An Impostor in Town (Colorado Series) (7 page)

She tossed the piece of hay she’d been fiddling with to the ground and snorted. “When did I become a relationship guru?”

“Sometimes we see other people’s mistakes clearer than our own.” Would she catch his thinly veiled hint? Peyton appeared to have a difficult time perceiving the depth of her own depression.

“Ah, you may have something there.” The melancholy tone crept back into her voice. He
hated
the despair in it. He
loved
it when she laughed and smiled.

“You do pretty good with this one. You’re one of the best friends I have.”

“Same here.” She seemed astonished she had actually voiced the sentiment. He could tell from her open expression she meant it.

“Can I help?”

She blinked in confusion. Then she seemed to understand. “No. There’s nothing you can do. If there was, I still don’t think I’d ask.”

He knew she was being unusually forthcoming. He didn’t want to spoil the moment. “Why?” His heart raced as he voiced his question anyway. Then it stopped. Then it pounded again. Would she even tell him this much?

She sighed. “I don’t want to lose your respect.”

Her answer wasn’t what he expected—not at all. “You couldn’t do that.”

“Oh, you just don’t know.” Her laugh was mirthlessly tight.

“There’s nothing you could do or have ever done that would make me think any more or less of you. I think I’ve seen the kind of person you are. Your problem is that you don’t value yourself rightly. You—”

“My problem?”

“Hey, you told me what my problem was.” He shook his head at the memory.

“I guess I can dish it, but I can’t take it, huh?”

“Yeah. It kind of looks that way.”

She grinned and glanced down at her hands—a bit sheepish. The banter lightened the mood. “So…are you gonna fix chicken pot pie for me next Christmas?”

He smiled. “Of course.”

****

Light rain spattered the twisting mountain road to Molas Pass. A bank of ominous gray stretched across the horizon meeting the ranges on both sides of the valley. As Peyton approached the summit, the day’s final streaks of light punctured the approaching darkness, spilling around the edges of clouds and trailing down to earth, making the scene seem surreal and a bit artificial.

Maybe the observation area was swarming with people on a beautiful cloudless day, but tonight wasn’t beautiful or cloudless. It was lonely. Peyton didn’t like meeting Jeff in the middle of nowhere, preferring crowds of potential witnesses.

Her watch read half past eight. Jeff was never on time. If it was his childish way of making her sweat, it was wasted effort. Each time she met him, she came home drenched from perspiration, no matter the temperature. She plopped onto a bench and wrapped her coat around her, cinching the belt tighter. The weight of the gun—her constant companion—pressed against her thigh.

Headlights pierced the rain-darkened night, but passed on by. A car horn blasted the quiet as someone drove around a tight curve. The irregular beat of her heart competed with the tip-tap of raindrops. She clutched the silver cross Brian gave her for Christmas as if it was some sort of talisman to ward off evil. She had worn it every day since he gave it to her.

She jumped to her feet when she heard a car pull into the lot below. Curiosity bettered her, and she stepped to the edge of the deck, peering down at him. Jeff emerged from his truck in no hurry. He must have sensed her presence and glanced up.

“Hello, mother dear.” A vicious light glowed in his eyes, two barely discernable yellow orbs in the dark. He reminded her of a cat playing with his next mouse meal.

She ignored his attempt to rattle her. It was getting old. Jeff was a man of little imagination. She marched down the walk and handed him the envelope. Without a word, she headed toward her car.

“Wait a minute.” He rustled the bills. “There’s not enough here.”

Her anger bolted out of her mouth. “That’s all I have.” She jammed her trembling hands into her coat pockets.

He laughed—a horrible, perverse, demonic sort of cackling. “Are you kidding me?”

She continued toward her vehicle. Maybe she shouldn’t turn her back on him, but she didn’t care anymore. Her fingers clutched the grip of the gun in her pocket. Was tonight the night?

“Maybe I should have a talk with your boyfriend.” That threat was getting tiresome as well. “I mean it, Paula. I’m going straight to the sheriff.”

She spun on her heel. “Don’t you ever give up? Your threats are useless. I can’t give you what I haven’t got to give.” She punched each word. “You’re not going to the sheriff. Don’t you know he’s looking for you? How hard was it for him to figure out you’re the one who stole his cattle?” Brian hadn’t figured it out. They hadn’t even discussed it. That was on her agenda tomorrow. She had already made up her mind. Brian would know everything in the morning. She was prepared to come clean and leave town.

“What did you tell him?” His menace drew closer and grew more serious, more urgent, and much more malevolent. He shortened the distance between them in a split second.

The gun was almost out of her pocket. Many times she had practiced unlocking the safety, aiming it, and pulling the trigger. There were plenty of dead soda cans in the woods around Durango. She’d killed each with a clean shot through the logo. It had scared her a little how good she was with the detestable thing. He was a bigger target. He’d be easy. “Go ahead. Tell him everything. I don’t care anymore.” For once in his pathetic life, he was speechless. She smiled with grin amusement. “Goodbye, Jeff.”

She released the gun. Her remote beeped as she pressed unlock. Her fingers curled around the door handle. She was almost free. One tap on the lock, and he’d be out of her life.

His fingers wrapped around her elbow. “Guess who I saw yesterday?” His question stopped her much more than the pressure from his grip. The tone boded evil. She shuddered knowing something awful would follow.

“Who?”

“I saw your old boyfriend. He’s in town. Did you know that?” It was obvious he was enjoying himself so much.

“Cory? Is in town?”

“Yeah.” He drawled the word into five or six gut-wrenching syllables. “He’d sure like to know where you’re hiding.”

She shook his hand loose. Stepping back, she studied him—calmly, dispassionately—as if she hadn’t just experienced the most horrendous jolt of her life. “You’re lying.” She suppressed her roiling fears. “You were never a good liar.”

He leered at her, sending an icy cold chill down her spine. “Maybe I should introduce your ex-boyfriend to your new boyfriend. Don’t you think they would like to meet each other?” He touched the cross pendant as if he knew who gave it to her. She slapped his hand away. She didn’t want it soiled.

“Have you suddenly got religion?” His sneer circled her and taunted her and pounced on her last nerve.

She yanked her door open and rushed into the driver’s seat. His hand shot out and stopped the door in mid-swing.

“I guess you’ll just have to find out if I’m lying, won’t you?”

She nearly took his fingers off in the process of making her escape. Once inside the car, she jabbed the key at the ignition until it met the keyhole. Tears obscured her vision. The last glimpse she had of him? He was sucking his fingertips and grimacing in pain.

****

Brian conversed with a man in front of the train station. To Peyton’s delight, they ended their conversation and Brian jogged across the street.

“How’s my angel of mercy today?”

She slapped him on the shoulder and suppressed a giggle. “Stop calling me that! You embarrass me when you do that.”

He cringed in mock injury and graced her with an arrogant grin.

“Who was that man? I don’t think I’ve seen him around.”

Her question wiped the smile from his face. “Steve West. His construction company is upgrading the lifts at the resort.”

His response explained nothing. Why did the man’s presence bother Brian? She searched her memory for any information she might have collected on Steve West. She hadn’t even been aware the lifts were being upgraded. That’s how seldom she went up toward Purgatory. She was too preoccupied when she met Jeff at Molas Pass to notice what was going on at Durango Mountain Resort.

She perceived there was more, so she waited for Brian to continue. He emitted a deep, soul-sifting sigh. “What is it?”

“That man thinks he may be Chris’ husband.”

An unexpected development. A thousand thoughts rushed her. What did this mean for Chris? For Brian? For her? “Really?” She allowed only the slightest hint of mild surprise. “What makes him think so?”

“It’s a long story.”

She recalled the conversation she’d had with Chris over a year ago. Did Steve West threaten Brian? Chris had suggested Brian wanted to be her knight in shining armor, and he was unhappy with her lack of cooperation. Could Brian be perturbed there was a new knight in town?

“Peyton?” He nudged her. “Where’d you go?”

“Sorry. What?”

“Emily’s wedding is in a few days…”

What was he getting at? “I know.”

“So…would you be my date?”

His invitation shocked her. Was this his way of getting over Chris? By asking her out? “I’ll go with you, but…this isn’t a date.”

Her abrupt qualification seemed to surprise him. “Oh. Okay. Well then…yeah, we’ll go together.”

****

The reception was in full swing when Brian stretched his long arms out in front of him and suggested Peyton join him for a stroll. Her first inclination was to refuse. Temptation won the debate. A walk in the moonlight with Brian Parker was much too enticing to overcome.

A path wound through the back of the property, twisting and curving down the hill. A rustic bridge spanned the creek at the end of a short walk. The setting was perfect for moonlit lollygagging.

When they reached the bridge, he leaned over the railing and looked into the water’s night-darkened depths. She shivered. Without a word, he removed his jacket and draped it across her shoulders. The jacket smelled like him—aftershave and bar soap and starched cotton shirts. Its warmth caressed her. She started to thank him, but stopped. A strange expression settled on his face. He studied her as if he’d never seen her before and the pit of her stomach flipped.

She should have never worn the stupid dress. She should have stuck to the more matronly-looking outfit she had first chosen. That had to be it. It was the dress. She felt downright seductive in the thing. It wasn’t her style! And walking with him in the moonlight? Bad move.

“You look beautiful, Peyton.” His eyes never strayed from hers. He smiled and touched the cross necklace he had given her with his index finger. A very bold move, she thought. The slight contact caused her to shiver with anticipation. Then she couldn’t help but remember Jeff’s offense. He had mocked her and cheapened Brian’s thoughtful gift, but Brian’s tender gesture seemed to restore the luster. It had become her most prized possession.

The way he gazed at her made her nerves sizzle. She put her hand to her chest to facilitate her fractured breathing. It didn’t help. She had stayed in a state of nervous expectation from the moment he asked her to go with him. A strong desire welled within her. She wanted him to kiss her.

A tendril of hair blew across her face. He pushed it behind her ear. The longing in his eyes stilled her heart. She wanted to turn away from his penetrating gaze, but she couldn’t. It was as if he was searching for something in the depths of her soul. Time seemed to stand still for one intensely real moment. His fingers found the back of her neck and he pulled her to him. The kiss was soft and sweet and oh so delicious. The taste of his lips lingered on hers after they parted.

The last bit of denial crumbled. She was in love with the man.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered almost as soon as he let go of her. His words shattered the happy, giddy whirlpool turning in her stomach. His apology dropped in a million pieces at their feet.

“You’re sorry?” she repeated under her breath. That was so incredibly unbelievable. Why would he be sorry? Anger burned her insides. Its fire scorched her tongue. Her bitterness spewed from her mouth. “You’re sorry? Why? Because I’m not someone else?” Jealousy had found its voice, shrill and unnatural. Her reaction embarrassed her even more. She had never meant to reveal her jealousy of Chris Smith.

She ran toward the house, stumbling on a root in her haste to get away from her humiliation. At the open doorway, she searched the large living room for someone, anyone to take her home. Liz and her husband were pulling their overcoats on. “Hey, Liz, are you guys leaving? Would you mind taking me home?”

Brian rushed into the room and headed straight for her. When he got near, she slid out of his jacket and slung it at him. Liz appeared dumbfounded and uncertain, and then glanced from her to Brian.

She headed toward the door, not waiting for an answer. “Wait a minute.” Brian grabbed her elbow. “If you want to go home, I’ll take you home.”

“I don’t…that wouldn’t…oh, fine.”

****

The trip began in stony silence. As she contemplated the long ride home, her head ached. She stared out the window. The air outside was so cold her breath made patches of condensation on the glass.

They were within a few miles of Durango when Brian finally spoke. “Why are you angry with me?”

“Because,” she sputtered. “Because…” Her emotions jumbled in her mind. Besides, wasn’t it obvious?

“I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Offend me? What do you think offended me?”

“Obviously, you found my kiss offensive.”

Oh, he was
so
far from the truth! “It wasn’t offensive until you apologized for it. Apologizing for it implied there was something to be offended about.” She slid the tight seatbelt away from the raw spot where it hit her neck. The stupid things never fit right.

“You know, I shouldn’t have apologized. I did because I thought I ought to, not because I was really sorry.” His anger slammed into her. Why was he mad? “I’m
not
sorry I kissed you. I thought you wanted me to. I didn’t mean to be offensive.” She couldn’t believe he was saying what he was saying.