Sudden Setup Page 7

  “I wouldn’t be here if I thought there was the slightest chance,” was all he said as he linked their fingers. “It’s best if we act like a couple. And to be safe, we can’t stay long. A day or two should give us enough time to let the sheriff do his job or come up with a plan.”

  The word couple sat sourly on his lips. He thought about Karen. It had been two long years since she’d been killed, and that same old rage filled his chest when he thought about not being able to bring her killer to justice. Instead, the coward had framed Holden and gotten away with murder. Twice.

  Holden picked up the blue cactus pot and located the spare key Rose kept there for him. The sun dipped below the horizon and his stomach reminded him that it had been a while since lunch.

  No one should be able to track them to New Mexico. No matter how dire his situation had become, he’d avoided making contact with Rose. She was all he had left.

  Best-case scenario, he and Ella could stay a few days. Worst-case, they would get a few hours and then divert to Big Bend National Park to camp out. It was August and he wasn’t convinced that Ella would do well under extreme conditions and especially not with her injuries. She needed guaranteed access to clean water to keep the gashes on her head and her leg from becoming infected.

  Holden listened at the door for any signs Rose was inside.

  The pump action of a bullet being engaged in a shotgun chamber sounded.

  “It’s me, Rose. It’s Holden.”

  The light flipped on and the door swung open.

  Rose dropped the nose of the weapon and flew toward Holden. He caught her in time to give her a bear hug.

  “Holden Crawford, you’re alive.” Shock widened her tearful green eyes. Droplets streamed down her cheeks even though her smile was wide. She was just as thin as he remembered, and her Southwest style of teal poncho, jeans tucked into boots and lots of turquoise jewelry was intact. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

  “I couldn’t risk getting in touch before now.” His heart clutched as he noticed the deep worry lines in her face. “But I’m here and I’m okay.”

  “I’m so sorry about your father.” She wiped tears as her gaze shifted from Holden to Ella.

  She stepped back and focused on his companion. “I’m sorry. I promise I have better manners than this. I haven’t seen this guy in two and a half years and thought I might never again.”

  “Rose, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Ella,” he said. The word girlfriend sounded a little too right rolling off his tongue. He felt Ella’s fingers tense and she radiated a genuine smile.

  “I’ve heard so much about you,” Ella said. “And normally I’d hug you but I don’t want to offend you by my smell.”

  “It won’t bother me,” Rose quipped. “What happened to the two of you?”

  “Lost my wallet camping and Ella came out with a pretty bad injury climbing,” Holden said by way of excuse. Rose’s narrowed gaze said she didn’t buy any of it but she smiled anyway. “Can we bunk here for the night until I arrange a transfer of funds and find another place to stay?”

  “Do you really have to ask?” Rose set a balled fist on her right hip and pursed her lips. He knew her well enough to know questions were mounting. And he knew her well enough to realize that she wouldn’t ask until he gave her the green light.

  “Thank you,” Ella said, breaking the tension. “Could I trouble you to use your shower?”

  “Of course, dear. Follow me,” Rose said. She set her shotgun down and motioned for Ella to follow her. “I’ve got plenty of clean clothes if you need something fresh to borrow.”

  “I would love that, actually,” Ella said.

  The two disappeared down the hall and he poured himself a glass of water.

  There were so many holes in Holden’s plan to pretend he and Ella were in a relationship. He knew nothing about her and vice versa. The plan that he’d been living by to shut Ella out of his personal life was most likely about to backfire. Rose wasn’t stupid and he wanted to tell her more. But Ella’s secrets weren’t his to share.

  Rose returned a couple of minutes later and took a seat at the table in her eat-in kitchen.

  Holden followed suit, taking the chair across from her at the round table.

  “Where have you been?” She took his hand and squeezed.

  “All over,” he said.

  “I know you didn’t do it.” She gave him a sincere look. “I’ve been following the story and there’s no way you would’ve done that to Karen. I know you better than that and started to come forward, but before I could get on a plane I read about what they did to your father.”

  “I’m glad you stayed put and I appreciate your confidence in me.” Gratitude filled Holden’s chest.

  “Sorry I couldn’t attend your father’s funeral,” she said, twisting her hands. “I was sick about it but he wouldn’t have wanted me to go and especially not after the way he was...”

  She stopped as though she couldn’t say the words.

  “No, he wouldn’t,” Holden agreed. “For the record, that makes both of us.”

  “You couldn’t be there either, could you?” She shook her head and her voice was filled with sadness. Like a heavy rain cloud before the first drop of rain spilled, he decided.

  “Not because I didn’t want to be,” he said.

  “Your father got a message to me after Karen was murdered. He said that I should tell you 1-9-6-4. I have no idea what it means. Do you? He also mentioned a place you used to fish but I can’t remember where. Now it feels so important but at the time I had no idea.”

  He shook his head. The numbers didn’t register as important or click any puzzle pieces together. “I’ll have to think about it. Could be a year?”

  “I thought about that, too. But why a year?” One of her brows spiked.

  Rose picked up the saltshaker and rolled it in between her flat palms. Then Rose set it down and looked him straight in the eye. “Do you have any inkling why they were killed?”

  “Other than to cover for someone who wanted Karen dead and set me up for murder? No,” he admitted.

  “He must’ve worried they’d come after him or he wouldn’t have sent the message.” She focused on the saltshaker. “Guess he thought he could handle them when they did.”

  “They got to him before I could,” he said and then stood.

  “Don’t go,” she said, and she must’ve realized how difficult it was for him to speak about the past.

  He reclaimed his seat. Those same frustrations of getting nowhere with his own investigation enveloped him.

  “Who’s the girl?”

  “My girlfriend.” Could he share a little without endangering her?

  “How’d the two of you meet?” Her gaze penetrated him.

  “I didn’t underestimate you, Rose. And you know I’d tell you anything that I could.” The thought of defining his relationship with Ella or his need to help her spiked his blood pressure. “I was wrong to come here. We’ll leave after she finishes in the shower.”

  “Maybe it was a mistake to come here because I can read you so well,” she said. “I’m not concerned that you hurt Karen. I know that for the lie it is. But I know you, Holden, and there’s something going on between you and Ella. You’re not telling me every—”

  “You’re reading too much into it. She’s a friend in trouble. Can we leave it at that?” Trying to continue the charade was going nowhere. Rose knew him too well. His father had brought him to New Mexico every summer. Sometimes they’d stay with Rose. Others they’d camp the entire time. But they always met her for a meal. The woman had watched Holden grow from a young child. It was Rose who had stepped in from afar when his own mother took off. He’d considered Rose a mother figure, if not his mother. And since she knew him so well, he needed to tread carefully when it came to Ella.


  “All I’m saying is that I hope you can find a way to forgive yourself for the past—”

  He started to argue but she waved him off.

  “Two years wandering. Lost. Karen didn’t deserve what happened to her, but neither did you. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, and an odd wave of relief washed over him. Strange that one person’s opinion mattered so much to him. But it was Rose, and their relationship went way back.

  “That means a lot coming from you,” Holden said quietly. Was she right? Was he punishing himself by cutting himself off from the world?

  “Promise me you’ll try to forgive yourself, Holden,” she continued.

  “When I find the killer and bring him to justice.”

  She started to protest but he held up a hand.

  “As far as she goes, can we leave it alone for now?” He nodded toward the hallway. “Keep up the charade for her sake?”

  “My lips are sealed.” She pretended to close a zipper over her mouth. “If and when you can talk about it without violating her trust, I’m here for you.”

  Holden thanked her again, drained his glass and poured another. “Any chance you have an extra razor in that guest bathroom of yours?”

  * * *

  A CLEAN BODY and fresh clothes borrowed from Rose did wonders for Ella’s attitude. Holden had disappeared into the bathroom after redressing the bandages on her thigh and forehead. Rose was cooking up something that smelled amazing. Ella’s stomach growled so loudly that her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Excuse me.”

  Rose turned and chuckled. She moved to the fridge and pulled out a container of what looked like homemade salsa. After, she poured tortilla chips into a bowl and set both down on the table in front of Ella. “This should help until the food’s ready.”

  Ella immediately dug into the offering. It was good. So good. And nice to be in a safe place. “This is amazing. Thank you.”

  “I grow the cilantro fresh in pots out back,” Rose said, looking pleased. “Makes all the difference in the world.”

  The older woman moved with grace, and her half dozen bracelets jangled in time with her fluid movements. Her all-white hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail. Turquoise earrings dangled from her ears. She embodied Southwest elegance at its best.

  Ella was grateful that Rose seemed content to be together in the same room without the need for conversation. So much had gone on in the past few days that Ella could scarcely wrap her thoughts around it, and she was still trying to break through the fog. She dipped another chip in the homemade salsa, took a bite and savored the taste of the fresh tomatoes.

  “Did you grow these, too?”

  Rose nodded and smiled.

  Ella thought about May. She grew her own garden and said the same things with a similar look of pride. Ella’s heart squeezed. She felt naked without her cell phone and she missed home more than she wanted to show. And so many questions loomed, keeping her away from everything she loved.

  Why would someone come after her? So far, the others in her family were safe. Ed Staples, the family’s lawyer, had promised May that he would help keep the ranch running while Ella was away. Ella had learned that during her phone call with May. He was a good man and close confidant to her father. She could trust him to hold up his end.

  “I’ll get you started eating.” Rose interrupted Ella’s thoughts. The older woman set a plate down in front of Ella and then motioned toward the chili peppers. “I wasn’t sure which you liked, red or green, so there’s both.”

  “That’s perfect,” Ella said, accepting the literally mouthwatering chalupa. She dug in immediately and the shredded chicken was tender beyond belief. The covering of homemade guacamole was smooth and creamy in her mouth. And she already knew the salsa on top was in a whole new class of Tex-Mex.

  “It’s Holden’s favorite dish, chalupas.” Rose went back to work, humming while she deep-fried what had to be his.

  “He talks about your guacamole all the time,” Ella offered, pretending she knew more about her “boyfriend” than she actually did.

  “Really? He’s been allergic to avocados since he was seven years old.” Rose didn’t turn around but her humming picked up.

  Ella figured trying to save herself after that slip was futile, so she focused on her food. Her back was to the hallway, so she didn’t see Holden when he first entered the room. She had a big bite in her mouth when she turned around and it took everything inside her not to spit it out. She covered her mouth as she finished chewing and swallowed. “Holden?”

  He seemed almost embarrassed by her reaction.

  “Sorry,” she quickly added. “It’s just... I’ve never seen...you look...” She could feel herself digging a hole as the right way to frame this conversation didn’t hit her. What did strike her was how drop-dead gorgeous Holden Crawford was underneath all that untamed facial hair. She’d seen a hint of it before in his eyes—those bold blue irises. “Your face. You look...good.”

  “I thought you should finally see what you’re getting yourself into,” he said easily, and she realized that he was covering for her slip, her second mistake. There was a slight curve to his lips, not exactly a smile but a hint of one. He walked right over to her and kissed her on the forehead. The second his soft lips touched her skin, a thunderclap of need rocketed through her.

  All she could do was look up at him, mute, with a dry throat. It suddenly felt like she’d licked a glue stick.

  Holden had that strong square jaw that most women obsessed over, and she could admit that it looked damn good on him. She already knew he had a body made for athletics. He had stacked muscles that surfers, or anyone who wore very little clothing for their sport, would lust after. She had to force her gaze away from his lips. Okay, come on. This was getting a little ridiculous. It wasn’t like Holden was the first attractive man Ella had ever seen. Of course, she’d never met one with his sex appeal and magnetism before. And she’d spent a few days with him already so she needed to pick her jaw up off the floor and get a grip.

  Out of her peripheral she could see that Rose continued on with her work, ignoring the show of affection on display for her benefit, and for a split second she wondered if the woman was on to them.

  Holden took a seat next to Ella, his right thigh touching hers, and the contact sent warmth to all kinds of places that didn’t need to be aroused at the dinner table of such a kind stranger.

  Ella needed to redirect her energy. She studied her chalupa as she dug into another bite.

  “Do you grow your own chili peppers?” she asked Rose, and her voice came out a little strained.

  “Is there any other way?” Rose quipped with a satisfied smirk.

  “Your food is the best thing I’ve ever tasted aside from Holden’s coffee,” she said.

  “Thank you.” Rose had cleaned up the last of the dishes. “It’s late, so I’ll make up the guest room for you two.”

  Rose padded down the hall.

  Right. Ella and Holden were supposed to be a couple and couples slept together. With his leg touching hers and the way he’d just looked at her, she almost believed the lie herself.

  Ella finished up the food on her plate, surprised that she could eat a bite let alone empty the plate so quickly. “So, you’re allergic to avocados?”

  “No.” He seemed confused at first but then he cracked another smile. “That what Rose told you?”

  She nodded.

  He shook his head. “She’s a tricky one.”

  “A little too smart for her own good if you ask me,” Ella said, feeling the burn in her cheeks. Or was that a simple reaction to the attractive man sitting next to her.

  It didn’t take long for Holden to finish the food on his plate, guacamole and all.

  Rose reappeared in the hallway. “Leave the dishes. I’ll take care of those.”

  Ella
started to protest but Rose shut her down.

  “Found a couple of unused toothbrushes in my cupboard. Leftovers from visits to the dentist over the years. I used to save them to use on trips but I haven’t wanted to leave home in more years than I want to admit,” the older woman continued.

  “I can see why. You have a beautiful home,” Ella said with true appreciation. The style of this place reflected that of its owner—elegant Southwest.

  Holden stood, rinsed off their plates and linked his hand with Ella’s as he led her down the hallway after Rose. She tried, rather unsuccessfully, to ignore the chemistry fizzing between them.

  “I put fresh sheets on the bed, so you should be good,” Rose said, stepping aside so they could enter the bedroom.

  Ella wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting to find. It was a bedroom after all.

  But seeing one bed with turned-down sheets sent her pulse thundering.

  Chapter Eight

  “I can take the couch,” Holden offered as soon as Rose disappeared down the hallway, figuring him and Ella alone in a bed might not be the best way to get a night of rest.

  Ella stared at the bed for a thoughtful minute and then stepped inside the room. “It’ll be best if we both get a good night’s sleep and someone your size won’t fit on the sofa. Plus, Rose will get the wrong idea about us being in a relationship. No reason to raise suspicion because that would be bad for her in the long run.”

  “I could always tell her we had a fight,” he said, his gaze stopping on the base of Ella’s throat where he could see her pulse pounding. And that wasn’t helping matters for him one bit.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I trust you.”

  He hoped she wasn’t making a mistake because he could tell she meant those words even though she’d said them so low he practically had to strain to hear.

  She climbed into bed and turned onto her side, facing the opposite wall. She smelled like flowers and citrus, clean and like spring. Holden was already in trouble because he liked Ella Butler, and any kind of a relationship, no matter how short-lived it would be, was a slippery slope best avoided.