Harlequin Romantic Suspense March 2016 Box Set Page 16

  “Were you in here often?” She sat on the very edge of the cushion as if ready to flee at any given moment.

  “Only twice. The first time was when I threw a firecracker into Sawyer’s room on the Fourth of July, and the second time was when I got drunk on moonshine and was too sick to work. I don’t know what made Cass angrier, the fact that I was only sixteen and drank alcohol or that I couldn’t pull my weight around the ranch the next day. I’ll tell you one thing, that was the first and the last time I drank moonshine.”

  She looked at him searchingly, her blue eyes troubled. “It’s not working, Dusty. You can’t just sit here and tell me amusing stories and take my mind off what just happened.”

  He leaned forward and grabbed her hand in his. “Okay, it was scary, but we’re both okay and we’re going to keep being okay until Dillon has somebody behind bars.”

  She didn’t believe him. The doubts darkened her eyes to a midnight blue. He sighed. “Is this it, Trisha? Is this the way you fight for something you want? You give up so easily?” He repeated what he’d said to her when she’d wanted to go back to work.

  She closed her eyes. When she opened them and looked at him once again, strength had taken the place of fear. “I don’t want to run, Dusty. But I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

  “If you leave me now, then he wins. Your entire future, Cooper’s future will be running from place to place and looking over your shoulder. You’ll always be afraid to care about anyone, to stick around for too long. Is that really what you want?”

  “Of course not,” she replied. She pulled her hand from his.

  “Are we having our first fight?” he asked in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension that crackled in the air.

  A grudging smile lifted one corner of her mouth. “You have the amazing ability to give me hope just when I’m on the verge of despair.”

  He reached for her hand once again and was rewarded by the curl of her fingers with his. “We’re good, then?”

  She nodded. “We’re good.”

  He pulled her up off the sofa and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Get some sleep, Trisha. Everything always looks brighter in the daytime.”

  It wasn’t until he left the house to head for the bunkhouse in the distance that Dusty once again went on high alert. He pulled his gun from its holster and moved quickly through the night toward the safety of his room.

  Once inside, he locked his door and then sank down on the edge of the bed. He believed he’d managed to calm Trisha down for now, but for how long? How much more could she take before she decided to cut and run?

  He hoped Dillon came up with some answers sooner rather than later because he now had the feeling that he was not only working against a madman’s timeline, but also against Trisha’s uncertainty whether he and whatever they might share were ultimately worth the risk.

  * * *

  Dillon drove through the night with the burn of frustration deep in his gut. As if the mystery of the skeletal remains wasn’t enough. He tightened his fingers around the steering wheel.

  Even if he did get the DNA results from the cigarette Jim had found, he’d still have to swab every smoker in the town to see if he could find a match. And that was so not happening. He didn’t have the budget and he didn’t have the authority for such a task. He certainly hadn’t wanted to mention that little glitch to Cassie.

  Fred Ferguson, the owner of the motel, had called the station nearly every day to see if Dillon had arrested somebody for the vandalism of the room where Trisha had been living. Trisha and Dusty were both depending on him to come up with some answers.

  All he’d ever wanted to do was keep the good people of Bitterroot safe from harm, but lately he felt as if he was failing miserably.

  For the first time in his career as sheriff of the small town, he doubted his ability as a good lawman. A horrendous crime had occurred over a decade ago on the Holiday land and now Dillon believed that somebody unhinged was walking among them.

  A cold wind blew through him, along with the terrible feeling that things were going to get a lot worse before they got any better.

  * * *

  Damn.

  Damn!

  It had been such a perfect opportunity. He’d been watching the ranch for days, looking for the chance to get to Dusty and ultimately get to Trisha.

  He’d seen Dusty go into the stable alone and his heart had skipped with excitement as Trisha had joined him there. He’d believed he had the perfect plan. Set the fire, shoot Dusty and then in the ensuing chaos, take what was his.

  Everything had gone so wrong. He hadn’t expected the rapid response of the ranch hands and now he was back in his car, driving aimlessly while the sense of failure burned in the tightness of his chest.

  It was time to get bolder. It was definitely time to take a bigger risk to achieve his ultimate goal. He was tired of not having her in his life where she belonged, where she had always belonged.

  He’d failed tonight, but that only made him more determined to succeed the next time. She was his future, and he wouldn’t rest until she was his forever.

  CHAPTER 12

  “Heard anything from Dillon?” Tony asked Dusty as the two of them sat outside Dusty’s bunk room door.

  “Nothing,” Dusty replied. “But then, I didn’t really expect to hear anything from him.”

  The men had spent the two days since the fire repairing the stalls that had been burned. The horses were all back where they belonged and Dusty was now just waiting to pick up Trisha from work.

  “There’s no way I think that cigarette butt is going to answer anything,” he continued. “I don’t even know if that fire was set by her secret admirer or by somebody else who has nothing to do with the situation.”

  “And she hasn’t come up with any names of men who she thinks might have some kind of sick crush on her?” Tony asked.

  “She has several names, but nobody who has done anything overt to jump to the top of the list. What do you know about Steve Kaufman?”

  “Not much,” Tony replied. “I know his wife died of cancer a couple of years ago. He’s always been pleasant but pretty much keeps to himself. Why? Does Trisha think he might be the one?”

  “She’s mentioned him along with Zeke.”

  Tony frowned. “Zeke’s name is always at the top of the list when there’s trouble. I can’t believe he hasn’t been put in jail for some crime or another a long time ago.”

  “Unfortunately, suspecting and proving are two different things,” Dusty replied. “At this point as far as I’m concerned every male in town is a suspect.” He sighed in frustration and then looked at his watch. “It’s time for me to head out.” He pulled himself out of his chair.

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” Tony replied.

  “Yeah, see you.” Dusty put his folding chair back in his room, locked his door and then headed to his truck for the trip to the café and then on to Juanita’s to pick up Cooper.

  Despite the trauma of the fire, in spite of any potential risk that might come at him, every minute of every day his love for Trisha and her son only grew stronger. Tonight he intended to tell her just how deeply in love with her he was.

  He had no idea if she was ready to hear it, but his love had become far too big for him not to want to share. He wanted to move things forward. He wanted to start looking for a house to buy, a place where the three of them could build their future together.

  And despite the danger that swirled around them, he trusted that they had a future together. For the first time in his life he believed that happiness, that love was his to claim and that the universe had finally gifted him with what had been elusive until now...until Trisha.

  She had to know that he was in love with her, just as he believed that she wa
s in love with him, but he needed the actual words to be spoken between them.

  She had to feel his abiding love for her in his every touch, she had to see it shining from his eyes whenever they were together, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to proclaim his love out loud.

  When he reached the café, he pulled into the parking lot in the rear where staff usually parked. As always the spaces around the back door were full. He found an empty spot four cars down from the door and backed in.

  He shut off his engine and narrowed his eyes to look at his watch. The only light back here was the one that shone from a nearby street pole.

  He was twenty minutes early. He shoved his seat back and opened his window. He hated going inside too early because he didn’t want to pressure Daisy for Trisha to knock off work before her shift was officially over.

  September had brought slightly cooler temperatures. Would they still not have answers to anything when autumn passed and winter was upon them?

  He shoved away the negative thought. He didn’t want anything bad in his head tonight. He just wanted to embrace the future with both arms.

  At five minutes before ten, he got out of his truck and headed for the back door. He was just about to open the door when Trisha walked out.

  “Hey, you,” he said.

  “Hey, yourself,” she replied with a smile.

  “Good night?” he asked as they walked back to his truck.

  “Actually, it was,” she replied. “What about your evening?”

  “It’s been fine.” They got into the truck to drive the couple of blocks to Juanita’s home. “We finished up the work on the stables this afternoon,” he said. “And Adam told us Cassie is thinking about throwing a big autumn party and inviting half the town.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Trisha replied as he parked in front of Juanita’s.

  Juanita lived in a small ranch house on a quiet, tree-lined street. As always, when they got out of the truck, Dusty scanned the immediate surroundings for any potential threat that might spring out of the darkness of the night.

  Juanita answered their knock and Dusty followed her down the hallway to the bedroom where Cooper was sound asleep.

  Dusty bent over and gathered the boy into his arms. Cooper raised an eyelid and smiled and wrapped his arms around Dusty’s neck. “Hi, Dusty,” he said.

  “Hi, little man,” Dusty replied.

  By the time Dusty rejoined Trisha at the front door, Cooper was once again sound asleep. Minutes later they were in the truck and headed back to the ranch. “I spoke to Daisy this evening about possibly changing my work hours,” Trisha said.

  “Changing them to what?” Dusty asked in surprise.

  “I’d like to work an earlier shift so that I don’t have to pull Cooper out of the babysitter’s bed each night. It wasn’t such a big deal when we were at the motel and Cooper slept in his own bed and didn’t have to be disturbed, but now I’d really like some better hours for him.”

  “What did Daisy say?”

  “She said that next week when she makes up the new schedule she’ll see what she can do for me. Since you’ve been responsible for getting me to and from work, I probably should have run it by you first before speaking to Daisy.”

  He cast her a quick glance and smiled. “It doesn’t make a difference to me, although I certainly like the idea of you being off in the evenings so that we can spend more time together.”

  “That’s another reason why I wanted to make a change. I already miss sitting outside in the evenings and watching you and Cooper play in the dirt.”

  He laughed. “I do enjoy playing cowboys with the little buckaroo.”

  The rest of the ride she talked about her evening at work. “It’s always a good night when none of the Humes ranch hands come in.”

  “I wish we knew what caused the bad blood between Raymond Humes and Cass,” he replied. “Even with her gone, I think Raymond encourages his men to cause us trouble.”

  “Cassie told me she’s reading some of Cass’s old diaries. Maybe she’ll find the answer in one of them.”

  “Maybe, although knowing about it probably won’t change anything,” he replied.

  He turned onto the Holiday land and pulled down the long driveway and parked. Dusty got Cooper from his car seat and followed Trisha to the back door. Apparently, Cassie was already in bed for the night since the door was locked. Trisha pulled out the key Cassie had given her and unlocked the door.

  It didn’t take long for Dusty to tuck Cooper into his bed, and then he and Trisha returned to the great room and sat on the sofa. Nerves suddenly clanged in Dusty as he thought of everything he wanted to say to Trisha, the love he wanted to share with her.

  “Are you tired?” he asked and reached up to release her hair from the elastic band. Her hair spilled down to her shoulders and he toyed with one of the strands.

  She took the elastic tie from him and set it on the coffee table. “A little, but it always takes me a while to wind down,” she replied.

  “Hmm, you smell like cinnamon,” he observed.

  She laughed. “I served a lot of apple strudel tonight.”

  He dropped his hand from her hair. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last couple of days.”

  She looked at him cautiously. “Thinking about what?”

  “About us.”

  “What about us?” Her eyes instantly darkened as if she expected something bad.

  He reached out and took one of her hands in his. “Don’t look so worried. I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time for me to start house hunting.” He watched her features closely. “I want to find a place where the three of us can live. I’d like to find your forever home, Trisha, and I want to live there with you and Cooper. I’m crazy in love with you. I’m crazy in love with your son, and I want to be your forever man.”

  He held his breath, waiting for her response. She searched his features and her eyes lightened in hue. “Oh, Dusty, I’m crazy in love with you, too.” Her lips trembled as a wealth of emotion flowed from her eyes.

  His heart exploded with happiness and he reached for her, wanting to hold her close, wanting to kiss the tremble right off her lips.

  She leaned into him and the kiss they shared was tender and filled with the depth of emotion that burned in his heart. He finally ended the kiss and she pulled back from him.

  “I feel like I was born loving you,” he said softly. “I’ve wanted to tell you, but I was afraid that you weren’t in the same place.”

  “I’m definitely there with you, Dusty.” Her eyes shone with a brightness, a happiness that moved him deeply. “I’ve never loved any man as much as I love you.”

  “We’ve never really talked about what our future would look like,” he said.

  “That’s because I’ve never really been sure that I have a future.”

  “You have a future, Trisha. We have a future together and it’s going to be wonderful,” he assured her. “What I’d like is to find a house in town near the café and I’ll continue to work here at the ranch.”

  He threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight against his side. She leaned her head against him and released a sigh. “Tell me more,” she said softly. “Tell me about this wonderful future we’re going to share.”

  “We’ll live in a house with at least three bedrooms, one for us, one for Cooper and another that will be a nursery for our babies. You do want more children?”

  “At least one more,” she replied. “I’d like to have your baby.”

  Once again his heart swelled, and he tightened his arm around her. “You’ll work at the café and I’ll work here and then in the evenings we’ll eat supper together and watch Cooper play and then go to bed together. We’ll get married and laugh and make love and watch our children
grow. We’ll know the kind of happiness that we’ve only dreamed about in the past.”

  He stopped talking as he realized that at some point in his windy portrayal of their future together she’d fallen asleep. He remained unmoving, reluctant to wake her and just enjoying the moment of her at complete rest against him.

  The night that he’d asked her out, he’d never dreamed that he’d be here now with her words of love for him filling his soul. He hadn’t been able to imagine that he could love as deeply as he did. He’d been so afraid that his terrible childhood had made him unable to love. He’d been concerned that he’d never know how to be a good father.

  Now everything he’d suffered in his life vanished with her by his side. He did love, and he was determined to be the kind of father to Cooper that he’d wanted for himself but never had.

  He couldn’t believe that he not only had a beautiful woman who loved him, but also a little boy who looked at him as if he were the greatest cowboy, the greatest man since John Wayne.

  Are you strong enough?

  Are you really smart enough?

  The haunting question was like a discordant note in his head. He leaned his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes with a resolve he’d never felt before.

  Hell, yes, he was strong enough to see them through whatever they might face. The ghosts from his past were just that...harmless wraiths with no more power to plague him.

  He was more than man enough to protect what was his. It was the last thought he had before he fell asleep with the woman he loved still snuggled against him.

  * * *

  “More coffee, Steve?” Trisha held the coffeepot poised over Steve Kaufman’s empty cup.

  “Sure, that would be great,” he agreed. “I was surprised to see you when I came in. You don’t usually work on Sundays.”

  “Julia called in sick today. She apparently has some kind of flu bug, so Daisy asked me to come in,” Trisha replied. Considering the time Trisha had been off and how accommodating Daisy had been, Trisha hadn’t hesitated to pick up the extra shift to help out.