Digitalis

by Ronie Kendig

  Ack! She had to get out of here before she became completely depressed. “I really appreciate your inviting me out. I’ve had a wonderful time.” She pushed to her feet. “But … uh … I have an assignment due soon.” And she did. In two weeks. “So, I’m just going to head back to town.”

  “Oh, please—”

  “No, really. I’m not sure I can find my way back without daylight, anyway.” It sounded good, but the more she convinced Mrs. Neeley she should leave, the more Piper wanted to cry. Why on earth were tears threatening?

  Because she’d wanted this—all of this—so very badly. The family, the laughter, the handsome hero to save the day. But of course, she should’ve learned years ago that good things weren’t meant for her.

  Mrs. Neeley’s eyes rounded. “But dinner—”

  Piper lowered her head, mustering her courage and resolve … but found none.

  Colton’s mom came to her and gently braced Piper’s arms. “Please, stay for dinner.”

  Gazing down into the pretty brown eyes, Piper felt herself crumbling. “I don’t want to make him mad,” she whispered. Not when she’d been hoping for a first date. It was her turn to fake a smile as she patted the woman’s hand. “It’ll be okay. Thanks for a wonderful afternoon.” She grabbed her purse, heart racing as she forced herself to carry through with this. “Again, thank you.”

  Out the side door, down the steps, and onto the gravel drive she rushed. Only as she rounded the big split oak did Piper realize she’d been holding her breath. She let it out and plunged her hand into her purse, digging for the keys and reminding herself that this was best—for both of them. Colton clearly didn’t want her here. And getting close to anyone risked exposure. Risked her big mouth getting the better of her and revealing all her secrets.

  Where were her keys? She stomped to her car and dropped the bag on the hood, then rummaged through all the paraphernalia: Maxximum Girl cosmetics, pens, an address book, her phone, a hair elastic …

  “No keys.” She huffed. Dug again. They had to be in there somewhere.

  “Looking for these?”

  Gravel crunched and popped as she whirled toward the husky voice. She gulped the burst of anxiety, that sinking feeling of being trapped in an awkward situation. Colton stood on the porch in jeans, a T-shirt, and wet hair. He started toward her, dangling her keys.

  Those dimples pinched his cheeks as he grinned. “You turnin’ tail and runnin’?”

  He closed the gap between them. Soon he stood before her, gaze on the ground, then slowly he brought those blue eyes to hers—and pocketed her keys.

  He tilted his head to the side slightly. “Don’t you know it’s rude to refuse Southern hospitality?”

  “We’re not in the south.”

  His smile widened, then a seriousness overtook his expression. “I reckon I owe you an apology for the way I acted when I came in.”

  “It was certainly within your right—”

  “Nah.” He shook his head. “It’s just that … the last thing I wanted right then was for you to see me looking like that.”

  “I … I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” After a shy grin, he scratched the side of his face. “Truth be told, seeing you made the day seem a bit brighter.” Chin tucked, he peered up at her. “Stay for dinner?”

  Piper couldn’t think with him looking at her like that. She peeked at the house and saw his mother watching through the window. “Your mom’s been working on that meal all afternoon.” Pulling her gaze back to his made her stomach knot up. Did he have to be so gorgeous?

  “Besides the food, if I can’t convince you to come back inside, she’ll tan my hide, and I won’t hear the end of it for at least a year.”

  She didn’t want to laugh, but the teasing light in his eyes plucked it out of her. Confusion slipped in under the lightheartedness. Was he asking just because his mom made him?

  Colton reached out and touched her elbow. “Please?” All the joking disappeared. “I’d like for you to stay.”

  Well … if he wanted her to stay, wanted her company, why hadn’t he called her? What stopped him from coming into Hastings over the last four weeks?

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  Together, they made their way back into the house. No sooner had they entered the kitchen than McKenna plunged headlong into Piper, wrapping her arms around her legs. “Yay, you came back!” She squeezed tight, then looked up at her. “You won’t leave me like my mommy did, will you?”

  Shrapnel hitting him didn’t hurt the way Mickey’s words had. It stole his breath as the wound went deep. Especially with the wild look in Piper’s eyes. He had to rescue this situation, deep-six the mortifying morsel his daughter had tossed out there.

  “Mickey,” he said, lifting her into his arms. “Why—”

  “Hey, what’s holding dinner up?” His dad stepped into the kitchen, hands on his hips as he glanced around. “Son, glad you’re home.”

  He gave his father a one-armed hug, and that fluid move shattered the awkwardness created by Mickey’s question. For a second, Colton marveled at the weight his father had lost during the two weeks while he’d been gone on a mission with Nightshade. How had he lost so much that quick?

  “Benjamin, be nice.” His mother hurried to the counter and handed his dad a bread bowl and pitcher of tea. “Take that to the table. Colton, here, come grab this casserole bowl.”

  The deafening silence of that moment still rang in his ears an hour later. His parents had buried their embarrassment in the meal, chattering like chipmunks over a mother lode of acorns. Piper seemed to recover over the course of the meal, but he spotted her eyeing Mickey with a look in her eyes he couldn’t quite decipher. Pity? Maybe Mickey’s comments had scared her off. What woman wouldn’t bolt?

  Truth be told, Mickey’s words haunted him. How had she found out about Meredith? He’d vowed not to tell her until she was old enough to understand things. She didn’t need that burden, and definitely not this early in her young life. He’d have to question his mom about it later, find out how Mickey could’ve learned about her mother.

  Much as he tried to shift his attention to the beautiful woman who’d almost slipped out of reach tonight, he couldn’t help but wonder if the earlier fiasco was divine intervention. Losing his head over a woman would only add to the complications already in his life. But even he had to admit he was losing that fight. He liked having her here, liked her smile and the smooth sound of her voice.

  Maybe they could take a walk after cobbler and ice cream. He could explain a few things—of course, nothing that would put his life in danger. Or his heart. What if she found out about his breakdowns?

  He stretched his neck and rubbed the knot forming in his shoulder. Stress was piling up again. Good thing his appointment with Pastor Roy was next week. He could unload the weight he’d carried around.

  “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. “

  How many times had Roy quoted the words of 1 Peter 5:7 to him? But prayer and faithfulness hadn’t healed the fracture in his psyche, the one that leaked ghoulish memories into the middle of perfectly good moments.

  What would Piper say when she saw the first flashback? Because sure as heck if she stuck around, he’d have one eventually. God hadn’t seen fit to heal him miraculously. A point of contention that had compounded the frustration of the flashbacks. What if she saw him, his mind anchored in some past event, and it freaked her out good? Made her run. His chest squeezed.

  “Colton?”

  He blinked at the sound of his mother’s voice. “Ma’am?”

  “Your ice cream’s melting.”

  Shock riddled him as he stared down at the bowl of cobbler and cream. When had she put that there? Numb, he lifted the spoon and ate the first bite. It tasted sour. Mingled with bad memories and humiliation. He had to clear out, get away, get some fresh air.

  “I’m full.” He shoved away from the table. “Going to get my boots and check on Firefo
x. If you’ll excuse me …” He couldn’t look at Piper, couldn’t face it if she was disappointed.

  “Oh,” his mom said. “Piper, why don’t you go with him? Firefox’s our mare. She’s ready to foal any day.”

  His gaze slammed into Piper’s. Question and uncertainty swam through her delicate features. Forcing himself to swallow past the lump in his throat, he gave her a slow nod.

  “I want to go,” Mickey said as she climbed to her knees in the chair.

  “No, young lady. You need a bath; then it’s bedtime,” Colton said.

  “I’ll take care of it.” His mom bobbed her head to Colton and Piper. “You two go on.”

  Colton headed to the back door, then paused when Piper came around the corner. “I’ll get my boots and be right back.” In his bedroom, he sat on the edge of his bed and stuffed on a pair of socks and his old work boots. When he returned to the side door, the hall sat empty. He glanced back into the kitchen, but crunching noises drew him outside. Hunched down, Piper rubbed a hand down the spine of a gray-striped cat.

  “Can’t seem to get the thing to move on,” he said as he stepped onto the porch.

  She straightened. “He’s not yours?”

  “It’s a she, and nah. She had a litter in the barn back in the spring, and they’ve all scattered, but she seems to like it here.”

  “I can understand that.”

  Good to know. He pointed out toward the east pasture. “Foxy’s in the barn.” A warm breeze followed him across the backyard.

  “Has she had a baby before?”

  “This is her first.” The soft rustle of tall grass soothed him as he glanced up at the sparkling blanket of black. “She’s a champion I bought for breedin’.”

  “So, you want to breed horses?”

  “Nah,” he said, grinning. “I leave that up to the mares and stallions.”

  A loud whinny burst into the warm September night.

  “Foxy.” Colton sprinted the last few feet and jerked open the door. As soon as he came around the first stall, he saw her shifting and bobbing her head in the birthing stall he’d finished just last month. Then she went down.

  Colton motioned to Piper to slow down. “Keep it quiet and still. She looks spooked.”

  “She’s not the only one.”

  “Then stay here. She’ll sense your fear and feed off it.”

  Piper rolled her eyes. “I meant you.”

  “Hey,” he chuckled at her spunk. “This ain’t my first rodeo.”

  The rueful look Piper shot him did strange things to his breathing, but he tucked that aside and stopped at Foxy’s stall.

  “Looks like the water sac has broken,” she said, nodding toward Foxy’s straw bed.

  “How do you know so much about horses?”

  Piper eased her hand toward the mare’s hindquarters. “My grandfather raised goats.”

  “Goats! What’s that—”

  “A girl in labor is a girl in labor.” Caramel eyes held fast to his. She smiled. “Whether a horse, a goat … or a woman.”

  His mind hung up on the day McKenna was born. He’d missed it thanks to a tour of duty. Not that Meredith cared. She’d never wanted him or the baby in the first place, but—thank God—she didn’t want an abortion either. He couldn’t help but think that he’d never been a real good judge of character when it came to women. His mind had been on other things … curves … smiles … long hair.

  He roughed a hand over his face, and then he noticed Firefox seemed to be growing restless. She lifted her head up and whinnied at him again. He’d seen many a mare give birth, but this was Firefox, the foal he’d nursed from the brink of death, the one that made him feel like he had a new lease on life. And she was in distress.

  “Something’s wrong.” He eased himself into the stall with her. “S’okay, girl,” he spoke to the mare. As he worked his way around to her flanks, he felt his heart stutter. “Lost leg.” “What?”

  “The foal only has one leg out.” He smoothed a hand over her hind flank. “It’s okay, girl. Just relax.” His own hands would be too big to help Foxy. “I’m going to need your help.”

  “O-okay.”

  With a quick glance back toward the stall gate, he knelt behind Foxy, amid the wet hay and lone leg. “Wash up at the trough by the door.”

  She hurried away without a complaint or hesitation. Admiration ran anew at Piper’s undaunted spirit. But the distraction was momentary as another contraction hit Firefox. She neighed and almost seemed to moan as her body worked to push the foal out.

  Whispering more encouragement to Foxy, he mentally noted the water shutting off. Feet padding back toward them.

  “What do I do?”

  “Come in, but talk to her. As you come up on her, keep talking, tell her you’re going to help.” He could only hope Piper’s presence didn’t add to the mare’s stress. He placed a hand on Foxy’s flank again and reassured her in firm but soft tones as Piper did the same.

  He watched. Admired. Knew he was falling hard in love with the woman who showed no fear in coming to the aid of his mare in distress. Might seem fast to most, but he’d spent eight months getting to know her. On his own, but he knew her all the same. Most likely, he had collected more information about her than most men learned about their girls in six months of dating.

  Soon, Piper knelt at his side.

  “I’m going to push the foal back in. When I do, I need you to reach in and find the other leg, draw it out.” He shifted a bit more to the right to give her more room. “The leg’s probably folded up.”

  She swallowed. “We did this once.”

  He considered her.

  Nervous eyes came to his, clearly looking for encouragement. “On a goat.”

  “Just a bigger animal, but you’ll do fine.” He watched as Foxy reacted to another wave of birth pains. “Okay, after this contraction, we need to work fast.”

  A nod as she positioned herself.

  He waited, his heart thrumming. As Foxy’s body relaxed as much as it could, he strained to see her head over her body and made sure she was still focused on birthing, not on them. Once he confirmed her almost trance-like state, he gently grasped the leg above the fetlock and guided the foal back up the birth canal, careful not to stress Foxy or injure the foal.

  “Okay, Piper.” Warm goo coated his arm. “Go ahead.”

  Her delicate hand slid into the birth canal. She shifted as her arm vanished to the elbow. “I think …” Her eyes darted back and forth as her cheek twitched. “I can’t find it.” Frantic, she looked at him, her arm rubbing his as they both worked to aid the labor.

  “Nice and easy. You can—”

  “There!” Face alight, she slowly brought her arm back out. “It’s coming!” Gooey and warm, her arm retraced its pattern until out came the other hoof.

  Colton drew back and allowed Firefox’s body to take over and finish the delivery. No sooner had he and Piper stood and cleared the area than Foxy went through another contraction.

  The head emerged with a white blaze.

  Piper gasped, covering her mouth with her clean hand as she inched back to give mother and foal more room.

  “Come on, girl.” Colton prodded Foxy on, his gut seized up. Quietly, he led Piper to the side as they awaited the finale. “She’s almost got it.”

  Another contraction. Foxy moaned through it.

  “That’s it, that’s it. You can do it,” Piper quietly cheered next to him.

  After a short relaxation period, Firefox endured another contraction. Within minutes, a whoosh delivered the gunk-covered foal onto the bed of hay.

  “Oh!” Piper spun and threw her arms around his neck. “She did it!”

  Surprise lit through Colton, and he lost his good mind, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against his chest tightly. In the seconds before sheer satisfaction closed his eyes, he saw Foxy rolling to her feet so she could tend her baby.

  Piper slowly eased out of his embrace, her head down and
cheeks filled with a rosy tinge. “I’m … I …” She held her left arm awkwardly to the side. “I got your T-shirt dirty.”

  “I don’t care.” Marry me. His mind had gone rogue. “It’ll wash.” But his feelings wouldn’t. He was in deep. The thing that irked him the most: He didn’t want out. He wanted Piper. Wanted a life with her.

  But that meant telling her.

  Everything.

  He couldn’t do that.

  DAY ONE

  Saudi Arabia, 20:43:18 hours

  Crimson curtains hung like sentinels on either side of the massive marble columns lining the entrance to the ballroom. Women dressed in expensive fabrics and jewels adorned the gilded hall, their heels clicking over the highly glossed floors. Men sporting their military regalia puffed their chests as much in salute to the women on their arms as to the gold glittering on their lapels.

  Rich fools, all of them. They had a traitor in their midst. One besides him.

  And that made his instincts blaze. Who’d beaten him to the general? Fingering the buttons on his suit to make sure he’d fastened them, he let his gaze roll lazily over the sea of people, tucking aside his fury.

  Armed with the keys to the Hummer he’d lifted from an overstuffed diplomat, Azzan hustled down the expansive steps leading to the circular drive. At the water fountain, he banked right. Toward the parking area where hundreds of vehicles waited.

  A guard stepped toward him.

  Clapping a hand on the man’s shoulder, Azzan Yasir smiled. “Assalaam Alaikum. “ He gave the familiar peace-be-upon-you, which demanded the other person reciprocate.

  Wary and uncertain, the guard finally gave a slow, furtive nod. “Wa Alaikum assalaam. “

  Relief sifted through Azzan, no doubt undetected by this ill-trained guard who held his weapon as a prize, not a part of him. “It is a quiet night, yes?”

  The guard nodded. “Al hamdu lillah.”

  Praise be to Allah? Afraid not. Azzan could only hope this guard did not delay him much longer and tangle him in the ensuing chaos when the body was discovered.

  “You are leaving early.” The man’s words were quiet, probing.