One Tough Cowboy

by Sara Orwig

  “Are you putting the cash away for her or am I?”

  “You keep it. As soon as I talk to the Bexar sheriff, I won’t see Ms. Jane Doe again.”

  “Let’s get in the car. I don’t want to open this out here.”

  Josh climbed into the patrol car and watched while Will put the suitcase between them, partially in Josh’s lap. When he opened it, Josh saw that it held jeans, sweaters, more lacy underwear, stockings and socks, toiletries, makeup and cash. The amount of cash she was carrying sobered him. She was on the run from something. What had she seen or done?

  “That is a lot of money,” he said grimly as Will took out the cash and stuffed it into a bag.

  “Damn straight it is. Counting what you picked up, she has about one-hundred-eighty thousand in cold hard cash. Tell her I have her money and she can have it whenever she wants. I’ll leave five hundred in the suitcase. That cash will more than cover her medical expenses, I’d guess.”

  Josh closed the case and carried it into the hospital. Once again he checked with the guard, and the sheriff hadn’t arrived yet. When Josh opened the door to her room, Laurie stirred. Her hair was tousled, her eyes sleep-filled. As she sat up, she smoothed the sheet over her lap and smiled at him. She looked incredibly desirable.

  “Here’s your suitcase. You’ve got more cash, too. Sheriff Cordoba kept most of it for you. You can have it whenever you want, but he didn’t think you should have that much cash in the hospital.”

  “I don’t know anything about the money.”

  Josh shed his hat and jacket and dropped into a chair, trying to ignore his throbbing arm, which was hurting plenty now. He bumped his elbow on the chair and grimaced.

  “Does your arm hurt? I heard you turn down their offer of a pain pill.”

  “It hurts, but I hate taking pills.”

  “At least they stop the hurt. I’m sorry you were shot. A bullet tore up your hat, didn’t it?”

  “Yep, but it missed my head, so that’s what’s important.”

  She rubbed her arms as if chilled, and he guessed he’d better change the topic of conversation.

  “You’ve got jeans in your suitcase, but I’ll buy you a new pair, since I cut up your old ones.”

  “You don’t need to get new ones. You don’t mind buying women’s clothes?”

  “Nope. I’ve been doing that all my life. I’d mind in Stallion Pass, because then it just starts rumors and questions—unless they know I’m buying something for a stepmother.”

  “Mr. Tough Cowboy who guards his heart and chases bad guys. Someday you’ll fall in love, Josh Kellogg,” she teased.

  He leaned forward, closer to the bed, and ran his finger along her forearm. “Well, Laurie, if we were going to know each other for years, I’d make a bet with you on that one. And I’m not a betting man.”

  “I don’t know whether I like to bet or not, but I’d bet that you fall in love. I mean, really in love.”

  “You’d lose. I’m thirty-three and it hasn’t happened yet. I don’t get involved in long-term relationships, and women don’t tend to fall in love with guys who don’t. Not really in love.”

  “I think you’re wrong.”

  Amused, he continued to run his fingers back and forth on her arm, too aware that her skin was soft and smooth. “You don’t even know me.”

  “I know you well enough now to know that you like women, you’re sexy and good-looking, you like to flirt and women like you. All my nurses know your name now, and I think when you’re here, they come in more often.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, right! Your nurses are just being efficient and doing their job.”

  “Sure, Josh.” She smiled at him. “Now tell me about growing up and school in Stallion Pass, and who your friends are.”

  “It’s just a small-town school and I had the usual friends, guys who grew up on neighboring ranches. All our ranches are on Cotton Creek.”

  “So who are your best friends?”

  “Gabe Brant and Wyatt Sawyer. Only Wyatt isn’t here any longer.”

  “Where is he?”

  Josh shrugged. “Years ago, when we were in high school, Wyatt got involved in a scandal and left town.”

  “I’ll bet all three of you did all sorts of wild things when you were growing up.”

  “Why on earth would you think that? I told you, I lead an ordinary life.”

  “You just said one of them had to leave town because of scandal. Tell me about him.”

  “Wyatt?” Josh leaned back in the chair. “Wyatt supposedly got a local girl pregnant, and Wyatt was a senior and not ready to get married. Wyatt’s dad was downright mean—abusive is a better word—and between his dad and the scandal and townspeople snubbing him, Wyatt just vanished.”

  “He didn’t even tell his best friends he was leaving?”

  “We knew he was going, but not where. I don’t think he knew. He just left and cut all ties. And as far as I know, no one in this town has ever seen or heard from him since,” Josh murmured, momentarily lost in memories of another time. Then he shook his head. “Wyatt was wild. One time, on a dare, he rode his Harley through the courthouse. Gabe and I knew about the prank and we watched from outside, in Gabe’s car. Wyatt had cops chasing him all over the county, but they couldn’t catch him.”

  “Couldn’t they just pick him up later?”

  “His daddy always bailed his boys out when they got in trouble. Old man Sawyer didn’t mind bribing or whatever he had to do to keep his boys in the clear,” Josh said, gazing beyond Laurie and thinking about his childhood friends.

  As he continued to talk with her, the hours passed by and the hospital grew quiet. Josh called his stepmother once again and didn’t get her, and he left another message. Then he received a call. As soon as he hung up, he looked at Laurie.

  “That was the sheriff. He was very apologetic. They had a homicide, so he’s been busy, but he’ll be here first thing in the morning.”

  “You should go home now,” she said. “I have a guard.”

  “As late as it is, I might as well stay. I’d just have to turn around and come back as soon as I get up in the morning,” Josh said, wondering if he was being honest with himself about his reason for staying. “I can sleep in the waiting room.”

  “You can’t sleep out there,” she protested.

  “Yep, I can. I can sleep most anywhere.”

  “If you can…” She paused, staring at him.

  “What?”

  “If you can sleep anywhere, would you mind staying in here? I’d feel safer,” she said hesitantly.

  “Sure. This is fine,” he answered easily, but he knew he was getting himself mired even deeper. Common sense told him to sleep in the waiting room. He didn’t seem to be listening.

  A nurse came in and Josh left, walking around the quiet corridors, finally returning to Laurie’s room. By now he thought of her as Laurie. And even though he knew nothing about her, he felt as if he had known her a long time. He sat near her bed and they talked for another couple of hours, until finally she grew drowsy and fell asleep.

  Standing, Josh moved close to the bed and pushed long, silky strands of hair away from her face. Her skin was soft, satiny smooth, and he wanted to keep touching her. With an effort he returned to his chair to pull off his boots and lean back, propping his feet on the foot of her bed. He looked at the closed door and hoped the guard stayed alert through the night. Anyone trying to get to Laurie would not only have to pass the guard in the hall, but Josh, as well.

  When morning came, Josh again waited in the hall while Laurie was examined. The nurses had come and gone through the night, checking on her. Then, since he was still at the hospital, a nurse had insisted on looking at his wound and changing the dressing. Declining pain pills again, he was aware of Laurie watching him while the nurse hovered over him. He was aware, too, that he needed a shower and a shave. If the sheriff didn’t show within the hour, Josh decided, he wasn’t waiting any longer.

  While Lauri
e ate breakfast, he sat and talked to her. Then she joined him in the cafeteria while he ate.

  Finally the sheriff appeared, apologized for not coming Saturday and took Josh’s report. As soon as he left, Josh headed for Laurie’s room to tell her goodbye.

  When he entered the room, Dr. Vandenberg was there talking to her.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Josh said, and turned to leave.

  “Not at all.” The doctor stopped him. “Come in. I’m almost through.” With a white coat over her yellow dress, she looked crisp and fresh and made him more aware than ever that he needed a shave.

  While she turned back to her patient, Josh walked to the window to look outside. He was free to go. He just needed to tell Laurie goodbye, then get on with his life and forget the past twenty-four hours.

  “You’re doing fine except for your memory, which may return anytime now,” Dr. Vandenberg told Laurie. “Physically, you’re in good shape except for cuts and bruises. If you have a place to go, I can release you, but you need to be where someone will be with you, just in case you have any difficulties.”

  Josh glanced over his shoulder at Laurie, and saw her slight frown. She bit her lip and stared at the doctor. “A hotel here won’t be all right? There are people around.”

  “No, that isn’t what I meant. Having people around—strangers—won’t help you. You may be in danger, but won’t know how to recognize the people who want to hurt you.”

  Josh was surprised and disappointed that no family had come forward searching for Laurie.

  “I’ll be careful in a hotel. I’ll stay in my room. I can keep in touch with the police. Believe me, I’m terrified about the danger I must be in. Please, a hospital isn’t the best place to stay.”

  “I’m sorry—”

  “She can stay at my ranch,” Josh said. The words were out of his mouth before he could think, surprising him as much as they must have surprised both the doctor and Laurie. Both women turned to stare at him.

  Chapter 4

  “Y ou don’t have to do that,” Laurie said, looking startled.

  “I have plenty of room. I’ll be there, and my stepmother is living with me right now,” Josh replied.

  “She might mind,” Laurie argued, but the force had gone out of her voice, and he guessed that she wanted to accept his offer.

  “No. Becky would love to have you.”

  “Well, if you don’t mind, then I accept. And thank you,” Laurie said, turning to the doctor.

  The two of them began talking again, but Josh didn’t pay any attention to what they were saying. He was still surprised at himself. Yet why shouldn’t he have her at the ranch?

  He knew why exactly. All his life his father had invited friends to their place. He had always let his boys bring friends, and one of Josh’s best friends, Wyatt Sawyer, had lived at the ranch for long periods off and on while they were growing up. Josh’s stepmothers brought people to stay, and even now, Becky had friends out occasionally. Laurie would just be one more in a long history of houseguests.

  But Laurie wouldn’t be an ordinary houseguest, and Josh knew it. Because they both thought their acquaintance was fleeting—or at least he assumed her reason had been the same as his—they had flirted all through the evening and into the night. More than once he’d had to fight the temptation to reach for her, to pull her into his arms and kiss her and end his curiosity.

  It would be like having dynamite under his roof, having her sleeping just down the hall from him. A complication he didn’t need.

  And someone wanted to kill her. He was bringing home a woman in danger, and he might be bringing that danger down on himself, his men and Becky, something he didn’t want to do. Yet he had already done it, and Laurie was discussing leaving the hospital to go with him.

  He knew why he had blurted out that she could stay with him. He would have done it for any stranger he had helped, but in this case, he never should have, and he knew it to the depth of his soul. This woman was pure danger to his well-being.

  Josh stepped into the hall and retrieved his cell phone to call the ranch, leaving a message for Becky that he was bringing a woman home who had lost her memory and whose life might be in danger. Then he paged Drake Browning to tell him the same news.

  Walking farther down the hall, Josh stopped by a window overlooking the parking lot and called Will Cordoba.

  “Will, it’s Josh. Has anything turned up in missing persons? Have you found anyone looking for our Jane Doe?”

  “Nope. There’s nothing. No missing persons’ description fits her. There is no family reporting a lost daughter that even remotely fits her description, or husband reporting a lost wife. I’m a little surprised, but I still think that pretty gal is in big trouble, and she sure has enough cash to cover her tracks.”

  Frustration rocked Josh and he stared at the blue sky, considering the woman in the hospital room behind him. Someone had to be missing her. Why hadn’t they reported it? What had she done? What was she mixed up in?

  “Will, there has to be something. People don’t just vanish without a trace. Or appear out of nowhere.”

  “The instant I find something, I’ll let you know. Are you home?”

  “No. I’m still in San Antonio at the hospital.”

  “Oh, jeez. It took the sheriff that long to talk to you? I assume he has talked to you?”

  “Finally. I’m going home soon.”

  “You watch your back,” the sheriff told him.

  “Will, they won’t release her from the hospital unless she goes somewhere with someone who knows her.”

  “The hell you say. You’re taking her out to the ranch?”

  “Yep.”

  “If you need me, call. Call at the slightest thing. Josh, you’re dealing with a would-be murderer, so don’t take chances.”

  “I won’t go around without my pistol again,” Josh remarked dryly.

  “Hell, she ought to stay in the hospital under guard. You’re putting yourself in more jeopardy, taking her there.”

  “I’ll be careful and I’ll let everyone on the ranch know.”

  “Call me anytime, day or night.”

  “Thanks, Will.” Josh turned off the phone, jammed it into his jeans pocket and waited for the doctor to emerge. When she did, she crossed the hall to him.

  “It’s kind of you and your stepmother to take her in. She doesn’t need to stay here, but she does have checkups she’ll have to come back for. I’ll notify the sheriff so he can release the guard. I guess you’ll be on your own at your ranch.”

  “I’ll be there and I have several men who work for me. I don’t know how anyone would find her there. She’ll be out of sight for a while.”

  “I won’t be giving out the information except to the sheriff and to your county sheriff if he calls. Her memory should return soon. She had a blow on the head, but it wasn’t as bad as ones a lot of people receive who don’t lose their memory.”

  “You think she’s faking it?”

  “Oh, no. No one thinks that. Everyone just thinks her memory will return very soon. Frankly, we’re surprised it hasn’t already.”

  “Yeah. I’ve seen a lot of guys lose it temporarily, but within an hour they’re clear and remembering everything.”

  “She said the two of you decided on the name Laurie for now. That’s a good thing, because it’s difficult not to have a name.” Dr. Vandenberg smiled at him. “I told her to call if she has any questions.”

  “Fine.” As the doctor walked away, Josh knocked on the closed door and entered when Laurie called him in.

  She was dressed in her jeans and a blue T-shirt. The bandage was gone from her head, with only a small pad taped over the worst of the cut. Her hair was tied behind her head.

  “I’m glad some of my clothes survived the explosion,” she said, smiling and turning in a circle with her arms out.

  Josh drew a swift breath. Her figure was as gorgeous as her face. The T-shirt strained over full breasts and then tapered to a
tiny waist, and tight jeans clung to long, long legs.

  Several people had to be searching for this woman. He knew she couldn’t possibly have lived in a vacuum. Not with her face and figure. Someone wanted her dead. But he was equally sure that other people wanted her alive and well. The clothes in the suitcases had designer labels. She carried a huge amount of cash. Call girl? Actress? He eliminated the latter because he would have seen her in something. Dancer? He studied her long legs, and recalled how she’d swirled gracefully, showing off her new clothes. Dancer was a possibility. Model? Singer? With her looks, it could be a stalker she was running from. There were a lot of reasons for someone to run.

  He already knew some things about her. She was stubborn, accustomed to getting her way, filled with vitality. She enjoyed flirting, had a sense of humor. She was in deep trouble. He knew he was taking five feet eleven inches of trouble home with him. And he was attracted to her. As was probably every man who ever laid eyes on her, Josh guessed.

  He had seen way too much pain and hurt with his father and stepmothers. He certainly didn’t know how to have a normal marriage, and didn’t want to get involved in any committed relationship. All his adult life he had guarded against that. Now he’d better double that guard, because Laurie—or whoever she really was—was slipping past barriers too easily and too quickly for comfort. He found it damned hard to resist her.

  He walked up to her, moving in close and watching her eyes widen and her smile vanish. “You’re gorgeous and you have to know what an effect you have on men,” he said.

  “No, I don’t know,” she answered, and her eyes sparkled. “Except you just gave yourself away. Thank you for the compliment.”

  “Has it occurred to you that our flirting is really putting both of us on dangerous ground?” he asked softly.

  “Scared of me, cowboy?” she teased, causing a storm of emotions to surge through him. He wanted to shake her and he wanted to kiss her. She was flirting, teasing, tempting, yet she should realize the risks she was running.

  “Damn straight. I should be scared senseless.”

  “But you’re not,” she said softly, moving closer, her breath sweet and warm. She was taller than any other woman he knew. He could almost look her directly in the eyes.