by Amanda Boone
He bent closer to see if it had any markings and smelled a faint fruity odor before he saw the name brand on the foil, which was a wrapper.
“Gum?” Liam muttered softly, and then in his head saw Jason, his jaws working, always working . . . “Oh, no.”
He ran for his truck, pulling his rifle case out from under the bench seat before he climbed in and took off. As he drove toward the highway he called Ethan. “Listen, no time to talk. There used to be a pig farm here maybe seventy, eighty years ago. Within five miles of the lake. Do you know exactly where it is?”
“The old Sanders place, sure. Take Tober road off the highway, drive for two miles, and you’ll see what’s left of the barn,” Ethan said. “What can I do?”
“Call the police. Tell them Cat Merlin’s been abducted by a killer and may have been taken there.” He passed a slow-moving sedan and glanced at the landscape beyond Tober Road. “I’m going to the high ground to have a look first. I’ve got my rifle.”
“Be careful,” his older brother said.
Once Liam got onto the road leading to the old pig farm, he drove until he could see the barn. He parked the truck, and then ran up the ridge to the east. Jason’s car sat parked behind the collapsing structure. As his heart pounded, Liam noted the position of the windows, hay loft, doors and open roof holes.
The rifle on his shoulder felt calming, and by the time he took position Liam had regained his composure. He sighted the barn’s remaining roof peak before moving his scope down to look inside.
On a hay bale Cat stood with a rope around her neck. Below her Jason walked back and forth and gestured with a handgun.
Liam sorted the targets in his head: handgun, rope, Jason. If he shot the gun out of Jason’s grasp, he’d likely take off some fingers with it, but that was all. If he shot the rope to free Cat, Jason might shoot her. If he shot Jason in the back of the head, Cat would be safe, but Liam would be a killer again.
Liam spotted the pile of crates on the sagging hayloft platform over Jason’s head. Two ropes stretched to the platform’s edge, which made no sense to him. He shifted position to get a better look.
The ropes appeared to be all that kept the platform from collapsing entirely.
Liam settled into a prone position, sited each rope, and then waited and watched. As he ranted, Jason’s pacing took him directly under the platform roughly every eleven seconds. Liam waited until the fifth circuit Jason made before he shot the first rope. As Jason looked up and the crates began to slide, Liam shot the second rope.
The hayloft platform collapsed.
Liam shouldered his rifle and ran down the ridge, not stopping until he was inside the barn. He found Jason’s handgun still in his limp hand and removed it before he turned to Cat.
“Liam.”
Jason had thrown the other end of the rope around her neck over one of the rafters and secured it to a hook, probably in preparation to hang her. Liam released the rope and jumped up on the bales to grab her and hold her close.
He held her at arm’s length and looked all over her. “Did he hurt you?”
Cat shook her head. “He didn’t have time.” She glanced up at the ropes he’d shot. “That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He helped her down from the bales, and then held her close again. “I’m sorry.”
“For saving my life? Again?” She kissed him, the tears on her cheeks wetting his.
#
The next night the Boone brothers gathered around the family table to listen as Liam explained what had happened.
“So this Jason Sanders thought he was The Reaper?” Caleb asked, looking confused. “Well, then why would he come out here to do the dig?”
“He thought he was the reincarnation of his great-grandfather,” Jonah said. “Like when he died he was reborn in Jason’s body or whatever.”
“He was only a boy when he found The Reaper’s journals and read about all the women he murdered,” Ethan said. “I think it must have twisted his mind.”
“That’s messed up,” Caleb said. “They figure out how many people he killed yet?”
“Just the one poor girl Cat and I found out at the camp so far,” Liam admitted. “He abducted her on the way out here. But the police in Barstow are checking to be sure he didn’t hurt anyone out there. If he ever wakes up, maybe he’ll confess.”
“Or maybe he’ll do the world a favor and stay in that coma,” Ethan said grimly.
“Is that coffee I smell?” A tall, silver-haired man with keen blue eyes appeared in the doorway.
“Frank.” Liam smiled as he got up to shake his former CO’s hand. “Good to see you.”
The general pulled him in for a quick hug. “I owe you for life, son. Anything you need,” he murmured before he stepped back and smiled. “Well, this is a bit of a nightmare. Seven versions of Liam in one room.”
“And the next generation on the way,” Becca, Chris’s wife, said as she patted her swollen belly.
Buck, the old ranch cook, brought a fresh pot of coffee to the table. “Sit down, General. We got plenty of Joe, and some chocolate cake to go with it.”
“I will take you up on that, Buck.” Frank sat beside Ethan. “Liam, would you mind rousting my daughter out of the car? I think she’s still on the phone with those archaeology magazine folks.”
“Yes, sir.” Although Liam had been dodging Cat since the day at the barn, he knew he had to face her sometime.
Outside in the drive, Cat stood beside her father’s rental, a suitcase sitting by her feet.
“Hey.” Liam glanced down. “Packed your bag already, huh?”
“Yes, I did.” She walked right up to him. “Why have you been avoiding me?”
Liam could think of a thousand excuses, but decided the truth was best. “Because I’m a killer, Catriona.”
She blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
“I was a sniper in the Army. By the time I left I had more kills than any other marksman in my division.” He nodded in the general direction of the Sanders place. “That’s how I was able to make those shots at the barn.”
“So you could have killed Jason,” Cat said slowly, and when he nodded she peered up at him. “Then why didn’t you?”
“I would have, to save you,” he said. “But I saw another way, and I took it. I did the same thing when I left the Army.”
“Dad said you were keeping one more thing from me,” she said slowly. “I thought it might be a girlfriend, or kids, or something like that.”
He shrugged. “Now you know.”
“Okay.” She picked up her suitcase and started toward the house. “Where’s your room?”
Liam caught her arm before she went inside. “Upstairs, why?”
“Well, I assume you still want to sleep with me.” She smiled. “I’m a lot of fun in bed, remember?”
A cautious spark of hope leapt in his heart. “You don’t care that I was a sniper? A killer?”
“You were a soldier, Liam – and just so you know, my dad didn’t start out in the Army working on tanks.” She leaned close to whisper, “He was a sniper, too.”
Liam sighed. “So I’m not the only one who had a secret.”
“The good news is, I’m not a sniper.” She gave him a sweet smile. “Now will you show me where I’ll be doing terribly wicked things to you at night?”
The spark flared into a flame. “For how long?”
“Tough to say exactly.” She thought for a minute. “After the police finish processing the murder scene, we can start digging again almost right away. We’ve gotten new funding from the state, so we can take our time there and at the old barn, which is now our secondary site.” She counted some things on her fingers. “Three years. Maybe four. Probably four. Unless you marry me. Then, forever.”
“Well, your dad was a sniper, so I don’t want to tempt him into having any kind of shotgun wedding.” He pulled her into his arms. “Maybe we should plan on forever.”
She kissed him. “That
sounds perfect.”
THE END
Enchanted by the Cowboy
Love in Ghost Lake Ranch
Book 7
(Can be read as a standalone book)
By: Amber Duval
Enchanted by the Cowboy
Chapter One
“All right, honey,” Ethan Boone said to his fiancée, Jessa Cooper. “You have to do this without a hitch, in sixty seconds, or I can’t marry you.”
Everyone in the restaurant’s big ranch-themed dining hall fell silent. Even the young waitresses, who had dressed up like cowgirls, gave each other uncertain looks.
“Dad, did you hear that?” The pretty strawberry blonde grinned as she touched the napkin that Ethan had used to blindfold her. “You might not have to pay for this wedding after all.”
“Works for me,” her father said cheerfully. “I’ll use the money to take your mother to Palm Springs. Maybe splurge on a new set of clubs.”
“Not if I beat you over the head with one of the old ones,” Jessa’s mother warned him.
Everyone who had come to the wedding rehearsal dinner laughed out loud, and hugged or kissed their wives or girlfriends. Everyone except Caleb, who was the last unattached Boone brother. Most of the time he didn’t mind going stag – the thought of settling down with one woman made his belly knot – but tonight with everyone except him paired up, he felt a bit left out.
“Ready, darling?” Ethan asked, and when Jessa nodded, he started the stop watch in his hand. “Go.”
“Well, there’s you, Ethan, the love of my life, and William, who I plan never, ever to annoy. Christopher, who can never be missed, and Jonah, who can never be found. Thomas, who is making us a lovely new bedroom set in his new carpentry shop, and Robert, who might be making us an aunt and uncle around Christmas. And . . . hmmm.” She frowned. “I counted you, and I remembered Liam’s full name . . . now who did I forget?”
Caleb almost called out before Liam gave him the stink eye.
“Ten seconds, darling,” Ethan said.
“I can’t think of it, I mean, it’s right on the tip of my tongue.” Jessa sighed. “Lord. If I can’t name all your brothers, then I guess I’ll just have to marry someone else.” Her mouth curved. “Hey, Caleb? You busy this weekend?”
The room erupted into laughter.
“Not a chance,” Ethan told her and clicked the stop watch. “You got ‘em all, sweetheart, with two seconds to spare. So you definitely do not have to marry my baby brother.”
Caleb tried not to scowl while the rest of his brothers hooted and applauded. Sometimes it just burned his ass, how Ethan and the others talked about him. Being the youngest Boone might have made him the baby back when they were kids, but he was a man now, wasn’t he? A tough, hard-working cowboy with the fastest rope and surest hands in Crystal Valley, in fact. So why did everyone talk about him – and regularly treat him – like he was still in diapers?
“Hey.” Chris, the largest of the Boone boys, gave him an elbow nudge. “You still riding in the team roping event at the rodeo tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” Caleb perked up a little. “Me and Jeb partnered up. We’re thinking about using Dancer in the first round. He’s been pretty steady in practice.”
“Hastings said that they invited some teams from the pro circuit to compete,” Chris said. “So I was thinking you might want to sit this one out.”
“What are you talking about, bro?” Caleb stared at his brother. “I can out-rope every man in the county. Besides, I’ve been waiting for this rodeo all spring.”
“It’s the only event where they let women compete against men, remember?” When Caleb didn’t say anything, Chris leaned close and said in a lower voice, “You want to risk having your ass handed to you in front of everyone in town? By a couple of ladies?”
“Sure, why not?” Caleb pushed himself out of his chair. “Be a nice change from you and the rest of the boys patting it.” Before Chris could reply, he strode out of the private room and headed for the parking lot.
As Caleb came around a corner a tall, redheaded waitress walking in the opposite direction collided with him.
“Hey, oh, damn.” He caught her before she fell backward and steadied her. “I’m so sorry, honey. Must have forgot to take off my blinders tonight. You okay?”
“I’m fine, Cowboy. Nice catch.” She gripped his arms as she looked up at him with brown eyes so light they seemed to glow from within with sunlight.
Caleb had never held such a tall woman in his arms; she stood only an inch shorter than him. She also had a long, slender body like a professional dancer, but he guessed the waitressing kept her strong and slim. She worked hard, too; he could feel the calluses on her palms and fingers. Her straight garnet-red hair had been cut short into a clever wedge shape that flattered her angular features, and showed off her beautiful throat and delicate shoulders.
“You with the wedding party in there?” she asked.
Feeling a bit dazed, Caleb nodded. “My brother Ethan’s the groom. I haven’t seen you waiting tables here before tonight. You new in town?”
Two dimples appeared in her cheeks. “Yeah, I am.” She glanced over his shoulder. “Listen, I’m all done here. You know a place around here where a gal can get a beer, maybe shoot a friendly game of pool?”
“Sure.” Caleb grinned. “I’m heading there now. Want a ride? My name’s Caleb Boone, by the way.”
“Harper Mason.” She tucked her arm through his. “Let’s go.”
#
The tavern where Caleb Boone took her was barely more than a bar and three pool tables, but Harper felt right at home. She’d spent most of her childhood in little watering holes just like it, sipping a soda and listening to her father and his friends swap tall tales. Dad had seen to it that she could ride before she could walk, and rope before she could read. He’d never held her back from competing, either, even after all his old back injury had finally put him in a wheelchair.
As she watched Caleb fetching two beers from the bartender she felt guilt needle her again. She hadn’t lied to him, but she shouldn’t have let him assume she was a waitress. On the other hand it felt good to spend a couple hours not being Harper Mason, the hottest female rodeo star on the Northwestern circuit.
Caleb returned to her side and handed her a dark bottle as he surveyed the balls she’d racked on pool table. “You want to break, Red?”
She took a sip of the ice-cold beer. No one had called her Red since her Dad had passed, and she loved hearing it again. “You want a chance to win, Handsome?”
His mouth curved. “What are we playing for, cash or other?”
“Well, I’m not exactly a rich woman.” She stepped up to him to feel the heat of him, and look into his pretty gray eyes. “What falls under other?”
“We got a little game we play called You Say, I Do,” he told her, his voice soft and low. “You win, you get to say anything, and I have to do it. Or vice-versa.”
He smelled so good it was distracting her. “Anything?”
“As long as it don’t break the law, and the loser is willing, yeah.” His teeth flashed in his lightning smile. “Anything.”
“All right.” She handed him a cue. “But I don’t cotton to that gentlemanly ladies-first nonsense. So you break.”
“Gotta love those equal rights.” Caleb handed her his beer and chalked the cue’s tip. “Here we go.”
Harper watched his excellent first shot, and the two that followed. On the fourth he tried a difficult bank shot, probably to show off a little, and missed.
“Aw, that’s a shame.” Harper handed over their beers and went to the wall rack to select a lighter cue. “How long you been shooting pool, Cal?”
He mirrored her on the other side of the table. “Since I could sneak in here and a few other places without getting carded. I guess about ten years. How about you?”
Harper bent over to line up her shot. “Since I was tall enough to hold a cue and see over the edge.” She gl
anced up at him. “My dad had a table in the basement.”
“So I’m about to be hustled?”
Without even looking at the table, she took her shot and sank two balls. “Yeah, I think you are, Cowboy.”
Chapter Two
Caleb watched Harper expertly run the table, sinking every shot she took. With the skill and surety of lifelong experience she’d likely wipe up the floor with him, but he didn’t mind. It felt good to be with a pretty woman who knew nothing about him or his six older brothers. He didn’t have to talk about their weddings or babies; as far as Harper was concerned, he was the only Boone in town.
Maybe he could be her Boone.
Just as Harper was about to sink the eight ball, a burst of laughter came from three men watching TV at the bar. The sudden, loud sound startled her enough to make her scratch the shot.
“Take it again,” Caleb told her when she came to him. “Outside interference.”
“Mercy. You really are a gentlemen.” She fluttered her long eyelashes at him. “But since I wouldn’t give you a do-over, the table’s yours.”
Caleb liked how upfront and honest she was, and that she didn’t trade on her looks or gender to take the advantage. Once he cleared the table and sank the eight, he gave her a direct look. “Looks like I’ll be having the say this time, Red, and you the doing.”
Harper laughed, drawing appreciative glances from all around the room. “I always pay my debts. So what can I do you for, Cowboy?”
Caleb held up a finger before he went over to the jukebox and fed it some quarters. He then returned to Harper and held out his hand. “Do me one dance.”
She took his hand, and eyed the tiny patch of floor he led her to. “Not much room to sashay around here,” she mentioned.
“It’s a slow song.” Caleb turned to face her, and tucked his arm around her narrow waist.
“That’s good,” she murmured as she shifted closer. “Because I can’t dance worth a damn.”
Caleb intended to make a liar out of her as he moved her in a slow circle. Whirling her to the soft sound of the crooner lamenting a lost love made him grin, but watching her expressive face grow dreamy sent a surge of hot blood to his groin.