Under Threat

Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, no. I knew her.”
“Honey, are you all right?” her mother asked.
“Christy was going to move into the apartment I had available today. She’d only been working at the coffee shop for a few weeks. I can’t believe she’s dead. A hit and run?” she asked her father.
He nodded and glanced at his watch. “The coroner should have something more for me by now,” he said, getting to his feet.
“Do you have any idea who did it?” she asked her father.
Hud shook his head. “Not yet. Unfortunately, it happened after the bars closed, and she was apparently alone walking along the side of the road dressed in all black. It’s possible that the driver didn’t see her.”
“But whoever hit her would have known that he or she struck something,” Dana said.
“Could have thought it was a deer, and that’s why the person didn’t stop,” Hud said. “It’s possible.”
“And then the driver didn’t stop to see what it was? Probably drunk and didn’t want to deal with the marshal,” Aunt Stacy mocked. “I’ve heard he’s a real—”
“I’d watch yourself,” her father said, but smiled as he took his Stetson off the hook on the wall, kissed his wife and left.
Mary took a sip of her coffee, her hands trembling as she brought the mug to her lips. It always shocked her, death and violence. She’d never understood how her father could handle his job the way he did. While there wasn’t a lot of crime in the canyon, there was always something. She remembered growing up, overhearing about murders but only occasionally. Now there’d been a hit and run. Poor Christy. She’d been so excited about renting Mary’s apartment, which was so close to her work. It would save her the commute from her mother’s house in Bozeman, she’d said.
As the patrol SUV left, another vehicle pulled in. “Well, I wonder who that is?” she heard her mother say as she shifted in her seat to peer out the window.
Mary did the same thing, blinking in the bright morning sun at the pickup that had pulled up in front of the house almost before the dust had settled from her father leaving.
She stared as the driver’s-side door opened and Chase Steele stepped out of the vehicle.

Chapter 6
“It’s Chase,” Mary said as if she couldn’t believe it. For weeks she had dreamed of him suddenly showing up at her door. She shot a look at her mother.
“Do you need my help?” Dana asked. “If you aren’t ready to talk to him, I could tell him this isn’t a good time.”
She shook her head and turned back to watch Chase stretch as if it had been a long drive. He looked around for a moment, his gaze softening as he took in the ranch as though, like her, he still had special memories of the place. He appeared taller, more solid, she thought as she watched him head for the front porch. Was he remembering how it was with the two of them before he left?
“I can’t imagine what he’s doing here,” Mary said, voicing her surprise along with her worry.
Her mother gave her a pitying look. “He’s here to see you.”
“But why?”
“Maybe because of the letter you sent,” Dana suggested.
She couldn’t believe how nervous she was. This was Chase. She’d known him since they were teens. Her heart bumped against her ribs as she heard him knock. “He could have just called.”
“Maybe what he has to say needs to be said in person.”
That thought scared her more than she wanted to admit. She hadn’t told her mother about the call from Chase’s fiancée. She’d been too embarrassed. It was enough that her aunt Stacy had told her mother about the letter she’d sent him.
“Do you want me to get that?” her mother asked when he knocked. “Or maybe you would like to answer it and let him tell you why he’s here.”
Another knock at the door finally made her move. Mind racing, she hurried to the door. Chase. After all this time. She had no idea what she was going to say. Worse, what he would say.
As she opened the door, she glanced past him to his pickup. At least he was alone. He hadn’t brought the woman who’d called her, his fiancée who could by now be his wife.
“Mary.”
The sound of his voice made her shift her gaze back to the handsome cowboy standing in her doorway. Her heart did a roller-coaster loop in her chest, taking all her air with it. He’d only gotten more handsome. The sleeves on the Western shirt he wore were rolled up to expose muscled tanned arms. The shirt stretched over his broad shoulders. He looked as solid as one of the large pines that stood sentinel on the mountainside overlooking the ranch.
He was staring at her as well. He seemed to catch himself and quickly removed his Stetson and smiled. “Gosh dang, you look good.”
She couldn’t help but smile. He’d picked up the expression “gosh dang” from her father after Hud had caught Chase cussing a blue streak at fifteen out by their barn. The words went straight to her heart, but when she opened her mouth, she said, “What are you doing here?”
“I had to see you.” He glanced past her. “I’m sorry it took me so long. My pickup broke down and... Could we talk?”
She was still standing in the doorway. She thought of her mother in the next room. “Why don’t we walk down to the creek?”
“Sure,” he said, and stepped back to let her lead the way.
Neither of them spoke until they reached the edge of the creek. Mary stopped in the shade of the pines. Sunlight fingered warmth through the boughs, making the rippling clear water sparkle. She breathed in the sweet familiar scents, and felt as if she needed to pinch herself. Chase.
She was struck with how different Chase looked. Stubble darkened his chiseled jawline. He was definitely taller, broader across the shoulders.