Page 1 of Setup In Montana

Chapter One

Esther felt the fear deep in her old bones. It was an alien feeling, one she resented since she’d spent her life making people afraid of her—not the other way around. A bitter smile curled her lips at the irony. She’d heard the whispers purposely loud enough for her to hear. “Esther Mason has to be the meanest woman ever born.” Now they would say she was getting what she deserved.

She scoffed, knowing it wasn’t karma. It was her dirty little secret that would bring a killer to her door tonight. That, and the person here at the Shady Rest Retirement Home for the elderly who wanted her to take a fall.

Since she was a child, she’d never been able to resist other people’s things, especially something small she could easily slip into her pocket. She never took anything that was worth a lot of money. She was too smart for that. Instead, she took trinkets that might have meaning for the person she stole from, but worthless otherwise.

Moving to Shady Rest in Grass Range, Montana, had made her thievery too easy. Elderly residents often thought they’d simply misplaced whatever it was. Some claimed they’d been robbed. But no one, maybe especially those in charge, took the elderly very seriously.

The sharper residents knew she’d taken their things, but Esther’s ugly disposition kept them from accusing her, let alone confronting her. Everyone at the Shady Rest had learned quickly not to get on the wrong side of Esther Mason.

At a sound, her gaze shot to the window and the dense darkness that had moved in with the storm. Too black to see anything. Was the person she had to fear out there waiting to strike? She realized with a start that maybe her would-be killer wasn’t outside at all—but had always been inside this facility and closer than she’d thought.

Soon most everyone at Shady Rest would be asleep. Everyone but her—and whoever was coming for her. The place was locked up at night, but everyone knew how to get in and out undetected.

She thought she heard her apartment door creak open. She’d left it unlocked so she could get this over with as quickly as possible. A floorboard creaked. Esther tried to still her frantically thundering heart. After bagging up her most recent illicitly acquired baubles, she had gotten rid of them. Once she explained that they were no longer in her possession—but she knew who had the jewelry—the person threatening her would go away if they knew what was good for them.

Another floorboard creaked, much closer this time. It would all be over soon—at least for her. Pity the person who now had that bag of cheap jewelry, but that wasn’t Esther’s problem anymore.

Chapter Two

Clancy Roberts couldn’t believe how late she was for work. As she rushed in the front door of the convenience store on US 87 at Grass Range, Montana, she told herself she couldn’t get fired now. She’d been working two jobs for a couple of weeks now and almost had enough money.

Her goal had always been that she would have her life together by the time she turned twenty-five. But now her birthday was only a week away and, if she was being honest with herself, she was having doubts about ever finding what she was looking for. She’d been talking about just taking off, going somewhere else, seeing what was out there.

Yet, she’d chickened out the other times she’d planned to go. Not this time, she told herself. After years of feeling stuck and lost and alone, she swore that nothing could keep her from finally turning onto that highway and heading south to wherever it took her.

“I know my life is down that road,” Clancy had recently told a friend she’d made while working part-time at Shady Rest. Sarah Brooks, who was a few years older than Clancy, was the only person at the retirement home even close to her age. Sarah, a skinny dishwater blonde with large brown eyes and an infectious smile, was also the only person on the staff who had been nice to her since day one.

“Do you really think things are that different anywhere else?” Sarah had asked. They had been the last two people in the rest home cafeteria finishing their lunches before going back to work. “Billings isn’t any different than here. It’s just bigger, noisier, with more people looking for the same job you are.”

“If not the largest city in Montana, then I will keep going until I find what I’m looking for,” Clancy had told her, aware that she sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

Sarah had eyed her with a grin. “And what are you looking for?”

She wished she knew. “I just have this feeling that my real life is out there waiting for me. I finally left Dry Gulch where I was born and raised, and got this far. I’ll get out of here too, as soon as I have enough money.”

Sarah had shaken her head as she’d finished the lunch special, tuna casserole, and started on the soggy apple crisp dessert. “Trust me, life can’t get any more real than working here.”

Clancy had looked down at her own hardly touched lunch. “I’m afraid if I stay, I’ll end up marrying some local cowboy and being forced to learn to cook.”

Sarah had laughed. “What have you got against cowboys and cooking?”

“Nothing exactly. But haven’t you ever wanted to just take off to see what is over the next hill?”

“No,” Sarah had said, shaking her head slowly. “I can be broke here just as easily as somewhere else and I happen to like Montana and cowboys. Maybe you just haven’t met the right one yet.”

Clancy feared she had, and that was part of the problem. The first time he’d come into the convenience store he’d walked through the door, spotted her and stopped dead as if he’d seen a ghost. He was classic cowboy in his Wranglers and boots, all broad shoulders, slim hips and handsome, suntanned face beneath his Stetson hat.

He’d sauntered over to her, pushed back his hat and grinned at her, exposing two adorable dimples. “Woman,” he said. “I’ve never believed in love at first sight, but damned if I’m not going to marry you.”

She’d rolled her eyes, having heard her share of lines, especially from cowboys. “I highly doubt that because I don’t date cowboys for this very reason.”

He’d looked her in the eye and said, “I promise you I’m like no other cowboy you’ve ever met.”

“You think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you.”

He had shaken his head. “No, you’re the one who will make me the man I was born to be. I have to get back to the ranch, but I’ll be back.” With that he’d left, leaving her shaking her head but smiling.