One Tough Cowboy

by Sara Orwig

  A half hour later, Josh was thinking about going to wake Laurie when he heard a clatter in the hall. He knew it was Kevin, who did nothing quietly.

  The youth bounded into the room, barefoot, wearing a T-shirt and cutoffs. “Morning, all,” he said. “I’m starving. What’s for breakfast? It smells great.”

  He helped himself and pulled up a chair, looking around the table. “Where’s Laurie?”

  “How she can sleep through you being up, I don’t know,” Ben remarked, and Kevin made a face at him.

  “Want me to get her up?” Kevin asked, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Josh.

  “I think I’ll do that,” Josh said, standing. “I don’t know how she’s slept this long, either.”

  “It’s still early,” Caroline said. “Maybe she’s one of those late sleepers.”

  “She left us early enough last night,” Josh said. He started out of the room.

  “Josh,” Nina said. “Don’t go.”

  He turned around. Nina’s request was odd and unlike her, and his curiosity stirred. “Why not?” he said, sauntering back to the table. Everyone was looking at Nina, who fidgeted with a thin gold chain that hung around her neck.

  “Why not wake her?” Josh repeated.

  “She’s not here,” Nina stated, lifting her chin. She withdrew a scrap of paper from her pocket. “She wrote you a note.”

  Josh inhaled, trying to hold back his temper. “Why isn’t she here? When did she leave?” he demanded.

  Nina pointed to the paper. “Maybe you should read her note.”

  There was total silence in the kitchen while Josh scanned the simple note, written in a dainty, feminine hand: “It’s best for you if I leave. I’m somewhere safe. Don’t look for me because I can’t come back. Thanks for all you’ve done. Laurie.”

  He dropped the note on the table. “How’d she leave?” he asked in a cold, quiet voice, and Nina paled.

  “Mom, what did you do?” Kevin asked. “Did you and Ethan take her somewhere?”

  “I haven’t been off the ranch since we got here last night,” Ethan protested. “Nina, what’s going on?”

  “Where is she, Nina?” Josh repeated.

  “I took her where she’ll be safe and looked after.”

  “Dammit, she was safe here,” Josh said. “Nina, where is she?”

  “I’m not going to tell you.”

  “Nina, tell me where you took Laurie. Tell me now,” Josh demanded in a chilly tone.

  “I will not, because it’s for your own good. And hers. She’s safer where she is.”

  “The hell she is,” Josh said, turning and heading for the phone.

  “What are you doing?” Nina called after him. “You can’t get her back. She’s gone. I put her on a plane.”

  Josh spun around to look at her. “To where? Nina, don’t lie to me.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and she put her handkerchief to her face. “Don’t accuse me of being terrible when I’m just trying to be a mother to you.”

  “Darling, don’t cry,” Ethan said, patting her shoulder. She put her head against his chest.

  “If y’all will excuse me,” Kevin said, dumping his dishes into the dishwasher with his breakfast only half-eaten. He left the kitchen.

  Remembering Nina’s suggestion that he take Laurie to a shelter for women, Josh looked up shelter phone numbers, praying that she hadn’t put Laurie on a plane, as she’d claimed. He had a tight feeling in the pit of his stomach. If anyone had followed them, he wasn’t sure whether Laurie would know or not, but he knew for certain that Nina wouldn’t.

  “Don’t try to get her back, Josh. She knows she’s putting you in jeopardy by being here. She won’t come with you. She’s gone.”

  “Gone where, Nina?” he snapped.

  She drew a deep breath. “I’m going home. I’ve tried to help, and it’s not appreciated.

  Josh jotted down numbers, glancing at the clock. It was Sunday, too early for most places to be open, yet he thought a shelter might be available twenty-four hours every day.

  “I’m going to get dressed,” Ben said, leaving the room. “This will cut short the family gathering. And there goes trying to ride the white stallion.”

  The room was quiet as Josh jotted down more numbers.

  “She’s right, you know,” Caroline said, and he looked over his shoulder at her. “You should let her go.”

  “She doesn’t have any memory. She doesn’t know who’s trying to kill her or why,” Josh answered. “She’s damned vulnerable, and I think we were followed last night.”

  “That’s all the more reason,” Caroline said solemnly. “I have to agree with Nina on this one. I don’t want to see you risk your life for a woman who can’t remember her past. She could be married. She could be in terrible trouble with the law or something worse.”

  Josh shook his head. “Sorry, Caroline. I know you love me and you’re looking out for me, but I want her back here. If they were followed from the ranch last night, she could be in terrible danger right now.”

  “So you’ll go get her and put yourself back in dreadful danger,” she said. “Josh, don’t do it.”

  He turned around to look at the woman who’d been the closest thing to a real mother he’d ever known. “I have to,” he said quietly.

  She sighed. “Well, in all your cautious, responsible life, I guess you’re entitled to do something that you shouldn’t, but I’ll worry about you. I don’t want you hurt—not physically, not emotionally.”

  “I’ll be careful. About both. In the meantime, I don’t want her hurt.”

  “Put the phone down. I’ll help you. I’ll go talk to Nina. I can probably find out where she took Laurie. Just remember, Nina did that because she loves you.”

  “Yeah, but I’m old enough to make those decisions about my life.”

  “I know you are. Give me a few minutes.”

  “Kind of hurry her along.”

  “If Laurie’s in a shelter, then they’re accustomed to protecting the women who stay there. Just remember that.”

  “I’ll try.”

  He folded the list of numbers and jammed them into his pocket. Then he finished putting away dishes and cleaning the kitchen, anything to keep busy and keep from watching the clock, or thinking about Laurie being so vulnerable. He suspected she wouldn’t stay in a shelter long. She had cash and had talked about moving to a hotel, and he was afraid he would lose her. She had enough cash to buy some kind of car and flee the area.

  He moved impatiently, glancing at the hands on the clock and wanting to shake Nina for her interference.

  He went to his room to get his billfold and keys, putting his pistol in the pickup and driving it to the back gate. He strode back inside and stood impatiently by the window, alternately looking outside and turning to watch the clock again.

  It was thirty minutes later before Caroline returned to hand him a slip of paper. “Here’s where she is. Where Nina took her last night. Nina’s terribly worried about you, too.”

  “You two stop worrying. I’ll be all right. No one is after me.”

  “If you keep protecting her, someone might be.”

  “I’m armed and in touch with the police.”

  She nodded. “Do you want to phone her first?”

  “No, because she’ll tell me she should stay out of my life.”

  “Well, then go get her.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” he said, crossing the room to kiss her lightly on the cheek.

  She hugged him. “You be careful. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” he said. He didn’t call her mom in front of his other stepmothers, but he always did when the others weren’t around. He jogged to the pickup and climbed inside, praying Laurie hadn’t left the shelter yet. He had a gut feeling that she would leave this morning.

  Laurie stretched and stared at the ceiling, looking around the unfamiliar room. Disoriented, she sat up and then remembered everything from the night before. She swung her legs ou
t of bed and moved to the window, gazing out at a patio that held rusty lawn furniture, toys, a sandbox. A clothesline was stretched between two metal posts. A tall stockade fence enclosed the yard.

  She should be safe here, yet if anyone tried to kill her, some of the other women—or children—could get hurt. She couldn’t bear that. It was bad enough to put Josh and his men at risk, but they were tough, armed and ready, and on their own turf. None of these women or children would be.

  She knew she needed to leave. The thought of a hotel was frightening, because she would have little protection, but she couldn’t put the people here at more risk.

  Also, Laurie knew that she needed to let the police know where she was in case anyone showed up looking for her. She needed to let her doctor know. In spite of the security of the shelter, she felt she might be happier in a hotel. She could have more freedom, more independence.

  She dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. She had been told there would be breakfast at eight, and she could hear others up. She heard the voices of small children.

  She finally left her room. In the dining room she counted nine women and half as many children, seated around the two long tables. Colorful pictures decorated the walls, and the tempting aromas of hot coffee and bread filled the air.

  Laurie sat between a pretty young woman named Adele with a little girl, Sonya, and a tall, slender brunette named Vi who held a baby in her arms while she ate. Laurie ate a little toast, but she wasn’t hungry and soon shoved her plate aside. She heard a commotion in another part of the house and noticed some of the women grow still, worry coming into their expressions.

  “Laurie!” a deep voice shouted. “Laurie!”

  Startled, Laurie recognized Josh’s voice. She excused herself quickly from the table, rushing out of the room and toward the office. In the front hallway, the security guard had Josh by the arm, and Josh was arguing with him.

  “Josh!” she cried, too aware of the skip of her heart. In his black hat and jeans and denim jacket, he looked wonderful.

  “Come home with me,” he said. “I came to get you.”

  “You don’t have to leave here,” a woman said quickly. “I heard you arrived last night. I’m June Blankenfeld.”

  “C’mon, buddy. Out now!” the guard snapped, yanking on Josh’s arm.

  “You take your hands off of me while I talk to her,” Josh said in a low voice that was filled with steel. The guard dropped Josh’s arm and looked at Laurie.

  “Laurie,” Josh said. “Please come with me. It’s what I want.”

  “Thank you,” she said to June. “I’ll go outside to talk to him so we don’t disturb anyone.”

  “Are you sure?” June asked.

  “He’s been taking care of me and he’s been very good to me. I came here to protect him, because someone I don’t remember has tried to kill me.”

  “Oh!” June Blankenfeld looked startled. “Well, whatever you need to do…”

  “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  The guard stepped aside as Laurie hurried toward Josh. Josh took her arm and they left the house.

  “Come sit in my pickup and talk to me,” he said, shedding his jacket to throw it around her. “I don’t like being out here in the open, where someone could take a shot at you.”

  “That’s the precise reason I don’t want to go back home with you. Nina was right.”

  “Nina is worried about me, but I can take care of myself. I’m worried about you and I want you to come back to the ranch with me. You’re not as safe here and you know it. Someone can get to you. If I had come in the night, I could have gotten around that guard.”

  When Josh opened the door, Laurie climbed into his pickup. Skirting around to the driver’s side, he slid behind the wheel and flipped the locks. “Scoot down in the seat a little.”

  She wanted to touch his hands, to feel his solid chest and strong embrace. Instead, she locked her fingers together in her lap, knowing she needed to say no to him. “I may not be safe anywhere, but I’ll jeopardize your life at the ranch.”

  “You’ll jeopardize the lives of these women and children here.”

  “I know that. I planned to go to a hotel today.”

  “Dammit, am I going to have to argue with you all day? I’ll stay here and follow you to a hotel and stay in a room next to yours if I have to, but then my ranch will go to hell, and I can’t afford that.”

  She closed her eyes and threw up her hands. “I believe you would do exactly that.”

  “Damn straight I will.”

  She stared out the window, her emotions churning. “You’re making it difficult for me.”

  “I’m doing what I think is best.”

  She still continued to look out the window, fighting everything in her that screamed to go with him. She didn’t want him in danger, yet she suspected he would do exactly what he said and stay with her at any hotel she went to. She looked at him. His green eyes flashed fire and his jaw was set with that same hard look he’d had the first moments she had met him.

  “All right. I’ll go home with you, but I’m scared for you and your men. Your family will hate me.”

  “Believe me, my family knows how to adjust to all sorts of things. And Nina and Ethan and Kevin have gone home, so they won’t be around to protest. My men and I can take care of ourselves, and frankly, I would like to get my hands on the person who ran you off the road.”

  She rubbed her arms. “Maybe you should teach me to use a gun.”

  “Nope. That takes time and training, and I don’t want an amateur packing a pistol. You might be more dangerous to us then than anyone else.”

  She shook her head. “You win. I’ll get my things.” Her pulse raced. She had to admit she was glad to go back to the ranch.

  “Don’t get out of the pickup. You’re a sitting duck out here for someone with a rifle. Stay down. I’ll lock you in and I’ll get your things.”

  “Are you kidding? They would never believe that I’m all right and going of my own free will. Remember what kind of men they’re accustomed to dealing with here. Nope, mister. I’ll go get my things and explain to them I’ve decided I want to go back to your ranch. You sit right here so they believe me. Besides, the security guard is right there on the porch, watching us.”

  “So he is.” Josh leaned across her, lowered her window and motioned to the guard to come to the car. Before he straightened up, he paused to look at her.

  He was only inches from her, his shoulder touching hers, and she inhaled, her heart missing a beat. His harsh expression changed abruptly, and the look he gave her made her toes curl. Then he straightened and opened his door.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “I’ll get him to escort you.” Josh stepped out of the pickup and talked quietly to the security guard, who turned to open her door. He glanced all around and then got behind her as she headed to the door, while Josh walked beside her. She hurried, suddenly feeling vulnerable, too aware there was a man behind her who could get shot for trying to protect her.

  She scurried inside and turned. “Thanks.”

  “Let me know when you’re ready to go back.”

  She nodded and rushed to the office to find June Blankenfeld and explain to her that she wanted to leave with Josh.

  Thirty minutes later, Josh wound his pickup through town. When he left the city limits, Laurie glanced at him. “You must feel certain we don’t have a tail.”

  “You’re right. I’m sure we don’t. So we can relax.” He looked at her and smiled. “I want you back. I’ve been waiting to see you since I woke up this morning.”

  She drew a quick breath. “Josh, be careful.”

  “I will be.”

  “I mean about us. You know we shouldn’t have kissed, and it shouldn’t happen again.”

  “Yeah, but I can still enjoy your company and be glad to have you around.” He took her hand, and she arched her brows at him.

  “You weren’t listening at all, were you?” she asked.r />
  “Sure. You’re the one who wasn’t listening.”

  At the ranch Josh slowed and parked at the back gate, then rushed Laurie into the house.

  Only Caroline and Ben were there, and Josh and Laurie spent the rest of the day with them. Laurie enjoyed them, and noted the closeness between them and Josh. Laughing often, Josh was more relaxed with his family around. As she watched them together, she felt a pang of longing, wondering if she even had a family.

  Josh talked Caroline and Ben into staying for an early supper. They were all getting food on the table when Laurie glanced out the window and saw Josh’s foreman, Drake Browning, striding toward the house.

  “Here comes Drake, Josh,” she said.

  Yanking on his denim jacket, Josh left, closing the back door behind him. When he returned, he smiled, but the expression in his eyes was angry, and Laurie wondered what had happened. But as they sat at the table and began to eat, she forgot about the incident.

  The sun was slanting in the western sky when they stood on the porch to see Caroline and Ben off.

  Caroline took Laurie’s hand. “I hope you get your memory back soon.”

  “Caroline, I want you to know I tried to leave here and stay away. Josh threatened to follow me to a hotel and take up residence there.”

  Caroline smiled, glancing at Josh as he talked to Ben. Both men stood at the foot of the porch steps.

  “Josh can be stubborn sometimes,” Caroline said. “Nina’s intentions were good—at least as far as Josh was concerned. She was just worried about him.”

  “I know, and she was right, but I couldn’t see that it would help for both of us to be in a hotel. He needs to be here on his ranch.”

  “I hope when your memory returns, the things you’ve forgotten are only good things. You take care.”

  “I will. It was so nice to meet you.”

  Caroline gave her a half smile, but Laurie knew she was worried about Josh, and didn’t blame her. As Caroline started down the steps, Laurie followed, until Josh glanced up.

  “Laurie, stay on the porch,” he said.