Love on the Range (Brothers in Arms #3)(19)

She wondered if she could eat a whole chicken before she tired of it. A whole pan of cinnamon rolls.

It didn’t matter. Her life was all planned and in order.

And then Wyatt Hunt had kissed her.

And she really wanted him to do it again.

She put the chicken on a platter, then set plates and utensils on the table. She made gravy, scraping crunchy bits of chicken drippings from the bottom of the pan. She pulled out a pan of glazed carrots from the oven and turned them into a bowl. The cinnamon rolls smelled luscious and were minutes away from perfection.

The sun was well set as she mashed the potatoes. She heard the back door open and close quietly. Probably Wyatt, that kiss-stealing skunk.

“Molly.”

Startled by the unfamiliar woman’s voice, Molly spun around and flung a spoonful of potatoes through the air.

Rachel Hobart was out of range. “Where is everyone?”

“What are you doing back here?” Molly remembered her, but they’d only met briefly. After Wyatt had been shot. After Falcon had dragged the Pinkerton agent into the kitchen when he’d caught her slipping through the shadows on her way to the house.

At the time, Falcon figured her for the one who’d shot Wyatt. Molly had gone running upstairs because they heard Wyatt moving around and someone had to keep him from coming down because he was too unsteady for the stairs.

They’d met one other time while Molly was fighting for Wyatt’s life. So Wyatt hadn’t spent any time with her, either. The bullet had knocked him mighty low.

Molly knew the rest of the family had been persuaded to trust her, but now she was back, looking like a desperate woman with bad intentions.

Molly braced herself to fight her off with the potato masher.

Wyatt came in behind Rachel, likely having seen her arrive. “What are you doing back here?”

Molly took grim satisfaction in knowing Wyatt thought like her. She was also glad she didn’t have to get the knife out of her boot. She liked to keep it a secret. She and Win had both taken to carrying one. Cheyenne, of course, already did.

“You’re Wyatt, right?” Rachel Hobart stuck out a hand, very manly.

Wyatt blinked. He hesitated but shook. Molly didn’t like it.

“Answer my question,” he said.

“That’s exactly what I’m planning to do.” Rachel looked from Wyatt to Molly. “Where is Falcon? And Cheyenne?”

“They aren’t here,” Wyatt said.

Rachel’s jaw firmed, and her eyes flared with annoyance. “I got Amelia Bishop returned home to Minnesota. We had a long train ride to talk, and we compared our experiences with Oliver Hawkins. He bothered both of us.”

“He bothers everyone.” Wyatt shrugged.

“He bothered us in a way that was improper. He was overly familiar. As a single woman employed in his house, I can promise you he said and did things in an increasingly disturbing way. Amelia’s experiences very closely matched mine. You weren’t in town when Hawkins saw Amelia had been found. But it was clear she was frightened of him, and it was clear he wanted her back.

“On our trip home she said a big part of the reason she ran off and got married and lived in hiding was because she was afraid Hawkins meant her harm.”

“Harm?” Wyatt’s brow furrowed. “You mean he put his hands on her? Against her wishes?”

“I mean, Amelia’s experience and mine aroused her father’s suspicions to the point he asked me to continue investigating.”

“But how can you investigate the way he treated you and Amelia when neither of you is still in his household?” Molly asked.

Rachel’s eyes narrowed. Her mouth a straight, grim line, she said, “I’ve learned of two other housekeepers that worked for Hawkins. They disappeared without a trace. They had no influential, wealthy family, so no one sent an investigator. It’s sad for the families left behind, but there was nothing done to find those housekeepers. After all, the West tends to swallow people up.”

Molly knew it had swallowed her parents. In one big, ugly gulp.

“Checking up on Hawkins led me to checking on those missing housekeepers, and that led me to his wife.”

“She died birthing a child,” Wyatt said. “Everyone knows that.”

“What everyone knows doesn’t line up with the truth. In fact, I suspect he’s a killer.”

The door swung open.

Win came in. Kevin was a pace behind her.

Win’s eyes went straight to Rachel. All the color drained from her face, and Molly wondered if she was going to faint.

“You collapsed before when we spoke.” Rachel had a shrewd look in her eyes that Molly found cruel. And that look was aimed right at Win.

Molly didn’t like that Win had stolen her brother. That made Molly feel unfair, unreasonable, and petty—and Molly didn’t like feeling that way.

But what Molly really didn’t like was that right this moment, she realized Win was her sister. And no one was going to upset her sister.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Win reached for Kevin, missed him because her eyes were locked on Rachel. Kevin stepped up quickly and grabbed her hand to steady her.

“I’m here to ask you some questions you’re not going to want to answer, Mrs. Hunt.”

“What kind of questions?” But the tremor in Win’s voice made her sound like she knew.