Cowboy Protector

by Margaret Daley

  Austin let her set the pace. Hannah approached the stallion slowly, watching him closely interact with Misty. Like Candy, he seemed to realize she was hurt and wasn’t her usual self. With each step that closed the distance between her and Big Red, she could see the draw. He was a magnificent example of a horse.

  Within feet of the animal, he pulled his head away from Misty and turned it toward her, his big brown eyes locking on her. She gulped but stayed her ground. Austin released her grasp and went to the cart to retrieve the apple slices.

  “Here, hold your hand out flat and give him this.” He plunked a piece onto her palm.

  With Austin next to her, Hannah straightened her arm toward the horse with her offering. Big Red moved several steps to her and plucked the treat from her. His nose tickled her skin, just like Candy’s had with Misty.

  “Here’s another one.”

  Again she gave the stallion some apple. After he took it, intrigued at how gentle the horse had been, she asked, “Can I pet him?”

  “He likes his neck scratched.” Austin passed the rest of the apples to Misty. “Go ahead. Especially around his ears.”

  “Like my cat did. Okay.” Cautiously, still not totally convinced she wouldn’t end up hurt, she laid her palm on his neck, feeling the muscles beneath her hand.

  After several strokes and a few scratches behind the ear, Hannah stepped away and stood next to Austin, allowing Big Red to return his attention to Misty, who happily fed him the rest of the slices.

  “She loves living here.” Hannah’s gaze was fixed on the girl’s face, and she remembered her own childhood, full of love and acceptance much like Misty’s. She wanted to pass that along to her children. The thought came unbidden into her mind, and she sighed. It wasn’t going to happen, but it was a nice dream.

  “She was riding almost as soon as she could run around. If I let her, she’d live at the barn or in the pasture where I usually keep Candy most of the time.”

  “I know. I have a hard time keeping her in the house. I’m glad the weather has been better lately, but I also don’t want her to tire herself out. That’s when she seems to have the most problems with her breathing.”

  “We better head back. I don’t want to tire her out, either.”

  “We haven’t been out here that long.” Hannah checked her watch. “Two hours! I can’t believe it’s been that long. Yeah, we’d better.”

  “Will you see to the gate?”

  As Hannah ambled toward the fence, she surveyed the landscape around her. Gorgeous. A majestic beauty that proclaimed God’s creation. Although she’d never been on a ranch for long and certainly not one this size, she’d discovered she’d been missing something. What would it be like to explore the nook and crannies of the Triple T?

  When she was seated in the golf cart and Austin drove it back toward the main house, she glanced at Misty. The child had her head resting on her arm along the top of the backseat. Her eyes were opening and closing. “I think your daughter is more tired than she’ll admit.”

  “When we get back, I’ll carry her into the house and to her room. Will you get her wheelchair?”

  “Yes.” Hannah’s gaze fell upon some horses in a pasture to the left. “And I think I’d like to take you up on the offer of a few riding lessons. That is, if you still want to teach me.”

  He shot her a look. “What changed your mind?”

  “I love animals. How different can a horse really be?”

  As he came to a stop under the carport at the front of the house, he laughed. “Believe me, a horse is different from a dog or a cat, but I think you’ll do fine. Besides, I have the perfect mare for you. Sweet and docile.”

  “I like sweet and docile.” Hannah followed Austin, who cradled Misty in his arms, his daughter’s head pressed against his shoulder.

  Inside the door she guided the electric wheelchair toward the child’s room a few paces behind Austin. When he placed her on her bed, Misty’s eyes opened for a few seconds then immediately closed as she nuzzled into the covers.

  Hannah tiptoed from the room with Austin exiting right after her. “Thank you for the grand tour.”

  “You’re welcome. Now I need to get back to work. I have some calls to make in my office.”

  She watched him walk away, his long legs chewing up the distance quickly. He moved with an economical grace, no wasted motion. Once he’d accepted her presence on the ranch as Misty’s health care provider, he’d become surprisingly warm and accommodating. Which was probably not good for her peace of mind. But she liked this Austin Taylor—a lot.

  Hannah switched on the monitor in Misty’s room in case the child had a problem. In the chair near the window, Hannah sat and pulled out her cell, punching in the number she’d found for Violet at the Missoula newspaper.

  When the reporter came on the line, Hannah drew in a fortifying breath and asked, “Why are you looking for Jen Davis?”

  “Is this Jen?”

  Hannah glanced out the window at the meadow with horses grazing.

  “Jen?”

  The name brought back so many memories of when she was younger and more naïve. “Why are you looking for her?”

  Violet sighed. “Because I think her life is in danger.”

  Hannah sat up straight, her back so rigid pain streaked down her spine. “Why do you think that?”

  “You just need to be cautious.”

  “I’m—She always is. Again why should she be cautious?”

  “Be careful about—” Violet paused, then finished with, “—your dealings with the U.S. Marshal’s office.”

  “I don’t have any—why?” Hannah wanted to protest she wasn’t Jen Davis, but the denial wouldn’t come out. There was no point in pretending she wasn’t anymore.

  “Because I think there’s a leak in the U.S. Marshal’s office or the FBI’s.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “Because women with green eyes and in the Witness Protection Program in Montana are dying. There have been two murders so far. Both women are in a certain age range that you fit into.”

  “Why are they being killed?” Alarm roughened Hannah’s voice.

  “There’s a hit out on Eloise Hill, who testified against a mobster in Chicago.”

  “But I’m not Eloise, and I’ve never been to Chicago.”

  “They don’t know where she is so they are taking care of any woman in the program in Montana that fits the profile.”

  “They must really want this woman.”

  “Yes, it started in January with the murder of Ruby Maxwell then shortly after her Carlie Donald. Once they figured out what was going on, the U.S. Marshal’s office has been looking for her.”

  “And you think a leak somewhere might be how the women are being tracked down?” Hannah leaned back, trying to ease the tension that gripped her body.

  “Yes.”

  “Then calling the U.S. Marshal’s office wouldn’t be a wise move.”

  “Yeah, but I know that Micah McGraw, a deputy U.S. Marshal in the Billings office, is on the up-and-up. You can trust him. Please let him know where you are.”

  “Why should I? Didn’t you say it was women in the program? I’m not in the program. Thank you for the information.” Before Violet said anything else, Hannah clicked off, her hands shaking so badly the cell slipped from her fingers and landed in her lap.

  Women being killed? A Chicago crime family? She was so thankful she’d dropped out of the Witness Protection Program two years before.

  Suddenly a wheezing sound coming from the monitor sitting on her nightstand alerted Hannah that something was wrong with Misty. Hannah bolted to her feet, her cell crashing to the floor with a thud. As she rushed into the hallway, the sound grew louder and sent her heart pounding against her chest.

  In Misty’s doorway, Hannah’s gaze riveted to the child on her bed, struggling to breathe, her face ashen, her eyes wide with fear. A tight cough racked Misty’s body, and tears ran down her cheeks.


  Hannah quickly went to the child’s closet and retrieved her breathing machine, then plugged it in and sat on the bed to get Misty hooked up. “Honey, put this in your mouth,” she said in a calm voice. “This will make you feel better.”

  Ten minutes into the treatment Austin showed up at the door. “Is she okay?”

  “She’ll be fine in a while.”

  Misty nodded slightly but kept drawing the mediated air into her lungs.

  “I was heading out the back and thought I would check on her.” He closed the space between them. “Maybe we overdid it today.”

  Misty’s eyes grew round, and she took the tube out of her mouth. “No, I love it.” A hint of red tinted her cheeks now.

  Hannah directed the tube back to Misty’s mouth. “She’ll be back to her old self in no time.”

  “I see, but still, sweetheart, we’ll need to be careful in the future not to do too much until you’re recovered.”

  “I’m fine,” she said, her words slurred by the plastic she still held in her mouth.

  Hannah peered over her shoulder at Austin. “Go on to the barn. I’ve got everything under control. Once she’s finished with her breathing treatment, I’m going to give her a sponge bath before dinner.”

  She’d known that would send Austin out the door with one last glance back at them on the bed. Hannah smiled.

  In that instant he figured out she’d manipulated the situation and mumbled, “I’m gonna have fun when I get you on that horse.”

  The soft whine of Misty’s wheelchair sounded in the silence of an early Sunday morning. A couple of yards from the barn, Hannah paused and slowly made a full circle, taking in the beauty of a new day. Hoar frost cloaked everything in tiny ice crystals. Some trees appeared as though snow caked their branches. A blanket of white masked the ground vegetation. This morning was colder than she thought. She and Misty wouldn’t stay as long as usual.

  “I left a note for your daddy on the kitchen table just in case he gets up and wonders where we are.” Buttoning her heavy overcoat, Hannah entered the barn with Misty driving a little ahead of her toward Candy’s stall.

  Hannah glanced behind her at the rising sun, just peeking over the horizon. She loved visiting all the animals and especially the mare that she’d had her first two riding lessons on. She was as sweet and docile as Austin had said.

  She hurried ahead to open the stall door for Misty to go inside, then she entered, too, no longer afraid to shut them both in with the horse. A couple of barks resonated in the air. Barney. He’d be in here soon.

  While the little girl gave Candy her treats for the day, Hannah thought back over the past few days. She was involved with the Taylor family more than an employee usually was. When she ate dinner with them all around the kitchen table, she felt a part of a group as she hadn’t since she’d shared meals with her own family. She could grow used to that feeling of belonging. Its potency lured her into thinking everything was all right, that her life was typical and normal. Only when she went to bed at night did she get a reality check. She couldn’t shake her nightmares even though she’d been at the ranch for nearly two weeks.

  Why not?

  That question nagged her in the morning, especially when no answer came to mind. Maybe the isolation, which she had thought would be a good thing. But she really didn’t have a means of escape unless she stole a vehicle.

  When she saw that they had been in the stall almost twenty minutes, Hannah stepped forward. “We probably better get the dog and cat food. Barney should be out there waiting for us. Even with us being early today, he tends to know when we are here.”

  “Can I brush Candy after that? I miss that.”

  Hannah peered from the small horse to Misty sitting in a wheelchair. “Yeah. We’ll figure something out.”

  When Hannah opened the stall door, she half expected to see Barney sitting patiently for them a few feet away. Snowball ambled toward them but no Barney. She’d heard him earlier. Maybe he was out back.

  “Wait. Let me check if he’s behind the barn.” While Snowball leaped into Misty’s lap to be petted, Hannah strode toward the large double doors in the back nearer the bunkhouse. He often slept there.

  As she neared the back exit, the scent of smoke teased her nostrils. Under the doors a gray haze seeped into the interior. She rushed forward and reached for the handle. Warm to the touch, she jerked her hand back. Swinging around, she hurried back to Misty, trying to school her features into a calmness she didn’t feel.

  “We need to get out of here. Hold on to Snowball.”

  The child lifted her head from cuddling it against the white cat and rotated her wheelchair around so she could head out the front. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a fire.”

  Panic bolted through Hannah at the sight of the double doors that they’d come into the barn through and always left open, now shut. More smoke invaded the back of the barn.

  Misty’s eyes widened as she saw its insidious tentacles fan out. “Candy can’t leave!” She swerved to the side and drove her chair toward the horse’s stall.

  “Go! Now!” All Hannah could remember was Austin telling her about the barn that had burned when he was a child, some animals dying in the fire, and the fact the structure was all wood.

  Then the thought: was this the work of a hit man sent to take out another woman in the Witness Protection Program?

  SIX

  Frozen for a few precious seconds, Hannah couldn’t shake the thought. She wasn’t Eloise Hill and she wasn’t involved with the program anymore. So how could an informant know she, Hannah Williams, was Jen Davis? It didn’t make any sense. And if Violet was right and the U.S. Marshal’s office with all its resources was looking for her and they hadn’t found her, then she was safe from the phantom hit men.

  Calm down. Think.

  She stared behind her. No flames visible yet. But smoke continued to ooze under the double doors at the back. She waved her arms. “Come on. Go!”

  Tears streaked down the child’s face. “But, Candy—”

  “You keep going. I’ll get her. Don’t wait for me. Get outside.” Hannah watched the child drive toward the front and prayed to the Lord that way wasn’t blocked or they were truly trapped.

  Misty stopped and glanced back. “I’m going. Go ahead.”

  After making sure the child was clear and out of harm’s way, Hannah raced to the stall and thrust the door open. The horse charged out, nearly knocking Hannah to the ground. The mare’s eyes wide with fright, she bolted toward the one double door Misty had disappeared through.

  The scent of smoke grew stronger. Hannah heard the whinnies of the other horses locked in their stalls. The sound of hooves striking the wooden doors drowned out the hammering of her heartbeat. She peered back at the thickening smoke and made a decision. There was still a little time to save some of the animals, if not all.

  Covering her mouth and nose with the bottom of her sweatshirt, she ran to each stall she could get to and threw open its door, making sure this time she was well out of the way of the terrified animal as it stampeded toward freedom.

  She’d left the stalls near the front until last. She thrust two more open, then turned to the last one by the barn entrance. She could get to it on her way out.

  This last one, Lord, then I’ll leave.

  As she neared the stall, the noise from inside as the horse’s hooves came down on the door underscored how panicked the usually docile mare was. She was only a few feet from being able to release the latch when the door crashed open and the horse careened out of her prison and straight for Hannah, who stood between the mare and her escape.

  Hannah tried to move but the thousand-pound animal barreled into her, clipping her on the shoulder, which sent Hannah flying to the ground. The hard impact propelled all the air from her lungs. The smoke continued to roll toward her.

  The scent of coffee laced the air, drawing Austin toward the kitchen. Hannah must have fixed it. She’d been
preparing it most mornings this week. She rose earlier than even he did.

  When he entered, his gaze swept the room. Where was she?

  Austin spied the note on the kitchen table as he crossed to the sink to fill a mug. Changing his course, he snatched up the paper and read where Hannah and his daughter were so early in the morning. He glanced at the time and decided to go to the barn. Back at the counter, he poured himself some dark brew, then walked toward the front of the house.

  As he emerged onto the deck, he caught a whiff of the smell. Smoke. His attention flew toward the barn as he set his mug down on the railing, then practically leaped from the top step to the ground at the sight of Misty coming out of the front entrance with Candy almost running over her. He zeroed in on the structure. From the back a mushrooming cloud of smoke roiled upward toward the sky, being chased by flames.

  As he ran, he fished for his cell and put in a call to the volunteer fire department fifteen minutes away. More horses shot out of the entrance, galloping in all directions.

  He pinned Misty with a look. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, but Hannah’s inside.”

  Near the barn he pressed the alarm, a high-pitched siren blasting the air.

  He turned back to Misty. “Go to the house. Get Granny. You stay there. I’ll get Hannah.”

  As he started into the barn, he glimpsed his daughter heading away. At the entrance a mare shot out of the door, nearly knocking him down. He removed his jacket and put it to his mouth and nose, then ran low farther into the building.

  “Hannah!”

  Lord, help me find her.

  He scanned the area; the growing smoke inside stung his eyes. Then he saw her nearby, only a few feet from the doors, crumpled on the earthen floor. For a second his heartbeat felt like it had skidded to a halt.

  When he saw her move, trying to rise, he nearly collapsed with relief.

  Quickly he knelt and scooped her up. A crack at the back of the barn followed by a flaming timber from the wall plunging to the ground underscored the danger. The earth beneath his knees shook. He surged to his feet and raced out the door. Another crash and boom propelled him to go faster across the yard.