The New Cowboy Read online

  He smothered a moan when she unexpectedly lifted her arms and wound them around his neck. Now their bodies were touching from head to toe. What to do with his hands that wouldn’t send her back to that dark place?

  “Hold me close,” she begged. “I wanted to do this while we were dancing.”

  That helped him. Zane enfolded her the way he would have done at the hotel. “I love dancing with you.” He started moving them around the room while still kissing her. “You’re the perfect fit for me.”

  This was heaven to him. She smelled divine. Everything about her appealed to him. Avery was femininity personified.

  She kissed the side of his jaw. “I love you, Zane, more than you can imagine. Tonight at the hospital it hit me just how much I wanted to shout it to the world, but I was afraid.”

  He kissed her hair. “What’s happened since then?”

  “On the drive home, I could see you through the rearview mirror. The closer we got to the ranch, the more I knew that I wanted to see you in my mirror whether coming, going or staying, for the rest of my life.”

  “I had the same vision watching you through my windshield. When you were holding Cole, I could see you holding a child of ours.”

  “So could I,” she admitted in a trembling voice. “If you can put up with me, I’ll marry you and never take off this gorgeous ring. Grandpa will probably plan a party on Sunday evening to celebrate the baby. We can announce our news then.”

  He stopped dancing and clasped her shoulders. “How soon do you want to set a date?”

  Unwavering gray eyes stared up at him. “As soon as possible.”

  “You mean that? Honestly?”

  She nodded. “How about July 17? Sadie’s original due date. The dig site project will be finished by then. It will give us a three-day weekend if you can arrange to take the time off from work before the following Monday.”

  Avery was ruling out a long honeymoon, but that didn’t matter. “Where?”

  “At our church, where Connor and Liz were married, but only if that’s all right with you.”

  “How can you even ask?”

  “Just checking.”

  “Nedra and I got married at a courthouse. It wasn’t the kind of wedding I wanted, but because of time constraints, it was the only way.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be. That’s all in the past. My marriage to you is going to be an entirely different proposition in every way.”

  She stood on tiptoe to kiss his mouth. “Our marriage is going to be the one I always wanted. I’ve loved you for a whole year, Zane Lawson. Never having been close with you like this before has been agony for me. You never tried to kiss me.”

  “I didn’t want to scare you off.”

  “Well, it had the opposite effect.” Now she told him, “I don’t want to wait any longer. If we contact the pastor right away, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

  Zane kissed her long and hard again before letting her go, unable to believe this was really happening. “I’ll make you a promise. Being able to kiss and hold you like this is enough for me. After we’re married we’ll ease into making love, but only when you’re ready.”

  She started to say something, but he put a finger to her lips. “Don’t tell me that you might never be ready. If that day comes, then we’ll deal with it and go for more counseling. Knowing that both of us have been living with PTSD for a long time, the fact that we love each other and want to live together now is a gift I hadn’t expected this soon.”

  A smile lifted the corner of her enticing mouth. “I wasn’t going to tell you that. Just the opposite in fact.”

  Avery was trying to be brave and he adored her for it, but he’d read the pamphlet and knew this was not going to be an easy journey for her. She might wake up before morning and regret everything she’d said. According to Dr. Lindstrom, Zane wouldn’t find this an easy path, either. But tonight his heart was singing.

  He kissed her cheek. “We have exactly three weeks to plan everything.”

  “We’ll have the reception at the ranch. By then Sadie will be on her feet again. I’ll ask Cassie to be my matron of honor.”

  “Do you think Jarod would do the honors for me?”

  “You’re fishing again, alien,” she teased. “He wouldn’t let anyone else.”

  Zane wanted to carry her to the couch and hold her for the rest of the night. It took all the self-control he possessed to let her decide where they went from here. “Do you have some kind of theme in mind?”

  “Do you?” she countered.

  “No. The men I know don’t care about things like that. It’s up to the ladies.”

  She laughed. “Well, this lady just wants a plain old Western wedding, done Bannock-style.”

  He pressed his forehead against hers. “That’s another reason I love you so much. I’m crazy in love with you, you know that.”

  When he embraced her this time, the desire that had been smoldering burst into flame. He was terrified that he was getting too close to the line, another minute and he could make a fatal mistake with her without realizing it. Before he demolished the groundwork he’d prepared so carefully, he stepped away and slid his hands down her arms.

  The diamond winked at him in the dim light. He reached for her hand and kissed the palm. Glancing at her he said, “You’ve made me the happiest man alive tonight. In three weeks I won’t have to follow you back to your house.”

  She took a quick breath. “I can’t wait.”

  “Shall we go?” he asked when it was the last thing he wanted to do. “No doubt Ralph is still up and dying to talk to you about the baby.”

  “Liz and Connor are probably there. Jarod has been tied up in knots for months with worry. We all need a break from it.”

  Zane chuckled as he walked her out of the house to her truck. “Now that he has little Cole to help take care of, he’ll be too tired to worry.”

  Avery climbed in behind the wheel. Zane shut the door. She turned to him with a smile that was like pure sunshine to him. “A happy kind of tired. Finally. Thank heaven Uncle Charlo showed up when he did or I don’t think my brother would’ve made it.”

  He leaned inside and kissed her with mounting passion. It was a good thing the door kept them apart. They were both breathing hard when he eventually let her go. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Her flushed face was the last thing he saw before she backed out. He climbed in his truck and followed her home. Sure enough, Connor’s truck was out in front. Zane left the headlights on as she hurried to the front door and waved. “Good night, sweetheart.”

  Good night, sweetheart.

  To hear those words come out of her was a pure miracle.

  Filled with energy, Zane knew he couldn’t sleep yet. After he got home, he sat down at the computer and saw some interesting information. First of all, one of the agents at the BLM in Helena had checked out Steve Newell and learned that the guy had withdrawn from summer school in Missoula, and no one knew where he was. The date of his withdrawal was a few days before the dynamite heist. Zane told the agent to put out an APB on Steve’s Toyota.

  The second piece of information was mind-blowing. The traces of dirt from the ATV and Terry Newell’s car treads were a match for the soil at the Absarokee site. This was enough for Zane to go on and arrest them in the morning. While in Billings, he’d run by the federal storage facility where the dynamite had been stolen. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon he’d hear back about the samples where the explosion had occurred up on the mountain.

  He printed off pictures of the Newell boys’ IDs and put them in his wallet. After he visited the Newell ranch again with the warrant, he’d use the pictures when he visited some shops in Billings and smaller towns like Absarokee that sold cutters and detonation cord. The bo
ys had to pick up the materials from somewhere. Someone would recognize their photos.

  To clean up this case soon was a top priority. He wanted it sorted out before he married the woman he adored.

  * * *

  FRIDAY AFTERNOON AVERY was working at the dig site when a familiar figure approached. She looked up from the sorting tray and smiled. “Tom—it’s so nice to see you again. Where’s Smiling Face?”

  Tom Medicinehorse was one of the tribal monitors from the Pryor reservation who’d been checking on their progress at the dig site, but today he wore a solemn expression that worried her. No doubt the vandalism was the topic of concern at Crow Agency.

  He usually brought his adorable eight-year-old son with him. Avery just loved that boy. He was smart and taught her new words every time he came. She in turn plied him with stories she’d been learning from Long Hair.

  There wasn’t a child in the world who didn’t love to hear a good tale, but Smiling Face had a natural curiosity and never wanted her to stop. Often his father had to drag him home so she could get on with her work. Of course she didn’t mind his company. He was so entertaining she was crazy about him and told his father as much.

  Tom stared at her with eyes black as pitch. “Smiling Face is missing.”

  Avery swallowed with difficulty. If his father said the boy was missing, then he was really missing because those on the reservation would have been out looking for him.

  “For how long?”

  “This morning he couldn’t be found. Everyone has been searching.”

  School was out. It meant he’d left his house before anyone noticed. She didn’t know what to say, but felt sick inside for Tom and his wife who had two other children and had to be frantic. “He hasn’t been here while I’ve been working.”

  “Charlo says you can find him.”

  The comment stunned her. “You’ve seen Charlo today?” He nodded. “Did he give you a reason why he thought I would know anything?”

  He nodded again. “He told me to tell you he had a dream about the Little People.”

  The Little People?

  As recognition dawned, a small cry escaped her lips. She knew exactly what Charlo meant.

  Smiling Face loved the stories about the Little People who lived on Pryor Mountain near the Medicine Wheel. She’d been recording those stories for the past two years. The boy wanted a peek at them and had begged Avery to help him find one.

  She would laugh and tell him they were too quick to be caught. There were several traditions about the Little People in the Crow culture. The one he liked best said they were fun-loving, mischievous little men and women. They helped the Crow out when they were needed, but otherwise were blamed for things going missing and other upsets at home. They didn’t resemble the Apsaalooké. In ancient days they were little white folks who could be seen now and then.

  Now that he’d turned eight, he felt old enough to go in search of them on his own, but it was a long way without transportation. If he knew someone was traveling to the mountains, he might have hidden in the back of their pickup truck. But he’d been gone all day and could be lost. It broke her heart to think he might be up there alone and defenseless. His poor parents.

  Avery had no choice but to go. She wanted to. In one respect she felt responsible because she’d probably indulged him too much with the stories she told him.

  “I’ll leave for the ranch now to get my horse.” She pulled the cell phone out of her pocket. “Tell me your number so I can stay in contact with you.”

  They exchanged phone numbers.

  “If he’s where I think he is, then I’ll find him, Tom.”

  He stared at her. “Thank you.”

  She would have told him not to worry, but that was absurd. When a child went missing, everyone was worried. As he walked toward his truck, she ran through the grass to Dr. Osgood and told him what had happened.

  The professor urged her to leave immediately. “The site will still be here in the morning. We hope,” he added. The dark humor made her laugh before she headed for her truck. On the way home she phoned Rusty, the stable manager on the Bannock ranch. She asked him to hitch up the small horse trailer to the blue truck, the one with the spotlights mounted on the roof. She also asked that he put Snowball inside with all her gear.

  Next she called their housekeeper, Jenny, and found out her grandfather was with Connor. Avery left word where she was going and why, but she also needed a favor and asked Jenny to fix a hamper with enough food to last two people twenty-four hours. It didn’t take long before she reached the ranch.

  Avery packed up a couple of sleeping bags and blankets, then did her own packing. Before leaving, she loaded some lanterns and flashlights in the back in order to be prepared. She would call Zane later.

  He was out on an important case and she hated disturbing him. Maybe she’d hear from him when he was finished for the day, but right now time was of the essence to find Smiling Face. It was four o’clock. By the time she reached the cave area on Pryor Mountain, it would be five. That would give her four hours of daylight to search the area on horseback.

  Two hours later, she’d ridden Snowball to the opening of a limestone crevice where hundreds of piles of rocks had been placed by the Apsaalooké tribe for their sacred spot. This was the place of spiritual fasting where the Little People lived under the ground and passed between their home and the upper air. Their destination was the Medicine Wheel.

  Throughout the plains of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming there were over a hundred archaeological features called Medicine Wheels. Avery had traveled to many of them. Most were constructed long before the first Europeans entered the region.

  This Medicine Wheel on Pryor Mountain had U-shaped stone features associated with the vision quest. The person seeking a vision would have interaction with the Little People. The stones were arranged in lines as living symbols.

  Darkness was descending as Avery dismounted and climbed up on one of the tallest clumps of rocks to shout the missing boy’s name. There were more Medicine Wheels in the distance, but she didn’t dare go any farther this close to dark. She must have called out his name twenty times over the past half an hour.

  Her fear was that he’d gone into the cave and had become lost. The little guy had to be frightened and hungry. All she could do was camp outside the opening with the lights on and call to him every so often to let him know he wasn’t alone.

  After she’d fed and watered Snowball, she led her back into the trailer and shut the door. Then she got in the truck and discovered two messages waiting for her. The first was from Tom who had no news to report yet but was bringing help. She called him back and gave him her location. She would keep watch tonight and urged him not to lose hope.

  The next message was from Connor who was angrier than she’d ever heard him because he knew she was alone and it had upset Ralph. He and Liz were on their way to help in the search. Their grandfather suggested they take the razor-backed road in case Smiling Face chose that trail to reach the Medicine Wheel. They’d stay in close touch.

  Just then Zane phoned. On cue she felt an adrenaline surge and picked up. “Zane? Are you through with work?”

  “I’m pulling up to the ranch now. Where are you?”

  Just hearing his deep voice made her toes curl. When she told him her location and why she was up there, a strange sound escaped his throat. He was as upset as Connor, but tried to conceal it without much success. She loved him for it.

  “Connor and Liz are on their way up, too, via the razor-backed road. Call them and let them know you’re coming. It’ll calm him down.”

  “I will. Give me your exact coordinates. I’m leaving now.”

  Avery gave him instructions. “When you reach the rocks near the top of Pryor Mountain road, you won’t be able to miss me. I
’ll honk the horn and I’ve got the spotlights on full blast. I’m hoping Smiling Face will see them.”

  “We’ll all pray for that, but please tell me you’re locked in the cab.”

  “Of course. I’ve got my pistol, remember.”

  “Avery—” His voice sounded husky. “It was only last night you agreed to marry me. Now I hear you’re up in the mountains alone.” His vulnerability was a revelation.

  “I know this area like the back of my hand. It’s a sacred place. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

  “Stay on the phone with me anyway. I’ve a lot to tell you.”

  “I want to hear it, but give me a few minutes while I shout to Smiling Face one more time. Then I’ll call you back and stay on the phone with you as long as I can. Unfortunately my battery is low and I forgot to bring the charger.”

  “In that case, save the battery for an emergency. I’ll tell you everything when I get there.”

  “I know you drive fast, but don’t take any unnecessary risks. I couldn’t handle it if you got into an accident.”

  “Now you know how I feel,” he said. “Don’t take any chances, Avery.” He clicked off.

  Chapter Nine

  Knowing Zane was on his way filled her with warmth. She undid the lock and climbed out of the cab. After walking over to the cave opening she called to Smiling Face again, then she started back to the truck. Out of the corner of her eye she saw headlights coming and got inside the cab to lock the doors. In a minute Zane’s truck pulled up alongside her. They both got out at the same time and she ran into his arms.

  “Thank God you’re safe,” he said in an unsteady voice against her neck. “You were easy to find. This spot is lit up like a Christmas tree, but I take it there’s no sign of Smiling Face yet.”