Finally, Rob said, “Mom? Phone.” Then came a crash that sounded like the phone itself landing on a tile floor, followed by a long silence. Was there still a connection?
And then Willa said, “Hello?”
Daniel closed his eyes in relief. “Thank God. I need your help, Willa. Can you come?”
She arrived at his barn fifteen minutes after he’d finished his explanation, carrying an insulated container of coffee. “Lili and Rosa insisted I make you drink a cup before we leave. If you’ve been out all day, you need to warm up.” A glance over his shoulder took in the equipment he’d installed. “This is pretty fancy. What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later. I rubbed Calypso down and gave him some water. Do you think he can go out again?”
She surveyed the horse as he stood munching hay in one of the stalls. “He’s good and strong. He’ll be fine.” Her gaze came back to Daniel. “I’m more worried about you. You’re worn to the bone.”
“I’m okay. Let’s just get out there and do something about those cows.”
On the trip back across the range, Daniel realized he was riding on instinct, his body numbed by exhaustion and beyond his conscious control. He’d be depending on Willa’s strength for whatever rescue his animals required.
Back at the creek, Daniel reined in Calypso with a groan of dismay. Only two cows now stood on the opposite bank.
He shouted to Willa above the wind and rain. “Do you think one of them could have climbed back out?”
She gave him a long look that expressed her doubts. “Let’s see about getting these two back to the herd.”
Expecting her to use the ropes she’d brought along to pull the cows across, he was surprised when Willa headed Monty downstream, toward the shallower part of the creek. Calypso followed without encouragement or direction from his rider, and Daniel began to realize how useless he’d become in this situation.
They found the first carcass about a quarter of a mile along, lodged against the trunk of a willow tree standing in the path of the flood. A second cow lay a few yards further. Both had been pregnant. Daniel used every ounce of will he possessed to swallow down the gorge that rose in his throat.
When Willa reached the relatively shallow section of the creek, she turned her horse and waited for Daniel to catch up. “The horses can ford here. We’ll go get those cows—drag them up the bank backward, if we have to—and drive them back to where they can cross and join the herd.” She put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry about those two back there.”
“If I’d known what to do…”
“The outcome wouldn’t have changed. You lose cattle, Daniel, no matter how long you’ve been ranching. Don’t blame yourself.”
“Sure.” He straightened up. “So, let’s do what we can.”
Willa headed Monty into the fast-moving creek, which rose quickly to hit her above the knee. The current pushed the horse sideways, and Monty snorted as foam and spray hit his face, but Willa kept him moving forward, across the flow. This time, Calypso balked at following until Daniel finally flicked the ends of the reins over Cal’s hip to make his point. Snorting, Cal stepped gingerly off the muddy bank.
The force of the cold water was terrifying. The sensation of sinking, with a horse under him, threatened to paralyze Daniel. He couldn’t think, couldn’t move. If he got across safely, Calypso could claim all the credit.
Slowly—too slowly—they made their way across the twenty feet of water now comprising the creek. Willa waited on the other side. “You’ve got it made,” she yelled. “Just a few more steps.”
At that moment, Cal stumbled, pitching forward. His head went under the water. Daniel felt the horse roll to the right…toward his bad leg, the one he couldn’t slip out of the stirrup in a hurry. He knew he was going under and grabbed a breath of air.
The water closed over his head, filling ears and eyes and nose with silt. Beside him, Calypso thrashed, trying to find his feet. Daniel wondered if he’d get kicked before he could free his right foot. Or would the horse drag him out of the water foot-first?
With a mighty surge, Cal leapt through the water, and Daniel fell free. He hit bottom, rolled along the gravel-crusted creek bed and then came to rest sitting up, with the surface of the water just above his head. Using arms and legs that felt like logs, he pushed himself up…up…into the air. And the steadily falling rain.
“Damn rain,” he muttered, trying to wipe the mud out of his eyes so he could see. “I hate the damn rain.”
“Are you okay?” Willa’s voice came from somewhere nearby. When he could finally open his eyes, she was just above him on the bank, with the reins of both horses in one hand and the other held out to him. “Get out of the water, cowboy.”
“Yeah, right.” He wasn’t sure he could move. His leg and his back had gone from cold and numb to searing pain. Waving her hand away, he bent his good knee and struggled to his feet on his own. “I’ve got it. I’m okay.”
The first step he took made him realize that somewhere in the process of nearly drowning he’d lost his right boot.
“Still in the stirrup,” Willa told him, when she saw him stop mid-stride. “Cal saved it for you.”
Daniel was beyond comment. Weary and aching, he floundered out of the creek, pulled his boot out of the stirrup and shoved his foot inside. Then, using their lunch table rock to mount, he struggled back into the saddle. “Let’s get the cows. I’m ready to quit for the day.” Or maybe longer.
The prodigal cows had, of their own accord, moved away from the water and back onto solid ground, so the process of getting them back to the herd became relatively simple. Even crossing back across the creek posed few problems this time, and the two animals trotted back to join the herd with bovine nonchalance. Of the fifth animal there was no sign, alive or dead.
“I’ll send a couple of hands out to look tomorrow,” Daniel said. “Maybe she was smarter than the rest.” Which was more than could be said for the man who ran the ranch.
It was after four o’clock by the time he and Willa made it back to his barn. “Don’t stop here,” he told her. “Go straight to your place, take care of the horse and get yourself warm and dry. I’ll take a shower and be there for dinner at five, as invited.” He tried out a grin for her benefit.
Judging by her worried gaze, his effort wasn’t much of a success. “You’re not taking this well.”
He made his usual clumsy exit from the saddle, avoiding Willa’s eyes by working on loosening the wet girth around Cal’s belly. “I’ll be fine once I get dry. Go on, now. See you in a little while.” Not waiting for her to leave, he turned and led his horse into the barn, to food and water and a rubdown with several dry towels.
When he walked into the kitchen of his house half an hour later, Trouble commenced his standard greeting routine—yips and yaps, excessive panting and tongue lolling, circles run clockwise and counter-clockwise around Daniel’s feet and, finally, a running leap that plowed his front paws square into the belly. When he regained his breath, Daniel clipped a leash onto the dog’s collar and went back out into the rain to take care of canine business. He’d been thinking about putting up a fence at the back of the house so Trouble could have room to run and wouldn’t have to be on a leash, for his own protection and that of the cattle. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t yet gotten around to spending that particular chunk of cash.
In the house once more, he gave the dog his dinner and finally took off his soaked duster and soggy boots, hanging them to drip in a sheltered corner of the carport. In the bathroom, he peeled away layers of drenched clothing to find his skin puckered and pale…where it wasn’t purple and red with scars, of course. His whole body shook, with exhaustion, probably, coupled with reaction and maybe a touch of hypothermia. He turned the hot water on as far as it would go, adding just enough cold to keep from burning himself. Propping his hands on the tiles, Daniel stood under the shower spray and gave himself permission to stop thinking.
WILL
A WASN’T SURPRISED WHEN Daniel didn’t appear promptly at five o’clock. She’d told Lili and Rosa that he would probably be late, because he needed some time to clean up and recover before he came down to dinner. They’d agreed to postpone the final whipping of the mashed potatoes and the carving of the turkey until five-thirty.
But Daniel hadn’t arrived by five-thirty.
“When are we gonna eat?” Toby leaned against the kitchen counter, rubbing his stomach and looking pitiful. “I’m starved.”
“We’re waiting for Major Trent.” Willa ruffled his hair as she walked by. “He should be here any second.”
She continued on to her bedroom, where she sat down on the bed, picked up the phone and dialed the number she now knew by heart. After six rings, she heard the clatter of the handset being fumbled, and a curse, which she took to mean he’d answered the call.
“Daniel? It’s Willa.”
After a long time, he said, “Hi.” His voice sounded like a tape recording played at extra slow speed.
“Are you asleep, Daniel?”
“Uh…yeah. I think so.”
Willa smiled. “See you later, then. Sleep well.”
“Sure.” This pause lasted so long, she started to hang up, when she heard him say, “Thanks, Willa. ’Preciate it.”
“Any time,” she said softly.
Although the meal was delicious, as always, only Robbie truly enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner that evening. The rest of the family had been looking forward to having Daniel join them.
Lili sighed, gazing at the end of the table where Daniel’s place remained empty. “He’s been here so often for dinner in the last few weeks, the table doesn’t seem quite right without him.”
“We made extra potatoes and dressing, because he always enjoys his food.” Rosa shook her head. “And he needs fattening up. He’s working too hard and losing weight.”
Willa winced from the memory of watching Daniel go underwater in the creek that afternoon. “He is working too hard. Maybe I’ll suggest he needs to hire a couple of extra hands.”
“We could take him some dinner,” Susannah suggested. “And keep him company while he ate. That would be like having a second Thanksgiving dinner!”
“Oh, wow,” Robbie said sarcastically. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“You’re a jerk,” his sister replied. “You don’t have to come.”
“I wouldn’t come if you asked.”
“So who’s asking?” Toby stuck out his tongue at his brother. “Nobody wants you around, anyway.”
“That’s enough.” Willa used the voice that never failed to restore order. “All three of you are behaving badly, especially for Thanksgiving dinner. Say something nice, or you can go to your room without dessert.”
The rest of the meal passed in almost total silence.
During cleanup, though, Rosa said, “I think you should take Daniel some dinner, Willa. If he fell asleep, he hasn’t had anything to eat all afternoon.”
“And he probably didn’t eat much breakfast or lunch.” Lili took down a set of plastic containers.
“I don’t want to wake him up to eat.” Willa felt obligated to protest. But she welcomed the excuse to check on Daniel. What she’d seen in his face this afternoon, as he’d absorbed the loss of a few animals, needed to be dealt with.
Rosa quickly brushed off that token objection. “He’ll rest better if he’s eaten.” Bringing out a basket, she packed the containers Lili had filled, added a jug of lemonade and a whole pumpkin pie, plus a spray can of whipped cream. “Not as good as homemade but better than nothing.”
Toby and Susannah came into the kitchen as Willa was shrugging into her raincoat. “We’re ready to go,” Toby announced. “I’m bringing Trouble a new sock as his Thanksgiving present.”
Susannah peeked into the basket. “And I helped make the pies, so I’m bringing something, too.”
Willa gazed at her son and daughter, half-inclined to take the easy way out and take them along. Daniel enjoyed the kids, and their presence would ensure a nice, safe, casual evening….
Rosa stepped forward and put a hand on the children’s shoulders. “I think—”
“You’re both really sweet,” Willa said. “But I think Daniel’s had enough excitement for one day, and three visitors might just be too many to handle.” Their faces fell, and she felt a surge of guilt. “I’m going to take the food, warm it up for him, maybe talk to him a little while he eats. Then he’s probably going to go straight back to—to sleep. You two can visit tomorrow, or Saturday, when he’s had some rest.”
They still didn’t look too happy. “Besides, you wanted to watch the movie at eight tonight. And it’s almost that now. Give me a kiss, because I might get back after you go to bed.”
She leaned down for a hug from each of them and then shooed them out of the kitchen. Lili handed her the basket of food, and Rosa held out the keys to the truck.
“We won’t be waiting up,” she said, with a wink. “But I’d try to be back before breakfast, if I were you.”
Willa stared at her aunt-in-law. “I—I—”
“Just go.” Lili gave her a slight push toward the back door. “Now.”
WILLA’S WARM HAND against his cheek, Willa’s soft lips pressing a kiss on his forehead. Willa’s soft voice next to his ear. “Wake up, cowboy. You need to eat.”
“Mmm.” Without opening his eyes, Daniel stretched out an arm and found that he could arch it naturally around Willa’s waist. “Maybe.” Shaping his hand over her hip, he pulled her over to lean against him. “What’s on the menu?”
He heard Willa’s deep breath. “Whatever you’re hungry for.”
Daniel opened his eyes then, and found her gazing at him with a mixture of nerves and laughter and desire in her face. Shifting his other arm out from underneath him, he took her hand in his. “You, Willa. Only you.”
When he tugged that hand, she bent toward him, and her rich black hair fell loosely around his head and shoulders. With a twist of her hips, she straightened her legs out along the length of his and lay down next to him, knee-to-knee, hip-to-hip, face-to-face.
“Nice,” Daniel whispered, running a hand along the slope of her back, from shoulder to thigh. “You fit like you belong here.”
She smiled at him, a full-fledged, nothing-held-back curve of those wide, sweet lips. “Maybe I do. Make love to me, Daniel. Please?”
He grinned, acknowledging the fact that she’d asked and what that meant for them both. “My pleasure.”
She’d worn a loose shirt, easy to draw over her head. Underneath, she was slim and smooth, sexy as hell in a lacy white bra. He traced the edge of her rib cage with his thumb, testing the border of that bra with his fingertips. “Café au lait,” he whispered across her collarbone. “With lots of sugar.”
Willa bowed her spine, bringing the swell of her breast to his attention. “Daniel…”
“Yes, ma’am.” His rough skin snagged the strap at her shoulder as he slid it down her arm. A lace cup sagged, and Willa’s breast slipped free. The perfume she wore surrounded him, like a room full of flowers. He dragged in a deep breath.
And then he claimed his own.
Chapter Fourteen
They made it into the kitchen at midnight. Willa put the microwave to good use, and they shared Thanksgiving dinner at the kitchen table with Trouble watching every bite they took.
“This was delicious.” Daniel finished the last of his second piece of pumpkin pie and sat back with a groan. “You’re a great cook.”
“You know that’s not true. You saw the extent of my culinary skills tonight—microwave magic. Lili and Rosa have been the only kitchen talents at the Blue Moon since Jamie was born, at least. I never even tried to learn.”
“Why would you? You’ve got other skills and important work to do.” He set their plates on the floor for Toby to lick clean and put the rest of the dishware in the sink. “My specialty is cleaning up.”
“A truly vital contribu
tion.” She glanced at the clock on the stove and sighed. “I should go home.”
He pulled her to her feet and closed his arms around her. “You could stay a few more hours. The kids are asleep by now.”
She rested her head on the hollow in his shoulder made for that purpose. “I’d rather not sneak in at dawn.” Looking up at him, she grinned. “I’ll just have to bring you another meal sometime soon.”
“Sounds good.” He kissed her, celebrating the freedom to do so, the luxury of being able to relax and simply enjoy touching the woman he loved. “I’ll walk you to your truck.”
Outside, a dry wind had started pushing the storm toward the eastern coast. Stars peeked out occasionally, only to be hidden again by the next patch of clouds.
“Now the rain stops.” Daniel blew a frustrated breath as he thought, yet again, about the day’s disasters.
Willa rubbed a hand up and down his arm. “You’ll recover, Daniel. You have to, if you’re going to survive in the cattle business.”
That’s just the point. Maybe I won’t survive. Not a possibility he wanted to share with her tonight.
Before he could think of what to say instead, she glanced in the direction of the barn. He followed her gaze, thinking she’d seen something unusual, then realized what had caught her attention—the green glow of monitor buttons and screens through the window of the office.
Willa looked back at him. “What is all that high-tech stuff? You didn’t get a chance to explain earlier.”
He cleared his throat. “I set up a monitoring system on my fences.”
“What kind of system? Motion detectors? Wouldn’t that catch any kind of activity—like a lizard crossing the fence line?”
“Right.” He ran a hand over his face. “This system doesn’t detect motion. It senses when the fence line has been broken. Or cut.”
Her eyes narrowed as she thought through what he’d said. “In other words, you’ve set it up to warn you when the rustlers cut the fence. You plan to sneak up on them while they’re in the middle of stealing cattle.”
Christmas at Blue Moon Ranch Page 16