Hitched!

by B. J Daniels

  He knew he couldn’t get a ride. Not as bad as he looked. Not with cops and searchers crawling the area.

  That’s when he’d seen what appeared to be a roof in the distance and remembered when he and his father had come to Montana for an elk hunt. There used to be a bar at what was called Mobridge. As he remembered, there was also a house. Was it possible someone still lived there?

  JACK LEANED BACK, the rock warm, the view incredible, and studied Josey.

  She stood on the edge of the ravine, staring out at the wild terrain.

  They hadn’t spoken since the kiss or her tears. He’d held her until she’d quit crying, then she’d stepped out of his arms, seeming embarrassed, and walked to the edge of the ridge.

  He’d waited, giving her time and space. He knew better than to try to push her and yet he wanted desperately to know who had done those things to her and what had her running so scared. What the hell kind of trouble had she gotten herself into and how could he make it right?

  Jack chuckled to himself, realizing he’d been wanting to make things right since he was a boy and he’d seen the pain his mother had suffered.

  With Josey, it was more complicated. She didn’t want to involve him. Didn’t she realize he was already involved? He’d become involved the moment he’d picked her up on the highway. He’d only gotten in deeper by kissing her. He wanted to help her. And if that meant getting this bastard who’d done this to her…

  She’d said she’d taken care of it. He didn’t like the sound of that. Had she killed the man? Was that why she was so afraid? Why hadn’t she gone to the police then? Between the rope burn around her neck and the bruises he’d only glimpsed, she would have had a good case for self-defense.

  The breeze ruffled her short, dark curls. He watched her raise her hand to push it out of her eyes. She was so beautiful. So strong and yet so fragile.

  He knew he shouldn’t have kissed her. But he hadn’t been able to help himself. And he couldn’t even promise that he wouldn’t do it again.

  She turned to look back at him. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “I’m not. I’m used to women crying after I kiss them.” Just as he’d hoped, she smiled. “I suppose we’d better head back. We have a long ride ahead of us. Can’t have Aunt Virginia passing out from hunger if we’re late for supper. She is such a delicate thing.”

  Josey chuckled. “She’s a lot like your grandmother that way.”

  “Isn’t she though.” He handed Josey her reins and helped her into her saddle.

  “I’m from California, an only child, my father is dead, my mother—” Her voice broke. “She was in a car accident and never fully recovered.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I probably shouldn’t have even told you that,” she said, looking toward the horizon. “The less you know about me, the better off you’ll be once I’m gone.”

  WITH JACK AND JOSEY OFF on a horseback ride and Virginia napping, Pepper Winchester took advantage of being alone with Enid.

  She’d managed to keep her housekeeper from drugging her for some time now by getting rid of the food or drink Enid gave her privately, but she had to put a stop to it. Pepper knew her only hesitation was that she didn’t want to have to fire Enid and her husband.

  Not because she felt any kind of loyalty to them. She’d been more than generous with the two over the years. They must have a nice little nest egg put away.

  No, it was because she didn’t like change. The last thing she wanted was strangers on the ranch. Enid and Alfred had been fixtures on the place since Pepper herself had come to the ranch as a new bride. Was it any wonder they felt they belonged here even more than she did?

  But she couldn’t let Enid run roughshod over her anymore. Nor could she trust the woman. Pepper was sure the two wondered what she was up to. They knew her well enough to know that getting her family back to the ranch hadn’t been an act of sentiment.

  She found Enid in the kitchen stirring something boiling on the stove. It was impossible to tell what she was cooking. The woman really was a horrible cook. When Call was alive and the kids were all on the ranch, they’d had a real cook and Enid had been the housekeeper.

  Once everyone was gone, there had been no reason to keep on anyone else, although Pepper couldn’t remember firing the rest of the staff.

  She suspected Enid had done it, since Pepper had been so distraught that her housekeeper and caretaker had taken advantage of it.

  “Please turn that off,” she said now to Enid.

  Enid turned slowly to stare at her as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Had it been that long since she’d been in this kitchen?

  Enid turned off the burner, then crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the counter next to the stove. “Well?”

  Pepper bristled at Enid’s insolent manner. She’d let this happen and had only herself to blame. In her grief, she’d given up control of her home and her life to this woman and her husband. She now saw what a mistake that had been.

  “I’m going to have to let you and your husband go.” Her words seemed to hang in the humid kitchen air, surprising them both.

  She waited for Enid to put up an argument. When she didn’t, Pepper added, “I’m sorry.”

  To her surprise, Enid began to laugh. “Alfred and I aren’t going anywhere.”

  Pepper couldn’t believe her ears. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You best give it some thought,” Enid said, and started to turn back to whatever she was cooking.

  Pepper felt her temper rise. “I’ve made up my mind.”

  Enid sighed and turned back to her, eyes narrowing into menacing slits. “Do you know how long I’ve been on this ranch?”

  “That doesn’t have anything to—”

  “I’ve been here since before Call brought you here. I’ve heard every argument, seen it all, know you better than you know yourself.” She lowered her voice. “I know where all the bodies are buried.”

  “Are you threatening to blackmail me?” Pepper demanded, barely able to contain her rage.

  “If I wanted to blackmail you I could have done it a long time ago.” Enid smiled. “Even now I wonder what that new acting sheriff would think if I told her just half of what I know about her grandmother.”

  Pepper’s stomach twisted into a knot at the mention of McCall. Her heart was pounding so hard in her ears she had to steady herself, her hand going to the kitchen counter for support.

  “I’d hate to see you have to spend the rest of your golden years behind bars.” Enid sounded so self-satisfied that Pepper had to restrain herself from picking up one of the kitchen knives and ending this right here.

  She might have done just that, except then she couldn’t finish what she’d started. But once she knew the truth about Trace’s murder…

  “So, to answer your question,” Enid was saying, “of course I’m not blackmailing you. I’m just saying you might want to reconsider.” Enid turned and picked up the spoon she’d laid down earlier. “Of course, if you saw fit to put a little something in your will for Alfred and me, that would be greatly appreciated. We have been loyal servants on the Winchester Ranch almost our whole lives. Call, bless his soul, always said he didn’t know what he would have done without us.”

  Pepper’s gaze bored into the woman’s back like a bullet at the mention of Call’s name. She felt powerless and hated the feeling, even knowing that it wouldn’t be for long. The day would come when she would turn the tables on Enid and it would be soon if she had anything to do with it.

  “Why don’t you sit down and have some of this soup I made?” Enid said. “You can tell me what you’re up to getting your family back here to the ranch.” She glanced over her shoulder at Pepper. “I told you, I know you better than you know yourself.”

  If that were true, Pepper thought, then Enid would be terrified of her and what she had planned for her.

  “You’re mistaken about my motives,” Pepper managed to say, an
d started to leave the room. “I just wanted to see my family.”

  She was almost to the door when Enid’s words stopped her.

  “Some people think you’ve already lost your mind, locking yourself up all these years in this old place,” Enid was saying. “Wouldn’t take much for someone to think you’re not in your right mind. Now why don’t you sit down and have a little soup. I made it special just for you. It will calm you right down.”

  Pepper turned back to watch Enid ladle out a cup of the soup and stir something into it before setting the cup on the kitchen table.

  “You’ll want to eat it while it’s still hot.”

  She stared at the cup of watery-looking soup, Enid’s threat still ringing in her ears as she stepped back into the room, sat down at the table and picked up her spoon.

  “A little of my soup, that’s all you need,” Enid said, as she went back to work at the stove.

  Pepper took a bite. She gagged a little, the bile rising in her throat. She took another bite and felt the warmth of the soup and the drugs take hold. She put down her spoon.

  Enid took the rest of the cup of soup and dumped it down the drain. “You should lie down for a while. You look a little peaked. I’m sure you’ll feel better after a nap.”

  DINNER WAS A SOLEMN AFFAIR. Josey noticed that Jack’s grandmother was especially quiet. Virginia drank her wine without incident, and Jack seemed lost in his own thoughts.

  She was grateful he hadn’t wanted to talk about what had happened on their ride. Josey was embarrassed. She never cried like that, especially in front of a stranger. And she needed to remember that was exactly what Jack was—a stranger.

  As soon as dinner was over, she excused herself, saying she needed a little air, and went outside for a walk.

  The air felt close. She was taken with the wild openness of this place. She could literally see for miles.

  Josey thought about her mother and felt that old pain and frustration. For months she’d been trying to help her. Now she’d made things worse.

  But once she got money wired to the new health-care facility and knew for sure that her mother had been moved…

  She hadn’t realized how far she’d gone until she turned around to head back. The sky had darkened. Thunderheads hunkered on the horizon to the west, and the wind had picked up, sending dust swirling around her. She raised her hand to shield her eyes, squinting in the direction of the Winchester Ranch lodge.

  Lights were on downstairs. Fortunately, as Josey was leaving the house, Pepper had grabbed Jack, insisting he come with her. Otherwise, Josey was sure Jack would have wanted to tag along. She knew he worried about her and, like her, he must worry that the trouble after her might somehow find her here.

  As she neared the house, the first drops of rain began to fall. The Cadillac sat out front where they’d left it yesterday, the top down. She noticed the keys were in the ignition, opened the driver-side door and slid behind the wheel. She whirred the top up, snapping it into place, then put up the windows and sat for a moment in the warm quiet, listening to the rain patter on the canvas roof.

  She looked toward the house and thought of Jack. Through the parlor window, she could see shadows moving around inside. Jack and his grandmother?

  Feeling almost guilty, she reached over and opened the glove box and dug around inside until she found the car registration.

  The car was registered to Galaxy Corporation. The address was a post office box in Ten Sleep, Wyoming.

  What was the Galaxy Corporation? And did this car even belong to Jack Winchester?

  Josey hurriedly put the registration back in the glove box along with the Montana map, then changed her mind and opened the map.

  Just as she had suspected. The town of Whitehorse had been circled. She struggled to read what had been written off to the east of it. Winchester Ranch.

  A sliver of worry burrowed under Josey’s skin as she stuffed everything back into the glove box and closed it.

  She sat in the car, listening to the patter of the rain, staring at the old Western ranch lodge and wondering who she was pretending to be married to.

  JACK HADN’T WANTED to let Josey out of his sight, but he’d been cornered by his grandmother after dinner and had no choice.

  A fire burned in the small rock fireplace. It crackled softly as Pepper Winchester motioned for him to sit opposite her in the matching leather chairs.

  “I’m sorry I ambushed you the other day,” she said. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Pepper Winchester apologizing?

  “I had hoped you might have remembered something from the day of Trace’s birthday party.”

  What was it she wanted him to remember? he wondered. Or was it something she wanted to make sure he didn’t remember?

  Suddenly, the room felt cold as a chill ran the length of his spine.

  “I foolishly thought that if I just asked you right out, you would tell me the truth,” she was saying.

  Jack smiled to himself. Now this was more like his grandmother. He said nothing, waiting for the barrage he knew would follow. What he wasn’t ready for was the tears as his grandmother began to cry.

  She quickly stopped herself, getting up awkwardly and leaning heavily on her cane as she moved to the fireplace, her back to him.

  “Why don’t you tell me what this is really about?” he suggested, determined not to be swayed by her tears.

  “You’re right, of course.” She didn’t turn around as she brushed at the tears, her back ramrod straight. “I have reason to believe that one of you saw something from the window up there. I thought if you had that you’d tell me. After all these years I’d assumed there would be no reason for any of you to keep the secret any longer. I foolishly assumed that one of you would want the truth to come out.”

  Her candor surprised him as much as her apology and her tears had. He didn’t know what to say.

  “I know it’s possible that I’m wrong,” she said, making it sound as if she didn’t believe it. “Maybe none of you saw Trace being murdered.” She turned to face him. “You see now why it is so important that I find out the truth. I don’t believe the killer acted alone. I’m basing that assumption on where Trace was killed—within sight of the ranch. The killer got him to that spot, I believe, for a good reason. Because someone else was watching from the ranch that day. I believe that person didn’t know that you children were in that third-floor room with a pair of binoculars.”

  Jack was stunned. “You’re saying you think someone from the family was involved in Trace’s murder?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  So that was what this was about. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and yet even as a small child he was aware of the jealousy among the siblings.

  “I intend to find out who that person is if it takes my last dying breath.”

  Jack stared at her. “That’s why you invited us all back.”

  She nodded. “I would be a foolish old woman to think that I could make up for the past at this late date.” She shook her head. “I won’t rest until I find out the truth. Will you help me?” Her voice broke and he felt something break in him, as well.

  He reached inside himself for all the hatred he’d carried for this woman the past twenty-seven years, but that fire that had consumed him for so long had burned down to only a handful of red-hot embers.

  His words surprised him, since he didn’t feel he owed this woman anything given the hell she’d put his parents through. “We were in the room that morning.”

  His grandmother slumped down onto the hearth.

  “We’d heard stories about the room and wanted to see it.”

  “Whose idea was it to go up there?” she asked in a voice fraught with emotion.

  “I don’t recall. All the adults were busy with Trace’s birthday preparations for that afternoon.”

  Pepper’s eyes shone brightly in the firelight as if remembering.

  “I’m sorry, but I didn’t see anything.�
� He’d been busy reading what had been scratched into the walls.

  Her disappointment was palpable. “Did one of your cousins have a pair of small binoculars?”

  He felt a start as he remembered the binoculars.

  “Which cousin?” she asked, witnessing his reaction.

  “I…I really don’t recall.” He’d been distracted. By the writing on the walls. And the girl. Jack had wondered where she’d come from and why he hadn’t seen her before. He gathered she shouldn’t be there, that she’d sneaked in, ridden over from the only close ranch nearby, the McCormick Ranch. He’d forgotten until now, but there’d been another girl with her, a younger girl who they all ignored.

  “I remember Cordell and Cyrus fighting over the binoculars.” Showing off for the older girl. “I honestly can’t remember which one of them ended up with the binoculars.”

  Jack wondered what his grandmother would say if he told her about the girls? He wasn’t sure what held him back. Certainly not loyalty to his cousins or their friends. He wasn’t even sure why he’d told his grandmother what he had. Just for a moment there, he’d felt sorry for her, he supposed.

  She nodded slowly, as if sensing he was holding back something. “I would think that if anyone saw their uncle being murdered, that boy would have had a reaction. He might not have told me, but I would think he’d have told his cohorts.”

  “You have to remember, I was just the nanny’s kid,” Jack said, digging up some of that old pain to remind himself why he was here. “My so-called cousins weren’t all that fond of me. So if they had secrets, they kept them to themselves.”

  She rose, but with effort. He started to help her, but she waved his hand away. “If you should think of anything that might help me…”

  Did she really think he was here to help her?

  He was glad when his grandmother called it a night and he could go look for Josey. He was relieved to find her alone, sitting in the tire swing under one of the massive cottonwood trees. A rain squall had blown through, but it was dry under the trees. He loved the smell after a rain almost as much as he loved the scent of Josey’s damp hair.