Heart of Rockies 03 - More Than a Feeling

by Sara Richardson

  What made her do that? Retreat into timidity?

  Bryce was looking back and forth between them, a wrinkle deepening across the center of his forehead, so Sawyer decided to lighten the moment. “Ruby was desperate for a swim in the spring.”

  That snapped her head up. “I slipped,” she corrected. “And I couldn’t find my footing.”

  Sawyer puffed out his chest in an exaggerated strut. “So I pretty much saved her life.”

  Her glare could’ve incinerated him. And it’d be a lie to say he didn’t like it. Sure beat the passive Ruby. Something came alive on her face when she got all fired up…

  “Anyway.” Bryce looked at Sawyer like he knew exactly what he was thinking. “Thanks for grabbing the gear.”

  “Not a problem.” Sawyer handed over the three backpacks he’d insisted on carrying so Ruby wouldn’t have to.

  His cousin slung them down on the ground. “I heard from Paige.”

  Uh-oh. From the look of his grim frown they hadn’t gotten good news.

  “It’s a bad break. Thomas is headed into surgery.”

  “Oh, no.” Ruby’s face paled. “What about the kids? What about the rest of the activities they’re supposed to do this week?”

  Sawyer studied her. He hadn’t realized she cared that much.

  “They’ve been looking forward to the ropes course all week,” she said.

  “I know.” Bryce looked at Sawyer. “Paige can fill in with the horseback riding, but I’ll need you for everything else.”

  “No problem. I’ll call Chief tonight. Ask him for a couple of days off.”

  “Thanks, man.” Bryce clapped him on the shoulder. “Ropes course is scheduled for Tuesday and the zipline tour is Thursday.”

  “Perfect,” he said, glancing at Ruby with a smile. She didn’t smile back. Was it just him, or did she suddenly look worried?

  “I should go change,” she said abruptly. “Thanks again for the rescue and everything.” But she didn’t look at him, and she definitely wasn’t smiling at him anymore.

  “What’s with her?” Bryce asked as she walked away from them.

  “Don’t know.” But he planned to find out.

  Chapter Seven

  Unbelievable. Ruby stalked to her beat-up Honda Civic and slid behind the wheel, still fuming. What was with Sawyer, anyway? A year. That was exactly how long she’d been there, and that whole time he’d left her alone. He’d hardly even looked at her. Now all of a sudden it was like he didn’t want to let her out of his sight.

  She cranked the keys and started the engine, coaxing the gas. Sawyer still stood on the porch watching her like he half expected her to peel out and speed down the driveway at a hundred miles per hour. He’d probably run right to his patrol SUV and chase her down to give her a ticket.

  Well, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Yes, she couldn’t get away from him fast enough, but she eased her car down the gravel road with the uncertainty of a granny who was worried about her brand-new Caddy. So there. Right after he’d pulled her out of the water, the man had been charming and kind, but the closer they’d gotten to the ranch, the more withdrawn he’d become. By the time they stood on the porch, he would barely look at her. Then he’d jumped right in with the volunteering thing.

  Had she said something that made him suspicious?

  As she drove down the highway, her hands tightened on the wheel. He hadn’t questioned her on the way back to the lodge like he had during the hike up to the waterfall, but he still watched her like he was analyzing everything she said.

  Damn it. She’d let herself get drawn in by his charm, by those captivating blue eyes, and yes, by those rippling muscles—she was a woman, after all. But she wouldn’t fall for it all again. She’d have to do her best to keep her distance, even though she’d be spending the next couple of days working with kids alongside of him.

  On the outskirts of town, she slowed the car, winding through the quaint streets, and even though she’d made the drive every single day since she’d arrived in Aspen, the views still stunned her—the manicured town avenues, the peaks rising over them, hemming them in like a shield of protection. To the south Aspen Mountain glowed emerald green, the last spring snow only recently melted, turning the slopes into flower-dappled meadows.

  She took a left on Third Street and followed it all the way to the end, to the side-by-side two-family duplex she shared with Elsie. The woman wasn’t home, but she’d be coming over for a girls’ night along with Paige and Avery later. Maybe Ruby could get their read on Sawyer, since she hardly knew the man at all. Maybe they’d help her sort this all out.

  Cheered by the thought, Ruby pulled into the driveway, noticing that a couple of weeds had popped up in the rosebushes. Elsie treated those rosebushes like they were her children, but she’d been so busy planning and grocery shopping since the kids had arrived, she probably hadn’t had time to pull weeds. Dropping her stuff on the ground, Ruby walked over and yanked out a thistle, pinching it between the thorns like Elsie had taught her.

  “Yarf! Yarf!”

  Across the street an older man she recognized from the next block over walked his dog.

  Aw…what a sweetie. The dog almost looked like a cocker spaniel, with longer beige fur, but it was smaller. Ruby loved dogs. She’d always begged for one of her own, of course, but Mama couldn’t even take care of two kids, let alone an animal. So instead Ruby would beg neighbors to let her play with their dogs. They were soft and sweet and best of all, they hadn’t cared that she had ugly, ratty clothes and unwashed hair. They’d loved her anyway.

  Smiling at the memory, she rose her hand to wave. “What a beautiful—” she started to call out, but the man yanked on the dog’s leash, dragging it down the street by the neck.

  “Hey,” she almost whispered, rising higher on her knees.

  The dog caught sight of her and yipped with joy, tugging at the leash like it wanted to come greet her.

  “Damn it, Nell!” The man yanked again. Harder. “Come on.” He dragged it by the neck again, and the dog yelped in pain.

  White-hot fury flashed against her eyes. She jumped to her feet, her hands shaking. He couldn’t treat a defenseless animal that way!

  The man jerked the leash again, pulling the dog behind him, making it gasp and choke.

  “Hey!” she yelled, her cheeks tingling.

  The man didn’t look back.

  “Stop it!” She was running across the street now, legs and lungs blazing like they were on fire.

  The man walked briskly, then turned into a driveway. “Come! Nell. Come!” he yelled, jerking the leash until the dog was choking again.

  Just as Ruby reached the edge of his yard, he opened the front door. The dog tried to make a break for it, but the man kicked it.

  He kicked it!

  “You can’t do that!” Fire roared up her throat in a scream. “You can’t kick a dog!”

  Ignoring her the man slipped inside his house and slammed the door.

  Her head got light. Rage blurred her vision the way it always used to when Derek hit her, like she wasn’t seeing things right, like she was detached from her own body. Oh, god. She knew. She knew how it felt to be abused, to be unable to fight back. The poor dog was helpless. But she wasn’t. Not anymore. She couldn’t let this man get away with hurting an innocent animal.

  Frantically Ruby blinked the world back into focus. She dug her phone out of her pocket and started to dial 911. But…if the police came, how many questions would they ask her? Would they take her name and information? Would they ask for her driver’s license? Her fingers froze over the numbers. She couldn’t risk it. She’d have to call someone else. Someone who already knew her.

  She hit the first number on her list and held the phone up to her ear.

  “Walker Mountain Ranch,” Avery answered in her professional, bubbly tone.

  “Hey, Avery, it’s Ruby.” Her voice hitched and she cleared her throat. “Um…have you seen Sawyer around?” />
  “Nope. Haven’t seen him.”

  “Do you have his phone number?” She hoped she sounded casual, even though the threatening tears were stinging her throat.

  Avery rattled it off. “Gotta go, another call. I’ll see you tonight!” The line clicked before Ruby could answer. Tensing the shakes out of her hand, she dialed Sawyer’s number.

  On the third ring, the line clicked. “Hello?”

  “It’s Ruby,” she squeaked.

  “Ruby?” There was a shuffling, like he’d switched the phone to his other ear or something. “Is everything okay?”

  In other words, why are you calling me?

  “No. Everything’s not okay.” The words unleashed furious tears because she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t help the dog alone. “I need you.”

  “Uh…”

  “Please. There’s this horrible man…” Her voice disintegrated as the tears clogged her throat.

  “A man?” Fear roughed his tenor just like it had when he’d pulled her out of the water. “Where are you? Were you attacked? Are you hurt?”

  She tried to talk but could only manage to whimper out the address.

  “I’m coming,” he growled. “I’ll be right there. Call the police. Do you hear me? Call nine-one-one.”

  “No!” Her vision blurred. “No cops. Please, Sawyer. Just you.”

  She clicked off the phone and steadied herself against the white picket fence that ran the perimeter of the yard. Images flashed. Derek grabbing her by the neck and throwing her down onto the bed…

  Nausea roared through her stomach. She knew how it felt to have someone squeeze the breath out of you. She couldn’t let that man hurt the dog. She had to get it away from him. She had to help it the way she’d never been able to help herself.

  * * *

  This horrible man. Ruby’s panicked gasps echoed again and again. A reel of worst-case scenarios flashed through Sawyer’s mind. Had she been sexually assaulted? God, he felt sick. On the way out the door he snatched his holster off the entry table and buckled it around his waist, still debating whether he should call the station.

  No cops. Just you.

  But if she’d been attacked they could get there faster than he could. Damn it! He threw open the door to his Tahoe and dug out his phone again.

  Ruby answered after one ring. “Sawyer? Are you coming?” She wasn’t crying anymore, thank god.

  “Yes, I’m on my way. Are you okay?” Because if she wasn’t, he didn’t give a damn what she said, he was calling in the big guns.

  “I’m okay. I need your help.” She still sounded shaken, but not panicked like she had been minutes earlier.

  “I’m on my way. Hang tight,” he said, then peeled out of the ranch’s winding driveway and used his authority to blitz down the highway well over twenty miles per hour above the speed limit.

  He skidded to a stop in front of the address she’d given him. Ruby stood next to a white picket fence staring at the house, which he knew for a fact wasn’t her house. She lived in Elsie’s duplex down the block.

  She was still wearing the clothes she’d had on earlier, but they seemed to have dried.

  “What happened?” he called before he’d even slammed the door.

  A blank look had taken over her eyes, and for the first time it occurred to him that she could have mental problems. Maybe that’s why she was on the run…

  “That man in there…” Her voice wobbled. “I saw him choke his dog.”

  Sawyer stopped halfway to her. Heat simmered in his gut. “His dog?” Holy shit. He’d thought someone had threatened her, or attacked her…

  “He choked it and yelled at it.” Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, deepening the green hue of her eyes. “Then he kicked it into his house.”

  A dog. He didn’t open his mouth. Couldn’t. Instead of speaking he marched over to her.

  “It was horrible,” she continued, and when she looked up, when his eyes met hers, he saw a brand of heartbreak he’d witnessed only a handful of times. Usually on a victim’s face. The stern lecture building in his brain poofed into a fog of sympathy.

  “Sawyer, he choked it,” she moaned, then hid her face in her hands and sobbed.

  “Okay. It’s okay.” He gathered her into his arms, unprepared for the way it seared his heart. Whoa. Maybe touching her wasn’t the best choice, considering it was so easy to recall the image of her in that wet tank top. And that vanilla scent of hers…it made it hard to think a clear thought that didn’t involve him pinning her against the side of his SUV.

  “We have to do something,” Ruby insisted against his chest. “We can’t just stand here and let him hurt that dog.”

  The way she clung to him tempted him to draw his weapon, storm in there, and take the guy down. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t barge in and arrest some guy for animal cruelty with no hard evidence. He ran a hand over her soft hair. “Maybe it only looked that way,” he murmured over her head. “Maybe you couldn’t really see.”

  “No!” She thrust her palms into his chest and pushed him away. “I saw him. He kicked the dog. And when he dragged it with the leash, the dog whimpered like it was in pain.”

  Sawyer heaved out a sigh. He looked back and forth between her and the house. The broken look was gone from her eyes. Now they were steeled, daring him to argue again, to offer other possibilities. Determination screwed her face tight. She knew, damn it. And he didn’t have to be a genius to figure it out. This guy might not have hurt her, but someone had. Was it a parent? A boyfriend?

  “Please,” she whispered. “We have to get the dog away from him. Before he hurts it again.”

  “I can’t arrest him. And I can’t take the dog away from him, Ruby.” It wouldn’t be that easy. But he couldn’t do nothing. Not with her staring at him that way. He battled a sigh. “I’ll check on it. Okay? But I don’t have the authority to do anything based on one accusation.”

  She nodded, clasping her hands under her chin.

  Leaving her on the sidewalk, he trudged up the front walk to the man’s door and rang the bell. Inside a dog barked, then was silenced. A minute later the door opened.

  An older man poked out his head. He looked completely harmless. Short, somewhat bent over. Bald head with a rim of white hair.

  “What d’you want?” he asked in that crotchety old-man way.

  Sawyer looked back at Ruby. Her posture was rigid, hands posted on her hips like she was giving the man a silent reprimand. He turned back to him. “We’re concerned about your dog.”

  “My dog is fine,” the man snapped, and Sawyer had to admit he wasn’t the nicest guy in the world. He could see this man going after a harmless dog.

  He stood taller, looking down at the man, and pulled out his wallet to flash his badge. “You mind if I see it?”

  With a scowl, the man opened the door wider. “Nell, come.”

  The dog trotted out and pranced around Sawyer’s feet, licking his boots happily. It didn’t cower, didn’t seem to be afraid of Sawyer at all.

  “The dog is fine,” the man growled again.

  Sawyer knelt. It really did look fine. Pretty dog. Expensive, too. Looked like a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. The coffee shop owner in town had the same kind hanging around all the time.

  The dog sat obediently at Sawyer’s toes. He scratched its head.

  “Nell. Inside,” the man commanded. This time the dog’s ears lowered. It stood, tail low, and slunk into the house.

  “That all?” the man asked, already closing the door in Sawyer’s face. But he had no warrant, no probable cause.

  “Yeah. Thanks.” When he turned he read Ruby’s crushed look all the way from across the yard. Damn. She wasn’t happy with him. He took his time getting to her, trying to figure out what to say, how many questions to ask. If he pried too hard she’d shut down again, not telling him anything about her past, about who she was, and he didn’t want that.

  He wanted to know who she was. Sure, it might help B
ryce, but the more time he spent with her, the more he just wanted to know her.

  “I didn’t imagine it,” she spat when he stood across from her. “I saw him. I heard him yelling.”

  Sawyer nodded, but then stopped when it seemed to patronize her. “I believe you,” he said instead. “But, Ruby, I can’t do anything about it. Not today, anyway.”

  A look of anger cinched her lips tight, but her eyes filled with tears again.

  “Hey.” He reached for her, clasping his hand around her forearm, but she jerked back like he’d burned her. Like he’d hurt her.

  Then her eyes widened with surprise as though she couldn’t believe she’d done that.

  But he could. Because something terrible had happened to her. Someone had done something terrible to her. It was evident in the way she guarded herself.

  “I’ll keep an eye on it,” he promised. Because, damn it, those eyes of hers were so intense, so intense he had to touch her. He couldn’t stop himself. Instead of touching the dangerous territory of her body, he gently reached a hand to her face and tucked that gorgeous red hair behind her ear. “I’ll drive by. I’ll watch out for the dog.” His hand lingered by her jaw. “And the first time I see anything weird, I’ll get a warrant.”

  She reached up and held his hand against her skin, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Then she rose to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, melting his joints, warming his blood, thickening it, like honey running through his veins. Desire flooded him, loosening his hold. But he forced himself to keep his hands on her cheeks instead of wandering to all the places they wanted to go. He had to be careful with her. So instead of parting her lips with his tongue, instead of plunging deeper into her, crushing her against his body, tasting more of her, he pulled back. He let her go.

  Shock froze her eyes wide.

  Still close, he whisked his thumb down her cheek, his eyes following hers as they shifted back and forth.

  “It’ll be okay.” He smiled a little.