Steel Resolve

HE WAS IN the middle of nowhere just outside of Searchlight, Nevada, when smoke began to boil out from under the pickup’s hood. He started to pull over when the engine made a loud sound and stopped dead. As he rolled to stop, his first thought was: could Fiona have done something to his pickup before he left?

Anger filled him to overflowing. But it was another emotion that scared him. He had a sudden awful feeling that something terrible was going to happen to Mary if he didn’t get to Montana. Soon. The feeling was so strong that he thought about leaving his pickup beside the road and thumbing a ride the rest of the way.

Chase tried to tamp down the feeling, telling himself that it was because of Fiona and what she’d done before he’d left when she’d tried to kill him, not to mention what she’d done to his pickup. The engine was shot. He’d have to get a new one and that was going to take a while.

That bad feeling though wouldn’t go away. After he called for a tow truck, he dialed the Jensen Ranch, the closest ranch to Mary’s. He figured if anyone would know how Mary was doing, it would be Beth Anne Jensen. She answered on the third ring. “It’s Chase.” He heard the immediate change in her voice and realized she was probably the wrong person to call, but it was too late. Beth Anne had liked him a little too much when he’d worked for her family and it had caused a problem between him and Mary.

“Hey Chase. Are you back in town?”

“No, I was just calling to check on Mary. I was worried about her. I figured you’d know how she’s doing. Is everything all right with her?”

Beth Anne’s tone changed from sugar to vinegar. “As far as I know everything is just great with her. Is that all you wanted to know?”

This was definitely a mistake. “How are you?”

“I opened my own flower shop. I’ve been dating a rodeo cowboy. I’m just fine, as if you care.” She sighed. “So if you’re still hung up on Mary, why haven’t you come back?”

Stubbornness. Stupidity. Pride. A combination of all three. “I just had a sudden bad feeling that she might be in trouble.”

Beth Anne laughed. “Could be, now that you mention it. My brother saw her earlier out with some young deputy. Apparently, she’s dating him.”

“Sounds like she’s doing fine then. Thanks. You take care.” He swore as he disconnected and put his worry about Mary out of his mind. She should be plenty safe dating a deputy, right? He gave his front tire a kick, then paced as he waited for the tow truck.

* * *

IT HAD TAKEN hours before the tow truck had arrived. By then the auto shop was closed. He’d registered at a motel, taken a hot shower and sprawled on the bed, furious with Fiona, but even more so with himself.

He’d known he had a serious problem when he’d seen the smoke roiling out from under the hood. When the engine seized up, he’d known it was blown before he’d climbed out and lifted the hood.

At first, he couldn’t understand what had happened. The pickup wasn’t brand-new, but it had been in good shape. The first thing he’d checked was the oil. That’s when he’d smelled it. Bleach.

The realization had come in a flash. He’d thrown a container of bleach away in his garbage just that morning, along with some other household cleaners that he didn’t want to carry all the way back to Montana. He’d seen the bleach bottle when he’d tossed Fiona’s knife into one of the trash cans at the curb.

Now, lying on the bed in the motel, Chase swore. He’d left Fiona out there alone with his pickup. He’d thought the only mischief she’d gotten up to was writing on his pickup window with lipstick. He’d underestimated her, and now it was going to cost him dearly. He’d have to have a new engine put in the truck, and that was going to take both money and time.

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER, while waiting in Henderson, Nevada for his new engine to be installed, he called Rick.

“Hey, Chase, great to hear from you. How far did you make it? I thought you might have decided to drive straight through all night.”

“I broke down near Searchlight.”

“Really? Is it serious?”

“I’m afraid so. The engine blew. I suspect Fiona put bleach in the oil.”

Rick let out a curse. “That would seize up the engine.”

“That’s exactly what it did.”

“Oh, man I am so sorry. Listen, I am beginning to feel like this is all my fault. Is there anything I can do? Where are you now? I could drive up there, maybe bring one of the big trailers. We could haul your pickup back down here. I know a mechanic—”

“I appreciate it, but I’m getting it fixed here in Henderson. That’s not why I called.”

“It’s funny you should call,” Rick said. “I was about to call you, but I kept putting it off hoping to have better news.”

His heart began to pound. “What’s wrong?”

His former boss let out a dry chuckle. “We’re still friends, right?”

“Right. I forgave you for Fiona if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“You might change your mind after you hear what I have to tell you,” Rick said. “I didn’t want you to hear this on the news.” He felt his stomach drop as he waited for the bad news. “Fiona apparently hasn’t been at work since before you left. Patty went over to her place. Her car was gone and there was no sign of her. But she’d called Patty the night you left from a bar and was pretty wasted and incoherent. When Patty wasn’t able to reach her in the days that followed, she finally went over to her condo. It appeared she hadn’t been back for a few days.” Chase swore. She wouldn’t hurt herself, would she? She’d said he would regret it. He felt a sliver of fear race up his spine. As delusional as the woman was—

Rick cleared his voice. “This morning a fisherman found her car in the Colorado River.”

His breath caught in his throat. “Is she...?”

“They’re dragging the river for her body, but it’s hard to say how far her body might have gone downstream. The river was running pretty high after the big thunderstorm they had up in the mountains a few days ago.”

Chase raked a hand through his hair as he paced the floor of his motel room as he’d been doing for days now. “She threatened to do all kinds of things, but I never thought she’d do something like this.”

“Before you jump to conclusions, the police think it could have been an accident. Fiona was caught on video leaving the club that night and appeared to be quite inebriated,” Rick said. “Look, this isn’t your fault. I debated even telling you. Fiona was irrational. My wife said she’s feared that the woman’s been headed for a violent end for a long time, you know?”

He nodded to himself as he stopped to look out the motel room window at the heat waves rising off desert floor and yearned for Montana. “Still I hate to think she might have done this on purpose because of me.”

“She wasn’t right in the head. Anyway, it was probably an accident. I’m sorry to call with this kind of news, but I thought you’d want to know. Once your pickup’s fixed you’ll be heading out and putting all of this behind you. Still thinking about going to Colorado? You know I’d love to have you back.”

No reason not to tell him now. “I’m headed home as soon as the pickup’s fixed, but thanks again for the offer.”

“Home to Montana? You really never got over this woman, huh.”

“No, I never did.” He realized that when he thought of home, it was Mary he thought of. Her and the Gallatin Canyon. “It’s where I grew up. Where I first fell in love.”

“Well, I wish you luck. I hope it goes well.”

“Thanks. If you hear anything else about Fiona—”

“I’ll keep it to myself.”

“No, call me. I really didn’t know the woman. But I care about what happened to her.” He thought of the first night he’d seen her, all dressed up in that dark suit and looking so strong and capable. And the other times when she’d stopped by his apartment looking as if she’d just come home from spring break and acting the part. “It was like she was always changing before my eyes. I never knew who she was. I’m not sure she did.”

He and Rick said goodbye again. Disconnecting, he pocketed his phone. He couldn’t help wondering about Fiona’s last moments underwater inside her car. Did she know how to swim? He had no idea. Was it too deep for her to reach the surface? Or had she been swept away?

Chase felt sad, but he knew there was no way he could have helped her. She wanted a man committed to her, and she deserved it. But as he’d told her that first night, he wasn’t that man.

If only he had known how broken and damaged she was. He would have given her a wide berth. He should have anyway, and now he blamed himself for his moment of weakness. That night he’d needed someone, but that someone had been Mary, not a woman he didn’t know. Not Fiona.