Hearts Aflame

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Hearts Aflame Page 15

by Ronica Black


  “I…” Krista started.

  “Hey you two!” Adam called out from behind them.

  Krista’s forehead was resting on Rae’s shoulder and she cursed under her breath as she pulled away. Rae’s eyes looked like a deep green-brown lake. One she could definitely drown in.

  Adam and Candace walked together holding hands, swinging their arms. Adam had his camera around his neck and he gave Krista an apologetic smile for the interruption. Candace released Adam’s hand and came bounding up to pet the puppy.

  “He’s so cute!” She looked expectantly at Krista. “Can I hold him?”

  Rae answered for her. “He’s really tired. He needs to rest.”

  Candace dropped her hands. “Oh, shoot. Maybe later.” She smiled at Krista. “You know, you have really beautiful hair.” She reached out and touched a strand and Krista was about to thank her when she caught the look of fire in Rae’s eyes. It so surprised her that she nearly said something. Is Rae jealous too? Is it because she wants Candace to herself, or because she wants…

  Adam spoke again, interrupting. “I thought we’d come over here to get some shots of Candi.”

  On cue, Candace stood at the log and removed her shirt as if undressing in front of an audience was the most casual thing in the world. She dropped the garment on the log, exposing her full, round breasts.

  “Oh, my God,” Krista turned away quickly and caught Rae flushing.

  “Sorry, she just does that,” Adam said, raising his camera. “We’re trying to win a spread in a men’s magazine.”

  “That explains it, then,” Krista said, turning back to catch Candace in various poses. The exotic dancer took Krista’s rope, which she had obviously found, and draped it across her chest while placing Adam’s cowboy hat on her head.

  “The lighting is perfect right now,” Adam said, clicking away.

  “Well, there goes my rope,” Krista whispered. “I won’t be using that again.”

  Rae seemed to have heard her, and they walked back toward camp in silence. Krista could feel the jealousy churning in her gut and she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep again that night. The image of Candace’s nude body, a body anatomically perfect with full, round breasts—there was no way hers could compare. It stung and it hurt and she hated herself for allowing it to.

  “Candace is a beautiful girl,” she said, unable to stop herself.

  Rae said nothing.

  Krista couldn’t help herself, intent on self-torture. “Don’t you think so?”

  They reached camp and stopped by the blazing fire. Rae met her eyes. “Not especially.”

  Krista stared, unsure she’d heard correctly. “Excuse me?”

  But Rae turned away and got busy gathering the pots and pans for dinner. “Look, I really think you ought to head back to the ranch. I can call Dwight and he can come get you on the ATV.”

  Krista stooped in her tent and placed the small coyote in her sleeping bag, ensuring his warmth. Then she faced Rae and placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not,” she emphasized strongly, “going back to the ranch. There’s only two nights left, and I’m needed here.”

  She tilted her head a little at her own adamantly stated words. Just a couple of days ago she would’ve killed for the chance to go back to the ranch. Now all of a sudden she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving.

  “I’m worried about your wound,” Rae persisted as she opened a can of beans. “And you could take the coyote back with you.”

  Krista laughed, thinking of how much she already cared for the small cub. “You really know how to get to me, don’t you?” She groaned inwardly at the statement. Oh, my God. What did I just say? Rae was staring at her, looking just as flustered. Krista held up a hand. “I meant the—”

  A series of screams echoed through the camp. Krista dropped her hand and stared as Adam and Candace came running toward them. Adam clutched Candace’s clothes along with his camera, a look of horror on his face. Krista hurriedly tossed Candace a blanket to cover herself with.

  Breathing hard, Rae encouraged Adam to focus. “What’s wrong?”

  Candace wrapped herself up and trembled as Adam spoke.

  “It’s Howie. I was shooting Candace out where you guys were, where we were sure of our privacy.” He swallowed, still worked up. “And we caught him watching us from the trees.”

  Candace looked pale in the firelight. “He wasn’t just watching…” She met Krista’s eyes. “He was masturbating.”

  Krista nearly fell over. Rae clenched her jaw and stalked over to her horse, where she retrieved her rope. Her eyes flashed dangerously in the firelight.

  “If he wants to act like a deviant then he’ll be treated like a deviant.” She stormed off into the darkness with Cody and Tom hot on her heels.

  The rest of the group filtered in, all looking concerned.

  “I don’t like this,” Jenna said. “I don’t like this at all.” Frank hugged her to him, trying to comfort her.

  Candace dipped in her tent to re-dress and Krista did her best to try and remain in control.

  The shock was finally wearing off enough so that she could think clearly. “Don’t worry. We’ll call Dwight and he can come get him.”

  But the quiet control she was trying to maintain all but shattered when Howie stumbled into camp with Rae pushing him from behind. He cursed and clenched his fist, turning as if he were going to strike her. But upon seeing Cody and Tom step up next to her, he seemed to change his mind.

  His malicious eyes focused on Krista. “Tell your men to keep their hands off me.”

  Rae’s face was set in stone and Krista knew Howie was lucky he hadn’t ended up tied like a hog. Candace emerged from her tent, her face now colored with anger. Before anyone could stop her, she crossed the dirt and slapped Howie hard and loud across the face.

  “You sicko!”

  Howie’s eyes widened in evil intent. He stepped after her but Tom grabbed onto his outer shirt, stopping him.

  “Don’t you dare touch her,” Adam seethed.

  Howie laughed, loud and sinister.

  Adam refused to back down. “I guess spying on women and jerking off is all you can do with a dick that small.”

  In an instant, Howie turned and sleeved one arm out of his shirt. “You little faggot!”

  He lunged at Adam, his right arm still caught. But he tugged it loose before anyone could reach him and ran, full force, skirting the fire. Just before he reached Adam, he tripped and flew forward, landing so hard the breath was knocked from him. For a few seconds, Howie lay in a lump on the ground, his right arm under him, the black log he’d tripped over near his boot. No one moved. No one spoke.

  He stirred and the grunt grew louder. “Ow, shit.” He groaned as he managed to sit up. Holding his right arm close to his body, he stared at it in the firelight. “My arm.” He held it out a little, a grimace on his face. Krista saw the very noticeable lump in his forearm and knew it was broken. He glared at them all. His whines were childish. “You broke my arm!”

  Rae moved to him and knelt to get a better look, but Howie turned away as if he were five years old. “Don’t touch me. This is your fault, you…you dyke!”

  “Suit yourself.” Rae looked to Krista. “He needs medical attention. I’ll call Dwight.”

  “No!” Howie shouted, struggling to stand. “I’m not going anywhere with you people!” He stumbled in his stance, eyes wide, spit flying. “You can all go fuck yourselves!”

  Rae stepped up to him and clenched the soft part of his shoulder tightly. He tried to pull away but she had too strong of a grip. “Sit down over here and shut up.” She led him to a camp chair and pushed him down into it. She held him there, gripping tightly, making sure he wouldn’t move. He slumped and winced from the pain she was inflicting.

  Rae finally released him but wrapped her rope around his waist quickly, securing him to the chair. Panicked, he made a poor attempt to stand and nearly toppled the chair. “You can’t do this! You can’t tie
me up!”

  “I’m doing it for your own safety, you idiot. That way you can’t break anything else.” Rae released him and dug in her medical bag.

  “Not to mention the fact that you tried to attack one of the guests,” Krista added.

  When he saw the small splint Rae had pulled out of her bag, he jerked his arm away and yelled, “Don’t touch me! Don’t fucking touch me!”

  Rae lowered the splint. “It will probably help with the pain.”

  “No, I said no!”

  Rae pressed her mouth closed and motioned for Krista to follow her over to Shamrock. “I’m afraid he’ll try and run on foot. And if he does that he’ll wind up getting himself lost or killed.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening.” She was disgusted. Their first official outing and the one wrangler that showed was a sexual deviant.

  “Did you check his background? His work history?” Rae asked, searching her face.

  “I checked with his previous employer, but I don’t think they ever returned my call. And then there wasn’t time…”

  Sick with guilt over her failure, Krista was about to walk away when she felt a warm hand on her arm.

  “Krista.”

  She turned and found Rae looking at her softly.

  “This isn’t your fault. His behavior isn’t your fault.”

  Krista wanted to agree but couldn’t. “This is my fault. I should’ve checked him thoroughly.”

  “Even if you had, there’s no guarantee that he’s behaved this way on other assignments. If he’s worked strictly with cowboys, then no one would’ve noticed anything.”

  “Still…” Krista shook her head. “I should’ve checked.” Her voice faded as she met Rae’s eyes. “I should’ve let you help me.”

  Then she turned and walked away.

  *

  Rae wiped her eyes and stared up at the bright moon, wondering why all of a sudden it had turned on them. The call to Dwight hadn’t gone well. The old cowboy had been just about to call her himself. Judith was very ill. She’d slipped into a comalike state earlier that afternoon, and they weren’t expecting her to make it. Rae had to tell Krista but she wasn’t sure how. She returned the radio to its secure place on Shamrock. In her saddle bag she felt the hard plastic of her flashlight and pulled it out.

  “Is he coming?” Krista approached.

  Rae caught Krista’s hand and said, “Come on. We need to talk.”

  To her surprise, Krista didn’t try to pull away. Walking alongside her toward the creek, Rae relished the warmth of her hand and thought for a moment how in another time and place, this could’ve been a very romantic walk. But reality sank back in and with a heavy heart she led Krista to a large boulder. Setting the flashlight down, she placed her hands on Krista’s hips, and said, “I…I’m just going to help you up.”

  She couldn’t help but see the flash in Krista’s eyes and hear the quick intake of breath. Flustered, Rae held her tight and lifted, helping her gently onto the rock. She feels so right in my arms.

  “Thank you,” Krista murmured, scooting back and nervously tucking loose strands of her hair behind her ears.

  Unsure what to say, Rae hopped up next to her and killed the flashlight, preferring the light of the moon as it danced off the water.

  “You have bad news, don’t you?” Krista said, resting her hand close to Rae’s.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  Krista bowed her head and Rae could hear her breathing change. When she turned to face her, tears pooled in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. “Is she…gone?”

  Realizing what she meant, what she thought, Rae felt terrible. “Oh, no. No.” Rae reached out and cupped her face, wiping the tears with her thumbs. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…she’s not gone.” Rae paused, searching for a way to comfort without hiding the truth. “But she’s not well. She fell into a coma this afternoon. Dwight thinks you should go back.”

  Krista drew a ragged breath. After the briefest hesitation, she took Rae’s hands in her own. “You should come with me. She loves you. Very much. I know she would want you to be there.”

  Rae felt her own hot tears swell and trickle down her face. “The group…”

  Krista shook her head. “I’m not going without you.”

  River rocks clanged together as someone approached. Rae and Krista dropped their hands to find a fluttering halo of light.

  “Doc?” It was Cody.

  “Over here.” Rae switched on her light to guide him.

  The young cowboy moved quickly, balancing himself as best he could. When he reached them he was out of breath. “Sorry to interrupt.” The innocence on his face was endearing.

  “No problem,” Rae said. “What’s up?”

  “I just finished talking to Dwight. He was calling for you, but you were gone.” Cody sighed and shoved a hand into his pocket. “And I spoke with the group and…we all think that you two should head back to the ranch and take Howie with you.”

  Rae shook her head. “And leave you alone out here?”

  Cody smiled. “I’ve got six wranglers with me, Doc. We know what we’re doing.”

  Krista wiped her cheeks. “They have come a long way in a few days’ time.”

  “Honestly, Ms. Wyler, I’d rather ride miles alone with these folks than I would a cowboy like Howie any day. He’s lazy and rude. He doesn’t follow directions well, not to mention the other stuff.”

  Rae was still unsure. She slid off the boulder and said, “I don’t know, Cody. A lot can happen out here.”

  But he stood his ground. “We’re only two days away from the end of the designated trail. And only a day’s ride out from the ranch, if for some reason we need to return sooner. These folks know the situation and they’re insisting.”

  Rae was uneasy but Cody had made a pretty good case. She said, “I guess we could discuss it.”

  “Will you be able to see the trail well enough to leave in the dark?” he asked.

  “The moon’s pretty bright. It’ll be enough to get by. And if we have to,” she looked up and noticed the clouds moving in across the moon, “we’ll stop.”

  Rae was about to speak again, but Krista braced herself and slid to the ground next to her. Taking her arm, she said, “Sounds like we all need to talk.”

  When they reached the campsite, Adam was serving Howie a hot dog on a plate. He smiled at them as they approached.

  “Mr. Grumpypants here was hungry. And I thought since he showed us his wiener…”

  Tillie and Jenna laughed, and Rae saw Krista turn away with a smile.

  Howie chewed but refused to look at anyone. Upon hearing Adam’s statement he lowered what was left of the hot dog and refused to eat.

  Krista stood in front of the group, pushed her hair back away from her face, and straightened, trying to show the brave front that Rae knew was faltering.

  “Cody tells me that you all are willing to go on without us.”

  Jenna put down her plate. “We insist that you and Rae go back.”

  “You’re sure?” Rae asked.

  Tom replied. “Absolutely. This is a family emergency. We understand, and as Jenna said, we insist.”

  Adam stood, holding Howie’s plate. “I’ll take lots of photos so you won’t miss a thing.” He winked.

  Frank spoke next. “Can you handle Howie?”

  Rae clenched her jaw as she studied the slumping cowboy. “Oh yeah. I can handle him.”

  Howie didn’t say a word, just stared into the fire.

  “You’re leaving tonight, then?” Adam asked.

  Rae squeezed Krista’s hand, leaving the decision up to her.

  Krista raised her eyes and nodded. “Thank you all for understanding.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Krista gripped Dollar tightly as she and the other two riders meandered through the silver shrouded desert. A light, cool drizzle had started and large gray clouds smeared against the dark sky, drifting closer and closer to the moon. Ahead of her, Howie sat s
lumped on his horse; every once in a while his head would bob and then jerk as he fought off sleep. Ahead of him, nearly out of Krista’s line of sight, was Rae, leading them quietly through the night. They’d left the group a few hours before and weariness was weighing Krista down. She supposed it was about time they stopped to get some rest.

  Fighting off a yawn, she smiled as the lump in her jacket stirred. The little coyote was sleeping soundly, nuzzled up against her, sheltered from the crisp, cool air. When her thoughts drifted to Judith, Krista wished she could pull the tiny cub out and stroke his fluffy fur, a comfort she desperately needed. Her insides felt like balls of lead rather than individual organs. And whenever she thought of Judith, the balls would rub together and grind painfully inside her, sparking a heated panic. Instinctively, she would heel Dollar, urging him to move faster, wanting and needing to be at the ranch.

  It was the goddamn waiting that was eating her alive. She wanted to be there, now. Judith was slipping away, and Krista’s biggest fear was not being with her to say good-bye, to be able to tell her how much she’d always loved her and how sorry she was for staying away so long. She wanted to promise that she would sacrifice everything in order to keep the ranch up and running. Riding slowly toward the inevitable was like being trapped in a nightmare. One in which no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t run. The ranch was calling to her, needing her and she just couldn’t seem to get there.

  A tear slipped down her cheek, cooling nearly instantly against her already moist skin. The past few days had changed her. She no longer even cared about her own business back in Phoenix. The life she had been content living for the past fifteen years seemed foreign to her now, cold and lifeless. There was no love in living for a sales commission, especially when she had no one to share it with. No sense of goodness or enduring value, no sense of home. This was what mattered to her now. The beautifully harsh land, her family’s land. The ranch and all that it entailed. The cattle, the stables, the horses, and now the task of making sure the spark in her aunt’s blue eyes would always be there because she would not let go. She would make this work.

 

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