by B. J Daniels
Henry kept telling her that once they were married, she would never have to do any of that again. She wouldn’t have to cook at the saloon, either, if she didn’t want to. Maybe that was another reason she was putting off the next step. She loved her job.
“No babies yet?” he asked after taking a sip of his coffee.
“Both Lillie and Mariah look like they could pop any second, but nope, not yet.” Billie Dee was excited for them, but it would mean that Mariah and Darby Cahill would move out of the apartment upstairs over the saloon and into their house that was almost finished.
Darby had offered her the apartment upstairs rent-free. “You won’t have to drive through the snow in the winter. All you have to do is come downstairs.”
She’d been touched, but then again Darby and the rest of the Cahill clan didn’t know about the romance brewing between her and Henry. “Thanks, I’ll think about it,” was all she’d said.
“You’re going to have to tell them,” Henry said now as if reading her thoughts.
“I was waiting until the babies were born.”
Henry laughed and shook his head. “What are you so afraid of? That once you tell them, you will have to finally really consider marrying me?”
She smiled. “I do want to marry you. But...”
“I told you, you don’t have to give up your job here, if that’s what you want. And certainly not your wonderful independence.”
Billie Dee reached across to put her hand on his. “I know. I promise, I’ll do it soon.”
He looked skeptical as they heard footfalls on the stairs and she quickly removed her hand.
Darby came into the kitchen, greeting them both. Billie Dee got up to get back to her cooking. Henry finished his coffee and said he’d see them later.
“I didn’t mean to run him off,” Darby said, coming over to join her at the stove.
She heard something in his voice and glanced at the young handsome cowboy turned bar owner. Darby was grinning.
“Okay, Henry and I are...more than friends.”
He laughed. “Like I didn’t already know that. So when is he going to make an honest woman out of you?”
She swatted at him with a pancake flipper.
“It’s just an expression,” he said quickly as if afraid he’d offended her.
“He’s asked me to marry him.”
“Billie Dee, that’s wonderful. So?”
“So, I’m thinking about it. Now, don’t go blabbing to the rest of the family just yet.”
Darby shook his head. “Lillie has suspected for months. You can’t keep something like this quiet, especially around my sister.”
* * *
DRIVING TOWARD THE RANCH, Tucker felt as if he could breathe for the first time in years. All he could think about was seeing his family. He’d start with his brothers Cyrus and Hawk, then he’d go down to the saloon that Lillie and Darby owned. He was excited to see them all, but there was still a weight holding him down.
Until he knew if the remains were Madeline... Until he knew whom she’d been working with...
The road to the ranch wound through towering pines adjacent to Miner’s Creek. Everything was a beautiful lush green. He loved spring in Montana and had missed it. This time of year, the creek was still low. It was too early for the snow in the mountains to have melted and for spring runoff to begin. Turning into the ranch, he parked but didn’t see his brothers anywhere around.
As anxious as he was to see them, he knew there was something he had to do first. He had to face the nightmare that had haunted him for nineteen years. Heading for the creek, he took the same path he’d taken that night. In the shade of the pines, the air felt cold. Montana in the spring was beautiful but still chilly. The weather could change from sunny and warm to snowing and threatening in a matter of hours this time of year.
He breathed in the scent of pines and was transported back to the summer before his senior year. It had been mind-blowing sneaking off to be with Madeline, keeping the amazing secret, captivated by her body and his new experience with sex. His emotions had been all over the place.
Even when she’d told him she was pregnant, he’d been ready to marry her and run away with her. He realized how foolish that had been. But he had been on a high like none other. He would have done anything for her. Still, a part of him wanted to have been the hero that night.
What if he had jumped into the creek in time to save her that night? Or talked her out of jumping... He reminded himself that she’d lied. She hadn’t been scared of her father and brother that night. So why take the chance?
Money. And whoever was waiting for her downstream.
The path he’d taken broke out of the trees at the edge of the creek. He could hear the babble of the water over the smooth stones. The water would run clear and low for a few more weeks. He figured it would have been a fisherman who’d found her skeletal remains. He used to spend hours on this creek fishing with his father and siblings.
Ahead, he spotted the bridge and stopped for a moment, reliving that night. The moon had been full. Was that why she’d picked that particular night? He’d seen her in the moonlight standing in the middle of the bridge as he walked down the creek toward her—and she would have been able to see him.
Climbing up the steps to the raised footbridge, he stopped a few yards in—just as he had that night. The scene was so vivid. The moonlight filtering through the thick boughs of the trees. The smell of the creek and the lush brush filled the air. And the dark water, shadowed by the tree limbs hanging over it.
Madeline had stood on the bridge, clutching the bundle in her arms to her chest. He could almost hear her voice, raised in anger. Her telling him that he’d let her down. He’d ruined her life. Ruined not just her life, but their son’s, as well.
He took a step forward and then another, just as he had that night. He’d been so sure that he could reach her, that he could change her mind, that their love for each other could overcome anything.
Fool. Hadn’t she heard how his heart was breaking? How could she have gone ahead with her plan knowing how much he’d loved her?
As he reached the middle of the bridge, he stopped to look down. He still couldn’t believe she’d jumped into the fast current that night. There hadn’t been a railing on the footbridge back then. He could see her quickly stepping to the edge as he screamed for her to stop.
Tucker felt ice fill his belly at the memory. He could hear the roar of the water, the roar of his cry. He could see her hesitate for just an instant before she disappeared over the side.
He’d rushed forward in time to see her head go under in the swift current. It was the last time he saw her. He’d jumped in, but she was gone and so was whatever she’d been holding. The doll he’d gotten in the mail? If it was her remains that had been found, then she’d never had a child. Another lie. Another gut-wrenching lie.
Looking downstream he could see yellow crime scene tape caught on a tree limb out in the middle of the creek next to a deep hole where he used to fish. The tape flapped in the wind as if mocking him. This nightmare wasn’t over. Whoever had sent him the package with the weatherworn doll knew something. What were they trying to tell him?
He’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t seen the figure come out of the trees until he heard the loud snap of a twig. He stared downstream as a young woman made her way to the edge of the creek. Dressed in jeans, sneakers and a jean jacket, she wore a baseball cap that hid her hair. She looked out at the flickering yellow crime scene tape for a moment, before making her way to a spot where it was obvious that the deputies had dug up what remains had still been buried. The woman stepped under the crime scene tape that hadn’t blown away. She definitely didn’t look like a cop.
But then what was she doing there? Morbid curiosity or... To his shock, she suddenly hugged herself, bending over as if in pain
. He realized that she was crying. Huge sobbing wails carried on the breeze, making the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up.
What the hell? Had she known Madeline? He felt a chill run the length of his spine. A friend? Or the person who’d buried her there? Was it possible he was looking at the person Madeline had been working with?
She must have sensed him, because she turned toward the bridge. Seeing him standing there, she hurriedly wiped her tears and started to leave, but not before she did something that shocked him even more.
The woman spit on what had been Madeline’s grave.
CHAPTER FIVE
TUCKER WAS TOO stunned to move for a moment. What had he just seen? One thing was certain. The young woman who’d just spit on Madeline’s grave knew her!
His mind whirled. Did that mean she knew who she really was? Because she had helped her con Tucker? Or because she had reason to hate her?
As the woman disappeared into the pines, he finally shook himself out of his shock and got his feet moving. He had to talk to this woman. If she knew something...
The footbridge was old, the boards uneven and slippery this morning with dew. Still, he ran after her, slipping and almost falling in his cowboy boots. He couldn’t believe what he’d seen and heard. The sobbing. The pain he’d witnessed. And then...the hatred. It made no sense.
He’d only reached the pines when he heard a vehicle’s engine start up farther away from the creek. Racing up the trail, he realized that the woman must have run back to her vehicle. Otherwise, he would have been able to catch her before she drove away.
By the time he cleared the pines, she had driven almost to the road into town. He was too far away to get all of the license plate numbers on the vehicle she was driving. But it was definitely a Montana tag and the SUV was an expensive pearl-white one. If he saw it again...
He turned and ran back toward the ranch, mind racing. All those years ago, he hadn’t been able to learn who Madeline really was. She’d lied about so much. This was the first real lead he had on her. The irony of it was that her death was his first lead.
He was finally going to learn the truth about all of it, including who had been waiting for her downstream that night.
All he had to do was find another mystery woman, this one driving an expensive SUV.
* * *
THE SHERIFF GOT the call just before heading home for lunch. Maggie was making his favorite—barbecued short ribs. He didn’t want to be late. Also, he didn’t like to spend any more time than he had to away from his wife. As far as he was concerned, the honeymoon would never be over.
But it was also Tuck’s first night home. He was thinking he should get the family all together. Everyone would want to see Tuck. And probably want to know everything. Poor Tucker. His sister especially would demand answers and Lillie could be relentless. It was one reason he hadn’t told the rest of the family. Given the circumstances, he could tell Tucker needed time. His brother also needed to do this on his own—at his own speed.
Flint saw that it was the coroner calling and picked up. “I have a possible identification on your Jane Doe,” Sonny said. “Madeline Dunn, formerly of Clawson Creek, Montana.”
Madeline Dunn? “Possible? How did you come up with a name so quickly?”
“Dental records. I queried the dentists in the largest town within about one hundred miles of Gilt Edge, faxed them the X-rays and got a hit the first try. Great Falls, Montana, 106 miles away.” He listened while the coroner thumbed through some paperwork. “An eighteen-year-old had an abscessed tooth pulled at the dentist there. But what made him remember the girl and her mouth was that she had four wisdom teeth on each side, something so strange that the dentist took her X-rays down the hall to show another dentist. Very rare apparently.”
“That was lucky.”
“It was twenty-three years ago. She had no insurance or identification, but she wrote him a check that bounced. The account had been closed. Madeline Dunn never returned and the dentist never got his money. He’d always wondered if she’d had trouble with all those wisdom teeth.”
“Wait, twenty-three years ago?” Flint asked. He thought of the story Tucker had told him. It added up perfectly, including that Madeline Ross had been older than she’d told his brother. And obviously more experienced.
“That would make our deceased about twenty-two,” Sonny was saying. “Am I good, or what?”
Flint laughed. “You’re good, but like you said, it was all in the bones.”
“So true, but someone has to read them. As good as I am, though, you might want to wait until we get the DNA back before you try to track down next of kin. Up to you.”
“Thanks for letting me know, Sonny. Clawson Creek, huh? I think I’ll hold off until we see what the DNA might bring up.”
“As you wish,” the coroner said.
* * *
TUCKER REACHED HIS PICKUP. He still didn’t see his brothers around. They must be out in one of the pastures. Well, he didn’t have time to find them right now. He had to catch the woman before she could leave town.
Assuming that was her plan. He climbed behind the wheel of his truck, started up the engine and tore up the road. He knew his way around Gilt Edge. As he drove, he debated where she might be headed. There weren’t that many ways out of town.
The one plate number that he’d been able to make out before she’d gotten too far away had been the first one. Five. Five was Helena, the state capital. The shortest way back to the state capital was the highway to the west. So that meant she would have to drive through downtown Gilt Edge to reach it.
He raced into town, all the time looking for the SUV. Like most rural Montana towns, there were more pickups than cars or SUVs. That pretty pearl-white one would stand out like a marquee. Also, she wasn’t that far ahead of him.
A thought struck him, though. What if she knew the area as well as he did because she’d been here before with Madeline? There were at least six times when Madeline had come to see him to get more money or a favor out of him.
He was still confused by what he’d seen at the creek. The apparent grief, the crying and then the desecration on the primitive grave site. Very strange behavior. He had to wonder about the woman he was chasing.
Tucker thought about calling Flint but stopped himself. While he was sorry he hadn’t gone to his brother for help all those years ago, he couldn’t see any reason to involve the sheriff at this point. Not yet, anyway. But if the woman he was searching for knew Madeline...
If Tucker could get some answers on his own from this mysterious woman, he had to try. Madeline and whoever had been helping her owed him that, though it wouldn’t make up for the past or the years he’d lost.
As he drove, looking for the pearl-white SUV, he told himself that if the woman he’d seen at the creek had been in on the scam with Madeline, then she could be dangerous. Maybe even more dangerous than Madeline.
When he found her, he would get answers. But one thought haunted him. Was he really ready to learn the truth? Even knowing it was a scam, he still wanted to believe that Madeline had cared. He remembered the look on her face that night on the bridge. There had been real pain in her eyes. He couldn’t be wrong about that.
But what if he was wrong?
Even dead, she can break your heart again.
He told himself he wasn’t that horny, green teen Madeline had seduced. Also, he’d already had his heart broken by her. No woman had gotten to him after Madeline. He wasn’t sure any woman could. Not even Madeline herself could break his heart worse after the torment she’d put him through—let alone anything her coconspirator could tell him.
* * *
KATE ROTHSCHILD GLANCED in her rearview mirror. No sign of anyone after her. She’d been so sure the cowboy would try to chase her down after what he’d witnessed.
She swallowed the lump
in her throat, determined not to cry again. She couldn’t believe the way she’d broken down at the creek. But seeing that grave and knowing who’d lain in it all this time... She’d held back her pain for too many years and for all the wrong reasons. The grief had come out of nowhere and everywhere. She’d felt like a wounded animal and was sure she’d sounded like one, as well.
Seeing the cowboy on the bridge... She’d thought she’d been alone. She’d purposely waited for law enforcement to leave with their buckets of dirt. The last thing she’d wanted was for anyone to see her there, especially sobbing her heart out.
As she drove toward the small Western town of Gilt Edge, she assured herself that everything would be fine. She’d been right to come here. Not that anything could have stopped her. But she should have known she wasn’t the only one interested in the spot where the woman had been found.
She glanced in her rearview mirror again and smiled. A pickup was tearing down the road behind her. Her pulse leaped at the sight. It was the cowboy; she’d bet on it.
Still smiling, she thought about speeding up and giving him a run for his money. But she was at the edge of town and there was a deputy sitting in his patrol car right by the city-limits sign. She had no choice but to slow down. The truck was gaining on her. If the cowboy wasn’t careful, the deputy would pull him over.
The driver of the pickup slowed. He was right behind her now. She could see his collar-length dark hair under his Stetson. It was the same man. She glimpsed his dark expression and felt a shiver.
Her heart began to pound as she considered what he might do next. He definitely had come after her. Why else was he now riding her bumper? She couldn’t help but wonder what he made of her...behavior at the creek. It appeared she would find out soon enough.
She doubted he was ready for her, Kate thought as she pulled her shoulder bag closer. She wouldn’t need the handgun in it, she told herself, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
* * *
TUCKER COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. He’d caught up to her before she’d reached town. There was no doubt it was the woman from the creek. And she’d seen him. Their eyes had met in her rearview mirror and he’d seen recognition.