Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (143 page)

A dusty white cowboy hat sat on a small bench on the landing.

Ellen took in a breath. “Luke…what are the odds? It feels like a taunt to me.”

“Does to me, too.”

“It’s him,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. “It’s Hugh Parker. Sneaking around and spying on my sister—deliberately terrifying her—is how he operates. It’s how he thinks. He’s manipulative and clever, and he hates my guts.”

“Revenge never makes sense to me. If you’re in the position to exact revenge, you’re usually in a position to walk away and get on with your life.”

“It wasn’t enough for Hugh to skate past a prison sentence of his own. He wants to make those who suspected him and put his brother in prison suffer.”

“You,” Luke said.

She nodded, not arguing. “He doesn’t see his role or his brother’s role in the outcomes they experienced.”

Luke put one foot on the bottom step, the sodden towels dripping next to him. “Good morning,” he called into the cabin, laying on his Texas drawl. “Anyone home?”

There was no answer. Ellen noted that the main door to the tiny cabin was open. It was a beautiful morning, and with the thick woods all around it, the cabin would be cool inside and wouldn’t get much natural light. If she were staying there, she’d use any excuse to keep the door open.

“I see you have a hat like mine,” Luke said, his voice conversational, friendly. “Fellow Texan?”

Again no answer.

Ellen noticed a simple brochure stuck in the screen door, as if it were a flyer for a local pizza place. But it wasn’t. She clutched Luke’s forearm. “That’s the brochure for Maggie’s talk.”

She started to go up onto the landing, but he put an arm out in front of her, holding her back. “Leave it,” he said. “We have enough to get the locals up here.”

“Where is Parker now? Luke, if he tries to intercept Maggie—”

“He’ll run into a world of problems.”

“You put someone on her?”

“I did,” he said without apology.

Ellen took in a sharp breath. “Good.”

“If Parker tries to intercept Maggie in Austin, it won’t go well for him there, either,” Luke said.

Her uncle would nail Hugh Parker if he tried anything. Ellen stared at the brochure. “He’s trying to lure us inside.”

“Looks that way.”

“Why?” She paused, thinking. “He could have this place rigged to explode.”

Luke glanced at her. “You do have a way of thinking, Ellen.”

“We should go back to Maggie’s cabin and wait for the locals. It’s what you would want if you had a couple of New Yorkers on your turf.”

“Damn straight.”

Ellen heard a cry that sounded as if it came from behind the cabin. Then a moan.

“Is someone there?” A man’s voice, plaintive, desperate. “Help…help me…please.”

Luke turned to her. “Stay close.”

***

Luke drew his gun as he and Ellen followed a narrow path along the side of the cabin. She had assumed he was armed and had notified local authorities of his presence in their jurisdiction, but she hadn’t asked.

The backyard to the small cabin was no more than three yards deep, mostly dirt covered in pine needles, with tufts of weedy grass and dense evergreens growing close.

A man was slumped in a plastic Adirondack chair next to a pile of cordwood and a splitter.

“Keep your hands where I can see them,” Luke said. “My name’s Luke Jackson. I’m a Texas Ranger. What’s going on here?”

The man winced, his shaking hands out in front of him. “Glad you’re here.” He cleared his throat, moaning. “Mind if I stand up?”

“Just keep your hands where I can see them.”

“Right. Got it.”

He stood, unsteady on his feet. He had about three days’ growth of dark beard and wore a black baseball cap, a canvas jacket, jeans and sneakers.

The man Maggie had spotted yesterday.

Luke patted him down, and then stood back. Ellen noted he hadn’t yet holstered his weapon.

“What’s your name, sir?” Luke asked the man.

“Fred—Fred Jones. I own this place. I plan to build a new cabin. Probably tear this one down.” He seemed to struggle to stand straight. “I’m hurt.”

“What happened?”

“Sucker punched in the gut. I came here to cut wood I didn’t have time to get to in the fall. I saw a squatter had taken over the place. Son of a bitch jumped me, hit me and took off.”

“Which direction?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see. I didn’t do anything to provoke him, I swear. Once I realized someone was here, I figured I’d call the police. There’s not much cell coverage here.”

“When did you get here?” Luke asked.

“About thirty minutes ago.”

“Where’s your vehicle?”

“I parked up on the main road and walked in. You see what this road’s like.”

“Let’s go out front,” Luke said. “We can wait together for the local police. You can tell your story to them.”

The man nodded. “Happy to.”

“Where do you live, Mr. Jones?”

“Saratoga.”

“It’s a long way from Texas,” Ellen said, speaking for the first time.

He leveled his gaze on her. “Yes, ma’am, it is.”

“
Ma’am
. I like that. You don’t hear that up here as much as you do at home. I lived in Boston for a time with my grandmother. I think I heard her called ma’am twice.”

“Is that right? I guess I was raised different.”

She felt blood rush to her face. It was anger, she knew. Dead-on certainty. “I guess you’re not from here, are you, Hugh Parker?”

He gave her a blank look. “Who?”

“Enough,” Luke said. “If Ellen says you’re Hugh Parker, you’re Hugh Parker. Let’s go.”

Luke had obviously reached the same conclusion.

“I’m calling my attorney.” Parker’s voice turned whiny. “I don’t trust you two. You’re in cahoots with the man who attacked me, aren’t you? How do I know you’re a real Texas Ranger?”

Luke shook his head. “You’re not calling anyone right now. You can call after the locals get here.”

“He’s stalling,” Ellen said. “He wants to keep us here. Why?”

Parker charged for the woodpile. Luke got him on the ground, twisted his arm behind him and looked at Ellen. “Run. Take cover in the woods. Now.”

“Not without you.”

“Right behind you, babe.”

He grabbed Parker, got him to his feet. “Move or die here. Your choice.”

They reached the woods and took cover in the dense spruce trees just as the shack exploded.

Hugh Parker’s personal IED.

Luke kept Parker in his control. “Were you going to rig Maggie’s cabin?”

“I have better plans for her.” He grinned at Ellen, spittle on the corners of his mouth. “You won’t be able to live with yourself after I’ve finished with her.”

“He’s trying to plant thoughts in your head, Ellen,” Luke said. “Don’t let him.”

She nodded but kept her gaze fixed on Hugh Parker. “Did you think that woodpile was going to protect you?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Dumb, Parker. Real dumb.”

Chapter 9

Maggie knew something was up when her flight landed and both Sam Temple and her father met her at her gate. They were strong, handsome men, both wearing suits and white cowboy hats, clearly on duty. “Ellen’s with Luke,” she said, breathless. “Nothing’s happened, has it?”

“They’re okay,” Sam said. “Hugh Parker is in custody in New York.”

“He tried to kill them?”

Her father nodded, grim. “He put together a homemade bomb in a shack he took over.”

“It wasn’t his first plan, wasn’t it?” Maggie asked. “He was going to hurt me as a way to hurt Ellen.
Then
kill her. Am I right?”

“It’s all that Jane Austen you read,” Sam said, but his humor seemed forced. “You have good insight into different kinds of people.”

Her father slipped an arm over her shoulders. “We figured out Parker flew from Albany to Austin then back up to Albany right before you did.”

“He’s going to spend a long time in the frozen north,” Sam said. “He’s the man you saw at the lake yesterday. He did a few things to disguise himself. You were right to run.”

Her father nodded. “As I’ve been saying since you were a tot, always trust your instincts. We’ll go back to the Adirondacks one day. You, Ellen, Brent, your mother and me. We’ll rent a cabin on a lake and go swimming and kayaking and enjoy ourselves. It’s a beautiful area.”

“I’d like that,” Maggie said. “But you’ll probably want to invite Luke, too.”

Sam grimaced. “Luke. Right.”

Her father was expressionless.

Maggie laughed. “It’s good to be home.”

She returned to her studio apartment on the third floor of a house owned by professor friends. She had her books and papers, her posters of movies of Jane Austen novels, her collection of Texas Ranger memorabilia. It was okay she wasn't in law enforcement. She was who she was. She felt free of her own restrictions on herself. She wasn’t a coward. Her parents had taught her to trust her instincts and get away from danger—and that was what she’d done.

She got a text from a friend who’d heard she was back from New York. She and a few other friends were getting together that evening. Did Maggie want to join them?

She did. Most definitely.

***

“Maggie’s home safe and sound,” Ellen said, roasting in front of a roaring fire Luke had built in the fireplace at Maggie’s cabin. The temperature had dropped with the waning day but not
that
much. Either that, or Hugh Parker trying to blow them up was still affecting her. She decided to stay focused on Maggie. “She’s spending the evening with friends and then joining Mom, Dad and Brent and Uncle Sam and Aunt Kara and their two little ones for a picnic tomorrow.”

“You’re quite a family,” Luke said, no sign he was hot.

“Do we intimidate you?”

“A senior Texas Ranger, a money whiz, twin sisters and a bright little brother. You Galways are a great family, but I’m not intimidated. No, ma’am.” He stood in front of her. “You’re asking the wrong question.”

“What question should I be asking?”

He took her hands and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go outside. I got the fire too hot.”

“So you do feel the heat.”

He winked. “I do.”

They went outside and walked down to the dock. The sun was sinking behind the hills in the west. Luke tossed a stone into the water and watched the ripples for a moment.

“All right,” Ellen said. “What’s the right question to ask you?”

He continued staring at the water. “Ask me if I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he said, finally turning to her. “Ask me if I love you with all my heart.”

“Luke…” She couldn’t say anything else, her throat was so tight.

“You don’t have to ask,” he said. “You know why? Because you already know the answer. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You know I love you with all my heart.” He touched two fingers to her chest. “You know it here, in your own heart.”

“You’re a romantic, Luke Jackson.”

He smiled. “Worthy of a Regency hero.”

“Those thighs of yours would never fit in those slim Regency trousers.”

He eased his arms around her. “Seeing how we were nearly blown up by a crazed would-be killer, we won’t be on a flight back to Texas tonight. It’s nice here. Peaceful.”

“I can’t smell the smoke from the IED here, can you?”

“Not at all. The state police would like us to stick around for another day if we can. I like the idea of a couple of days here on our own. I talked to the owners. They’re cool with it.”

“It sounds perfect.” Ellen took in his blue eyes, his strong jaw. “You haven’t asked me if I love you with all my heart and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Do I have to ask?”

She didn’t hesitate. “No. You know the answer.”

“I’ve been meaning to get to this for the past week. I haven’t because your mind has been elsewhere—on your sister, and rightly so. I’ve loved you since you cursed at me when you found out the good-looking guy who’d just bought you a margarita was another Texas Ranger.” He tightened his hold on her. “Ellen Galway, will you marry me?”

She felt tears hot in her eyes. “Yes—yes, Luke Jackson, I will marry you.”

“Good, because when your father and uncle find out we’re spending the weekend here, they aren’t going to believe we’re staying in separate bedrooms.” He kissed her softly, slipping a simple diamond ring on her finger. “I love you, Ellen.”

“We’re forever, Luke. I knew it from the start but didn’t trust my own instincts. I tried to make a run for it. Ah, Luke. I love you so much.”

He kissed her again. “Shall we try out those kayaks and see if we can come across a loon?”

She smiled. “One with feathers.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were paddling side by side in the clear water of the Adirondack lake. The sunset glowed orange, striking Ellen’s diamond. She laughed, dipping her paddle into water and splashing Luke in his kayak. “You came up here with the ring.”

He grinned. “Just figured that out?”

“You were testing me.”

“Gauging the situation, like a good prosecutor would.”

“You knew I’d say yes before you asked me to marry you. You’re not a prosecutor.”

They paddled back to shore, jumping out their kayaks. Luke swept her into his arms and carried her to the cabin. She sank her head against his chest. She had no thoughts of the past, only of her future with this man she loved, starting with the next few hours.

About Carla Neggers

Carla Neggers is the
New York Times
bestselling author of more than 60 novels, including her popular Sharpe & Donovan and Swift River Valley series. While “Secret Hideaway” stands on its own, this short novella is the long-awaited sequel to
The Cabin,
Jack and Susanna Galway’s story, and
Stonebrook Cottage,
Sam Temple and Kara Galway’s story.

A frequent traveler, especially to Ireland, Carla and her husband divide their time between Boston and their home on a hilltop in Vermont, where she is at work on her next novel.

For more information, and to sign up for Carla’s newsletter, please visit her at
www.CarlaNeggers.com
. You can also find her on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/carlaneggers
and on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/carlaneggers
.