RESCUE AT CARDWELL RANCH

by B. J Daniels

  “We’d better get going,” Tag said, checking his watch. He gave Lily a kiss then rumpled each child’s hair as he headed for the door. Hayes followed, even though there was no purpose in seeing this building his brother had found for the restaurant.

  They weren’t opening a barbecue place in Big Sky. He wasn’t sure how he was going to break it to his brother, though.

  The road from the ranch crossed a bridge over the Gallatin River. This morning it ran crystal clear, colorful rocks gleaming invitingly from the bottom. Hayes watched the river sweep past, the banks dotted with pines and cottonwoods, and wished they were going fishing, instead.

  At Highway 191, Tag turned toward Big Sky and Hayes got his first good look at Lone Mountain. The spectacular peak glistened in the sun. A patch of snow was still visible toward the top where it hadn’t yet melted. This morning, when he’d driven to the ranch, the top of the peak had been shrouded in clouds.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” Tag said.

  “It is.” All of the Montana he’d seen so far was beautiful. He could understand why his brother had fallen in love with the place. And with Lily McCabe.

  “Lily was nervous about meeting you earlier,” Tag said now, as if reading his mind. He turned toward Lone Mountain and what made up the incorporated town of Big Sky.

  Hayes could see buildings scattered across a large meadow, broken only by pines and a golf course. “Why would she be nervous?”

  “She was afraid my brothers wouldn’t like her.”

  “What is the chance of that?” Hayes said. He had to admit that Lily hadn’t been what he’d expected. She was clearly smart, confident and nice. He hadn’t found any fault with her. In fact, it was blatantly clear why Tag was head over heels in love with the woman.

  But Lily had reason to be nervous. She was backing Tag on the restaurant idea. A math professor at Montana State University in Bozeman, she didn’t want to move to Texas with her future husband. A lot was riding on what Tag’s brothers decided. Their not wanting a Montana barbecue place had nothing to do with liking or disliking Lily.

  “Is she going to meet us at the restaurant building site?” Hayes asked, wondering how involved the bride-to-be was planning to be in the barbecue business. After the fiasco with Jackson’s wife, the brothers had decided no wives would ever own interest in the corporation. They couldn’t chance another ugly divorce that could destroy Texas Boys Barbecue. Or a marriage that would threaten the business, for that matter.

  “No, she’s doing wedding planning stuff,” Tag said. “Who knew all the things that are involved in getting married?”

  “Yes, who knew,” Hayes agreed as his brother turned into a small, narrow complex. He saw the For Sale sign on a cute Western building stuck back in some pine trees and knew it must be the one his brother had picked out.

  “Good, McKenzie is already here,” Tag said just an instant before Hayes saw her.

  He stared in shock at the woman he’d seen the night before. Only last night McKenzie had been lying at his feet outside a grocery store as her would-be abductor sped away.

  Chapter Five

  “Hayes, meet McKenzie Sheldon, Realtor extraordinaire,” Tag said. “McKenzie, this is my brother Hayes.”

  McKenzie smiled, but she wasn’t sure how convincing it was. Her sister had tried to talk her into moving this meeting to another day. Maybe she should have listened. She hadn’t felt like herself all day.

  While she’d tried to put what had happened last night out of her mind, she kept reliving it. Now she felt jumpy and realized it had been a mistake to take the attitude “business as usual” today.

  But she couldn’t bear the thought of hanging out at the condo all day when she knew nothing could take her mind off last night in that case. Her first stop had been the office where she’d assured everyone that Gus Thompson would no longer be a problem. While she was there, the locksmith came and changed all the locks, which seemed to reassure some and make others at the office even more nervous since Gus hadn’t gotten along with any of his coworkers.

  Then she’d gone to her condo, packed quickly for overnight and driven to Big Sky to meet her client. She’d worn a plain suit with a scarf to cover the bruises on her neck, but the gash on her temple where the man had slugged her still required a bandage if she hoped to hide the stitches.

  As she caught her reflection in the empty building window, she saw with a start that she looked worse than she’d thought. How else could she explain Hayes Cardwell’s reaction to her? His eyes had widened in alarm as he put out his hand.

  He looked like a man who’d just seen a ghost. He’d recognized her. How was that possible when he’d only flown in yesterday?

  “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Sheldon.”

  Tag had told her that his brothers shared more than a love of barbecue. The resemblance was amazing. Like Tag, Hayes Cardwell had the dark hair and eyes, had the wonderful Southern accent and was handsome as sin.

  She thought of Ted Bundy as she took Hayes Cardwell’s large hand, hers disappearing inside it, and saw his dark gaze go to the bandage on her head. “I had a little accident last night.”

  “You’re all right, though?” He still held her hand. She could feel herself trembling and feared he could, too.

  She put on her best smile. “Fine.” Then she finally met his gaze.

  His eyes were a deep brown and so familiar that it sent a shudder through her. Even though she’d told her sister that there was nothing to worry about, she was well aware that the man who’d attacked her last night could be closer than she thought.

  * * *

  HE’D STAYED HOME from work saying he didn’t feel well, even though he knew that might look suspicious if he was ever a suspect. But he was too anxious and upset over last night to go to work today.

  There’d been nothing of use in the morning paper, only a short few paragraphs.

  Police say a man tried to abduct a 28-year-old woman about 10:35 p.m. last night in the River Street Market parking lot.

  The man attacked the woman as she came out of the market and attempted to put her into the trunk of his vehicle. He is described as over six feet with a muscular build. He was wearing a dark-colored baseball cap and driving a newer-model large car, also dark in color.

  If anyone has information, they should contact the local police department.

  He knew he should be glad that the information was just as useless to the police. She hadn’t gotten a good look at him, which was great unless they had some reason to withhold that information. That aside, nothing in the news was helping him find the woman.

  Too restless to stay in the house, he decided to go for a walk in his northside neighborhood to clear his head. The houses were smaller on this side of town, many of them having been remodeled when the boom in housing came through years before.

  House prices had dropped with the mortgage fiasco, but so many people wanted to live in his valley that prices had never reached the lows they had elsewhere. He was glad he hadn’t been tricked into selling his house for top dollar. He could have found himself in a house he couldn’t afford. Instead, his small, comfortable home was paid for since he lived conservatively.

  Everything about his lifestyle looked normal on paper. He’d attended Montana State University right there in Bozeman. He’d bought a house after he graduated with a degree in marketing and had gone to work for a local company. He was an exemplary employee, a good neighbor, a man who flew under the radar. If caught, everyone who knew him would be shocked and say they never would have suspected him of all people.

  As he walked around his neighborhood, he saw that more houses were for sale. It made him upset to think that his older neighbors were dying off because more college students would be moving in. Constant temptation, he thought with a groan.

  He promised himself
the next time he took a woman it would be in another town. Even better, another state. He couldn’t take the chance so close to home ever again. If there was another time. Last night’s botched abduction had left him shaken. She’d jinxed things for him. If he didn’t find the woman and fix this—

  At a corner he hadn’t walked past in some time, he saw that another house had gone on the market. But that wasn’t what made him stumble to a stop next to the strip of freshly mown lawn.

  There she was! He could never forget that face and now there she was. Right there on the real-estate sign in the yard, smiling up at him as if daring him to come after her.

  McKenzie Sheldon of M.K. Sheldon Realty.

  * * *

  “ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?”

  McKenzie nodded, even though she was far from all right. Did she really think she recognized this man? She hadn’t seen the face of the man who’d tried to abduct her so she couldn’t have seen his eyes. This man’s eyes were...familiar and yet she’d never met him before, had she? Would she look at every man she met and think he was the one who’d attacked her?

  Hayes Cardwell was staring at her with concern and something else in his expression. Compassion?

  It was the very last thing she needed right now. Tears welled in her eyes. She felt lightheaded and groped for the wall behind her for support.

  “If you’d prefer to do this some other time,” Hayes said.

  She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. It must have been something I ate.” In truth, she hadn’t eaten anything since the day before. No wonder she felt lightheaded. But she’d toughened it out through worse, she told herself, remembering when she’d taken on the agency.

  Tag Cardwell hadn’t seemed to notice her no doubt odd behavior. He was busy looking in the windows of the building, anxious to get inside and show his brother the space.

  “I think you’re going to like this location for your restaurant,” she said, turning away from Hayes Cardwell’s dark, intent gaze and what she saw there. “Let me show you. It’s perfect for what you have in mind.”

  Her fingers shook so hard, she didn’t think she was going to be able to put the key in the lock. A large, sun-tanned hand reached around her and gently took the keys from her.

  “Let me do that,” Hayes said. His voice was soft, his Southern accent comforting and almost familiar.

  She was going mad. She could smell his male scent along with the soap he’d used to shower that morning. He was a big man—like the man last night who’d attacked her. She touched her bruised throat and closed her eyes against the terrifying memory.

  He opened the door and she stumbled in and away from him. Her cell phone rang and she was startled to see that it was the police department.

  “I need to take this. Please have a look around.” She scooted past Hayes and back outside, leaving the two men alone inside what had been a restaurant only months ago. Her phone rang again. She sucked in a deep breath of the June mountain air and, letting it out, took the call. As she did, she prayed the man had been caught. She couldn’t keep living like this.

  “Ms. Sheldon?” the policewoman asked.

  “Yes?”

  “I spoke to the man who intervened last night during your attack. He still would prefer to remain anonymous.”

  “You’re sure he wasn’t involved?”

  “Involved? No. The clerk at the store was a witness. He was leaving the store when he saw the abductor trying to lift you into the trunk of his car. The man saved your life.”

  “So why is this so-called hero so determined to remain anonymous?”

  “As I told you, he’s in town visiting relatives. He doesn’t want the notoriety. But I can assure you, we checked him out. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time last night.”

  McKenzie felt as if she could breathe a little easier. “I’m sorry he won’t let me thank him, but I certainly appreciate what he did. Is there any word on...?”

  “No, but we are looking at Gus Thompson. We brought him in. He doesn’t have an alibi for last night.”

  “You really think it was him?” She shuddered, remembering. He was about the right size and he had acted more than a little creepy in the past.

  Behind her, the door opened. She heard Tag and his brother come out.

  “Thank you for letting me know,” she said to the patrolwoman and disconnected. “So what do you think?” she asked, but one look at their faces and she knew Hayes hadn’t liked the place.

  Tag had been so excited about the building. She could get it for him at a good price since the owner was anxious to sell. But she could see that Hayes was far from sold.

  “We can’t really make a decision until all my brothers see the place,” Tag said. Hayes said nothing.

  She could feel the tension between the two men. “Well, let me know. This property won’t stay on the market long. I’ll lock up.” She moved past Hayes to turn out the light and lock the door.

  When she came back out, the brothers were leaving. She shivered as she felt someone watching her. Her gaze shot to Hayes, but he was looking off toward the mountains and his brother was busy driving.

  I’m losing my mind. Hayes Cardwell wasn’t her attacker. So why, when she thought of his brown eyes, did some memory try to fight to surface?

  * * *

  GUS THOMPSON WAS going to see McKenzie no matter what anyone said. When he’d come out of the police station and climbed into his vehicle, he hadn’t known where to go or what to do. He had to save his career, and McKenzie was the only one who could do that.

  Restraining order or not, he would see her.

  He had racked his brain, trying to remember where she said she had a showing today. Something about a listing in Big Sky. A former restaurant. He’d quickly checked to see what commercial restaurant space was under the multiple listings at Big Sky and laughed out loud when he’d found the restaurant with ease.

  It didn’t take much to find out what time she was showing the place. He’d called the office, changed his voice and pretended to be the person she was showing the restaurant to. Within minutes, he’d found out that McKenzie would be at the restaurant this afternoon at two to meet the Cardwells.

  For a few minutes after he’d hung up, he’d tried to talk himself out of driving up to Big Sky. The last thing he needed was for her to call the police before she heard him out. It appalled him that she thought she could just fire him and he’d go away. Well, she was dead wrong about that.

  Unfortunately, the forty-mile drive had taken longer than he’d expected. Summer traffic. He’d forgotten about the damned tourists so he hadn’t been able to beat McKenzie to the restaurant—which had been his intent.

  Fifty minutes later, he’d parked next to a small grocery in a space where he had a good view of the restaurant with the M.K. Realty sign out front. He’d arrived in time to see two men pull up in an SUV only moments after McKenzie.

  He’d been forced to wait, telling himself it might work out better. He would grab her after her showing. He could get a lay of the land before he did anything stupid. More stupid, he thought, thinking of Cynthia, the receptionist. She wasn’t even that cute.

  While he had no patience for waiting, he was surprised when the showing only took a matter of minutes. He had to laugh. Boy, had that not gone well. And now McKenzie had just lost her best salesman. She would definitely regret firing him, probably already did.

  He saw his chance when the two men McKenzie had shown the property to got into their SUV and drove away. The restaurant location was somewhat secluded, separated from the other businesses by pine trees.

  Once he got her alone, she’d be forced to listen to what he had to say.

  As he started his vehicle, planning to park behind her car so she couldn’t get away, he saw her looking around. Was she worried he mig
ht show up? Or was she looking for the man who’d attacked her last night? Her gaze skimmed over him in his vehicle where he still sat, motor running. He looked away, glad he’d driven his silver SUV that looked like everyone else’s around here.

  When he’d dared take a peek again, she was headed for her car. He couldn’t let her just drive away. His best chance of talking to her was here rather than back in Bozeman.

  Gus shifted the SUV into gear. He told himself all he wanted to do was tell her what he thought of her firing him, of accusing him of attacking her, of treating him like an employee rather than appreciating what he did for M.K. Realty.

  He just needed to have his say. He wasn’t stupid enough to touch her. Or threaten her. He had the right to have the last word. She couldn’t just get rid of him in such a humiliating way and think he was going to let it pass.

  But as he’d started to drive up the road to the empty restaurant, another vehicle pulled in and parked next to her car. Annoyed, he saw that he would have to wait again. He hadn’t come all this way to give up. He killed his engine with a curse. If he couldn’t get to her now, then soon. She would hear him out, one way or another.

  * * *

  MCKENZIE HATED THE scared feeling she had as she hurried to her car. Her gaze took in the activity lower on the hillside. She told herself she’d just imagined someone watching her. Down the road, there were families in vans with laughing and screaming children, older people trying to park in front of one of the small businesses that dotted the meadow, a young couple heading into the grocery store.

  Everywhere she looked there were people busy with their own lives. It was June in Montana, a time when in Big Sky, it seemed everyone was on vacation. No one had any reason to be watching her.

  Still, she gripped her keys in her fist until her hand ached as she neared her car. She wanted to run but she was afraid that like a mad dog, the person watching her would give chase. She couldn’t see anyone watching her and yet the hair rose on the back of her neck. The afternoon sun had sunk behind Lone Mountain. Shadows moved on the restless breeze through the pines next to the building.