Chapter Twenty-Four

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

P ICKETT HAD ALWAYS thought of himself as a nonviolent person. But last night, it took everything in him not to go find Buck and beat some sense into him. The only thing that had stopped him was Holly Jo’s reassurance that Buck hadn’t hurt anything more than her feelings

Still, he wanted to kick the kid’s butt. He knew he couldn’t, that it would only make things worse for Holly Jo. Instead, he’d stayed cool. He’d gone to the school, and there was she was, waiting outside. One of the chaperones must have seen her waiting and had also waited nearby in her car as if she’d known that Holly Jo was embarrassed and wanted to be alone. He’d found her sitting on the front step of the school.

It had broken his heart, but he’d done his best to hide it from her.

He’d waved to the chaperone and they’d driven home in silence. Holly Jo curled against the door most of the way home until he’d gotten her to open up to him. Pickett had really believed that after Holden had paid the Savages a visit, Buck wouldn’t dare act up. He’d been wrong.

“I’m sensing that you don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

“You think?”

“I know you want us all to put the kidnapping behind us so you can. We’re trying.” He’d glanced over at her. “But it’s hard. We all worry about you.”

“Because you think I’m going to get kidnapped again?”

“No, because we care about you and hate what you went through. We just want to keep you safe.”

He’d dropped Holly Jo off at the house and gone home to his cabin down by the stables. He’d found Oakley sleeping soundly and crawled into bed next to her.

This morning, while she was still asleep, he’d slipped out to walk up to the main ranch house. He found Elaine in the kitchen, baking apple turnovers. The smell of cinnamon and apples drew him right to her.

“They’re not quite ready,” she said when she saw him. “I just put them in the oven.” She glanced at the clock, then at him, as if realizing he hadn’t come for breakfast. “What’s wrong?”

He pulled up a chair and tried to keep his voice calm as he told her about the phone call from Holly Jo and how he’d picked her up and gotten her home.

“That little bastard didn’t bring her home?” Elaine said angrily as she joined him. “I’d like to get my hands on his scrawny neck.” She stopped speaking, her eyes welling. “Is she all right?”

He nodded. “Still, someone needs to talk to her about—”

“If you say birds and bees—”

“She needs to know that no all boys are jerks. I think she’d done with Buck, I certainly hope so. She told me she just wants to be a normal teenager. But someone needs to warn her about boys.”

“Poor baby. Of course someone should talk to her.” The housekeeper shook her head and sighed. “Certainly not Holden. I’ll do it.” The timer went off on the oven. “You should stay for breakfast.”

Pickett rose, shaking his head. “But I would love to take a couple of those back to my cabin. Oakley could use one.” Elaine didn’t ask why, and he was grateful for that and pretty sure she probably already knew that they were trying for a baby without much success.

“Let me wrap up some for you to take. Then I’ll go up and see how Holly Jo is this morning. I don’t know what Holden was thinking. He isn’t equipped to raise another daughter. He’d be the first to tell you that he wasn’t all that equipped to raise the first one.”

Taking the wrapped hot turnovers she handed him, Pickett smiled. “Thanks. I’m glad Holly Jo has you. Holden too.”

She scoffed at that, but smiled as she took off her apron and headed for the back stairs.

E ARL H ALL LOOKED surprised to see the sheriff again so soon. His appearance had changed drastically since the last time Stuart had been there. He was recently shaved, hair trimmed, and he was fully dressed, including boots on his feet. No black crocodile. Not buckaroos either.

From what Stuart could see of the house behind Hall, the place was neat and clean. “If you have a moment, I’d like a few words with you. Mind if I come in?”

Hall glanced over his shoulder, then hesitated for a few moments before he said, “Sure, Sheriff,” and pushed the door open for him to enter.

Plastic covered the living room couch, and a plastic runner ran up the hallway over the carpet. He heard the rattle of pots and pans coming from the kitchen and headed in that direction.

“The wife’s making breakfast,” Earl said behind him, sounding as if he’d prefer to talk to Stuart alone, which made the sheriff even more curious.

He wasn’t sure who he’d thought he’d find in the kitchen. The last time he’d been here, he’d gotten the feeling that Iris might not ever be coming back. But he’d also suspected that someone had been here and peeked out the window.

A small, thin woman with a plain face and a turned-down mouth was standing at the stove.

“Iris,” Stuart said, and took off his hat. “I’d like to talk to you and Earl if you have a few minutes.”

She looked past him to where Earl was standing, still in the kitchen doorway as if afraid to enter the kitchen.

“Mind if we sit at the kitchen table?” the sheriff asked. “I don’t want to keep you from your breakfast.” He didn’t wait for an answer, just moved to the table and pulled out one of the chairs to sit. Neither Iris nor Earl joined him, though.

He crossed his legs to balance his Stetson on his knee, the tension in the room making him a little nervous—also a little suspicious. “I’m sure you’ve heard about that woman who was murdered and dumped in the river.”

A look passed between Iris and her husband before she said, “Horrible thing to happen.”

“How was Fargo, Iris?” he asked, startling her. She appeared confused. “Last time I was here, Earl said you were in Fargo visiting a sister? Or one of the girls? Sorry, I can’t remember.”

“Sister,” she said, her mouth tightening into a straight line. This time she didn’t look at Earl.

“Earl, I can make this quick. I’m going to need you to remove your shirt.”

Iris grabbed hold of the kitchen counter and looked down at the floor without a word, but from her expression, he thought he knew what he was going to find.

“Earl?” The man hadn’t moved, didn’t even seem to be breathing. “If you prefer not to do this here, I can take you in to the sheriff’s department.”

Slowly, as if sleepwalking, Earl began to unbutton his shirt, his frightened gaze on his wife, who was still looking at the floor. He pulled out one arm, then the other.

“Step over here into the light, if you don’t mind, and turn around,” Stuart said.

Earl shuffled over. The look of dread on his face had the sheriff’s heart thundering in his ears. Something was definitely wrong here. If it was what he thought it was...

The rancher walked into the light, baring a back to Stuart that looked painful and sore. There were patches of red, some oozing and some flaking around the large, swollen tattoo as if someone had tried to scrape it off Earl’s back. The tattoo was of a naked woman. The woman looked nothing like Iris.

He shot a look at Earl’s wife, who still had her head down. The sheriff rose and motioned for Earl to follow him outside. “When did you get the tattoo?” he asked once they were outside, when what he really wanted to ask was why.

Earl looked as chagrinned as his wife as he buttoned up his shirt. “Last week. I was drunk.”

That was a pretty safe bet, Stuart thought. “What day?”

Turned out it was the day Willow Branson was murdered.

“Where’d you have it done?”

“Billings. I guess I told the tattoo artist to surprise me.”

The sheriff nodded, feeling for the man. He’d bet Earl Hall hadn’t been drunk but a few times in his life. “I’m guessing you weren’t alone.”

Earl looked up and swallowed before he shook his head and then looked back toward the house. “It was just someone I met at the implement dealer’s yearly picnic. She dared me.”

“Iris didn’t go to Fargo, did she?” The rancher wagged his head. “Okay, Earl. I’m still looking for Willow Branson’s murderer.”

“Don’t know anything about that.” He frowned. “How’d you hear about my tattoo?”

“I didn’t,” Stuart said. Settling his Stetson onto his head, he started for his patrol SUV. “But it sure looks like it hurts.”

“You have no idea,” Earl said.

H OLLY J O DIDN ’ T want to go to school Monday morning. She was embarrassed, even though Elaine had assured her that she had nothing to be embarrassed about.

“Buck behaved badly,” Elaine said. “The kid’s a jerk. I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself and calling Pickett for a ride home. You can also call me or Holden, you know.”

She nodded.

“Buck should be embarrassed, but don’t expect him to be,” the housekeeper told her. “He behaved horribly.”

Holly Jo hesitated. “My first kiss was awful.”

Elaine laughed. “So was mine. You were just kissed by the wrong boy – just like was. When you kiss the right one, one who respects you and wants it to be a good experience for you too, I think you’ll like it.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Now to basics. You know about periods? Good. I bought you some options and put them in your bathroom. Holler if you need help. If you have any questions about anything, please come to me. I’ll try my best not to make it embarrassing.”

She’d smiled. “I will.”

And while Elaine had made her feel better, she still worried about facing her friends—and Buck and his friends.

“Head up,” Elaine had said Monday morning when Holly Jo came down ready for school. “You are the master of your own fate and one amazing trick rider. Remember that. You deserve a boy who appreciates you.”

She’d nodded and even smiled as she sat down to have breakfast. She’d spoken with Tana over the weekend. “Buck was such a jerk,” her friend said. “If I were you, I’d never talk to him again.”

When the bus came, Holly Jo had climbed aboard, surprised to see Tana, who usually caught a ride with a friend’s older sister.

“My mother thinks it would be better for me if I rode the bus,” Tana said, mugging a face as Holly Jo sat with her. “I missed curfew the other night.” She shrugged. “But if you’re going to be riding the bus too, it’s not so bad.”

They talked about homework, teachers and upcoming school events, staying clear of mentioning Buck and the dance. For that, Holly Jo was thankful.

But when the bus pulled up to the school, her butterflies came back. She found herself looking for Buck and worrying about what would happen when she saw him. She’d reached her locker and was digging out what she needed for first period when she heard his voice.

A moment later, he came up next to her and threw his arm around her. “Hey,” he said. “Forgot to give you this Friday.” He shoved his unfinished math homework at her. “I need it by lunch.”

Holly Jo had thought he’d say something about what had happened at the dance. She stared at him for a few heartbeats as if seeing him for the first time. He’d seemed so cute, so sweet, so pathetic when it came to math.

She shoved the papers away. “I won’t be helping you with your math assignments anymore.” She grabbed her books and slammed her locker.

“If this is about the dance—”

Head up, Holly Jo walked away. She heard him mumbling something about how irrational girls were and swearing as he went to his own locker. She didn’t look back. At lunch he sat with his friends at another table.

“Buck Savage is such a jerk,” Tana said, and the girls at her table all agreed. Holly Jo changed the subject, and soon they were laughing about something silly one of their teachers had said.

She wanted the fiasco of her first boyfriend to be behind her, but all that day in school, her heart ached. Not for the Buck she now knew, but for what could have been. Elaine had said it would get better. Right now, it didn’t feel that way.

B AILEY GOT THE call from her father that the invitations for the barbecue had gone out. He sounded gruff, his voice edged with emotion.

“I’m so sorry I let you down.”

“Dad, you didn’t—”

He made a strangled sound, and she wondered how long it had been since she’d called him Dad. “Oh Bailey, if only I could go back and—”

“You’re helping me now. That’s what I need. Once this is over...” She was afraid to make promises she might not be able to keep. The future was a black hole, as if it didn’t exist. The thought terrified her—just as crossing paths with him again did. She knew that if he got the chance, he planned to hurt her again before he killed her. “Let’s just get past this barbecue.”

She got off the phone, knowing her father wanted and needed more from her, but she didn’t have it to give right now. Not to her father and not to Stuart, she thought, looking down at the ring he’d put on her finger.

Seeing it surprised her and reminded her it wasn’t a real engagement. It made her wish that she was happily planning her wedding right now. That alone shocked her. Wedding? If she’d given getting married any consideration, she would have thought that she’d want to elope or maybe not even get married.

Instead, she wanted more than anything to marry Stuart. She ached for a future with him. That’s why it had broken her heart when he’d put that ring on her finger. She’d loved him and hated him because it was only pretend. He couldn’t promise her that future any more than she could promise her father they’d have the time to mend the pain between them. She couldn’t plan anything past the barbecue. That’s if he didn’t show up sooner. Surprise!

She had no idea how much time she had left or what she should be doing with it. For twelve years, she’d taken the offensive and gone looking for him. She’d peered under every rock, and look where that had gotten her. She’d written what she’d found, and now it would be coming out for everyone to read. She pushed the thought away. Nothing she could do about that. She might not even be alive when the book came out.

All she could think about was the barbecue and coming face-to-face with the man who’d ruined much of her life. Her life had been on hold for so long. The years of searching with only two thoughts in mind. Find him. Kill him.

But she’d never thought past that. Because she’d thought that she would fail, that he would kill her, that there wasn’t anything past this? She looked down at the ring on her finger. Stuart. Her fiancé. Yet the only place they acted like they were in love was in public.

At his house, they were as they had been before. Distant. Her fault. She could see in his eyes how badly he wanted to take her to his bed. He had no idea how badly she wanted the same thing. But she couldn’t. She felt damaged and had for twelve years. It wasn’t just the scar on her breast. It was much deeper than that.

She told herself that once the man was dead, she would be ready to trust another man enough to make love with him. That man was Stuart Layton, she knew in her heart. But she couldn’t turn to him—not until this was over. If they made love, she would want a future with him so badly that she feared she couldn’t go through with the barbecue, let alone what she had to do when the man came for her.

All she could do was wait, something that went entirely against her nature. But there was no longer anywhere to look. She’d gotten her list down to four men—Earl Hall, Jay Erickson, AJ Plummer and Dickie Cline. None of them had a scar from the branding iron she’d hit the man with.

Yet all that had proven, Stuart told her, was that she hadn’t burned him enough to leave a lasting mark—unlike what he’d done to her. Even without the scar from the brand he’d burned into her flesh, he’d left his mark on her. Some days, she feared she’d never be able to overcome that.

So she waited, wondering if she would recognize him when he came for her. She had a feeling that this time he wanted her to know who he was—and why he was going to kill her.

CJ WONDERED WHEN his mother would be back to the jail. Or if she would at all. Maybe her visit the other day had been a trick. Mental torture. Offer him a way out and then take it back. Like something he might do.

Wasn’t there some expression about a leopard not being about to change his spots? He thought that was probably him. Doomed to make the same mistakes out of anger or greed or just plain meanness.

Changing would mean giving up his so-called business, the one Treyton McKenna better be running for him if he knew what was good for him. It would mean going back to the ranch with his mother still running it.

He shook his head. He’d never been good at taking orders. But at one time, he was in line to take over the ranch. His sisters wouldn’t be a problem, and he’d always been able to buffalo his younger brothers.

But Brand and Ryder had been running things with their mother gone. They might not be as malleable as they’d been before. No, he couldn’t see himself fighting for the ranch again. Look what had happened last time. Fortunately, he hadn’t killed either sister, but his actions now had him behind bars, facing years in prison.

When the guard came by to tell him that he had a visitor, he got up off his bunk, determined to do whatever he had to to get out of here. Lying, cheating, stealing, and even stooping to attempted murder hadn’t been a problem in the past.

Being someone he wasn’t? He didn’t know if he could pull that off, but he had to try.

Except when he walked up to the booth and sat down, it wasn’t his mother who was sitting on the other side of the partition.

C HARLOTTE S TAFFORD WAS back in the Powder River Basin. Rumors ran wild as people speculated on where she’d gone. She’d been at some fancy spa that had taken ten years off her face. She’d been locked up somewhere, taken by one of her enemies as payback. She’d had a secret lover who’d flown her off to an island in the Caribbean.

Holden didn’t believe any of them. After the way the two of them had left things, he figured she’d gone away needing time. He’d hoped that when she was ready, she would come back.

He suspected he knew why she was back now. Her oldest son CJ’s trial was coming up soon, and he’d always been her favorite. Her oldest daughter, Tilly, was pregnant with her first grandchild, and even though Holden’s son Cooper was the father of the baby, Charlotte wouldn’t want to miss the birth. He didn’t kid himself that she’d ever come back because of him.

There was also a rumor that she’d come back to sell the ranch. Few people believed that. “She’ll die out there, be buried in a pasture, before she’ll give up that place. She’d never sell,” he’d heard a rancher saying at the general store.

“I don’t know,” another had said. “Heard there’s been some out-of-state billionaire interested in buying up ranches in Montana. For the right price, hell, I’d sell.”

“Anyway, aren’t Brand and Ryder running the ranch now?” the clerk had said as Holden stood in the back, listening. Other patrons jumped in since out-of-state billionaires were the boogeyman to locals. “I heard that they’re buying up the whole damned state.”

Holden could only shake his head. He couldn’t imagine Lottie selling the ranch she’d fought to keep for so many years. But then again, he couldn’t imagine her leaving the way she had either.

Right now, all he cared about was seeing her. He didn’t care where she’d been or why. He was just glad that she was back. It was odd, since they’d been alienated for years, even more so before she’d left, but he’d missed her. He’d liked knowing she was just next door on their adjoining ranches, a horseback ride away.

But until this barbecue was over, until his daughter was safe, he was in no mental shape to face Lottie. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he wanted to make up for. There was also a good chance she wouldn’t want to see him. He had to be ready for that outcome, and right now, he didn’t think he could handle it.

Nor could he tell her about what was going on. If he saw her, he knew he’d break down and tell her everything. Lottie was his heart. He’d give anything to be able to share this burden. He couldn’t even tell Elaine.

“Aren’t you going riding today?” Elaine said, startling him from where she stood in his office doorway.

“I have to do some things for this barbecue.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “As long as you’re feeling all right. You wouldn’t lie about that , would you?”

He heard perfectly what she was saying. She knew he was lying about the barbecue, what he had to do to get ready for it and a lot more. “I’m feeling fine.” Even that was a lie.

She stood in the doorway as if waiting for him to level with her. Then, with a huff, she left.

He put his head in his hands, admitting only to himself how terrified he was that everything would go wrong at the barbecue, and he would lose his daughter for good.

CJ WATCHED HIS sister Oakley pull down the phone on the other side of the glass partition and put it to her ear. All he could think was that this couldn’t be good. As far as he could remember, he hadn’t seen her since he tried to kill her the second time.

He took down his phone and put it to his ear, ready for her to go off on him. They’d been at each other’s throats since they were kids. True, he instigated it, but Oakley always held her own. He’d actually admired her on occasion. But then again, she was the reason he was locked up now.

“Mother asked me to come see you,” she said, making it clear this hadn’t been her idea.

Another test? “It’s good to see you. I heard you got married.”

She gave him the stink-eye, not buying it. Oakley had always been able to see right through his lies. Of course, that was why their mother had sent her.

“What do you want me to say? I’m sorry for what I tried to do to you? I am. ”

“Sorry I’m alive or sorry you got caught?”

“Sorry I’ve been such a shitty brother,” he said, and realized a part of him actually meant it. He’d bullied his siblings because he could. Also, because they were often in his way to get what he wanted.

“Mother wants to believe that you’ve reached rock bottom and might now see the error of your ways,” she said, glaring at him. “I think she’s deluding herself. You’re incapable of changing even if you seriously wanted to. Oh, you’d say anything to get out of this. But I know you, CJ. You’re rotten to the core. If you get out of here, you’ll go back to your old ways in a heartbeat. No one will be safe from you.”

He told himself to keep his cool. Oakley had always known how to get under his skin. Maybe that was exactly what she was trying to do. “If this is reverse psychology—”

“It’s the truth.”

“Then why did you bother to come here?”

“Because I had to look into your eyes to make sure.”

“And now you’re sure?” He held her gaze for a few moments before dragging it away. “You’re right. I’d do anything to get out of here, let alone not go to prison for years. Who wouldn’t? But maybe I’m not all bad. Maybe there’s hope for me. Don’t you believe in second chances?”

Her look said she didn’t believe a word of it.

“How’s life with Pickett? I heard he’s building a house for the two of you.”

“You aren’t really interested in my life.”

“Heard Tilly’s pregnant. Do we know if it’s a boy or girl yet?”

“Stop, CJ.”

“You think I don’t know that things have changed?” he demanded. “Tilly’s married to a McKenna, and you’re practically married to one too. Both of you will be living on the McKenna Ranch. Brand and Ryder have taken over the family ranch. Brand’s now with the daughter of Dixon Malone, mother’s murdered second husband? I hear about all of it. Isn’t it possible that I wish I’d done things differently so I’m a part of it? It’s like you’ve all written me off, all going on with your lives, completely forgetting that I existed.”

Oakley smiled. “There’s the CJ I know. Poor you. If you’d gotten your way, I would be dead right now. You would have kept the feud going between the families. It’s been a relief not having you around.” Her voice broke. “A lot has changed because you weren’t part of it. You will never be part of it. You’re the family’s bad seed. You will never change.”

With that she rose, slammed down the phone and, without even a look back, walked out.

He sat for a moment, surprised at the emotion he felt. Fury being utmost. He wanted to make her pay for what she’d said, because it had hurt a lot more than he’d thought it would. But an even stronger emotion had him wanting to prove her wrong. Prove everyone wrong about him as the guard came to take him back to his cell.

But the only way he could do that was to make his mother believe he could change. That’s if she came back to see him after she talked to Oakley. He swore. He was never getting out of here.