Chapter Eleven

Carla woke in a massive, plush bed in a bright and airy room that smelled of lilies.

Frowning, she quickly sat up—an action she immediately regretted as her head swam dizzily while the room spun around her.

“Hey, take it easy, beautiful.”

She blinked hard as Aiden Fielding’s handsome face emerged through the fog in front of her and she gasped.

“You’re safe. You’re at my place,” he told her gently as he took her quivering hand in his.

A cool breeze wafted in from the open window and she balked, suddenly realizing she wasn’t wearing her clothes. Instead she was dressed in a large plaid shirt, which she guessed must belong to the handsome hunk beside her.

Aiden chuckled. “It’s all right. My housekeeper undressed you. Your clothes were covered in mud and you were soaked right through. You must have spent the night in that ditch.”

The memory flooded back through her addled brain and she chewed her cheek nervously. Just then the door opened and a middle-aged woman sauntered in, carrying a tray of food.

“We thought you must be hungry,” Aiden explained as the lady placed the plates on the nightstand.

Carla’s stomach gurgled on cue and she realized she was actually ravenous.

“Could I take a shower?” she asked shyly.

“I’ll help you, dear,” the woman offered. “Do you want to eat first, though?”

Carla eyed the food. It was very tempting, but she didn’t feel comfortable with still being dirty from her fall. She noticed that a towel had been placed on the pillow to protect it from her muddy hair, and guessed she was probably lying on one, too.

“No, I’d rather get cleaned up first, if that’s okay? The food looks lovely, though.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Redman.” Aiden smiled at the portly lady before standing up. “She’ll look after you.” He’d turned back to Carla now. “I’ll let you know when the doctor gets here, he shouldn’t be long. Oh and Dyson and Matt are on their way over, too.”

Carla sat staring at him as he left the room. She momentarily closed her eyes as the news sank in—Matt and Dyson are coming here?

“Are you okay, dear?” Mrs. Redman was frowning at her when she opened her eyes again and she did her best to smile at the kind lady.

“Yes, yes of course. I’ll just take a quick shower—I can’t wait to get stuck into the food.”

The older lady seemed satisfied with her reply and smiled as she led Carla to the en suite bathroom. Her bag had been left in there and Carla was pleased to take out her toothbrush and favorite soap.

The water was hot and she relished the feel of it soothing her tired, bruised body. Mrs. Redman kindly insisted on waiting just outside the door in case she felt unwell while she was taking a wash, and Carla was relieved to have a little time to herself to think.

Although she was desperate to see Matt and Dyson again, there was no way she could answer the myriad questions they were bound to have for her. She quickly dressed, finding her clean clothes in her bag, and pulled a comb through her wet, wavy hair.

As promised, the housekeeper was waiting for her when she opened the door and she led Carla over to the bed.

“The doctor won’t be long now, dear,” Mrs. Redman informed her, “in fact, I think I just heard a car pull up. Will you be all right sitting there for a minute while I go and check?”

“Of course.” Carla smiled and took a sandwich from the pile on the nightstand.

As soon as she was left alone again, Carla took a couple more of the sandwiches, wrapped them in a napkin and rushed back to the bathroom where she stuffed them into her holdall. She would need those later. She opened the bathroom window and was relieved to see that she was on the ground floor. As she contemplated squeezing her large frame through the small window she heard a noise and saw the bedroom door opening. Damn! She quickly snagged a towel and took it into the bedroom with her, squeezing her wet hair in it.

“There you are, beautiful. Doc’s here to see you.” Aiden smiled at her as she sauntered back toward the bed.

“There’s really no need, I’m fine, honest,” she insisted.

“Well, I think I’ll be the judge of that,” the old guy informed her as he went over to her. “I heard you hit your head? Wanna show me where it hurts?”

He was gray-haired, elderly guy with a gruff voice but a kind face. Carla sighed but did as the doctor asked. It didn’t take him long to prescribe her some Advil and tell her to take things easy for the rest of the day, which, of course, she promised to do.

“I’ll see to that, don’t you worry.” Aiden chuckled as he saw the doctor out.

“Perhaps you’d like to come through to the living room?” Mrs. Redman offered her as soon as the men had left. “The Shearers shouldn’t be far away now.”

Carla felt a burn in her gut and dumbly followed the older lady through. The housekeeper must have been in her fifties, Carla surmised, and wore her graying hair in a sensible bun on top of her head. She was very motherly and Carla imagined that it must have been a great comfort to Aiden and his family having her around when they lost their own parents.

It was a beautiful house and Mrs. Redman obviously did a good job keeping it immaculate. The main room was only just down the hallway and Carla gasped as she took in the plush carpet and rich drapes. Although huge, the room was warm and cozy, with a roaring fire burning in the grate.

“Perhaps a cup of tea?” Mrs. Redman smiled.

“That would be lovely, if it’s no trouble.” Carla liked her a lot.

Once on her own again, Carla went over to the large French windows dominating one wall. Beyond them was a large lawn that led down to a field of horses. It really was a beautiful spot. The smaller window on the end wall of the living room opened out onto the yard at the front of the house. She peeped out, expecting to see the elderly doctor still saying his good-bye to Aiden—he seemed to have been out there some time. Instead she saw that it wasn’t the visitor who was leaving that had detained her host—it was the two who had just arrived.

“Here you go, dear.” Mrs. Redman offered her a china cup full of English Breakfast tea. Luckily it was on a saucer, as Carla’s hands were trembling so much she would have spilled it everywhere if not.

Mrs. Redman frowned. “Perhaps we should leave it on the tray for a while?” She carefully took the cup from her and placed it on the side table. “The sheriff’s here now, dear. And Matt’s with him.” She smiled cheerfully as she told Carla the worst news imaginable.

“Hi, Carla.”

She stared up into the eyes of Dyson Shearer—who wore a sheriff’s uniform. Carla felt her jaw drop and thought she was about to faint again.

“Here, I think you should sit down, beautiful.” Aiden was suddenly behind her, ushering her into a large armchair by the fire.

Carla took deep breaths to try to slow down the hammering of her heart and gather her thoughts. Dyson walked over to her and she was suddenly surrounded by his gorgeous musky scent. He bent down and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before taking his seat on the sofa opposite her.

“Glad I’m not on duty,” Matt remarked with a snicker, and strolled right on over to her, giving her a luscious kiss on the lips.

She sighed, enveloped in a cloud of his spicy aftershave. For a moment everything was all right with the world.

She watched Matt stroll over to a large armchair on the opposite side of the fire, while Aiden sat next to Dyson.

“I’ll fetch some coffee.” Mrs. Redman scurried out of the room.

Carla stared at the twins, trying to compute what was going on. They looked anxious, although pleased to see her. She guessed they were pissed with her for taking off like that, though, and just knew they were expecting an explanation. Guilt mixed with anger as she quickly tried to think up her reply. She really hadn’t wanted to hurt the handsome hunks but could tell by their faces that she had. How in hell could she explain all this without incriminating herself—especially seeing that one of her lovers had just turned out to be the dang sheriff!

“Y-you didn’t tell me…” she stuttered, staring accusingly at Dyson.

“Tell you what, baby?”

Fuck! He sure was a cool dude—she had to give him that. Well two can play at that game. She took a deep breath, sitting up straight in the chair.

“I didn’t realize when we…er…got together that you were the sheriff.” She jutted out her chin defiantly.

He raised his eyebrows. “Would it have made any difference?”

His bright green eyes pierced her senses and she felt herself clench inside. She looked away to consider her reply before opening her mouth again. She badly needed a moment. The silence surrounded them in a cloak of uneasiness and she struggled for the words as she forced herself to speak.

“I don’t know,” she told him eventually, not meeting those gorgeous eyes this time.

The hurt in his face told her it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. Another unbearably thick silence shrouded them.

“Why would it?” Dyson was tenacious.

She badly wanted to tell him she would have run a mile if she’d known his position, but couldn’t be entirely sure that was true. It certainly would have made a difference to her dilemma, but she wouldn’t swear that the end result would have been any different. He was a gorgeous guy and the sweetest lover she’d ever had—barring his brother, of course. She couldn’t choose between them on that score.

“I just think it would have been the honest thing to do,” she told him piously. Maybe if he felt ashamed she wouldn’t feel so damn guilty.

“Uh-huh, like you’ve been entirely honest with us, you mean?” Dyson’s voice was a low growl and she felt herself begin to get wet at the sound. Damn!

She stared at him, horrified. He was absolutely right. He had been no more dishonest than she had—but how did he know that? Her eyes flitted from him to his brother. Both were staring at her expectantly. Whatever they already knew they weren’t going to tell her.

“Sheridan police are on their way,” Dyson told her calmly.

She stared at him in disbelief. This just couldn’t be happening. Not now.

“W-why?” She couldn’t keep the tremble from her voice, and grabbed the arms of the chair as her hands quivered.

“Something to do with an armed robbery, I believe,” Dyson told her, clearly watching for a reaction. “Seems they’ve been searching all over Wyoming for the perpetrator. Tracked them all the way to Cavern County. Who would have thought?”

He was damn good at his job—too damn good. The sheriff wasn’t giving anything away, but she still knew he’d found out about her.

Mrs. Redman arrived with a tray of coffee and cookies, and Carla couldn’t help wondering how much the older lady had heard. Did everyone think she was a thief?

Aiden helped the housekeeper hand around the cups just as Dyson’s cell phone rang.

“Talk of the devil,” Dyson remarked as he glanced at the screen. “Excuse me, I need to take this.” He stood up and left the room. Carla couldn’t help being a little turned on by his whole demeanor. She had always liked a man in uniform anyhow, and the way his manner changed when he was working was breathtaking.

“Darlin’, if there’s anything we need to know, you have to tell us before it’s too late.” Matt leaned forward, staring over at her beseechingly.

“Like what?” she snapped then immediately regretted it when she saw how sad he looked.

“I don’t know. Maybe…maybe why you gave a false name when you signed in at the motel? Why you ran off when you heard the sheriff had been looking for you?” His eyes were pleading with her and her heart melted.

She quickly looked away, not wanting her thoughts to be determined by the expression on his handsome face.

“Sweetheart, if you’re in some kind of trouble you can tell us, you know?” Matt’s voice was kind, and she turned back to face him.

“Why would I be in any trouble? The old guy got his wires crossed, that’s all. He misheard my name.” Her jaw was tense as she stared up at Matt. She seethed, suddenly feeling like a caged tiger. She had suspected something must have been said when they had gone looking for her at the Melrose, and it sure explained why Trevor had been so suspicious about her name yesterday. So why hadn’t they said something at the time? Why did they make love to her if they thought she wasn’t on the level? The thought hit the bottom of her gut like a hand grenade. Were they hoping to get some kind of confession out of her by making love to her? Is that what all this was about?

“Okay. He’s an elderly guy. It’s possible he got it wrong.” Matt kept his voice even, clearly trying to calm her down a little. “So why did you run away like that? Is someone after you?”

Indignant rage surged through her body. How dare he pretend to be so nice about it all when it was obvious they all knew more than they were letting on? They’d been in touch with Sheridan police, for Christ’s sake—of course they knew what had happened. And they were just waiting around for her to confess and hand over the cash so they could hand her over as soon as the cops got here from Wyoming. Fuck that!

Her mind whirled.

“You tell me, you seem to know so much,” she snapped.

“Darlin’ I don’t know anything except that you’re in some kind of trouble and for some reason you don’t wanna tell us. But we can help you.” He stood up as he spoke and was suddenly standing right in front of her, his big green eyes pleading her to reveal all. Yeah, right!

“Because Dyson just happens to be the sheriff around here, right?” She brushed against him as she shot to her feet, seething.

Matt nodded.

“So why didn’t he say so? Why didn’t you guys ask me all this yesterday before…?”

She watched his eyes grow wider as he caught on to her thoughts.

“You think that’s why we made love to you?” He was clearly mortified as he reached out for her.

She stepped back. She couldn’t bear to feel his touch. Not now.

“I’m not stupid.” She snarled, still edging backward as she shook her head.

“No one’s sayin’ you are, baby.” Dyson appeared in the doorway.

“No, but you obviously think it.” She spat the words at him, surprised at the hurt look on his face. She had somehow expected him to look triumphant, but, oddly, the sheriff looked anything but. He looked worried, panicked, almost. She wondered just what the Sheridan cops had been telling him.

Dyson shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong.”

“No, you’ve got it all wrong! Whatever it is you’ve been told is just not true. I haven’t done anything wrong and I sure as hell don’t deserve to be treated like I have!” She yelled at him.

“Have we treated you badly, baby?” Dyson looked hurt but she was too angry to care right now.

“Oh no. You’ve treated me like a veritable princess! Gave me the time of my life. The only problem was it was all an act. You clearly just thought that sex would be the best way to get a confession out of me. Well, let me tell you right now, you’re wrong! It hasn’t worked. The sex was great but, hey, we all know that’s all it was. You didn’t need to lie and make out it meant anything ‘cause I’m not that stupid. I know when I’m being used. I just hope you do, too!” The words just tumbled out of her mouth as she bawled at the guys, who just stared at her, looking horrified.

Aiden cleared his throat and she realized he hadn’t been aware of the whole situation. Damn! He was a nice guy and she didn’t want to hurt him. But he did look hurt. As did the Shearer brothers.

She quickly looked away from their stunned faces, reminding herself that she was the victim here, not them.

“I need to use the bathroom,” she murmured, pushing past Dyson in her desperate hurry to put some distance between them.

After closing the bedroom door, she ran over to the bathroom before grabbing her bag. The bathroom window would definitely be too small for her to climb through, but the bedroom window was slightly larger so she went for it. Luckily, the bedroom was on the opposite side of the house to the living room so she knew they wouldn’t see her make her escape. She hit the ground running, picked up her bag and raced across the yard.

It wouldn’t take them more than a few moments to realize she was missing again, so she ran hell for leather over to the stable block. One of the hands was just taking in a huge chestnut quarter horse and she called to him as he went to remove the saddle.

“I’ll take him,” she called breathlessly.

The guy looked up in surprise. “What?” He stopped on his way to the stall, gawping at her in disbelief.

“The horse. I’ll take him. Aiden Fielding sent me over.” She could hardly get the words out of her mouth as she grabbed for the reins. The horse reared slightly, but she patted its sweaty flank in reassurance.

“Okay, if you’re sure…?” The guy looked totally bemused but she didn’t care.

Flinging her large frame into the saddle, she took off, just as a crowd of angry-looking men emerged from the nearby house. With no idea where she was going, she just rode the horse hard over fields and through woodland, avoiding any route which the sheriff’s SUV would be able to follow.