Luke glanced at Megan, her back stiff, her mouth hanging open. He switched off the car radio and pulled onto the shoulder of the road.
Megan turned toward him, her face pale. “Didn’t Louise say the police are considering that the dead person is me? Do the police really think I killed whoever was in the house and set fire to my home? What’s going on?”
“Since you own the house, you would be a person of interest. Until they can identify the body, they’re required to search for you. I don’t think they’re saying you’re a killer. They may not even consider the dead person murdered, but a victim of the fire.”
She dropped her head and kneaded her nape. “What happened yesterday? What have I gotten involved in? My life has always been routine and honestly dull. The most exciting thing that’s occurred this past year is being named the teacher of the year at the Sweetwater City Public Schools.”
“I’d say that’s quite an accomplishment.” He took his SUV out of park and returned to the highway. “I’m not going to stop for sandwiches. It’s best we get to my place and see what else we can find out. I’ll call Chief Franklin and ask him if he needs Shep and me to search for you. Maybe I can get some information about what’s going on.”
“Like where’s my car? In the detached garage or somewhere else in Sweetwater?”
“That’s a good idea.”
As he drove toward his farm, Megan settled back against the seat and closed her eyes. Her physical and emotional trauma would catch up with her soon. Adrenaline would only work for so long. Whatever was going on involved more people than the two thugs and Megan. Who was the dead person in her house? Had the body been there before Megan’s home was set on fire? How could he help her remember how she ended up on the bridge? The past few years, he’d worked with a lot of law enforcement officers, but piecing a case together wasn’t his area of expertise.
He tried calling his younger sister, Liliana, but her phone went to voicemail. He wished she would keep her cell turned on all the time, especially during the workweek. Usually that meant she was riding her mare. He hadn’t wanted to surprise her with his guest.
When he saw the gates to Riverdale Farm twenty-five minutes later, he relaxed his tight grip on the steering wheel and released a long breath. He reached toward the passenger side for the gate opener attached to the backside of the visor.
Megan shot up and looked out the windshield, her hand on her chest over her heart. “You’re home?”
“Yes. Welcome to Riverdale Farm.” He pressed the button and the black wrought-iron gates swung open.
“I must have fallen asleep. I didn’t think I could.” Megan panned the fields as they drove by. “I’m glad we’re here. The first thing I want to do is wash my clothes. I appreciate the use of yours, but I can only imagine how ridiculous I look.”
He assessed her with a sweep of his gaze. Swathed in yards of material, she looked vulnerable, yet with all that had happened in a short time, she’d managed to keep herself together. “Not ridiculous. Miraculous that you’re here.”
“You were in the right place at the right time. God placed you in my path.”
Then why didn’t God help him save his wife? “I’m not so sure He did that.” Luke pulled up to his white antebellum home with its four large columns in front.
“I am. I have a purpose that He still needs me to do.”
The confident expression on her face stunned him. She really believed that. There had been a time when he’d thought that.
“Things happen for a reason. Sometimes we never will know why, but there’s a plan for you if you choose to follow it.”
He harrumphed. “There was a time I would have agreed.” He opened his SUV door. “Let’s go inside. Since it’s near lunch, my sister should be around.”
Megan climbed down with Lady in her arms.
Luke let Shep out of his kennel. His German shepherd started for the pair.
“Heel,” Luke commanded.
His dog turned around and came back to Luke’s side and walked with him as he joined Megan and her dog.
Lady yelped, trying to wiggle from Megan’s arms. She held her more firmly, and her poodle began growling instead of barking. “She thinks she’s protecting me. She can get fierce.”
“Thankfully, Shep can be patient. When we get inside, we’ll let them get acquainted with each other.” Luke started for the verandah, keeping his dog on the opposite side from Megan.
His sister swung the front door open. “I thought you were staying for two days.” Her gaze skipped to Megan then back to him.
“My plans changed. Liliana, this is Megan Witherspoon.”
Megan smiled. “Nice to meet you. Don’t pay attention to Lady. She’ll settle down. She’s a little distraught. My house burned down with her inside.”
“It burned down! Oh, I’m so sorry. Where do you live?”
“Sweetwater City.” Lady shifted between barking and growling. “Maybe she’s more upset than a little.” Megan’s cheeks reddened.
Liliana chuckled. “I love poodles. I used to have one. I know how strong-minded they can be. C’mon inside where it’s cooler, and you can tell me how you two know each other.” She winked at him.
Luke followed his sister and Megan into the large foyer. “Let’s see if we can introduce Lady and Shep first. Put her down on the floor but still have a hold on her. Shep, stay.”
Megan squatted and set Lady on the marble floor. “What’s next?”
“I’m going to bring Shep slowly closer,” he said over Lady’s barking.
As the German shepherd neared the poodle, she stopped yelping and kept her attention on the large dog. Lady occasionally emitted a low growl.
“Release your hold and let’s see what they do.” Luke knelt next to his pet. “Sit.”
Shep did and focused on the small white dog in front of him. He lowered his head and sniffed the air around Lady. She inched closer and smelled Shep’s front paws. Shep licked the top of the poodle’s head.
Luke tensed, and Megan reached for Lady. She slipped from her owner’s grasp and charged Shep, slobbered on his nearest foot, then darted back to Megan. The poodle began barking again, but the tone was different, as though she was playing a game with Shep. His dog plopped down on the floor and stretched out as Lady ran circles around him.
Megan stood, chuckling. “The neighbors across the street have a black Lab, and Lady plays with her all the time. But then there’s another big dog in the park she actually chases away from her.”
“My poodle was called Susie, and she was black. Shep came to live here a few years ago. Susie was fifteen, and he was especially gentle with her as her health began to decline.” Liliana looked around at the duffel bag and backpack that he’d brought inside. “Do you have any belongings, Megan?”
“A wet pair of jeans and a shirt that’s probably dry by now.” She pointed to her feet. “And these damp tennis shoes.”
“Obviously there’s a story behind why you’re wearing Luke’s clothes and yours are wet.”
“I met Megan while she was drowning in the river. I saved her.”
Liliana’s forehead furrowed. “I have a ton of questions, but first thing you should do is change into clothes that actually fit. I think,” Liliana ran her gaze down Megan’s length, “I have clothes that are your size. Why don’t you come upstairs and pick out something to wear? Then I’ll throw a load into the washing machine with your items. I have some sandals that should be your size. I’ll wash your tennis shoes too.”
Megan smiled. “That sounds wonderful. If it wasn’t for my belt, I wouldn’t even be able to wear these sweatpants.”
Liliana mounted the first stair. “Were you there when your house caught on fire?”
“No, I wasn’t there when it happened,” Megan said with a touch of pain as she followed his sister up to the second floor.
“You were at the river?”
“Not exactly the river but the bridge over it.”
Luke started to interrupt Liliana about discussing what happened to Megan then decided that she could determine how much she wanted his sister to know. Liliana knew how to keep a secret. He didn’t want anyone else at Riverdale to know who Megan was or why she was here—not that he thought any of his employees would turn her in. But if just one of them let something slip, that could lead to the people who tried to kill her finding out where she was. He was hoping in the next day or so that Megan would start remembering what occurred yesterday. Maybe in a safe environment, her memory would return.
* * *
In the deserted, darkened corridor, Megan removed her sunglasses as she started toward her classroom. When she rounded the corner, she spotted a large man with dark hair leave the women’s restroom for teachers at the far end of the hall and exit the school building through a door that remained locked during the summer. When she came to ready her class for the coming school year, the north door was the only one kept unlocked during the daytime. She neared the bathroom to enter, partially curious why that man came out of it.
Megan reached out to push the door open. Her hand shook as she touched it. She came to a halt, bringing her arm back to her side. Sweat popped out on her upper lip. She couldn’t move as though frozen to the floor. Her heartbeat echoed through her head.
A yelp penetrated her mind. The pressure of tiny paws on her chest demanded her full attention, drawing her away from the looming metal restroom door.
Her eyes flew open, and she stared at a burgundy canopy above, her mind groggy as if halfway between the world of sleep and wakefulness.
Where am I?
Another bark lanced through her skull, and she rolled her head to the side.
Lady licked Megan’s face then nudged her.
I’m at Luke’s place. The thought calmed her racing heartbeat. Safe.
“Do you need to go outside?”
Her poodle flew off the bed and stood by the closed door, prancing side to side—a sign she couldn’t wait much longer.
Megan hurried, slipping a pair of Liliana’s sandals on as she covered the space between them. “Hold it.”
Out in the corridor, she looked up and down the hall, confused for a few seconds which way to go. She couldn’t forget the fear that had held her immobile before the restroom door. Lady ran to the left, and Megan quickly followed, rounding a corner and spying the staircase. She was glad her dog remembered the way. Luke’s house was huge. As though Lady knew the home well, she charged down the steps and across the large foyer. She paced in front of the double doors that led outside.
Megan didn’t have a leash with her. The thought made her hesitate letting Lady outside, but a series of yaps urged her to move faster. The second there was room, Lady bolted through the narrow opening. She found a patch of green grass near the verandah and relieved herself.
“I’m glad you got some rest,” Luke said in a deep, husky voice coming from the left.
Her breath caught for a few seconds before she remembered to exhale. She turned in his direction.
“You didn’t get any rest?” Luke sat in a white wicker chair in a grouping at the far end of the verandah.
“Am I that obvious?”
“Did something happen? You were so tired when you went upstairs to take a nap, I thought you might sleep for hours.”
After glancing over her shoulder to make sure Lady was still nearby, Megan moved toward him and took a seat with an end table between them. “I had a weird dream. It seemed so real.”
“Maybe it was. What was it about?”
Megan told him about going to the school and seeing a man coming out of the women’s restroom. “I couldn’t make myself open the door. I wanted to go in, but fear paralyzed me. Then I woke up. Do you think it could have something to do with my kidnapping?”
“Did you recognize who the man was?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t see his face.”
“How did you know it was a man?”
“Well…I don’t know. Maybe it was his build and the way he walked.” She shrugged. “It was probably nothing.”
“Or your subconscious is trying to tell you something, possibly about yesterday.”
“And I’m blocking it?”
“Maybe. Let’s see what the local news says this evening. You went through a traumatic incident, and your mind is trying to protect you by keeping you in the dark.”
She smiled. “You sound like a therapist.”
He scrunched his forehead, and his eyes clouded as though he was remembering something in the past. “I had one tell me that once.”
“Did you eventually remember?” She wanted to ask him what happened, but she didn’t want to pry.
He stared at the front yard. “Yes, when I was better able to deal with it.”
The sadness in his expression made her wonder if he had really dealt with it, but it wasn’t her place to ask. She wished she could help him. He’d certainly been there for her when she needed it. “But I have to remember now, or I’ll never feel safe.”
“You’re not alone.”
The intensity in his eyes gave her a feeling of security. Thank You, Lord, for sending him to rescue me.
Lady’s high-pitched yelps filled the air. She swiveled her attention in the direction of the sound and stood as her poodle charged Shep, who was lying on the grass.
“They’re all right. I’ve been watching them. They’re playing.”
Lady jumped over Shep’s back then ran around the German shepherd several times, barking the whole time as though challenging the bigger dog to get her. Instead, Shep rolled over, his tail wagging.
“He has the patience of Job.” Megan took a seat again.
“Yes, and he’s teaching me the importance of it.”
“My students do that every year.”
“What grade do you teach?”
“Third, for the last few years.” She panned the landscape of gently rolling hills and pastures full of horses. “Your farm is beautiful.”
“Would you like a tour?”
“Yes, but what about your employees seeing me? They might recognize me from the news?”
He frowned. “Surely we can come up with something to disguise you as a precaution.”
“Great! Will I get to see Lightning Bolt?”
“I think I can manage it.” Luke rose. “Let’s round up the dogs then go see what Liliana has that you can use.”
“I thought she was going to the stables.” Megan pushed to her feet.
“That’s right. She won’t mind. I know just what I’m looking for.” He whistled. “Come, Shep.”
The German shepherd jumped up and made a beeline for Luke, and Lady followed the big dog.
Fifteen minutes later, Megan stood before a mirror in the entry hall, staring at the image of her as a light brunette with red highlights and a mop of long curls. She’d never worn a wig before. When she slipped on a pair of large, dark sunglasses, she didn’t even recognize herself. She turned toward Luke. “How do I look?”
He chuckled. “That can be a loaded question for a man. The disguise is good. Where’s Lady?”
“I left her in my room. I don’t have her leash, and I certainly don’t want to see her challenge a horse. It might not be as accommodating as Shep.”
“True. We have some temperamental Thoroughbreds. But I will say, Lightning Bolt loves Shep.”
“That’s because he knows how to behave. Lady doesn’t.”
Luke held the front door open for Megan, and she exited first. The sun, heading for the western horizon, looked as though it was floating on top of a grove of tall trees near one of the Riverdale’s stables, their destination.
“We’ll need to be back for the local news. I wonder if the authorities have figured out the dead body at my house isn’t me. Maybe they already have, and that’s why I’m a person of interest?”
“That’s a possibility. I have a good friend who’s part of the state police. I thought I’d call him later and see what I can find out about the case.”
“What about Chief Franklin?”
“Let’s see what Clay tells me. After seeing your burned down house and learning there was a dead body in it, my gut tells me to be cautious with whom we trust. Remember when I first mentioned contacting the police chief, you didn’t want me to.”
“But I don’t know why I didn’t. Maybe I was just panicking. I know who Chief Franklin is, but I don’t know him other than casually. I keep trying to remember yesterday, but I get nothing—other than that dream I told you about. I don’t even remember going by the school as one of my errands.”
“Tell you what. For the next hour while I give you the grand tour, let’s not talk about what happened to you. Sometimes when you try too hard, your mind shuts down. No pressure here. It’ll come to you when you’re ready.”
“That’s just it. I am ready. I want this behind me. I want my normal, rather dull life back.”
A few feet from the entrance into the stable, Luke stopped. “It’s good to know you don’t normally live all the time on the edge with men wanting to kill you.” He swept his arm across his body. “After you, Meg—what name should I call you, so people don’t suspect?”
“Kate. Kathleen is my middle name, but few people know that.”
“Okay. Kate it is then.”
Liliana led a beautiful, large dark brown Thoroughbred from a stall.
Megan came to a halt a few steps inside the stable. “That’s Lightning Bolt! I saw him win the Triple Crown three lengths ahead of the second-place horse.”
He leaned close to her. “Don’t tell anyone, but I forgot to breathe when he ran that home stretch.”
His nearness sent Megan’s heartbeat racing. She was glad Luke was on her side. He gave her a sense of security, and he certainly wasn’t bad looking. He carried himself with confidence, but there was no arrogance in his bearing.
Liliana walked the champion horse in their direction. She paused near Megan, a twinkle dancing in her eyes. “You look better in that wig than I ever did. I bought it when I thought I wanted my hair to be auburn, leaning more toward the redhead side. After wearing it for a few weeks, I decided I liked how I am.”
Luke’s sister had the same dark brown, almost black, hair he did. In fact, the two looked a lot alike, especially in the gray color of their eyes and dark, long eyelashes.
“It was a shock when I put it on, but it does change my appearance, so hopefully, no one recognizes me,” Megan said.
“I heard you wanted to see Lightning Bolt. I was on my way to let him lose in his paddock.” Liliana shifted her attention to Luke. “The farrier changed his shoes.”
“That ought to keep him for a while.” Luke took the reins from Liliana. “We’ll take him to his pasture.”
“Thanks. I don’t want to be late for my date.”
Luke raised his eyebrows. “Date? This is the first I’ve heard about you dating anyone.”
Liliana settled her fists on her waist. “You may be my big brother, but you are not my keeper.”
He laughed. “I know how to rile you. You’re a grown woman and can certainly choose your own date, but I can still check out the guy when he comes to pick you up. We’re a small family.”
“Not this time. I’m meeting him in Lexington at the horse sale at Keeneland.”
“Who is he?”
“Our vet, and it really isn’t an official date. I just wanted to see your reaction.”
Megan enjoyed the teasing exchange between Luke and his sister. She’d lost her sister so long ago, she’d forgotten what it was like.
“Bye, y’all.” Liliana headed for the exit, stopped, and twisted around. “When I was putting the load of wash in earlier, I found a ring with two keys on it. They were in your jeans’ pocket. I left it on the table in the laundry room.”
Keys? To what? The school and her classroom? When she saw them, she should know—she hoped. “Thanks. I’ll get them later.”
Megan slowly placed her hand on Lightning Bolt’s neck and stroked the big, dark brown stud. When she stopped patting the stallion, he looked back at her and nudged her arm.
“He likes you. You found the special spot he enjoys being rubbed.”
“He’s a beauty.”
“Shh.” Luke grinned and winked. “Don’t let him hear you. He’s all male. I don’t want him thinking otherwise.”
“Then he’s handsome. Is that better?”
“Much better.” Chuckling, Luke walked toward the rear exit, passing and nodding to an employee in a stall.
“Who’s he?” Megan asked when they stepped outside.
“My foreman, Malcom Wright. He worked for my dad, and I was thrilled when he said he would stay on when my parents turned over the farm to Liliana and me. His presence allows me to leave when Shep and I are needed for a search and rescue.” Not far from the stable, Luke opened a gate to a field and released Lightning Bolt.
As the stallion trotted off, Megan scanned the other paddocks. “Are all of these for stallions?”
“Yes. Most of these horses are part of my stable, but there are a few that are boarded here. I have another barn where I keep my horses that are still racing. Slowly I’m changing over totally to a stud farm.”
Megan gestured toward a big red stallion in the field next to Lightning Bolt. “Who’s that?”
“Red Clover. He’s been retired for years and his lineage has proven to be excellent. His son won the Kentucky Derby this year.”
Megan covered the distance to another paddock where a white horse loped along the perimeter. “He’s—handsome. What’s his name?” She leaned against the wooden slats, painted black as all the fences were at Riverdale Farm.
“Snow Storm.” The stallion stopped, looked at them, then turned in their direction and charged forward. Luke clasped her shoulder and pulled her back. “He’s temperamental and a loner.”
Snow Storm veered off to the right. Megan watched him, her heart thumping against her ribcage. When she turned toward Luke, she caught sight of a vehicle coming toward the stable—a sheriff’s car. Her pulse raced, and sweat beaded her forehead.