Page 38 of River Wild

“I’m going to put the food away,” she said over her shoulder.

He worried about her most days, but today had been the worst. Now he knew why. A few moments later he heard her banging around in his kitchen. He wondered if she could be wrong and figured she was struggling with the same thing. Tomorrow he’d pay Ralph a visit. Tonight... He took a long swig of his beer and put his feet up on the coffee table. He knew he should go into the kitchen and apologize for not eating at least a little of the dinner she’d made.

But he wasn’t hungry, and worse, he knew he’d ask her why she’d planned to go to Billings again in the first place. The worst part was that he had a feeling she wouldn’t tell him. He was trying to keep her safe, find the man who assaulted her, finish this for her. She was making it harder by keeping secrets. There was no way he could keep Bailey safe short of hog-tying her and locking her in his house. Even then, he figured she’d find a way to get herself into trouble.

Except twelve years ago, trouble had come after her. Was still after her.

So why didn’t she trust him enough to tell him whatever it was she was up to? Taking another long drink of his beer, he swallowed and closed his eyes.

Hours later he woke, rose and went to see if Bailey was in his guest room. To his surprise, she was.

Some of that weight that had settled on his chest earlier lifted as he closed the door softly and went to his own bed.

When he woke the early next morning, Bailey was gone—as usual. He might have thought he’d dreamed her except for the faint smell of marinara sauce still in his kitchen. As he’d predicted, he’d awakened fully clothed on top of his bed. Alone.

WILLOW’SBROTHERAARONwas already sitting in the Cattleman Café in Powder Crossing when Bailey walked in. She liked that he was punctual. As she headed for his table, guilt made her legs heavy with each step. She’d gotten his sister killed.

Often when she forgot why she’d come back home after college, she reminded herself as she did now that she’d come home to catch the man who’d tried to kill her. She’d feared he would do it again – if to her, then to someone else. And now he had killed Willow.

Aaron looked up at her approach, surprise making him blink. She’d forgotten for a moment how much she resembled his sister. She saw in his eyes just how much they had looked alike as he pushed unsteadily to his feet. This was going to be so much more difficult than she had thought.

“Thank you for meeting me, Mr. Branson,” she said as she took the chair he pulled out for her. She could feel him staring at her and tried not to let it make her more nervous than she already was.

“Please, call me Aaron,” he said as he sat back down.

She nodded. “I’m Bailey McKenna.”

“I know. What I don’t understand, though, is why you wanted to ask me about Willow. Were you friends?”

Bailey realized she should have expected him to question her motives. “No. I knew who she was.” She met his gaze. “I saw the resemblance between us.”

He nodded slowly. “It really is striking. You could have been sisters,” he said, voice breaking.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, and had to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. “But that’s why I hoped you could help me find the person who killed her.”

“Are you working with the sheriff’s department?”

“Not really.” This was going to be much harder than she’d expected. Fortunately, the waitress came to the table to take their orders. Bailey knew she wouldn’t be able to eat a bite. “Just coffee. Black. Thank you.” The waitress filled her a cup and refilled Aaron’s before leaving.

Bailey jumped in headfirst. “This will probably sound ridiculous to you, but I think your sister was killed because she changed her hair color.”

“That’s weird. The sheriff asked if I knew who talked her into going back to her natural color—something a little darker than your own. But I don’t understand why that would—”

“I think I’m next. That’s why I need to find him before he finds me.”

He stared at her, leaning back in his chair, clearly concerned that she was delusional from his wary expression.

“I know you probably told the sheriff everything, but I’d hoped that since then, you might have thought of something else. Willow might have mentioned the men she came in contact with at the hotel.”

Aaron took a sip of his coffee, eyeing her over the cup. As he set it down, he said, “I don’t know who told her to go back to her natural hair color. You really think that’s why she was killed? The sheriff thinks that too, doesn’t he?” His look said he suspected her secret.

Bailey washed down the bile that rose in her throat with some of the hot coffee. It was early enough that the café was empty except for a couple of ranchers sitting at the counter, visiting with the waitress. Still, it was hard to say the words. “He attacked me when I was seventeen,” she said, her voice a whisper as she held Willow’s brother’s gaze.

He started, instantly reacting. “If that’s true, then why—”

“I never saw his face.”

“But you—”

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