Cowboy Under Fire

by Carla Cassidy

  “Yesterday we checked the outbuilding where Cass had stored a lot of old paperwork, but it was mostly financial items and bookkeeping stuff and some old diaries of hers. Unfortunately there were no employment records.”

  Cassie had retrieved several old diaries from the shed to read just to pass the long hours of the evenings, but she assumed they were mostly about ranch life and she hadn’t started reading them yet.

  Dillon sighed and took a drink of his coffee. “I somehow knew this wasn’t going to be that easy,” he said as he replaced his cup on the table.

  “You look exhausted.” Her fingers itched with a desire to stroke them across his furrowed brow, to brush away the strands of dark hair that had fallen across his forehead.

  “I am,” he admitted. He took another drink of his coffee and then stood. “And now I’m going to get out of here so you can finish your dinner.”

  “Thanks for stopping in and letting me know what’s happening,” she said.

  “No problem. I’ll be in touch.”

  She watched him leave and couldn’t help but notice how his dark blue uniform looked so sexy on his broad shoulders and slim hips. Yes, she was definitely attracted to Dillon Bowie, but it was an attraction she would never act on. She wasn’t meant to spend her life in Bitterroot, Oklahoma.

  She thought of her foreman Adam. He was definitely showing signs of a real romantic interest in her, but she didn’t reciprocate those feelings. Adam was a nice man and he’d been infinitely patient with her as he taught her about the ranch, but he didn’t stir anything inside her like the crazy heat that flooded through her whenever Dillon was around. Thankfully Adam hadn’t asked her out or anything like that, at least not yet.

  She wanted neither man. She told herself she just wanted to get this crime scene cleaned up so she could get back to her life as a New York artist.

  Chapter 9

  It was Sunday after dinner and as Forest and Patience left the dining room, he asked her if she’d like to go on a horseback ride. “Just a short ride,” he told her. “Maybe a little fresh air and evening sunshine will ease some of your tension.”

  “What makes you think I’m tense?” she asked with a curtness of tone that affirmed his assessment.

  “You’ve been tense and wound up for the past couple of days, ever since you found those extra bones,” he replied.

  She sighed and shoved her hands in the pockets of her capris. “I thought I’d be finished by now, but these last set of bones aren’t cooperating for me.”

  “Maybe tomorrow will be a more productive day,” he replied. “Now...about that ride?”

  She pulled her hands from her pockets and gave a curt nod. “Okay, since you won’t let me go back to work tonight.”

  “You’ve worked enough for one day.” They headed toward the stables. “You can start tomorrow with a fresh eye and a clear brain.”

  “My brain hasn’t been clear since I realized there were four bodies still in the pit when I thought there was only three. We managed to put one back together over the last two days, but that still leaves two more and at least a partial one to go.”

  They entered the stable and she sat on a hay bale while Forest saddled up Thunder. Her anxiety had been palpable in the last two days. She moved with frenetic energy and she’d been overly quiet and distracted as if constantly trying to work out a puzzle in her mind.

  She’d been distant with him, going from the dining room to her own room for the past two nights and foregoing any conversation or any real personal interaction.

  Was it the bones that had her so disturbed or was it the kiss they had shared? A kiss he hadn’t been able to forget and wanted to repeat again and again.

  At least she’d agreed to the horseback ride, which would give them some time alone to talk and hopefully enjoy each other’s company. For just a little while he wanted to take her mind off her work and into a place of peace.

  Ten minutes later they left the stables with her ensconced in the saddle in front of him. As it had been with the last time they’d ridden together, her scent and her closeness nearly overwhelmed him. He would never grow tired of the scent of her, of the magic of having her close to him. It wasn’t just a presumption on his part, it was a fact. She was in his blood.

  A pang of pain pierced through his heart. She wanted to get her job done and leave here, and with each day that passed he wanted her more and she grew closer to being finished with her work.

  He was on the precipice of falling completely in love with her, and despite knowing that he’d be left with a broken heart, he couldn’t help the fall no matter how hard he tried.

  She relaxed back against him as he headed Thunder in the direction of the pond where they’d had their picnic. It would be pretty at sunset with the last gasp of day reflecting on the water’s surface.

  “I guess you were right—this is just what I needed,” she finally said to break the silence that had reigned since they’d left the stable.

  “Good. I know you’re upset by the way things are going in the tent, but you have to give yourself just a little bit of down time to escape the pressure,” he replied.

  They fell silent again as the ride continued, but he was pleased that she appeared to relax even more as Thunder carried them across the pasture. She fit in the saddle with him as if she’d been born to ride with him.

  “I saw the horse eating something from your hand the other day,” she said, breaking the silence.

  “Apple slices,” he replied. “She’s coming along well. I’ll be introducing her to some equipment in the next day or so.”

  “I always think of her as ‘the horse.’ Does she have a real name?”

  “I’ve named her Twilight,” he replied. “It’s my favorite time of the day, and with her dark coloring I thought it was fitting.”

  “With her being so dark, you should have named her Midnight,” she replied.

  “Brody’s horse is named Midnight, so I couldn’t name her that.”

  “Brody...he doesn’t seem like the friendly type.”

  “He likes to think of himself as a tough guy, but he’s loyal and has a kind heart. You just have to dig through the macho-man facade to find it.” Of course she wouldn’t be here long enough to really get to know Brody or any of the other cowboys well enough to see just how big their big hearts were.

  They reached the pond area and dismounted. He tethered Thunder to a nearby tree, and then they walked out on the wooden pier that extended over the edge of the pond.

  He motioned for her to sit on the wood next to him. “Twilight is one of my favorite times of the day and this is one of my favorite places to spend it.”

  “Then you come here often?” she asked.

  “Not often, but occasionally when I just need a little time away from the other men. It’s a good place to sit and think and find peace. I’m not the only one of us who comes here to find time to be alone or to do a little spooning.”

  “Spooning?” She gazed at him curiously, her eyes a lush green in the evening light.

  “Romancing. Don’t worry, I didn’t bring you here to romance you. I just thought you might enjoy a little quiet time in a pretty place.”

  “Thanks.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Why is it you seem to know what I need before I know what I need?”

  He smiled. “Maybe I’m just more attuned to you than others have been before me.”

  “There was nobody before you,” she replied and stared out to the water. “I’ve allowed you to get closer to me than anyone else in my life.”

  And still it wasn’t enough to satisfy him. “Then I consider myself honored.”

  “Don’t be. I don’t have much to offer anyone. I work and most of the time I’m a shrew to anyone who might want to get close
to me. That’s just who I am at my core.”

  “I don’t believe that,” he replied. “I think like Brody you have something good and soft inside you.”

  She stared out over the water. “Don’t be so sure. Are there fish in the pond?”

  “Lots of fish. If you were going to be here longer, I could have brought you here to see how good you were at catching a big one.”

  She smiled and gave a slight shake of her head. “No time for fishing in my schedule.”

  They were quiet for a few minutes and then it was Forest who broke it. “Did you ever hear from your mother again after she left you and your father?” he asked, not wanting to process just how short her time here was growing.

  She looked back at him. “No. I never got a phone call or a card in the mail or anything from her. No birthday or Christmas presents...nothing. We never heard from her again and then she was dead.”

  “Then you never really had any closure with her. I didn’t have any real closure when my parents died, either. One minute they were in my life and the next minute they were gone. There was no time for goodbyes, no time to tell them one last time that I loved them.”

  Once again she cast her gaze away from him and into the distance. “My mother and I didn’t share a relationship where I needed closure where she was concerned. I wasn’t important in her life and therefore she wasn’t important in mine.” Despite her words Forest heard a faint vulnerability shimmer in her voice.

  The conversation had grown too dark, too intense, and the last thing he wanted was to take her to a painful place in her past. “On a lighter note, my friend Lucas is getting married next Sunday, and I was wondering if you’d want to go to the wedding and reception afterward with me.”

  She turned and looked at him in surprise. “Why would I want to do that? I don’t even believe in love and marriage.”

  “You don’t have to believe in those things to enjoy the day,” he countered.

  “I don’t even know if I’ll still be around next Sunday. If my work is finished then I’ll be gone.”

  “But if you are here, would you go with me? Lucas is a good friend and I’d hate to have to miss it.” He was fully aware that he was using guilt to get her to agree, indicating that if she didn’t go, then he couldn’t attend either.

  It was a blatant manipulation, but it was also the truth. If she was still on the ranch then, there was no way he could attend the wedding and leave her here alone and unprotected.

  “If I’m here, I’ll go with you,” she finally replied. “But I’m hoping to be able to finish things up in the next couple of days here.”

  “I can’t lie, I’ll be sorry to see you go,” he admitted.

  “Don’t.” She held up a hand to stop him from saying anything more. “I know where I belong and who I am and when it’s time for me to leave, I won’t look back.” Her words held a definite warning to him.

  “I know.” His voice was soft, but hopefully he managed to mask his regret...his disappointment in knowing that within a month or two she probably wouldn’t even remember his name. She’d be immersed in a new crime scene and living her life as she apparently always had...completely alone.

  The sun dipped lower in the sky, shimmering gold and orange on the pond. “So beautiful,” she murmured. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

  “You’re welcome, and now we’d better head back,” he said after a few minutes.

  They both got up and left the small pier. “There’s just one more thing I’d like to do before we go back.” He knew what he planned was probably insane, but that didn’t stop him from taking her hand and leading her into the shadow of one of the nearest corn silos.

  “What are you doing, Forest?” Her eyes glittered overbright and her mouth trembled slightly.

  “Hopefully, replacing a bad memory with a good one,” he replied. He pulled her into his arms and as she gazed up at him, he kissed her.

  The kiss was deep and tender and once again he was surprised because rather than pull away from him, she melded against him and accepted, actively participated in the kiss.

  He rubbed his hands up and down her slender back as she snuggled closer against him. Flames of desire stoked his insides, with the warmth of her body pressed so intimately against his own.

  Still as much as he wanted to take their kissing and his caresses to the next level, that had never been his intention here and now. Reluctantly he released her and ended the kiss.

  “You were broken in the shadow of a silo,” he said softly and reached out and stroked his index finger down her cheek. “Now I hope that when you think of a silo, you’ll remember a lonely cowboy’s kiss instead of anything else.” He dropped his hand to his side.

  She immediately reached up and touched her cheek where his hand had been. “Thank you,” she said in a mere whisper.

  They didn’t speak again as they remounted Thunder and began the long ride back. He’d touched her. He’d seen it in the glimmer of tears in her eyes and heard it in the tremor of her voice as she’d thanked him.

  He hoped she’d remember the moment when a caring cowboy had kissed her with all the feeling that he had in his heart and soul, that the kiss alone would be enough to banish any terrible memories she still possessed of the shadows of a silo and a cruel college student.

  He couldn’t force her to be anything but the woman life had made her. He couldn’t demand that she care about him as much as he cared about her. Unfortunately, he simply had to be ready to let her walk out of his life. He had to be prepared for the heartache he knew awaited him.

  The sunset had transformed to the violet shadows of quickly approaching darkness. She leaned further back against him, as if exhausted by the day and maybe by the emotions he’d stirred inside her.

  She believed she knew who she was at her core, but what she displayed to the world and what he’d seen of her were so different. He didn’t have the tools to force her to see herself in her true light.

  They were halfway across the pasture when the first shot rang out. The unmistakable whizz of the bullet passed inches by Forest’s head.

  Stunned, he acted purely on instinct. He jumped off Thunder and pulled Patience down with him. He hit the ground first, with her falling on top of him.

  He immediately changed positions, rolling over on top of her as he fumbled to get his gun out of the holster. Another shot sounded and the bullet flew just over the top of their heads.

  “Thunder...stable,” he commanded. The horse responded immediately and took off at a fast gallop.

  “What’s happening?” Patience’s terror laced her voice as she grabbed on to one of his forearms.

  “Somebody is trying to kill us,” he replied, not mincing words.

  * * *

  Patience trembled uncontrollably as yet another shot rang through the air, and the dirt near where they lay kicked up in a puff of imminent danger.

  Forest returned fire, shooting toward the distance where the fencing separated Humes property from Holiday land. Large trees lined the fence, and with the darkness she knew Forest probably couldn’t see the shooter.

  She also knew whoever it was intended to kill her, but with Forest stretched out on top of her, he was the most at risk to take a bullet.

  She’d wanted his protection, but she’d never truly considered that he would actually put his life on the line for her. It had all just been a theory in her head until this horrifying moment.

  Her heart pounded so hard, so fast, she could scarcely catch her breath. A terror she’d never known before iced her through to her very bones.

  She screamed as yet another bullet hit the ground far too close to where they hugged the ground. Forest muttered a curse as he returned fire.

  “Dammit, there are too many trees and it’s gotten too dark. I can’t see the shooter,�
� he exclaimed in frustration.

  It was obvious the shooter could see them from his vantage point. Another sharp scream escaped her as she heard the distinct thud of a bullet into flesh and a faint moan issued forth from Forest.

  “Forest!” Oh, God, he’d been shot. She tried to scrabble out from beneath him. She was the target and he’d been shot. It wasn’t right. She couldn’t allow him to be hit again. She should have never let him put himself in danger for her in the first place.

  She struggled to get out from beneath him but he flattened his body against hers like a big boot on a small bug, making it impossible for her to move out from under him. “Lie still,” he commanded.

  “But you’ve been shot,” she replied, tears of fear and anguish filling her eyes. How bad was it? Exactly where had the bullet struck him?

  “I’m okay,” he said tersely. He raised his head just enough to look around. “But we’ve got to get out of here. I think the shooter is up in one of those trees and we’re sitting ducks here on the ground.”

  Before he’d gotten the entire sentence out of his mouth the night filled with the sound of pounding horse hooves. Like the cavalry riding to the rescue, Forest’s fellow cowboys appeared in the moonlight.

  “Check the trees along the fence line,” Forest yelled out. “If anything moves, shoot it.”

  Five of the men on horseback headed for the fence while four of them formed a protective circle around Forest and Patience. Both Adam and Dusty jumped off their horses while the other two remained seated, their guns trained on the area where the shots had come from.

  “Forest has been shot,” Patience exclaimed in horror as tears coursed down her cheeks. “He’s hurt. He needs help.” Uncontrollable tears chased each other down her cheeks.

  “I’m all right.” He rolled off Patience and rose to his feet. The four horses surrounding them, along with the men checking out the area where Forest believed the shooter was, provided welcome safety.

  “I sent Thunder back to the stable in case none of you heard the gunshots,” he explained and helped Patience up from the ground. “Besides, I thought we’d be safer on the ground than on horseback. Obviously I was wrong. The shooter had to have been up in one of the trees to have such a clear shot at us on the ground.”