Strange. Just like this huge master suite. Who had it belonged to? she wondered, as she dug out a space at the back, then opened her backpack.
The gun lay on top. She grimaced at the sight of it. Picking it up, she stuck the weapon in the robe pocket. What lay beneath it was even more distressing. The money was in crisp new bills, bundled in stacks of hundreds. Over a million dollars splattered with blood.
Hurriedly she dumped the bundles of cash into the back of the wardrobe, hating that she had to touch it. Blood money, she thought. But the only way to save her mother. And ultimately, maybe herself.
She quickly covered it with some old clothing. Then, grabbing some of the clothing still on hangers, she stuffed the clothes into the backpack until it looked as it had.
Straightening, she closed the wardrobe and looked around to make sure Jack wouldnt notice anything amiss when he returned.
Footsteps in the hallway. She started. Jack? Or someone else?
As she rushed back into the bathroom, closed and locked the door, she stood for a moment trying to catch her breath and not cry. Seeing the gun and the bloody money had brought it all back.
She heard the bedroom door open and close.
You all right in there? Jack asked. Her heart pounded at how close a call that had been.
Discarding the robe, she quickly stepped back into the tub. Fine, she called back, hating that she sounded breathless.
Were going to be late for supper if you dont move it.
The water was now lukewarm, the bubbles gone. She slid down into it anyway and picked up the soap. Her hands felt dirty after touching the money. Her whole body did. She scrubbed her hands, thinking of Lady Macbeth. Out, damned spots.
Suddenly she remembered the gun shed stuffed into the robe pocket. She rinsed, stepped from the tub and pulled the plug. The water began to drain noisily as she looked around for a good place to hide the weapon.
There were few options. Opening a cabinet next to the sink, she shoved the gun behind a stack of towels on the bottom shelf. It would have to do for now until she could find a better place to hide it.
She intended to keep the weapon where she could get to itjust in case she needed it. That, unfortunately, was a real possibility.
WHEN JOSEY CAME OUT of the bathroom, she wore another of the Western shirts hed bought her in town and the new pair of jeans that fit her curves to perfection. Jack had also picked her out a pair of Western boots, knowing she would need them to horseback-ride during their week on the ranch.
Jack grinned, pleased with himself but wondering why she hadnt worn the two sexy sundresses hed picked out for her. Hed been looking forward to seeing her in one of them, and he said as much.
Maybe Im a jeans and boots kind of girl, she said.
She looked more like a corporate kind of girl who wore business suits and high heels, he thought, and wondered where that had come from. You look damned fine in whatever you wear.
She appeared embarrassed, which surprised him. The woman was beautiful. She must have had her share of compliments from men before.
As he smiled at her, he couldnt help wondering who she wasjust as he had from the moment hed spotted her on the highway with her thumb out. Josey carried herself in a way that said she wasnt just smart and savvy, she was confident in who she was. This woman was the kind who would be missed.
Someone would be looking for her. If they werent already.
Jack warned himself not to get involved, then laughed to himself at how foolish that was. He could have just dropped her off beside the road. Or taken her as far as the town of Whitehorse, given her some money and washed his hands of her and her troubles. He should have.
But something about her
Jack shook his head. Hed played hero and sold himself on the idea of a wife for this visit with
his grandmother, and now he worried hed bought himself more than he could handle as he looked at her.
Her face was flushed from her bath, the scent of lilac wafting through the large bedroom. The Western shirt shed chosen was a pale green check that was perfect for her coloring and went well with the scarf that shed tied around her neck. The two scarves had been her idea.
She looked sweet enough to eat and smelled heavenly. It was going to be hell being around her 24/7 without wanting more than a pretend marriage.
Worse, their charade required a modicum of intimacy with her. As he led her down to dinner, he put his hand against the flat of her back and felt the heat of her skin through the thin cotton of her shirt. The touch burned him like a brand.
She looked over at him. Her smile said she knew what he was up to. He smiled back. She had no idea.
Finally, said a woman impatiently from the parlor where theyd been shown in earlier.
Jack looked in to see his aunt Virginia, a glass of wine in her hand and a frown on her less than comely face. The years hadnt been kind to her. The alcohol shed apparently already consumed added to her overall disheveled look.
Her lipstick was smeared, her linen dress was wrinkled from where shed been perched on the arm of one of the leather chairs and there was a run in her stockings.