She tore her eyes from the cabins and focused on what had to be the main house. Although it, too, was built with logs, this place was bigger and fancier than any log cabin she’d ever seen. Constructed in multiple levels, the house boasted creative angles and railed decks. Generous windows overlooked the mountain landscape. “This is your ranch?”
“It’s a guest ranch. The bulk of the tourist season is over, and I don’t have any hunters booked until next week, so you have your pick of the cabins.” He piloted the truck to a small parking area just to the west of the house and brought it to a halt.
“A guest ranch, huh, then you must have phone service.” She glanced around. A faint light touched the eastern edge of the sky. The first glow of dawn.
“That’s part of the charm of this place. People come here to escape the outside world.”
“How do you take reservations?”
“If you want to talk about this, let’s step outside.” He threw an arm over the back of the passenger seat next to him and twisted to look her in the eye. His gaze flicked over Jason, still fast asleep.
Melissa nodded. As urgent as it was for her to get to a phone, she didn’t want to wake the boy with an argument. She opened her door and stepped out into the bracing night air.
Leaving the motor running to keep Jason warm, Nick followed. Both quietly closed the doors behind them. Face shadowed by his hat brim, Melissa could read little of his expression, but the straight jaunt of his spine and the casual way he shifted his weight onto one boot clearly conveyed how comfortably in control of the situation he felt.
She stretched to her full height, wishing she’d worn higher heels. “How do you run a business like this without a phone?”
“I have a service that takes care of reservations.”
“And if some rich client has a heart attack, do you send out the pony express to bring back an ambulance? Or do you prefer using passenger pigeons?”
The corners of his lips tilted upward. His shoulders jerked in a shrug. The movement was too abrupt, as if he was indeed hiding something.
“You have a satellite phone.”
He didn’t respond.
“I have to use it right away.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I have to—”
He held up a hand. “The authorities are taking care of the sedan and your car, too. I’ll arrange for you to get back to Denver, but first I need to get something clear.”
“What?”
“I’m not going back to Denver.”
She figured they’d get around to this argument sooner rather than later. “Most witnesses who need protection can’t get it.”
“Feel free to give them mine. Now that we’re back at the Circle J, I have it under control.”
“There’s nothing to keep the outside world from finding you. Even in the middle of nowhere.” She gestured at the darkness around them. No, not darkness. Now that she was outside of the car, the sky seemed to be alive with more stars than she’d seen in her lifetime. Add the creep of dawn, pink along the horizon, and this place looked far from nowhere. It was isolated, sure, but it was definitely a somewhere. And a beautiful somewhere at that.
“Why were those guys shooting up the street this morning? You told me Jason didn’t see his mother’s murder.”
“He didn’t.”
“So who were they shooting at?”
A heaviness settled into her chest. She’d wanted to explain it all to Nick at the hospital, but Seth and Cory Calhoun had talked her into holding back. “We only have a theory.”
“What’s the theory.”
“I can’t tell you. When you testify in court, it’s important you don’t speculate about things you couldn’t possibly know.”
“Listen, I know what I saw. Four guys in a car shooting. I’m not about to trick myself into thinking I have a clue who they were shooting at and why, no matter how hard the defense attorney grills me. Besides, you owe me.”
“For what?”
“Picking you up on the side of the mountain. No car, no phone signal… you would have been out there a long time.”
“But I crashed my car to save you.”
“I can’t possibly know why you did it. And I can swear to that in court.”
Melissa shook her head. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”
“Pretty well know it.”
Melissa knew Seth would be annoyed if she answered Nick’s question, and her boss would be right to be so. But in light of all that had happened, she didn’t think it was fair to hold out on Nick any longer. Maybe if she tried to work with him, he’d eventually see his way to working with the D.A.’s office, too.
“We think Jimmy was the target.”
Nick tilted his head to the side. “Who’s we?”
“Seth, Detective Marris, and the other D.A.’s investigator.”
“Calhoun.”
“Yes.”
“So Jason was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“Jimmy was the lead detective on your ex-wife’s case. Somehow the shooters knew just when Jimmy would be bringing Jason to the police station. They were in position, waiting.”
Nick tilted his head to the side. “You think someone told them. Who?”
Possible explanations had been hanging on the edges of Melissa’s mind since she’d talked to Seth at the hospital. But out of all the people who could have known their plan to bring Jason to the police station that morning, she really didn’t want to believe any could have sold him out like that. “We don’t know. But we’re going to find out. I’m going to find out.”
“And the men shooting at our truck? It was the same car.”
“You saw them murder a police detective.”
He turned away from her and paced a few feet, shaking his head. Taking a deep breath, he looked back in her direction. This time one of the lights on the house’s exterior caught the side of his face. He looked tired and more stressed than his body language had suggested. “I talked to a police artist at the hospital. Can’t they just use those sketches to identify the bodies? If it’s even possible.”
“You said you saw four men in that car in Denver.”
“That’s right.”
“It didn’t look like there were any more than two tonight.”
“Two?”
“I saw two men. I’m pretty sure.”
“I’m not going back.”
“The men who murdered Jimmy are still be out there. If you don’t care about Jimmy, and you don’t care that they might be tied to your ex-wife’s murder in some way, then you should at least care that they almost shot your son.”
“Seems if I went back, I’d be inviting them to take another try. I’m not going to dump him off with a nanny.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Nick Raymond seemed like a good guy. She’d even had visions of him as a hero in one of those Westerns Jimmy had loved to watch. What a joke. You could rely on a hero to do the right thing. You could rely on them to see things through. “So that’s it? You don’t care about justice?”
“Justice is a man finally finding the child he had stolen from him three years ago.” His voice boomed in the quiet night, not loud, but ringing with emotion. “Justice is a little boy who knows he’s safe when he steps out the front door or rides in his daddy’s truck. And right now, justice is you leaving us alone.”
Melissa pulled in a shaky breath. “I know this has been incredibly tough. It has been for all of us.”
“Tomorrow I’ll drive you to Jackson, and you can rent a car to get back to the city.” He took off his hat, raked a hand through his hair, and then replaced the hat. “You can find your justice, Melissa, but leave me to mine.”
Melissa felt bad for him and ashamed she hadn’t tried to see the situation from his point of view from the outset, but she wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet. “I could arrest you, you know.”
“If you hadn’t noticed, we’re not in Colorado.”
“That complicates an arrest. Doesn’t preclude one.”
He reached out his hands, wrists together. “Slap ‘em on.”
Melissa didn’t reach for her handcuffs, instead she watched Jason through the side window. He was still sound asleep, slumped to the side in a way only a child’s body could bend. There had to be another way.
“So do you want to pick out a cabin for the rest of tonight, or should I just assign you one?” Nick said.
She looked up at the house. The place was huge. Surely he had an extra bedroom available, close enough for her to work on him, convince him returning to Denver was necessary. Close enough…
She almost laughed at the direction her thoughts naturally drifted. The fact was, she wasn’t some weak, pitiful thing with a cowboy fetish. She could handle being within the same walls as Nick Raymond. And she would get him back to Denver. Somehow.
“I’d like to stay near Jason, at least for tonight. I want to make sure he’s okay.”
Nick’s gaze flicked to the truck’s interior, then back to Melissa. Finally he gave a nod, his hat brim tilting low. “I think that would probably help.”
Melissa met his words with a smile despite herself. She’d worked with kids before, and she was good at relating to them. That was why she often worked on cases involving children. But Jason was different. She wasn’t sure if it was the kid himself or his parallels to her own childhood, but he’d wedged himself close to her heart. “Thanks.”
“I got to warn you, if you think by staying in the house with us that you can talk me into going back to Denver, you’re fooling yourself.” Nick’s voice was gentle, even though his words called her out. He lifted his hand to his hat and gave it a slight tip. “But it’ll be nice to have a woman in the house all the same.”
Somewhere deep inside, Melissa felt a weak flutter, and she had to wonder if she’d just made a big mistake.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Mommy always has grape.” Jason stuck out his lower lip.
Nick glanced down at the piece of toast. It was almost noon, and they had yet to eat breakfast. The little rebel had already refused eggs and bacon, but Nick had hoped he’d solved the problem with toast. “Sorry. Strawberry is all I have. How about honey?”
“Mommy gives me grape.”
Nick couldn’t help but wonder how much of the refusal to eat had to do with jam and how much had to do with losing his mother. “Oatmeal? How about that?”
Jason shook his head. “Mommy didn’t like oatmeal.”
Nick remembered that. He remembered a lot of other things Jason’s mommy didn’t like. The ranch. The ranching life. Him.
“Should we just skip breakfast for now and go see the horses?” Nick flinched at the hint of desperation in his voice. If Jason picked up on how much he wanted him to fall in love with the Circle J, he’d probably hate it as much as he hated strawberry jam.
“Actually, I want to see Melissa.”
Actually? Nick didn’t realize kids that young used words so big. He stifled a smile. “Melissa didn’t get much sleep last night, buddy. I think she’s still snoozing.”
“I’m awake.”
Her voice came from behind him. He turned in time to see her step into the kitchen.
Melissa seemed younger and more real without makeup. She was wearing the same clothes she had on yesterday, except for the jacket, of course. But where most people would be a bit rumpled around the edges, she looked fresh, like she hadn’t slept in the clothes at all.
Maybe she hadn’t.
He shook his head and thrust to his feet. Walking into the kitchen, he carefully steered around the image in his mind and gestured to the space around them. “What do you think of the place?”
She scanned the big, country-style kitchen, the adjoining dining hall and the great room beyond. Her eyes stopped at the fireplace and the elk rack above the mantle. “Looks cozy, like a real Western lodge. I can see why people like to stay here.”
“I’m going to ride on a horse.” Jason threw out his skinny little chest, as if suddenly bursting with pride.
“That sounds fun.”
“You can come, too.”
Melissa glanced at Nick. “I think your dad wants to—”
“Of course you can come. I have plenty of horses.” He didn’t know where the invitation had sprung from, but there it was, jumping from his mouth. Of course, the thought of her sleeping naked between the sheets of one of the guest rooms could have him agreeing to just about anything.
She held out her arms, showing off her white blouse and trousers. “I’m not exactly dressed for it.”
Jason hung on every word from Melissa’s lips. Obviously he’d grown close to her in the short time since his mother had died. He was used to being without a father. But he obviously needed a mother figure.
So badly it made Nick’s chest hurt. “If you can get him to eat some breakfast, and have some yourself, I’ll see if I can fix the clothing problem.”
She shared a smile with Jason. “You’re on.”
Nick ran upstairs and let himself into the attic. Winding through stacks of items in storage, he found the box he was looking for. Hefting it in one arm, he carried it down to the kitchen.
By the time he returned, Melissa was sitting next to Jason at the table. She bit into a piece of toast, and Jason did the same. She had made herself at home at the stove and served up a plate of scrambled eggs to Jason, too.
“Don’t forget your egg.” Melissa took a bite from her own plate, and the four-year-old stuffed a forkful into his mouth without complaint.
Amazing.
“Old clothes?” Melissa said, eyeing the box.
Nick opened the cardboard flaps and pulled out a pair of women’s Wranglers. He draped them on a vacant chair. He followed with a Western-style, button-down shirt and a pair of Tony Lama boots, hardly worn. “I hope these are the right size.”
She finished her eggs, then checked the labels. “They should work. Your wife’s?”
He nodded, resisting the urge to remind her about the ex part. “If you want to put them on, we’ll meet you down here when you’re ready.”
She threw the clothes over her forearm and gathered the boots. Halfway down the hall that led to the stairs, she stopped and turned back to face him. “I need to talk to you.”
He’d known that was coming. “I told you last night. I made the calls. Everything is being taken care of. Other than that, we don’t have much to talk about.”
“I need to make some calls myself.” She eyed him, somehow looking both firm, as she had the night before, and softer than he expected.
“I promised Jason we’d ride horses. Everything else will have to wait. Please.”
She looked past him, smiling at Jason who was finishing his last morsels of egg. “Of course.”
“So we’ll meet you back down here?” he prodded.
She gave him a reluctant nod and headed up the steps.
Avoiding this argument might be tougher than he thought. But he wasn’t going to give in. He deserved a moment with his son, and damn it, he was going to take it. Whether Melissa Anderson agreed or not.
Nick had breakfast dishes cleared and Jason washed up and ready to go when he heard footsteps coming back down the stairs.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Nick turned around as Melissa made her entrance into the dining room.
His throat went dry.
He hadn’t thought much about lending her Gayle’s old clothes. Gayle had hardly worn them. And she certainly hadn’t thought enough of the jeans and boots to take them with her when she ran off to the city. As far as he was concerned, Gayle had rejected them right along with the ranch and him. But seeing Melissa dressed in those same clothes made him realize how much like Gayle she really looked with her sleek blond hair. Hell, how much like Gayle she was, with her efficient, businesslike manner and the righteous ambition that made her eyes spark like a warrior’s when she was trying to get her way.
And here he’d invited her right into the main house, set her up as a mother figure for Jason and dressed her for the part like he was trying to rewrite history.
He needed to have a long talk with a shrink.
______
What was she doing on this beast’s back?
Melissa resisted the urge to drop the reins and grab the saddle horn with both hands. The horse veered from one side of the pen to the other, not the direction she had in mind.
“Sit back in the saddle and raise your rein hand.” Nick stood on the ground, the lead rope in his hand controlling the horse Jason rode.
Melissa did what he said, but the horse didn’t seem to notice, he just kept walking wherever he pleased. This was not working. She couldn’t stand being this out of control, this inept.
The only thing worse about this experience had been Nick teaching her how to saddle the animal. The procedure itself wasn’t that hard, but having him standing so close behind her she could feel his body heat had been uncomfortable at best. And when he’d cupped her hands in his, helping her move the straps into place….
She shook her head and focused on preventing her horse from plowing through the fence and joining the small herd on the other side.
“He won’t listen to anything I tell him. What am I doing wrong?” She cringed at the helpless shrill of her own voice.
Leading Jason’s perfectly calm horse up next to hers, Nick frowned up at her. “You’re not taking control.”
“I could have told you that. So how do I take control?”
“You set your mind to it.”
“It’s that easy, huh?”
“No. But it’s a start. Think about how you feel when you’re driving in busy traffic.”
“A frightening thought. I don’t know where the gas pedal is. And the brake. And I obviously have absolutely no clue where to find the steering wheel.”
“We went over all those things. Legs, weight, hand.”
He was right. He’d explained how she squeezed the horse with her legs to get him to move forward, shifted her weight back and raised her rein hand to stop him, and moved her hand from side to side, neck reining him to turn. “Then why can’t I get those things to work?”
Justice (A Rocky Mountain Thriller Book 3) Page 4