The Devil's Cowboy (7 page)

“Trusting someone else is scary,” Rafe said, as though reading her mind again. “In some ways, scarier than dealing with supernatural forces. You and I know those forces can enter our minds, can try to influence our thoughts and actions. But in the end, they can’t really hurt us. When you trust someone, you’re
giving
him or her your heart to hold, doing it willingly even though you know you risk having it crushed. I’m not asking for it all, Ellen. Not now—not yet. Trust me just a little, just on this. I
will
keep us safe here.”

Ellen took a leap of faith—and held out her hand.

Chapter Five

When Melanie arrived, Ellen sat at the table with the children, feeding them pizza and listening to Adam chatter about his new teacher, the yucky girl who kept chasing him on the playground and the details of his latest video game conquest. Desperate for attention, Amy interrupted over and over, much to Adam’s annoyance. Ellen found herself dealing with the unaccustomed chores of playing referee to a battle of wills between two high-spirited little ones while mopping up milk spills and cutting pizza into bite-sized pieces that were exactly the right shape to pass Amy’s exacting standards. Rafe had taken Melanie into the living room to fill her in on their idea.

“Melanie, I have a whole new respect for how hard your job is,” Ellen said when her friend walked back into the kitchen.

Melanie laughed. “They can be a handful sometimes at this age, but when they come running in and throw themselves in your arms, you realize how precious these moments are.” Her eyes misted over as she watched her babies. “I’d do anything to keep them safe from harm,” she whispered, turning to Rafe. “The place is all yours for as long as you need. I’m going to run up and pack a few things.”

“Why don’t I come along and give you a hand?” Ellen gave Rafe a mischievous look. “I’m sure the kids would
love
to get to know Rafe a little. Adam, did you know that Mister Rafe is a real cowboy?”

Adam let loose on him full-force. “Do you have a horse? What’s his name? Does he do tricks? Can I ride him? Do you have a gun? Can I shoot it? Can you twirl a rope and catch a bad guy with it like the cowboy in that movie I saw? Can I try on your hat?”

Rafe gave her a meaningful glance and Ellen instantly got the mental image he projected. There he was, yanking her over his lap again, this time for a playful spanking as payback for throwing him into the role of babysitter without any warning. She grinned and stuck out her tongue. He turned to Adam and his drawl popped out once again.

“Well, young feller, as it happens, ah do have a fine horse. His name is Sariel. And he’s right good at doin’ tricks. His favorite is ta toss gentleman riders off his back the first time they get on ‘im. But Miss Amy here, she could charm him fer ya with a little gift. He jest loves apples, ‘specially apples offered to him by pretty girls.”

Before long, Melanie and the children had been packed into her SUV, along with bags of toys, snacks, and stuffed animals enough to last for several days.

“I’ll call you in the morning after you’ve taken the children to school and tell you all about how things are going,” Ellen promised.

“I’d especially love to hear all about how you and Rafe get along,” Melanie replied. “I didn’t miss those looks you two have been giving each other. He is one hot cowboy.”

Ellen blushed again. She seemed to do it all the time since she’d first laid eyes on Rafe. “Yeah, he is,” she admitted.

“Well, he’s been devouring you with those gorgeous brown eyes ever since he walked in here today,” her friend replied. “That guy almost makes me wish I was the one staying here tonight to play spook hunter. Hope you get rid of them early so you two have time to play some other games.”

“We have a job to do and we’re putting that first,” Ellen assured her. “Rafe and I will have plenty of time to… uh… get to know each other once your house is safe for you to come home to.”

Melanie laughed again. “I think he’ll make getting to ‘know’ you a priority,” she replied as she drove away.

Ellen turned to go back inside, but Rafe stopped her. “Why don’t we head over to my place and pack up what we’ll need for tonight?” He led her to his truck and opened the door, helping her inside.

She climbed up into the seat and looked around. It was an older model pickup truck, but it was clean and well cared for. She wondered once again if he made his living solely by using his psychic talents.

“No, ma’am. I don’t take pay for the work I do in the spirit world,” he responded, reading her thoughts once again. “It would be wrong to use my gift for profit. I’m a real cowboy, have a small working ranch about forty miles south of town. That’s where we’re headed right now.”

“A ranch?” Ellen was intrigued.

“Yep. I raise a few head of cattle. I have other animals too, mostly rescue critters. And I do some work with kids and horses.”

It wasn’t long before the Dallas suburbs disappeared, and they were racing through endless scrub land dotted with small homesteads here and there. Rafe slowed down and headed under a tall gateway made of thick logs topped with the rusty iron silhouette of a winged horse. The sign hanging below it read Angel Fire Ranch.

They headed up a narrow lane, past a stable and a corral where two cowpokes, one male and one female, were leading children around the ring on horseback while a small group looked on. Ellen caught a glimpse of one of the children, a little girl waiting her turn with an ecstatic look on her face.

“Is that your work with kids? Giving riding lessons?”

He glanced over at the corral. “Somethin’ like that. We can stop and see them on the way out if you want.”

“I’d like that.”

He pulled up in front of a sprawling ranch-style house covered in rough-sawn planks. “Come on in.”

She followed him inside, curious to see how he lived. Unlike her little apartment, Rafe’s home seemed to have plenty of space to spread out. Of course, a man as big as he was needed it. Just past the entryway, a massive fieldstone fireplace anchored one corner of the main living area, soaring all the way to the high ceiling. A pair of well-worn leather sofas placed at an angle took in the fireplace along with the view from a wall of windows overlooking a large fenced-in pasture where a herd of cattle grazed in the distance along the edge of a small stream.

To one side was an open country kitchen. A sturdy wooden table that looked as though it could easily seat ten divided the two areas. The kitchen was filled with modern appliances, including a six-burner range with several simmering pots currently tended by a grizzled old cowboy. His faded jeans and denim work shirt were covered with a big black apron that wrapped all the way around his skinny body.

“This is Jeb. Best ranch cook for a hundred miles around,” Rafe announced. “Jeb, this here’s Miss Ellen. She’s workin’ with me on that business in Dallas.”

The old man turned around, a wide smile on his deeply tanned face. “Pleased ta meet ya, ma’am.” He turned to Rafe. “Will y’all be joinin’ us for dinner? I’m makin’ my special chili and cornbread fer the kids tonight.”

Rafe smiled. “I never miss a chance to dig into your chili, Jeb. Ellen, I doubt if you got much eatin’ done when you were mindin’ the kids earlier. Would you like to have a bite to eat before we head back?”

“Chili and cornbread on a real Texas ranch? I’d love it!”

Ellen was delighted. This little trip was turning into more of an adventure than she’d imagined.

“Why don’t you set here a spell and keep me company?” Jeb pulled out a chair on one side of the long table. “I’ll getcha a nice cold glass of sweet tea.”

“You look as though you have your hands full if you’re planning to feed that whole group outside,” Ellen replied. “If you’ll just tell me where to find the glasses, I can help myself.”

Rafe disappeared down the hall. By the time he came back carrying a small overnight bag, Ellen was busy setting the table with baskets of cornbread, pitchers of milk and sweet tea, and deep earthenware bowls ready to fill with the spicy chili.

She smiled at him. “Jeb’s been telling me about your program. I wouldn’t exactly call what you’re doing here ‘riding lessons.’”

“We have different groups come in about four times a week. They’re great kids. They all have challenges in their lives—some of them are physically handicapped, some severely autistic. Others suffered abuse. After she was taken from the motel room they found her in, still guardin’ her mama who was lying there dead of an overdose, little Grace—the one we passed waiting her turn at the corral—never spoke a single word. Not till we put her on the back of Cherub for the first time. Now she whispers all her secrets into the ear of that mare. When she gets off, she’s got the biggest smile you ever saw on her face. She’s found a true friend.”

“Jeb says many of the horses here, and the other animals as well, were in situations as bad as that of some of the children.”

“I can’t bear to see a creature mistreated, whether human or animal,” Rafe replied. “On a ranch, we can always make room for one more around the table or around the trough.”

Dinner was a raucous affair, with half a dozen excited kids all vying for Rafe’s attention as they told him about their afternoon ride. Several caregivers accompanied the kids, along with Steven and Sierra, the young couple who’d been leading the horses around the corral.

“We live in a cabin here on the ranch and work for the nonprofit foundation Rafe set up,” explained Sierra when she sat down next to Ellen at dinner. “Kids come here, lost and alone, terrified of everything, especially creatures so massive, so powerful. They find out these huge animals are gentle and loving. And they just begin to open up, lose their fear and their anxieties as they bond with the animals. It’s great to see a child free to become a child again.”

It was nearly dark by the time they headed back to Dallas. Ellen turned to Rafe.

“You’re just full of surprises. A nonprofit foundation?”

“I’ve had a few wealthy clients who wanted to do somethin’ in return for my help in ridding them of negative forces that invaded their lives or the lives of loved ones. Their generous gifts to the foundation help a lot of kids.”

“What about Jeb? And Steven and Sierra? I have a feeling there’s a story behind each of them too.”

“Their stories are theirs to share with you. I’m sure they will when they see fit. Like I said before, there’s plenty of room on a ranch and plenty of work for folks who are lookin’ to make a positive change in their lives, to make themselves useful.”

He glanced over at her. “We’re headin’ into a tough situation, darlin’. You know that. You can feel it, just like I can. We need to be prepared for just about anything to happen tonight.”

He went on. “You asked me a question back at Melanie’s house that I never answered.”

Ellen nodded. She remembered struggling back from the terrifying possession of her mind, asking him then if the dark force they encountered in the house was the devil.

“I was pretty upset, still not in my right mind, or I’d never have asked such a ridiculous question. I believe in goodness. I believe in angels. I’ve felt surrounded by them all my life. But despite what I felt when
she
took over, I can’t accept the idea of the existence of a supernatural force made up of pure evil.”

Rafe glanced over at her. “I had a chat with the devil himself once,” he remarked casually. “He’d be inclined to disagree with you.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. And that’s story number two of how you got the name Devil’s Cowboy? Next you’ll tell me you two are BFFs.”

“You know, for a person who lives with spirits, encountering the unseen world on a daily basis, you’re pretty narrow-minded, aren’t you?”

Ellen bristled. “Narrow-minded? I don’t think so. I’m simply not as gullible as some of the people you’ve apparently run into while doing this work. I’m sure you spoke with some dark soul, one stuck here, filled with rage. I’ve run into two of them myself in the past. But when I brought in healing light, I felt the darkness dissipate. It was only negative energy, the residue of an unhappy life. Of course, it took a long time—one of the encounters took place over several sessions. The trapped soul had been immersed for so long in his pain and anger. He needed time to accept the idea that he could still choose to go into the light.”

“So you think the evil forces we encounter from time to time are nothin’ more than folks who’ve had a tough life, hangin’ on to all their bad feelings after they’ve passed.”

“Well, to put it simply, yes.”

Rafe considered her reply, allowing the silence to build as they sped down the dark highway. “I wish it was that easy,” he said finally, shaking his head. “But I’m very much afraid you’re going to find out that pure evil exists—and you’re going to find it out tonight.”

Chapter Six

The miles sped by as Rafe explained the steps of the ritual he planned to carry out.

“First, I set up a special area in the house as the center of operations, with tools and objects I’ve used many times before. I spend a little time there meditating about the intention of my work before I begin, kinda getting my head in the game.”

“I do the same thing,” Ellen agreed. “Calling on my spirit guides for help, using old, familiar psychic tools to clear a place of negative energy. Do you sage?”

“Sure do. I harvest my own, white sage wild-grown on the ranch, just like the Indians used. We’ll smudge the whole house before we do anything else.”

He paused, as though weighing just how to say what was on his mind. “Ellen, I’ve got to tell you, I’m worried.”

“So am I. I’ve never been in a situation with such strong dark energy.”

“No, I mean I’m worried about
you,
how you’ll handle her presence this time.”

“I admit she took me by surprise, Rafe. I’ve never encountered a spirit filled with so much anger and pain. I didn’t know an entity could project those feelings into me so intensely when I attempted to communicate with it. But I’m on guard now. I know what she’s capable of. She won’t take over my mind again.”