Melissa was excited at first when Miles suggested they go into town to do some shopping, but as they got back into his SUV and headed off the ranch, panic filled her.
“Are you sure this is safe?” she asked.
The other marshals had gone to such lengths to make sure she didn’t see or talk to anyone and here was Miles parading her around town.
“We’ll be fine,” he told her. “No one in Courtland is looking for you. As far as anyone is concerned, you’re my wife. It would be more suspicious if I hid you away.”
“What about video cameras? Won’t the store have those? Street cameras? If there’s a leak in the marshals office, won’t they have access to those feeds?”
He flashed her an incredulous look at her mention of the leak. She wasn’t supposed to know about that.
“I could tell the breaches in my security weren’t usual, and I saw your boss’s concern. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out there must be a leak in your office.”
“I trust my fellow marshals with my life, but you are right. This is an unusual situation. You don’t need to worry. I’ll keep you and Dylan safe while Griffin searches for the leak.” He gave a small chuckle and grinned at her. “And to your question about the cameras, this is Courtland County. We’re a little behind the times down here. There are no street cameras and the security feeds at any store or restaurant in town won’t be sophisticated enough for effective facial recognition.” He reached across the seat and squeezed her hand. “Trust me, Melissa. I know this town like the back of my hand. You’re safe here.”
She leaned back in her seat and tried to calm down. She wanted to believe him, and she liked that he hadn’t tried to hide the issue with someone in his office giving away her locations. With all the lying they were doing, his honesty was refreshing. So far, she liked being here. She liked Miles’s family, too. She’d never had a big family with lots of brothers and sisters or aunts and uncles, but she’d always secretly wanted it, even if she’d never said anything, not wanting to make her mother feel bad. It had always just been her and her mom. Even when she’d married Vick, he’d been an only child whose parents had died when he was twelve. After that, he’d been raised in group homes until he aged out of foster care. She enjoyed being surrounded by people who seemed to care about one another, and she didn’t quite understand how Miles could keep them at a distance the way he did. Sure, she understood about the importance of his job and the need for secrecy, but did he not understand how blessed he was to come from such a large, loving family?
He pulled up in front of a building with a sign that read Miss Robbie’s General Store. She got out while Miles took Dylan from his car seat and held his hand as they walked inside. She liked the way this full-grown man looked beside her little boy. But even better than the visual was the attention he paid to Dylan. It warmed her heart and told her everything she might ever need to know about Miles Avery. He was a good man with a good heart, and she was thankful he’d been the one assigned to protect them.
Together, Miles and Dylan held open the door for her. “Ladies first,” Miles said then Dylan parroted his words in his three-year-old pronunciation.
“Wadies furst.”
She bent and kissed Dylan’s nose before walking inside.
They were greeted by a pretty woman with dark hair and a big smile. “Miles, hi!” She walked around the counter and gave him a hug, which he returned stiffly.
“Hi, Ellie.” He turned to Melissa. “Ellie Mansfield, this is Melissa Avery.”
Ellie gave her a confused look. “Avery?”
“My wife.”
Ellie frowned a bit as that information sank in, but then she smiled and pulled Miles in for another hug. “Well, congratulations, you two.” She turned to Melissa. “I can’t believe Miles finally settled down. You know, we used to date when we were in high school.”
He looked uncomfortable, then interjected, “Yes, well, that was a long time ago.”
“Yes, it was.”
“I didn’t know you were back in town. Last I’d heard, you got married and moved away.”
She grimaced. “Your information is out of date. We’re divorced. I stayed with my aunt in Dallas for a while then moved back to town a few weeks ago.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about the divorce.”
She shrugged. “I guess that’s life. Now, what can I help you two find today?”
“We’re just here to do some shopping. I think we can find what we need on our own.” He glanced at Melissa. “Right?”
“Right.”
As Ellie returned to the counter, Melissa checked out the store. It was a hodgepodge of merchandise ranging from clothing to groceries to farm accessories. At the far end was a small diner with a counter and tables and chairs. Miles led them toward the clothing and instructed her to pick out whatever she needed.
“How are we going to pay for this?” The marshals had taken her credit and bank cards from her and although they’d promised her funds would eventually come through once they’d been scrubbed through their system and deposited under her new identity, she still didn’t have access to them.
“I’ve got it taken care of,” he insisted. “Whatever you need.”
“I can’t let you spend your own money on me,” she told him and he shushed her by placing his finger over her lips, then leaned in to whisper to her.
“Why wouldn’t I spend my own money on my wife? It would look odd if I didn’t, wouldn’t it?”
She conceded, though she was silently intent on repaying him once her money came through. She picked out two pairs of jeans and two tops, along with some other necessities, then caught up with Miles, who had Dylan sitting on the checkout counter along with several tiny cowboy outfits, a pair of kids’ boots and a cowboy hat.
Despite how cute he looked in the cowboy hat, she quickly protested. “He doesn’t need all this stuff.”
“He doesn’t not need it, either. I’m just having a little fun. Besides, he loves it, don’t you, buddy?”
Dylan lit up with a smile and nodded. “Don’t I look pretty, Mama?”
Despite the pang of guilt at how much this was costing Miles, she couldn’t resist, realizing how much her little boy had been through in the past weeks. If a new hat made him happy, she wasn’t going to disappoint him. “Thank you,” she whispered, sidling up beside Miles.
“You’re welcome.” He turned to the woman at the checkout. “Ellie, would you ring us up? Then I think we’re going to grab a burger while we’re here.”
He slung Dylan over his shoulder as the boy giggled and waved to her. She waved back and watched them. This was the most fun her baby boy had had in weeks and she was thankful for this man who’d come into their lives and saw them as more than just a job.
“He’s a cutie,” Ellie told her as she leaned across the counter.
“Thank you.”
“And Miles is so good with him. He’s going to make a great daddy to your little boy.”
Melissa stood and stared at her, shock making her unable to speak. She knew Ellie was just responding to what she’d been told about their relationship, but her words made Melissa realize for the first time just how taken Dylan had become with the handsome US Marshal. She had to watch out that they didn’t become too close to him, because the connection couldn’t last. Once the men after her were captured, they would be moving on to a new location and a new life. No matter how attentive he was, or how safe she felt with him, she had to remember that Miles was only doing his job—and before long, that job would end. He wasn’t in their lives to stay.
She joined the guys for burgers and fries at the diner. She had so many other things to worry about than her son getting too attached, but now she had yet another thing to face once this was all over. How to explain the situation to Dylan once Miles disappeared from their lives.
They had supper at the main house with the family, giving Melissa a chance to get to know everyone better. Melissa and Kellyanne seemed to click right away and his kid sister took up immediately with Dylan, fawning over the boy.
He was glad to see the Christmas decorations were up inside the house and the tree in the corner was lit. It hadn’t been earlier, but now that it was dark outside, Dylan was fascinated by the twinkling of the lights on the tree. Miles knew from experience that once all the trimmings were in place, this tree would look stunning.
Miles took an opportunity when everyone was focused on Melissa, and not him, to slip out onto the porch. He phoned Griffin to get an update on the investigation into the leak at the WITSEC office.
“Still no word on what’s been happening, but we have had confirmation about the attack at the hotel. The man posing as a room-service waiter was identified as a member of Shearer’s gang.”
So they had found her, just as Miles had suspected.
He turned and watched Melissa through the picture window as she and Dylan sat with the family in the living room. He didn’t want to keep living this secret with her, but how long could this charade go on? The threat would be looming over her as long as Shearer was alive. She would have to remain in WITSEC probably for the rest of her life, raising her son in the program just as she had been raised.
But that wasn’t their most pressing issue. What they needed to know was how Shearer had found her in her last three locations including the hotel, which Griffin had checked out for himself, and how long it would take him to find her here at the ranch. That problem would only be solved by uncovering the leak in the marshals service.
Miles ended the call just as the front door opened and his sister stepped out onto the porch. “What are you doing out here all alone when your wife is inside?” Kellyanne asked.
He held up his phone, then slipped it back into his pocket. “Just a business call.”
“Miles, you work too much. I am glad to see, though, that you made some time for love.” She leaned against the rail and stared inside through the big picture window at Melissa. “I like her.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I wish I’d been told about the wedding so I could have been a bridesmaid, but I do like her and I wish you both every happiness.”
“Thank you.”
“And I’m thrilled to finally be an aunt. I thought for sure Lawson and Bree would make me one first, but you beat them to it.”
He stared at his brother Lawson and his new wife. Six months ago, she’d been the target of a group of drug runners her ex-boyfriend had crossed until Lawson and his brothers had taken them down and rescued both Bree and her twin sister. “How are they doing?”
“They’re very happy. Daddy says they’re leaving tomorrow for a horse auction. I think it’s supposed to be like the honeymoon they never got to have.”
“And why are you in town?”
She shrugged. “Just a little homesick is all. I took a few days off to rest and recharge over the holidays.”
He sensed there was something more to her story, but he didn’t ask. He didn’t talk about his life or his job, and that meant he didn’t have the right to push his siblings to do so, either. If she needed an ear, she knew he was there for her.
“I’d better get inside and rescue Melissa.” He started toward the door, but looked back at his sister and saw her watching him. As a social worker who worked with abused kids, she had an especially keen sense of when people were lying and he suspected she could tell when he was holding back. She’d never called him on it before, although she looked like she wanted to now.
He didn’t give her the opportunity. He stepped inside and joined his fictional family as they helped finish decorating the Christmas tree. He lifted Dylan onto his shoulders so he could reach the top to place the star. It was a happy moment—lots of smiles, lots of hugs. But he couldn’t help the feeling that when this was all over, no one in his real family would be able to forgive him.
When Miles first mentioned going horseback riding, Melissa hadn’t been so sure about it, but as she looked into Dylan’s face glowing with excitement, she couldn’t refuse. Miles assured her he would be right there beside her the entire time, so she reluctantly let him lead her outside to the barn, where she climbed into the saddle.
“She’s a good horse,” Kellyanne assured her, stroking the horse’s nose. “She’s real gentle, too. You’ll be fine.”
Miles climbed onto his horse and grabbed the reins as Kellyanne lifted Dylan and placed him in front of Miles.
“Wait, I thought he would ride with me,” Melissa argued.
“I’d rather wait and see how you handle the horse first,” Miles told her.
Since she’d never been on a horse in her life, she conceded that was probably a good idea. Miles had grown up around horses and knew how to ride. Dylan was probably much safer with him. In fact, she should probably just climb down and go back inside and read a book, but no matter how much she trusted Miles, she couldn’t bring herself to let her child go off on a horse without her.
The thing was that she did trust Miles. She’d only known this man for a few days, yet it seemed like longer. She instinctively trusted him more than any of the other marshals she’d been placed with and she thought it was because he treated her like a person and not just a case number. One of the first marshals who’d been assigned to her had treated her like she was a criminal, either not knowing or simply not caring that she was an innocent victim in all of this. Miles was so different in his approach that it had helped her grow comfortable with him.
Don’t get too comfortable, she reminded herself. But at the same time, she didn’t want to be in a state of such hypertension that she failed to appreciate their wonderful surroundings. While they were here, Dylan would get to enjoy the fresh air and horses. It might be their only chance to go horseback riding in a long time.
Miles kept a slow pace with his horse and Melissa managed to keep up, getting used to riding her horse as they walked along. At first, she was so intense about concentrating on her seat that she missed the beauty of the countryside, but Dylan’s squeals of excitement as he watched the birds and petted the horse pulled her back to the experience.
She enjoyed the feel of sunshine on her face, grateful that the afternoon weather was mild despite the December date on the calendar. Dylan wanted to pick some wildflowers that had blossomed in the warm temperatures, so Miles stopped and slid off the horse before lowering her son to the ground. Then he helped Melissa climb off, taking her by the waist and dropping her to the ground, but he held her just a moment longer than necessary before releasing her and hurrying off to chase Dylan. It had just been a moment, but she’d felt the connection between them, the mutual attraction, and knew it wasn’t one-sided.
It was the first time she’d had a romantic thought about another man besides Vick. In a way, it felt good to know that that part of her wasn’t completely gone. But on the other hand, she knew nothing could come of it. Her future wasn’t here on the Silver Star Ranch with Miles. It was a new identity in a new town—and no contact with him ever again. She’d been telling herself not to let her son get too close to the handsome marshal when all along it should have been herself she’d been warning.
She was walking over to join them in picking flowers when a shot rang out.
The horses behind her bucked and jerked. Another shot rang out and Melissa felt something whiz past her.
Someone was shooting at her!
She dropped to the ground as Miles scooped up Dylan and ducked behind a tree. Then she watched him put down the boy and pull his gun.
“Stay low,” he commanded her as he scanned the open area.
She had every intention of obeying, but the horses were agitated from the noise and she was fearful one of them would trample her. She rose to her feet to get away as another shot rang out. This time Miles returned fire and the horses took off running. She did, too, darting toward the cluster of trees where Miles and Dylan had taken cover.
She cleared the trees, then scooped up Dylan into her arms and hugged him to her as Miles continued firing.
“I think they’re firing from that tree line,” he said, motioning across the way. He stopped firing long enough to pull out his phone and call his brother Paul. “We’re being shot at by someone in the tree line. We’re on the south side of the lake. Come quick.” He ended the call and turned his attention back to where the shots had come from.
“Did you see who was shooting?” she asked him.
“No, I didn’t.”
He didn’t say so, but she could see from his stance and the way his shoulders hunched in concentration that this attack had him rattled. “It’s them, isn’t it?” She crouched to the ground with a whimpering Dylan.
“We don’t know that for certain.” He kneeled but remained in front of her and Dylan. “We have cover in the trees. We’ll just wait for backup to arrive, then I want you to head back to the ranch while I go after whoever was doing the shooting.”
She reached out to touch his arm. “Come back with us. Please, Miles.”
“I can’t. If our location has been compromised, I need to know it.”
She heard an engine and looked to see a truck approaching them. Miles stood and motioned for her to do the same. As the truck came closer, she saw Paul and their father in it. John stopped the truck between the trees and the shooter, and Miles quickly ushered her and Dylan into the back seat as Paul exited and handed him a rifle.
She grabbed for his arm again. “Please come with us.”
“We’ll check it out and be back to the ranch soon,” he promised.
“You’re their father. Why don’t you stop them?” she asked as John turned the truck around and headed back to the ranch house.
“They’re grown men who know how to take care of themselves and each other. And if there’s a threat to this ranch, we need to know about it. They’re doing what needs to be done.”
She clung to Dylan and tried to calm him down as she turned and glanced out the back window to see Miles and Paul chase down the horses, climb on them and then ride to the area where the shots had come from.
“I think the firing came from this direction,” Miles said as he rode into the trees.
No shots had been fired for nearly ten minutes and Melissa was bound to be safely back at the ranch, so he was sure whoever had shot at them was long gone. Still, they needed to check it out.
“How many shots did you hear?” Paul asked.
“Three, all aimed in our direction.”
“Could have been hunters on our land illegally. We had something similar happen back in the summer with someone firing at Lawson and Bree. You were here for that, weren’t you?”
“Actually, I’d already left to return to work.” But he remembered being told about it and wishing he’d remained at the ranch to help.
“Of course, in that case, it turned out to be drug dealers trying to kill Bree. Melissa doesn’t have a drug ring after her, does she?”
He could tell his brother was kidding, but he shook his head. “No, not a drug ring.”
Paul’s joking demeanor vanished. “Who then?”
He shouldn’t be sharing this info with his brother, but he wanted someone else to at least have an idea about the danger that might be lurking. And he trusted Paul completely. “Someone dangerous from her past. That’s all I can say.”
“Does he know she’s here at the ranch?”
“I didn’t think so, not until today.”
Paul took off his cowboy hat, fiddled with it a moment then slid it back onto his head. “Well, it’s probably nothing but stray bullets, but in case it’s not, I’ll ride over to the Simmons ranch. If someone entered our property here, they would have had to pass the Simmons ranch and they recently installed cameras.”
“They did?” He’d told Melissa he knew this town like the back of his hand, but he hadn’t known about that development.
“Yep. Seems Mr. Simmons had a rash of vandalism on his property. Trees and fields damaged, fires set, so he installed those cameras. Found out his property had become a place where these college kids hung out at night and had their parties. He took the images to Josh and he shut them down the next night. Anyway, his cameras might help us figure out who drove this way.” He climbed onto the horse and took off toward the Simmons ranch.
Miles hoped Paul found something because he didn’t like not knowing for sure and he was lacking the resources he was accustomed to in order to figure things out. He kneeled down and looked at the ruts in the mud and the tire tracks. This didn’t feel like stray bullets to him. Those shots had been too accurate to be accidental.
He pulled out his phone to call Griffin, but his hand hovered above the dial button. Griffin would tell him to pull out and find another safe house—and Miles wasn’t ready to leave. He still thought being here was a good plan, even if he couldn’t deny the fact that someone had been shooting at them.
He hit the button and dialed Griffin’s number and when his boss answered, he spoke the words he didn’t want to say.
“Our location may have been compromised.”