Peace River (Rockland Ranch Series)

by Jaclyn Hawkes

  Slade answered, “He said--Carrie, we need to talk.” He wasn’t necessarily angry but he certainly meant business. And he wanted to know why she had lied to them. He’d trusted her.

  Hesitantly, as she left the groceries and came to sit at the table next to Rossen and facing Slade, she asked, “So . . . What’s going on?”

  “That’s exactly what we were hoping you could tell us, actually.” Slade knew his voice was cool. “During lunch we just happened to see a segment on TNN about a missing horse worth millions, and a missing horse owner worth more millions. Her name was Carrie. She looks a lot like you.”

  She let out a big breath and Rossen said, “We went to the barn, Isabel. We looked at the horse.” His voice wasn’t nearly as cold and accusing as Slade’s. He continued, “I’m sure you have good reasons for what you’ve done. Even in the short time we’ve known you, we’ve grown to trust you.” He was looking pointedly at Slade. “But under the circumstances we think we deserve an explanation. You do realize we can’t drive around the country indefinitely hauling a horse worth millions of dollars, don’t you? And if we’d known he was a stud, we probably would have done a few things differently.”

  She nodded, and a look of defeat crossed her face as she said, “Please forgive me for not being completely honest with you.”

  After a short pause that felt long, she went on, “Look, I know you probably won’t believe me, but I’d already decided to tell you. I do have my reasons for not telling you. At first I didn’t know you. I didn’t know I could trust you. And now that I know I can trust you, I didn’t think it very fair to involve you. But then I guess I already have, so . . . Last night getting ready for bed I was trying to figure out what to do about the ports of entry. Of all the things I tried to think through, the ports of entry have me stuck. I’ve thought and thought and come up with nothing. I could never falsify information to the government and it’d never work anyway. He’s pretty distinctive. There’s just no way. But I can’t just waltz in and announce to the world where I am either.”

  She took a deep breath and continued, “I know I’m a burden to you. I realize much more than you what a responsibility the horse is, and I also realize much more than you that I could be putting you in danger. Give me a day or two to figure out what to do and I’ll get out of your hair. I’m sorry for putting you in a bind, but I do have to tell that you’ll never know how much you’ve helped me even just for these few days.” She got up to go back to the kitchen counter and the groceries.

  Slade sat silently at the table thinking. He hadn’t meant to tell her to leave, and actually had no intention of letting her go. He just didn’t know what to say, exactly. He hadn’t had time to even fully comprehend this turn of events.

  Rossen, on the other hand, got up to help her unload the groceries and got straight to the point. “We aren’t asking you to leave. In fact, you can’t, no matter what kind of a mess you're in. We can no longer function without you so we’ll just have to find solutions.

  “That being said, we can’t just keep driving around the country with a stallion worth Fort Knox in the trailer. We’ll get through this rodeo tonight and tomorrow. Then first thing the next morning, we’re heading home to Wyoming to stash him away somewhere safe.

  “Secondly, is there anyway you would feel comfortable with telling Slade and me exactly what kind of trouble you're in, so we could help?” He continued without giving her time to answer. “And thirdly, what the heck is your real name anyway?”

  Carrie looked at her feet. “I never told you my name was Isabel, you know. Anna was the one who intimated that.” She smiled a mellow smile. “You see, when Anna and I were little we played this game where we were damsels in distress, and our knights in shining armor came and saved us. Anna just knew I needed to disappear and she recognized you for what you are, two wonderful men I could trust to get me and this horse safely away. I needed Carrie O’Rourke to cease to exist for awhile, so Isabel was just a logical choice. I realized what she was doing and went along. I’ve never even figured out a last name.”

  Almost to herself she said, “You know the funny thing about it, I actually like it. I feel safer as Isabel, and wouldn’t mind keeping that as my name forever. Whether I stay with you or not, I can’t just go back and be Carrie right now, so Isabel is great for me.” The groceries were put away and Carrie came back to the table and sat down across from Slade. She looked up into his eyes as if trying to read his thoughts and he returned the gaze. She took a deep breath and began the necessary explanation.

  “Denzel Judd, my father, biologically at least, is a violent and abusive crook who’s lately become a compulsive gambler, among his myriad of other character flaws. He’s also recently acquired some very interesting friends who do things like money laundering, drug dealing, and illegal gambling. You know, kind, gentle, trustworthy types. I believe he came by these friends by way of some huge gambling debts he can‘t repay.” Isabel knew she sounded as bitter as she felt about her father. “It’s a very long story, so I’ll give you the bare bones version.

  “He’s been messing up my life from well before I was born. He lives in the house right next to mine on Wind Dance Farms that became his when my mother passed away six months ago. He’s always lived there. I used to live there too until I moved over into my grandfather’s house when I was twelve to get away from him. Let’s just say he’s never been good to me or anyone else, especially my mother, and if it hadn’t been for my grandfather, my mother’s father, I honestly don’t know how I would have survived all these years at all. While my grandfather was alive, Judd was much easier to live with, for whatever reasons.

  “But my grandfather was crushed against a fence by a colt two months ago and died the next day.” She quietly brushed tears from her cheek and after a moment went on.

  “Judd was pretty mellow for a couple weeks after his death and then got violently angry and completely disappeared for days. We didn’t know where he was, but later found out he’d hired a private investigator to check out my grandfather’s estate. I can’t imagine why, but apparently he believed my grandfather was going to leave him something. Needless to say, Grandpa would never have left his property to the man who’d made my mother’s life hell.

  “Grandpa left Ebony Wind, the stallion you’ve been towing around this last week, he left him to me entirely, which incidentally, is quite a good portion of the estate. The rest he left half to me and half to his head trainer, Eli Johnson.

  “Eli's the real father who has raised me all these years and I love him dearly. He’s been with Grandpa since the very beginning of Wind Dance Farms almost forty years ago.

  “Eli has control of my inheritance, unless I marry, until I am twenty-one in about five months. At that time, we’ll have control together, which is a total moot point anyway because Eli’s management and wisdom is what has brought the farm this far to begin with and I would never question his judgment, no matter how old I become.

  “Anyway, not only was Judd excluded from any inheritance, there was also a clause saying that under no circumstance could he ever have ownership of any of Grandfather’s holdings. I’m sure Grandpa put that in the will in hopes of protecting me from Judd. It should have put an end to his scheming, but for some reason Judd’s become more demanding than ever.

  “Now, I know this is going to sound crazy. It is crazy. It makes no sense at all, but somehow Judd thinks he can get me to marry some distant nephew of his, and he will somehow gain control of the farm. The nephew is a slime ball and when Judd realized there was no way I would ever choose to marry him, he began threatening to force me. Which is also crazy but I’ve come to believe he would try. His organized crime friends offered to help him and then put me somewhere where I’ll be out of the way. I’m not sure what that means, but I am sure they were serious. That, along with threats against people at the farm and threats to kidnap Ebony, along with the fact that the police would do nothing, have made me pretty desperate.

 
“I tried to get a restraining order, but they basically told me no until one of them actually physically harms me again. “

  Something in Slade’s chest skipped a beat and he broke in, “Again?”

  She nodded sadly. “Again. Judd‘s incredibly mean, that’s why I moved in with Grandpa. He never treated me the way he treated my mother, thank goodness. My grandfather would have had child social services come and Judd knew it. My mother would never leave him or even press charges and would never cooperate with the police, so there wasn’t much we could do to protect her, but they all protected me. They still do.

  “That’s why I finally knew I had to leave. Judd has started threatening to have people from the farm hurt or even killed if I didn’t go along with his schemes. I don’t know that in the long run he could ever get away with all of it, but I was afraid. The people he’s dealing with are scary. Scary enough to make me feel like I had to go.

  “I knew I had to leave, but I had no idea how to get away without Judd or the others knowing where I was. Especially after they started threatening to kidnap Ebony, I knew I needed to do something, but I really thought it would be impossible to hide him.

  “Dante, Eli’s son, kept telling me to keep praying as Eli had taught us, and that God would provide a way. Although I was trying to have faith, I was also having this feeling urgently telling me to go now. I realize now, in retrospect, that God knew you were coming, that He did have a plan all along, but I just didn’t understand what it was. Thank goodness Anna did. I wasn’t kidding when I said you were the answer to prayer.”

  She continued, “I’m sorry again that I didn’t tell you. I‘ll make a call to a friend of mine at ESPN who follows racing, and ask him to do a follow-up story about how I‘m fine and just out of town for awhile or something. Then I’ll go somewhere.”

  When she finished the trailer was silent for what seemed like a very long time. Finally, as if not knowing what to do, she got up and walked to the door, running her fingers over the photo on the wall as she went, and said, “I’ll, uh, leave you two to talk in private.”

  Slade caught her hand as she stepped past him to go out the door. She looked down and into his eyes as he softly said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, and I’m sorry for the way I behaved just now.” She squeezed his hand and walked out the door.

  For a few more minutes Slade and Rossen sat silently. Slade absent-mindedly drummed his fingertips on the table. Finally, he reached out to touch the folded laundry on the table and mumbled, “We had an heiress washing our jeans.”

  ****

  There was apparently an unspoken agreement not to bring up the subject of Isabel’s real identity, or the situation behind it, for awhile that afternoon, as the three of them sat in old lawn chairs outside the trailer door. Isabel was making up a menu and shopping list for the next week as if nothing had happened and the world would keep right on spinning as it should. Her list making was actually very comforting. All three of them wanted the present arrangement to continue for a variety of reasons.

  Isabel was happier and felt safer than she could ever remember and she’d come to enjoy both of them, maybe even too much. This life had become an adventure that she really wished was just beginning. She did miss the farm and her friends, but Slade and Rossen had far overwhelmed any feelings of homesickness with new emotions and experiences.

  Slade was a little confused about why he wanted things to stay the same. In his mind he reasoned that it was the much improved food situation and the better organization, but there was another little voice in his head that dared him to admit that when she said she would leave, just for a moment he’d panicked. Somehow, in a way he didn’t even begin to understand, the hole in his life that had gaped open since the death of his family, had been neatly filled up by this sweet, happy, runaway girl. He knew it to be true, but was a little hesitant to examine the fact too closely.

  Rossen sat tipped back in his chair fiddling with a leather strap that’d come off a bridle the day before. He knew how Slade felt about Isabel. And he was trying to understand Isabel’s perspective to this whole deal, but he made up his mind that no matter what the two of them thought would come to pass, he was going to do all he could to see that Isabel stayed safely with them. He knew without a doubt that Slade needed her in his life for now at least, and he suspected that Slade was exactly what she needed in hers. And quite frankly, life was better all around with her here, for him as well.

  Each busy with their own thoughts, none of them even noticed as another girl approached until she was right before them. She unabashedly checked out Isabel with a disgusted look on her face and then said, “I heard you had a girl living with you, but I didn’t believe it. I thought you two were the self-professed straight arrows of the circuit, but I guess not, huh?”

  Isabel calmly looked up at the other woman without saying a word. The girl wore tight jeans and boots, with an even tighter shirt that showed off a very definitely female figure. She would have been quite pretty with less makeup and less scowl.

  Slade and Rossen remained tipped back in their chairs as Rossen nodded and said, “Afternoon, Jesse.” His voice was all but dripping with exaggerated warmth and he went on, “Isabel, may I introduce you to one of the most famous rodeo personalities on the entire circuit, Ms. Jesse Colvin.” Rossen gave Jesse a wink. “Jesse, this is our good friend and lifesaver, Isabel.”

  Slade let the legs of his chair down slowly. A low, “Hey Jess.” was all the acknowledgement the girl got from him, and Isabel could sense something going on here, but wasn’t sure what. She looked up from her list in interest.

  Rossen stepped in to defend all their honor. “We’re not actually living together, Jesse, we’re just living together. Know what I mean? Isabel here has simply and generously agreed to work for Slade and me in an attempt to help us pull our disorganized acts together. She’s doing a fine job of it too, I might add, so please don’t offend her by making nasty insinuations. She might run off, and we need her desperately.” Rossen turned to Isabel and at that last sentence, flashed her his biggest and most irresistible smile.

  She smiled back at him and Jesse made a rather unladylike sound and asked, “Why haven’t you ever mentioned you needed some help? I would have been glad to help you. You know that.” Slade was still studiously looking at his fingernails, or anything else but paying attention to Jesse.

  Isabel was still trying to figure out what was going on as Rossen continued, “Oh, we knew you were much too busy, and besides, Isabel here was just a bored college student who needed some money and wanted to travel.” Now both Slade and Rossen were looking directly at Isabel and smiling.

  Jesse, sensing that she was missing something, looked from one to the other. Her sour face returned when her look rested on Isabel. “How exciting for you to have the chance to come rodeoing with them and do your work.” She made it perfectly clear that she didn’t think Isabel really did anything, then added, “Do you ride barrels?”

  Isabel shook her head. “I have to admit that I don’t believe I’ve ever ridden a barrel in my life.” She smiled innocently up at Jesse and asked, “Is it fun?” Now it was apparently Slade’s and Rossen’s turn to take an interest in the scene going on. Rossen put his chair legs back on the ground too and leaned forward.

  Jesse sputtered, “Don’t you even know what a barrel race is?”

  Isabel acted amazed. “You mean you actually race around on a barrel? That is remarkable! What makes the barrels go? I mean do you use motorized barrels or are they electric or is it like some sort of a stick horse or what?”

  Rossen’s grin got bigger and bigger. He turned to Jesse. “I’m sorry Jesse; she’s a bit new to rodeo.” Turning to Isabel he began to explain in exaggerated detail just what a barrel race was.

  As he finished, Isabel exclaimed, “Oh good! That makes so much more sense. I couldn’t even begin to picture how you’d actually ride a barrel around!” Slade apparently couldn’t even begin to
hide his smile. Thank goodness Jesse thought they were laughing over Isabel.

  Just then a group of people walking by said they were going to go get a bite to eat and wanted to know if Jesse wanted to go. Upon seeing Isabel, they stopped and introductions were made again, this time in a much more civil manner. They all turned to go. Jesse turned to Isabel with a begrudging, “It was nice to meet you, Isabel. Maybe you’ll get the chance to learn a little about horses with this job.”

  “I certainly hope so. It all seems so exciting.” In a dreamy voice she added, “Maybe I’ll even learn to ride barrels sometime. Slade, would you teach me?” With that last comment, Jesse stomped off in the direction of the others.

  The three of them sat there grinning and when she was out of hearing, Isabel asked, “What’s she famous for?”

  With a completely straight face that completely cracked Isabel up, Rossen replied, “Being able to breathe in the clothes she wears.”

  Isabel actually had seen a barrel race, but it had been years and years before. Much more at ease now that she had no secrets from Slade and Rossen, she planned to attend the rodeo that night. Early in the evening, they saddled up and went over to the arena to warm up their horses. On their way, they dropped Isabel in the stands with a contestant’s pass. Until five days ago, Isabel had had no idea how much went into this sport or how incredibly talented both man and beast had to be. She did know horses and she knew these were magnificently well trained. She could sense that what these rodeo men and women did had taken most of a lifetime to bring to this level of perfection. Well before the rodeo had even started, as she was watching the contestants warm up, she knew she was going to love it.

  The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association--PRCA as Slade and Rossen called it, certainly knew how to put on an entertaining show, and the crowd was on its feet and whistling and yelling from the very first horse in the arena. They saluted the flag, the National Anthem was sung, and there was a beautiful tribute to America and the troops and veterans, complete with a group of performing horse women racing through with flags and patriotic music. Next was a parade of rodeo queens, decked out with their big hats and hair and flashy clothes. Even their horses sparkled with glitter and sequins. They streaked around the arena at breakneck speed on beautiful, racy horses, smiling always as they blew by.