by SUE FINEMAN
“What did you do, bite it back?”
“Smartass. I came to help you, so don’t pick on me.”
“Yeah, well, I figure you owe me for the last dozen or so times I pulled your ass out of the fire.” Bo held up his hand. “And don’t argue.”
“Who’s arguing?” Greg pointed. “Looks like Dale Evans has Trigger loaded and ready to ride, Roy. Go to it.”
While Junior led Buttercup to a mounting block for Bo, Callie walked over to speak with Greg about Bo’s arm. When she finished talking, Greg said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“He’s bluffing his way through right now, but he’s hurting real bad. I don’t think he should wait any longer.”
“I don’t either.” Greg gave her a big hug. “Neen told me you were good for Bo, and she was right.”
“And I thank you kindly for taking such good care of my little boy.”
“He’s a great kid.” A wide grin captured Greg’s face. “You may have trouble getting him to come back home. He follows Katie around like a little puppy dog.”
Brady would love to have a big sister, and Katie needed a permanent family, but in these parts, it wasn’t easy for a single parent to adopt a child. And she didn’t dare bring another child into the house with Tommy Ray around.
Bo called, “Come on, Callie. Let’s go.”
Callie glanced toward the horses and waved to Bo. “Coming.” She turned back to Greg. “Watch your back, Greg. Tommy Ray has a nasty streak and as soon as he finds out you’ve been helping me, he’ll come after you.”
“I can handle Tommy Ray. And don’t worry about Brady. There’s no sign of the sheriff in Tacoma, so we have to assume he’s on his way back to Texas. Now go on, get out of here, and take care of my big brother.”
“Oh, yes, sir. I’ll do that. I surely will.”
Callie prayed they’d find whatever Tommy Ray wanted today. She needed something to barter with, some way to convince him to back off and leave her and Brady alone.
As if that would happen. No matter what they found, Tommy Ray would still find a way to kill her. She’d defied him, run away from him, and now she was with another man.
Glancing at the house she’d lived in for as long as she could remember, she knew it would never be safe to live there again. But Tommy Ray wouldn’t live forever, and no matter what else happened, she had to make sure that someday this ranch would belong to her son.
Even if she had to kill Sheriff Tommy Ray Caldwell herself.
Chapter Seven
Bo rode abreast of Callie around and over the low, sun-washed hills. Scraggly trees and native grass scorched brown in the hot summer sun. She rode like she’d been doing it her whole life, and she probably had, but she took it slow and easy to accommodate him. He loved riding, but he hadn’t ridden astride anything but Mom’s Harley in quite awhile. His legs and behind screamed for rest.
He saw the river up ahead, shining blue in the morning sun. Shade trees lined the river and leaves rustled gently in the cooling breeze off the river, a welcome relief from the relentless heat in the hills. Callie pointed to a chimney rising above the remains of an old cabin. It sat on a pretty knoll with the river wrapped around three sides. He thought there’d be homes along the river, but he didn’t see any.
He and Callie dismounted and sat in the shade. They’d both worn long-sleeved shirts and jeans and hats, and they’d put sun block on their hands and faces, but the hot Texas sun burned through their clothes and the sun block.
As he sipped a bottle of water, Bo said, “You know, it wouldn’t take much to build an open-sided shelter out here.”
“Daddy talked about rebuilding the old cabin, but Mama said he had enough to do without making more work.”
“Who owns the land on the other side of the river?”
“Oh, it’s all part of the ranch. Some developer wanted to buy the land on the other side after Grandpa died, but Daddy wouldn’t sell.”
“Callie, he couldn’t sell a piece of the ranch any more than he could give it to Tommy Ray. Your father didn’t own it. You did.”
“I didn’t know that back then.” Callie finished her water and pulled a trash bag out of her saddlebag to put the empty bottles in. “Bo, if you owned the ranch, what would you do with it?”
Sitting there in the shade by the river bank, with the sound of the gently moving water nearby, it seemed like the most peaceful place on earth. Turning it into a moneymaking enterprise wouldn’t be difficult, but developing this place would spoil it. “I’d probably breed horses.” He laughed softly. “Mom would raise kids.” As he said the words, he knew that was what this place was meant for. Kids. When he was a kid, he would have given anything to spend the summer on a horse ranch, and this would be an excellent spot for a campsite. He turned to Callie. “What do you want to do with it, Callie?”
“I love horses, but I’m not sure I know enough to breed them.”
“Skeeter would probably stay and work for you if you asked him. He knows everything there is to know about horses.”
“Oh, I can’t pay anybody for awhile, and I don’t have a bunkhouse. Grandpa used to have one, but they tore it down years ago.”
Looking at her face, Bo wondered what it would be like to stay here on the ranch with Callie, build her a new bunkhouse, fix up the old house, and replace the cabin. Maybe grow horses and kids. He sure as hell didn’t want to be tethered to that damned nightclub in Tacoma forever.
“Bo, are you all right? You look a little funny. Do you need a pain pill?”
“What I need is a cool bath.” Or a cold shower. “How about a quick swim before my brother gets here?”
“But I didn’t bring... and there’s no place to... Skinny dip? In the daytime?”
He shrugged. “Who’s going to see?”
Bo stripped off his shirt and shoes and pushed his jeans and underwear off in one easy move. Callie turned away and undressed down to her underwear. Bo eased his hot body into the cool water and Callie jumped in.
A boat cruised down the river toward them. Callie’s eyes widened, and she stayed submerged up to her neck and faced away from the boat.
“Who’s gonna see?” she said, splashing him.
He splashed her back. The water cooled his hot skin, and it felt wonderful and free to be swimming without clothes. The deep ache in his arm eased in the water. Everything eased out here, including his spirit.
As the boat disappeared around the bend and behind a hill, Bo walked out of the water and reached for Callie’s hand. She blushed at the sight of his naked body.
“Dear Lord, I hope that’s nobody I know.” She hurried to the shade of the chimney to put the rest of her clothes on.
Bo pulled his jeans on before the next boat drifted around the bend with a bunch of teenagers. The girls hooted and called out to Bo while Callie cowered behind the chimney, pulling her shirt on. Bo waved his hat at the girls and then finished dressing.
“Last time I listen to you,” Callie muttered to herself. “Who’s gonna see? Half the county, that’s who.”
Bo laughed, and she fought a smile.
Greg had made three copies of the old maps at the motel office. Bo had one copy in his shirt pocket. He unfolded the two maps and tried to get his bearings. The river was well marked, but the X wasn’t near the river. He sat in the shade with Callie, trying not to let his wet hair drip on the maps. She’d tied her hair back in a ponytail, and it soaked the back of her shirt.
“Looks like we need to ride north.” Callie pointed the direction. As she examined the other map, she said, “I know where this black rock is, but I don’t recall a red rock up there.” She shrugged. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t there, just that I don’t remember it. I haven’t been on this part of the ranch since I married Tommy Ray.”
After they ate the sandwiches they’d brought for lunch and watered the horses, they mounted. They rode up and over a hill and then to the crest of another before Callie stopped and pointed at the black rock in
the distance. It stood out of the hill like a beacon, sharply defined in the bright sunshine.
She stood in the saddle and looked around. “I don’t see a red rock, do you?”
He pointed to a rock similar to the black one. “It’s not red, though.”
“What else is on that map?”
He pulled the map from his shirt pocket and studied it again. “I think it might be a bunch of smaller rocks. The big X is right in the middle of those three landmarks.”
“Which one is closer to the river?”
“The red rock. The black rock is in the back, and the other rocks are on the north side.”
“Okay, then.” She pointed. “That would be over this way.”
Bo pointed to what looked like an old campsite. A ring of rocks outlined the fire pit.
“You ‘spose Daddy camped out close to the X on the map?”
“I ‘spose he might have.”
Callie jumped off her horse and walked around the area. “I don’t see where... Here!” she yelled. “This is it. It’s softer here.” Excitement bubbled out of her. She pulled the shovel out of her saddlebag and began to dig.
“Hey, whoa there,” said Bo. “Let’s do it the easy way. We’ll have Greg bring a metal detector. We could dig up half the countryside and still not find it, whatever it is.”
“What if it’s not metal?”
“What if it is?” Bo pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, listened for a few seconds, and then put it back in his pocket. “I can’t get a signal out here. Let’s mark the site and go back to the campsite. If it’ll work from there, I’ll call Greg.”
Callie made a big X with rocks over the soft spot and mounted to ride back to the river. She gasped and pointed. “Bo, look!”
Bo looked over at the big rock they’d spotted earlier glowing red in the afternoon sunshine. Oh, yes! They’d found the right spot. All they had to do was dig up the treasure, if any of it was still there.
Whatever it was.
By the time Bo and Callie returned to the cabin site by the river, his scorched skin burned and sweat trickled down his back. As they dismounted, Bo felt the cooling breeze off the river. “Makes you appreciate air-conditioning, doesn’t it?”
Callie pushed her hat back on her head. “It’s not too bad today, not much over a hundred.”
Standing in the shade, he wondered what it was like here back in Frank Caledonia’s day. They probably bathed in the river.
“How is your arm, Bo?”
“Not so bad. I think the heat helps.” The heat did help, but it had swollen so tight his elbow wouldn’t bend or straighten out all the way. Mounting a horse without using his left hand was awkward, but his left arm was useless today.
Bo fought a wave of self-pity. He shouldn’t feel sorry for himself when he had so much going for him—a strong family, a little boy who adored him, and a beautiful woman with love in her eyes—but he couldn’t help himself. He could no longer ignore the obvious. Something had to be done on this arm, and soon.
Callie took the horses down to the river to drink while Bo tried his cell phone. It worked, so he called Greg. “Greg, what’s happening?”
“Bo, I’ve been trying to reach you for over an hour. Skeeter is here. Tommy Ray is back in town and his poor deputy caught hell. Tommy Ray fired him.”
“Aw, shit. How did he get here so fast?”
Ignoring Bo’s question, Greg said, “I told Randy we’d do our best to see him reinstated after we get rid of Tommy Ray.”
“Good.” In spite of the way Randy twisted his arm, Bo liked the deputy. Randy wouldn’t have known about Bo’s injury. “I hope there’s another way back.”
“Bo, if Callie comes back to Caledonia, I’m not sure we can protect her, so I made other arrangements. We’ll be out in about an hour and we’ll talk about it then.”
“How are you coming?”
“Helicopter this time, but if we go out again, we’re renting a boat.”
“Sure, okay. We’re at the old cabin site on the river. Greg, I swear it’s so pretty out here you won’t believe it. Don’t land anywhere near the horses, and keep your eye peeled for an X we made with rocks. We think that’s where the X on the map is located, but we’re not sure. Can you get a metal detector?”
“Randy loaned me his.”
“Good. Bring food. I worked up an appetite today.”
<>
The helicopter Greg had hired arrived about an hour later. The sun hung low in the sky by then, and Bo rested on a blanket under the trees. Callie didn’t want to disturb him, but nobody could sleep through the sound of the helicopter blades chopping at the air. When the dust storm from the whirling blades settled down, Greg jumped out and walked over with two other men. Randy didn’t come with them. He was probably as afraid to fly as he was to get on a horse.
Greg introduced the pilot, and Callie hugged Skeeter, the man who’d saved her life in Tampa. “It’s good to see you again, Skeeter. Bo tells me you like horses.”
“Sure.” He nodded toward Buttercup and Betty Grable. “Fine animals.”
“Yes, sir, I always thought so. Buttercup was my mama’s horse, and the palomino is Betty Grable. She’s always been more of a pet than a working horse.”
“Has she ever been bred?”
“Once when I owned her. She’s not mine any more. Albert and Junior let us borrow them for a couple of days. If I can get possession of the ranch, I’m thinking of starting a horse ranch. Bo thought you might be interested in helping with that.”
Skeeter looked at Bo, eyebrows raised in an unspoken question.
“She’ll need help, and I don’t know anybody who knows horses better than you.”
“Okay,” said Skeeter. And just like that, Callie had her first employee.
Her mind churned with the things that needed to be done on the ranch, and then she gazed into Bo’s pain-filled eyes and knew she couldn’t do anything without him.
For the first time in her life, she’d fallen in love.
They ate fried chicken, potato salad, and coleslaw from the café in town. Bo finished eating and wiped his face. “Does everything taste better out here, or is it my imagination?”
“It’s all the fresh air and exercise that does it,” said Callie.
Greg licked his fingers. “Callie, you’re spoiling my brother.”
“It’s my turn,” said Bo. “My turn to get in trouble, my turn to eat well, my turn to be spoiled and pampered. My turn.”
Callie cleaned up their trash and then the pilot gazed at the sky and stood. “We should go before dark.”
Bo asked Greg, “Go where?”
“You and Callie are going to the hospital in San Antonio. You’ll stay in a hotel near the hospital tonight, and tomorrow you’re seeing a bone specialist. He’s going to fix your arm. And don’t worry about the cost. It’s covered.”
“Aw, Greg, this isn’t a good time.”
Callie rubbed Bo’s shoulder. “Yes, it is, Bo. We don’t want to see you hurting like this all the time.”
“Callie needs to get out of Dodge, and Tommy Ray will never think to look for you there.” Greg handed an envelope to Callie. “You’ll stay in the hotel while Bo is in the hospital. As soon as he’s released, you’ll both come to my house while he recuperates. The hotel has already been taken care of, and there should be enough money in there to cover your other expenses. And don’t worry about Brady. He’ll be fine with Neen and Katie and Mom for a few more days. He’s enjoying himself.”
Bo stood and brushed the sand off his jeans. “I don’t have my clothes with me.”
“They’re in the helicopter. I told the doctor to fix your arm right this time, so you don’t have to go through this again.”
Callie took Bo’s right arm. “It’ll be all right, Bo. This time they’ll fix it good as new, and I’ll be right there with you.” She slipped her arm around his waist, thanked Greg and Skeeter for taking care of the horses, and walked toward the helicopter with B
o. She knew how much this scared him, but something had to be done. The weakness in his arm didn’t bother her, but it bothered Bo, and pain controlled his life. It wasn’t fair for a kind, brave man like Bo Gregory to have to live with that pain.
Greg called, “Callie, I told the people at the hospital you were Bo’s wife.”
A wry grin spread across Bo’s face. “Okay, wife. Let’s go to San Antonio and get this over with.”
“Keep in touch,” said Greg.
“Oh, we will,” said Callie. “Yes, sir, we surely will.”
Callie’s heart beat like a kettledrum as the monstrous machine whipped the sand and dust into a froth and lifted off the ground like a giant bird. Mercy me! She clutched Bo’s hand and held on for dear life. Every time the helicopter turned even slightly, she thought she’d slide into the window and go right straight through.
Bo pointed out the window and Callie saw the big X she’d made with rocks. It looked tiny from up here. She pointed to a cluster of smaller rocks in the midst of dense brush, the third point of the triangle on the map. Oh, yes, they’d definitely found the right spot, according to the map. The metal detector was a good idea, though, because they could do a lot of needless digging if they were a little off. There might not be anything there, but the only way to know for sure was to look and see.
She leaned her head back and glanced at Bo’s worried face. He turned to gaze into her eyes and she threaded her fingers through his, telling him without words that she cared. If he lost his arm, she wouldn’t feel any different about him. With one arm, he’d still be twice the man than most others she knew. If only he believed that.
Callie had never met a man quite like Bo Gregory. Tommy Ray reminded her of cheap new boots, the kind that chafed your heels and pinched your toes. Bo was more like your favorite pair of boots, already broken in, yet still pretty when you got them all shined up. She admired his quiet confidence and solid, respectable character. She wanted his long, lean body so much it tore her up inside. Just once, she wanted to know him in the Biblical sense, to feel his hands and lips on her body and feel him inside her, loving her. He wanted her, that much she knew, but he’d been holding back for her sake, because he’d seen the bed she’d shared with Tommy Ray. She’d have to let him know that she wanted the same thing he did.