“What? Did something happen? Is Jane all right?”
“Nothing like proving my point,” Trapper mumbled, and held up his hands at Leo’s growl of frustration. “She’s fine. Just, how did you put it? Spooked. Someone took a wrong turn, stopped for directions.”
Leo frowned. Trying to bank the combination of concern and suspicion. “That’s strange.”
“I thought so, too. No one’s coming out here who doesn’t know what or who they’re looking for. Big fella. Dark hair, darker eyes. Drove one of those gas-guzzling behemoths that shouldn’t be allowed—”
“Trap,” Leo warned.
“Got the plate number.” Trapper rattled it off along with the make and model of the vehicle. “Might have been nothing. Then again, like you said, odd, stopping here. Given all that’s happened.”
“Did you tell that to Jane?”
“Not after I found her curled up on the floor in the corner of the barn, I didn’t.” The old man’s eyes sharpened. “Whatever happened to your girl, you were right. It was bad. She’s working to shake it off, but this might have set her back a bit. She might be needing some space. And you might need to think about going to the sheriff yourself.”
“Yeah.” Unease took root deep in his gut. Somehow he needed to convince Jane that the police were their best bet. Otherwise he was going to have to do something he swore he’d never do: break his word.
“That said,” Trapper went on, “I did a little searching this morning before breakfast.”
Leo scowled. Talk about information overload. Right now all he wanted to do was see Jane and prove to himself she was okay. “What kind of searching?”
Trapper rolled his eyes in a way so similar to Leo’s grandfather that he wondered if Trapper had been taken over by the old man’s ghost. “The kind of searching you’ve been asking me to do. About your girl.”
“She’s not—” Oh, what was the use. Leo swallowed the sigh. “What did you find out?”
“Nothing for certain, but I’m guessing you might find some answers over at the old Preston place. From the description you gave me and the direction you think your Jane came from, that’s your best bet.”
“Preston. Paul Preston?” Leo pulled off his hat and slapped it against his thigh. A plume of late-summer dust rose and coated the only clean spot on his jeans. “Didn’t he die a while back?”
“About five years ago.” Trapper nodded. “Left the land to some distant relative. Nephew, cousin or some such. Place is as derelict as it could be. Not that I got that close. Didn’t want to stay gone too long.”
Leo gnashed his teeth.
“Don’t you get to fussing.” Trapper narrowed his eyes. “Needed to take Spectacle out to stretch her legs. Didn’t take much to do some investigating. Wasn’t gone more than a couple of hours and by the time I got back, you were on your way out. Besides, Jane’s been in with the horses all day and Ollie’s nearby. Doing fine, by the way. Girl’s got a real way with them. The dog and the horses.”
“How did she seem? Before the guy in the SUV?” It had taken far more effort than expected not to come back and check on her throughout the morning. That nightmare she’d had last night had taken years off him. But that effort was nothing compared to the determination it took for him to walk out of her room. The terrified expression on her face, the way her entire body was trembling, had drawn him like a moth to a flame.
And could have burned him just as badly.
He’d wanted to sink onto that mattress beside her. He wanted to pull her into him, wrap her in his arms and promise nothing was ever going to hurt her or scare her again. But he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.
And he wouldn’t give in to the desire that had gut-punched him the second he saw that she’d only worn her underwear to bed. All the more reason to keep his distance.
“How did she seem about what?” Trapper’s assessing gaze locked on to him like a scanning device.
“About...things,” Leo said. “Did she seem anxious? Out of sorts? Headachy?”
“Girl’s mind is as blank as a new chalkboard. Might not have thought so before.” Trapper scrubbed a hand along his face. “Can’t say about being in pain, but there’s a sadness about her. Given her reaction to strangers, makes sense. Poor thing. It’s like she’s lost.”
“She is lost.” Which was why Leo couldn’t give in to any of the thoughts that had been coursing through his mind for the entire day. She didn’t know who she was and until she did, he had no right to any part of her life other than to get her home. “But the horses helped?”
“You knew they would,” Trapper said. “Just like they did with your pop.”
Leo’s heart stuttered and he glanced away. He knew what Trapper wanted to say at the end of that statement, what Leo could have said for him. The horses had helped stabilize his father until they hadn’t. Mitch Slattery had come back from his tours in the Middle East physically capable, but mentally damaged. Whatever he’d gone through in the Gulf War hadn’t only haunted Leo’s father—who manifested severe PTSD—but had also destroyed whatever was left of the man Leo had known. Day by day. Hour by hour.
It had been Leo’s idea for his father to work exclusively with the horses on the ranch after he’d seen a story on the national news about a ranch out West open exclusively to veterans with war-related psychological issues. Thankfully, the idea had been one Leo’s grandfather had wholeheartedly supported. The quiet and solitude, the routine, the caring for a creature that would only look to him for nurturing and attention had done wonders.
Until the demons had started screaming again.
And driven Mitch over the brink.
He wasn’t going to let Jane tip over the edge. No matter what he had to do.
“Whatever that girl of yours has gone through, I’d be hard-pressed to say it’s as near as horrific as what happened to your daddy, Leo.” Trapper’s voice called him back from the fog of the past. “But we’ve all got ghosts. She’s just more haunted than the rest of us right now.”
“Maybe a trip out to Preston’s place might be a start.” Leo hated the idea of dropping Jane straight into what must have been a nightmare for her, and there wasn’t any guarantee she’d go for it. But they had to start somewhere.
Regret pressed in on him and a longing he’d never felt before, but it didn’t matter. Jane mattered. He’d promised to get her home.
Because home was where she belonged.
Chapter 6
“I’ve got an errand to run tomorrow. Thought maybe you’d like to come with me.”
Jane glanced up from where she’d curled up on the couch, the tattered paperback romance she’d fallen into after dinner resting on her lap.
Leo stood over her, two steaming mugs in his hands. He offered her one, an expression of expectation on his face. A face she had to admit she’d missed the past weeks. She’d brushed the horses down so often she was afraid they’d go bald. She’d baled more hay than possibly existed in the entire state, and listened to enough wild-man Trapper stories she could start her own nature program on cable. But other than the occasional breakfast in the morning and dinner every evening, she’d barely seen Leo other than the occasional hello. And even those greetings sounded...strained. With Trapper and Ollie around, she didn’t feel lonely but she did miss him.
“Thank you.” She accepted the mug and sipped. The citrus notes of the tea danced on her tongue, while the hint of whiskey almost made her smile. “Why?”
“I thought you could use something to help you sleep.” He sat in the leather recliner at the end of the coffee table and crossed a bare foot over one jean-clad knee. They’d finished dinner—singed chicken breast, sweet potatoes and fresh roasted corn—a little over an hour ago. Long enough for Trapper to finish up the dishes before he ambled back to the bunkhouse, grumbling that he was going in search of wha
t he called real food.
“Not the tea. Why would you like me to come with you? Wouldn’t that make it harder to avoid me?” The accusation had been poised behind her lips for longer than she cared to admit. Every time she came anywhere near him, anytime she inadvertently touched him, he jumped as if she were a rattlesnake.
Inclining her head toward him, she narrowed her eyes, silently daring him to deny it.
“You’re right,” he said finally. “I have been avoiding you.”
She set her mug down, closed the book. “And?”
“And what?” He drank what she strongly suspected was boosted coffee and shrugged at her.
“You aren’t going to apologize?”
“For avoiding you? No. I’m not.”
“Oh.” Well, she’d played that completely wrong, hadn’t she? Here she’d assumed once he’d apologized they could move forward and get beyond whatever had gotten between them. “If you’ve changed your mind and want me to leave—”
“I don’t.” His calm, matter-of-fact response snapped her patience like a twig. “That’s not it, Jane.”
“Then what’s going on? Look, if this is about my nightmares waking you up—” Ollie let out a whine and rose from his place in front of the fireplace. He walked over and dropped his chin onto her drawn-up legs.
“He doesn’t like raised voices,” Leo told her in a tone that told her neither did he. “This isn’t about waking me up, Jane. I’m a bit offended you think it is.”
“Then what is it?” She gently pushed Ollie away, then uncurled from the sofa. “Did you find out something about me? Is it bad news? Has it changed your mind about helping me?”
“I didn’t think you wanted help.” He sat forward as she stood to approach him. “You’ve been attending the horses, cleaning up the house, doing just about anything you can it seems to avoid finding out who you are. Which is one reason I’ve been leaving you to it. So do you?” He dropped his loosely clasped hands between his knees and tilted his head up to look at her. “Want my help?”
“You know I do,” she snapped, and shot to her feet. “We aren’t in the, what did you call it? The hour of the tiger? You were right. I can’t keep hiding from whatever is out there.” No matter how much she preferred holing up in the house or in the stable with the horses. The encounter with the lost motorist had rattled her more than she wanted to admit, but he was right. Maybe it was time to charge ahead again. “I need to find out what happened to me. It might be the only way—”
“To figure out who you are. I agree.”
Wait. Jane stopped pacing.
“Which brings me back to my original question,” he said. “I have an errand to run tomorrow, and I think you should come with me.”
“Oh, my God. You just played me.” Jane’s hands tightened into fists, and she actually felt a growl build up in her throat. When she let it out, Ollie whimpered again and moved closer for inspection. “That wasn’t just reverse psychology. That was... I don’t even know what that was.”
“That was me letting you take the lead.” Leo stood up and reached out to lay gentle hands on her shoulders. “How’s your head?”
“How’s my head?” Ready to spin off her shoulders. Shoulders that were far more warm than the rest of her. Shoulders that relaxed beneath his touch. She’d missed him. So much. “It still hurts. But not as bad as it did.” Truth be told, she’d been so irritated with Leo and so focused on helping Trapper with the horses, she hadn’t been paying that close of attention. “What do you mean that you were letting me take the lead?”
“You have to want to get your life back, Jane. I can’t make it happen for you. So I gave you some space. But it’s been long enough. You needed a push.” His lips curved into a grin that ignited a flame of irritation.
But that flame flickered into something else as she looked up into his eyes. Eyes so dark, so deep, so fathomless, she wanted to drown in them. Her stomach fluttered, as if something burst to life. The feel of his hands on her shoulders, the warmth of his body radiating against hers, slipped through her, soothed her. Tempted her.
If he knew what she was thinking, he’d probably run for the hills. But he wasn’t that quick. He couldn’t be. Because the slingshot impulse that kicked through her had her raising her hands to clasp the sides of his face. Before she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him.
Feeling Leo’s surprise was as intoxicating as it was empowering. The shock of her action had her smiling against his mouth, a mouth that softened against hers as his hands moved off her shoulders, skimmed along her sides and came to rest against her hips.
Jane knew when reason shot through him; she felt it in the hesitancy of his kiss. But instead of demanding more, which she craved more than her next breath, she lowered her heels and pulled herself away. She didn’t move. Instead, she simply stood there, her heart pounding hard against her chest as she still clasped his face in her hands.
“What was that?” he asked in a hoarse whisper that nearly had her kissing him again.
“Me taking the lead.” And then she did kiss him again. Quick. Hard. And felt his fingers flex against her flesh. “Best get used to it, cowboy. ’Cause you asked for it.”
* * *
Leo’s plan had been to head out to the Preston place after lunch the next day, but moving the herd into the next pasture and a routine check of fence line had gone quicker than expected. Probably due to the fact he’d headed out even earlier than normal, anxious to get the day started and find some answers for Jane. The sooner they found out what happened to her, the sooner they’d unlock whatever door her mind had closed on her. The sooner she’d be...gone.
Yeah. Leo grimaced and tightened his hands on the steering wheel. Yeah, that’s what was pushing him out the door. Getting Jane home. He certainly hadn’t been avoiding the prospect of facing her the morning after she’d kissed him.
In all his years he’d never tasted anything as sweet as Jane’s lips—like the summer wind and strawberries, laced with a touch of that whiskey he’d added to her tea. Rather than quenching a desire he’d hoped was a passing fascination, having her so close, feeling her so near, had righted something inside him he hadn’t realized was wrong. No. Not wrong. Missing.
He slipped the truck into its usual space between the house and the stable, and caught a flash of movement over in the paddock.
Fascinated, stunned, Leo pushed open his door, bent down to greet Ollie, who bounded over to him with an excited bark, and then escorted him over to the fence.
The world around him slowed. The air stilled. And there she was...long red hair braided down her back, a too-large hat on her head, galloping around the pen on Ginger’s back. Jane’s face radiated utter and complete happiness.
He had to remind himself how to move, but move he did, closer even as he saw her almost in slow motion.
He’d lived in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, amid the glaciers and waterfalls and forests of Alaska. The quiet, the solitude, even among the machinery and boisterous male population, had been his solace, and yet nothing could compare to the breathtaking sight before him.
“She’s a natural.”
Leo started as the world came back into focus. The sound of Ginger’s hooves beating into the ground echoed against the occasional laugh or comment coming from Jane’s smiling lips. “She sure is,” he told Trapper.
“I’m betting it’s gonna be tough, getting her out of the saddle. She had a bit of a rocky start, but now she rides like that’s where she belongs.”
“Except it’s not.” The last of the fantasy faded. Leo’s heart tipped as he straightened his spine. “She’s not ours, Trapper.” She’s not mine. He could feel it in the deepest part of his soul. As much as he wanted to believe, as much as he wanted her, she didn’t belong here. Besides, Jane wasn’t anyone’s until they found out who she really was.
“
Could be ours. Just sayin’.” Trapper shrugged. “You headed out to the Preston place?”
“In a few, yeah.” Why couldn’t he stop watching her? Why couldn’t he stop imagining...
“Nothing stopping you from changing your mind, you know.” Trapper braced a foot up on a fence rail and slung his arms over the top. “She doesn’t seem to be in any rush to get answers.”
“Maybe I am.” Maybe it was foolish, maybe he was living in a dream, but he found himself clinging to the thin thread of hope that it wouldn’t matter who she was. That their kiss last night was only the beginning. “I gave her my word I’d get her home, Trapper. I mean to keep it.”
“Stubborn as your granddaddy.” Trapper shook his head before he removed his hat and waved it at Jane and Ginger. “That’s enough for today, little girl. Let’s cool her down and get her settled back in.”
A plume of dust rose around Ginger’s feet as Jane brought the horse to a stop in front of them. “Oh, come on. Just a few more minutes?” She pretend-pouted at Trapper before turning those pleading eyes on Leo.
“Don’t look at me.” Leo held up his hands in mock surrender. As beautiful a sight as she was from a distance, she stole his breath close up. Skin glistening and damp with sweat, her eyes alive and bright, the way her jeans and shirt clung to every curve of her body had his fingers itching to discover what she might have worn beneath the denim and red plaid. A streak of dirt crossed her cheek and her nose, and dust coated her skin. “Trapper’s in charge of the horses these days. Besides, we have a lunch date.”
Jane grinned. “We do?”
That hadn’t come out quite the way he’d meant it, but what the heck. She’d started it last night, hadn’t she? “We do. You take care of Ginger and get cleaned up. I’ll make some sandwiches and load up a cooler.”
“Where are we going exactly?”
Trapper eyed Leo over one shoulder, daring him to tell her the truth—that this wasn’t some romantic romp through the mountainside, but an investigative trek to where they believed she’d been held hostage.
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