by Eve Gaddy
“Don’t know. My leg... It’s bad. I took the dogs...to the bunkhouse,” he panted. “That son of a bitch...Jim shot me when I got back.”
“Can you walk with my help?”
“Yeah.”
He couldn’t. Dylan yanked off his T-shirt and gave it to Al, telling him, “Keep pressure on it. I’m getting you out of here.” He locked his hands beneath Al’s arms and dragged him out of the barn. It had to hurt like hell but Al didn’t complain. Dylan found a lead rope and tied it around the shirt in a makeshift tourniquet. “When did this happen?” Dylan asked grimly as he worked.
“Don’t know. Not...long,” Al said haltingly. “He asked...where Sam was. Shot me when I didn’t know.”
Dylan prayed Sam had listened to Connor and stayed away, but he had a cold fear that she hadn’t. “I’ve got to find Sam,” he told Al. “The fire department should be here any moment.” He hoped like hell they would.
Great. Trouble’s doing God knows what, Sam is God knows where and that fucking maniac is running around with a gun looking for her.
Getting Trouble down to the pasture hadn’t been easy, and had taken much longer than she’d hoped, but between Sam and Shadow, they’d finally managed it. He was safe now. “Shadow, stay,” she told the dog, thinking he’d help calm down the stallion. As she started to leave, she ran into Connor.
“Dylan said for you to stay put.”
“Are there still horses in the barn?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then I’m going back to help.” Connor shouted after her but she ignored him. As she neared the stables she sighed in relief. No obvious flames, but there was plenty of light from every indoor and outdoor fixture that was turned on.
A heavy arm wrapped around her neck and something poked her in the back. “All alone, bitch?”
The last time she’d heard that voice had been in a courtroom, threatening her. Bill Wade. How could she have forgotten about him when he was sure to have started the fire for this very reason? “Not for long, Wade,” she said with a bravado she was far from feeling.
“So you finally figured it out.”
“Yes, and the police know too,” she lied without a blink.
“They don’t have a clue.”
“Are you sure about that?” He didn’t answer, but he tightened his arm around her neck. “Dylan’s coming.”
“You think Gallagher’s gonna save you?” He laughed.
“I know he is.”
“Dream on, bitch. He’ll do whatever I tell him to do once he knows I’ve got a gun on you.”
Oh, God. Of course he would—rather than risk hurting her. She fought for calm and logic. “What are you going to do, Wade? Shoot me? Kill me right away? That doesn’t sound like much fun. I’d think you’d want to torture me first.”
“Maybe I do. By the time I’m done you’ll be begging to die.”
“You’d better hurry, then.”
“Why?”
“The fire department and the police will be here in five minutes.”
“Bullshit.”
“The fire alarm is tied in to the fire department. Don’t you hear the sirens?”
His grip loosened. The wail of the sirens grew louder by the moment. She heard a furious growl. Wade screamed in pain and she twisted out of his grasp and tried to wrest the gun from him. But he broke away, frantically trying to shoot the dog hanging on to the back of one leg.
Dylan ran toward them, yelling, “Run, Sam,” as he reached her. But she stood frozen, watching as Dylan hurled himself at Wade. They fought for the gun even as Shadow hung on to the back of the man’s thigh like a trained K9 officer. The two men continued to struggle, first one then the other gaining the upper hand.
Unable to take her eyes off of them, Sam heard the police and fire department arrive. The muted sounds of the sirens, of people shouting, the lights flashing, water streaming—all of them faded away as she watched the desperate fight. Shadow growled as the men fought for dominance, punctuated by grunts and groans.
She picked up a rock with a vague idea of throwing it at them, but with her luck she’d hit Dylan, so she didn’t. She heard a gunshot, a cry of pain and a curse. Dylan was shirtless, she didn’t know why, but she saw with sickening clarity that his left arm was bleeding and knew the bullet must have hit him.
Dylan took Wade to the ground, forcing Shadow to let go. He smashed Wade’s hand in the dirt and took the gun, slowly standing up. “Shadow, no,” he said when the dog advanced on the downed man, growling and snapping.
Sam ran over and grabbed hold of Shadow’s collar before he could sink his teeth into another body part. “Good boy. It’s okay.” Then she looked at Dylan, who was weaving on his feet and still bleeding and said, “Dylan, let me help you.”
“I’m okay. It’s nothing.” But he handed her the gun and walked away to sit on the ground.
Cursing, Wade started to get up. “If you think I won’t shoot you, think again. Or I could just let Shadow loose on you.” The dog stayed by her side as she’d commanded but she knew it wouldn’t take much for him to go for Wade’s throat. Staring at the man, the dog kept up a steady, threatening growl. Wade cursed again, but stayed where he was.
Sam shouted for a paramedic and for the police, fearing that given all the noise and commotion, they might not realize where they were or that she and Dylan needed help.
Moments later, May and another policeman arrived. “Apparently, you two didn’t need my help,” May said, looking at the man on the ground. “I assume this is the arsonist?”
“It’s Bill Wade. And yes, he’s responsible for the fire at my house and the one here, and all the stalking.”
“You can’t prove any of that,” Wade snarled.
“Don’t count on it,” May told him. “Bill Wade, you’re under arrest for arson and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent...”
Sam didn’t listen to the rest, but she noticed the other cop took him away, Bill still cursing. She heard the cop tell him to shut up and smiled.
“He shot Al, too,” Dylan said, while the paramedics worked on him. “He’s at the south end of the barn.”
“Is that what happened to your shirt?”
“Yeah. Al was bleeding, so I gave him my shirt and tied a rope around it to keep pressure on it.”
Critically, Sam watched the paramedics, but they clearly knew what they were doing. “How bad is it?”
“Not too bad. It’s a flesh wound,” Pete Larsen told her.
Sam breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been almost certain that’s all it was, but it was reassuring to hear it, nonetheless.
“That’s what I told you. Hurts like a bitch, though,” Dylan said.
“Al’s already on his way to the hospital,” May said. “Connor is with the horses.”
“Ow—damn, that hurts,” he said, watching Pete and his partner pack his wound.
“Don’t complain,” Sam told him. “They’re trying to make sure you don’t bleed out.”
“From a flesh wound? I don’t think so.”
“Don’t be macho, Dylan.”
Pete laughed. “Another ambulance will be here shortly to take you to the hospital.”
“Not a chance. I can’t leave now. I’ll go after the fire department is sure the fire is out and I’ve gotten the horses settled down.”
Sam didn’t bother to argue. Damned stubborn man wouldn’t budge until he was sure everything was taken care of. Instead she asked for a phone. “What’s Sean’s cell phone number?” She figured if he was working he could get the other brothers out to the ranch to help.
“You don’t—”
“It’s not up for discussion. Don’t make me go through the hospital. Give me the number. And don’t sulk.”
Dylan opened his mouth and shut it. “Damn, you’re tough.” But he gave her the number.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Hard to believe the fire was only two weeks ago,” Sean said to Dylan.
&n
bsp; “It could have been a lot worse,” Dylan said. Thanks to God and the new sprinkler system, fire damage had been minimal. While there had been smoke damage as well, most of the damage had been due to water, both from the sprinklers and the fire hoses the fire department employed.
“It would have taken a lot longer if you, Wyatt and Jack hadn’t helped. Thanks.”
All three of his brothers had pitched in after the fire. They’d taken it as a given that they would, considering that the ranch was owned by all of them even if Dylan did hold the majority share.
Sean eyed him warily. “You’re not going to get mushy on me, are you?”
Dylan laughed. “Hell, no. I can say thanks without getting mushy.”
“Have you heard what happened with Bill Wade? Are they going to be able to lock him up for good?”
“There’s plenty of evidence against him on a shitload of charges. On top of his previous felony conviction, he’ll almost certainly get a long sentence.” Frowning, Dylan added, “I doubt he’ll get life, though, since he didn’t manage to kill anyone.”
“Too bad.” Catching himself, Sean added, “I mean, too bad he won’t get life.”
Dylan grinned. “I knew what you meant. Hopefully, he’ll be too ancient when he does get out to cause any more trouble.”
“Enough about that piece of shit,” Sean said. “How’s that new stallion?”
“He’s doing really well. Sam’s been working with him when she can and he’s decided I’m okay.”
“The fire didn’t flip him out?”
“Not as much as we thought it would. He seemed to forget about it pretty quickly. Shadow calms him down.”
“So you’re going to breed him?”
“I think so. Not a hundred percent sure, but it’s looking likely.”
“When’s Sam moving out?”
“She’s not. Why would you think she was?”
“The women said her house was nearly finished with the remodel.”
“The women?”
“Yeah. Maya told Mia who told Honey.”
“First I’ve heard of it.”
“So, you don’t want her to move out?”
“What kind of a stupid-ass question is that? Of course I don’t want her to move out.”
“You’d better tell her, then.”
Well, crap. Sam knew he wanted her to stay.
Didn’t she?
Sam got back to the ranch fairly late that evening. She was tired, cranky and hungry and hoped that Dylan didn’t have something he wanted to do more than eat, veg out and go to bed early. Opening the kitchen door, she stopped short at what met her eyes.
The room was lit with candles. Classical music played from speakers in the ceiling. The kitchen table was set for two with what had to be Dylan’s mother’s good crystal and china. A huge bowl of spring flowers stood in the center of the table. Delicious smells came from the oven, making her stomach rumble. Dylan, however, was nowhere to be seen.
He came in a few minutes later. “Hi,” he said, giving her a quick hello kiss. “How was your day?”
For Dylan, he was dressed up. He wore a nice, button-down, plaid dress shirt, newish blue jeans and shiny boots that had obviously just been cleaned.
“Long. Dylan, what is all this?” She gestured to the room.
He walked over to the kitchen counter and poured them both a glass of wine. Handing her glass to her, he said, “We’ve both been working long hours for the last two weeks. I thought we’d have a nice dinner.”
“It’s lovely.” And it was a bit more than just a “nice dinner.”
“Sit down and I’ll bring you your meal.”
“You don’t need to wait on me.”
“Do me a favor and just sit down.”
She shrugged, sat and sipped her wine. Dylan brought their food, then sat down and tapped his glass to hers.
“This is Glory’s special chicken, isn’t it?” she asked.
“I told her you really liked it.”
“I do.”
They talked, and ate a leisurely dinner, then took their wine glasses with them to the living room.
“Where’s Shadow?”
“Down at the barn. I’ll go get him in a little bit.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can—”
“Would you just stop? I said I’d go get him.”
“Fine. Why are you so grumpy?” she asked.
“I’m not. Why do you argue with everything I say?”
“I—” Frustrated, she caught herself. Technically ‘I don’t’ would be arguing. Instead she glared at him.
“I hear your house is almost finished.”
“Oh. Yes. I was going to tell you.” Was that why he was cranky? Because she hadn’t mentioned it? “Who told you?”
“Maya told Mia, who told Honey, who told Sean, who told me. The grapevine in action.”
“I’ll say. Bianca must have told Jack. Who told Maya and so on. I just heard from the contractor today.”
“What does that mean for you and me?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You moved in with me because your house was damaged by the fire. Not because I asked you to. So, are you going to move back to your house when it’s ready?”
What the hell? “Do you want me to?”
“No, but if that’s what you want—”
“I don’t. I want to stay here with you.”
He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “Good.” He kissed her, then let go and stood up. “I’ll go get Shadow.”
“Dylan?” He stopped at the doorway. “Is something wrong?”
“No, why?”
Because you’re acting weird as shit. “I just wondered.”
“Not a thing is wrong,” he said cheerfully and left the room.
Sam sipped her wine. Definitely weird. She supposed he’d tell her at some point. He came back a short time later with Shadow prancing by his side.
The dog came up to her, wiggling with delight.
“Shadow, sit,” Dylan told him. “Shake,” he added, when Shadow sat.
“Look at you. What a good boy you are.” She looked at Dylan. “You’ve been training him. When did you have time?”
“Here and there. He already sat pretty well.”
Sam scratched his neck. “There’s something on his collar.”
“You’d better see what it is.”
Now she knew something was going on. And she was beginning to get an idea what it was. She parted his fur and looked. Hanging from a ribbon tied to Shadow’s collar was a beautiful diamond ring. A single stone, encircled by smaller diamonds, set in platinum. “Oh, Dylan,” she said unsteadily. “It’s gorgeous.”
“It was my mother’s. If you don’t like it we can get you another one.”
“I love it. But aren’t you forgetting something?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
She gave him a dirty look and he laughed. He sat beside her, untied the ribbon and held the ring up between his thumb and index finger. “Will you marry me, Sam?”
“I would love to marry you, Dylan.” She held out her left hand and he slipped the ring on her finger. He kissed her, then stood and scooped her up in his arms. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you to bed. What else?”
“Good idea,” she said, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
The Friday night after they got engaged, Dylan and Sam had his brothers, their wives and their children, Glory and her husband, Bianca, and Clay out to the ranch for dinner. Glory made a huge pot of spaghetti, which was a good thing because Dylan had lost count of how many of them there were. There was wine and beer—and soft drinks for the kids and Mia—as well as snacks and French bread and salad. And some kind of mystery dessert Glory wouldn’t disclose.
Jack, Maya, baby Will and their two older girls, Gina and Carmen, were there. Mia was obviously pregnant now and Wyatt was pretty sappy about it. Sean had been the first of his brothers to arriv
e and he and Honey had immediately gone down to the barn to see Trouble. Only one person wasn’t there. His sister Glenna, who was still missing.
But Glenna hadn’t been home for so many things. She’d come home briefly for their father’s funeral several years ago, but had left early, saying she had to get back to Argentina for work. At times he wondered if she even considered them her family anymore. She kept in touch sporadically. But he hadn’t heard from her since before she disappeared in Argentina after being wrongly accused of embezzling from the ranch she’d worked at for years.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked him, slipping an arm around his waist.
“Not a thing. Why?”
“You were a million miles away.” She studied him briefly. “Or maybe just South America?”
“I was thinking about Glenna, yeah.” He couldn’t understand why Glenna hadn’t contacted him. She had to realize that none of the family would believe her guilty of embezzlement. He shook off the mood and kissed Sam. “But there’s not much point in that.” He joined back in one of the many ongoing conversations and tried to forget about his sister. The PI would either find her or he wouldn’t, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about that.
Later, after everyone left, he and Sam went out on the back porch to look at the moon over the mountains. Leaning back against a post with Sam in his arms, he asked, “When are we getting married?”
“You want to set a date?”
He laughed. “Isn’t that what engaged people usually do?”
“Are you in a big hurry?”
“Why wait? Unless you’re having second thoughts.”
“Of course not.” She kissed him. “Are you?”
“No way.”
“Are we having a big wedding?”
“Not unless you want one. I’d be fine with family and a few friends.”
Snuggling against him, she said, “That sounds perfect. I’ll talk to my parents and brothers about when they can come up.”
“Good. We can set a date once we know.”
Dylan’s phone rang. “Damn, I meant to leave it inside.”
“I thought it only rang this late when it was someone on your approved list?”