Page 24 of Setup In Montana

Worse, they would think she was guilty because she’d run. She realized she’d been running her whole life, trying to find where she belonged.

Not here, she told herself as she wiped her eyes and headed for the tack room.

* * *

DUB WATCHED HIS brother drive off, knowing that Tanner couldn’t wait to tell their father in person so he could see his shock. If there was one thing his brother loved more than anything, it was being proven right.

Except Dub refused to believe Clancy was a killer. She was lost, there was no doubt about that, and now he knew what she was running from. But he’d seen how vulnerable she was and believed in his heart that she just needed saving.

He turned back to the barn, anxious to hear Clancy’s side of the story. But as he entered the barn, he saw the shovel on the floor near the doorway where she’d dropped it. Had she overheard him arguing with Tanner?

“Clancy?” He swore as he called her name again, only to hear nothing but silence. She wasn’t fool enough to take off on her own on foot, was she?

As he moved through the barn, he thought he heard a rustling sound. Nearing the tack room, he found her pulling down his mother’s saddle, her back to him. He stopped in the doorway.

“Taking a horse isn’t a bad idea,” he said. “I’m assuming you know how to ride, but I’m afraid you wouldn’t get far.”

She swung around, startled. Her brown eyes were wide and full of tears. She looked scared, but also heartbroken. She’d clearly heard what Tanner had said. She met his gaze, holding it with her watery one. “I didn’t kill anyone. I swear.”

“Good,” he said. “You’ll have plenty of time to tell me all about it. But right now, we need to get out of here before Tanner and my father return.”

She stared at him, clearly surprised he hadn’t come to detain her until the law could arrive. “I thought we couldn’t leave with the bridge out?”

“Oh, there’s ways to leave the ranch other than the main road,” Dub said with a grin. “They’re a little rough, but you forget, I grew up here. How do you think I used to sneak off the ranch without anyone being the wiser in my wild youth? I can get us away from here to somewhere safe. If you trust me and you don’t mind a very bumpy kind of ride.”

* * *

WHAT OTHER OPTION did she have, Clancy thought. But in truth, she did trust him, although she couldn’t bear dragging him into all this. “Are you sure about helping me?”

“You mean am I sure about throwing in with a murder suspect?” His grin broadened. “I’m a pretty good judge of character. I’ll take my chances with you. You willing to take your chances with a cowboy like me?”

Dub was offering to help her without knowing what he was getting into. She met his eyes and nodded as she felt warmth fill her heart to overflowing. She’d take a chance with this cowboy any day, she thought as she saw him grin.

“Then let’s get moving,” Dub said. “I don’t think you want to wait until my father and Tanner come back, right?”

The last thing she wanted was to stay here and see the disappointment and anger on John Crawford’s face. She’d already heard Tanner’s anger. But she hesitated. “I don’t want you getting in trouble with your family.”

He chuckled at that. “Right, I’ve never been before. Don’t worry about me. Let’s go retrieve your belongings from the house and hit the road.”

Hot tears filled her eyes. “I hope you’re not making a mistake helping me.”

“So do I,” he said. “So do I.” But he was still grinning.

It didn’t take her long to get her backpack. Dub watched her from the doorway. “Why are you helping me?” When he didn’t answer, she turned to look at him.

“I don’t believe that I’ve made any secret about that,” he said. “There was something about you from the first time I saw you. Nothing’s changed and nothing will.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“About you?” He shook his head. “Hand me your backpack. I’ll carry it.”

She handed it over, thinking for a moment that he might want to search it to make sure she hadn’t stolen their silverware. But he only put a strap over one shoulder and led her out of the house to his pickup. Opening the passenger-side door for her, he handed her the backpack and walked around to get behind the wheel.

“It’s going to be quite the ride, so you’d better buckle up, buttercup,” he said before he started the engine. They drove out past the barn, heading in the opposite direction Tanner had gone. “You were going to Billings because your life had been dull and uninteresting, right?” She hadn’t said that, but it was true. “Well, I’d say all that has changed, wouldn’t you?”

They were soon driving into the mountains behind the ranch. She watched him, especially his hands on the wheel. Strong hands, she thought. Capable hands. She shivered at the growing desire this cowboy made her feel. “Aren’t you going to ask me about it?”

Dub glanced over at her as they took a road that looked more like a trail. When it got too muddy, he drove through the grass and sagebrush next to it, forcing her to hang on as it got more than a little bumpy. “You ready to tell me?”