“Luna. Even if you could get into the compound, you aren’t going.”

  “There must be some way to talk to him.”

  “It’s possible that the agent could get Owen out. It wouldn’t be easy and would put him in danger.”

  “Wait, agent? Are you telling me...”

  “He’s been working undercover for the government. There’d have to be a damned good reason to pull him out now.”

  “He’s wanted for questioning in a cold case murder. Isn’t that good enough?”

  “Not in this explosive climate,” her father said. “Until you can prove that there is a connection to him and the deceased, there is no way the FBI is going to go in after him. These are dangerous people. The FBI isn’t going to get involved without solid proof.”

  “Then I’ll have to find it,” she said. “I have to go. Thanks.” She disconnected. She still couldn’t believe the news. Owen Henry was alive. Jaxson’s father was alive. She reminded herself that Jaxson hadn’t wanted to find his father. He wouldn’t be pleased to know that Owen had joined an anti-government group of survivalist militia members in Idaho, who were considered armed and dangerous—even as an undercover informant.

  But Owen might be the only person who knew what had happened to Amy. Unless Luna could find a connection between Owen Henry and Amy Franklin, she wouldn’t be talking to Owen Henry—and neither would Jaxson—even if he had wanted to.

  Luna slowed for the turn into Eaton Ranch. The place was a flurry of activity as florists and caterers and wedding planners prepared for the day ahead. She parked and carried her case toward the main house, debating calling Jaxson with the news. She wasn’t sure how he was going to take it and decided it would be better to tell him later.

  The front door was standing wide open, so she didn’t bother knocking, just walked in like everyone else. She put down her case and walked to the back of the house to look out at the tent she’d seen erected the other day. It really was huge. A group of people were putting out chairs in row after row where the actual nuptials were to take place.

  She started to turn away when she spotted Avery near the barn with a cowboy in what appeared to be an ugly confrontation. Not the groom, she thought, or there might not be a wedding at all.

  Avery tried to leave, but the cowboy grabbed her and shoved her back against the barn wall. Luna felt her pulse jump. The bruises, the missing hair on the young woman’s head. She started to push out the door, no longer willing to let this go any further.

  But she’d only taken a couple of steps when she saw that it wasn’t the intended groom, Jory Price. It was his older brother, Tucker.

  That moment of stunned clarity made her stop. She pulled out her phone and called Avery’s number as she turned back to the house. It rang three times before Avery answered, sounding breathless and close to tears.

  “Hi, just wanted to let you know that I’m here. Early, I hope that’s all right,” Luna said, her heart in her throat. She had no idea what Avery and Tucker were fighting about, but the sight of his fury and the way he’d slammed Avery against the barn wall had her shaking with her own anger inside.

  “Great. Why don’t you go up to my room? It’s the second door on the right at the top of the stairs.”

  “See you there.” Luna disconnected and walked back to the house without looking in the direction of the barn until she was inside. When she looked back, she saw Tucker striding across the yard, head down, shoulders bent as he headed toward his own ranch house.

  She didn’t see Avery and assumed she needed a few minutes to pull herself together. What had the two been arguing about? Luna’s first thought was that Tucker was trying to keep her from marrying his brother. If so, then Tucker and Avery had some history. Some disturbing history given the signs of abuse and what Luna had just witnessed.

  It shocked her. She kept thinking of the cowboy who’d taken her on the horseback ride. But then she remembered when they returned to the ranch and how his younger brother, Jory, had come roaring up, angry and upset and needing to talk to him.

  Would there even be a wedding? she was wondering as she climbed the stairs. It was quiet up here, none of the hustle and bustle on the lower floor. She opened the door to the second bedroom on the right. The room was huge with a canopied bed and a sitting area with a breathtaking view of the ranch and the mountains beyond. The room was decorated for a princess, a Western one, but still royalty.

  Luna had heard that Avery was her daddy’s pride and joy and that Tom Eaton had spoiled her. Funny, but Luna didn’t see that. If anything, the young woman seemed trapped. Had there never been any question that she would marry one of the sons of the ranch next door? Maybe the question had only been which one?

  At a sound behind her, Luna turned. “Just give me a few minutes,” Avery said as she closed the door and, keeping her head down, her long dark hair hiding her face, hurried into the adjoining bathroom.

  * * *

  JAXSON COULDN’T BELIEVE all the paperwork Vi had kept. Scraps of paper with notes written on them, old payment sheets, years of inventory records. He dug through it, wondering if he wasn’t wasting his time. If there was something here, he certainly hadn’t found it.

  He started to put a stack of papers he’d gone through back into the file cabinet when a bill for lumber caught his eye. Putting the stack of papers aside, he picked up the bill. Hardwood flooring. He glanced at the date. Bingo! It was for the replacement flooring in the storage area.

  There were several sheets of paper stapled to the back. He quickly flipped through them and found what he was looking for. In what he assumed could only be Vi’s scrawl was an itemized list of expenses. There down the list was the amount of money paid to the workers who’d installed the flooring. Three names were there: AJ Crest, Tucker Price and Carson McCabe. Crest had gotten the lion’s share since the other two had just been boys and hired hands.

  Along with the list was the date of the final payment. June 17—six days after Amy had left Idaho. Somewhere in between her body had gone under the floor. He flipped over the invoice to the last sheet attached to the packet. It was from a notepad. The only thing written on it was a phone number.

  The number didn’t ring a bell, but it seemed odd that the note had been stapled to the flooring bill. He put it aside and replaced what he’d taken out of the file cabinet. Looking around, he wondered again what Vera had been looking for.

  He couldn’t see Vera or Axel taking over the running of Vi’s businesses. There was a rumor going around town that Vera already had feelers out with a plan to sell everything.

  Had Yarrow turned the store over to her? Where was Yarrow? He realized it was strange that he hadn’t heard from him all morning.

  As he started to leave the office, he noticed something. He stood studying the back wall. Strange Vi didn’t have a safe, he thought as he stepped to the tall, wooden shelving that took up the entire wall. It would be impossible to move since like everything else it was filled with boxes of paperwork and dust, he noted.

  Starting to turn away, he noticed that a box on one of the shelves had disturbed the dust. He lifted it out. Behind it was a good twelve-inch size spot on the wall where it appeared the Sheetrock had been patched.

  But when he touched it, the piece of Sheetrock moved. He could see a corner of the paper had been peeled back. Grasping the paper, he pulled. The square of Sheetrock fell out and he found himself looking into a gaping dark hole.

  * * *

  WHEN AVERY CAME out of the bathroom, she was still flushed but dry-eyed. “So what are you thinking for my hair? My mother says it should be up. My father thinks it should be down.” Her voice broke.

  “It’s your wedding, Avery. Why don’t you sit down here and we can talk about it.” She pulled out a chair at a large dressing table, turning it to face the mountains.

  Luna stood behind the chair and smoothed Avery’s long hair when she sat down. She didn’t know where to begin so picked up a brush from the dressing table and began to work her way through the mass of hair. The last thing on her mind was how to fix Avery’s hair for the wedding.

  “I’m a good listener if you need to talk,” she said as she brushed. Silence. “I saw you with Tucker.” She felt Avery tense. “I’m not telling anyone if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m just...concerned.” Still nothing from the bride-to-be. “Is he the one who pulled out your hair?”

  The chair shook with Avery’s first sob. As she bent over in heart-wrenching tears, Luna released the woman’s hair and waited. It took a few moments before the crying stopped and Avery pulled her hands away from her face.

  “I can’t get married,” she said on a choked breath. “I can’t do that to Jory.”

  Luna had to ask. “Are you in love with Tucker?”

  Avery swung partway around in the chair. “No,” she said fiercely. “No.”

  “But he has something on you.” She saw the woman swallow and look miserable. “Some other man?”

  “It was just a couple of times. A mistake.” She started to cry again, but stopped herself. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I love Jory.”

  “But Tucker found out and now he doesn’t want you marrying his brother.”

  Her laugh was sharp and bitter. “He doesn’t care about his brother.”

  Luna could see Avery making up her mind as to whether to tell her the rest. She took a guess, “He wants you for himself.”

  Avery seemed surprised. “Not to marry me. He’s blackmailing me into sleeping with him. Payment or he’ll expose me. He’s always flirted with me. He said he always thought it would be the two of us—not his baby brother.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.” She began to cry again.

  “Jory must have noticed the bruises and asked you about them,” Luna said.

  “I’ve kept them hidden from him. We haven’t...” She shook her head, but she didn’t need to finish. They hadn’t slept together. Probably waiting until after the wedding. She wondered whose idea that was.

  “Even if you go through with the wedding, I doubt Tucker will stop blackmailing you. If anything, I suspect he’ll get worse. He could hold this over you for the rest of your life.”

  “I know.”

  “You have to tell Jory before the wedding. Tell him everything—especially about Tucker blackmailing you—and why.” She saw Avery swallow, her eyes wide with fear.

  “He’ll hate me,” she said through her tears.

  “I doubt it. Is the other man Jory’s best man?” Luna asked.

  Avery looked surprised again. “How did you...”

  “Just a guess. You might need a whole new wedding party.”

  She got up from the chair and looked out at the tent and all the activity. “My father will kill me if I cancel the wedding.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about him right now. Once he knows what Tucker’s been doing, I think he’ll understand.” Luna certainly hoped so. “If you want, you could call Jory and have him meet you here in your room so you two can have some privacy. I’ll wait downstairs.”

  “I doubt I’ll be needing my hair done after this.”

  “If Jory really loves you, he’ll be hurt, but he won’t want to lose you. If he doesn’t love you enough, then you’re better off without him,” Luna said. She thought it was the kind of advice her father would have given her. Not that she would have wanted to hear it. “It’s up to you. But it seems like the sooner Jory knows, the sooner Tucker won’t have any power over you. And frankly Tucker should be arrested for what he did to you.”

  Avery dried her tears and nodded. She pulled out her phone and Luna picked up her case to leave the room. “Jory, I need to talk to you. Now. No, it can’t wait. Can you come to my room at the house? Please.” Her voice broke. “Hurry.” She disconnected as Luna reached the door. “Will you wait downstairs?”

  “No matter what happens, I’ll be here. Lock your door after he arrives. Don’t let anyone disturb the two of you so you can talk.”

  Luna went to the top of the stairs to wait. She considered taking the time to find Tom Eaton. She definitely had questions that only he—or his wife, Bethany—could answer. Not that she wanted to upset Bethany on her daughter’s wedding day.

  Guests would be arriving in two hours. The bride’s attendants would be here soon too, she thought. Before Luna could consider going to look for Tom Eaton, Jory Price came in the front door and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He looked scared as he hurried down the hall to Avery’s room.

  Staying where she was, Luna waited, hoping Jory was the kind of man who would stand by his woman. She couldn’t help but think of Jaxson. All he’d done was lie to her. She hadn’t exactly stood by him.

  It hurt that he’d lied. Trust was huge for her. If she couldn’t trust Jaxson, then she couldn’t have him in her life. The thought made her heart ache. Would Jory feel the same way? Would he call off the wedding?

  Luna heard raised voices and crying. She waited anxiously, her heart aching for Avery and afraid Jory would burst from the bedroom and take off down the stairs to announce that the wedding was canceled.

  “What are you doing here again?”

  She spun around, coming face-to-face with Tom Eaton. “I’m here to fix Avery’s hair for the wedding.” Not that she thought there would be a wedding given what she’d heard outside the bedroom door.

  “Why are you standing out here in the hallway, then?” he demanded.

  She could tell that he was worried Luna was going to upset the mother of the bride by being on this floor again. “I have a little time. Besides I wanted to ask you about your...brother, Owen Henry.”

  The name alone made Tom look around as if he feared she’d been overheard. “Come with me.” He turned on his heel and led the way down the stairs and around a corner and a hallway into what she saw was his office. He closed the door behind them. “I don’t know where you heard—”

  “You recognized his photo when I showed it to you. He’s your brother.”

  “I don’t know that for a fact,” Tom said, going around to sit behind his large desk.

  “Then why did you give him five-thousand dollars?” She saw him start.

  “How did you—”

  “Do you know where he is?” she asked.

  “No. Why are you asking me about him?” he demanded.

  “His son has been looking for him.” It wasn’t quite true, but true enough.

  “His son?”

  “Deputy Jaxson Gray.”

  Tom rocked back in his chair and seemed at a loss for words. “I don’t understand why you would bring this up on this day of all days,” he finally said. “My youngest daughter is getting married.”

  Maybe.

  “You’re as bad as the reporters who felt they had to know all about the trouble O.H. had gotten himself into. Fortunately that time the government was involved so we were able to keep a lid on it.”

  Government was involved? Luna had a feeling that she now knew what that meant. Had Owen made a deal that required him to go undercover?

  “So I have to ask, what business is this of yours?” he demanded. “I thought you were a hairdresser?”

  “Jaxson and I are...friends. I’ve been helping him track down his father. But you don’t deny he came back here to the ranch seventeen years ago and you paid him five-thousand dollars?”

  “I don’t have to answer any of your questions,” he said, getting to his feet so abruptly that his office chair banged into the bookshelf behind him.

  “Would you rather an officer of the law ask the questions? Owen Henry disappeared shortly after you paid him off.”

  The ranch owner looked stricken. “I don’t know where O.H. is. He was here, but that was the last time I saw him.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I really can’t do this today.” He met her gaze. “If you’re here to fix my daughter’s hair for the wedding, then you need to do it and leave. I won’t have you disrupting what should be my daughter’s most memorable day.”

  He showed her out of his office. As she stepped out, she thought she saw Bethany disappear down the hallway. Back upstairs, Luna slowed as she neared Avery’s bedroom door, wondering if there was still going to be a wedding or not.

  The bedroom door was standing open. Hesitantly, she peered inside. Empty? She stuck her head in. “Avery?”

  * * *

  AT FIRST JAXSON thought the hole in the wall was empty. He turned on the flashlight on his phone and shone it into the darkness. Something glinted against the tarnished silver of what appeared to be a large metal box.

  Putting his flashlight on the shelf so he could see what else might be in there, he pulled out the box and looked deeper. Nothing.

  The box felt too light. The lock on the front had clearly been tampered with. Whatever had been in here was gone, he thought even before he opened it.

  * * *

  AVERY CAME OUT of the bathroom, a washrag over her face. She pulled it down to look at Luna. Her eyes were so swollen, her face flushed. “I’m getting married.” Her voice broke. “Jory’s angry but he still loves me.” A sob escaped. “He wants to spend his life with me.” She looked as if she was going to cry again.

  Luna rushed to her. “Of course he does,” she said quickly. “So let’s get you ready. First things first, you need to call downstairs and see if we can get some cucumber slices and tea bags for your eyes. Don’t worry, you are going to be a beautiful bride, I promise.”

  By the time Avery’s attendants were to arrive, the puffiness around her eyes was gone. “You’re a miracle worker,” she said, giving her a large tip. “Thank you so much.”