The Heiress and the Sheriff. Stella Bagwell
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the housekeeper had closed the door behind her, Gabrielle wandered over to the king-size bed and trailed her finger over the coarse spread woven in a southwestern-style pattern. The rich turquoise, burgundy and copper colors were just the right contrast to the varnished pine and light-colored walls.
On the long dresser, there was a matching comb, hair-brush, and hand mirror, but nothing else. As Gabrielle glanced around her, she noticed there were no family photos anywhere in the room, so she assumed it was probably used only by guests on the ranch.
The sitting area was equipped with a small television, stereo and bookcase filled with several hardback and paperback selections. But at the moment she had no need for entertainment. Her thoughts were whirling with all that she’d seen and heard since she’d arrived, and her headache had increased to a steady pounding behind her eyes.
She found the bathroom, which to her surprise was fitted with a huge old claw-foot tub. At the end, a wooden bench was loaded with stoppered bottles filled with oils and salts and bath gels. The idea of filling the tub with warm water and bubbles and soaking for a long while was a tempting one, but Rosita had already warned her that lunch was nearly ready. Gabrielle would have to postpone the bath for now.
Back in the sitting area, she walked to the long windows overlooking the courtyard and discovered one of them was a door. She didn’t open it, but stood gazing out at the beauty of the gardens surrounding the massive house.
“Knock, knock! May I come in?”
Gabrielle turned at the familiar sound of Maggie’s voice to see the woman’s smiling face poking around the edge of the door.
“Of course! I was just waiting for your mother to call me for lunch.”
Maggie stepped into the room carrying two giant sacks with twine handles. The logo of a prominent department store was embossed on the glossy paper.
“She said we could take five minutes and then to come. So hurry and look at what you can,” Maggie told her.
“Look at what? What is all this?” Gabrielle asked.
Maggie lugged the two sacks over to the bed. When she dumped the contents, wrapped packages spilled over the mattress.
“It’s most everything you’ll need for a few days. We’ll go back and get the rest whenever you’re feeling stronger.”
Gabrielle’s hand lifted to her throat as she stared in stunned fascination at the pile of packages. “This is all for me? An extra pair of jeans and a top would have been plenty!”
Maggie’s smile was gentle. “We don’t know how long it will take for your memory to return. You’ll need several changes. And a woman has to have makeup and toiletries and lingerie.”
Gabrielle was still too overcome to move, so Maggie took the initiative and opened one of the boxes. “Look at this! I thought it was darling. See if it will fit, and you can wear it for lunch.” She thrust a pale blue flowered dress at Gabrielle.
“Oh, do you dress up for meals here?” she asked, then glanced down at her jeans and top. Wyatt’s implication that she more or less looked cheap was still a fresh wound. “I guess I do look pretty awful.”
“You don’t look anything of the sort. I just thought the dress would lift your spirits. Anyway, we hardly ever dress up for meals around here—everything is casual. Everyone is always so busy that no one knows who is going to show up. Unless there’s some sort of special occasion going on. But parties have been pretty few and far between here lately. Wyatt doesn’t think they’re a good idea.”
There was a dressing screen in a corner between a chest of drawers and the bed. Gabrielle went behind it and quickly began to shed her clothes. “Wyatt? You mean the sheriff?” she asked Maggie, wondering why he would have any say about this family’s social life. It didn’t make sense.
“Yes.”
Gabrielle tried to digest the response as she smoothed the long cotton shift down over her thighs. The dress was sleeveless with a scooped neck and slit up one calf. It fit as though it had been made for her.
“I know this will probably sound silly,” Gabrielle spoke up from behind the dressing screen, “but I don’t understand why the sheriff would care if you had parties.”
Maggie remained silent for a few moments, then she said, “Well, it just wouldn’t be safe. It would be inviting more trouble.”
Gabrielle stepped out from behind the screen, and Maggie smiled with approval at the dress.
“You were saying something about more trouble,” Gabrielle went on. “Are you talking about my car accident?”
The other woman quickly waved her hand. “Oh, no, Gabrielle. My nephew Bryan was kidnapped from this house nearly a year ago. So far the law officials haven’t been able to find him. And Wyatt is afraid the person or persons responsible for the act might try to strike again.”
Gabrielle was frozen by the woman’s disclosure. Wyatt had told her the Fortune family had been having some trouble, but she hadn’t expected it to be this serious or sinister! And he suspected her of being involved in some way! Dear God, the idea of stealing a baby from its own home was repulsive to her. She couldn’t have been involved, could she?
“Gabrielle, are you all right? You’ve gone so white.” Maggie rushed across the small space separating the two women and firmly gripped Gabrielle’s elbow. “Are you going to faint?”
Gabrielle shook her head and passed a hand over her face. “I—I’m fine. What you just said—it’s terrifying. No wonder Wyatt didn’t want me coming out here. For all he knows I might have been involved. I don’t even know myself,” she said desperately.
Maggie patted Gabrielle’s arm in an effort to soothe her. “I’m willing to bet you have nothing to do with baby Bryan’s disappearance. Or with baby Taylor’s arrival.”
Gabrielle’s face puckered with a bewildered frown. “Baby Taylor? You mean there’s something else going on about another baby?”
Maggie nodded. “The kidnappers demanded fifty-million dollars in ransom for the baby’s safe return. But my brother-in-law Devin, who’s an FBI agent foiled their attempt. The kidnappers escaped, but he did manage to get the money and the baby back. Or so everyone thought, until he got the baby home. We were all shocked when we saw the child wasn’t Bryan. None of us had ever seen this baby boy before. But stranger still, he’s turned out to be a Fortune.”
Gabrielle’s eyes widened. “But how could that be—if no one knew the child? Did one of the Fortune men have an affair that produced a baby no one was aware of?”
Maggie grimaced. “That’s what Bryan’s mother, my sister-in-law Claudia, is starting to think. Even though her husband, Matthew, swears he’s never been unfaithful. But the DNA tests prove he’s the child’s father.”
“So one baby is still missing and the other one is not yet identified? I can see now how my sudden appearance might cause suspicion.” She groaned with regret. “I just wish I could remember something—anything that might tell me why I was driving toward this ranch.”
“Don’t worry, Gabrielle. Wyatt is a good sheriff. He’ll sift through every possible clue to find your background.”
Gabrielle could certainly believe that. She got the impression he’d leave no stone unturned to put her behind bars, or, at the very least, out of the state of Texas.
What had she gotten herself into? Try as she might, she couldn’t see how she was going to get herself out of Texas—and away from Sheriff Wyatt Grayhawk.
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