Out of Exile

by Carla Cassidy

  She was allowing him to get too close, to get into areas of her heart she’d always proclaimed off-limits. She couldn’t afford to stay too much longer, couldn’t afford to allow herself to fall in love with him.

  Flipping the hamburgers, she dismissed the very idea that she could possibly fall in love with him. He was cold and authoritarian and refused to be a part of anything larger than himself.

  He kept a cocoon of anger wrapped around him most of the time and forbade anyone to get close to him. He was a difficult man, a complex one, and she wasn’t sure he even had the capacity to love inside him.

  The back door opened, and she turned to see him coming in. “Ah, just in time,” she said. “I’m taking up the hamburgers now.”

  “Good, I’m starving.” He went to the sink and washed his hands. “Can I do anything to help?”

  “No, I’ve got it under control,” she replied.

  Within minutes they were seated together at the table, enjoying the simple meal she had prepared. “How did things go today?” she asked.

  “Pretty good. The work on the old barn is coming right along.”

  Lilly smiled. “April will be so pleased. She has big plans for the barn.”

  “You spoke to her today?” he asked curiously.

  She nodded. “She stopped by this afternoon to enlist my aid in helping to decorate the family room for the Halloween party. We’re going to start on the decorations in the morning.”

  He shook his head. “If I know April she won’t be satisfied until the whole place is decorated to the hilt.”

  “But she’s a good social director?”

  “The best we’ve ever had,” he agreed.

  “Will she continue to work after the baby is born?” Lilly asked curiously.

  “That’s one of the first things I asked her when I found out she was pregnant, and she indicated she plans on continuing as social director.”

  For a few minutes they ate in companionable silence. It was Lilly who finally spoke again. “April had an interesting take on the snake and the rose mystery,” she said.

  One of Matthew’s dark brows rose quizzically. “What did she think?”

  “She said maybe they were put there by two different people. Somebody put the snake in my room and maybe one of the workers felt bad for me and left the rose to make me feel better.”

  He frowned. “Well, that doesn’t make me feel any better. All that would mean would be that there were two people skulking around in the house who didn’t belong here.”

  “At least we got through today without any craziness happening,” Lilly replied. “And I think that calls for a celebration.”

  “A celebration?” He eyed her warily.

  She laughed. “Don’t look so worried. I don’t intend to suggest anything radical.”

  “Then what?” he asked.

  “We made a deal that when the cottages were painted we’d wade in the creek. Why don’t we clean up the dishes, saddle up a couple of horses and go out to the creek.”

  For a moment he hesitated, and she thought he would say no. But then a whisper of a smile curved his lips and he nodded his head. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  “Great!” she exclaimed, looking forward to the evening to come.

  It was just after seven when they took off on horseback. Both of them were wearing shorts in anticipation of wading in the creek. They rode at a leisurely pace, chatting about the ranch and the changes that would take place when guests were once again present.

  She couldn’t help but notice that Matthew cut a dashing figure on horseback. He rode with the relaxed confidence of a man accustomed to being on horseback.

  As they rode by the old barn, she tried not to think about what had taken place in the hayloft, but it was impossible to keep thoughts of their lovemaking at bay.

  Her skin tingled with the memory of his touch, and a hunger to repeat the experience momentarily filled her up. She glanced over at him, wondering if he was having the same sort of thoughts as they passed the place of their tryst, but his features were unreadable and his eyes were focused on the landscape ahead of them.

  Within minutes they were in the grove of trees that ran along the bank of the creek. They dismounted, then tied up their horses and sank down in the grass just at the edge of the slow-moving creek.

  “This is one of my most favorite places on the ranch,” she said as she kicked off her shoes.

  “Yeah, it is nice,” he agreed. “Lots of the guests come here to wade in the creek or sit in the shade.”

  He took off his shoes, then stood and grinned and held out his hand to her. “Come on, Lilly, put your money where your mouth is. I want to see just how deep you’re willing to go.”

  Laughing, she grabbed his hand and allowed him to lead her into the warm creek water.

  He watched them from the cover of the trees, close enough that he could hear their voices but too distant to distinguish specific words. He’d watched them riding out together, looking far too cozy, and he’d followed on foot at a distance, his blood boiling.

  Matthew Delaney was becoming a genuine threat. The tall cowboy was spending far too much time with Lilly, looking at her in a way that wasn’t right, wasn’t good.

  He crouched behind a tree trunk and stroked the barrel of the high-powered rifle he held, his eyes narrowed as he watched the couple frolicking in the creek, their laughter riding the soft evening breeze.

  They held hands as they walked in the water and he burned with the knowledge that Matthew was holding the hand that belonged to him.

  With the dappled sunlight cascading through the trees and shining on Lilly, she looked so beautiful, the sight ached inside of him. His want was growing stronger. His need for her threatening to consume him.

  He’d hoped that the vandalized cottages would keep Matthew busy for weeks. He’d never dreamed that the Delaneys would come together as a family and work together. From the gossip he’d heard, the Delaney siblings didn’t like each other much, but that hadn’t stopped them all from pitching in and cleaning up the mess in the cottages.

  Lilly.

  Her name sang through his veins and filled up his heart. He’d thought she would know by now—that they belonged together. He’d thought she would feel the magic when they were in the same area, look at him with that secret, knowing look. But she was distracted by Matthew.

  Matthew. Damn him. He was definitely becoming a problem, and it was time to take care of the problem. With determined intent, he raised the rifle to his shoulder. A grim smile curved his lips as he brought Matthew into the gun sight.

  “Bye-bye,” he said softly and placed his finger on the trigger.

  Chapter 9

  Matthew had forgotten how much fun Lilly could be. Her laughter rode the evening air as they waded in the warm creek water. He found himself laughing along with her as she spoke of the merits of mud between the toes.

  “I think it’s very therapeutic,” she said. “It’s impossible to have any worries when mud is squishing between your toes.”

  He laughed again, realizing she was right. At least for the moment the worries of the ranch seemed distant and far away.

  “And speaking of therapeutic,” she continued with a warm smile. “Thank you for last night.”

  “For what?”

  She shrugged and swept a foot through the water. “For being nice and supportive. I hadn’t talked about Danny to anyone, and I guess I needed to talk about it.”

  “You didn’t even tell Clara?”

  She shook her head. “I knew she’d worry about me, so I didn’t tell her exactly why I’d taken the leave of absence from my work. I just told her I needed a little break.”

  He nodded. He didn’t want to think about why she had come to his room, knew that she had come to make love with him, her desire prompted by what she’d believed had been a romantic gesture by him.

  He shot her a surreptitious glance. She looked as lovely as ever in a sleeveless pink blouse and cut
off jeans. When they’d started off, her dark hair had been pulled back at the nape of her neck, but now part of her hair had escaped the confines and looked charmingly disarrayed.

  He jumped in surprise as water splashed on his face. Lilly laughed and scooped up another handful of water, intent on splashing him again.

  “All right, now you’re in for it,” Matthew exclaimed as he wiped off his face. He bent down to fill his hands with water to return the favor.

  A boom resounded and the high-pitched whine of a bullet whizzed just over his head. He grabbed Lilly and yanked her facedown to the protection of the bank.

  “Are you all right?” He asked urgently, his heart banging against his rib cage.

  “Yes, but what happened?”

  “Somebody shot at us.” His stomach clenched as he realized had he not bent down at the moment he had, he’d probably be dead.

  He raised his head in an attempt to peer over the bank, trying to discern exactly where the shooter might be hiding. Another boom resounded, and Matthew drew his head back, fear battling a rising anger.

  Who the hell was out there? Hiding in the trees? Pinning them down with deadly intent? “I’ve got to get to my horse,” he said, and gazed over in the distance where their horses were tied.

  “No, Matthew, you can’t,” she cried. “You’ll be shot if you try to do that.” Fear radiated from her as she convulsively clutched his arm.

  “Lilly, we can’t just wait here like sitting ducks. I’ve got a gun in my saddlebag. At least with it we’ll have some sort of a defense.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, at the same time trying to offer her a reassuring smile.

  Then, releasing her hand, he drew a deep breath and began to work his way across the bank. He kept his head down, aware that at any moment another shot could be fired and this one might find a target—him.

  Silence surrounded him, an unnatural silence. Not a bird cried out, no animals scurried, not even an insect made a single buzz or click. The only sound was his own pounding heartbeat and his shallow, rapid breathing.

  He would be most vulnerable when he left the bank to run to his horse. It was then that the shooter would have a perfect shot at him.

  As he reached the area where he’d have to leave the safety of the bank, he looked back at Lilly. She remained motionless against the ground, her head turned so she could watch his progress.

  Even from this distance, he could see the fear that widened her eyes, see the tension that rippled through her body.

  Was he the target, or was she? If he got shot making his way to the horse what would happen to Lilly? A new burst of fear exploded inside him. Not fear for himself but rather for her.

  He tensed his body, ready to spring up and race for the horse, hoping he could get his gun out of the saddlebag before the shooter could draw a bead on him.

  As he exploded from the bank, Lilly stood up and screamed. In the bright-pink blouse she made a perfect target as she yelled and waved her hands.

  “Get down,” he cried as he ran for the horses, wondering what in the hell she thought she was doing.

  She fell back to the ground, and Matthew rushed to Thunder’s side and plunged his hand into the saddlebag and pulled out his revolver.

  Horse hooves drew his attention and he saw his brothers, Mark and Luke, riding fast in their direction. They both wore grim determination on their faces and carried shotguns in a position of readiness.

  Matthew waved his arms, attempting to gesture for them to take cover, but they continued toward him. No shots exploded as they pulled up next to where he stood.

  “We heard shots and thought somebody might be in trouble,” Luke said, his gaze sweeping over the area as he held his shotgun ready.

  “We were in trouble,” Matthew replied, also looking out in the distance to where he thought the shots had originated. “Somebody decided to take potshots at us.”

  Lilly joined them, her eyes still wide with residual fear. “Somebody tried to kill us,” she said, her voice quavering with emotion.

  “You know where the shots came from?” Mark asked.

  Matthew pointed to a distant grove of trees. “Someplace over there,” he said.

  Mark looked at Luke. “Let’s check it out.” Together the two brothers rode off, and Matthew turned his attention to Lilly.

  “What in the hell were you thinking? Standing up and screaming like that?” he yelled.

  Suddenly he wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her. He wanted to grab her and pull her against him, assure himself that she was all right.

  “I was acting as a diversion,” she replied. “I was trying to draw the fire from you.”

  “Dear God, Lilly, you could have been killed.”

  She averted her gaze from him. “I didn’t want you to get killed,” she replied softly.

  Matthew stared at her for a long moment, awed by the sacrifice she’d been willing to make for him. She’d put herself in the line of fire in order to help him.

  Nobody had ever done anything like that for him in his entire life. He didn’t know how to reply and was saved from having to by the return of Luke and Mark.

  “Somebody was there,” Luke said and in one graceful movement dismounted his horse. “The brush next to one of the trees is broken and the grass is tamped down. But there’s nothing there to indicate who it was.”

  “Or why they would be firing shots at you,” Mark added with a deep frown. “This is serious stuff, Matthew.”

  “I know.” Matthew swiped his hand through his hair. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Gone was the pleasure of the evening, the laughter and the relaxation. In its place was the rise of the rage that was so familiar to him.

  They were all silent on the ride back to the stables. Again Matthew found himself trying to make sense of what had just happened, trying to figure out why somebody would want to harm either him or Lilly.

  When he’d encouraged her to tell him about why she had taken a leave of absence from her work, he’d hoped the reason might shed light onto what was happening here and now. But in Danny’s tragedy he had found nothing to tie in to the suspicious happenings here.

  “The rose that was left on your bed confuses me,” Matthew said to Lilly as they unsaddled the horses.

  “What rose?” Although it was Luke who spoke, both Luke and Mark looked at Matthew curiously.

  He explained to them about the events of the afternoon before, the snake found in Lilly’s room, then the appearance of the rose in the center of her bed.

  “What’s confusing is that everything else that has happened around here has been threatening. The rose just doesn’t seem to fit with everything else.”

  “Maybe the rose doesn’t have anything to do with any of the other incidents,” Luke replied. “Maybe Lilly has a secret admirer who tried to make her feel better after the snake thing.”

  A secret admirer? Matthew wasn’t sure why, but the idea didn’t sit well with him. He didn’t like the idea of somebody yearning for Lilly, perhaps lusting for her.

  “I’ve never had a secret admirer before,” Lilly replied. “And I’m not sure I like it.”

  “Are you going to call Sheriff Broder?” Mark asked.

  Matthew frowned thoughtfully, then nodded. “Yeah. I know Broder probably won’t be able to tell us who fired those shots, but there needs to be a report made.”

  They finished with the horses, put them in the appropriate stalls, then left the stables. Standing just in front of the building, Matthew looked around, wondering if the shooter was someplace nearby, watching…waiting for another opportunity.

  He saw nobody. All the ranch help would have either left for the day or returned to their cottages for the night. There was no way to figure out who might be the guilty party, just as there was no way to be certain if the target of the shooter had been him or Lilly.

  “So what do we do now?” Mark asked.

  “Hell if I know,” Matthew replied, anger once again welling up in
side him. He felt helpless, impotent in the face of uncertain danger, and he didn’t like the feeling at all. “I guess the best that we can do is to be careful.”

  He turned to look at Lilly. “Don’t go wandering off anywhere alone. In fact, it might be a good idea for you to stick close to the house.”

  “Aunt Clara has those tests at the hospital day after tomorrow,” she reminded him. “I’ll need to drive her into town for that.”

  “I’ll drive you,” Matthew said.

  “What can we do?” Luke asked.

  Again Matthew frowned. “I’m not sure there’s anything you can do. I’ve hired Judd Stevens to do some checking into the backgrounds of everyone who is working for us, see if anyone is hiding anything we should know about.”

  “Smart move,” Luke replied. “What about Jacob Tilley? We know he has a motive for revenge.”

  Weariness gripped Matthew. “I just don’t know what to think,” he admitted.

  He glanced at Lilly, remembering when she’d jumped up and faced the possibility of being shot in order to divert the danger from him.

  In that moment he had recognized that he was precariously close to falling in love with Lilliana Winstead. And this recognition filled him with more terror than the shots he had just faced from an unknown foe.

  Excusing himself, he went in to contact Sheriff Broder.

  She was in love with Matthew Delaney. Lilly had no idea how it had happened, couldn’t understand how despite her resolve not to allow it to happen, it had.

  Although she didn’t know exactly when she had fallen in love with him, she knew the exact moment her own feelings had revealed themselves to her. It had been when the first bullet had soared just above his head.

  In that instant, Lilly’s love for Matthew had exploded inside her, stunning her. And the feelings she’d discovered hadn’t changed overnight. Sleep hadn’t come easily as she’d struggled to understand how this had happened.

  Knowing she loved him and doing something about it were two different things. Loving Matthew had not changed her resolve to remain alone.