Joanna Wayne - Showdown at Shadow Junction

“I’m the hero type.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Okay. I don’t need any help, but you can drive me to my friend’s ranch—under two conditions.”

“Shoot.”

“No more questions. And once you drop me off, forget you ever saw me.”

“If you wanted me to forget you, you should have started with a handshake instead of a kiss, but I’ll give it my best shot.”

“Then let’s go back and pick up our food order. I really am starved.”

“Finally, we agree on something.” He went through the drive-through and picked up their food after the hassle of explaining to the woman at the window why he’d changed his mind and now wanted his food to go.

He ate as he drove, spilling loose lettuce and a paper-thin slice of overripe tomato down his shirt. He kept his promise not to ask questions until they were about thirty minutes out of the city and traffic was finally moving smoothly.

“So, does this ranch we’re going to have a name?”

“The Dry Gulch. Now, doesn’t that sound inviting?”

He hadn’t been ready for that shocker, but suddenly the facts came together. The woman sitting next to him was wearing a wig and what she was running from was the law.

He was now harboring a fugitive from justice, a fugitive whose crime had the entire country and half of Europe up in arms.

But damn, could Jade Dalton kiss!

* * *

JADE FELT THE tension grow with each mile they got closer to the Dry Gulch Ranch. Her problems were far from over. The NYPD surely had a warrant out for her arrest by now. She could possibly put off facing them for another day, but facing R.J. and the rest of the Daltons was imminent.

It was difficult to imagine that any of the Daltons would be glad to see her and the pack of trouble she brought with her. They might even call the local sheriff and have her arrested tonight.

It was a chance she had to take.

“I’ll get the gate,” she said when Booker stopped at the entrance to the ranch.

She breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the fresh country air. The smells were different here. So were the sounds. Wind whispering through the branches high atop the towering pines. Loud chirping from crickets or perhaps the tiny tree frogs she’d heard about on her last trip to the ranch.

The croak of a bullfrog. The lonesome hoot of an owl. A rustle in the nearby grass that sent her rushing back to the car the second she’d closed the gate behind them.

“Nice spread,” Booker said as they drove past acres of fenced pastureland, “at least what I see of it in the moonlight.”

“If you like living on the outskirts of civilization.”

“I take it you don’t.”

“I’m a big-city girl. The bigger the better.”

“Where do you live?”

“There you go with the questions again.”

“Sorry about that.”

Fortunately, he drove the rest of the way in silence, throwing on the brakes once to avoid hitting a deer that dashed across the road just a few yards in front of them.

The rambling ranch house sneaked up on them, the lights from the windows peeking at them from between tree branches as they rounded a curve in the ranch road.

“Looks like they left the lights on for you,” Booker said.

“I’m surprised they’re not all in bed by now.”

“It’s only eight-thirty.”

“But what else is there to do out here when the sun goes down.”

“Watch TV. Read a book. Chat on Facebook. I’ve heard some people even engage in conversation if they’re really desperate.”

Booker pulled into the wide driveway and for a second, Jade thought they were at the wrong house. It looked better cared for than she remembered it. Of course, that might be because she was seeing the place in the cover of darkness instead of the bright glare of daylight.

“I can take it from here,” she said as Booker killed the engine.

“I always walk my dates to the door.”

“We’re not on a date.” He’d be peeling out and squealing tires in his rush to get away if he knew the truth about her.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said. “Enjoy your leave.”

“I have a hunch it won’t be boring.”

Ignoring her assurance that she no longer needed him, he got out of the car and followed her up the walk.

An attractive blonde opened the door before they reached it. “Finally we meet,” she said. “I’m Brit and you must be Booker.”

“In the flesh.” Booker put out a hand, but the woman pulled him into a hug, totally ignoring Jade.

Apprehension skidded along her nerve endings. Had she been set up? Had Booker been looking for her at the airport when she ran into him and saved him the trouble?

No wonder he chased after her when she sneaked off from the burger joint.

Booker stood back and studied the woman who’d just embraced him so warmly. “Excuse me, but this is going to take a minute for me to get past. You look exactly like Sylvie.”

“I thought I’d prepared you for that,” she said, “but I guess nothing really could.”

“No. I’ll get used to it, but it’s a shocker now.”

Jade stood there, flabbergasted. She had no idea what was going on, but apparently Booker’s coming here had nothing to do with her.

“You must be a friend of Booker’s,” Brit said, directing her comment to Jade.

A friend of Booker’s. That was an intriguing mistake. If she could pull that off, it would definitely simplify matters. It would give Jade a chance to think things through tonight before confronting the Daltons.

“Yes, Booker and I are—”

Her sentence was interrupted by the sound of approaching footfalls. She looked up as R.J. shuffled to the door. The lie died on her lips.

He looked years older than he had the last time she’d seen him. Frailer, his stance less intimidating, his hair gray wisps that barely covered his head. The inoperable tumor hadn’t killed him yet, but it was apparently taking its toll.

He stared at her, his mouth open, his eyes wide.

“Jade.” His voice broke on her name.

So much for her disguise. If R.J. could recognize her that easily, she’d fool no one who was actually looking for her. It was a miracle she’d made it to Dallas without being arrested.

“Thank God you’re here,” R.J. said. “I’ve been worried sick. I was about to hire a team of private detectives to track you down.”

Coming here had clearly been a mistake. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

“I know that. I told everyone that as soon as we heard. I just wanted to find you and make sure you were safe.”

“I was kidnapped. When I escaped, I didn’t know anything else to do but come here. But I won’t stay more than one night. I’ll leave tomorrow morning, before I cause you any trouble.”

“Of course you’ll stay. Where else would you go? You’re family.”

“But you will have to turn yourself in to the local sheriff,” Brit said. “And you’ll need a lawyer.”

“We’ve got the best danged attorney in the state of Texas right here on the ranch,” R.J. interrupted. “Your half brother Leif. We’ll call him right now. He’ll know exactly how to handle this.”

“He may not want to represent me.”

“He’s obliged. We Daltons stick together. His brother Travis will advise you, too. He’s a Dallas homicide detective, and Brit here was a detective in Houston before she and Cannon got hitched. Everything you need is right here.”

A lawyer and two homicide detectives. Jade would probably be in jail by morning.

“C’mon in,” R.J. said. “You and your friend, afore the skeeters start snacking on you.”

“This is Booker Knox,” Brit said, introducing him to R.J. before things got any more confusing.

“Well, I’ll be jiggered! You and Jade knowing each other. Don’t that beat all?”