Her Lucky Cowboy

by Jennifer Ryan

  “It’s too late,” a voice said from behind him.

  “The house is a total loss.”

  “No one came out.”

  “I checked the back. There’s no one there. Even the chickens burned.”

  Those ominous words echoed in his head.

  “Noooo!” someone screamed. He screamed. This couldn’t be. He never should have let her come back here this morning. He should have made her stay with him, where she was safe and protected. He should have stayed here with her and not gone home to work. How many times did she tell him to let his leg heal? How many times did he disobey doctor’s orders? One too many times, and it cost him dearly.

  He put both hands over his tear-filled eyes and raised his face to the sky, wishing, hoping, and praying this was all a bad dream.

  Someone grabbed his shoulders and shook him. He let his hands fall and stared into Rory Kendrick’s eyes. He hadn’t realized the family drove over from their place when they saw the smoke, too.

  Desolate. Unable to breathe without her. Empty in heart, mind, and soul. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. He wanted to jump into the flames and join her in heaven, where they’d always be together. Forever.

  “She’s right there.” Rory smacked Dane’s jaw and made him turn his head to the right.

  Dane couldn’t believe his eyes.

  Bell ran across the field in her jogging clothes, screaming for her grandmother as she headed straight for the house. Dane ran to her with no regard for his healing leg. He grabbed her before she got too close to the house, picking her up right off her feet and hugging her close, so damn thankful to see her alive and well. His shattered heart re-formed and started beating again. He took a deep breath, drank in her sweet scent, and thanked God, the universe, whoever, whatever kept her safe and alive.

  “No! No. I have to get her,” Bell screamed with such anguish that her grief became his.

  “Bell, sweetheart, she’s gone. The place is a total loss.”

  “No, no, no. I have to try.”

  He held her tighter as she fought to get loose and run into the burning building. He’d keep her safe. He’d hold on to her.

  The roof collapsed and sent up a fireball of flames and sparks. Too close to the building, Dane felt the heat burn against his back. He walked with Bell in his arms, her feet dangling at his shins, back to his truck. Her whole body shook down the length of his. He set her on the driver’s seat, facing him, and held her close, so damn thankful to feel her body pressed to his.

  Red and white lights flashed as the fire trucks arrived ahead of his brothers. Blake and Gabe opened the passenger door and looked in at him. Dane shook his head to let them know Bell’s grandmother didn’t make it out.

  Time passed without his being aware of it. His sole focus remained on the woman in his arms and her quiet tears that tore at his heart.

  “Mr. Bowden, one of the other men said I should speak to you,” one of the firefighters said from behind him.

  Dane tried to let go of Bell, but she held on tighter. He peeled her off of him and cupped her tear-streaked face in his hands, kissing her softly. “You’re okay, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.” He pressed his forehead to hers and held her close. He looked into her anguish-filled eyes and let his heart speak. “I love you so damn much. If I lost you . . .” He crushed his lips to hers in a long, deep kiss, his hands pressed to both sides of her head. He tore his lips from hers and crushed her to his chest again. Her fingers and nails dug into his back, but he didn’t feel the bite, just her sweet body pressed to him.

  Dane released her with a reluctance that swamped his insides. Bell held on to him, even when he turned to face the firefighter and saw him holding a huge plastic bag with a cardboard six-pack holder and a single beer bottle with a half-burned rag hanging out of it.

  The rage exploded from somewhere deep inside of him and engulfed his whole system. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Is that what started the fire?” He’d seriously thought it an accident. Bell’s chain-smoking grandmother had finally set the place ablaze. But no, that asshole Rowdy came here intent on killing Bell and burning her alive. Fuck.

  “We found this next to what was the chicken coop. It’s filled with gasoline. Our preliminary investigation indicates one was used on the old truck, the Jeep, the chicken coop, and tossed through the front and back windows of the house.”

  Bell pressed her forehead to his back, between his shoulder blades. Her hands gripped his sides. Dane didn’t know what to say or do. He’d brought this threat and destruction into her life.

  The fire smoldered as the firefighters used the tanker truck to hose down the area around the house to keep the fire from spreading across the dry fields. The truck and Bell’s Jeep were already out. What a waste.

  “We’ve called in a fire investigator and the sheriff’s department.”

  “Your suspect is Rowdy Toll. The sheriff’s department has a file open on him. He ran my girlfriend off the road with a stolen car when she was out jogging. Now he tried to kill her by burning down her house.”

  “Dane. Stop. I wasn’t even here.”

  “Your car is in the drive. I thought you were inside.” The fear he’d felt when he’d driven up and hadn’t seen her outside zapped through him again and made his stomach and heart drop. “It’s a good bet he thought you were in there. He came here to kill you, Bell. When I get my hands on that fucking asshole, I’m going to kill him.”

  “May I have your name, ma’am?” the firefighter asked.

  “Dr. Bell. I lived here with my grandmother. Edna Warwick. She was inside when I left the house about an hour ago. I walked down the path through the field that leads to the river. I spent some time there, watching the water. The wind shifted, and I smelled the smoke. I thought she’d set the house on fire because of her smoking.

  “I should have stayed here.” She looked up at Dane. “You told me to stay put. Don’t go out alone. If I’d been here, I could have saved her.”

  “Bell, no. He tossed a Molotov cocktail into your house. With everything she kept in there, the place went up like a tinderbox. You would have been killed.”

  Bell fell back on the truck seat, covered her face, and bawled her eyes out. Dane turned, grabbed her hips, and pulled her to him, picking her up by her shoulders and wrapping her in his arms.

  “I got you, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of you. I’ll keep you safe.”

  Gabe and Blake still hung out on the passenger side of the truck. Gabe frowned and said, “We’ll start working on the details.” He cocked his head to Bell. “We’ll get things squared away. I’ll call in backup.” Which meant he and Blake would call in their wives to figure out what Bell needed immediately. In the long run, Dane would take care of her.

  Dane couldn’t think of the details right now. All he knew was that Bell had lost everything. Her grandmother. Her few but treasured belongings. Her collection of beloved books.

  “Hey,” he called to Gabe as he stepped away to call Ella. Dane mouthed the word “books.” Gabe nodded and started filling in Ella about what happened. Blake stood beside the Kendrick brothers and their grandfather, talking to them. Sammy Kendrick knew Bell well. He’d know what to do for her. Right now, the only thing Dane knew how to do was hold on to her and reassure her she wasn’t alone.

  “I’ll take you home, Bell. We’ll sort this out. I promise.”

  It took a couple of hours for the fire department to put out the fire and clean up their equipment. The Kendricks, Gabe, and Blake all went home. Dane’s guys caught a ride back up to his ranch. Nothing more for them to do here. Dane and Bell spoke to the deputy from the sheriff’s department about how the fire started, their whereabouts this morning, and the fact no one had seen anything.

  No one knew where Rowdy hid out, or how he kept getting this close to Bell without getting caught. Dane’s anger simmered, but he tried to remain calm for Bell’s sake.

  Just when he thought he could take
Bell home, another car pulled into the driveway behind his truck. A guy in black jeans and a white dress shirt got out. Dane pegged him for another cop.

  “Mr. Bowden, I’m Detective Viera.”

  “We gave our statements about the fire to the deputy.” Dane cocked his head toward the man speaking to, and taking notes from, one of the firefighters.

  “I’m not here about the fire. Well, not directly. I’m here about Brandy Hubbard. The sheriff’s office told me you’d be here. I have some news.”

  “Did the Arizona police find her?”

  “I’m afraid so. A woman hiking with her dog found the body.”

  Dane swore under his breath. “How did she die?” Dane choked out the words. He’d expected this news, but it didn’t make it any easier. Bell’s grasp on his arm tightened.

  “Cause of death has not been determined. The body was burned in a remote area off the Soldiers Pass Trail outside of Sedona.”

  “Are you sure it’s her?”

  “Dental records confirm it. Her mother also identified a piece of jewelry she was wearing.”

  “An oval silver locket.”

  “Yes.”

  Dane glanced down at Bell. “She kept a picture of Kaley in it.”

  “Oh, that poor little girl.”

  “Mrs. Hubbard asked me to fill you in on what happened and let you know she’ll contact you soon.”

  “Ah, why?”

  “She didn’t say. Because of what’s been happening here, I agreed to deliver the message. We’ve tracked Rowdy’s path here. He stole a Honda at a gas station in Wyoming after he dumped his truck. He’s used the vehicle owner’s credit card twice in that state, showing his path heading north.”

  “I know he’s fucking here. Look what he did. He killed the woman who lives in this house. He tried to kill my girlfriend twice. Why can’t you guys find this asshole?”

  “The sheriff’s department will protect Dr. Bell. They’ll station a vehicle at your home if that is where she intends to stay.”

  “Damn right she’s staying with me. That asshole won’t get near her again.”

  “We’re searching for Rowdy. We’ll find him. The Mercedes isn’t the only car we’ve tied to him in Bozeman and Crystal Creek. He’s a desperate man. Desperate people make mistakes.”

  Dane closed his eyes and shook his head. “Two people are dead. Find him before he kills someone else. If you don’t, I will.”

  “We’re working on it. In the meantime, stay vigilant. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

  Not much help, but sound advice. Dane knew what he had to do. Protect Bell at all costs.

  The detective handed him his card. “Call me if Rowdy contacts you. Any information you provide is helpful.”

  Dane stuffed the card into his pocket. The detective climbed back into his vehicle and backed out of the driveway. Dane turned to Bell. “Let’s go home. There is nothing else you can do here.”

  “They haven’t found her body.”

  “They’ll look tomorrow. That place is too hot to sort through, and they’re losing daylight.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Nearly five.”

  “How did it get so late?”

  “You need something to eat, a shower, and some rest. We’ll come back tomorrow. I promise.” If she needed to be here when they pulled the body from the wreckage, he’d stand beside her and see her through the ordeal. “Scooch over, sweetheart.”

  He climbed behind the wheel. She stayed right beside him. He started the truck, put it in gear, and backed out of the driveway. Once he had them pointed home, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. She sighed so hard that he felt it reverberate through his body.

  He drove into his yard and turned off the truck. They stared through the windshield up at the house. “Welcome home, sweetheart.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment. Her words were soft and filled with regret. “Right before I went for my walk, I had a talk with my grandmother. I told her that I wanted to be with you. I wanted to take this chance at happiness and hold on to it and you as long as I can. I planned to ask if I can move in on Friday. Now if you don’t say yes, I have nowhere else to go.”

  “Bell, never doubt that I want you here with me. No way in hell I let you out of my sight until this bastard is caught. So, yes, you’re staying here in our house. I will do everything I possibly can to make you want to stay, because I don’t want to ever lose you. Those minutes today when I thought you were gone were the worst of my life. I never want to feel that way again. So it’s not that I have to say yes to you staying here, it’s I need you here and in my life.”

  “I want to be here. I fought with her about it.”

  “You mean she said something vile and you defended yourself.”

  “I think I’ve spent my whole life defending myself.”

  “All that ends now. You’re upset she’s gone. I get that. It’s a terrible thing that happened to her. You’ll mourn her and the hope you’d held all these years that things between you could have been different. You can let go of that now, because life for you will be different. You’ll be happy. While it may not feel like it right now, that is okay.”

  “I can’t think about anything right now.”

  Dane opened the truck door, slipped out, and held his hand out to her. She didn’t hesitate to take it. He closed the door and walked her up to the porch. Rodrigo stood off to the side of the house and gave Dane a nod that all remained quiet while they were gone. He let Bell into the house ahead of him. She stood in the foyer, staring at the half-empty house.

  “I really need to buy some new furniture,” Dane said.

  “We’ll work on it soon.” She wrapped her arms around her middle and glanced over her shoulder at him. Shy. Her eyes asked him if she’d overstepped.

  “What do you think about starting with the dining room?”

  “And maybe do the other living room at the same time. A desk for me to work in the evenings, catching up on patient files.”

  “Bookshelves and a comfortable sofa we can curl up on together.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s going to be all right. Come into the kitchen, I’ll make you something to eat.”

  “I smell like smoke.”

  “Food, then a shower. You haven’t eaten all day.”

  He coaxed her through eating the simple meal he made for her. Nothing but an egg, cheese, and bacon omelet and some toast. Dusk turned to darkness outside the windows as she sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, staring out the windows, shutting him and everything else out of her world.

  He took her hand and pulled her out of her seat, leading her upstairs and into the master bathroom. She stood like a statue while he turned on the water taps and filled the oversized bathtub. Normally, he’d take pleasure in stripping her bare, but this was about getting her clean and relaxed so she’d sleep. She stepped in and settled back into the warm water. He grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the shower and a glass vase his mother left on a shelf next to the tub. He kneeled beside the bath, poured water over her head, added a dollop of shampoo to his hand, and scrubbed her hair clean, massaging her scalp until she sighed. He rinsed her hair and gently helped her lay back against the tub to relax again.

  He stood to leave and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  She grasped his wrist so tightly that her nails bit into his skin. “Where are you going?”

  He kneeled beside her again and ran his hand over her wet hair. “Just downstairs to clean up the kitchen and turn the lights out. We’ll call it an early night. We both need some rest.”

  “You’ll be back in a minute.”

  “Yes, sweetheart. Don’t worry, you’re safe here.”

  Dane hated to leave her, even for a minute, but he needed to check on things downstairs and with his guys. The haunted look in her eyes killed him.

  His guys waited on the back porch. Two of Gabe’s guys hung out with them.<
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  “How’s she doing?” Rodrigo asked.

  “Not good.”

  Dan said, “Gabe said to let you know Ella and Gillian will be here tomorrow morning sometime. Scott and I will stay here until they find this asshole. Scott will take the front of the house. I’ll take the back. We’ll keep watch at night. Your guys can take the day shift.”

  “Thanks, Dan. I really appreciate this.”

  “No problem at all. Gabe said if you need more guys, he’ll send a couple of the others over.”

  “I think we’re good. I’ll lock up on the inside. You guys keep watch out here. You hear or see anything, bang on the door and let me know. No way this fucker gets to Bell.”

  “Whatever it takes, man,” Dan answered. All the other men nodded their heads in agreement.

  Dane went over Rowdy’s general description, made sure everyone was clear on what they were supposed to do, and how they were going to protect Bell. They’d all stick close to the house until Rowdy rotted behind bars. Or in a grave.

  Dane went through every room downstairs, checking windows and locks and making sure the house was secure. He’d never worried about such things living this far out in the country. Now, he didn’t think anything he did would be enough to keep Bell safe.

  The bathroom light spilled into the master bedroom, highlighting Bell sitting on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a towel. She held the cordless phone from the nightstand in her lap.

  “I called my sister. The sheriff contacted her earlier, but I wanted to tell her what happened myself. She’s already contacted my father. He’s flying in from California to make arrangements for my grandmother once they recover her body.”

  Dane sat beside her on the bed and put his arm around her. “Okay, sweetheart. You know you don’t have to see him if you don’t want to.”

  “I’m sure he has no intention of seeing me.”

  Dane didn’t know what to say to her about that. The hurt in her voice made his chest ache. She’d been through hell her whole life, and now he’d brought the devil to her door.