A Cahill Ranch Novel

It had made for a tense day, fearing that he might foolishly show up at the bar any minute. He hadn’t. She figured he’d probably left again. If he’d been arrested, she would have heard by now.

“Does it ever bother you?” Darby asked as he joined her in their nightly ritual after the place closed. He took a drink of his cola and glanced out the window.

Lillie didn’t have to ask what he was referring to. She followed his gaze to the far pasture of the Cahill Ranch and the eight-by-eight metal fence around the missile silo.

“We don’t even know if there is a manned missile down there after the disarmament agreements,” she said.

“That’s just it, neither do the Russians or the Chinese or whoever else wants us all dead. So when they decide to destroy us, they will fire at all of the missile silos. It will be Armageddon.”

There were 450 active sites in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota—two hundred of them in Montana alone. All of them were scattered around the state in pastures behind a chain-link fence much like the Cahills’. Their grandfather had been honored to do his part when it came to the nation’s security. He’d gladly given the military the land they wanted for the missile site.

Everything about the sites were top secret. And that was the problem. If there was a malfunction, not even the sheriff could get involved.

“Truthfully? I forget it’s even out there,” Lillie said, taking a drink of her beer. Today especially, since she had other things on her mind. She’d gone for a drive after leaving her father at his cabin. It had given her time to think about things. She’d felt better by the time she’d come back to work her shift at the bar.

Now hours later, she and her brother were relaxing together. It was her favorite time of the day normally. Sitting there, she kept thinking of Trask. Worse, she was keeping it from the brother she felt closest to. How could she pretend that nothing had changed?

Her brother sighed. “Dad thinks something is going on out there.”

“It’s those aliens. They just won’t leave him alone,” she joked.

“It’s because he is such a fine human specimen at nearly seventy.”

She suddenly felt like crying. “What if it’s real?”

“The air force has admitted that trained military men witnessed what they believe was a flying saucer hovering over some of the missile silos in March of 1967. Hell, whatever it was, it shut down the missiles, sent them off-line. If we’d been attacked during the more than twelve hours the missiles were inoperable...”

Lillie sighed. “If that really was an alien spaceship from some other planet, then we have more to worry about than the foreign invaders and the rest of our country’s enemies on this earth.”

Darby nodded. “I think it’s what Dad saw all those years ago. Maybe he really was abducted by aliens, as crazy as it sounds. He wouldn’t be alone. Aren’t there hundreds of people who make that claim elsewhere in the world?”

“Maybe not hundreds.” She could tell that he wanted to believe it. Or more than likely wanted other people to believe their father and quit treating him like a nutcase. “Or maybe what happened to him is more like a flashback from when he was in the Vietnam War. Let’s not forget what he’s been through before any of this alien talk.”

Darby nodded and took another drink. Their father was a war hero. He’d been shot down and captured, spending months in a prison camp before being rescued. “So you don’t think there is anything going on at the missile silo?” Darby asked.

“Is that one of the reasons you want to leave here?” Lillie had to ask.

“You have to admit, it’s unsettling to think that an enemy country could nuke us at any time.”

Did he really live with that fear every day? Not everyone had a missile silo in his backyard. But a whole lot of people they knew around here did. “Then I think I should find a way to buy you out and you should leave.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Aren’t you?”

Slowly, he shook his head. “I don’t know what I want. I just feel...antsy.”

That was a feeling she knew well. She’d always blamed it on Trask. She’d lied to herself that she hadn’t been waiting for him all these years.

But after this morning, she wasn’t sure what she wanted. For years she’d wanted Trask. She’d played the fantasy of his return in her head. He would come back and beg her to forgive him, tell her what a fool he’d been, sweep her off her feet and... That was where she would stop imagining his amazing return.

There could be no happy ending. Not with a warrant out for his arrest. Even if there hadn’t been, he’d never wanted to stay in Gilt Edge and run a bar. And she didn’t want to leave. He’d known that. Maybe it was another reason he’d left her waiting that night nine years ago. They’d been at a stalemate. Nothing had changed.

Nothing except for the fact that they weren’t those lovesick twentysomethings anymore. And if Flint got word that Trask was back, it would be only a matter of time before he was behind bars. Would Trask put up a fight? Would it end in gunfire?

She shuddered at the thought.

“You okay?” her brother asked.

“Just a chill,” she said and took another sip of her beer. Through the open window, she could hear the frogs in the creek and the breeze whispering in the pines outside. She loved the peace that fell over the land in this isolated spot after the bar closed.

But tonight they’d closed early because business had been slow. Even so, she had too much on her mind to feel much peace. She finished her beer and got to her feet. “I’m tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.”

Darby was looking at her as if he was trying to read what was really bothering her. “I’m not going to force you into anything on this place. I promise. I’m just talking.”

She nodded, since that was the least worry on her mind right now.

“The old man is probably as fine as he can be, so there is nothing to worry about with him, either.”

Lillie met her brother’s gaze and considered telling him what was really bothering her. What would he suggest she do if she told him that it hadn’t been a bear but Trask she’d seen earlier? Neither of them would call Flint, she assured herself. And yet Darby was more straight-arrow than her and the others. Darby would want nothing to do with harboring a criminal. That much she knew. She told herself she wouldn’t put the bar in jeopardy.

But was she already risking everything by not telling someone about Trask’s visit?

* * *

FLINT HAD SPENT a long day dealing with one small crisis after another, waiting for Anvil to call and say he’d heard from his wife. Now it was late and he realized there was nothing at home to eat.

He was also second-guessing his decision on Jenna Holloway as he pulled into the grocery store lot before it closed for the night. Earlier he’d been hesitant to start treating the Holloway farm like a crime scene. He told himself he would give it twenty-four hours. It was that long before he could put out a missing person’s report on an adult female. That would give Jenna time to have second thoughts and come home.

If she was still alive.

That was what haunted him. By then, Anvil would have had plenty of time to cover his tracks even more than he already had. Flint knew that appearances could be deceiving. Anvil was definitely distraught. It was probably because of their argument, his wife’s infidelity and absence, his guilt for having slapped her. But it could also be because he’d killed her.

He decided as he pushed open the door to the grocery store that he’d put out a missing person’s BOLO on her and her vehicle first thing in the morning. He was still hoping that by tomorrow morning they would have news of her.

Tired, he put a frozen dinner, some eggs and a quart of orange juice into his cart and looked up to see his ex-wife, Celeste. That was the problem with living in such a small town. Fortunately, they somehow avoided each other for months at a time. Just his luck that tonight wasn’t one of those times. He was in no mood for her and the feelings she evoked.

“Flint?”

Her voice alone was enough to bring it all back. Bitter memories tainted the sweet ones from his youth. Celeste was still a stunner, her blond hair cut in a perfect bob that framed a perfectly made-up beautiful face. Diamonds glittered at her throat, her ears, and the big one weighed down her ring finger.

“Celeste.” He noticed that her grocery cart was filled with party food for a crowd. His own was nearly empty, making both it and him seem pathetic.

Her gaze scanned the contents of his cart before returning to him. She confirmed what he already figured she thought of him. The food in his cart practically announced it to the world. Here he was, the poor jilted ex struggling to survive. He wanted to say, “I’m doing just fine. Better than fine. Yes, you hurt me. We hurt each other. But I’m happy enough right now. Except when I run into you.”

Instead, he asked, “How’s Wayne?” and could have mentally kicked himself for it. He really didn’t give a damn how her husband was doing. There were at least two reasons to dislike Wayne Duma. A rancher, philanthropist, all-around good guy, Wayne wallowed in his family’s wealth. Wayne had also been sleeping with Celeste when she was still married to Flint.

“Wayne’s fine. Busy. I try to get him to slow down... We’re having a few people over tomorrow night. As you know, I don’t like waiting until the last minute to shop.” She motioned to her cart, looking as uncomfortable as he felt.

He recalled those late nights she went out for groceries and had really been meeting her future husband. A bitter taste filled his mouth at the memory.

When her green eyes locked with his, he remembered the two of them together, bodies glistening with sweat. It was a memory he would have preferred to forget.

“How are you, Flint?”

“Couldn’t be better.” Even to his ears, it sounded angry.

“I heard you’re seeing someone.” She frowned as if the name hadn’t been on the tip of her tongue. “Midge. No, Maggie. Maggie Johnson, no Thompson.” She smiled as if pleased that she’d remembered.

Flint felt his stomach roil. He didn’t want to talk about Maggie with Celeste, hated that she knew any of his business. But he especially hated that she knew he and Maggie were dating. Crazy as it sounded, he felt he needed to protect Maggie from Celeste, as if his ex might do something to hurt her. He doubted Celeste gave a minute’s thought to either of them.

“I should get going before my dinner thaws.” He’d lost his appetite and wished he hadn’t stopped by the store. But he had no choice now but to head to the front, where the checker appeared anxious to close soon.

Celeste looked disappointed that he was going. He’d seen her interest spark when she’d mentioned Maggie. It made him angry. She’d dumped him for Wayne Duma. She had no right wanting to know anything about his life, anything about Maggie, especially since Maggie was the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time.

He felt her gaze on him as he’d tried not to hurry to the checkout. That Celeste wanted to know more about Maggie worried him for reasons he couldn’t put his finger on. Just curiosity, he told himself.

But a part of him wondered if Celeste was regretting the choice she’d made. That thought made him laugh. Wayne had given Celeste everything she’d ever wanted. Everything Flint had sorely lacked. And when he was being honest with himself, it still hurt like hell.

* * *

“DARBY?” LILLIE HESITATED. She wanted to tell him the truth about Trask, but she realized she couldn’t involve him. For all she knew, Trask was gone again. End of story. The back door was propped open to let in the night breeze. It chilled her as she looked at her brother. “It’s just been a long day, since it began so early and at the sheriff’s office.” She smiled to take the edge off her words. She really hadn’t minded getting their father out.

“You want me to take a look out back in case that bear came back?” Darby asked, finishing his cola and getting to his feet.

“No. I’m sure it’s long gone.” The last thing she wanted was for Darby to go out and possibly run into Trask. She honestly didn’t know what would happen. All of her brothers knew that Trask had broken her heart. At the very least Darby would want to kick the crap out of him. She’d often wanted to do the same thing herself.

“Be careful driving home. Deer will be on the road. Don’t want to have to bail you out of jail in the morning for speeding or what Flint might see as reckless driving.”

“After drinking one cola?”

“Convince Flint that’s all it was,” she joked. Darby had been sober for three years and attended the local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings faithfully.

“An alkie owning and running a bar? What is wrong with this picture?” Cyrus had wanted to know.

“I still love bars,” Darby had said. “I just won’t be drinking.”

“There is something totally messed up in that,” his brother Hawk had said. Cyrus and Hawk loved ranching. They didn’t understand why Darby would choose standing behind a bar over chasing cattle from the back of a horse.

Darby had merely shrugged.

“You’re sure about this?” Lillie had asked him later.

“Positive. Watching other people drink too much, talk too much, argue and fight too much because of booze makes me glad I made the choice I did. Anyway, these are my people. I have a pretty good handle on who should drive home and whose keys I should take and get them a ride.”

She’d been skeptical, but Darby had stayed sober and seemed happy. Except when he talked about leaving.

“I’ll lock up, sis. Sleep well.”

She started toward the back of the building and the stairs that would take her up to her home over the bar.

“I love you,” Darby said behind her.

She stopped to look back, but he had already turned out the lights. “I love you too,” she said, not sure if he’d already left, since he didn’t answer.

As she reached the stairs, she made a quick detour and stepped outside. A crescent moon hung in the midnight blue sky along with trillions of twinkling stars. Out here there were no streetlights to wash out the view. She loved being able to see the stars.

Tonight, the mountains were etched deep purple against the night sky. The white snowcapped tips gleamed silver. Nearer, silhouetted pine trees swayed in the breeze as if in a slow dance.

“You are such a romantic,” Trask had once told her. “Are you sure you want to open a bar? You should be writing poetry.”

She’d laughed. “How do you know I don’t?”

His eyes had locked with hers. “You are such a mystery to me. I want to spend the rest of my life unlocking all your secrets.”

Lillie shook off the memory as she searched the pines and the hillside beyond for any sign of him. She caught the sweet scent of spring grass and pine. She heard an owl hoot off in the distance. She felt her heart beat slow in disappointment. Maybe he really was gone again.

She told herself it was for the best.

Going back inside, she locked the door and headed up the stairs. She thought of Darby and what he’d said before he’d left. They weren’t the kind of family that said they loved each other. It was a given.

So what was up with that? Was he having trouble staying sober? Would he tell her if he was? Also doubtful.

Or maybe, she thought, slowing as she reached her apartment door, maybe there was something else going on with him. She wished he would find someone to love. But her brother rarely dated. Cyrus and Hawk both said Darby was too particular. Like either of them dated much. Maybe they were all doomed to be alone.

She got ready for bed, worrying about her family, determined Trask wasn’t going to occupy her thoughts anymore this day. Climbing into bed, she closed her eyes. For only a moment did she wonder where Trask was sleeping tonight or if he was on the road miles from there, which was more than likely the case.

Lillie woke to darkness an instant before a large warm hand clamped down over her mouth.

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