A Bullet to the Heart by Kathy Wheeler (most read books of all time .TXT) 📕

from his face and was replaced with one of condescending fury. “I only hope you won’t be sorry.” He spun on a booted heel and was gone.

Unable to melt away herself, Jo was forced to endure both her sisters’ scrutiny in deafening silence.

Finally, Lydia broke out. “Well,” she said. “That’s the man you were engaged to?”

Impatience licked at her temper. “I was never engaged to him.” She flicked her gaze to the door, almost wishing for Wyn’s and Jackson’s tumultuous return. “When’s dinner? I’m starving.”

15

W

yn dropped onto a tufted, leather sofa of deep burgundy and watched Jackson prowl Victor’s large comfortable study. The sight was making him dizzy. “I need your help,” he said.

Jackson stopped, piercing Wyn with the family’s uniquely blue-colored eyes, sneering. It wasn’t a good look for him. “Yeah, right.” His arms crossed his chest and he rolled back on his heels. “With what?”

How strange to think back to a time when he and Jackson were inseparable kids running wild, collecting rocks and shells from the shore below the bluffs, exploring Serpent’s Point and some of the more hazardous caverns that scattered the island. How quickly it had all changed upon Penelope’s death.

It irked Wyn to discover he felt sorry for Jackson, not to mention how much he hated asking anyone for help. Especially a man he’d grown up with and had grown to loathe. That was fourteen years ago. How stupid was that? “I need to find out who shot at Jo.”

“What makes you think it wasn’t me?”

“Do you always have to be such a wise-ass?” The question was rhetorical. Wyn let out a pained sigh. “I wish it had been you. Then I could dump you off on the mainland and be done with you. Frankly, I don’t see you doing anything worse than shoplifting, boozing it up, and disorderly conduct.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Wish I could say the same for you.” A self-satisfied smirk emphasized Jackson’s words.

The sight scraped Wyn’s skin like rusted metal against slate. He stilled as the familiar animosity in swelled through him. “The same?”

“You remember, don’t you? Warm summer night. Serpent’s Point. Sandy path. Penelope—”

“Stop, right there, Montgomery. I didn’t kill Penelope Knox and we both know it.”

Jackson’s shock shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Dented his pride. Even hurt a little.

Wyn’s astonishment at this realization surprised him nearly as much as Jackson’s. “You can’t be serious. You think I killed her?”

“You think I did?” Jackson shot back.

Both sat there a minute before Wyn finally broke the stunned hush. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Jackson returned his blatant regard. “If you thought I killed her all these years…then you…”

Wyn cut him off. “And all this time you thought that I—"

“Forget it,” Jackson said gruffly. “If you want my help, there’s one other thing I need to ask.”

Wyn waited, another dread seeping through his veins.

Jackson was undeniably sober when he asked his question. “Was Victor your father?”

Wyn studied the book titles at eye level for a moment. “My mother says no.”

A thick fog of friction filled the room. “You believe her?”

“Surprisingly, I do.” Wyn met his animosity head on. Waited him out.

A long while slogged by until the tension dropped Jackson’s shoulders. “What are you going to do about Styles? He wants to marry Jo.”

“His only interest in her is her inheritance. Anyone can see that.” Wyn rose from the sofa and moved to the window. “It’s already taken care of, besides. I’ve taken care of it. Now, you got any ideas who might want your cousin dead?”

“Just Wallace Hayes. Jo’s not the nicest person in the world, but I can’t imagine anyone else wanting to outright kill her.”

“Huh.” Wyn agreed. All except about the part of Jo not being the nicest person in the world. He happened to believe she was perfect. For him. And that was good enough. “What if the shot was just a warning?”

Jackson’s eyes narrowed, then he shrugged. “Warning against what?”

“The terms of Victor’s will come to mind. She mentioned each of you would lose the entirety of your inheritance to the town if none of you married.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “Hell, I don’t know.”

Jackson scowled. “Yeah. My father, the matchmaker.” He leaned back against the desk, hands planted on each side of him.

“That’s a lot of incentive for people in this town.”

“Including your own parents.”

“Yeah, including my own parents,” he said softly.

Jackson laughed, shaking his head. “You’re the real deal, aren’t you?” Apparently, he wasn’t expecting an answer. “What about that guy, Styles?”

Styles hadn’t really occurred to Wyn. Unfortunately, he was short of suspects. “He was sniffing around her at the café last Saturday. You know anything about him?”

“He’s a pansy.”

Wyn grinned. “He knocked you flat as I recall.”

To Wyn’s surprise, Jackson managed a self-deprecating laugh. “Yeah, well. I was drunk.”

Bringing up another point. Wyn turned serious. “If you’re going to help me out, you’re going to have to stay sober.”

“I can stay sober.”

Wyn considered Jackson for a long moment. “Okay, this is what I need you to do…”

16

T

wo days later, Jackson held the door open to his precious Packard for Jo and assisted her in. His courtesy still had the ability to stun her after so many years of their mutual hostility.

Once she’d settled inside, he slammed the door and walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side. “Are you sure your ankle is strong enough to stand on working at the diner?”

“Yes. I’ve had ice packs on it for two days. I was even able to go down the stairs without help this morning. Granted, I’m not ready to make the mile trek into town and back.” And, not just due to her ankle.

“Did you talk to Wyn about—”

“No. Er, not yet.” That was a conversation she wasn’t sure she would ever be ready for. “Where have you been?” She glanced over at him and couldn’t believe her eyes. Red stained the one