Judd Bowman wished silk had never been invented. Or women. Or both of them. If he hadn’t decided to track down some white silk cloth for Lizette before he stopped at the jail to check about Neal Strong, the kids’ father, he wouldn’t have wasted two hours of valuable time that he could have spent out looking for the escaped prisoner alongside the sheriff’s department.
Neal had escaped yesterday afternoon.
Someone had decided that there was room in the Billings jail for Neal and had gone to Miles City to get him in a patrol car. On the way there, Neal complained that he needed to use a restroom. Unfortunately, no one checked to be sure Neal’s handcuffs were secure before they escorted him to the restroom. When a backup patrol car came to investigate why there was no response to a radio message, the officers found one of their own unconscious on the floor of the restroom, and Neal, along with the officer’s gun, nowhere to be found.
Judd demanded to know why no one had called him last night with the news, only to be told that they were trying to reach Sheriff Wall in Colorado to inform him of what had happened.
Judd pressed the gas pedal on his pickup a little farther down. The police in Billings thought Neal was more likely to head for a drug dealer or the border than his children, but Judd wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t going to take any chances.
Judd relaxed a little when he saw Pete’s pickup in front of the barn where the ballet rehearsal was going to happen. The cowboy would see to the kids’ safety if their father was around.
Judd looked at the clock on his dashboard. Speaking of the ballet, he was late. He hoped the extra yards of white silk he’d bought would be enough to make Lizette forgive him.
It hadn’t been easy to find silk in Miles City. Judd had had to buy it from a secondhand store owner who called someone he knew who had some white silk left from an old customer who had been using the stuff to make parachutes—or maybe it was bags for parachutes. Neither store owner could remember. They did remember it had been extra-strong silk, guaranteed to hold a hundred pounds, or maybe it was two hundred pounds. They couldn’t remember how much.
Judd assured them the silk only had to be strong enough to hold a punch cup, and that he would take it as soon as the other man could get it there. He only hoped it wasn’t nylon instead of silk. No one was really sure on that point, either.
Lizette was still waiting to begin the performance. Linda and Mrs. Hargrove had helped clean the faces of her younger dancers and slipped their costumes over their heads. Charley had fussed about his missing bathrobe so much that Lizette had given him a big towel to wrap around his shoulders. Then Pete had walked in a few minutes ago with a bruise on his cheek, muttering something about a stubborn cow. Lizette had asked him what happened, but he shrugged and said he’d tell her later.
“The show must go on,” Pete said with a grin as he took his Mouse King costume off the chair where Lizette had laid it and started toward the stairway leading up to the hay loft. “I’ll be right back.”
“Oh, you can change down here,” Lizette said. She hadn’t wanted to send the children up to the cold hay loft to change, so she and Charley had hung a blanket in a corner of the barn.
But Pete was already halfway up the stairs with his tail dragging behind him.
Lizette herself was in her ballet slippers and her yellow dress.
“I can fill in for the Nutcracker,” Mrs. Hargrove offered. The older woman had changed into her billowing Snow Queen costume and was chatting with Madame Aprele and Edna Best. “I think I have his lines memorized from watching him practice with you.”
Charley was sitting in his rocking chair next to the Christmas tree. “The whole thing?”
Mrs. Hargrove nodded.
“So you’d do the Nutcracker kiss?” Edna Best asked as she pulled her notebook back out of her purse.
“Oh, no,” Mrs. Hargrove said, and then chuckled. “I see you’re still looking for that headline.”
Edna smiled and shrugged. “Nothing ever happens around here. I was hoping maybe I could get a news story in the regular part of the paper as well as a review in the Dry Creek Tidbits section.”
“Surely it’s news that a ballet is going to take place in a barn,” Madame Aprele offered helpfully. The older woman no longer seemed as shocked about everything and was actually giving Edna some valuable pointers on how to review the ballet. “In Seattle, that would be a headline.”
“Barns are not news around here,” Edna said. “We have so many of them.”
“Well, you’ll have to wait for Judd to get here to stage the kiss,” Mrs. Hargrove said. “Although I must say, he seems to have a mind of his own about how a kiss should go on.”
“That’s why I drew him a diagram,” Lizette said. “He just needs to see how to do it.”
Charley snorted. “Whoever heard of a diagram for a kiss?”
There was a thud up in the hayloft that sounded as if Pete was taking off his boots.
Edna was writing notes. “Could you tell me more about what’s lacking in the way the Nutcracker kisses?”
“Oh, I didn’t say anything was lacking,” Lizette said. She hoped the boot thud meant that Pete was almost in his costume. “And I don’t really think you should be quoting me on this. I mean, I’m not an expert on kissing or anything. It’s just for the ballet scene.”
Lizette decided there was really no need to wait for the Nutcracker to arrive before they began the production. “Charley can just read the Nutcracker’s lines.”
“I can do the Nutcracker’s kissing, too,” Charley said firmly. “In my day and age, we didn’t do any of this stage-kissing stuff. That’s just for Hollywood types.”
“How do you know? You’ve never kissed a Hollywood type,” Mrs. Hargrove said.
“Now, how do you know who I’ve kissed and who I haven’t kissed?” Charley said with his chin in the air.
“Well, I’ve known you all your life.”
“That doesn’t mean you know all about me. I could still surprise you yet.”
“Don’t think I couldn’t surprise you, too,” Mrs. Hargrove retorted.
My goodness, Lizette thought, what was wrong with the two of them?
Someone cleared his throat loudly from the sidelines. It must be Pete coming down the stairs, Lizette thought as she looked up.
“Speaking of surprises,” Pete said calmly as he stood very still.
Pete hadn’t changed into his costume, although he did have another bruise on his face. Still wearing his work jeans and a flannel shirt, he was standing at the top of the stairs with his arms in the air. There were shadows, but there was enough light to see the gun that was being held to the back of Pete’s head as well as the man behind him holding the gun.
There was silence for a moment.
“There’s my bathrobe,” Charley finally said.
Lizette felt two pairs of little arms circle around her legs.
“That’s my dad,” Bobby whispered as he tightened his grip on Lizette’s legs.
“You’ve been hiding up there all day?” Lizette said. She tried to make her voice sound normal and conversational. She didn’t want the children terrified any more than they already were. “No wonder the door to the barn was unlocked. After all that time, you must be hungry.”
“I’m not hungry. I have a headache. I’ve been trying to sleep, except you have that awful music playing and it’s making my eyes cross.”
The man did look pale, even in the shadows.
“That’s Tchaikovsky!” Madame Aprele protested. “He’s famous. He’s never given anyone a headache!”
“I prefer a fiddle,” the man said. “Something with some spirit.”
Madame Aprele opened her mouth to say something and then thought better of it and closed it again.
Lizette agreed there was no reason to argue music with a man holding a gun. “I’ll be happy to turn the music off, and then maybe you can go back and lie down and have a good rest.”
The man snorted. “Nice try, but I think I’ll stay right here where I can see everybody. Like you, old man.” He pointed at Charley. “I see you reaching inside your coat pocket for something. You got a gun in there?”
Charley held up his open hands. “No gun. I was reaching for an antacid. Stress is killing me.”
“Well, you keep your hands out of your pockets.” The man nudged Pete to start walking down the stairs. “You all keep your hands where I can see them. We have a situation here.”
“We don’t need to have a situation,” Lizette said as she put her own hands out in full view. “If you just put the gun down, no one needs to get hurt.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You always were looking out for yourself first,” the man said. “I remember you from the gas station. No room for a poor man like me to ride with you when anyone could see you had enough room. Someone like you thinks they’re better than me. Well, you’re not better than me now. Not when I’ve got the gun.”
“I don’t think I’m better than anyone,” Lizette said. “I just want everyone to be safe.”
There was an awkward silence as everyone thought about being safe.
“You must be Neal Strong,” Edna finally said. She had her hands out in front of her, as well. “I’ve heard about you. Something about a wrongful arrest.”
“You bet it was wrongful!”
“Well, maybe you’d like to put down the gun and tell me about it. I’m a reporter with the newspaper. If we work at getting your story out there, maybe there’s a chance for you.”
“The only chance for me is this,” Neal said as he nodded toward the gun he held in his hand.
Pete and Neal had reached the bottom of the stairs, but no one started to breathe normally.
Even with no breath left in their lungs, they all gasped when the door to the barn started to open.
Judd held himself perfectly still. He’d come up to the door earlier and heard some of what was happening inside. He’d run over to the café and asked Linda to call the police in Billings and tell them their man was armed and in the big barn in Dry Creek. Then he’d run back to the barn door.
“I know I’m late,” Judd said as he stepped into the main area of the barn. He had the white silk under one arm. “I had a hard time finding the silk and—”
Judd broke off his words, hoping he sounded genuinely surprised. “Well, who’s this?”
Judd already knew who the man was, but he didn’t want to give Neal any reason to be suspicious that Judd had notified the authorities.
“I’m the kids’ dad,” Neal said as waved his gun around. “You must be that cousin of Barbara’s? You look a lot like her.”
Judd felt his smile tighten. “You’ve seen Barbara?”
Neal nodded. “Tracked her down. I told her she had no right to leave the kids off somewhere. I’m their dad. I say where they’re supposed to be.”
Judd knew he shouldn’t argue with the man, but he didn’t like the scared look Amanda was giving him.
Judd took a casual step closer to the kids. “Bobby and Amanda are with me for now. They’re no trouble. No need to bother yourself with them.”
“You and Barbara would like that, wouldn’t you?” Neal sneered. “You’re two of a kind. Bowmans both of you. You’re spoiling the kids.”
So that’s what family is, Judd thought. Hearing your name coupled with someone else’s in a sneer and not even minding it because it meant someone else was in the thick of it with you. What do you know? He did have a family.
“They’re good kids.” Judd took another step closer to Amanda and Bobby. He figured the gun could go off at any minute, but if it did he had some things to say to some people before he died. “I’m not nearly good enough for those kids of yours, but if they were mine, I’d be proud of it. They’re part of my family and I love them both.”
Judd half expected the gun to go off when he said he loved the kids. Maybe Neal Strong didn’t hear him. The words echoed in Judd’s own ears, but that might be because he’d rarely even said he liked anyone in his life. He’d certainly never admitted to loving anyone. Love had never been for a man like him. Judd wasn’t sure what love was, so he couldn’t say for sure that’s what he felt when he looked at those two kids holding on to Lizette’s legs, but it must be. He was willing to die to protect them. That had to be something close to the love that made a family a family.
All three pairs of eyes—Lizette’s and the two kids’—looked up at him.
Judd blinked. He wondered what was happening to the air around here that a man’s eyes could tear up just looking at someone.
Judd took the final step that brought him next to Lizette and the kids.
“Now ain’t that touching,” Neal drawled as Amanda and Bobby left Lizette’s legs and wrapped themselves around Judd.
Judd resisted the urge to bend down and lift the children into his arms. Instead, he gently guided both children to the back of his legs so that there would be less of them to be targets if Neal was as unsettled as he looked.
Judd forced himself to shrug. “It’s still cold in here. They just like to wrap themselves around something warm. That’s all.”
Neal snorted. “You don’t fool me. I don’t let go of what’s mine all that easy. Just ask Barbara.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk to Barbara,” Judd said casually. “Do you know where I can reach her?”
Neal just laughed. “You ain’t getting nothing out of me.”
“I’d be willing to pay,” Judd said smoothly.
“I’ve got money.”
“I wasn’t thinking of cash,” Judd said. He hoped the police speculation that Neal had been going through drug withdrawal was correct. “I’ve got some white stuff out in the pickup that might interest you.”
“What is it?” Neal said.
Judd saw the look in Neal’s eyes and knew he had him. Hook, line and sinker. “Not something you’d want me to announce right out here in the open.”
“Bring it in.”
Judd shrugged. “If you were interested in it, I’d throw in the pickup, as well. You might want to get out of here before anyone knows you’re here.”
Neal took a few steps closer to the door, turning as he walked so that everyone was still in his range of vision.
“I need your keys.”
Judd tossed him the keys to his pickup.
“Where’s the stuff?”
“In the back of the pickup, alongside the hay bales I have in there. I’m not sure what side it’s on.”
“What? You can’t be too careful with the stuff, man.”
“I’m sure you’ll take care of it.” Judd watched as the man walked even closer to the door.
“Is it good?” Neal asked when he had his back at the door.
“Pure as snow,” Judd said as he watched the other man open the door and slide outside.
Judd counted to two. He figured it would take the man that long to get off the steps. “Everybody out the back window.”
Pete was already with him on this one and had opened the back window already. The cold air swept across the barn, but no one noticed.
Judd rushed over to the door and locked it from the inside. It would take the man a while to find the key that had let him into the barn in the first place.
“The little ones first,” Madame Aprele said as she lifted Amanda into Pete’s arms.
Pete lifted the little girl out the window. Then he lifted Bobby.
Charley brought over a chair for the women, and one by one they climbed up to it and then slid out the window with the men’s help.
There was a banging on the door to the barn just as Lizette slid over the window’s edge.
“What did you have in your pickup?” Pete finally turned to Judd and asked. “I didn’t figure you for a user.”
“I’m not. I told him what the white stuff was. It’s snow.”
“Oh, man, he’s going to be mad,” Pete said with a grin on his face.
The gunshot echoed throughout the barn.
“Charley, the kids need a guard,” Judd said as he and Pete overruled the older man’s objection and lifted him out the window. “Get them all someplace safe.”
Another gunshot echoed. This one sounded as if it struck metal, which meant Neal had hit the lock.
“Now you,” Judd said to Pete.
But the cowboy was already building a barricade of metal chairs. “The others need a few minutes to get away from the window. There’s no cover out this way.”
Judd moved chairs, too. “I can be as distracting as any two men. No sense in both of us being in here.”
Pete flashed him a grin. “I’m the Rat King. I don’t run away.”
Judd only grunted. He was a family man now. He didn’t run away, either.
Something crashed against the barn door, and both Pete and Judd dived behind their shelter of metal chairs.
“Where are you?” Neal demanded as he swung the door wide open and stepped into the barn. “You think you can fool me. I’ll show you.”
It was silent for a moment. Then Neal said, “I see where you are. Think you can hide behind a pile of old chairs—now who’s the fool?”
Judd grabbed one of the chairs. Neal would have to come close to them to actually have any hope of shooting them, and when he did, Judd intended to bash him over the head with one of these chairs. It wasn’t much, but with God’s help it might work.
Now, where did that thought come from? Judd wondered. It must be all this church he had been going to that gave him this nagging sense that he should be praying.
A loud creak sounded from the middle of the barn floor. Neal was walking this way.
Oh, well, Judd told himself, if he was going to die on his knees anyway, huddled behind a twisted mess of metal, he might as well figure out if God had any interest in him.
“Come out with your hands up!” The sound of the bullhorn made everyone jump.
Judd blinked. For a moment there, he’d thought that was God’s voice answering his first feeble attempt at a prayer.
“What’s going on?” Neal stood in the middle of the room and demanded.
“Come on out now with your hands up!” the voice on the bullhorn repeated. “We’ve got you surrounded.”
“Ah, man,” Neal said as he started walking toward the door. “All I was trying to do was get a good night’s sleep.”
Judd and Pete waited for the door to the barn to close before they stood up.
“Well,” Pete said.
Judd nodded as he held out his hand to the other man.
Pete shook his hand. “Well.”
Judd nodded.
Then they turned to walk out of the barn together.