With a lecherous grin, he reached for her arm. As he pulled her to her feet, she got the sickening whiff of tobacco juice mixed with bologna.
“Now that’s a good girl,” he crooned.
Tugging her to her feet, he led her into the woods and away from the other men and the cattle. The moment they were out of sight, he slipped his arm around her shoulders, and Alexa very nearly froze with revulsion and fear. Yet somewhere deep within, she heard Jonas telling her to use her head and instincts to survive.
Swallowing at the bile rising in her throat, she addressed her captor in the sweetest voice she could summon. “Shouldn’t you untie my wrists? I can’t show you a good time like this.”
Chuckling, he lowered his mouth close to her ear. “Aw now you’re tryin’ to be sneaky with ole Josh here, ain’t you? You wanta jump me and get away.”
“I’m a helpless female. I couldn’t match your strength. But maybe you don’t like a woman’s hands on you,” she added with feigned coyness.
The last goading got him, and hope whipped through her as he fished a knife from his jeans pocket, then spun her around and began to saw at the shoestring binding her wrists.
“We ain’t got much time,” he muttered. “You—”
“Better be scared of Texas Rangers! Because this one has just come after you!”
She heard Jonas’s low, guttural warning, and a split second later her captor muttered a filthy expletive. The one word was all the young thief managed to get out before Jonas whacked him over the head with the butt of his pistol and he crumpled to the ground.
Sobbing, her legs threating to collapse, Alexa whirled and flung herself against Jonas.
“Jonas! Oh, God, Jonas!”
Snatching her into the tight circle of his arms, he quickly whispered against her ear. “Sh. Don’t let them hear you. Just tell me—are you all right? Have they hurt you?”
Even as he asked the questions, his lips were pressing frantic kisses across her forehead, on her hair and along her cheek.
“Just my face,” she answered. “I—”
Easing her back, he held up a penlight, then cursed as he spotted the swollen black eye and cheek. “God, these guys are going to pay, Alexa! But right now I just thank God I found you!”
Jerking the remaining bits of shoestring away from her hands, he helped her over to a large rock and ordered her to hunker down behind it. “Stay here! Don’t move. Don’t make a sound until I come after you! Understand?”
She clutched the front of his shirt, and he paused long enough to cradle her face in his hands.
“Be careful, Jonas! I don’t want to lose you now! Ever!”
Groaning, he brought his lips down on hers in a hard, hungry promise. “You’re not going to lose me, sweetheart.”
He pulled away from her, and as he slipped off into the darkness in search of the dangerous men, Alexa wanted to beg him not to go. Now that she was free, the two of them could slip off into the darkness and make it back to the safety of the ranch.
But this was his job, she reminded herself. It was what he wanted and needed to do. No matter how much she feared for his safety, she couldn’t try to pull him away from his work.
From somewhere near the parked semitrucks, she could hear the men shouting, calling out for her and her fallen suitor, and then behind her, another horse, the one she figured Jonas had quietly ridden up on, nickered loudly.
A silence ensued for several minutes after that, and Alexa’s stomach remained clenched in fearful knots. Had something happened to Jonas? Had these thugs jumped him? Taken his weapon away?
Even with the Romeo knocked unconscious, Jonas was still outnumbered: he had three men to deal with on his own! Oh God, it didn’t matter about her own life now, she thought. Without him, she could never be whole.
Time seemed suspended as she waited; then finally she heard Jonas shouting and then metal clanking. The horses continued to call to each other, and then there was more clanging and banging of metal.
Uncertainty and fear urged her to move from behind the rock and search for Jonas, while at the same time she fought to obey his order to stay put.
Finally the soft call of his voice flooded her heart with joyous relief.
“Over here, Alexa. It’s okay. It’s all over.”
Sobbing, she ran to him and the safety of his arms.
Minutes later, after Jonas had revived the youngest thief and thrown him into one of the cattle trailers with the rest of the rustlers, he helped Alexa into the truck’s cab and then drove them all back to the ranch house.
During the trip, Jonas made several calls, including one to the local sheriff to report the crime and request his help. He also notified Quint that Alexa was safe so, in turn, he could tell Frankie and everyone at the ranch the good news.
Each time he hung up the phone, Alexa looked for a chance to speak with him. There was so much she wanted to say, much she needed to hear. But this case had involved several different agencies, and he was quickly trying to alert them all as to what had just taken place. By the time he ended his conversation with Leo, his captain, they had reached the ranch, and she could see Quint and her mother standing in the middle of the ranch yard, waiting to greet them.
As soon as Jonas brought the big rig to a stop, Quint jerked open the door and helped Alexa to the ground. After he hugged his sister tightly and kissed her several times, Frankie snatched her into her arms.
“J.D.?” Alexa asked as soon as she could speak. “Where is he? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. Sassy has him in the nursery,” Frankie assured her. Then, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she used both hands to smooth Alexa’s hair away from her face. “Alexa! My God, your eye and cheek! I was afraid you’d fallen and broken your neck! I didn’t know anything about rustlers until a few minutes ago!”
Alexa shook her head with regret. She’d caused so many people so much worry. But there was a silver lining to the whole incident. At least, the rustlers had been found and caught.
“I’m sorry, Mother. Jonas warned me about riding too far away from the ranch. But I wasn’t paying close attention, and before I realized it, I was near the old county road on the other side of Chaparral property. I had just decided to follow the road back to the ranch when those—those men jumped out of their truck and nabbed me.”
Openly sobbing with relief, Frankie clung to Alexa for long moments before she finally eased her daughter out of her arms and shot her a reproving look. “You’ve been keeping secrets, young lady—but I’m hardly the person to scold you over that,” she said, with a tearful smile. “Besides, that part doesn’t matter now. You’re safe. Thank God!”
“You’re damn right it doesn’t matter,” Quint exclaimed as he jerked his sister back into the safe circle of his arms. “Jonas saved Alexa and rounded up a bunch of thieving thugs while he was at it. What’s there to fuss about?”
“Jonas. Where is he?” Alexa twisted her head in search of him.
Quint jerked his thumb back over his shoulder. “While Mom had you in her clutches, the sheriff and deputies arrived. He’s with them.”
Stepping out of her brother’s embrace, Alexa glanced over to see a group of official county vehicles parked near one of the cattle pens. At the front of a four-wheel-drive truck, Jonas was standing with the county sheriff and two other lawmen. A map was laid out on the hood, and Jonas was deep in conversation as he pointed out areas and gave directions. For now, he’d forgotten all about Alexa.
Frankie spoke up. “Come along, darling. I know you want to see J.D., and you need a shower and food. I’m going to call Dr. Donovan and have her come out and check your eye and cheek.”
Taking her by the arm, Frankie urged her daughter toward the house. Quint excused himself and headed off to join Jonas and the lawmen to offer his help.
“My eye and cheek will be okay, Mom. There’s no need to call Bridget all the way out here. I’ll put an ice pack on my face.”
“Nonsense. Ma
king house calls is her specialty. And I want to make sure there’s no damage that might need more serious medical attention.”
Alexa was too weary to waste any more breath arguing with her mother about it. Frankie would overly compensate Dr. Donovan for her trouble. Right now Alexa’s major concern was getting her baby back in her arms and finding a chance to speak privately with Jonas.
He’d said she wasn’t going to lose him. But had he been talking about the future? Or had he said those words just to calm her while they’d been in a difficult situation? Obviously he’d been desperate to rescue her. But that was his job, to rescue anyone whose life was in danger.
Hours passed before Alexa finally got the opportunity to see Jonas again. She was lying on a small couch in the atrium, waiting and watching for his return, when he finally stepped through the door.
Jumping to her feet, she switched on a lamp and startled him in the process.
“Alexa!” he exclaimed with dismay. “What are you doing out here?”
Moving across the room to him, she could see weariness etched upon his rugged features, and she ached to hold him in her arms, to soothe away every worry from his heart.
She came to a stop within inches of him, and suddenly her heart was bursting to tell him all that she was feeling, fearing, wanting. “I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted. “Not until I had a chance to—see you.”
His eyes met hers and then, with a great groan, he swept her into his arms and buried his face in her neck. “Oh, darling. Oh, Alexa, my love.”
Slipping her arms around his waist, she pressed her face against his warm chest.
“Jonas, oh, Jonas,” she mumbled sorrowfully. “When I told you that you didn’t deserve to be in my bedroom or my heart, I didn’t mean it. Forgive me. All these days I’ve been wondering what to do—how to convince you not to throw my love away. I won’t let you!”
Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he held her so close that she realized he never meant to let her go.
“Don’t ask me to forgive you, Alexa. There’s nothing to forgive. I’ve acted like a crazy man. And I don’t deserve your love.” His face was pressed against her hair, and her thick locks muffled his next words. “Tonight, when Laramie told me you were missing, I felt the world being jerked from under my feet. If something had happened to you—”
With his hands on her shoulders, he eased her away from him just enough to see her face. As he took in the bruises and swelling, the horror of what she must have gone through brought a sting of tears to his eyes.
“I don’t want to live without you, Alexa,” he said simply. “I love you. I’ve loved you almost from the very start. But every time the mere thought of the word entered my mind, I tried to push it out. These past few days I’ve been trying to convince myself that I could go back to Texas without you. But even before the rustlers grabbed you, I was coming to the conclusion that I couldn’t just walk away from you. Do you still love me, Alexa? Do you still want us to be a family?”
Joy settled in the bottom of her heart, then swelled upward and outward, until her whole being felt as if it were riding a golden cloud.
“Jonas, I love you, need you! J.D. needs you to be his father. And I want you to be the father of any other children I’m blessed to have. Does that answer your question?”
“My job will always—”
“Make you extra special to me.” As she finished the sentence for him, her hands came up to frame his doubtful face. “Jonas, tonight I saw firsthand just how important your job is, how much it’s a part of you. I’d never want to separate the two of you. I understand that after we’re married, there will be times we can’t be together. But as long as I know you’ll be coming home to me, that’s all that matters.”
Swallowing hard, he rested his forehead against hers. “Your brother accused me of not knowing how to show my love to another person, and I’ve had to admit to myself that he was right.”
“Oh, Jonas, that’s—”
Shaking his head, he said quickly, “No, wait, Alexa. Hear me out. Quint was right. Now that I’ve looked back on my life, I can see that things were different—so very different—for me than they’ve been for you. My parents weren’t happy people. My mother—I can’t remember hugs or kisses from her. I can’t remember a time I saw her touch my father with affection. I can’t recall her offering him praise the way that you’ve praised me. I guess I never learned to express my feelings, and when I tried to with Celia, I must have come off as halfhearted. I don’t know. I just know that I’m not going to make the same mistakes with you as I did with her. I’m not going to lose you, Alexa. Not now or ever.”
Rising up on her tiptoes, she rubbed her lips against his. “The rustling case is closed on this end. When do we pack to go to Texas?”
Laughing softly, he glanced around him. “Where is our son? Asleep?”
Alexa’s arms slipped around his neck as she pulled him even closer. “Asleep. With his grandmother,” she whispered. “Somehow I think she understood that I needed to be with you tonight.”
He brought his lips next to hers. “Hmm. Remind me to tell her what a good mother-in-law she’s going to be.”
Epilogue
Almost a year later, deep in the heart of Texas, on the Redman Ranch, family and friends crowded around the chairs and tables erected on the back lawn, beneath the limbs of a giant, spreading live oak.
Because Abe had refused to board a jet, Quint had driven him and Frankie the several hundred miles to San Antonio to be here for the occasion. Quint and Alexa’s half brothers, Mac and Ripp, along with their young families, had also driven up for the party. And Jonas had been pleasantly surprised when his older sister, Bethany, had arrived with their younger brother, Bart, in tow.
A few minutes ago, after the barbecue dinner had been downed, Alexa had placed a small birthday cake in front of J.D. The black-haired toddler had stared at the object for long moments before he’d finally squealed with delight, then smashed the sweet concoction between his two little hands. He’d smeared more cake on his face and shirt than what he’d managed to get into his mouth, but he’d had a blast doing it. So much so that he’d cried when Alexa had finally taken the cake away and cleaned him.
But his fussing quickly ended when his daddy sat him down on the patio, among a pile of brightly wrapped presents. For the next few minutes, as she and Jonas watched with loving eyes as their son dug into his first birthday toys, Alexa was reminded that the past year had been full of pleasant surprises, new adventures and, most of all, love. Her life with Jonas and their son was all that she’d imagined and more.
In the end, the rustling thieves who’d nabbed Alexa squealed on the ringleaders in order to lessen their sentences. Jonas’s suspicions about a Pickens ranch hand being involved in the crime had also been correct. That man had been arrested for aiding and abetting and had been convicted along with the rest. Jonas had been commended by his peers for his valiant effort, and since then he’d moved on to other cases.
Alexa never failed to encourage her husband, and in turn, Jonas made sure he showed her and their son how very much he loved them. And she’d taken over the management of his ranch, which was flourishing.
“My boy is already walking strong,” Abe said proudly to Alexa as she served her grandfather a cup of strong coffee. “He’ll be riding by himself in no time. Jonas will see to that. And so will I.” He glanced slyly up at her. “So when are you and Jonas gonna have another one? Soon, I hope. I ain’t getting no younger, you know. I want to be around to see it get here. Your granny and me never could have another child after Lewis. Now it’s up to you and Quint to keep the family goin’.”
Smiling secretively, she said, “We’re working on it, Gramps.”
“Well, work a little faster,” he said with a snort.
She propped a hip on the arm of his wooden lawn chair and slipped her arm across the back of her grandfather’s shoulders. Abe had never been one to step off Apache Wells unless he had to.
But J.D. had become the apple of his great-grandfather’s eye, and Alexa hadn’t had to do much cajoling to get the old man to come to Texas for the baby’s birthday celebration.
Since he’d been here, Jonas had made a special effort to show Abe around the ranch and ask his opinion on everything from cattle to fence building. Seeing the fond affection that had grown between the two men filled her with more happiness than she could express.
“Gramps, I wish you’d decide to stay here with us for a while longer. At least another month. We have plenty of room for you.”
He patted her hand. “It sounds temptin’, honey. I like this hot, steamy air. Makes a man sweat and feel good. Maybe I’ll come back later and stay awhile.”
“Why not stay now? Frankie has a new man in her life, and he’s keeping her happily occupied. And Quint’s busy—he’s almost got the new ranch built. He doesn’t have to have you around.”
The old man chuckled as he gazed across the lawn to where Quint was relaxing in a lawn chair, sharing a beer with Jonas.
“Quint don’t know it yet, but I’m about to have a surprise for him.”
Alexa looked curiously down at her grandfather. “What sort of surprise? Gramps, you’re not still harping on opening the Golden Spur, are you?”
Smiling slyly, Abe stroked his chin whiskers with a thumb and forefinger. “Could be. Could be that and a whole lot more.”
Alexa didn’t ask her grandfather for details. She’d learned long ago that he didn’t give away any thought in his head until he was good and ready to let it loose. Yet later that night, as she sat in front of her bedroom dressing table brushing her hair, her grandfather’s comment continued to drift through her mind.
“You’re looking awfully preoccupied.” Coming up behind her, Jonas settled his hands on the tops of her shoulders. “If I were a jealous husband, I’d say you had another man on your mind.”
Smiling coyly, she put the brush aside and reached up to cover both his hands with hers. “Actually, I was thinking about another man,” she admitted. “Gramps, to be exact.”
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