Page 66 of River Wild

“This can’t wait,” Stuart said now and explained what they needed.

Holden let out a curse. “You’re...engaged? Since when?”

“Last night,” Bailey said. “Stuart surprised me at dinner at the café. I would have thought you’d have heard.”

“And now you want me to throw you a barbecue engagement party immediately?”

“And only invite people from the old invitation list I wrote up for you,” Bailey said.

“What the hell is this really about?” her father demanded. “Are you pregnant? Is that why you’re in such a rush?”

“I’m not pregnant.”

Stuart noticed the way she avoided his gaze. They hadn’t even slept together. He’d almost given up on the idea all together. “It’s better if you don’t know why it’s so important.”

“Like hell,” Holden bellowed, and looked at his daughter. “I held that barbecue you’re talking about right before you went off to college. When you came back...” The sheriff caught the sudden change in the man as if he’d glimpsed something in his daughter’s eyes that was like a closing fist around his heart. His voice broke when he spoke. “Did something happen at that barbecue?”

Tears filled her eyes. Holden looked from her to Stuart again. “Tell me.”

It wasn’t the sheriff’s story to tell. Bailey had only finally broken down and trusted him enough to tellhim. Stuart wasn’t about to betray her trust. “It’s up to Bailey.”

“I was assaulted at the barbecue,” she blurted out.

“What?” Holden was shaking his head. “How is that even possible?”

“You remember telling me that someone mentioned one of our horses was out? I went down to take care of it, and he was waiting for me.”

“He?” her father asked.

“I never saw his face. He grabbed me from behind, injected me with something that put me out for a little while. When I woke up...” She stopped to swallow. “I was naked. He raped me and then tried to...brand me.”

Holden swore and shot to his feet. For a moment, he swayed as if he was going to pass out. He pushed his palms down hard on his desk, dropped his head and seemed to be fighting hard to catch his breath.

“Are you all right?” the sheriff asked, alarmed.

“Of course I’m not all right,” he snapped as he raised his head and looked at his daughter. “Why didn’t you come to me, tell me...”

She shook her head. “He planned to kill me, but I managed to fight him off. I injured him. He was bleeding badly when he left the cabin.” She stopped, took a breath and said, “And now he’s done it again. He murdered Willow and did the same thing to her. I’ve been looking for him for twelve years. I know he’s still here. He’s one of the ranchers you invited to the party.”

Holden slumped into his chair. For a moment, he broke down, dropping his face into his hands. After a few moments, he said, “Now I understand why you’ve been so upset with me. I sent you out to the stables, right to him.”

“You didn’t know,” she said. “I shouldn’t have blamed you.”

He lifted his head and looked at Stuart. “You’re on board with this...barbecue?”

“We know he’s coming for her,” he said carefully. “Bailey feels he’ll wait until the barbecue to strike again. This time we’ll know he’s going to try to abduct her, and it will be on home ground. But no, I’m not exactly on board. It terrifies me that we might not be able to keep her safe. We can’t bring in a bunch of undercover cops. This man knows everyone. He’d back off, and who knows when he’d come for her?”

“He has to suspect that he’s walking into a trap either way,” Holden said.

“He’s done this twice and gotten away with it,” Bailey said. “He’ll think he can do it again.”

“Only this time,” her father said, “he could kill you.”

No one said anything for a few moments as his words hung in the air. “Is this really what you want?” he asked his daughter. Bailey nodded. Holden sighed. “Then I’ll send out the invitations to the barbecue. When do you want it?”

“As soon as possible,” the sheriff said. “Bailey’s convinced he’ll wait to try to redo what went wrong the first time he attacked her. I’m not so sure that he’ll wait. So the sooner the better.”

Holden nodded.

---