Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (23 page)

“Present company excluded, of course.” Molly’s sweet smile brought a blush to Alastair’s cheeks.

Sally couldn’t blame him for being bewitched by the Irish beauty in front of him. Molly had turned more than one head since she’d arrived in Bozeman. But she constantly ignored any overly friendly gestures, and she most definitely hadn’t been on a date.

“One day,” Molly continued, “Todd’s going to regret not being a little more…”

Tess smiled. “Talkative? Relaxed? Happy?”

Sally threw a cushion at Tess. “You’re being mean. He’s a nice person.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “Nice now, is it? That wasn’t what you said yesterday.”

It was Sally’s turn for her cheeks to turn red. “I was tired yesterday. Today is a new day. I’m feeling great, the weather is perfect, and we’ve unpacked over a dozen dresses. What more could a girl want?”

“Someone to bring to my wedding?” Tess suggested. She looked across the room and smiled at Alastair. “What about your bodyguard? He looks handsome in a suit and tie.”

Alastair put his book down and smiled at Tess. “I believe the expression I should use is, thank you, ma’am?”

Sally sighed. “With your Scottish accent you could say anything to most of the women in Bozeman and they’d swoon.”

“I’d better be careful, then. I’ll get myself into trouble with the lasses.”

“You already have,” Sally said. “That’s why so many single women stop and talk to us when you’re with me. You’ve become a local hero.”

Tess picked up her cup of coffee. “Just remember that there are only so many skyscrapers a hero can leap in a single bound.”

Alastair nodded. “Or damsels in distress I can rescue.”

Sally’s lips twitched. “Very good.”

Alastair smiled back. “I thought so, too.”

“Regardless of how wonderful you are, I’m not taking you to Tess’ wedding,” Sally said.

Alastair didn’t look the least bit disappointed.

“There’s nothing wrong with going on your own to a wedding,” Molly said. “It’s perfectly normal to be a happy single person. Look at me.”

Alastair did look, more than once.

Molly put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Have you got something you’d like to add to the conversation, Special Agent McDonald?”

“No, ma’am.” Alastair picked up his book and grinned into the pages.

Sally looked between Alastair and Molly. They’d make a great couple, except for the minor fact that Molly was happy being single.

And Molly was right. There was absolutely nothing wrong with going dateless to her best friend’s wedding. It was just a pity that the only man she wanted to ask wasn’t talking to her.

***

Sally wasn’t sure she wanted to be at Todd’s home today. She felt awkward, worried, and so tongue-tied that she doubted she’d have much to say. It had only been a week since Carolyn’s wedding, but it felt like a lifetime.

Even though she missed Max, it was probably time she stopped coming to Copper Creek Ranch. Max had a life with Todd, a home that he loved, and lots of animal friends to keep him company.

She slowed down and turned off the highway, driving under the sign that welcomed everyone to the ranch. She glanced in her rearview mirror. The first time she’d been to Copper Creek, Max’s shaggy head had been grinning at her from the back seat. This time it wasn’t Max she saw, but a dark blue vehicle turning into the same driveway.

Even FBI special agents needed a day off. Alastair had decided to enjoy some of the spectacular hiking trails in the Rockies. He’d left her in the capable hands of Colin O’Grady, a Sergeant with the Bozeman Police Department.

Before last Saturday, she’d been getting tired of having someone follow her every move. Now, after everything that had happened, she couldn’t have been happier.

The closer she got to Todd’s home, the more nervous she got. His house still looked rickety and unloved. The paint was still faded and blistered, chipping around the window frames. The porch swing still looked as though it would fall down in the next puff of wind and the garden needed a major overhaul.

But all of those things were cosmetic. What mattered was what was at the heart of the ranch. And what was at the heart of the ranch, was at the heart of Todd Randall. And that, Sally decided, was far too complicated to think about on a Sunday morning.

She stopped in front of Todd’s home and opened her door. There were people on the roof, banging and clattering against the metal sheets like a herd of elephants. She walked forward, shielding her eyes from the bright sunshine.

Todd was kneeling on the roof with two other men. They all had hammers in their hands, throwing their weight behind whatever they were doing. One of the men looked down and saw Sally. He said something to Todd and pointed to where she was standing.

Todd looked at her and froze. All of the dread she’d felt as she’d eaten her breakfast reared its ugly head. He didn’t want to see her, didn’t want her on his ranch. Before she could turn tail and drive away, Max ran around the side of the house. He made a mad lunge for her, stopping only when Todd yelled his name.

Max’s paws skittered on the ground. He turned to Todd, waiting to see what he should do next. Todd disappeared over the far side of the roof, out of sight. Max flicked his head back to Sally and she gave him a big hug.

“How have you been Max?”

Max grinned and panted against her arms in big, happy, doggy pants.

Sally gave him one more cuddle before standing up. Colin O’Grady parked his car beside hers. He got out of his vehicle and Max trotted across to him, sniffing whatever parts of his anatomy he could get close to. When Max was happy, he gave a quick welcome bark.

Colin patted Max’s back. “What a big dog.”

Sally smiled at the besotted expression on Max’s face. “Colin O’Grady, this is Max. He’s an Irish wolfhound and one of the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet.”

Max wagged his tail and licked Colin’s hand.

“He’s not much of a guard dog.” Sally laughed. “Unless you want to be licked to death.”

Colin rubbed Max’s back. “I can see that.”

Max’s ears twitched. He took a few steps forward, looked over his wide shoulders at Sally, and moved again.

“You want me to follow you?” Sally asked.

Max’s big eyes stared at her. A few seconds later he bounded toward Todd’s home.

Sally and Colin followed him around the side of the house. By the time they caught up to him, Max was waiting beside a pile of painting equipment.

Todd was climbing down a ladder. She took a deep breath. Hyperventilating in front of him wasn’t only dangerous for her health, but totally embarrassing.

When he got to the bottom, he nodded at her before looking at Colin. “Where’s Alastair?”

“Weekend off. You look busy?”

Todd glanced back at the house. “The painters couldn’t make it until now.”

Sally patted Max and hoped no one asked her a question. She wasn’t in the mood for talking, especially when the air was so thick with things that had been left unsaid.

Colin, in his usual cheerful way, decided to drop a bombshell. She should have known something was up when he’d arrived at her home full of smiles. “Sally’s come to see Max. I never did care for Sunday morning walks. I’m happy to wait here if you’d walk with them, Todd?”

Sally’s eyes narrowed. Colin’s innocent smile didn’t fool her one bit. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the box of muffins you were bragging about this morning, would it?”

Colin tipped the brim of his hat. “Of course not. I’m an officer of the law, ma’am. A dozen chocolate dipped caramel doughnuts wouldn’t impact on how I carry out my duties.”

Sally crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Who gave you the muffins, Colin?”

Colin blushed something fierce. “That would be giving away too much information. I don’t tend to bite the hand that feeds me, especially when it’s in the literal sense.”

“It was either Annie or Tess, wasn’t it?”

Colin stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m not saying. You’d better get going. I know you’ve got other things you need to do today.”

Max’s tail flicked in the air, knocking against Sally’s leg. He was waiting for the moment she’d start walking toward his favorite place on the ranch. Except it wasn’t her favorite place anymore.

Todd walked across to a water bottle sitting on the edge of his porch. “I don’t mind going with you and Max.”

“I’ll be fine on my own. Max and I have walked around the ranch enough times not to get lost.”

“It’s not getting lost that bothers me,” Todd said quietly. He looked at Colin. “Cell phone coverage can be patchy out here. Hit the horn if you see anything suspicious. We won’t be going far.”

Colin looked as happy as an eight-year-old in Santa’s cave. “Sounds good to me. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Sally suspected what they wouldn’t see when they got back, were Colin’s doughnuts.

Max gave a yip of disapproval. He didn’t care about doughnuts, or bad guys, or mixed-up feelings. All he wanted was a walk.

“Come on, Max,” Sally said. “Let’s go.” Max didn’t wait for a second invitation. He trotted down the side of the house, galloped past Sally and Colin’s vehicles, and raced toward his favorite place.

Todd jogged to keep up with her. “You don’t need to go near the tree house if you don’t want to. I can get Max and bring him over to the creek.”

Sally shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

“You will?”

“You don’t need to protect me. I can look after myself.”

“So you keep saying,” Todd muttered. “Have you ever thought that maybe I like looking after you?”

Sally slowed down and took her sunglasses out of her pocket. She slipped them over her eyes to hide what she was thinking.

Todd’s hand shot out to stop her. “Sally?”

She looked at him and frowned. “You’ve spent a lot of years looking after your family. You need to look after yourself.” His hand dropped away from her arm and she kept walking.

“My wife and son died four years ago.”

Sally stopped and turned back to him. “You’ve still been looking after them. Why else were you so determined to find the people who killed them?”

Todd didn’t answer right away, but Sally knew he was considering his answer carefully. “I wanted closure. I wanted justice. But most importantly, I didn’t want the same thing happening to someone else.”

“You can’t take responsibility for someone else’s actions.”

“But I can change the outcome.”

Max barked and disappeared through the pine trees. Sally started walking toward him. It had been a week since Mitch Zambezi’s associates had tried to kidnap her. As she looked around, she remembered the heavy scent of pine, the terror that had pushed her into finding somewhere to hide.

She ducked under branches, stepped over the exposed tree roots crisscrossing the ground. It was a wonder she hadn’t fallen more often, done more damage that the superficial cuts and bruises she’d gone home with.

Sally pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and looked into the canopy of the trees. She tried to imagine what could have happened if she hadn’t stumbled across the tree house.

“You okay?” Todd asked from behind her.

Sally wiped her hands on her jeans and nodded. “It doesn’t look nearly as scary as it did last weekend.”

Todd grunted, then stepped forward. “I’ll go and get Max.”

Sally fell into step beside him.

“You’re stubborn,” he growled.

“It took you long enough to work that out.”

Todd’s face relaxed into a crooked smile. “Guess I’m a slow learner.”

“There’s nothing slow about you.” Sally pointed toward the rope ladder they’d left dangling from the tree house. “There’s Max.” Max was barking, jumping around the tree like a giant rabbit hunting for a tasty carrot.

Sally studied the rope. She couldn’t remember pulling herself up the ladder. One minute she’d been on the ground looking for the tree house, and then she’d been sitting on the platform, pulling the rope ladder out of sight.

She looked at the rickety tree house suspended above the ground. “It’s higher up than I remembered.”

Todd stood beside her and looked at the pine tree. “I’m going back to Wyoming.”

Sally frowned. “What do you mean? For a vacation or to live?”

“I’m not sure.”

She gave her mind a chance to catch up with what she was hearing. Todd hadn’t said anything about leaving before now. He was fixing up his house. People didn’t do that unless they intended coming back. The thought of Todd not being here upset her more than the kidnappers had.

“Why are you leaving?” she asked.

Todd scuffed the toe of his boot against the ground. “I need to get away from here until things…” He glanced at Sally, and she knew that whatever reason he had for leaving involved her. “Until things settle down.”

“I told you before. You don’t need to look after me.”

“I’m not doing this for you.” Todd picked up a stick and balanced its weight in his hands. “I’m doing it for me.”