Her Mountain Sanctuary

by Jeannie Watt

  She still liked to be touched. That one discovery made her tenuous journey with Drew worthwhile. She smiled a little as she turned onto the highway. He liked to be touched, too. A lot. This fragile thing they shared was, by its very nature, destined to be short-lived. The euphoria of initial discovery would only last for so long.

  And then...

  Either a bond had formed that would sustain the relationship or that relationship would wither and die. She felt a bond with Drew. A deep bond of mutual understanding and...more.

  She wouldn’t put a name on it. That was asking for trouble.

  The rodeo venue was small, and there weren’t many participants, because there were bigger, richer rodeos on the same day in other parts of the state. But despite that, Faith was thrilled to win the event and be awarded enough money to pay for her gas. Always a big achievement in the barrel racing world. Gas costs ate competitors alive—especially when they were almost, but not quite winning.

  She called Drew from the rodeo, told him about her win, and he promised a celebration when she got home.

  He was waiting for her at the ranch house with a bottle of prosecco. He cracked it open while she showered, handed her a glass to sip while he gently toweled her off.

  She laughed as she tried to sip bubbly liquid and maintain her balance as he worked the soft towel over her body.

  “Multitasking,” he murmured.

  “You’re good at it.” She sighed as the fingers holding the towel strayed to places that probably wouldn’t remain dry for long. In fact, they were no longer dry at all.

  “You better put the glass down.”

  She smiled wickedly. “I’m not done.”

  “Then maybe I should finish you off.”

  Heat spiraled through her at his husky words, then she set the glass down and her hands were on him, unbuttoning, unbuckling, unzipping. Drew was magnificent when he was naked, and Faith could have happily sipped her prosecco and studied his body—except for the fact that she really needed his body. Now.

  When they were done making love, lying in bed and sipping the sparkling wine, Faith told him about the rodeo and her win—although there wasn’t much to tell. Tommy had run well and she’d come in first. Just as she used to, only in a much smaller venue.

  “Can I go to the next one?” he asked, tilting his glass toward her.

  “I only have one more entry. It’s the day that Maddie has her junior high orientation.”

  Drew blew out a breath, propping a hand behind his head. “I can’t miss that.”

  “I should think not.”

  Drew rolled over and gathered her closer. “You didn’t see what’s his ass?”

  “No. And his lady wasn’t there either.” If Tara had competed, it had been in a different venue that weekend. Faith thought about scrolling through the standings, to see where her—make that Jared’s—saddle had competed, but it felt too much like stalking. Too much like she cared. The only thing she cared about right now was that she’d done a solo trip after a big scare, and not only competed, but won.

  And that she was here with a guy she was starting to care deeply about. She brought her hand up to stroke the side of Drew’s face, loving the feel of the stubble beneath her hand. She felt him tense, which she hadn’t expected, because it was too soon. They hadn’t even finished the wine.

  “You have to go.”

  He pushed back the covers. “Yeah.”

  Faith made no move to stop him. He’d had another nightmare a week ago, after sex, which had scared him, and then scared her after he’d shown her his bruised knuckles. It had also made her research nightmares. What she’d read didn’t give her hope that Drew would be working through this matter easily. His flashbacks and dreams could haunt him for the rest of his life.

  Faith got out of bed and grabbed her robe off the footboard, slipping into it as Drew went into the bathroom to retrieve his clothing. She leaned her shoulder against the doorjamb and folded her arms, watching him dress. She was getting better... Drew was not.

  After buckling his belt and buttoning his shirt, he came to her, took her face in his hands and kissed her lightly. Faith walked him to the door without a word. He kissed her again, and then he was gone.

  This was what she’d signed on for. Which sucked because she was damned certain she was falling in love with the man, and she saw a long, tough road ahead of her.

  * * *

  FAITH PASSED THROUGH Jared’s hometown on her way to her last rodeo of the season. There was a good possibility he would be at the event, since it was close by, but at some point, she had to deal with challenges such as this on her own. Now was a good time to start. She wouldn’t always be able to depend on other people as she’d depended on Drew to help her through her first few rodeos. The important thing was to watch herself, watch her surroundings. Be vigilant, but not paralyzed by what-ifs.

  So easy in theory.

  Unlike her last solo rodeo, Faith’s heart was beating hard when she pulled into the Silverton rodeo grounds. The competitors lot was packed, but she immediately caught sight of Jared’s dually truck parked at the far end of the field. Only one horse was tied to the trailer, and it wasn’t the fancy palomino his lady friend had been riding when Faith had confronted her about the saddle. New lady friend? New horse? Or was Jared competing?

  No matter. Faith was going to make her run, load Tommy and leave before the rodeo was over. She might even haul him home tacked up. Better that than risk another tack room mishap.

  Faith kept her gaze fixed forward as she drove past the rig and parked as far away as she could get, on the opposite side of the field. The rodeo grand entry started as she unloaded Tommy. She saddled him and mounted, glanced over at the practice arena, then sucked it up and rode over.

  This is your life now. You can hide at home or you can tackle life.

  She chose to tackle life. She also had pepper spray in her pocket. The small canister dug into her hip as she rode, but better to feel safe than comfortable. As she entered the practice area and started walking Tommy along the rail, she recognized Tara riding ahead of her on the flashy palomino. Oddly, though, she was not riding in Faith’s saddle.

  Faith had done a lot of brave things today—but she wasn’t going to subject herself to another encounter with the woman on the palomino. She was about to turn and head back to the gate when the woman swung a circle and reversed. She pulled up as soon as she recognized Faith.

  “That really was your saddle, wasn’t it?”

  “I sold it to Jared.”

  The woman cocked her head. “That’s what he said, but I keep wondering how come you were so bent out of shape seeing me riding in it. I mean...” she gestured with one hand “...usually if you sell something, you don’t go nuts when you see someone else using it.”

  “I bet Jared told you I was nuts.”

  The woman looked past Faith in the direction of Jared’s dually. “He’s told me a couple of things that haven’t added up. I can forgive a lot of stuff, but lying isn’t one of them.” She shot Faith a hard look. “Please answer me this. When did you sell him the saddle?”

  She wasn’t going to cover for Jared, but she didn’t want him pressing charges against Drew because she’d screwed things up by telling the truth. On the other hand, this woman needed the facts to make an informed decision regarding her future.

  “After I saw you.”

  The woman gave a silent nod as her jaw muscles tightened. “Thank you.” Her horse danced as a cowboy cantered by too closely, and she drew him up. When he settled, she said, “By the way, my name is Tara.”

  “Faith.”

  “I know.” Tara’s mouth flattened. “Can I ask you a personal question? One that will help me make an important decision?”

  “You can ask. I may not answer.”

  “That’s fair. Did you break up with Jared
?”

  Oh, my.

  “I was attacked by a man at a rodeo. Jared couldn’t handle the aftermath and he left me.”

  “I see.” The words came out in a deadly tone.

  “In Jared’s defense, it wasn’t an easy time for anyone. It’s hard to know what to do around a person who’s been through a trauma.” She didn’t want to defend her self-centered ex, but she had to tell the truth. Better men than Jared might have had difficulty dealing with her situation.

  “That’s a much better answer than the one he gave me—which was another lie.” She drew up her reins. “Thank you, Faith. I’ll see that you get your saddle back.”

  “I don’t want my saddle back.”

  “Yeah. You do.”

  “No. I don’t.” Tara gave no indication of having heard. She rode the palomino out the gate, toward the dually, leaving Faith staring after her. Two years ago, she might have followed and argued the point. Two years ago, she’d been bulletproof.

  Now she just wanted to make her ride and get out of there. If that made her a coward, so be it.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE OVERHEAD LIGHTS were starting to buzz as Faith rode Tommy to the gate, fourth up in a field of fifteen. If luck was with her, she’d be loaded and ready to go shortly after the event ended.

  Tara never returned to the practice arena, but Faith saw her near the gate, waiting for her name to be called. Her horse danced nervously, but she barely seemed to notice as she watched the action in the arena, her expression even tauter than it had been during their conversation about Jared.

  Something had happened.

  Faith blew out a breath when Tommy also began to dance, and she made a conscious effort to relax. When her name was called, she made a serious effort to focus on the next twenty seconds.

  But her energy was off, and that threw Tommy off. He turned wide on the first barrel, then squeezed in too close on the second. By the time he negotiated a perfect turn on the third, he’d wasted too much time. She would not be in the money tonight.

  Wasn’t the first time. Wouldn’t be the last.

  She pulled Tommy to a skidding stop outside the gate, then dismounted and started toward her trailer. She put one hand on her horse’s damp neck as she walked, drawing strength from the gelding’s presence. She wasn’t alone. She had a horse, and a dog sitting in her trailer, waiting to ride home snuggled up in the passenger seat.

  She also had something sitting on the ground next to her trailer. Faith stopped a few feet away, shaking her head as she realized it was her custom saddle. Well, that explained Tara’s tight, angry expression. She must have had it out with Jared once and for all.

  Faith skirted the saddle on her way to the rear of the trailer, where she opened the door, letting Sully out. The big dog shook himself then headed for the tires to do his business. Then he returned to keep a sharp eye on the surroundings as Faith unsaddled Tommy and then loaded him in the trailer. Only then did she approach the saddle, which she nudged with her toe.

  She didn’t know what she expected, but she did not trust Jared after he’d lied to Tara and confronted her in her own tack room. Sully cautiously approached the saddle, sniffed it a few times, then sat next to it, staring up at Faith.

  Okay. A case of overreacting. Resisting the urge to simply leave it where it lay, she lifted the saddle and carried it to her tack compartment, tipped it inside and then closed the door.

  “We’re out of here,” she told Sully. The dog gave a happy bark and bounded to the truck and waited for Faith to open the door. Sully’s presence hadn’t been enough to keep her from melting down last summer, but she had most of her equilibrium back, and the Airedale and the pepper spray in her pocket made her feel safer. She knew she’d never ever feel as safe as she once had. And maybe, in a way, that was a blessing.

  She shot Drew a text before starting her truck, telling him she was on her way home. She pulled out of her parking spot and eased onto the road leading out of the rodeo grounds as a cheer went up from the crowd. The first bull rider had had a great ride. Excellent. And by the time the last bull rider rode, she’d be fifteen miles closer to home.

  * * *

  THE LIGHTS WERE still off at the Lightning Creek Ranch. The message from Faith had come in two hours ago, which was more than sufficient time for her to get home and turn on those damned lights. Drew knew he hadn’t missed her, that she hadn’t come home and gone to bed when he hadn’t been watching, because when Faith was home, the back porch light shone all night. It was off, too.

  She wasn’t answering her phone, wasn’t answering his texts. She hadn’t wanted him to go to this rodeo, but how long was he supposed to wait before he did something?

  He decided that he would wait five more minutes. If he didn’t hear something by then, he’d go looking.

  Three minutes later, he was out the door.

  The night was dark. The moon hadn’t risen and his anxiety ramped up with each passing mile. Where in the hell was she?

  When he hit the junction where he could continue taking the state highway or turn onto the rougher county road that cut off miles, he turned onto the county road, the tires bumping as they hit gravel. There were a lot of dead spots in cell service between Eagle Valley and Silverton, but most were along the county road. If Faith had broken down, it was in a place where she couldn’t answer his texts.

  The cutoff wasn’t that long—only five miles, but it was lonely, and as he crested each low rolling hill, he expected to see the truck and trailer stopped beside the road. Nothing. Maybe she was somewhere along the state highway. He started the descent to the river, rounded a corner, then slowed as his headlights cut across the dark truck and trailer pulled to the side of the road.

  “Thank you,” he muttered as he pulled to a stop.

  The truck door opened and Faith got out. Sully tried to follow, but she closed the door, leaving him to press his nose against the window.

  She didn’t say a word. She crossed the highway and walked into his arms, laying her head against his chest. He closed his arms around her.

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Going on two hours. One of the trailer tires is destroyed. I didn’t know it was flat until it was too late, and now I can’t get the lug nuts loose on the spare. I didn’t know how long I’d have to walk to get cell service, so I stayed here. With the truck.” She smiled weakly. “You know, like they tell you to do in the wild.”

  He ran a hand over her back, then leaned down to take her lips in a quick reassuring kiss. “Scared?”

  “I’m glad you’re here.”

  She was scared, but wasn’t going to admit it. Again, those boundaries he’d set up. He stepped back, wanting very much to kiss her again, but instead he jerked his head toward her trailer.

  The spare was mounted on the side of the trailer, the bolts rusted from exposure to the weather. Drew took the tire iron and started reefing on the frozen lugs. Inside the trailer, Faith’s horse gave a snort and shifted his feet, the hollow sound loud in the quiet night.

  “Guess we’re lucky it’s not raining yet.” Because, according to the forecast, it was coming.

  The first lug squealed free and Drew left the loosened bolt holding the tire in place as he went on to the next.

  “How’d you do?” Nothing like a little conversation to break the tension. The drive had made him anxious and the thought of Faith spending the night on a lonely stretch of road or having to ask an unpredictable stranger for help ate at him. The second lug came free, and then the third. The fourth. Each one easier than the last as he channeled his anxiety into the physical act of removing the lugs.

  When the last one was free, he left the tire in place and started working on the destroyed trailer tire. All that was left were a few black strips of rubber wound around the wheel. She must have driven for miles with the flat, which was
n’t unusual on a trailer with dual tires on each side. The lone tire supported the trailer.

  Drew’s shoulders hunched as he loosened the lug in one mighty push of the tire iron.

  He hated her being stuck alone out here.

  He wasn’t her guardian.

  He’d set things up so he couldn’t be.

  He was thinking of loosening his rules.

  Yeah? Well, she might have some rules, too.

  So they’d negotiate.

  He looked over his shoulder. “Do you have a jack for the trailer?”

  “The kind you drive up on. I didn’t bother getting it out when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to get the spare off the trailer.” She opened the tack room door and pulled out a low yellow double-wedge with a dip in the middle. He placed it in front of the good tire and Faith went to the truck, started it and slowly drove the trailer up onto the wedge. Tommy shifted inside, but the angle wasn’t great enough to knock him off balance. The damaged tire started to spin as it left the ground, and Drew made a cut-off gesture as the good tire settled into the center dip.

  Drew unscrewed the lugs, handed them to Faith as she came up behind him. He loosened the tire and started to pull it off, then stopped and wiggled the valve stem.

  The damned thing had been sliced at the base. Cold anger shot through him as he sat back on his heels.

  “What?”

  “The valve stem has been cut.”

  Faith put her free hand over her mouth as she stared at the tire.

  “Oh, man,” she said lowly.

  He looked over his shoulder at her. Her eyes were wide, her expression stricken. He got to his feet, took her shoulders in his hands. “What?” Because there was a what. He was certain of it. “Tell me, Faith.”

  She shook her head.

  “Why?”

  “Because,” she said lowly, “I’m afraid of what you’ll do.”

  He stared at her, stunned by her answer. “You saw your ex at the rodeo.”