Searching For Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 2) (5 page)

“I know you’re in there, Carson!” Crazy Mack shouted from the yard in front of the large, two-story main house on Carson Hill Ranch. “Get your ass out here and face me!”

Another shot rang out, taking another one of the large windows with it. Mack was up to four windows so far, blasting out each of them one at a time in his rage. Anders had called the sheriff after the first shot tore through a ground floor window but even by helicopter, the police were still a good twenty minutes away.

“What does he want?” the kitchen staff’s lead assistant asked from where they were crouched in the oversized, windowless kitchen where Anders had herded them all to safety. Even for someone so young, he’d been smart enough to order them all into the large room and down on the floor when the first window was taken out. They were all too happy to comply, especially with the shouting coming from outside the house.

“I can’t be sure, in his state of mind,” Anders began. “but I’m willing to bet that it has something to do with his two hookers going missing and showing up here a couple of weeks ago.”

“Please don’t call them that,” one of the housekeepers said sternly, looking at Anders reproachfully.

“That’s what they are,” he argued defensively. “They said so themselves.”

“It doesn’t matter, we still don’t call them that. First of all, there are more polite terms than ‘hooker’,” she reprimanded, making a screwed up face as she spit out that word. “but it’s just not necessary to refer to them that way. You can’t know what those poor girls have been through, practically being held prisoner by that man and being forced to...”

“I’m sorry, you’re right,” Anders muttered. “That wasn’t polite. His two girls, then. I mean, the girls, not his girls.” Everyone nodded thoughtfully, remembering how sickly and abused the two girls had looked when they showed up on the porch, refusing to come inside as they waited as though they knew they weren’t clean enough or good enough.

The girls in question, Emma and Dee, had snuck out of Mack’s bar and walked all the way from Hale, over an hour away by car, just to warn Casey and Miranda that her violent ex-boyfriend had tracked her down in Texas. When Mack discovered his two sources of additional income missing, word got back to him that the pair were holed up somewhere on the Carson’s property. At that moment, they were hidden safely in a cabin to the east, struggling against the addiction that had kept them chained to him, with the help of a retired counselor Bernard had sent to stay with them.

The sound of a loud bang followed by tinkling glass let them know that Crazy Mack was living up to his moniker by shooting out another of the first floor windows.

“Where is Sheriff Matthews?” One of the kitchen workers cried softly, putting her hands over her ears and closing her eyes. “Shouldn’t he be here by now?” The older housekeeper put her arm around the younger woman, shushing her soothingly and rocking slowly.

“Don’t worry, he’ll get here soon and handle this,” Anders promised her. He calculated the situation, then said, “Crazy Mack hasn’t come inside because he doesn’t know how many of us are still here. That’s why he’s standing in the yard, playing tough guy with that gun. He knows almost everyone is on the drive, including Dad. That’s why he hasn’t tried to come in. If he were to come inside, he knows that any of the six of us boys could still be here.”

“Then what’s he doing? What’s the point of this?” The housekeeper demanded pleadingly as another window took a hit. She threw her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tightly.

“He’s just showing his muscle, trying to frighten the…girls…because he thinks they’re here. Plus, he knows we’ll let Dad know about this, and maybe get him to head home. Everyone in town knows the drive was started, and everyone also knows Dad never misses it. Mack is just putting on a show and making himself feel better. He has to feel like he did something about this.”

Within minutes, Anders held a finger to his lips to caution the seven of them not to make a sound. He heard a sound in the distance, growing louder as it came closer. Finally, the sound of helicopter blades chopping through the air rhythmically caused him to smile.

“See? The sheriff is here so this’ll be cleared up soon. Nothing to worry about.” Anders strained to listen for any noise, but couldn’t hear anything from within the interior, other than the sound of frightened people struggling to breathe quietly.

When a knock finally sounded on the front door, no one moved. It wasn’t until the visitor announced his presence as part of the sheriff’s department that they felt safe enough to come out of hiding, walking slowly together in a huddle toward the door, stepping over broken glass as they walked.

When Anders reached a hand out towards the doorknob, the elderly head housekeeper moved to stop him. “You might be the only Carson and the only male around, but I’m still the oldest and I’m responsible for you. I could never forgive myself if I let your mother down by letting something happen to you. Now, step back, young man.” She pushed Anders lightly, nodding when Amanda threw an arm around his young shoulders. The housekeeper silently counted to three while she watched the scared faces of the others, then opened the door a crack. She threw it open wide when she saw the deputy, barely older than Anders, pulling him inside and grabbing him in a bear hug.

“Thank God you’re finally here! He’s a lunatic!” She cried, pointing to the living room floor and the windows. “Look at what he’s done!” The deputy nodded and began writing things in a small black notebook, shaking his head when all of the staff began talking at once.

“Where’s the sheriff?” Amanda asked, looking over the deputy’s shoulder like that would explain his absence. “Crazy Mack comes out here shooting at us, and Matthews sends a kid to save us?”

The deputy wasn’t even old enough to be offended by the remark. He began trying to explain that the sheriff was going to take the helicopter and try to locate the shooter, and that the deputy would spend the night out there with them.

“I’ll be outside, walking patrol around the place. Don’t worry, we’re going to take good care of you,” he assured them, but the expressions on their faces said they clearly didn’t feel all that protected. They looked at each other, the housekeeper grumbling about how they’d need to stay in the kitchen because they only had Deputy Diaper Pants to protect them. That remark finally hit home, causing the young officer to blush a beet red. They turned away and went back in the kitchen to spend a sleepless night on its cold floor.

Carey laid on his back in his sleeping bag, his hands behind his head as he looked up at the stars. These were the same stars he saw every night on the wide, unbroken expanse of sky back home, but there was always something magical about seeing them on the drive. It was times like this when he understood his dad’s love of the old style cattle drive, the way he felt connected to all the generations of Carsons who’d worked this ranch before him. It was easy to forget what it was like for those cowboys, the days of hauling water and cooking all of the meals over a fire in the yard having long since been replaced by modern conveniences.

He usually had no trouble sleeping on a drive, even on the hard surface beneath the grassy area, because the days of backbreaking work and spending hours in the saddle tended to make anyone pass out before hitting the ground. But something was different this time, and it wasn’t just missing his brother, Casey. He knew it had to be that girl, and he knew that was dangerous ground. She’d be returning to her real life in a couple days, so what was the point in getting closer to her?

But the way she’d felt when he kissed her, shy but wanting, wasn’t a feeling Carey could easily forget. He’d been too surprised and too respectful to move past anything other than that kiss but the scent of her, the feel of her smooth skin beneath his hands, weren’t sensations he was likely to forget any time soon.

You just have romance on the brain since Dad started his pet project,
Carey told himself.
You’re here to work, not to hook up with a girl who came out here to find herself for a week.

As if even fate was working against him, Carey was startled by a rustling noise nearby. He turned his head to find the source of the sound, but couldn’t make out anything in the dark of the moonless night. Finally, the rustling grew closer and a warm hand reached out to touch his bare shoulder.

“Shhh, it’s only me,” Amy whispered, leaning close enough to him that he caught the wonderful scent of her as her loose hair brushed his skin. He reached up and pulled her closer, cradling her to him as his mouth found hers.

“What are you doing here?” he asked finally, his breath hot against her ear as he whispered to her.

“I’m doing what you said,” she answered in a confident whisper. “I’m letting you know what I want, and hoping you want the same thing.” Carey could practically hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. He quietly unzipped his sleeping bag and let her slip in with him, pulling the thick fabric around their shoulders as he cradled her close to his chest.

“I know what I want,” Carey replied in a husky voice, thick with want and emotion, but spoken so softly as to not call attention to them. “But not here, not some quick romp in the middle of all these sleeping people. You’re worth waiting for, even if patience is painful!”

“Painful?” she asked coyly, placing a long kiss on the underside of his jaw and smiling triumphantly to herself when he shuddered.

“Deadly, even. I might actually die, and it would be on your conscience,” he whispered.

Carey pressed her to him, entranced by the way their bodies fit together perfectly. Even in the close quarters of his sleeping bag, he felt like he couldn’t bring her close enough, wanting to pull her even closer somehow.

He kissed her for what seemed like hours, Amy running her hands over the muscled ridges in his arms and his chest, exploring him in the darkness. She wondered at the heated softness of the skin beneath his t-shirt, tracing the pronounced muscles in his back with her delicate fingertips. She finally worked her way up to place her hands on his neck, joining them behind him and twirling locks of his luxurious hair between her fingers.

The sound of a rock being kicked across a patch of dirt nearby made Amy and Carey freeze, him putting one fingertip to her mouth as he listened. Carey looked up to see the beam of a flashlight shining across the ground in wide arcs, sweeping over the forms of sleeping cowboys. He pulled the edge of his sleeping bag up over Amy’s head, suppressing a giggle when she used the cover of darkness to place the ends of her fingers on his ribs, knowing he couldn’t say or do anything to stop her.

“Carey?” Bernard called out quietly, looking over the sleeping ranchers for him.

“Yeah, Dad?” he called out in a voice heavy with false sleepiness. Bernard turned toward Carey’s voice and approached him, stepping around different bodies in his path.

“I need you to get up and come meet me in the RV.”

“What’s wrong?” Carey asked, forgetting his romantic antics for a minute and sounding concerned. He kept the cover over Amy, but was troubled by the sound of his dad’s worried voice.

“We’ll talk when you make it inside. Hurry.” Bernard switched off his flashlight, freeing Amy to come up for air. He turned and went back to his truck without waiting for Carey to get dressed and follow him.

“Is everything okay?” Amy whispered against Carey’s neck, letting her lips pause there as he answered. Carey hugged her close, but shook his head.

“I’m not sure. He doesn’t usually do that, and he sure sounds worried. I’m sorry, but I’d better go see what he needs.” Carey unzipped his sleeping bag and helped Amy out, then followed her, shaking out his boots and sliding them over his sock feet. He kissed her passionately one last time, then took off at a light run to the well-lit truck.

“What’s up, Dad?” Carey asked, pulling the door to the RV shut after watching to make sure Amy made it safely back to where she was supposed to be sleeping.

“There’s been trouble back at the house,” the older man said darkly, anger on his face. He held the satellite phone tightly in his hand, listening for his younger son to come back on.

“What kind of trouble?” Carey demanded, immediately concerned. Only a handful of the staff had stayed behind, mostly women and older ones at that, people who had no interest in riding all day and sleeping on the ground every night. Plus, Anders had stayed behind, as usual, to help oversee the business end of things, which was good considering his health problems and his allergies, very real concerns that had plagued him since his difficult birth.

“They think Crazy Mack came out there. He started shooting up the house, screaming like…well…a crazy man.”

“Are you kidding? He shot at them? Is everyone okay?” he stormed, beginning to pace back and forth within the small space of the RV. “Who’s out there now?”

Anders’ tiny voice came through the speaker. “Sheriff Matthews came out, but Mack took off when he saw the helicopter. No one’s really hurt, but Meg had to go into town to the doctor. She cut her hand trying to clean up some of the glass but she’ll back in the morning, just had to get a few stitches. It looks like he shot out about eight or nine of the windows, and I haven’t been outside to see if he did any damage to the other buildings or if he shot any of the animals that are still around here.”

“Don’t go out there, Anders!” Bernard yelled. “Stay in the house, and keep everyone else inside, at least until Matthews has a chance to find this lunatic!”

“Okay, Dad,” Anders replied. He could be heard through the connection talking to some people in the background before coming back to address them. “The sheriff is going to leave someone here tonight, but the deputy will have to go back to town in the morning.”

“Don’t worry, son, we’ll have someone home by late tomorrow night, maybe the next morning. You guys try to get some sleep and have everyone sleep in the main house. Don’t let any of the staff go back out to their quarters until this is all cleared up.”

Bernard signed off and switched off the phone before turning to Carey. “Son, I need you to head back home.”

“Really? Why?” he asked, confused for a moment before realizing for the hundredth time that he was the oldest now. “Oh, right. Sure, I’ll get my stuff and leave right now.”

“No, you need some sleep before you can head out. Take my bed in there. I want you to be
well rested because you’ll most likely have to drive straight through. I’ll sleep out here on the bench seat.” Carey nodded, then went into the bedroom at the far end of the RV and did as he was told, so worried about his younger brother and the staff back home that he had to force himself to close his eyes and get some much needed rest.

He was awakened by someone shaking him softly, calling his name over and over. Carey opened his eyes to see his father’s face above him, a
pitch-black sky still visible outside the windows. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and pulled his t-shirt on over his head, getting out of bed and finishing getting dressed before stepping over to the coffee maker on the small kitchen counter.

“Take the truck,” Bernard said. “and call me along the way. I’ll let you know what Anders has reported. Do you need to take Dwayne with you?”

“Well, it’d be nice to have another driver and to have some more muscle on the ranch when we get there, but I’m afraid you can’t spare him. No, you’ll need him for the rest of the drive, especially without Casey or me. I’ll just have to go on through.”

“Promise me you’ll pull over and nap if you get tired, Carey,” his dad pleaded sternly. “Nothing will be resolved if you don’t make it there in one piece, and I sure don’t want anything to happen to you out on the road.”

“I’ll be fine. I promise I’ll be careful,” he assured him, but he was too keyed up with worry to guarantee he’d be that cautious. Knowing that Mack hadn’t been found meant he was more than likely still hiding out somewhere on the ranch, and there was no telling what he’d be stupid enough to try once darkness fell again.

Carey stepped out of the RV and immediately spotted Amy, rolling up her sleeping bag by the remains of last night’s
campfire. He felt a pull in his gut at the thought of not seeing her for the rest of the ride, and of just leaving things hanging with this stranger he’d only just met. He walked up to her, completely undone by her bright smile, only to feel crushed when her face fell, sensing that something was wrong by the look on his face.

“I have to leave,” Carey began. “I’m sorry. I hope you have a great rest of your trip, and a safe trip back home.” He started to turn to leave, but she put a hand on his arm to stop him.

“Carey, is something wrong? Why are you leaving?” she asked calmly, not so much for her own benefit but because she could see something was really troubling him.

“Um, it’s just some problems back at the ranch. My younger brother is there and there’s been a…an incident. Kind of an emergency. I’m driving back now, and hope I get there without having to stop anywhere. Again, I really am sorry we didn’t get to spend more time together. I would really have liked to get to know you better.” He turned and walked toward the truck, turning back once sadly to see Amy still standing, watching him go.

“Carey, wait!” She finally called, running behind him. “I’ll go with you.”

“What? You can’t just cancel your trip. No, don’t be silly. Stay here and enjoy the rest of the drive.”

“Have you seen me on a horse? What part of that looks like I’m enjoying it? And I know for sure the horse isn’t loving it. We’ll switch off driving and you can get there faster if you don’t have to worry about being rested.”

“Amy, really, I appreciate it, but…”

“…but you don’t want me to go,” she finished for him, dropping her voice. “Oh. I see. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. Go ahead.” She stepped back and looked around awkwardly, embarrassed at Carey’s rejection.

“No, that’s not it!” He promised, coming back to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “I just can’t ask you to get involved in this. There’s a…situation…back home. Someone’s already attacked the house, and I can’t put you in danger.”

“I don’t mind that, as long as you’re sure that’s all it is. If you don’t want me to go, I’ll butt out, but if you want to make it there before dark, I can help. I want to help.” Amy looked at him confidently, none of her former wallflower showing through anymore. Carey watched her face for only a moment, then nodded.

“Come on, throw your stuff in the truck. We have to leave in about five minutes. I’ll wait over here.”

Amy nodded, all business now that she was helping out, and ran to retrieve her things. Not even a nasty remark from Karen about how Amy was chasing after him and throwing herself at an “oppressor” could dampen her mood. She was glad to be getting off this rather difficult and disappointing cattle drive, no matter how desperate the circumstances that caused it, and the added benefit was that she would be spending this time with Carey.

By the time she returned, Carey was stepping into the driver’s seat of a rather large truck. She shook her head, jerking her thumb at the passenger seat. “Uh-uh, mister, you only had a couple of hours’ sleep. Let me start out first, and you can sleep in the back seat.”

“Amy, I just realized something. You have to have a CDL license to drive this kind of truck. I don’t think you’re going to want to manage it,” Carey said, wincing at having already promised her she could help out.

“For your information,” she began sarcastically, jutting out her hip and slapping her hand on her waist. “I happen to have a CDL license. And I’ve driven vehicles far bigger than this little thing. So slide yourself over there, get that sweatshirt under your head, and let me hear some snoring, cowboy!”

Amy flashed Carey a knowing look and climbed in the driver’s seat, leaving him dumbfounded as he resorted to getting in the back. He started to tell her how to use the GPS, but realized she probably knew how to work something as simple as that. After peeking over the top of the seat to make sure she was headed in the right direction on the highway, he laid back and closed his eyes for just a moment but sat ramrod straight when he felt how fast they were going.