Wanted: Fevered or Alive

by Long, Heather

  Chapter 7

  Olivia, The Flying K

  Jason had been avoiding her. At first, she’d put it down to being busy with work in town or whatever duties went into running a ranch. But when the fourth day dawned and Jason remained absent, Olivia had enough. Too often left to her own thoughts, she’d avoided thinking about her parents or the lost Dorado. It hurt too damn bad. Instead, she’d memorized the room. It held a roll top desk, a pair of sitting chairs, two tables and a vanity in addition to the bed. The bed was larger than any she’d had before, the coverlets were soft and the cotton linen sheets even softer. A stack of pillows filled the top of the bed. It had a real mattress without stuffed straw and it was great for bouncing.

  Not that she confessed that little secret to anyone. No, it wouldn’t be proper. Despite spending time with Jason that first afternoon, her every other interaction had been circumspect. Conversations drifted away the moment others realized her present. She’d managed to eavesdrop enough to recognize the coordinated effort being put into play to keep her in the ‘dark.’ The irony wasn’t lost on her.

  Cody and Mariska were more difficult than most. She never surprised them no matter how soft her steps. Fortunately, being left to her own devices and needing to fill those empty hours, she’d also memorized the house and the patterns. It was mid-morning, the time of day when the fewest people were in residence in the main house. Nearly everyone had a job to do, near as she could tell, and most spent their daylight hours working with the animals on the ranch or ‘the kids,’ and the way they referred to the ‘kids’ meant there were many. Not just the babies Scarlett had.

  The babies were a gift in and of themselves, because Scarlett had some kind of out of the house task that took her away and Miss Annabeth would spend those hours with the little ones. After breakfast, Olivia had retired for a late ‘nap.’ No matter how kind or polite her hosts, they really had no idea what to do with her and sounded almost relieved whenever she excused herself to her room. Once back in her room, she’d changed into a traveling skirt. The split length made them more like pants, but without the fullness of a dress. She’d packed supplies she’d hoarded into a small satchel that she could hang across her chest and she added a jacket. Instead of a bonnet, she’d found a hat in the closet. It was small enough to fit over her head and wear comfortably.

  While the sun could hardly bother her, she didn’t fancy burning her face. She’d done that once, a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Then she’d waited. When she heard Miss Annabeth’s steps carry her away to the other side of house, Olivia picked up her walking stick and made her way down to the first floor silently. She’d tied a bit of cloth to end of her walking stick in order to blunt any noise it made and she knew how to keep her own steps light. Locating the front door required only a memorization of steps. It didn’t take her long to reach the porch.

  The air outside was cool, but not uncomfortably so. Three steps down from the porch and she was in the yard. The house faced southwest and the morning sun still rode in the eastern sky. Pacing out until she could feel the heat of it on her back, she began walking. West.

  The new Dorado was west of the main house. Jimmy had spent most of the ride from the wagon to the house telling her that it was practically a straight run from the front door to town. They traveled the route so often, they’d worn deep ruts into the trail. Sure enough, her walking stick found a rut and, carefully, she stepped until her foot paralleled it.

  Jason thought he could just banish her to the ranch and she’d have to wait for him. Once upon a time that might have been true. She’d learned a great deal at school, and one of the first—perhaps the hardest—lessons had been to rely on herself. She wanted to talk to him, and if that meant traveling to find him, then that was exactly what she was prepared to do.

  Determination carried her along for several minutes. Occasionally, she’d hear a voice raise in greeting and she’d wave a hand in the direction of the sound. Walking steadily, stick tapping, she felt like she was making progress. The higher the sun rose, the warmer it grew. Thankfully, the air was still cool on her cheeks and the sun stayed firmly on her back.

  A wuff of noise alerted her to the animal’s arrival and she paused. The first tingles of trepidation unsettled her stomach. “Hello?” Fur brushed against her hand and it took everything in her not to leap backwards. The second wuff of noise sounded like a low bark or maybe she wanted it to sound like one. “Sorry puppy, I don’t know your name, but I hope it’s you.”

  Another brush of fur against her hand and then a heavy weight pressed along her legs. Tracing the line of the animal’s back, she found his ears and gave him a scratch. It certainly felt like the dog she’d met with Jason. Somehow, she hadn’t realized just how huge he was. “Hey there.” Her heart hadn’t quite caught up with her mind and continued to hammer with anxiety. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

  Not that the dog likely didn’t have a better reason to be roaming than she did. But it made her feel better that he was there. Giving him another scratch, she resumed her pace and the dog surged forward to block her. “Careful,” she admonished him. She didn’t trip, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t knock her off her feet. His back came up to her hip, leaving her to wonder exactly what kind of dog he was. “You can come if you want.” She patted his head and tried to go around him once more.

  Half-expecting his block, she used the walking stick to nudge him and the animal growled a low noise, but it sounded more frustrated than mad. “I said you could come,” she told him primly and tapped his nose when he gave her a push. “We’re going to find Jason.”

  She made it about ten steps this time before he cut her off again, and she scowled. Fumbling with her satchel, she felt around until she found a bit of bread. Did dogs like bread? She held it out to him and he sniffed at it—the moment she had his attention, she tossed it.

  He must not have thought much of her bread, because he didn’t race off after it. Sighing, Olivia planted her walking stick and tapped her foot. “Okay, so you don’t want me to go to town, I take it.”

  The dog wuffed.

  Was she seriously having a conversation with a dog?

  “Is that a yes or a no?” She laughed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, puppy, I really need to talk to him, so you need to be a good boy and go do whatever it is dogs do around here, okay?”

  Another growl and he leaned his weight into her until she staggered a step to the side. If she didn’t know better, she suspected he might be trying to herd her back to the house. Herd dogs were for animals, weren’t they? Hadn’t she heard something about them? Consternation filled her. Neither her life in Boston nor her limited youth in Dorado included herding animals. She did know animals required a firm hand. “Enough,” she ordered him. “Down. And behave.”

  Checking her route with her stick, she found the rut and started walking again. A breeze carried notes of bird song, the rich scent of grass and freshness of water. She’d been enjoying her walk. Thankfully, the dog seemed to realize she wasn’t going to be deterred and fell into step beside her.

  “Going to join me after all?” She smiled to herself. It was the most fun she’d had since arriving. Grief tugged at her heart and she couldn’t fault the kindness of the people around her, but their lives had all moved on. The loss of Dorado no longer the fresh, bleeding wound she suffered.

  He sneezed.

  The dog, for all his recalcitrance in the beginning, turned out to be a fair companion. He trotted along beside her and bumped her away from a couple of rocky bits in the path. When she nearly ended up in the water, he nudged her back onto the trail. The sound of hooves in the distance caught her ears. She wasn’t alone. The dog stiffened and blocked her again. Trusting him this time, she waited.

  A steady cadence drew closer and closer. Her heart raced and she found herself digging her fingers into the fur on the back of the dog’s neck. Hopefully, his lack of growls was a good sign. Concentrating, she tracked the noise and
the motion. Whomever it was approached from an angle and not the trail she’d followed.

  “Hello there,” a masculine voice she didn’t recognize called out and she backed up a pace, only to have the dog press in close and insert himself in front of her. Please let his lack of growl be a good thing.

  “Good afternoon.” She summoned a smile and tried to sound more confident than she was.

  “You’re out a bit far from the house.” No discernible clues to his identity in that greeting.

  “Not that far, and you are?” Because where she came from, men who didn’t know women didn’t just strike up a conversation without even a passing introduction.

  “My apologies, ma’am. Colonel Miles Stanley.” He dismounted. His boots made a gentle thud and he jingled a little. Whether it was the bridle or something on his uniform—presumably he wore something to demonstrate his position with the military. “Cody can vouch for me, can’t you?”

  Cody? “They named the dog after the man?” The dog growled, startling her enough to release him.

  “Dog?” The colonel echoed her word and she heard his underlying puzzlement.

  “Yes, the dog.” She tried to curb her impatience, but she didn’t know the man. Perhaps he was a colonel and the best of friends with her hosts. It didn’t change his status as a stranger to her, though.

  His long pause set her teeth on edge. “Yes, ma’am. You must be new to the ranch. Would you care for an escort back?”

  It didn’t sound like an altogether bad idea, but not with a stranger. “No, Colonel. Thank you for the offer, but I’ve an errand to run.”

  Another pause. “It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance…?”

  Since it would be rude to ignore the introduction, she gripped her walking stick in her left hand and extended her right. “Olivia Stark.”

  The dog growled and the colonel coughed. “If you will forgive that particular politeness, I don’t think he cares for my nearness. Which is unusual enough to warrant a comment.” The last sentence came out hard and carried a note of warning. For her or the dog?

  Frankly, she’d had the dog for company for a good portion of her walk and he’d proven at least a decent companion and she had no idea who the colonel was—or if he was a colonel. More grateful than was probably proper, she let her hand drop and inclined her head. “Have a pleasant day, sir.” To her surprise, the dog didn’t hamper her progress this time, merely switched sides to keep himself between her and the colonel’s voice. Five steps later, the dog left her and she paused. The colonel and his horse followed behind her.

  “Sir? The house is the other way.”

  “I know,” the man replied. “However, you’re out here on your own and you’re blind.”

  “I’m not alone.” She couldn’t help her impatience this time or the snarl curling through her voice. She hardly needed to be told the obvious. Blind didn’t mean idiot. The dog growled again as though agreeing with her.

  “Perhaps, perhaps not. This is not the safest of times for you to be out unescorted with a dog for a chaperone.”

  What was going on?

  “I assure you, I’m fine.” Her argument seemingly fell on deaf ears. The colonel kept his distance, but he continued to pace her. Uneasiness pounded through her veins. Something wasn’t right, and her adventurous spirit fled in favor of a very real fear. She was alone with a stranger, in the middle of the ranch on her way to a town that she had no idea of the distance with only a dog for a companion and no absolute certainty that the dog would prevent anything the colonel did.

  “Are you all right, Miss Stark?” The man was a great deal closer than she’d expected and he’d walked around her.

  “I’m not entirely comfortable with your decision to follow me, sir.” It went beyond propriety.

  “I know most of the folks on the ranch, and you’re new. You also seem to have a certain lack of knowledge about the place, literally walking around blind. Perhaps you’ll enlighten me as to why you’re on the Flying K in the first place?”

  When the dog didn’t growl, Olivia fought the need to fidget. “I don’t think that’s your concern. I was invited.”

  “By whom, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “She does mind.” Cody’s rough voice crashed over her and relief followed swiftly. At least she knew him. “Colonel, you shouldn’t be interrogating Mr. Kane’s guests. He won’t like it.” A hand closed over her elbow and steadied her. The man was incredibly warm, his fingers overheated, but she didn’t care.

  “Son, we’ve known each other too long for you to take that tone with me.” Affront echoed loudly in between the words.

  “Yes, sir. You also know exactly how far I’ll go to protect those who need protecting. Leave her alone.” The odd subtext she’d heard for the last four days was back, but this time Olivia didn’t question it. The colonel worried her and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was about him or his manner, but every instinct she possessed told her to flee from him.

  “Ma’am, we’ll talk again soon.” Leather creaked and she imagined he must have mounted his horse. He didn’t bid farewell to Cody and the sound of the horse’s thundering hooves filled the air as it broke into a run.

  Olivia exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d held. “I don’t know where you came from, but thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Where the hell do you think you’re going?” He shifted his grip on her arm and urged her along.

  When he didn’t automatically apologize for his shocking language, she answered in a sharp tone. “I need to speak to Jason.”

  “Then we’ll send for him, but you’re not walking to town. It’s a damn long trip for someone with sight and there’s too many hazards alone.” It took her a moment to realize he’d turned her around. Olivia dug her heels in and tried to pull her arm out of his grip.

  “I wasn’t alone, I had the dog…” Nothing she did made him release her and her boots scraped the ground as he tugged her along. “Where did the dog go? Did the colonel do something to it?”

  Cody sighed. “No, the dog is fine. It just went for help. That’s why I’m here.” He stopped, thankfully. “Olivia, you need to go back to the house. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.”

  It didn’t make sense. Where had the dog found him? The animal hadn’t been gone that long and if Cody had been close enough to see the Colonel bothering her, had she found some kind of outbuildings? Confusion rippled through her. “Is the dog named Cody, too?” Because that made no sense.

  Another sigh. “Please.” It sounded like he gritted the word. “Let me take you to the house and I’ll send someone to get Jason—hell, I’ll go get him myself and hog tie him if I have to and deliver him. Would that make you happy?”

  It did, actually. “I appreciate it, Cody. I do. But I think I need to be the one to go to him—” The world swung. One moment she was on her feet and the next she rode over his very hard shoulder. It dug into her belly and she let out a startled shout. “What are you doing?”

  Her hand encountered bare skin on his back and she jerked her fingers away.

  “The hard way it is,” he all but growled. “Don’t you worry, Olivia. I will happily deliver Jason to you and he will explain everything.”

  * * *

  Humiliation burned through her all the way back to the house. Not even Cody’s gentleness in setting her on her feet or his wife’s sudden arrival and kindness as she walked Olivia back to her room could soothe her upset. The fact that Cody’s wife stayed with her, quite obviously making sure she attempted no further escapes, didn’t alleviate the scald to her cheeks. Embarrassed, she refused all invitations to dinner and didn’t eat the food Jo brought up with her.

  Scarlett came by, and Miss Annabeth. The older woman bullied her into eating soup and helped her with her hair. When Olivia pleaded exhaustion, she helped her into a dressing gown and tucked her in bed. The sound of footsteps beyond her door and the easy weight of a person settling in told
her they hadn’t relaxed their vigilance.

  No one would allow her to leave. She was, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner. She thought it would take her hours to sleep, but she drifted off almost immediately. Somewhere between her last thought and the next, she stood in a cavernous room. Emptiness stretched out around her and fear stiffened her spine. This had been an exercise, a pass or fail type of test.

  “The goal, Olivia, is to locate the exit. You will not always be in a familiar place or know the layout. You may have had someone escort and then later abandon you. Rely on your senses to tell you where to go.” Her teacher’s voice retreated, and he walked away. Only he hadn’t been alone, three other teachers had also been present and they walked away at the same time. The echo of their footsteps collided with each other, all going in different directions to ‘muddy’ whatever path she would choose.

  It took her nearly a full day to find her way out of the theater the first time. She’d graduated the exercise when she did it in less than an hour during her last few weeks in school. They always chose a different location, a different type of ground—and once they’d taken her to the very edge of Boston and challenged her to find her way back to someone who could give her a lift.

  Sweat slicked her palms and her heart raced. She knew what to do, but instead of looking for an exit, she sat down and closed her eyes. She’d figured out a way to escape the ranch, but it hadn’t worked. Did she dare keep trying? Or should she settle in and wait? If she demanded, maybe Mr. Kane would take her back to town—or maybe he wouldn’t.

  “Am I really a prisoner?” she asked the emptiness around her. Unfortunately, no answer seemed forthcoming.

  When she woke, she had no idea if it had been a few hours or a few minutes. Exhaustion left every muscle in her body sore and she sat up slowly. Awareness of not being alone struck her a second later. Someone else in the room breathed.

  “It’s me, Olivia.” Jason’s voice crashed into her and she closed her eyes.