Ransom At Christmas

Chapter Four

Kelly’s reaction threw off Will. But then she seemed to be having a day if ever there was one. “You’re wearing a wedding dress. It seems to fit. I assumed you meant to put it on. So, I’m guessing it’s your wedding day.”

“I put that much together for myself but I have no idea what I’m doing in this getup,” she admitted. If she was lying she was damn good at it.

“You’re Will Kent,” she added.

“That’s right.”

“We were in grade school together,” she said.

“Right again.” His phone buzzed, indicating a text message. He cupped the screen to block light so as not to make it act as a beacon, and checked the message.

“The sheriff is outside.”

He texted back, letting his cousin know the two of them were in position and alone as far as he knew. Zach would take extra precaution so as not to bring the shooter to their doorstep. The last thing anyone wanted was a shootout. A text informing him that Domino had been found spooked but unharmed had come forty-five minutes ago and was a welcome relief. Thoughts of his horse being butchered like the heifer had anger brewing inside him.

He glanced up. His eyes had long ago adjusted to the dark. He could see Kelly’s outline and she was making a move to stand.

“Whoa. Hold on there.” In the next second he was by her side, steadying her and stopping her from taking a fall.

Physical contact sent more unexpected and unwelcomed currents of electricity thrumming through his veins. It hadn’t been that long since he’d been with a woman. An annoying voice in the back of his mind reminded him that it had been too long since he’d been with one who caused that kind of reaction from him. The thought was about as productive as drinking a shot of whiskey after eating a ghost pepper.

“I can’t stay here,” she said and her voice was shaky.

“Why not?” He remembered that she’d warned him against bringing in the law. “Are you involved in something illegal?”

“No.” She took a step and her knee gave.

Will pulled her in tighter, ignoring the shot of electricity.

“Thank you,” she said and her voice was laced with emotion. He didn’t need to see clearly to know that she was crying and it caused his heart to squeeze. Whatever was going on, she was in a fix and he found himself wanting to help. Then again, his blood was pumping for the first time since returning to the ranch. He couldn’t ignore the possibility that being shot at a little while ago was the first time he’d felt alive since leaving the military. Readjusting to the real world, when he’d been damn good at being a soldier, was proving harder than he expected. Thinking about it caused the restless feeling to return.

Those were dangerous thoughts so he shoved them down deep.

“Hang in there. Help is almost here,” he reassured Kelly as she leaned more of her weight against him. The soft curve of her hip came up to the outside of his upper thigh and lit a thousand fires at the point of contact.

His hands felt a little too right on her as he shouldered more of her weight. He told himself that he needed to call Renee back. She’d been after him for a date since her friend’s New Year’s Eve shindig. Will had gone to the party out of boredom and found himself even more restless among the dancing and boozing. He was definitely off-kilter. The old Will would’ve enjoyed a night with a pretty woman. But that was before Lacey had left him at the altar and shredded his heart. He’d tried to convince himself that he wasn’t over her, but that wasn’t true, either. Being burned still stung, but part of him had known he and Lacey had been making a mistake.

Being on the ranch was supposed to provide the answers he searched for. So far, he’d just counted cattle and shoveled manure. Busy work kept his mind from spinning out.

Will moved to the door, maintaining a slow pace so that Kelly could keep up. He situated her so that she could lean against the wall as he texted Zach. The rescue team was in position. He and Kelly were stationed and ready to go.

The doorknob jiggled.

Even knowing who was on the other side didn’t stop the familiar—and comforting?—adrenaline rush from thrumming through him, awakening all that had been dead. There had been one too many times that he felt like one of his parents, or both, would come walking through the kitchen door of the main house since his return. He needed to get it through his thick skull that both were gone.

Within a couple of minutes Will and Kelly were being guided out of the woods and ushered toward the main house.

Kelly had that frightened-deer expression, her violet eyes wild.

He tightened his grip around her waist in a move of silent reassurance as he led her into the house, then to the living room and onto the sofa, where he gently placed her.

Dr. Carter, a longtime family friend, went to work. The man was in his early sixties and had the face of a weathered grandfather. He had a medium build and kept himself in shape with a competitive cycling club. He was average height, had medium brown hair and a prominent nose. In his office there were enough degrees and accolades hanging on the wall to litter a small town. The doc was the best.

“Thanks for coming on short notice,” Will said with a handshake.

The doc smiled, then sanitized his hands and put on a pair of gloves. He took a knee beside Kelly. “I can see that you’re in pain. On a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt?”

“A solid seven,” she said in between breaths. Those huge violet eyes of hers outlined her panic.

Will rounded the coffee table and perched on the edge, opposite the doctor. Kelly reached for Will’s hand and issued a sharp breath with the move.

“I’ll be able to give you something to help with that pain when I’m finished with the exam,” the doc assured her.

“Okay.” Kelly’s shoulders tensed as he dabbed what Will could only guess was some type of cleaning agent on her wound. Her chin came up and he admired her strength. His heart pitched and he reminded himself not to notice these things about her. Soon enough, she’d be whisked away to the hospital and would be out of his life.

EMTs were pulling up outside as Zach came through the front door. Deputies Lorenzano and Peabody were outside standing guard, after having rushed Kelly and Will to the main house.

Will turned and caught a look from his cousin.

“Do you remember Kelly Morgan from elementary school?” Will asked.

Zach shook his head.

Will motioned toward her. Zach had been two grades behind them, so it wasn’t a shock that he didn’t remember her.

“We were classmates. Haven’t seen her since her family moved away from Jacobstown in fifth grade,” he said by way of explanation.

“I just got a call about an abandoned vehicle,” Zach warned. “The owner is missing.”

“We can all see that I’m right here,” Kelly said as she winced.

For the second time, Zach shook his head. “I’m sorry, but the name the car is registered to is Christina Foxwood.”

Kelly took in a sharp breath. “She’s my cousin.”

“When did you last see her?” Zach asked.

Kelly seemed to search her memory. “I can’t remember.”

“Is it safe to say that it’s been a long time?” Zach had a notepad out, and was jotting down a few notes.

“No. We live in the same building.” She massaged her temples as though that might stimulate her thoughts. “I know I’ve seen her, I just don’t remember where or when. I also know that I was forced to drink something and it’s playing havoc with my memory. There was a man. I mean, he’s so hazy but I feel like there was a guy in a tux trying to hurt me. I struggled and got away from him but things are hazy. I feel dizzy and like I might vomit.”

“But you remembered me,” Will stated.

She nodded. “When I saw you. You seemed familiar, so I searched my brain and came up with the connection.”

“Do you have any idea where your cousin might be right now?” Zach asked.

“Not really.”

“Have the two of you spoken to each other?” Zach asked and Will figured his cousin persisted with the line of questions to see if he could spur something in Kelly.

“This can’t be happening.” She had that bewildered look Will had seen earlier when he’d first found her. “Who reported her missing?”

“We know that her abandoned vehicle was found on the side of the road alongside the Jasper property two hours ago. There was blood splattered inside the vehicle.” He held up a hand, as though in surrender. “We don’t know who it belongs to. I put a call in for help from neighboring counties. My deputies are processing the scene but that’ll take time.” He shot a glance toward Will. “Keys were still in the ignition and the vehicle was left running with the passenger-side door open.”

“She wouldn’t just run off and leave her car on the side of the road,” Kelly choked out in between sobs. She bent forward and clutched her stomach, as if she was staving off throwing up.

“I want you to take in a few slow breaths,” Doc soothed, but Will was certain the comforting words fell on deaf ears.

Will moved next to her and, ignoring the sharp look from his cousin, put his arm around her shoulder. She repositioned underneath his arm and she felt a little too right there.

Zach’s cell buzzed. He glanced at Will and Kelly.

“Excuse me,” he said, before moving outside to the front porch.

“What is happening?” Kelly asked in between sobs.

“I’m not sure,” Will said. “But we’ll figure this out. We’ll find Christina and whoever it was that drugged you.”

Kelly looked up at him with those piercing violet eyes. “Promise?”

He nodded. Damned if he didn’t know better than to make promises he couldn’t keep. There was something about being with Kelly that made him feel grounded, connected for the first time since returning to Jacobstown. He needed to hold on to it.

A minute later, Zach stepped back into the room. “I just got a call from a Fort Worth businessman by the name of Fletcher Hardaway.”

“What did he want?” she asked with a mix of shock and disdain in her voice.

“He’s looking for his bride,” Zach informed her. His gaze bounced from Kelly to Will.

Before Will could demand answers, Kelly turned to him with the most lost look in her eyes that he’d ever seen.

“I promise I have no idea what’s going on but I’d know if I was supposed to get married,” she said softly so he was the only one who heard. “Please, help me.”

“Hardaway is under the impression that the two of you had plans to marry today.” His cousin’s words shouldn’t have been a punch to the gut. Will’s stomach lining took a hit, anyway.

He should stand up and walk away from this tangled mess. The feeling of being alive again won, against his better judgment.

“Stay here,” he said to Kelly, pushing to his feet. He squared up with Zach. “Can we have a word outside?”

“I’m afraid not,” Zach said. “That dress is evidence, she’s a witness at the very least and I can’t let her out of my sight.”

THAT DRESS IS EVIDENCE. Those four words hit Kelly hard. They followed “she’s a witness,” and the sheriff’s statement wouldn’t have bothered her if it had stopped there. Kelly’s instincts were screaming at her to get up and get the hell out of there.

The sheriff would stop her.

She already looked guilty without adding to her mounting problems.

Running would only make it worse. So, she fought her fight-or-flight instincts.

Christina was missing. Those words were daggers straight through her chest.

“There was a man in a tuxedo. He made me drink something. It was a clear liquid. He said it was water but it had this awful taste,” she blurted out, figuring she needed to say something in her defense. Her gaze bounced from the sheriff to Will, searching for any signs that either one believed her. For some reason what Will thought especially mattered to her. “I spit it out and then he pushed me up against the wall. Hard. He pushed my head back and poured more of it down my throat. I managed to kick him, break away and run. Everything’s hazy after that, and before is a total wash.”

Will looked at Doc. “Is it strange that her short-term memory seems to be the problem?”

“It depends on what she was given,” Doc Carter said.

“Do you remember where you were when that happened?” the sheriff asked. His voice told her that she wasn’t doing a great job of convincing him.

“Had to be a wedding chapel. Right? I think I was in a bride’s room but I swear I don’t know why I’m the one in this dress.” She pleaded with Will with her eyes. She met a wall of suspicion and it hurt.

“Can you stand?” the sheriff asked.

Will moved to her side and offered a hand up.

She took the offering, ignoring the frissons of heat from contact. They were more complications she didn’t need to focus on right now.

Standing made her woozy. She almost took a tumble, but Will’s hand wrapped around her waist to catch her. She had the fleeting thought that she wondered if the chemistry she felt pinging between them was real. Did he feel it? Those random thoughts had no place inside her head.

Christina was missing.

Kelly glanced down at the bloodstain on her white dress.

Someone was trying to kill her.

She’d trade places with her cousin in a beat because Christina hadn’t turned up and she might be lying in a ditch or an alley somewhere.

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Thank you,” she said to Will and her voice came out shaky. She chalked it up to overwrought emotions and whatever had been in the glass that Tux had given her.

None of this could be real.

Kelly prayed this was all a nightmare and she’d wake any second to find the world had righted itself again.

“What did the person who drugged you look like?” the sheriff asked and his voice was laced with sympathy. “Tell me everything you can remember. Hair color. Eyes. General size and shape.”

“Tall. Built. He was linebacker-big but shorter. The rest of the details are fuzzy,” she admitted. “He had darkish hair. I think. And he smelled like he’d taken a bath in aftershave. That much I remember distinctly. The scent was cheap, piney and overpowering.”

Zach had taken out a pocket notebook and was writing down the few details she’d given him.

She knew it wasn’t much to go on.

“Am I under arrest?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” the sheriff said but his serious tone didn’t exactly cause warm and fuzzy feelings to rain down. “I will need to take that gown as evidence, though. I’d also like to have you checked out at the hospital.”

“She’ll need something warm to wear,” Will stated. “She looks close enough to Amber’s size. I’ll find something in my sister’s closet for Kelly. Everyone keeps clothes in the main house.”

Will’s face was like stone, hard and unreadable.

The doc finished his exam and declared that there was too much blood for all of it to belong to her and the small wound on her hip.

“There’s blood spatter,” he continued, “which isn’t consistent with the type of injury she’s sustained.

Will had already explained that everyone in the family kept clothes at the main house just in case the need to stay over arose. The reasoning usually included working too late to drive home.

A few moments later, Will returned with garments in hand.

Kelly released the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“Is there somewhere I can change?” she asked, flashing her eyes at the sheriff. He’d been a child the last time she’d seen him. Strange how coming back made her think everyone would still be the same age as when she’d left town years ago. It was silly, she knew that. But in a strange way she’d half expected Zach McWilliams to still be in third grade, his younger sister, Amy, in preschool.

“Deputy Deloren can wait in the hall while you change in the bathroom. Door’ll have to stay open, of course,” Zach said.

Panic gripped Kelly at the thought of a stranger watching her undress. She shot a wild look toward Will, whose forehead creased with concern.

He didn’t speak.

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