Hero's Return

She glanced in her rearview mirror again and smiled. A pickup was tearing down the road behind her. Her pulse leaped at the sight. It was the cowboy; she’d bet on it.

Still smiling, she thought about speeding up and giving him a run for his money. But she was at the edge of town and there was a deputy sitting in his patrol car right by the city-limits sign. She had no choice but to slow down. The truck was gaining on her. If the cowboy wasn’t careful, the deputy would pull him over.

The driver of the pickup slowed. He was right behind her now. She could see his collar-length dark hair under his Stetson. It was the same man. She glimpsed his dark expression and felt a shiver.

Her heart began to pound as she considered what he might do next. He definitely had come after her. Why else was he now riding her bumper? She couldn’t help but wonder what he made of her...behavior at the creek. It appeared she would find out soon enough.

She doubted he was ready for her, Kate thought as she pulled her shoulder bag closer. She wouldn’t need the handgun in it, she told herself, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

* * *

TUCKER COULDN’T BELIEVE IT. He’d caught up to her before she’d reached town. There was no doubt it was the woman from the creek. And she’d seen him. Their eyes had met in her rearview mirror and he’d seen recognition.

He’d also seen the deputy sitting on the edge of town with his radar gun out. Tucker had had no choice but to slow down. Still, there was no way she was getting out of his sight. He would follow her until she pulled over even if it meant following her all the way to Helena.

To his surprise, she pulled over into the Yogo Inn, the local downtown hotel. He swung in behind her but waited for her to get out of her SUV before he exited his pickup. He didn’t trust this woman after what he’d seen at the creek.

She climbed out after reaching into the back seat for her overnight bag. As she closed and locked her car door, she turned to look at him. There appeared to be amusement in her expression, before she headed for the front door of the hotel.

Jumping out of his pickup, he went after her. She had no chance against his long legs. Even at thirty-six he could still run like he had when he’d played football in high school.

“Hold up!” he called to her slim back. On the bridge he hadn’t gotten a good look at her. She’d been wearing a jean jacket so he hadn’t seen her figure. Now she wore only a T-shirt and jeans, and filled out both in an appealing way that momentarily distracted him.

Also, at the creek, her hair had been covered by a baseball cap. Now her long dark hair fell in a riot of loose curls down to the middle of her back. As she moved, it swayed in luxurious shiny ebony waves.

“Miss!”

She pretended not to hear him, he was sure of it. But she wasn’t getting away. This woman was the closest he’d come to knowing who Madeline Ross really had been—and maybe what she’d been capable of.

He quickly caught up to her and, grabbing one slim arm, spun her around to face him. He was momentarily startled by her wide green eyes in a face that could have stopped traffic. Her cheekbones were high, her mouth bow-shaped.

He’d expected her to be alarmed. Or at least frightened by having a man accost her in a hotel parking lot. But as she stared back at him from the depths of all that emerald green, he only saw a curious regard. Her lips parted slightly as if waiting to be kissed before turning up at the corners in more pronounced amusement.

Taken aback, he had trouble finding his voice.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” she asked as he quickly released her arm.

“Sorry,” he said as he stared her. She was definitely the woman from the creek, but she wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting. He’d assumed since she’d known Madeline that she would be more like her. This woman was much more refined, educated and apparently well-off. It seemed impossible that she could have been working with Madeline all those years ago.

So how did he explain what he’d seen at the creek?

He couldn’t and for a moment he didn’t know what was going to come out of his mouth. “I’m sorry. I thought you were...” He shook his head.

She hadn’t moved, hadn’t turned and run; she hadn’t even tried to put a little distance between them. Instead, she was studying him with those wide-open green eyes. If anything, he saw interest in those eyes.

“Is there something I can help you with?” she asked, sounding genuinely concerned for him.

It made him angry. He should be concerned for her, given what he’d seen. What was worse was that he realized that this woman couldn’t possibly be the person who’d been working with Madeline all those years ago. She wasn’t old enough.

He felt like an even bigger fool. But still, he hadn’t imagined what he’d seen at the creek. But what had he seen?

“I saw you at the creek earlier.” He waited for her to explain. She didn’t. “You seemed upset.”

“Did I? Is that why you chased me down?”

“I got the feeling that you had some connection to the woman whose remains were found in the creek. I must have been wrong.”

“No, you’re not wrong.”

That stopped him in his tracks. “I beg your pardon?”

“What did she call herself?”

He felt as if he’d fallen down a rabbit hole. “I’m sorry, who are we talking about?”

“The woman who broke your heart.”

“Oh, her,” he said with a laugh. “Are we still talking about the woman found in the creek?”

“Only if she’s the one who broke your heart. Oh, I see. She did. I thought as much. Do I remind you of her?” she asked and tucked a lock of her dark hair behind one ear. A diamond earring winked in the sunlight.

“No, she couldn’t hold a candle to you,” he admitted truthfully. In retrospect, everything about Madeline had been disingenuous from her blond hair to her name. While everything about this woman was the real thing. Not that any of that had mattered when he was seventeen and in love for the very first time.

Tucker realized he was staring again—and having an even harder time following this conversation. He shook his head. “Sorry, I’m confused.”

She chuckled. “I’m not surprised.” She held out her hand. “Katherine Rothschild, but my friends call me Kate.”

“Tucker Cahill.” Her hand was small and warm, the skin silken, the manicured nails a sweet pale pink. “Rothschild,” he repeated and held on to her hand a little too long. Anyone who had ever lived in Montana knew that name. “Your father—”

“Is the former senator and now a congressman in Washington, DC.”

Clayton Rothschild was a mover and shaker in DC and one of the wealthiest men in the state. He owned almost as much land in Montana as Ted Turner.

“Cahill? Any relation to Sheriff Flint Cahill?”

“He’s my brother.” He frowned, suddenly wondering how a young woman like her—let alone a Rothschild—would know Flint. Not to mention what she’d been doing down by the creek earlier. She still hadn’t explained what he’d seen. All she’d done was confuse him.

“You said you do have a connection to the dead woman?” He was having trouble believing that.

She smiled. “And so do you, I’m guessing. Do they have a positive identification on her yet?”

“Not that I’ve heard. How do you know all this?”

“About the skeletal remains being found? From the news. That’s why I’m here. I’d planned to speak to your brother Flint. But it was nice to meet you instead. Well, I better get checked in before they give my room away.”

“Wait,” he said, realizing she’d sidestepped almost every question he’d asked her. “You haven’t told me what you were doing at the creek earlier. I heard you crying. I also saw you spit on the woman’s grave.”

Kate Rothschild nodded, smiling. “Nor have you told me what she called herself, this woman who broke your heart.”

“Madeline.”

“Well, in that case, you should buy me dinner tonight,” Kate said. “It appears we have some things in common.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?”

“Of course not. Pick me up at seven.” With that, she turned and headed into the hotel.

Tucker watched her go.

“It was nice meeting you, Tucker Cahill,” she said over her shoulder an instant before the door closed behind her.

* * *

KATE HAD JUST stepped into the hotel when her cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was her mother calling again. She pocketed her phone and proceeded to get checked in. Her mind kept straying in the direction of Tucker Cahill. She was still embarrassed that he’d witnessed her breakdown at the creek. But in a twist of fate, it had all worked out better than she’d planned. And now she was having dinner with him tonight.

Strike while the iron is hot, she thought and realized that she’d just used one of her mother’s expressions. That was a sour thought.

Once in her room, she walked to the window and looked out on Gilt Edge. It was named after one of the gold mines back in the mountains that surrounded the town. Her phone rang again. She’d thought it was her mother again, but it was her father’s personal assistant, Peter.

He was the last person she wanted to talk to considering their last discussion.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Peter had asked before she’d flown home to Helena. She’d been in DC on an errand for her father when she’d heard about the young woman’s remains being found in Miner’s Creek—next to the Cahill Ranch. She’d been anxious to return to Montana as quickly as possible. Peter had insisted on dinner before her flight, and even before the entrées arrived, she’d regretted saying yes.

“I’m going home,” she’d said, pretending she didn’t know what Peter was referring to. While her father spent most of his time in Washington, DC, her mother preferred living outside Helena on the ranch. It was there that Kate and her brother had grown up.

“You’re opening a Pandora’s box,” Peter had argued. “Think about what it could do to your father’s career.”

She had thrown down her napkin and pushed to her feet. “Her bones have been found. The box is already open.”

“For God’s sake, Katie, sit back down before you embarrass us both.”

“I’m going to finish this—come hell or high water and no one, especially you, can stop me. And I’m not your Katie.” With that, she’d walked out, caught the flight home and then driven to Gilt Edge.

Her cell phone rang again. Her mother. She knew she couldn’t keep avoiding her so she picked up. “Hello, Mother.”

“Katherine.” The word was filled with reproach.

Her mother was Helena’s leading socialite. Kate knew that she liked being a big fish in a little pond, unlike getting lost in the crowd in DC where she was just another politician’s wife.

But Mamie Rothschild would never admit that. Just as she would never admit there were any bad memories in that big old house outside Helena. Her mother didn’t allow herself to acknowledge anything unpleasant. Her strong resilient mother was a survivor, she thought grudgingly, and she’d raised Kate to be one, as well.

“Did you get my message?” her mother demanded.

“No, what was it?”

“I’ve spoken with your father. He feels the same way I do. He said he would fly back from DC if he had to, but he’d prefer that you stop what you’re doing.”

She realized she could thank Peter for this. The next time she saw him... “I’m not doing anything more than what I always do, Mother.” She pushed back the curtain at the hotel window and realized that from here she could see the cut in the trees where the Cahill ranch house must be—not that far at all from the creek. How convenient.

“We both know why you’re in Gilt Edge and it isn’t your interest in some story about bones found in a creek near there.”

“You might be surprised by who or what I’m interested in.”

Reproving silence filled the line. “I don’t wish to talk about your personal life, if that’s what you’re referring to with that remark. Peter is just as upset as your father and I. You need to stop this.”

“Actually, what I’m doing is getting ready to go on a date.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. How could you possibly be going on a date? You and Peter—”

“Are not serious. I’ve told you that numerous times.”

“Well, maybe you aren’t serious, but Peter is. You’re making a mistake. Peter is perfect for you.”

“No, he’s perfect for what you and Father want for me. Tonight I’m going out with a cowboy. His name is Tucker Cahill.”

“Cahill?” Her mother sounded breathless.

“Yes. He and I already share a special bond. We met today at the creek where the bones were found. I asked him to take me out to dinner.”

Mamie would be horror-stricken if she’d known that Kate had lost control out at the creek—especially since there’d been a witness. And not just any witness. Tucker Cahill. With the Cahill Ranch so close, Kate shouldn’t have been surprised to see the cowboy there, especially now that she had confirmed that they had something in common.

Tucker Cahill had known Madeline. From his expression earlier, he’d known her well. That thought turned her stomach. He’d chased her down to find out what she knew. And now she was having dinner with him tonight to find out what he knew. Talk about strange bed partners, so to speak.

Even stranger was who had brought them together.

“You need to come to your senses,” her mother was saying.

“Oh, I have. I told you I would never let this go. Tucker doesn’t know it, but he’s going to help me.”

Her mother sniffed angrily. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”

“On the contrary. I’m good at what I do, Mother, so I have a pretty good idea of what I’m doing.”

The next words were delivered like a dagger of ice. “You know what I mean.”

“I have to get ready for my date.”

“I’m calling your father and Peter,” her mother threatened.

“Daddy won’t come home. Not for this. He will want to stay as far away as he can from anything...ugly. I’m afraid you’re on your own since there is nothing you can say to stop me. As for Peter, you really are wasting your time. He has nothing to say that I want to hear.” She disconnected, surprised how angry she was. Or how close she was to tears again.

Clearly she wasn’t as strong as she’d thought. But she was as determined as she’d been every day for the past nineteen years. She wasn’t going to let anyone stop her. Not even Tucker Cahill.

* * *

TUCKER HAD JUST reached his pickup when his cell phone rang.

“Where are you?” Flint asked. “I just tried the ranch. Cyrus said they hadn’t seen you.”

He could hear the fear in his brother’s voice. Flint had thought he might have left town again without a word. “Sorry, I got waylaid. I’m on my way there now.”

“How about a change of plans? I just talked to Maggie. She’s up for all of us going to the Stagecoach Saloon tonight and celebrating your return.”

“Oh, that sounds great but I can’t tonight. I have a date.”

“A date? Tucker, you just got back to town.”

“I know,” he said with a laugh. “I’m as surprised as you are. If you saw her, you’d be even more surprised.”

“Who is this woman?”

“Kate Rothschild.”

“Rothschild? Of the Montana Rothschilds?”

“Apparently so.”

“What is she doing in Gilt Edge?”

He couldn’t tell his brother what he’d witnessed. Not until he knew more. “Just passing through, I think.”

“And you just happened to cross her path?” Flint asked.

“Yep, must be fate.” Even as he said it, he wondered if it wasn’t true. They would never have met if he hadn’t seen her at the creek today. He would have never known her connection to Madeline. Not that he did yet, but he would by tonight.

“Fate, huh?”

“You have such a suspicious mind.”

Flint laughed. “I’ve been told that. It goes with the job. Look, I’m happy for you, but I was hoping we could get together your first night home. The rest of the family is anxious to see you.”

“I know. They’ll also want answers about where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing and why I left,” Tucker said. “I’m not sure I’m up to an interrogation tonight. It’s been kind of a rough day and a relief at the same time.”

“I know. It was a lot to take in.” His brother seemed to hesitate. “We might have an ID on the remains from the creek. They could belong to a woman named Madeline Dunn from Clawson Creek. She would have been twenty-two.”

Tucker took in that information for a moment. “Madeline Dunn.”

“I’m not going to try to find the next of kin until we get the DNA results.”

“Dunn, huh,” Tucker said. He finally had a name. After all these years of wondering who Madeline really was...

“Are you sure I can’t talk you into changing your plans?” Flint asked.

Not a chance, Tucker thought. “Not tonight. But I’m anxious to see everyone, too. In fact, I’m headed for the saloon right now. Thought I’d swing by on my way back to the ranch. Any chance I can catch both Lillie and Darby there?”

“I just talked to them so I’d say there is a very good chance.”

“Great, after that I’ll go to the ranch and see Hawk and Cyrus. I’m going to be staying out there in my old room if they’ll have me.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Flint asked.

“It’s going to take some getting used to. But I’m glad to be home—even under the circumstances. Don’t worry about me, little brother.”

Flint chuckled. “Sorry. I’ve worried about you for years. It’s become a habit that is going to take time getting used to not worrying about you.”

Tucker pulled up in front of the Stagecoach Saloon, which his sister and brother, fraternal twins, owned. “I’m at the saloon.”

“If I don’t talk to you later, have fun on your date.”

“I’ll try.” But as he disconnected, he didn’t think it was that kind of date. He was curious as hell about Kate Rothschild. But for the life of him he couldn’t understand how Kate could have anything to do with Madeline, which made what he’d witnessed at the creek all that more intriguing. Add to that, she’d said they had something in common with the bones found in the creek.

His cell rang before he could exit his pickup. He saw it was Flint again and picked up.

“Tuck,” his brother said without preamble. “Be careful on your date tonight. I just looked Kate Rothschild up on the internet. She’s an award-winning investigative reporter for a big New York newspaper. I can’t imagine what she’s doing in Gilt Edge, unless she’s interested in the remains found in the creek. In which case, she might also be interested in you. Is there any way she could have known about you and Madeline?”

CHAPTER SIX

KATE WAS STILL upset after the phone call. She’d known how her mother felt. She’d even accepted that her mother did her best to avoid anything unpleasant in life by changing the story. That meant telling the new, improved story until she actually believed it was true. Was it any wonder Mamie Rothschild’s daughter had become an investigative reporter so there was at least a little truth in her life?

Moving away from the window, she thought about her date tonight. The elusive Tucker Cahill was certainly making this easier for her. She’d been suspicious when she’d learned that he’d left town nineteen years ago—right after graduating from high school. Right after Madeline seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. Now, she didn’t have to ask what had brought him back given what she already knew about him. She just hadn’t expected it to be this easy.

Now that she’d met him, she had to admit, he wasn’t what she’d expected. The cowboy was bigger, stronger looking, more solid—almost to the point of being intimidating. He reminded her of some of the romance-novel-cover models, with the rock-hard chest, smooth bronze skin and washboard stomach. No wonder women found that kind of man...appealing. She would love to get a load of Tucker’s bare chest.

He looked only a little like his yearbook photos that she’d seen from before he’d left Gilt Edge. She wondered where he’d been, what exactly had kept him away as well as how he’d kept in such great shape and if she would have a chance to see him with his shirt off.

Speculating about his incredible physique kept her mind off how dangerous a game she was playing. Her parents had the right to be worried for her. Still, she had to laugh at where her mind had taken her. She wasn’t immune to a handsome man, but she’d never dated one like Tucker Cahill. She’d always stayed clear of cowboys on the family ranch. The men she’d dated were clones of her father. Like Peter. Men her father would approve of.

She smiled to herself as she thought of what her father would make of Tucker Cahill with his too-long dark hair and those gray eyes fringed with long dark eyelashes, not to mention the chiseled jaw. Wouldn’t her father have a fit if she’d ever brought home someone like him?

Katie opened her overnight bag and frowned. She’d packed what she needed for a short stay. No way had she planned on going on a date. Asking Tucker out had been impulsive, not that she regretted it on any level.

With a sigh, though, she picked up her shoulder bag, leaving the gun behind for this trip. She’d have to walk downtown and see if she could find something to wear tonight. Glancing in the mirror by the door, she took in the jeans, T-shirt and tennis shoes she was wearing. Not exactly date attire. She had planned on doing some exploring at the crime scene—before Tucker had seen her and she’d taken off.

He’d changed her plans. Tonight, though, she would find out just how much he knew before she decided how he was going to help her get what she wanted. Her mother had always encouraged her to dress for success. Tonight she was going to do just that.

* * *

TUCKER’S SISTER, LILLIE, saw him first. She’d been standing at the bar rubbing her protruding stomach. When she spotted him, she dropped her hand, her eyes widening and quickly filling with tears, before she screamed his name.

“Tucker!”

He moved to her to take her in his arms. “Hey, little sis. What happened to you?” he asked with a laugh. “What ya got in there, my nephew or niece?”

Lillie was crying too hard to answer. Tucker looked to his brother Darby, who came around the bar. He stuck out his hand. “Darby, dang, you two are a sight for sore eyes. You’re all grown-up.” They’d been nine when he’d left.

A few regulars at the bar were craning their necks to see what was going on.

“Are you back?” Darby asked.

Tucker nodded. “Sorry it took me so long. I’ll tell you all about it, but I can’t right now. I have a date.”

“A date?” Lillie demanded, finally finding her voice as she pulled back to look at him. “A date your first night home?”

“You sound like Flint.”

“He knows you’re back?”

Tucker laughed, hearing the jealousy in her voice. “I’m staying at the ranch and I haven’t seen Hawk and Cyrus yet, but I had to stop by and see the two of you. We’ll all get together soon and catch up, I promise.”

Lillie wiped her eyes, her hand going to her stomach again. “You haven’t even met my husband, Trask, or Darby’s wife, Mariah, yet. Or Billie Dee.”

“Billie Dee?”

“The best cook in Montana, probably the whole US,” Lillie said adamantly.

He laughed. “I will meet them all. I’ll catch up on everything, but right now I have to run.” He kissed his sister on the cheek and waved to Darby. “It’s so great to see the two of you again.”

“Did Flint tell you a package arrived for you?” Lillie asked.

Tucker had forgotten about it for a while. “He did.” He could see that Lillie was busting at the seams to know what was inside. “It was just somethin’ I sent on ahead of me. No big deal.” She looked disappointed. “No mystery. Sorry.”

But as he left, he couldn’t help but wonder who’d sent the doll and what exactly the message had been.