Chapter Eight
Cordell opened the back door of Max’s house and stopped short. His brother had been on the phone, but now turned abruptly and went for his gun. Recognizing him, Max relaxed, but Cordell had seen the fear on his face.
“What’s happened?” he demanded as he stepped in. He could tell that his brother didn’t want to tell him. “Max?”
He watched him sigh and remove his hand from the weapon strapped to his hip. He said, “I’m going to tell you, but you can’t go off half-cocked and go racing down to Wyoming, guns blazing.”
Cordell listened as his brother first told him what he’d learned about Roger Grimes, ending with the phone call.
“What? That son of a— We have to go get him.”
“Easy. Don’t you think I want to? But I’m the law and I’m taking care of it,” Max said.
“How?” Cordell demanded.
“I called the Rawlins Sheriff’s Department.”
He scoffed at that. “I remember how helpful they were in the past.”
“The sheriff’s out for a week, but a deputy named Hal Green took the information. I’m hoping he’ll go there and check.”
Cordell shook his head and moved to drop onto the couch. “So we do nothing but wait for him to come after us?”
“I know you’d rather go to Wyoming and get yourself killed.”
“Or wait here like sitting ducks,” he offered as he reached for his phone. “After what you told me, I need to warn Josie.”
Max stopped him. “Let’s give the law down in Rawlins a chance first. If they pick him up for spending the robbery money, he’ll be sent back to Florida. No reason to worry Josie.”
“But for how long? He’s already served his time for the actual robbery.”
He could see that his brother knew he was right. But Max was digging his heels in. “I’m going over to the office, then patrol town. Stay here. Keep the doors locked. This could all be over in a matter of hours. Call me if there is any trouble.”
Cordell shook his head and got to his feet. “I’m not sitting here and waiting. But first I am going to call Josie. She needs to know. I’m telling her everything.”
“No,” his brother said, stepping to him. “Why frighten her when it could be over soon?”
“You just don’t want anyone in Dry Gulch to know,” Cordell said. “Max, people are going to find out about us and Roger Grimes. I know you’ve always believed it would just be our terrible secret, but the truth is going to come out now.”
“Let’s not forget what we did,” Max said.
“Let’s not forget what he did to us!”
“I haven’t forgotten, as hard as I’ve tried,” his brother snapped.
“Then you know what he’s capable of doing. Roger knows where we are and who we love. We have to warn them.” Cordell hated the way his voice cracked with the fear he felt to his very core that his past might harm the woman he loved, had always loved. “That psycho threatened Josie and Goldie.”
“I told you. He didn’t.”
“Only because he’s smart enough to worry that you might be recording the conversation. Max, you know what he was saying. He’s coming for them just as he’s coming for us.”
He saw the muscle jump in his brother’s jaw, an expression of fury on Max’s face. “Of course I know. I’ve already stuck our necks out by sending the sheriff’s department in Rawlins out to the homestead.”
Cordell shook his head. “There’s no keeping a lid on this.” He looked down at the phone in his hand. “Josie needs to know and you can’t—”
“Give me your phone.”
His gaze shot up to his brother’s. “You seriously going to do this?” He and his brother hadn’t wrestled for years, let alone fought, but there was no way he was handing over the phone.
With a sigh, Max said, “I promise we’ll warn them, but let’s wait to see what the deputy down in Wyoming finds out at the homestead, okay?”
“And if Roger isn’t there?”
“Goldie probably isn’t taking my calls,” Max said. “But I’ll call Josie myself and warn her. She’ll tell Goldie. Let me tell her what I hope will keep them both safe until we know more.”
“You need to tell them everything. They have to know how dangerous Roger Grimes—”
“They’ll believe it when it comes from the sheriff.”
Cordell took a breath, reminding himself that his brother the sheriff was respected in the community of Dry Gulch.
He, on the other hand, was the kid-brother screwup who’d left town under extenuating circumstances.
He had to let him handle this. “That deputy better call soon or I’m going to find Josie and tell her everything,” he said as he pocketed his phone.
His brother looked relieved.
“You do realize I’m not staying here to wait, right?”
Max sighed. “Come on, then.”
* * *
“Don’t want to talk about it,” Goldie said when Josie showed up at her door. “I don’t need any help, either. But I might take a glass of that wine you brought.”
She’d been in a daze for hours wandering around her cousin’s house, unable to concentrate. Clancy had a date she’d threatened to cancel to stay home with her, but Goldie wouldn’t allow it. “Go, have fun. I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t fine, so she’d been glad to see Josie drive up.
Her best friend knew what she needed. Wine and company.
The breakup had come out of nowhere. She and Max had been doing so well together for so long.
She hadn’t pushed him about making it permanent because she hadn’t wanted to rock the boat.
She’d felt they were headed in that direction, and she didn’t want to corner him with an ultimatum.
It wasn’t her style. She’d told herself that she didn’t need a ring on her finger or a marriage certificate on her wall. But now she knew there had been something she had needed. A sign that he was as invested as she was in this relationship. Clearly, if he’d given her one, she’d missed it.
She blamed herself for not getting that clarity she needed.
Had she, Max wouldn’t have been able to blindside her.
She would have known he wasn’t in it for the long haul.
She blamed herself. She’d been too afraid to find out how he really felt about her and he’d been afraid to be honest with her a long time ago.
They were both cowards. Maybe he wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. Or the woman she knew she could be.
Josie held the wine bottle up. “If there’s anything else you want…”
Goldie shook her head as she watched her friend get glasses from the kitchen and pour them both some wine.
“I saw Max leaving his house on my way in, Cordell with him,” her friend said and handed her a glass.
Goldie held it up, frowning at how little wine was in the glass. She looked to her friend for an explanation.
“Cordell’s rented trailer is behind the house,” Josie said and drained her glass. “I really want to see what’s in that trailer now while they’re gone.”
It was the last thing she’d expected her friend to say. “I really don’t want to get caught out there.”
“Me, either,” Josie said with a laugh. “That’s why we have to move fast.”
“I don’t even want to ask what you’re suggesting,” Goldie said and downed the wine. “Isn’t there a padlock on that trailer? You aren’t seriously going to break in.”
“We’re just going to take a look. Your cousin must have a hammer and a crowbar around here, right?”
Armed with the hammer and crowbar, Josie drove them out to Max’s house. Goldie used her key to go in and turn on the back porch light, but she’d also brought out a flashlight that Max kept by the door. She now held the beam on the padlock as Josie went to work.
She made a point of not looking around the house. Earlier she’d come over when she knew Max wasn’t home and had taken just what she needed for a few days. She told herself Max would change his mind by then.
Now, outside shivering in the cold, she watched her friend break the lock. As Josie removed the padlock, she looked over at her before she opened the door.
As it swung open, the flashlight beam illuminated just enough of the cavernous dark interior to see what was inside. “What?” was the only word Goldie got out as her flashlight beam fell on the statue of the town’s most famous horse. “How?”
“Cordell,” Josie said with a curse and laugh. “I suspected he stole Big Blue before he left town for whatever reason at the time.” She was shaking her head still looking amused.
“I don’t think it’s that funny. That missing statue had almost caused a turf war with our neighboring rival county, as I recall. What I don’t understand is why he’d bring it back,” Goldie said, feeling confused and wishing she’d had either more wine or a lot less.
“Because he’s Cordell.” Josie said, still smiling. “It’s his way of saying he’s sorry. He’s trying to make amends for being Dry Gulch’s bad boy.”
“You mean he’s trying to get back in your good graces,” her friend said.
“Maybe a little of that, too,” Josie admitted.
“So what are we going to do now?”
“We’re going to get a couple of men in town to help us put Big Blue back where he goes tonight and never breathe a word of this to anyone.” Josie pulled out her phone. “I have a favor,” she said into the phone when it was answered.
Goldie tuned out the rest of the phone conversation as she hugged herself against the cold night. She would never understand men, she thought.
It wasn’t until the trailer was empty and they were alone again in her cousin Clancy’s living room that Josie filled their glasses with wine and sat down.
“I don’t know exactly what is going on, but I think it has something to do with before Max and Cordell showed up in Dry Gulch,” Josie said. “Max sent me a message earlier along with a photo and a warning I know he wanted me to share with you.” She pulled out her phone and handed it to her friend.
Goldie’s eyes widened as she looked at the mug shot. “Who is Roger Grimes and why would Max send you this?”
Josie shook her head. “All I know is that he’s dangerous and he might be coming to Dry Gulch.”
Goldie shivered and looked away from the man’s face. “You think that’s why Max wanted me here with Clancy instead of at the house?”
“I do. Max might be trying to protect you.” Josie took back her phone and pocketed it. “He wants us to watch out for this man just in case.” She picked up her glass and took a sip of her wine, hesitating before she asked, “What did Max tell you about his life before he and Cordell came here?”
Josie’s question made her realize how little she actually knew about Max. All evening, she had kept telling herself Max wouldn’t do this to her. She knew him, really knew him. But did she?
She remembered that teenage boy who’d shown up in Dry Gulch out of the blue with his little brother and little else. There had been a haunted look in his eyes. She’d seen that same look earlier at the café when he’d broken up with her.
* * *
The town of Dry Gulch was small and quiet normally, Max thought as he and Cordell patrolled. Tonight, though, it felt like a ghost town. Max couldn’t shake how anxious he was feeling waiting for the sheriff’s department out of Rawlins to call with news.
The two of them had driven around the area looking for a van with probably Florida plates. He had wanted his brother to stay at the house, but it was clear he wasn’t going to. Also, Max had realized he couldn’t leave him alone—not until Grimes was caught.
They’d been coming down the main drag when the call was patched through to him from the Rawlins Sheriff’s Department.
“Went out there,” Deputy Green said. “Hell of a long way up there. What a desolate place. You lived there?”
“Did you find Grimes?” Max said impatiently.
“No sign of anyone. Didn’t look as if a soul has been there for a very long time.”
His hope died as he disconnected. Max had known this would have only put off the inevitable.
If they had found Grimes, arrested him and taken him back to Florida, he would eventually get out of prison again.
If he made a deal and returned the money, he might be out even sooner and then he’d be coming for them. This nightmare wasn’t over.
Cordell must have seen how defeated he felt. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m already out on a limb,” Max said as he drove down the street, pulled up in front of the sheriff’s office and parked.
“I’m afraid to ask,” Cordell said, looking from the sheriff’s department to his brother. “You’re not planning to lock me up again, are you?”
Max shook his head and opened his door. “I’m going to deputize you.”
It wasn’t until they returned to the house that Max saw the broken padlock and the empty trailer, the door standing ajar.
For a moment, he thought Grimes might already be here.
But he couldn’t imagine the man taking Dry Gulch’s famous horse statue.
Then he looked at his brother and swore as the truth hit him.
“This has Josie’s name written all over it,” he said.
“Josie?” Cordell echoed.
“The woman you call when you’re in trouble. The woman who’s always been there for you.” Max shook his head. “Want to bet where we’re going to find Big Blue?”
“How could she pull something like that off?” Cordell asked but he was smiling.
“Because she’s Josie Brand, a woman who has proven quite capable of looking out for those she cares about—including you. Let’s go see if I’m right.”
Back in the patrol pickup, they drove down to find Big Blue had been returned to its resting place.
“Josie is something, isn’t she?” Cordell said quietly. “It’s why I have to warn her about Roger.”
“I already sent Grimes’s mug shot to her,” he said as they drove back toward the office.
His brother started to argue, but he cut him off.
“I’ve been sheriff for most of the time that you’ve been gone from town.
Let me handle this.” He made the call, terrified of what could happen to the women if they weren’t prepared for what was coming since he feared he wasn’t going to be able to protect them.
“Josie, it’s Max.”