McCall looked up as he came down the stairs. He couldn’t hide his shock. She looked exactly like his grandmother had at that age.
She smiled at his surprise. “You must be Jack.” She held out her hand. He stopped to shake it.
He found it amusing how wrong his grandmother had been. He recalled overhearing, when he was six, Pepper saying her son Trace had eloped with a local tramp who was lying through her teeth about the baby she was carrying being her son’s. Clearly, Ruby Bates hadn’t been lying. McCall was a Winchester.
“Oh, I see you two have met,” Pepper said, appearing from down the hall. “Where is your wife?” she asked Jack.
“She isn’t feeling well. I think she might have picked up a bug. I shouldn’t have taken her on such a long horseback ride, as hot out as it was yesterday.”
His grandmother looked suspicious. “McCall was looking forward to meeting her.”
He turned his attention to the acting sheriff. “I’m sure you’ll get to meet her when she’s feeling better. It isn’t like we’re going anywhere for a while.”
RJ TURNED OFF the first side road he came to. Now that he had a ride, all he could think about was sleeping in a real bed tonight.
His shoulder hurt like hell, and he worried that it was infected. Wouldn’t that be a kicker if he died from a stupid flesh wound?
He felt himself coming down from the rush of killing the farmer. He’d been glad when the old fart had pulled out the tire iron. Taking it away from him had almost been too easy. He’d smacked him a couple times with it, then reached over and opened the old man’s door, shoving him out before sliding over behind the wheel to stop the pickup.
Once he’d gotten rid of the body, his head ached again but he knew he had to start thinking more clearly.
The pickup was old and dark colored, like a zillion others in this part of Montana. But he did stop and smear some mud on the license plate. He could camp out somewhere, hide the pickup, but he was counting on the farmer’s body not being found for a while.
Eventually someone would call the sheriff’s department to notify them that the old guy was missing. But in the meantime, RJ decided to press his luck.
He would drive to Billings, the largest city in Montana, where he could get what he needed—and not be noticed. It was out of his way by a few hours, but he couldn’t chance going into Whitehorse. Too small. People noticed outsiders in that kind of town.
He shoved the farmer’s hat down on his head and drove toward Highway 191. Tonight he would break into a pharmacy and steal the drugs and medical supplies he needed. He would sleep in a motel room bed, charging the room to the credit card he’d found in the old guy’s wallet, and he’d have a nice meal.
Eventually, the cops would track the expenditures. But he would make sure they never connected it to him. Or at least make sure they couldn’t prove it. Later tonight he would ditch the pickup and get himself a new ride, one no one in Whitehorse would recognize. Then he’d see about getting himself a gun.
Chapter Ten
Move! Josey grabbed her clothes and quickly got dressed, her mind racing. She found her backpack and opened the armoire, dumping the old clothing out and reaching for the money. Just touching it made her sick to her stomach.
But she couldn’t leave it here, and she knew the day would come when she would need it to hire herself a good lawyer. In the bathroom, she retrieved the gun and dropped it on top of the money in the backpack.
Her gaze fell over the room, stopping on the canopy bed and the rumpled sheets. Her heart broke at the memory of the two of them making love there earlier. She’d given herself to Jack completely, surrendering in a way she’d never thought possible. He’d been so gentle, so loving. She thought of the passion that had arced between them. Had she been a romantic, she would have said they were made for each other.
But she was a realist, and because of that she knew making love with him had been a mistake. She was a woman wanted by the law. How could she have been so foolish to fall for Jack?
The realization struck her like a train. She’d let herself fall in love with this cowboy from Wyoming. Now there would always be this empty place inside her heart that only Jack Winchester could fill.
She took one last glance around the room. All she knew was that she had to get out of here, get away, far away. Once she knew her mother was safe...
Josey jumped at the sound of an engine turning over. Rushing to the window, she saw the sheriff’s department car pulling away. Her hammering heart began to slow, then took off again as she heard the tap at the door.
“Josey, it’s me.”
She rushed to the door and into Jack’s arms. All her plans to escape, to run far away, to keep her distance from this man went out the window the moment she saw the smile on his face.
“My cousin just stopped by because my grandmother had been nagging her to,” Jack said. “She’s on some big case and couldn’t stay but a minute. She was disappointed, though, that she didn’t get to meet my wife.”
Relief made her weak as Jack locked the door, swept her up in arms and carried her back to the bed.
“All I could think about was getting back to you,” he whispered against her hair. His mouth found hers.
She tried to speak, but he smothered her words with kisses. As he began to make love to her, all reason left
