He smiled when he saw her. His gaze took in her hair first, then the rest of her. I see the clothes fit.
Yes, thank you. She felt strangely shy.
I like your new look, he said, nodding, as they climbed into the car.
You do? she asked, and braved checking herself in the vanity mirror. It startled her, seeing herself as a brunette with short curly hair that framed her face. Her green eyes appeared huge to her. Or maybe it was the dark shadows under them. She didnt even recognize herself.
It suits you, he said.
Thank you. She snapped the visor up. Who was she kidding? Changing her hairstyle wasnt going to save her. Nothing would. It was just a matter of time before the rest of her world came crashing down.
She saw Jack looking at her backpack again, even more curious. Shed put her dirty clothing and sneakers into one of the shopping bags, and had to stuff the second bag with the new clothing.
Shed have to watch him closely until she had an opportunity to hide the backpacks contents for safekeeping during the week at the ranch.
If she lasted the week. If there was even a ranch, she thought, as Jack drove south on a highway even less traveled than the last one theyd been on.
She no longer trusted herself to separate the good guys from the bad.
JACK STUDIED JOSEY as they left town. The new hairstyle and color only made her more striking. A woman like her couldnt go unnoticed, if that was what she was hoping. So far, he thought she was safe. The truck stop hadnt been busy, and the clerk there hadnt given either of them a second glance. Shed been too busy watching the small television behind the counter.
Jack had noticed that when Josey came out to the car shed carried both bags of clothing hed purchased for her as well as that backpack she refused to let out of her sight. With her dirty clothes in one bag and the other bag overstuffed with her new clothes, he was even more concerned about what was in her backpack.
You didnt have to buy me so much, Josey said now as he drove east out of town.
I wouldnt want my grandmother to think that Im cheap when it comes to my wife and her wardrobe.
His expression sobered at the thought of his grandmother, Pepper Winchester. He didnt give a damn what she thought, but he did want her to believe this marriage was real. It hadnt crossed his mind to bring a wife along. Not until hed picked up Josey beside the road and had this overwhelming desire to help her. No good deed goes unpunished, he could hear his father say.
Jack admitted that his motives hadnt been completely selfless. Having a wife would allow him more freedom on the ranch, freedom he would need.
He thought of his mother and told himself he was doing this for her. It wasnt about revenge. It was about justice.
As he glanced over at Josey, he knew he would have to be careful, though. Josey was a beautiful woman. He couldnt afford to get involved in her trouble and lose sight of why he was really going to the ranch.
He reminded himself Josey had gone along with the marriage because she needed to hide out somewhere safe for a weekjust as hed suspected. What was there to worry about?
I hope weve got everything we need, he said, glancing back at Whitehorse in his rearview mirror. The tiny Western town was only about ten blocks square with more churches than bars, one of the many small towns that had spouted up beside the tracks when the railroad had come through.
A few more miles and it will be the end of civilization as we know it, Jack said. There are no convenience stores out here, nothing but rolling prairie as far as the eye can see.
It sounds wonderful, she said.
I should probably fill you in on my grandmother, Jack said, as the road turned to gravel and angled to the southeast. Shes been a recluse for the past twenty-seven years and now, according to her attorney, she wants to see her family. The letter I received made it sound as if she is dying.
Josey looked sympathetic. Im sorry. A recluse for twenty-seven years? I can understand why you might not have been close.
I was six the last time I saw her. But he remembered her only too well. Her and the ranch and those long summer
days with his mother, all of them living a lie.
AS JACK DROVE OUT of Whitehorse, Josey felt a little better. Shed been nervous in town, trying hard not to look over her shoulder the whole time. At the truck stop, shed just about changed her mind. She desperately needed to put more distance between her and her past. But the only other option was hooking a ride with a trucker passing through, since there appeared to be no place in this town that she could rent a car or even buy one.
Also, why chance it when she could hide out for a week at some remote ranch? She was anxious to do the one thing she needed to do, but it would have to wait just a little longer. She certainly couldnt chance walking into a bank in this town. It was too risky.
But then again, how risky was it pretending to be a strangers wife? Even as desperate as she was. Even as good-looking and normal as Jack Winchester appeared.