Out of the Storm (Buckhorn, Montana #1) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,49

have no idea whose baby it is. Everyone in town thinks it’s mine, including my girlfriend.”

Collin shook his head. “You might have it worse than me. Short of killing the live-in, pregnant fiancée, I don’t know what to tell you to do.”

Lars chuckled. “Don’t think I haven’t thought of it.” Dave returned with a case of beer to stock the cooler, and Collin and Lars watched the news on the television over the bar while they finished their drinks.

Collin realized he’d found peace in the bar with these men. He didn’t even mind if Kate was with the carpenter. Let her spend all the time she wanted with him. Wouldn’t make a lick of difference come tomorrow afternoon when she was going to get into that rental car and head to Canada with him, come hell or high water.

He’d even let her look back fondly on this town and her carpenter all she wanted. It wouldn’t do her any good. By then it wouldn’t matter who Jon Harper really was. Because Collin had made up his mind. He wasn’t going to let the woman ruin his plans. He couldn’t. Too much was riding on this.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

NOT LONG AFTER Kate left his workshop, Jon had gotten in his pickup and driven to Lewistown. He’d stopped by the bank, taken out all his money and closed his account. Then he’d walked around town until he realized he was hungry. He’d found a café and got something to eat. All the time, he found himself watching the people around him. He knew the kind of men who would be coming after him. He told himself he’d know them on sight.

But that didn’t mean he’d have enough time to react. He realized he needed to start carrying his handgun from now on.

It was dark by the time he’d headed home.

Home? He definitely had stayed too long in Buckhorn.

He wondered if Kate had come by his workshop this afternoon. He’d had to leave, needing to get ready for his final exit. But also, he didn’t think he could bear any more stories about her life with her husband and children.

Anxious to hear from Earl Ray, he worried. The more he’d thought about Collin Matthews, the more he feared Kate was in trouble. He couldn’t shake the feeling.

As he drove into town, he was relieved that the rental car was still in front of the motel. They hadn’t left. His cell rang. Earl Ray.

“Tell me what you found out,” he said into the phone as he took the call.

“Kate Jackson is well-off. She’s made a good living and has substantial investments.”

He thought of the payoff she’d gotten from the refinery as he got out of the pickup and went inside. She’d said that she hadn’t spent it. Instead had invested it, apparently wisely. “And her boyfriend?”

“Collin Matthews did come from money. He inherited a bundle. He owns a string of small businesses in Houston. A laundry, a vending-machine business, a parking lot, a half dozen car washes.”

Jon went through the cabin and out the back door into his workshop. “So, he’s legit?” Jon wanted to be relieved, but he felt as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“He’s up to his ears in debt. Gambling. He loses. A lot.”

Jon stepped to the carriage-house doors and looked out on Buckhorn. “How deep in trouble is he?”

“Deep. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was involved in money laundering through the businesses. If he isn’t, he will be. I’m surprised the feds haven’t red-flagged him. He might be in Montana looking for a way to pay off his gambling debts and get his head above water.”

“By marrying Kate.”

“I’m not sure that would be quick enough,” Earl Ray said. “Bessie saw a map he was looking at on his phone at breakfast. He’s headed for the Canadian border.”

Jon swore. “Drugs?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say fentanyl. That’s the hot one right now,” Earl Ray said. “With so many states legalizing marijuana, it isn’t worth getting caught sneaking weed over the border anymore. It crossed my mind that he might want Kate along. Fiancée, celebrating the engagement, looks better than crossing the border alone. Less suspicious. Or he could be just on a trip and always wanted to go to Canada.”

“Why go to Saskatchewan otherwise? What would be the point? It looks just like Eastern Montana, only flatter.” Jon rubbed his jaw, feeling the scars, knowing that the really bad ones were deep inside him. “I really