Page 16

Sixteen

Jackson

On my way back to my cabin, I stop at the bottom of the porch steps and look at the empty chair.

Despite the impromptu celebration of life on this porch a couple of nights ago, morale on the ranch is low.

The absence of Thomas is affecting everyone. Each time I glance over or pass by and spot his empty rocking chair, my heart grows heavier. A few dark thoughts have started swirling again, and this morning I had to force myself to get out of bed.

Stephanie stayed with me that first night, but I didn’t stop her when she left the next morning after I told her things would probably be a bit hectic on the ranch until the funeral. I did ask her to take Ash, and although I feel better knowing she at least has the dog for company, I’m struggling with guilt because I haven’t been in touch with her since.

I’m raw and I’m weak. I’d needed her to hold me together that night after Thomas died, needed her to keep me grounded. I let her go home because the temptation would have been too great to keep leaning, when I should be the one supporting her. She’s dealing with enough on her own, she shouldn’t have to deal with my dark moods.

“You’re an idiot.”

I look up to see Ama standing in the front doorway. Her dark eyes are angry.

“Me? What did I do?”

“Do you know the old man spent his last days waiting for you to get your shit together? Do you think it was a coincidence the night you bring her to the ranch is the night he let go? He was hanging on from sheer will to see for himself.” She shakes her head and gestures with her right hand like she’s swatting at a fly. “And what is the first thing you do? You blow the woman off.”

Her words shake me—the thought I meant that much to Thomas deepens the ache in my chest—but that doesn’t stop me from reacting defensively.

“I didn’t blow her off.”

Ama raises a sarcastic eyebrow. “No? Then how come she’s called the house several times over the past few days to find out how you’re holding up because you won’t answer her damn calls yourself?”

Now that guilt I was already feeling sharpens even further. I wish I could punch something to block out the intensity of emotions tearing at me.

“She’s better?—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence, young man,” Ama interrupts with a bark. “You’d be spitting in the face of everyone who loves you, and you should damn well know there are many of us. And don’t insult Thomas’s memory, because other than his son, there wasn’t a single person here he loved more than you.”

With that she turns on her heel and heads back inside, slamming the door behind her.

I feel like I’ve just been flattened by an eighteen-wheeler and I’m down, my insides spilling out.

“Ma’s right, you know.” JD’s hand clamps on my shoulder as he steps up beside me. “The old man couldn’t have loved you more if you were his own blood. He’d be pissed to see you blow this thing with Stephanie.”

He gives my shoulder a squeeze before heading toward his truck, where he stops to shoot me one last look.

“Not to mention your girlfriend has the skills to seriously hurt you if you don’t get your head outta your ass.”

I watch as he gets behind the wheel, backs out of his spot, and turns down the driveway, heading home to his pregnant wife.

Fuck.

Tomorrow is Thomas’s funeral. A simple graveside affair, right here where he wanted to be buried on top of the hill behind the barn. He’d wanted a spot from where he could oversee the ranch.

Jonas asked JD, Dan, and I to dig the grave, which we did this afternoon. I’m covered in the dirt and soil that will be covering him tomorrow morning, and I really fucking want Stephanie by my side when we lower him into his last resting place. I need her there.

I take time to shower and change, but twenty minutes later, I’m in my truck. I could’ve called or sent a message, but Stephanie deserves a face-to-face explanation. I just hope I haven’t already done too much damage.

As a peace offering, I pick up a couple of brisket sandwiches at Foxy’s on the way. I’m sure I can put away both if it turns out she’s already eaten, but I don’t want to show up empty-handed, and there isn’t anything else between the ranch and her trailer.

When I take the turn that brings the trailer into view, I immediately notice the dark SUV parked out front.

Fucking Vallard.

* * *

Stephanie

“What do you mean, she’s gone?”

I ignored his first three attempts and know I shouldn’t have answered this call, but curiosity got the better of me. Or maybe I just wanted to hear a human voice.

It’s been crickets here the past few days. I’ve tried to connect with Jackson a few times, but for some reason he seems to be avoiding me. Now, I know they probably have their hands full with arrangements for Thomas’s funeral and all that entails, but maybe a one-line text wouldn’t have been too much to ask. Just a simple “hey, now is not a good time,” would’ve sufficed. It would at least have stopped me from going full stalker mode and calling the main house to check up on him.

Yeah, I sank that low. I’ve never chased a man in my life and, to be honest, it doesn’t feel good on this side. But I’m worried, I wonder how he is coping, and I can’t help thinking his silence holds a more ominous message than a simple, “I’m busy.”

All that to say, it was messing with my head and in an unguarded moment I took Vallard’s call instead of ignoring it, like I’d done the other times. He didn’t waste any time hooking me back in by announcing he can’t locate Tracy Elliston.

“I’ve been sitting on her place for days. According to the salon where she works, she took time off to look after her ailing mother in Helena, except some research revealed her mother died of cancer five years ago. I need your help. I’m coming over.”

“No, I don’t—” I start, but I’m talking to dead air. The bastard hung up on me.

Barely five minutes later there’s a sharp knock. I grab Ash by the collar and hold on to him while I open the door.

“How’d you get here so fast?”

I’m at least a ten-minute drive from Libby.

He shrugs and smirks. “I was having dinner at that little dive down the road. I was giving you one last chance to answer my damn call, or I would’ve shown up on your doorstep unannounced.”

Ben lets Ash sniff his hands and I let go of his collar.

“Not sure what you want from me.” I state, a little less than gracious as Ben closes the door behind him.

“My gut says Laine is in this area but If I don’t produce some proof of that in the next few days, my boss will send me to South Dakota. I need to talk to Tracy Elliston, but I have a suspicion she’s hiding somewhere and my time is running out.”

“If you’re right, and Laine came here, who’s to say the two of them aren’t in Canada by now?”

He shakes his head stubbornly.

“No. I don’t buy it. Laine is still here somewhere; I can feel it.”

I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t do any good to try and point out his gut feeling could well be indigestion, so I don’t bother. Besides, he may be right. Tracy never mentioned his name to me, but the details she gave me about the man in her life leave me no doubt he’s at least been in the area.

“For argument’s sake, let’s suppose you’re right. I still don’t understand what you want from me?”

“You have a connection with her, use it to see if you can flush her out. Try to call and see if she’ll answer when she sees your number. I haven’t had much luck.”

“Have you tried tracking her cell phone?”

“That wouldn’t necessarily tell us anything, she could’ve had her calls forwarded to a burner phone, and right now I don’t have time to wait for warrants to follow that trail. I need something concrete.”

“What about her car?”

“I’ve asked the sheriff’s department to keep an eye out, but I doubt she’d leave it out in the open if she’s trying to stay hidden.”

He spreads his hands and with a sad puppy look on his face, pleads his case.

“See if you can get hold of her. Go into the salon and say you’re a friend looking for her. You were there before, weren’t you? I have a feeling the owner knows more than she’s letting on. If she recognizes you, she might be more inclined to tell you what she knows.”

There are other ways for him to track down Tracy Elliston through the salon—a phone tap for instance—but it would require a warrant and would take time. He’s right about that. We have a lot of resources available to us in our line of work, but there are rules and steps we have to follow. It’s not the instant access they like to portray in movies.

I won’t put myself out there, but Ben is right, it might be easier for me to get information on where Tracy is.

This whole thing is puzzling; she was already gone by the time Vallard went looking for her. How would she have already known the FBI had arrived in town? Is it possible something else happened to send her into hiding? Did I somehow inadvertently trigger her? Maybe I didn’t quite pull off my cover as well as I thought. I guess it would all depend on when exactly she went missing.

“Do we know when she took off?” I ask Ben. “Did her boss at the salon mention what day she left?”

He opens his mouth to answer, when Ash suddenly starts barking enthusiastically as he rushes to the front door. My heartbeat kicks up a notch, and I already know who is here before I answer the sharp knock.

Part of me is pissed he’s been avoiding me, but I do understand it. I’d probably be doing the same in his shoes, I suspect we’re alike in preferring to hide out and lick our wounds in private when we’re hurt. My suspicion is confirmed when I open the door.

Jackson doesn’t look well. His eyes are dark and sunken, his color is much too pale, and I detect a small tremble in his hand as he reaches for his dog first. I’m not sure what he’s looking for when he straightens up and searches my face, but I can feel the intensity of his scrutiny. Then I realize he would’ve seen Ben’s vehicle parked outside.

Before he has a chance to misinterpret what is going on, I step into him, bracket his face with my hands, and press a kiss to his lips. When I step back, he grabs on to my hip with a hand and pulls me in for another brief kiss. As he lifts his head, I can see the emotions swirling in his eyes, before he straightens up and aims a glare over my shoulder.

“Vallard, right?”

I turn to catch Ben’s scowl at Jackson’s intrusion.

“That’s right. I’m sorry, who are you again?” he returns with an edge.

Petty play, since I’m positive Ben not only remembers Jackson’s name, he probably looked into his background as well. This is just a transparent attempt to undermine Jackson’s presence here.

“Don’t be an idiot,” I accuse him sternly. “I believe you and I about finished up our work business anyway. I’ll see what I can find out on Tracy Elliston and be in touch.”

I reach for Jackson’s hand to pull him inside and away from the open front door. Then I raise an eyebrow at Ben, conveying a clear message.

His face is hard when he passes me and stalks out the door.

“He rope you into helping him again?”

I push the door shut and turn to face Jackson.

“Tracy disappeared. She’s the woman I was looking into for him earlier. Something spooked her and she took off. Vallard thinks I may be able to help find her.”

His jaw is tight when he responds with, “I see.”

Wonderful. He shows up on my doorstep after avoiding me for days, and he’s the one pissed off. I curb the urge to blast him and wait for it to pass. I remind myself he’s hurting, probably not quite himself, and to boot finds Ben Vallard sniffing around again.

I take a deep breath and opt to stay calm instead.

“I’m only going to ask a few questions as Tracy’s friend. Nothing dangerous, simply gathering information and passing it on.”

The tension drains from his face as he takes a seat on the couch and leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” I ask, moving into the kitchen to grab the kettle. “I’m making some tea.”

“Sure,” is his lackluster response.

“Bad day?” I ask while I get a couple of mugs from the cupboard and deposit a tea bag in each.

“Bad week.” I turn to look at him and find his eyes on me, guilt written on his face. “I’m sorry, I’m not very good at sharing.”

I shoot him a grin.

“I noticed. Guess that’s something we both have to work on.”