Cowboy Who Came For Christmas (Harlequin Romance) (22 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

S
OPHIA
COULDN
’
T
STOP
staring out the window toward the back hills of Crescent Mountain. She wanted to run after Adan and help him or maybe protect him. Not that the man needed protecting.

“I hope they’ve found Arnie by now,” she said to Bettye.

Bettye sat at her small kitchen table with a cup of hot tea in her hand, her gaze moving from Sophia to where Melissa and Sean sat tapping away on their smartphones. Jacob was outside patrolling around the cabin. He checked in every ten minutes so they wouldn’t worry about him.

“They know what they’re doing, honey,” Bettye finally said. “Maggie is an outdoorswoman. She’ll take them right to Arnie.”

Sophia’s heart did a little lurch each time she remembered Maggie’s harsh words to her. She’d become too complacent here in this safe environment. Too complacent and too dependent on the help of her hapless neighbors. Somehow, she’d managed to forget the things she’d hidden away here on this mountain.

She glanced over at Bettye again. “It shouldn’t have gone this far.”

Bettye didn’t respond, so Sophia gave up on staring into the dark, grabbed her rifle and came to sit down across from her. “Maggie’s right. I am to blame for this.”

Bettye seemed distracted, her gaze switching back to Melissa. When she didn’t offer any sage advice, Sophia became alarmed. “Bettye, are you all right?”

Bettye gave Sophia a blank stare, her old eyes dark with worry. After checking on Melissa again, she said, “I did something really bad, honey.”

“What?” Sophia couldn’t imagine Bettye ever doing anything bad. She was the moral compass for everyone on this mountain.

Bettye leaned close and whispered, “I got a hold of Melissa’s phone and...scrolled through her private information.”

Sophia absorbed that tidbit without too much shock. “That’s not that horrible. You have reason to check up on her. She’s a runaway, after all.”

Bettye shook her head. “From what I was able to read before she came out of the bathroom this morning, she just turned eighteen and she’s aged out of the foster care program.”

“How do you know that?” Sophia asked on a low whisper.

“I read some of her emails—mostly to him.” She sent a covert glance toward the sofa. “She went on and on about finally being able to get away from her mean aunt, about how being eighteen would change her life.” Bettye shrugged. “She wants to be free to roam the world with...our Romeo over there.”

“So she’s legal,” Sophia said. “That’s a relief at least.”

Bettye didn’t say anything but when she started twirling her shimmering gray braid, Sophia saw the frown on her face. And she saw disappointment, too.

“What’s wrong?” Sophia asked, her hand on Bettye’s arm.

“I’ve been here a mite over fifteen years,” Bettye replied. “My daughter had her baby a year before that. There’s no way that young girl can be my granddaughter if she’s really eighteen. She’s two years older than my granddaughter would be.”

Sophia glanced to where Melissa sat with her legs curled over Sean’s lap. He leaned over the girl, whispering and snickering, his hand on her hair. “Oh, I think she’s your granddaughter all right,” she said to Bettye. “But it could be that she’s lying about her age. She and Sean must have cooked up a way for her to get a fake ID before she came here and that’s what they were talking about in their emails.”

Bettye let out a gasp, but the two kids didn’t even look up. “So that means she did leave the foster care program...or the mean aunt...or both?”

“I think so,” Sophia replied. “I kind of know how the system works and...if you know the right people, it’s easy to get a fake ID and just leave. But it’s still considered running away. Her aunt could have applied to be her legal guardian, for all we know. Happens more than people realize.” She patted Bettye’s hand. “She might be using a fake name, too. She could have found your granddaughter’s name in a file, or maybe she even knew your real granddaughter.”

Bettye’s brown eyes grew misty. “I want to find out the truth. I had my daughter a little later in life than most and...she was the love of my life. I wanted so much for her, but when she got pregnant at such a young age, all of
my
dreams went out the window. I never considered
her
dreams. I failed my only child and lost my husband because of it. I don’t want to lose my granddaughter, too.”

Sophia wished for a mother like Bettye. She wondered how Bettye’s husband could have left her and considered there might be more to the story there, too. Bettye’s life had fallen apart like so many of the others. Just like her own, Sophia thought.

Right now, the distraction of what Bettye had found was front and center in her mind. “Then we need to pin her down and get the truth out of her. If she can prove you’re her grandmother, then you should be able to petition to become her guardian. That is, if she wants to stay here with you.”

“I want her to so bad,” Bettye said, wiping at her eyes. “I need a second chance. But what if she runs away again?”

Sophia didn’t know how to answer that except to be honest. “We can’t stop her if she does leave, but getting everything out in the open is the only way to deal with this. Adan gave us a few days before he reports her, but he’s already got one crisis to handle. We don’t need another one.”

“Can I wait a while longer?” Bettye asked. “She seems to like it here.”

Sophia glanced toward the young couple on the couch. “She and Sean seem to be infatuated with each other right now, so she might leave with him no matter how much she loves you. You need to be prepared for that. This could just be a stopping-off place for her.”

Bettye nodded and wiped at her eyes again. “Let’s see what happens with Maggie and Arnie and then I’ll talk to her later.”

Sophia nodded. Then they heard sirens coming up the curve in the road. “They’re here,” she said, jumping up to go out onto the front porch.

Bettye followed and together they watched as Jacob told the first responders how to find the footpath down to the stream.

“I hope Arnie’s okay,” Bettye said on a hopeful breath.

“So do I,” Sophia replied. If Arnie Burton had died from that fall, she’d certainly be the one to blame.

* * *

A
DAN
STARED
DOWN
into the shadows below. The ravine wasn’t too deep, thankfully. Arnie had fallen into what looked like a copse of mountain laurels and shrub brush. But with the dry winter branches and limbs, the fall would have done some damage.

David got down on his belly and held his flashlight straight into the bushes below. “Arnie? You there, buddy? Can you hear me?”

Adan watched as Maggie leaned over and stared down. “Arnie?” she called, her tone low and gravelly. Did she expect her husband to respond, or did she fear he was dead?

When a low moan echoed up to them, David grinned and slid back to sit up. “He’s alive.”

Adan ventured a glance toward where Maggie still stood. She didn’t say a word for a full moment. Then she called again, “Arnie? Help is coming. Hear those sirens? You hang on now.”

Adan knew a good bluff when he saw one. She seemed more surprised to find her husband alive than dead. And her voice was shaky, but it sounded a lot more like fear than the relief a wife would exhibit at hearing her husband’s moans.

What had happened on this path today?

* * *

T
HE
PARAMEDIC
TEAM
headed down the mountain with whatever equipment they’d need to bring Arnie up out of the ravine. The ambulance sat with lights flashing behind Bettye’s cabin, a constant reminder of the urgency of the situation.

Jacob went back to keeping watch while Bettye piddled in the kitchen, her gaze returning to Melissa and Sean over and over.

Sophia went into the tiny living area and sat down across from Melissa and her boyfriend. “You two hungry?”

Melissa shook her head, a steady frown creasing her porcelain face. “I’m not hungry. We just had chili.”

“I guess pizza delivery is out,” Sean interjected with a shrug.

“No pizza delivery here,” Sophia retorted. “But there might be some homemade pizzas in the freezer. Bettye makes up a batch every time we bring in supplies.”

Melissa’s face lit up. “Granny makes pizza from scratch?”

Grasping at a way to make conversation, Sophia nodded. “We all do. We have a pizza day where we make sauce from fresh tomatoes and herbs and we put it in jars and preserve it for winter days like this one. Then we just buy the cheese and any other toppings we want and whenever we get a chance, we make our dough and start preparing the pizzas to cook. We put the toppings on and cook them and let them cool. Then we eat some and freeze the rest.”

“Is that even possible?” Sean asked with a hint of disdain.

Melissa gave him an eye roll. “She just told you how it’s done. Don’t you believe her?”

A trace of anger glinted in the boy’s eyes before he laughed. “Yeah, just, this place is straight out of a slasher movie or something.”

Sophia saw Melissa’s hurt expression. So there might be some trouble in paradise after all.

“How did you two meet?” she asked in a casual tone.

Sean gave Melissa a quick glance. “Uh...at a coffee shop in Hot Springs.”

“I had a part-time job there,” Melissa replied, her tone nervous. “He was a regular customer.”

“And I worked at the bar, the restaurant not far from there,” Sean added.

Old enough to work at a bar. That concerned Sophia. Melissa might be on the cusp of being an adult, but even at sixteen or so, she was still underage. And Sean obviously knew that.

“So...you started dating?”

Sean gave Sophia an impatient shrug while Melissa looked around the room. “Where’s Mr. Jacob?”

“Okay, I get it,” Sophia replied. “I’m being too nosy.” She motioned toward where Bettye stood peeling apples for a pie. “But if you two are hiding anything from your grandmother, you might reconsider and come clean now. She’s willing to let you stay here, but sooner or later Adan—that big Texas Ranger you met earlier, Sean—will want to alert the authorities and let the proper people know you’re okay.” She gave Melissa an encouraging smile. “You can trust your grandmother, and you can trust me, too.”

Melissa’s eyes misted over, but Sean gave Sophia a cold, harsh stare. “We’ll keep that in mind,” he said to Sophia.

Sophia planted a serene smile on her face and stared him down. “I was talking to Melissa, since that will be her decision to make.”

Melissa looked surprised, but she gave Sophia a grateful smile, at least. Sophia waited for the girl to say something but Melissa stayed quiet, her gaze downcast. Sean lifted the girl’s chin and whispered something in her ear. Then he laughed.

But to Sophia, it sounded more like a smirk.

* * *

W
HILE
THE
PARAMEDICS
worked on getting Arnie up with a pulley and a stretcher, Adan tried to get Maggie to talk to him.

“Did you really see Joe Pritchard?” he asked her when they were out of hearing of the others.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her tone lifting, her back to the people trying to save her husband. “You’ve doubted me all night, Ranger Harrison. It’s insulting.”

“You’ve been acting strange since you came running to report Arnie’s fall,” Adan countered. “It’s confusing.”

“Now you’re just messing with my head,” she replied before taking off toward the ravine. “I need to see what’s going on down there.”

Adan followed her, his instincts telling him something was off. Maybe something had been off with these two all along, since they stayed apart from the others and seemed to like to hike at the oddest times.

He’d missed it, obviously, but that didn’t surprise Adan. Since he’d arrived here, he’d been preoccupied with getting his man and getting home. But the added distraction of a pretty, intriguing woman who just happened to be the ex-wife of his suspect had certainly thrown Adan off kilter.

Tonight, he was back on high alert and back on the mission.

Starting with Maggie Burton’s odd behavior.

“Tell me again where Pritchard assaulted you two,” he said to Maggie’s back.

She let out a sigh and waved her left hand toward the gurgling stream. “Somewhere down there.”

“In the same spot where y’all camp a lot?”

“Yes, nearby.”

“And he held you both at gunpoint and started back up toward the cabins with you.”

“I told you that, yes.”

“What was he wearing?”

She whirled then, panic twisting in the shadows on her face. “I don’t remember.”

“A hat? A beard? Boots or sneakers? Jeans and a jacket?”

“What does that matter? He terrorized us both and then when we were almost home, Arnie played the hero and they struggled.”

Adan let her finish then said, “So it took you a while to get from the campsite back to this spot.”

Maggie’s eyes widened. Adan saw a lot in the halo of moonlight that played over her face. “Yes. We kept stopping. I think Arnie was trying to figure out a way to overtake him.”

“You mean, to stop Pritchard from forcing y’all back to the cabins. Back to Sophia.”

“Yes. Yes, that’s it. Arnie’s always had a soft spot for Sophia.”

A break in her armor at last. “Did that bother you?”

“No!” She whirled and put her hands to her face. “That was the least of our problems.”

“I see.”

She twisted back around, shock at her own confession causing her to grasp for words. “You don’t understand at all. Joe Pritchard pushed my husband off the side of this mountain and all you want to do is protect Sophia. It’s her fault that terrible man came here. And it’s her fault that Arnie and I had a fight today.”

“What do you mean?” Adan asked. “Maggie?”

But before Maggie could answer, David called out. “Adan, Maggie, they’re bringing him up. Hurry on over here.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“I
DON
’
T
THINK
Sean appreciated my conversation with Melissa and him,” Sophia whispered to Bettye while they cut dough for the pie crust.

“Do we care what he thinks?” Bettye replied on a wry smile.

“No. I only care about her and the truth,” Sophia said. “I think she’s about ready to talk.” She eyed the two on the couch. “I’m sorry, Bettye. I’m really doing this for you.
You
need to know the truth.”

“I agree.” Bettye patted butter over the freshly peeled apple slices in the deep-dish pie plate then sprinkled sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over them. “I want to know if she truly is my kin and if I can keep her here with me.”

“We’ll get to the truth,” Sophia said, glad for the distraction. “I’ve cracked worse targets than these two.”

They hadn’t heard anything from the first responders or Adan in over an hour. Jacob had checked in, mostly because he smelled apples and spices and wanted to see if there was a pie being assembled in the kitchen, even at this late hour.

Karen was back and forth, checking on them and watching for her husband and Adan, worry evident on her face since David had already had an eventful week. She refused to stay here and insisted she needed to be out there in case they needed her. Jacob was watching out for her, too.

Sophia glanced over at Melissa and Sean. They were watching an old movie on the ancient DVD player connected to the even more ancient television set. Sean had already complained rather loudly that this movie was boring.

Melissa seemed to get more aggravated at him with each complaint.

Sophia decided to make a move. “Hey, Melissa, could you give me a hand over here?”

The girl glanced around and almost looked relieved. But when Sean placed his hand around her neck and tried to keep her by his side, she tugged away and glared at him.

“I’m coming,” she said, giving her boyfriend a warning glance.

“Hurry back, babe,” he called, his head lobbing back against the old couch as if he was in agony. “I don’t like being alone, you know.”

He would be alone and in a lot of agony if he hurt Melissa, Sophia decided.

“What do you need?” Melissa asked, her kohl-lined eyes looking like a dramatic clown’s.

Bettye didn’t waste any time. “We need to know if you’re only sixteen and if you’re really my granddaughter,” she said into Melissa’s ear.

“What are you talking about?” Melissa said, her voice rising. “Of course I’m your granddaughter. And I just turned sixteen.” She looked completely guilty since she’d left out the part about possibly having a fake ID. “How can you not believe me? You said I looked just like my mama.”

“You do,” Bettye replied. “You do. Just had to be sure.”

“I can prove it,” Melissa said. “I have my birth certificate.”

“Now she tells us.” Bettye shrugged. “I guess I should have demanded that proof from the beginning.” She crimped the bottom of the pie crust and went about cutting strips for the top crust. “Now, did you escape to here with a fake ID?”

“How did you know that?” Melissa didn’t even bother to keep her voice down. When she realized she’d confirmed their suspicions, she lowered her voice again. “Did you go through my things?”

“Shh,” Sophia said, a hand on Melissa’s arm. “We’re worried that Sean might be too old for you since he said he worked in a bar.”

“And since he seems too stupid for words,” Bettye said on a practical huff.

Melissa glanced back to make sure he hadn’t heard. “Granny! You don’t even know him. He’s sweet and he’s good to me.” The girl watched as her grandmother finished making the pie. “I mean, he was when I first met him.”

Sophia heard the echo of her own excuses in those words. If she could save this girl from what she’d gone through, she might be able to find some redemption.

“I’m sorry,” Bettye said. She spread strips of pie dough across the apples to form a lattice. “I don’t like him. His hair is too long and his eyes are shifty.”

“Did you talk like this to my mother?” Melissa asked, tears in her eyes. “Is that why she ran away?”

Bettye stopped her busy work and stared at Melissa. “Probably,” she said. “But I loved her all the same. Same as you, if you’re even my granddaughter.” Bettye’s eyes watered but she took a deep breath. “I think I’d love you even if you ain’t my granddaughter.”

Melissa looked properly chastised but she didn’t confirm anything else. “Can we talk about this later?”

“Now’s a good time for me,” Bettye retorted. She opened the oven door and shoved her masterpiece inside. Then she turned and put her hands on Melissa’s arms. “I want you to stay here where you’re safe. If you level with me, we can make that happen.”

Melissa didn’t speak for a moment but a single tear fell down her left cheek. “I hope I can stay, Granny. Sean wants me to leave with him, but that’s not how we planned this.”

“Then tell us what the plan is—now,” Sophia said.

But before Melissa could come clean, the back door burst open and Karen rushed in and shut it behind her. “Jacob’s missing. I came out to give him some coffee and he wasn’t there. I can’t find him anywhere.”

* * *

A
DAN
WATCHED
M
AGGIE
for any reactions to her husband being found alive. She paced back and forth, waiting for the paramedics to bring Arnie up from the treacherous ledge, her hands constantly shoving through her hair, her face ashen and her expression anxious. Since it was a slow process, her pacing became more frantic with each minute that ticked by. Was she worried about her husband or worried about what he would say?

Adan approached her again. “I’ll give you one last chance to tell me the truth, Maggie,” he said. “Once your husband is taken to the hospital, he should hopefully be able to fill in the blanks for me himself. You can end this right now and let me get on with my job.”

Maggie stopped pacing and pushed a hand through her dark hair. “I... I don’t want to talk to you. I’m worried about Arnie.”

“Did Pritchard really push him?”

She held three fingers over her mouth as if to stop herself from saying anything else. “It happened so fast.”

“What? The fight between Arnie and Pritchard? Or the fight you had with your husband?”

That comment tugged her around in an angry whirl. “What are you talking about? Arnie and I didn’t have a fight.”

“But you said he had a soft spot for Sophia and you told me that she was the reason you two got in a fight today.”

Maggie let out a gasp. “I don’t know anymore. I just want Arnie to be okay.”

Adan wasn’t satisfied. He doubted all over again that Joe Pritchard had been anywhere near this area of the mountain today. In fact, he was pretty sure Pritchard had moved on by now. He was a wanted man and he was on the run. Why would he risk lurking about here when he could go into hiding and come back later?

Adan again wondered if one of Sophia’s so-called friends was helping Pritchard. With a massive manhunt now activated and more and more questions about this whole thing, Adan wondered how he didn’t have an even worse headache to go along with the throbbing pain in his injured shoulder.

And he wondered if Sophia was all right.

* * *

“W
E
HAVE
TO
find Jacob,” Bettye said on a raw plea. When she slumped against the counter, Melissa gathered her close.

“I’m so sorry, Granny. So sorry.”

Sophia didn’t have time to question that apology.

“Y’all turn around slowly now,” Sean said in a long, smug drawl.

Karen and Sophia whirled to stare at the young man holding a handgun on them. Bettye gasped again and clutched Melissa’s jacket. “I knew he was no good.”

Sophia’s gaze hit on Melissa’s ruddy blush. “What have you done?”

The girl burst into tears. “I didn’t want to do it. They made me. They both made me.”

Sean advanced toward the women. “Shut up, Melissa.”

Bettye raised herself to her full five feet height, her eyes piercing. “Do not tell my granddaughter to shut up, young man.”

Bandit growled and stood up to stare at Sean. Bettye called the old dog to her side and ordered Bandit to sit.

Sean laughed and waved his gun. “This place is like something out of a bad movie, dude. But hey, if we can just find that cash—”

“What cash?” Sophia asked, her mind roiling with the implications of that statement. “What do you want?”

Sean rolled his eyes and reached for Melissa. “C’mon, baby. Help me out here. We get the cash and we get off this creepy mountain. Remember?”

Melissa’s sobbing echoed out over the room. “I can’t do it, Sean. I love my grandmother and I won’t do this to her.”

Sean leaned in and pointed the gun toward Sophia. “We ain’t doing it to your granny, babe.” He shot Sophia a nasty glare. “We’re doing it to her—for leaving my daddy there to take the rap.”

Sophia gulped in air, a dizzy horror causing her to feel weak at the knees. “What are you talking about?”

Sean brought the gun to her stomach and yanked her by the arm. “Don’t play dumb with me, lady. My daddy told me all about what you did to him. Helped him rob a drug dealer’s house and then tried to kill him, left him for dead and took off with his car and his money. He’s here on this mountain and he’s gonna kill you for what you did.”

Sophia tried to get away, but Sean’s grip was strong. She knew how to defend herself, but she couldn’t leave her friends.

“You’re Joe’s son?” she asked to stall, her stomach clinching at the thought of this slime bag touching Melissa.

Sean nodded. “Yeah, that’s right, sweetcakes. Guess the old man neglected to tell you he’d been married before. Left us just like he always leaves everybody.”

Sophia let the shock of this new revelation roll off her shoulders. She had to keep him talking until she could figure out what to do next. “So how did you find him? I mean, he’s a wanted man and...you came here looking for him, right?”

Sean’s angry expression reminded her of Joe. She could see it there in his cruel frown. “He’d call me now and then and...sometimes send my mom money. Told me he was gonna find you ’cause you’d double-crossed him.”

Bettye held tight to Melissa. “If you belong to that man, you won’t touch my granddaughter again.”

Sophia sent Bettye a warning glance then looked up at Sean. “So...he told you he was coming here?”

Sean laughed and pushed the gun into her ribs. “No, stupid. He never said stuff like that. But he did tell me that if I’d help him out, he’d make sure I got some cash.”

Melissa started crying all over again. “They both found me at the truck stop. Sean promised he’d come and get me after...after his daddy had taken care of his business.”

Sophia didn’t know who to believe. “But you told us Joe brought you here.”

“He did,” Sean interjected. “He brought her with him and I followed. But she’s too dumb to do what she’s told.”

Melissa’s hurt expression told Sophia the girl had been played big-time. “What did they promise you?”

Melissa held onto Bettye, her dark eyes full of tears. “I don’t know. I just wanted to see my grandmother, but they cornered me at the truck stop and convinced me I’d be helping them capture a wanted criminal. They said you’d stolen a car and their money. Said if I pretended to be Sean’s girlfriend I’d get a cut.” She gave Bettye an apologetic glance. “I only wanted some extra cash to help out around here, Granny. I thought it was their money.”

“My money,” Sophia said. “Your dad made me give him the money I’d saved up.” She faced Bettye and finally blurted out the secret she’d held for so long. “I didn’t know about the drug money until...until I found it in the car—after I got here. I left it there, Bettye. I left it and I haven’t touched it.”

“I believe you,” Bettye said. “I believe you.”

“And you took it from him,” Sean said, tugging her arm around. “Now enough small talk, ladies. My daddy is waiting for you. We can’t find that car or that money. But you’re gonna take us right to it.”

“No,” Sophia said. “No, I won’t do that.”

Sean glanced at Melissa. “You will. My dad’s on his way here to make sure you do.”

Sophia couldn’t believe this. “Did your dad push my friend down at that ravine today?”

Sean looked confused. “Don’t know what you mean.”

“The Burtons,” Bettye said. “Arnie? Did your daddy hurt Arnie Burton?”

Sean shook his head. “My dad has been hiding in the woods in an old shack for days. I’ve been taking him food and blankets. We tried to find the car while Melissa was supposed to keep y’all busy, but no luck yet.”

He nudged Sophia closer. “I don’t know any Burtons. But I can vouch for my old man. He’s got that old geezer Jacob out of the way and he’s been waiting for me to signal that I have you. He should be here any minute and then you and he are going for a long walk in the woods.” He grinned over at Melissa. “While I stay here with the other ladies.”