The Heiress and the Sheriff

Gabrielle was still too overcome to move, so Maggie took the initiative and opened one of the boxes. “Look at this! I thought it was darling. See if it will fit, and you can wear it for lunch.” She thrust a pale blue flowered dress at Gabrielle.

“Oh, do you dress up for meals here?” she asked, then glanced down at her jeans and top. Wyatt’s implication that she more or less looked cheap was still a fresh wound. “I guess I do look pretty awful.”

“You don’t look anything of the sort. I just thought the dress would lift your spirits. Anyway, we hardly ever dress up for meals around here—everything is casual. Everyone is always so busy that no one knows who is going to show up. Unless there’s some sort of special occasion going on. But parties have been pretty few and far between here lately. Wyatt doesn’t think they’re a good idea.”

There was a dressing screen in a corner between a chest of drawers and the bed. Gabrielle went behind it and quickly began to shed her clothes. “Wyatt? You mean the sheriff?” she asked Maggie, wondering why he would have any say about this family’s social life. It didn’t make sense.

“Yes.”

Gabrielle tried to digest the response as she smoothed the long cotton shift down over her thighs. The dress was sleeveless with a scooped neck and slit up one calf. It fit as though it had been made for her.

“I know this will probably sound silly,” Gabrielle spoke up from behind the dressing screen, “but I don’t understand why the sheriff would care if you had parties.”

Maggie remained silent for a few moments, then she said, “Well, it just wouldn’t be safe. It would be inviting more trouble.”

Gabrielle stepped out from behind the screen, and Maggie smiled with approval at the dress.

“You were saying something about more trouble,” Gabrielle went on. “Are you talking about my car accident?”

The other woman quickly waved her hand. “Oh, no, Gabrielle. My nephew Bryan was kidnapped from this house nearly a year ago. So far the law officials haven’t been able to find him. And Wyatt is afraid the person or persons responsible for the act might try to strike again.”

Gabrielle was frozen by the woman’s disclosure. Wyatt had told her the Fortune family had been having some trouble, but she hadn’t expected it to be this serious or sinister! And he suspected her of being involved in some way! Dear God, the idea of stealing a baby from its own home was repulsive to her. She couldn’t have been involved, could she?

“Gabrielle, are you all right? You’ve gone so white.” Maggie rushed across the small space separating the two women and firmly gripped Gabrielle’s elbow. “Are you going to faint?”

Gabrielle shook her head and passed a hand over her face. “I—I’m fine. What you just said—it’s terrifying. No wonder Wyatt didn’t want me coming out here. For all he knows I might have been involved. I don’t even know myself,” she said desperately.

Maggie patted Gabrielle’s arm in an effort to soothe her. “I’m willing to bet you have nothing to do with baby Bryan’s disappearance. Or with baby Taylor’s arrival.”

Gabrielle’s face puckered with a bewildered frown. “Baby Taylor? You mean there’s something else going on about another baby?”

Maggie nodded. “The kidnappers demanded fifty-million dollars in ransom for the baby’s safe return. But my brother-in-law Devin, who’s an FBI agent foiled their attempt. The kidnappers escaped, but he did manage to get the money and the baby back. Or so everyone thought, until he got the baby home. We were all shocked when we saw the child wasn’t Bryan. None of us had ever seen this baby boy before. But stranger still, he’s turned out to be a Fortune.”

Gabrielle’s eyes widened. “But how could that be—if no one knew the child? Did one of the Fortune men have an affair that produced a baby no one was aware of?”

Maggie grimaced. “That’s what Bryan’s mother, my sister-in-law Claudia, is starting to think. Even though her husband, Matthew, swears he’s never been unfaithful. But the DNA tests prove he’s the child’s father.”

“So one baby is still missing and the other one is not yet identified? I can see now how my sudden appearance might cause suspicion.” She groaned with regret. “I just wish I could remember something—anything that might tell me why I was driving toward this ranch.”

“Don’t worry, Gabrielle. Wyatt is a good sheriff. He’ll sift through every possible clue to find your background.”

Gabrielle could certainly believe that. She got the impression he’d leave no stone unturned to put her behind bars, or, at the very least, out of the state of Texas.

What had she gotten herself into? Try as she might, she couldn’t see how she was going to get herself out of Texas—and away from Sheriff Wyatt Grayhawk.

Four

After being summoned to lunch, Gabrielle and Maggie walked down a hallway and entered a large kitchen. Gabrielle instantly noticed the flavor of the room was distinctly Tex-Mex. Bundles of dried, red chili peppers hung from the ceiling, which was lower in this room. The dishes and containers sitting on the cabinets and work island were made of heavy pottery painted in earth tones of brown, copper, sand, and the pink of rose rock. Along one wall was a row of windows, and beneath them were several large potted plants that appeared to be some sort of desert succulents.

She glanced at Maggie. “Well, I may not have done anything bad, but Wyatt Grayhawk has the impression I have,” Gabrielle continued their conversation.

Maggie sighed. “There’re a lot of things you don’t know about Wyatt Grayhawk.”

And I don’t want to know, Gabrielle thought, but kept the remark to herself as she and Maggie made their way into a large dining area.

Two men were already seated at a long oak table. Upon seeing the women they both stood, and the younger of the two came around the table to help them into their chairs.

Gabrielle tried to remember where she’d seen him before, then it dawned on her. “Aren’t you—”

“Yes. I’m the doctor who was with Wyatt yesterday at the hospital.” He extended his hand in greeting. “I’m Matthew Fortune.”

Gabrielle didn’t know what to think. Yesterday he’d never mentioned she’d wrecked her car on his family’s property or that he was connected in any way to the Fortunes.

Seeing the bewildered frown on her face, he went on. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself yesterday. But Wyatt had his reasons for wanting me not to.”

Wyatt. Did these people do everything the man told them to do?

“Yes. I’m sure he did have his reasons,” she murmured. Namely, that he’d been deliberately trying to catch her in the act of lying. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to see the man again. She was going to take great pleasure in telling him—sheriff or not—what she thought about his underhanded tactics.

“I’m Ryan Fortune, Miss Carter.”

She glanced up to see the older man had come around the table to greet her. He was about fifty or so, Gabrielle guessed, and was tall and solidly built. He was a handsome man, and though he was obviously rich, there was nothing arrogant about him.

Offering her hand, she said, “Thank you for having me in your home, sir. It’s very beautiful.”

“I’m very sorry about your accident, Gabrielle. My whole family and I are hoping you’ll be completely well very soon.” He smiled at her in a fatherly way, and Gabrielle suddenly didn’t feel so bad about being here on the Double Crown.

“I hope so, too, sir. And I promise I won’t take advantage of your hospitality. As soon as Sheriff Grayhawk finds my identity, I’ll be leaving.”

Ryan Fortune’s smile turned to one of compassion, and Gabrielle got the impression that he was a man who knew what it was like to face overwhelming trouble and endure the pain that went with it.

“Don’t be worried about making a hasty stay of it here at the ranch, Miss Carter. As you can see, we have plenty of room. And we want you to be truly well and on your feet before you leave.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’re very welcome,” he said with another indulgent smile, then returned to his seat at the head of the table.

Next to her Maggie said to Gabrielle, “See, I told you you shouldn’t feel bad about staying here. My father-in-law is very kind. And he has a wonderful fiancеe, Lily. You’ll like her very much.”

“Lily isn’t officially my fiancеe,” Ryan said with a proud chuckle. “Not until she puts the engagement ring on her finger. But I’m hoping that’s going to be very soon.” The older man glanced at his son. “And speaking of lovely brides, where’s Claudia? Isn’t she going to eat lunch with us?”

The young doctor grimaced. “No. She’s eating alone.”

Ryan frowned at his son. “It’s not often you get to be away from the hospital for lunch. Maybe if I go and talk with her—”

Matthew interrupted with a shake of his head. “No. Don’t bother. The sight of me upsets her right now. And I can hardly blame her.”

“But, son, you’re—”