Authors: Lynette Eason
Zane.
“What is it?”
“The horses are out of the fence.” His foreman’s tight voice cut into Cal’s musing over who had been on his property.
“How?” he asked even as he swung back into Snickers’s saddle.
“I was on my way up to check on that mare that’s ready to foal and found the fence cut—again—and the horses scattering.”
A cold feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Some of those horses didn’t belong to him. He boarded some of those animals for the extra income. If any of them got hurt or lost… He shuddered to think of the cost. Not just to his pocket, but to his reputation. The ranch would go under.
“Gather Donny, Mike and Jesse and start rounding them up. I’m on my way.”
Abby looked up from the computer to see Fiona looking through the cabinet for something. The woman had wanted to go to church this morning, but had been voted down by her mother and Cal. They were too worried about her making an unnecessary trip through the snow and ice. She’d argued that the ice would be melted by the time the late service started, but had finally agreed to stay put.
Frankly, Abby silently agreed with them and been relieved when Fiona caved. “Why don’t you move closer to the hospital until the baby comes?” Abby couldn’t help asking.
Fiona turned to look at her. “Because this is my home. People have babies all the time. If I were a high risk, I’d do it, but I’m not. My blood pressure’s fine, the baby is fine.” She shrugged. “There’s no reason.”
“But it’s just a precaution,” Abby argued.
“I know—”
Fiona broke off when the phone rang.
Abby turned back to the computer until Fiona gasped. Spinning around, Abby took in the tight, frantic look on the woman’s face. Abby’s heart skipped a beat and she asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is it the baby?”
Fiona grabbed her coat from the rack. “No, the horses are loose. We’ve got to get them back in the fence or they could end up who knows where.”
Alarmed, Abby bolted to her feet. She’d been working on the files again at the kitchen table using the laptop Cal had given her last night. “You can’t go out there. I’ll help.”
Fiona gripped the coat in her fist. “I have to.”
“No. Think of the baby.”
That stopped her. She pulled in a deep breath even as she bowed her head in defeat. “I know I can’t,” she whispered, “but the horses…we can’t lose any of them. They’re not all ours. Our clients depend on us to keep their animals safe.”
Abby didn’t hesitate. She hurried down the steps to her small apartment and snatched the heavy down coat, hat and gloves from the chair. Bless Fiona’s heart in loaning them to her. She raced back up the stairs to find Fiona still in the kitchen, looking out the window, her face reflecting her anxiety. Abby told her, “I can round up horses as well as the next person. I’ve done it before.”
Surprise took the place of some of Fiona’s worry. “Really?”
“Yep.”
Then the frown returned. “But you’re still recovering.”
Abby tugged on the coat, then the gloves. “I’m fine. Not a hundred percent, maybe, but definitely okay to go hunt some horses.”
Gratitude flared in Fiona’s eyes. “I’ll call the barn and have Jesse saddle you a mount—if Jesse’s still there.”
“If not, I can do it myself.”
Abby opened the door and stepped out into the cold. The temperatures hovered in the low forties, melting the ice that had formed the night before. Still, a strong wind blew and she shivered as she trudged toward the barn.
At least it had stopped snowing, although the sky threatened more.
Entering the barn, she paused, taking in the smell of hay and horses. She saw Jesse slipping the bridal on a beautiful quarter horse.
Another fully tacked horse had been tied to the post about ten feet away. Jesse looked at her. “Here ya go. Ms. Fiona caught me just as I was heading out. This little darlin’ is Pretty Mama. She’s got a good temperament. You won’t have any problems outta her.” Several harnesses were hooked to the saddle. She knew she’d use those to lead whatever horses she was able to snag back to the pasture.
“Thanks, Jesse.” Abby took the reins from him and introduced herself to the horse by slipping her a couple of sugar cubes she’d snitched from the kitchen.
Jessed watched her with a twinkle in his eye. “Know yer way around horses, eh?”
“A bit.” Abby smiled and hauled herself into the saddle. It felt good. And right. She shifted and got comfortable on the creaking leather, thankful she no longer had a headache or dizziness. “Where should we look first?”
“I’d say around the river, but honestly, they could be anywhere by now. Cal said he was heading back this way to check the creek line.” He shook his head. “That river’s high right now with all the rain and snow we’ve had. Temperatures are melting the ice, but the river’s edge will still be frozen and slick. Be careful around it.”
“I will.” She adjusted the stirrups as she mentally pictured the direction she’d go from the barn.
Jesse said, “I’m hoping those horses will stick together. Fortunately, it’s not like they’re wild. You should be able to ride right up to ’em and slip a harness over their heads.”
Clicking to the horse, Abby guided her from the barn. Together, she and Jesse headed toward the river. Unfamiliar with the land, she visualized the layout of the ranch in her mind using the map she’d seen on the wall in the den.
They rode slow and easy for the next few minutes.
“I see one,” Jesse said. “I’m heading that way.” He pointed to the black horse in the distance. Abby nodded and watched him gallop away.
She turned back toward the river and felt a shiver ride up her spine. Feeling exposed, she hurried toward the tree line telling herself she was being silly and yet unable to squelch the desire to be behind some kind of cover. With the attack still fresh in her mind, she suddenly didn’t want to be alone.
Then she spotted movement down near the river through a grove of trees. If the trees had had leaves on them, she never would have seen it. Then the brown and white horse walked to the edge of the river, then a little farther to get past the ice. He stuck his nose in the water to have a drink.
Nudging the horse with her heels, she said, “Come on, Pretty Mama, let’s go see if we can get a lead on your friend there.”
Pretty Mama responded and they headed down the small hill. In the distance she could see a man leading three other horses in her direction. Zane? It looked like him.
At the edge of the trees, Abby stopped, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. A spot between her shoulders itched.
She glanced around.
Nothing there to give her any reason to feel like she had a target on her back. On this side of the ranch, about a mile from Fiona’s house, she knew she wasn’t far from the main road that led into the town of Rose Mountain.
Another horse came into sight, stretching its silky brown neck to lap at the water. The river was lazy, not a rushing fast-paced body of water and Abby knew for Cal and his family, it was a priceless commodity to have.
And while it all looked peaceful, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
“Just get the horses and get back,” she muttered to herself.
Looking back over her shoulder, she saw the man leading the other three horses disappear out of sight as he rode down the hill that led to the barn.
She shivered, not just from the chill of the forty-degree weather, but from the sheer isolation she now found herself in.
Ignoring her troubled thoughts, she focused on the horses. It was a small thing to do for the family who’d taken her in and nursed her back to health.
“Come on, Pretty Mama, let’s go.”
Abby walked the horse closer, pulling one of the halters from the hook on her saddle. The paint raised its head and snorted at her but didn’t try to run. Abby slid from the saddle and snitched an apple from her saddle bag. She looped Pretty Mama’s reins over the nearest tree and approached the other horse. She’d focus on this one, then go for the one farther down.
“Hey, pretty boy, you want an apple?” She hoped the croon in her voice would keep the horse calm, settled. He didn’t know her and she wasn’t sure how he felt about strangers.
He stomped a foot and leaned down for another drink, walking part of the way into the river to get even farther past the frozen edges.
The water had to be freezing, but the horse didn’t seem to mind. She noted the shallow area where the animal stood and wondered if the river was deeper farther out, closer to the middle, or if it was the same depth all the way across.
Must be deeper because it wasn’t frozen solid.
The back of her neck tingled and she jerked her gaze from the horse to look behind her. Nothing but trees.
So where was her uneasiness coming from?
Leftover from yesterday’s attack probably.
Get the horse. Focus. You can do this simple thing. A small thing as part of a way to say thanks to the McIvers for all they’ve done for you.
Abby edged closer to the horse, one foot carefully placed in front of the other as she made her way down to the river.
A blast of wind skimmed off the surface of the water and hit her full in the face. She gasped and shivered but didn’t let it stop her. Keeping her eyes on the horse, she whispered sweet nothings to him. He eyed her and swished his tail, but other than that, didn’t seem bothered by her presence.
Unfortunately, he’d moved into the water and to get ahold of his head to slip the halter and lead on, she’d have to step into the river.
She paused, debating. Her boots were water-resistant but were short. The river would flow right over the top of them.
“Come here, boy. Come here.” Staying well out of kicking range, she patted the horse’s rump. He sidestepped her, but at least he backed up a bit.
She grasped the bottom part of his mane and pulled his head around.
Then something slammed into her back and she felt herself lifted, pulled backward.
Letting out a startled scream, Abby tried to turn to face whatever had ahold of her. The startled horse bucked and bolted at the sudden action.
Abby jerked back, twisted and pulled away.
She must have surprised her attacker with her desperate moves because he let go and she was free. Turning, she came face to face with a man in a ski mask.
Wordless, he reached for her again, his fingers wrapping around her wrist.
“Let me go!” she screamed at him. “Leave me alone, Reese!
The fingers loosened and Abby felt her feet fly out from under her. Off balance, she stumbled, desperately tried to right herself and overcompensated. She went down hard.
Right into the icy water.
SIX
C
al heard the commotion, then the splash as he came over the rise. Then thundering hoofbeats as two of his horses tore across the open field, heading for the edge of the property.
Frowning, Cal saw the horse Abby had been riding tied to the tree, another horse partway in the water about ten yards away from her.
And Abby doing her best to get to the bank.
“Oh, no.” She’d be a candidate for serious hypothermia if he didn’t get her out of there fast. “Abby!” The river was deeper than it looked in some places.
Looked like she’d found that out the hard way.
The dangerous way.
Déjà vu flittered across his mind as he raced toward her. Fear for her choked him even as he thought he might have to keep her under lock and key to make sure she stayed out of danger.
He rode his horse straight into the shallow part of the river, his mount’s hooves crunching through the frozen ice. Cal pulled the stallion to a halt at the edge. Any farther and the horse might not be able to get out. “Abby!”
She struggled to get her feet under her, the water was only about four-feet deep, but the temperature was probably around fifteen degrees.
He’d jump in and grab her if he didn’t know he’d find himself in as much trouble with the cold water as she was. He’d need to keep himself strong to help her.
Abby spotted him and her eyes showed mammoth proportions of relief even while her movements grew sluggish. “Cal!”
Willing his heart to settle, he pulled a rope from the side of his saddle and tossed it to her. “Slip that under your arms.”
Her gloved hands flopped, tried to grasp it and couldn’t get it. “Can’t.” Panic flared. “It’s…too hard…to move.”
“Abby, listen to me! You have to. Grab it!” he ordered, his voice harsh, demanding. “Now!”
She flinched and made another effort, this time getting her wrist through the loop and sluggishly shoving it up to her shoulder.
Cal pulled the rope tight, praying it was enough to keep her attached until he could get her out of the water. He was running out of time.
Clicking to Snickers, he backed the horse up with his knees and one hand on the reins. The other hand pulled the rope, taking up the slack and dragging her toward the edge of the river.
So far so good. “Hang on, Abby.”
Almost there.
Finally, he dropped the rope and bolted from the saddle into the shallower knee-deep water. He gasped and shuddered at the frigid bite but ignored it as he got his hands under her arms.
Cal pulled her onto the bank. Snickers whickered and tossed his head.
Cal grabbed his cell phone from the pocket of his bag attached to the saddle and called Zane. “I need someone on standby for emergency hypothermia treatment.” He hung up, not bothering to explain. “Abby, look at me.”
Her teeth chattered. A good sign. Her body was still able to react to the cold. If she stopped shivering, he’d be more worried.
“S-s-so cold.”
“I know. We’re going to get you warmed up.” His mind raced as he filtered through all he knew about hypothermia. Getting her dry and warm were the priorities.
The rumble of a truck caught his attention, then the wheels crunching through snow and some still-frozen ice. Zane.
The man pulled up beside the trees and he burst from the cab. “What happened?”
“Not sure. Let’s get her back to the house and warmed up before we start pumping her for information.”
Zane nodded. Cal picked Abby up, and grunted. The heavy clothes soaked with the cold water added quite a few pounds to her normally slight frame.
Together, he and Zane maneuvered her into the backseat of the King cab. Cal climbed in with her and helped her get out of her soggy coat and boots.
His mother could help with the rest when he got her to the house. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed his mother’s number. By the time she answered on the third ring, Cal’s patience was just about used up.
He told her what he needed and hung up. Within seconds, Zane pulled up beside the small apartment and parked.
Fiona and his mother met them at the door. Little Tiffany hovered beside his mother. When she saw her grandfather, she reached for him.
“Hold on, baby,” Zane said. “We’ve got to get Miss Abby warmed up.”
The little girl stepped back, curious eyes wide, taking in every detail of the action before her.
Working quickly, Cal got Abby inside. She reached up and grabbed his hand in her ice cold one. “Someone pushed me,” she whispered.
Cal felt his heart stop, then speed up like a freight train out of control. “Who? Why?”
“I d-d-don’t know.”
And then Cal’s mother and Fiona shooed the men out. Cal gave Abby one last lingering look as he stepped back.
Her pale white face and blue-tinged lips struck something in him he’d never felt before.
He shut the door and stood still, head bowed.
With his sister, his mother…Brianne, he felt protective, wanting to take care of them, make sure they had everything they needed and that they were safe from harm.
Of course Fiona now had Joseph to fill that role.
With Abby, those protective feelings were also there, but it was more than just feeling protective. A murderous rage against the person who dared to invade his home, his property, those under his protection stirred in his gut.
Cal clenched a gloved fist as he headed toward his home to change his boots and pants.
He’d catch this person and then make sure he was punished to the fullest extent of the law—and if the law wouldn’t do anything about it, he had friends who would.
Abby couldn’t remember being this cold since…ever. She’d never been this cold. The physician part of her brain took over as she took a mental inventory.
Now in dry clothes and propped up in the recliner with her feet on the ottoman, she had her hands wrapped around a hot cup of coffee.
Slowly the warmth of the mug penetrated the ice that had become her hands.
Her muscles were less sluggish, her mind a little more clear. She would be all right.
As soon as she thawed out.
Fiona and her sweet mother hovered. She looked at them and said, “Thank you for coming to my rescue once again.”
“Our pleasure, dear.” The words were sincere, but Abby couldn’t help notice the worried frown pulling the woman’s brows together at the bridge of her nose.
Abby took another sip of the steaming yet now-drinkable coffee. “I don’t know what I would have done if Cal hadn’t come along when he did.”
“Who pushed you?”
Fiona’s gentle question made Abby blink. Right. She’d blurted that out to Cal. Her next shiver had nothing to do with the chill she still felt to her bones. “I don’t know. He had on a ski mask.”
“Why is this person coming after you?” Cal’s mother asked. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need, but if there’s danger…well, the McIvers have never run from it, but we’d like to be prepared for it.”
Fiona nodded.
And Abby felt about two inches tall.
She opened her mouth to spill her story when a knock sounded on the door. Fiona opened it to let Cal in.
Abby bit her lip. She’d almost forgotten. Cal was a cop. Cops stuck together. If she spilled her guts, he’d never believe her brother-in-law was behind the attacks on her life.
In fact, if Reese hadn’t uttered those horrible, threatening words while standing at his wife’s deathbed, she wouldn’t believe it herself.
But he had.
“How are you doing?” Cal asked as he pulled the door shut behind him.
She nodded. “Warming up. You?”
“I put on two pairs of socks. I think my toes are about thawed.” He flashed her a grin, and she couldn’t stop the answering smile or the rapid flutter of her heart as she wondered what he’d do if she grabbed him and pulled him down for a thank-you kiss. Heat immediately infused her face.
Well, that was one way to get warm, she thought ruefully. Just think about kissing Callum McIvers.
Instead, she derailed that thought when his smile flipped into a frown. “Did you know that man at the river?”
Shaking her head, she glanced at the McIver family. “No. I was just telling your mother and Fiona that he had a ski mask on. I couldn’t tell a thing about him.” She paused. “Other than the fact that he was strong. But lean. Not really muscular and not really that much taller than I am.” Which was really odd, she mused slowly, because Reese Kirkpatrick was a tall man topping six feet easily. Maybe even an inch or two over.
So what did that mean?
The man who attacked her wasn’t Reese?
Then who had Reese paid to attack her?
“And you said he pushed you.”
She gathered the rest of her thoughts. “Yes.” Frowned again. “No.”
Cal grunted. “Well, which is it?”
Abby shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…I thought I felt someone watching me, but couldn’t see anyone. There were several horses in that area. I was focused on the paint drinking from the river.”
Cal nodded his encouragement. “And?”
“Well, the horse was in the river. In the shallow part. I got off my horse thinking it might be easier to get a lead on the paint if I wasn’t leaning over my own horse. Only the paint was kind of stubborn and didn’t want to come out of the water.”
“That’s Shoes for you. Stubborn as they come.”
“Anyway, I got up to him and almost had the halter with the lead on him when I felt something grab the back of my coat and pull me around.” Abby swallowed at the memory. The nightmare of coming face to face with the masked man. “He didn’t say anything, just pulled me. I yanked away from him, he lost his grip and I went into the river.” She finished the last part of the sentence slowly. “Actually, I guess he didn’t really push me. I…fell.”
“But if he hadn’t been there, you wouldn’t have fallen.”
“True.” Another shiver racked her frame.
A loud crash came from upstairs and Cal darted to his feet, hand on his gun.
With a quick look at the women, he said, “Stay here.”