Alice Sharpe - Westin's Wyoming

“That boy didn’t need to. He had you spoiling him rotten,” Pierce said with a fond smile.

“Well, your brothers still can’t cook. Might have done them both good to get out on their own for a while.”

“They’ll both die here with their boots on, you know that. Meanwhile, have you seen a big guy dressed in black? Sunglasses, bald, intimidating?”

“I caught a glimpse of him outside when I took your father his lunch but I haven’t seen him since. I’m sure he’s around somewhere. I could use some of his muscle to tote things outside for the cookout.”

“I imagine much of the work for the cookout will go to you, Pauline,” Princess Analise said. “I want to thank you in advance and apologize for any trouble.”

“Mercy me,” Pauline said, waving away the princess’s concern. “We’re used to coming up with meals in a hurry.” She nodded at the pot on the stove. “I’ve already started a stew. The boys will take it out later and grill steaks and maybe hot dogs for your little cousin. We’ve got a big pot of beans going out there already and I’ll whip up some slaw, heat loaves of bread and fry potatoes. Berry cobbler fresh from the freezer for dessert. The boys are all looking forward to it.”

She took her coat off a hook by the door and shrugged it on. Looking at Pierce, she added, “If I can’t help you, I’m going to go get your father’s dirty dishes. Come on, Bonnie, let’s go see Birch.”

As soon as they’d left, Pierce put both hands on Analise’s shoulders and gently pushed her down atop a stool pulled up to a huge cutting block island.

Without the distraction of a padded coat, the full force of her body kept hitting him like a two-by-four. Round breasts filled the oyster-white silk blouse styled like a Western shirt but tailored perfectly. Her jeans looked as though they’d been made just for her, maybe even sewn onto her slender hips by a half dozen hand maidens wielding needles and thread. A simple diamond flower twinkled in the sensuous hollow of her throat.

And she smelled good. Not exactly perfume, not flowery but not heavily musky, either. He had the overwhelming urge to bury his nose against her skin and inhale deeply, filling his lungs with her essence. To be truthful—he had urges that went a lot deeper than those. Good thing there was a no-trespassing sign hanging around her pretty neck or he’d have a hard time concentrating.

He turned away and opened the refrigerator. “I’m making you lunch,” he announced as he gathered supplies. Unwrapping the bread Pauline had baked earlier in the day, he added, “I’d sure like to hear about that photo you mentioned.”

Analise fidgeted on the stool for a minute as he sliced leftover roast beef, grown on the ranch, the product of his brother Adam’s ranching techniques. Stemming his own impatience as Analise obviously sought a way to broach whatever it was she had to say, he kept quiet. She finally murmured, “Did you know your mother went to college with mine?”

“No,” he said, glancing up at her as he sliced cheese. “I didn’t know that.”

“They were roommates as required by the school for all entering freshmen. I think because my mother was a prime minister’s daughter and yours was a governor’s daughter, school officials thought they would get along well.”

Pierce cut the huge sandwich and placed half on his plate and half on hers. He poured two glasses of milk and handed her share over, then sat down on a stool across from her. “I know my mother went to a private university in New York, but that’s about all. My grandfather died before I was born, and Mom, well, she left when I was a little kid. I haven’t seen or heard from her since then.”

The princes ignored the food as she leaned across the bar, hands clasped. “Our mothers became great friends,” she began. “Confidantes, actually. They roomed together for several years until my mother left to go back to Chatioux to marry my father and your mother left to marry your father and come live in Wyoming.”

Pierce swallowed a bite and nodded. “Okay.”

“The photo I’ve seen many times over the years is a framed one sitting on my mother’s bureau of her and your mother at school. They are both nineteen years old and look so happy and excited.”

Pierce nodded again. What memories he had of his mother suggested this was an accurate description of her. He could vaguely recall lively eyes and a ready laugh. Yet as he drank the milk, he asked himself if this tenuous connection was a disappointment. Had he somewhere in the back of his head expected Analise to say she’d seen his mother relatively recently? Had he hoped for an explanation of some kind?

Of course he had.

He put the glass down and watched Analise try to take a dainty bite of a man-size hunk of beef. “So how does this tie into you being here?”

She met his gaze. “Our mothers stayed in touch at first. That’s how I knew about you and your brothers. Anyway, now Mother is interested in knowing how her old friend’s family is doing.”

“After thirty years?”

“Your mother’s disappearance was a shock to her, too,” Analise said as she set her uneaten sandwich back on the plate. “For years she expected Melissa to write or phone or come for a visit, but she never did.”

“Yeah, well, Mom took off with another man, you know.”

“Did your father ever try to find her?”

“Are you kidding? Everyone tried to find her. The police thought he’d hurt her. It was a zoo around here until she sent a postcard. She said she’d had enough, that this wasn’t the life for her. Eventually I guess she made new friends and had new kids and forgot all about the old ones.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Yes.”

“Do your brothers?”

“Let’s get one thing straight, Princess. We don’t talk about my mother around here. We never have. And none of this explains why you told me you needed to be at the ranch. How much of this did you tell Cody?”

“I told him our mothers were school chums and that mine had asked me to stop here and return to Melissa’s children something she’d been holding on to for years. It’s a locket and it’s upstairs in my room.”

“And he bought that?”

“I wouldn’t have come if he hadn’t,” she said as a flash of irritation ignited her eyes like lightning.

“Yeah, okay, point taken. But it’s not really why you’re here?”

“Not entirely, no.”

He gestured at her plate, wishing he’d made her something fancier, a little daintier. She didn’t really look like a big meat-and-potatoes kind of girl. “Maybe there’s some soup left over from last night—”

She picked the sandwich up again and took a healthy bite. After chewing and swallowing, she looked him in the eye. “I’m sorry I’m beating around the bush. Isn’t that the right expression?”

“Yeah, that covers it.”

“The truth is my mother left something with your mother all those years ago that your mother promised to destroy. She didn’t, though. Instead she wrote my mother and explained she’d decided to hide it somewhere very safe. I’m here to retrieve and destroy it.”

Pierce stared at her a second before laughing. “My mother hasn’t set foot on this ranch in thirty years. What in the world does your mother think you’re going to be able to find after all that time?”

“I’m not at liberty to say what it is.”

He opened his arms wide. “What’s your plan? Search every nook and cranny? Be my guest, knock yourself out.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Your mother said she had hidden this object with ‘resting souls, high in the summer sky.’ Does that mean something to you?”

“No,” he said quickly. Okay, maybe it did bring something to mind but this was nuts. A glance out the window revealed snow coming down at a slant, meaning the storm was arriving early. Briefly, he wondered if the men had gotten the heifers back closer to the ranch.