Can't Stop Believing (HARMONY) (20 page)

Only Marty never woke. He left her while she slept, holding his hand.

He left her with the memories of a perfect world.

A
PRIL
10

T
YLER
W
RIGHT
WOKE
M
ARTHA
Q
BEFORE
EIGHT
THE
NEXT
morning to ask her if Mr. Carleon would mind coming to the phone. He said he didn’t have the man’s cell number or he wouldn’t have bothered Martha Q.

She trudged up the stairs and knocked on Mr. Carleon’s door, then waited in the hallway when he took the call.

She listened to Carleon talking to the funeral director long enough to guess what had happened, then rushed to her room to dress in one of her best jogging suits. When Mr. Carleon came back down the stairs to leave ten minutes later, Martha Q was ready.

“If you’ve no objection, I’d like to go with you, Anthony.” It was the first time she’d used his Christian name, but she thought it was about time. “Tyler wouldn’t have called you unless there has been a death, and I can think of only one that would concern you. I’d like to go to help, if you’ve no objection. Ronny is as dear to me as a daughter.” Since she had no daughter, Martha Q had no idea how dear that was, but it sounded good.

“That’s very kind of you, Martha,” he said. “I’m sure Ronny can use a friend right now.”

“And you,” she added. “Marty was your friend too. I want you to know I’ll be there for you as well if you need a shoulder to cry on.”

“Thank you. I’ll miss him, you know. We’ve been talking of this day for months. Marty Winslow was a brilliant man who never seemed to plan his life, but he did plan his death. I have many details to put into action before I have time to grieve the loss of a friend and an employer.”

As they walked out the door, Martha Q added, “I’ll do whatever I can. Ronny will take this hard, I’m afraid. I was there when she thought she lost him two years ago.” She handed Carleon her keys. “I hope you don’t mind driving?”

“Of course not.” He opened the car door for her. “Should we call her mother to be with her at this time?”

“No, there’s no need to make it harder than it has to be. Dallas Logan complains she’s dying every few months. If we ask her to come over, all she’ll talk about is her funeral. Says she has no reason to live now that her Howard is gone and her daughter ran away. I try to tell Dallas that daughters who are twenty-seven don’t run away, they just leave, but she doesn’t listen.”

Martha Q knew Mr. Carleon couldn’t be counted on to keep up the conversation, so she’d help him out by talking as he drove. “If you ask me, Howard Logan is up in heaven on his knees every single morning praying that the Lord will let Dallas live a long life so he’ll have a little more peace in the hereafter.”

Mr. Carleon didn’t say a word. He just drove the few blocks to the duplex.

Tyler and the sheriff were already there sitting on the front porch.

Martha Q greeted them with a nod and asked if she could see Ronny. She really didn’t feel like she needed permission to enter a place she owned, but it pays to be respectful at times of grief.

When she went in, Ronny was sitting beside Marty’s bed. He looked like he was sleeping, but all the machines were off.

Martha Q waited until Ronny looked up at her and then whispered, “You said your good-bye to him, child?”

Ronny nodded.

“Well then, there’s much that needs doing. How about I walk you through the beginning until you get your footing?”

Ronny stood, moving so slowly she looked like she’d aged overnight. She leaned over Marty and kissed him one last time, then went with Martha Q to her bedroom.

Without a word Martha Q helped her into the shower and stood waiting until she finished. Then, wrapped in a towel, Ronny sat and let the older woman comb her hair. She looked hollow, as if someone had carved the insides out of her and left only the shell.

Martha Q talked about how pretty Ronny’s hair was and how the day would seem endless, but the night would come just as the morning would tomorrow. She had no idea if Ronny heard her, but it didn’t matter.

The morning nurse came in and rebandaged Ronny’s arm. The cut was no more than a thin line of scab; bruises ran from shoulder to elbow. Both women helped her dress in a simple navy dress.

“You can do this, Ronny,” Martha Q whispered as they moved back into the living room. “Death knocks on all doors whether we want it to come or not. The only advice I can give you is to not think about anything but putting one foot in front of the other. You’ll make the hard climb one step at a time. That’s what survivors do.”

Tyler Wright had taken Marty’s body away and most of the machines had been shoved against the far wall. Someone had set up chairs around the fireplace even though it wasn’t cold enough to light the fire. Coffee percolated in the kitchen.

Mr. Carleon took Ronny’s hand and sat beside her, explaining all the details Marty had already taken care of concerning what he wanted at his funeral. He insisted that he wanted to be buried here in Harmony in a simple graveside service. Marty had instructed Mr. Carleon to buy two plots in the Harmony Cemetery the day after he arrived.

“He said”—Carleon picked his words carefully—“that you could leave the space beside him empty. If you married and wanted to be buried elsewhere, you might consider putting up a bench so you could sit beside him now and then. He said he liked the idea of watching you growing old and knowing that you hadn’t forgotten him.”

Ronny nodded, but she didn’t ask questions. When she looked up at the silver-haired man who’d been with Marty for years, he seemed to read her mind.

“I’ll stay for as long as you need me. He would have wanted me to, and I find I’ve grown very fond of you and this little town. I’ll make sure everything is taken care of before I leave.”

Finally, Ronny seemed to wake from her trance. “Where will you go?” she asked, as if suddenly her family were falling apart.

“I don’t know. When I left with Marty to come here, the Winslows terminated my employment within hours, but don’t you worry, I’ve got enough money saved to live comfortably just about anywhere in the world.”

Martha Q, who was listening, suddenly realized that if Mr. Carleon left, she’d miss him. The fact shocked her. She hadn’t missed a man in years. In fact, the last few husbands she had been looking forward to missing for months before they finally left.

Throughout the morning people came and went from the duplex. The preacher. The postmaster, who’d heard the news. The boys next door. As the word spread around town, people came bringing food and flowers as if they’d known Marty for years. Even the three widows Martha Q was boarding came. They’d never met Marty, but they cried just the same.

The only person who didn’t come was Dallas Logan. Her only child had just lost the love of her life, and Dallas couldn’t set aside her anger long enough to comfort Ronny.

It made Martha Q so mad she hugged Ronny every chance she got while she plotted to thump Dallas Logan a good one if she ever saw the woman again.

In the evening, the cook at the funeral home, stopped in with her baby. She asked Ronny to come back to her apartment in the back of the funeral home. The girls had shared it once before, and Martha Q guessed it was as close as Ronny had to a home that she’d want to go to.

Summer talked Ronny into taking a walk, leaving Martha Q and Mr. Carleon alone in the little duplex apartment.

“It’s been a long day,” she said as she sat next to him on the porch. “And tomorrow won’t be any shorter.”

Anthony nodded. “You were a great help today, Martha.”

“I try to be,” Martha Q lied. Help was rarely something she tried.

“I feel a bit lost,” he admitted. “I don’t think there has been a minute I haven’t had Marty on my mind in two years. Most of my energy has been spent taking care of him, and now I’m not sure what to do with myself.”

She’d been watching Anthony Carleon all day. He was organized, always thoughtful, and as pure a gentleman as she’d ever seen, but the man lived on coffee and nothing else. “It’s been my experience, Anthony, that the only cure for feeling lost is home-cooked food. How about we go back to my place and raid the fridge?”

He offered a tired smile. “That sounds like a good idea, my dear.”

A few minutes later when they climbed the steps of the bed-and-breakfast, the three little widows were waiting for them. All three were so angry they looked like they’d been wound up too tight and couldn’t stop jittering.

The trio had been told by the sheriff to quit following Bryce Galloway, but they were determined, even if threatened at gunpoint, to continue their quest. They’d followed him into the cleaners and asked to see the jacket he turned in.

The little lady behind the counter didn’t understand why. Joni Rosen, the leader, made up a story about being Bryce’s mother and said she’d put something in his pocket at church and he must have forgotten it was there.

Martha Q thought the story lacked her own natural creativity, but she nodded and encouraged Joni to continue. “And did you find your missing valuable?”

Joni smiled. “No, but we found this.”

She held up one piece of straw. “Talk’s all over town about how someone tried to poison one of Nevada Britain’s horses. Well, ladies and gentleman, I have the proof right here.”

“You mean Nevada McDowell’s horses. She’s married, you know.” Martha Q liked to use the right name. She always hated it when people called her by the wrong last name. Usually when it happened, she had to fight down the urge to hit them up the side of their head and tell them to read the paper now and then. She’d made the front page in her wedding dress all seven times.

“Whatever,” Joni said. “Back to the find. A clue. Horses hang out in barns. This proves Bryce was in a barn, therefore he was probably the one who tried to kill the horse.”

Martha Q doubted one piece of straw would do the trick, but she decided to do all she could to keep the widows off spying and out of the house. “This is great, ladies. Keep up the good work.”

About that time Bryce pulled up out front and the widows scattered.

Martha Q and Anthony remained on the porch.

Bryce whistled as he walked up the steps. “Good evening,” he said, obviously in a good mood.

“Evening,” Martha Q offered in return. “Had a busy day?”

“Not particularly.” Bryce passed them without stopping to talk. “Just looking over some investments.”

He’d disappeared inside before she could ask any questions.

Anthony leaned close and whispered, “My friend in Houston checked on him. Nothing. He’d been questioned twice about fights he’d been in, but charges were never filed.”

“Money bought him out of trouble,” she whispered back, loving being so close to Mr. Carleon.

They stood, listening to Bryce run up the stairs. Finally, when the third-floor door slammed, Anthony offered his arm. “I believe, Martha, we have a date waiting in the kitchen.”

“A date?” Martha Q grinned as she curled her hand around his arm. “Does it come with a good-night kiss?”

Anthony looked more relaxed in the porch light’s glow than she’d ever seen him. “It just might, dear lady. It just might.”

A
PRIL
10

C
ORD
LEFT
N
EVADA
SLEEPING
ON
THE
BLANKETS
IN
THE
hay and moved to the door of the barn loft. It was sunup and he should be at the bunkhouse giving the men orders for the day, but he didn’t want to leave her. Even after he’d held her close all night, he was still hungry for the feel of her against him. She was quickly becoming an addiction that went all the way to the bone. It occurred to him that if he’d known her, really known her, before he went to prison, he would have died of starvation for the feel of her in the six years he’d been behind bars.

She’d teased him about having a girlfriend when Ronny called concerning the man Cord was trying to find, but Nevada would have to be blind to not see that she was the only woman he looked at. Cord was falling hard for his temporary wife. He already knew that when their time was over and he had to leave, his heart would be staying behind.

He’d held her all night long. He’d always thought of her as headstrong and wild. Only yesterday he’d seen her broken, and he never wanted to see her like that again. Whoever poisoned the horse must have known how it would hurt her. Someone wanted her shattered, unable to fight, but why? Surely not over land? If Bryce was to blame, he wouldn’t have needed to break her to get her to sell the land. His family was rich enough to buy half the ranches in Texas.

He pulled out his cell and called Galem, passing along what needed to be done on the ranch. Then Cord asked if Galem would tell Jackson and his brothers to wait for him in the bunkhouse kitchen. When Galem confirmed his order, Cord added that he wanted Zeb to pack lunch and a rifle and be at the horse barn in ten minutes. Cord was taking no chance of anyone who didn’t belong stepping foot in the place again.

“If Zeb sees a stranger’s car turn off the county road onto the ranch, tell him to fire off a couple of shots. I want no one stepping on the Boxed B that doesn’t belong.”

“Will do,” Galem answered. “He’ll be on his way to act as guard in a few minutes.”

The horse barn was a good place to station a guard. From the loft opening one man could see the land all the way to where their road hooked up to the county road. The only other entrance into the ranch was eight miles farther down, and Cord planned to bust the dam at that end. Within an hour the dirt road would be so muddy not even a tank could get down it.

“You know, Galem, this trouble isn’t over.” Cord needed to be honest, with himself and the cook. “We may have hard times coming.”

“I know. We all know, Boss. Only I’m thinking you may be wrong about Bryce Galloway being behind all this trouble. He ain’t got the balls. I think he wants Nevada back, but he won’t face you.”

Cord hadn’t met the man, but from what Nevada had told him, he didn’t like Bryce. Maybe Galem was right; the ex-husband did seem to be more the type to bully Nevada, or even frighten her, to get what he wanted, than to come straight on. “I’m not taking any chances.”

“I agree. Nevada’s old man made his share of enemies, and even you made a few when you fired men those first few days. In Harmony you’ll be hard-pressed to find a dozen people who like the Britains, and most would question your sanity for marrying one. They’ll wonder why you’d want to step between Nevada and her ex.”

“They don’t know me.” Cord grinned, thinking no one would ever understand how he felt about Nevada.

Galem laughed. “You got a point, but the men here are with you.”

“Then we make our stand here.”

Cord walked to where Nevada slept. When he tried to wake her with a touch, she only curled deeper into the blanket.

He gave up and lifted her, blanket and all. He carried her to his truck and nestled her beside him as he drove the short distance to their house. Without trying to wake her, he walked into their bedroom and placed her in the middle of the king-size bed. She’d had an emotional day yesterday, and maybe she’d sleep the morning away.

When she didn’t move, he closed the curtains for the first time since he’d moved in with her and left the room dark. As he walked through the kitchen, he told Ora Mae not to wake her.

Cord hesitated a moment and added, “When she does wake up, tell her I have one of my boys at her barn and he’s staying.”

“She won’t like that.” Ora Mae never stated more than the facts.

“I don’t care. If she’s got a problem with it, tell her to talk to me.” He checked the phone in his pocket. “Of course. she’ll have to find me first.”

By the time he was out of the house, Cord’s mind was focusing in on what had to be done. A few minutes later he was eating breakfast as Jackson filled him in on every detail he and Zeb could find out about the trainer. He’d been hired while Nevada was married to Bryce. He wasn’t from Harmony, and as near as they could find out he’d made no attempts to fit into the community. He was a loner who liked it that way, but Nevada had never complained about his work.

When Jackson finished the report, Cord simply said, “Find him.”

Jackson smiled. “That’s the same thing the sheriff said she planned to do.”

When Jackson left, Galem poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down across from Cord. “You can’t afford to do anything illegal. You know that ranger and half the cops in this part of the state are watching you. Waiting for you to make one wrong move.”

“I know, Mother.” Cord smiled.

Galem got the hint. “I’m just saying that if you’re planning anything the least bit shady, you got to let me do it. I’ve got this innocent face. Everyone trusts me.”

Cord almost choked on his coffee as he laughed. Galem’s face was weathered and pockmarked. He’d admitted to having his nose broken once by a bull and then straightened with another break in a fight. A few of the men kidded him once, saying they were surprised Galem ever found a woman willing to marry him, since he was so homely even the cattle noticed. Galem had answered that great lovers are always handsome in the dark.

“I’ll stay legal, I promise.” Cord set his cup down. “Watch over the ranch for a few hours; I need to go to town and set a few things in motion.”

Galem raised an eyebrow but nodded.

Cord drove to town, pulled through the bank’s drive-through window for cash, and headed to the movie theater. He couldn’t believe Cameron had been in town and he hadn’t noticed him, but then, no one ever noticed the man. Plus, Cord hadn’t been on this end of Main more than a dozen times in the three years he’d been back, and he’d never gone to the movies.

He found Cameron, older but still as bland-looking as ever, emptying the trash out back of the theater. His hair was gray and in need of a cut, his clothes baggy.

“Remember me?” Cord said as he walked up.

“Nope.” The man turned to go back inside, showing no interest in talking.

Cord was a long way from the kid he’d been when he met Cameron in prison. Cord had grown a few inches since then and put on fifty pounds. “We met once almost ten years ago. You told me you were from Harmony and would be headed back as soon as you got out. I probably said I was never coming back here if I ever got out of prison.”

Cameron stopped and slowly turned around. He took the time to study Cord, from his expensive boots to the monogrammed initials on his cuff and the western-cut leather jacket. “I’ve tried to forget that time in prison, and I’m guessing you have too. I thought you looked familiar, but I’m trying never to remember anyone I met behind bars.”

Cord guessed he had about thirty seconds to make his point. “It doesn’t matter if you remember me. You interested in a job that pays good money?” He pulled the cash from his pocket. “Nothing illegal. I just need someone watched and I don’t want him to spot you. A few of the guys used to say you were good at moving around without folks noticing. All you got to do is tail him.”

“I used to be good at not being noticed.” Cameron straightened a little taller with pride. “I could shadow anyone right into their own house without them spotting me. I’m strictly legit now, but there’s no harm in watching someone, I guess. I could really use the money. My boss wants to sell this place, and if he closes I’ll have trouble finding another job. You want them tailed day and night, I’m your man—Cord?”

“You do remember me?”

Cameron smiled. “Nothing slips by me. I’ve seen you around town a few times; surprised you noticed me.”

“I didn’t, but I hoped you were here. A friend helped me out with your address, but that’s not the problem. I’d like to hire you starting now and going until I get the information I need. I’m guessing it won’t be more than a two- or three-day job, with a bonus at the end if you learn something helpful.”

“It’ll cost you three hundred a day, and all I do is watch and report. Nothing more. I’m too old to get in the middle of anything.”

“If you’re spotted, you’re fired.”

“Fair enough, but if I get what you want, the bonus is a thousand. I can work till Friday, then if you still want me, I can call in sick here. I got a kid who can fill in and run the projector. I stay on this guy until you call me off, or get what you want in the way of information.”

Cord nodded. “Be ready in thirty minutes. I’ll pick you up here in the alley.”

Cameron disappeared into the theater and Cord drove over to the mall. He bought a phone with prepaid minutes, a camera with extra batteries, and a pocket tape recorder from a secondhand shop. When he circled back by the theater, Cameron was waiting for him with a toolbox and a clipboard in one hand and a work jacket in the other. The old guy had changed into dark blue trousers stained on one knee and a denim work shirt.

As he climbed into Cord’s special-edition Ford, he whispered to himself, “If I’d known you drove a 450, I would have doubled my price. You’ve done well for yourself since prison. Heard folks talking about you and some rancher’s daughter marrying. I don’t have to take the paper; I just listen to folks talk before the movies.”

“I married money,” Cord answered flatly.

Cameron laughed, like he thought Cord was kidding.

The little man took notes as Cord rattled off the facts about Bryce Galloway. “He’s probably eating over at the bed-and-breakfast about now. From there I have no idea where he goes or who he talks to”—Cord glanced at Cameron, who had started playing with all his new toys—“but I will after today. I’ll expect details for my money.”

“You’ll get them.” Cameron shoved everything into his toolbox. “I’ll need all your numbers and I might call at any hour. I can’t step away to talk to you until I know this guy is set somewhere.”

“I only have one number, and it’s already in the phone. Don’t talk to anyone but me. Don’t call me until you have something important to say. I’ll call you if I hear anything you need to know about this guy.”

Cameron nodded. “If I don’t answer, I’ll call back as soon as I can. This ain’t the kind of job that allows visiting.”

“I understand.” He handed over the five bills. “I’ll pay the balance when the job is over.”

“Drop me off a few houses from the Winter’s Inn. I don’t want anyone seeing me with you.” Cameron shoved his notes into his vest pocket.

Cord pulled to the curb. “You planning on just walking in?”

Cameron smiled. “No, I’ll be invited in. I may have given up crime, but I still watch what’s going on. The old lady who owns the B&B drives a boat of a car. I see her cruising Main like some of the kids do. Since it’s not parked in the drive, she’s not home. I’m guessing there will be a cook or housekeeper to let the gas inspector in.” He pulled a faded ID tag from his pocket and clipped it to his coat. “Folks never read the tag; just having one is all you need if you smile and act all polite.”

“Be careful, Cameron. This guy could be dangerous.”

“I figured that or you wouldn’t be hiring me.” The little man winked like he was about to have the time of his life.

Cord let him out, then pulled across the street and watched Cameron walk straight up to the front door. He talked to a lady who looked like the housekeeper for a minute, and then she opened the door to let him in.

Smiling, Cord noticed a rental car parked to the side. He’d bet it was Bryce’s, and Cameron was probably watching him eat breakfast right now. The con man might just be worth the money.

On his way over to the sheriff’s office he called the house and wasn’t surprised to hear Nevada was still asleep.

Circling by Ronny’s old duplex, he noticed Tyler Wright wheeling a body down the ramp he’d made. Marty had passed. He’d finally used the ramp.

A boat of a car was parked beside the undertaker, so Cord didn’t stop. He had his share of trouble today, but he couldn’t help worrying about his friend. He hoped she’d remember to call if she needed him.

Alex Matheson was out of her office when Cord walked into the sheriff’s station, but Travis Salem had taken over the small conference room next to the sheriff’s office. Cord tried to back out without the ranger seeing him, but Salem looked up.

“McDowell,” he yelled. “Come on in. I need to talk to you.”

Cord didn’t bother taking off his hat as he stepped a few feet into the room. He didn’t like being this close to Salem. He didn’t trust him, even if he was a Texas Ranger. His memories were washed in whiskey from the night they’d first met out by the lake, but Cord didn’t remember going at the man in a wild rage like then-Deputy Travis Salem had testified.