Cowboy's Redemption

by B. J Daniels

  He swore under his breath. As many times as he’d imagined what it would be like running into her again, he’d never imaged this. Lola was watching the two of them as if enjoying a tennis match.

  Colt had hoped that he wouldn’t feel anything, given what Julia had done to him. But he’d believed in this woman, believed they would share the rest of their lives; otherwise, he would never have asked her to marry him. It had taken him almost three years to pop the question. He’d wanted to be sure. What a fool he’d been.

  “I heard you were back,” Julia said, and glanced from him to Lola beside him. “I was so sorry to hear about your father. I was at the funeral...”

  He’d seen her and managed to avoid her.

  “How are you?” she asked, sounding as if she cared.

  As if sensing who this woman was and what she’d meant to him, Lola reached over and took his hand, squeezing it gently.

  “I’m good,” he said, squeezing back. “And you?”

  “Fine.” She looked again at his companion, her gaze going to their clasped hands.

  “I heard you’ve put the ranch up for sale.” Julia hesitated. She brushed a lock of her hair back from her forehead, looking not quite as confident. “Does this mean you’re going back into the military?” His joining the Army’s flight program had been a bone of contention between them.

  He shook his head, as if what he planned to do was any of her business.

  “I was just wondering,” she said, no doubt seeing him clenching his teeth. “I was hoping that if you were staying around Gilt Edge we could...” Again she hesitated. “Maybe we could have a cup of coffee sometime and just talk.”

  Just talk the way they had before she’d had an affair with Wyatt? Or talk the way they had when she hadn’t shown up at the airport to give him a ride home?

  “Our last conversation...” Julia looked again at Lola for a moment. “It went so badly. I’d left you messages. I had no way of knowing you hadn’t gotten them or the letter I sent.”

  “You were clear enough on the phone the last time we talked,” he said, wishing she would just say whatever it was she needed to say so he didn’t have to keep standing there. He could tell that she was waiting for him to introduce her to Lola, but his heart was beating too hard. Julia and Wyatt had hurt him badly. Her and one of his friends? Equal amounts of anger and regret had him shaking inside.

  But he didn’t want to get into an argument here in the grocery store parking lot in front of Lola. He didn’t want Julia to know just how much she and Wyatt had hurt him. And he feared that if he started in on her, he wouldn’t be able to stop until all of his grief and rage and hurt came pouring out.

  “I’m glad you’re home.” Julia looked from him to Lola again and forced a weak smile. “It was good to see you. If you change your mind about that cup of coffee...” She stood for a moment, looking awkward and unsure, something new for Julia, he thought. And he realized that she needed him to tell her it was okay, what she’d done. That he forgave her. That he wanted her and Wyatt to be happy. Julia was struggling with the guilt.

  That alone should have made him feel better, he thought as she turned and left them standing there. Instead, he felt as if he’d been ambushed by a speeding freight train.

  “I’m sorry,” Lola said as she let go of his hand.

  He couldn’t speak so merely nodded as he took the cart to the rack and quickly returned to the pickup. Lola grabbed her potato chips out of the back and joined him in the cab. He’d expected her to be full of questions.

  Instead, she buckled up, holding the bag of potato chips as if she’d lost her appetite, and quietly let him process what had just happened. He was thankful to her for that. And for taking his hand back there.

  “Thanks,” he said, after he got the truck going and drove out of the parking lot.

  “It was the first time you’ve seen her since...since the breakup.” It wasn’t a question, but he answered it anyway.

  “I’ve managed to avoid her. Just my luck...” He shook his head.

  “I can see how painful it is.”

  “I’m more angry than hurt.”

  Lola looked out the side window. “Betrayal is always painful.” She hugged herself.

  He glanced over at her, thinking what a strong, determined woman she was. Not the kind who would give up when things got a little tough.

  “Julia turned out not to be the woman I thought she was,” he said. “I’m better off without her.”

  Lola said nothing, no doubt sensing that no matter what he said, he wasn’t completely over his former fiancée or what she had put him through.

  It made him angry that his heart hadn’t let go of the hurt. The anger he didn’t mind living with for a while.

  * * *

  WHAT WOULD LOLA do now? That was the question Jonas knew he should be asking himself as he stepped back inside his warm, elegantly furnished cabin.

  She must think him a complete fool. Her great escape. He let out a bark of a laugh. Did she really think she could have gotten away unless he’d let her? Sure, he’d had his men chase her with instructions to make sure that she got away.

  He’d known she would run straight to the father of her baby. As if he hadn’t known she was lying about not knowing who she’d lain with. He scoffed at the idea. Sister Rebecca had seen her with a man near the hotel bar that night. Unfortunately, Lola and the man had disappeared on the elevator too quickly.

  But Rebecca had managed to get the information. Major Colt McCloud. An Army helicopter pilot. Jonas would ask what she could see in a man like that, but he wasn’t that stupid. The man was good-looking, part cowboy, part flight jockey. He had just inherited a large ranch.

  Not that Jonas had been certain Colt McCloud was the man who’d knocked Lola up. No, he hadn’t known that until today when the man had shown up with Lola and the sheriff.

  Lola was too bound up from her conservative upbringing to go to bed with just anyone. So she’d seen something beyond Colt McCloud’s good looks. Jonas swore under his breath as he moved to the fireplace to throw on another log. Just the thought of the cowboy pilot made his blood boil. How dare the man come up here making demands.

  Jonas thought he might have convinced Colt that Lola was unstable and not to be believed. She’d certainly played into his plan perfectly when she’d lost it in the laundry room. But he couldn’t be sure about Colt. The man was probably smitten with Lola and would want to believe her.

  At least the sheriff wouldn’t be returning. He’d been sufficiently convinced. Law enforcement always backed off when it came to churches. Just like the government did. He smiled at the thought of how he’d been able to build The Society of Lasting Serenity without anyone looking over his shoulder.

  Until now.

  “You could return the baby,” Sister Rebecca had dared to say to him before the dust had even settled earlier today. “You know she’ll be back if you don’t.”

  “Mind your place,” he’d snapped. He’d seen how jealous the older woman was of Lola. He suspected she’d been mean to her, cutting her rations, possibly even being physically abusive to her. He hadn’t stopped it, wanting Sister Rebecca’s loyalty.

  But now he wondered how much longer he might be able to count on Rebecca. Once Lola was back—and she would be back—Sister Rebecca might have to be taken down a notch or two. Then again, maybe it was time to retire her. Not that she would ever be allowed to leave. She knew too much.

  Strange how a valuable asset could so quickly become a liability.

  As soon as he had Lola... Yes, he would dispose of Sister Rebecca. It would be almost like a wedding gift for his new wife. Not that he would tell Lola what had really happened to the older woman. Let her believe he’d given Rebecca a golden parachute and sent her off to some island to bask in the sun for the rest of her days.

  He stared into
the flames as the log he’d added began to crackle and spark. If he was Colt McCloud, what would he do? Jonas smiled to himself, then picked up the phone. “We’re going to need more guards tonight, especially around the cemetery.”

  * * *

  AFTER RUNNING INTO JULIA, Colt had known it was just a matter of time before he and Wyatt crossed paths. He’d promised himself that when it happened, when he finally did see his traitorous, former good friend, he would keep his cool. He wasn’t going to lose his temper. If Wyatt wanted Julia, a woman who would betray her fiancé while he was fighting a war oceans away, then she was all his.

  He’d visualized seeing both of them, but even in his imagination, he hadn’t known what he would do. He’d told himself that he would tell them both off, make them feel even more guilty, if possible, hurt them the way they had hurt him.

  But look what had happened when he’d seen Julia. He’d been boiling inside, his heart pounding, anger and hurt a potent mixture. And he’d said none of what he’d planned. Instead, he hadn’t wanted them to know how much they’d hurt him. Or even how angry he still was.

  After seeing Julia, it made him wonder when it could happen with Wyatt. How would Wyatt react? He just hoped Lola wouldn’t have to witness it again. Colt thought that Wyatt must be dreading the day when they would come face-to-face again as much as he was. Colt hoped he’d given Wyatt a few sleepless nights worrying about it. Because, in a town the size of Gilt Edge, a meeting had to happen.

  But Colt was sorry that it had to happen at this moment as he stopped to get gas on the way out of town. Lola had gone inside the convenience mart to use the ladies’ room.

  As he stood filling the pickup with gas, Wyatt drove up, pulling to a pump two away from him.

  Colt froze, his heart in this throat, as he watched Wyatt get out of his pickup and step to the fuel pump. He thought about staying where he was, pretending he never saw him. But that was way too cowardly. Anyway, he wanted to get this over with.

  He finished fueling his truck and walked down the line of gas pumps. Wyatt looked up and saw him and seemed to freeze. They’d grown up together, hung out with many of the same friends since grade school. It was only after college that Colt, needing to do something more with his life, had enlisted in the Army helicopter program.

  Wyatt had tried to talk him out of it. “Why do you need to go so far away? You’re going to get yourself killed and for what?”

  Colt hadn’t been able to explain it to him. So he’d left to fly and fight while Wyatt had stayed on his family ranch and stolen Julia.

  He took a step toward the man he’d thought he’d known better than himself. As he did, he wondered what he would come out of his mouth or if he would be able to speak. His pulse thundered in his ears as he advanced on his former friend.

  “Colt.” Wyatt was a big, strong cowboy. He put up both hands in surrender but held his ground. “Colt, whatever you’re thinking—”

  Colt hit him hard enough to drive him back a couple of steps. Wyatt banged into the side of his pickup.

  “I don’t want to fight you,” Wyatt said as one large hand went to his bleeding nose.

  “That’s good,” Colt said. “Since you’d probably take me.” He knew that might be true since Wyatt had a few inches on him and a good twenty pounds, but as angry as he was, he’d fight like hell.

  His hands were balled into fists, but he didn’t hit him again. Wyatt’s bleeding nose looked broken. Colt was reminded of the time Wyatt had taken on the school bully, a kid twice his size back then. His former friend was tough and had never backed down from a fight in all the time Colt had known him.

  He took a step back, hating that he was remembering the years of their friendship. His eyes burned with tears, but damned if he was going to cry. Looking at Wyatt, he realized that losing Julia had hurt; losing someone he’d considered a close friend, though, had ripped out his heart.

  He turned on his heel and walked back to his pickup before he made a complete fool of himself. His knuckles hurt, but nothing like his heart as he listened to Wyatt get into his truck and drive away.

  * * *

  LOLA HAD SEEN everything from the front window of the convenience store when she’d come back from the restroom. The “fight” had ended quickly enough.

  She didn’t have to ask who the man had been.

  Wyatt Enderlin. When she’d asked Colt about him, he’d said they’d been friends. “It’s a small town. We make friends for life here.” She could imagine how much Wyatt’s betrayal hurt Colt.

  She pushed open the door and walked out to Colt’s truck, climbing in without a word. Out of the corner of her eye, Lola saw him rub his skinned and swollen knuckles before he climbed behind the wheel.

  It wasn’t until they were in the pickup headed toward the ranch that Colt said, “You saw?”

  She hesitated, forcing him to look over at her. “I wanted you to hit him again.”

  He smiled sadly at that. “I hadn’t planned to even hit him once.”

  “Do you feel better or worse?”

  Chuckling, he said, “Better and worse.”

  “Well, you got that out of the way.”

  “Right, I got to see them both on the same day. Lucky me.” He drove in silence for a few minutes. “Wyatt and I were like brothers at one point growing up. I’d always wanted a brother...” He shook his head.

  “He was your friend.”

  “Was being the key word here. My other friends like Darby Cahill never would have done that.”

  “Which hurts worse?” she finally asked.

  Colt shot her a glance before turning back to his driving. “Wyatt.”

  “Maybe one day—”

  “I don’t think so. Being in the military you learn which men you can trust in battle. Those are the men you want watching your back. Wyatt, as it turned out, isn’t one of them.”

  “I’m sorry.” She let the words hang in the air for a moment. “Do you believe in fate?”

  They were almost at the turnoff to the ranch. Ahead she could see the for-sale sign. They hadn’t talked about it. She doubted they would because she already knew from the first time they’d met how Colt felt about flying the big birds in the military.

  “Fate?” he asked, glancing at her for a moment before he slowed for the turn.

  “Maybe it was fate that has brought us all to this point in our lives.”

  * * *

  FATE? LOLA COULDN’T be serious. If his fate was having his fiancée hook up with his good friend behind his back, then he’d say he was one unlucky bastard. He said as much to Lola.

  “I was thinking more about the way we met.”

  Instantly he hated having rained on her parade like that.

  “If Julia hadn’t broken up with you and had met you at the airport like she was supposed to, then you wouldn’t have been in that hotel that night and I wouldn’t have...”

  Would some other man have saved her? Or taken advantage of a young woman who was obviously inexperienced and desperate? The thought made him sick to his stomach, but he wouldn’t have known because he would never have laid eyes on Lola Dayton.

  Nor would he be worrying about how to get their baby away from a madman at an armed and dangerous cult compound at the top of a mountain, he thought as he parked in front of the house at the ranch and shut off the engine.

  But as he looked over at Lola, the anger he’d been feeling ebbed away. “You’re right,” he said, softening his tone as he reached over and squeezed her hand. “It definitely was fate that brought us together.” Damn fickle fate, he thought, realizing with growing concern how much Lola was getting to him.

  He put Julia, Wyatt and the past out of his mind and concentrated on what to do next. He knew what he was going to have to do. It went against his military training. A man didn’t go in alone with no backup. Nor did he take ma
tters into his own hands. He went through proper channels.

  But there was no way the sheriff was going to be able to get a warrant to have whatever was buried on the church grounds exhumed—even if Colt could talk Flint into doing it. Jonas would fight it and drag out the process. Meanwhile, that madman had their baby. Baby Grace, the daughter he had yet to lay eyes on.

  After helping put the groceries away, he went into the ranch office. The maps were in a file—right where his father had kept them. He found the one he needed and spread it out on the desk.

  “We need proof that Jonas is lying,” Lola said from the open doorway.

  “Proof won’t do us any good. We need to find Grace and get her out of there.”

  “But that grave. If you dig it up—”

  Colt shuddered at the thought. “That’s exactly what Jonas will expect me to do.” He recalled a shortage of manpower on the compound. But a woman could be just as deadly with a gun, he reminded himself. “While they’re busy guarding the cemetery, I’ll find Grace.”

  “I’m going with you,” she said, stepping into the small office.

  He shook his head, hating how intimate it felt with her in here. “It’s going to be hard enough for me to get onto the grounds—and away again—without being caught.”

  “Exactly. They will expect you and will have doubled the guards. You’re going to need me.”

  He started to argue, but she cut him off. “I have lived there all this time. I know the weakest spots along the perimeter. I also know the guards. And, maybe more important, I know where to look for Grace.”

  Admittedly, she made a good argument. “Lola, if we are both caught, no one will know we’re up there. If Jonas is as dangerous as you think he is, we’ll end up in the cemetery.”

  “If one of us is caught, then the other can distract them while whoever has Grace gets away.”