Home on the Ranch: Wyoming Cowboy Ranger

by Rebecca Winters

  She didn’t touch her food. Instead, her head lifted and she shot him a stricken glance. “His sister is out there looking for you. I can’t bear it.” She got to her feet, clinging to the back of her swivel chair. “I’m terrified for you.”

  “Now you know how I feel, realizing she could be hunting for you, too. We’ll both have to be extra careful until she’s arrested.”

  “But what if she isn’t?” she cried.

  “She will be. Holden always gets the culprit. I want your promise you’ll go home straight after work and stay there. I’ll be calling you every so often to know you’re all right.”

  Lily nodded. “Promise me you won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to either of us. Now I have to go.”

  “Not yet.” Her eyes pled with him to stay.

  “Your patient is waiting and I’ve got to get to headquarters.” Remembering her Wednesday schedule, he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at three.”

  “I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

  “You took the words out of my mouth.” Before he did something like pull her into his arms again and never let her go, he wheeled around and headed for the door.

  “Porter?”

  When he looked over his shoulder, he saw her hurry across the room. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his head. The touch of her lips shot through to his insides. “Please stay safe.”

  “That goes for you, too.” He turned and kissed her mouth long and hard before letting her go. “I’ll call you later.”

  She opened the door for him. Her eyes clung to his until Ron rolled him down the hallway out of her sight. “You weren’t in there very long.”

  “Nope.”

  Ron had no clue how much pain Porter was in because he’d had to leave her. This was agony on a level he couldn’t imagine. Once they went out the clinic doors, Porter told him to stop.

  “I can make it from here, Ron.”

  “No, you can’t, or I’ll get fired.” He wheeled him to Porter’s car in the parking lot.

  “Thank you.” Gingerly, he got out of the wheelchair and climbed into the car. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the unmarked cars following him as he left to meet Holden. The only way he could handle this was knowing that Lily was being protected.

  Ten minutes later Stan joined them at the sheriff’s office to discuss the situation. By now Martin Kroger had sent the photo of Melissa from his files and her picture had been disseminated to all law enforcement in Sublette County. Every officer and forest ranger needed to be on constant alert. No one was safe.

  Porter knew there was a volatile side to Melissa. When she found out her brother had been arrested, she would be enraged. Perhaps she already did know and was out hunting for him. Nothing would stop her from trying to kill him. His only hope was that she didn’t know about Lily yet.

  * * *

  At five, Lily said goodbye to her last patient and left the clinic for home. Though she knew she was being guarded, the idea that a lunatic woman was out there somewhere with a weapon chilled her to the bone. She didn’t stop for anything on the way to the ranch.

  Once she’d driven around the back, she hurried inside and locked the door before calling to her parents. When she didn’t get an answer, she phoned her mom and learned they were out in the barn, showing their horses to a possible buyer who’d come before. They’d be in a little later and were thrilled she was home safe.

  Lily went upstairs to shower and change, her whole mind and heart on Porter. She could still remember what he’d told her about the ranger. She begged me to get in the pup tent with her and spend the night. I was suspicious.

  By rejecting her, the woman had lost her mind enough to talk her brother into helping her find Porter no matter how long it took. After a year of looking for him, who knew what plan she had in store for him? Entrapment? Torture? A slow death? Did she know by now her brother had been arrested?

  Shudder after shudder racked Lily’s body. When her phone rang, she saw that it was her mother and picked up. “Mom?”

  “Hi, honey. Now that those people have gone, come on downstairs. We’ll all cook dinner together.”

  “I’m going to be terrible company.”

  “Couldn’t Porter keep his appointment today?”

  Her breath caught in remembrance of what had gone on in the therapy room. “H-he came right on time,” she stammered. But Lily wouldn’t be seeing him again until three tomorrow and didn’t know how she would bear it. She hadn’t been the same since.

  “Any new developments?”

  “Not yet,” she replied.

  “I see. What are you doing right now?”

  Lily swallowed hard. “If you want to know the truth, thinking horrible thoughts.”

  “Join the club.” Her mother’s unfailing sense of humor was the tonic she needed.

  “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “I’ve already started counting. We’re going to make it through this, honey.”

  Before she went to bed later, Porter phoned and said virtually the same thing. “I’m certain Melissa knows her brother has been arrested. They had to have been staying somewhere in town and she now realizes he’s been caught. In her desperation she’ll make her move soon. Just stay indoors until you have to go to work. This will be over before we know it. I’m living for tomorrow, when I see you at three.”

  Her eyes closed tightly. “I can’t wait.”

  “Neither can I.”

  After they hung up, she turned on the television and watched reruns of some old TV sitcoms. She had no idea when she fell asleep, but awakened late Wednesday morning, which didn’t matter since she wouldn’t be going anywhere until afternoon.

  Trying to fill her time, she showered and washed her hair, wanting to look beautiful for Porter. After going downstairs she fixed breakfast and phoned Millie to find out how she was doing. Lily didn’t tell her what was going on so it wouldn’t upset her.

  There was another call for the brigade to look for an autistic boy who’d wandered from his parents’ camp in the mountains. Normally Lily would have asked for the day off to help in the search, but not this time. Porter didn’t want her leaving the ranch until she drove into work.

  When two thirty crept around, she left for the clinic, unable to stand the inactivity any longer. She wouldn’t be able to breathe until she saw Porter.

  “Lily? Can I have a word with you?”

  Matt was coming out of his office. “Yes, but I’m expecting my next patient in five minutes.”

  “All I wanted was to remind you of the hospital board dinner coming up this Saturday evening at the Whitebark Hotel. You and I have been invited to attend.”

  “That’s right. I forgot. Thank you for telling me.”

  “I’d be happy to come by for you.”

  She couldn’t believe he’d just said that, not after she’d made herself clear. “I’ll get there on my own, Matt, but I appreciate the heads-up.”

  “It’s been on the calendar for a month. The director wants to know if you’re coming.”

  “I’ll contact him right away.” Since meeting Porter, everything else had gone out of her mind. “Thanks, Matt.”

  Lily walked on down the hall to the closet for a clean lab coat. After putting it on, she hurried to the therapy room. But she was so filled with anxiety that Porter might not show up, she’d turned into a nervous wreck.

  No sooner had she approached her desk than there was Ron’s knock on the door.

  Her heart leaped. “Come in.”

  She turned around as the orderly opened it. Porter got out of the wheelchair, thanked Ron and entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Today he wore his forest-ranger uniform. Dressed in official gear and boots with the badge on his pocket, the work
s, he looked transformed and imposing. His male potency was so striking, her legs felt like mush.

  “That’s a far cry from your hospital jammies, Mr. Ewing. Is this some kind of statement?”

  He locked the door. That gesture alone set her pulse racing. “Today I woke up feeling my old self, thanks to you. I couldn’t get here soon enough.”

  The fire in his eyes propelled her toward him. They met halfway and he pulled her into his arms, crushing her against him. Burying his face in her hair, he said, “If I hadn’t heard your voice just now, I’m not sure what I would have done.”

  In the next breath, his mouth covered her own. For him to be here in her arms was all she wanted out of life as they attempted to assuage their insatiable longing for each other.

  Before she knew what was happening, he pulled her to her swivel chair, then sat down next to her. “I’d lower us to the mat on the floor, but if I did that, I’d never let you up again.”

  “Oh, Porter—”

  After giving her another long, deep kiss, he raised his head. “I didn’t come here today for another therapy session. I came to make sure you’re all right. As soon as this case is solved, I’ll make the arrangements to buy Dash,” he whispered against her lips. “We’ll go for a campout in the mountains, where we can be completely alone. I need time with you.”

  “We both need it,” she said, giving him a kiss that went on and on, filling her with an ecstasy she’d never dreamed of. When her desk phone rang she ignored it until she heard Cindy’s voice.

  “Lily? Ron came by for your patient, but I guess you didn’t hear him knock. Your next appointment is here.”

  She let out a groan of protest, not wanting to let Porter go, but she had to. Easing herself away from him with reluctance, she turned to her desk. “I need five more minutes with my patient, then send Ron. After you see Ranger Ewing leave, you can tell my next patient to come in.”

  “Will do.”

  Porter’s arms crept around her waist and he kissed the back of her neck. “Every part of you is so tempting, I can’t leave you alone.”

  She whirled around in his arms. “I don’t want you to leave. Every time we have to say goodbye, I’m afraid.”

  “We’re going to get through this, Lily.” He stole another kiss, then reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded paper. “This is the photo of Melissa sent from New York. Take it to show your folks. Now I’d better get out of here, or we’re going to cause a traffic jam in the clinic that’ll bring the media to find out why.” He glanced around. “I see you’ve got a surveillance camera in the corner.”

  “True, but it didn’t catch us.”

  “If it did, I want it.”

  She broke into gentle laughter. “I need to do a lot of things, like apply fresh lipstick and brush my hair.”

  His slow smile turned her heart over. “You look thoroughly ravished... I love that look on you.”

  Lily gripped his hard-muscled upper arms. “I hope you haven’t hurt your back holding me.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Please, please, don’t let anything happen to you, Porter.”

  He brushed his lips against hers. “Now you know how I feel every second I’m away from you. I’ll phone you tonight. If you need anything, call me.”

  “I promise.”

  They kept kissing each other until Ron’s tap sounded against the door. She unlocked it, then hid behind it as Porter walked out. Before her next patient arrived, she hurried to her desk for her purse to repair the damage.

  The day droned on before she could leave the clinic at seven. Before she left, she studied the copy of the photograph Porter had given her. Melissa Reiver was a good-looking woman. She put it back in her pocket.

  It helped to know undercover officers were following her. When she reached the ranch and hurried inside, her parents were in the kitchen cooking dinner.

  “Thank goodness you’re home safe and sound!” her mother said.

  “Hey, Mom,” she said, walking over to give her a quick hug. “I’ve got something to show you and Dad. Porter left it when he came in for his appointment this afternoon.” On the way home, the picture of the emotionally disturbed ranger had burned a hole in her jeans’ pocket. Now she took it out and spread it on the kitchen counter for her parents to see.

  Her mother glanced at it first, then gasped. “Oh, no—come and look,” she said to Lily’s father. “This is the face of the woman who came to see one of the horses again today!”

  “But she had short red hair.”

  “Yet can’t you see that’s her face?” her mother asked.

  “You’re right.”

  “Mom—she was here?” Adrenaline spurted through her veins. “How long ago?”

  “About four thirty.”

  Her father pulled out his cell phone. “I’m calling the sheriff.”

  Lily’s hand trembled as she reached for her own phone to call Porter. He picked up on the second ring.

  “Lily? Are you all right?”

  “I’m home with my parents, but there’s been a development. They took one look at the photograph I brought home and said Melissa had been here at the ranch around four thirty today. But she had short red hair.”

  “I knew it.” The way he said it sent shivers down her spine. “Have they called Holden?”

  “Dad’s on the phone with him right now.”

  “Good. Stay inside together. I’ll be in touch soon.” He clicked off before she could say goodbye.

  In a minute her father hung up and rejoined them at the kitchen table. “We’re to stay put and carry out our normal chores tomorrow,” he told her mom. “They’re setting up a sting operation, but the sheriff said it might take several days before she’s caught.”

  When he turned his gaze to Lily, the look of calm reassurance in his eyes did little to soothe her frazzled nerves “And Lily? You’re to go into work tomorrow as usual. He’ll be coordinating everything with Captain Sanchez, who will keep in touch with all of us as things proceed.”

  While Lily made a green salad to keep from falling apart, Porter phoned her. She left what she was doing and hurried into the dining room.

  “Porter?”

  “Hey, sweetheart. How are you doing?”

  “I’ve been better,” she admitted. “My dad just talked to Holden. The sheriff told him that I should go to work tomorrow.”

  “It’s important you keep sticking to your routine. The fact that Melissa’s come to your ranch twice proves she doesn’t think you know she’s in Whitebark. I’m aware you’re frightened, but remember you’ll be protected all the way to work and back.

  “Stay at the hospital and eat in the cafeteria tomorrow. When you head home, don’t go anywhere else. It’s vital you stay with your schedule. Holden will be giving you explicit instructions once you’re home from the clinic. I’ll be working with the officers. This is going to end soon.”

  “Porter? I couldn’t imagine life without you now.”

  “Don’t you know I feel the same way? But this nightmare is close to being over. Remember that.”

  * * *

  Porter walked into Holden’s office early Thursday morning. Their eyes met as streams of unspoken words passed between them.

  “I’ve got more news this morning, Porter. After feeding the prints on the suspect into the criminal database using the Reiver name, we came up with a suspect operating in New York. He has a string of robberies and aliases. There’s a warrant out for his arrest. I’ve already alerted law enforcement in New York that we’ve arrested him under the name of Jake Harrison and have sent them all the pertinent information.”

  “Good grief,” Porter murmured. “He and Melissa are both deranged.”

  “He’s twenty-five and was born Jedediah Marsh Reiver in Potsdam, New York. Parents are dead. One sister still living.” />
  “Martin Kroger mentioned that Melissa came from Potsdam originally,” Porter mused. “It all fits.”

  Holden nodded. “He goes by everything from Jed to Jack. It’s not surprising he came up with the name Jake.”

  “His addiction to Captain Black cigarillos proved to be his downfall.”

  “Yes indeed. And Lily’s find in the mountains helped cross all the t’s.”

  Porter took a quick breath just thinking about her. “Yesterday when I called her, she told me her mother recognized the suspect from the photo I’ve given her, even though Melissa had red hair. Maybe it was dyed, or she was wearing a short red wig. I thought about that all night. It’s possible she has a number of different wigs in order to disguise herself. Let’s look at the surveillance tape viewing every visitor who has come to the jail since her brother was arrested. If we could study it and spot her, then—”

  “Then we’d know those two have communicated,” Holden interrupted. “It would give us a timetable for her activities.”

  “Exactly. Maybe we’ll find out she has more than one disguise.”

  “I’ve already got it on the screen.”

  Porter should have known his friend was always ten steps ahead of everyone else. Holden adjusted the monitor so they could both look. “I had the online register of visitors run off for me showing the dates and times of each inmate visit.”

  “Good.” Together they poured over each picture. When a blonde in a medium-length bob appeared at the desk to talk to the deputy in charge of visitors, they both looked at each other.

  “Blow it up, Holden.”

  The second the picture was enlarged on the screen, Porter got to his feet. “That’s Melissa! What’s the date and time?”

  “Yesterday.”

  Porter turned to the visitor log. “Here it is. Eileen Davies, two twenty p.m.” He grimaced. “This means her brother has told her everything and she’s known my steps including my visits to the Owens ranch. She’s had plenty of time to figure out my therapy schedule and plan her next move. No doubt she intends to kill me and Lily at the same time, while we’re out riding away from the ranch house. I need copies of her in red hair, blond hair and her natural brunette hair.”