Maggie's Mountain (26 page)

Hale came back to her, squatting down next to the chair. “What is it?”

She shook her head, confused about what she’d found. She gently prodded the object wedged inside and realized it was a small black book. She squeezed her small fingernail between the book’s edge and the wooden top then pulled down with careful tugs. The book fell out, long enough to cover the medals below it, the spine well worn, the cover slightly battered.

Hale peered into the box. “Is it Chris’s?”

“I guess so.” She lifted it, found it surprisingly thick. “I’ve never seen it before.”

There was a mental struggle to leave it alone or to delve in. Her curiosity won out. She looked at Hale, who gave her a reassuring nod. Holding her breath, she flipped open the book. Inside she found the lined paper covered with neatly columned initials, dates, locations, and numbers. She could only stare at the poignant printing of Chris’s hand.

“It looks like some kind of ledger,” Hale said.

“I’m not sure what any of this means.” She was confused by what she was seeing, even more confused that Chris had obviously been hiding it. “He must not have wanted anyone to find it.”

He closed the book with a gentle flip. “We’ll take it with us and see if we can figure out why.”

She must have looked as bewildered as she felt, because his actions spoke of kid glove treatment. There was no resentment, only relief that he understood she needed time to sort through not only her feelings about the violation of her home, but about a secret that her husband had kept from her.

“Here, I’ll pack it in with your mother’s things.” He was as good as his word, tucking it in with the heirlooms and personal mementos. “Let’s finish up; you look tired, and I’ll bet you’re way past ready for lunch.”

Maggie let him lead her through the next half hour, directing him when he pointed out dolls, clothes, miraculously intact handmade pottery. They were just finishing when they heard a greeting called from the front door.

“Brian?” Maggie stood and peered through the office opening. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d stop by on my way home. I had the early morning shift.” He was smiling as he sauntered into the room, his gun holster creaking as he moved. “How you doing, Maggie?”

She felt herself relax when he patted her shoulder. “I’ve been worse.”

“Not by much,” he replied with a wink. “Saddled with a man like Hale, it’s all downhill from here.”

“Ha ha ha.” Hale gave him a disgruntled look that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Did you come by to give us some news?”

Brian let out a deep breath as he propped his hands on his hips. “Straight to the point. Yeah, I was hoping to catch you two either here or at the farm. They ran what prints they found, but didn’t come up with a hit. No one seems to have seen anything; apparently the truck was taken in the early morning, so whoever took it either hid out for a few hours, or took a long joyride before they came here.”

“But how did they get to the Blackburnʼs?” Maggie asked. “If they walked, then it would have to be someone close by.”

Brian shrugged. “I hate to say it, but we’re not one hundred percent sure. There weren’t any tracks, tires or foot. Could be they parked somewhere down the road and walked in through the woods, or they could have walked in under their own power from any number of points.”

Hale made an aggravated sound deep in his throat. “Tell me they’re still looking into this.”

“Of course they are. This isn't a simple hit and run. The fact is, since you and Mrs. Warrick were inside, they’ve added aggravated assault and battery. They’re looking at adding more charges, too.”

Maggie’s body jolted with shock. “Aggravated assault and battery? Isn’t that a felony?’

Hale placed a comforting arm around her waist. “Whoever it was injured you with a stolen truck; I’d consider a three ton vehicle a deadly weapon.”

“But they couldn’t have known we were inside,” she replied in a shaky voice.

“Doesn’t matter,” Brian told her. He watched her for a moment before looking around the room, making it plain he was ready drop the subject. “Wow, you two have done a lot.”

“I can’t believe the accident caused such a mess in here.” Maggie was still shaken, but glad to move on to another topic. “But I think we’ve gotten it all sorted now. We’re going to take some of this with us today; I can’t have business falling too far behind.”

“You aren’t working yourself into exhaustion,” Hale warned her. “Paul already knows to stop by the farm day after tomorrow, so we can go slow for now.”

“Paul?” Brian asked, looking back at Maggie.

“The UPS guy,” she replied.

“We need to get you home and your feet up—with the laptop so you can get some work done.” Hale stood and looked down at her. “We can get everything packed up tomorrow, so all you have to do is answer emails and get the shipping labels done.”

She didn’t bother to argue; she had already encouraged him to get back to his work, but he had insisted on only dealing with his business in the mornings, then helping her in the afternoons. For now Trent had promised to chip in, helping Hale where he could.

“Let me help you with those.” Brian hurried over to take three of the six boxes they were taking. “Maggie, get some rest.”

Hale sent her an I-told-you-so look. “She will, as soon as I get her back to the farm.”

****

Hale would have rather been at the farm than sitting in the home office at the Warrick house, but he’d made this appointment a few weeks before. Better to get it over with than reschedule and have to deal with it later. Besides, saying no face-to-face wouldn’t take too long.

“Mr. Warrick.”

Hale looked up to find a thin, older man standing in the doorway, his steel gray hair sleek, his dark suit professionally fitted. Trent sent him a quick nod before he closed the study door, off to the horse farm, exactly where Hale would be headed in ten minutes.

“Mr. Denton.” Hale motioned to a burgundy leather chair in front of his desk. “You wanted to present your offer in person?”

The other man sank into the seat, sliding his briefcase down beside him. “Since we’ve not received a reply to our letters, we thought meeting here would be more…conducive to negotiations.”

Hale lifted an eyebrow. “What makes you think I want to negotiate?”

“Brylon Enterprises is prepared to put a rather impressive offer on the table.” He pulled a long envelope from the side pocket of his case and slipped it onto the slick surface of the desk. “I’m sure you’ll be pleased.”

Hale didn’t even bother to touch it. “You seem fixated on our horse farm.”

Mr. Denton’s smile stayed steady. “It’s a good piece of land, prime for development.”

Hale leaned back in his tall chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “And what sort of development were you considering?”

“I’m sure there have been plenty of people who’ve told you it’s an ideal place for holiday cabins. You aren’t too far from Pigeon Forge here.”

“That sort of development won’t ever break even; we’ve looked into it, and there’s already a saturation of vacation homes and hotels all around Exum.”

There was a slight waver on the other man’s face. “Perhaps we’re looking at different reports, Mr. Warrick.”

“Maybe.” Hale steepled his fingers and stared at Mr. Denton, watching his body language. “Our horse farm is doing very well. As a matter of fact, we’re expanding soon, showing and training more horses, going into the stud market.”

“I’m sure you’ll be successful, but in the meantime, wouldn’t it be prudent to have an injection of money for your…expansion? You can always relocate; I’m to understand there are some good pieces of land in the area that are available.ˮ

Hale took a long moment to consider the other man’s words. There was something odd here, something that didn’t add up. “Let’s say I’m willing to give up my land, Mr. Denton; it’s a decent parcel of acreage, but it won’t be enough if your development goes well.”

That smile was firmly back in place, smarmy and slick. “We have information that the other land holders will be selling soon.”

Hale might believe that of Blackburn; he was an older man, close to retiring, whose children had moved on to other jobs, leaving his farm without an inheritor. But Maggie Mae…he knew damn well she wasn’t going to budge.

“We’ll need the papers signed and sent back to us by next week.” Mr. Denton’s confident voice said he was sure Hale would be obliging.

“I’m sure you do. I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.”

“I see.” Mr. Denton stood, his back ramrod straight, his face stony. Hale stood much more slowly, making his point without stating a word.

“You're making a mistake,” Mr. Denton said in a stiff voice.

Hale didn’t reply, just lifted his eyebrow as the businessman spun on his heel and strode out the door, leaving an uneasy feeling in the air. He remembered Maggie talking about offers for her land; had Brylon been one of them or not? It didn't matter. The corporation could offer her all they wanted. What troubled him was the information they supposedly had; information that made them so sure she would be selling.

He picked up the phone to call Sheriff Powell.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Maggie was beaming when Hale climbed into the wrought iron bed, and he knew why. “My mother didn’t freeze you to death tonight, not even once.”

She snuggled into his bare chest and let out a contented sigh. “I know. I can’t believe she stayed for dinner.”

“She’s the only woman I know who can eat barbecue chicken like the Queen Mother.”

“She seemed to like the mashed potatoes.” There was a definite smile in her voice. “She asked for seconds.”

Hale kissed the top of her head and grinned into the dark room. “I’m proud of you, do you know that, Maggie Mae?”

“Proud of me?” She sounded honestly surprised.

“You have every right to be upset with my mother; you could have been cold to her. Instead you were warm, and you tried your best to make her feel welcome.”

“She’s your mother.”

And for her it was as simple as that. She would keep hammering away at building the bridge between Cordelia and herself until it was complete. Hale still couldn’t believe his luck in having her love him.

“You, sweetheart, are the best wife I could have wished for.” He drew her close, inhaled her warm scent.

She laughed, a soft sound muffled against his chest. “We’re not married yet, Mr. Warrick. Besides, you never wished for a wife.”

“Not true. When I was in high school I always thought I’d fly to Paris and woo a model.” She punched his side and he gave an obliging oomph. “Who knew the hot little number living on her mountain, making her jellies, running her business, would think I was good enough for her?”

“Hmm, maybe you should try to keep me convinced…”

He gave a mocking groan. “Work, work, work.”

Maggie chuckled and bit his shoulder. “You know I’m a slave driver.”

“Are we talking about whips now? Why, Maggie Mae, I had no idea.”

She lifted her unbound leg and wrapped it around his thigh. “We can talk about that later.”

****

Maggie stood on the porch and stretched. It had been a long morning going through her correspondence, boxing up quilts and handmade Christmas decorations. She wished she could offer a wrapping service, but the way orders were coming in, she would do well to get everything out on time. Maybe in the next year she would look at hiring one of her regular contributors as a part-time worker. She would be married by then so she would need to be able to carve out more time for her personal life.

Married. She felt the glow shimmer through her body and had to smile. Happiness wasn’t the cure all, but it was definitely a balm to sooth most ills. The only thing disturbing the waters was her unknown foe. Trouble with her known enemies might work itself out now that Cordelia had come to dinner. A minor miracle, she thought, and turned her gaze to stare at the green field in front of the house. Mac was out running through the woods, doing all his doggy jobs, like sniffing everything he saw, marking whatever didn’t move, and, with her luck, bounding through the creek. She felt…full. Complete. She couldn’t help but smile over the fact that life was becoming more than she’d expected.

She heard the sound of a motor and turned to stare up the slight rise of the long driveway. It couldn’t be Trent; he was in Knoxville meeting with his lawyers and a potential client. The rest of the workers were over at the barns, working the horses and prepping them for transportation to a show in the morning. Hale said he wouldn’t be back until after lunch, and the hum of the engine wasn’t the smooth sound of his Mercedes.

A moment later Brian’s truck came into view. Grinning, she waved at him as he pulled up to the porch steps.

“What brings you by?” she asked, tilting her head as he slid out of the vehicle.

“They just finished up the cabin; I thought you might like to go take a look.” He appeared as excited by the news as she felt.

“It’s done? Really?”

“Yep. The crew is loading up as we speak.” He climbed the steps and held his hand out to help her down. “I figured you’d want to go check it out. They did an amazing job with the fireplace; they made an exact replica of the mantel.”

She let him steady her as she began to hurry toward his truck. “Oh, wait, I need to call Hale and let him know where I’m going.”

“I already called him; he said he’ll meet us there.” Brian tucked her smoothly into the truck and shut the door.

Their home was ready. They could move in tomorrow if they wanted. They could really start their lives together now. In that moment she was utterly happy; she wished she could stay this blissful forever.

****

Hale sat at his desk and stared down at the small black book that had been Chris Brannon’s. He had snuck it out this morning, intent on not upsetting Maggie as he studied it. He had a suspicion of the story the diary told, but he couldn’t be absolutely certain. It was a hell of an accusation to toss around, but if it was the truth then it had to be told. The initials, the numbers, the place names…there was only one thing he could imagine they represented.