RESCUE AT CARDWELL RANCH

by B. J Daniels

  “Just being here makes her happy since I think she gets starved for female companionship with all these Cardwell men around.”

  As they rode back toward the ranch, she couldn’t help but notice the pines shimmering in the waning light. In the distance, she could see Lone Mountain, now a deep purple.

  She couldn’t remember a time she’d enjoyed a man’s company the way she did Hayes Cardwell’s. He wasn’t hard to look at, either, she thought with a hidden smile, surprising herself. No man had turned her head in a very long time. And he really had taken her mind off last night.

  But as they rode into the darkening ranch yard, she felt another shiver and tried to shake off that feeling of being watching again.

  * * *

  HAYES NOTICED HOW quiet McKenzie was at supper. Fortunately, his father and uncle hadn’t been able to make it to the ranch so she’d only had to meet a few of the family members. He could tell she was exhausted. The ride, though, had put some color back into her cheeks.

  After dinner, the two of them headed for their respective cabins on the mountainside behind the house and he asked, “Would it be possible for you to take a few days off? I’m anxious to have a look around the area and thought you might want to come along.”

  He could see that she saw through his ruse right away.

  She smiled politely, though, and said, “I am speaking at a real-estate convention tomorrow at the university before several hundred people.”

  That had been his fear. “You can’t get someone else to do it for you?”

  “Are you kidding?” She laughed. “This has been planned for months.”

  He nodded. “So it’s been widely publicized.”

  She frowned. “You can’t think that the man who attacked me would come to something like this, hoping to harm me.”

  He wasn’t sure what to think. “I don’t like it because it will be hard to protect you in a crowd like that.”

  “Hayes—”

  “If you’re going to tell me that you don’t want my protection, save your breath. I’m going with you.”

  “You’ll be bored to tears.”

  “I hope so. I’m sure your speech will knock ’em dead, but with any luck, it will be uneventful.”

  “This conference is important. It’s about growth in Montana, especially in this Big Sky area,” she said as they neared her cabin.

  Moonlight filled the canyon, casting long shadows from the pines. A breeze stirred the boughs, sending the sweet scent of pine into the night air. Overhead stars glittered above the canyon walls.

  McKenzie met his gaze and smiled. “Good for both of our businesses, actually. There’s a lot of money that has moved into Montana. A Texas barbecue restaurant at Big Sky wouldn’t have made it maybe even five years ago. Now, though?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “I know you aren’t just saying that to sell the building we looked at.”

  “That building would already be sold if your brother hadn’t put down money on it,” she said.

  Hayes’s brow shot up. “Tag put money down on it?”

  She realized she’d let the cat out of the bag. “I’m sorry, I got the impression it was his own money and merely to hold it until you could all see it.”

  “I knew he had his heart set on this, but...” He shook his head as they reached her cabin.

  A small lantern-shaped light cast a golden glow from the porch over them and the wooden lattice swing that moved restlessly in the light breeze. Dana and Hud had the half-dozen guest cabins built to look as if they’d been there for a hundred years. They were rustic on the outside but had all the conveniences of home inside.

  “I hope you and you brothers can work this out,” McKenzie said.

  “Me, too.”

  “Thank you again for everything,” she said as she looked past him toward the old two-story ranch house below. “I’ve loved getting to know some of your family and the horseback ride... Well, I can’t tell you how much I needed it, needed all of this.”

  “You know, Dana said you are welcome to stay as long as you want.”

  She smiled at that. “That is very sweet of her, but with Tag’s wedding just weeks away... No, I need to get back to work.”

  “I understand. What time is this conference tomorrow?”

  McKenzie told him and reluctantly agreed to his following her to her condo and then to the university.

  “I hope you didn’t think I was trying to strong-arm you into the restaurant site,” she said.

  He shook his head. “I didn’t. McKenzie, I was thinking we should have dinner some night before I return to Texas.”

  “I would enjoy that.”

  He waited for her to enter the cabin and turn on a light before he started through the pines to his own cabin. As he walked, he pulled out his cell phone and called his brother Laramie. It was such a beautiful June night and he wasn’t tired at all. If anything, he didn’t want the night to end. He couldn’t remember being this...

  For a moment, he didn’t recognize the emotion. Happy. He laughed to himself. He felt...happy.

  “Tag has his heart set on opening a restaurant here,” he said without preamble when his brother Laramie answered.

  “We already knew that. What did you think about the location he picked?”

  “What is the point of discussing that if we don’t want to open one in Montana?” he demanded. “Wait a minute. He called you, didn’t he?”

  Laramie sighed. “He wanted to make sure I was flying in for the wedding in a few weeks so I could see the site and we could talk. You didn’t tell him what we decided, I take it? Is this just a case of you not wanting to play the bad guy?”

  “No, I’m actually reconsidering.” Hayes told himself it had nothing to do with McKenzie Sheldon and much more to do with Montana. He was falling for the state. He wouldn’t be here long enough to fall for the woman, which was another reason not to stay too long. Fate might have thrown them together, but then again, he didn’t believe in fate, did he? “Tag made some good points.”

  “So would the location work?”

  “The location is fine. Actually better than fine. And maybe Big Sky is ready for Texas barbecue, but is this really something we want to do? What’s next, Wyoming? Minnesota?”

  “Tag said that people from all over the world visit Big Sky and a lot of the homeowners have sophisticated tastes.”

  Hayes laughed. “You aren’t really implying that our barbecue requires a sophisticated taste.”

  “Maybe not, but our beans definitely do.”

  They both laughed.

  “So tell me about his fiancée,” Laramie said.

  “She’s pretty, supersmart, has a great job and owns her own home here in Big Sky. And she’s definitely wild about our brother.”

  “Sounds like our Tag hit a home run.”

  Hayes sighed. “She’s nice, too. I liked her.”

  “I heard you found a woman up there, as well.”

  “Found being the operative word.” Hayes told his brother what had happened.

  “Crazy. I thought there wasn’t any crime up there.”

  “Low crime. Not no crime.” He’d reached his cabin. As he climbed up the steps and sat down on the porch swing, he said, “I’m thinking I might stick around for a while.” It surprised him that he’d voiced what had been in the back of his mind.

  “So it’s like that,” Laramie said.

  “It’s...complicated.”

  “Be careful, Hayes,” his brother warned. “You know what Jackson went through with his marriage.”

  He did. His wife had left him right after their son was born, only to come back three years later and try to take Ford away from Jackson. “Could you fly up now instead of before the wedding?”

  �
�Not going to happen. Let’s remember that I’m the brother who keeps Texas Boys Barbecue Corporation going.”

  “We never forget that,” Hayes said. Laramie was the business major, the brother who’d gladly taken the reins when the business had begun to take off. True, it had grown more than any of them had anticipated since then, but Laramie was still the best brother to be in charge. And there was that added benefit that none of them forgot. Laramie allowed the rest of them to do whatever they wanted, never having to worry about money.

  “You know how thankful we all are that you took it on,” he said, not that Laramie needed reassurance. His brother loved what he did and continued to make the corporation more than profitable.

  “What about Austin?” Hayes had to ask.

  Silence, then Laramie said in a worried tone, “He’s on a case down by the border. I haven’t been able to reach him for several weeks now.”

  Hayes let out a curse. When Austin got on a case, it was all-consuming. They often went for weeks, even months, with no word from him. He only seemed to take on the most dangerous cases. They’d almost lost him more than once.

  “I thought he was working fewer hours for the sheriff’s department.”

  “You know him better than that,” Laramie said. “I’m sure he will do everything possible to make the wedding, though.”

  Hayes sure hoped so, but of the five of them, Austin was the loner of the family and possibly the most stubborn. “When are Jackson and Ford flying in?” He knew Jackson and his five-year-old son wouldn’t miss the wedding, even though weddings were the last thing Jackson was interested in attending after his marriage had gone so awry.

  “A few days before the wedding. Ford is excited about riding horses at the ranch. Apparently, cousin Dana promised him his own horse while he’s up there.”

  “So what do you want me to do about Tag and the restaurant site?” Hayes asked.

  “If you’ve already weakened, I’d say it was a done deal.”

  As Hayes disconnected, he thought about walking back to McKenzie’s cabin and telling her to get the paperwork for the restaurant site ready. It was pretty much a done deal if Laramie was getting behind it.

  But he stayed on his cabin porch. He could tell her tomorrow or maybe even the next day. It would give him an excuse to see her again. Not that he needed one. What was that old Chinese proverb? He who saves a life is responsible for it.

  The woman brought out his protective instincts. He knew it was because she was so strong, so determined, so capable of taking care of herself under normal circumstances. But the man who’d attacked her had shaken her world and left her afraid and vulnerable.

  Hayes told himself that whoever had tried to abduct her in the grocery-store parking lot was probably long gone.

  But what if he wasn’t? What if it was this man she’d fired?

  He swore softly under his breath. It seemed that tomorrow he was going to a huge real-estate conference where a predator could be anyone in the crowd. And to think he’d actually considered leaving his gun in Texas, asking himself, what were the chances he would need it in Montana?

  Chapter Seven

  The moment they reached what McKenzie called the “field house,” a huge, circular, dome-shaped building on the Montana State University campus, Hayes saw the parking lot and knew this was going to be a security nightmare.

  As they entered the building, they were surrounded by people, many of them coming up to McKenzie. There were pats on the back, handshakes, people brushing her arm in welcome as she made her way down to the exhibits.

  “Are you all right?” McKenzie asked when they finally got to M.K. Realty’s booth.

  “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

  “You’ve been scowling since we got here,” she said. “Haven’t you ever heard of safety in numbers?”

  She seemed to be at ease, as if she’d forgotten the attack, but Hayes wasn’t fooled. He could see past the bravado. She was putting on a show, determined that her attacker wasn’t going to change anything about her life.

  But he already had. She either was pretending otherwise or the reality of it hadn’t hit home yet.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I’ll try to lighten up. Or at least look as if I have.”

  She gave him a grateful smile and squeezed his arm. “I really do appreciate that you’re here.”

  Let’s see if you do when this day is over, he thought, wondering how he was going to keep her safe in a place this packed with people.

  As she had a word with her employees at their booth, he watched the crowd. He had some idea of who he was looking for. A large man, over six feet, strongly built.

  He’d had a few cases involving these types of men. While he knew the general type, there were always exceptions. He wasn’t going to make the mistake of trying to pigeonhole this one.

  The place was filled with men, most of them alone. Any one of these men could be here to hurt McKenzie. The thought rattled him so much that he didn’t hear her saying his name. When she touched his arm, he jumped.

  She gave him a pleading look. She was trying so hard to hold it together. She didn’t need him wigging out on her.

  “He could be miles from here,” she whispered as she stepped close. He felt her breath on his ear and shivered inwardly. Just the light scent of her perfume had his pulse thrumming.

  Today she’d worn a business suit with a white blouse under the jacket that accentuated her olive skin and the thin silver necklace around her neck. At the end of the chain, a small diamond rested between the swell of her breasts. She’d put makeup on the bruises at her neck, hiding them enough that no one would notice. Diamond studs glittered on each of her earlobes with her hair pulled up off her long, slim neck.

  She’d chosen a shade of lipstick that called attention to her full mouth. No way could this woman possibly blend into this crowd.

  “Are you listening to me?” she asked.

  He nodded, although his thoughts had been on the way the suit skirt hugged her shapely behind, dropping below her knees to her long legs and the matching high heels on her feet. McKenzie was the whole package. Any man in his right mind would want this woman.

  As it was, somewhere in this building could be a man completely out of his mind who, if he got the chance, would hurt her and bury her in a shallow grave somewhere.

  “Why don’t you stay here? You’ll be able to see me from here.” She pointed to a raised area where she would be giving her speech.

  Before he could object, she took off through the crowd. He went after her, fighting his way through the throng of people. He caught a glimpse of her head as she neared the platform and knew he wouldn’t be able to catch up to her before she was on stage.

  * * *

  MCKENZIE COULDN’T HELP being irritated with Hayes. She needed his strength right now. Seeing the worry in his eyes only made her more aware of what had happened to her two nights ago.

  But she’d put it behind her, convinced the man had been traveling through town and was now miles from here.

  She cut through the crowd, not stopping even to say hello to people she knew. She was in the people business. It really did matter who you knew when you sold real estate, she was thinking as she neared the side of the raised platform and the podium and microphone waiting for her.

  Rows of chairs had been placed in front and were already full. She’d been honored when asked to speak. Some of the older Realtors resented her because she’d climbed so fast.

  She thought of Gus Thompson’s mother. She’d been McKenzie’s mentor and had taught her the ropes.

  “Of course they don’t like it,” she’d said once when McKenzie had mentioned that some of the Realtors had given her the cold shoulder. “Just keep your chin up and don’t lose sight of where it is you want to go.”

&n
bsp; It had been good advice. She hadn’t made enemies along the way and was glad of that. Instead, she’d kept her nose to the grindstone, working hard and now knew she had the respect of her peers. Several of the older Realtors gave her a nod as she passed.

  She made her way to the stairs at the back of the platform near the wall and had started up the stairs when her hair was grabbed from behind. Her head jerked back. She heard the sound of something sharp cutting through her hair an instant before the pressure on it was released.

  Fighting to keep from falling back down the couple of stairs she’d climbed, she swung around, thinking she must have caught her hair on something.

  There were people everywhere but none were paying any attention to her. Nor could she see anything that might have caught in her hair.

  Her hand went to her long, blond mane. In the middle of the back of her head she felt a place where a huge chunk of her hair had been chopped off only inches from her scalp.

  She looked down to see a few long strands on the stairs along with the clip she’d used to put her hair up this morning.

  Her body began to shake. Someone had grabbed her from behind and chopped off a huge chunk of her hair? It was inconceivable. But then so was what had happened to her the night in the grocery-store parking lot.

  On the stage, one of the Realtors was checking the microphone as she got ready to announce the guest speaker.

  McKenzie looked again at the people milling past. No one seemed to pay her any mind. No one had a hank of her hair in his hand. But she knew it could have been any one of them.

  She quickly stepped back down the stairs to retrieve her clip. Her fingers trembled as she pulled her hair up as best she could and anchored it with the clip.

  She could do this. She would do this. She wouldn’t be scared off. She wouldn’t let whoever had done this win.

  * * *

  SOMETHING WAS WRONG. Hayes watched McKenzie walk onto the stage smiling. But he knew her smile and that wasn’t it.

  His heart began to pound. He shouldn’t have let her out of his sight. The darn woman. She was so stubborn, so sure she could handle this on her own. She hadn’t been out of his sight for more than a few moments—not until she’d gone behind the raised platform.