Lonestar Sanctuary (12 page)

Several picture albums lay in the drawer. Cracks radiated across
the leather cover of the top one, and the texture was worn smooth
along the opening edges. Allie lifted it out and ran her hand across it.
Maybe it was a record of the kids who had passed through this place
over the years.

But if it was, why lock it up?

She lifted the top cover and peeked at the first page. Old black-andwhite pictures with labels under them crowded the black paper. The first
picture of a little girl looked a lot like Betsy. It had to be Allie's mother.

She flipped the pages and peered into a world fifty years in the
past. Her mother looked so happy and carefree sitting on the fence
rail with the horses in the pasture behind her. By her late teens, the
smile changed to a deadpan scowl.

The last few pages were empty and appeared to have had pictures removed. Allie started to go to the next album when she heard
the front door slam and boot heels clatter along the wooden floor.
She dropped the album back into the drawer. Noiselessly sliding the
drawer shut, she locked it and returned the key to its place just as Rick
came through the door.

Her face felt hot and moist, and when he stared at her for an
extra beat, she wondered if guilt stamped her features. "Everything
okay?" she asked.

He had a rope in his hand, and dust streaked his face. "Peachy. The
bull got out and is chasing the horses. Any chance you could help me
get him? You've got a good arm."

Pleasure surged through her at his words. Better to do something
she was good at than to sit here staring at words and numbers jumping
across the page. She rose and grabbed her cowboy hat. "Where is he?"

"Back pasture." He led the way out the back door.

The sunlight pierced her eyes, and she lowered her hat on her
forehead. Squinting against the dust and glare, she saw the big bull on
the other side of the fence. Tossing his head with its sharp horns, he
pranced around the field, looking as mean as any she'd seen in the ring.

"Whooee, what a brute.You ever take him to the rodeo?" she asked.

"Nope. I wouldn't want to be responsible for him killing someone. I told Elijah we needed to get rid of him, but he won't hear of it. The
old man loves Roscoe for some reason."

"Roscoe. He seems too big and mean for a Roscoe," she said,
approaching the fence.

The bull quit his posturing and erupted into action. Dirt clods
flew from under his sharp hooves as he chased the mares from corner
to corner. Good thing Betsy wasn't out here to see him cornering her
little mare. The poor thing barely had the strength to outrun the
beast. How'd he get out anyway?

She took the rope from Rick and started to climb over the fence.

"No, stay on this side of the fence," he said, reaching for her arm.

She dodged his hand and vaulted. The bull hadn't seen her yet.
Looping the rope, she waited for the bovine to get closer.

"Allie, he's dangerous!" Rick climbed the fence and came to
stand beside her. "Let me get us some horses, and we'll rope him from
horseback."

She shook her head. "He's about to catch up with Betsy's mare."
She twirled the loop through the air as she waited for the right
moment. The bull moved a few steps closer, and she waited. Missing
at this close range would be dangerous.

"Let me get another rope then. We need to grab him from two
directions so he doesn't trample you." Rick ran off toward the barn.

Allie wasn't worried. Animals usually tried to pull away from the
rope, not run toward it. The bull's head jerked toward Rick as he
jogged toward the barn. He snorted and pawed the ground, then
charged toward Rick. Allie shouted a warning. Rick put on a spurt of
speed and dived through the barn door, and the bull followed.

"Oh no,"Allie whispered. She darted toward the barn as the beast
erupted from the door. Skidding to a halt, she began to back away from the snorting animal. At least the bull hadn't been inside long
enough to do much damage to Rick.

The bull's head swung away from her, and she spared a glance to
her right to see what had attracted its attention.

Betsy.

Betsy was in the paddock, walking toward the animal with flowers
in her hands. She seemed oblivious to the danger.

Allie's muscles felt rusty and slow as she tried to run toward her
daughter. Time slowed as Allie saw Betsy's dark curls bounce with
each step. The sunlight gleamed on the little girl's hair, and she wore
a serene smile.

"Betsy, run!" Allie had lost the loop on her rope. Coiling it again,
she screamed and shouted at the bull, but the animal fixated on her
daughter. Her best chance was to rope the creature before it got any
closer. She'd never be able to get to Betsy before the bull did.

The beast snorted and pawed the ground, but Betsy stood still
with her eyes wide. The fear cleared from her face.

Allie became aware of a faint humming sound and realized it was
coming from her child. Whipping the rope around her head, Allie
tossed it through the air toward the bull. In her agitation, her aim was
off, and the loop fell to the ground.

The animal ignored the rope and began to trot toward Betsy.

"No!" Allie jerked the rope back toward her and began to run
toward her daughter. She was too far. Her mind noticed every detail
of the way Roscoe was moving, the way he tossed his horns, the way
his tail switched along his back.

Betsy looked so small and defenseless. The bull would get to her
first. Allie had to try the rope again.

She stopped and twirled the rope over her head. Please Lord, make my aim true. She barely breathed as the rope sang through the air. It
didn't even touch the animal's ears as it settled over his head. She dug
her boot heels into the dirt and prepared for the animal to charge away.

Then another rope dropped over the bull's neck from the other
direction, and Allie saw Rick winding the rope around his palms. The
animal stopped but didn't try to get away. It did nothing but stand and
breathe heavily.

Still humming, Betsy put her hand out toward the beast.

"Betsy, stay away!" Allie's gaze locked with Rick's. "Help," she
mouthed.

He glanced behind him at the barn door, then stepped to it and
looped the rope through the door handle. "Betsy, turn and walk
toward me," he said in a deep, authoritative voice.

Betsy seemed lost in her own world. Her blue eyes stayed locked
on the bull's. Rick was running toward her, and her steps quickened
toward the animal.

Before Rick could grab her, Betsy was directly in front of Roscoe.
The animal snuffled into her small, outstretched hand. She rubbed her
fingers along its head.

Then Rick had her little girl in his arms. The rope burned into
Allie's palms with the force of her grip. She was afraid to relax her
hold on the big bull, though it seemed to have no inclination to attack
the two, who were still within reach of the sharp horns.

Holding Betsy against his chest, Rick turned and raced away.
Only when they were far enough away that Roscoe couldn't reach
them did Allie relax her death grip on the rope. She let it fall into
the red dirt and ran toward her daughter. All she wanted was to
bury her face in Betsy's hair and assure herself that the little girl
was all right.

"Allie, look out!" Rick was on the other side of the fence by now
with Betsy. He was gesturing at something behind her.

Allie didn't have to turn around and look to know that Roscoe had
managed to free himself from Rick's rope. She ran for the fence, but
she didn't think she was going to make it. Even as her hand slapped
the top rail and a splinter stabbed her palm, she felt the animal's hot
breath on her neck. Any minute now, she would feel his sharp horns
striking her back.

Praying for speed and strength, she gripped the railing and began
to scramble over. Rick shouted again. She heard her jeans tear and felt
a stab against her skin, then the hot spurt of blood on her thigh, but
there was no pain yet.

Then she was falling on the ground with the smell of manure in
her nose and the hard taste of dirt in her mouth. Rolling onto her
back, she looked up into blue sky. Her hat was gone, and the pain
started, first in her thigh and then in her shoulder.

Still trying to get to her, the bull was battering at the fence and
snorting. She rose up on her elbows, then sat up. "Calm down," she
said. She got up and dusted off her jeans. Blood had soaked her thigh,
and standing made her feel dizzy.

"Are you okay?" Rick was still carrying Betsy as he came toward
her. A red stain darkened his jeans below his right knee.

Allie tried to move toward them as her knees buckled and she sank
to the ground.

RICK WAS STILL SHAKING BY THE TIME ALLIE CAME AROUND. WORRY
wrinkling her brow, Betsy hovered over her mother's bed, and he
kept watching the little girl. She'd calmed the bull with a song. Any other person approaching the animal like that would have been
trampled.

Betsy had a touch with the beasts. Had she always been that way?
He'd have to ask Allie.

Elijah came to the bedroom door. "She will be all right, si?"

"I think she'll be fine," the doctor said, moving away from the
bed. "She's lost a little blood, but I think it was probably more
shock that made her lose consciousness. She's coming around now."
He left the room, and Rick and Elijah moved to stand beside the
bed.

Allie moaned and moved her head. Her eyes opened, and Rick
stared down into their blue depths. Her hand went to her head, and
she tried to sit up.

"Don't move," Elijah said, putting a brown, wrinkled hand on her
shoulder.

"Betsy," Allie whispered.

"She's right here," Rick said, putting Betsy closer to the bed.

Allie touched Betsy's face, and the little girl climbed into the bed
with her mother. Allie snuggled her close, and Betsy's eyes closed.

"The bull?"Allie asked.

"Safe in the paddock," Elijah said in a clipped voice.

Rick had carried Allie in, then went out with the stock hands to
capture the bull before coming back to check on Allie. He motioned
to Elijah when Allie's eyes closed again. The two men stepped into the
hall. "The door to Roscoe's stall was standing open. I think someone
let him out. Any idea who would do that?" he asked Elijah.

The old man hesitated. "I have not wanted to worry you, but I have
had an offer for the ranch a good offer that I turned down."

"Who would want to buy clear out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"You have heard of Stuart Ifera, si? He wants to put up a fancy
resort much like Lajitos."

"How would releasing the bull force you to sell?"

Elijah shrugged. "He thought the animal worth more than it is, si?
But perhaps it was not this man." He nodded toward Allie. "Could it
be something to do with Allie?"

"I don't see how."

Elijah shrugged. "If you will keep watch over her, I will get us
some coffee and return."

Rick needed to talk to her anyway. Right now might not be the
best time, but it would have to do. Maybe she'd be truthful in a weakened state. He stepped back into the room. Allie was studying a picture on the wall, with a sleeping Betsy curled beside her.

"You doing okay?"

"Fine." She shifted in the bed. "I should get up."

"I wanted to ask you about something." He let his gaze bore into
her like an interrogator. "Are you moving illegal Mexicans around
with the rodeo, Allie?"

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted. She started to sit up but
Betsy stirred, and Allie subsided against the pillow. "That's ridiculous,"
she said. The blue of her eyes was as cold as an ice storm. "Why would
you even ask me that?"

"So you didn't know the border patrol is looking for you with
questions?"

"Border patrol? Are you serious?"

Unless he was a bad judge of character, he'd swear she had no idea
about this. But he'd never been able to read women. His mother could
look like an angel, then grab up a razor strap and lay his back open.
"So you know nothing about it?"

"No," She shook her head violently, dark curls whipping against
her cheeks. "I can't believe they would suspect me."

"They're going to come looking for you. If they take you away,
Betsy will have no choice but to go to your in-laws. We need to get
moving on protecting her." He needed to tell her all of it. "There's
more bad news, Allie."

She swallowed hard. "Okay, give it to me."

"Jon's parents have charged you with kidnapping."

Her cheeks reddened. "They can't do that!"

"Evidently because they'd sued for custody, they were able to
make a case for it. We have to get married right away."

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Swallowing, she tried
again. "Thank you, Rick." The words seemed pulled out of her.

Her obvious struggle to take it all in touched him. He shrugged. "You
might not thank me after you've had to live with me for a few months."

"How how long will this marriage need to last?"

"Probably at least a year. It will take time for the adoption to go
through."

Her teeth bit into her colorless lower lip. "I'm worried about
Betsy. First she has a new stepdad and then she doesn't? What will that
do to her?"

"What will Jon's parents do to her?" he said bluntly.

She nodded. "It's the lesser of two evils, I guess."

She looked like she'd been handed a life sentence, and Rick had to
admit he felt like he was facing a stint in a Mexican prison.

ALLIE WAS TIRED OF LYING IN BED. THE NIGHT HAD BEEN LONG, THOUGH
she'd slept fitfully. Judging by the sun, it was nine or so. She eased her
arm out from under Betsy's head and sat up. She had to think.

The border patrol was looking for her. The FBI too, if she'd been
charged with kidnapping.