Cowboy Who Came For Christmas (Harlequin Romance) (9 page)

Adan wanted to search the area around the cabins for any trace of Pritchard. Or any signs of who might have aided and abetted him. Later tonight, he’d have to try again to reason with Sophia about why she refused to open up to him.

And in the meantime he’d hope he could get a signal on his phone so he could do a background check on just about everyone on this cold mountain.

CHAPTER NINE

A
DAN
STALKED
THROUGH
the foot-deep snow, looking for any hints that someone had been roaming around these wintry woods. Late afternoon was fast approaching and he wanted to cover a circular perimeter of these woods before nightfall.

Pritchard might be stupid in many ways, but he was on the run and that meant he’d try to survive any way he could. Maybe he’d hidden in his vehicle somewhere in the woods going up the mountain. The hills and valleys along the paved road offered protection and with a little foresight, even a dumb criminal could manage to stay out of sight. And staying near a water source made sense to Adan.

Adan’s trek down toward the stream was arduous since trying to keep track of his whereabouts in the deep snow took extra time and effort. When he started seeing snapped branches and disturbances and indentions in the snow, he followed what became a definite trail. But with all the new snowfall from last night, it was hard to determine what or who had left the tracks in the woods behind the cabins.

He followed a haphazard path until he reached the icy stream that Sophia had mentioned earlier. A shallow band of water meandered like a white snake through the woods. The water was frozen over in spots but cracked and gaping in others. Someone had moved through that water to the other side of the stream, and that someone had done a lousy job of trying to keep their movements hidden.

Maybe it had happened this morning, since any earlier tracks would have frozen over solid again last night. Adan followed the stream and kept his eyes on the cracked ice, then eased into the open path, cold water covering his sturdy boots and worn jeans. He made it to the other shore and climbed up the bluff and searched, the smell of wood smoke causing him to crouch low and tread lightly.

When he saw an opening underneath the shelter of an ancient oak tree, he got down in the snow, the wet slush covering his heavy canvas coat. As he inched his way toward the recent campfire in a belly crawl, he heard voices. Adan pulled out his pocket-size binoculars and centered his gaze on what was left of the campfire.

No one there, but a struggling swirl of smoke told him it hadn’t been long since someone had left the area. He scanned the white-blanketed woods, searching for signs of human life. Listening carefully, he traced the voices off to his right. Sounded as if someone was coming back up the incline of the mountain face.

Adan hid behind a copse of brittle snow-covered shrubs and waited to see who would show up, one hand on his gun and the other on his binoculars. He had to wonder if Sophia had hinted at this spot earlier because she knew Pritchard would head this way. Which made no sense. Was she helping the man or hoping he’d be captured? Or maybe hoping Pritchard would take care of Adan for her? The woman was a complete puzzle.

Focusing on his work for now, Adan put Sophia back in the I’ll-figure-that-out-later box.

When a man and woman showed up with twigs and small limbs and worked on starting up the fire, Adan hid his frustration and took his hand off his weapon. These two people were buff and fit and apparently having a high old time out here in the freezing woods. Bundled in down jackets and sturdy hiking boots, they obviously didn’t have a clue anyone was around, let alone a dangerous man.

He didn’t know whether to enjoy the way they exchanged kisses and giggled gleefully or call it a day and go back and try to do the same with Sophia. After he interrogated her again, of course.

That wouldn’t be right, so he decided he could at least interview these two lovebirds to see if they’d noticed anything unusual, like a desperate criminal traipsing through the woods.

So he stood and made as much noise as possible, then walked down what looked like a path and waved. “Hello.”

The couple broke apart and looked shocked and embarrassed.

“Uh...hello,” the young man said, getting up to stand in front of his woman. “Can we help you?”

Adan nodded and showed them his badge. “Texas Ranger Adan Harrison—”

“It’s the Ranger,” the woman said, getting up to stare at Adan with a kind of curious fascination she might give an unusual bug. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Adan did an eyebrow frown, thinking it would be mighty hard to find a criminal when everyone on this mountain knew they were both here. “Is that right? And who told you about me?”

“Bettye, of course,” the woman said. “We have a very tight grapevine around here.”

Adan approached until he stood directly across from them. “Then you know why I’m here.”

The woman shook her head. “Not really, other than you’re a friend of Sophia’s and...well...y’all need your privacy.”

Surprised yet again, Adan put on his poker face. “Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag.”

The woman stepped forward and extended her hand, clearly happy to discuss his so-called love life. “I’m Maggie Burton and this is my husband, Arnie.”

The man offered his hand, but he didn’t look all that thrilled to see Adan. “Hi. How ya doing, sir?”

Adan grinned and shook his head, thinking the vibes with these two set off all kind of alarms in his mind. “I’m fine, I reckon. And call me Adan.”

They laughed and both started talking at once.

“This is where he proposed to me,” Maggie explained, one hand sweeping the distant vistas. “Such a lovely spot.”

“So we come back here every year right before Christmas and remember how special that day was,” Arnie added. “Of course, it’s not usually whiteout conditions like this.”

Adan glanced around. “I didn’t expect to see anyone out on a day like this. Surprised you’d want to deal with this cold and snow.”

“We’re big hikers,” Maggie said, adjusting her wool cap for emphasis. “But today, we were cold after our morning hike so we lit a fire and just had the nicest lunch of hot chocolate and trail mix and then we did another quick hike and came back.” She pointed to her husband’s backpack. “Would you like a granola bar?”

“No, thanks,” Adan replied, his mind whirling with all kinds of scenarios. “So you just got back from an afternoon hike?”

“And here we are,” Arnie said on a nervous laugh, obviously hoping that explained everything. “Need to build up this fire again.”

“Did you get out for some fresh air?” Maggie asked, her tone a bit too perky. Then she looked past him. “Where is Sophia?”

“She stayed behind,” Adan replied, glancing past them with the solid assurance that these two were putting on a big show.

“Oh, too bad,” Maggie replied, her hand tugging at her hair. “We all love Sophia.” She did the hat moving thing again.

A secret code or warning to someone?

“She’s a sweet woman,” Adan said, not bothering to mention Sophia was pretty brutal with duct tape. “I probably need to get back and check on her.”

Then reality set in. What if these two were a distraction so Pritchard could circle back to see Sophia? But why would he do that and why in the world would she still willingly be helping a known felon when she had a Texas Ranger staying at her place?

He’d have to hurry back to the cabin and confront her.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced Adan became that something was up with the friendly folk of Crescent Mountain. The only explanation seemed to point to all of them trying to put on some kind of act for his sake. And these two were front and center right now.

They’d made a big show of kissing and cuddling before they pretended to be rebuilding the fire. Then they’d been so animated their acting smacked of a complete deception.

Or maybe he was just becoming too jaded and distrustful.

“So have y’all seen anyone else today?”

“Who wants to know?” Arnie quipped, slapping a hand on his fancy hiking pants.

“I do,” Adan said, done with the comedy routine. “I’m here on official business. Looking for a man—big, bulky and mean, and wanted by the state of Texas.” His voice grew louder with each word. “Fugitive, felon, murderer who could be loose in these beautiful, romantic woods. And anyone who might be aiding and abetting him would suffer serious consequences.”

He lifted his gaze to the trees and thought he saw a movement up on the bluff. Adan pretended to ignore that movement and then zoomed in on the now cowering but still adorably cute couple. “Know anyone like that?”

“We don’t,” Maggie said, her voice rising, both of her hands on her hat now. “We don’t. Do we, Arnie?”

“No, we haven’t seen a soul. Just out here for our annual smoochfest.” He gave his wife a big peck on the cheek for emphasis.

“Cut the charade,” Adan retorted, stomping closer. “I need somebody to tell me the truth.” He called out to the trees. “And someone better start talking or I’ll haul all of you to the nearest police station.”

He waited, hoping he’d finally get somewhere.

And heard nothing but the echo of his suspicions.

Maggie and Arnie had both become quiet, which was kind of amazing in itself.

Adan stomped his boots, causing Maggie to jump. “What? Nothing? No words of wisdom, no other explanation for the two of you being out here in the freezing cold?”

Arnie shot a panicked glance at Maggie. “Hey, man, we’re renters. We only come up here about twice a year. At Christmas, to celebrate our engagement and anniversary, and a week or two during the summer to get away from Dallas and do some hiking.” He shrugged and tugged his down jacket close. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“We got married here,” Maggie added, her hat now firmly on her head. “This is a special place to us. The people here are special. Tight-knit.”

Adan took in their meek expressions and quiet confessions and then it hit him. “So you two aren’t protecting Joe Pritchard at all, right?”

“No, sir,” Arnie replied, clearly relieved to have that notion out of the way. “We’re kind of concerned that he might still be here, but...”

“So you’ve heard of Joe Pritchard?” Adan retorted, his gaze moving between the two of them.

“Only just in the last twenty-four hours or less, even,” Arnie said, clearly wishing he hadn’t messed up on that one.

“Who mentioned him to you?”

“Uh... I don’t recall.”

Adan snorted. “Right.”

Maggie piped in. “But we had to come to our special spot and we’ve been extra careful and...”

“And you’re actually protecting someone else, right?”

Maggie bobbed her head before she realized she’d been tricked. Then she gave her scared husband a quick, apologetic glance and leaned close to Adan and started in a rather loud whisper, “We also have a lookout.” She did a quick point and lifted her head. “Up there on the ridge.”

“Who?” Adan asked, thinking his mind was so befuddled he couldn’t even spot a sniper in the snow.

“Jacob,” Arnie said in a manly whisper, followed by a confused shrug. “It’s a way to protect ourselves.”

Adan almost laughed out loud. “Jacob?” The man had to have cataracts in both eyes. “How would Jacob be able to stand as lookout?”

Maggie twisted her hat. “Because he’s an expert—”

A shot rang out and Adan heard a distinct whiz about six inches from his left ear.

“Marksman,” Arnie finished, still ducking.

Adan grunted and waved a hand in the air. “Sorry, Jacob. No offense.”

“None taken,” a wizened voice called out. “How ’bout we all just go on home now?”

Adan couldn’t agree more. “Is it safe?”

Jacob chuckled. “I reckon it is by now.”

* * *

S
OPHIA
CHECKED
ALL
the windows again and went back over her new exit plan. If Joe tried to double back from whatever hidey-hole he’d crawled into, she’d be ready. And if Adan tried to stop her from escaping to save her own hide, she’d be ready.

She didn’t know whether to cry because her hopefully dead ex-husband had finally found her or to laugh because she had a Ranger marking her every footstep to protect her—or make her confess.

If she could just figure out how to trust Adan, she might make it out of this predicament alive.

“All okay?” Bettye asked, doing her own covert visual at the back door.

“I think so,” Sophia replied. “We’ve checked every cabin, every shed and every cave close by. Joe is not anywhere in our little area of the mountain. We’ve hidden any evidence of what I did before. And we’ve done as much as we can to catch him if he is hiding out here.”

She read over the to-do list she had to destroy. While the Burtons had distracted Adan, she and Bettye, along with the newly recruited Melissa, had gone out with guns to flush out anybody who might be hiding in the many outbuildings and caves in the area. They’d also hurried to set up animal traps in strategic places in all of those areas, too.

Melissa watched from her post at the other window. “And you promise you won’t tell the Ranger what I had to do?”

“No,” both Bettye and Sophia said in unison.

Then Bettye wagged a finger at her granddaughter. “Not as long as you abide by my house rules, young lady.”

“Yes, Granny.” Melissa’s wide-eyed gaze flashed between them. “As long as y’all don’t report me to anyone back in Hot Springs. I can’t go back there.”

“Agreed,” Bettye said.

“Agreed,” Sophia replied. Having been through the foster system herself, she’d learned that not all foster families had a child’s well-being in mind.

“Now go to your post outside,” Bettye said through a proud smile. She watched as Melissa did as she asked. “I’m so glad she found me,” Bettye said in a quiet voice.

Sophia thought Melissa’s involvement would be just one more fib she’d have to keep quiet. But after hearing the girl’s story, she could certainly understand why Melissa needed some help of her own. Bettye loved the girl already, so that was enough of an endorsement for Sophia.

“But his car is still here,” Bettye pointed out with an eloquent shrug. “I mean, the car you say you stole when you had to leave him in a big hurry and all.”

Bettye was being discreet. Sophia had fought for her life and she’d believed she’d killed Joe in the process. But she’d run away with his car and she’d never looked back.

Until now. Guilt colored her face because she couldn’t bring herself to tell Bettye the whole truth. She’d taken more than just Joe’s crappy old car.