Winchester Christmas Wedding (5 page)

Later, after she'd gone to work for Roger Collins, she'd been so involved in her work that the few times she could get away, Anne had been busy.

Lizzy tried to put it out of her mind. She just needed to stay here until she could complete her assignment.

Lunch was as miserable as she'd anticipated. Both McCormick sisters seemed to be in a bad mood and said hardly a word.

“I think I'll take another ride after lunch, if that's all right,” Lizzy said when it was finally over.

“You really don't have to ask every time,” Anne snapped. “Please, just make yourself at home.”

“Yes, you're more like family than a guest,” Janie had said, shooting her sister a look of defiance.

Lizzy couldn't wait to get away from the pair. She took the satellite phone to make the call to her boss once she had ridden far enough away from the ranch. Stopping on a hill out of sight of the house, she made the call.

“Agent Calder reporting in,” she said when Roger Collins answered.

“You made it to Montana without any trouble?”

“Yes, sir. We both did.”

“TD is there?”

“He's apparently staying at the Winchester Ranch.”

“How did he manage that?”

She had no idea and said as much.

“If there is any way you can make contact, do. Just be careful. TD Waters will be suspicious of anyone who tries to get close to him right now. Keep me posted.”

Liz disconnected, thinking about the man she'd seen behind the wheel of the pickup—and the photograph of the boy. She realized she hadn't mentioned that she'd found the photograph among Waters's things. Or that the name on the back of the photograph was a different one, although the boy in the snapshot was clearly Waters.

She told herself the framed photograph was irrelevant. Her boss was more interested in what weapons he'd brought, where he was staying and what he was doing.

Why would Roger Collins care about some old photograph of Waters?

Lizzy was glad she hadn't mentioned it as she put away the phone and considered how to get closer to Waters.

The one thing she wouldn't let herself speculate on for long was why he'd gone rogue, and ultimately what she would be ordered to do to stop him if necessary. Best not to know too much, Agent Director Collins had always told her.

“Just do your job. No questions asked.” He had smiled at her kindly. “One of these days you'll be tested. Don't let me down, Elizabeth.”

She feared that day had come.

 

“M
C
C
ALL, MAYBE YOU
should consider hiring some security for the wedding. I'm serious,” Luke said. They lay in the small double bed in his travel trailer after sneaking away for an impromptu lunch and lovemaking. Through the window, she could see the beautiful house he'd built for them. Luke had promised it would be finished and furnished by the time they returned home from their honeymoon. He'd also made her promise she wouldn't peek until then.

McCall looked over at her handsome fiancé. “This is about the McCormicks?”

“You said you picked up bad vibes from them.”

She realized she shouldn't have shared that with him. They were both in law enforcement, but Luke was also a man. He worried about her.

“Don't you think my family is more dangerous than the McCormick sisters ever could be?” she asked,
only half joking, as she lay back and stared up at the ceiling.

“I was thinking more of the bad blood between the two families,” he said, still way too serious. “This will be the first time that all of the Winchesters are together in one place.”

“The thought makes me nauseous. Maybe security isn't such a bad idea. We'll need someone to keep my mother and grandmother from killing each other. If I know my mother, she'll head straight for the bar at the reception. All Pepper has to do is look at her cross-eyed and all hell will break out.”

Luke sighed, his expression impatient. “Not to mention,” he continued as if she hadn't spoken, “the fact that your grandmother still believes that someone in the family was in on your father's murder.”

As if she had forgotten. Her grandmother wasn't the only one who still believed that. The problem was that her father was dead and nothing could bring him back. Add to that she didn't like investigating her own family—the family she'd only recently even been accepted into.

But she was the sheriff and she had suspected that Sandy Sheridan had some reason for committing the murder within sight of the Winchester Ranch. Sandy had wanted someone to see it.

“Maybe the guilty family member is already dead,” she said halfheartedly. “You know my uncle Angus drank himself to death. He wouldn't be the first person to drink because of guilt.”

“Maybe.” Luke sounded as doubtful as she felt. Everything she'd heard about Angus Winchester went
against his being involved. “Now to find out that the McCormick girls were there that day and might have seen something. Everyone in the county knows that they blame Pepper for their mother going to prison.”

“And everyone knows that is just crazy,” she said as she leaned toward her fiancé and gave him a kiss. “But I do know what you're saying. There could be trouble at the wedding.”

McCall had known that from the get-go. She needed to defuse at least some of it if possible before the wedding. She didn't tell him that she'd been investigating Pepper's three surviving offspring. The problem was that the wedding was looming and she still didn't have any evidence against any of them.

Worth Winchester had started a Western rope manufacturing business after he'd left the ranch and had done well. Brand had worked at a series of ranches and finally settled down to manage one in Wyoming. Virginia was the only one who didn't seem to have any visible means of support. From what McCall had been able to discover, she had gotten by through the largesse of a series of men.

If one of her father's siblings had been a coconspirator in Trace Winchester's murder, they'd keep that secret well.

“I don't like that look in your eye,” Luke said. “I just want you to be careful. Think about security at the wedding. You never know what other skeletons could come clattering out of a closet.”

McCall nodded to her fiancé although she thought it would be a relief to not have any more secrets. Her
fear was that they might never learn if there had been a coconspirator in her father's murder—or who it was.

She couldn't help but worry what that would do to her grandmother. Pepper Winchester was bound and determined to learn the truth or die trying.

 

L
IZZY LET HER HORSE RUN.
The afternoon was sunny and bright, the snow ablaze with sparkling ice crystals. The air, while cool, felt wonderful. She felt alive on horseback and for a few minutes she almost forgot where she was going—or why.

That was until she saw the lone rider headed toward her.

TD Waters.

She pulled up short, realizing she must be on Winchester Ranch land. Collins had warned her not to make him suspicious. She thought it might be too late for that. Taking in her surroundings, she was more than aware of how alone the two of them were out here—miles from either ranch house. She doubted anyone would hear a gunshot, let alone a scream—if there was even a chance that he suspected she was an agent after him.

Her horse danced under her as if sensing her sudden anxiety. The mare was ready to run again. All Lizzy had to do was give her free rein.

The rider was coming fast. Tall and dark and dangerous. She could feel the weapon in the shoulder holster beneath her flannel-lined jean jacket, but she knew she would never be able to get to her gun in time if she needed it.

But unless her cover was blown or she blew it now, she wouldn't need to use her weapon. She reminded
herself that if she were just meeting TD Waters, she wouldn't know how dangerous he was. If she just played it cool…

The problem was, she thought as he barreled toward her, this was the second time he'd seen her on the Winchester Ranch. That alone could be cause for suspicion—especially if he thought she was going out of her way to run into him.

Making the split-second decision, Lizzy spurred her horse and took off back the way she'd come. The mare was fast and she was an excellent rider.

She hadn't expected him to chase her—especially after she crossed the dry creek bed that marked the boundary to McCormick land. Both ranches were too large to fence and this part was only accessible by foot or horseback.

Lizzy knew she could outrun him on a horse. Riding like the wind, she let herself glance back, shocked to realize he was gaining on her. Nowhere in his dossier had it said he could ride. But this man was obviously as at home on a horse as she was—and he rode like her, as if he couldn't go fast enough.

Her hat suddenly blew off, sailing back on the wind.

She turned around in the saddle, but didn't slow. If she went back for the hat, for sure he'd think she'd dropped it on purpose.

To her amazement, he didn't slow as he rode toward her hat, leaned down from his saddle as if he was riding in a Wild West show and scooped up it up from the snow. Was he crazy?

No, he was TD Waters, and she'd heard enough stories
about him to know how capable the man was—as well as how unrelenting.

Lizzy realized she couldn't keep going or they would reach the McCormick house. The last thing she wanted was for Janie and Anne to know about Waters.

She also knew better than to play coy with the man—even if she was the type who could pull off coy. Along with the stories of Waters's exploits in the field, she'd also heard about his exploits when it came to women.

She could almost feel his horse breathing down her neck. Now or never, she thought, since it was clear he wasn't going to give up. She reined in her horse.

It was time she and TD Waters finally met.

TD reined in his horse as the woman came to a stop. He saw her through the steam coming off their horses. If anything, his first glimpse of her on the road this morning had been flawed.

She was more than a little striking with her flaming auburn hair, her full mouth and that angelic face. One look into those wide, pale gray eyes and he lost his breath.

“If you're thinking of having me arrested for trespassing on Winchester land, I should tell you that you're now on the McCormick Ranch and they tend to shoot first and ask questions later,” she said haughtily as their horses danced around each other as if sizing the other up—just as their riders were doing.

TD couldn't help but laugh. Her cheeks were flamed from the heat of the race across the open country and her apparent anger. Her wild mane of red hair floated around her shoulders, as wild as the look in those gray eyes of hers.

“You dropped your hat,” he said and held it out to her.

She snatched it from his fingers and settled it on her
head, her chin coming up in open defiance. “You could have gotten us both killed riding like that.”

He smiled. “I could say the same of you.”

“What do you want?” she demanded.

“I think you know.”

She leveled those eyes at him. Was that a warning? Or a dare?

“Can we quit pretending now that you don't know who I am?” He caught her off guard and for a moment, he saw something else in those beautiful, thickly lashed eyes of hers. Uncertainty.

“I've never met you before in my life. I would have remembered someone as…overly aggressive as you are.”

Overly aggressive? He laughed again. “You've apparently already forgotten about this morning on the road when you and your horse practically took out my pickup with me in it.”

“Oh, was that you?”

As if she didn't know. He had to admire her ease at lying, and right to his face. She looked so damned innocent another man might have believed her. But why would she lie?

“When I saw you, you know what I said to myself?” he asked.

“I can hardly imagine.”

He cocked his head at her. “I said I had to find that woman and give her a piece of my mind.”

“You're sure you have that much to spare?”

He shook his head but couldn't help grinning. Didn't she realize she was no match for him? “Do you always ride like that?”

“Yes.” Again that defiant upward tilt of the chin and that steely-eyed look that radiated both warning and challenge.

He studied her for a moment. Nothing could convince him, not even that angelic face or those sweet lies on her lips, that she hadn't recognized him earlier this morning. But he could see he wasn't getting anywhere with her. The timing felt wrong. Or maybe he just wanted an excuse to see her again.

Her horse moved restlessly under her, but the mare wasn't half as restless as the rider was to get away from him, and it was no act just for his benefit.

“I like the way you ride,” he said.

A small smile curved her lips. “I could say the same of you.”

“So, where are you from?” he asked glancing around and seeing nothing but wild open country. “From?”

“You must live around here somewhere.”

“The McCormick Ranch over that hill,” she said.

“So you're a McCormick.”

She shook her head. “A friend of the family. Are you a Winchester?”

“No, I'm just working there.” He held out his hand, moving his horse closer to hers. “Name's TD Waters.” He waited for her reaction as she took his hand. None at the name, but he felt her wince at his touch—just as he'd seen her surprise when he'd said he was working at the ranch.

As cool as the woman was pretending to be, she was jumpy as hell. Understandable, he assumed, given that
a stranger had just chased her down on horseback. But he wasn't a stranger, was he?

“Lizzy Calder.” She pulled back her hand the moment he released it.

“Lizzy? Short for Elizabeth, right?”

“It was my mother's name.” She seemed to bite her tongue as if she hadn't wanted to get that personal with him. “I really should be getting back before my hosts come looking for me.”

“A little late for that,” he said and motioned behind her.

She turned and stiffened and he knew she'd seen what he had. A lone rider was headed in their direction. It was her reaction that surprised him. Lizzy Calder looked scared.

 

A
NNE
? W
HAT WAS SHE
doing riding this way? Lizzy'd had the feeling that neither Anne or Janie rode anymore.

She swore under her breath and turned, not sure how she was going to handle this. But to her surprise, TD Waters was just dropping over a rise out of sight in the distance.

“Lizzy?” Anne said as she rode up. Her gaze was on the horizon where Waters had just disappeared. “Who was that? One of the Winchesters?”

“No,” she said resenting the question but feeling compelled to answer since she was a guest on the ranch. “It was someone who works for them.” She'd been surprised when he said he was working there. Working as a rogue agent on some undercover assignment? What else could he be doing there?

“What was he doing on my land?” Anne demanded. She sounded angry and Lizzy again felt the bitterness in her old friend. What had happened to her over the years that had made her this way? Anne used to be so easygoing, so fun-loving and sweet. Now she was more like her sister.

You mean land you're in the process of selling, Lizzy wanted to say, but of course didn't. “It's my fault. I rode too far, ended up on the Winchester Ranch.” She wasn't sure how long Anne had been watching them. Had she seen Waters chase her in this direction?

“Was he threatening you?” Anne demanded, already getting her hackles up, even though Waters merely worked for the Winchesters.

“No, he was just curious. He hadn't seen another rider. I think he was lonesome.”

Her friend raised a brow. “Hadn't seen a woman who looks like you, you mean.”

Lizzy tried to smile. She'd never been comfortable with her looks. Her hair was too red, her eyes, like her skin, too pale. She managed to keep her freckles hidden most of the time—unless she got out in the sun. Like now. Her cheeks would be covered with them if her face wasn't flaming with the heated memory of the intense way TD Waters had been looking at her.

He'd been so determined that she'd recognized him. And, of course, she had. It frightened her that he could read her so easily. Even in a split second. She wondered what else she had given away during their brief first meeting.

“Well, if this hired hand wants to see you, he'll
have to call,” Anne said. “I don't like anyone from the Winchester Ranch on my land.”

“Are you going for a ride?” she asked Anne, afraid she might try to go after Waters. But her friend shook her head.

“Just checking on you. You'd been gone for a while. I was getting worried. There's talk of a storm coming in.”

Lizzy said nothing. Her heart was still pumping from her wild horseback race across the snowy landscape with a rogue agent after her—not to mention coming face-to-face with him. Her pulse still throbbed just beneath her heated skin. She hadn't been prepared for the impact the man made in the flesh.

She'd only glimpsed his intensity the first time she'd seen him. Sitting astride a horse next to him, she'd felt the full power behind the man she'd heard so much about. No wonder he had a way with women. She'd looked into his bottomless ebony gaze, a shiver coursing through her that still chilled her. Her every instinct told her that this was a man you didn't want to mess with.

What if even Roger Collins didn't realize how dangerous Waters was?

They rode back to the ranch together, Anne insisting she was tired and going to bed early. Janie had gone into town and they'd let the hired help go for the holidays, so Lizzy would have to fend for herself in the kitchen this evening.

Lizzy couldn't have been more thankful. She couldn't bear another meal with the two sisters. She wondered idly why Janie had gone into town. Was it possible she was seeing someone? Neither sister had married. In
fact, Lizzy wasn't even aware if either of them had boyfriends. It did make her wonder, though, if they'd both been soured on marriage because of their mother.

Lizzy went straight to her room after putting her horse and Anne's away. Once there though, she found herself pacing, too keyed up to sit still. She tried to shove thoughts of TD Waters away, but the man was persistent—both in and out of her thoughts.

What she needed was a little something to snack on and maybe a nice cold beer. Tiptoeing down the stairs, she started for the kitchen, when she caught another glimpse of the living room and that awful piece of modern artwork where the old photographs had been.

Maybe she would go down to the basement first and see if she could find photographs of her father. Otherwise, she suspected they would get tossed out, especially with the sisters selling the ranch.

Opening the basement door, she reached in and turned on the light before treading down the stairs. The basement had never been finished and had ended up being used for storage. She saw boxes of Christmas ornaments and realized with a start that she wasn't the only one ignoring the holiday.

She hadn't even noticed that Anne and Janie hadn't put up a tree and apparently had no plans to. That seemed sad, even though Lizzy herself doubted she would be home in time for Christmas—let alone have a tree this year.

Past the ornaments, she found the framed photographs and, pulling up an old rocker, sat down and began to go through them even though the light was almost too dim. She didn't dare take them all upstairs to the living
room and no way was she toting them all the way up to her room to go through them.

There were so many more than she'd remembered. She realized that if she had her choice, she wouldn't get rid of any of them. These were records of the ranch's history.

She heard a thud. It sounded as if it had come from the top of the stairs. Maybe Anne had come down for some reason. Or Janie had returned. She listened, feeling a little spooked after her run-ins with Waters, then Anne.

When she didn't hear anything, she quickly sorted through the photographs, taking any showing her or her father.

Taking the tall stack of framed photographs, she started back upstairs and stumbled, almost falling as the lights suddenly went out.

“Hey!” she called from the pitch blackness. “Hey! I'm down here!”

No answer, but she heard someone close the door with a slight click.

Carefully she set the stack of framed photos down on a step, then felt her way up to the top of the stairs and turned on the light, her heart pounding.

She'd never liked the dark, hadn't even as a child although she couldn't remember when she'd first realized how terrified she was of total darkness.

Going back down the stairs, she picked up the stack of photos and was almost to the top again when she heard the door open again.

Janie was framed against the faint light. “Oh, is someone down there?”

She knew perfectly well someone was down there. Lizzy looked into Janie's face, saw the smirk, felt the hard gaze, but said nothing as she climbed the rest of the way up from the basement.

“What were you doing down there?” Janie asked, sounding not particularly interested.

“Anne said I could have any photographs I wanted.”

“I guess she told you then that we're selling the ranch.”

“What will you do?” She knew that neither Janie or Anne had started their careers. Both had attended college, but as far as she knew neither had ever worked.

Hunt had made his fortune years ago. The ranch must have made money, as well. Someone had definitely been supporting the two sisters.

“You mean like work?” Janie quirked a brow, that smirk back on her lips. “I'm not too worried about that. I've managed thus far and the ranch should bring a pretty good price. Too bad I have to split it with my sister.”

Lizzy felt cold inside at Janie's words, and angry. “Since you obviously don't care what happens to the ranch and just want the money, I would think the Winchesters would be interested in buying it,” she said, then chastised herself for stooping to the other woman's level.

To her surprise Janie laughed. “The Winchesters will never have this land. I promise you that. If I have my way, there won't be any Winchesters around to buy it. That goes for anyone else who gets in my way.”

With that she turned and disappeared back up the stairs, leaving Lizzy with the unmistakable feeling that TD Waters wasn't the only dangerous person she had to worry about.

 

W
HEN
TD
RETURNED FROM
his ride, he quickly showered, changed and hurried over to the kitchen. He'd been gone longer than he'd planned.

Enid gave him a sour look, but no more sour than usual. “Did you get lost? You were gone long enough.”

He decided to see how much information about the McCormicks and Lizzy Calder he could get out of Enid, since she did love to gossip. “I rode south and stumbled across the McCormick ranch,” he said as if just making conversation.

“Surprised you didn't get shot. If Joanna McCormick wasn't in prison you would have been.”

“I take it she didn't like the Winchesters?”

Enid huffed. “Not after Pepper tried to steal her husband. Bad blood between the families.” She added conspiratorially, “Started over an affair.”

“So this war between the Winchesters and the McCormicks began with an affair?”

“And some affair it was,” Enid said warming to the subject. “Hunt McCormick asked Pepper to run away with him.”

Pepper and Hunt McCormick? “But she didn't.”

Enid shook her head. “She had her reasons.” The old woman seemed to close up again. “I think Hunt McCormick was the true love of her life.”