God only knew what would have happened if she’d landed in the wrong truck heading out of Dodge. Anyone could have taken advantage of her.

  Conner groaned inwardly. He had! Kissing her soft, delectable lips placed him square in that category. And he ached for another chance. Sick, McCall, really sick.

  The best thing he could do for her was to head out in the morning and never look back. By the time he returned next week, she’d be safely back wherever she belonged. In Dallas, maybe? In the arms of her groom, perhaps.

  Why did a rush of despair land hard and swift in his gut?

  “Fingerprints and your picture first or the dress?” Caleb barely finished eating before asking questions again.

  Eve reached over and grabbed Conner’s thigh. Oh, too high. She dragged her hand away, but her fingers felt on fire from the feel of his muscles and how they immediately bunched when she touched him. And the way his breath whistled out of him. Surely, everyone could see the warmth spreading into her cheeks.

  “Nothing to wear. Isn’t that a woman’s classic response?” She forced a tight smile and avoided the sheriff’s intense gaze.

  “Jenny girl, do you have anything for Eve to change into?”

  “Nothing but the clothes on my back. Caleb, do you have to do this tonight?” Jenny rolled her eyes. “So persistent.”

  “No time like the present.”

  “I have some.” Buzz’s words tumbled out, freezing everyone in their place. “Not like that.” He swallowed hard. “My...late wife’s clothes. They’re new, still in the packaging or with tags. She got sick so fast...” He blew out a breath.

  Eve’s heart clutched. “That’s so sweet of you, but I couldn’t possibly.”

  “We’ll help, right, Hannah?” Jenny shoved back her chair and came around to get Eve. “Believe me, Caleb’s not going to let this go. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

  “Poor Eve.” Hannah shook her head and stood. “Buzz, show us the way.”

  He turned a little pink. “Now or never. Too bad I don’t drink. I sure could use one right about now.”

  “You and me, both, Buzz.” Eve’s leg shook as she forced herself to stand.

  Leave it to her to hitch a ride and land smack in the middle of a rabid sheriff’s town. How was she ever going to get out of this mess?

  Could she get an escape plan going? Like, right now?

  Chapter Seven

  There were no opportunities for Eve to bolt. Not as she walked up the creaky stairs to the apartment above the bar, stuck between Jenny and Hannah with Buzz leading the way.

  And what would she do and where would she go if she did? Without money, Eve had limited access to cars, buses, or trains—even if there were any available. It wasn’t like she could hitchhike out of town, not that she wanted to.

  “Oh, the vampire cave.” Jenny nudged Buzz as he allowed them through the door.

  “No wisecracks from the peanut gallery.”

  “You serving nuts now, Buzz.”

  “Only you, Jenny.” His strained voice revealed his heightening anxiety.

  “So funny. Not.”

  Curiosity laced the quiet hush that came over Jenny and Hannah as they entered Buzz’s private living quarters.

  “It’s dark. Just like I thought.”

  “That’s because I haven’t done this yet.” He flicked on the light and it bathed the room.

  Simple, clean, and almost cozy furniture dotted the long area. Everything was neat as a pin on the filled bookshelf and nearby table.

  “I am so disappointed, Buzz.” Jenny tsked. “Here I expected the black drapes...”

  “Art?” Eve spotted the big, vibrant landscape painting along with several others on either side lining one wall and immediately went to them. “Texas. Bluebonnets. Lush green grass. The colors. Crisp. The strokes are smooth. This one with the windmill is spectacular.” She glanced at the unfamiliar name in the bottom right corners—all but two had the same initials. “Who did these, Buzz?”

  “My wife.” His hard words dropped into the air. “Two are mine.”

  Jenny and Hannah gasped, going to the artwork.

  “So talented.” Eve noted the way the armchair faced this wall as if he sat in it, staring at the paintings for hours on end. He met her glance and then he quickly looked away. Guilty.

  “Clothes, Buzz.” Hannah peered at the titles on his bookshelf. “Hmm... Look, Jenny, he’s a fan of vampire books. You nailed that one.”

  “I knew it.” Jenny grinned, going to her side.

  They high-fived.

  “Orders are to confiscate the wedding dress, I’m afraid, Eve. You know my husband is a stickler when it comes his job.” Jenny shot her a sympathetic look. “You know, the details. The clues. The designer.”

  It was Eve’s turn to shy away from their bold stares. She touched the tender spot on her head. Amnesia. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

  Clamping her eyes shut, Eve pressed her back against the cool bathroom wooden door. She willed her breathing to slow. Nice and steady. It refused. Her heartbeat soared with the increasing risk.

  How could she shimmy out of a minuscule second story window and drop twenty feet below without breaking a bone or her pride or getting caught?

  That sheriff’s suspicions blasted from him at every turn. Surely, if he discovered her fleeing, he’d drag her into the station for another round of badgering until he broke her.

  Confession time? Ha! Not happening any time soon.

  The muted voices in the living room came to her in bits and pieces. Jenny and Hannah quizzed Buzz on his decor—clean, simple, with an artistic flair. Who knew the tall, quiet bartender had a hidden side and painting talents?

  Eve opened her eyes. Instantly, her gaze landed on the mirror. With the door securely locked, she moved in the long room—her wedding dress whooshing with each step—until she came to the sink. She gripped the counter, feeling it bite into her palms, and welcoming the fresh hold on reality.

  She pursed her lips and let the pent-up breath siphon out of her. With trepidation, Eve raised her head. Her gaze took in Conner’s denim jacket, a sliver of her white dress peeking out, and then her long neck—the way her throat muscles moved as she gulped hard.

  Lifting her stare higher, she detected the slight wobble of her chin, the quiver of her cheek alongside her trembling lips—slightly swollen from Conner’s soft, tender kiss—the riot of her dark hair framing her face, and then she finally met her teary-eyes.

  Shock rushed through her at the strange yet familiar features.

  “Who are you? What have you done?”

  A thousand regrets flashed through her—the shaft of pain there in her eyes—for what she’d done and continued to do. Lying. Daddy, I’m sorry.

  “Are you that desperate to hide?”

  Never in her life had she taken such drastic steps. Usually, she’d endure duties and events not to her liking. Years of following along, doing the right thing, wore on her. The good daughter fulfilling the wishes of her father and then the added expectations of his new wife, becoming a debutante, and then a dutiful charity volunteer summed up her existence.

  Aunt Clara came to visit less and less often as the strain between her and Eve’s father became too rife with tension to brush aside. He hated Aunt Clara’s outspokenness and bad influence on his only daughter.

  Eve’s stepbrothers and their families lived less than an hour away, but it could have been thousands of miles for all the time they spent together. She’d make the sacrifice and visit, nurturing the contact and hoping for more get-togethers with the entire family.

  Her family—torn apart—one person at a time made her sick with grief and despair.

  Why couldn’t they be adults and come to an understanding, putting aside their differences? They were all she had left in the world. Couldn’t they see how much she longed for the people she loved to love her back enough to come together?

  Lastly, she’d been a naive fiancée so enamored of her creating one big, happy family that she didn’t even know Gavin schemed and plotted behind her back to get to her father. Deception. Betrayal. Trusting he had been the right one for her. “Mistake!” What a fool I’ve been.

  No had not been a part of her carefully schooled language.

  A slight tug at the corner of her mouth appeared. “Not until today, or yesterday, that is. On my wedding days, no less.” She let out a chuckle, barely a puff of air. She may not have said the word no; however, it came out loud and clear. Heck, no! I’m not marrying Gavin. Not then. Not ever.

  She’d taken a mighty stand. Or run!

  Deep down a burning sensation grew and expanded.

  It was all part of a facade she no longer cared to follow.

  She wasn’t going back to be any part of demolishing her father and his career. She wasn’t going back to repair her stepbrothers’ relationship to their mother and her second husband. She certainly wasn’t going back to explain herself to Gavin, of all people. Let him lose that promotion. That was what he deserved.

  “I am not that obedient girl any longer.”

  The only person she had a flair of concern for was Aunt Clara. But her favorite person knew her niece was made of stronger stuff; she’d taught Eve a great deal.

  Eve straightened her spine, standing taller. She flicked her hair back and raised her chin. It still wobbled.

  She had no money, borrowed clothes she was about to change into, and nowhere to go.

  First, she had to tear that dang label from her designer gown, even if she had to use her teeth to do it, and flush it down the toilet. Then, and only then, would she hand over the wedding dress to the good Sheriff McCall. The oldest brother.

  The youngest one, now him she had other issues with, like this strange attraction.

  Conner.

  His name whispered through her mind like a tether to another life.

  That small frown formed between her brows again.

  I don’t even know him, so why does he make me long for a connection? The kiss that brought me awake to feelings, desires? Is that what the beginning of passion was?

  The knock on the door made her jump. “Be right there...”

  “Gramps says, shake a leg. He and Sweet Potato need their beauty sleep.” Hannah laughed. “Not sure if anything will work for the horse, though.”

  Eve chuckled and shook her head at the older man and his antics. The love he felt for his grandsons and family couldn’t have been more obvious, nor theirs for him. Family. It touched a tender spot deep inside her.

  “All right, Lizzie. Wait, scratch that.” She shucked off Conner’s jacket and threw back her shoulders with her fisted hands on her hips. “Eve, the new me, we are about to find out what you are made of, girlfriend.”

  Conner paced the worn dance floor, dragging a hand through his hair. The room echoed with each boot step. Most of the lights were off and the front door locked. Chairs were turned over and set on tables. Buzz swept the area. Gramps and Cody hauled the leftover food out to the truck.

  “I’m telling you to lay off her, Caleb. For all we know, she could have a serious injury.” He doubted it. Eve, or whoever she was, didn’t seem disoriented at all.

  “Dizzy? Faint? Did she black out at any time?” Caleb’s grilling continued.

  “Ask her in the morning. But, for now, go easy. She’s not a criminal.”

  “Do you know that for certain?” His brother’s jaw set firm. “Listen, Conn. She could be conning you. You have Gramps tangled in this. Next, the ranch.”

  A fusion of alarm whipped through Conner’s gut. Of course, she lied. He read it in her expressive eyes. But she wouldn’t stoop to stealing, would she?

  He’d do anything to keep Gramps from more despair and save the ranch.

  There were only two things he could think of to spare his family. He didn’t particularly care for either one.

  “The guest room.” Conner nudged open the bedroom door. His eyes traveled over Eve in the borrowed attire—new, stiff jeans, buttoned-down baby blue shirt, and shiny tan boots. They were a tad big on her tiny frame, but didn’t distract from showing off the slight, tight curves beneath.

  He suppressed a bubbling groan.

  “Nothing fancy.” Not anywhere near the likes of where that expensive wedding dress of hers came from.

  She scooted by him and looked around at the big, wooden bed with the Texas state star carved in the headboard, the dressers to match, the hide pillows and the throw at the end of the bed, and the leather chair. “It could be right out of the magazines.” Her voice held a note of awe. “Texas charm.”

  Oh, so she remembered those, did she? Caleb had gotten in Conner’s head and he couldn’t shake it loose. “Grams’s touch. She may have been a diehard cowgirl, but she had class and taste far beyond some city folk.”

  “Like me, right?”

  Conner grinned at her challenging stare now. Something hummed along his nerves endings. “Are you? Is it all coming back to you?”

  The light in her beautiful eyes flared and then died.

  Gut check. His grandmother would be ashamed of the way he’d just treated a guest in their house. “I’ll just put your things here.” He lifted the bag of clothes Buzz, Hannah, and Jenny had put together for Eve and then placed it on a nearby chair. “Caleb will bring back your...wedding dress after he examines it.”

  Wedding? Damn, how could he have forgotten she was supposed to be married yesterday? Was her groom out searching for her?

  “It’s best I go. Morning will be here before I know it.”

  “I’ll see you then.” Her voice quavered as she hugged herself.

  “Afraid not.” Why did he want to wrap his arms around her and hold her until she stopped shaking? “I’m heading out to the base camp. By this time next week, you’ll have your memory back or be found and you’ll be shaking the dust off our little town. Gramps will see to you until then. Anything you need, just ask him.” He swallowed past the lump gathering in his throat.

  “A week? You’ll be gone that long?”

  Something in his chest tugged, hard and sharp. Conner nodded curtly. “Goodbye, Eve.”

  Why did the finality of that haunt him all the way back to his room down the hall?

  Sleep eluded Eve. She shivered again in the quiet, darkened house. In bare feet, she padded down the stairs and through the rooms, finding the kitchen with the light on over the stove. It was big and cozy all at the same time. A place she could feel comfortable in. Not like the cold, large immaculate impersonal space her father’s chef prepared meals in.

  She noted the backdoor yards away.

  Another escape route.

  But where would she go beyond that? Riding here with Conner and Gramps, she’d seen the few houses dotted along the way turn to none for miles. The ranch—a small community in its own right—housed plenty of ranch hands, she’d been told.

  Backing away, Eve retreated to explore the long hallway and turned into the formal living room—that could rival some of the best in Dallas—Gramps had pointed out earlier. She dodged bulky furniture and squinted to see the images in the pictures on the walls and in frames displayed on side tables. Finally, she came upon a comfy-looking chair near the huge, unlit stone fireplace.

  She sank down into the seat and instantly sighed. Its soft cushions held her gently and snuggly. Eve tucked her legs underneath her and hugged a small pillow to her, wishing she had someone to hold.

  Conner.

  Her groan echoed. Why had she thought of the sinful cowboy? His touch electrified her. His kisses made her come alive with longing. And her body pulsed with the memory of all things Conner McCall.

  He was leaving. She’d never see him again.

  Dread, dark and heavy, pooled inside her belly.

  “You sigh any louder and you’ll wake up the whole house, young lady.” Gramps’s voice coming from the side doorway made her jump.

  “Oh! You scared me. I didn’t think anyone was awake.”

  “Just me. Sweet Potato fell asleep the minute he hit the sack in my office. Sorry little fella. I guess the long trip tuckered him. He’s been sleeping most of the day. Maybe he’s got iron poor blood.”

  She giggled.

  “Mighty nice sound to hear. My Winnie would laugh at the littlest things. It sure did brighten this house up.”

  His movements whispered through the dark. When he plopped down on the facing leather couch, she smiled at his grunt.

  “Who’s making all the noise now?”

  “No one thinks a thing about an old man creaking.”

  Eve could just about make out his large frame in the shadows. From here, it looked like he rubbed his chest.

  “Feeling all right?”

  “Not you, too. A little indigestion from the brisket, is all.”

  Silence settled. She thought he’d drifted off.

  “Mind telling me why you’re not sleeping, young lady?”

  She snuggled the pillow closer. A hollow sensation pinged behind her ribs. “Questions running around in my head. I’m lost,” she whispered, fighting back a sudden wave of tears. Alone.

  “Sounds about right. But we’ll take good care of you until you’re found.”

  “Maybe...I don’t want to be. Found, that is.”

  “Well, now. Speculation? Fear? Fact?”

  “All of the above.” This much she could be honest about. Thick as mud, but true.

  “How we going to fix that, I wonder?”

  “You tell me.”

  He seemed to ponder that for a while. “Seems to me, if you’ve got a groom and a family, they must be missing you something fierce. They must be looking. I’d be damned if one of mine didn’t show up or call to tell me where they were. I wouldn’t sit back and wait. No, I’d be doing something, anything, to find them.”

  A pang arrowed through her. She might not know much, but she did know they would band together and look for her. Band together? How ironic! For years, she’d been trying to get them in one room and she got excuses and dodging and nothing. Nada.

 

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