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“Are you back?”
“I am.” She sounded excited. She sounded good. He couldn’t wait to see her.
“I need to see you.” He told himself that everything was going to work out. “Duffy, too,” she added. His heart had begun to lift as if filled with helium until she said that. “Can you come to the apartment in town?”
“I’ll find Duffy and we’ll be right there,” he said, hiding his disappointment. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll tell you all about it when I see you. I’m so glad you’re back.”
His smile widened as he said, “Me, too. Can’t wait to see you.” On the way back home, all he’d thought about was Oakley. Maybe Sarah was right. Maybe it was time to at least tell her how he felt. But he knew he couldn’t do that without confessing the secret he’d kept from her and the rest of the McKenna family.
OVERTHEPASTfew days, Holden had debated what to do. He’d done what Elaine had suggested and did a background check on Pickett. It was something he knew he should have done all those years ago—or at least should have asked him questions about himself.
He’d gotten the impression that the teenager had been running from something. He’d wanted to help. Montana had long been a place that outlaws came to hide out, start a new life, make their fortune, put their past behind them. While it was no longer the Wild West, it still wasn’t like any other place.
His great-grandfather had been part of a cattle drive up from Texas all those years ago. He’d heard stories about the man and could safely assume he’d been running from something when he’d left Texas because he’d never gone back.
Pickett had been the same way—until recently. Holden liked the young man. Did it matter that Pickett Hanson hadn’t been his birth name? Or that he had a family back east he’d never mentioned—or had ever visited in all these years?
“You look troubled,” Elaine said as she joined him at the window.
There was little he couldn’t talk to her about, but this was something he wanted to keep to himself. At least for now.
“Just gathering wool, as they used to say.” He smiled at her, thankful every day to have her in his life. But this wasn’t something he was ready to talk about. He needed to talk to Pickett first.
“I’m sorry about the Turner Ranch. I heard Inez put it in a conservation easement. I know how badly you’d hoped to buy the place.”
He shook his head. “Buying it for what it’s worth would have stretched things a little too tight. It wasn’t meant to be. I think Inez did the right thing.”
She smiled. “That’s what I love about you. You always see the bright side of things.”
“Not always.” His cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and frowned. It was the ranch lawyer calling. That couldn’t be good. “If you’ll excuse me.” Once in his den with the door closed, he picked up, bracing himself for the worst.
CJMADETHECALL. He needed to calm everyone down. The best way to do that was to get back into business. But he knew he’d have to sell them on the idea. Frankie was jumpy and suspicious. “It’s time to get going again.” Silence. “Come on, Frankie, I told you, I’m solid. You can trust me. But I can’t just sit here doing nothing. I talked my mother into drilling more wells. That way you and Norman can come and go here on the ranch without anyone questioning it.”
“You think that’s a good idea? What if your sister sees us and remembers something?”
“She isn’t going to be a problem because when she tries to vandalize the equipment here on the ranch before the drilling begins tomorrow, you’re going to catch her and make sure she never remembers anything ever again.”
“Seriously? You realize that wasn’t part of the deal. It will cost you.”
“That’s why we need to get back into business. I already have a place lined up. See, I have too much to lose to make any deals with the law. This time we won’t get caught because the operation will be on private land. Satisfied?”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Trust me, I do.” He didn’t mention his concern about Oakley and the sinking feeling that she really was starting to remember. No reason to worry Frankie. No reason to tell him how relentless Oakley can be. Better to have him feeling comfortable so there were no more misunderstandings between them.
He tried to tell himself that even if she did remember, she had no proof. She’d spent months with memory loss. Any memory now wouldn’t be credible, not without evidence. The original meth lab had been destroyed before the sheriff could investigate. Nothing could tie them to the place.
But he couldn’t take the chance that if she remembered, the sheriff and the feds would be watching him and his friends too closely. His friends were skittish enough already.
“I told you I’d make up for the mistake I made,” he told Frankie now. “I’m doing it. Let’s get the word out about the new well going in on the Stafford Ranch. The equipment is coming in today. Drilling starts tomorrow. I know Oakley. She’ll take the bait.”
The sooner the gas company brought in the equipment, the sooner CJ’s problems would be over.
*
OAKLEYHADFEAREDthat things would be awkward with Duffy and Pickett. But when they arrived at the apartment, she was relieved that it felt like old times. They were her best friends. She never wanted that to change.
