Westin Family Ties

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Cody had driven them down the alley with his lights off, exiting by going through a driveway halfway down the block that connected the alley to the street. He’d driven slowly and methodically, while constantly checking the rearview mirror until he announced he hadn’t seen any sign someone was following them.

But Cassie couldn’t let the hunted feeling go. Someone at the Priestly house was targeting her and, by default, her baby. Would they be able to outrun that someone?

“Who do you think did this, Cassie?” Cody asked, as they hit a major road and he picked up speed.

She shot him a look, then turned in her seat to stare ahead. Evening had given way to night, and there was nothing to be gained by staring at a bunch of headlights. “How should I know?”

“Do you have any ideas? Any gut feelings?”

“Well, it has to be someone in that house or someone connected to them, right? My money is on Emerson Banner or maybe even Victoria. They both made no bones about how much they resented Mrs. Priestly hiring me. Still, trying to blow me up? Seems a little over the top, doesn’t it?”

“What about Banner’s son?”

“Robert? Did you meet him?”

“Kind of.”

She shrugged. “He was always nice to me, you know, pleasant. More importantly, he was great with his grandmother, and she just adored him. As for his sister, Donna, she’s nice, too. A little distracted right now. Her husband disappeared a day or so after Mrs. Priestly’s murder…”

“Wait. Isn’t that suspicious timing?” Cody interrupted.

“Yes. The police were questioning Donna about him. There’s no doubt Donna will inherit from her grandmother, so it seems possible Kevin might have been involved in Mrs. Priestly’s death. But why go after me? I’ve never even seen the man.”

“Face it,” he said. “It could be any of them.”

Cassie rubbed her arms to try to shake off the chill. Apparently misinterpreting the reason she was shaking, Cody handed her a sheepskin jacket he’d stashed behind the seat, and she shrugged it over her shoulders. It smelled like him, of the earth and aftershave, and it gripped her heart with its forgotten familiarity. “Do you think the same person who planted the jewelry on me tried to kill me?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m still trying to figure out why anyone would do that.”

“All I could figure was someone stuck it in there in the hopes I wouldn’t notice. Then they planned to follow me and swipe my suitcase and recover the jewelry. That way I’d be blamed and the thief would make off with a bundle. It was really nice stuff. I told Mrs. Priestly she should put most of it in a safe deposit box, but she liked to have her things nearby.”

He spared her a long look. “That’s not a bad guess. Or maybe someone wanted to discredit you so you couldn’t inherit.”

“It’s all about money, either way.”

“It usually is. But there’s another possibility. Maybe you know something about Mrs. Priestly’s murderer, maybe something you don’t even realize you know.”

She hadn’t thought of that. What if she did? Chills that could rival the Indianapolis 500 raced up her spine. She closed her eyes. She needed to calm down, take deeper breaths, channel peaceful thoughts to her baby.

But she was scared and, truthfully, not just for her well-being. Every mile took her closer to the Open Sky Ranch and the life she’d abandoned.

She opened her eyes and stared straight ahead, trying to think, but the headlights drilled through the darkness ahead, creating a tunnel effect. There was the feeling if they kept going long enough, she would wind up where she’d been born and raised, in Cheyenne, clear across the state, a child again…

Back to the small house on Elder Street. Back to her astringent mother and the one treasured photograph she had of the man who had fathered her but had run off right after her birth.

“No,” she said, and hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud until Cody cleared his throat.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she mumbled. Her father was gone, her mother was dead, the house had probably been razed in favor of a shopping mall.

They entered Woodwind a few minutes later. Less than an hour to the ranch. She would arrive home pregnant and covered with soot, her hair a tangled mess, her clothes torn and dirty.

And everyone on the ranch would be there with a million questions…

“Cody, pull over. I want to get a room here in town for the night. I can’t go back like this. I can’t face your family yet.”

He’d pulled the truck over when she asked. She hadn’t missed his quick glance into the rearview mirror, and she assumed it was to see if anyone behind them had also pulled over. She’d checked the side mirror herself.

“There’s a convention in town,” Cody said, pointing at the Welcome Wyoming Square Dancers! sign on the No Vacancy hotel billboard in front of them.

“There must be a room somewhere. I need to clean up before, well—”

“Okay, I understand. There have been some changes at the ranch you need to know about, too.”

“Your father? He’s okay, isn’t he? And Adam?”

“Yeah, they’re good. Dad’s knee is better—the limp is all but gone. And Adam’s shoulder was wounded, but it’s mended now. He has other news, though.”

“And Bonnie? How is Bonnie?”

He laughed softly. “She’s fine. Follows me around everywhere but I think she’s looking for you. She may technically be my dog, but we both know where her heart is. No, trust me, the changes are good. Let’s check for a room on the outskirts, away from the convention center.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They finally found a Vacancy sign displayed at the Woodwind Inn, located near a shopping plaza that was currently closed. Cody parked directly under the overhead lights and unnecessarily reminded Cassie to lock the doors of the truck behind him while he went inside and registered.

She locked the doors and scanned the shadows, her gaze returning at once to the strong, retreating figure of her husband.

Was it too late for them? Had her pride cost her a husband? Worse, had it cost her child a complete family?

She suddenly realized she’d been scratching her head and it wasn’t because of deep thoughts. Caked soap and ash—what a sight she must be. Although she was pretty sure she’d left her brush beside the sink, didn’t she have a comb somewhere?

She flicked on the cab light and opened her hobo bag. She found the comb after a little digging. She also found a half of a candy bar and realized how hungry she was—had Cody forgotten about dinner? She knew she had, but now she was suddenly ravenous and quickly devoured a few bites of chocolate and peanuts.

Patting around inside for the snack package of crackers she was almost positive she had, she detected something bumpy on the zippered side and angled the bag toward the light to see what it was.

She saw nothing and was about to investigate further when Cody beeped the locks open and once again slid behind the wheel.

“They only had one room,” he said, as he handed her a small courtesy package that included a toothbrush and toothpaste. “I think that’s better anyway. Considering everything, I mean.”

“One room is all we need,” she said, ignoring the flutter in her stomach at the thought of hanging out all alone with him in a small room with no diversions. Still, that was better than laying awake all night by herself waiting for someone to break down the door and throw a hand grenade into her room…?.

JUDGING FROM THE UNEASY glances the girl at the front desk had thrown at him as he registered, Cody had to assume he looked as charred and tired as Cassie did.

The room was unexpectedly nice, with lots of extras like fluffy linens and even a small gas fireplace, which he ignited as Cassie took the first shower. He dug his novel out of his duffel and sat near the gas fire, the flickering flames immediately reminding him of the aftermath of the explosion.

Setting the book aside, he dug the small jewelry box out of his pocket and opened it again. Should he give it to her?

He could have lost her today, finally and irrevocably. And he could have lost a son or daughter he’d known about for less than twelve hours.

Who would try to kill Cassie and why? He needed to know what she knew—why was the old lady upset before her death? A premonition? And why did Cassie say she wondered if she should have done things differently? What, exactly?

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn’t hear the shower go off and was surprised when the door opened and Cassie emerged, a towel wrapped around her head, a white robe, compliments of the inn, belted above the baby bump.

His hand closed around the little box and he slipped it into his pocket as he got to his feet. With everything that had happened, the miracle of being in the same room with Cassie was hard to grasp. For several seconds he just stood there staring at her until he finally mumbled, “I’ll take a short shower, then we can hit the hay.”

“What about dinner? Aren’t you hungry?”