by Lynn Landes
Chapter 7
“There's another wedding party at the Lodge, but I could try to bump someone if I have to,” Chase mumbled as he drives out of the hospital.
“No need, Dad. She’s coming home with us,” Daniel answers quickly. Abby squeals with excitement and covers her mouth quickly, so she doesn't wake up Delta.
Chase frowns into the rearview mirror at his son. “Are you sure that's a good idea, Son.”
“At least until her stitches are out Dad. She’s on pain medicine. Delta will need help getting around until she gets used to the crutches,” he argues.
“I will help, Daddy and Sasha can sleep with me,” she grins. “We will need to get her food from the cabin.”
“Tomorrow we will see what Delta has to say about all of this,” Chase decides. “Should we call her children?” He wonders out loud.
“No, I think she would rather we not worry them, tonight.”
Forty minutes later they are pulling into the driveway. Chase grabs the crutches while Abby takes Sasha out. They move inside quietly opening doors and leading the way inside the large two-story house. The only bedroom downstairs is Daniel’s. He walks quickly inside his room and lays her down in his king size bed. She rolls over and grabs a pillow before frowning over the pain in her leg. Daniel pulls the covers up and leans the crutches on the night table beside his bed.
Sasha sniffs around and follows them into his room. She looks up at Daniel as if judging him before chuffing out a noise and leaping up beside Delta. Chase and Abby follow Daniel from the room quietly.
“It is way past your bedtime, Ab's. Go get a shower and get ready for bed. Thank you for all your help today. You were amazing.”
“I’m glad she’s okay. Why would he leave her like that?”
“I don’t know, but I will get some answers.” Abby hugs him tight and kisses her Grampa before hurrying to bed.
Chase goes to the bar in the corner and pours himself a whiskey, straight. “I didn’t know if we were gonna find her.” He shoots the drink and drops into a large leather chair near the fireplace with a sigh.
Daniel rubs the back of his neck with his hand, “Damn, Dad. Is this all my fault? I never imagined Melody would do something like this.” He jumps up shaking with the realization that Delta could have died on that mountain.
“Easy, son. There's more I have to tell you. The police took Zach in for questioning, and he hinted that Melody planted the fish to lure the bear to the cottage. She was hoping to scare Delta enough that she would leave.” All the color in his face fades away, and he sits hard.
“Oh my God, Dad. What if Abby had been outside?”
“I know son. Melody made her choice, and so did Jacob. I spoke to the police, and they wanted to know if we want to file charges against them,” Chase asks.
“Hell yes.” Daniel's voice is hoarse as he thinks about the bear. “If the bobcat had been bigger, or Delta had fallen into a shaft at the mines, or we had been a few hours longer finding her. We would be looking at murder charges. I will call them in the morning,” he snarls and pours himself a whiskey.
“No need, I told them to charge them. At the very least, they will see a kidnapping charge. We have to go to the police station in the morning.” Chase leans his head back too exhausted to move.
Daniel laughs, “Good. Why don’t you stick around tonight, Dad? It’s too late for you to drive and I might need your help again.” Chase blows out a relieved sigh.
“I was hoping you’d say that. Where will you sleep?” He asks as he walks slowly to the stairs.
“On the sofa. I want to be near Delta if she needs anything.”
Chase smiles at his son. “Yep, you got it bad, Son.”
“A lot of good that will do me. She may hate me after we tell her all of this.” Daniel runs a hand over his face in frustration.
“No chance, Daniel. I watched the two of you together, she has feelings for you. We just have to convince her that Montana is not out to kill her. Good night son. You come get me if you need me. This old man won’t hear anything once I hit the pillow.” Daniel watches him go and finishes his drink.
He grabs the keys from her backpack and hurries to the cabin to grab the dog's food. Rushing back to his house Daniel is struck by the need to be near her. It's not possible to have such possessive feelings over someone you only just met, but his heart tells him a different story.
Not sure how much food to give Sasha he dumps a big scoop of dog food into her bowl and fills the other with fresh water. Hearing the sound, Sasha comes running and sits pretty waiting for him to tell her she can eat. “Okay girl, you can eat.”
She cocks her head to look at him before deciding to trust him and eat. “Good girl, Sasha. You're one amazing dog.” He runs his hands over her back and walks to the bedroom to check on Delta. Looking down at her he whispers a prayer of thanks that she is safe and walks to the bathroom to take a quick shower.
Daniel returns to settle onto the couch near the fireplace and sleeps. Her moan wakes him instantly. She's thrashing about with the covers, struggling to free herself from her nightmare. He removes the covers, and softly comforts her. “It’s okay, Delta, you’re safe now.” The moment she hears his voice, her bright blue eyes open.
“Hurry, Daniel, you have to hurry,” she pleads.
“I will, take this,” he gives her a pain pill and sip of water before pushing her back to the pillow. “Lay down,” he guides her back down. She falls back to sleep with a sigh. Three more times she wakes, terrified, and each time it's his voice that calms her.
“It's coming! He's so fast. Sasha!” She yells, and Daniel is forced to grab her arms to keep her from hitting him.
“Delta, I'm here. The cat is gone.” Screw this he thinks, desperate to feel her in his arms, he climbs into the bed beside her. “Lay down with me.” He tugs her into his arms, and she curls into his chest with a sigh of contentment. “You found me?” She asks wide-eyed.
“Yes, I found you.”
“Good.” They sleep curled around each other while Sasha watches over them from the doorway. Tonight, she will guard him, while he guards Delta.
Chapter 8
Delta rolls over, and the scent of pine trees and Daniel surrounds her. She reaches for him in her sleep, but he evaporates like the morning fog on the mountains. Mountains, she thinks and frowns. Opening her eyes slowly she is staring at a large fireplace. Delta pushes up to her elbow and pain ripples through her neck, shoulder and collar bone. “Oh...” When she moves her leg, she gasps and rolls to her back, struggling to fight back the tears.
Sasha nudges the door open and brings with it the scent of morning coffee. Abby pokes her head inside carrying a tray with orange juice, a muffin and a glass of water. “Good morning, Delta,” she whispers and puts the tray on the side table.
“Abby? Where am I?” She murmurs and lifts her left arm to wipe away a stray tear.
“Um, you are at our house. We didn't want you to be alone after the accident,” Abby answers just as Daniel walks inside with a cup of coffee. Delta turns her head to look at him, and the memories rush in.
“Daniel?” she whispers, and another tear escapes and rolls back into her hair.
“Good morning, beautiful. Abby why don’t you take Sasha for a walk, use her leash and stay close to the house.”
“Okay, Dad,” she leaves quickly, and Daniel sits on the edge of the bed beside her.
Gently he brushes her tear away, “How bad's your pain?”
“Can you help me sit up?” She asks, ignoring his question.
Instantly he wraps an arm around her and lifts her to a sitting position. He props the pillow behind her and grabs a pain pill and juice. “Take this, it will help.”
Delta just stares at him. “Daniel, why am I here and not at the rental house?” she asks.
“It was late, and you were asleep. I was worried you would need help and not have it. I will take you back today.” Daniel answers sitting beside her.
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br /> “Oh,” the pain is robbing her of her breath. “Thank you. Can I have my cell phone, please? I need to call my boys and book a flight home.” Delta sighs and drops her face into her hands. Every movement cause pain to ripple through her shoulder and her leg is throbbing.
“I understand. Take this first,” he demands. “It will take the edge off and help with the pain.”
Delta looks up at him and takes the pill, with a sip of juice. “It’s not that I’m not grateful to you. Your family is amazing and to take in a stranger like this is… well, I am touched, but I'm not your responsibility.” She leans back and struggles to fight back her tears. Angrily, she wipes her tears and refuses to look at the beautiful cowboy beside her.
“Delta, you should know the truth. All of this is my fault.” Daniel tells her what Melody did with the bear and the guided tour and he waits for her explosion. “I hope you can forgive me.”
He is startled when she laughs. “Forgive you… oh, Daniel, you didn’t do anything wrong. The poor girl is obviously disturbed.”
Daniel isn't smiling; instead, he's staring at her with a strange look on his face.
“What?” Delta asks, and she starts stammering, “I mean for her to think I'm a threat…” he leans forward a hair from her mouth, and Delta freezes, forgetting about all of her pain.
“She was right to worry. No woman holds a candle to you, Delta Dawn,” he stands up and backs away to give her some space. “I snuck a look at your driver’s license, for the police report. For now, you should just get some rest. Abby is going to help you. I have to get to the police station and finish filing the report.” He spins and leaves a speechless Delta staring at the door.
“I’m in so much trouble, Jacob,” she whispers. Delta waits for the pain medicine to kick in and decides to clean up in the bathroom. The master suite is gorgeous. Solid wood pine floors, with a soft cream wall and sheer curtains over large windows. A full fireplace and couch. She hopes the bathroom is as nice as the bedroom. Scooting to the edge of the bed, she throws off the sheets and stares in shock. All she has on is a large male t-shirt and panties. Frowning, she vaguely remembers trying to take off all her clothes and Daniels sexy laughter. “Oh, God.”
Grabbing the t-shirt, she leans down and smells him, pine and man. Lord, he smells good. She reaches for the crutches and winces in pain when she tries to use them. Her arm is sore from hitting the animal, but nothing is fractured. “You had ten-pound babies, you can use crutches, Delta,” she snaps at herself.
Once she hobbles to the bathroom, Delta is stunned when she pushes the door open. It's amazing. A large, free standing, claw foot tub calls her name. In the corner is a massive tile shower with glass doors and twin sinks. “Wow,” she murmurs until she looks in the mirror.
“Holy crap!” Her curly hair is frizzy and going in every direction. She has bags under her eyes, and her thigh is wrapped in a large piece of gauze with padding underneath. Delta laughs and uses the bathroom before calling to Abby for help.
Abby runs in with Sasha hot on her heels. “Hi, sweetie. I need your help. I can’t seem to find my clothes?”
“Dad threw your jeans away, the doctor had to cut them off. You had on scrubs the hospital gave you, do you want those?” Delta shakes her head no.
“Would you go to my house and bring me a change of clothes and my bathroom bag?”
An hour later, with Abby's help, Delta manages to wrap her leg in a trash bag using medical tape under the sink, and she takes a quick shower. Leaving her hair to dry naturally she pulls on a long cotton skirt and t-shirt before collapsing on the couch with her leg elevated. Abby gets her an ice pack.
“Abigail, you are one amazing girl,” Delta praises her. “Thank you for all of your help.”
“You are welcome, Delta. My Dad really likes you.” She stares intently at Delta, “I've never seen him look at someone the way he looks at you. He was really worried yesterday. I'm glad you're okay.”
“Thank you, Abby. I like him too.”
“Just don’t break his heart,” Abby says with a grin and calls to Sasha leaving her to rest. Delta laughs softly more than a little impressed with her protective nature. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to an adult. Daniel is doing a great job raising Abigail.
Feeling more like herself, she calls Phillip on her cell phone. “Hello gorgeous,” he answers.
Delta laughs softly, “You wouldn’t say that if you could see me right now.” Phillip is instantly on alert.
“What’s wrong?” He demands.
“I’m fine, but I had an accident.” Delta struggles not to cry. “My guided tour wasn’t exactly guided.” She explains about the ghost town.
“That’s not a freaking accident. I’m on the next flight, Delta,” he snarls.
“Daniel is taking care of everything, Phillip. The stitches will be out in a week.”
“Stitches! What the hell, Delta!”
“Phillip, listen to me, I was very lucky. You don't need to come, I just wanted to hear your voice. They're taking really good care of me, I promise.”
“If you’re sure, Delta. Tell me about this cowboy of yours.”
“Daniel is… sexy, smart, funny and protective. A little overbearing and did I say, hot?” She laughs when she hears the grin in his voice.
“Really? Now I have to come! Is he taking care of all of your needs, Delta?” He teases her.
“Phillip! It’s not like that… yet.” He whoops causing her to laugh. “You’re an animal, what would Easley say if she heard you going on like that?”
“If I'm lucky, and I am, she'd put on a cowboy hat for me, and I can't tell you the rest. It would make you blush.”
“I love you, Phillip,” she whispers wiping a tear away. “When I was on the mountain… I didn’t think… I didn’t know if I’d see my boys again, all of you. I miss you.” Phillips sighs.
“I love you too. Do you have enough room for us at Easter? I'm thinking a holiday in Montana sounds perfect this time of year.”
Delta wipes her tears and whispers, “That would be amazing. You can email me the details. I don’t want the boys to know about this, not yet. If I call them and they hear me cry it would not be pretty.”
“Of course. Now let your cowboy take care of you and rest up. We will see you in two weeks.”
“Okay.” Delta hobbles to the bed and straightens it before lying back down on top of the covers to sleep.
Daniel listens from the hallway and sighs. He can’t believe she was in that kind of danger because of him. Watching Abby play with Sasha outside, he wonders if he would be as understanding as she has been. Easter at the lodge is always a great time. This year he will plan something special for Delta and her family. He turns away to talk to his father.
Two hours later Delta wakes up. “Time to get out of Daniel's hair,” she whispers. Delta is still struggling with the way she is feeling. Not sure how or what to think about this young woman going to such extremes. It's chilling to imagine that somebody would be willing to hurt you for no reason. Using the crutches, she packs, tossing the scrubs into the trash and stuffs her clothes into her bathroom bag and grabs her prescription medicine and tosses it in her backpack. Biting her lip, she straps on the backpack and hobbles out to the living room.
Chase and Daniel are talking in the kitchen when they hear her. “Your home is stunning, Daniel.” Delta is amazed. This is the first time she has seen it in the daylight. It is a modern open design with wide pine wood floors carried throughout. The living room has massive windows that allow the sunlight to stream inside. A massive stone fireplace with a large wooden beam for a mantle.
“Let me help you, Delta.” Chase removes her backpack and guides her to a leather chair and ottoman that flanks the fireplace. “Put your leg up,” he glances at Daniel who is moving forward with an icepack.
“The nurse said to ice your thigh for ten minutes at a time to help reduce swelling. Can I get you something to drink?” Daniel asks her quie
tly.
“Wow, you two are something else. You make a girl feel cared for, but I came out to tell you it’s time for me to go back to my cabin.” Daniel’s smile fades.
“You’re in no condition to be alone, Delta. At least not until your stitches are out.”
“Daniel’s right, and we have some bad news.” Chase sighs, “The police were not able to hold Melody or her cousin. It seems they have lawyered up and since you did schedule a guided tour, they said the kidnapping charges would not hold.”
“I see.” Delta doesn’t know what to think. “He never threatened me, he just dumped me and took my backpack,” she states softly.
“Are you always so calm? Don’t you want to hit someone, yell, cuss or throw something?” Daniel demands, jumping up, he moves to the fireplace and grips the mantle with his large hands.
“He’s always been prone to tantrums,” Chase whispers and Delta laughs. Daniel looks at the two of them in shock.
“I'm sorry, but I can't seem to find anything remotely funny about this. You could have died, and now, these two animals are loose and worse, they are angry! Perhaps it would be best if you went home to Carolina, Delta. At least you would be safe.”
“No, Daniel. I'm not going home yet. I'll admit, I thought about it, but no lovesick little girl is going to scare me away. The next time they come for me, I'll be ready, and we'll just make sure the charges stick.” Delta digs in her backpack and grabs her cell phone and pain pills. “I need a pain pill, and I would love a glass of ice tea.”
Chase hurries to the kitchen and gives Daniel a minute alone with Delta. He squats beside her and lifts her hand to press a kiss to it. “I wish you’d stay here for one more night. Let me take care of you at least until you are off the pain medicine.”
“I couldn’t intrude…” Daniel hisses at her stopping her midsentence.
“Delta, you know better than that by now. I need to know you are okay. I'm either going to follow you to the cabin and stay there, or you're going to stay here.” He leaps up from the floor and moves away.