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  Her own father had been military and was gone quite a bit when she was growing up. It was why they’d moved so much. Frank was a lot like her father had been. Thinking of her father dampened her mood, and she pushed it all away. No, now wasn’t the time for that. She focused on how good the food was.

  Frank took a sip and gestured to the man. “Nick here lives right next to me, just down a couple miles.” He shoved in a bite of steak and talked while he was chewing, which she honestly didn’t mind. “He worked at the Triple K years ago. He’s a bit older than you and Katie. He’s a cop.” He snorted and covered his mouth as if whispering. “Not to mention he’s a crack shot with a gun. Don’t you dare tell him I said this, but he could shoot the whisker off a bad guy from a hundred yards. Just did that recently in an undercover case he was involved with.”

  Nick’s face hardened. “Let’s not talk about the case.”

  Questions whirled in her mind about the cop who apparently was humble to the point of getting angry when someone bragged about him. She frowned, feeling somewhat vulnerable. What did Nick already know? What had Frank told him? She put down her fork and hid her shaking hand in her lap.

  Frank and Nick noticed. “Don’t worry,” Frank assured her. “He’s on our side.”

  She wasn’t sure what “our side” meant, but it did make her feel better. Sucking in a breath, she picked up her fork and took another bite.

  “I gave him the overview, but I need to tell both of you a couple of things.” Ceremoniously, Frank put his knife and fork down, but when they followed suit, he waved them on. “No. You two keep eating.”

  Ava watched Nick chew, his jawbone pulsing with every bite. It was a stupid thing to notice, but she always could tell how upset Hal had been by the way he chewed. Nick looked curious, but semi-relaxed, so she picked up her fork and took a bite, still glancing at him sideways.

  “Nick knows this,” Frank said, “but I’ll tell you, Ava. I am a consultant with a task force in Washington. Tomorrow I have to get on a plane and go there for a couple of days to provide expert testimony on some criminal behavioral tendencies I’ve studied during my career. My testimony is part of a larger case that could help disseminate terrorist cells.” He pulled off his glasses and put them on the table, rubbing his eyes. “I don’t want to leave, because I would like you to stay.”

  She coughed and gulped at her water to calm herself. “No, Frank. No, I …” She glanced at Nick, unsure of what he knew. “I’m leaving.”

  “Right.” Frank pursed his lips. “Going to a commune in California to stay off of the grid?”

  “Yes.”

  Nick put his fork down. “That’s not a good plan. Running is never a good plan. In my experience, you have to face things. You can’t run.”

  “Well, I’m not a ‘crack shot,’” she retorted, making air quotes. “I’m not a cop. You don’t know me or what I’ve been through.” Crazy as it was, part of her wished he did know her. She could use someone like him in her corner.

  Which was completely stupid. She was trying to get away from a man, not connect herself with another one.

  Nick let out a low whistle. “What is it with California?” He rolled his eyes.

  “You’re not going to California,” Frank said firmly. “You’re staying here.”

  “No,” she said, her temper rising. “Frank, you don’t know Hal or what he’s capable of. I can’t put you in danger. I am just going to lay low for a time, then …” She trailed off and gestured to his barns. “You still employ people, I imagine. You have people around here working. I can’t risk that.” She waved a hand at Nick. “He shouldn’t even be here.”

  “You can’t trust me? If you only …” He hesitated, then crossed his arms, glaring at her in the fatherly way Frank was fond of. “Then what? What will you do after you’re mugged, raped, threatened in ‘Slab City’? What will you do then? Where will you go?”

  She’d underestimated this cute cop. He did have steel in his veins; she could feel it. Maybe there had been compassion in his eyes, but there was a wicked ferocity inside of him, coiled, ready to strike. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad thing. She glared at him again, but didn’t have another plan.

  She hated the fact she was in this predicament to begin with. Self-loathing rolled through her, but she pushed back the tears, casting her glare down to her food and feeling hopeless. She shouldn’t have come here.

  Frank’s rough hand rested gently on her forearm. “Ava, you were led here by my Katie. Katie gave both of us dreams and led us to each other. I don’t know if the good Lord sometimes likes to take everything away so we can recognize when he gives it back that it’s from Him. But I think you were sent back to me because we need each other.” Gruffly, he reached out, taking her hand. “I look at you as my own flesh and blood, and by everything I hold holy, no idiot stalker ex-husband is going to have you going off grid and ruining your life, do you hear me?”

  The certainty in his voice and his hand in hers was overwhelming, and she found tears budding in her eyes. For so long she’d felt so alone and she’d wondered if there was a God, if he was aware of her. Now chills rushed through her, the same way they had the other morning when she’d awoken after having that dream. It reminded her of when she would pray with her mother next to her bed and feel such peace.

  “Please.” Frank squeezed her hand a bit. “Stay here.”

  Tears fell on her cheeks. “I …”

  “Before you say that it’s pointless because I won’t even be here, I have a plan.”

  Her heart raced. Yes. A plan. A plan. Some plan that could be better than the off-the-grid plan would be great.

  Frank looked at Nick, who still had his arms crossed and a cop-worthy “don’t mess with me” look on his face. “To buy us some time, this is what we are going to do. Nick just got home from vacation. Been in Ecuador building homes for kids, but told everyone he was in Mexico.”

  “How did you know that?” Nick jerked around to stare at Frank.

  He let out a light laugh. “’Cause I’m smarter than you give me credit for.”

  Nick pursed his lips, but said nothing.

  “Anyway, he doesn’t have a woman in his life,” Frank told her. “And you’re right, I have a lot of workers around the ranch. It might make people suspicious. And if you ever talked about Katie and the ranch to Hal, he might figure it out. But Nick could tell everyone he met you in Mexico and you’ve come back to be with him.” Frank cocked an eyebrow. “It would be farfetched for Nick. The guy doesn’t date. But you could pose as Nick’s fiancée—just until I can use some of my contacts and figure out how to get this jerk out of your life forever.”

  “No,” she said.

  Nick stared at Frank with mild interest, and let out a resigned breath. “I do date. Not fiancée. Maybe girlfriend who’s staying for a bit. I don’t have an extra room set up yet, but I could work that out. I’ll have to sell it to my brothers, though.”

  She thought about posing as his girlfriend for his family, and her gut dropped. “I can’t pretend a relationship.” It didn’t help that Nick had agreed so quickly, either. Man, he was cute, and she didn’t like thinking about that while she was on the run from a stalker ex-husband. That was just stupid. “I have to stay on the run. I have to. I can’t risk that Hal knows where I’m at. Yes, I have told him about Park City and the ranch and Katie, so I’m sure he’ll come looking. Those guys at the gas station today were probably sent by him.” Her hand was shaking, and she dropped her fork.

  Nick stared at her for a moment, then crossed his arms. “I agree. If he’s as dangerous as she thinks, she needs a safe house. Let’s call the Sheriff.”

  “No.” Frank shook his head vigorously. “No, I don’t want anyone else involved. This girl’s in trouble; we can’t risk it.”

  Nick cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not saying that hippie land California is the answer for you,” he said, glancing between her and Frank. “But she probably needs to keep moving
. My brother has a bunch of contacts in different places because of his business. We could find people. My other brother has contacts in Boston. I’m sure he knows a firefighter she could stay with. We’ll keep it close, but keep her moving until we can nail this guy with the force of the law.”

  Frank pounded the table with his fist. “She is staying here where we can keep an eye on her and she’ll be safe.”

  “You mean where I can keep an eye on her?” Nick retorted, pointing to himself. “You think anyone’s going to buy the story she’s my fiancée?” Nick grunted. “Why wouldn’t they find her here? She’s right. I think the goons with the Georgia plates were probably sent by him. She needs to move.”

  She remembered the black car and the whole reason she’d kissed him, and her skin crawled. “They were from Georgia?”

  Frank pushed away from the table, the chair scraping, and stood. “No, she’s not leaving.”

  Nick stood too. “She needs to go somewhere nobody can find her. Someone already knows she’s in Utah. How much of a stretch is the Triple K?”

  “I already texted a buddy. This side of the Wyoming border they pulled the sedan over. They were looking for a rich kid’s daughter. A runaway.”

  “What?” Nick looked incredulous. “You already know that?”

  Frank crossed his arms. “I have connections.”

  “Dang, Frank.” Nick ran a hand through his hair. “You seem like you have everything figured out. Was I somehow staged in your plan, too? Did you tell her to kiss some guy?”

  “What?” She felt horrified.

  “No, idiot,” Frank said tightly. “You weren’t in the plan, but a good cop improvises when good fortune comes to him. And I thought you were good fortune.” He shook his head. “I needed help and thought you’d be my guy, but if you’re not, you can take off.”

  This was ludicrous. She stood. “I’m not staying here and putting you in danger. And I don’t need a fiancé. I’m leaving. I have to.” Emotion clogged her throat as she looked at Frank. “I appreciate you. I do. I couldn’t do this without you, but I can’t risk that Hal will come after you. He’s crazy. He’s … not a good person.”

  On her way to the door, she paused to look at Nick. His chocolate-brown eyes met hers, looking sad.

  Her breath hitched in her chest as she thought about the way his strong hands had felt on her waist, and how, for just a moment, she’d allowed herself to feel protected in his arms. “I’m sorry I kissed you.”

  Chapter 5

  Nick’s heart beat inside of his chest like a caged bird looking for a way out. He knew his face was flushed and he couldn’t get the sad way she’d looked at him out of his mind. As they listened to her feet shuffle back into the kitchen, then through the house, he wondered again how he’d been sucked into this.

  Frank grabbed his own dishes, then leaned over and picked hers up, too. “Finish your supper.”

  Whether his manners had been ingrained into him or he’d grown accustomed to Frank bossing him around, he sat, shoving a piece of steak into his mouth as Frank took the dishes into the kitchen.

  A thousand thoughts flitted through his mind. Now that she’d gotten herself cleaned up, she was beautiful. Her black hair had been straightened, and she smelled like strawberry shampoo. She hadn’t seemed as frightened at the table, but he’d seen her hollow expression in the faces of other women he’d dealt with who had problems and repeatedly called in to report episodes.

  The food turned to ash in his mouth and he stood. He had been ticked when Frank suggested that he be her pretend fiancé to offer protection. Uh, yeah, that wasn’t a decision you made without even consulting the prospective fake groom.

  So what if he didn’t have a girlfriend or fiancée? And how had Frank known about Ecuador? Picking up his plate and all the things left on the table, he moved to the screen and tossed it open.

  Frank was at the sink, washing the dishes. Of course he didn’t have a dishwasher. Nick remembered from years ago that Frank hadn’t wanted a dishwasher—said he had two hands and that’s all he needed.

  Nick moved to the sink. “It would have been nice to have more time to plan this before she said no.”

  Jolting from his thoughts, Frank said, “Oh, yeah. I reckon it doesn’t matter now.”

  Nick put the dishes on the side and picked up a cloth, wiping the water off the clean ones. “Look, Frank. You and I both know what abusive ex-husbands or -boyfriends can be like. If the dude is really this crazy, we need to get her in a safe house and we need to find something on the guy.”

  “You know how the law works, Nick. They don’t punish until a crime has been committed.” Frank looked grim.

  With a huff, Nick put the plate down. “So what are you going to do?” Nick felt punchy and keyed up and ready to help fight a battle specifically for her, which irritated him. He’d left the country so he could get away from letting a case be too personal for him. Now it felt like he was right back in the place he didn’t want to be—being too involved.

  Without warning, Frank barked out a laugh. “I guess the Lord keeps giving me impossible situations with the women in my life, son. Because I sure don’t know what to do if she insists on running.”

  “You don’t let her go.” Nick said it as though Frank were an idiot.

  Frank hesitated, taking a dishcloth off the counter and drying his hands. “What am I supposed to do, tie her up and keep her here? I just wish …” His words trailed off.

  Nick knew what the old man wished. He wished Katie was still here. He wished his wife was still alive. He wished bad things didn’t happen to good people. It was all the things Nick wished, just in a slightly different way.

  “Would you have done it?” Frank asked, rawness and vulnerability in his eyes. “Would you have accepted the role as undercover groom?”

  Nervous energy surged inside of him, and he felt something he didn’t like to feel: fear. Fear for her life. Fear for what her ex might do to her. Fear about the way he already felt about her. “It doesn’t matter. She won’t stay.”

  Frank smiled at him. “You know you would have.”

  Nick threw the dishcloth onto the counter. “She won’t agree to it anyway.” At his limit of frustration, Nick turned to leave. “Thanks for the steak.” Even though he hadn’t eaten most of it, he wasn’t hungry anymore, either.

  “Hold up, son.”

  Once again, the old manners kicked in and he turned to face the grumpy cowboy.

  “If I convince her, I’ll text you, but I’m going to need you to devote the time for this. If you can’t, tell me now and I’ll make other arrangements.”

  This was idiotic. To think Nick could just leave his life … “She would need round-the-clock protection.”

  “You think I haven’t thought this through? It has to be fiancée, because no one would believe you are going to be joined at the hip with this girl if she’s just some new girlfriend. But if you two had the most amazing week ever in Mexico and she’s the woman of your dreams and you fell in love with her, then it would make sense why you are with her all the time. True love and all that mumbo jumbo, right, Nick? Isn’t that what happened to your brothers? Why couldn’t it have happened to you? Your brothers wouldn’t be easy to fool, but they believe in true love. You can’t sell them a hoof; you gotta sell them the whole cow.”

  That was as many words as Nick had ever heard Frank string together, and it took him a minute to process. Wow. The old guy still had it. As stupid and rash as the plan sounded at first, it was really the only way to keep her in Midway. Never mind the fact Nick had felt something when he’d first seen her at the gas station, then kissed her. He brushed that thought aside. “I didn’t realize you’d given it so much thought.”

  Frank rolled his eyes. “Underestimate the old guy. Smart move.” He hung the towel on the rack. “Nick, you couldn’t tell anyone. There are already too many people that know.”

  Nick frowned, thinking about all the secrecy this would entail. “Who kn
ows?”

  “Me. You.” He pointed down the hall. “Her. That’s all who really knows. When she called me three days ago, she called from a burner phone, which was smart. And she left everything—her phone, car, apartment, everything. You know the jerkface will have people looking for her. You know his type will stop at nothing.” Frank let out a breath. “I have a bad feeling about letting her go.”

  It hit him like a ton of bricks: if the girl left, she would die. He didn’t know how, but he knew as sure as he was standing here that she was in very real danger.

  “I’ll try to talk some sense into her,” Frank said. “Hopefully, she’ll stay.”

  Later that night, Nick sat out on his porch, munching on Doritos he’d stopped and bought at the gas station. Her face hung in his mind like an image on the news, and he remembered the vulnerability, the beauty, and something else he hadn’t been able to put his finger on. Opening up a bottle of water, he stared out at the open space, watching the sunset and thinking about what he could do to fix the current situation.

  A sharp knock at the door made him jump, and he heard someone open the door. Scrambling to his feet, he reached for his gun next to him. “Who’s there?”

  Luke appeared, still wearing a suit, his hands up. “It’s us.”

  Damon followed just behind, dressed in complete running gear. “This idiot made me come check on the little bro. I told him he was an idiot, but you could always help me out and tell him that yourself.”

  Nick let out a breath, relieved it was his brothers. “Hey.”

  Luke shut the sliding door, staring at the gun in his hand. “What do you expect when he lies about where he’s going?”

  “You knew I wasn’t in Mexico?”

  “Of course he knew.” Damon pointed a thumb at Luke. “He’s anal and compulsive. I think he tracks both of us through our business cell phones.”