Last Stand Ranch

by Jenna Night

  “We didn’t get him,” Elijah said, standing at her bedside, hands crossed in front of his body, eyes downcast as though it was his personal responsibility to catch Kurtz.

  Olivia drew in a ragged breath. For a few seconds she’d felt safe, her worries vague and half-forgotten. Too bad it hadn’t lasted a little longer.

  She reached out for his hand and managed to grasp the tips of his fingers. “Hey. Thanks for rescuing me. Again.”

  His gaze met hers. “From what I saw, it looked like you rescued yourself. I just got there for the mop-up.”

  Coming from someone who didn’t appear to smile unless he felt like it, who couldn’t or wouldn’t turn on the easy, facile charm that so many people used to get through life, his words meant something. And he was right. She had managed to keep herself from getting killed. Even in the grip of stark terror she wasn’t helpless. She hadn’t collapsed into a whimpering heap and given up.

  She squeezed his fingers. “Nevertheless, thank you.”

  He nodded and seemed about to say something when a big bouquet of flowers suddenly filled the space behind him and a voice sang out, “You’re awake!”

  Claudia stepped around Elijah, hefting a round white basket full of purple irises and yellow roses. She glanced at him. “I had a feeling you’d be here.” She set the basket on a table beside Olivia’s bed. “Honey, how are you?”

  Olivia relaxed into a slight smile. It had been a long time since anybody fussed over her. “I don’t feel so bad.”

  “Good.” Claudia sat down on the edge of her bed.

  “But I’d like to get out of here as soon as I can.”

  “I’ll drive you,” Elijah said. “Just in case.”

  “The doctor said he wanted to talk to you after you woke up and ate some breakfast.” Claudia’s upbeat tone sounded forced. “If everything looks good, he’ll send you home.”

  Home. Where was that, exactly? Not Las Vegas anymore. Not anywhere. Again, in an instant, Olivia’s spirits crashed. Hopefully, her seesawing emotions were a result of the medicine and not a new way of life. She’d counseled women who’d been shot at when she was working at the safe house, interning on her way to becoming a social worker. She’d learned basic counseling skills, but at the moment she couldn’t remember any of the advice she’d been trained to give to someone who’d survived a physical attack.

  “I called your mom and dad. Each of them said they’d call you sometime today. And both of them said to let them know if you need anything.”

  How sweet. Some parents might actually rush to visit their daughter after she’d been shot.

  “How come our family didn’t spend any time together when I was growing up?” Olivia asked. “Why didn’t we visit you, or any of my other relatives, when I was a kid? Why didn’t we spend Christmases together?”

  Claudia’s smile faded. “Honey, if there was some reason, some feud going on, I don’t know anything about it. I think everybody got busy. Time passed and we all settled into routines that didn’t involve each other. We came to visit you once, do you remember?”

  “Yes.”

  “It was always hard to get Hugh away from the ranch. He worried about the animals. Not the horses or the stock animals. We had help with them. He worried about the cats and the dogs. And his birds and his bunnies. We invited your parents to come out but they never could make it.” Claudia shrugged. “I guess, like anything else, relationships can die from neglect.”

  “But not our newfound relationship,” Olivia said firmly.

  “No, not ours.”

  Okay, enough of that. Olivia sniffed and brushed her hair out of her eyes with her good hand, determined not to think about things that would only send her spirits crashing again. Instead, she’d think about how Elijah had gone looking for her after he heard gunshots. He’d helped her down the hill. Claudia had opened her home to her and was right now sitting in front of her. That was more than a lot of people had.

  She glanced around for Elijah just as a uniformed hospital security officer walked by the open door, paused to look in, waved and then continued down the hallway.

  Claudia followed her gaze. “You looking for Elijah? He slipped out a minute ago. I hope he went home to get some sleep. He spent hours with the sheriff’s department and some local search-and-tracking volunteers trying to find the man who did this to you.”

  “There’s so much wilderness around here. I’d think it would be impossible to find someone intent on hiding.”

  “They had to stop looking when it got dark. That’s when Elijah came here to the hospital. He stayed all night.”

  It wasn’t anything personal, Olivia told herself. She needed to get a few things straight in her head before she started to believe he felt a deeper concern for her. Elijah Morales might look rugged and he might even be rugged, but he was a church guy. Helping people was what church guys did. They’d do it for anybody.

  Again, the tears started. Olivia was beginning to think she’d never be able to completely turn them off again. She couldn’t help it. The truth was, deep in her heart, she wanted to be very important to somebody.

  “I’m so sorry.” Claudia reached for Olivia’s hand. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, too.

  “Don’t cry, Aunt Claudia. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

  “Yes I do,” she answered forcefully. “I told you to get outside and go for a walk.” Her voice cracked. “I told you it was safe.”

  “And I let myself get careless.”

  As she watched Claudia dab at her eyes with a tissue, Olivia felt a flash of emotion. Something familiar, like a fleeting glimpse of her former self. It put some strength into her spine. “We’re not going to do this,” she said, reaching for the hem of Claudia’s bright yellow blouse and tugging on it until her aunt finally looked at her. “We are not going to blame ourselves.”

  Claudia nodded and Olivia smiled at her. She hadn’t thought of herself as a strong woman for a while. Not since the debacle with Kurtz started. But she was still alive. She was a survivor.

  * * *

  Elijah picked up Olivia at the hospital and got her into his truck as quickly as he could. Since the shooter hadn’t been caught, he wanted her safe in his family’s house. And Claudia would be safer traveling in a separate vehicle. Fortunately, Claudia agreed with his plan and helped talk Olivia into it. Claudia had called him as soon as the doctor signed Olivia’s release forms.

  “Are you sure your family’s okay with me going to your house?” Olivia asked, running the hand from her uninjured arm through her hair as she fidgeted nervously in the passenger seat of his truck. Claudia followed along in her own car as they pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “The last thing I want to do is put somebody else in danger.”

  “My parents love company,” Elijah answered. “And they’re used to trouble.”

  Most of it brought by him.

  He stopped at a red light on Stagecoach Road, in what passed for downtown Painted Rock, and then turned left toward the Morales ranch.

  “Aunt Claudia’s fortunate to have your family living so close by,” Olivia said.

  Elijah glanced over and saw her looking at all the small downtown businesses.

  “Wide-open space can be nice. But being isolated gets old. It’s good to have neighbors.” In the side mirror jutting out from the truck he could see Claudia following along in her pearl-white sedan.

  Elijah looked ahead, then right and left before he moved forward when the light changed. Kurtz or a hired gun could be anywhere. He kept an eye on the vehicles nearby, trying to make sure no one other than Claudia was following them.

  “There might be some riders hanging around the house,” he said. “I know you won’t remember them from the night you came into town, but a couple of them remember you. And they want to help.”<
br />
  He glanced over to see her reaction. Some people were uncomfortable with motorcycle riders. If that was the case with Olivia, he’d need to come up with another plan.

  “Vanquish the Darkness. That’s a pretty dramatic name for a group.” She didn’t sound as if the idea of them being around bothered her.

  “The founders wanted a name that made a statement.”

  “It certainly does that.”

  In his peripheral vision he saw her studying him. He was thankful for his dark sunglasses. When she took his hand and looked into his eyes to thank him this morning, it felt as if she was looking right into him. It was unnerving. It must have been because he was tired. He hadn’t really slept in that chair, just dozed a little.

  “Do you just stare ahead with that stony expression all the time?” Olivia asked.

  Elijah made another turn at the next light. “I guess so.” This was already starting to get uncomfortably personal.

  “Relax,” she said a few seconds later. “We’re not on a date or anything.”

  “No, we aren’t.” Elijah didn’t date.

  “I’m not your type. I’m sure you’re way too noble to tell a huge lie like I did. And you’d never drag danger to your great-aunt’s doorstep.”

  Her quiet anger had sprung from nowhere. Elijah glanced over to make sure she was okay. She sat rigidly, her body radiating tension. He hadn’t done anything but drive since they got into his truck, so she couldn’t be mad at him. It sounded like she was mad at herself.

  Her comment did remind him of the sad reality that she hadn’t had a thing to do with Claudia until she’d needed her aunt’s help. Olivia might be an intriguing woman, but she was also an unknown. Right now, she was an unknown with danger swirling all around her. Time to remember to use his brain and leave his emotions at the door.

  They drove on in silence for several minutes until Olivia relaxed back into her seat, head against the headrest, the fight having apparently drained out of her. She blew out a loud breath. “Hey, thanks for the great conversation.”

  He laughed. She didn’t join in with him this time.

  A huge pine beam with the name Morales burned into it rested atop two parallel beams and formed the arched entrance to the Morales family ranch. Elijah turned into it, heading down the dusty, winding drive.

  “So this is where your motorcycle gang hides out?” Olivia asked. “What’s the story?”

  “This isn’t a hideout. It’s my family’s home. If you’re asking about Vanquish, the short answer is that people who liked to ride and wanted to band together to be of service started it years ago. My parents were involved. Over the years it died off. It was recently restarted by me.”

  “Well, be careful when you want to help people. Things can turn ugly.”

  Elijah already knew that. It didn’t stop him from helping. He turned to her. “Do you ride?”

  “No. I hate motorcycles.”

  “Have you ever actually ridden one?”

  “Other than yesterday? No. Still, I’ve never actually inhaled a lamb chop but I know I don’t want to do that, either.”

  He chuckled a little and felt the tension in his shoulders relax. At least he didn’t have to guess what she was thinking. The woman said exactly what was on her mind.

  “You were in the military,” she said. It was a statement rather than a question. “I knew it the first time I saw you.”

  “United States Army Ranger.”

  “Were you in Iraq or Afghanistan?”

  “Both.”

  From the corner of his eye he saw her look down at her hands in her lap.

  “That had to be a life-altering experience.” She sighed. “I appreciate your service, but I’m sorry you had to go through it. I don’t know what else to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” she said a few minutes later. “With that combat experience I don’t need to worry about you. Ted Kurtz is the one who should be worried.”

  Elijah felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He parked his truck. “I hope you like chili verde. Mom’s had it simmering all day. The smell’s got to be making Dad crazy by now. He loves the stuff.”

  Olivia fumbled for the door handle. Elijah came around the truck, opened the door for her and helped her out.

  Behind them, Claudia had already gotten out of her car.

  “Hey, Aunt Claudia,” Elijah’s mom called out.

  Claudia walked by them, giving Olivia a light pat as she passed by, and then continuing up the steps to greet Julie Morales with a hug.

  “Your mom’s pretty,” Olivia said. “She doesn’t look a thing like you.”

  “Good thing for her.” Elijah quickly gathered up Olivia’s hospital paperwork and prescriptions from the front seat. He was trying to appear calm. The reality was that he was worried. The shooter had managed to come down from the backcountry yesterday without attracting anyone’s attention and without leaving a readable trail.

  “Welcome to the casa,” Elijah said, gesturing up the steps to the house.

  “Olivia, honey, come meet Julie.” Claudia waved Olivia over when she reached the porch.

  Olivia offered Julie a shy smile.

  “Welcome to our home.” The slight breeze buffeted her long mahogany hair. She had a fluid, free-spirited air about her appearance and movements. In that respect Elijah was nothing like his mom.

  “Your aunt told us about you as soon as she found out you were coming for a visit.” Julie glanced at Claudia and they shared a smile. “I’m so sorry about what’s happened since your arrival.” Her smile faded as she looked at Olivia’s injured shoulder.

  “Speaking of that, let’s get inside.” Elijah looked around at the trees and buildings on the property. There were all kinds of places where a shooter could hide.

  “Thanks for welcoming me into your home,” Olivia said to Julie as Elijah ushered the ladies inside. “I used to work in a safe house. I never dreamed one day I would need one.”

  SIX

  The first thing Olivia noticed in the Morales home was the delicious aroma. The smell of simmering chili verde was rich and comforting. The second thing she noticed was how different the interior was from Claudia’s fussy, lacy home.

  She stepped through the front door onto a cobalt-blue-and-sunflower-yellow-patterned tile floor. A few feet out, steps led down to a thickly carpeted living room with two oxblood-colored leather sofas positioned opposite each other. Oversize chairs and low, heavy tables were positioned around the room. There was also a massive stone fireplace.

  Directly in front of her, three tinted picture windows offered views of a wide veranda attached to the house, and hills and ranch buildings in the distance.

  “Don’t worry,” Elijah said from beside her. “We tinted the larger windows to prevent any bad guys from taking an easy shot at us while we’re inside the house. Mom still wanted curtains because she thinks they make the house feel cozier. If the shooter’s out there, he can’t see in.”

  “Thanks for that,” Olivia muttered.

  He gave her a questioning look.

  “For a few seconds there, I almost forgot my troubles.”

  “I hope you don’t mind eating buffet-style,” Julie called out from the kitchen.

  With Elijah gesturing for her to walk ahead of him, Olivia followed the voice to a kitchen with a breakfast nook at one end. Windows showed more of the ranch, including several motorcycles parked outside.

  Claudia was already in the kitchen. So were three other people Olivia hadn’t seen before.

  “We can’t always eat at the same time around here,” Julie said, “so I’m in the habit of cooking something and then letting everybody plate it up themselves. Usually we eat in the living room. It’s
good to sink down onto a sofa and put your feet up at the end of the day. It might not be the most proper way to have dinner, but it’s our way.”

  “Sounds wonderful to me.” Smelled wonderful, too.

  Julie gave the pot one more stir, and then turned to Olivia with a smile. Which immediately turned to a frown. “Oh dear, what was I thinking?” She looked pointedly at Olivia’s injured shoulder and her arm immobilized in a sling.

  “I’ll help her,” Elijah said.

  “I can manage.” Olivia was beginning to feel like a stray cat Elijah had fed and now he was stuck with her.

  “Well, as you can see there’s shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream and a few other things here on the counter.” Julie had already turned her attention back to the food. “And I’ve got some warm corn and flour tortillas.”

  “Just let me know what you want,” Elijah said to Olivia. “You go sit in the living room and I’ll bring it to you.”

  She wanted to tell him where he could go sit. “It’s not your job to look after me,” she whispered back. Protecting her from danger was one thing, but hovering over her all the time was another. She wasn’t used to anyone working so hard to take care of her, and it left her edgy and unsure how to respond.

  He was acting like a boyfriend and she didn’t need that. Not now, when her emotions were so raw. If she let him keep it up, she would get confused. She would start to think his behavior meant something it obviously didn’t. And she didn’t want to get involved with him, anyway. Who wanted a relationship with the town hero who looked like a scowling statue half the time?

  “Olivia?”

  Olivia’s head snapped up. She was tired and without realizing it her gaze had settled on the kitchen floor.

  “Let me introduce you to some of our rider friends before we start eating,” Julie said.

  “Riders who are part of Vanquish the Darkness?”