by B. J Daniels
Georgia removed the small studs she was wearing and put on the silver hoops.
“Here, look,” Nicci said, drawing her over to the mirror on the wall.
Georgia felt uncomfortable taking the gift but could see how pleased Nicci was. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“You’re beautiful and such a great friend,” Nicci said with almost an embarrassed laugh. “You’ve done so much for me. I can never repay you.”
DALTON CORBETT watched dust boil up on the road and roll into the ranch. After the tire incident, he’d been expecting company. He waited, standing on the front porch of his cabin, planning to head off the driver. He wasn’t going to let Nicci get to the rest of his family if he could damn well prevent it.
As the vehicle approached though, he was surprised to see that it wasn’t the white rental car he’d been anticipating.
Nor was the driver behind the wheel Nicci. Or a man who might have been Ambrose.
He cursed as he saw that it was Georgia Michaels, the owner of the yarn shop.
The pickup slowed to stop as he stepped off the porch and into the dirt road. Dust settled slowly in the hot summer evening air.
As Georgia climbed out of the pickup, he saw that she held a large manila envelope in her hand and looked all business as she walked toward him.
“Nicci asked me to give this to you,” she said, holding it out.
He glanced at the envelope, wondering if this woman had any idea what she had become involved in. “What is it?”
She swallowed, clearly uncomfortable in the position Nicci had put her in. “Divorce papers.”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t bet on that. I’m sorry Nicci’s got you doing her dirty work now.” He shook his head in disgust, though not surprised. Hadn’t he known Nicci would use her? Georgia Michaels was an easy mark—decent, trusting, caring.
“Please just take the envelope,” she said.
Something was different about her. It took him a moment to realize what. The large silver hoops at her ears. Hadn’t he noticed small pearl stubs in her ears when he’d stopped by her shop with the flowers?
“New earrings?”
Guiltily, Georgia’s hand went to one of the large hoops. In a flash, he knew. His stomach clenched. The silver hoops had been a present from Nicci—a bribe.
“Step out of the heat for a moment,” he said and, without waiting for a response, went back up on the porch and took a chair. He was shaking inside, furious with Nicci for drawing this woman into this. But he couldn’t let Georgia leave without at least trying to warn her.
She stood in the hot afternoon sun for a moment, then joined him on the porch, perching on the edge of the other rocker. “I really need to get back.”
“Why didn’t Nicci bring this out herself?”
“She did. She said she couldn’t get onto the ranch.”
He glanced at the open road. “You didn’t have any trouble getting on the ranch, did you?”
A flicker of doubt crossed her pretty face. The woman was so incredibly open, radiating honesty and integrity. She was a sitting duck for a woman like Nicci.
“Did Nicci tell you that our marriage didn’t last a week, that I haven’t seen or spoken to her in nine years, that I thought she was dead until I saw her in front of your shop?” He nodded at Georgia’s shocked expression. “I didn’t think so. That’s why I was so upset yesterday when I burst into your shop. I thought I’d seen a ghost.”
Georgia would have made a terrible poker player. Her face registered shock, then guilt at her part in hiding in Nicci yesterday. “If you don’t want a divorce—”
“Is that what she told you? That I won’t give her a divorce?” Dalton felt his temper rising, but one look at Georgia’s face and he put a damper on it.
Lowering his voice, he said, “There is nothing I would like more than a divorce from Nicci.” He shook his head. “You have to understand, Nicci doesn’t let go of something until she’s destroyed it.”
“I really don’t want to get in the middle of this,” Georgia said, rising.
He met her gaze. Her eyes were a rich brown with flecks of gold, like treasure behind her long lashes. “You are in the middle,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You’re right where Nicci wants you or you wouldn’t be here now. If she really wanted a divorce, wouldn’t she have contacted me the moment she got into town? And why wait nine years? I haven’t heard from her and she sure as hell hasn’t been out here to the ranch.”
Georgia’s face closed and he saw that he’d gone too far.
“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t know how you got in the middle of this…Yes, I do. Nicci needs you. What worries me is what happens when she’s done with you. Or if you do something to turn her against you. You have no idea what’s moved in on you—and not just into your house. The woman is dangerous. More dangerous than you can imagine.”
“Under the circumstances—”
“That’s just it, you don’t know the circumstances,” he interrupted. “All you know is what she’s told you.”
“You cut her tires.”
He leaned back, ashamed, and nodded slowly. He almost added, “Yeah, well, she tried to cut my throat,” but he caught himself.
“I SHOULDN’T HAVE said that,” Georgia cried, regretting accusing him the instant the words had left her mouth. This was none of her business and she started to say as much when he cut her off.
“I shouldn’t have cut her tires. I was desperate. I hoped it would force her to contact me. I have no way to contact her, to find out what happened nine years ago, to find out what she wants after all this time.”
“Well, I think you accomplished what you wanted.” Georgia held out the envelope again. “She says she wants a divorce.”
Georgia just wanted to leave. The man confused her. She didn’t know who to believe. But seeing the pain in his handsome face, hearing it in his voice, she believed him.
“Please take this. I feel very uncomfortable being put in this position.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry that happened.” His gaze locked with hers for a long moment before he took the envelope.
“I just did Nicci a one-time favor. That’s all.” Georgia turned to leave.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. This won’t be all, trust me. She’s already got you lying for her, hiding her, running her nasty errands. Do yourself a favor. Shake her loose before you regret it. If you’re lucky the most she’ll do is use you. But if you cross her…”
Georgia walked to her pickup, climbed in and closed the door on the rest of his words. As she drove off the Trails West Ranch, she felt shaken after her encounter with Dalton Corbett.
She hated that she’d let Nicci talk her into bringing out the divorce papers. What was she saying? She’d volunteered. But what choice did she have, given how upset Nicci had been?
This was all her own fault. Hadn’t she been leery about renting the apartment to a woman in the middle of a divorce? And yet she had. Same with coming out here today.
Georgia vowed she wouldn’t make that mistake again. She would let Nicci and Dalton handle this from here on out.
But as she drove toward town, Dalton’s words haunted her. Nicci had said she hadn’t been allowed on the ranch. But Georgia had had no trouble, just as Dalton had pointed out.
The shocker had been what he’d said about their marriage. Could it be true that he hadn’t seen Nicci for nine years? Why had he thought she was dead? If their marriage hadn’t lasted a week, did that mean there had been an accident on their honeymoon?
She recalled how upset he’d been the other day at the shop when he’d come in looking for Nicci. His actions made sense now. But why had Nicci acted afraid of him? To hear Dalton tell it—only to get Georgia to cover for her.
Well, had that been the case, it had worked like a charm.
No, Georgia thought, remembering the way Nicci had been trembling after Dalton left. She was afraid of him and there had to be a reaso
n. The man had cut the tires on Nicci’s rental car! Who knew what he’d done on their honeymoon?
Georgia put it out of her mind. It wasn’t any of her business. Dalton had the divorce papers. It was out of her hands.
She glanced at her watch. She was just going to make it back in time for the movie at eight. She had called Rory on the way out to Trails West Ranch and told her to meet them at the movie rather than at the apartment since she hadn’t been sure she’d get back in time.
She’d also promised to call Nicci as soon as she’d delivered the papers. She wasn’t looking forward to it, wanting to put the whole uncomfortable experience behind her. But dutifully, she placed the call.
“I gave him the papers,” she said when Nicci answered her cell.
“What did he say?”
Georgia was a little taken aback by the question. “Nothing.”
“Did he open the envelope?”
“No, not while I was there. I’m on my way into town,” she said, just wanting to change the subject. “Rory is meeting us at the theater.”
“Come on, he didn’t even try to tell you his side of things?” Nicci asked.
“I’m sure he felt it was none of my business.” She waited for Nicci to say something, fighting the feeling that Nicci was angry with her and knew she wasn’t telling the truth. Dalton was right about at least one thing. Since Nicci had come into her life, she had taken up lying.
When Nicci still said nothing, Georgia said, “See you soon.” She clicked off, grateful they were going to the movie tonight. She feared otherwise Nicci might want to grill her half the night.
On impulse, Georgia called Rory.
“I’m on my way,” Rory said, sounding rushed. “Honestly. Just headin’ out the door.”
Georgia laughed. “I didn’t call to nag you, although you know I hate missing the previews.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there before the previews begin. How did your errand go?”
“I delivered the papers.”
“He didn’t put up a fight?”
“Not much of one, no. He did tell me the marriage didn’t even last a week, that he hasn’t seen her in nine years and thought she was dead.”
“You have to be kidding!”
“Nope.”
“No wonder he was so upset yesterday at your shop. Of course he might not be telling the truth.”
“I believe him. If you could have seen his face…”
“You think he still loves her?”
“Rory, always the romantic,” Georgia joked. “If he still loves her, he does a good job of hiding it. He admitted he cut the tires on her rental car. He said he was desperate for her to contact him.”
Georgia heard a pickup door slam and an engine turn over on the other end of the line. Rory was on her way into town.
“Wait a minute,” Rory said. “If he was so desperate to talk to her…This doesn’t make sense. I thought the only reason you had to take the papers out was because he wouldn’t let Nicci on the ranch.”
Georgia took a breath and let it out slowly. “I think she might have lied about that,” she said, touching one of the silver hoop earrings now dangling from her lobes. Clearly Nicci had known all along that she could talk Georgia into taking the divorce papers out to Dalton. That’s why she had the present wrapped and ready.
She said as much to Rory. “I think she might have played me.”
“You think?”
DALTON SAT for a long time on the porch. Not even the breeze coming off the prairie was cool this evening. He’d tossed the manila envelope on the chair next to him. He knew he should open it and see what surprise Nicci had in store for him.
It sure as hell wasn’t divorce papers, he’d bet the ranch on that. A woman who wanted a divorce didn’t go about it this way.
What had him upset right now was the way he’d handled things with Georgia Michaels. He’d lost his temper and said things that had upset her. But he couldn’t stand the thought that Nicci was using this nice young woman. He should have just taken the damned envelope and saved his breath.
But he’d felt he had to warn Georgia. Unfortunately, Nicci had already gotten to her and he knew only too well how persuasive Nicci could be when she wanted something. Whatever she wanted now, she had Georgia doing her bidding.
Angrily, he reached over and snatched up the envelope, ripping it open and dumping the contents onto the chair next to him.
A stack of blank sheets of white paper fluttered out. He stared at the pile, thinking that couldn’t be all. What was this? Just a test to see if she could get Georgia to do her bidding? Nicci had lied to Georgia to make her believe she was delivering some kind of legal documents, so why was Dalton surprised?
But his instincts told him there had to be more to it.
He picked up the stack of blank sheets, thumbed through them to see if any of the pages had writing on them. A half dozen photographs fell to the floor, landing faceup.
One glance at the top photo and he knew exactly when they all were taken. Although the photographs were grainy, taken at night, there was no doubt.
He was staring down at an attempted murder—recorded on film. But what struck him wasn’t the horror of what the camera had captured, but the full knowledge of what Nicci had hoped to accomplish that night on the sailboat out at sea.
She wanted to see how far he would go. She’d set it up so she not only pushed him to the point of murder and engineered an escape plan for herself and Ambrose, but she also had the photographs as evidence.
So why had she waited nine years?
And how far was she planning to go this time?
GEORGIA FOUND HERSELF dreading the end of the movie. Nicci hadn’t been herself all night. Earlier she’d been waiting at the apartment, clearly anxious. No, not anxious, excited. Her eyes had been bright and she seemed too wound up, like someone who had drunk too much caffeine.
“Are you going to tell me what he had to say?” were the first words out of her mouth.
“I already told you,” Georgia said, glancing at her watch. “We have to go. Rory will be waiting at the theater for us.”
“I know Dalton. He told you his side,” Nicci said as they walked the two blocks to the theater. “So the fact that you won’t tell me what he said must mean you believe him.”
“I already told you—”
“Let’s just forget it. I’m sorry I asked.”
Georgia had been glad to see Rory’s pickup parked out front and a very pregnant Rory standing next to it. They’d talked for a few minutes in front of the theater, but Nicci had been clearly distracted.
Once inside, Georgia and Rory had to have a large container of buttered popcorn, candy and a soda before they were seated in the middle of the huge, nearly empty theater for the chick flick that was playing. Nicci hadn’t wanted anything to eat or drink.
Georgia had been determined to enjoy herself. It had been so long since she and Rory had done this. She ignored how quiet Nicci was or that she didn’t laugh at the funny parts.
“She’s getting a divorce, of course she’s got other stuff besides a movie on her mind,” Rory whispered halfway through the film when Nicci excused herself to go to the bathroom.
Like lying to me about not being able to get on the ranch?
“You’re probably right. I’d just hoped we could have fun tonight.”
“Well, I’m having fun,” Rory whispered and reached for another handful of buttered popcorn.
Georgia knew Rory was right. Whatever was bothering Nicci, she was staying out of it. This new distance between her and Nicci was good. Georgia had gotten too close to her renter and that had been a mistake.
After that little pep talk, she lost herself in the movie and barely noticed when Nicci returned.
“YOU’RE GOING to have to tell the family,” Lantry said as he climbed the steps to Dalton’s cabin.
“So you found a record of the marriage.” Dalton felt the full weight of his disappointment. He’
d hoped maybe the marriage had been a sham from the beginning, including the legalities. Nicci had lied about so much, why not the marriage? He should have known he couldn’t get that lucky.
“I could use a drink,” Dalton said, getting up to head into his cabin.
“They’re serving drinks over at the main house and holding dinner for us,” Lantry said, stopping him. “You can’t put this off any longer. It will be better coming from you than having your wife show up on our doorstep.”
Knowing Nicci, he was a little surprised she hadn’t done just that. Instead she was playing some cat-and-mouse game using Georgia Michaels. He feared what her next move would be.
“She isn’t here to give you a divorce,” Lantry said. “Or the papers would have already been served.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I just hate to involve the family in this.” For all those years when he was young, Dalton had depended on his father to get him out of one scrape after another. That had usually meant throwing money at the problem. Money wasn’t going to work this time. “I need to handle this myself.”
“Hell, the family is already involved, especially Dad. Maybe this woman was rich when you married her, but you can bet the reason it’s taken her nine years to look you up again is money.”
He didn’t bother arguing with his brother. Eventually, he’d have to tell his brother everything. As his lawyer, Lantry would have to know what was at stake.
Dalton got to his feet.
“Where are you going?”
“To tell the family. You want to come?”
“Hell, no.” Lantry smiled. “But I will. You’ll need all the allies you can get.”
They walked over to the main house to find the rest of the family gathered in the great room before supper.
“I wondered where you two had gotten off to,” Grayson said congenially from behind the bar. “What can I get you, son?”
“I’m fine,” Dalton said.
“I’ll take whatever you’re having,” Lantry said when his father motioned to him. “Just make mine a double.”
The others turned then to look at the two of them. Shane was in his usual chair that looked out over the ranch. Jud was at the bar along with Kate. Russell was in a chair reading the latest stockman news. He, too, looked up.