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“We’ve never lost a target yet.”
“Whatever you do, don’t let him see you! You have to understand he doesn’t want to be found.”
“I’m aware of that. At this point you’re going to have to trust us to get the job done. We always do.”
She bit her lip. “I pray you’re right. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“You already have. I promise he won’t get away from us.”
“Then I guess I can’t ask for more than that.” Stefanie clicked off, terrified something could still go wrong and she’d never see Gabe again.
Another hour and her eyelids started to droop. At the next sign for lodgings she pulled off the freeway and drove to a Cozy Inn for the night. Once settled, she climbed into bed and made another phone call. Gabe was still at the same motel. With her…
After thanking Stan for the information, she buried her face in the pillow. It was wet by the time she fell into oblivion.
“This is going to be so cool, Gabe.”
“You think?”
Gabe smiled as he eyed the fifteen-year-old seated in the cab of his truck. Every time he’d visited with Clay Talbot in the past, the troubled boy Gabe had influenced the court to send to the tightly enforced military academy rather than a state correctional facility, he had grown on him a little more.
“Yeah. I can’t believe we’re almost there.”
“You realize this is only an experiment.”
“I know.”
“You’ve been released to my custody. If you don’t obey the rules, my hands will be tied and the court will send you back to the academy.”
“I hated that place. It might as well have been a prison.”
“Take my word for it, the academy doesn’t come close to the real thing.”
After a long silence, “I swear I’m not going to get into trouble again.”
“I hope not, Clay. It would disappoint me and break your mom’s heart. But more importantly, you would be letting yourself down.”
The boy nodded his dark head.
At least there’d been some side benefits to this trip. For one thing, Clay and his mom had been able to share some precious time together before he’d dropped her off at the airport in Chicago for the flight back to Providence.
Being an alcoholic, it was as far as she could travel without wanting a drink. Gabe had made it clear there would be no alcohol during the trip. He’d challenged her to handle it long enough to connect with the son she hadn’t seen in months. Though she’d been unable to make it all the way to Montana, Clay seemed okay with it.
As for Gabe, he’d had an opportunity to get inside Clay’s head. Enough time to establish a tentative rapport with the teen who’d been born of affluent parents who didn’t know the first thing about child rearing.
Unfortunately the death of Clay’s father to cancer two years earlier had turned his world upside down. Unable to deal with his own pain, let alone that of his grieving alcoholic mother, he’d gotten into trouble with other kids from wealthy Providence homes who could afford drugs and were indiscriminately vandalizing their exclusive neighborhoods for the fun of it.
In desperation, Clay’s mother had finally retained Gabe to defend her son in court. But sending the boy to military school had only been a stopgap. Now that Gabe was free to live his destiny, hopefully Clay would receive the emotional and psychological help he desperately needed.
As they continued driving through old snow, a familiar road sign showed up on the right.
Welcome To Marion, Montana. You’re In God’s Country Now.
Gabe had passed it dozens of times over the last year. It meant their long drive across the U.S. was about to come to an end.
Before this trip he’d always flown to Glacier Park International Airport where his foreman, Mack Whittaker, waited to take him back to the ranch in the station wagon.
Not this time.
It didn’t take a prophet to know that all hell had broken loose now that both families had received the letters Gabe had posted. Even though he’d told his parents he had gone abroad, there was still a chance his father would try and find him. Gabe had chosen to come by truck in order not to leave a trail.
In a couple of months he would write another set of letters explaining that he and Stefanie had gone their separate ways.
Thankfully she’d flown to Paris a few hours after he’d left the house and was enjoying herself with good friends as planned.
Now that she’d been given her freedom, she was entitled to be with any man she chose. To Gabe’s chagrin, he found he loathed the idea. Her image, her husky voice, had refused to leave his mind or senses.
He supposed she would haunt him for a long time to come. You didn’t live for a year in the same house with a wife like Stefanie and hope to walk away from her totally unaffected.
On the other hand, he hadn’t realized how deeply she’d gotten beneath his skin. The drive through a lot of rain and some snow flurries would have been torture if he’d had to be alone with his thoughts.
He figured it would probably take hearing that Stefanie was going to marry someone else’s favorite son headed for the White House to douse the sparks Gabe had determined not to acknowledge, let alone allow to catch fire.
His face formed a grimace before he gunned the accelerator. Twenty minutes later he glimpsed something in the twilight that broke his torturous train of thought.
Larch Tree Boys’ Ranch.
When Gabe saw the newly erected sign at the gate, he let out a satisfied sigh and slowed down. Mack must have pulled some strings to make sure it had been put up in time to coincide with Gabe’s arrival.
A special welcome home present.
The best one he could have received to chase away feelings that were better left to die.
When he and the Realtor from Kalispell had flown over this property eighteen months ago, everything about the ranch had felt right to him. Seventy-five thousand acres of lush green meadows dotted with cattle and statuesque pines.
In the early-morning sunlight he’d glimpsed a ribbon of blue teeming with trout as it danced against a dense green forest backdrop. A couple of rustic log cabins nestled here and there in a fertile valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains completed a picture that spoke straight to Gabe’s restless soul.
Always before, his needs, aspirations and desires had been fragmented, eluding him like some flirtatious breeze he couldn’t follow. Then he’d seen the ranch and suddenly everything had crystallized for him.
It was here he would put down roots.
The ranch was the one special spot on earth that called to him, and heaven knew he and his family had seen and traveled more of mother earth than most people.
“This is it?” Clay cried out excitedly.
“Yes. We’re home.”
But with Stefanie no longer in the picture, the word had a hollow ring. That was a reality Gabe was going to have to live with.
Shifting gears, he drove the truck onto his private property. Though it was early spring, the place looked like winter had still gotten in a few final licks.
“How come you didn’t name the ranch after you?”
“The larch trees were here first, not the Wainwrights. Now I hope you’re hungry because I can promise that Marva will have her famous homemade chili waiting for us.”
“Is she your wife?”
Gabe took a deep breath before he said, “No. She’s the cook for the main ranch house.”
“Mom showed me a picture of Mrs. Wainwright from the newspaper. She’s really good looking!”
“I agree.” Gabe’s voice grated. If the truth be known, Stefanie was probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life.
“Is she already at the ranch?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “No.”
“When’s she going to come?”
“She’s not, Clay. Right now she’s on a trip around the world.”
The boy frowned. “Why?”
He rubbed the side of his unshaven jaw. “She needed time away on her own.”
Clay looked at him with a solemn expression. “Are you two getting a divorce?”
He’d been asked an honest question. To hedge it would only provoke more curiosity.
“We are divorced.”
“Didn’t she want to live on a ranch?”
“It was more a case of her wanting to live the life she loves on the East Coast.”
“Did she ever see your ranch?”
Perspiration formed on Gabe’s brow. “No.”
“But that’s crazy! She’d only have to get one look at this place, and she’d never want to go back!”
Gabe shook his head. To be young again. To see life in such a simplistic way. “It’s never going to happen.”
“That’s too bad.” The boy was still mourning his father’s death. Saying goodbye to Stefanie didn’t seem to be that much different for Gabe…
“As you’ve already been made painfully aware, life doesn’t always go the way we want. What do you say we both put the past behind us and move forward from here?”
The boy’s head was bowed. “That’s kind of hard to do, but I’ll try if you will.”
Once more Gabe’s heart went out to Clay. He patted his shoulder. “It’s a deal.”
CHAPTER TWO
STEFANIE spent a restless night in Kalispell, Montana. Though the woman riding with Gabe had been dropped off at O’Hare airport in Chicago, Stefanie’s dreams were still haunted by the reality of her existence and the possibility that Gabe was in love with her.
Heartsick, Stefanie drove on to the tiny hamlet of Marion where she’d been told to meet the P.I.s at the coffee shop of the Branding Iron motel.
The rustic little café bar appeared deserted, no doubt because a weather report forecasting a storm before evening had prompted tourists to run for cover while they could.
By now it was ten after three. After two hours of watching for Stan and Wes out of antler-trimmed windows, she was convinced something had gone wrong. To come this far only to lose Gabe’s trail was anathema to her.
When she finally spotted their rental van, she left the booth and ran to the entrance to meet them.
“You can relax,” Wes assured her as they walked back to her table. “The boys’ ranch where your ex-husband spent last night is his final destination.”
The waitress took orders for hot coffee.
Bewildered by the information, Stefanie asked, “How do you know that for certain?”
“I made a phone call, pretending to be a parent wanting information,” Stan explained. “According to the woman who answered, the combination ranch and accredited school for teenaged boys in trouble with the law is the brain child of a Mr. Wainwright, the owner and manager.”
What?
“To quote her words, ‘The structured environment of his working cattle ranch offers a viable alternative to the usual punitive reform school. The boys live, study and work on the ranch in family groups with trained counselors, teachers and surrogate parents. The result is a much higher rate of rehabilitated young men who will make positive contributions to society in the future.’”
Stefanie shook her head trying to assimilate everything Stan had just told her, but she couldn’t fathom it.
Gabe had turned his back on a political career, which could have taken him to the highest office in the land in order to live in this remote, savage wilderness surrounded by young criminals?
Throughout the endless drive across the country, she’d become convinced that Gabe’s passenger was his son, that he and the boy’s mother were going to end up here together.
Maybe that still held true. It was possible the woman he loved would be joining him later.
Stefanie felt her heart splinter.
Having learned this much, would it be unforgivable of her to show up at the ranch? While they’d been married, Gabe had had many months to tell her the truth, but she’d waited in vain for him to confide in her.
While she struggled with these questions, Wes placed a Montana map in front of her. “This is the way to the Larch Tree Boys’ Ranch, Ms. Dawson. I’ve highlighted the route in blue. Weather permitting, it’s a twenty-minute drive from here.”
“I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done.” Stefanie handed them both a bonus check.
“We were glad to be of help.” Stan smiled.
“Good luck to you.”
“To you, too.”
“Thanks. Let us know if we can ever be of help again.”
“You know I will.”
The P.I.s had done their part to perfection. She’d been given the proof that Gabe wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t lost to her. But she’d been so focused on catching up to him, she hadn’t thought beyond this moment.
After the two men left the café for Kalispell, Stefanie searched her conscience. No matter how she analyzed it, there was no right way to approach Gabe. In his eyes she would be an unwelcome intruder, a tangible reminder of the life he’d repudiated.
Worse, there was the reality of the woman who’d driven partway across the country with Gabe and the boy who could be his son, thus complicating an already precarious situation.
What caused Stefanie to agonize was not knowing if Gabe was in love—whether it be with the boy’s mother, or whether he was involved with another woman altogether.
There was no one who could help her get those answers.
Unless she abandoned her hope of ever seeing Gabe again, the only thing left to do was carry out her original plan. At this point she had nothing else to lose.
If her worst nightmare came true and Gabe ended up despising her, at least she wouldn’t spend the rest of her life torturing herself with what ifs.
Determined as she’d never been in her life, she went into the rest room to make certain no blond strands had escaped her wig. Then she refreshed her makeup. It had been carefully chosen to camouflage her fair coloring and play up her black hair. With brown contact lenses, gold hoop earrings, a black turtleneck sweater and designer jeans, her own mother wouldn’t recognize her.
That was the whole point.
Gabe had led a double life for months. Except for the P.I.s who’d been paid well for their silence, not to mention their help, only the people involved with his ranch knew where he was. Stefanie had no intention of giving his secret away. In fact she’d done everything in her power to make sure no one would suspect she was the former Mrs. Gabriel Wainwright.
After taking a deep breath, she went out front to pay for her lunch. It wasn’t until she started for her car that she realized a wind had sprung up. Snow had been forecast.
With the ranch only twenty minutes away, she estimated that if she drove there immediately, she could make it without problem. Otherwise she might have to wait another day to see Gabe, depending on the severity of the storm.
When she’d come this far, it didn’t bear thinking about to be so close and still have to put off a reunion with him. She’d lived through five days and nights with the fear that something would go wrong and she’d never be able to find him. Now that she was within a few miles of his ranch, she couldn’t get there fast enough.
By the time the image of the motel had disappeared from her rearview mirror, the rain had turned to snow which was pelting the windshield. She turned on the wipers. Over the past few hours there’d been a noticeable drop in temperature. Twice she’d had to slow down because of black ice.
In this lonely wilderness, she found it hard to believe it was early April. Even more difficult to understand was Gabe’s decision to lose himself out here.
Anyone acquainted with the Wainwright sons knew they were expert swimmers and sailors. Certainly Gabe was one with the sea. Besides water sports, he loved offshore fishing. The rougher the swells and battering of salt spray, the better.
Stefanie was a water baby herself. Throughout their brief marriage she’d shared many of those activities with him, but always in the company of others.
For those reasons, she couldn’t imagine what had drawn him to this landlocked backcountry with no ocean in sight. No yachts or sailboats. No people.
The more she surveyed these hostile surroundings, the more incredulous she grew that this was a permanent move on his part.
“Oh, Gabe—what are you really doing out here?” she cried in anguish. “Why?”
At first she thought it was only the tears blurring her eyes that hampered her vision. But after she’d traveled the required distance and still couldn’t find the gate to the ranch, she realized she’d been overtaken by the blizzard.
Without being able to see one inch in front of her, there was no other choice but to pull to the side of the road and wait until the worst of the storm had passed over.
The next thing she knew, the car tipped forward and came to a standstill in a ditch. Though it wasn’t terribly deep, she would have been thrown against the windshield if she hadn’t been wearing a seat belt.
Everything went quiet. No sound of the engine, no heater. In this whiteout she’d completely lost her bearings.
Once her nerves calmed down and she got herself under some semblance of control, she forced herself to think rationally. If the storm kept up, and it probably would for some time to come, she might be stranded here for hours. Maybe all night. No one would know she’d gone off the road.
On the other hand, if she got out of the car and tried to find Gabe on foot, she could be hit by another car, or come down with hypothermia. The only thing that made sense was to call 911 and hope she was in range for someone to answer. Unfortunately her purse had been thrown to the floor.
Due to the odd angle of the car, she had a struggle undoing the seat belt. Eventually she worked it free, then clung to the steering wheel with one hand while she reached for her handbag with the other. After some difficulty she fished out her cell phone and punched the digits.
“Sheriff’s office,” a robust male voice answered.
Thank heaven.
“H-hello? I’m—” She hesitated, realizing she’d almost said Stefanie Wainwright. “T-this is Teri Jones. I’ve run off the road into a ditch near the gate to the Larch Tree Boys’ Ranch. At least that’s where I was headed after I left Marion.”
“Are you injured, ma’am?”
“No. Just anxious.”
“What kind of a car are you driving?”
“It’s a dark blue 1989 Honda Civic.”
“Stay put. In this kind of weather you never know what’s moving out there.” Stefanie shivered, wondering if the man was talking about wild animals, like a bear or something. “We’ll get help to you as fast as we can.”
She swallowed her fear. “Thank you so much.”
When Gabe’s cell phone rang, he’d been riding through fresh snow in the lower pasture, checking to make sure there was enough feed for the herd. No one from the ranch house would be bothering him during this blizzard unless it was important.
He reined in his horse, then pulled the phone from his jacket. Another gust of snow forced him to lower the tip of his Stetson as a shield so he could be heard.
“Gabe here.”
“Gabe? It’s Marva. A minute ago the sheriff’s office phoned the main house. Apparently a woman named Teri Jones, driving a blue Honda, is stranded on the road near the gate to the ranch, but it seems all police rescue vehicles are out on emergencies right now. Since they’re shorthanded, the dispatcher wondered if somebody around here could investigate. Whom shall I send?”
His horse pranced in place. Every available stockman and ranch hand, including Mack, were checking for strays in the other pastures, making sure there was plenty of feed. Gabe realized he was probably closest to the main road.
“I’ll see about it. Keep the coffee hot.”
“You bet.”
“Thanks, Marva.” He slipped the phone back in place. “Let’s go home.”
He hurried back to the barn where he asked one of the hands to take care of Caesar. Within minutes he’d climbed in the Explorer. Fortunately in that short amount of time the wind had died down and the worst of the blizzard seemed to have passed over.
One thing about the early spring storms. They didn’t last long. A strong sun had been making inroads on the snowdrifts built up over the winter. Large patches of green meadow were springing up everywhere. He’d even seen some yellow primroses at the higher elevations, pushing through the ice. The sight had been glorious.
Still, the sun was nowhere to be found right now. He imagined the stranded woman was wondering if help would ever arrive. It was past dinnertime. If she hadn’t planned for an emergency, she was probably hungry and frightened.
The seven-mile drive to the gate through the wet virgin snow presented little problem. But after reaching the main road, he didn’t see a sign of a car or any tire tracks. Deciding to take a right, he proceeded in that direction for a couple of miles. When nothing showed up, he turned around and headed back the other way.
A mile past the gate he spotted a snow-covered vehicle, which had gone into the ditch headfirst. He pulled up alongside and turned on his hazard light. Still keeping the engine running, he levered himself from the seat and walked over to the car.
“Ms. Jones?” After knocking on the left rear window to announce his arrival, he climbed into the shallow culvert. With a gloved hand, he started removing snow from the driver’s window so he could see inside. Before he’d finished the job, the glass slid down.
“Thank you for coming!” she cried with undisguised relief.
For a brief moment his eyes glimpsed the profile of a stunning woman with short, glossy black curls. Combined with her husky voice, he was strongly reminded of someone else whose beauty had taken his breath the first time he’d ever laid eyes on her.
He thought he must be hallucinating until she turned to face him. The seductive floral scent that had enticed him on too many other occasions drifted past him.
Her makeup and earrings might be different, the brown lenses fake, but he’d know the bewitching lines of that exquisite face and mouth anywhere.
The blood pounded in his ears.
“Stefanie?”
“Yes,” came her terrified whisper. Beneath the makeup, her complexion had paled. “Please don’t be angry with me, Gabe. Please.” Her gently rounded chin quivered. “You have to hear me out! No one knows I’m here. Your secret is safe. I swear it!”
He was so shocked to see her, the meaning of her words didn’t register right away. All this time he’d imagined her in Paris, charming every damn male in sight.
His gaze followed the involuntary movement of her hand to her heart, drawing his attention to the gorgeous mold of her body. The black sweater proved faithful to her rounded curves.
“How in the hell did you find me?”
Even to his own ears he knew he sounded furious, but he felt out of control, unable to quell the myriad of conflicting emotions that were exploding inside him.
She moistened her luscious red mouth nervously. The color was one she’d never worn before. The sight of it on her lips was incredibly erotic. “I—I had you followed. But don’t worry!” she blurted. “They’ll never tell anyone.”
He fought not to erupt again, but it was almost impossible. “Who are they?” he demanded in a deceptively silky tone.
She swallowed hard, once again distracting him as his gaze studied the creamy column of her throat rising out of the material. No woman in the world had such flawless skin.
“A team of p-private detectives. I paid them well.”
“What’s this all about, Stefanie?” He fired the question before he noticed she’d been gripping the steering wheel to keep from falling sideways. When he realized how she was straining, he yanked the door open and pulled her out.
Obviously unprepared, she fell against him like a rag doll, leaving the imprint of her beautiful body against his, turning his legs leaden until his breathing constricted.
Though he knew it was insane, he found himself unwilling to break the contact. Without conscious thought he picked her up in his arms and carried her through the snow to the passenger side of the Explorer.