“That’s good. . . .” Kelly reached out her hand to Steve’s cheek. “I’ve wanted you to stay over . . . lots of times . . . but I just didn’t say it.”
Steve captured her hand against his cheek. She could feel the stubble on his chin. He smiled into her eyes. “Yeah, I know. I figured you’d get around to it when you were ready.”
“I’m ready.”
Steve laughed softly. “Not tonight, tiger. Not while you have that cast on your foot.”
“What cast?”
Cast?
How could she have a cast? She didn’t even have feet, did she?
The sound of Megan’s snickering across the table didn’t bother Kelly. She glanced at her friend and saw Megan holding her hand across her mouth, shoulders shaking with nearly silent laughter. It didn’t even register on Kelly’s distorted radar screen. She was oblivious.
“But I’ll take that as a formal invitation, okay?” Then Steve kissed her palm.
Oh, boy.
That felt really, really good. “Do that again,” she whispered.
“Uhhhh, better not,” Steve said, laughing as he released her hand. “We’d better get you back while you’re still awake.” He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers before he rose.
Rats.
Just when it was starting to get interesting. But Steve was coming home with her. Warm Steve. Good. She liked that.
Kelly glanced up and spotted Burt leaning on the doorway into the yarn room, smiling at her. “Hey, Burt, where did you come from?” she chirped.
“Ohh, I’ve been here a few minutes. Making sure you’re all right. It looks like you’re in good hands.”
“Steve’s coming.”
“That’s good, Kelly.”
“He’s staying the night.”
“It’s about time,” Burt said, chuckling.
Both Steve and Megan ducked their heads, laughing. Kelly joined in. Everyone else was laughing. Why shouldn’t she?
“Steve’s going to tuck me in tonight,” she announced. Was that a giggle? She never giggled.
“
I’m
going to tuck you in, Kelly,” Megan said authoritatively as she helped Kelly on with her jacket. “Steve does the guarding. I do the bedtime shift.”
Well, damn.
That wasn’t going to be any fun at all. “No, I want Steve,” she protested.
“You got me, Kelly,” he said as he helped her to her feet. “Now we’re going to get you home.”
Suddenly upright, Kelly felt the room spin, and she reached out. “Whoa . . . everything’s moving.” Steve caught her and quickly lifted her into his arms.
“Here, I’ll get the door,” Burt offered, heading to the front.
Kelly waved at Burt as Steve carried her out, Megan following behind. “No cars, Burt. No cars at all . . . ,” she called over Steve’s shoulder.
Thirteen
“Is the café still open? I thought Pete closed at three o’clock.” Kelly maneuvered her crutch carefully around the yarn tables.
“He said he was staying open especially for you,” Megan replied as she followed behind. “Pete made his bourbon pecan pie. He said it will help your ankle heal faster.”
Kelly gave a short laugh as she carefully put weight on her abused right ankle. It sent a short spasm of pain up her leg. Not as bad as yesterday, though. It wasn’t much, but it must be progess, Kelly decided.
“Help me gain weight, you mean. I swear, I’m going to weigh a ton by the time I get rid of this cast and can start to run again.” She slowly made her way down the hallway to the café.
“I told Steve about the pie, and he’ll be over, too,” Megan added with a devilish grin.
Fragments of memories darted in and out of Kelly’s mind, fleeting, elusive. "Boy, I must have said something really dumb to Steve last night, because you’ve been teasing me all day.”
“You weren’t dumb, you were cute. And honest,” Megan said, as they entered the back alcove of Pete’s café.
Honest.
Oh, great.
No telling what she said.
Damn.
She wished she could remember. Glancing around as she entered, Kelly noticed Jayleen and Curt Stackhouse sitting at a small corner table. It looked like they were sampling the pie already. “Hey, Jayleen, Curt. Is that pie any good?”
“Delicious as always,” Curt replied from behind his raised coffee cup. “How’re you doing, Kelly girl? Looks like you’re moving pretty slow.”
“Afraid so,” Kelly said as she negotiated her way to a nearby table.
Jayleen watched her with a worried frown. “Damn girl, you are in bad shape. I sure would like to catch whoever messed up your car. Wouldn’t you, Curt? We’d show him a thing or two.”
“Damn right,” Curt said in a low voice. “We used to deal with bad hombres in our own way years ago. Frontier justice.”
Kelly had to smile. “Now, don’t you two go rounding up a posse, okay? That canyon road is too slippery to be chasing bad guys.” She leaned to the side so Pete could pour her a huge ceramic mug of Eduardo’s coffee. He placed the pie on the table with a flourish. “Thanks, Pete, that looks delicious. You didn’t have to stay late for me. Pie could have waited until tomorrow.”
“There were a lot of folks waiting for this pie, Kelly,” Pete said, his round face spreading with his familiar grin. “I’ve had calls all morning.”
“I can believe it,” Kelly said, lifting a forkful to her mouth. The heavenly combination of brown sugar, pecans, and syrup melted on her tongue. Delicious didn’t even describe it. “Ummm, yummy,” she said when speech returned.
“Where’s that pie, Pete? I smelled it all the way across town,” Jennifer said as she walked in. Shedding her winter coat, Jennifer retrieved a slice while Pete poured her a cup of coffee. “Ahhhh, sugar. I need this. It’s been a rough afternoon.” She settled at the table with Megan and Kelly and dove into the pie.
“Boy, you weren’t kidding, Pete. That pie will be gone in a few minutes with us—”
“Hey, what’s this I hear about pecan pie being dished up?” Marty demanded as he rounded the café corner. “Whoa, now you’re talking.” Marty headed straight for the pie counter and snatched two slices.
“Uh-oh. Here comes trouble,” Jayleen teased. “I hope you made a lot of pies, Pete.”
“You’re looking right spiffy, nephew. You been arguing a case in court?” Curt asked the lanky redhead.
“Yep, in court all day. That’s why I’ve gotta up keep my strength,” Marty said as he pulled out a chair next to Megan, then tossed off his black overcoat.
“Well, sugar does it for me,” Jennifer said, licking pie remnants from her lips. “Pete, I swear you’ve outdone yourself this time. I may have to arm-wrestle Marty for the last slice.”
Marty uttered a sound of enjoyment as he savored the pie. “Give it up, Jennifer. You wouldn’t have a chance,” he said before he took another huge bite.
“Don’t be so sure. I fight dirty,” Jennifer threatened as she polished off the last morsel on her plate.
“I believe that,” Steve said as he entered the café. “Whoa, Marty’s here. I better grab some pie before it’s gone.” He strode over to Kelly’s table and gave her a quick kiss. “How’re you doing?”
“Better. My right ankle doesn’t hurt as much.”
“That’s good, because it’s the only thing holding you up,” he said with a grin as he headed toward the counter.
Kelly finished off her last bite of pie and toyed with the thought of asking for another piece. This pie was too good, and it was late afternoon. The dangerous time for hungries. She’d better wait until someone else got seconds.
“Uh-oh, looks like Marty beat us here,” Greg announced as he and Lisa appeared around the corner. “Quick, Lisa, go sit next to Marty so you can trip him if he makes a run for the pie. Steve and I will stand guard.”
Marty grinned before demolishing the last morsel on his plate. “Speaking of seconds, I’m ready, Pete.”
“Dude, no way are you getting seconds until I have firsts.”
“Relax, guys,” Pete said, chuckling as he handed Greg and Lisa the pecan delicacy. “I made four pies. There’s plenty for everyone.”
Greg dove in as he stood guard, clearly enjoying the pie, while Lisa settled at the table beside Jayleen and Curt.
“I hate to be the one to squeal, but Marty’s already had seconds. He started out with two slices,” Jennifer said after licking her fork. “So you’re already behind, Greg.”
Kelly glanced around at her friends as they all laughed and joked and exchanged insults with Marty, who deftly fended them off with a nonchalant smile. All the while, Kelly noticed that Megan looked as relaxed sitting next to Marty as she did sitting across the knitting table.
Meanwhile, Kelly’s little buzzer inside went off. There was no way everyone would suddenly show up to sample Pete’s pie at the same time. What was up? She searched for possible reasons but her memory had a few blank spots thanks to the pain pills from last night. Maybe that was it. Megan had been acting funny all day and teasing her. She knew she’d acted dumb, but . . .
“Well, well, the gang’s all here,” Burt announced as he and Mimi entered from the shop doorway. “I see Marty licking his fork. Any pie left, Pete?” He and Mimi settled at a nearby table. Mimi cast a sly glance at Kelly before accepting Pete’s offer of pie.
Okay, that’s it. Everybody but Carl is here.
No way this was accidental. Pete’s pie was good, but...
Kelly drained the last of her coffee and held out her mug for Pete to refill as she leaned back in her chair. “Steve, I know those loopy pills made me stupid last night, but what the heck did I say to you to cause a ‘gathering of the clans’?”
All conversation ceased with the exception of Burt’s chuckle. “Sharp as ever, Kelly.”
Steve leaned against the wall as he lifted another pecan-filled forkful. “You didn’t say anything I didn’t already know, Kelly.” He winked then devoured the morsel.
“We’re here to talk about something else, Kelly. Something important,” Burt told her, his smile fading.
Kelly glanced around the cozy alcove. No smiles to be seen anymore. A second ago everyone was laughing, and now . . .
She knew what this was about.
"Ahhhh . . . you mean the car crash. Somebody cutting my brakes, and all. Believe me, folks, I
have
been thinking about it. All day, in fact. You’ll be glad to know that a police officer took my statement this morning. Unfortunately, I don’t remember seeing anyone around the ranch so there’s not much for the police to go on—”
“There’s
nothing
for the police to go on, Kelly. No leads at all,” Burt interrupted in a firm voice. “No one saw a car parked near yours or anyone walking around in the canyon. I’ve already checked with the deputy sheriff who patrols up there. Whoever did it may have followed you from town, then saw you leave the car unattended and grabbed his chance. With all the snow piled around, no one would have seen him crawl beneath your car.”
Kelly felt a ripple of cold run across her skin, picturing the harsh scenario Burt had painted. It was still hard for her to believe that someone would try to kill her.
“So you agree that this is all about the ranch,” she said in a quiet voice.
Burt nodded. “Yes, I do, Kelly. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I’m convinced. Someone wants that ranch bad enough to try and kill you. Jennifer has filled us in on the details of the earlier buyers and everything that happened to them. The threats start with vandalism first, then get more serious. I agree that whoever did this poisoned Carl. Maybe he was hoping you’d dump the property like the other owners did when the threats hit home. And when you didn’t, well, the threats turned deadly.”
Kelly looked into Burt’s careworn face. He was as serious as she’d ever seen him. She looked away, staring into her coffee instead. “You know, it was hard for me to believe at first. I mean, trashing houses and attacking dogs is bad enough. But trying to kill someone . . .” She shook her head. “But I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I agree. It’s gotta be the same guy, and it’s all about the ranch.” She wasn’t sure, but Kelly thought she heard an audible sigh emanate from the group surrounding her.
“That’s why you have to sell it,” Steve said, his voice cutting through the quiet.
Kelly’s head jerked up at that. She stared into Steve’s steady dark gaze and saw the truth of what he said. Even so, she rebelled. “Sell it? Hell, no, I don’t want to sell the ranch.”
This time the collective groan that went around the room was audible.
“Damn, Kelly, be sensible!”
“Kelly, let the bastard have it.”
“The ranch isn’t worth risking your life.”
“What if this psycho strikes again?”
Kelly listened to her friends’ pleas, still staring into her coffee, but every one of them hit home. And they resonated within. That was the thing. Everything her friends said echoed what her own little voice inside had been whispering all day. Most times, she listened to that little voice. But sometimes . . . sometimes she ignored it. Kelly remembered that every time she did, she regretted it.
“Kelly girl, I know how much that land means to you,” Curt said, his voice gentle but firm. “But you have to face facts. You’ve never flinched from any decisions you’ve had to make. I’ve watched you analyze the facts, then decide. Selling the ranch is just another decision. Don’t let personal feelings get in the way. Pretend one of your clients came to you with this problem. You’d tell him or her to sell. Simple as that. Am I right?”
Damn.
Curt hit home on that one. She glanced back to her coffee, which was probably stone cold by now. “I know you’re right, Curt,” she said with a sigh. “But I don’t like being forced to sell. I feel like I’d be running scared.”
That comment caused an even louder uproar than before.
“You got it. Run like hell.”
“This isn’t a game, Kelly!”
“That guy’s a psycho. Who knows what he’ll do next?”