Certified Cowboy (7 page)

She was shaking so badly that she swayed, and Johnny pulled her up against him and closed his arms around her. She leaned into him for just a moment and took a deep breath, but his masculine scent made her dizzy in another way, and she pulled away. “How can you tell the difference?”

He spoke in a calm voice. “The coral snake’s red and yellow colors touch, but the milk snake has red touching black and is harmless.”

She chanced a look at him and saw that he was watching her with worried eyes. He was such a pillar of strength that she wanted to fall into his arms. But she couldn’t trust him or any other man.

“They still bite, don’t they?”

“Snakes strike back as a defensive mechanism.” Johnny moved slowly toward the bed, careful not to make a sudden noise and startle the snake.

“I don’t care. I don’t want him in my bed.”

“Don’t worry,” Johnny said. “We’ll take care of that.”

His voice remained low, his footfalls light until he reached the bed, then he lifted the snake with his hands, carefully holding its mouth away from him, and crossed the room. Shivering, she followed him outside.

Kenny came running up then, with Cleo trailing him. His eyes widened when he spotted Johnny with the snake. Then his gaze flew to her, and Rachel realized he’d heard her scream and had thought Rex had found them.

Guilt slammed into her. Her poor little boy. He shouldn’t have to be afraid of his own father. “It’s okay, Kenny. A snake was in the house. You know your mother doesn’t like reptiles.”

Kenny’s terrified look turned to childlike curiosity, proving he was resilient.

Johnny knelt to show Kenny the snake. “It’s a milk snake and harmless,” Johnny explained. “But there are other snakes on the ranch that are dangerous, Kenny. Rattlers, cottonmouths, copperheads. You need to be careful when you’re out in the field, or if you’re by the river or creek.” He paused. “The counselors will teach you how to recognize the poisonous ones. Be careful when you pick up a stick or turn over a rock or log.”

Kenny nodded, soaking in every word Johnny spoke. “Can I pet him?” Kenny asked, wide-eyed.

“Sure, but you need to run your finger down his body. If you rub against his scales, it’ll hurt him.”

Rachel clenched her hands as she watched the gentle way Johnny handled the reptile and her son. But the scent of that cologne in her cabin and the fact that she had found the snake in her bed made her chest clench with fear.

Kenny really liked it on the ranch.

But if Rex was here, they would have to leave Cleo and the pups and his new friend and idol Johnny behind.

S
USPICIONS REARED
THEMSELVES
in Johnny’s head, making his temper come alive, but he bit his tongue to keep from voicing them aloud.

Rachel was definitely lying to him. About her name. About the reason she had been traveling from town to town. Maybe about everything else.

Something had her spooked, bad, and it wasn’t just that damn snake.

Which raised suspicion number two. How the hell had it gotten in her bed? Sure, they found snakes in the barn and on the ranch, but so far they hadn’t managed to worm their way inside any of the cabins. And if Rachel had locked the cabin up when she’d left and the windows were shut…

“What are you gonna do with him?” Kenny asked.

“Let him go.” Johnny frowned, then stood. “You see, Kenny, farms and ranches need snakes to eat smaller rodents. It’s God’s way of balancing nature.”

Rachel watched him, her arms folded around her waist as if she was trying to hold herself together. Some people had an aversion to snakes, but her reaction seemed over-the-top.

Kenny tugged at his shirt. “Can I help you let him go?”

Johnny looked up at Rachel. “Sure, buddy. Then I’ll check the cabin to make sure it’s clean.”

The wary look that flickered in Rachel’s eyes made him wish he could retract his statement.

He wanted a moment alone with her.

Maybe to pull her into his arms again?

Watch out, Johnny. This woman is trouble.

And you have a ranch and a bunch of children to protect.

Relief softened her face. “Thank you. I’ll sleep better if I’m certain there are no more predators inside.”

Her word choice struck him as odd but telling.

Just what kind of predator was after Rachel and her son?

Kenny tagged along beside him as they walked to the pasture to release the snake.

“My mom don’t like bugs or spiders, either,” Kenny said, jerking Johnny from his thoughts.

Johnny smiled at the boy. “Most girls don’t, bud.”

Kenny squared his little shoulders. “Yeah, but us guys, we gots to protect the girls. That’s what real men do.”

Real men? “What do you have to protect your mom from?”

Kenny angled his face toward the dirt as if he’d said something he shouldn’t, and Johnny’s heart ached. He sensed the kid wanted to tell him more.

“Kenny?” Johnny said softly. “I’m your friend, and your mother’s friend. If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me.”

The little boy looked up at him with such a grown-up expression that Johnny wanted to take the weight of the world off his small shoulders.

But Kenny simply shrugged. “Thanks, but me and Mama, we take care of each other.”

Johnny’s chest constricted. God, he understood how the kid felt. When his mama had left and his daddy had gone on his drunken raging tears, he had taken care of Kim.

And they had kept the beatings a secret.

He hated to think that Kenny and Rachel were dealing with the same kind of monster he and Kim had lived with. And that they suffered the same shame.

Shame they didn’t deserve.

“Looking forward to your riding lesson tomorrow?” he asked as they headed back toward the cabin.

“Yes, sir.” Kenny’s face brightened, excitement replacing the earlier fear.

The boy’s hesitation once again reminded him of his own sorry childhood, and he wanted to sweep Kenny in his arms and promise him he’d never have to worry again.

But first he’d have to figure out who had the kid and his mother so spooked.

Then he’d get rid of the problem so that Kenny and Rachel would never have to be afraid or run again.

R
ACHEL WATCHED
J
OHNNY
search the cabin, beneath the bed, in corners, the closet, and inside the bathroom and kitchen cabinets.

“No more snakes,” he said, glancing at the bed where Rachel had stripped the covers and replaced the sheets with fresh ones from the linen closet.

“I don’t know how it got in. Maybe a door was left open.”

“Not by me,” Rachel said. She was fanatical about checking locks and doors and windows.

Johnny shrugged as if he had no answer, but she’d already kept him long enough and was beginning to feel like a fool for overreacting.

Damn Rex for making her so paranoid that she was behaving like a crazy woman.

Kenny had crawled along beside Johnny, searching each corner and crevice with him and mimicking every movement Johnny made. Now they stood side by side, Kenny trying to look big and tough like the cowboy he admired.

Like the one she was beginning to admire, as well.

A big mistake.

She squared her shoulders. “Thank you for checking,” Rachel said. “I didn’t mean to get hysterical.”

A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth, making him look even more handsome, and he tipped his hat. “No problem, ma’am.” He patted Kenny’s back. “Thanks for helping me, Kenny. Now you’d best go to bed. We start early tomorrow.”

Kenny grinned and ran to give Rachel a hug. “Mr. J.’s going to teach me to ride. And I’m gonna help him make posters for the rodeo.”

“We have a lot to do to prepare for the big day,” Johnny said, then watched Kenny run to his bedroom.

Rachel’s heart swelled at the excitement in her son’s face. And when she looked back at Johnny, a flutter of sexual awareness rippled between them. He’d been kind to her son and to her.

He was nothing like Rex….

It didn’t matter. Her life was too complicated for any kind of relationship with a man. Even a friendship.

“Is there anything else you need before I leave?” Johnny asked.

Rachel clenched her hands together. Yes, she wanted him to hold her. To remind her that men could be kind and loving. To purge the memory of Rex’s vile touches from her mind.

But that was impossible. So she shook her head. “I’m fine, just really tired. Like you said, we start early tomorrow.”

Johnny’s eyes seemed to bore into hers as if he wanted to say more. As if he knew she was holding something back.

But he didn’t ask. Instead, he walked out the door with a husky good-night.

For a brief second, Rachel considered running after him. Pouring out her heart and confiding about Rex. Begging him for his help.

But admitting that she had married a man like Rex meant revealing she’d been a fool. It meant reliving the shame she’d experienced in her marriage.

And confessing the truth might endanger Johnny.

She couldn’t live with herself if Rex hurt him to get to her. Not after he’d been so nice to Kenny.

She hurried to tuck Kenny into bed, but he was already asleep. The fresh air, outdoor activity and chores had been good for him. He was thriving on the BBL.

She stroked a lock of his dark hair away from his forehead, then dropped a kiss on his forehead and tiptoed from the room.

Exhausted, she pulled on a nightshirt, then crawled beneath the covers. Surely she had imagined the odor of Rex’s cologne earlier.

But when she closed her eyes, she saw his face as if he was hovering above her. And for the millionth time she tried to figure out how she’d made such a mistake in marrying him.

He’d seemed so charming and handsome when they’d first met in Alabama. She’d lost her parents as a teenager and had struggled over their death and the grief and loneliness that had followed. She’d worked as a waitress at a local bar to pay her way through college.

But her junior year, Rex had walked in, ordered a scotch, then turned on the charm. The promises and gifts that followed had snowed her into a whirlwind romance. Rex had money, power and connections. He was a prominent businessman, had political connections, was going places and promised she’d go with him.

So she’d quit school and married him.

The first year of marriage had been filled with romantic getaways, sex, surprises and cocktail parties where she met all the movers and shakers in his business world.

But then she’d gotten pregnant and he’d become irate. He’d accused her of doing it on purpose. A child would interfere with his life, his plans.

She’d promised it wouldn’t.

So he’d settled down for a while, but slowly his temper had edged its way into their daily lives. He was obsessed with cleanliness, with appearances and being in control.

Then one night she’d forgotten to arrange for a babysitter and had missed one of his parties. He’d been furious. Had had too much to drink. Had shouted that he’d married her to show her off. That she had promised a child wouldn’t change anything.

But it had changed everything for her.

And so had his erratic mood swings.

Of course, no one else ever saw that dark side. He was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A charmer on the exterior, a showman.

An evil stranger at home.

She couldn’t raise her son with a controlling, abusive man, so she’d asked for a divorce.

She shuddered, a panic attack threatening as the chilling memory washed over her.

Nausea rose in her throat, and she sat up in bed and took several deep breaths to calm herself. Darkness bathed the room and, for a moment, she thought a shadow moved in the corner.

Her heart started drumming, and she flipped on the lamp, then peered around the room. Thankfully, it was empty.

Still, she was trembling, so she checked to make sure her gun was locked in the box in the closet, then brought the box and hid it between the bed and the wall. Then she tucked the key beneath her pillow.

Finally, she crawled back in bed, but sleep eluded her.

The scent of that cologne haunted her. Had Rex been in the cabin?

Finally, unable to sleep, she retrieved the key to her gun case from beneath the pillow and clutched it in her hand. If Rex was here and broke in, she’d be ready.

And if he tried to hurt her or take Kenny, she wouldn’t hesitate—she’d kill him.

F
ROM HIS PERCH
ON THE HILL,
Rex watched the cabin where Rachel—or whatever the hell name she’d assumed this time—and his son slept.

The money he’d paid to find her was worth it. She’d be shocked at how easy it had been.

But he wouldn’t let her know he was here yet.