Randall Wedding (13 page)

“Come out here, son,” Pete whispered.

He did as his father asked, fear building in his gut “Is something wrong?”

“The sheriff just called to be sure you and Izzy were here. Someone set your house on fire.”

Russ’s mouth fell open. Finally he asked, “Was it completely destroyed?”

“No. About half of it burned. We’re going to drive to Buffalo because that’s where the nearest hotel is and see if we can find whoever started it.”

“You’re sure it was arson?”

“Yeah. The sheriff is sure.”

“Let me grab my boots.” While he pulled them on, his anger grew. Isabella didn’t deserve this. Who but her father would be responsible? Russ was ready to let him know how he felt about him.

He quietly left Isabella sleeping and went to join the men of his family.

Time to protect his loved ones.

Isabella came slowly awake the next morning. With Angel as an alarm clock, it had been a while since she’d awoken on her own. It was a real luxury. She finally raised her head to look for her baby and discovered the baby bed empty. Russ wasn’t there, either.

He must be a quiet sleeper because she hadn’t noticed him all night. She stretched and got out of bed. She’d brought a full skirt and a short sweater, one of her favorite outfits, to wear on Christmas day. When she thought to check the time, she realized it was almost eight-thirty. She’d missed breakfast and they must have already started opening the gifts.

She brushed her hair, leaving it loose, and hurried down the stairs. To her surprise, no one was in the living room and the gifts were all still in place. She headed to the kitchen, worry beginning to fill her.

“Morning, Izzy,” Janie called. She sat at the
table feeding Angel. “Did you hear her cry? I tried to get her bottle ready as soon as I could.”

“No, Mom, I didn’t hear her. I’m sorry I…” As she started her apology, her gaze swept the kitchen and she realized Jake was the only man in sight. “Where is everyone?”

The women all looked at Jake, so Isabella looked at him, too.

“Izzy, someone set your house on fire last night.”

“What? Why would anyone— My father? My father set my house on fire? Oh, no,” she moaned. “No, surely he wouldn’t—he must’ve known we weren’t there.” She struggled to deal with what Jake had said. Then she put the missing men into the picture.

“Where is Russ? And the others?”

Jake shrugged. “They went with the sheriff.”

“Where? Where did they go with the sheriff?”

“To Buffalo. There are no motels in Rawhide, so any strangers would’ve had to stay in Buffalo,” Jake explained.

“But…but it’s Christmas. We’ve ruined Christmas for all of you!”

Janie held out a hand. “Come sit here with me, dear. We’re all safe. That’s the most important thing anytime, especially at Christmas. We’ll open the presents when they return.”

Isabella felt as if she was sleepwalking. She wanted to shake her head and wake up to the happy
world she’d shared last night. As soon as she sat down, Red put a mug of hot coffee in front of her.

“Drink it, girl. It’ll help.”

Still frowning, she managed to thank Red. “But what if they find…whoever did it?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Jake said. “And you’re safe here. I let the dogs out last night so we’d know if anyone came here.”

“You mean I’ve put all of you in danger?” Isabella asked, horrified. She jumped up from the table. “Then I have to leave at once!”

“Nonsense,” Jake said calmly.

“But you shouldn’t have to suffer for me. I’ll go pack,” she insisted, starting for the door.

“Izzy!” Janie called out. “This is the safest place around. You’re not going to put Angel in danger, are you?”

“Where would you go?” B.J. asked. “You don’t have a home. And Russ will expect you to be here.”

“But…but…”

“Honey, you’re family—and we protect our own.” Jake’s voice was firm, sure.

Red slid a plate of waffles and bacon in front of her. “Whatever you do, you’ll do better with food inside you.”

She couldn’t argue with Red’s advice. She fell back into her seat and began eating. After a moment she asked, “You don’t think the men are in danger, do you?”

“Nope. Besides, there’s a lot of them.”

They all stayed around the table in the kitchen, discussing past Christmases, telling funny stories to keep Isabella’s spirits up. About noon, they received a phone call from Pete, telling them they’d be home in an hour and letting them know that everyone was all right.

“Thank goodness,” Isabella breathed. Everyone was agreeing with her when Red called, “Car coming.”

“Recognize it?” Jake asked, coming alert.

“Nope.”

“Places,” Jake snapped. “The rest of you stay here in the kitchen.”

Isabella stared as Janie and B.J. grabbed rifles she hadn’t even noticed standing in a corner. They slipped out the back door, grabbing coats as they went. Megan and Red headed for the stairs.

“What are they doing?” Isabella asked.

Jake had already headed for the front door, putting a pistol in the back of his jeans where it couldn’t be seen.

“It’s a better-safe-than-sorry plan,” Samantha said. “Jake planned it earlier this morning.”

“But we won’t even know what’s going on,” Isabella protested.

“Jake said to stay here,” Sarah said, “but if we’re careful, I think a couple of us could go to the living room where we could hear what’s going on. I’ll go with you, Isabella, but we’ve got to stay out of sight, okay?”

Some of the women protested, but Mildred said
she thought it would be all right. But they were to come back and let the rest of them know what was happening every now and then. “And keep your noses out of sight!”

Isabella kissed her baby goodbye. Then she and Sarah slipped down the shadowy hall into the living room. The two women got on their hands and knees and crawled to the front window.

Sarah whispered, “We’ll have to just listen.” She sat down on the floor and Isabella joined her.

They heard the car stop and one of the doors open.

Jake greeted the new arrival. “Howdy. Can I help you?”

A voice that Isabella immediately recognized answered. “I’m looking for my daughter, Isabella Paloni, or Nick McMillan. Someone in town told me they would be out here.”

“They were. They’re not now. Want to leave a message?”

“I need to pick up some important papers. When will they be back?”

“I couldn’t tell you. They came over last night, but then they left. Haven’t seen them since then.”

“This is important.”

“Give me your name and if they come back, I’ll tell them.”

“I’m Antonio Paloni. My aunt died recently and I need to pick up her things.”

“What is your aunt’s name? Did she live here?”

“Yes. Her name was Maria Paloni. You probably don’t know her. She kept to herself.”

“I knew her. Heard her house burned down last night.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. I assume no one was living in it?”

Jake shrugged his shoulders. “You’ve come a long way from New York.”

“Actually I was in Chicago on business.”

“I’ll give Nick the message. He or your daughter will send you whatever is due you, I’m sure.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

Isabella peeked out the window and saw her father’s face through the window of his car as it backed up and headed back down the driveway.

Then, before she and Sarah could scoot back to the kitchen, Jake came through the front door. Isabella stood up, intending to apologize for disobeying him, but tears were streaming down her face. Jake pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “You poor dear. He’s not worth a plugged nickel. Did you want to talk to him?”

She shook her head no. Jake picked her up, carried her into the kitchen and set her down in a chair at the table. “Mildred, can you fix her a cup of chocolate? She needs something for shock.”

B.J. and Janie came in from outside. They both hugged Isabella. “The man doesn’t even care about you and Angel. He just wants the stock,” Janie said.

“What happened?” several of them asked.

Jake gave a thumbnail sketch of what had happened, keeping it short for Isabella’s sake. In the meantime, Red and Mildred got busy putting together Christmas dinner. Then all the women joined in except Isabella and Janie, who talked quietly.

“I thought he cared about me a little bit, but all he wants is the stock. I told him I was married and…he should’ve realized it would do him no good to come here.”

“He’s not thinking straight, honey. He probably thought you were lying to him.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

Janie hugged her close. “Let’s wait and see what the men have found out.”

As if on cue, the sound of several trucks coming down the road reached their ears. “The men are back,” Red announced.

Isabella grabbed her ski jacket and ran for the back door.

She flew into Russ’s arms when he climbed out of the first truck, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Honey, what’s wrong? Are you crying about the house? Don’t worry. We’ll build another one.”

She shook her head, then buried it in his chest, not offering an explanation. Janie, who’d followed Izzy out of the house, gave Russ a brief synopsis of their day.

“Isabella’s father came here?”

Jake, who’d followed the women out of the house, nodded. “Yeah, he was looking for Isabella
or Nick. Nick!” Jake called, waving him over. “One of your clients came looking for you.”

“On Christmas Day? Who?”

“Antonio Paloni.”

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “What did he want?”

“He wanted you or Izzy to give him the papers for the stock. He still thinks he can talk you out of them.”

Russ’s arms tightened around Isabella as she trembled against him. “Damn it! Did you hear him, Izzy?”

She nodded again.

“Did it upset you, Izzy, that he only wanted the papers?” Pete asked.

Isabella finally pulled back from Russ’s embrace. “I guess he went to the house, looking for the stock and was surprised to find it burnt down. When he couldn’t find the company stock certificates, he came looking for Nick or me.”

“Russ, we need to talk.” Isabella’s gaze was pleading.

“Sure. Let’s get inside out of the cold,” he suggested. She turned and led the way. When they were inside, she headed upstairs, hoping he would follow. After stopping by Angel’s bed in the kitchen and kissing her soft cheek, he did so. When they reached the bedroom they’d been assigned, she closed the door.

“I knew my father wanted the stock, but I didn’t think he’d try to steal it. This is all such a mess.
He has a terrible temper. I don’t want your family to have to see that. Maybe Angel and I should go.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “No, Izzy. You promised to marry me and let me adopt Angel.”

“Aren’t you convinced that my father will stop at nothing to get what he wants?”

“Yeah, I’m convinced. But I don’t give up easily. You’re mine, you and Angel. Do you know how long it will take for Tori to sell those shares? Once she’s done that, you’ll have all the money you want for Angel, and your father won’t be able to do anything.”

“I don’t know that I can avoid him for a month. And I don’t want to bring trouble to your family.”

“Our family. We’re married. You belong to my family now. Do you know how much my mother loves you? My father?”

She pushed herself out of his arms. “They love me because you’re alive again. But if I cause you anguish or harm, they won’t love me. And I don’t blame them. I’ll hate myself.”

“I’m not going to get hurt. We found the men who set the fire.”

“What? How did you do that?”

“The motel operator took down their license plate. They came in from Chicago yesterday. They left the motel around two in the morning heading toward Rawhide. We caught up to them this morning. They’d just started back for Chicago. They had incriminating evidence in the trunk.”

“But that doesn’t mean my father was con
nected. Besides, he wouldn’t have burned down the house without making sure the stock was safe.”

Russ smiled. “We’ll see. The sheriff hasn’t had a chance to question the men yet.”

Isabella blinked back tears.

“It’s going to be all right honey. Go wash your face. I’m going downstairs to talk to Tori. Then we’ll have Christmas dinner.”

As they both started out the bedroom door, she caught a glimpse of his right hand. “What did you do to your hand? Did you hurt it somehow?”

Russ looked at his hand and then hugged Isabella once more. “I bumped it against something, that’s all. I’ll get Anna to clean it and put a bandage on it.”

“I can do that,” she said, staring at his injured hand.

“We don’t want to insult Anna. She’s our official medical person. Hurry down, though. I’m starving.”

T
HE AMOUNT OF FOOD
it took to feed the Randall clan was amazing. Instead of eating in shifts, as they usually did, extra tables were moved into the kitchen, along with chairs. When Isabella arrived in the kitchen, she found Russ’s hand neatly bandaged. She looked at Anna.

“Thanks, Anna, for taking care of Russ. Was anyone else hurt?”

“If they were, they haven’t complained. And Russ’s hand will be fine tomorrow.” Anna patted
her gently on the back. “I think Russ saved you a place over there.” She pointed.

Isabella found her chair and sat. She was opposite Tori. “Did Russ ask how long it would take to sell all that stock?” she asked her.

“Hey! It’s Christmas,” Russ complained.

Isabella was embarrassed. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“I can unload it quickly, but it will affect the price. Still, in the circumstances, the faster the better. What do you think?”

“I agree. Even if the price goes down, people are more important than money,” Isabella said.

Tori nodded. “Let me see what I can do. There was strong interest from one particular investor the other day. I might be able to make a deal if the buyer realizes you’re selling majority interest. The price might even go up.”

“Whatever you can do, Tori.”

Nick and Sarah came to sit at their table.

“Nick says I should apologize to you,” Sarah said.

“For what?” Isabella asked, her eyebrows soaring.

“For encouraging you to go to the living room to hear what was said,” Sarah said softly. “I know it was hard for you.”

Isabella fought the tears that reappeared. “The truth is hard, but I had to know it.” She sniffed.

Red came over to the table to collect their plates,
which distracted everyone from Isabella. It gave her time to rein in her emotions.

“Jake is going to carve the first turkey. Your table is first. Line up and take your turkey. Then you can fill your plates at the kitchen counter. And leave some for the rest of us!” Red ordered.

Dinner was noisy but fun. The people at Isabella’s table found a lot of interesting topics to discuss, which kept everyone away from the events of the morning.

When the telephone rang, Isabella was just forking up her last bite of stuffing. A silence fell over the room as everyone waited for Jake to answer the phone.