Cowboy's Vow to Protect

by Carla Cassidy

  The two officers walked back down the lane as Dillon joined Flint. “Let’s go inside and you can tell me exactly what happened.”

  “First, I need to get Madison out of the bathroom. I sent her in there because I didn’t know if somebody was going to open fire on the cabin.” Flint opened the front door and the two men went inside.

  Flint immediately went to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Madison, Dillon is here. You can come out now.”

  The door opened and she flew into his arms. Her warm curves fit perfectly against him as she clung to him. A soft sob escaped her and more than anything Flint wished he could take away the fear that he knew she was experiencing. She had to have been terrified when the bullet shattered her window.

  He reluctantly released her and guided her to the sofa where she sat. Flint sank down next to her as Dillon sat on the chair opposite them. “Now,” he said. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “We were headed to town to do some grocery shopping.” As Flint told Dillon what had occurred, he was aware of Madison leaning into him.

  “Did you get a look at the shooter?” Dillon asked when Flint was finished.

  “No, whoever shot at us was completely hidden from view.”

  “You know it was Brad,” Madison interjected. “It has to be him. Since I’ve told what he did to me, he now wants me dead.” Her voice trembled with emotion.

  “I’m not going to let that happen,” Flint said. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she nestled even closer to his side, but he could still feel her trembling.

  Dillon asked a few more questions and then the two officers came in the front door. “We checked the area and there’s nobody hiding out in the woods right now,” Officer Graham said.

  “But we did find a place where the grass was tamped down, indicating that somebody was hiding there,” he added.

  “The coward shot at us and then ran,” Flint said with disgust.

  “We’ll try to get some slugs out of your car so we at least know what kind of gun was used. We’ll then head back into town and check out where Brad was at during the time of the attack,” Dillon said. He stood. “In the meantime, you’re on notice that somebody is not happy with you,” he said to Flint.

  “I’ll warn you that if it comes to it I’ll shoot to kill.” Flint stood, as well. “And I hope Brad is in jail for attempted murder before nightfall.”

  “Walk us out?” Dillon asked.

  Flint nodded and together the three men stepped outside. “I didn’t want to say too much in front of Maddy,” Dillon said as his other men got back into the patrol car.

  “I appreciate that,” Flint replied. “She’s pretty shaken up by this.”

  “As she should be. We both know those bullets were meant for her. They came through the passenger side of the truck and not through your side,” Dillon said.

  “Brad has to be behind this,” Flint said. “Nothing else makes any sense.”

  “I know that and you know that. Now I’ve got to see if I can prove it.” Dillon’s jaw tightened as he gazed around. “You’re pretty isolated out here. You’re going to have to be on your toes because I can’t provide you much in the way of support and protection this far from town.”

  “Trust me. I’ll be on my toes.”

  They both turned as Madison stepped out on the porch. “We’re still going into town for groceries,” she said. Her chin lifted as she walked over to the passenger side of his truck. “I’ll just clean out the glass and then we’ll be on our way.”

  Her voice was strained and her movements jerky, completely unlike her. Flint stopped her from opening the truck door. “Madison, we can get groceries another day or I can have somebody pick them up and bring them to us.”

  “No.” She whirled away from Flint. “He doesn’t get to win. He’s not going to make me be a prisoner here. I told you before. He’s taken enough from me. He doesn’t get to say I can’t go to the grocery store. He’s not going to take away all my freedom.” Her eyes flashed with defiance as she glared first at Flint and then at Dillon.

  “If I end up dead, then I want you to do whatever is in your power to see that Brad Ainsworth goes to prison for my rape and murder.” Her defiance began to melt away. Her shoulders sagged and her eyes filled with tears. She began to visibly tremble.

  “Madison.” Flint said her name softly and moved to pull her into a comforting embrace. But with a small gasp, she jerked away from him, turned and ran back into the cabin.

  “I’d better get in there,” Flint said with a worried look toward the front door.

  “We’ll see what we can find on your truck and I’ll be in touch with any information I get,” Dillon replied. As he motioned for the other two officers to join him at his truck, Flint hurried into the house.

  He found Madison on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. He sank down on the bed next to her. “Madison, I know you’re scared.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “But everything is going to be okay.”

  She jerked up and angrily wiped the tears off her face. “Damn right I’m scared.” Her eyes blazed an icy blue. “I’m scared and I’m sorry I ever said anything about this at all. I should have just kept my mouth shut about everything that monster did to me.”

  She scooted to the end of the bed and then left the bedroom. He knew those moments in the truck with somebody shooting at them had scared her. The sudden and unexpected attack had scared the hell out of him.

  He hurried after her, confused by the mixed messages she was sending. She stood in the living room, staring out the front window, and that was the last place he wanted her standing.

  “Madison,” he said softly. “Come away from the window and tell me what I can do to help you get through this.”

  Thankfully, she stepped away from the window and then turned to look at him. She looked so sad...so utterly broken and he hated seeing her that way.

  She released a deep, tremulous sigh. “I intend to call Dillon and tell him I don’t want to pursue this. I’ll tell him that I just made it all up. That it didn’t really happen and I... I was just looking for attention.”

  “Madison, don’t make that kind of decision right now when you’re so scared. Come sit with me.”

  She paused a long moment and then moved across the floor to sit on the chair. Flint sat on the sofa facing her. “Now that we know Brad is stupid enough to want to hurt you, I’ll be on my toes. I misread the situation earlier, but I won’t make the same mistake again. I swear I can keep you safe.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself as if chilled to the very bone. He was vaguely surprised by his need to grab her up into a tight embrace.

  He wanted to hold her until she was no longer cold with her thoughts of attempted murder and Brad. But she’d chosen to sit in the chair where he couldn’t sit next to her and there was absolutely nothing about her demeanor that invited him to draw her into his arms.

  “Talk to me, Madison.” He needed to know what was going on in her head.

  “I have nothing more to say about any of it. I’m done. I intend to call Dillon first thing in the morning and call the whole thing off.” Her voice was small and hopeless, and it broke Flint’s heart for her.

  “Could you give it a little more time before you do that?” he asked. Maybe if she could get a little bit of distance from the shooting, she would feel stronger.

  She frowned and tightened her arms around her waist. “It won’t make a difference. I’m not going to change my mind.”

  “Would you just give it a week?” He figured maybe within that time some of the terror of the attack that morning would dissipate and she would make a better decision.

  Up to this point she had been so determined to get Brad behind bars for his crimes against her. The man needed to be rotting away somewhere in a prison.

  She released a weary sigh.
“Okay, I’ll see how I feel about things tomorrow,” she finally replied.

  It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, but it would have to be enough for now. He rose. “If you’ll be all right, I’m going to go out and clean up my truck. I also need to call Larry Wright at the car dealership and see if he can get me a window replacement as soon as possible.”

  She waved a hand in the direction of the door. “Go, do whatever you need to do. I think I’m going to take a nap.” She pulled herself out of the chair and then disappeared into her bedroom.

  A wave of helplessness shot through him. He’d been unable to stop the attack that morning from happening. He was now unable to make her feel safe enough to pursue her charges against Brad. And now she wasn’t even allowing him to comfort her.

  Minutes later he was outside with a shop vacuum and a trash bag. As he ran the vac to pick up the small shards of glass that sparkled in the sunlight, his thoughts were filled with Madison.

  He was worried about her. She just appeared so...so fragile and so very broken right now. He wanted to help her, but he didn’t know how.

  There was no way he could feel what she felt. There was no way he could put himself in her skin. He wanted to support her, but he hoped she continued on with the case against Brad. Even if she decided not to pursue the case he would still support her.

  He finished the cleanup and put the shop vacuum back in the garage and then went back inside the cabin. It was quiet and Madison was no place in sight. Her bedroom door was partially open and he peeked in on her.

  She was asleep, her dark, beautiful hair fanned out on the white pillowcase. She seemed to be completely at ease, her delicate features not indicating any bad dreams.

  Good. He wanted her to have happy dreams. He wanted...he wished...he stepped back from the door and half stumbled to the nearby chair.

  He collapsed down, half-breathless with the sudden and shocking realization that he was madly, crazy in love with her.

  Chapter 10

  Madison sat on the sofa with a book in her hand, but her brain was so involved in the chaos of her thoughts, it couldn’t compute the words on the pages.

  A week had gone by since the shooting and there had been no more trouble since then. However, she and Flint had remained holed up in the cabin during the past seven days.

  She had done nothing to advance or halt the charge against Brad. Dillon had called the day after the shooting and had told Dillon that Brad had been alibied for the time of the attack by his long-term girlfriend, Cindy Carter.

  Cindy had told Dillon that Brad had spent the night with her and during the time of the incident he and Cindy had been having a leisurely breakfast together.

  There seemed to be no way to prove Brad’s guilt and Madison was just sick of the whole thing. Dillon had called twice more to speak with her, but she had refused to take the phone calls.

  She was definitely sorry she had come forward in the first place and now just wanted it to all go away. A dozen times she had thought about calling Dillon and telling him to drop the whole thing. She still intended to make the call; she just hadn’t done it yet.

  She should have just followed through on her initial plan to keep her mouth shut and leave town. She should have climbed on a bus the next day after her car had broken down.

  But then she wouldn’t have gotten to know Flint. She wouldn’t have known the joy of laughing with him. She wouldn’t have known the happiness of being held in his arms, or the absolute wonder of making love with him. She couldn’t and wouldn’t wish any of that away.

  Although ultimately she knew Flint would support her in whatever she decided to do about Brad, he’d been acting strange all week. He had been rather distant and quiet and in the evenings he’d taken to sitting in the chair rather than next to her on the sofa. He was also spending most of the days working outside around the place.

  Restlessly, she now got up from the table and walked over to the front window. Flint was just outside, painting the porch with a sealant.

  Her heart expanded as she watched him work. He looked so strong, so capable of handling anything that came his way. But she had seen the expression of pain that sometimes raced across his features. She had watched him in the evenings rubbing his hands as if there was an ache deep inside them.

  She supposed it was just what he’d told her, that it was old, broken bones aching. But she hated seeing him in any kind of pain. There was no question in her mind that he’d saved her life by offering her this warm and wonderful shelter.

  Who knew where she’d be right now if not for him? Getting on a bus and leaving Bitterroot might have ended in horrible circumstances.

  With a deep sigh she moved from the window to the kitchen table with her book in hand. Once again she felt more than a bit of cabin fever. There was no question that the attack in the truck had scared her, but how long was she going to remain holed up in here? How long did she allow her fear to keep her a virtual captive?

  She looked up as Flint came through the door. He smiled at her, the smile that cast a warmth over her. “How are you doing?”

  “Okay.” She watched as he washed his hands in the sink and then moved to the coffeemaker. He popped the pod in and then turned back to look at her.

  “You said you’re okay, but you don’t sound okay. You sound a little depressed.”

  She released another deep sigh. “I think I want to try it again.”

  He frowned in obvious confusion. “Try what again?”

  “Leaving here...going into town. Maybe we could have dinner at the café this evening.”

  He got his coffee and then sat across the table from her. “Sounds good to me, but are you sure you’re up to it?”

  She hesitated a moment and then nodded her head. “I need to be up to it. I don’t like feeling as if I’m imprisoned by my own fear.”

  “Madison, I’m up for whatever you want to do and I’ll do my best to make sure you stay safe.”

  He looked so earnest and so determined. Her heart swelled with emotions she’d never felt before about a man...emotions too great for her to deal with at the moment. Instead, she simply smiled at him. “Then let’s go out for dinner.”

  “That sounds like a plan to me.”

  An awkward silence fell between them, one that had become far too familiar over the past week. She wasn’t sure exactly what had changed between them, but something definitely had.

  Maybe it had been her decision not to pursue the charges against Brad that had changed Flint’s attitude toward her. She wanted to be strong, but nobody knew the raw, terrifying fear she still harbored toward Brad. Nobody had been in the trailer with her to see what a terrifying monster he had become. And the bullets that had obviously been meant for her only increased her fear of the man. What more could he be capable of?

  “Do you want to plan to go in about an hour or so?” Flint asked, breaking the silence that had grown between them.

  “That sounds perfect,” she replied. “I’m already working up a big appetite.”

  He smiled at her. “Well, you are eating for two.”

  Self-consciously she wrapped her arms around her growing waistline. “It’s getting more and more difficult to hide. Thank goodness I still have a few loose-fitting dresses.”

  “You always look beautiful,” he replied. His gaze held hers for a long moment and then he stared down into his cup and cleared his throat. “I think I’ll head to the shower.” He drained the last of his coffee, set the cup in the sink and then disappeared into the bathroom.

  She inhaled, the breath hitching in the back of her throat. For just a moment she’d thought she’d seen something wonderful, something so soft and magical in the forest-green depths of his eyes.

  She wanted to rush to him and confess that she was in love with him. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to live in this enchanted cabin in
the woods with him forever.

  Her heart crashed down to the pit of her pregnant stomach. Maybe she’d only imagined that look in his eyes. Maybe that was what she wanted to see but it hadn’t really been there.

  He’d brought her into his home because she’d desperately needed a place to stay. He’d been kind enough to allow her to remain here until she got back on her feet.

  That didn’t mean he was madly in love with her. It only meant he was a man with compassion. She’d checked him out dozens of times while working in the grocery store and he had never expressed an interest in her.

  True, he’d made sweet love with her, but having sex with a woman was very different from having real true love for her. There was no question that he was physically attracted to her, that they were physically attracted to each other, but that didn’t mean he wanted her in his life forever.

  She couldn’t tell Flint how she felt about him. She wasn’t going to make herself that vulnerable. She already felt vulnerable enough in her life.

  She’d been humiliated first by her father, who had been unable to love her and then by Brad’s attack. She couldn’t stand it if she told Flint her feelings and humiliated herself only for her love to be rejected by him. It was best if she just kept her feelings for him to herself.

  Gazing over at the clock on the wall, she pulled herself up and out of the kitchen chair and went into her bedroom to change clothes and put on a little makeup for dinner out.

  As she got ready she tried to tamp down the simmering of fear inside her. When they tried to leave the lane would more bullets fly at them? Was Brad waiting for them, hoping to get another opportunity to shoot her?

  While they were driving into town would somebody try to run them off the road, or fire bullets from another car with the intent of hopefully killing her? When they left the café to get into the truck to come home would somebody come at them out of the shadows of the night?

  She had so much more to live for now with the baby growing inside her. The baby was an innocent soul and didn’t deserve to die for Madison’s actions.