Chapter Twenty-Seven

Shaking and pressed close to the car door, Taylor heard the owner of the service station shout obscenities from inside. She couldn’t see him when she glanced in that direction, but she heard his loud complaints. Figuring the shot had come from the abandoned building across the road, her ears pricked when she heard footsteps running over gravel. Lying on her side, she peered under the car and saw boot heels. Someone jumped into a vehicle. The door slammed and the car peeled away, squealing its tires. Only then did she dare to sit up.

“Are you all right, Miss Young? Are you hurt?” The station owner skittered to her side.

She checked her arms and hands for cuts or blood and found none. “Yes, I’m okay. Were you hit?”

“No, but my windows are blown to hell. Did you see the license plate on the car that sped away? Or catch the make or model of the vehicle?”

“No, I’m sorry. It all happened so fast.”

“I didn’t either,” he admitted, shaking his head. “Let me help you up. I think we’re out of danger now.” He offered his hand and pulled her up from the ground. “What do you think the shooter was aiming at? This car or my place?”

Believing she knew the answer, Taylor gulped but chose not to comment.

“You wait here,” he said. “I’m going inside to call the sheriff’s department. They’ll want to talk to both of us.”

She nodded, feeling dizzy and nauseous. “I’ll wait here in the car.” After sliding onto the driver’s seat, she rested her head against the steering wheel. “That shot was meant for me,” she mumbled. “Maybe it wasn’t meant to kill me, but definitely to scare me. Just like the snake and the tampered brakes.”

When the passenger door flung open and someone hurtled inside, Taylor’s head jerked up. The face was a blur as she instinctively reached for her door handle and tried to scream but couldn’t. Her throat muscles were paralyzed. Panic claimed her when an iron fist gripped her around the wrist and pulled her back.

“Please! Don’t scream,” the deep voice commanded. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

With the breath locked deep inside her chest, Taylor’s head pivoted slowly. Without even knowing what he looked like, she knew the man beside her was Adam Echo Hawk. She glanced back at the service station and saw the man inside still talking on the phone.

“Did you shoot at me?” she asked, feeling in her heart it had not been him.

The man was handsome with dark piercing eyes, a narrow nose, high cheekbones and short black hair. “No,” he said. “I don’t own a gun.”

“Did you see the shooter’s face?”

“No. I hid behind the building. You weren’t hit, were you?” She shook her head and he said, “I must talk to you about your sister.”

Taylor’s rapid pulse continued to throb. “I’m listening, but you’d better hurry. The owner of this place called the police and they’re on their way.”

Adam’s gaze penetrated her. “I did not kill Jamie. You have to believe me.”

“Why should I?”

“My mother raised me not to tell lies.”

She gazed at him through narrow eyes. “But you believe she was murdered?”

“Yes.”

“Who killed her? Was it your girlfriend, Patty?”

His dark brows furrowed. “Patty is my ex-girlfriend, and no, she did not kill Jamie. I wish I knew who did, but I don’t.”

“Then what makes you think her death was anything other than suicide?”

“She told me she’d accidentally discovered something on the ranch that was going to make some people filthy rich if they got away with their scheme. When she caught them in the act, they offered to cut her in on their deal, but she wouldn’t have it. She gave them a chance to do the right thing, but when they refused, she threatened to go to the sheriff. I think that’s what got her killed.”

Taylor leaned forward. He’d said they. There was more than one person involved. She knew whatever Jamie had discovered had been found in the cave. Were the ancient petroglyphs the discovery? If so, who and why would someone kill Jamie over rock art? The only way to make any money on something like that would be to open up the cave as a historic monument to paying tourists. That involved the government or the Bureau of Land Management. No one got rich that way. The idea was preposterous.

“When did my sister tell you all this?”

“The day before she died.”

“Who had wanted to make the deal with her?”

“I don’t know. I suppose she was trying to protect me, because she wouldn’t give names.”

“Did my stepfather know about her discovery?”

A perplexed expression filled Adam’s face. Taylor waited with baited breath, praying Will had had nothing to do with Jamie’s death.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

Frustrated, Taylor pounded her fist into the car seat. “What do you know? So far, it hasn’t been much.”

She noted Adam’s straight, white teeth when he gritted them and could see why her sister would have been attracted to him. With proud defiance, he said, “I know I loved Jamie and wanted to marry her. I know she was happy with her life and with the career she’d begun. And I know she was clean and sober and did not commit suicide. Those are the things I know,” he said with fire flaming in his dark eyes.

Although Taylor had no good reason for believing him, she did. The truth resonated in his voice. Her own voice faltered when she said, “I’m going to find out who killed her, Adam. I promise you that.”

“It won’t bring her back.”

“No, it won’t. But justice will be served and you’ll be able to move on with your life.” Jamie, too, she thought. “Adam, I know you’ve been in hiding because you’ve been afraid they’ll come after you, too.”

His nostrils flared with shame. “I’ve been a coward,” he said quietly. “But it’s time people know the truth about Jamie. She was a good woman. She wouldn’t bring shame to her family. She didn’t kill herself.”

Taylor glanced behind her at the sound of sirens whining. “I have to leave,” she said, making the split-second decision not to stay and talk to Rick Tavares. She jammed the key into the ignition, feeling there wasn’t a moment to spare. “Do you want me to drop you somewhere?” She looked over her shoulder and expected to see cop cars rolling up at any moment.

Adam pushed the door open. “Go. I’m okay. Be careful.”

She nodded. “Will I see you again?”

“I’m like the wind. I’ll be around.”

“Adam,” Taylor shouted as he jumped out. “Thank you for making Jamie happy.”

He acknowledged her with a slight tilt of his mouth and dashed for the corner of the building where he disappeared. She put the car in gear and sped out of the parking lot kicking up gravel. When she glanced into the rearview, she saw two police vehicles whip into the lot.

Without going over the speed limit while driving as fast as possible, she made it to the ranch in record time. Charlie was sitting on a bench outside the barn carving a piece of wood with a pocketknife when she pulled in. Seemed he was always right where he should be when she needed him.

“Charlie, can you please saddle me a horse?” she hollered out the open window. “I’m going to park this car up top and get on my boots and then I’ll be back down. I’m going for a ride.”

He rose from the bench ready to do as she’d requested. “Where you headed, Miss Taylor? Out to that cave?”

“Yes, Charlie. Pick out the right horse for the trek, will you?”

“I sure will.”

She hastened up the driveway and parked the rental near the back door. Her heart started to thump upon seeing Brett’s truck sitting there. Hopefully, he was talking with Will in his office and she could avoid both of them. As luck would have it, the two men stepped out of the office the same moment she entered the great room on her way to the stairs.

“Hello, honey.” Will greeted her with a smile.

Her gaze swung from Will’s to Brett’s. “Hi. Hello, Brett.”

“Taylor,” he nodded, plunking his cowboy hat on his head. Intensity radiated from his blue eyes, drinking her all in.

She reached for calm and started up the steps.

“Taylor, can you wait up?” Will said. “I’d like to talk to you a moment.”

Stopping and inhaling a sharp intake of air, she glanced at her watch. Charlie had estimated it was going to take at least an hour to ride to the cave. It was already two o’clock.

Brett’s boot heels clacked against the wood floors. “See you later, Will,” he said, sauntering slowly past Taylor. Breathing in his scent as he walked by made her dizzy. “Bye, Taylor,” he drawled.

She lifted a hand to wave. Once she heard the back door close, she said, “Can we talk another time, Will? I have something to do and am in a hurry.”

“This will only take a minute,” he assured, looping his arm through hers and walking her down the hall to his office. They stepped inside and he asked her to have a seat. When she did, he took the bullhorn keychain from his pocket and unlocked one of the desk drawers and retrieved a manila file folder. Taylor leaned forward when he handed her the folder from across the desk.

“What’s this?”

“Read it and you’ll see.” He took a seat behind the big oak desk and waited patiently for her to skim through the information.

What she found were tourist pamphlets, tickets for a cruise to the Bahamas, and his and her mama’s passports. “What’s all this?” she repeated.

“It’s the big secret I’ve been keeping—the reason I’ve been locking the drawers and my office. You know what a snoop Nancy is.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Don’t you recall how your mother would search the house for her Christmas presents every year? She’d find them and tear open the paper, and then wrap them back up once she saw what was inside because she couldn’t stand to wait until Christmas to see what she’d received. Remember?”

Having forgotten that, Taylor thought back. She smiled and nodded.

“I bought these tickets right after Jamie died, understanding how distraught your mother was and wanting to alleviate her pain somehow. I felt so helpless. I thought it would help both of us to get away together. Then Nancy started drinking and we began to argue about that. And then she fell and broke her hip and…well, you know the rest. There hasn’t been a good time to surprise her with the trip. Now she doesn’t even want to have supper at the same table. I doubt she’ll want to go on a cruise with me.”

Will looked so miserable, Taylor had to go to him and hug his shoulders. “Why didn’t you just tell her about the cruise? Once you realized she thought you were sneaking around with another woman, it was time to come clean.”

He shook his head. “I know, but one thing led to another and it became like rolling a snowball up a hill. Every time I thought of letting her know about the vacation, something happened that stopped me. Anyway, for better or worse, I’ve decided to finally show her the tickets. I can’t have her thinking I’ve been unfaithful. She may throw them in my face, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

Taylor had to laugh out loud to relieve the stress inside. “I highly doubt she’ll throw tickets for a cruise in your face. I’m sure she’ll be touched.” She kissed his cheek, ashamed that she’d thought for one second that her stepfather could have hurt Jamie in any way. “You’re a good man, Will. Mama’s been lucky to have you all these years. So was Jamie, and so am I.”

“Thank you, honey. I love you all so much.”

“I love you, too.”

He stood up and collected his folder from her. “I believe you mentioned being in a hurry. I’ll let you get to whatever it is you’ve got to do. I’m going upstairs to pay my wife a little visit.”

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” She followed him upstairs and wished him good luck as he knocked on the bedroom door. Then she rushed into her bedroom and tugged on her boots, punched her cowboy hat onto her head, and slung her digital camera over her shoulder. After running downstairs and grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator and a small flashlight from the pantry, she headed to the barn, where Charlie had a horse waiting for her.

“Who is this fine looking man?” she asked, admiring the tall black gelding.

“This here is Sugarfoot.” Charlie patted the horse’s rump. “You won’t have a bit of trouble on the trail with this fellow. I hung a pommel bag over the horn for you, too.”

“Thank you. You think of everything.” She stuck the water bottle, flashlight and her camera in the pommel bag and zipped it up. With a foot on Charlie’s knee, Taylor hoisted herself onto the horse.

“You got the map I drew?” he asked.

“Right here in my pocket.”

He reached into his shirt pocket and handed her a peppermint candy. “Be careful.”

With a nod and a nudge to Sugarfoot’s ribs, she got the horse moving.