you again, Jess. I was very sorry to hear about your brother. Cody was a fine young man, and I for one have never doubted his integrity.”
Blinking to clear her suddenly blurred vision, Jess cleared her throat. Even so, she knew her voice sounded more like a croak when she spoke. “Thank you, sir. It means a lot to hear that.”
She stiffened her knees to cease their sudden trembling. If Ted believed in Cody’s innocence, and hers, there was hope.
“What’s she doing here?” an angry voice said.
Heat crawled up her face as Jess found herself the target of hostile stares. Apparently, Ted’s faith in her wasn’t universal. Well, she hadn’t expected it would be. Yet. Resigned, she turned to face Ted’s snobbish, socially conscious wife.
“Aunt Willa, this is my friend, Jess. My good friend.” Her bruised heart warmed when Seth squeezed her hand.
Hardly a good friend. But she appreciated the show of support when those gathered glared.
“I’m surprised you would bring the likes of her into your family’s house,” his aunt said with a scornful sniff. “Or perhaps you saw a pretty face and didn’t realize what kind of girl she was.”
What kind of girl she was? Seriously?
“Actually, Jess and I go way back. Since high school.”
Jess could just barely make out the sound of voices tumbling over each other. Yet even without hearing the words, she could tell by the frowns on their faces that the other guests were not pleased to have her in their midst. But none of that seemed to affect Seth. She read his lips and saw that he was basically telling his family that he believed in her and trusted her. Suspicion was nudged out of the way by shame and gratitude. Gratitude that God hadn’t completely abandoned her. And shame that she was still harboring a grudge against Seth. Mortified, she remembered her bitter words in the truck. Was that really just a couple of hours ago?
“Seth, that girl’s brother was...”
Ted shook his head at his wife. Sullenly, she quieted, but the baleful glint of her eyes let Jess know she was far from appeased. With false joviality, Ted pulled them into the house and began introducing them around. Jess found herself the recipient of several slights and sneers. It didn’t help that her hearing aids amplified all the noise of music and voices to the same level. The harsh jumble of sound made separating individual voices out from the background ruckus impossible. She was forced to rely totally on lip reading. Soon her eyes grew strained and she felt a tension headache coming on. She understood enough to realize that the majority of the guests had felt in some way cheated or betrayed by her brother, and they were quite willing to transfer that anger to her, even though she wasn’t deeply involved in the foundation. She should have been more invested. And maybe if she had been, she’d be more aware of what had occurred.
At one point, she looked over in the corner and saw a familiar face. Her brother’s fiancée, Deborah, gave her a nod, but made no move to come over. She understood. Deborah had suffered enough. She had told Jess quite clearly after the funeral that she needed to put it all behind her. The man standing beside Deborah was familiar, too. Russ Breen, one of Ted’s star trainers. She had heard that Deborah had attached herself to a new man. It seemed a little quick, and Jess’s throat tightened seeing how rapidly Cody had been replaced in the other woman’s life. It had only been a few months. She couldn’t understand how someone could move on that easily.
She sure hadn’t.
Seth tapped on her shoulder. Glancing over, she was surprised to see anger tightening the skin around his eyes. What had she done? Her own eyes widened when she realized that he was angry with the others, on her behalf. He lifted his hands and signed to her.
“We can’t stay here. Let’s get some help with the truck and go. I will help you find answers another way.”
Glancing around, she swallowed. He was right. She wouldn’t be able to get any answers here. She nodded at him.
Seth asked around to find out who could lend a hand with the truck. Soon they had a group of four men who agreed to help. She followed them outside and down the driveway. And gasped.
The truck was where they had left it. Water was up to the top of the wheels.
The bridge was gone.
Further investigation confirmed what she already suspected. All the roads were under water as a flash flood washed in. The ranch itself was safe on raised ground. But every path out of it was blocked.
Walking back into the house beside Seth, she folded her arms in front of her, rubbing her hands up and down them to bring some warmth back into her chilled body. The lights flickered, but thankfully stayed on. When she had suggested coming to the party with Seth, it had sounded like a good idea. She would have a chance to meet with people from the horse community and gauge their reactions. Maybe even be able to get some clue as to what had really happened. She had been so naive.
Ted walked back over to where she stood with Seth. He said something in a low voice that she wasn’t able to catch. And he didn’t move his lips much, so she couldn’t read what he’d said. Seth angled his body and signed discreetly to her.
“Uncle Ted says our rooms are ready if we want to go up and rest or clean up a bit.”
Translation: the other guests were not happy with her presence. And she understood that he felt it was better if they were moved away from the party. She wouldn’t complain. The sooner she was away from the angry and disapproving stares, the easier she would feel. She walked up the stairs to her room ten minutes later, Seth behind her like he was guarding her back. Which, in a way, he was.
In the hallway, a man with a cowboy hat approached from the other side. There was something familiar about him. She had probably seen him at some horse event, but had never been introduced. Odd, because she knew most of the equestrian crowd in the area.
He never even glanced at her as he was passing. But instead, with a quick side step, he knocked her into the wall with his shoulder. Pain lanced through her as she hit the wall. He dashed down the steps.
“Hey!” Seth turned, clearly intending to give chase.
“No, please, Seth, I don’t want to be up here by myself.”
He hesitated, but nodded, a grim look around his mouth. She was fairly certain that he wasn’t going give up. He’d be watching for that cowboy. And given his fantastic ability to recall details, he would be able to spot the man in an instant.
Outside her door, there was a copy of today’s newspaper. On the front page was a picture of her barn, with a police car in the parking lot. The article was circled in red. Had the cowboy left it here? Was he the person responsible for the fire?
Her breath caught in her throat. She was trapped with a house full of hostile people. And one of them was out to get her.
Seth pushed open the door to the guest room assigned to Jess and stalked inside. The anger simmering inside him demanded action, but he had no outlet for it at the moment, other than making sure she was safe. Leaving no corner unchecked, he searched her room for any dangers, hidden or otherwise. It really burned him that someone had decided to
