by B. J Daniels
She laughed. “What does it matter how it happened? You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Try me.”
She shook her head as she got to her feet and set down her glass on the table at her end of the couch before turning to him. “The end result is that you and I got married on a cruise ship,” she said as she stepped to him.
“And somehow I ended up in the ocean in the middle of the night and you and the ship just kept going,” he said but didn’t move as she placed her palms on his chest.
“Whatever you were doing since I last saw you, it looks good on you,” she said as she unbuttoned his shirt and checked for a wire. “AJ must have been excited to see you,” she said as he stood perfectly still while she ran her hands around to his back and then checked the waistband of his jeans before running her hands down each of his legs.
“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked as she unbuttoned his jeans and checked his crotch. He didn’t move, nor did he respond to her in any way other than to stare at her unfeelingly as she searched him.
She stepped back. No man had ever ignored her like this one. It irked her that even in Denver she’d gotten nowhere with him—just like now.
* * *
CYRUS BUTTONED UP his jeans and smiled “Satisfied?”
“Hardly,” she said with a sneer.
He could tell that she was furious and at the same time thrown off balance by his complete lack of interest in her. What did she expect? She’d tried to have him killed.
“Isn’t it enough proof that I’m carrying your child?” she demanded.
“A DNA test will prove otherwise. A simple blood test can be done in two weeks. But what’s the point? We both know that isn’t my child you’re carrying. I would think you’d want this over as quickly as I do. What is it going to take to get this...marriage annulled and you out of my life?”
“My lawyer—”
“I heard what your lawyer is asking, but we aren’t paying that. Otherwise we can wait for the DNA test and for my memory to return. But when that happens, I suspect you’ll be going to prison given what I’ve heard about your past.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear,” she said but she didn’t sound so sure of herself. “And what if your memory never returns? In a case of head trauma like yours—”
“Actually, I’m told that it could be psychosomatic because of the trauma. For some reason I’m suppressing the memory, in which case, I could remember at any time. But if you’re long gone by then...”
“You’re offering me a deal, is that it?”
“Who said you weren’t sharp?”
She glared at him. “You don’t have to be nasty.”
“I didn’t throw you overboard.”
“I couldn’t lift you, let alone throw you overboard.”
“Only because you aren’t strong enough. That’s why you have your accomplices Otis and Arthur do your dirty work. So can we please quit playing this game?”
She tried a different tact. “Why don’t we sit down and I’ll tell you everything? You haven’t even touched your drink I made special for you.”
“I’m sure it is special. I’m not going to drink it, so if that was your plan...”
“You want to know how it worked?” she snapped angrily. “Fine. It will just be my word against yours.”
He heard a sound from the back of the cabin. Juliette heard it too because she tensed. He took a step toward the back.
“This is ridiculous. I’m your wife. We fell in love and now I’m carrying your baby.”
He strode toward the back of the cabin where the sound had come from. She tried to stop him, grabbing his arm. He shook her off and kept going, glancing into several bedrooms before seeing a small enclosed sleeping porch and a back door. The door was ajar.
He pushed through onto the back porch and through the door. There were footprints in the snow. Man-size. But whoever it had been was gone.
Closing the door, he walked back into the cabin. He didn’t see Juliette but he heard her in the bathroom throwing up.
When she came out, he said, “I can wait you out and I will. My memory is going to come back. It is already starting to. I remember how much you disgust me.” With that he left.
* * *
JULIETTE WATCHED HIM drive away, fearing he was right. She was still shaking inside. Her stomach roiled again. She still couldn’t believe she was pregnant. How had she let that happen? Maybe Otis was right and they should pull the plug.
What if it was just a matter of time before Cyrus remembered on his own? She told herself that he was bluffing. If he was going to remember, he would have already. He was threatening her because he feared he would never remember. The only reason he was pushing her was because he wanted her out of his life so he could be with his girlfriend.
She gritted her teeth at the thought of AJ Somerfield and realized the girlfriend, as much as she despised her, was her ace in the hole. If Cyrus thought AJ was in danger, he would fold first. Or there was always the option of extorting money from his girlfriend. AJ admitted that she came from money. Hell, had bragged about not touching her trust fund. How much would she pay to have Cyrus divorced and baby-free?
She smiled, feeling a little better. If she played this right, she was going to get her payoff and then she was out of here. She’d deal with the baby issue later. No hurry since she couldn’t be that far along.
Cyrus had been gone for about five minutes when she heard the back door open and close.
Arthur came in looking upset. “You weren’t really going to tell him, were you?”
“Of course not. You almost got caught. That was a stupid move making noise back there.”
“I was trying to save you from yourself. You wanted to tell him. I could hear it in your voice. Damn it, Julie, what’s happening with you?”
“Nothing.” She could feel him staring at her.
“You’re pregnant? Or just pretending to be pregnant?”
She raised her gaze to him. She should have known he was listening to all of it. “I might have messed up.”
He shook his head. “Whose kid is it?”
She shrugged and gave him her best sad smile. The smile had worked on him since they were kids. She’d wrapped him around her finger ever since.
“Oh hell, it’s not the cop’s?”
“What if it is?”
He swore and looked as sick to his stomach as she’d been. “So what are you going to do?”
“Finish this and get out of the country.”
“And the baby?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know yet. Cyrus is going to cave and pay me off. Once the marriage is annulled and I have the money...”
“I think you’re kidding yourself. He didn’t sound like a man who was ready to give in.”
“We’ll see. I have a plan.”
He swore. “These people are onto us. He knows about me and Otis.”
“But he has no proof of anything. As long as he doesn’t remember... I have something I need you to do tonight at the Stagecoach Saloon. Cyrus’s girlfriend lives upstairs.”
Her ex-husband was shaking his head. “I’m not sure I can do this.”
She stepped to him to cup his jaw in her hand. Arthur still had his good looks from when they were teens. “When this is over...” She pressed her lips to his ear and whispered exactly what she knew he wanted to hear.
* * *
FLINT WAS AS worried about Cyrus as the rest of the family. He’d known his brother was up to something when he’d asked about his vehicle. Hawk had called to say that once he’d handed over the keys to Cyrus’s truck, he’d left.
“Any idea where he went?” he’d asked Hawk even though he had a pretty good idea.
“We can’t stop him from forcing us to sell the ranch, can we?” Hawk had
asked.
“It won’t come to that.”
“I hope you’re right, but he doesn’t know us. He doesn’t care about the ranch. Flint—”
“I know.” He was scared too, but didn’t want to admit it. “We just have to hope his memory comes back.” And soon.
Now as he walked into his office, she saw that his sister was waiting for him.
“We need to get Cyrus to a doctor,” Lillie said, jumping up as he walked in. “We have to do something to help him remember.”
He went around his desk and sat down. “Lillie, I already took him to Dr. Brady. He said time—”
“Flint, I know it will take time, but we have to get our brother back.”
“We will,” he promised. “But we have to be patient. He’s dealing with a lot right now.”
“Juliette.” She said it like a curse. “What if she really is pregnant with Cyrus’s baby?”
“She’s not,” he said. “But if she was, we’d deal with it.”
“So let’s pay her off and get her out of our lives. Trask and I talked about it after breakfast this morning. He is willing to sell off some of our ranch and mortgage the rest.”
Flint smiled at his sister. “Sis, that’s very sweet. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. This woman belongs behind bars, not paid off for trying to kill our brother. She wants more than we can pony up without selling off the family ranch.”
“But if she is as dangerous as—”
“She isn’t going to do anything crazy, not here in Gilt Edge.”
His sister gave him a disbelieving look. “She tried to kill him. What makes you so sure she won’t again?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“YOU NEED TO get back to work,” Billie Dee said as AJ paced the saloon kitchen.
“I need to help Cyrus.”
“You have helped him, but now you need to let him help himself,” the cook said. “You can’t keep trying to protect him. Neither can his family. He has to be his own man.”
AJ knew she was right. “How do I do that?”
“Put on your apron and go back behind the bar and go to work. If Cyrus needs you, I’m sure he’ll let you know.”
She nodded. “It can’t be his baby.”
“Flint said we should know in two weeks, maybe less—especially if Juliette is lying about when she conceived. And since she apparently lies about everything, I think we can assume she didn’t get pregnant on the ship.”
AJ hadn’t thought of that. Juliette could have gotten pregnant before she even met Cyrus. If she was too far along for it to be his, they’d have proof that she was lying. “If true though, she isn’t going to be anxious to have the test.”
“Nope. My guess is that she’ll want to make a deal though.”
“So it keeps coming back to money for Cyrus to be free of her.” She shook her head. “We know she’s a black widow. We know she’s killed before and tried to kill Cyrus but we can’t prove any of it? There must be something we can do.”
Billie Dee was shaking her head. “Whatever you’re thinking about doing, don’t. Like you just said, the woman is a killer. One look in her eyes and you can tell she’s ruthless. Are you listening to me?”
“I’m going back to work,” AJ said, grabbing one of the aprons and tying it around her waist. “If you need me, I’ll be behind the bar.”
The cook eyed her skeptically. “I know that look and I want you to know, you’re scaring me.”
* * *
CYRUS LOOKED UP from where he stood just inside the stables to see his brother Hawk headed toward him.
“You know what you’re doing?” Hawk asked and grinned.
“I’m saddling a horse,” he said. “How am I doin’?”
His brother stepped over to check the cinch and raised a brow. “Not bad,” he said stepping back. “I see you saddled your own horse.”
“Don’t be thinking that I remembered which horse was mine,” Cyrus said quickly. “AJ showed me a photo. As for saddling it...”
“Let me guess,” Hawk said. “You quit trying to remember and just let it happen. Muscle memory.”
“I reckon,” he said. “Now if I remember how to ride.”
His brother laughed. “You never were that good.”
Cyrus had to smile. “Something tells me that you and I have been competitive at some point in our lives.”
Hawk grinned. “Because you can’t stand the fact that I’m better than you at most things. Except computers. I’ll give you that one. But ranching and horses? I got you beat.”
“That sounds like a challenge. Even if you have an advantage over a man who can’t remember his own name?”
“I figured you’d try to play that sympathy card.” Hawk shook his head. “It’s wasted on me, brother. Hope that horse doesn’t buck you off.” He turned to leave, and then turned back and tossed Cyrus his cell phone. “Just in case you can’t get back and need my help.”
“It might help if I knew your number. Also where I was going,” he said after catching the phone.
Hawk took the phone back, put in his number and tossed it again. “I put my number under the word Help.” He grinned. “As for where you’re riding to, there are trails, but all that land halfway up that mountain, that’s our ranch. From there to the top is Forest Service. Good luck.” Hawk turned and walked off whistling.
Cyrus stood for a moment next to his horse before he swung up into the saddle. His horse shimmied under him and, for a moment, he thought the mare might buck. But when she didn’t, he gave the reins a tug and she headed toward the mountains. Apparently she knew the way, even if he didn’t.
* * *
AJ WORKED ALL afternoon and evening, telling Darby she would close up so he could go home to his pregnant wife and son.
It’s good to have you back, he’d said. We are all indebted to you for going to look for Cyrus. I think about what could have happened if you hadn’t been so determined...
He’s going to get his memory back.
Darby had nodded. Hawk called earlier. Cyrus saddled his horse and rode up into the mountains. He always did that when something was bothering him. It’s a good sign. She’d been surprised. He is going to come back to all of us.
Did she dare hope? Juliette’s pregnancy had thrown her even with Cyrus being so determined that the baby couldn’t be his. Her heart ached. She’d dreamed of having his babies, of the two of them living on the ranch, of their children growing up with all their cousins.
A hard lump formed in her chest. Juliette couldn’t be having Cyrus’s baby. Cyrus was so sure. And yet he’d married the woman, whether he remembered it or not. AJ couldn’t explain away that and neither could Cyrus.
If he never remembered... They would never know the truth. Unless Juliette was really carrying his child. In that case, they would both have to accept that Cyrus had fallen for the woman.
Now as the last of the bar crowd left, she locked up the front door and turned out the exterior lights for the night. Billie Dee was right. It felt good to be doing something besides worrying. Fortunately, the saloon was busy her entire shift so she hadn’t had time to hardly think.
She finished up behind the bar and, after turning out the lights and locking the back door, she headed for her apartment upstairs remembering what Darby had told her about Cyrus going for a horseback ride. Darby and Hawk seemed to think that was a good sign. She tried to breathe easier. For weeks she’d been telling herself that he was alive. She’d believed that once she found him everything would be like it was.
Now she questioned if anything would be the same.
AJ shoved those thoughts away. She couldn’t lose faith now. Cyrus was home. Juliette was lying about everything. That’s what AJ had to believe. What she had to hold on to. Otherwise...
Apparently Cyrus had moved back to the ranch. Maybe
sleeping in the house he’d grown up in...
As she climbed the stairs, she tried to hang on to that thread of hope, the one that had sent her to the Caribbean to look for Cyrus. Back then, it had been a feeling in her heart that told her he was alive.
Now he had taken all of her heart, every bit of it. She thought about being in his arms as she pushed open her door and stepped into her apartment.
She heard a scraping sound and started to turn, but the man was on her before she could. All she caught was a glimpse of a black ski mask covering his face before he threw her to the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“HOW WAS YOUR RIDE?” Hawk asked as Cyrus came through the door of the house they’d grown up in.
He stopped in the doorway to take in the large living room and the blaze popping and cracking in the huge rock fireplace. This was home? He closed the door and moved toward the fire, feeling chilled. He’d been fine when he was out riding, but when the sun had gone down and darkness moved in, the night had grown cold.
“I was starting to worry about you,” Hawk said. “Not enough to go look for you but close.”
Cyrus chuckled. “There’s a full moon out tonight. Riding through the pines with the moon like that...” He couldn’t put the feeling into words. “Sorry I was gone so long. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” He reached into his pocket and handed his brother his cell phone. “I didn’t have to call for help anyway.”
Hawk chuckled. “I suppose that’s something. Sounds like you remembered how to ride.”
“My horse was kind enough not to buck me off. It’s beautiful country. I can see why I liked it.”
“You loved it. You always said that it would take dynamite to get you out of Montana,” his brother said. “Apparently you were wrong.”
Cyrus shook his head. “I didn’t fall for Juliette. And before you ask, I have no idea how I ended up on a cruise ship married to the woman. But I will remember and when I do...” He balled his hands into fists. When he saw Hawk noticing, he spread his fingers and tried to still the anger in him but it was difficult.