9781631053566SpringsDelightBallNC (19 page)

“And you’re positive it was
him?” Colt handed her a cup of tea. “Decaf, you’re already too wound up.”

Bibbs picked up the
switchblade Colt had tossed onto the table. “Haven’t seen this baby since the
time Caleb…” He trailed off and put it back down.

“I found it in a drawer in the
kitchen. I wasn’t about to let Billy hurt me again. I still think I should
leave. I don’t want any of you in danger from that lunatic.”

Colt and Bibbs frowned at her
while Shady sat on the couch next to her. “You’re not going anywhere. We’ll
protect you. Besides, I like having you here. You make great cookies and all.”

“Cookies?”
Bibbs shook his head. “We think of you as part of our little family here and
family takes care of its own. Come to think of it though, you do make darn good
cookies.”

Colt chuckled. “Do it for the
cookies.”

Spring nodded with a chuckle
of her own
. “Cookies are nice.”

“In all seriousness we need to
set up a plan to keep you safe. I think for now we’ll go back to having one of
us watching you at all times. Do you know how to shoot?”

Her eyes widened at Colt’s
question.
“A gun?”

“Yes, a gun.”

“None of the foster homes I
stayed at let us touch guns.”

Giving her a wink, he walked
to the paneled wall on the left side of the fireplace and tapped on it. The
panel popped open revealing his gun safe and he took out a small pistol. “This
is a nine millimeter hand gun. I think this one would be best for you to have.”

“Me? How many guns do you
have?”

“Enough. We’ll start you off
on the handgun then on to the rifle. I want you to be able to protect
yourself.”

The serious expression on his
face brought the danger forefront. “I don’t like guns, but you’re right, I do
need to be able to protect myself. Where’s the shooting range?”

Bibbs and Shady exchanged
amused grins.

“What’s so funny?”

Colt put the gun back into the
safe. “We have our own gun range here on the ranch.”

“Let me guess. You have old
cans and bottles set up to shoot at.” Her body tingled as Colt wrapped his arm
around her waist and pulled her to his side.

“Honey, we are not hicks. We
have a fenced area with hay bales we shoot at. Depending on the day we have a
few different pictures we put on the bales to shoot at.”

“What pictures?”

Colt grinned. “You’ll see.
Look
who’s
driving up.”

Following his gaze, she saw
the police car finally drive up to the house.
“Oh, great.
Now he shows up, after the cavalry arrived.”

Shady smiled and elbowed
Bibbs. “Did you hear that? We’re the cavalry.”

“Buddy, you’ve been watching
too many westerns,” Bibbs replied, shaking his head. He walked to the door and
opened it before Sheriff Brown had a chance to knock.

Without as much as a ‘hello’,
the sheriff strode in and immediately stared at Colt’s arm around
Spring’s
waist. He smirked. “I knew you two had something
going on.”

Colt stiffened. “So what if we
do? That’s not why we called you. I guess there must have been a big delay in
getting the message that you were needed.”

The sheriff’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t like the tone of your voice. My schedule is my business. Besides I don’t
take much stock in what she has to say.” He pointed at her accusingly.

Spring gasped. “Billy was here
and—”

“And
so what?
I didn’t get any reports of injuries.” He looked her
up and down, shrugged and stared her in the eye.

Colt stepped forward. “Don’t
make me call the state police again.”

Sheriff Brown laughed. “Like
it worked for you last time? Hell, you almost got arrested for horse stealing.
Go ahead and call.”

Spring stepped forward until
she was shoulder to shoulder with Colt. Watching him run his fingers through
his dark hair, she knew he shared her frustration. “Don’t you have to write a
report or something? Don’t you need details?”

He crossed his arms in front
of him. “Indeed I do need to write a report, but I don’t need details since I
don’t believe you. No one has seen this Billy character. I ran his name, he’s
not wanted.”

Her eyes widened, and she
blinked hard. “He’s got a record!”

“Well, juvenile records can be
sealed and his are.”

“How
convenient.”
It was so unbelievable, and she shook her head
at the absurdity of it.

“Well, I have other business
to take care of. Mrs. Grandy and Mrs. Ruth are fighting about the chickens.” He
turned and walked out the door.

Her shoulders slumped. “Who is
fighting about chickens?”

“Those two old biddies drive
everyone insane,” Shady said. “Mrs. Grandy has a horse named Jasper, and
whenever she needs Holden’s help she pays him in chickens. Well Holden has no
place for chickens so he gives them to Mrs. Ruth to keep. Well, Mrs. Ruth has a
dog named Penny and she gives the chickens back when she needs the vet. So,
Holden gives them back to Mrs. Grandy to hold onto.”

With furrowed brow, she turned
toward Colt.
“Really?”

Colt nodded.
“Been going on for a long time.”
His lips twitched.

“But by all rights, they
really belong to Holden. So, what’s the problem?”

“Holden wouldn’t take payment
from either of them, so the chicken exchange happens so the ladies don’t get
their feathers ruffled.”

Bibbs laughed. “We wouldn’t
want any ruffled feathers. That was a good one, Boss.”

Colt started to chuckle and
immediately stopped. “In all seriousness, we have a big problem. I’ll stay as
close to
Spring
as I can, and you two can take turns
watching her. I’m going to call my cousin Diane and let her know what that poor
excuse of a sheriff said and tell her about the car Shady saw. Bibbs, I’d
appreciate it if you’d get Railroad taken care of. She is still in the corral.”

“Not a problem. We’ll get
right on it.” Bibbs put his hat on and slapped Shady on the shoulder. “Best get
to it.”

Shady nodded, grabbed his hat,
and they walked out the door.

Chapter Thirteen

“The gun range is exactly how
you described it.” Spring watched as Colt explained gun safety. “Are those
pictures of Sheriff Brown on those bales?”

Colt grinned. “They sure are.
We also have pictures of Jacob Ash. He’s a local that abuses horses. He buys
them cheap, and sells them across the border. I use his picture a lot.”

“This might be fun after all.”
Her smile lit up her whole face. How did she ever believe she wasn’t pretty?

“What? Do I have something on
my face?”

“Actually I was admiring your
smile.” He warmed as her face turned a deep shade of red. “Let’s get started.”

Leading her to the spot where
the target was a bit closer, he felt her stiffen. “Relax.” He handed her ear
protectors, and she immediately put them on. Then he stood behind her with his
arms around her, helping to aim the gun. She stiffened even more.

“I don’t know if this is a
good idea,” she shouted

“Just take a deep breath and
slowly let it out,” he yelled back. He waited until she did it and relaxed
somewhat. “Ease your finger on the trigger, nice and slow. Now pull back on the
trigger.”

She fired and started to turn
around. He grabbed her and stopped her from moving.
“Safety
first.
By the way, your hearing protector looks right sexy on you. Let’s
do it again.”

They kept at it until her arms
began to shake from the exertion of holding them in place for so long. He
finally took the gun from her, and she walked out of the circle of his arms. He
didn’t need to guide her after the first few rounds but he’d enjoyed her
holding her.

“How’d I do?”

“A few more lessons and you’ll
be up there with the best. Then of course we do rifle training.”

“You have the biggest shit
eatin
’ grin on your face.”

Colt secured the gun then
turned toward her. He was in front of her in two long strides and gazing into
her blue eyes. His happiness was in those eyes, a happiness he needed, a
happiness he wanted. Swooping down, he claimed his happiness with a kiss. Her
lips parted instantly, and her sweet noises sent him spiraling. He thought
about making love to her right there on the grass but dismissed it as too
public.
The truck?
No, their first time should be in a
bed. His body responded to hers powerfully, and for a second, he regretted his
choice to go shooting.

“Unless you want me to lay you
down in the grass, we’d better stop.”

She let go of him as he
stepped away. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Yes of course, we need to
stop.” The desire in her eyes proved she felt differently, but he was on top of
the world.

Taking her hand, he kissed her
palm. “Life is
short,
we have no assurances of how
long we will be here on earth. I’m just going to say this, and if you don’t
want to hear it, we can pretend I never said anything. I don’t know how it
happened; I mean when you got here I swore never to care about you or anyone
else again. I tried and tried to tell myself it was a bad idea, but it happened
anyway. Spring, I love you.” He averted his gaze not wanting to see an
expression of doubt or disgust.

The silence stretched on until
he finally turned and walked toward the truck.

“Wait! Don’t you dare leave
me.
Colt, look at me!”

For a brief moment, he
hesitated as his heart dropped but his need to know won out. As soon as he saw
her face, he froze. Staring back at him, her eyes shone with her love, and he
sighed in relief. “You’re not upset?”

The sweetest smile crossed her
face. “No, I’m not upset. I’ve been trying to squash my feelings for you. I
grew up expecting the worst, with my back to the wall, watching life go by.
Somehow, you changed me. I learned to trust, and hope, and to participate in my
life. Colt, I love you too.”

She walked into his open arms
and put her arms around his neck. He gladly allowed her to pull him down for a
kiss, a long passionate kiss filled with promises for their future. Now that
their love was known, the kiss was even sweeter than before.

His cellphone rang, and he was
so tempted to let it go to voicemail, but he had Bibbs and Shady out on the
range, and he was responsible for them. The moment she stepped away, he longed
to grab her back to him.

He glanced at the caller ID,
and it was Bibbs. Frowning, he answered it.

“Boss, we have a situation
here. You might want to take the package and go by way of the eagle.”

“Bibbs?
What are you talking about?”

“
Amscray
ithway
ingspray
.”

“Is that Pig Latin? Bibbs,
what’s wrong with you?”

Shady must have grabbed Bibbs’
phone. “Damn it, Bibbs, listen, Boss, Peggy Jo is dead, and Ole Brownie is here
to arrest our girl. Make tracks while you can.”

“Stay there, and keep an eye
on him. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Are you sure you don’t need
to visit an old friend up in Canada or Mexico?” Shady asked.

“That’s it, no more old
westerns for you two. I’ll get there when I can. Bye.” Colt shook his head.
They meant well, and any other time he’d laugh, but
Spring
was waiting for him to explain the call.

“Honey, your…I mean Peggy Jo
is
dead,
and the sheriff is waiting to arrest you.”

Immediately, she covered her
mouth, as her eyes grew wide. Shaking her head, she dropped her hand again.
“How the heck did Peggy Jo get herself killed?”

“They didn’t say.”

“They?”

“Bibbs
was
talking in Pig Latin, and Shady was telling us to cross the border, any border.
The sheriff is at the house.” He shifted his weight from one leg to another. “I
don’t think making a run for it is the answer.”

Her face turned pale. “I don’t
like this, Colt. He’s been gunning for me.”

“I’ll call Diane and have her
meet us at the house. We could shoot a few more rounds at the sheriff’s face.”
He pulled her into his arms, kissed her cheek then let her go. “Diane might
even enjoy tangling with the sheriff.”

* * * *

Spring’s mind whirled the
whole way back to the house. Why would the sheriff think she’d done it? He must
be out of his mind! Of course, with the constant watch on her, she had an alibi
but something else must be going on. “I thought I’d feel more. I mean I spent
my whole life wishing she’d come and rescue me and in the end, I just wanted
her gone. Guess I shouldn’t say the gone part to the police. Do you think Billy
had something to do with her death? I don’t think they knew each other but they
have been around. Maybe they ran into each other?”

Her heartbeat sped up but as
soon as Colt took her hand in his comforting one, she calmed a bit.

“They have no proof, honey. We’ll
have Diane take care of it.”

Normally she enjoyed the view
as they drove but now it was all a blur going by.
Damn it, Peggy Jo. Why’d you get yourself killed when I finally found
happiness?
She glanced at Colt’s profile. He loved her. What had been the
best day of her life was now a disaster. “I wouldn’t blame you if you walked
away from me.”

Colt slowed the truck and
pulled off onto the side of the road. He unbuckled both of their seatbelts and
pulled her close. “That’s not how love works. I love you, and I believe in you.
I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”

Tears rolled slowly down her
face. “No one ever believed in me before.”

“Caleb did, and he sent you to
me. I know it must be scary and upsetting, but I’ve got your back.” He held her
and stroked her back until she felt composed.

“Thank you. Let’s go and see
what the sheriff has to say.”

Colt smiled at her. “Chin up.”

“Yes, chin up.” Colt was right.
Caleb had believed in her.

When she saw Diane’s car was
parked next to the police car,
Spring’s
fear eased.
Colt parked the car and opened her door for her. “You’ve got this.”

Taking his hand, she nodded.
“With you beside me, I’ve got this.”

The front door swung open and
Sheriff Brown, Diane, Shady and Bibbs all spilled out. Both Shady and Bibbs
looked afraid while Diane and the sheriff both sported determined expressions.
In fact, Sheriff Brown’s face was a startling shade of red.

“‘Bout time you showed up.”
The sheriff’s voice sounded a bit menacing. “Spring Reed, I have a warrant for
your arrest.”

Colt stepped forward. “What
are the charges?” His ability to remain cool was admirable.

“Murder.
Her
ma is at the county morgue. I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Swallowing hard,
Spring
shook her head. “You’re wrong.” She glanced at Diane.
“I assume I should keep my mouth shut until I’m questioned.”

“Yes, don’t say a word until I’m
in the room with you. Go peacefully with Brownie. I’ll be right behind you.”

Spring gave Shady and Bibbs a
weak smile then she turned to Colt. They locked gazes the whole time she was
being handcuffed. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Count on it and remember, you’ve
got this.”

She lifted her chin in
response and walked to the police car. It was hard to believe this was her
second ride in handcuffs inside of a week.

“I’ve got you this time. I
even have a witness. There won’t be a thing that sneaky lawyer of yours can do
to help you. To think I thought it was a run of the mill type of day. It’s
turning out to be the best day I’ve had in a long time.”

He watched her in the rearview
mirror, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from responding. She hoped
she appeared aloof because she felt anything but. Thinking about Colt, helped.
He loved her, even if it was hard to embrace the whole concept right away. He
did mean it when he said he had her back, didn’t he?

Old habits and learned
responses were hard to break. One by one, Colt had broken through her barriers
all except for one: doubt. If he didn’t mean all the things he said today, she’d
never get over it.

“Something
wrong back there?”

“What? No, I’m fine.” She must
have given away her feelings.

He parked the car and grabbed
her out of it. They went through the door, and her heart jumped at the scene.
Stone, Jonas and Holden were surrounding an angry Billy.

“What are you fools doing
here?” The sheriff demanded. “Unhand my witness.”

“The lug is your witness?”
Holden stared at the sheriff in disbelief. “Mindy Sue called and told us Billy
was here.”

“Why are you here? Get lost
all of you.”

“No can do,” Jonas responded.

“The state police are on their
way, and they asked us to keep this lug in custody,” Stone explained.

“Something
about a stolen car?”
Holden shrugged.

“Are you going to
uncuff
me?” Spring asked. This farce was obviously
crumbling to pieces.

“No, missy I am not. I’m
putting you in a cell where you belong.” He pulled her past everyone and shoved
her into a cell. It was located at the back of the building and it was so
quiet, too quiet.

“How’d Peggy Jo die?” she
asked.

The cell door closed, echoing
through the corridor.
“Overdose.”
He smirked. “And
Billy is willing to testify you bought the heroin that killed her. You know you
shouldn’t have hired Diane as your lawyer. Never did like her, and there is no
way she is going to win this game.” He cackled as he left.

Sitting on the bunk, she
wondered what the heck was going on.
A ‘game’?
Peggy
Jo was dead, she was in jail and Billy was walking? Free for now, anyway.
People didn’t take kindly to having their cars stolen.

Her heart sank. Peggy Jo was
dead, and she didn’t expect to feel anything but it was all beginning to sink
in. Her mother overdosed. Spring’s eyes filled but she refused to let the tears
fall. Peggy Jo didn’t deserve tears
. Damn
you! Why couldn’t you have been like other mothers?
A few tears escaped and
trailed down her face. They were tears of a child who wanted her mother. She
was no longer a child so she quickly wiped her tears away.

Diane would sort it out, and
she’d be free in no time. She sighed deeply. The sheriff seemed more than
determined to convict her. It was her biggest frustration in life, being used
as a pawn with no control over the outcome. She’d honestly thought she could
put her past behind her and start a new life.

Shaking her head, she marveled
at her naivety. She’d brought danger to Colt’s door in her quest to be free. He
probably was rethinking everything about her. What if he didn’t love her
anymore? Her heart beat painfully against her ribs. Leaning against the cool
brick wall, she closed her eyes and relived their kiss and his declaration of
love.