His Medicine Woman

by Stella Bagwell

With a wry chuckle, Maura waved a dismissive hand through the air. “Bah. Try taking care of two boys, a husband and a grandfather-in-law. I run off the calories.”

  “Believe me,” Bridget said wistfully, “I’d give anything to have a husband and babies to consume my energy.”

  From her seat at the end of a short couch, Maura slanted her sister a rueful glance. “Sorry, Brita. That was insensitive of me. So have you—spoken with Johnny yet? Called him?”

  Bridget sighed. “No. He doesn’t want to hear from me.”

  “Men rarely say what they really mean.”

  “Johnny does.”

  “Okay. When he left the office the other day, did he tell you not to contact him or see him?”

  The only thing Bridget could remember about his leaving was the hungry kiss he’d planted on her lips and the pain in his eyes. “He didn’t say anything. Not that I recall.”

  Maura thoughtfully chewed a bite of chocolate. “Well, the way I see it, you’re going to have to find some way to get him to the Diamond D. Mom and Dad will handle the rest.”

  Bridget frowned doubtfully at her. “You might as well be asking me to fly to the moon.”

  “Okay, so getting him there might take some creative planning,” Maura told her. “But I’m sure we can think up something.”

  Bridget only wished she could feel half as positive as Maura sounded. “I’m finished eating,” she said as she wrapped an uneaten part of her sandwich and thrust it back into the brown paper sack with the rest of her lunch. “I need to look over a few test results before Mr. Duncan arrives. I think Janna has him scheduled for our first patient this afternoon.”

  Bridget started to rise from the couch, but Maura reached over and caught her arm. “Wait a minute. I want to ask you something about Johnny and our parents.”

  From her perch on the edge of the cushion, Bridget looked curiously at her sister. “Okay. Ask.”

  “I’m just wondering—I get the feeling that you’re a bit worried that Mom and Dad might not be so wild about you marrying Johnny. If you are, then I can tell you that you’re worried for nothing. Our parents aren’t that way.”

  Rising to her feet, Bridget shook her head. “If Mom and Dad did express doubts about Johnny, it wouldn’t be because he is Apache. I’m dead certain of that. But let’s face it, Johnny has other issues that might worry them. He’s—”

  Her words halted abruptly as the cell phone in her trouser pocket began to vibrate. Since only her family and closest acquaintances had her number, she figured it had to be something important for anyone to be calling her at this busy time of the day.

  “I’d better check this,” she told Maura as she quickly pulled the phone from her pocket. One glance at the number put a puzzled frown on her face. “It’s Brady. Something must be up.”

  She flipped the phone open, but before she could give her brother a greeting, he was talking in her ear.

  “I don’t want to alarm you and Maura, but something has happened on the ranch and I wanted you to hear it from me before the news spread,” he said. “One of Dallas’s kids has gone missing from the stables. An eleven-year-old boy.”

  Bridget gasped. “Oh, no! How long ago?”

  “Dallas isn’t sure. She and Lass realized he was missing about two hours ago. The dad dropped his son off at the stables, but didn’t walk him to the door. The man said when he drove away he saw his son walking straight to the stables, so he assumed he would go inside with the others. Lass and Dallas never saw the child arrive.”

  “Assumed? What kind of idiot is this father?”

  “The kind that’s already yelling about suing if his son isn’t found safe and sound. But that’s not important right now.”

  “No. The child’s safety is all that matters. Are you there? Has the law been called in to—?”

  He interrupted, “A few ranch hands made a preliminary search before the sheriff’s department was called in—uh—I gotta go, Brita. We’re assembling the search now.”

  He ended the phone connection and Bridget dazedly looked at Maura, who’d already sensed an emergency and risen to her feet.

  “What is it? What’s happened?”

  The two women automatically started out of the atrium and into Bridget’s office. Along the way, she relayed all the information that Brady had given her to Maura.

  “What are we going to do? Dallas needs us!” Maura exclaimed.

  “We’re going to get to work,” Bridget said sternly. “The sooner we finish here at the clinic, the sooner we can get to the ranch.”

  Three hours later, Bridget and Maura arrived at the ranch and found that Dallas’s Angel Wings Stables had literally been turned into a busy headquarters for the county lawmen and volunteer searchers.

  “Oh, my God! This place looks like a madhouse,” Maura exclaimed as Bridget pulled the Jeep into the nearest empty spot she could find.

  “Yeah, and the media isn’t even involved yet,” Bridget muttered. “Let’s see if we can find Dallas somewhere in this chaos.”

  Ten minutes later, they found their sister at the back of a nearby barn. Incredibly, she was alone, unsaddling a mare she often used as her own personal mount. As they walked up to her, Bridget couldn’t help but notice the defeated slump to her shoulders and the drained appearance to her pale face. “Bridget! Maura!”

  With a faint sob, Dallas dropped the tail end of the saddle’s girth and practically fell into her sisters’ outstretched arms.

  “Dallas, you’re about to collapse,” Bridget scolded as she did her best to support her weary sister. “Let me help you into the barn where you can sit down.”

  “You two go on, I’ll take care of the horse and tack,” Maura insisted.

  “I—wanted to ride—into the mountains to search for Peter, but they wouldn’t let me,” Dallas explained. “Brady says her hoofprints might get confused with the horse that Peter was on.”

  Bridget was stunned. “You mean the child left on a horse? Brady didn’t say anything about that!”

  Clearly distraught, Dallas used her fingers to rake her disheveled red hair away from her face. “He didn’t know about it—none of us did, until Lass and I started putting the stable horses back into their stalls. Then we realized Tumbleweed was missing.”

  Bridget looked at her with renewed hope. “That’s good, isn’t it? That tells us that wherever the horse is we’ll find the child. Right?”

  “Wrong. Tumbleweed returned to the barn about forty minutes ago without a rider. He had brush scratches all over him and his saddle was hanging beneath his belly.”

  “Oh. Oh, I’m so sorry, Dallas. But that doesn’t mean the boy has been harmed. He might have dismounted and the horse ran away. Anything could have happened.”

  Dallas swallowed hard. “Yes, anything. That’s the thing that’s tearing my heart. If anything happens to him I don’t know if I can bear it!” She snatched up Bridget’s hands and squeezed them so tightly her fingertips turned blue. “Brita, you know how much I love children, how hard I work to make their lives better! Why did this have to happen? Now all the parents will be leery about letting their children come here and ride again. And—”

  Bridget pulled her sister into her arms and gently rubbed a soothing hand against her back. “Ssshh. Ssshh,” Bridget commanded. “You’re jumping way too far ahead of things. This will all turn out okay, sis. And everyone is going to see that you weren’t the one who was neglectful.”

  Sniffing back her tears, Dallas lifted her head from Bridget’s shoulder. “Do you really think so?”

  Trying to look far more confident than she felt, Bridget nodded. “I do. Besides, Brady is looking for the boy. He’ll find him.”

  Dallas made a garbled sound that was something between a sob and a groan. “Oh, God, I don’t know. Lass always says Brady can’t find his own socks.”

  “All men are helpless in that way,” Bridget reasoned. “This is different. This is his job.”

  Dallas was pondering Bridget’
s words when Maura joined them in the barn.

  “I just saw Brady and two other deputies go inside the main building,” she told her sisters. “Maybe we should go over there and see if he’ll give us any information.”

  Bolstered by this news, Dallas jumped to her feet. “Yes. Let’s go.”

  By the time the three women worked their way through the tangle of people inside a large room that Dallas normally used as her office, Brady was standing in a far corner, downing a cup of coffee. Nearby, Sheriff Hamilton and his chief deputy were poring over a topographical map of the ranch.

  When Brady spotted his sisters, he wedged his way over to them and slung a supportive arm around Dallas’s shoulders. “Sorry, sis. No luck. Since it’s getting late in the day, we decided to come in and form another plan. If Peter’s not found soon, darkness will force us to change tactics.” He glanced pointedly at Bridget. “Can I talk with you in private?”

  Confused by her brother’s question, she frowned. “Sure, but can’t Dallas and Maura hear what you have to say?”

  “Later. Right now—well, I think we should discuss this alone.”

  Tossing her two sisters an apologetic look, she followed Brady out of the packed room and into a section of the building where an indoor arena was located. At the moment, the arena was dark and empty and blessedly quiet.

  “Okay, what’s this about?” Bridget asked once Brady had stopped his forward motion and turned to face her.

  “It’s about Johnny.”

  She very nearly gasped. “Johnny? Why?”

  “Surely it’s already crossed your mind that he should be here. If anyone can find Peter, it’s Johnny.”

  All afternoon, ever since Brady had told her about the missing child, all she’d been able to think about was Johnny. But why would Brady connect her to Johnny? Yes, she’d disclosed the whole story about their affair to Maura, but that was the only person and her sister would never disclose a secret, even to their brother.

  “Yes,” Bridget thoughtfully agreed. “He should be here to help. Have you called and asked him to come?”

  Brady shook his head. “I didn’t want to. For some reason that he’s not seen fit to share with me, he doesn’t want to track anymore. So I’ve been waiting—hoping we would find the child before Johnny was needed. But I’ll be honest, Bridget, this isn’t looking good. Sheriff Hamilton and I both want Johnny’s expertise.”

  Bridget let out a long pent-up breath. “Why are you telling me this?”

  Brady’s mouth took on a knowing slant. “Because I want you to call and ask him to help us.”

  She stared at her brother as all sorts of questions and doubts rolled around in her head. Johnny already blamed himself for one child’s death. After the incident in California, he’d turned his back on tracking and retreated from the public eye. Could he or would he be willing to step up and find the courage to face this challenge?

  “Me?” Bridget repeated inanely. “Why me? You’re his best friend and—”

  Brady swiftly cut in, “Yes, but he loves you.”

  Bridget very nearly stumbled backward. “No! What makes you think—”

  “There’s no time for beating around the bush, Brita. Just trust me, I understand Johnny—I can read his face. And I read it when I was at the Chino house that day you were treating Naomi. Call him and get him here any way that you can!”

  She started to say more, but Brady didn’t give her a chance. He was already heading back to Dallas’s office.

  Swallowing hard, Bridget pressed a hand to her forehead and tried to compose herself. This was no longer about her and Johnny, she told herself. This was about Dallas and Brady. It was about a pair of devastated parents. But mostly it was about a little boy who was lost and no doubt cold, scared and desperately wanting someone to find him.

  Walking over to a shadowy and secluded corner of the arena, she leaned a shoulder against the pipe railing and pulled out her cell phone.

  Johnny answered on the third ring and the sound of his voice caused her heart to flutter and tears to burn her throat.

  “Johnny—I—need your help.”

  He paused. “Are you hurt? It sounds like you’re crying.”

  “I’m sorry…it’s not me. Something has happened on the ranch.” Her voice cracking with tears, she explained what had occurred with Peter and what had been done so far to find the child. “We need you, Johnny. I realize how you feel about this—but you’re the best—and without you I’m not sure the boy has a chance. Darkness is coming and, well, Sheriff Hamilton and Brady are asking that you come. And I’m asking, too.”

  The connection was silent for so long that Bridget feared he’d hung up on her. But finally his low voice came back in her ear, “I’ll be there as soon as I gather a few things.”

  Tears of relief rushed to her eyes. “Thank you, Johnny. I’ll meet you at the main ranch yard.”

  Forty minutes later, she was sitting in her Jeep, watching a yard lamp flicker to life when she heard the approach of a vehicle. This time it was Johnny and she jumped out to meet him even before his truck rolled to a stop.

  As soon as he lowered the window, she said, “The stables are over the mountain. We can take my Jeep if you’d rather.”

  “No. I don’t want to waste time transferring my things and the dogs to your vehicle.”

  Nodding that she understood, she grabbed her handbag and medical bag from the Jeep then jumped into the cab with him. On the way over the mountain, she tried to answer his questions about the child and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.

  “Dallas says the child’s mental capacity is more like a six-year-old or something close to that. But he’s actually eleven and physically big for his age.”

  “His size could be a help. Bigger humans leave bigger tracks and they tend to break more branches and generally leave more markings. And if he can grasp the situation enough, he might be able to build himself some sort of shelter from pine boughs.”

  For the first time since he arrived, Bridget allowed herself to really look at him. He was dressed in jeans and hiking boots, along with a heavy woolen shirt covered by a dark green parka with a hood. Although his head and hands were presently bare, she knew that somewhere among his things he would have extra coverings for them, too.

  “It’s getting cold and the cloud cover is making darkness arrive even sooner. As a doctor all I can think of is hypothermia.”

  “How was the boy dressed? Does anyone know?”

  “His father said the boy was wearing protective clothing and a heavy coat. But who knows, here’s a guy who couldn’t even bother himself to walk the child to the entrance of the building and see that he was handed over safely to the stable staff.”

  “We all make mistakes. Remember?”

  So he had been listening that day in her office. Maybe he’d finally realized that neither she, nor anyone else, expected him to be perfect.

  “You’re right. Blame doesn’t change the fact or find Peter for us.” She looked at him with renewed conviction. “But we will find him, Johnny. And he’s going to be all right. I feel sure of it.”

  His head whipped around in her direction. “We? You’re not going with me.”

  “I’m a doctor. Once you find him, I might be needed.”

  “You can’t keep up.”

  “Try me.”

  “You’ll be in the way.”

  “I’ll stay behind you so I won’t disturb anything.”

  He stared straight ahead as the truck began climbing the crest of the mountain. “Your family—”

  “Brady and Maura have already figured out that you and I are…lovers.”

  A half-sick expression crept over his face. “Your parents—”

  “Were in Kentucky attending a yearling auction earlier today, but they’re returning on a flight right now,” she explained.

  “It’s probably for the best that they’re not here right now,” he muttered. “Why?”

  His lips twiste
d to a sardonic slant. “We’ll talk about that when this is over.”

  Five minutes later they arrived at Angel Wings Stable and Johnny was practically swallowed up in a crowd of law officials as Sheriff Hamilton and Brady swiftly urged him into Dallas’s office and over to the ranch map spread out over the desktop. Bridget followed behind the men and stood as close as she could in order to hear what was being said.

  “We had a copter up for about forty-five minutes this evening, before dusk started settling in,” the sheriff told Johnny. “The pilot spotted nothing but a herd of deer.”

  Johnny shook his head. “I doubt the boy would connect the noisy machine with someone looking for him. Planes and helicopters are something kids see all the time. It’s more likely his attention is focused on the wilderness and any wildlife he might happen to see.”

  Brady gestured to the map. “This isn’t all that much to go by, Johnny, but it’s the most detailed map we could find for the ranch.”

  “It’s useless to me. I don’t go by maps.”

  Brady’s jaw dropped. “But how will you know the terrain? To follow—”

  “The terrain is what it is. Peter’s markings will lead me. Do you have something belonging to the boy, so that my dogs can get his scent?”

  Bridget watched Brady and Ethan exchange a pointed glance. Clearly Johnny’s tactics were different than theirs, but she knew that neither lawman would second-guess him or try to alter his plans. This was his specialty and they trusted him to make the right decisions.

  “The parents have a piece of clothing,” Ethan said. “Come this way and Brady and I will go introduce you.”

  To give the parents more privacy, Maura and Dallas had taken the couple to a small kitchen/snack area located on the opposite side of the massive building.

  Once Bridget and Johnny and the group of lawmen entered the room, she could see a woman with short brown hair sitting at a long utility table. Her head was bowed and from the slight tremor of her shoulders, she was clearly weeping. As for the father, a medium-built man with a shock of blond hair and wire-rimmed glasses, he appeared to be pushed by anger more than anything else. He rushed up to the group of men as though he wanted to start swinging both fists.