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.
As he walked to his pickup, though, he saw that he’d gotten a different kind of message. Someone had stuck a folded piece of paper under his driver’s-side windshield wiper.
He looked around before pulling it out. As he opened it, he saw the girlie lettering and felt a chill. He knew it was impossible, but he would have sworn it was Madeline’s handwriting.
It read: You shouldn’t have come back.
* * *
AFTER A QUICK shopping trip downtown, Kate was ready when she got the call that her date was waiting for her downstairs.
Her date? This wasn’t a date. This wasn’t even work. This was about justice, plain and simple. So how did she explain the butterflies? She hadn’t had butterflies the first time she went out with Peter or any other man that she could remember.
So why was she so nervous about going out with Tucker Cahill? She’d met her share of handsome cowboys. What made Tucker Cahill different?
It wasn’t his crooked grin. Or that jolt of current she’d felt when he’d grabbed her arm in front of the hotel and she’d seen him up close for the first time. It was what she’d glimpsed in those gray eyes, a pain she’d recognized heart-deep.
Kate pushed the thought away, telling herself that Tucker Cahill was no different from any other man she’d interviewed for a story. He was merely a source. She would do the job she was damned good at. She’d get the information she needed from him, and if she couldn’t get him to help her, she would have no reason to see him again.
But as the elevator door opened, she saw him and her heart took a roller-coaster-ride dip. In his dress Western attire, he was even more handsome. But it was the look on his face when he saw her that squeezed her heart like a fist. Had any man ever looked at her like that?
She looked away, not surprised to see that several women in the lobby were admiring the cowboy. As she stepped out of the elevator and started toward him, the women gave her an appreciative look—though a little green-eyed.
For a woman who didn’t consider this a date, she’d put her hair up, leaving several dark tendrils to fall free around her face. Never one to wear much makeup, she’d kept it at a minimum, but at the last minute she had added just a touch of coral stain to her lips and two drops of her favorite perfume between her breasts.
The dress she wore was teal and fell over her curves like warm tropical waves. The hem hit just above her knees, calling attention to her long legs and the strappy new heels she’d purchased uptown.
From the widening of Tucker’s gray eyes, it had been effective.
“You look amazing,” he whispered as he leaned toward her. His lips brushed her ear, sending shivers rippling through her. She caught the scent of his cologne, something woodsy, masculine and surprisingly seductive.
She breathed him in, wanting more and feeling bereft when he stepped back, taking his scent with him.
“There’s a restaurant within walking distance of the hotel, if that’s all right,” he said, those gray eyes locking with hers. A woman without her grit could get lost in those eyes.
“Perfect.” She figured she needed the fresh air to clear her head. This was starting to feel dangerously like a real date.
Tucker placed a large, warm hand at the center of her back. The heat burned through the sheer fabric of her dress as he steered her toward the front door. His touch sent a wave of knee-buckling need through her. She took his arm, feeling a little unsteady on her legs as she realized this wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought.
* * *
TUCKER HAD HIS breath taken away at the sight of Kate Rothschild as she came off the elevator. It hit him hard, as it had been a long time since a woman had done that to him.
He reminded himself of what he’d seen her do at the creek. Kate had some connection to Madeline. Add to that the fact this woman was an investigative reporter. He had no idea why she’d done it, but he didn’t think for a moment that she’d suggested dinner because of his charm—or lack thereof.
“Why don’t we cut straight to the chase?” he said once they were seated in the restaurant and had ordered wine. “What does a city slicker investigative reporter and daughter of a Montana congressman have in common with the skeletal remains of a woman found in a creek in Gilt Edge, Montana?”
Kate seemed taken aback by the question. He’d caught her off guard, something he doubted happened often. She smiled and leaned back as the waiter appeared with the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass.
After the waiter left, she said, “You do get right to the point.”
“I’ve found it saves time. So why don’t you tell me what I witnessed down at the creek?”
“I’m not sure what you think you saw,” she began.
“You knew Madeline. And what I saw tells me that you had mixed feelings about her.”
She laughed. “You sure that’s what you saw?”
He met her gaze and held it. “We goin’ to keep playin’ word games? What’s your connection to Madeline Dunn?”
“Dunn? You’re sure that’s her name?”
He saw that she hadn’t known Madeline’s last name any more than he had until earlier. “My brother thinks that might have been her last name. The DNA report hasn’t come back for a positive ID yet.”
She raised a brow and leaned toward him. That she looked beautiful tonight in the candlelight was definitely a distraction. But once you’ve been taken advantage of by one woman, you can’t help but be gun-shy of all of them—especially one who smelled like sunshine after a rain.
“Since you know I work for a newspaper in New York City, maybe I’m doing a freelance story on the case.”
He raised a brow.
“I admit I might have gotten a little emotional down at the creek earlier. It’s a horrible thing for a young woman that age to drown and not be found for so many years.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“What other possible reason could I have?” she asked with an innocent twinkle in those big green eyes.
“That’s what I’m hoping to find out tonight.”
“Strange,” she said, her smile tempting him to do more than raise his wineglass to clink against hers. “I was hoping to find out more about you tonight, as well.”
He fought the urge to dive into all that deep sea green and just swim around for a while. As leery as he was of this woman—and with good reason—he was also enjoying himself.
In the years he’d been gone, he hadn’t dated. All his encounters had been in passing. But none of the women he’d met were like this one. That alone put him on guard.
Kate carefully touched her wineglass to his like a quick kiss. “To discovering all kinds of things about each other tonight.”
There was daring in her gaze. He’d never been able to back down from a challenge. He suspected she had the same problem. “To unlocking all your secrets,” he said, making her eyes widen a little before she laughed.
“Okay, cowboy. Why don’t we start with Madeline and why you were on that bridge earlier? Remembering one special night, were you?”
His hand holding the glass jerked, almost spilling his wine. Kate’s smile widened. “Am I moving too fast for you?”
Tucker felt his head swim. “You sent the package.”