Page 37 of Dead Man's Hand

At the whine of a single snowmobile high on the mountain, he dropped the shovel. Whoever it was, they were headed this way and fast. Sadie. He had to get to her. He took off through the deep snow as he raced up the mountain, knowing that he would never reach the cabin before the snowmobile did.

Chapter Sixteen

Sadie had felt a chill as she stood on the porch and looked down the mountainside to where she had seen DJ shoveling. The breeze dislodged the fresh snow from the pines, sending it streaming through the sunlight, making the flakes gleam like glitter. The mountainside was so quiet it was eerie. DJ had said that they were leaving. He wasn’t going to wait for Keira. He wasn’t going to leave her, either. She had the keys to the SUV in her pocket, so she knew he’d be back. But if she hadn’t taken the keys, would he have left?

If so it would have been to find his sister. He still wanted the truth, she knew that. No matter what he said, he had to know if Keira had betrayed him, set him up to die. Sadie shuddered at the thought. How could anyone want to hurt DJ? Once you looked into his heart and saw what was there, it seemed impossible.

She thought of their lovemaking. He’d been so gentle with her, as if he was afraid she would break. Yet she’d sensed the urgency in him. He’d wanted her for a long time. The man had amazing control, she thought with a wry smile. All the time they’d worked together, he’d joked, but he’d never let it go past that.

Sadie wouldn’t have known how he felt if she hadn’t seen it in his eyes. She’d thought she’d caught glimpses of it over their time together, but she’d never trusted it until now. DJ had said he loved her, something he’d never told another woman, and she believed him. Their lovemaking had been more than sex. There was a connection between them that felt so strong. The thought of losing it, losing DJ, made her stomach roil. They needed to get out of here, she thought urgently.

She hugged herself, shaken by that sudden almost warning. A part of her never wanted to leave this cabin, never wanted to go back into that world where things were complicated. Here, life was simple. But she knew they couldn’t stay for so many reasons; Keira and Grandville’s men were only part of it. DJ would never be happy with a life like this.

That was the problem, she thought, as she watched the breeze send the new snow into the cold morning air. She wasn’t sure what it would take to make DJ happy. She wasn’t sure he even knew himself. Could she make him happy once they left here?

Sadie just knew that it was important for him to make it back for his twin sister’s wedding. She had no doubt after looking at Ansley’s photo that it was true. He was the missing twin. He was born into a family that would love him. They’d gone to a lot of trouble to find him. It appeared to be the kind of family neither of them had ever had.

She silently urged DJ to hurry and get the SUV unstuck. The woods seemed too quiet. She felt a chill as she thought of Keira. Where was she? Had this been a trap? Sadie couldn’t imagine what was in the woman’s heart to do such a thing to DJ. She’d been glad to hear DJ say he wasn’t staying around to wait for her. If not for the storm, she feared they would already know Keira’s true intentions.

After everything that had happened between her and DJ since she met him, she would risk her life for his. She might have to let him go once they got off this mountain, but she couldn’t live without knowing he was alive somewhere. She wanted to be able to think about him and imagine him in his Stetson sitting at a poker table. He’d be grinning, holding the winning cards in his hand because he was the best player at that table, and nothing was going to keep him from proving it.

Sadie heard the sound of a snowmobile. At first it was distant, but it was coming this way and fast. Her heart lurched. She looked down the mountain and didn’t see DJ. He must have heard it, too.

She hurriedly stepped back inside the cabin and started for the mantel and the gun there when she heard the snowmobile engine stop. The silence was deafening. Until the back door of the cabin flew open, and she reached for the gun.

ANSLEYFOUNDBELLApacing the floor, her hand on her swollen abdomen, looking close to tears. “It’s going to be fine,” she assured her the moment she walked into the large ranch lodge. “I called Buck and left a message. I know they will turn back the moment they get it.”

Bella didn’t look any more convinced than Ansley. Who knew when they would get the message? Or if they would, since there was spotty cell service at best in the mountains and with this storm...

“Did you hear the avalanche report on the radio this morning?” Bella asked, sounding scared. “They’re warning people to stay out of the mountains. The new snow on the old is too unstable. They said it is like a powder keg about to go off.”

“Let’s sit down,” Ansley said. She’d heard the report. Like Bella, she was worried, but she couldn’t show it. Bella was already upset enough. It couldn’t be good for the baby. “I’m sure the men know what they’re doing.”

She didn’t know the mountains around here, but she’d skied at both Bridger Bowl and Big Sky. There, though, the ski patrol cleared the cornices before letting skiers on the slopes. Cornices formed high in the mountains could be kicked off by anything– even a sound.

“I hope you’re right,” Bella said. “All this fresh snow, it just makes me so nervous.”

Ansley felt the same way. Every year backcountry skiers and snowmobilers were caught in avalanches, many of them not surviving. Once the snow began to shift... The mountains would be extremely dangerous right now and Tommy, James and Buck had all gone up there.

“How far apart are your contractions?” She led Bella over to the living room couch, anxious to change the subject.

“They’re sporadic,” she said with a sigh. “But this girl is kicking like crazy. She is ready to come out of there.”

“Why don’t you put your feet up?” Ansley suggested. “Relax as much as you can. Your Christmas tree is beautiful. Tell me you didn’t climb up on a ladder to decorate it yourself.”

Bella rolled her eyes, seeing what she was trying to do. Still, Bella explained that Tommy had insisted she hire a crew to decorate the house. “He didn’t want me overdoing it. Now I’m afraid maybe I did anyway and that’s why the baby is coming early.” She was clearly fighting tears.

“You don’t know that,” Ansley said, getting her some tissues. “We aren’t even sure the baby is coming today.” They sat in silence for a few minutes. “I feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn’t been so determined to have my twin at my wedding...”

“Don’t be silly,” her friend said, sniffling as she wiped her eyes. “It’s your determination that got you to us. None of this is your fault. We all just want your wedding to be perfect. Buck won’t let you down, trust me. Anyway, this is what our men do. We wouldn’t love them so much if they weren’t the way they are.”

Ansley nodded, knowing it was true. Buck was as driven as the Colt brothers in righting wrongs, helping people, finding out the truth. She loved that about him. All of them had helped her find her family and now they were doing their best to help the man Buck was convinced was her twin.

“So who do you think this woman is with DJ?” Bella asked.

“Sadie Montclair? I’m not even sure Buck knows. But he says there’s something between them.”

“Romantically?” Bella’s eyes lit, making Ansley laugh.

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