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  “Stay out of this.” Judd turned to his father, pointing a finger in his direction: “This is between Lanni and me.”

  Chuckling, Stuart took Jenny by the hand and led her toward the kitchen. “Got to leave those young lovers to settle this themselves,” he whispered gleefully to the little girl.

  “Are you still mad at me, Grandpa?” Jenny wanted to know first.

  Stuart looked shocked. “I was never angry with my Jenny-girl.”

  “Good. Betsy cried when you got cross.”

  “You tell Betsy how sorry your grandpa is.”

  “It’s all right, she told me that she forgives you.”

  The kitchen door closed and Judd turned to Lanni. “You were saying?”

  “You have a lot of nerve keeping those calls from me.”

  “You’re absolutely right.”

  “If I had any sense, I’d walk out that door.”

  “You won’t,” he stated confidently. “You always were crazy about me.”

  “Judd,” she cried. “I’m serious.”

  “I am, too.”

  “Don’t try to sweet-talk me.”

  “Come on, Lanni, this is no snow job. I was jealous. I’ll admit it if it makes you feel any better. Stuart told me about the calls the other night and I realized how serious this guy is. He isn’t going to lose you without a fight, and if that’s what he wants, I’ll give him one.”

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “I don’t think so. Delaney’s been trying to reach you since we arrived. I guess I should be grateful there’s no cell coverage here.”

  “And it never occurred to you that it could be something to do with the office?”

  “Quite frankly, no. Stuart knew after talking to him only one time, and he’s right on target. Delaney’s after one thing, and that one thing happens to involve you. I recognized it the minute I met the man.”

  “You’re imagining things.”

  “I wasn’t seeing things when I saw him gawking at you. Don’t be so naïve, my sweet innocent.”

  “I’m not an innocent!”

  “Thanks to me.” One side of his mouth quirked upward.

  “Stop it, Judd Matthiessen, you’re only making me madder.” She crossed her arms, refusing to relent to his cajoling good mood. He seemed to think this was all some big joke. “Get me the phone,” she demanded.

  “All right, all right, don’t get testy.” He went into the kitchen and returned a moment later with the telephone. He handed it to her, crossed his arms, and waited.

  “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “I want you to leave,” she hissed. “This is a private conversation.”

  Judd didn’t budge, and from the look about him, he wasn’t going to. Rather than force the issue, Lanni traipsed into the small office off the living room and inserted the phone jack into place. It was doubtful that Judd would hear much of the conversation anyway.

  She punched out the numbers and waited. The phone rang only once. “Steve, it’s Lanni.”

  “Lanni, thank goodness you phoned,” he said, his relief obvious in his tone. “What’s been going on there? I’ve been trying to contact you for days!”

  “I didn’t know. Jenny mentioned this morning that you’d phoned, but it’s the first I heard of it.”

  “I don’t know what kind of situation you’re in there, but I’ve been tempted to contact the authorities. I think your father-in-law is off his rocker.”

  “He is a bit eccentric.”

  “Eccentric. I’d say he was closer to being stark raving mad.”

  “Steve, I’m sure you didn’t contact me to discuss Stuart.”

  “You’re right, I didn’t. Lanni”—he said her name slowly, in a hurt, self-righteous tone—“you didn’t even let me know you were leaving.”

  “There…There wasn’t time. I tried.” But admittedly not very hard. She’d left a message for him at the office, but hadn’t contacted his cell. Her relationship or non-relationship with her fellow worker embarrassed Lanni now that she and Judd had reconciled. It was true that their dates were innocent enough, but Lanni had seen the handwriting on the wall as far as Steve was concerned, and Judd was right. Steve wanted her and was courting her with seemingly limitless patience.

  “Lanni,” Steve continued, his voice serious. “I’m worried about you.”

  “There’s no need; Jenny and I are perfectly fine.”

  “Are you there of your own free will?”

  “Of course!” The question was ludicrous. “I haven’t been kidnapped, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Your father-in-law has told me a number of times that Judd would never let you go.”

  “He didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Perhaps not, but he also told me that Judd would go to great lengths to keep you married to him.”

  “I’m sure you’re mistaken.” Her fingers tightened around the receiver as she remembered the expression in Judd’s eyes when he’d told her he needed her. He’d been desperate, and just now he’d admitted that he’d known about Steve’s phone calls a couple of nights ago.

  “What made you leave Seattle with the man? Lanni, he deserted you—left you and Jenny. He’s treated you like dirt. What possible reason could there be for you to trust a man like that?”

  “Judd claimed that his father was seriously ill and had asked to see Jenny before he died.”

  “That old man sounds in perfect health to me.”

  “He made a miraculous recovery when we arrived.” Steve almost had her believing his craziness, and she paused for a moment to recount the details of her coming.

  “Lanni,” Steve said, and breathed heavily. “I want you to do something for me.”

  “What?”

  “I’m very serious about this, Lanni, so don’t scoff. I want you to try to leave and see what happens. I’m willing to bet that Judd and his father are holding you and Jenny captive and you just don’t realize it yet.”

  “Steve, that’s loony.”

  “It’s not. Tell them something serious has come up and you have to return to Seattle.”

  “Steve!”

  “Do it. If I haven’t heard from you by the end of the day, I’m contacting the police.”

  Lanni lifted the hair from her forehead and closed her eyes. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

  “Tell me you’ll do it.”

  “All right, but you’re wrong. I know you’re wrong.”

  “Prove it to me.”

  “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.” She shook her head in wonder, but then Steve had always been persuasive.

  “You’ll phone me back?”

  His plan wouldn’t work, Lanni realized. “What am I supposed to say after I’ve got my bags in the car and am ready to leave? They’re going to think I’ve lost my senses if I suddenly announce that this is all a test to see if they’d actually let me go.”

  “You’ll think of something,” Steve said confidently.

  “Great.” Lanni felt none of his assurance.

  “I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

  “I’m only doing this to prove to you once and for all that Jenny and I are perfectly safe.”

  “Fine. Just do it.”

  Lanni didn’t bother with any good-byes. She replaced the receiver and sat down, burying her face in her hands, assimilating her troubled thoughts.

  “Did you tell him?” Judd asked, standing behind her.

  Frightened by the unexpected sound of his voice, Lanni jumped and jerked her head around. “Tell him what?”

  Judd’s mouth thinned with displeasure. “That you and I are back together and that there will be no divorce.”

  “No, I didn’t tell him.”

  “Wh
y not?”

  Lanni studied him, feeling the overbearing weight of newfound suspicions. Not for a minute did she believe she and Jenny were being kidnapped by Judd and his father. Steve was overreacting because he was naturally suspicious of the circumstances of her leaving Seattle. The whole idea that such a drama was taking place was so far-fetched that it was inconceivable. But something else, something far more profound, had captured her attention.

  “When did you learn Steve had been trying to contact me?” she asked, surprised at how steady her voice remained when her emotions were in such tumult.

  Judd inserted two fingers into the small pocket near the waist of his jeans. “I already told you, Stuart mentioned it the other night.”

  “What night?”

  Judd cursed under his breath. She knew—she’d figured it out. Explaining to Lanni wasn’t going to be easy. He sat down across from her. “The night you suspect.”

  “Then the only reason you came to me—”

  “No,” he cut in sharply. “That night, for the first time in my life, I realized how right my father was. If I lost you there would be nothing left for me. Nothing. Oh, I’d stick around the ranch for a while, maybe several years, I don’t know, but there would be no contentment, no peace. You give me that, Lanni, only you.”

  “It didn’t work in Seattle. What makes you believe it will here? Aren’t you asking a lot of me to abandon everything I know and love on the off chance you’ll stick around here? You think you’ll be content on the Circle M, but you don’t know that.”

  “I do know it. I left the ranch eighteen years ago and now I’m home.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I’m home, Lanni. Home. But it doesn’t mean a whole lot if you’re not here to share it with me. I’ve loved you from the moment we met; believe me, I’ve fought that over the last couple of years. There are plenty of things I’d like to change about the both of us. But the underlying fact is that I refuse to give up on our marriage. It’s too important to both of us.”

  “You were jealous of Steve?”

  “You’re darn right I am,” he admitted freely, then added, “but you should know what that feels like.”

  After her experience in Coeur d’Alene, when she’d believed Judd had slept with another woman, Lanni had experienced a mouthful of the green-eyed monster. Enough to make her gag on her own stupidity.

  “I have to leave.”

  Judd shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn’t believe she meant what she was saying. “What do you mean ‘leave’?”

  “There’s a problem in Seattle—a big one, and I’ve got to be there to handle it. There are people counting on me, and I can’t let them down.”

  “What about letting me down?”

  “This is different.”

  “It isn’t,” he said hotly. “What kind of problem could be so important that you’d so willingly walk away from me?” He battled down the overwhelming sensation that if he allowed her to drive away from the Circle M, it would be all over for them.

  “A house transaction.”

  “That’s a flimsy excuse,” he said darkly. “What is Steve holding over you?”

  “Nothing. Don’t be ridiculous—this is strictly business.”

  “Obviously that’s not true. You were on the phone for a good fifteen minutes. You must have discussed something other than a real estate transaction. I want to know what he said,” Judd demanded.

  “And I already told you. I need to return to Seattle.” She pushed herself away from the desk and stood. “I have to pack my things.”

  “Lanni,” he whispered, his hand stopping her. “Look me in the eye and tell me you’re coming back.”

  “I’m coming back.” He had yet to learn she had no intention of leaving. Not really. This was a stupid game and she was furious that she’d agreed to do this. But Steve had been so insistent, so sure she was caught in some trap. She walked past Judd and into the living room.

  Her father-in-law was standing in the middle of the room when Lanni came out of the office. His face was pale and pinched and his gaze skidded past Lanni to his son. Questions burned in his faded brown eyes.

  “Lanni needs to make a quick trip to Seattle,” Judd explained, doing his best to disguise his worries. “There’s some problem at the office that only she can handle.”

  “You letting her go?”

  “He has no other option,” Lanni cut in sharply.

  Stuart ignored her and narrowed his eyes on his son. “Are you going to let her go to that no-good city slicker? He’s going to steal her away.”

  “I have no intention of letting Steve do any such thing,” Lanni informed him stiffly. “Judd and I are married and we plan to stay that way for a very long time.”

  Stuart continued to pretend she wasn’t there. “I let Lydia leave once and after she came back things were never the same.”

  “I’m not Lydia.”

  “Mommy’s name is Lanni,” Jenny informed them softly, clenching Judd’s hand and staring wide-eyed at the three adults.

  “Go ahead and pack.” Judd spoke softly, resigned. He wouldn’t stop Lanni—this was her decision. Unlike his father, Judd was willing to let her go. Sorrow stabbed through him as he thought of the night the roles had been reversed—she’d let him go. But he had begged her to go with him. “I’ll call the airlines and find out the time of the next flight. I’ll drive you into Billings.”

  “Boy,” Stuart shouted angrily. “What’s the matter with you? If Lanni goes it will ruin everything.” His hand gripped his stomach. “Don’t let her go. Don’t make the same mistake as me. You’ll be sorry. All your life you’ll regret it.” His hand reached out and gripped the corner of the large overstuffed chair as he swayed.

  “Dad?” Judd placed his hand on his father’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  “Pain,” he said through clenched teeth. “Most of yesterday and through the night.”

  Judd had never seen a man more pale. “Here, let me get you into the bedroom.” With his arm around his father’s waist, Judd guided the older man into his bedroom and helped him onto the bed. “I’ll contact Doc Simpson.”

  Lanni was so furious that she couldn’t stand in one place. She paced the small area in front of the outdated black-and-white television set, knotting and unknotting her fists.

  “He’s not sick,” she hissed in a low whisper the minute Judd reappeared. “This is all a ploy to keep me on the ranch.”

  “Why don’t we let the doctor decide that?”

  “Do you honestly believe this sudden attack of ill health?”

  Judd’s eyes bored into hers. “As a matter of fact, I do.” He returned to the tiny cubicle of an office and reached for the phone. He’d experienced enough pain in his life to recognize when it was genuine.

  “What wrong with Grandpa?” Jenny asked, tugging at the hem of Lanni’s blouse.

  “He’s not feeling well, sweetheart.”

  “He didn’t eat any Cap’n Crunch cereal this morning.”

  Lanni recalled that Stuart hadn’t eaten much of anything in the last twenty-four hours.

  Judd reappeared, looking toward his father’s bedroom door.

  “Well?” Lanni was curious to what Stuart’s physician had to say.

  “I repeated what Dad told me, and Doc Simpson thinks it would be best if we drove into Miles City for a complete examination at the hospital.”

  “Miles City,” Lanni cried. “That’s over a hundred miles.”

  “It’s the closest hospital.”

  “Judd, don’t you recognize this for what it is? Stuart isn’t sick. This is all part of some crazy ploy to keep me on the ranch.”

  “You’re free to go, Lanni. Jim can drive you into Billings to catch the next flight for Seattle or you can come with me and we’ll get you on a p
rivate plane to connect with the airlines in Billings.”

  Lanni crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “I don’t have time to discuss the options with you now. Make up your mind.”

  “I’ll go with you.” And have the extreme pleasure of watching Judd’s expression when the doctors in Miles City announce that Stuart was in perfect health.

  “Can I come, too?” Jenny wanted to know.

  “It would be better if you and Betsy stayed here with Betty. Can you be a good girl and help Betty?”

  Jenny nodded eagerly. “I like her.”

  Judd had apparently already thought to leave the little girl with the housekeeper, because Betty arrived a minute later. Jenny was whisked away and Lanni heard the older woman reassuring Jenny that everything was going to be just fine. A smile touched Lanni’s lips when she heard Jenny respond by telling the woman that she wasn’t afraid, but Betsy was just a little.

  While Judd brought the SUV to the front of the house, Lanni took out some blankets and a pillow.

  Judd got his father into the backseat of the SUV and Lanni lined his lap with blankets. For the first time, Lanni noted how terribly pale the older man had become. He gritted his teeth at the pain, but offered Lanni a reassuring grin.

  “You leaving for Seattle?”

  “You’re a wicked old man.”

  “Agreed,” Stuart said with a faint smile. “Stay with my son, girl. Fill his life with children and happiness.”

  “Would you stop being so dramatic. We’re going to get you to Miles City and the doctors are going to tell us you’ve got stomach gas, so stop talking as if the backseat of this car is going to be your deathbed. You got a lot of good years left in you.”

  “Ha. I’ll be lucky to make it there alive.”

  Judd climbed into the front seat and started the engine. “Ready?” he asked, trying to hide his nervousness.

  “Ready, boy,” Stuart said, and lay back, pressing his weathered face against the feather pillow.

  The ride seemed to last an eternity. With every mile Lanni came to believe that whatever was wrong with Stuart was indeed very real.

  They hit a rut in the road thirty miles out of Miles City and Stuart groaned. Judd’s hands tightened around the steering wheel until his knuckles were stark white. Lanni dared not look at the speedometer. The SUV whipped past the prairie grass at an unbelievable speed, making the scenery along the side of the road seem blurred.