Wedding at Cardwell Ranch Read online

  JACKSON CARDWELL WON’T STOP UNTIL SHE IS SAFE.

  In Montana for his brother’s nuptials, Jackson Cardwell isn’t looking to be anybody’s hero. But the Texas single father knows a beautiful lady in distress when he meets her. Someone’s hell-bent on making Allie Taylor think she’s losing her mind. Jackson’s determined to unmask the perp…and guard the widowed wedding planner and her little girl with his life.

  Allie has no idea who wants to harm her and take her daughter away. The truth is even more shocking. For Allie’s past has stalked her to Cardwell Ranch. And not even the sexy cowboy who awakens irresistible passion may be able to save her from a killer with a chilling agenda.

  The highly anticipated continuation of the Cardwell Ranch Collection, read by more than 2 MILLION!

  “You can’t push me away.”

  Jackson lifted her chin with his fingers so she couldn’t avoid his gaze. Their faces were only a few inches apart.

  “What if I am crazy?” Allie’s voice broke. “Crazy like a fox?” The first of the fireworks exploded, showering down a glittering red, white and blue light on the meadow below them. The boom echoed in her chest as another exploded to the “oohs” and “ahhs” of the wedding party. She felt scalding tears burn her throat.

  Jackson couldn’t bear to see Allie like this. He pulled her to him and, dropping his mouth to hers, kissed her. She leaned into him, letting him draw her even closer as the kiss deepened. Fireworks lit the night, booming in a blaze of glittering light before going dark again.

  Desire ignited his blood. He wanted Allie like he’d never wanted anyone or anything before.

  WEDDING AT

  CARDWELL

  RANCH

  New York Times Bestselling Author

  B.J. Daniels

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels wrote her first book after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of thirty-seven published short stories. That first book, Odd Man Out, received a four-and-a-half-star review from RT Book Reviews and went on to be nominated for Best Intrigue that year. Since then, she has won numerous awards, including a career achievement award for romantic suspense and many nominations and awards for best book.

  Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and two springer spaniels, Spot and Jem. When she isn’t writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis. Daniels is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death and Romance Writers of America.

  To contact her, write to B.J. Daniels, P.O. Box 1173, Malta, MT 59538, or email her at [email protected]. Check out her website, www.bjdaniels.com.

  Books by B.J. Daniels

  HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

  897—CRIME SCENE AT CARDWELL RANCH

  996—SECRET OF DEADMAN’S COULEE*

  1002—THE NEW DEPUTY IN TOWN*

  1024—THE MYSTERY MAN OF WHITEHORSE*

  1030—CLASSIFIED CHRISTMAS*

  1053—MATCHMAKING WITH A MISSION*

  1059—SECOND CHANCE COWBOY*

  1083—MONTANA ROYALTY*

  1125—SHOTGUN BRIDE§

  1131—HUNTING DOWN THE HORSEMAN§

  1137—BIG SKY DYNASTY§

  1155—SMOKIN’ SIX-SHOOTER§

  1161—ONE HOT FORTY-FIVE§

  1198—GUN-SHY BRIDE**

  1204—HITCHED!**

  1210—TWELVE-GAUGE GUARDIAN**

  1234—BOOTS AND BULLETS^

  1240—HIGH-CALIBER CHRISTMAS^

  1246—WINCHESTER CHRISTMAS WEDDING^

  1276—BRANDED‡

  1282—LASSOED‡

  1288—RUSTLED‡

  1294—STAMPEDED‡

  1335—CORRALLED‡

  1353—WRANGLED‡

  1377—JUSTICE AT CARDWELL RANCH

  1413—CARDWELL RANCH TRESPASSER

  1455—CHRISTMAS AT CARDWELL RANCH

  1497—RESCUE AT CARDWELL RANCH†

  1497—WEDDING AT CARDWELL RANCH†

  *Whitehorse, Montana

  §Whitehorse, Montana: The Corbetts

  **Whitehorse, Montana: Winchester Ranch

  ^Whitehorse, Montana: Winchester Ranch Reloaded

  ‡Whitehorse, Montana: Chisholm Cattle Company

  †Cardwell Cousins

  Other titles by this author

  available in ebook format.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Jackson Cardwell—The Texas cowboy only came to Montana with his son Ford to attend his brother Tag’s wedding, not to get involved with the wedding planner.

  Allie Knight Taylor—The widowed wedding planner thought she was losing her mind—until she met the Texas cowboy and lost her heart.

  Natalie Taylor—The five-year-old was worried about her mother, Allie. Did she have good reason to worry?

  Belinda Andrews—The wedding photographer was Allie’s best friend. Or was she?

  Megan Fairchild—Allie’s half sister only wanted what was best for her sister and niece, right?

  Nick Taylor—While legally dead, he wasn’t forgotten, since he was still haunting his wife, Allie.

  Drew Taylor—He wanted the woman his brother Nick had married. But was he willing to kill to have Allie?

  Mildred Taylor—Everyone was afraid of the matriarch of the family and would do anything she asked. But how far would she go?

  Sarah Taylor—To her mother’s disgust, she found solace in food and liked her life exactly as it was.

  This is dedicated to my readers and my Facebook friends who shared their “gaslighting” ideas and proved that they think as creepy as me.

  If you haven’t already, come say hello on my author Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/BJ-Daniels/127936587217837.

  Thanks for stopping by Cardwell Ranch!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Allison Taylor brushed back a lock of her hair and willed herself not to scream.

  “Is something wrong?” her brother-in-law asked from the kitchen doorway, startling her and making her jump.

  She dropped the heavy covered pot she’d taken from the pantry a little too hard onto the counter. The lid shifted, but not enough that she could see inside.

  “Didn’t mean to scare you,” Drew Taylor said with a laugh as he lounged against the kitchen door frame. “I was cravin’ some of your famous chili, but I think maybe we should go out.”

  “I just need a minute. If you could see to Natalie...”

  “She’s still asleep. I just checked.” Drew studied her for a long moment. Like his brother, he had russet-brown hair and dark brown eyes and classic good looks. His mother had assured both of her sons that they were wonderful. Fortunately Drew had taken it with a gr
ain of salt—unlike his brother Nick.

  “Are you okay, Allie? I’ve been so worried about you since Nick...”

  “I’m fine.” She didn’t want to talk about her presumed-dead husband. She really just wanted her brother-in-law to go into the other room and leave her alone for a moment.

  Drew had been a godsend. She didn’t know what she would have done without him, she thought as she pulled a band from her jeans pocket and secured her long, blond hair in a single tail at the back of her head.

  When she’d mentioned how nice his brother was to Nick shortly after they married, he’d scoffed.

  “Just be glad he likes you. He’s about the only one in my family,” he had added with a laugh.

  “Why don’t you let me help you with that,” Drew said now as he took a step toward her. He frowned as his gaze went to the pot and the pile of ingredients she’d already stacked up on the counter. The chili pot was the last thing she’d brought into the kitchen from the porch of the small cabin. “You kept the pot?”

  So his mother had told him about the incident.

  He must think I’m losing my mind just like his mother and sister do.

  The worst part was she feared they were right.

  Allie looked down at the heavy cast-iron pot with its equally heavy cast-iron lid. Her hand trembled as she reached for the handle. The memory of the last time she’d lifted that lid—and what she’d found inside—sent a shudder through her.

  The covered cast-iron casserole pot, enameled white inside and the color of fresh blood on the outside, had been a wedding present from her in-laws.

  “She does know how to cook, doesn’t she?” her mother-in-law, Mildred, had asked all those years ago as if Allie hadn’t been standing there. Mildred was a twig-thin woman who took pride in these things: her petite, slim, fifty-eight-year-old body, her sons and her standing in the community. Her daughter, Sarah, was just the opposite of her mother, overweight and dumpy by comparison. And Mildred was always making that comparison to anyone who would listen, including Sarah.

  Mildred was on her fourth husband and lived in one of the more modest mansions at Big Sky. Of her two sons, Nick had been the baby—and clearly her favorite.

  Nick had laughed that day when his mother had asked if his new wife could cook. “She makes pretty good chili, I’ll give her that,” he told Mildred. “But that’s not why I married her.” He’d given Allie a side hug, grinning like a fool and making her blush to the roots of her hair.

  Nick had liked to say he had the prettiest wife in town. “Just make sure you stay that way,” he’d always add. “You start looking like my sister and you can pack your bags.”

  The red, cast-iron, covered pot she was now reaching for had become her chili pot.

  “Allie, I thought you’d thrown that pot away!” Drew reached to stop her, knocking the lid off in the effort. It clattered to the counter.

  Allie lunged back, her arm going up protectively to shield her face. But this time the pot was empty. No half-dead squirrel inside it.

  “I’m throwing this pot in the trash,” Drew announced. “If just the sight of it upsets you—”

  “No, your mother will have a fit.”

  “Let her.” He swept pot and lid off the counter and carried it out to the garbage can.

  When he came back into the room, he looked at her and shook his head. “Allie, you’ve got to pull it together. Maybe you should go back to the doctor and see if there is something else he can give you. You’re strung like a piano wire.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t need a doctor.” She just needed for whatever was happening to her to stop.

  His gaze moved past her, his expression going from a concerned frown to a smile. “Hey, girl,” he said as his five-year-old niece came into the kitchen. He stepped past Allie to swing Nat into his arms. “I came over to check on the two of you. Mama was going to cook us some dinner but I think we should go out to eat. What do you say?”

  Allie started to argue that she couldn’t let Drew do any more for them and she sure couldn’t afford to go out to eat, but stopped as her daughter said, “Are you sick, Mama?” Her precious daughter looked to her with concern. Allie saw the worry in Nat’s angelic face. She’d seen it too much lately. It was bad enough that Natalie had recently lost her father. Now more than ever she needed her mother to be sane.

  “I’m fine, sweetie. It’s too hot for chili, anyway. So let’s go out, why not?” Allie said, relieved and thankful for Drew. Not just for coming by to check on them, but for throwing out the pot. She hadn’t because her mother-in-law was upset enough and the Taylors were the only family she had, especially now.

  “Just let me freshen up and change,” she said as Drew took Nat to look for her shoes.

  In the bathroom, Allie locked the door, turned on the shower and stripped off her clothes. She was still sweating from fear, her heart beating hard against her chest.

  “You found a what in the chili pot?” her mother-in-law had asked in disbelief when Allie had called her—a huge mistake in retrospect. But at the time, she’d hoped her mother-in-law would understand why she couldn’t keep the pot. Why she didn’t want it in her house.

  “I found a squirrel in that cast-iron pot you gave me. When I picked up the lid—”

  “No way would a squirrel get into your cabin, let alone climb under a heavy lid like that. Why would it? You must have imagined it. Are you still on those drugs the doctor gave you after my Nicky died?”

  Allie’s husband had always been “my Nicky” to his mother while Mildred had insisted Allie call her “Mother Taylor.”

  “No, Mother Taylor, I told you.” Allie’s own mother had died when she was nineteen. Her father had moved, remarried and started a new family. They’d lost touch. “I quit taking the pills a long time ago.”

  “I think it’s those pills,” Mildred had said as if Allie hadn’t spoken. “You said they had you seeing things that weren’t there.”

  “The squirrel was there. I had to take it out back and—”

  “If I were you, I’d talk to your doctor. Why do you need the pills, anyway? It isn’t like you’re still grieving over my Nicky. Charlotte Reynolds told me she saw you having lunch the other day, you and Natalie, and you were laughing.”

  Allie had closed her eyes, remembering the lunch in question. “I am trying to make things more normal for Nat.”

  “Well, it looks bad, you having a good time while your poor husband is barely cold in his grave.”

  She wanted to mention that Nick wasn’t in his grave, but knew better than to bring that up. “It’s been eight months.”

  “Like you have to tell me that!” Mildred sniffed and blew her nose. She’d cried constantly over the death of her favorite son and couldn’t understand why Allie wasn’t still doing the same.

  “We all grieve in our own way and I have a young daughter to raise,” Allie had said more times than she wanted to recall.

  The phone call had ended with Mildred crying and talking about what a wonderful man her Nicky had been. A lie at best. He’d been a lousy husband and an even worse father, but now that he was dead, he would always be the wonderful man Mildred remembered.

  After that, she’d learned her lesson. She kept the other crazy things that had been happening to herself. If Mildred knew, she would have her in a straitjacket. And little Nat...? She couldn’t bear to think about Mildred having anything to do with raising her daughter.

  “So,” Drew said as she and Nat sat across from him in a booth at a local café later that evening. “Did I hear you’ve gone back to work?”

  It was impossible to keep anything a secret in this canyon, Allie thought. She had hoped to keep it from the Taylor family as long as possible.

  “Dana Savage called me about doing a Western wedding up at her ranch for h
er cousin Tag and his soon-to-be wife, Lily.” She didn’t mention that she’d accepted the job several months ago. Or how badly she needed the money. With the investigation into Nick’s presumed death still unresolved, the insurance company was holding off paying her. Not that it would last long if she didn’t get back to work.

  Her mother-in-law kept mentioning “that big insurance check my Nicky left you,” but the insurance money would barely cover a couple years of Natalie’s college, if that. And Allie hoped to invest it for that very use.

  “I’ve been doing some work at Cardwell Ranch. Nice people to work for. But are you sure you’re up to it?” Drew asked quietly, real concern in his tone. “Mother mentioned that she was worried about you. She said you were still taking the pills and they were making you see things?”

  Of course Mildred told Drew and his sister, Sarah, everything. Allie tried not to show her irritation. She had no appetite, but she attempted to eat what she could. She didn’t want Drew mentioning to his mother, even accidentally, that she wasn’t eating much. Mildred would make it into her not taking care of herself.

  “I’m fine. I’m not taking the pills. I told your mother—”

  He held up his hand. “You don’t have to tell me about my mother. She hears only what she wants to hear. I’m on your side. I think going back to work might be the best thing for you. So what do you plan to do with Natalie? I don’t have to tell you what Mother is going to say.”

  “Nat’s going with me,” Allie said emphatically. “Dana has children she can play with. As a matter of fact, Dana is going to teach Nat to ride a horse.”

  Natalie grinned and clapped her small hands excitedly. She was the spitting image of Allie at that age: straight, pale blond hair cut in a bob, green eyes with a pert little nose and deep dimples. Allie got the blond hair from her Scandinavian mother and the green eyes from her Irish father.

  There was no sign of the Taylor family in her daughter, something that had caused a lot of speculation from not only Nick, but his mother.

  Nat quickly told her uncle that it would be a very gentle horse and Dana’s kids Hank and Mary were riding before they were even her age. “The twins are too young to ride yet,” she announced.