by Linda Conrad
Had she wrecked all that in one moment?
He thought of trust, and then of her walking away, and stopped in his tracks. What the hell had he been thinking? He trusted her—absolutely and irrevocably.
That meant he also believed in her. She would never let him down…just like she would never leave on her own accord—much less abandon her child.
He took off toward the bunkhouse, hoping Mac would be there. When he arrived, the men had assembled.
They looked at him with something like pity in their eyes—all except for one guy who pushed his way toward the front.
“Boss, I heard you’d wanted info on that Paul woman’s whereabouts yesterday afternoon. You still interested?”
His heart jumped in his chest. “What did you see?”
“I was in my old pickup on my way over to Grainger to stay the night with my girl last night. And running late, so I was…ah…going a little too fast. But I passed up a sedan that had a funny look to it. You know, too slick and new looking for a car from ’round here. More like something those new Cold Plains folk would drive.”
Nathan nodded and prayed the guy would hurry up with his story.
“Well, the lady was in the front seat. But that wasn’t the strangest part. The really odd thing was the two guys in the back both had shotguns laid out across their laps.”
“Shotguns? You sure?”
“I got a good gander from the cab of my truck as I passed them. Thought it was funny.”
Funny as a cold slap of reality. “Thanks,” he told the guy. “Mac, can you handle the ranch today?”
“Sure, boss. Where are you going?”
“There’s something I have to do. I’m going into town.”
“You in need of backup?”
He wouldn’t risk any of his men, not if the Devotees had a stash of weapons.
“No. But thanks. This is something I have to do alone.”
He owed it to Susannah for doubting her. And if it took everything he had, he would get her out of that town. Or die trying.
Chapter 12
Susannah bolted out of bed before dawn. Feeling cranky and more curious about Jonathan than ever, she skipped breakfast. There wasn’t anything in her kitchen anyway, and she didn’t dare go out to eat in Cold Plains.
The more time she spent around real Devotees, the better the chance of one of them noticing that she seemed different than before, not the same as they were. She was different now.
She crept to the window and checked out the street. No sign of any guard. What she felt like doing was going back to the ranch for some of Maria’s good cooking…and to cuddle Melody…and for another night with Nathan.
But since none of that was possible, she needed to find a way to make it possible. Of course, she knew if she just called the ranch that someone would come for her. But that wouldn’t be safe—not for the people she loved and not for her. The Devotees would only come for her again, and the next time someone would die.
Nathan could not die for her sake. They might as well kill her right now. She also didn’t want anyone to know about Melody’s presence on the ranch. The Devotees seemed to buy her story about sending the baby away. She wanted to keep it that way.
So her best bet still had to be Jonathan. There was something smarmy and not quite right about him, and she was determined to find out what. If she learned anything terrible, she would turn him in to the police. If it was only something embarrassing, she could try threatening him with exposure to make him help her escape from Cold Plains for good.
Wondering what she might find out was driving her crazy. Did she have to wait until business hours to go back to that mechanic’s shop? Pacing her room like a wounded mother tiger, she wondered what the heck Jonathan had been doing there at midnight.
Oh, the heck with it. She’d go now. Maybe someone would come to work early so she could talk to them.
She locked her door and took a deep breath of the crisp morning air. But it didn’t smell nearly as good here in town as it always had at the ranch early in the morning. Where was the clean cedar smell she so loved? Where was the odor of hay and horses that she’d grown fond of over the past few weeks?
Making her way back to the mechanic’s shop took a lot less time than it had following Jonathan there last night. Still, she tried not to run. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
Dawn was nearly breaking, and one or two people were already out and about, probably on their way to work. Things seemed so normal here. But now that she could see the reality of the Devotees, she knew an evil lurked around every street corner.
She tried not to feel the oppressive truth in each breath and thought instead of Nathan and Melody. Wonderfully warm thoughts, they brought her back within minutes to the same spot as last night.
Hesitating under her pine, she gazed at the mechanic’s shop. It looked exactly the same in the cold, gray morning light as it had last night. Nothing had changed. No cars were parked in front of the place yet. It looked as though none of the employees had come in early.
She settled down to wait for someone to arrive. After a half hour, she wondered how smart this idea really was. What if she was walking into some kind of criminals’ den?
Just about to give it up as a bad idea, she straightened, gathered herself and got ready to leave. But then she heard a door opening. Spinning to the sound, she saw Jonathan coming out of the shop. And he was carrying a package under his arm as he locked the mechanic’s door behind him.
Suddenly nervous, she found a better hiding place in the vacant lot where she could watch what he did and not be spotted. But he didn’t do anything. After locking up, he casually walked away, going in a slightly different direction than he’d come last night.
She let him move about a block ahead before she hastened to follow him. The gray light of predawn was giving way to brighter and brighter daylight, and she had a hard time staying out of sight. But Jonathan didn’t seem to be worried about being followed, because he never turned to look around. He kept up a steady pace…not running but not strolling, either.
He seemed to have a specific destination in mind. After another block, it was apparent that he was heading for the community center. Man, that place gave her the creeps.
Remembering what her friend had said about strange things going on in a hidden basement, Susannah wasn’t eager to even set foot in the place again. When he arrived there, Jonathan did another odd thing. Instead of entering the center through the front or back doors as everyone else always had, he went across the empty parking lot and entered through a side door she hadn’t noticed in the past.
Slowing her pace to a crawl, she located another shadow, this one coming from both the two-story building across the street and the awning covering a storefront. She stood still, trying to decide what to do. Feeling temporarily hidden well enough to escape detection from anyone across the street—at least until the sun was high in the sky—she spent a moment looking up at the huge three-story structure of the community center, marveling as she always had at its beauty.
Samuel had spared no expense, using the money he’d made from selling his fake healing water to build a monument to himself. White columns, marble walkways and perfectly landscaped grounds made the center a showplace.
As she stood quietly gawking at the construction and wondering what she should do next, a fancy silver-colored car drove up and parked in the blacktopped lot nearest to the side door. Samuel got out and went inside. Before she had time to consider what the heck he would be doing at this early hour, a pickup pulled up and the chief of police, Bo Fargo, climbed down and quickly made his way inside by using the same side door.
Susannah absently wrapped her arms around her body in a protective move.
Her breathing started coming in little bursts just as another car drove up—this one a big black sedan, and a man she thought she recognized as Rufus Kittridge, the mayor of Cold Plains, got out and went inside. She remembered the mayor with a wa
rm, easy smile, but he wasn’t smiling much this morning.
Some kind of big meeting must be going on. She’d say a town council meeting, but it seemed a strange time.
A few more men arrived within minutes, some walking and some in cars, and all of them looked like important Devotees. Interesting. Secret dawn meetings?
But it didn’t seem to her as though she’d come across anything useful to her situation. She didn’t have the nerve to actually go inside the center and see what was going on.
She wanted to go back to her room but was afraid to move a muscle, afraid of getting caught spying.
Just as she thought it might be safe to run, the side door opened and Jonathan came back out into the parking lot, still carrying the same package. Now what could he be up to?
This time, he did look around as though searching for anyone who might be about. Susannah moved deeper into the shadows. He didn’t appear to notice her, and no one else was anywhere to be seen.
Then Jonathan got down on all fours and slid his whole body under one of the cars like a mechanic might do. Weird.
But he wasn’t there long. In a few moments, he was back out in the lavender light of dawn—but without the package.
Before she could gather her wits and figure out what he was up to, he moved to a different doorway, one a little farther away. She had to squint to see what he was doing.
He’d apparently needed to contact someone, because he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and began making a call.
“Wait up, son.”
Nathan turned to see his father coming his way. Irritated at the delay, he threw his hands on his hips and made it clear waiting for his father was an imposition.
He needed to go to town…and to go now.
When his father finally arrived at his side, Nathan shook his head. “I’m in a hurry. No time to talk.”
“Mac tells me you’re thinking about heading into town this morning on a fool’s errand. I want to know what you think you’re doing.”
“None of your business.”
“Where’s Susannah this morning?”
Dang his father anyway. “If you already know what I’m doing, then why’d you ask?”
“’Cause I thought I might’ve misunderstood Mac. You can’t seriously be going to town on your white horse to rescue the fair maiden?”
Damned nosy old man. “Susannah didn’t deliberately leave the ranch of her own free will. The men who took her had shotguns. Does forcing her into a car with weapons drawn sound like she wanted to go along with them?”
His father scowled, and a deep skeptical noise came from his throat. “Of course she didn’t go willing. Unlike one idiot I could name, I never thought she did.”
Nathan’s anger flashed fast, the same way it always did when he talked to his father for more than five minutes. But this time he didn’t have time to finish the argument.
“I’m leaving. Save it for someone who cares.”
His father held up his hand and moved close enough to throw a punch—but he didn’t. “Hold on. Hold on. I don’t know why talking to you always brings out the worst in me, son. But I do know now that selling that creek land to Grayson was a terrible mistake. I truly thought it would be good for the community. That the new people and new construction would be a boon for the whole town.”
“Some wonderful boon.”
“You’re right.” His father heaved a heavy sigh. “We were better off poor and miserable. I know that now. But I can’t take back what’s done.
“What I can do,” he added quickly, “is see to it my youngest son doesn’t die for my mistakes. You can’t go chasing after the girl alone. They’ll cut you both down before you make it back home.”
“Watch me. Those bastards don’t scare me. I have a better chance alone. If I take some of the men, it’ll be tougher getting into town. The Devotees will know something’s up. Once I’m there, Samuel won’t dare bring out the guns in the middle of his pristine city and ruin the image he tries so hard to create. But I’ll be carrying a .357 Magnum under my jacket. And I intend to call Hawk and the FBI as soon as I find Susannah. She will live through this. I swear.”
“I’ve grown fond of the girl myself.” His father’s tone softened. “And she damned well ought to be where she wants to be. With her child. And with us.”
Nathan shook his head again, but this time it was to say, “I told you so.” “I’m leaving. Get out of my way.”
“Wait.” His father put a hand on his shoulder. “At least be smart enough to take me with you. I get your point about a posse of men storming the town. That would only cause more trouble. But I can’t sit here on the ranch worrying over your welfare.”
He pulled a .45 out of his jacket. “I’m armed, too. Let me help, son.”
“Get in the truck.” Nathan didn’t want to think too much about the things his father had said. But he knew he would—after he had Susannah safely back at the ranch.
A couple of minutes later, they were on the road. “Did you hear the whole story of what happened to Susannah?” he asked his father.
“Why don’t you tell me what you know?”
He could hardly stand for his father being so reasonable. What had caused this huge change in the man?
Later… This was not the time.
“It seems some of those bastard Devotees sneaked onto the ranch right at quitting time last night. I didn’t realize it then, but apparently Susannah was still in the horse barn alone. A hand said she told him she would walk back to the house with one of us.”
“Quitting time? Around the same time when you and I were talking outside the office?”
“Arguing, you mean? Yeah, I’m thinking that was the same time.”
Downshifting, Nathan tried not to let what he was saying blind him to his driving. “Apparently the Devotees managed to overtake her without either of us hearing a thing.”
His father fisted his hands in his lap. “We weren’t whispering.”
“No. We never do.”
“Things will change between us from now on.” His father exhaled and looked down at his hands.
“Why?” Had he really said that aloud? Well, in for a penny… “Why will things change? What’s different, Dad?”
“Don’t you know? Are you really so blind? Susannah’s what’s changed. She’s made a big difference—with all of us.”
Nathan knew he felt different around her. But was that a permanent change of some sort? And what did his father mean when he said “all of us”?
“How, Dad? How did she change things for you?”
His father cleared his throat. “Well, now, I guess that’s hard to pinpoint exactly. But she’s a very special woman. After just a few minutes of talking to her, I found myself spilling my guts. Said things to that girl I hadn’t even said to myself. Should’ve, though. Should’ve said some of those things to you, too.”
“Like what?” His own voice sounded so raspy, he could barely hear himself talk.
“Like how when your mama died, I blamed myself for not being there for her when she got sick. Or how I’d let my father-in-law run me around half the countryside doing errands for the ranch and neglecting my ailing wife. After she passed away, I told him what I thought of him and his damned ranch. Bastard cut me out of his will and left everything to your brother.”
What? That couldn’t be. “I always thought he didn’t leave you anything because you didn’t love the land. At least not like Grandpa and I did.”
“Think about it a moment. Your grandfather knew how much you loved the ranch, Nathan. So why didn’t he leave the whole place to you? ’Cause he was a vindictive schemer, that’s why. He didn’t want me to have control, so he left it to the one person who couldn’t have cared less. The one person you wouldn’t fight.”
His father took a breath but kept talking. “The old man knew damned well I couldn’t let the ranch go to hell. Knew I would hang around for the rest of my life and run the place, though it will never
legally be mine.”
“That doesn’t sound like Grandpa.” Truthfully, it sounded more like something an evil person like Samuel Grayson would do.
“You never really knew him, son. He only let you see one side.”
Nathan drove on quietly for a few minutes, not sure of how to take what he’d just learned.
“But then you do care about the land?” He felt a little like a twelve-year-old, begging for attention from a father who was so obsessed in his own grief that he couldn’t be bothered with either his youngest son or the ranch he loved.
“When I married your mama, I knew I was marrying her family’s land, too. She loved this place and wouldn’t ever have wanted to be anywhere else. And I loved her. That we were going to live and work this ranch was a given. The surprise came when her old man wouldn’t give up an inch. He constantly tested me, seeing just how much crap I would take to prove I cared about the family’s land.”
His father stared out the window at the miles of range and woods passing by the window. “I put up with him for her sake at first and then for yours. After my beloved Sallie passed away, I wished I had gone, too. Nothing interested me. I’m afraid you were a casualty of that time, son. Your grandfather used you against me, somehow in his mind getting even with me because she had died and I lived. I can’t tell you how much I regret that now.”
The lump in Nathan’s throat threatened to choke him. He needed time to process all of this. When he’d freed Susannah from the Devotees, he would take some time to consider everything he’d learned today.
After a long silence, his father asked, “Do you love her?”
He couldn’t pretend not to know who his old man was referring to. “I don’t know.” But that was a lie. “Maybe I do love her. But she will never be safe on the ranch as long as Samuel Grayson and his Devotees are right next door in Cold Plains.”
“What do you intend to do about that?”
“What can I do? She and Melody will have to go away, someplace so far that Samuel Grayson will never be able to get his evil hands on either one of them.”
His father opened his mouth as if to say something more. Then he closed it again and turned his head to look out the windshield as the outskirts of Cold Plains came into view.