by Dana Mentink
“They really think...these people...they really believe Dina and her baby are property. Property.” She turned blazing eyes on him. “I can hardly make myself believe it.”
“Me neither.” He thought about his words. Had he made her feel like that, too? “You know, when I said that about...about you being my woman, I didn’t mean... I know that’s not how God meant things between a man and woman to be. I just...”
She shook the hair from her brow. “It was your bravado talking, your stiff-necked cowboy pride. I don’t belong to you or anyone else.”
He decided silence was the safest avenue to take, but she wouldn’t allow it.
“Are you going to say something silly like ‘it’s going to be okay, Shan’?” she demanded.
“It is.”
She sighed, and it came out like a whimper. “I don’t want to be in this situation, but I will never give Annabell to the likes of Tiffany or Cruiser. Ever.”
The ferocity of it tightened his stomach. Shannon, for all her maddening qualities, was a warrior, through and through.
That’s my honeybunch, he thought, finally easing into a comfortable spot.
* * *
He surprised her in the wee hours of the morning, somewhere well past midnight and short of sunrise. On his way back from the kitchen to swallow another handful of aspirin, he heard the baby mewling. Wouldn’t do him any harm to rock Annabell for a while. He figured he’d tap on the door, and if there was no response, he’d slither in quiet like, pick up Annabell and sneak her to the family room, without waking Shannon. He found she was already up, walking the baby in slow circles around the room, singing something about doctors and thermometers to the tune of his horse song.
She broke off with a gulp when she noticed him.
“Didn’t mean to startle you.” He grinned. “Nice song, Doc.”
The moonlight gilded her smile. “I think she might want to be a doctor when she’s not riding horses.”
“She might, indeed,” he said. They both perused the exquisite profile, delicate forehead and the tiniest fingers that flexed and curled to their own cadence. So perfect, he thought. So fresh from God. His heart swelled.
“Want me to take a turn with her so you can get some sleep?” he whispered.
“No, it’s okay. I’m used to the graveyard shift.”
“All right, then.” He strode over quickly and kissed Annabell’s head, soft as bird feathers. Before he knew what he was doing, he kissed Shannon, too, on the temple, where the hair met the satin skin, smooth as moonlight, silken as the sunset. She did not move away, and for a heartbeat, neither did he.
It felt like family for a perfect moment, him and Shannon and the baby.
Until he remembered, with a swift jab to the gut, that it was just pretend, smoke and mirrors.
“Good night, Shannon,” he whispered as he left.
NINE
On Saturday morning, Shannon paced laps around the ranch house, walking the baby, feeding and burping her when Evie hadn’t staked a claim, and checking in with the hospital. She’d texted Dina repeatedly. The minutes crept by in ultra-slow motion.
While Annabell slept under Evie’s watchful eye, Shannon wandered out into the spring sunshine. She figured Jack was probably sleeping late, and he was going to be feeling every bit of damage from his fight with Cruiser.
She could still feel the touch of his finger on her cheek and his kiss to her temple.
Shan, you’re worth so much more than you can ever imagine, to me and to God. How lovely and precious it must be to believe those words, but worth was measured by achievement, accomplishment and contribution. Right now, spinning her wheels, she was doing none of those things, and it tortured her. It was well and good that the ranch business kept the Thorns in constant motion, but what about her life? Her internship? Her purpose?
Restlessness kept her walking past the grazing horses with their tails swishing, and she found Barrett in the hay barn, tossing bales down into the bed of his truck.
“Morning,” he said. She did not know Jack’s older brother well, and his dark beard masked his expression. She was probably not his favorite person after what she’d done to Jack.
“Good morning.”
Shelby joined Shannon, handing her a cup of coffee. “Saw you headed here. I just made a fresh pot. Full disclosure—it’s decaf, which Barrett won’t touch.”
“I’d touch it if you made it,” Barrett called. “Just wouldn’t drink it.”
Shelby laughed. “Cowboys. What are you gonna do?”
“I’d love to know the answer to that,” Shannon said. “How is the house coming?”
“Done, except for some interior details.” She jutted a chin at Barrett. “Hard to get him to talk about tile and such when there’s a ranch to run.”
Barrett hopped down from the tower of hay and kissed his wife. “I will talk about tile with you all day long, as soon as I get these horses fed.”
Shannon felt a swell of envy toward the couple. They were so obviously in love, with their hopes and desires in sync. If only it could be that simple...
“Do you know when Ella and Owen will be back?”
“Next week,” Shelby said. “They took Betsy to visit their cousin and they’re staying awhile, looking into some building plans of their own. They’ve got their eye on a property a few miles from here where Ella could house her blacksmith shop and Owen would be only a few minutes from the ranch. Owen’s got big plans to make the house completely accessible for Betsy’s wheelchair.”
Shannon nodded, guilt rising. Ella was her best friend, and she hadn’t known anything about her plans. Sucking in a breath, she resolved to change things, to wrestle work back into the space where it belonged.
“Jack’s working the new mare in the far pasture,” Barrett said. “If you were looking for him, I mean.”
Something in his eyes, so like Jack’s, made her think he figured she ought to do some patching up with his little brother. Or perhaps, he just wanted to get his new wife all to himself. “He’s crazy to be doing anything but resting with his injuries.”
Barrett quirked a smile. “With Owen gone, we’re a man short. And anyway, Jack’s quieter than the rest of us, but he’s not any better at taking orders.”
“None of the Thorn brothers are, unless the orders come from their mama,” Shelby said with a laugh.
Shannon thanked him and cradled her coffee, absorbing the warmth. As she walked away, she saw Barrett loop an arm around Shelby’s waist and draw her close for a lingering kiss. Heaving in a breath, she went to go try to talk some sense into his younger brother.
She found Jack holding the lead rope of a bay mare. He stood close to the animal, stroking a palm over her neck, speaking softly. While she watched, he eased the hand with the rope up to do the neck stroking, and the other rubbed long slow passes onto the horse’s nose. In one quick movement, he slicked his nose hand up across the horse’s ears. The horse tried to rear back and toss her head, but Jack kept her nose down with gentle pressure. Then it was right back to the neck and nose stroking and quiet talk. She watched in fascination as he repeated the whole procedure half a dozen times, until the horse’s reaction to having her ears touched lessened.
“Good girl,” Jack said. “You pretty thing. Doing just great.”
He finally pushed back his Stetson and caught sight of her there. He let the horse loose and walked to the fence with only a slight hitch, but he was probably covering. The lines around his mouth were pronounced.
“I suppose that horse couldn’t have waited until you’re healed for her lesson?”
Jack shrugged. “She’s head-shy. Got a bad cut to the ear a month back, and now she’s gotten the fear in her. We’re being paid to get her past that, and every day we don’t work with her is a missed opportunity.”
“How many lessons will
she need?”
“As many as it takes until she learns to trust that I’m on her side, that I’m not gonna hurt her.”
Shannon wondered if they were still talking about the mare.
He looked closely at the bruise on her cheekbone. “Hurt much?”
She shook her head. “How are you feeling? Never mind. You’re going to say ‘right as rain,’ or something macho like that, right?”
“Actually, I feel like I got caught in a stirrup and dragged a hundred acres over bumpy ground.” He grinned. “But I wouldn’t admit that to anyone except you, on account of you’re a medical professional, sworn to secrecy and all that, right?”
She could not help but laugh. “Well, you’re not my patient, Mr. Thorn, but I’ll keep that in mind.” Her eyes wandered over the green fields and the white fences, aglow with spring splendor. Soft sunshine mellowed her tension, warmed her skin. “It’s hard to believe.”
“What?”
“That there are people in town trying to take Annabell, to capture Dina. People who would beat you bloody.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t be shocked by anything after working in an ER—the things people do to each other.”
“You’ve seen the worst, huh?”
“I always think I’ve seen the worst, and then something else rolls through the door.”
“How do you take it?”
She raised an eyebrow. “You really want to know?”
He nodded.
“I remind myself over and over that I was made to heal people. That’s all. That’s my job, so I do it no matter how awful the case is.”
“And it’s your calling.” His look of admiration made her blush. “I dunno if I ever told you, but it makes me proud to know you’re a doctor.”
“Really?” His words reached her to the core. Jack was the finest man she knew, and he was proud of her.
“Yes, ma’am. God doesn’t fit many to that occupation.”
“It wasn’t God. It was college and med school and dedication.”
“Yeah?” He leaned on the fence, forearms knotted with muscle. “Ever heal someone who shouldn’t have made it?”
She flashed immediately on a three-year-old child who was hit by a cab after he wandered away from his mother into the street. He was in terrible condition, massive blood loss and shock, and he shouldn’t have lived, but somehow he had. He’d lived and thrived. “Yes. Luck.”
That slow smile crept over his face. “Not luck. Your skill, plus God’s will. Takes both.” He leaned forward and tucked her hair behind her shoulder, making her tingle. “You don’t get to save a life without His permission. But to be His partner in that...” He shook his head, eyes blue as the deep sea. “That’s something truly special, something to be real proud of.”
It had teased through her mind in those long, quiet hours in darkened hospital hallways, gliding past families with clasped hands and mouths mumbling prayers, that there was someone greater than she deciding which lives would continue and which would not. When the little boy had lived, her soul rose up in gratitude, but to what? To whom? Not her skill. Not chance or coincidence. But if God intervened in such magnificent ways, then why hadn’t He answered her prayers?
Please make Daddy love me.
Please.
Incomprehensibly, emotion from those little-girl prayers thickened her throat and blurred her vision. So long ago, Shannon. What’s the matter with you?
Jack did not miss it. He twined his fingers with hers, keeping her from turning away. His touch was steady and warm and wonderful. She found herself dizzied, until she was saved by the buzz of her phone.
“It’s a text from Dina,” she said, clearing her throat. He exited the pasture through the gate and joined her, crowding close to see the screen. He smelled of hay and horses and spring air. She blinked hard.
“She said everything’s okay. She wants us to bring Annabell to meet her at the airstrip this afternoon, at three. I told her about that in the hotel room, how I used to play there as a kid. Just trying to calm her down with anything I could think of.”
“Tell her no. The police station, the post office, someplace public.”
Shannon typed in the information and sent the text. No reply. She sent another and then called Dina. Still no answer.
“You don’t trust her?”
He blew out a breath. “Seems like an odd place to meet to me.”
“She’s scared of the Tide. Maybe the Aces, too. Maybe, somehow, she’s got wind that some of Pinball’s people are looking to hand her over to the Tide.”
He didn’t answer.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Shannon demanded when she could not stand the silence anymore.
“I think we’re gonna make plans,” he said.
“What kind of plans?”
“The kind you’re not gonna like.”
TEN
They loaded the car seat into his truck at 2:30 p.m. Barrett had already saddled Titan and departed, and Keegan had gunned his motorcycle to life and headed out a few minutes after Barrett.
Evie stood in the doorway, holding a cell phone. “No word from you boys in thirty minutes, and I change the plan.” Her brows were drawn into a thin line. “Seriously, Jack. I’m not kidding.”
He didn’t need the words to know that. “Yes, ma’am.”
Shannon squeezed out the door around his mother.
“No,” he said, trying to snag her.
“Yes,” she retorted. “You aren’t going to look convincing if I’m not there with you. Dina will be scared, if it is her.”
“Shannon...”
She was already climbing into the front seat. He strode over and caught her arm.
She shot him a haughty look. “Are you going to manhandle me like a naughty colt?”
“Tempting,” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re behaving like one.”
She wrestled the door from his grip and slammed it. Get in, she mouthed through the glass.
He heard a snicker, but when he looked, his mother was the picture of innocence. If his mama and Shannon ever decided to double team him, he had no chance at all. Out of options, he dragged himself behind the wheel and gunned the engine.
They drove for a while.
“Is this your usual silence, or am I getting the cold shoulder?” she said.
“You don’t want to hear my thoughts, believe me.” He tried to relax his grip on the wheel.
“All right. Change of subject. Are you still wanting to buy my uncle’s airstrip?”
He jerked. “How’d you know that?”
That half smile. “I have my ear to the gossip wheel,” she said.
“Keeping tabs on me, huh? I’m flattered to no end.” He was rewarded with a deep blush that blossomed on her cheeks. He squelched a smile. “Yeah, I want to buy it. Almost got your uncle willing to let it go.”
“He lets you use it, regardless. Why do you need to buy it?”
“A man doesn’t like to borrow.”
She rolled her eyes and muttered something about cowboys.
“And I like the way it makes me feel, to know I can take off whenever I want to on ranch business...or personal stuff.”
She stopped talking then, probably remembering the times he’d flown to Southern California to try to make her talk to him about their sad excuse for a marriage. Or maybe thinking about her desperate call to him that had started the whole crazy adventure in motion.
There wasn’t more time to ponder as they drove onto the weed-bordered airstrip and he reduced his speed to a slow roll. There were no cars visible—no people at all, for that matter—only the long strip of asphalt and the ramshackle tower on the far end.
“Is there a back way in?” Shannon said.
“Yeah, a dirt road. Barrett’s watching from there.”
/> “Where’s Keegan?”
“He’ll be around if we need him.”
The minutes ticked away, 2:58, 3:00, 3:05. At 3:06, the entrance to the airstrip was crowded by two bikers thundering up the runway. Cruiser and Viper.
Shannon bit her lip. “What have they done with Dina?”
Jack got out and stood by the passenger side, speaking through the open window. “Stay in the truck.”
“What if things go bad,” she said, her skin gone pale.
He bent to look her full on. “Not gonna let that happen. Now, stay put. I mean it.”
For once, she appeared to listen. “Jack, I’m scared. Be careful.”
He wasn’t scared, but his nerves were jumping as he watched Viper and Cruiser’s progress from under the brim of his hat. Shannon had complicated things by coming along against his wishes. It was one thing to wrestle with a treacherous horse, another to do it with a woman right behind you.
They stopped and got off their bikes. Cruiser grinned.
“Awww, what’sa matter, Cowboy? You look kinda banged up. Those bruises getting you down?”
“Where’s Dina?”
“Now, that’s a good question, but first things first. We want the baby.”
Jack let his hands go loose at his sides. Ready. “You’re not getting the baby or anyone else.”
“I think I am, boy.” Cruiser went for the gun at his belt. Jack tensed as a rifle shot plowed into the ground at Cruiser’s feet. Cruiser whirled, looking for the sniper, and so did Viper.
From the top of the tower, Jack’s dad laid down another perfect shot, which stopped them midtracks. He almost laughed.
“You sent a message from Dina’s cell phone. Where is she? What did you do with her?”
Cruiser sneered. “Dunno what message you’re talking about. We were out for a ride, weren’t we, Viper? Saw you turn in. Wanted to pay our respects.”
“You can tell me,” Jack said. “Or you can wait for the cops. They should be here soon. Still got a couple of assault charges pending they’d love to talk with you about.”
Cruiser sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “We don’t have to get all uppity like. We know that baby isn’t yours. It’s ours. Hand it over, and we can go our separate ways. The doc there can find some other messed-up kid as her charity project.”