The last thing he trusted himself to do at the moment was take off his shirt. But the unadulterated challenge in her eyes left him with no option. He tugged the hem of his T-shirt upward, wincing as it snagged on the surgical tape holding his bandage in place.
Jane laid her supplies on the bed beside him and helped him slide the shirt over his head. He felt her hands trembling but her expression was all business. She sat by him on the bed, keeping a careful distance. He didnt know whether to laugh or feel insulted.
Im sorry, she murmured as she removed his bandage, taking pains to be gentle. About what happened before.
He wasnt sure if she was apologizing for the kiss or for cutting it short. He went with the former. Its my fault. You were trying to make sense of what your father had told you and Ichanged the subject.
She smiled wryly and tossed the soiled bandage into the plastic bag. You werent exactly alone in that.
Maybe we should talk about that, too.
I know we had a relationship before, but I dont remember it, she said quietly as she dabbed at his healing wound with some antiseptic wash.
He winced. I know.
She looked at him. You dont trust me anymore.
I dont trust anybody, he admitted, regretting the words as soon as they spilled from his lips.
Her eyes narrowed. Why not?
Forget it.
She pressed her lips together, clearly not happy about letting such a cryptic remark go unexplained, though she remained quiet as she finished cleaning the wound. But as she squeezed some antibiotic cream onto a soft sterile pad, she broke the silence. Did someone hurt you?
A bubble of bleak laughter rose in his throat. You never could just let things go.
She met his gaze. You told me before?
Yeah, he said, old, bitter pain settling deep in his chest. As reluctant as shed been to share the mysteries of her hidden past, shed been a bulldog when it came to wheedling his secrets out of him. Shed made him want to share his pain, to let her help him bury it in the past.
Im sorry I dont remember, she whispered.
He closed his eyes, trying to resist the pull of her. It was stronger than ever, despite all the lies hed uncovered since her disappearance.
Was it a woman?
Please, Jane-let it go.
I must have seemed just like them. Running off, leaving you with more questions than answers.
You were just like them, he said, more bitterly than hed intended.
She fell silent. He opened his eyes and saw that she was sitting hunched beside him, her cheeks damp with tears.
Something inside him cracked and spilled. You and I are more alike than you know, he said.
She slanted a look at him, knuckling away her tears.
I lost my mother when I was a baby, too, he said when she remained silent. She died in a car accident, leaving my father to raise me.
Im sorry.
I guess I had it pretty good compared to what your father did to you.
Was your father a cowboy like you? she asked with a slight smile.
He owned a ranch.
Did he raise you by himself?
Mostly. When I was two, he remarried. For a while.
She reached for the gauze pad on the bed next to her and resumed bandaging his side, a sideways glance inviting him to continue talking.
Her name was Melissa. She was beautiful and sweet. Shes the only mother I really remember, you know? My own mother was just pictures in an album. Melissa was real.
Her name was Melissa. She was beautiful and sweet. Shes the only mother I really remember, you know? My own mother was just pictures in an album. Melissa was real.
Jane smiled. Someone to tend your scrapes when you fell down and hug you when you cried?
He nodded. I loved her.
What happened?
My father was a difficult man to love. And life on a ranch is hard. Theres a lot of isolation. Melissa was a woman who needed to be around other people. She wasnt cut out for life on the ranch, and my father would have died before moving into town. So she left. And she took my little brother with her.
Tommy?
Yeah. He smiled. He was four when she left. I was seven. She changed their names back to her maiden name and moved a couple of towns over. Thats why his last name was Blake.
I wondered. Jane laid her hand on his arm. That must have been so confusing for you.
He sighed. I got over it. I found Tommy later, when we were both grown. Theyd moved back to Canyon Creek while I was away at college. We had some time together before-
When he couldnt bring himself to say the words, Janes fingers tightened on his arm. I wish I could remember what happened that night. I honestly do.
For the first time in a long time, he believed her.
Did your father ever try to find your brother?
No. Hed never forgiven the old man for that, especially when hed discovered how easy it was to find Tommy when he was old enough to do it himself. He died while I was in college. I found Tommy on my own. He was right there in Canyon County, working on a ranch in Addison. He was a born rancher.
And you werent?
I knew I wanted to be a policeman the first time I rode in a cruiser, lights flashing and siren blaring.
Her smile carved dimples into her freckled cheeks. Were you in the front seat or the back?
He laughed. It was a ride-along for career day at my elementary school. When I came home babbling about wanting to be a policeman, my father threatened to have my teacher and the Canyon Creek Chief of Police fired.
What happened to the ranch after your father died?
I deeded it over to Tommy. It always should have been his. Now it belongs to Melissa, as far as I know.
As far as you know?
Melissa and I dont talk. We havent been on good terms since she walked out when I was seven. He sat upright suddenly, a thought popping into his head. Everybody in Canyon Creek knows that. Which is why nobodys monitoring her phone, waiting for me to call.
Jane met his excited gaze. He saw her quick mind putting two and two together.
I think I know how to get us safely home, he said.
Chapter Twelve
Joe? Melissa Blakes soft voice registered surprise and just a hint of wariness. Are you all right?
Joe hadnt prepared himself for the rush of emotion that washed over him at the sound of his stepmothers voice. They hadnt talked since Tommys funeral-the first time in over twenty-five years-and even then, it had been a quick, awkward exchange, both of them too wrapped up in grief and anger to meet each other halfway.
Joe?
He swallowed the painful lump in his throat. Im fine, Melissa.
A long pause on her end made him wonder if shed hung up on him. But she spoke finally, her voice thick with emotion. Ive been so worried about you. You know what the news is saying about you-
Its a lie.
I know its a lie, she said firmly. The news is also saying you were shot.
Just a graze. Listen, I dont have much time. He looked across at Jane, who sat on the opposite bed, her anxious gaze fixed on his face. I need to get back to Wyoming, but I dont want to risk taking public transportation.
I can send you money to rent a car or something-
Thank you, he said, touched by the offer, but Id have to show ID and a credit card. I cant risk that, either. I need you to meet me here and rent the car for me. Do you think you can get away without notice?
When and where? she asked without hesitation.
He swallowed hard and looked at Jane. I need you to take the first flight you can find to Reno. Tonight.
Reno? Tonight?
Im sorry-I know its an imposition-
Ill be there. Let me arrange it and Ill call you right back with the flight information. Is this the number you want me to use?
Yes. Hed called her on the disposable cell phone hed bought when theyd first hit town. He had a couple hundred minutes to burn-surely enough to get them back to Wyoming safely. Ill wait for your call.
He rang off and looked at Jane. She agreed.
I heard. Was that hard?
He found the sympathy in Janes eyes as unnerving as his phone call with his estranged stepmother. He looked away from her, pressing the heels of his hands against his gritty eyes. Was he ever going to get a decent nights sleep again? Weariness was fogging his brain, weakening him.
Hed spent the past year shoring up the defenses Jane had dismantled during the few months of their relationship. That shed knocked down years worth of emotional walls so quickly had come as a shock the first time around. That she was starting to knock them all down again, after all shed put him through, scared the hell out of him.
His cell phone rang, giving him a start. He looked at Jane. She licked her lips and glanced down at the phone.
He answered. Hello?
Its me, Melissa said. I found an afternoon flight out of Jackson Hole. I can make it, no problem. The flight arrives around ten oclock at the Reno airport.
Got it. Listen-you need to pack some food in your bag. I dont want you to have to leave your room until you check out the next day. Take enough to get you through.
Melissa paused. Do you think I could be in danger?
Im trying to make sure you arent, he replied. Thanks for this, Melissa.
Im just glad youve given me a chance to repay you, she said, her voice dark with tears. Ill never forgive myself for being too cowardly to stay and fight for you.
Joe tamped down the emotions her words evoked, trying to stay focused on the present. He and Jane needed to spend the afternoon resting up for the long drive back to Wyoming. He couldnt afford to wallow in old regrets.
When does she arrive? Jane asked after he hung up.
Ten. He stretched out atop the motel bed. Better try to get a long nap, or well fall asleep at the wheel.
She lay facing him, her eyes wide with apprehension. Are you sure you want to take me back there with you?
He turned to face her. Its why I went to Idaho in the first place.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. That seems so long ago.
Five days.
Is that all?
He nodded, his eyelids drooping. Rolling onto his back, he let them shut. Get some sleep, he murmured.
Her soft sigh was the last thing he heard as he drifted off.
CRAMPS, low in her belly.
A rain-washed scene viewed through the metronomic swish-swish of windshield wipers.
Fear and dread, deep and paralyzing, slowing the world to a terrifying crawl.
The world around her went dark and hazy, disjointed sounds and images that she couldnt piece together into a coherent whole. Someone asked her name and she said, Sandra. But that wasnt her name. Not anymore.