Wyoming True

by Diana Palmer

  “Oh, my goodness,” Maude exclaimed when she saw what Ida was doing. “What a sweet little fawn!”

  Ida laughed. “Thanks. I do animals better than people. Jake wanted me to do him, but I’d never be able to capture him in clay. He’s too complicated.”

  Maude sighed. “That little deer looks as if it could walk off the table and into the woods,” she added. “You really are talented.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Mrs. McGuire,” Maude began.

  “Wow,” Ida said, stopping her in midthought. She laughed. “Sorry. I just like the sound of my married name.” She flushed a little. “What were you going to say?”

  Maude sighed. “I was going to ask you about Fred.”

  Ida turned to her, her hands gray with clay, wiping them on a cloth. “What do you mean?”

  “He went off by himself last night,” she said. “I saw the limo going down the road toward Catelow.”

  “He was probably going to get gas,” Ida said easily. “He takes very good care of the car.”

  “Yes, he does. He acts like a getaway man,” Maude blurted out.

  Ida burst out laughing.

  “Well, he does,” Maude persisted, a little embarrassed.

  “Jake and I talked about that,” came the amused reply. “We think he’s just nervous. Jake said that he had Fred checked out and that there was nothing in his past to worry anybody.”

  “I suppose so.” She studied the younger woman. “But you know, a lot of people commit crimes and get away with them and never get caught. Somebody like that wouldn’t have a criminal record, would he?”

  Ida hadn’t considered that. But she dismissed it. “If he had evil intent, he’s had lots of time to do something, though.” She hesitated. “Bailey made another threat. I didn’t tell Jake. He had enough on his mind, about this merger that was about to fall through.”

  “You should have told him,” Maude said gently. “He’s your husband.”

  Ida nodded absently. “I’ve been so much trouble already that I thought I’d just let this threat slide by, you know? Bailey’s inside man left skid marks behind him trying to get away just after he hurt Butler.”

  “He was brutal to your animals,” Maude agreed. “And he might have worried that he was about to be caught. I worry,” she added with a shrug.

  Ida smiled at her. “Thanks, Maude,” she said. “I don’t know what Jake and I would do without you, and that’s the truth. But Fred’s just the chauffeur, and he’s never said or done a thing out of line. Besides,” she added, “he’s not Bailey’s sort of henchman.” Her face hardened. “Bailey was always hanging out with men who looked like they belonged to some secret, evil organization with ties to crime bosses. He wouldn’t go near somebody as clean-cut and conventional as Fred.” She laughed. “Fred doesn’t even look like a man who’d break the law, now, does he?”

  Recalling the little man’s smile and good manners, Maude had to admit that he didn’t seem the type.

  “Just do be careful, if you have him drive you anyplace,” Maude persisted.

  “I will. But I can’t imagine I’ll need to go anywhere before Jake gets back.”

  “How long is he going to be away?”

  “He said three or four days,” Ida replied and tried not to think about it. She missed him already. She wondered if he was missing her.

  * * *

  HE WAS SITTING in a hotel room in El Paso, Texas, after a successful meeting with a new prospective partner. The deal was accomplished. He could go back home whenever he felt like it. But he was restless.

  He picked up his cell phone and called the Griers. They were home from Jacobsville, where they’d been visiting, and he was invited to supper by Cort and Mina alike.

  “You have to see your godson,” Mina gushed as she and Cort met him at the door. “He looks more like his dad every day!”

  Jake chuckled. “Poor little kid.”

  “Stop that,” Mina teased. She cocked her head and looked up at him. “You got married, to Ida Merridan.”

  “Yes.” His face tautened. “Her ex-husband is still after her. He put her in the hospital before she divorced him. He’s out of jail and determined to make her life hell for putting him there. He owes gambling debts and he’s trying to force her to bail him out.” His eyes glittered. “He had one of his minions go after her horses and even her cat!”

  Mina’s breath caught. “Good Lord!”

  “He put her in the hospital. Threw her over the wall of a parking garage and broke her hip and one of the long bones in her thigh.”

  “I had no idea,” Mina said, recalling how angry she’d been at Ida.

  “Nobody did. She’s living in fear of her life. Poor kid. Married to a man who didn’t want her for five years, then abused by her second husband. She was scared to death of men, so she reinvented herself as a seductress and talked about the men who’d disappointed her.” He shook his head. “Some reputation, when she can hardly walk when it rains or she does too much.”

  Mina and Cort exchanged amused glances. Jake had been vocal about Ida’s reputation, and now he was married to her and, apparently, very worried about her.

  “I knew all about that,” Cort said quietly. “I felt very sorry for her. She wasn’t at all what people thought she was.”

  Mina moved closer to him, resting her cheek on his shoulder as his arm curved around her. “And I was so jealous I could barely manage two words to her. I’m sorry for that now.”

  “She doesn’t hold grudges,” Jake said. He smiled. “She’s at home, sculpting animals.”

  “What about her ex-husband?” Mina asked.

  “I have good people working for me,” Jake said easily and laughed. “Nobody can touch her on my ranch. She’s very safe. Now. Where’s my godson?” he added with a grin.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  BUT IDA WASN’T at home sculpting. She’d had an invitation from Pam Simpson to come to lunch. She was bored and miserable. Jake had phoned to see about her, idly mentioning that he was going to spend a couple of days with Cort and Mina and his godson.

  The news had taken the wind out of Ida’s sails. She hadn’t expected that. She wondered how Cort felt, having his wife’s former suitor under his roof. Jake was still crazy about Mina. That was never going to change. He might want Ida physically, even be fond of her. But Mina still had his heart. Ida had never felt so depressed.

  “Maude, Pam Simpson asked me over for lunch. You haven’t started cooking yet, have you?” Ida asked at the kitchen doorway.

  “No, not yet,” Maude replied with a smile. “Will you be back for supper?”

  “Yes. But let’s have something light,” she added with a sigh. “I’m feeling a little queasy.”

  Maude, who had no idea that her employers were more than good friends, just nodded. “It may be that stomach virus that’s going around. You come home if you don’t feel better, okay?”

  “Okay.” She smiled. “I won’t stay long. I just need to get out for a while.”

  “Mr. McGuire isn’t coming back today?” Maude asked, because he’d said a couple of days, and this was the third day of his absence.

  “He’s in El Paso. Near El Paso. He’s staying with Mina and Cort Grier,” she added reluctantly and was unaware that the deep sadness in her face was visible to the older woman.

  “Oh. Probably went to see that little boy,” Maude replied, trying to be comforting, because she knew even better than Ida how much in love Jake had been with Mina. After Mina’s marriage, he’d stayed drunk for three days. Nobody knew about that. Just Maude.

  “I guess so,” Ida said.

  Maude almost said that the two of them ought to be thinking about a family of their own, but she didn’t dare. The boss was tight-lipped and so was Ida. It wasn’t worth her nice job to make such suggestions.

  “We
ll, you have a good lunch at Mrs. Simpson’s house,” Maude said. “I’ll feed Butler for you,” she added.

  Ida smiled. The cat slept with her. So did Wolf, in fact. It had shocked her when the big German shepherd jumped up on the foot of the bed and curled up with Butler. It had given her a feeling of security, as well. She loved both animals.

  “We need to get somebody to take Wolf out for a run,” she added. “I’d try, but...”

  “We’ll get one of the cowboys to do it,” Maude interrupted. “Don’t you worry. I’ll get Johnny to do it. He loves Wolf and he’ll make sure not to let him get hurt. Okay?”

  “Okay. Thanks, Maude. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  “I’ll see you then.”

  * * *

  IDA WALKED OUT and got into the back of the limo. Fred held the door open for her, smiled politely and closed it.

  Ida sank into the soft leather of the back seat and closed her eyes. “You know where to go, right, Fred?” she asked.

  “Mrs. Simpson’s. Yes, ma’am.”

  “Okay.”

  * * *

  SHE WAS DROWSY. She hadn’t slept well and her stomach was still queasy. It must have been something she ate, she thought, but she hadn’t had anything out of the ordinary. Still...

  Her eyes went to the landscape and she frowned. “Fred, are we going the right way?” she asked.

  “It’s closer this way, ma’am,” he assured her. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not.” She smiled. “You’re a nice man, Fred. We’re lucky to have you to drive us.”

  There was a stunned hesitation. “Well...well, thank you, Mrs. Merr... I mean, Mrs. McGuire,” he stammered.

  She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes again, feeling sleepy.

  * * *

  JAKE WAS SITTING down to dinner with Mina and Cort, after spending a wonderful half hour with his godson on the floor with a massive amount of plastic toys. He was in a good mood. He thought about a child of his own, with Ida.

  “She talked to her doctor about having a child,” he mentioned to his shocked fellow diners. “She’s had a partial hip replacement, and it’s hard for her to get around sometimes.”

  “One of my sisters-in-law had a bad heart valve when she got pregnant,” Cort said. “She came through in spite of it. She and Garon have a son and she’s expecting again, artificial valve and all.” He chuckled. “Theirs was a turbulent relationship. He thought she was an old-fashioned woman with no skills, and she turned out to be a member of Mensa. Shocked him speechless when she started spouting Arabic to a witness in his office. He’s SAC at the Jacobsville satellite FBI office,” he added.

  “Well, if a woman with that bad a condition can get pregnant, there’s no reason Ida couldn’t,” Mina mused.

  Jake actually blushed, but then he grinned. “Absolutely,” he agreed.

  Mina and Cort hid smiles.

  But a few minutes later nobody was smiling. Jake got a call from home, from Maude.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. McGuire,” Maude said, “but Ida left over three hours ago to have lunch with Mrs. Simpson. I got worried and called over there to see if she’d got talking or something, and Mrs. Simpson said she never showed up...”

  There was a skirl of harsh language. Jake had gotten out of his chair and he was cussing mad. “Is she with Fred?” he asked abruptly.

  “Yes, sir. He drove her.”

  “Call Cody Banks and tell him what you just told me. I’m on my way to the airport. I’ll be there as quick as I can. If you hear anything, anything at all, you call me!”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He hung up and called his pilot and his driver. Afterward, while he waited for his ride, he turned a pale, worried face to Cort and Mina. “Ida’s missing. Her ex-husband’s made a lot of threats. I have to go.”

  “If we can do anything, we will,” Mina said, Cort nodding beside her.

  “Thanks.” He rushed out the door when the limo showed up. “Can you send my bag on to Catelow?” he called over his shoulder.

  “First thing,” Mina called after him.

  He threw up a hand, climbed into the car, and it sped away.

  Mina peered up at Cort with a smug little smile. “I told you.”

  He chuckled, pulling her close. “You did.”

  “I hope she’ll be all right,” she added quietly. “What a terrible thing to have happen.”

  “Jake will get to her in time,” he assured his wife. “He’s not a bad man, now that he’s not trying to talk you into marriage,” he added.

  She laughed. “He just had his priorities mixed up. I guarantee, they’re not mixed up anymore. He’ll be sitting beside his pilot, trying to make the plane go faster.” She shook her head. “I’ll bet he didn’t even realize that he loved her.”

  * * *

  THAT WOULD HAVE been a safe bet. Terrified of what he might find when he went home, Jake could have kicked himself for not realizing it sooner. He was crazy about Ida. Maybe he always had been. But certainly, from the time he’d driven her to her doctor’s office, that first day, she’d never been far out of his mind. He’d taken care of her, worried about her, married her to keep her safe. And even after all that, he hadn’t realized how he felt about her.

  He certainly realized it now. He just hoped that it wasn’t too late. He ground his teeth in anguish.

  * * *

  MEANWHILE, IDA WAS sitting in the back of the limousine drinking a cup of coffee that Fred had bought for both of them at a coffee shop in Billings. It had been a long drive. Fred had been quiet and miserable, especially when Ida realized that they weren’t headed toward Pam Simpson’s house.

  “Where are we going, Fred?” she asked, leaning forward, her beautiful face drawn with fear. “Please tell me you’re not mixed up with Bailey. Please tell me that!”

  The terror he saw in her face, added to his own guilty conscience, had slowed the car. He pulled into a grocery store parking lot and let down the glass between the front seat and the back and switched off the engine.

  “Mrs. McGuire, I’ve never hurt a human being in my life,” he said miserably. “But he’s got my mother...” He stopped, almost choking on the fear.

  “Oh, Fred,” she said softly and winced. “I’m so sorry!”

  “No. I’m sorry. He promised he’d let her go. All I had to do was bring you to a house he was staying at, over near Powell, Wyoming.” He averted his eyes. “It didn’t sound so bad. I mean, I didn’t think he’d hurt you.” He looked back at her. “I didn’t know what he’d done to you. I was unhappy about him hurting your cat. I have a cat. She’s twenty years old. I love her.”

  “I love Butler, too,” she said.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Fred said heavily. “See, I worked as a wheelman for a robbery ring in Denver, years ago. Bailey knew. He sent me to apply for that chauffeur job with Mr. McGuire, once he found out that Mr. McGuire was taking you out. I thought he was helping me. You know, giving me a second chance because I’d just got out of jail and there aren’t a lot of people who’ll hire an ex-con. He said he’d make sure my background looked real clean.” His eyes closed. “I didn’t want to do this.” He looked back at her. His face was torn with discomfort. “I don’t want to let him hurt you. But he’s got my mom, and she’s all I have in the world. She stood by me when I got arrested, in spite of always warning me to stay away from bad people. She came to see me every week when I was behind bars. I don’t know what to do!”

  “Fred, will you trust me?” she asked softly.

  “I would. But you shouldn’t trust me. I’m an evil man!”

  “You aren’t,” she said, her voice quiet and soft. “I’m going to call my attorneys in Denver. They sent Bailey to prison in the first place. I want to tell them that you’ll testify against Bailey. Will you let me do that?�
��

  “My mom...!”

  “They have a first-rate investigator. He was a mercenary before he took on the job.” She smiled. “He’s got contacts that you wouldn’t believe.”

  “As long as my mom doesn’t get hurt...”

  “I can promise you that she won’t.”

  He hesitated, but only for a few seconds. “Okay.”

  The parking lot was well lit. They were waiting for the investigator. He’d been with them for years, all through Ida’s turbulent second marriage and its aftermath. He was in his midthirties now, but still as dangerous a man as she’d ever known.

  He parked next to the limousine, giving Ida and Fred a few anxious seconds until he climbed out of the dark sedan and opened the back door of the limo.

  He didn’t waste words. “Where is Trent?” he asked Fred.

  Fred told him. “He’s got my mom,” he added.

  Hunt Garrison just smiled. “No, he doesn’t.”

  Fred almost gasped. “He doesn’t?”

  “She’s safe and sound in a motel outside Catelow, with one of Mr. McGuire’s men guarding her like a hawk.”

  “Oh, thank God!” Fred said reverently. “Thank you! I don’t deserve it, but thank you!”

  “You’ll testify?” Garrison asked Fred.

  The little man looked at Ida with regret and sorrow. “You bet I will,” he said. “Even if it means going back to jail. I’m an ex-con...”

  Garrison waved a hand. “We know all that. Nobody’s pressing charges against you. Unless...?” He looked at Ida.

  “Nobody’s pressing charges against him,” Ida replied, and she smiled at a shocked Fred. “It’s hard to find a really good driver.”