In a Cowboy's Arms (Hitting Rocks Cowboys) Read online

  “That means they’ll be contacting the Pearsons about the truck.” Sadie frowned. “What if it has been sold or traded in for another one by now?”

  “The police will track it down. Owen will have to fess up to what happened to his father’s truck. Unless, of course, it’s a huge coincidence and his father’s truck was damaged some other way. But if that was the case, why didn’t he let the insurance pay for it?

  “I’m afraid he has a lot of explaining to do. If he was helping Ned, then he’ll have to make the decision if he wants to go to jail for him or not. But I’m not ready to act quite yet.”

  Sadie’s eyes stung with salty tears. “I don’t know why you have to wait. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Ned could have killed you— All this time I thought it was my father.” Her body grew tense. “Your cousin should go to prison for what he did. You were left to die—”

  Her raised voice alarmed Ryan, who stood and came running to her with an anxious look on his precious face. She swept him up into her arms and buried her face in his neck.

  “But I didn’t,” Jarod said in a quiet voice, tousling Ryan’s hair. “I’m pretty sure he didn’t intend to finish me off, just put me out of commission. As for his plan, it backfired because I was back on the ranch three days later and you’d fled to California out of his reach. Your departure put an end to any dreams Ned entertained about the two of you getting together.”

  “He was delusional.”

  “I agree. But now that you’re back, he’s going to make trouble again.”

  Her stomach muscles clenched. “What do you mean?”

  “I know for a fact he hasn’t given up on you. Avery told me about the incident at the funeral when Ned approached you. Be careful around him.”

  That sounded ominous. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “I suppose we’ll all find out when this new investigation gets under way. I’ll leave now so you can give your little brother the attention he’s craving. He really looks like his uncle.”

  “It’s the dimples. They run in the Lawson family. Mom fell in love with Tim’s. It kills me Ryan has been deprived of both parents.”

  “He has a wonderful mother in you.”

  “Thank you. I’m planning to adopt him.”

  “Then he’s a lucky little boy. Take care, Sadie, and remember what I said.”

  “Jarod? Wait—” she called to him, but he moved too fast on those long, powerful legs. She couldn’t very well run after him with Ryan in her arms. Her brother needed lunch and a nap.

  Sadie hurried inside, shaken by everything he’d told her and even more shaken by the things he’d only hinted at. Millie stood at the kitchen sink filling another bucket with hot water and vinegar. “Jarod was here a long time. Everything all right?”

  “Yes and no.” She didn’t dare share the evidence Jarod had uncovered until he gave her permission. But one thing had become self-evident. Her longing to be with him was growing unbearable.

  Millie started out the back door, then paused. Sadie thought she detected a faint smile on the older woman’s lips. “After you’ve fed Ryan and put him down, come on outside where I’m working. There’s something you ought to know.”

  With one of those cryptic comments Millie was famous for, Sadie hurried to feed Ryan and put him down with a bottle. The cute little guy had tired himself out playing and fell asleep fast.

  She found Millie washing the windows at the rear of the house. “I’m back.”

  The housekeeper looked over her shoulder at Sadie. “When Jarod drove in, he was pulling a horse trailer. After he left, I saw him drive to the barn and pull around it. Kind of made me wonder what he was doing when the road back to his place goes in the other direction. If I were you, I’d walk down there and find out what’s going on.”

  Sadie’s heart raced till it hurt. Feeling seventeen again, she flew down the drive past her father’s truck to the barn. But when she rounded the corner, Jarod’s rig wasn’t there and her heart plummeted to her feet.

  After hearing her call to him, had he hoped she’d come after him? Until she had answers, she wouldn’t be able to breathe. While she stood there in a quandary, she heard Liz’s horses whinnying and wondered what was going on.

  She opened the barn doors. “Hey, you guys. What’s up?” She walked inside to check both stalls. All of a sudden she heard the neigh of another horse. It couldn’t be Mac’s. He was out working on his horse, Toby.

  Sadie spun around. The light from outside illuminated the interior enough for her to see a gleaming black filly in the stall where she’d once kept Brandy. Her body started to tremble as she moved closer to the three-year-old, which looked to be fourteen hands high.

  This couldn’t be the foal she’d seen in the purple lupine with Jarod when she was seventeen! That wasn’t possible, but the filly had those special hooked ears and broad forehead that tapered to the muzzle, just the way Sadie remembered. On further examination she saw the straight head and wide-set eyes of Chief, the wild stallion Jarod had tamed.

  “Oh, you gorgeous creature,” she whispered shakily. Sadie didn’t need to ask where this beauty had come from. “I’ll be back, but first I need to know all about you before this goes any further. I promise I won’t be long.”

  Sadie’s feet seemed to have wings as she flew up the road to the house. “Millie?”

  The housekeeper turned around. “I’m right here!”

  “I’ve got to find Jarod. Do you mind watching Ryan until I get back?”

  “Of course not, honey. What’s going on?”

  Sadie ran in the house to grab the keys off the peg. When she came out she said, “There’s a new filly in the barn. I can’t keep her. Jarod needs to come back and get it.”

  Before she reached the truck a voice of irony called out, “Good luck to that.”

  Five minutes later she drove through the gates of the Bannock Ranch. The spread resembled a small city. She took the road leading to the barn and corrals where Jarod would have parked the horse trailer. Intent on finding him, she wound around the sheds until she saw his rig in the distance. He still hadn’t unhitched the trailer.

  After pulling up next to it, she jumped down from the truck. As she reached the entrance, the man she’d come to see was just leaving the barn on his horse. Riding bareback, the magnificent sight of him ready to head out took her breath. His long black hair, fastened at the nape, gleamed despite the gathering storm clouds blotting out the sun.

  They saw each other at the same time. He was caught off guard for once, and his eyes gleamed black fire as they roved over her, thrilling her to the core of her being. While she stood there out of breath, he brought his horse close before coming to a standstill.

  She couldn’t swallow. “I have to talk to you, Jarod.”

  How she envied him sitting there as still as a summer’s day. “I’m going to ride to the upper pasture. Come with me.”

  Before she could respond, he reached down with that swift male grace only he possessed and lifted her so she was seated in front of him. He wrapped his left arm around her waist and tucked her up tight against him. The way his hand splayed over her midriff infused electricity in every cell of her body.

  “Reminds me of old times,” he murmured against her temple, “except this time I’ll be able to see where we’re going. Don’t get me wrong. I like your new hairstyle, but now I don’t have anything to tug.”

  That rare teasing side of Jarod had come out, the side she adored. Robbed of words, she was helpless to do anything but give in to the euphoria of being this close to him again. Though it had been eight years, their bodies knew each other and settled in as one entity.

  Once he urged his horse into a gallop, the layers of pain peeled away, liberating her for a moment out of time. Heedless of the darkening clouds, they were like children wh
o’d been let out of school and were eager to run until they dropped.

  She quickly lost track of where they were going. This was like flying through heaven, achieving heights and distant stars unknown until now. Filled with delight, she heard laughter and realized it was her own. Through it all her body absorbed the fierce pounding of his heart against her back.

  At one point it dawned on her he’d brought them to the pine-covered ridge that looked down on their favorite place. He reined his horse to a stop so they could enjoy the meadow with its vista of wildflowers in glorious bloom.

  She gripped the hand pinning her against him. “Jarod...”

  “I haven’t heard you say my name like that except in my sleep. Did you ever dream of me?”

  This was a time for honesty.

  “Yes,” she admitted quietly.

  “Every night?”

  Haunted by the agony she heard in his voice because it matched her own, she said, “Don’t ask me that. It’s all in the past. I came to find you because—”

  “The filly is yours, Sadie.” The authority in his voice signaled the end of the discussion. “Now that the war is over, consider it a peace offering.”

  She was still in shock over his incredible gift, but it was growing darker. “Jarod, we’d better go back before we get caught in the rain.”

  “It’s too late. We’ll stay in the shelter of these pines until it passes over. Volan needs a rest.”

  He slid off his horse in an instant and gripped her waist to help her down. After tying the reins to a tree branch, he walked her over to the fattest tree trunk and sat against it, pulling her onto his lap. By now the wind was gusting, bringing the smell of rain with it.

  “This is only a small storm. We’ll wait it out.” He gathered her to him in a protective gesture. Cocooned in his warmth, she could stay like this forever. “If you’re worried about getting wet, I promise I’ll protect you.”

  She relaxed against him. “Tell me about the adorable filly.”

  “Chief was her sire.”

  “I knew it. She has the shape of his head and eyes.”

  “It took two tries with the black broodmare I acquired to produce her.” She could tell by the softness in his voice that her observation had pleased him. “Her first offspring was a grullo I gave to Uncle Charlo’s boy.”

  “You mean, Squealing Son Who Runs Fast?”

  Jarod chuckled. “You remember.”

  “I remember everything,” she confessed in a tremulous voice. “He must be fifteen by now.”

  “The perfect age to train his own stallion. But that was his childhood name. Now he’s known as Runs Over Mountains.”

  “Sounds like he has some of the same genes that run through his noble cousin Sits in the Center.”

  He kissed the side of her brow, sending fingers of delight through her nervous system. “What happened to Born of Flint?”

  Jarod had forgiven her. “That name belonged to my world when pain was my constant companion. But seriously, Jarod, no gift has ever thrilled me more. I love her already.”

  “Your filly has been registered as Black Velvet. Until now, she has lived at the reservation on my uncle’s property. I’ve been getting her used to a saddle, but you’ll need to break her in more before you take her riding.”

  Sadie gripped his hand harder. Velvet was the name she’d given the new foal they’d seen that wonderful day years ago. Now Sadie had her own filly, a horse who’d known nothing but Jarod’s love. She had to clear her throat. “Velvet has been trained by the expert. Thank you doesn’t begin to cover what I’m feeling, not when I’ve done nothing to deserve such a present.”

  “When my grandfather told me you were going to stay in Montana, I realized you would need a horse.”

  “Your uncle Charlo must be bursting with pride.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you remember the time you took me to meet him and his family? Before we left he took me aside and told me you possessed a very rare trait like your mother. It was the ability to hear the cries of the oppressed, the sick, the weak. He said that you weren’t ashamed to help others.

  “I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, but I do now. After I visited Ralph last week he told you everything about my situation, didn’t he?”

  Before she heard his answer, the rain descended, first in individual drops, then it poured, yet they stayed dry. She nestled deeper in his arms, finding a comfort she’d never known in her life, except with him. Together they listened to the elements that had always made up their world.

  His lips were buried in her hair. “You think I see you as a charity case?”

  “I think that’s the way you’ve always seen me. A cast-off waif you took pity on because it’s in your nature. After eight years, you’re still coming to my rescue, trying to right wrongs against me by giving me Velvet. I’ll be indebted to you all my life for everything you’ve done for me in the past, but it’s time you gave that side of your nature a rest in order to walk your true path.”

  He lifted his head in surprise. “My true path?”

  “Mmm.” The downpour was easing in intensity. She moved out of his arms and stood. “The one you used to talk about that will lead to your ultimate destiny.”

  After a long silence he asked, “What about yours?”

  “Mine was revealed when my mother died and left Ryan to my care.”

  Before she gave in to her longing and begged him to kiss her, she needed answers about the woman who was in his life now. “Tell me about Leslie Weston.”

  Immediately he got to his feet. “Listening to so many wagging tongues tends to confuse the listener.”

  “If you’re talking about the way you were confused with wagging tongues concerning me and Zane at the funeral, you’re right. But please don’t be offended. I’ve heard she’s a lovely woman who works with Avery at the dig site. Your grandfather sounded particularly taken with her, which means you’re on the right path.”

  “Grandfathers are prone to dream.”

  “Liz tells me that not only is Leslie a highly educated archaeologist studying the Crow culture, she’s also well-traveled and comes from a good family in Colorado Springs. How important is she to you?”

  “Why do you ask?” His tone grated.

  Don’t tiptoe around this, Sadie. “Because when word gets out where Velvet came from, I don’t want her to misunderstand or be hurt.”

  After the telltale rise and fall of his chest, he said, “The rain has stopped. We need to get back to the ranch.”

  Instead of a protestation that the woman he’d been involved with meant nothing to him, he was ready to leave this sacred place. Sadie had her answer. She just hadn’t expected it to feel as if one of those wild stallions they used to watch had just kicked her in the chest, knocking the life out of her.

  Schooling her features to show no emotion, she turned to him. “This time I’ll sit behind you. That way I can tug on your hair for a change.”

  Her teasing produced no softening of his stone-faced expression. As he walked over to Volan, she followed him. “I liked the way you used to wear it, but I’m glad you gave in to the right impulse to let it grow.

  “I know you’ll hate hearing this because you don’t like compliments, but now that I’m grown up, I’m not afraid to say what I think. You’re a very beautiful man, Sits in the Center. Leslie Weston would have figured that out the first time she laid eyes on you.”

  In seconds he’d vaulted onto Volan’s back with practiced ease, then held out his hand for Sadie to climb on behind him. She settled herself and slid her arms around his waist. If she couldn’t kiss the life out of him because he belonged to someone else, she could at least hold him in her arms for the ride home.

  Judging from his reaction to her question abo
ut Leslie, this would be the only time she would ever be allowed to get this close to him again. As the rain that had cleared the air, this conversation had cleared away the last piece in the complicated mosaic of their lives. Their love story had come to its final, tragic close.

  Chapter Six

  Jarod’s uncle Charlo knew of his nephew’s struggle to let Leslie or any woman into his life while another woman lived in his heart. This Saturday afternoon Sadie’s question ended the struggle. He knew what had to be done to end a situation that couldn’t go on any longer.

  As they rode back to Jarod’s ranch in silence, his uncle’s analogy about the wolf took on fresh meaning. It would be better to risk death for a chance to find a mate and a territory than to live through every winter in agony alone.

  Weighed down by his thoughts, he was surprised to hear Sadie’s sudden gasp as they approached the barn. He glanced over to see what had caused the reaction. If it wasn’t Ned coming out of the barn on foot! Once again it was no accident he’d been hanging around. He must have seen Daniel Corkin’s truck and put two and two together. Jarod thought his cousin looked a little green around the edges. Wasn’t that jealousy’s color?

  Sadie’s arms tightened around Jarod as he rode his horse straight to her truck. Aware of her fear, he threw his leg over Volan and pulled her off, then opened the driver’s door. “In you go,” he whispered, shutting it after her.

  Their eyes met for a breathless moment before she started the engine and took off. He stood there watching until she’d driven out of sight.

  Ned smirked at him. “Leslie’s not going to like it when she finds out what you’ve been doing all afternoon.”

  Jarod turned to look at his cousin. “I’m afraid there’s a lot more you’re not going to like when your father hears you’ve been spending time in town minding other people’s business rather than inspecting the machinery.”