Thunder at Dawn

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Praise for the New York Times bestselling author Jill Gregory

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  Also by Jill Gregory

  Copyright Page

  In memory of Scamper, who always kept me company and slept beside my chair as I wrote, who brought our family so much joy and love for fifteen years, and whose sweet memory will live every day in our hearts

  Praise for the New York Times bestselling author

  Jill Gregory

  NIGHT THUNDER

  “[Night Thunder] gallops out of the starting gate . . . Gregory expertly weaves the various plot threads together, creating a tight, well-balanced story that packs an emotional punch.” —Publishers Weekly

  THUNDER CREEK

  “A transfixing blend of fiery romance and spine-tingling suspense.” —Booklist

  “For tales of romance and adventure that keep you reading into the night, look no further than Jill Gregory.” —Nora Roberts

  “A compelling tale that works on two levels, as a well-structured mystery and a first rate romance. Gregory . . . writes the stuff that romance readers yearn for. If you haven’t yet read her, you’re missing out on a great treat.” —Oakland Press

  “Fans . . . will be pleased by her treatment of the protagonists’ relationship and drawn in by the book’s cozy, small-town setting . . . Once the action revs up, readers will gladly sit back and enjoy the journey.” —Publishers Weekly

  ONCE AN OUTLAW

  “Gregory’s sensitive characterizations . . . will drive a herd of new readers to pick up this heartfelt family drama . . . The story escalates with fast-paced action, romance and several surprises as the fiery attraction between Clint and Emily hits fever pitch.” —Publishers Weekly

  “Gregory’s heroine is a breath of fresh air with her whip-smart commentary and charismatic confidence, and her leading man is the perfect sparring partner, making for a duo as captivating as Hepburn and Tracy.” —Booklist

  “Few authors have command of the West like Jill Gregory . . . Adding a true feeling of the era and the setting is a gift. Jill Gregory has that gift and we are lucky to have her share it with us.” —Romantic Times

  ROUGH WRANGLER, TENDER KISSES

  “This is the first Jill Gregory book I’ve read, but if the rest of her tales are as well told as this one, I’ve got many hours of great reading ahead of me.” —Oakland Press

  “Jill Gregory crafts stories against the backdrop of the Wild West and creates characters that are so real they are easy to understand and empathize with. She bases her romances on how her characters learn to trust in the power of love to heal and ease away the pain of the past. Her faith in love renews our own. Thank you for this invaluable lesson, Ms. Gregory.” —Romantic Times

  COLD NIGHT, WARM STRANGER

  “You will be enticed from the first chapter . . . You will cry and cheer for these wonderfully beloved characters, who will do nothing less than capture your heart . . . Jill Gregory has done it again. Her talent shines through in this sensually captivating novel—she shows us once again that love can conquer all. “—Rendezvous

  “Jill Gregory’s western romances always pack a wallop. Cold Night, Warm Stranger is true to form. Strong characters that engage readers’ emotions and an action-packed story with a powerful plot make this a not-to-be-missed western.” —Romantic Times

  NEVER LOVE A COWBOY

  “A western version of Romeo and Juliet . . . This is a who-done-it with strong elements of suspense . . . but the emphasis is definitely on the romance. This book has wonderful, tender scenes . . . Jill Gregory creates not only a very human hero and a likeable heroine but also very evil villains with interesting motivations.” —The Romance Reader

  “Sensual . . . Enjoy Never Love a Cowboy . . . A western, a suspenseful mystery, and a good book. Combining grit, sensuality and a cleverly plotted mystery takes talent.” —Romantic Times

  JUST THIS ONCE

  “Refreshing characters, witty dialogue and adventure . . . Just This Once enthralls, delights, and captivates, winning readers’ hearts along the way.” —Romantic Times

  “Here is another unforgettable story that will keep you captivated. She has combined the Old West and the elegance of England into this brilliantly glorious tale. The characters are undeniably wonderful. Their pains and joys will reach through the pages and touch your heart.” —Rendezvous

  ALWAYS YOU

  “Always You has it all . . . Jill Gregory’s inventive imagination and sprightly prose combine for another bellringer.” —Rendezvous

  “Compelling . . . definitely a winner!”—Affaire de Coeur

  “A sure-fire winner . . . remarkable . . . A delightful romance with both tenderness and tough western grit.” —Romantic Times

  MORE PRAISE FOR JILL GREGORY

  “A wonderfully exciting romance from the Old West. The plot twists in this novel are handled expertly . . . It’s great from start to finish.” —Rendezvous on When the Heart Beckons

  “A fast-paced Western romance novel that will keep readers’ attention throughout. Both the hero and heroine are charming characters.” —Affaire de Coeur on Daisies in the Wind

  “A charming tale of dreams come true. It combines a heartwarming love story with an intriguing mystery.” —Gothic Journal on Forever After

  Doubleday Book Club

  and

  Rhapsody Book Club Featured Alternate

  Chapter 1

  Thunder Creek, Wyoming

  “HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, LADY. STEP AWAY FROM the car. I happen to know it belongs to our sheriff—you’re under arrest.”

  Faith Barclay straightened from placing two sacks of groceries in the backseat of the silver Explorer and smiled at the man bearing down on her on Thunder Creek’s main street. Her cousin Roy Hewett wore the same shit-eating grin on his face she’d seen a hundred times when they were kids—right after he’d slipped a frog down the back of her T-shirt or challenged her and her brothers to a race through the cemetery under a full moon.

  “Good to see you too, Roy—I think.” She had to laugh as he scooped her into a bear hug, then swung her around in the air like she weighed no more than she had when she was ten.

  “Ty told me you’d be arriving today.” He set her down on her feet and bussed her cheek. “Nice he could leave Josy’s car at the airport for you to use while you’re here, but too bad he and Josy were headed to New York right when you finally got your butt out here for a visit. Don’t worry, though, big cousin Roy is here to keep an eye on you. You need anything, you know who to call.”

  Faith laughed, shoving her windblown, toffee-colored curls out of her eyes and giving him a hug. She was touched by Roy’s concern. And at the same time she fought down a twinge of irritation.

  What had her mom and brothers been telling him . . . telling everyone? Did half the town know she was “going through a rough spell,�
� as her father so delicately put it?

  “Thanks for the thought, Roy, but I don’t need a babysitter. I’m more than able to take care of myself.”

  “You always have been, Faith. Hell, we know that.” He gently tugged one of her curls. “Still . . . you’re family. And me and Corinne are here for you.”

  “How is Corinne? Excited about the baby?” Faith was more than happy to change the subject from herself to Roy’s wife. He and Corinne had gotten married just over a year ago and now they were expecting their first child in March. Much more pleasant, she thought, to discuss babies and nurseries and small-town life than the train wreck of my own life.

  “Excited?” Roy smacked himself in the forehead. “She can’t talk about anything else. Names. Girl names, boy names. Do I like Cassandra, she asks me. How about Viveca? If it’s a boy, Roy Jr. and we’d call him RJ—or how about Caleb? I swear, she must have that book A Million and One Baby Names down cold.”

  “So which ones do you like?” Faith asked.

  Roy threw up his hands. “Don’t you start too. How about a cup of coffee? Bessie’s Diner, right now. I’m buying. Then you should come on home with me—Corinne always has plenty for dinner. Might as well have a home-cooked meal your first night here—”

  “How about a rain check, Roy? I’m beat,” Faith lied. She ignored the guilt snapping through her at her cousin’s disappointed expression.

  “I’m worn out from the flight and the drive in from Casper.” She spoke rapidly, apologetically. “I just want to get out to Blue Moon Mesa and settle in.”

  That part, at least, was true.

  “Sure, but you gotta eat—” he began, and she interrupted him with a forced grin.

  “I’ve survived twenty-nine years without you or my brothers spoon-feeding me, Roy. I’m pretty sure I can survive a monthlong stay in Thunder Creek too.”

  “But—”

  “Kiss Corinne for me. Tell her I’ll come by and see her soon.”

  Without giving him a chance to argue further, Faith gave him a quick hug and stepped up into the Explorer.

  “You always were a damned stubborn snip of a thing,” Roy called as she put the SUV into gear and started forward.

  “You bet your ass,” Faith murmured to herself, waving, yet her faint smile of amusement faded as she left the sun-dappled bustling town behind and headed west toward Blue Moon Mesa.

  She knew Roy and the rest of her family meant well, but their concern only made her feel all the more pathetic. Just because her job and her love life had both gone south in the past six months, and sleep was little more than a distant memory, it didn’t mean she was falling apart. True, she’d forgotten to eat a few times lately, hadn’t had a manicure since last Christmas, and had spent 90 percent of her time at the office the entire summer, but she was fine. Fine.

  But deep inside, Faith wondered if they could be right. She was losing her equilibrium, filled with self-doubt. She badly needed this break. In the end, that’s why she’d decided to chuck it all for a precious four weeks and see if a good long vacation at her family’s Thunder Creek cabin would help her get her head together.

  There was no better place to unwind than the Barclay cabin on Blue Moon Mesa, smack in the middle of land that had been in their family for generations. She’d been coming here a few times a year ever since she was a baby.

  Usually Faith drove slowly through the grassy foothills leading to Shadow Point and eventually up to the rocky heights of Blue Moon Mesa. She liked to savor the green tall pines, the deep wild ravines, the rich open silence, letting the wild grandeur of Wyoming’s open spaces soothe her the way nothing else could.

  But today she was still tense from her morning in court and from the three cups of coffee she’d gulped before ditching her ringing phone and her office and the gritty streets of Philadelphia for the flight to Casper. Still in her professional uniform of black suit jacket over a gray silk blouse, knee-length black skirt, discreet gold shell earrings, and her trademark black stiletto heels, she couldn’t wait to strip off the trappings of Faith Barclay, assistant district attorney, and pull on sweats. Tension still knotted her neck muscles and she drove faster, her gaze glued to the road, her foot pressing relentlessly on the accelerator as the glorious grass, scrub, aspen, and juniper trees blurred by.

  Only another ten miles, she realized, shooting past Antelope Rock, and she’d be at the cabin.

  The thought sent a surge of relief through her.

  For too long she’d resisted the idea of taking time off, preferring to hunker down and work through her problems, diving into her caseload and blocking everything else out, the way she had after she and Kevin called off their engagement. But when the damaging courtroom events of the past few months had hit on top of her unraveling personal life, work had no longer been a refuge—it had become another huge source of stress.

  What do you expect? Two major cases got screwed up on your watch.

  The burden of that weighed on her slender shoulders like a set of barbells double her weight.

  And she’d known she needed to take some time to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her so-called life.

  Until recently, Faith had been the golden girl of the district attorney’s office, the shining star who’d surged through the ranks of prosecuting attorneys like an ascending comet. All of the lawyers and judges and support staff of Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District had her pegged to make deputy DA by the time she was thirty.

  She had a way of leaping over obstacles, brainstorming her way out of tight corners, and shining like eighteen-karat gold in the courtroom. The best defense attorneys in the state of Pennyslvania considered her a ball-breaker, which was just fine with Faith. She prided herself on her fairness, attention to detail, and dedication to the law, on vigorous prosecutions all carried out stringently by the book.

  If her adversaries couldn’t keep up, so much the better.

  But both the Clement and Bayman cases had hit her hard. Her staff was still reeling, the newspapers were churning out investigations into how the system failed, and Faith had spent the past three weeks being grilled by an oversight committee and personally reviewing every shred of evidence in the Clement case, every interrogation, every file, with a fine-toothed comb.

  Because now she not only had a stalker out on the streets when he should have been behind bars, she also had an innocent dead man on her conscience.

  And no matter how she tried to justify it, both of those horrible miscarriages of justice could be laid, unofficially, at her door.

  Technically, she wasn’t responsible for Jimmy Clement’s death—or for that monster Hank Bayman getting probation.

  But that didn’t help Faith sleep at night.

  “A few weeks at the cabin will get this in perspective,” her father had told her when he called last night while she was packing. She hoped to hell he was right. Slowing down slightly, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel as the Explorer plunged around a curve on Badman’s Road, then she sped up again as the road evened out and blue sky and black-smudged mountains rose straight ahead.

  It would be impossible not to sleep at the cabin, she told herself. Impossible not to be lulled by pine-laced mountain air, the immense silence of the Wyoming night, the sky spangled with a thousand gleaming stars.

  Maybe it would only take a week or two, instead of the four she’d planned, before she felt restored and ready again to face the frenzy of work awaiting her, the pressure of the high-stakes cases flowing steadily to her desk. Before she was no longer worried about Susan Bayman and her kids, and furious every moment of the day because Hank Bayman was stalking the streets again, searching for his wife and children.

  Her throat closed every time she thought about what would happen if Bayman found Susan and the kids. The man was certifiable. And he was relentless.

  And she was pretty certain that he was the one who’d been calling her cell phone lately and hanging up with
out saying a word. He believed she knew where Susan had gone, where she was hiding, trying to start over.

  And he was right.

  But she’d be damned before she’d tell him anything other than to go to hell.

  If he thought calling her in the middle of the night and breathing into the phone would scare her, he was as big a fool as he was a bully.

  Suddenly, as the road curved abruptly, Faith’s mind was jerked back to the present. The sight of a black Ford pickup hurtling toward her from the opposite direction had her slamming on her brakes, jerking the wheel to the right, perilously close to the edge.

  The pickup veered left at the same instant and missed ramming into her by a nose. Her heart pounding, she dragged the Explorer to a screeching stop. The front end was angled awkardly less than five feet from the drop into the ravine.

  Taking gulps of air to calm herself, she heard oaths coming from the other vehicle, then a strapping male catapulted from the pickup and stalked toward her.

  Still catching her breath, Faith shoved open her door. Fury had her usually dreamy blue eyes snapping. She was outside, hands on her hips, glaring as the other driver approached.

  The sun burned in her eyes and she squinted, trying to make out the face of the tall, muscular cowboy bearing down on her, but all she could see was a black Stetson shading his eyes and a white T-shirt and jeans encasing a body buff enough to model for Powerhouse Gym.

  “Going sixty on a road like this, mister? That’ll get you killed,” she began blisteringly.

  Then he was closer and the sun passed between the clouds and she saw his face. That handsome, hard, and angry face. He looked dangerous as sin and older now than the last time she’d seen him, ten years older, but her heart fell to her knees anyway and her mouth went dry as dust.

  “You.” The word came out in a breathless gasp. It sounded nothing like anyone who worked with Faith Barclay in the DA’s office would ever recognize coming from her lips.

  “You,” she said again, harder, stronger.

  Rage curled in her belly. She controlled it. She ignored the stupid ancient pain that seemed to still have power to stab her heart.