by B. J Daniels
She shook her head. “But I’m glad my first time was with you.”
He laughed and took her hand, touched that she’d agreed to the ride with him—even though she was afraid of heights. They walked through the carnival, lights, sounds and people all around them.
“I meant what I said up there above the fairgrounds,” he said quietly as they worked their way through the crowd. His gaze met hers. “I’ve had the most fun with you that I’ve ever had.”
“Me, too.”
As he looked into her eyes, he felt his heart kick up a beat. He wanted this woman. The thought surprised him since he’d thought he’d never feel this way after Nicci.
Nicci. For a while this evening, he’d forgotten about her. Just because she’d signed the divorce papers and left the keys to Georgia’s apartment didn’t mean she was really gone from his life. Or from Georgia’s.
“I don’t think you should go back to your apartment tonight,” he said.
“But I thought the sheriff said Nicci was gone.”
He brushed a lock of hair back from her face. “I think you should come home with me so I can make love to you.”
SO HE COULD make love to her? The night had taken on a kind of magic of its own and Georgia felt swept up in it. She’d never ridden a Ferris wheel before or been kissed by a handsome cowboy who made her see fireworks and feel safe so far above the ground.
But that wasn’t what had her heart racing. Dalton made her feel adventurous and carefree. In his arms, she felt desire and passion. She wanted to throw caution to the wind, be reckless.
The problem was that she’d always prided herself on being levelheaded. It had gotten her this far. “Thank you for the invitation, but…”
“I’m sorry, that was out of line. We barely know each other.” His gaze locked with hers. “That isn’t true, is it?”
She shook her head as he stepped toward her, backing her against the warm side of one of the buildings. He touched her face, his blue eyes lit with a fire that ignited her blood and quickened her pulse. She wanted this man who talked to horses, who touched her with hands callused from hard labor, who loved carnival rides and cotton candy.
Georgia cupped his jaw and tilting toward him, softly kissed his lips. She was a woman who’d never played the lottery, never broke the speed limit, never trusted her heart to a man. She’d never even been tempted before.
Follow your heart.
Just this once.
“Yes,” she whispered against his lips. “But first I promised I’d stop by the produce exhibit and see Agnes.”
DALTON WAS ON HIS WAY to his pickup to wait for Georgia when his cell phone vibrated. He pulled it out, saw who it was from and almost didn’t take the call.
“I thought you’d left town,” he said, skipping hello.
Nicci laughed. “Who says I haven’t? I just called to tell you that you can’t have her.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But of course he did.
“I should have known you’d fall for her. Georgia’s the type of woman who makes men want to protect her. She makes you want to play hero and save her, doesn’t she? The kind of girl a man wants to marry.”
He didn’t bother to deny it.
“But it isn’t going to happen.”
“Don’t you get tired of playing games with people’s lives?”
“No, actually. What else do I have?”
“You have Ambrose,” he said.
“Yes, Ambrose.”
“What do you have on him anyway?” Dalton asked.
“Isn’t it possible that someone loves me just for me?” Her tone was sharp as if the question hurt her.
“You call that love?”
“You don’t know anything about it. What Ambrose and I have…I didn’t call to talk about Ambrose. Maybe I just wanted to say goodbye.”
Not likely. “Goodbye.”
“And tell you something you need to know,” she added before he disconnected. “You might be the only man I ever truly loved, Dalton.”
“If you expect me to believe—”
“I came to Whitehorse to kill you, but I couldn’t do it. That should prove what I’m saving.”
“Am I supposed to thank you?” he asked, unable to hide his irritation. More games.
“But you can’t have Georgia,” Nicci said. “Don’t even try. You’re mine. Till death do us part, remember?”
“How could I remember? You drugged me. No more games, Nicci. You and I are divorced. The authorities know about the bigamy out in Seattle. The cops are looking into your husband’s death. It won’t be long and you’ll be behind bars.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, Dalton. Just as I wouldn’t count on us not seeing each other again.” The phone went dead.
He stood for a moment gripping it in his fist. A chill rushed up his spine. Hurriedly, he glanced around unable to fight off the feeling that Nicci was close by watching him. She hadn’t called to say goodbye.
Georgia.
He took off at a run toward the produce exhibit building, praying he found her before Nicci did.
AGNES WASN’T IN the produce exhibit building. One of the women told Georgia that she’d taken a break.
After learning that Agnes’s tomatoes had taken blue ribbons again this year, she moved toward the door to look for Agnes, knowing she wouldn’t have taken a very long break.
The first night of the fair seemed unusually busy. Georgia recognized a lot of people in the crowd, but not everyone. Visitors came from all around this part of Montana.
Getting out of the way of those entering the produce exhibit, Georgia stepped to the side of the building. It seemed cooler here in the dark between the buildings, away from all the people.
“Enjoy the Ferris wheel ride?”
Georgia felt as if she’d seen a ghost as Nicci stepped from the darkness. It took a moment for her to realize what Nicci had said. She’d seen her and Dalton on the Ferris wheel. Had she seen him kiss her? Seen her in his arms?
Georgia took a step back, her heart pounding from shock and fear. Nicci had closed the distance between them, cutting her off from the fair visitors. With the sounds of the carnival rides and the screams and yells of the people on them, even if Georgia called for help, her cries couldn’t be heard back here. She was alone with a murderess.
Nicci smiled as if realizing the same thing. “I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to you. After all you’re the only friend I had here.”
“I’m glad you found me,” Georgia said, trying to keep her voice even. “I need to give you back your deposit and last month’s rent.”
Nicci waved that off. “It’s just money. I have so much I’ll never be able to spend it all. I’m talking about something much more important. Friendship. You saved me that first day I got to Whitehorse. You befriended me when I had no one. I told you I would never forget it. I owe you.”
“That’s crazy.” The moment the word was out, Georgia cringed, wishing she could pull it back. “I was happy to help you.”
“I know, but then I involved you in my divorce. I really am sorry about that. If it wasn’t for me, you might never have met Dalton.” Her green eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. “I saw the look on your face that day you came back from his ranch. You said he didn’t say anything to you, but I knew that he had. Do you know how much you hurt me?”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“Maybe not, but how could you believe him and not me? I’m sorry I got so upset, but I could see that he was coming between us and I couldn’t let that happen.”
Just as she couldn’t let Rory come between them.
“If it had been Rory you would have believed her over some man.”
“Nicci—”
“You were the only friend I had here. I just don’t understand how you could turn against me like you have.”
Georgia shook her head, unsure what to do, let alone what to say.
“You’re not wearing the
sweater I bought you.”
The swift change of subjects threw Georgia for a moment. “I—”
“Do you know how much time I spent looking for the perfect sweater for you? I knew that color would look beautiful on you. The pale yellow brings out the highlights in your hair.”
Georgia flinched as Nicci touched her hair.
“You act as if you’re afraid of me.”
“Why don’t I write you a check for—”
“I told you this isn’t about money,” Nicci snapped. “It’s about loyalty. Betrayal. You were my best friend.”
“Nicci, you need help.”
She laughed. “I’m fine. It’s the people who go behind my back and betray me that need help.”
Georgia thought she heard the sound of a siren headed this way. She cocked her head to listen and saw that Nicci was listening as well.
“Dalton is all wrong for you,” Nicci said quietly. “I’m telling you for your own good. It’s not that I’m jealous. I know that Dalton can’t be trusted. I trusted him. Just like I trusted you, but you both disappointed me.”
“I’m sorry, Nicci.”
“No, you’re not. You just want me to go away.”
The sound of the sirens died off as the patrol cars pulled into the fairgrounds.
“It isn’t going to work, the two of you,” Nicci said shaking her head ruefully. “Now you’re both going to be sorry. Sorrier than you can know.”
Georgia turned at a sound behind her. Agnes appeared out of the dark shadows. She carried a long-handled shovel that was almost as big as she was.
“Agnes, no,” Georgia said, turning around, afraid of what Nicci might do when she saw the little elderly woman with a weapon.
When she swung back around though, Nicci was gone.
GEORGIA AND DALTON rode with his pickup windows down, the cool summer night air blowing in the scents of summer. Country-Western songs played on the radio as the truck sped along under a midnight-blue canopy dotted with stars and a sliver of the white moon.
From the moment, he’d found her and Agnes, he hadn’t let her out of his sight. They’d both tried to talk Agnes into coming with them, but she’d insisted on staying at the fair, saying Nicci was gone and she would be fine.
Dalton pulled Georgia closer in the cab of the pickup as if they were teenagers on a date, as if still afraid of what might have happened in between the two fair buildings if Agnes hadn’t shown up with a shovel.
“Did Nicci threaten you?” he had demanded.
“No, she…It isn’t important.” She hadn’t wanted to spend any more time talking about Nicci. Anyway, Nicci hadn’t said anything that she hadn’t said before.
The deputies hadn’t found her, but Sheriff Jackson had promised they would continue to search for Nicci.
“There is no way I’m letting you go back to your apartment tonight even if you’ve changed your mind about coming home with me,” Dalton had said.
Georgia hadn’t been able to help herself. She’d smiled at him, touching his cheek, looking into those amazing blue eyes of his. “I haven’t changed my mind.”
Now she felt as if they were trying too hard to put the incident behind them as they sang along with the radio, not sounding half-bad together.
She sneaked a look at him as he sang and felt her heart do that little dip it had done at the top of the Ferris wheel. Was it possible to fall in love so quickly?
A week ago she would have said no. Absolutely not.
But now…She felt as close to him as anyone she’d ever known. When she used to question her nana about love and marriage, she always told Georgia not to concern herself about it.
“You’ll know when it happens,” Nana had said with a laugh. “There’s no mistaking the real thing. You’re a sensible girl. You’ll be able to tell.”
She didn’t feel terribly sensible right now.
“Having second thoughts?” Dalton asked as he pulled in beside his cabin and cut the engine and lights.
“No,” she said and felt herself tremble in his embrace.
He chuckled. “Come on,” he said, pulling her out of the pickup.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked when he walked right past his cabin.
“The main house. There’s a guest bedroom you can stay in tonight. In the morning we can go get your truck and then I’m taking you to the shop to make sure Nicci isn’t hanging around.”
“Dalton?” She pulled him to a stop. “I don’t understand.” But she thought she did as their gazes locked under the starlight.
He took her shoulders in both of his palms. “I still am dying to make love with you. But it has to be when it’s right.” He touched a finger to her lips. “It isn’t right, not tonight, and I don’t want to spoil it. I don’t want it to be just one crazy night after cotton candy and a Ferris wheel ride at the fair.”
And Nicci. Those were the unsaid words that hung between them.
She swallowed, tears welling in her eyes as she gazed gratefully at him. She stepped to him and kissed him quickly. “You do know me, don’t you?”
He nodded. “Come on before I weaken and change my mind.”
Kate, the night owl, was still up reading in the library.
“I offered Georgia the guest bedroom,” Dalton said. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Not at all,” Kate said giving them both a knowing look. “I’ll show Georgia where it is.”
Dalton leaned over and gave Georgia a kiss. “Good night,” he said. “Good night, Kate,” he added with a grin.
Both women laughed as he left.
“Another moment and he would have changed his mind,” Kate said. She put her arm around Georgia as they walked down the hall. “So how was the fair?”
They talked for a while about the fair, then Kate showed her where everything was that she might need for the night and gave her a cotton nightgown to sleep in.
“Let me know when your next knitting class begins,” Kate said as she left the room. “It’s time I learned to knit. Sleep well.”
“Thank you,” Georgia said, warmed by the woman’s generosity.
Kate walked down the hall to the bedroom. Grayson had awakened saying he’d heard voices. “Do we have company?”
“Just an overnight guest,” Kate said as she slid in beside her husband and smiled to herself. She wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t going to be another Corbett wedding before very long.
DALTON KNEW he’d done the right thing. That didn’t help much on the walk back alone to his cabin. As he climbed the porch steps, he saw the note stuck on his door and feared for a moment it might be from Nicci.
He opened the door, turned on the light and ripped open the note. To his surprise, it was from Lantry. “The sheriff called earlier and wanted you to know that Nicci was spotted in Wolf Point, headed east. Thought that might help you sleep a little better tonight.”
Dalton stood there in the doorway, the light spilling out across the porch. Nicci spotted in Wolf Point. That was miles from Whitehorse. Was it possible she was really gone? He wanted to cheer. He wanted to wake up Georgia. Hell, wake up the whole household. His father would make margaritas and Juanita would bring out that wonderful salsa of hers.
But as he glanced back at the main house and saw that all the lights were out, he decided it could wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow, after he was sure that Nicci really was gone. He was just thankful that he’d talked Georgia into staying out here tonight where she was safe. Nicci was crazy, but she wasn’t crazy enough to come out here after either of them.
Earlier tonight when he’d been looking for Georgia, he’d seen a man standing in the shadows and been reminded again of Nicci’s accomplice, Ambrose. While that man turned out just to be waiting for his wife and kids to finish their carnival rides, Ambrose might still be in Whitehorse.
The patrolman who’d picked Nicci up in Tennessee should be back to work soon. Dalton was anxious to get a description of Ambrose. He would ask his brother to
check and see if Nicci had been traveling alone when she’d been spotted in Wolf Point.
Wasn’t it possible that by morning, Nicci could be apprehended along with her accomplice?
He recalled their earlier conversation. What had Nicci said? Something like, “Right, I have Ambrose.” But did she still? No one had ever stayed around Nicci long. Possibly even this Ambrose fellow had gotten enough of her after Nicci’s arrest in Tennessee.
As Dalton stepped into his cabin, he did something he’d only done since Nicci had arrived in town. He locked the door behind him. Trying to put Nicci out of his mind, he let himself think of Georgia Michaels, smiling to himself as he did. How ironic that it was Nicci who had brought them together.
He could well imagine what Nicci must think of that.
Chapter Thirteen
The shop felt strangely empty as Georgia entered it and glanced toward the stairs to the apartments.
“You all right?” Dalton asked, standing next to her.
She nodded, a lump in her throat. It was hard not to remember the first day she’d met Nicci. She’d known then that Nicci was different from anyone she’d ever met. She just hadn’t known how different.
“We should probably check the apartment,” Dalton said and started up the stairs.
Georgia picked up Nicci’s keys where the sheriff had left them and followed behind Dalton up. Handing him the key, he opened Nicci’s apartment door. How long would she think of the apartment as Nicci’s, Georgia wondered as they stepped in.
A cool breeze rustled the curtains at the open window. Dalton stepped to it and looked down at the street before closing the window and locking it.
“Everything here that should be?” he asked Georgia.
She glanced around the immaculate apartment unable to forget Nicci’s excitement when she’d first seen it. She’d noticed all the small things Georgia had done.
Shaking her head, she stepped to the bedroom and saw the empty closet. A shiver ran through her as she remembered the day she’d searched it and found the dry-cleaning bag.
Dalton checked the bathroom and then turned toward her. “Looks as if she didn’t leave anything behind. Are you all right?” he asked stepping to her.