bowed out. He should’ve left Paris. Instead he hung around and stoked the embers of their passion. Maybe Julia and Jeremy could’ve stayed together and worked through their problems. Maybe Jeremy never would’ve turned traitor.
Julia’s desire for Ryder put her in harm’s way. She’d gone to Tucson to protect him. He didn’t deserve a family.
Ryder buried his fingers in his hair. If he walked out now, took that next assignment, he could escape the weight of responsibility of keeping a family together. He could take the easy way out.
He grabbed the phone and tapped it against his forehead.
“Is that a new way to make a call?” Rafe ambled into the room, peeling an orange.
The spray from the orange peel arced up and sprinkled the edge of Rod’s spotless desk.
Dropping the phone, Ryder tilted his chin at the film of moisture on the shiny wood. “He’s gonna kill you.”
“He’ll never know.” Rafe ran his palm across the orange juice, smearing it into a sticky circle.
“Yeah, right. Any news on Charlie?”
“Still missing. You didn’t mention a car two nights ago at Julia’s. If he got away on foot, he can’t be far.”
“Anyone check the caves at The Twirling Ballerinas?”
“I took a quick look, but we don’t have the manpower for that. There’s no clear evidence linking Charlie to Rosie’s murder or Zack’s. We just want him for questioning.”
“If I can keep Julia under lock and key for another week and a half, she’ll be home free.”
“Why a week and a half?” Rafe popped an orange wedge in his mouth.
“She and Shelby are going to Paris.”
Rafe swallowed and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “She is?”
“Her mother invited her. I think it’s good for her to get away. Maybe this maniac, whether it’s Charlie or not, will fixate on someone else and you guys can catch him before Julia returns. If Julia returns.”
“You’re letting Julia get away? What about Shelby?”
“You’re leaving your family?” Rod’s low voice from the door startled both of his brothers. Ryder slid his feet from Rod’s desk and Rafe hid the orange behind his back.
“I have another assignment.” Ryder stiffened his back.
“That’s BS. What happened to that private security firm you and your friend wanted to start in Denver? Now would be a perfect time.”
“Maybe after this assignment.” Ryder avoided Rod’s piercing stare.
“So you are leaving your family. Just like Mom.”
Ryder jumped up and the chair flew back, hitting the large window that looked out on the McClintock ranch. “Mom had to leave. She had to leave once I told her about Dad’s involvement with Pam. Don’t blame Mom. Blame me. I ri
pped this family apart by opening my big mouth.”
“There’s plenty of blame to go around.” Rod’s eyes narrowed. “But you don’t own any of it. Dad had been fooling around for years before Pam, and Mom knew it. Your acute ten-year-old observation that Dad was kissing the new ski instructor gave Mom the excuse she needed.”
“You’re the one who spilled the beans?” Rafe’s mouth dropped open.
“Shut up, Rafe.” Rod dismissed him with a flick of the hand. “Stop protecting Mom, Ryder. She left because she wanted to leave. She never liked the ranch and having three boys in the space of six years was too much for her to handle. She was a lousy mom even before she left without a backward glance.”
The truth of Rod’s words sliced through him like a knife and then twisted in his gut. He clenched his hands into white-knuckled fists. All these years it had been easier to blame himself for his mother’s desertion.
If only he hadn’t gone skiing that day with his friends. If only he hadn’t been at the lodge the precise moment that Dad kissed Pam. If only he hadn’t told his mother and the rest of the family what he saw.
The truth yawned before him like an endless pit of fear, so deep it threatened to swallow him whole. His mother didn’t love her sons. She’d been incapable of love. That’s why his father sought solace in the arms of other women.
Ryder ground his teeth together. He’d grown up with two bad examples of parenting. Why would he be any better?
“You blame yourself for Sharon high-tailing it out of here?” Rafe shook his head. “I didn’t know that. I could’ve set you straight. Sharon didn’t have a maternal bone in her body.”
“Stop.” Ryder held up his hands. “I don’t need to hear any more from you two. And if you think you made me feel any better about taking on the responsibilities of parenthood, you didn’t.”
Rod shrugged. “I’m not here to make you feel better, but if you walk out of that little girl’s life, you’ll be repeating a pattern.” He strode toward the door and then twisted his head over his shoulder. “And clean up that crap on my desk, Rafe.”
JULIA PEEKED OUT the front window of the antique shop and let out a relieved sigh. Ryder’s truck idled at the curb in front of the store.
He’d said all the right words the other night when they made love, but had distanced himself from her and Shelby in the days following. He must’ve decided to leave them. She heaved another sigh, but relief had nothing to do with it.
“Is your ride here?” Millie’s daughter, Maddy, leaned over the counter and winked. “Wish I had a personal escort and bodyguard.”
“No, you don’t.” Julia waved at Ryder and backed away from the window to retrieve her purse behind the counter. “That would mean you have some crazed stalker after you.”
“I know.” Maddy patted Julia’s shoulder. “I’m sorry all this crap is happening to you. Seems like you just can’t get a break…until now.” She tilted her chin toward the window and Ryder’s truck.
Julia swung her bag over her shoulder and said good-bye to Maddy. Did Ryder represent a break or just a broken heart?
As she approached the truck, Ryder jumped out and opened the door. She climbed into the seat and he slammed the door and jogged around to the other side.
“Did you have a good morning? No incidents?” He cranked on the engine and glanced over his left shoulder into oncoming traffic.
“None. No news on Charlie?”
“None.”
“Did you and Shelby do anything this morning?”
“I took her to see the horses, but I didn’t have time to give her a riding lesson.”
She winced, emitting a whimper from the back of her throat. She hadn’t imagined it, this distance Ryder was putting between them.
“I had to help Rod with some stuff around the ranch.” He kept his gaze pinned to the road ahead. “Are you all set for Paris?”
She swallowed and lifted her chin. “Yeah, we’re ready, but I’m afraid my mother is going to faint when she sees my clothes.”
Ryder pursed his lips, two deep lines forming at the sides of his mouth. She’d meant to ease the tension between them with a little humor, but he wasn’t smiling.
“Celeste is not very motherly.” Ryder frowned in concentration as if choosing and then discarding words. He dragged in a breath and blew it out, puffing his cheeks. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll be the same kind of mother to Shelby? That you’ll fail her?”
Her heart jumped, her fingers curling over the edge of the seat. She didn’t like the direction of his questions. Did he just accuse her of being an unfit mother because of the poor example her own mother set? From what she’d heard about Sharon McClintock, he didn’t have a lot of wiggle room in this argument.
Beneath lowered lashes, her gaze shifted to the side. Ryder stared straight ahead, his shoulders stiff, his face tight. He looked…scared. She’d never seen Ryder afraid of anything or anyone.
Her pulse ticked against her throat. Could he be frightened of a little, thirty-eight-pound girl?
“You know…” She turned down the radio. “You don’t have to have a model parent to be a model parent. Sometimes you just feel it here.” She pounded her chest with her fist.
“I may not always make the right choices as a parent, but whatever I do comes from a deep, never-ending pool of love. And somehow Shelby knows that.” She trailed her fingers along the corded muscle of his forearm, and he loosened his grip on the steering wheel.
“Trust yourself, Ryder.”
The truck swung through the gates of the McClintock ranch, and as they rounded the last bend toward the house, Julia squinted out the window at a clutch of people gathered in the riding paddock. She pointed. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Ryder pulled the truck over and jumped to the ground.
Several faces turned in their direction, and Pam peeled away from the group and ran toward them.
Julia’s heart skittered in her chest at Pam’s face, creased with worry. Her gaze darted across the empty paddock, and she clutched Ryder’s arm.
“What’s wrong, Pam?” Ryder covered Julia’s hand with his own.
“It’s Shelby. That silly, headstrong little girl rode her pony out of the paddock when Jock wasn’t looking.” Pam’s white fingers plucking at the edge of her blouse gave lie to her lighthearted words.
Julia blinked her eyes, her mouth so dry she couldn’t form any words.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ryder charged to the paddock, and Julia clung to his arm, her rubbery legs unable to support her.
A few of the ranch hands and Ryder’s father lifted worried faces at their approach.
“What happened?” The ranch hands shrank back in the face of Ryder’s fury.
“Don’t worry, boy.” Ralph slapped Ryder on the back. “The little gal just got adventurous and took her pony for a real ride.”
Ryder shrugged him off. “Will someone tell me what happened here?”
Pam stepped forward. “Shelby wanted a riding lesson and because you weren’t around, Jock took her out. He had her seated on Silverbell, and she was circling the paddock. Dan called him over for a minute and when he turned around, she was gone.”
Julia broke away from Ryder as fear fueled her senses. She ran toward the open gate of the paddock that led to several horse trails. “Shelby!”
Ralph called after her, “Rod and Jock went after her. She couldn’t have gone too far.”
“They’ll find her.” Ryder came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He slid his hands down her arms and took her hand, leading her back to the group in the middle of the paddock. “Of all the dumb, irresponsible things to do. She’s not even supposed to be riding Silverbell. Skipper’s her mount.”
Julia leaned against Ryder’s strong shoulder, closing her eyes against the panic that overwhelmed her. Why would Shelby ride out of the paddock by herself? How did she get the gate open? She didn’t want to acknowledge
the black terror that scratched at the edges of her mind.
“She’s going to be all right.” Ryder cupped her face in his hands, and she raised her eyes to meet his.
She recoiled at the depths of fear lurking in his eyes. They mirrored the same dark dread that clutched at her heart.
Pam gasped and Julia tore her gaze away from Ryder’s. Rod and Jock burst into the paddock, leading a skittish Silverbell behind them.
And her saddle was empty.
Chapter Fifteen
Julia swayed and she threw out her hands to regain her balance. Ryder started to charge his brother and then spun around to catch Julia before she collapsed in the dirt. He hooked an arm around her waist, pressing his side against hers as if the two of them could defeat this threat to their daughter together.
“Where’s Shelby?” His voice grated against the shocked silence.
“We don’t know.” Rod pocketed his cell phone. “We found Silverbell wandering back to the paddock on one of the trails. We followed the trail back into the hills, but didn’t find Shelby.”
“C-could she have fallen off the trail? Down a cliff?” Julia pressed the heels of her hands against her temples.
“I don’t see how she could’ve gotten to that point on the trail where it drops off. Jock said he took his eyes off of her for just a minute and then went right after her.” Rod rubbed a hand across his jaw, his eyes puzzled. “But I called the Sheriff’s Department and they’re sending over a search and rescue unit.”
“Why did you take her out?” Ryder’s fists bunched at his sides. “I’m the only one who gives her riding lessons.”
Jock lifted a shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ryder. You were busy this morning, and Pam said it was okay.”
Ryder crossed his arms, shoving his fists into his biceps. “I have to find her.”
“I’m going with you.” Julia followed him across the dusty paddock to the yawning gate, and he latched it behind them. She ran to keep up with Ryder’s long stride. “Wait.”
He turned and she flinched at the despair in his eyes.
She gave voice to the fear that had been nipping at her mind like a rabid dog. “Don’t you think it’s strange that Shelby opened that gate and rode away from Jock, disappearing from Silverbell’s back in a matter of minutes?”
Circumstantial Memories Page 17