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What must her father think of her? Not only had he just found out that she was being stalked by some crazy stranger, but he now knew she’d had a termination. Julie wasn’t sure which was worse in her father’s eyes. She glanced at him from beneath her long eyelashes. Would he think less of her? Steve was a fair-minded man who’d always treated her with unconditional love and supported all her decisions. But he also had high standards, and she knew he’d be battling his own internal morals with this sudden slap in the face. Now he knew his daughter was less than perfect.
She opened her mouth, but had no idea what to say. Her father saved her from finding the words.
“Have there been more of these?” He waved the letter in the air.
“Yes,” she admitted. “This is the third one in as many weeks. But he started sending them while I was living in Brisbane.”
“We can’t let this continue,” he said gruffly. “This stalker…or whatever he is, needs to be stopped.” He clenched his hands tightly by his sides. Julie had always thought of her father’s hands as skilful, hardworking, gentle with the animals. But at this very moment, those hands looked ready to commit violence. “If he dares to come anywhere near you, I’ll—”
At that second, her stepmother, Daniella, bustled her way into the living room. She took in the mood in the room and instantly narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on?” she asked.
Julie sat on the sofa, mute. This was all getting out of hand. It was one thing her father finding out, but she didn’t want the rest of the family—or the staff, for that matter—knowing her dirty little secret. If need be, she’d tell them, but she wanted it to be on her own terms.
Steve answered for her, before Julie could even open her mouth. “Some bastard is sending Julie threatening letters,” Steve said, his voice getting louder with each word. “And if I find out who that scumbag is, I’m going to hurt him so bad.”
Julie was shocked by her father’s outburst. Steve was normally the calming influence around the station. Daniella was the uptight one. She kept the luxury resort organized and running like clockwork, but she also had a steely persona that brooked no argument. Steve was the only person who could talk sense into Daniella when she got into one of her moods. But today, it seemed that Steve was the one who needed to be pacified.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about?” Daniella said in an even tone, glancing quickly in Julie’s direction, then concentrating on Steve.
Steve shoved the letter in her hands and started pacing again.
The only sign that Daniella was shocked by what she saw was a slight crinkling of the lines around her eyes.
Steve let out a loud grunt of frustration.
Julie stood and shuffled from one foot to the other, not sure what to do next. She’d never seen her father this angry before. Not even when they’d found out one of their trusted staff had murdered another of their team. He was always the rock people turned to in their time of need.
“Steve,” Daniella said. But instead of the sharp tone Julie was expecting, Daniella’s voice was low and soothing. “You need to calm down.” She went up and lay a hand on his arm. Steve flinched at her touch, like a flighty horse, but then Daniella caught his gaze. “We can handle this. But you won’t do anyone any good by getting angry.” Steve stared into Daniella’s eyes. It was in an intimate moment, and Julie was uncomfortable, as if she were somehow intruding. It suddenly became crystal clear how strong a connection these two had. Julie sometimes wondered what her father saw in Daniella, she could be a difficult woman to be around. But right in that moment, their special connection was laid bare, and Julie could see how much they truly loved each other.
Steve let out a breath between pursed lips. “You’re right,” he replied. “But I can’t just stand around idle, while this…asshole threatens my little girl.”
Julie wanted to say that she wasn’t his little girl anymore, but she bit her tongue.
“I know.” Daniella stroked his arm in a soothing motion. She speared Julie with her gaze. “Have you told the police? About the stalker?” Daniella qualified. Both she and Steve were apparently avoiding the topic of the abortion for now, which suited Julie fine.
Julie merely shook her head. If she’d gone to the police, then she would’ve had to tell them why the guy was harassing her. At the time, she’d merely wanted to forget the whole thing. Going through the abortion had been traumatic enough, but to also air her dirty laundry was unthinkable. She had no idea how the guy had found out about the termination, or why she’d become the victim of his attacks. She’d contacted the clinic after she’d received the first few threatening letters, but they assured her all patient information was kept strictly confidential, and they were at a loss to help her figure out who this person was, or how he’d found her. Julie had wracked her brain ever since to figure out how he’d obtained information about her abortion. One option was that this guy had something to do with a group of protesters outside the clinic on the day Julie attended. But that seemed so far-fetched it was almost ridiculous. At first, Julie had decided she could handle it by herself, and then just as things had escalated, she’d been asked back to Stormcloud, and thought her problem had disappeared.
“Right.” Daniella began to pace across the rug, much like Steve had been doing, but her brow was furrowed with deep thought, rather than anger. “We need to report this to the police. Nash will be able to help.”
Julie cringed inwardly. She liked Nash. Her stepsister’s new man was the best thing that’d ever happened to Skylar. Nash was also the Senior Constable at the police station in the nearest town of Dimbulah.
“I really didn’t want everyone else to know.” Julie screwed up her face in a grimace. “Especially not about…the abortion.” It was a testament to the emotions that were rolling around inside her. Shame. She was ashamed of having to terminate her pregnancy. There had been mitigating circumstances, and she knew the decision had been the right one, but people would judge her, nonetheless. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that sort of judgment.
“I can understand that,” her father replied. “But it’s going to be hard to keep the truth from them.”
Yep, it seemed the genie was well and truly out of the bottle. Julie sat down again and ran an agitated hand through her short hair. She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with any of this.
“I also think we should look at getting a private detective,” Daniella mused, almost to herself. “They can often find out things much more quickly than the police.”
Julie wanted to roll her eyes. Surely that was going a little too far. But once Daniella took hold of an idea, there was usually no stopping her.
“Dean might be able to help. I’ll call him.” Daniella tapped a finger to her mouth.
“Do you think so?” Steve seemed to brighten at the idea.
“Of course,” Daniella replied.
Dean was Daniella’s brother. He lived in Montana and ran a sister resort to Stormcloud, called Stargazer Ranch. That luxury ranch had been running for over fifteen years. Dean had been the catalyst for starting Stormcloud three years later, and he was part-owner of the station. Julie had only met her step-uncle once, when he’d visited a few years back. She liked his jovial optimism and his big, open smile. Dean was also mega-rich, and Daniella would probably be hoping that he’d have connections and perhaps even help them pay for a private detective.
Daniella stopped her pacing and looked directly at Steve. “I think we need to beef up security around here.” She glanced quickly at Julie and then away. “You saw that letter. He not only threatened Julie’s life, but he hinted at hurting us, as well.”
Steve went as still as a statue, as if the idea hadn’t yet occurred to him. They might all be in danger.
Julie wanted to scoff at the idea. Surely this guy’s spiel was all rhetoric? He didn’t really mean it, did he? She thought about the hatred behind those words on the paper and a small shudder went through her.
“We need to look at getting some protection for Julie. And for us, as well, at least in the short term.” Daniella’s blue eyes went steel-gray as she formulated her plan. “I’m going to look up one of those bodyguard companies, we should—”
“I don’t need a bodyguard,” Julie broke through Daniella’s deliberation. This was crazy talk. Almost as crazy as the idea she had a stalker. Enough was enough. She was not going down the path of getting a personal security guard. She wasn’t that desperate.
