B.J. Daniels the Cardwell Ranch Collection (26 page)

They were Hud’s favorite. That’s why Mary Justice Cardwell had tucked her new will in her old, worn and faded cookbook next to the recipe. She’d wanted Dana not only to have the ranch—but the man she loved beside her.

“Sure. Hud would like that,” Dana said, disappointed she couldn’t even do something as simple as bake a pan of brownies for her husband.

“Mother used to make them for Dad, remember? Do you ever see him?”

“On occasion. Usually a holiday. He and Uncle Harlan keep pretty busy with their band.” And their drinking, but she didn’t say that.

Stacy nodded. “I might see them while I’m here. Maybe tomorrow if you don’t mind me leaving for a little while in the morning?”

“Stacy, you don’t need to ask. Of course you can go. Hud will be here.”

“I suppose I know where I’ll find Dad. Would you mind keeping Ella? I won’t go until I put her down for her morning nap. I don’t want to take her to a bar.”

“I would be happy to watch her. You can bring her in here for her nap. She’ll be fine while you’re gone.”

Stacy smiled, tears in her eyes, and gave Dana an impulsive though awkward hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

Her sister drew back, looking embarrassed, grabbed the cookbook and left. In the other room, Hud was playing fort with the kids. She could see a corner of the couch and chairs pulled into the middle of the room and covered with spare blankets.

Hud caught her eye. He smiled and shrugged as if to say, maybe she was right about her sister. Dana sure hoped so.

* * *

L
IZA
BRACED
HERSELF
AS
J
ORDAN
ushered her into the lodge at Mountain Village for the Friday-night dinner and dance. Tomorrow there would be a tour of Big Sky and a free afternoon, with the final picnic Sunday.

A room had been prepared for the reunion party that impressed her more than she wanted to admit. A DJ played music under a starry decor of silver and white. The lights had been turned low, forming pockets of darkness. Candles flickered at white-clothed tables arranged in a circle around the small shining dance floor.

A few couples were dancing. Most were visiting, either standing next to the bar or already seated at the cocktail tables.

“Hilde was right,” Liza whispered. “I
am
underdressed.” The women were dressed in fancy gowns and expensive accessories. The men wore jeans and boots and Western sports jackets, looking much like Jordan.

“You look beautiful, the prettiest woman here,” Jordan said, putting his arm around her protectively.

She grinned over at him. “You really can be charming when you want to, Mr. Cardwell.”

“Don’t tell Hud,” he said. “I’ve spent years cultivating his bad opinion of me. I’d hate to ruin it with just one night with you.” He put his hand on her waist. “Let’s dance.” He drew her out on the dance floor and pulled her close. She began to move to the slow song, too aware of her dance partner and his warm hand on her back.

Jordan
was
full of surprises. He was light on his feet, more athletic than she’d thought and a wonderful dancer. He held her close, the two of them moving as one, and she lost herself in the music and him as she rested her cheek against his shoulder. He smelled wonderful and she felt safe and protected in his arms. The latter surprised her.

The night took on a magical feel and for the length of several Country-Western songs, she forgot why she and Jordan were here. She also forgot that he was a murder suspect.

When the song ended, she found herself looking at him as if seeing him for the first time. He appeared completely at home in his Western clothes. They suited him and she told him so.

He smiled at that. “I thought I’d dusted the cowboy dirt off me when I left here. My mother used to say this land and life were a part of me that I could never shed.” He quickly changed the subject as if he hadn’t meant to tell her those things. “Looks like everyone is here except for Tessa, Alex and Tanner. That’s the nice thing about having a small graduating class. They’re fairly easy to keep track of. Shall we get a drink?”

They’d done just that by the end of the next song when Shelby took the stage. She gave a short speech, updating anyone who didn’t know about the members of the class, announced who had come the farthest, who had changed the most, who had the most kids.

“I thought we should have a few minutes of silence for Alex,” she said at the end. “Since he can’t be with us tonight.”

Liza spotted Tessa, who’d apparently just arrived. There was chatter about the murder around the tables, then everyone grew silent. It seemed to stretch on too long. Liza found herself looking around the room at the graduates.

She quickly picked out the main players Jordan had told her about. Shelby and her husband, contractor Wyatt Iverson; Tessa, who’d come alone; Whitney Fraser and husband and local business owner, Von; and Ashley Henderson and husband, Paul, had all congregated to one area of the room. Ashley and her husband and Whitney and hers appeared to be cut from the same cloth as Shelby and Wyatt. Brittany Peterson and husband Lee were visiting at a table of former students who were no longer Big Sky residents.

As Liza took them all in, she knew that what she was really looking for was a killer.

Wyatt Iverson was as handsome and put-together as his wife, Shelby. Liza waited until he went to the bar alone before she joined him.

“Wyatt Iverson? I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Liza Turner—”

“Deputy marshal in charge of the Alex Winslow case,” he said with a wide smile. “I know. I checked. I wanted to make sure someone capable was on the case. I heard great things about you.”

“Thank you.” She recalled a rumor going around that Wyatt was considering getting into national politics. Right now he served on a variety of boards as well as on the local commission. Wyatt was handsome and a smooth talker, a born politician and clearly a man with a driving ambition. He’d brought his father’s business back from bankruptcy and made a name for himself, not to mention a whole lot of money apparently.

Shelby joined them, taking her husband’s arm and announcing that dinner was being served in the dining room. “Everyone bring your drinks and follow me!” Ashley and Whitney fell into line and trailed after Shelby, just as Tessa did, but according to Jordan they’d been doing that for years.

To no one’s surprise, Shelby had distributed place cards around a long table. Liza was surprised to see that she and Jordan were near the center, with Tessa and Brittany and her husband, Lee, at one end and Shelby’s inner circle at the other.

She noticed that Tessa seemed surprised—and upset—when she found herself at the far end of the table. Clearly Tessa had done something Shelby hadn’t liked. Either that or Shelby was sending her friend a message. If Shelby had anything to do with Alex’s murder and Tessa knew about it, Liza feared that Tessa might get more than banished at the reunion dinner table. Whatever had Shelby upset with her could get Tessa killed just as it had Alex.

Chapter Nine

Jordan could have wrung Shelby’s neck even before dinner was served. They’d all just sat down when Shelby insisted everyone go around the table and introduce their dates and spouses before dinner was served.

When it came Jordan’s turn, he squeezed Liza’s hand and said, “This is my date, Liza Turner.”

“Oh, come on, Jordan,” Shelby said. “Liza Turner is our local deputy marshal and the woman in charge of investigating Alex’s murder.” She smiled as she said it, but Jordan couldn’t miss the hard glint in her eyes. “So, Deputy, tell us how the case is going.”

“It’s under investigation, that’s all I can tell you,” Liza said.

Shelby pretended to pout, making Jordan grit his teeth. “Oh, we were hoping as Alex’s friends we could get inside information.”

Jordan just bet she was. Fortunately, the staff served dinner and the conversations turned to other things.

“How have you been?” Brittany asked him. She was still as strikingly beautiful as she’d been in high school, but now there was a contentment about her.

“Good. You look happy,” he said, glad for her.

“My life is as crazy as ever with three small ones running around and…” She grinned. “Another one on the way. Surprise!”

“Congratulations,” Jordan said, meaning it. She didn’t seem in the least bit upset to be seated away from Shelby and her other classmates. Unlike Tessa, who hadn’t said a word or hardly looked up since sitting down.

Everyone offered their congratulations to Brittany, including Shelby, who seemed to have her ears trained on their end of the table.

“How many does this make now?” she asked.

“Four, Shelby,” Brittany said, smiling although Jordan could tell Shelby irritated her as much as she did him.

Shelby pretended shock. “I think you get the award for most children and also our Look Who’s Pregnant! Award.”

Jordan glanced over at Liza. He knew she was taking all of this in. Like him, he was sure she’d noticed the way Tessa had been acting since they’d sat down. Also, Tessa had been hitting the booze hard every time she could get the cocktail waitress’s attention.

Jordan couldn’t have been happier when dessert was finally served. Shelby had been running the dinner as if it was a board meeting. He noticed that, like Tessa, Shelby had been throwing down drinks. Just the sound of her voice irritated him. He was reminded why he hadn’t wanted to come to his reunion.

“Jordan, what was the name of your wife, the one who was the model?” Shelby asked loudly from the other end of the table.

He didn’t want to talk about his marriage or his divorce. But he knew Shelby wasn’t going to let it go. “Jill Ames. She was my
only
wife, Shelby,” he said and felt Liza’s calming hand on his thigh.

“Jill Ames is
gorgeous.
What were you thinking letting her get away?” Shelby said and laughed. She gave Liza a sympathetic look. “Jill Ames would be a hard act to follow.”

“Shelby, you might want to back off on the drinks,” Brittany said, throwing down her napkin as she shoved to her feet. “Your claws are coming out.” She shot Jordan and Liza an apologetic look and excused herself before heading for the ladies’ room. Shelby glared after her for a moment, then followed her.

* * *

L
IZA
WAITED
UNTIL
S
HELBY
disappeared down the hallway before she, too, excused herself. She was within ten feet of the ladies’ room door when she heard their raised voices. She slowed, checked to make sure there was no one behind her, before she stepped to the door and eased it open a few inches. She could see the two reflected in the bathroom mirrors, but neither could see her.

“How dare you try to embarrass me,” Shelby screeched into Brittany’s face.

“Embarrass
you?
Seriously, Shelby?” Brittany started to turn away from her.

Shelby grabbed her arm. “Don’t you turn your back on me.”

“Touch me again and I’ll deck you,” Brittany said as she jerked free of the woman’s hold. “I don’t do yoga every day like you, but I do haul around three kids so I’m betting I’m a lot stronger and tougher than you are. I’m also not afraid of you anymore.”

“Well, you should be.”

“Are you threatening me?” Brittany demanded as she advanced on her. “This isn’t high school, Shelby. Your reign is over.” She turned and went into a stall.

Shelby stood as if frozen on the spot, her face white with fury as Liza stepped into the ladies’ room. Seeing the deputy marshal, Shelby quickly spun around and twisted the handle on the faucet, hiding her face as she washed her hands.

Liza went into the first stall. She heard Brittany flush, exit the next stall and go to the washbasin. Through the sound of running water, she heard Shelby hiss something.

“Whatever, Shelby.” Brittany left, but a moment later someone else came in.

“Aren’t you talking to me? What’s going on?” Tessa whined, sounding like a child. “Are you mad at me? I don’t understand. I haven’t done
anything.
”

She was sure Shelby was probably trying to signal that they weren’t alone, but Tessa was clearly upset and apparently not paying attention.

“I told you I wouldn’t say anything. You know you can trust me. So why are you—”

“Tessa, this really isn’t the place,” Shelby snapped.

“But all evening you’ve—”

Liza had no choice but to flush. As she opened the stall door, both Tessa and Shelby glanced in her direction. “Ladies,” she said as she moved to the sinks and turned on the water.

“I could use some fresh air,” Shelby said. “Come outside with me for a minute.” She smiled as she took Tessa’s arm and practically dragged her out of the bathroom.

Liza washed her hands, dried them and then stepped out. She could see Shelby and Tessa on the large deck in what was obviously a heated discussion. She watched them for a moment, wishing she could hear their conversation, but having no way to do that went back to the table and Jordan.

“Everything okay?” he asked quietly.

She smiled at him. “Great.”

“I love your dress,” Brittany said.

Liza laughed. “That’s right. You like polka dots. I remember your apron.” Liza liked Brittany. She could see why Jordan had had a crush on her in high school. Probably still did.

With dinner over, everyone began to wander away from the table and back into the first room where the music was again playing.

Liza pulled Jordan aside and told him what she’d overheard.

“So basically you just wanted to let me know I was right about Tessa,” Jordan said, grinning.

“Apparently, you can be right once in a while, yes.” She smiled back at him, realizing he was flirting with her again and she didn’t mind it.

A few moments later Shelby came back in from the deck. She put her game face on again and breezed by them, already dancing to the music before she reached the dance floor. But she didn’t fool Liza. Shelby was trying hard to hide whatever was really going on with her and Tessa.

“I’m going to talk to Tessa,” Liza said. “Save me a dance.”

* * *

A
S
J
ORDAN
LEFT
THE
DINING
ROOM
and joined the others, he spotted Shelby talking to her other two cohorts. Ashley and Whitney could have been sisters. They were both brunettes, both shapely, both pretty—at least from a distance. He knew his perception of them had been poisoned a long time ago.

He liked to think all of them had changed, himself included. But he could tell by the way Ashley and Whitney were listening to Shelby that they still followed her as blindly as they had in high school. It made him sad. Brittany had grown up, made a life for herself and seen through Shelby. But apparently Brittany was the only one who’d made the break from Shelby’s control.

“Jordan, do you have a minute?”

He turned to find Paul Henderson, Ashley’s husband. Paul had been two years ahead of them in school. “Sure,” he said as Paul motioned to the empty lobby of the lodge.

“I hope I’m not speaking out of school here,” Paul said. “But there’s a rumor going around that Alex was asking about Tanner before he was…killed. I figured if you really were with him at the falls, then he must have talked to you.”

“We didn’t get a chance to talk,” Jordan said, wondering if Paul had any information or if he was just fishing.

“Oh.” He looked crestfallen.

“
You
talked to him?”

Paul nodded and met Jordan’s gaze. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell the deputy marshal.”

“What did Alex tell you?”

He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Alex asked me if I remembered the party Tanner had that night at the cabin, the night the equipment was vandalized?”

Jordan nodded. He vaguely remembered the party. He’d drunk too much and, after his fight with Tessa, had left early with some girl from Bozeman who he couldn’t even remember. “Were you there?”

“No. I was grounded from the past weekend. He was asking if I knew where Shelby was that night.”

“Shelby?”

“He wanted to know if Ashley had been with her.”

“And was she?”

“That’s just it. I told Alex that I thought she was because she called a little after two in the morning. She’d been drinking. We argued and I hung up. The next day when I asked her where she’d been the night before, she swore she didn’t go to the party. But Alex said something about some photos from the party that night that proved not only were Ashley and Whitney there, but Shelby and Tessa were, too.”

“Why was he interested in photos of the party?” Jordan asked.

Paul shrugged. “That’s just it. I can’t imagine what some photographs of a high school kegger twenty years ago could have to do with anything. That’s why I haven’t said anything to the deputy marshal.”

“Did you ask Ashley about them?”

“She still swears she wasn’t at the party that night, but…” He looked away for a moment. “I’d like to see those photos. Alex seemed to think there was something in them that could explain why Tanner is dead.”

“I’ll mention it to the deputy marshal,” Jordan said. “She might want to talk to you.”

Paul looked relieved. “I didn’t know if I should say anything, but I’m glad I did. Okay, back to the party huh?” He didn’t look as if he was enjoying the reunion any more than Jordan had enjoyed dinner.

The only thing that kept Jordan from calling it quits was the thought of another dance with Liza.

* * *

T
ESSA
STOOD
AT
THE
DECK
railing, her back to the lodge. She looked cold and miserable and from the redness around her eyes, she’d been crying.

Liza joined her at the railing. “Shelby’s trying to bring you back under control, you know.”

Tessa glanced over at her and let out a laugh. “I’d pretend I didn’t know what you were talking about, but what would be the use?”

“Talk to me, Tessa. Tell me what Shelby is so terrified I’ll find out?”

Tessa hugged herself and looked away. A breeze whispered in the nearby pines. Earlier it had been warm. Now though, the air had cooled. It carried the promise of winter. Closer, Liza could hear the muted music from inside the lodge. The party was resuming. She was betting that Shelby wouldn’t leave Tessa out here long. If Liza didn’t get the truth out of her quickly—

A door opened behind them. “Tessa?” Whitney called from the open doorway. “Shelby needs your help with the awards.”

“I’ll be right there,” she said over her shoulder and started to turn toward the lodge.

“Tessa,” Liza said, feeling her chance slipping through her fingers. She was genuinely afraid for Tessa. For some reason, the woman had been cut from the herd. Liza feared for the woman’s life.

“Let me think about things. Maybe I’ll stop by your office Monday.”

Liza nodded. The one thing she’d learned was when to back off. “I can help you.”

Tessa laughed at that and looked toward the lodge. “I’m not sure anyone can help me,” she said and pushed off the railing to go back inside.

Liza bit down on her frustration. Tessa needed her best friend’s approval. But surely she was tired of playing Shelby’s game.

Telling herself this night hadn’t been a total waste, Liza waited for a few moments before going back inside. The moment she saw Jordan, she thought, no, this night had definitely not been a waste.

He stood silhouetted in the doorway, reminding her that she’d come with the most handsome man at the party. Suspect or not, Jordan Cardwell was a pretty good date, she thought as he drew her into his arms and out on the dance floor.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Shelby had Tessa in the corner. Liza meet Tessa’s gaze for a moment before the woman shoved away from Shelby and dragged Wyatt Iverson out on the floor to dance with her.

“You might want to talk to Paul Henderson,” Jordan said, as they were leaving the reunion party a few dances later. “Apparently, Alex asked him about the party at the cabin that night. Alex thought there were photographs taken at the party that might have something to do with Tanner’s death.”

“Photographs?” Liza asked. She’d settled into the SUV’s passenger seat, still feeling the warmth of being in Jordan’s arms on the dance floor. She’d had fun even though she hated to admit it since she was supposed to be finding a murderer.

“Paul wasn’t at Tanner’s kegger, but he seems to think Ashley might have gone and lied about it.”

“And how does all of this lead to Alex’s death?” she asked, wanting to hear Jordan’s take on it.

“Tanner was staying in a cabin up on the mountain to keep an eye on Iverson Construction equipment,” he said as he drove. “He throws a party, the equipment gets vandalized, he gets in trouble. Malcolm Iverson, who is on the edge of bankruptcy, believes his competitor Harris Lancaster is behind the vandalism in an attempt to take over his business. Malcolm goes gunning for him, shoots Harris accidentally and goes to prison for a couple of years. When he gets out, he drowns in a boating accident.” He looked over at her. “These things have to be connected and if there really are photographs from Tanner’s party, then maybe they tie it all together—and explain why Tanner is dead.”