JACKSON CARDWELL WON’T STOP UNTIL SHE IS SAFE.

In Montana for his brother’s nuptials, Jackson Cardwell isn’t looking to be anybody’s hero. But the Texas single father knows a beautiful lady in distress when he meets her. Someone’s hell-bent on making Allie Taylor think she’s losing her mind. Jackson’s determined to unmask the perp…and guard the widowed wedding planner and her little girl with his life.

Allie has no idea who wants to harm her and take her daughter away. The truth is even more shocking. For Allie’s past has stalked her to Cardwell Ranch. And not even the sexy cowboy who awakens irresistible passion may be able to save her from a killer with a chilling agenda.

The highly anticipated continuation of the Cardwell Ranch Collection, read by more than 2 MILLION!

“You can’t push me away.”

Jackson lifted her chin with his fingers so she couldn’t avoid his gaze. Their faces were only a few inches apart.

“What if I am crazy?” Allie’s voice broke. “Crazy like a fox?” The first of the fireworks exploded, showering down a glittering red, white and blue light on the meadow below them. The boom echoed in her chest as another exploded to the “oohs” and “ahhs” of the wedding party. She felt scalding tears burn her throat.

Jackson couldn’t bear to see Allie like this. He pulled her to him and, dropping his mouth to hers, kissed her. She leaned into him, letting him draw her even closer as the kiss deepened. Fireworks lit the night, booming in a blaze of glittering light before going dark again.

Desire ignited his blood. He wanted Allie like he’d never wanted anyone or anything before.

Wedding at Cardwell Ranch

B.J. Daniels

www.millsandboon.co.uk

New York Times bestselling author B.J. DANIELS wrote her first book after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of thirty-seven published short stories. That first book, Odd Man Out, received a fourand-a-half-star review from RT Book Reviews and went on to be nominated for Best Intrigue that year. Since then, she has won numerous awards, including a career achievement award for romantic suspense and many nominations and awards for best book.

Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and two springer spaniels, Spot and Jem. When she isn’t writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis. Daniels is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death and Romance Writers of America.

To contact her, write to B.J. Daniels, PO Box 1173, Malta, MT 59538, USA, or e-mail her at bjdaniels@mtintouch.net. Check out her website, www.bjdaniels.com.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Jackson Cardwell—The Texas cowboy only came to Montana with his son Ford to attend his brother Tag’s wedding, not to get involved with the wedding planner.

Allie Knight Taylor—The widowed wedding planner thought she was losing her mind—until she met the Texas cowboy and lost her heart.

Natalie Taylor—The five-year-old was worried about her mother, Allie. Did she have good reason to worry?

Belinda Andrews—The wedding photographer was Allie’s best friend. Or was she?

Megan Fairchild—Allie’s half sister only wanted what was best for her sister and niece, right?

Nick Taylor—While legally dead, he wasn’t forgotten, since he was still haunting his wife, Allie.

Drew Taylor—He wanted the woman his brother Nick had married. But was he willing to kill to have Allie?

Mildred Taylor—Everyone was afraid of the matriarch of the family and would do anything she asked. But how far would she go?

Sarah Taylor—To her mother’s disgust, she found solace in food and liked her life exactly as it was.

This is dedicated to my readers and my Facebook

friends who shared their “gaslighting” ideas and

proved that they think as creepy me.

If you haven’t already, come say hello on my author

Facebook page at

www.facebook.com/pages/BJ-Daniels/127936587217837.

Thanks for stopping by Cardwell Ranch!

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Epilogue

Extract

Chapter One

Allison Taylor brushed back a lock of her hair and willed herself not to scream.

“Is something wrong?” her brother-in-law asked from the kitchen doorway, startling her and making her jump.

She dropped the heavy covered pot she’d taken from the pantry a little too hard onto the counter. The lid shifted, but not enough that she could see inside.

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” Drew Taylor said with a laugh as he lounged against the kitchen door frame. “I was cravin’ some of your famous chili, but I think maybe we should go out.”

“I just need a minute. If you could see to Natalie...”

“She’s still asleep. I just checked.” Drew studied her for a long moment. Like his brother, he had russet-brown hair and dark brown eyes and classic good looks. His mother had assured both of her sons that they were wonderful. Fortunately Drew had taken it with a grain of salt—unlike his brother Nick.

“Are you okay, Allie? I’ve been so worried about you since Nick...”

“I’m fine.” She didn’t want to talk about her presumed-dead husband. She really just wanted her brother-in-law to go into the other room and leave her alone for a moment.

Drew had been a godsend. She didn’t know what she would have done without him, she thought as she pulled a band from her jeans pocket and secured her long, blond hair in a single tail at the back of her head.

When she’d mentioned how nice his brother was to Nick shortly after they married, he’d scoffed.

“Just be glad he likes you. He’s about the only one in my family,” he had added with a laugh.

“Why don’t you let me help you with that,” Drew said now as he took a step toward her. He frowned as his gaze went to the pot and the pile of ingredients she’d already stacked up on the counter. The chili pot was the last thing she’d brought into the kitchen from the porch of the small cabin. “You kept the pot?”

So his mother had told him about the incident.

He must think I’m losing my mind just like his mother and sister do.

The worst part was she feared they were right.

Allie looked down at the heavy cast-iron pot with its equally heavy cast-iron lid. Her hand trembled as she reached for the handle. The memory of the last time she’d lifted that lid—and what she’d found inside—sent a shudder through her.

The covered cast-iron casserole pot, enameled white inside and the color of fresh blood on the outside, had been a wedding present from her in-laws.

“She does know how to cook, doesn’t she?” her mother-in-law, Mildred, had asked all those years ago as if Allie hadn’t been standing there. Mildred was a twig-thin woman who took pride in these things: her petite, slim, fifty-eight-year-old body, her sons and her standing in the community. Her daughter, Sarah, was just the opposite of her mother, overweight and dumpy by comparison. And Mildred was always making that comparison to anyone who would listen, including Sarah.

Mildred was on her fourth husband and lived in one of the more modest mansions at Big Sky. Of her two sons, Nick had been the baby—and clearly her favorite.

Nick had laughed that day when his mother had asked if his new wife could cook. “She makes pretty good chili, I’ll give her that,” he told Mildred. “But that’s not why I married her.” He’d given Allie a side hug, grinning like a fool and making her blush to the roots of her hair.

Nick had liked to say he had the prettiest wife in town. “Just make sure you stay that way,” he’d always add. “You start looking like my sister and you can pack your bags.”

The red, cast-iron, covered pot she was now reaching for had become her chili pot.

“Allie, I thought you’d thrown that pot away!” Drew reached to stop her, knocking the lid off in the effort. It clattered to the counter.

Allie lunged back, her arm going up protectively to shield her face. But this time the pot was empty. No half-dead squirrel inside it.

“I’m throwing this pot in the trash,” Drew announced. “If just the sight of it upsets you—”

“No, your mother will have a fit.”

“Let her.” He swept pot and lid off the counter and carried it out to the garbage can.

When he came back into the room, he looked at her and shook his head. “Allie, you’ve got to pull it together. Maybe you should go back to the doctor and see if there is something else he can give you. You’re strung like a piano wire.”

She shook her head. “I don’t need a doctor.” She just needed for whatever was happening to her to stop.

His gaze moved past her, his expression going from a concerned frown to a smile. “Hey, girl,” he said as his five-year-old niece came into the kitchen. He stepped past Allie to swing Nat into his arms. “I came over to check on the two of you. Mama was going to cook us some dinner but I think we should go out to eat. What do you say?”

Allie started to argue that she couldn’t let Drew do any more for them and she sure couldn’t afford to go out to eat, but stopped as her daughter said, “Are you sick, Mama?” Her precious daughter looked to her with concern. Allie saw the worry in Nat’s angelic face. She’d seen it too much lately. It was bad enough that Natalie had recently lost her father. Now more than ever she needed her mother to be sane.

“I’m fine, sweetie. It’s too hot for chili, anyway. So let’s go out, why not?” Allie said, relieved and thankful for Drew. Not just for coming by to check on them, but for throwing out the pot. She hadn’t because her mother-in-law was upset enough and the Taylors were the only family she had, especially now.

“Just let me freshen up and change,” she said as Drew took Nat to look for her shoes.

In the bathroom, Allie locked the door, turned on the shower and stripped off her clothes. She was still sweating from fear, her heart beating hard against her chest.

“You found a what in the chili pot?” her mother-in-law had asked in disbelief when Allie had called her—a huge mistake in retrospect. But at the time, she’d hoped her mother-in-law would understand why she couldn’t keep the pot. Why she didn’t want it in her house.

“I found a squirrel in that cast-iron pot you gave me. When I picked up the lid—”

“No way would a squirrel get into your cabin, let alone climb under a heavy lid like that. Why would it? You must have imagined it. Are you still on those drugs the doctor gave you after my Nicky died?”

Allie’s husband had always been “my Nicky” to his mother while Mildred had insisted Allie call her “Mother Taylor.”

“No, Mother Taylor, I told you.” Allie’s own mother had died when she was nineteen. Her father had moved, remarried and started a new family. They’d lost touch. “I quit taking the pills a long time ago.”

“I think it’s those pills,” Mildred had said as if Allie hadn’t spoken. “You said they had you seeing things that weren’t there.”

“The squirrel was there. I had to take it out back and—”

“If I were you, I’d talk to your doctor. Why do you need the pills, anyway? It isn’t like you’re still grieving over my Nicky. Charlotte Reynolds told me she saw you having lunch the other day, you and Natalie, and you were laughing.”

Allie had closed her eyes, remembering the lunch in question. “I am trying to make things more normal for Nat.”

“Well, it looks bad, you having a good time while your poor husband is barely cold in his grave.”

She wanted to mention that Nick wasn’t in his grave, but knew better than to bring that up. “It’s been eight months.”

“Like you have to tell me that!” Mildred sniffed and blew her nose. She’d cried constantly over the death of her favorite son and couldn’t understand why Allie wasn’t still doing the same.

“We all grieve in our own way and I have a young daughter to raise,” Allie had said more times than she wanted to recall.

The phone call had ended with Mildred crying and talking about what a wonderful man her Nicky had been. A lie at best. He’d been a lousy husband and an even worse father, but now that he was dead, he would always be the wonderful man Mildred remembered.

After that, she’d learned her lesson. She kept the other crazy things that had been happening to herself. If Mildred knew, she would have her in a straitjacket. And little Nat...? She couldn’t bear to think about Mildred having anything to do with raising her daughter.

“So,” Drew said as she and Nat sat across from him in a booth at a local café later that evening. “Did I hear you’ve gone back to work?”

It was impossible to keep anything a secret in this canyon, Allie thought. She had hoped to keep it from the Taylor family as long as possible.

“Dana Savage called me about doing a Western wedding up at her ranch for her cousin Tag and his soon-to-be wife, Lily.” She didn’t mention that she’d accepted the job several months ago. Or how badly she needed the money. With the investigation into Nick’s presumed death still unresolved, the insurance company was holding off paying her. Not that it would last long if she didn’t get back to work.

Her mother-in-law kept mentioning “that big insurance check my Nicky left you,” but the insurance money would barely cover a couple years of Natalie’s college, if that. And Allie hoped to invest it for that very use.

“I’ve been doing some work at Cardwell Ranch. Nice people to work for. But are you sure you’re up to it?” Drew asked quietly, real concern in his tone. “Mother mentioned that she was worried about you. She said you were still taking the pills and they were making you see things?”

Of course Mildred told Drew and his sister, Sarah, everything. Allie tried not to show her irritation. She had no appetite, but she attempted to eat what she could. She didn’t want Drew mentioning to his mother, even accidentally, that she wasn’t eating much. Mildred would make it into her not taking care of herself.

“I’m fine. I’m not taking the pills. I told your mother—”

He held up his hand. “You don’t have to tell me about my mother. She hears only what she wants to hear. I’m on your side. I think going back to work might be the best thing for you. So what do you plan to do with Natalie? I don’t have to tell you what Mother is going to say.”

“Nat’s going with me,” Allie said emphatically. “Dana has children she can play with. As a matter of fact, Dana is going to teach Nat to ride a horse.”

Natalie grinned and clapped her small hands excitedly. She was the spitting image of Allie at that age: straight, pale blond hair cut in a bob, green eyes with a pert little nose and deep dimples. Allie got the blond hair from her Scandinavian mother and the green eyes from her Irish father.

There was no sign of the Taylor family in her daughter, something that had caused a lot of speculation from not only Nick, but his mother.

Nat quickly told her uncle that it would be a very gentle horse and Dana’s kids Hank and Mary were riding before they were even her age. “The twins are too young to ride yet,” she announced.

“Dana wouldn’t let Nat do it if she thought it wasn’t all right,” Allie added.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Drew said, but she could tell that he already knew what her mother-in-law was going to have to say about it. “Cardwell Ranch is where the wedding is going to be, I take it?”

“The wedding will be in a meadow on the ranch with the reception and a lot of other events in the large, old barn.”

“You know that we’ve been invited,” Drew said almost in warning.

The canyon was its own little community, with many of the older families—like Dana’s—that dated back to the eighteen hundreds before there was even a paved road through it. Mildred Taylor must be delighted to be invited to a wedding of a family that was like old canyon royalty. Mother Taylor might resent the Cardwell clan, say things behind their back, but she would never outright defy them since everyone loved Dana Cardwell Savage and had held great respect for her mother, Mary Justice.

“How are things with you?” Allie asked.

“Everything’s fine.” He smiled but she’d seen the lines around his eyes and had heard that his construction company was struggling without Nick.

He’d been so generous with her and Natalie that she feared he was giving away money he didn’t have.

She was just thankful when the meal was over and Drew dropped her and Nat off at the small cabin in the Gallatin Canyon where she’d lived with Nick until his disappearance. The canyon as it was known, ran from the mouth just south of Gallatin Gateway almost to West Yellowstone, fifty miles of winding road that trailed the river in a deep cut through the mountains.

The drive along the Gallatin River was breathtaking, a winding strip of highway that followed the blue-ribbon trout stream up over the Continental Divide. In the summer as it was now, the Gallatin ran crystal clear over tinted green boulders. Pine trees grew dark and thick along its edge and against the steep mountains. Aspens, their leaves bright green, grew among the pines.

Sheer rock cliffs overlooked the highway and river, with small areas of open land. The canyon had been mostly cattle and dude ranches, a few summer cabins and homes—that was until Big Sky resort and the small town that followed developed at the foot of Lone Mountain.

Luxury houses had sprouted up all around the resort, with Mother Taylor’s being one of them. Fortunately, some of the original cabins still remained and the majority of the canyon was National Forest so it would always remain undeveloped.

Allie’s was one of the older cabins. Because it was small and not in great shape, Nick had gotten a good deal on it. Being in construction, he’d promised to enlarge it and fix all the things wrong with it. That hadn’t happened.

After Drew left, Allie didn’t hurry inside the cabin. It was a nice summer night, the stars overhead glittering brightly and a cool breeze coming up from the river.

She had begun to hate the cabin—and her fear of what might be waiting for her inside it. Nick had been such a force of nature to deal with that his presence seemed to have soaked into the walls. Sometimes she swore she could hear his voice. Often she found items of his clothing lying around the house as if he was still there—even though she’d boxed up his things and taken them to the local charity shop months ago.

Just the thought of what might be waiting for her inside the cabin this time made her shudder as she opened the door and stepped in, Nat at her side.

She hadn’t heard Nick’s voice since she’d quit taking the drugs. Until last night. When she’d come into the living room, half-asleep, she’d found his favorite shirt lying on the floor by the couch. She’d actually thought she smelled his aftershave even though she’d thrown the bottle away.

The cabin looked just as she’d left it. Letting out a sigh of relief, she put Nat to bed and tried to convince herself she hadn’t heard Nick’s voice last night. Even the shirt that she’d remembered picking up and thinking it felt warm and smelled of Nick before she’d dropped it over the back of the couch was gone this morning, proving the whole incident had been nothing but a bad dream.

“Good night, sweetheart,” she said and kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“Night,” Nat said sleepily and closed her eyes.

Allie felt as if her heart was going to burst when she looked at her precious daughter. She couldn’t let Mildred get her hands on Nat. But if the woman thought for a moment that Allie was incapable of raising her daughter...

She quickly turned out the light and tiptoed out of the room. For a moment, she stood in the small living area. Nick’s shirt wasn’t over the back of the couch so that was a relief.

So many times she had stood here and wished her life could be different. Nick had been so sweet while they were dating. She’d really thought she’d met her Prince Charming—until after the wedding and she met the real Nick Taylor.

She sighed, remembering her decision soon after the wedding to leave him and have the marriage annulled, but then she’d realized she was pregnant. Had she really been so naive as to think a baby would change Nick into the man she’d thought she’d married?

Shaking her head now, she looked around the cabin, remembering all the ideas she had to fix the place up and make it a home. Nick had hated them all and they had ended up doing nothing to the cabin.

Well, she could do what she wanted now, couldn’t she? But she knew, even if she had the money, she didn’t have the heart for it. She would never be able to exorcize Nick’s ghost from this house. What she really wanted was to sell the cabin and move. She promised herself she would—once everything with Nick’s death was settled.

Stepping into her bedroom, she was startled to see a pile of her clothes on her bed. Had she taken them out of the closet earlier when she’d changed to go to dinner? Her heart began to pound. She’d been upset earlier but she wouldn’t have just thrown her clothes on the bed like that.

Then how had they gotten there? She’d locked the cabin when she’d left.

Panicked, she raced through the house to see if anything was missing or if any of the doors or windows had been broken into. Everything was just as she’d left it—except for the clothes on her bed.

Reluctantly, she walked back into her bedroom half-afraid the clothes wouldn’t still be on the bed. Another hallucination?

The clothes were there. Unfortunately, that didn’t come as a complete relief. Tonight at dinner, she’d worn capris, a blouse and sandals since it was June in Montana. Why would she have pulled out what appeared to be almost everything she owned from the closet? No, she realized, not everything. These were only the clothes that Nick had bought her.

Tears blurred her eyes as she started to pick up one of the dresses. Like the others, she hated this dress because it reminded her of the times he’d made her wear it and how the night had ended. It was very low cut in the front. She’d felt cheap in it and told him so but he’d only laughed.

“When you’ve got it, flaunt it,” he’d said. “That’s what I say.”

Why hadn’t she gotten rid of these clothes? For the same reason she hadn’t thrown out the chili pot after the squirrel incident. She hadn’t wanted to upset her mother-in-law. Placating Mother Taylor had begun right after Allie had married her son. It was just so much easier than arguing with the woman.

“Nick said you don’t like the dresses he buys you,” Mildred had said disapprovingly one day when she’d stopped by the cabin and asked Allie why she wasn’t wearing the new dress. “There is nothing wrong with looking nice for your husband.”

“The dresses he buys me are just more revealing than I feel comfortable with.”

Her mother-in-law had mugged a face. “You’d better loosen up and give my son what he wants or he’ll find someone who will.”

Now as she reached for the dress on the top of the pile, she told herself she would throw them out, Mother Taylor be damned.

But the moment she touched the dress, she let out a cry of surprise and panic. The fabric had jagged cuts down the front. She stared in horror as she saw other deep, angry-looking slices in the fabric. Who had done this?

Her heart in her throat, she picked up another of the dresses Nick had made her wear. Her sewing scissors clattered to the bedroom floor. She stared down at the scissors in horror, then at the pile of destroyed clothing. All of the dresses Nick had bought her had been ruined.

Allie shook her head as she dropped the dress in her hand and took a step back from the bed. Banging into the closed closet doors, she fought to breathe, her heart hammering in her chest. Who did this? Who would do this? She remembered her brother-in-law calling from out in the hall earlier, asking what was taking her so long before they’d gone to dinner. But that was because she’d taken a shower to get the smell of her own fear off her. It wasn’t because she was in here cutting up the clothes her dead husband had made her wear.

Tears welled in her eyes, making the room blur. She shoved that bitter thought away and wiped at her tears. She wouldn’t have done this. She couldn’t have.

Suddenly, she turned and stared at the closed closet door with mounting fear. Slowly, she reached for the knob, her hand trembling. As the closet door came open, she froze. Her eyes widened in new alarm.

A half dozen new outfits hung in the otherwise nearly empty closet, the price tags still on them. As if sleepwalking, Allie reached for one of the tags and stared in shock at the price. Hurriedly, she checked the others. She couldn’t afford any of them. So where had they come from?

Not only that, the clothes were what she would call “classic,” the type of clothes she’d worn when she’d met Nick. The kind of clothes she’d pleaded with him to let her wear.

“I want other men to look at you and wish they were me,” Nick had said, getting angry.

But when she and Nick went out and she wore the clothes and other men did look, Nick had blamed her.

“You must have given him the eye,” Nick would say as they argued on the way home. “Probably flipped your hair like an invitation. Who knows what you do while I’m at work all day.”

“I take care of your daughter and your house.”

Nick hadn’t let her work after they’d gotten married, even though he knew how much she loved her wedding planning business. “Women who work get too uppity. They think they don’t need a man. No wife of mine is going to work.”

Allie had only the clothes he bought her. She’d purchased little since his death because the money had been so tight. Nick had wanted to know about every cent she’d spent, so she hadn’t been able to save any money, either. Nick paid the bills and gave her a grocery allowance. He said he’d buy her whatever she needed.

Now she stared at the beautiful clothes hanging in her closet. Beautiful blouses and tops. Amazing skirts and pants and dresses. Clothes Nick would have taken out in the yard and burned. But Nick was gone.

Or was he? He still hadn’t been declared legally dead. That thought scared her more than she wanted to admit. What if he suddenly turned up at her door one night?

Was that what was making her crazy? Maybe she had done this. She had yearned for clothing like this and hated the clothes Nick had bought her, so had she subconsciously...

Allie stumbled away from the closet, bumped into the corner of the bed and sat down hard on the floor next to it. Her hand shook as she covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Had she shoplifted these clothes? She couldn’t have purchased them. Just as she couldn’t have cut up the dresses and not remembered. There had to be another explanation. Someone was playing a horrible trick on her.

But even as she pondered it, more rational thoughts came on its heels. Did she really believe that someone had come into the cabin and done this? Who in their right mind would believe that?

Pushing herself up, she crawled over to where she’d dropped her purse as she tried to remember even the last time she’d written a check. Her checkbook wasn’t in her purse. She frowned and realized she must have left it in the desk when she’d paid bills.

Getting up she walked on wobbly legs to the desk in the corner, opened the drawer and took out her checkbook. Her fingers shook with such a tremor that she could barely read what was written in it.

But there it was. A check for more than eight hundred dollars! The handwriting was scrawled, but she knew it had to be hers. She saw the date of the check. Yesterday?

She had dropped Nat off for a playdate and then gone into Bozeman... Could she account for the entire afternoon? Her heart pounded as she tried to remember everything she’d done and when she might have bought these clothes. She’d been wandering around in a daze since Nick’s death. She couldn’t account for every minute of yesterday, but what did that matter? The proof was staring her in the face.

Allie shoved the checkbook into the drawer and tried to pull herself together. She had to think about her daughter.

“You’re fine,” she whispered to herself. “Once you get back to work...” She couldn’t have been more thankful that she had the Cardwell Ranch wedding. More than the money, she needed to do what she loved—planning weddings—and get her mind off everything else.

Once she was out of this house she’d shared with Nick... Yes, then she would be fine. She wouldn’t be so...forgetful. What woman wouldn’t feel she was losing her mind, considering what she’d been going through?

Chapter Two

“Who’s that singing?” five-year-old Ford Cardwell asked as he and his father followed the sound.

Jackson Cardwell had parked the rental SUV down by his cousin Dana’s ranch house when they’d arrived, but finding no one at home, they’d headed up the hill toward the barn and the van parked in front of it.

“I have no idea, son,” Jackson said, but couldn’t help smiling. The voice was young and sweet, the song beautiful. “It sounds like an angel.”

“It is an angel,” Ford cried and pointed past the barn to the corrals.

The girl was about his son’s age, but while Ford had taken after the Cardwell side of the family with his dark hair and eyes, this child had pale blond hair and huge green eyes.

When she saw them, she smiled, exposing two deep dimples. Both children were adorable, but this little girl was hands down more angelic-looking and—Jackson would bet—acting than Ford.

She wore cowboy boots with a pale green-and-white-polka-dotted, one-piece, short jumpsuit that brought out the emerald-green of her eyes. Jackson saw that the girl was singing to several horses that had come up to the edge of the corral fence.

The girl finished the last of the lyrics before she seemed to notice them and came running over. “If you’re looking for my mother, she’s in the barn working.”

Next to him, Jackson saw that his son had apparently been struck dumb.

“I’m Nat,” the girl announced. “My name is really Natalie, though.” She shifted her gaze to the mute Ford. “Everyone calls me Nat, so you can if you want to.”

“This is my son, Ford.”

Nat eyed Ford for a moment before she stepped forward and took his hand. “Come on, Ford. You’ll probably want to see the rest of the animals. There are chickens and rabbits and several mules along with all the horses. Don’t worry,” she added before Jackson could voice his concern. “We won’t get too close. We’ll just pet them through the corral fence and feed the horses apples. It’s okay. Mrs. Savage showed me how.”

“Don’t go far,” Jackson said as the precocious Nat led his son toward several low-slung buildings. The girl was busy talking as they left. Ford, as far as Jackson could tell, hadn’t uttered a word yet.

As he turned back toward the barn, he saw the logo on the side of the van: Weddings by Allie Knight. The logo looked old as did the van.

The girl had said her mother was working in the barn. That must be where the wedding was going to be held. His brother Tag had mentioned something about his wedding to Lily McCabe being very Western.

“You mean like Texas meets Montana?” Jackson had joked.

“Something like that. Don’t worry. You’ll feel right at home.”

His brother’s wedding wasn’t what had him worried. After talking to Tag for a few moments on the phone, he’d known his brother had fallen head over heels for Lily. He was happy for him.

No, what worried Jackson was nailing down the last of the plans before the wedding for the opening of a Texas Boys Barbecue joint in Big Sky, Montana. He had hoped that all of the brothers would be here by now. Laramie and Austin hadn’t even flown up to see the space Tag had found, let alone signed off on the deal.

From the time the five brothers had opened their first restaurant in an old house in Houston, they’d sworn they would never venture outside of Texas with their barbecue. Even as their business had grown and they’d opened more restaurants and finally started their own franchise, they had stayed in the state where they’d been raised.

Jackson understood why Tag wanted to open one here. But he feared it had nothing to do with business and everything to do with love and not wanting to leave Montana, where they had all been born.

Before the wedding had seemed the perfect time for all of them to get together and finalize the deal. Hayes had come here last month to see if the restaurant was even feasible. Unfortunately, Hayes had gotten sidetracked, so now it was up to the rest of them to make sure Tag was doing the best thing for the business—and before the wedding, which was only four days away.

He hoped all his brothers arrived soon so they could get this over with. They led such busy lives in Texas that they hardly ever saw each other. Tag had said on the phone he was anxious to show him the building he’d found for the new restaurant. Tag and Hayes had already made arrangements to buy the building without the final okay from the other brothers, something else that made Jackson nervous.

Jackson didn’t want this move to cause problems among the five of them. So his mind was miles away as he started to step into the dim darkness inside the barn.

The cool air inside was suddenly filled with a terrified scream. An instant later, a black cat streaked past him and out the barn door.

* * *

JACKSON RACED INTO the barn not sure what he was going to find. What he found was a blond-haired woman who shared a striking resemblance to the little girl who’d been singing outside by the corrals.

While Nat had been angelic, this woman was as beautiful as any he’d ever seen. Her long, straight, blond hair was the color of sunshine. It rippled down her slim back. Her eyes, a tantalizing emerald-green, were huge with fear in a face that could stop traffic.

She stood against the barn wall, a box of wedding decorations open at her feet. Her eyes widened in even more alarm when she saw him. She threw a hand over her mouth, cutting off the scream.

“Are you all right?” he asked. She didn’t appear to be hurt, just scared. No, not scared, terrified. Had she seen a mouse? Or maybe something larger? In Texas it might have been an armadillo. He wasn’t sure what kind of critters they had this far north, but something had definitely set her off.

“It was nothing,” she said, removing her hand from her mouth. Some of the color slowly returned to her face but he could see that she was still trembling.

“It was something,” he assured her.

She shook her head and ventured a look at the large box of decorations at her feet. The lid had been thrown to the side, some of the decorations spilling onto the floor.

He laughed. “Let me guess. That black cat I just saw hightailing it out of here... I’m betting he came out of that box.”

Her eyes widened further. “You saw it?”

“Raced right past me.” He laughed. “You didn’t think you imagined it, did you?”

“It happened so fast. I couldn’t be sure.”

“Must have given you quite a fright.”

She let out a nervous laugh and tried to smile, exposing deep dimples. He understood now why his son had gone mute. He felt the same way looking at Natalie’s mother. There was an innocence about her, a vulnerability that would make a man feel protective.

Just the thought made him balk. He’d fallen once and wasn’t about to get lured into that trap again. Not that there was any chance of that happening. In a few days he would be on a plane back to Texas with his son.

“You know cats,” he said, just being polite. “They’ll climb into just about anything. They’re attracted by pretty things.” Just like some cowboys. Not him, though.

“Yes,” she said, but didn’t sound convinced as she stepped away from the box. She didn’t look all that steady on her feet. He started to reach out to her, but stopped himself as she found her footing.

He couldn’t help noticing that her eyes were a darker shade of green than her daughter’s. “Just a cat. A black one at that,” he said, wondering why he felt the need to fill the silence. “You aren’t superstitious, are you?”

She shook her head and those emerald eyes brightened. That with the color returning to her cheeks made her even more striking.

This was how he’d fallen for Ford’s mother—a pretty face and what had seemed like a sweet disposition in a woman who’d needed him—and look how that had turned out. No, it took more than a pretty face to turn his head after the beating he’d taken from the last one.

“You must be one of Tag’s brothers,” she said as she wiped her palms on her jeans before extending a hand. Along with jeans, she wore a checked navy shirt, the sleeves rolled up, and cowboy boots. “I’m Allie Taylor, the wedding planner.”

Jackson quickly removed his hat, wondering where he’d left his manners. His mother had raised him better than this. But even as he started to shake her hand, he felt himself hesitate as if he were afraid to touch her.

Ridiculous, he thought as he grasped her small, ice-cold hand in his larger, much warmer one. “Jackson Cardwell. I saw your van outside. But I thought the name on the side—”

“Taylor is my married name.” When his gaze went to her empty ring finger, she quickly added, “I’m a widow.” She pulled back her hand to rub the spot where her wedding band had resided not that long ago. There was a thin, white line indicating that she hadn’t been widowed long. Or she hadn’t taken the band off until recently.

“I believe I met your daughter as my son and I were coming in. Natalie?”

“Yes, my baby girl.” Her dimpled smile told him everything he needed to know about her relationship with her daughter. He knew that smile and suspected he had one much like it when he talked about Ford.

He felt himself relax a little. There was nothing dangerous about this woman. She was a single parent, just like him. Only she’d lost her husband and he wished he could get rid of his ex indefinitely.

“Your daughter took my son to see the horses. I should probably check on him.”

“Don’t worry. Nat has a healthy respect for the horses and knows the rules. Also Warren Fitzpatrick, their hired man, is never far away. He’s Dana’s semi-retired ranch manager. She says he’s a fixture around here and loves the kids. That seems to be his job now, to make sure the kids are safe. Not that there aren’t others on the ranch watching out for them, as well. Sorry, I talk too much when I’m...nervous.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I want this wedding to be perfect.”

He could tell she was still shaken by the black cat episode. “My brother Tag mentioned that Dana and the kids had almost been killed by some crazy woman. It’s good she has someone she trusts keeping an eye on the children, even with everyone else on the ranch watching out for them. Don’t worry,” he said, looking around the barn. “I’m sure the wedding will be perfect.”

The barn was huge and yet this felt almost too intimate standing here talking to her. “I was just about to get Ford and go down to the house. Dana told me she was baking a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies and to help ourselves. I believe she said there would also be homemade lemonade when we got here.”

Allie smiled and he realized she’d thought it was an invitation. “I really need to get these decorations—”

“Sorry. I’m keeping you from your work.” He took a step back. “Those decorations aren’t going to put themselves up.”

She looked as if she wasn’t so sure of that. The cat had definitely put a scare into her, he thought. She didn’t seem sure of anything right now. Allie looked again at the box of decorations, no doubt imagining the cat flying out of it at her.

Glancing at her watch, she said, “Oh, I didn’t realize it was so late. Nat and I are meeting a friend for lunch. We need to get going.”

Jackson was suddenly aware that he’d been holding his hat since shaking Allie’s hand. He quickly put it back on as they walked out of the barn door into the bright sunshine. “My son is quite taken with your daughter,” he said, again feeling an unusual need to fill the silence.

“How old is he?”

“Ford’s five.”

“Same age as Nat.”

As they emerged into the beautiful late-June day, Jackson saw the two children and waved. As they came running, Nat was chattering away and Ford was hanging on her every word.

“They do seem to have hit it off.” Allie sounded surprised and pleased. “Nat’s had a hard time lately. I’m glad to see her making a new friend.”

Jackson could see that Allie Taylor had been having a hard time, as well. He realized she must have loved her husband very much. He knew he should say something, but for the life of him he couldn’t think of what. He couldn’t even imagine a happy marriage. As a vehicle came roaring up the road, they both turned, the moment lost.

“Hey, bro,” Tanner “Tag” Cardwell called from the rolled down window of his pickup as he swung into the ranch yard. “I see you made it,” he said, getting out to come over and shake his brother’s hand before he pulled Jackson into a hug. Tag glanced over at Ford and Natalie and added with a laugh, “Like father like son. If there’s a pretty female around, you two will find them.”

Jackson shook his head. That had been true when he’d met Ford’s mother. But since the divorce and the custody battle, he’d been too busy single-handedly raising his son to even think about women. That’s why red flags had gone up when he’d met Allie. There was something about her that had pulled at him, something more than her obvious beauty.

“Dana’s right behind me with the kids,” Tag said. “Why don’t I show you and Ford to your cabin, then you can meet everyone.” He pointed up in the pines that covered the mountainside. “Let’s grab your bags. It’s just a short walk.”

Jackson turned to say goodbye to Allie, but she and her daughter had already headed for the old van.

* * *

“COME ON, NAT, we’re meeting Belinda for lunch,” Allie said as the Cardwell men headed for the cabins on the mountain behind the barn. Working here had been a godsend. Nat was having a wonderful time. She loved Dana’s children. Hank was a year older than Nat, with Mary being the same age. Dana’s twin boys, Angus and Brick, were just over a year and her sister Stacy’s daughter, Ella, was a year and a half. Dana had her hands full but Stacy helped out with the younger ones. All of them loved the animals, especially the horses.

True to her word, Dana had made sure Nat had begun her horseback riding lessons. Nat was a natural, Dana had said, and Allie could see it was true.

Their few days here so far had been perfect.

Until the cat, there hadn’t been any other incidents.

Her friend Belinda Andrews was waiting for them at a little Mexican food place near Meadow Village at Big Sky. While other friends had gone by the wayside since she’d married Nick six years ago, Belinda hadn’t let Nick run her off. Allie suspected that, like her, she didn’t have a lot of friends and Nick, while he’d made it clear he didn’t like Belinda, had grudgingly put up with her the times they’d crossed paths.

“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting,” Allie said as she and Nat met Belinda on the patio. “You didn’t have any trouble getting off work for the wedding shoot?” Belinda worked for a local photographer, but freelanced weddings. It was how they’d met back when Allie had her own wedding planning business.

Belinda grinned. “All set for the Tag Cardwell and Lily McCabe wedding. I took Dana up on her offer. I’m moving into one of the guest cabins later today!”

Allie wasn’t all that surprised. Dana had offered her a cabin, as well, while she was preparing everything for the wedding. But since she lived just down the highway a few miles, Allie thought it best to remain at home for Nat’s sake. Her daughter had had enough changes in her life recently.

“You really are excited about this,” Allie said, noticing how nice Belinda looked. Her friend was dressed in a crop top and cut-off jeans, her skin tanned. Her dark hair was piled haphazardly up on her head, silver dangly earrings tinkled from her earlobes and, while she looked makeup free, Allie could tell she wasn’t.

Belinda looked enchanting, a trick Allie wished she could pull off, she thought. On the way here, she’d pulled her hair up in a ponytail and even though she’d showered this morning, she’d forgone makeup. Nick was always suspicious when she wore it when he wasn’t around so she’d gotten out of the habit.

Inside the café, Nat asked if she could play in the nearby area for kids and Allie said she could as long as she didn’t argue about coming back to eat when her meal came.

“You look...pale,” Belinda said, studying her after they were seated outside on the patio under an umbrella so they could see Nat. “You haven’t had anymore of those...incidents, have you?”

Allie almost laughed at that. “I just need to get more sun,” she said and picked up her menu to hide behind.

“I know you too well,” Belinda said, dragging down the menu so she could look into her eyes. “What’s happened now?”

“A black cat jumped out of one of my decoration boxes and scared me just before I came over here. And guess what? Someone else saw it.” So there, she wanted to say, I don’t need my head examined.

Belinda nodded, studying her. “A black cat?”

“Yes, a black cat and I didn’t imagine it. One of the Cardwell brothers saw it, as well.” She couldn’t even voice how much of a relief that had been.

“That’s all that’s happened?”

“That’s it.” She had to look down at the menu to pull off the lie and was just glad when Belinda didn’t question her further. She hadn’t told anyone about the shredded dresses from her closet or the new clothes she’d taken back. The sales associate hadn’t remembered her, but said the afternoon when the clothing was purchased had been a busy one. None of the other sales associates remembered her, but agreed they’d been too busy to say for sure. She’d ended up keeping two of the outfits to wear while working the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.

“I already moved some of my things into the cabin,” Belinda said.

Allie couldn’t help being surprised. “Already? Why didn’t you stop by the barn and say hello?” Allie had suggested Belinda as the wedding photographer and felt responsible and anxious since this was her first wedding in five years.

“You were busy,” her friend said. “We can’t keep each other from our jobs, right?”

“Right.” She loved that Belinda understood that. In truth, Allie had been hesitant to suggest her friend. She didn’t want to have to worry about Belinda, not with everything else that she had going on in her life right now. While her friend was a great photographer, sometimes she got sidetracked if a handsome man was around. But when she’d broached the subject with the bride-to-be, Lily had been delighted that it was one other thing she didn’t have to worry about.

Dana had been kind enough to offer Belinda a cabin on the ranch for the five-day affair. “It will make it easier for you to get great shots if you’re staying up here and experiencing all the wedding festivities,” Dana had said. “And any friend of Allie’s is a friend of ours.”

She and Belinda had been friends since grade school. Lately they hadn’t been as close, probably Allie’s fault. Belinda was in between men right now, and much wilder, freer and more outspoken than Allie had ever been. But Belinda didn’t have a five-year-old daughter, either.

“You have no idea what this means to me,” Belinda said now. “I’ve been dying to photograph a Western wedding for my portfolio.”

“Your portfolio?”

Belinda looked embarrassed as if she’d let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. “I’m thinking about opening my own studio.”

“That’s great.” Allie was happy for her friend, although she’d wondered if Belinda had come into some money because it wouldn’t be cheap and as far as she knew Belinda lived from paycheck to paycheck like everyone else she knew.

The waitress came and took their orders. A light breeze stirred the new leaves on the nearby trees. The smell of summer mixed with that of corn tortillas, the most wonderful smell of all, Allie thought. They sipped Mexican Cokes, munched on chips and salsa to the sound of Latin music playing in the background and Allie felt herself begin to relax.

“I wasn’t going to bring this up,” Belinda said, “but you know that psychic that I’ve seen off and on?”

Allie fought not to roll her eyes.

“I know you say you don’t believe in this stuff, but she said something interesting when I mentioned you.”

“You told her about me?” Allie hadn’t meant for her voice to rise so high. Her daughter looked over. She smiled at Nat and quickly changed her tone. “I really don’t want you talking to anyone about me, let alone a...” She tried to come up with a word other than charlatan.

Belinda leaned forward, unfazed. “She thinks what’s happening to you is because of guilt. Simply put, you feel guilty and it is manifesting itself into these...incidents.”

Allie stared at her. Leave it to Belinda to get right to the heart of it.

Her friend lowered her voice as if afraid Nat might be listening. “It makes sense, if you think about it. Nick didn’t know you were—” she glanced at Nat “—leaving him and going to file for custody of you-know-who, but you did know your plan. Then he goes and gets himself...” She grimaced in place of the word killed. “Something like that has to mess with your mind.”

“Yes, losing your husband does mess with your mind no matter what kind of marriage you had.” Fortunately, the waitress brought their food. Allie called Nat up to the table and, for a few moments, they ate in silence.

“The thing is...” Belinda said between bites.

“Can’t we just enjoy our meal?” Allie pleaded.

Her friend waved that suggestion away, but didn’t say more until they had finished and Nat had gone back to the play area.

“The psychic thinks there is more to it,” Belinda said. “What if Nick knew about your...plan?”

“What are you saying?”

“Come on. You’ve been over Nick for a long time. His death wouldn’t make you crazy—”

“I’m not crazy,” she protested weakly.

“But what if he did know or at least suspected? Come on, Allie. We both know it was so not like Nick to go hunting up into the mountains alone, knowing that the grizzlies were eating everything they could get their paws on before hibernation.” She didn’t seem to notice Allie wince. “Didn’t the ranger say Nick had food in his backpack?”

“He didn’t take food to attract a bear, if that’s what you’re saying. He planned to stay a few days so of course he had food in his backpack.”

“I’m not trying to upset you. But if he went up there to end it all, that was his choice. You can’t go crazy because you feel guilty.”

Her stomach turned at the thought of the backpack she’d been asked to identify. It had been shredded by the grizzly’s claws. She’d been horrified to think of what the bear had done to Nick. She would never forget the officer who’d brought her the news.

“From what we’ve been able to assess at the scene, your husband was attacked by a grizzly and given the tracks and other signs—”

“Signs?”

“Blood, ma’am.”

She’d had to sit down. “You’re telling me he’s...dead?”

“It certainly looks that way,” the ranger said. Four days later, the search for Nick Taylor was called off because a winter storm had come in and it was believed that there was little chance he could have survived such an attack without immediate medical attention.

“Nick wouldn’t,” she managed to say now. In her heart of hearts, the man she knew so well, the man she’d been married to for more than six years, wouldn’t purposely go into the woods with a plan to be killed by a grizzly.

But Nick had always been unpredictable. Moody and often depressed, too. The construction business hadn’t been doing well even before Nick’s death. What would he have done if he’d known she was leaving him and taking his daughter? Hadn’t she been suspicious when Nick told her of his plan to go hunting alone? She’d actually thought he might be having an affair and wanted to spend a few days with his mistress. She’d actually hoped that was the case.

“You’re going by yourself?” she’d asked. Nick couldn’t even watch football by himself.

“I know things haven’t been great with us lately,” he’d said. That alone had surprised her. She really thought Nick hadn’t noticed or cared. “I think a few days apart is just what we both need. I can tell you aren’t happy. I promise you there will be changes when I get back and maybe I’ll even come home with a nice buck.” He’d cupped her face in his hands. “I don’t think you know what you mean to me, but I promise to show you when I get back.” He’d kissed her then, softly, sweetly, and for a moment, she’d wondered if Nick could change.

“You’re wrong about Nick,” she said now to Belinda. “If he was going to end it, he would have chosen the least painful way to do it. Not one—” she looked at Nat, who was swinging nearby, humming to herself and seemingly oblivious to their conversation “—that chose him. He had a gun with him he could have used.”

“Maybe he didn’t get the chance, but you’re probably right,” Belinda said and grabbed the check. “Let me get this. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that you need to get a handle on whatever’s been going on with you for you-know-who’s sake.” She cut her eyes to Nat, who headed toward them as they stood to leave.

“You’re right about the guilt, though,” Allie said, giving her friend that. She’d known as she’d watched Nick leave that day to go up into the mountains that nothing could change him enough to make her stay. She was going to ask him for a divorce when he came back.

Belinda changed the subject. “I saw your brother-in-law, Drew, earlier on the ranch.”

Allie nodded. “He mentioned he was working up there. His construction company built the guest cabins.”

“I’d forgotten that.” Belinda frowned. “I was talking to Lily about photos at the rehearsal dinner. Did you know that Sarah is one of her bridesmaids?”

“My sister-in-law worked with Lily one season at her brother James’s Canyon Bar.” Allie had the impression that Lily didn’t have a lot of female friends. Most of the math professors she knew were male, apparently. “I think James feels sorry for Sarah and you know Lily, she is so sweet.”

“I have to hand it to Sarah, putting up with her mother day in and day out,” Belinda said.

Allie didn’t want to think about it. Along with fewer incidents the past few days, she’d also been blessed with no visits from her mother-in-law and Sarah.

“Sarah’s a saint, especially—” Belinda lowered her voice “—the way Mildred treats her. She is constantly bugging her about her weight and how she is never going to get a husband... It’s awful.”

Allie agreed.

“I don’t understand why she doesn’t leave.”

“Where would she go and what would she do?” Allie said. “Sarah was in college when Mildred broke her leg. She quit to come home and take care of her mother. Mildred has milked it ever since. It used to annoy Nick, Sarah living in the guesthouse. He thought Sarah was taking advantage of his mother.”

“Ha, it’s the other way around. Sarah is on twenty-four-hour call. She told me that her mother got her out of bed at 2:00 a.m. one time to heat her some milk because she couldn’t sleep. I would have put a pillow over the old nag’s face.”

Allie laughed and changed the subject. “You look especially nice today,” she commented, realizing that her friend had seemed happier lately. It dawned on her why. “There’s someone new in your life.”

Belinda shrugged. She didn’t like to talk about the men she dated because she thought it would jinx things for her. Not talking about them didn’t seem to work, either, though. Belinda was so superstitious. Why else would she see a psychic to find out her future?

“This is going to be so much fun, the two of us working together again. Don’t worry. I won’t get in your way.” Belinda took her hand. “I’m sorry I upset you. Sometimes I don’t have the brains God gave a rock.”

She didn’t think that was the way the expression went, but said nothing. Belinda could be so...annoying and yet so sweet. Allie didn’t know what she would have done without her the past few years. Belinda had been the only person she would talk freely to about Nick and the trouble between them.

“I’m just worried about you, honey,” Belinda said, squeezing her hand. “I really think you should see someone—”

“I don’t need a shrink.”

“Not a shrink. Someone more...spiritual who can help you make sense of the things that you say keep happening.”

“Things do keep happening,” she snapped. “I’m not making them up.”

“So talk to this woman,” Belinda said just as adamantly. She pressed a business card into Allie’s hand.

She glanced at it and groaned. “Your psychic friend?”

“She might be the only person who can help you,” Belinda said cryptically. She gripped Allie’s hand tighter. “She says she can get you in touch with Nick so you can get past this.”

Allie stared at her for a moment before laughing out loud. “You have got to be kidding. What does she use? A Ouija board?”

“Don’t laugh. This woman can tell you things that will make the hair on your head stand straight up.”

That’s all I need, she thought, reminded of Jackson Cardwell asking her if she was superstitious.

“Call her,” Belinda said, closing Allie’s fingers around the woman’s business card. “You need closure, Allie. This woman can give it to you. She’s expecting your call.”

“I’ve been expecting your call, as well,” said a sharp, older voice.

They both turned to see Mildred and her daughter. From the looks on their faces, they’d been standing there for some time.

Chapter Three

“Want to see the building for Montana’s first Texas Boys Barbecue?” Tag asked after they’d dropped Jackson and Ford’s luggage off at the small cabin on the side of the mountain and gone down to meet cousin Dana and her brood.

Dana Cardwell Savage was just as Tag had described her. Adorable and sweet and delighted that everyone was coming for the wedding.

“How is your cabin?” she asked after introducing him to her children with husband, Marshal Hud Savage. Hank was the spitting image of his father, Dana said, and six now. Mary was five and looked just like her mom. Then there were the twins, Angus and Brick, just a year and a half old with the same dark hair and eyes as all the Cardwells.

“The cabin is great,” Jackson said as Ford instantly bonded with his second cousins. “Thank you so much for letting me stay there.”

“Family is why we had them built,” Dana said. “My Texas cousins will always have a place to stay when you visit. Or until you find a place to live in Montana when you realize you want to live up here,” she added with a wink. “Isn’t that right, Tag?”

“I would love to visit, but I’m never leaving Texas,” Jackson said.

“Never say never,” Tag commented under his breath. “I was just about to take him down to see the restaurant location.”

Ford took off with the other kids into a room full of toys and didn’t even look back as his father left. Jackson almost felt as if he were losing his son to Montana and the Cardwell clan.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait until everyone gets here?” he asked as they left.

“Hayes and Laramie are flying in tomorrow. I was hoping you would pick them up at the airport. Austin is apparently on a case tying up some loose ends.” He shrugged. Of the five of them, Austin was the loner. He was dedicated to his job and being tied up on a case was nothing new. “Anyway, it’s your opinion I want. You’re better at this than all three of them put together.”

“So you haven’t heard from Austin on the deal,” Jackson guessed.

Tag shook his head. “You know how he is. He’ll go along with whatever everyone else says. Come on,” he said with a laugh when Jackson groaned. “I really do want your opinion.”

“Honest opinion?” Jackson asked.

“Of course.”

Jackson glanced around as they drove out of the ranch and down the highway to the turnoff to Big Sky. Being the youngest, he didn’t remember anything about Montana. He’d been a baby when his mother had packed up her five sons and taken them to Texas.

Big Sky looked more like a wide spot in the road rather than a town. There were clusters of buildings broken only by sagebrush or golf greens.

“This is the lower Meadow Village,” Tag told him. “There is also the Mountain Village higher up the mountain where the ski resort is. You really have to see this place in the winter. It’s crazy busy around the holidays. There are a lot of second homes here so the residents fly in and spend a few weeks generally in the summer and the holidays. More and more people, though, are starting to live here year-round. There is opportunity here, Jackson.”

Jackson wanted to tell his brother that he didn’t need to sell him. He’d go along with whatever the others decided. In fact, he’d already spoken to Hayes about it. Once Hayes got on board, it was clear to Jackson that this was probably a done deal. The holdout, if there was one, would be Austin and only because he wouldn’t be available to sign off on the deal. Even Laramie sounded as if he thought the restaurant was a good idea.

“Where does Harlan live?” Jackson asked as they drove past mansions, condos and some tiny old cabins that must have been there before anyone even dreamed of a Big Sky. He had only a vague recollection of his father from those few times Harlan had visited Texas when he was growing up.

“He lives in one of those cabins back there, the older ones. We can stop by his place if you like. More than likely he and Uncle Angus are down at the Corral Bar. It’s their favorite watering hole. Maybe we could have a beer with them later.”

“I’m sure I’ll see him soon enough.” Harlan was a stranger who hadn’t even made Jackson’s wedding, not that the marriage had lasted long, anyway. But he felt no tie to the man who’d fathered him and doubted he ever would. It was only when he thought about Ford that he had regrets. It would have been nice for Ford to have a grandfather. His ex-wife’s family had no interest in Ford. So the only family his son had in Texas was Jackson’s mother, Rosalee Cardwell and his brother Laramie. Tag had already moved to Montana and Hayes would be moving here soon.

“I’m getting to know Dad,” Tag said. “He’s pretty remarkable.”

“Tell me about your wedding planner,” Jackson said, changing the subject then regretting the topic he’d picked when his brother grinned over at him. “I’m just curious about her.” He hadn’t told anyone about the cat or the terrified woman he’d found in the barn earlier. Her reaction seemed over the top given it had only been a cat. Though it had been a black one. Maybe she was superstitious.

“Allie’s great. Dana suggested her. That’s our Dana, always trying to help those in need. Allie lost her husband eight months ago. Terrible thing. He was hunting in the mountains and apparently killed by a grizzly bear.”

“Apparently?”

“They never found his body. They think the bear dragged the body off somewhere. Won’t be the first time remains have turned up years later in the mountains—if they turn up at all. They found his backpack and enough blood that he can be declared legally dead but I guess the insurance company has been dragging its feet.”

Jackson thought of Allie and her little girl, Nat. “How horrible for them.”

“Yeah, she’s been having a hard time both emotionally and financially according to Dana, who suggested her for our wedding planner because of it. But Lily loves Allie and, of course, Natalie. That little girl is so darned bright.”

“Yeah, Ford is definitely taken with her.” But his thoughts were on Allie and her reaction to the cat flying out of that box of wedding decorations. It must have scared her half out of her wits in the emotional state she was in. “That was nice of Dana to hire her.”

“Allie worked as a wedding planner before she married Nick Taylor. Dana offered Allie and Nat one of the new guest ranch cabins where we’re staying. But I guess she thinks it would be better for Natalie to stay in their own home.”

“Where do Allie and her daughter live now?”

“An old cabin down by the river. I’ll show you on the way back.” Tag swung into a small complex and turned off the engine. “Welcome to the site of the next Texas Boys Barbecue joint.”

* * *

“I THOUGHT YOU had a job,” Mildred said to Allie over the sound of brass horns playing cantina music at the Mexican café.

“They allow lunch breaks,” she said. “But I really need to get back.” She excused herself to go to the ladies’ room.

Mildred turned to Natalie, leaned down and pinched her cheek. “How is my sweetie today? Grandma misses you. When are you coming to my house?”

In the restroom, Allie splashed cold water on her face and tried to calm down. How much had they heard?

Enough that they had been looking at her strangely. Or was that all in her mind, as well? But if they heard Belinda trying to get her to see a psychic so she could reach Nick on the other side... Allie could well imagine what they would think.

She hurried, not wanting to leave Natalie with her grandmother for long. She hated it, but Mildred seemed to nag the child all the time about not spending enough time with her.

Leaving the restroom, she saw that Sarah and her mother hadn’t taken a seat. Instead, they were standing at the takeout counter. There was no avoiding talking to them again.

“I couldn’t help but overhear your...friend suggesting you see a...psychic?” Mother Taylor said, leaving no doubt that they had been listening. “Surely she meant a psychiatrist, which indicates that you are still having those hallucinations.” She quirked an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

“Belinda was only joking. I’m feeling much better, thank you.”

Mildred’s expression said she wasn’t buying a minute of it. “Sarah, I left my sweater in the car.”

“I’ll get it, Mother.” Sarah turned and headed for their vehicle parked out front.

“How is this...job of yours going?” Mildred asked. “I’ve never understood what wedding planners do.”

Allie had actually told her once, listing about fifty things she did but Mildred clearly hadn’t been listening.

“I’ll have to tell you sometime,” she said now. “But I need to get back to it. Come on, Natalie.”

“You should let me have her for the rest of the day,” Mildred said. “In fact, she can spend the night at my house.”

“I’m sorry, but Natalie is getting horseback riding lessons this afternoon,” Allie lied. “She’s having a wonderful time with Dana’s children.”

“Well, she can still—”

“Not only that, I also prefer to have Nat with me right now. It’s hard enough without Nick.” Another lie followed by the biggest truth of all, “I need my daughter right now.”

Mildred looked surprised. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you mention my Nicky in months.” She seemed about to cry. Sarah returned with her sweater, slipping it around her shoulders without even a thank-you from Mildred.

Nearby, Belinda was finishing up their bill.

“I really should get back to work.” Allie tried to step past her mother-in-law, but the older woman grabbed her arm. “I worry that you are ill-equipped to take care of yourself, let alone a child. I need Natalie more than you do. I—”

Allie jerked her arm free. “Natalie would be heartbroken if she was late to her horseback riding lesson.” She hurried to her daughter, picked up her purse off the table and, taking Nat’s hand, left the restaurant, trying hard not to run.

She told herself to calm down. Any sign of her being upset and her in-laws would view it as her being unable to take care of Nat. But all she wanted was to get away and as quickly as possible.

But as she and Nat reached her van and she dug in her purse for her keys, she realized they weren’t there. Her heart began to pound. Since Nick’s death, she was constantly losing her keys, her purse, her sunglasses...her mind.

“Forgetfulness is very common after a traumatic event,” the doctor had told her when she’d gotten an appointment at her in-laws’ insistence.

“It scares me. I try to remind myself where I put things so this doesn’t happen, but when I go back to get whatever it was...I’m always so positive that’s where I left it. Instead, I find it in some...strange place I could never imagine.”

The doctor had chuckled and pulled out his prescription pad. “How are you sleeping?” He didn’t even wait for her to answer. “I think once you start sleeping through the night, you’re going to find that these instances of forgetfulness will go away.”

The pills had only made it worse, though, she thought now as she frantically searched for her van keys. She could feel Nat watching her, looking worried. Sometimes it felt as if her five-year-old was taking care of her instead of the other way around.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Mama just misplaced her keys. I’m sure they’re in here....”

“Looking for these?” The young waitress from the café came out the door, holding up her keys.

“Where did you find them?” Allie asked, thinking they must have fallen out of her purse at the table and ended up on the floor. That could happen to anyone.

“In the bathroom sink.”

Allie stared at her.

“You must have dropped them while you were washing your hands,” the young woman said with a shrug as she handed them over.

As if that was likely. She hadn’t even taken her purse to the restroom, had she? But she had it now and she couldn’t remember. She’d been so upset to see Sarah and Mildred.

“Nat, what was Grandmother saying to you in the restaurant?”

“She wanted me to go to her house but I told her I couldn’t. I’m going horseback riding when we get to the ranch,” Nat announced. “Dana is taking me and the other kids.” Her lower lip came out for a moment. “Grandma said she was really sad I wasn’t going with her.”

“Yes,” Allie said as, with trembling fingers, she opened the van door. Tears stung her eyes. “But today is a happy day so we aren’t going to be sad, right? There are lots of other days that you can spend with your grandmother.” Nat brightened as she strapped her into her seat.

Just a few more minutes and she and Nat would be out of here. But as she started the van, she looked up to find Mother Taylor watching her from beside Sarah’s pearl-white SUV. It was clear from her expression that she’d witnessed the lost-key episode.

From the front steps of the restaurant, Belinda waved then made the universal sign to telephone.

Allie knew Belinda didn’t mean call her. Reaching in her pocket, she half expected the psychic’s business card to be missing. But it was still there, she realized with sagging relief. As crazy as the idea of reaching Nick beyond the grave was, she’d do anything to make this stop.

* * *

WHEN ALLIE AND her daughter returned, Jackson was watching her from inside his cousin’s two-story ranch house.

“She lost her husband some months back,” Dana said, joining him at the window.

“I wasn’t—”

“He went up into the mountains during hunting season,” she continued, ignoring his attempt to deny he’d been wondering about Allie. “They found his backpack and his rifle and grizzly tracks.”

“Tag mentioned it.” Tag had pointed out Allie’s small, old cabin by the river on their way back to the ranch. It looked as if it needed work. Hadn’t Tag mentioned that her husband was in construction? “Tag said they never found her husband’s body.”

Dana shook her head. “But Nick’s backpack was shredded and his rifle was half-buried in the dirt with grizzly tracks all around it. When he didn’t show up after a few days and they had no luck finding him...”

“His remains will probably turn up someday,” Hud said as he came in from the kitchen. Dana’s husband, Hud, was the marshal in the canyon—just as his father had been before him. “About thirty years ago now, a hiker found a human skeleton of a man. He still hasn’t been identified so who knows how long he’d been out there in the mountains.”

“That must make it even harder for her,” Jackson said.

“It was one reason I was so glad when she decided to take the job as wedding planner.”

He watched Allie reappear to get a box out of the van. She seemed nervous, even upset. He wondered if something had happened at lunch. Now at least he understood why she had overreacted with the black cat.

Hud kissed his wife, saying he had to get back to work, leaving Dana and Jackson alone.

“Our fathers are setting up their equipment on the bandstand in the barn,” Dana said. “Have you seen Harlan yet?”

“No,” Jackson admitted. “Guess there is no time like the present, huh?”

Jackson hadn’t seen his father in several years, and even then Harlan hadn’t seemed to know how to act around him—or his other sons, for that matter. As they entered the barn, Tag joining them, he saw his father and uncle standing on the makeshift stage, guitars in their hands, and was surprised when he remembered a song his father had once sung to him.

He didn’t know how old he’d been at the time, but he recalled Harlan coming into his bedroom one night in Texas and playing a song on his guitar for him. He remembered being touched by the music and his father’s voice.

On stage, the two brothers began playing their guitars in earnest. His father began singing. It was the voice Jackson remembered and it was like being transported back to his childhood. It rattled him more than he wanted to admit. He’d thought he and his father had no connection. But just hearing Harlan sing made him realize that he’d been lying to himself about not only the lack of connection, but also his need for it.

Harlan suddenly broke off at the sight of his sons. He stared through the dim barn for a moment, then put down his guitar to bound off the stage and come toward Jackson. He seemed young and very handsome, belying his age, Jackson thought. A man in his prime.

“Jackson,” he said, holding out his hand. His father’s hand was large and strong, the skin dry, callused and warm. “Glad you made it. So where are the rest of your brothers?”

“They’re supposed to fly in tomorrow. At least Laramie and Hayes are,” Tag said. “Austin... Well, he said he would do his best to make it. He’s tied up on a case, but I’m sure you know how that goes.” At Christmas, Tag had found out what their father did besides drink beer and play guitar—and shared that amazing news with them. Both Harlan and his brother Angus had worked undercover as government agents and still might, even though they were reportedly retired.

“Duty calls sometimes,” Harlan agreed. “I’m glad I’m retired.”

“Until the next time someone gets into trouble and needs help,” Tag said.

Harlan merely smiled in answer.

Jackson was glad to see that his brother and their father could joke. Tag, being the oldest, remembered the years living in Montana and their father more than his brothers.

“The old man isn’t so bad,” Tag had told them after his visit at Christmas. “He’s starting to grow on me.”

Jackson had laughed, but he’d been a little jealous. He would love for his son to have a grandfather. He couldn’t imagine, though, how Harlan could be a part of his only grandson’s life, even if he wanted to. Texas and Montana were just too far apart. And Harlan probably had no interest, anyway.

“Where’s that bride-to-be?” Uncle Angus asked Tag as he hopped off the stage and came toward them.

“Last minute preparations for the wedding,” Tag said. “You can’t believe the lists she’s made. It’s the mathematician in her. She’s so much more organized than I am. Which reminds me, Jackson and I have to drive down to Bozeman to pick up the rings.”

“It took a wedding to get you Cardwell boys to Montana, I see.” Uncle Angus threw an arm around Jackson. “So how are you liking it up here? I saw that boy of yours. Dana’s got him riding horses already. You’re going to have one devil of a time getting him to go back to Texas after this.”

Didn’t Jackson know it. He’d hardly seen his son all day. Even now Ford had been too busy to give Jackson more than a quick wave from the corral where he’d been with the kids and the hired man, Walker.

“Ford is going to sleep like a baby tonight after all this fresh air, sunshine and high altitude,” Jackson said. “He’s not the only one,” he added with a laugh.

“It’s good for him,” Harlan said. “I was talking to him earlier. He’s taken with that little girl.”

“Like father like son,” Tag said under his breath as Allie came in from the back of the barn.

Jackson saw her expression. “I think I’d better go check on my son,” he said as he walked toward Allie. He didn’t have time to think about what he was about to do. He moved to her, taking her arm and leading her back out of the barn. “What’s wrong?”

For a moment she looked as if she were going to deny anything was. But then tears filled her eyes. He walked her around the far side of the barn. He could hear Dana out by the corral instructing the kids in horseback riding lessons. Inside the barn, his father and uncle struck up another tune.

“It’s nothing, really,” she said and brushed at her tears. “I’ve been so forgetful lately. I didn’t remember that the band would be setting up this afternoon.”

He saw that she held a date book in her trembling hand.

“It wasn’t written down in your date book?”

She glanced at her book. “It was but for some reason I marked it out.”

“No big deal, right?”

“It’s just that I don’t remember doing it.”

He could see that she was still upset and wondered if there wasn’t something more going on. He reminded himself that Allie had lost her husband only months ago. Who knew what kind of emotional roller coaster that had left her on.

“You need to cut yourself more slack,” he said. “We all forget things.”

She nodded, but he could see she was still worried. No, not worried, scared. He thought of the black cat and had a feeling it hadn’t been her first scare like that.

“I feel like such a fool,” she said.

Instinctively, he put his arm around her. “Give yourself time. It’s going to be all right.”

She looked so forlorn that taking her in his arms seemed not only the natural thing to do at that moment, but the only thing to do under the circumstances. At first she felt board-stiff in his arms, then after a moment she seemed to melt into him. She buried her face into his chest as if he were an anchor in a fierce storm.

Suddenly, she broke the embrace and stepped back. He followed her gaze to one of the cabins on the mountainside behind him and the man standing there.

“Who is that?” he asked, instantly put off by the scowling man.

“My brother-in-law, Drew. He’s doing some repairs on the ranch. He and Nick owned a construction company together. They built the guest cabins.”

The man’s scowl had turned into a cold stare. Jackson saw Allie’s reaction. “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

She shook her head as the man headed down the mountainside to his pickup parked in the pines. “He’s just very protective.” Allie looked as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders again.

Jackson watched her brother-in-law slowly drive out of the ranch. Allie wasn’t the only one the man was glaring at.

“I need to get back inside,” she said and turned away.

He wanted to go after her. He also wanted to put his fist into her brother-in-law’s face. Protective my butt, he thought. He wanted to tell Allie to ignore all of it. Wanted... Hell, that was just it. He didn’t know what he wanted at the moment. Even if he did, he couldn’t have it. He warned himself to stay away from Allie Taylor. Far away. He was only here for the wedding. While he felt for the woman, he couldn’t help her.

“There you are,” Tag said as he came up behind them. “Ready to go with me to Bozeman to get the rings?”

Jackson glanced toward the barn door Allie was stepping through. “Ready.”

Chapter Four

As Jackson started to leave with his brother, he turned to look back at the barn. Just inside the door he saw Allie. All his survival instincts told him to keep going, but his mother had raised a Texas cowboy with a code of honor. Or at least she’d tried. Something was wrong and he couldn’t walk away.

“Give me just a minute,” he said and ran back. As he entered the barn, he saw Allie frantically searching for something in the corner of the barn. His father and brother were still playing at the far end, completely unaware of them.

“What are you looking for?”

She seemed embarrassed that he’d caught her. He noticed that she’d gone pale and looked upset. “I know I put my purse right there with my keys in it.”

He glanced at the empty table. “Maybe it fell under it.” He bent down to look under the red-and-white-checked tablecloth. “The barn is looking great, by the way. You’ve done a beautiful job.”

She didn’t seem to hear him. She was moving from table to table, searching for her purse. He could see that she was getting more anxious by the moment. “I know I put it right there so I wouldn’t forget it when I left.”

“Here it is,” Jackson said as he spied what he assumed had to be her purse not on a table, but in one of the empty boxes that had held the decorations.

She rushed to him and took the purse and hurriedly looked inside, pulling out her keys with obvious relief.

“You would have found it the moment you started loading the boxes into your van,” he said, seeing that she was still shaken.

She nodded. “Thank you. I’m not usually like this.”

“No need to apologize. I hate losing things. It drives me crazy.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Crazy, yes.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Tears welled in her eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

He wanted to comfort her, but kept his distance after what had happened earlier. “It really is okay.”

She shook her head as the music stopped and quickly wiped her eyes, apologizing again. She looked embarrassed and he wished there was something he could say to put her at ease.

“Earlier, I was just trying to comfort you. It was just a hug,” he said.

She met his gaze. “One I definitely needed. You have been so kind....”

“I’m not kind.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Are you always so self-deprecating?”

“No, just truthful.”

“Well, thank you.” She clutched the keys in her hand as if afraid she would lose them if she let them out of her sight.

At the sound of people approaching, she stepped away from him.

“Let me load those boxes in your van. I insist,” he said before she could protest.

As Dana, Lily and the kids came through the barn door they stopped to admire what Allie had accomplished. There were lots of oohs and ahhs. But it was Lily whose face lit up as she took in the way the barn was being transformed.

Jackson shifted his gaze to Allie’s face as she humbly accepted their praise. Dana introduced Jackson to Lily. He could see right away why his brother had fallen for the woman.

“Please come stay at one of the guest cabins for the rest of the wedding festivities,” Dana was saying to Allie.

“It is so generous of you to offer the cabin,” Allie said, looking shocked at the offer.

“Not at all. It will make it easier for you so you don’t have to drive back and forth. Also I’m being selfish. The kids adore Natalie. It will make the wedding a lot more fun for them.”

Allie, clearly fighting tears of gratitude, said she would think about it. Jackson felt his heartstrings pulled just watching. “I’ll work hard to make this wedding as perfect as it can be. I won’t let you down.”

Lily gave her a hug. “Allie, it’s already perfect!”

Jackson was surprised that Lily McCabe had agreed to a Western wedding. According to the lowdown he’d heard, Lily taught mathematics at Montana State University. She’d spent her younger years at expensive boarding schools after having been born into money.

Jackson wondered if the woman had ever even been on a horse—before she met the Cardwells. Apparently, Allie was worried that a Western wedding was the last thing a woman like Lily McCabe would want.

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