Follow Me Home

by Leona Karr

  Then she heard a noise outside the door. A loud meowing, followed by impatient scratching. Her heart plunged. Gypsy had fingered her presence like a red tag.

  “So this is where she’s hiding.” Scotty’s amused voice floated through the door as he talked to the cat. “Well, now, I guess I’d better take a look.”

  As the door swung open, Jill screeched, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot.” The rifle wobbled in her hands. “I mean it.”

  Standing in the open doorway, Scotty held out his hands in a mock gesture of surrender. “I never argue with a lass with a gun in her hand. At least not one that’s loaded.” Then he smiled patiently. “You’re sure you’ve got a bullet in the chamber? I’m betting Hal doesn’t keep his rifle loaded.”

  “Stay back. We’ll find out if I pull the trigger.”

  He shrugged and leaned back against a table where feed cans were stacked. “If you want to take a chance on splattering my guts all over the place, go ahead and shoot.”

  “I want you to leave now!”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Not unless you’re willing to come with me. You see, I’m never one to give up easily. Watch this!” With one hand, he grabbed a half-full gallon feed can off the table and threw it straight at her face. The grain flew like dust pellets into her eyes. She cried out and her finger tightened in a reflex action on the trigger.

  The gun went off.

  The kick of the rifle sent her backwards. She never saw where the shot went, but when Scotty jerked the rifle out of her hand, she knew that the bullet had missed him.

  Chapter Eleven

  “What the—” Hal shouted. Sounded like someone was shooting in the barn. He heard the gunshot just as the first steer was herded into the corral. Maybe Kirby had caught someone else trying to do their dirty work. If the poisoners had gotten to Calico and her foal, he’d kill them with his bare hands.

  Hal yelled at Zack. “See to the cattle. Pen them in and get them some feed.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Sounded like a shot.” Hal kicked his horse in the direction of the barn. As he reined to an abrupt stop outside the door, he heard Jill’s frightened scream. He swung out of the saddle with the speed of a calf roper and hit the ground running. He was prepared for almost anything, except what greeted him as he burst through the door. Jill was screaming and clawing Scotty as he tried to subdue her.

  Hal let out a yell and ran toward them. “What in the devil?”

  Jill gave a strangled cry when she heard his voice. She stopped fighting and Scotty let her go. “Hal, Hal,” she sobbed and slumped to the ground before he reached her.

  “She’s gone crazy,” he told Hal. “Tried to shoot me with your rifle. Must have been that bump on the head that got to her. She’s been talking funny. Lucky for me she’s a bad shot.”

  Hal took one look at her crumpled body and his heart plummeted. Her eyes were red and watery, an anguished sobbing came from her throat. As he drew her to her feet and supported her in his arms, he tried to soothe her. “It’s all right, darling. It’s all right.”

  She grabbed the lapels of his coat, a wild frantic look on her face. “He’s…he’s…he’s the one.”

  Hal couldn’t make any sense out of her hysterical stammering. “Take it easy,” he soothed. Her whole body was shaking. “What are you doing out in the cold without—”

  “Listen to me!” her voice rose to a frenzied shrill. “He’s the one. He’s the stalker.”

  “See what I mean?” Scotty shook his head. “I was just trying to be nice to her and she went haywire. Accuses me of all kind of weird things. When I tried to reason with her, she ran out of the house and hid in the tack room. Then when I came after her, she tried to shoot me.”

  “No. No.” Jill’s fingers dug into Hal’s arms. “He’s lying. That’s not the way it happened!”

  “Something set her off, Hal. She went nuts. Maybe you can reason with her,” Scotty said impatiently.

  “Take it easy, honey. Get hold of yourself. Scotty’s not going to harm you.”

  Shock like a live wire surged through Jill. He believed Scotty, not her. The past relationship between the two men put her in peril. She felt like someone drowning and reaching for a life preserver that wasn’t there. Hal’s friendly neighbor was playing his innocent part well. No hint that he’d run his ex-wife off the road and killed their son in the process. Nothing in the past had made Hal think that his good buddy fisherman could be anything but what he pretended to be. On the surface, the Scotsman was congenial and uncomplicated, his true dark nature hidden.

  Jill’s voice rose to a shrill pitch. “You have to believe me. He was going to take me to one of his cabins.”

  Scotty gave a disgusted snort. “I’m telling you, she’s gone berserk.”

  “It’s true. It’s true. His wife…her hair…my hair…” she stammered incoherently. “And after he killed me, he was going to leave my body in a snowdrift.”

  “I’ve never heard such ravings in my life,” Scotty said disgustedly. “I tell you, the storm’s gotten to her. Poor thing. You can see she’s having a breakdown.”

  “I better get her into town and have a doctor look at her.” She could tell from Hal’s wary expression and the way they were talking over her. head that he thought she’d gone over the edge. He tightened his embrace. “It’s all right, darling, it’s all right. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  “No, you have to believe me,” she sobbed. “It’s true!” She began beating on his chest. “Listen to me. Listen to me!”

  “Jill!” He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook gently. “Get hold of yourself. We’ll leave right now. Scotty, will you tell Zack to put up my horse and see to the chores?”

  “Sure thing. Then I’ll head back home,” Scotty said. “I’m sure sorry things had to end this way.”

  The Scotsman reached to pat Jill’s arm, and she drew back as he’d been a snake about to strike. “You can’t get away with this!” she screamed.

  “Easy, honey, easy.” Hal stroked her trembling body as if he were soothing a high-strung colt. “Here, you can have my coat.”

  He had one arm out of a sleeve just as the barn door opened. At first Hal didn’t register who was silhouetted against the bright whiteness.

  “Well, look who’s here. The great skier himself,” Scotty said in a chiding tone. “You get lost again, Larry?”

  “No,” he growled. “I know exactly where I am.”

  Hal’s arm tightened around Jill’s shoulders as he laid the coat over her; she felt his whole body go rigid. Then she saw why. She gasped in disbelief.

  Larry had a revolver in his hand and was pointing it directly at them.

  “Hey, no sweat, fellow,” Scotty said quickly. “Just doing a little joshing, that’s all.”

  “Shut up!”

  Hal slowly took his arm from Jill’s shoulders and moved in front of her. Planting his legs firmly and looking straight at the gunman, he demanded, “What’s this all about, Larry?”

  “You killed my brother.”

  For a moment his words didn’t register. Then Hal felt a corkscrew twisting his inside. “The man in the car? The bastard who was poisoning my stock?”

  “My brother was just doing a job.”

  “A job? Is that what you call it? Viciously killing good horses and cattle?” Fury erupted like a volcano in Hal’s head. “Only the scum of the earth would take a job like that.”

  “Shut up! He was doing it for me. Trying to get enough money so I could start my shop. I didn’t know my brother was dead, or I’d have taken care of you before this. He told me to meet him here, but I thought the storm had changed his plans. Then when I hit the highway today, I found him in his car, shot to death. You did it, didn’t you?”

  “I caught him in the barn and fired a couple of warning shots. One of the bullets ricocheted off a metal trough and hit him. The devils who hired him are the ones who should be looking down the barrel of your gun.”
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br />   “You’re the one who pulled the trigger.” Larry’s expression betrayed his anguish and desperation.

  Jill’s threadbare emotions were on overload. Somewhere in the shadows of her mind was the conversation she’d had with Larry about his brother and the exciting marketing plans they had as soon as they had enough money. Money earned by killing Hal’s animals. Paid by unscrupulous developers. She recoiled with horror. All the time Larry had known about the poisoning, and he’d been under the same roof with them for four days.

  The threat to Hal’s life brought an unbelievable resiliency surging through Jill. Her own emotional upheaval was shoved into the background. She forgot about everything else. Ignoring Hal’s warning gesture, she boldly faced Larry’s gun. “Your brother wanted you to make something of your talent. He wouldn’t want you to do something stupid like this.”

  “She’s right,” Scotty said. “Listen to Jill.” The stalker’s breath was hot on her neck as he moved up behind her. She felt his hand on her back and she lost control of her overwrought emotions. She jerked forward.

  “Don’t try and take his gun,” Scotty shouted.

  Larry instantly reacted by aiming his gun straight at Jill. Hal’s body went past her in a low flying football tackle. Larry fired. The bullet went over Hal’s head and the gun flew out of Larry’s hand, landing almost at Jill’s feet as Hal hit the gunman with a force that sent both men crashing to the ground.

  Jill grabbed up the gun, spun around, ready to face Scotty with it…but there was no need. Larry’s bullet had gone over Jill’s shoulder and struck Scotty as he stood behind her. The Scotsman slumped to the ground, clutching his chest and gasping.

  She couldn’t tell if Scotty was dying or just wounded. At the moment she didn’t care. Her concern for Hal was uppermost as the two men rolled on the dirt floor, swinging and pounding the other with hard fists.

  “Stop it. Stop it,” Jill cried, holding the gun helplessly in her hand as they fought.

  The skier’s athletic build was a match for Hal’s body, conditioned by hard work. Neither had the advantage physically, but Hal’s fury over what had been done to his animals gave him an emotional advantage. With every swing of his fist he made payment for the horses and cattle that had been destroyed.

  Larry tried to get away. He tore himself free and stumbled toward the door, but Hal was on him in an instant, jerking him around and landing a blow that sent him crumpling to the floor. When he didn’t get up, Hal wiped his bloody face with satisfaction. Then he turned around and saw Scotty on the ground.

  “Oh, no,” Hal croaked. “Scotty. Scotty.”

  As he bent over his friend, the wounded Scotsman’s eyes went past him to fasten on Jill. As he looked up at her, Scotty’s eyes were startlingly clear. “Too bad. I almost had you, lass.” Then his mouth twisted in an ugly smile. “I guess you hold the winning hand, Angie.”

  Chapter Twelve

  A laggard sun finally dispersed all the lingering clouds and heralded the return of clear blue skies. Jill didn’t notice. Hal had carried her into the sitting room and laid her on the couch. Her thoughts were like fragmented pieces buried in layers of cotton. She couldn’t put them together in any comprehensible way. A deep weariness coated her mind. She had no energy left. Too much, too fast had left her emotionally depleted and physically exhausted. Her will was not strong enough to throw off the warm comforter that Hal had placed over her.

  “You stay here,” he had ordered, gently wiping away tears trailing down her chilled cheeks. “I’ll see to everything. Just rest. It’s going to be all right, sweetheart.”

  He’d left Zack and Kirby in the barn while he brought her to the house. There had been no time for her to explain to Hal what had happened, but she knew that he no longer doubted her. Scotty’s bitter words had taken care of that. Later she’d tell Hal about the horrible scene in the camper, and he could see for himself the photo of Angie and Billy, verifying Scotty’s obsession with her and Randy. When the police looked into his wife and son’s death, she knew what they would find.

  Hal had handled the immediate situation on a calm detached level that seemed to belong to someone else. When Zack had rushed in to see what was going on, he’d sent the cowboy to the bunkhouse to get Kirby.

  The cook had been sleeping too soundly to hear the commotion and admitted he’d been swigging gin pretty heavily, privately celebrating having his kitchen all to himself again. Zack gave him a tongue-lashing as they hurried back to the barn.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Kirby kept saying, rubbing his thin chin as if unable to believe any of the things that were going on. Larry tied up and out cold. Scotty unconscious with Hal trying to stanch the flow of blood from a bullet wound.

  “Zack, get to Scotty’s phone and call an ambulance,” Hal ordered. Why, Scotty? Why? he had silently asked as he knelt over the unconscious man. And why was I so dense? Hal blamed himself for his blind acceptance of his neighbor that had put Jill in his hands. If only I’d been more perceptive, all of this might have been avoided. Why didn’t I take her uneasiness seriously? Damn it. He’d gone off and left her alone, unprotected, with the very one who meant her harm. What if I hadn’t come back in time? What if Scotty had taken her away? He jerked his thoughts away from the unspeakable tragedy that had so narrowly been avoided.

  When an ambulance arrived in less than an hour and departed with Scotty, he told Zack and Kirby, “Take my Bronco. And deliver this piece of garbage to the sheriff.”

  “Sure thing,” Zack said with obvious pleasure, glaring at the skier. “What are the charges?”

  “Bodily assault or manslaughter, depending upon whether Scotty lives or dies,” Hal said. “And tell Sheriff Perkins to find out who hired his brother to poison my stock.” He wondered if Larry had been on the same payroll. At the very least, the skier was an accessory in the dirty business.

  Hal went back inside the house, and Jill was curled up, hugging herself and still trembling. He gathered her into his arms, and pressed his lips against her wet cheek. “You’re safe, love. It’s all over,” he whispered as he soothed her quivering body with his caressing hands.

  “Scotty?” she croaked.

  “I don’t know.” He sighed. “An ambulance took him to Rampart. I guess we’ll know soon enough, but whatever happens, you’re safe now.”

  She quieted under his touch, and he felt the surrender of her body against his as they clung together for a long time. Her breathing took on an even rhythm, and in the warm security of his arms, her emotionally drained body slipped into sleep. He picked her up and carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

  Her eyes fluttered open as he undressed her, but they quickly closed again as he eased her under the warm covers. He’d been a fool to think he could send her away from him and deny all the love that touched the depths of his being. How could he have lived for even another moment if something had happened to her?

  Going into the adjoining master bathroom, he turned on the shower, quickly shed his dirty, bloody clothes, then let the blessed warm water flow over him. Every inch of his body felt battered, the way it used to feel after four periods and overtime on the football field. But that was sport, not a life-and-death situation. He’d have some bruises that were beauties, but he was satisfied that he’d given as good as he’d taken.

  After a vigorous towel rubbing that brought a rosy tint to his skin, he went back into the bedroom and slipped into bed. Jill was lying on her right side, facing away from him. He put his arms around her and drew her back into the cupping warmth of his naked body. As he lifted one leg over hers, she sighed, settled her rounded fanny in his lap but did not awaken as they lay together. He closed his eyes, awed by this gift of pure awareness of her every breath. In some mysterious way, as his flesh pressed against hers they were like one heart beating in rhythmic union. Desire was there but not wild or demanding. She would be there in his arms when she awoke. With this assuring anticipation, he fell asleep with an angel in his arms.

  T
HEY BOTH SLEPT SOUNDLY until dawn, when she stirred and came awake slowly. She knew where she was without opening her eyes. She sighed contentedly. They lay side by side, with her back against his chest, his arms, body, and legs curled around her like a protective cocoon. She drew in the wondrous sensation of his warm, masculine body. As naturally as if he’d already become a part of herself, she turned over, trailed butterfly kisses across his bare chest, and whispered, “Morning.”

  His eyelids lifted slowly and for a moment he was startled to see her face poised close to his. Then he smiled. “Morning, love.” He cradled her against him as if she were something precious that might crumble if he held her too tightly. They lay quietly together, contented, not speaking until she suddenly gave a muffled sob, and he knew she was remembering.

  He tenderly kissed her eyelids and laid kisses at the corners of her mouth. She sighed and he felt her relax. He knew it would take time for her to put the horror behind her. She raised her face to his, slipped her arms around his neck, and suddenly they were like two lovers starved for each other, as he kissed her again and again.

  As her body warmed to his touch and her spirits revived, her thoughts cleared, her eyes rounded and she pulled away quickly. “Randy. I have to get home. My son will be wondering what happened to me.”

  “He knows you’re all right.” He reassured her. “I told Zack and Kirby to bring Randy back with them his morning. I knew we needed some time to settle things between us.”

  “I thought they were settled,” she said with a flash of her old spirit.

  “That was before I came to my senses.”

  “But you said—”

  “God help me, I know what I said.” His eyes pleaded with her to understand. “I was afraid to trust you, afraid to trust myself. In my stupidity, I was convinced things wouldn’t work out, even before we gave it a try. I shouldn’t have judged you by my brothers’ wives, or any other woman. You have every reason to think me a coward. And I don’t blame you if you never want to set foot on this place again, but I want you to know that I love you as much as any man could, and I’m willing to do anything but give up the ranch to make you happy.”