“What else could there be? Mind you, I was going to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“Nicole isn’t the easiest woman to work for. She’s already gone through two contractors. I want to see this project of hers finished, and I’d like to offer my help when you hit some rough spots with her, because,” he said pausing dramatically, “you will.”
“I have seen Nicole’s temperament,” Beau remarked, inwardly smiling as he thought about Nickie’s bottom turning a deep shade of pink under his spanking hand. “Just to be clear, you said you didn’t know Nicole’s husband was here?”
“I did not. Nicole didn’t tell me he was coming to join her. I know he’s out of town but I was under the impression he was off on one of his golfing jaunts.”
“This is very awkward,” Beau said slowly. “I’m not even sure…”
“I think,” Joe said fixing him with a steady gaze, “we should have a glass of wine, order some of that local fish, and then you can tell me what else is going on.”
“That, Sir,” Beau said nodding his head, “is an excellent suggestion. There’s quite a bit to-” but before he could finish he was interrupted by the chiming of his phone. “I’m sorry, please excuse me, this might be important.”
Pulling the phone from his pocket he stared at the screen; it was a text from Jeb.
Just saw Nickie’s Lexus climbing the hill to Flat Top Point.
“What the hell?”
“Is something wrong?” Joe asked seeing the color drain from Beau’s face.
“Somethin’ is real wrong,” he replied. “I have to go, and I think you’d better come with me. I’ll explain on the way, well, as much as I can. You don’t mind drivin’ in my truck do you?”
“No, of course not.”
Moving quickly through the restaurant and out the hotel doors, they fought the wind across the parking lot, and as they approached Betsy, Joe broke into a broad grin. Holding open the door for him as the gale whipped around them, Beau hurried around and climbed in behind the wheel.
“This truck…” Joe remarked.
“I restored it,” Beau said starting it up.
“My father had one of these when I was a kid. He used to pile it full of clothes in the back and I’d go with him when he made his deliveries to the local stores. This is…this is incredible.”
“I’m glad you like it, but we’ve got a big problem. I don’t mean to scare you but Nickie has done somethin’ real foolish, and I need to get to her, but while we’re drivin’ I’ll tell you what’s been happenin’.”
As Beau left the hotel, Tyler and George were turning into the driveway at Beau’s ranch. Branches and leaves were flying through the air, and when Tyler rolled the car to a stop they were shocked to see two men lurking around the house, and Gerald Harris trying to remove one of the shutters from a front window.
“I’ll handle this,” George growled climbing out into the lashing winds.
Tyler called for backup, staring in astonishment as George walked forward, standing straight and tall in the howling winds. Though they’d been partners for years Tyler was still amazed by the sheer strength of the man.
“HEY!” George called his voice booming through the bluster.
Gerald had been watching the ranch, and had made his move when he’d seen Beau drive away in his old truck; when he heard George’s bellowing call he immediately assumed Beau had returned.
Fuck! You just left asshole. You shouldn’t have come back so soon.
With the wind whipping around him he reached into his waistband and pulled out a short, hard club, but as he turned around and saw the huge man ambling towards him, he staggered backwards, falling against the house.
“Hey,” Gerald called dropping the club. “I just came by to apologize to the man, that’s it.”
Tyler watched, almost chuckling, as George lumbered forward, grabbed Gerald by the elbow, and dragged him back to the Mercedes like a father dragging his naughty child. George threw him in the back seat, then opening the driver’s door picked up the key sitting in its small compartment in the center console.
Looking back at the house George sought out the two accomplices, and though they were trying to run they had no hope of winning against the winds. George soon had them both corralled, and had just put the last one in the car with Gerald when Beau’s truck came flying up the driveway.
“What the heck’s goin’ on here?” Beau muttered seeing Tyler’s car, the Mercedes, and big George standing next to it; rather than fight the wind he pulled out his phone.
“Hey, Beau,” Tyler answered. “Glad you’re here. We just arrived a few minutes ago and found Harris trying to break into your house with two goons.”
“What? You won’t believe this, but Jeb texted me that he saw the Lexus headed up to Flat Top Point. It must be Nickie.”
“NO!” Tyler exclaimed. “She must have seen the Mercedes drive up, but how did she get to her car?”
“It was parked behind the barn. I’ll bet she was checking the horses and saw Gerald drive up. What a mess. I have her father with me. I’m gonna drive into the garage and let him into my house. Meet me there, and I need George…wait…are those sirens?”
“Yeah, I called in backup to deal with Harris.”
“I don’t have time for this, I have to get to Nickie. Have George meet me in the garage,” he repeated.
“Nicole, just like her mother,” Joe mumbled.
“Her mother is a reckless, overreactin’ stubborn Princess too? Joe, I’m sorry,” Beau immediately apologized, “please forgive me, I’m just worried sick.”
“No need to apologize,” Joe said quickly. “That’s exactly what she is.”
“I just don’t understand why Gerald is so hell bent on gettin’ Nickie home,” Beau said angrily. “It’s obvious she can’t stand the guy.”
“Ah, yes, that would be my fault.”
“Your fault?”
“When Gerald married her I made him sign many pieces of paper. One of them stipulated that if either of them filed for divorce within the first year of marriage, Gerald wouldn’t be entitled to anything, in two years there was a small amount, and so on. I did it in the hope it would help him be patient with her. My family doesn’t approve of divorce.”
“That explains a few things,” Beau grimaced as he pulled into the garage. “I assume the year is up soon?”
“In a couple of weeks.”
“Looks like you and Nickie have a lot to talk about when I get her back down here.”
“I had no idea she was so unhappy,” Joe sighed. “Please, Beau, bring her home safely.”
“You bet I will,” he promised. “Excuse me, I have to talk to George.”
Jumping from the truck Beau hurried across to the large man and explained what he wanted him to do, told him where in the garage he could find the needed supplies, then opened the door that led into the house.
“Please, Joe, make yourself at home,” he said, opening the door of the truck and showing him inside. “A friend of mine, Tyler, will be here shortly. He’s the cop I told you about on the way over here. He’s gettin’ Gerald and his guys transported.”
“This is just all so shocking,” Joe said shaking his head. “I can’t thank you enough for explaining everything to me.”
“There’s more, but I have to go. George? Are you ready?”
“I’m good,” the big man called.
“Wish me luck,” Beau said heading back to the truck.
“My luck and my prayers,” Joe murmured, “all that I can muster.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Beau had reason to worry; things were not boding well for Nickie and Gina. Having reached the top of the dirt road Nicke was beginning to panic; the fierce winds had grown stronger and were quaking the car.
“You can’t drive on to the flat pad, we’ll be flipped over,” Gina yelled.
“How the hell am I supposed to turn around if I don’t? I have to go up there. I can’t back a
ll the way down the fucking hill.”
A sudden savage gust hit the car, rocking it wildly, and screaming loudly Nickie dropped her head to the steering wheel.
“Oh, my, God, we’re gonna die up here,” she wailed. “We have to turn around, we have to.”
“You cannot go on to the pad,” Gina shouted. “You have to listen to me, Nickie. You absolutely cannot go up there!”
“I have to, it’s only what, fifty feet further? How much worse could it be? I won’t drive all the way in, just enough to turn around. I’ll do it really fast,” and ignoring Gina’s continued wails of protest Nickie gunned the engine, shooting the car forward.
They hit the crest, and the moment the flat open space came into view, Nickie realized she’d made a terrible mistake.
Copious amounts of debris were flying through the air, and branches began slamming against the car. Totally frantic she turned the wheel but it was too late, the wind caught them and began sliding them sideways.
“We have to get out, we have to get out,” Gina screamed. “Get out and crawl back to the road.”
“Crawl back to the road, are you insane?” Nickie wailed, but when another gust shifted them even further and threatened to tip the car over, she stared at Gina in horror.
“Tell me what to do!”
“Get out of the car but don’t hold on to the door, the wind will rip it away from you. Just let it go and drop to your stomach,” Gina said frantically. “Keep your face to the ground and crawl as fast as you can back towards the road, but we need to do this at the same time. Okay?
“Okay, shit, I’m so scared, I’m so fucking scared,” Nickie howled.
“I know, I am too. On three; one, two, three.”
Just as Gina had predicted, the moment Nickie opened her door it was instantly blown from her grip. Falling to the ground, panting and sobbing, she scrabbled forward, her nose in the grass, not even sure in which direction she was headed. For a brief moment she paused and gazed up, trying to see where she was, and was horrified to see the car rocking beside her, its doors wildly flailing, looking like a live creature in pain. Frantically crawling away she managed to move around the back of it and peered down the passenger side in search of Gina; to her horror she saw her laying on her back, unmoving.
“GINA!”
Though she had shrieked her name Nickie knew her voice had been lost in the tumult, and as she clawed her way forward she realized the writhing passenger door was swinging just inches from Gina’s head.
No, no, if the wind shifts the car any closer, or the door blows off…oh, my God…I have to move her, I have to move her.
Utterly panic-stricken Nickie scrabbled as quickly as she was able, and though she was literally on her stomach and Beau’s thick coat was offering some protection, she could feel objects hitting her body and legs, sometimes painfully, and her face was stinging.
Battling her way forward, her heart wildly pounding, Nickie finally reached her and discovered why she was motionless; in spite of her helmet Gina had been hit by something, and was sporting a bloody gash just above the bridge of her nose.
“Gina, oh, no, this is all my fault,” she sobbed.
Gina let out a low, deep groan, rolling her head to the side.
“Thank, God, thank, God,” Nickie wept, but a loud creaking from the car snapped her back to the immediate and dire danger. “I have to move you. Don’t worry, I can do this, I can,” she muttered, and clenching her teeth, with the wind and debris raging around her, she put her hands underneath Gina’s arms, and wriggling backwards she began to pull.
It took a massive effort, but inch by inch, her eyes shut tight to protect them from the stinging dust, she slid Gina away from the car. Not sure how far she’d traveled she paused, gasping for breath, and risked a glance. To her horror she saw the door of the Lexus was hanging at a bizarre angle, and the car itself had shifted; if Gina had not been moved she would have been toast. Mortified by the sight, Nickie used her last ounce of strength to roll Gina on to her stomach before collapsing next to her.
Her head buried in her arms, her face in the grass, she listened to the fury raging over her head; it was like nothing she’d ever heard before, and to her ears it sounded like a gigantic demon breathing its mayhem upon the earth.
It is The Devil Wind, that’s exactly what its. What have I done? If I survive this I’m going change everything about my life. I’m going to have horses, and screw my pride, I’m going to tell Beau that I love him, I do, dear God I do. I love you dad, and mom you might be a cow but in my heart I love you too. Please, God, please let me get out of here, and please help Gina, please.
Risking a glance she peered over her arm, and though she barely had any breath left in her, she gasped. The Lexus was on its side and half way across the pad, but that wasn’t the only thing that made her catch her breath; everything looked dim, as if The Devil Wind was a real monster casting a huge shadow across the earth. Feeling a sudden chill, she shifted her gaze away from the car and realized it was dim because the light was fading. A fresh sob racked her body as she dropped her face back down, and reaching out her arm she wrapped it around Gina’s waist.
If we’re going to die, at least we won’t die alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Nickie had lost all sense of time, and when she heard a deep, echoing voice call her name she thought it was a mocking wail from The Devil Wind, but then she heard it a second time, and it was clearer. Almost afraid to believe help had arrived she gingerly lifted her eyes above her arm and peered into the gloom; she saw nothing.
“NICKIE.”
The low bellow was coming from behind her, and eyes scrunched, she looked over her shoulder; George was crawling towards her like a great lion. A wave of relieved tears began cascading down her face, and as he neared Nickie pointed to Gina, indicating he should go to her first. Cupping her hand around her forehead to protect her eyes from the flying dust and debris, Nickie watched him roll Gina over, study her face, then put his lips against her ear.
Crawling back to Gina’s feet he stayed crouched over making it impossible for Nickie to see what he was doing, but as he shifted his body she realized he had been fighting with a sleeping bag. Having pushed it up her legs, he was zipping her inside as he shimmied it up her body.
Uncoiling the rope he’d secured around his waist he wrapped it around her, tying her up like a parcel, and it was only then that Nickie saw the rope was trailing out behind him, flapping in the wind.
He laid on his stomach, and to her amazement he pulled out a cellphone, touched the screen, and moments later she saw the rope grow taut; the sleeping bag, with Gina tucked safely inside, began to slowly slide across the ground.
“HEAD DOWN!” he yelled, and turning around he scrabbled behind Gina.
Nickie buried her head back into the crook of her arm, and though she knew he’d be back for her, she wasn’t convinced she’d survive. Even when he returned and he began cocooning her inside the sleeping bag she didn’t believe it, convinced some piece of flying bark would slice her in two. As the rope was tightened around her and she began sliding across the grass, she thought it would snap, and she’d be picked up by The Devil Wind and thrown over the cliff, but when she felt herself being lifted up she dared to open her eyes; they were met with Beau’s smoky-blue gaze.
“Beau?”
“Yeah, baby, it’s me, you’re safe now.”
She could barely hear him over the wind but she knew it was real, and moments later she was inside the truck next to Gina, and George was untying the rope and unzipping the bag.
Finished with the job, George left to lay in the bed of the truck, and climbing in behind the wheel Beau put his arm around her, hugged her tightly, then firing up the engine he slowly began the drive back to the ranch. Leaning against his shoulder Nickie closed her eyes and let her tears freely flow; she’d been plucked from the jaws of hell and was on her way home.
Tyler had an ambulance waiting, and Gina was imm
ediately loaded for transport to the hospital. Beau carried Nickie, traumatized and exhausted, inside the house and laid her on the bed in the guest room; with Beau and her father hovering nearby she was checked over by a paramedic and given the okay.
“You are one lucky lady,” the paramedic declared as he closed his bag. “You’ll probably find some bumps and bruises once you’ve cleaned yourself up, and if there’s anything that needs a second look come on in to emergency.”
As Beau walked him out through the garage where the ambulance was waiting, Nickie stared up at her father sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Dad, I’m so glad you’re here,” she stammered, fresh tears coming to life. “I don’t understand though? How did you get here, and what happened to Gerald?”
“Gerald’s behind bars, and before you ask, no, I didn’t send him here,” her father frowned taking her hand and studying the cuts and abrasions.
“You didn’t?”
“No, we’ll discuss all that later, I’m just so glad you’re all right, and home, and safe,” he uttered haltingly, fighting the hot lump in his throat.
“I can’t stop shaking,” she whimpered.
“I’m not surprised,” Beau said as he entered the room. “You’ve been through an unbelievable trauma. The paramedics have given me a sedative for you, and you need a long hot bath, then sleep.”
“Beau’s right,” her father agreed. “You’ve had a horrendous ordeal, and a soak and sleep is the best medicine. We can talk tomorrow, when you’re feeling better.”
“Nickie, listen to me,” Beau said gently, leaning over her. “Gina’s been hurt and I have to go to the hospital. I’m the closest thing she has to family, but I’ll back the minute I know she’s not in any danger.”
“Oh, yes, sure, of course,” she managed. “Beau, I’m so sorry.”
“Hush, you have to get all this grime off you,” he smiled, and as he wiped a large swath of dirt from her face he found a scrape underneath it. “You got some scratches. If you’re still awake when I get back I’ll do some doctoring.”
“Please tell Gina how sorry I am,” she bleated, tears of guilt and shame washing over her.
The Heiress and the Cowboy Contractor Page 16