Praying for Daylight (4 page)

“In a way. I guess I am.” I was old, and she was the new one. I knew all the people, and last time I checked, none of the girls in McCree were named Briar. “So who’s your family? I mean…there’s no one around named Briar that I’ve heard of.”

She laughed. “Ah, so you’re from McCree. Did you just move back?”

“Yeah, everyone knows everyone.”

“I’m new. Been here…about ten months. I live with the McCrees.”

Holy freaking dog crap. Did they adopt her or something? “Really?”

“Yeah, I moved up from Florida to be with my boyfriend, Chase. I bet you know him, you know, since you used to live here.”

“It was so long ago, he probably wouldn’t remember me.” If anyone was going to recognize me, it would be Chase. Hell, any of the McCrees would know who I was. And I wouldn’t even have to take off the wig. People were creepy like that around here. Couldn’t hide anything.

There was that perky smile again. If I didn’t know any better, Briar was one of those preppy, popular types. Cheerleader. Head of the class. I really didn’t think Chase went for girls like that. “We should find out. I bet he’ll recognize you…” She turned in her seat, and before I could stop her, called out across the theater. “Chase!”

This wasn’t what I needed.

I was about to bolt for the door, when a guy in a white cowboy hat abandoned his seat and strolled across the room.

Oh hell.

Chase McCree was coming right for us, and the girl beside me looked ready to bust she was so excited.

“Briar baby, the movie is about to start.” He was focused solely on her, and I forgot how much I wanted to run and hide once I saw the way he looked at her. Chase had it bad. I knew he’d fallen hard. He was one of those types, and clearly they were crazy for each other.

“Chase, I’ve met someone new. Actually, she’s moved back to McCree. Her name is Leanne.” She introduced us, and Chase eyed me with curiosity as he shook my hand.

Maybe I did such a good job of disguising myself that no one would recognize me. He looked confused, like he knew me, but wasn’t sure how.

“Oh my God!” there was a squeal to my left. High pitched. Kind of like a surprised poodle. “No way. Oh my God!”

“Something wrong, Ellie?” Briar asked, glancing up the aisle.

I sank low in my seat. Now I was really screwed.

“What the hell did you do to your hair Katie?” Ellie shouted. “It’s like red straw…and why didn’t you tell me you were here? And why are you dressed up like a vamp wannabe?”

Chase stepped back and looked me up and down. “Shit.
Kate?
”

I dropped my head in my hands and groaned. “Damn it. All of you shut up.”

Everyone went quiet and I glanced around the theater. Some of the other people inside were staring at us.

This movie was over before it even started.

“Farmhouse. One hour.” I met Chase’s eyes and he got the hint. “You guys cannot tell anyone I am here.”

“I have to call Dustin. He’s going to freak.” I snatched Ellie’s phone out of her hand and shook my head. “I mean it, El. You can’t tell anyone. I’ll explain why in an hour.”

“Sure Katie,” She said, taking the phone back from me. “I won’t tell a soul.”

I didn’t look at anyone and ducked out of the theater. I practically ran for my car. How was I going to keep my friends from telling the whole town I was back? The media would know in no time, and then Death would find out. And I did not need him making my life hell when I’d finally found some peace.

I raced back to the farmhouse, and debated chucking all of my clothes in the car and getting out of town.

But then where would I go?

I ripped off the wig and sat on the front porch until a blue pickup pulled up the drive. Chase got out, followed by Briar and Ellie.

At least I wasn’t going to be lonely anymore.

“What is going on, Katie?” Ellie said as she came into the living room. “It looks like you’ve been here a while.”

“A couple weeks.” I shrugged, keeping a little space between us. I wasn’t ready for the warm fuzzy reunion. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell them, or even what I could say to make them keep my being here a secret without making it seem strange.

“What I want to know is why you kept your hair shoved under that wig?” I could tell Briar took pride in her blonde curls. I understood her confusion since I prided myself on my hair just as much.

“I’m not sure what to tell you guys…” I sat on the couch feeling lost. “Telling you would be such a relief, but I can’t risk it. What I can tell you is that I could be in trouble if people find out I’m here.”

“Like with the law?” Chase asked, taking the seat beside me. “Kate, are you okay?”

“No, not with the law. I’m hiding, and people can’t find out where I am. If the media ever gets wind that I’m in Montana, I’ll have to leave. So no one else can find out.” Hopefully that was enough to satisfy them.

“What are you hiding from?” The concern on Ellie’s little pixie face hurt me. We used to be like sisters. I hated not being honest with people I trusted, but what if I told them too much and it hurt them in the end?

“I don’t think I should tell you. Just know that I’m safe as long as no one knows I’m here.” I realized they could help me without knowing why I needed them to. This gave me extra eyes and ears. “If you guys hear someone looking for me, or asking questions about me…will you let me know?”

“Sure,” Chase smiled, putting a hand on my arm. His eyes were sharp, boring into mine as if he wanted to press further about why I was hiding. But he was a gentleman and let it be. “You’re safe with us, Kate. Promise.”

“Thanks,” I totally forgot myself and hugged him. He would have been my brother, if the accident hadn’t happened. In a way though, I always felt he was my family.

“So I’m guessing you’re starved for human contact?” He said.

“Pretty much,” I shrugged. “Being out here alone isn’t exactly fun.”

“You’re not alone anymore,” Ellie hugged me too, followed by Briar, even though we really didn’t know each other. “We are going to hang out all the time…in secret.”

I laughed, that sounded fantastic.

If I wasn’t careful, this place was going to feel like home again.

And if that happened, I wouldn’t want to leave.

CHAPTER FIVE

“So you haven’t seen Dustin at all? That must be killing you,” Ellie said as she braided her hair into pigtails. She’d been doing that since we were little. I thought she would have grown out of the habit, but when no one was around, it was how she wore her hair.

We were sitting on the living room floor watching a cooking show, and eating takeout from the only Chinese place in town. It was two days after the movie theater incident. We’d invited Briar to come, but she and Chase had to go to Billings for some business with the ranch.

I shrugged. “I try not to think about him.”

“What? Why? You guys were together all the time!”

“It’s not easy. I’m just going to leave again, once this is all over.” Seeing Dustin, after what I did would be too hard. I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I wouldn’t even know what to say. “I know I hurt him…but really, what would have happened? It’s not like this would have worked out or lasted forever. I had a great opportunity and I had to take it.”

Ellie frowned, pushing her food around on her plate. “I can tell he still misses you.”

My gut clenched. “No way.”

“He’s always looking at his phone. Like any second you’ll text him. I tell him it’s pathetic. It’s been two years now…but it’s like you’re always on his mind.”

“Thanks, now I feel worse.”

“Don’t you miss him?”

Honestly…I missed him more than was probably healthy. I did catch myself wanting to text him. I just wasn’t sure it was smart to reopen that door. I’d shut it- hard. Right in his face. And it tore my heart to bits to leave like that. I thought that he’d move on, forget me. I knew I’d never forget him. He was part of my life.

“I do miss him. But I’d just turned sixteen. I was confused, and I had all these people around me telling me I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make it big as a singer.” I frowned, letting out a breath. “And we were poor Ellie. Cheyenne was working two jobs, and Ben’s father left…all of this money was dangled in my face. So I took it.”

Ellie nodded, settling her hand on my arm. “I knew it was bad, and I knew you had your reasons…but maybe you could see Dustin or text him or something? Just to help him move on, or finalize things for both of you?”

Yeah, that probably was the right thing to do, but I didn’t want to blow my cover. Three people knew I was here now. If there was a fourth, I’d be taking an even bigger risk.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, going back to my fried rice.

I thought about calling him all through the next cooking show, and a movie we watched afterwards. I was itching to pick up my phone, but I was scared. Dustin would be mad, of that I was positive. He might even be mad enough to hate me. I wasn’t sure I could handle that.

I reached for my phone when it buzzed, thinking it was Cheyenne.

I was wrong.

It was Jake’s new number.

Ellie paused the movie so I could answer. “Hey, what’s up?”

Silence.

“Jake?” I asked.

“Jake’s not here right now,” an evil voice, garbled by some sort of mechanical device, came over the line.

“Where is he?” part of me worried Death had hurt him.

“Oh, I expect he’s with your sister. They make such a happy family. It would be a shame to tear that up,” he said. “But you aren’t with them. Where oh where could you have gone?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Oh, I know you’re the noble type. You left the people you love to keep them safe. Well played. But I’ll still find you no matter how far you run.”

I let out a relieved sigh. Jake was safe, and it seemed the rest of my family was too. He was focused on finding me, hopefully enough that he left everyone else alone.

“How did you get his phone?” Ellie was with me, so I was feeling a bit bolder than usual. She had a confused expression on her face that was morphing into concern. I smiled brightly at her, hoping I could keep my answers to Death cryptic enough that she wouldn’t ask questions.

“Did you know your manager can bench press his own weight, plus thirty pounds? And he used to be a marine? No wonder your sister is so taken with him,” the voice chuckled coldly.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He sighed. “It was so easy, I almost felt like I’d been cheated of my afternoon of fun. But it doesn’t matter how, now that the person I hate is on the phone, hanging on to every word I say. She is so scared I will hurt her family. I bet she will do anything to keep them safe.”

“What do you want?” I asked, tired of his sick games. It was hard to hide from Ellie that I was terrified. She was scooting closer, reaching out for me, clearly worried.

“I want to make you pay for what you took from me,” he snarled. “I want to watch you beg for mercy as you rot away, slowly. The cell I’ve prepared for you is void of sunlight and warmth. You’ll sit in it until death sets you free, Kate.”

“I don’t understand…”

“I know.”

I gulped, fighting tears as the line went dead.

“Katie?” Ellie touched my arm. “Are you okay?”

I stood, shaking, feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I shut off my phone and ran into the kitchen, hiding it in the cookie jar.

Ellie stayed close, confused and worried, but I wasn’t going to tell her what had happened.

“El, I think you should go home now.”

She frowned, “But I was going to spend the night.”

“It’s better this way. Trust me.”

She crossed her arms, her green eyes glinting. “You mean safer?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“No,” she grabbed her purse off the kitchen table, “but it’s what you’re thinking.” She headed for the door and paused, a line of worry creasing her brow. “You’re hiding something Katie, and it’s something that scares you. I can see it. If you don’t come clean soon, I’m going to go to the one person you can’t keep secrets from, and I’m going to tell him everything.”

Panic. Yep, now I was panicked. “Ellie, you promised that you wouldn’t tell Dustin I was here.”

She shook her head, “I hate to break my promise, but you need help , and you can’t tell me why for some reason.”

“Yes, because it’s… damn it Ellie, I just can’t! It’s dangerous.” I was on the verge of begging. Dropping to my knees and confessing everything just to keep her from the one person that would make my life so difficult while I was here.

“Why? What’s the big deal? And who was that on the phone?” She waited, her hand on the door, face turning serious. I almost opened my mouth, but I stayed firm. “See, you can’t tell me. But you will tell him. I’m giving you two days to fess up, or else I’ll be calling on a cowboy.”

“Wait, El,” my voice was weak, but she knew me well enough that I wasn’t going to divulge any information without a fight. She was going to bring in the big guns. She would win.

She slammed the door shut and I sank to the floor sobbing.

I never could lie or hide from Dustin. I’d be babbling like a fool before I knew what hit me.

I started to stand, thinking that I should run. Find another small town and hide in a hotel room. But I couldn’t live like that for long. I was forced to stay, simply because I had nowhere else to go.

CHAPTER SIX

Dustin

I sat astride Colt, my horse, wondering what I was going to do with this cow that wandered onto my property. It wasn’t branded. I’d never seen it before. I’d been checking fences, riding the property line, and found the animal grazing in the south pasture, not a care in the world. She was friendly enough too, came right up to me. So I put her in the barn, deciding to make a few calls. If no one claimed her, I’d give her a home. My dad wouldn’t care. We had five dairy cows. He’d be fine adding a sixth.

I set back out to finish looking over the property, and came to the narrowest part of the creek. I nudged Colt forward and into the ankle deep water, letting the animal take his time and have a drink. On the crest of a hill to the north I eyed the old Kelly house, its fading yellow paint stood out against the blue Montana sky.