So Hard To Forget Part 19

"No.,"

"Okay, I'm asking. Who are your new partners?" "Dawson Outriggers. Charlie sold me an interest in the business, so I guess you and I are business partners."

This time it was Nicole who took a step forward. "I don't believe you. He wouldn't..." Then she thought about all the secret smiles and trips to the lawyer's office in town. "You'dnever survive a winter here, New York."

"I'm tougher than I look."

"I won't live with you." Although she was calm on the outside, she was shaking on the inside. She was hot and cold at the same time. Then she took a deep breath, and before she could stop herself, the words popped out of her mouth. "You'll have to marry me." She couldn't believe what she'd said and went still.

They were only an arm's length apart. Max could see the way the corners of her lips twitched, but she refused to set her smile free. He couldn't stop his own. He'd never been so relieved in his life. "I could do that. But haven't you forgotten something?"

"Oh. You want to hear me say it do you?"

"It would be nice."

To h.e.l.l with it she thought. She didn't want to play any more games. Instead of an immediate answer, she threw her arms around his neck, and as he laughingly swung her around, she wrapped her legs around his waist. "I love you, Max."

"Well, isn't this a touching scene?"

Max froze.

Nicole twisted in his arms, unable to believe-the voice she'd heard. The fear that swept over her was all too real. So was the sight of John Gillman standing at the top of the ridge, He was carrying a rifle loosely in one arm, and she knew if they so much as moved he only had to raise the rifle and pull the trigger. Shock evaporated quickly to be replaced with a deep sense of relief. She squeezed Max's arm and whispered, "I didn't kill him, Max."

"I don't die so easily," Gillman said. "Though I must say your efforts were better than most. I never saw it coming."

Max tried to gauge the distance between the rocky waterfall and the time it would take Gillman to shoot them. His heart sank. They were pretty much in the open, with no quick route of escape.

Max studied Gillman, noting that he didn't look in top physical condition. His clothes were dirty and he had a good week's growth of heard. He imagined the man had to keep on the run. But it was John's eyes that drew his attention. They were wild, filled with hate and crazy with the madness that comes only with defeat.

Gillman was among the walking dead. He had nowhere to go. He had nothing. No money and no access to what he did have tucked away. He wondered how the man had come this far, but then John, if nothing else, had always been resourceful. He had nothing to lose now. Killing the two people responsible for bringing him down would only be a perk.

Max wondered if Gillman's physical and mental deterioration had slowed his reflexes. It was evident that if he and Nicky didn't do something, they were dead. If they were lucky, they might beat him and reach shelter before he could take aim and shoot. But -he didn't want to bet Nicky's life on ifs and long shots. He had to distract him, keep him talking until he saw his chance to Nicky to safety.

"How did you survive the wreck, Gillman?"

"Navy SEAL training. It's not something you forget."

Nicole saw the way John was looking at her, his eyes as savage as they'd been on the yacht. If there were any doubts before that he might not kill them, they disappeared with that realization.

John laughed, a maniacal sound that echoed off the cliff. "Man, who'd have thought that Sandra had a twin or that she'd be found and used against me? It's downright spooky."

"Or maybe poetic justice," Max said. He nudged Nicole with his elbow, then jerked his head in the direction of the waterfall, but just enough for only her to notice. "You're a master planner, John. Don't you see the beauty of it? You kill Sandra, and her twin ends up killing you?

How did you know Nicole was her twin?"

"My good luck. The fishing boat that picked me up dropped me off at Charlotte Amalie. It's a small town and the place was abuzz with what had happened. I hid out and kept my ears open. Some of the local law likes to talk. Some of the men drink too much, and it's not hard to get the keys to offices where depositions are filed. I'm an old hand at breaking and entering, so it wasn't hard to find out everything I needed to know. Mind you, I had a few bad moments. One was when I realized I didn't have any money, and since I was officially dead, I couldn't access any of my accounts in the States. It took some fancy computer work to get to my foreign accounts. Even then I had to stay hidden."

Nicole realized he was. enjoying himself, making sure they knew just how resourceful and intelligent he was. She figured that, since he was so sure of himself and bent on bragging, she ought to ask him all the questions about Sandra that she hadn't asked on the yacht. She was about to do just that when the pressure of Max's elbow against her ribs warned her. His touch also drew her attention to the movement behind Gill man.

Max could have sworn he saw Reed's young face through the shadows of the trees. He prayed not. If spooked, John wouldn't hesitate to kill a boy any more than he would at putting a bullet between Nicky's eyes. He suddenly felt her hand on his thigh, the tap of a finger.

She'd seen Reed and had the same thought as Max. She'd just cleared her conscience and didn't need another death to haunt her. Suddenly she saw more movement in two directions and managed a brief glimpse of the sheriff, Jeff Hall.

When the end came, Max realized, it was quick and effective. Before Gillman could react to the sounds behind and above him and turn around, the b.u.t.t of a rifle swung wide and then it slammed into the side of his head. He dropped like a stone.

"Max was as surprised as Gillman. He'd expected the attack to come from behind. He'd even seen the sheriff moving from tree to tree to get a better shooting position. Now he watched as the tall muscular man jumped with the agility of a monkey from the top of the cliff.

"Dammit Ash," Jeff groused as he nudged the fallen man with his toe, then handed a pair of handcuffs to Reed Bartlet and watched as the kid knelt beside the body. "Frisk him carefully, son." He looked over at his best friend and Reed's father. "You could have waited for my signal."

Ash, senior, slipped off his Stetson, scrubbed at his sun-bleached hair with his free hand, taking his time, then replaced the hat and laughed. "I didn't like his looks or his tone much. Couldn't see any reason to wait." He turned his sharp gaze on Nicole. "You okay, hon?"

Nicole laughed and led Max to where they were sanding. When she introduced them, she asked, "How did you know?"

Jeff was the one to answer while Ash eyed Max. "I got a call from Doug Hart. He explained that your office had just been informed that one of Gillman's foreign bank accounts was being activated, he knew something was wrong. I did some checking and found out about a stranger in Bartlet asking all kinds of questions about the Dawsohs. I called Ash. When we arrived at the lodge, JD told us where you'd gone. Young Reed's the only one who knows about this place, so he was our guide."

Nicole, beaming, kissed all three. She was so relieved she hadn't killed Gillman. He was going to stand trial for Sandra's murder, and his punishment would be far worse than death. Gillman was not a man who could live in a cage. That thought made her smile widen even further.

Ash and Reed started dragging Gillman's imp body up to the ledge, and Jeff hung back. "I guess you two can go back to whatever you were doing." His eyebrows waggled suggestively. Then he stuck out his hand to Max. "Welcome to Montana. I know you're going to be happy here." He chuckled when he saw Max's stunned expression. "This is a big county with even bigger gossips." He turned to leave, then stopped. "Just one thing. You hurt Nicky and you'll have to answer to Charlie, me and Ash, then half the town. It won't be pretty."

Max figured his smile was as big as Montana. "I get the picture. But you don't have anything to worry about." He put his arm around Nicole's shoulders. They stood side by side, watching as the three men half-carried, half-dragged Gillman away.

"Where were we?" Max asked.

"I think you were about to go down on one knee." "I don't think so. After all, you were the one who asked me." He saw the worry in her eyes and captured her face in his hands. "What now?"

"Max, this--" she swung her arms wide to encompa.s.s the mountain and ranch "--is not an easy life. Ranching and running the outriggers--is a tough way to make a living. The winters--" She never got any further, stopped by his mouth on hers. There were a thousand questions she wanted to ask, but as soon as his lips touched hers, the questions completely disappeared.

Max was the first to break away. "Don't you realize by now, Montana, that if we're together, if we love each other, there's not a thing in h.e.l.l that can keep us apart? Haven't we already proved it? Just look what we've come through and think about where we're going."

Of course he was right.

She had a lifetime of love with Max to think about and plan for. His life was never going to be dull.

Books by Evelyn A. Crowe.

HARLEQUIN SUPER ROMANCE.

11 SUMMER BALLAD.

186.-MOMENT OF MADNESS.

283---FINAL PAYMENT.

362--WORD OF HONOR.

646--LEGAOY OF FEAR.

667--FATHER & OTHER STRANGERS.

704--A FAMILY OF HIS OWN.