Steel Resolve Read online

  Sometimes you can go home again

  It’s just not always safe...

  Mary Cardwell Savage never meant to send that letter to her ex, Chase Steele. How could she know her words would bring the gorgeous cowboy back to Big Sky, Montana—with an unstable and dangerous stalker following close behind? Now Chase wants to prove that their love deserves a second chance. And this time, nothing will keep him from his heart’s desire...not even a killer.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I had to see you. I’m sorry it took me so long. Could we talk?”

  Chase.

  Mary felt heat rush to her center. The cowboy standing in front of her set off all kinds of desires with only a look. And yet after all this time, did she know this man?

  “I got your letter,” he said as he took off his Stetson, turning the brim nervously in his fingers.

  “You didn’t call or write back.”

  His gaze locked with hers. “What I wanted to say couldn’t be said over the phone, let alone in a letter.”

  Her heart pounded. Here it comes.

  There was pain in his gaze. “I’ve missed you so much. I had to go. Just as I had to come back. I’m so sorry I hurt you.” His blue-eyed gaze locked with hers. “I love you. I never stopped loving you.”

  Wasn’t this exactly what she’d dreamed of him saying to her before she’d gotten the call from his fiancée?

  Except in the dream she would have been in his arms by now…

  STEEL RESOLVE

  New York Times Bestselling Author

  B. J. Daniels

  B.J. Daniels is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She wrote her first book after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of thirty-seven published short stories. She lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and three springer spaniels. When not writing, she quilts, boats and plays tennis. Contact her at bjdaniels.com, on Facebook or on Twitter, @bjdanielsauthor.

  Books by B.J. Daniels

  Harlequin Intrigue

  Cardwell Ranch: Montana Legacy

  Steel Resolve

  Whitehorse, Montana: The Clementine Sisters

  Hard Rustler

  Rogue Gunslinger

  Rugged Defender

  The Montana Cahills

  Cowboy’s Redemption

  Whitehorse, Montana: The McGraw Kidnapping

  Dark Horse

  Dead Ringer

  Rough Rider

  HQN Books

  Sterling’s Montana

  Stroke of Luck

  Luck of the Draw

  The Montana Cahills

  Renegade’s Pride

  Outlaw’s Honor

  Hero’s Return

  Rancher’s Dream

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.

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  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Chase Steele—The cowboy gave up the woman he loved and has regretted it ever since. But maybe it isn’t too late…if he can get back to Montana alive.

  Mary Cardwell Savage—Her life was in danger the moment she mailed the letter to Chase telling him she still loved him.

  Fiona Barkley—The moment she saw Chase Steele she was determined this was the man she would marry. And she wasn’t going to let anyone come between them.

  Lucy Carson—She would do anything—anything at all—to be Mary’s friend.

  Dillon Ramsey—He has his own reasons for wanting to date the marshal’s daughter.

  Marshal Hud Savage—All he wants is for his daughter to be happy, but why, when it comes to men, does she pick the wild ones?

  Dana Cardwell Savage—She knows the man her daughter should choose. But it seems something—or someone—is trying to keep them apart.

  This one is for Terry Scones, who always brightens my day. I laugh when I recall a quilt shop hop we made across Montana. She was the navigator when my GPS system tried to send us through a barn.

  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

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Excerpt from Iron Will by B.J. Daniels

  Excerpt from Calculated Risk by Janie Crouch

  Chapter One

  The moment Fiona found the letter in the bottom of Chase’s sock drawer, she knew it was bad news. Fear squeezed the breath from her as her heart beat so hard against her rib cage that she thought she would pass out. Grabbing the bureau for support, she told herself it might not be what she thought it was.

  But the envelope was a pale lavender, and the handwriting was distinctly female. Worse, Chase had kept the letter a secret. Why else would it be hidden under his socks? He hadn’t wanted her to see it because it was from that other woman.

  Now she wished she hadn’t been snooping around. She’d let herself into his house with the extra key she’d had made. She’d felt him pulling away from her the past few weeks. Having been here so many times before, she was determined that this one wasn’t going to break her heart. Nor was she going to let another woman take him from her. That’s why she had to find out why he hadn’t called, why he wasn’t returning her messages, why he was avoiding her.

  They’d had fun the night they were together. She’d felt as if they had something special, although she knew the next morning that he was feeling guilty. He’d said he didn’t want to lead her on. He’d told her that there was some woman back home he was still in love with. He’d said their night together was a mistake. But he was wrong, and she was determined to convince him of it.

  What made it so hard was that Chase was a genuinely nice guy. You didn’t let a man like that get away. The other woman had. Fiona wasn’t going to make that mistake even though he’d been trying to push her away since that night. But he had no idea how determined she could be, determined enough for both of them that this wasn’t over by a long shot.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d let herself into his apartment when he was at work. The other time, he’d caught her and she’d had to make up some story about the building manager letting her in so she could look for her lost earring.

  She’d snooped around his house the first night they’d met—the same night she’d found his extra apartment key and had taken it to have her own key made in case she ever needed to come back when Chase wasn’t home.

  The letter hadn’t been in his sock drawer that time.

  That meant he’d received it since then. Hadn’t she known he was hiding something from her? Why else would he put this letter in a drawer instead of leaving it out along with the bills he’d casually dropped on the table by the front door?

  Because the letter was important to him, which meant that she had no choice but to read it.

  Her heart compressed into a hard knot as she carefully lifted out the envelope. The handwriting made her pulse begin to roar in her ears. The w
oman’s handwriting was very neat, very precise. She hated her immediately. The return address confirmed it. The letter was from the woman back in Montana that Chase had told her he was still in love with.

  Mary Cardwell Savage, the woman who’d broken Chase’s heart and one of the reasons that the cowboy had ended up in Arizona. Her friend Patty told her all about him. Chase worked for her husband, Rick. That’s how she and Chase had met, at a party at their house.

  What struck her now was the date on the postmark. Her vision blurred for a moment. Two weeks ago? Anger flared inside her again. That was right after their night together. About the same time that he’d gotten busy and didn’t have time, he said, to date or even talk. What had this woman said in her letter? Whatever it was, Fiona knew it was the cause of the problem with her and Chase.

  Her fingers trembled as she carefully opened the envelope flap and slipped out the folded sheet of pale lavender paper. The color alone made her sick to her stomach. She sniffed it, half expecting to smell the woman’s perfume.

  There was only a faint scent, just enough to be disturbing. She listened for a moment, afraid Chase might come home early and catch her again. He’d been angry the last time. He would be even more furious if he caught her reading the letter he’d obviously hidden from her.

  Unfolding the sheet of paper she tried to brace herself. She felt as if her entire future hung on what was inside this envelope.

  Her throat closed as she read the words, devouring them as quickly as her gaze could take them in. After only a few sentences, she let her gaze drop to the bottom line, her heart dropping with it: I’ll always love you, Mary.

  This was the woman Chase said he was still in love with. She’d broken up with him and now she wanted him back? Who did this Mary Savage of Big Sky, Montana, think she was? Fury churned inside Fiona as she quickly read all the way through the letter, the words breaking her heart and filling her with an all-consuming rage.

  Mary Savage had apparently pretended that she was only writing to Chase to let him know that some friend of his mother’s had dropped by with a package for him. If he confirmed his address, she’d be happy to send the package if he was interested.

  But after that, the letter had gotten personal. Fiona stared at the words, fury warring with heartbreaking pain. The package was clearly only a ruse for the rest of the letter, which was a sickening attempt to lure him back. This woman was still in love with Chase. It made her sick to read the words that were such an obvious effort to remind him of their love, first love, and all that included. This woman had history with Chase. She missed him and regretted the way they’d left things. The woman had even included her phone number. In case he’d forgotten it?

  Had Chase called her? The thought sent a wave of nausea through her, followed quickly by growing vehemence. She couldn’t believe this. This woman was not taking Chase away from her! She wouldn’t allow it. She and Chase had only gotten started, but Fiona knew that he was perfect for her and she for him. If anyone could help him get over this other woman, it was her. Chase was hers now. She would just have to make him see that.

  Fiona tried to calm herself. The worst thing she could do was to confront Chase and demand to know why he had kept this from her. She didn’t need him to remind her that they didn’t have “that kind” of relationship as he had the other times. Not to mention how strained things had been between them lately. She’d felt him pulling away and had called and stopped by at every opportunity, afraid she was losing him.

  And now she knew why. If the woman had been in Arizona, she would have gone to her house and—Deep breaths, she told herself. She had to calm down. She had to remember what had happened the last time. She’d almost ended up in jail.

  Taking deep breaths, she reminded herself that this woman was no threat. Mary Cardwell Savage wasn’t in Arizona. She lived in Montana, hundreds of miles away.

  But that argument did nothing to relieve her wrath or her growing apprehension. Chase hadn’t just kept the letter. He’d hidden it. His little secret. And worse, he was avoiding her, trying to give her the brush-off. She felt herself hyperventilating.

  She knew she had to stop this. She thought of how good things had been between her and Chase that first night. The cowboy was so incredibly sexy, and he’d remarked how lovely she looked in her tailored suit and heels. He’d complimented her long blond hair as he unpinned it and let it fall around her shoulders. When he’d looked into her green eyes, she hadn’t needed him to tell her that he loved her. She had seen it.

  The memory made her smile. And he’d enjoyed what she had waiting for him underneath that suit—just as she knew he would. They’d both been a little drunk that night. She’d had to make all the moves, but she hadn’t minded.

  Not that she would ever admit it to him, but she’d set her sights on him the moment she’d seen him at the party. There was something about him that had drawn her. A vulnerability she recognized. He’d been hurt before. So had she, too many times to count. She’d told herself that the handsome cowboy didn’t know just how perfect he was, perfect for her.

  Fiona hadn’t exactly thrown herself at him. She’d just been determined to make him forget that other woman by making herself indispensable. She’d brought over dinner the next night. He’d been too polite to turn her away. She’d come up with things they could do together: baseball games, picnics, movies. But the harder she’d tried, the more he’d made excuses for why he couldn’t go with her.

  She stared down at the letter still in her hands, wanting to rip it to shreds, to tear this woman’s eyes out, to—

  Suddenly she froze. Was that the door of the apartment opening? It was. Just as she’d feared, Chase had come home early.

  At the sound of the door closing and locking, she hurriedly refolded the letter, slipped it back into the envelope and shoved it under his socks. She was trapped. There was no way to get out of the apartment without him seeing her. He was going to be upset with her. But the one thing she couldn’t let Chase know was that she’d found and read the letter. She couldn’t give him an excuse to break things off indefinitely, even though she knew he’d been trying to do just that for the past couple of weeks—ever since he’d gotten that letter.

  She hurried to the bedroom door, but hesitated. Maybe she should get naked and let him find her lying on his bed. She wasn’t sure she could pull that off right now. Standing there, she tried to swallow back the anger, the hurt, the fear. She couldn’t let him know what she was feeling—let alone how desperate she felt. But as she heard him coming up the stairs, she had a terrifying thought.

  What if she’d put the letter back in the drawer wrong? Had she seen the woman’s handwriting on the envelope? Wasn’t that why she’d felt such a jolt? Or was it just seeing the pale lavender paper of the envelope in his sock drawer that had made her realize what it was?

  She couldn’t remember.

  But would Chase remember how he’d left it and know that she’d seen it? Know that if she’d found it, she would read it?

  She glanced back and saw that she hadn’t closed the top dresser drawer all the way. Hurrying back over to it, she shut the drawer as quietly as possible and was about to turn when she heard him in the doorway.

  “Fiona? What the hell?” He looked startled at first when he saw her, and then shock quickly turned to anger.

  She could see that she’d scared him. He’d scared her too. Her heart was a drum in her chest. She was clearly rattled. She could feel the fine mist of perspiration on her upper lip. With one look, he would know something was wrong.

  But how could she not be upset? The man she’d planned to marry had kept a letter from his ex a secret from her. Worse, the woman he’d been pining over when Fiona had met him was still in love with him—and now he knew it. Hiding the letter proved that he was at least thinking about Mary Cardwell Savage.

  “What are you doing here?” Chase demanded,
glancing around as if the answer was in the room. “How the hell did you get in this time?”

  She tried to cover, letting out an embarrassed laugh. “You startled me. I was looking for my favorite lipstick. I thought I might have left it here.”

  He shook his head, raking a hand through his hair. “You have to stop this. I told you last time. Fiona—” His blue gaze swept past her to light on the chest of drawers.

  Any question as to how he felt about the letter was quickly answered by his protective glance toward the top bureau drawer and the letter from his first love, the young woman who’d broken his tender heart, the woman he was still in love with.

  Her own heart broke, shattering like a glass thrown against a wall. She wanted to kill Mary Cardwell Savage.

  “Your lipstick?” He shook his head. “Again, how did you get in here?”

  “You forgot to lock your door. I came by hoping to catch your building manager so he could let me in again—”

  “Fiona, stop lying. I talked to him after the last time. He didn’t let you in.” The big cowboy held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

  She pretended not to know what he was talking about, blinking her big green eyes at him in the best innocent look she could muster. She couldn’t lose this man. She wouldn’t. She did the only thing she could. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the key. “I can explain.”

  “No need,” he said as he took the key.

  She felt real tears of remorse fill her eyes. But she saw that he was no longer affected by her tears. She stepped to him to put her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Maybe if she could draw him toward the bed...

  “Fiona, stop.” He grabbed her wrists and pulled them from around his neck. “Stop!”

  She stared at him, feeling the happy life she’d planned crumbling under her feet.

  He groaned and shook his head. “You need to leave.”

  “Sure,” she said and, trying to get control of her emotions, started to step past him. “Just let me look in one more place for my lipstick. I know I had it—”