Lone Rider. B.J. Daniels
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than senior prom,” Buckmaster was saying.
“Five years ago,” he said. “But that doesn’t have anything to do with this. I have my reasons for wanting to see Bo come back. My sister works at the foundation.”
“Why wouldn’t Bo come back?” the senator demanded.
Behind him, Angelina made a disparaging sound. “Because there’s money missing from the foundation along with your daughter.” She looked at Jace. “You said your sister works down there?”
He smiled, seeing that she was clearly judgmental of the “kind of people” Bo had hired to work at the foundation. “My sister doesn’t have access to any of the money, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He turned to the senator again. “The auditor is down at the foundation office, trying to sort it out. Bo needs to be there. I thought you might have some idea where she might have gone in the mountains. I thought I’d go find her.”
The senator looked to his son-in-law. Cooper shrugged.
“Cooper, you were told she planned to be back today?” her father said. “She probably changed her mind or went too far, not realizing how long it would take her to get back. If she had an appointment today with an auditor, I’m sure she’s on her way as we speak.”
“Or she’s hiding up there and doesn’t want to be found,” Angelina quipped from the couch. “If she took that money, she could be miles from here by now.” She groaned. “It’s always something with your girls, isn’t it?”
“I highly doubt Bo has taken off with any foundation money,” the senator said and shot his wife a disgruntled look. “Every minor problem isn’t a major scandal,” he said and sighed, clearly irritated with his wife.
When he and Bo had dated, she’d told him that her stepmother was always quick to blame her and her sisters no matter the situation. As far as Jace could tell, there was no love lost on either side.
“Maybe we should call the sheriff,” Cooper said.
Angelina let out a cry. “That’s all we need—more negative publicity. It will be bad enough when this gets out. But if search and rescue is called in and the sheriff has to go up there... For all we know, Bo could be meeting someone in those mountains.”
Jace hadn’t considered she might have an accomplice. “That’s why I’m the best person to go after her.”
“How do you figure that?” Cooper demanded, giving him a hard look.
“She already doesn’t like me, and the feeling is mutual. Maybe you’re right and she’s hightailing it home as we speak,” Jace said. “But whatever’s going on with her, I’m going to find her and make sure she gets back.”
“You sound pretty confident of that,” the senator said, sounding almost amused.
“I know these mountains, and I’m not a bad tracker. I’ll find her. But that’s big country. My search would go faster if I have some idea where she was headed when she left.”
“There’s a trail to the west of the ranch that connects with the Sweet Grass Creek trail,” her father said.
Jace rubbed a hand over his jaw. “That trail forks not far up.”
“She usually goes to the first camping spot before the fork,” the senator said. “It’s only a couple of hours back in. I’m sure she wouldn’t go any farther than that. It’s along Loco Creek.”
“I know that spot,” Jace said.
Cooper looked to his father-in-law. “You want me to get some men together and go search for her? That makes more sense than sending—”
Buckmaster shook his head and turned to Jace. “I remember your father. The two of you were volunteers on a search years ago. I was impressed with both of you. I’m putting my money on you finding her if she doesn’t turn up on her own. I’ll give you ’til sundown.”
“Make it twenty-four hours. There’s a storm coming so I plan to be back before it hits. If we’re both not back by then, send in the cavalry,” he said and with a tip of his hat, headed for the door.
Behind him, he heard Cooper say, “Sending him could be a mistake.”
“The cowboy’s mistake,” Buckmaster said. “I know my daughter. She’s on her way back, and she isn’t going to like that young man tracking her down. Jace Calder is the one she almost married.”
* * *
SARAH HAMILTON LEANED into the porch railing of the old cabin and looked out at the Sweet Grass Valley. It stretched to the horizon, a gleaming array of summer colors. Closer a breeze stirred the pines, the sun making the boughs glisten.
Despite the beauty, this place made her anxious. She didn’t like the quiet or the isolation or the fact that she’d been forced to hide out here for her own safety.
At the sound of a vehicle, she moved closer to the railing so she could see the narrow dirt road that wound up through the trees. She held her breath, afraid someone had found her—and not a reporter.
The past twenty-two years were a dark hole that haunted her. While she couldn’t remember anything from those years, she had vague, disturbing flashes of the past that came without warning at all hours of the day and night. While they made no sense, their dark ominous feel scared her. She was afraid to find out who she’d been the past twenty-two years. Or why she’d tried to kill herself all those years ago.
As Russell Murdock’s pickup came into view, she leaned against the railing, weak with relief. He had been her sanctuary from the storm since her return. Russell, a soft-spoken sixtysomething rancher with a heart as big as Montana, had saved her when he’d found her in an isolated spot outside Beartooth. She been confused, not sure how she’d gotten there or where she’d been.
Her last memory was of giving birth to twin daughters. Was it really possible that they had both now graduated from college? She’d hoped they would come home for the summer so she could spend some time with them, but both had taken off to Europe to allegedly continue their studies abroad.
Their prolonged absence was Buck’s doing. She hadn’t even gotten to see them since she’d been back. While she’d met with her other four daughters, Cassidy and Harper hadn’t been allowed to return home.
“If they come back here, they will be bombarded by the media asking if they’ve seen their mother, where she’s been, why she’s back, what she said, what she looks like, and on and on,” Buckmaster had said irritably.
She couldn’t argue with his logic. But she ached to see her twins all grown up. She remembered the sweet identical babies she’d given birth to and felt sick inside to think that they wouldn’t even remember her. It was bad enough that her other four children barely remembered her.
Russell, understanding how upset she’d been about not seeing Harper and Cassidy, had offered to take her to visit them in Europe. But she’d declined. All she needed was to get the media circus going again by leading the press right to her twins. It had died down somewhat, even though she knew reporters were still looking for her. If Russell hadn’t hidden her away in this cabin...
“The cabin is part of some land that my former employer W. T. Grant owned,” he’d told her when it became clear that she would have to hide out for a while from the press. “It’s my daughter’s now, but no one uses the place. No one will think to look for you there.”
“The media frenzy isn’t going to die down,” she’d told him. “Not as long as Buck is still running for president. Maybe it would be better if I just disappeared again.”
“Where would you go? No, you need to stay here,” Russell had said with a decisive shake of his head. “The cabin will be safe, and I’ll come see you every chance I get. Don’t worry about me being followed.” He’d smiled, making him even more handsome. “I know how to lose them on these back roads.”