Autumn's Hope (Cowboy Seasons) (14 page)

Up
before the sun, Jonas stretched his arms over his head and yawned. He got out
of bed and with the use of his cane walked into the master bath. His leg and
hip were feeling much better, thanks to Dee Ann.

He
turned on the shower, waiting for it to heat up enough so he could stand under
it. His cell phone rang and he hobbled into his room to grab it off his bedside
table.

“Boss,
you’d better get out here. Someone let the horses out into the pasture and
opened the corral. I need help rounding them up and a few look a might beat
up.” Mel said.

“Be
right there.” Stunned, Jonas turned off the shower and pulled on a pair of
jeans and a chambray shirt. Who would put his horses at risk? He intended to
find out and set them straight with his fist to their face if need be.

He
made it out to the barn as quickly as he could. His slow gait irritated him.
“What’s the damage?” he asked Mel.

“Troy
and Vince got them rounded up, all except for Myrtle. I’m sorry, Jonas, I can’t
find her.”

“What
about the fence? I know everything was locked up tight last night.”

Mel
shrugged his shoulders. “I wish I knew. You didn’t hear anything last night?”

“I
actually slept for a change. Let’s get saddled up and look for Myrtle.”

“You
are not riding a horse,” Dee Ann said as she approached the men.

Jonas
started to glare at her, but stopped. It wasn’t her fault he couldn’t ride. “I
guess you’re right. We need to check on the horses.”

“Looks
like a few bit each other. I found a two by four on the ground in the corral
with blood on it.” Mel turned to Dee Ann. “You didn’t hear anything either?”

“I
wish I had. I’m a deep sleeper.”

Jonas
stared at her. She slept light enough to hear his every moan and groan.

Bob
drove up in his red pick-up. He jumped out and headed straight for them. “I
just heard. What can I do to help?” His blue eyes were wide with excitement.

Dee
Ann smiled at him. “Would you mind terribly going to the house and checking on
Autumn? Maybe you could make her something to eat?”

“Be
happy to,” He said eagerly.

Jonas
nodded. “We’d better take care of the horses. Mel, take Vince and Troy and find
Myrtle. If she doesn’t want to go with you call. I’ll drive out to get her.”

“Are
you going to call Sheriff Brown?” Mel asked.

“Maybe
later. He’s never much help.” Jonas rubbed the back of his neck. “Dee Ann, we’d
better start with the rescues.”

Dee
Ann bounded into the barn and started examining the animals. “I’m going to
start with your horses first, this way we can spend the rest of the time with
your rescues.”

She
was adept, professional and soothing and each horse was happy to see her. A far
cry from the pain in the neck she’d been last night. Jonas relaxed, this was
the real Dee Ann. The other, just wanted to have a sanctuary for horses. She
probably didn’t mean to come off as pushy.

“Myrtle
must have been the one that got hit by the piece of wood. A few bite marks but
other than that no one is seriously hurt. I’d like to know who the biter is.
Some horses have no manners.” She laughed and her eyes sparkled at him.

He
grinned back then frowned. “Paint and Page are agitated. Damn it, I hope Myrtle
is all right. I didn’t even think to look for a blood trail.”

“Mel
and the guys will find her, Jonas. Right now Paint needs you to reassure her.
Poor thing has been through a lot. Do you want me to go in first? I’d hate for
you to get hurt again.”

Her
concern hit a nerve and he turned away from her, trying to stem his anger.
“I’ll go in.” No matter how nice, she still saw him as an invalid. Just another
woman disgusted by his injuries. No way was he going to let Autumn see his leg.

“It’s
okay, Paint, it’s fine. I know, I know. I’m here now.” He slowly walked toward
her. The wary look in her eyes pained him. She shied away a couple times until
finally she let him near her.

Dee
Ann opened the stall door. “The biter.”

“What
makes you think that?”

Dee
Ann stroked paint’s nose. “She has dried blood on her lip. Were the others
picking on you? It’s fine, you’re fine.”

Before
he knew it Dee Ann had Paint licking her hair. Page shied away when they tried
to examine her and he talked to her for a good hour before she let him
approach. She was fine and his heart lightened a bit.

His
phone vibrated and he stepped out of the stall to answer it. They found Myrtle
but the news wasn’t good. His heart clenched as he slumped against the wooden
wall. Myrtle was one of those horses that was going to make it and now she was
dead.

Dee
Ann closed the stall door behind her as she exited. Her violet eyes filled with
sympathy as she reached for him. She pulled him away from the wall and hugged
him. “I’m so sorry.”

“She’s
dead.”

“I
know, otherwise we’d be hightailing it out of here to help her. Looks like you
have someone out to get you. Maybe it’s time you called the sheriff.”

His
heart hurt but he appreciated Dee Ann’s attempt to comfort him. He couldn’t
help but notice how thin she was compared to Autumn’s wonderful roundness.
Autumn was going to take this hard. It was his fault, his ranch, his
responsibility. The horses relied on him and he let them down. “I’m going to
the house. I need to tell Autumn and call the sheriff. You coming?”

“No,
I’m going over to the O’Malley’s. Colt promised to show me how he finds forever
homes for the horses.”

He
nodded to her and turned toward the house. His cane felt as heavy as his heart.
How the hell had this happened? He’d have to install security lights around the
barn. He couldn’t take chances with the horses.

Inside
the house, he glanced at Autumn and would have laughed if it had been any other
day. Her hair stuck up everywhere. She looked like the bad end of a cat fight.
She wore one of his flannel shirts over her clothes, wrapping it around her and
holding it closed with both hands. Her relief at seeing him surprised him.
“What’s up?”

She
gave him a tight smile. “Glad you’re here.” She glanced toward the kitchen.

“Heck,
Bob, I forgot you were even here. Been here the whole time?”

Bob
walked into the great room. “I didn’t want Autumn to be alone.”

Something
was off between Autumn and Bob, that was certain. Just another thing to take
care of. “Thanks for helping out, Bob. The horses are patched up and I’d
appreciate it if you kept an eye on them. A few of them are nervous.”

“Sure
thing.” He walked toward the door and reached for his Stetson from the hat
rack. He put it on his head and winked at Autumn. “You have a good day, now.”

Autumn
shivered. “Glad you’re back.”

“What
the heck?”

He
makes me uncomfortable. Please don’t send him in here anymore.”

“Bob?”

“Yes,
Bob. I don’t like the way he looks at me. I can’t explain it. It feels like
he’s watching me.”

Jonas
wanted to ask why her hair was so wild but thought better of it. “I’ll talk to
him.

“Tell
me about the horses.”

He
wanted to sit next to her and sink into her softness. “Aw, love, Myrtle didn’t
make it.”

“What?”
Tears pooled in her blue eyes.

Jonas
instantly closed the gap between them. He sat down and lifted her onto his lap.
He wrapped his arms around her and she felt like home to him. “Myrtle got out
last night and she, well I’m not sure what happened but she’s dead.”

“No!
Why? What is going on?

Autumn
snuggled against him. “I’m not hurting you am I?”

He
hated that she had to ask. “No, you feel good in my arms.”

“Where
is Myrtle?”

“She
is north of here. I’m not exactly sure. Mel called to tell me.”

Hearing
a car pull up they both looked out the window. “That’s Sheriff Brown isn’t it?
What’s he doing here?”

Jonas
swore and gently lifted Autumn off his lap. He groaned and had to use his cane to
aid him in standing. “The horses were let out of the barn on purpose.” He
hobbled to the door and opened it.

Sheriff
Brown brushed past him and stood in the middle of the room peering around. He
eyed Autumn until she stiffened. Jonas closed the door and shook his head.

“I
didn’t even get a chance to call you.” Jonas said as he limped back toward the
couch. He gestured with his hand for the sheriff to take a seat.

“Dee
Ann called me and told me about the trouble out here. She seems to think
someone is out to get the people that have rescue horses.”

Jonas’
eyes widened. “Oh really, she thinks that? To me that’s jumping the gun a bit.
We don’t know who, how or why.”

“We
take killing horses seriously around these parts.”

“Sure
you do as long as it’s not the owner doing the killing.”

Sheriff
Brown’s eyes narrowed. “Listen to me, Jonas, I don’t make the laws. My hands
are tied a lot of the time. Do you think I like to see animals hurt? I think Dee
Ann is intuitive and she’s probably right. Might be a horse owner that you took
horses away from. Revenge is pretty powerful motive.”

“If
you like you can go look at the barn. I’d walk you down there but my leg has
been giving me trouble.”

Sheriff
Brown stood up. “That’s right, you’re all shot up.” He reached over and shook
Jonas’ hand. “I’ll be in touch.” His gaze lingered on Autumn before he went out
the door.

“Pompous
ass.” What the hell was wrong with Brown? All shot up? He shrugged Autumn’s
hand off his arm. He didn’t need or want pity.

“Jonas?”
The worry in her voice grated on him but when he turned to gaze at her he
realized it was sadness not pity that she conveyed.

“That
man rubs me the wrong way. I’m fine.”

“I
know you are, Jonas. We’ll just have to make sure that no one can get to the
horses again. Mean, horrible people. I just don’t understand it.”

“I
know, love, I don’t understand either.” He put his arms around her and caressed
her cheek with his free hand. Gently he guided her head to his shoulder. She
shifted until she found a comfortable position. This was all he needed right
now, Autumn.

* * * *

A
week went by and as much as she liked being with Jonas, Autumn couldn’t wait to
get home. She missed her restaurant and quite frankly she wanted to get away
from Dee Ann. Dee Ann’s duplicity wore her nerves to a frazzle. One minute she
was a best friend and the next she flirted with Jonas.

She
had no right to be jealous. Jonas had told her from the beginning that he
didn’t want more than friendship. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t
turn off her deep feelings for him.

Everyone
was enchanted with Dee Ann including Richard and the rest of her staff at
Autumn’s Bounty. Autumn had confronted Richard about giving away expensive wine
and they ended up arguing. Richard thought he was doing Autumn a favor by being
generous to her hosts. Somehow he was under the impression that Dee Ann was
nursing her back to health. He denied giving funding to Dee Ann for her horse
project and she trusted him. The restaurant continued to bring in customers and
that made her proud but she yearned to be a part of it.

Autumn
readied herself for her doctor’s appointment. Jonas was taking her and a small
thrill of anticipation ran through her. There had to be some way to reassure
him that his injuries didn’t matter, but he made sure she never got a chance.
If she pushed, he pulled and it hurt too much when he pulled away.

The
front door opened and she hurried out of her bedroom. Her smile faded and her
shoulders drooped. “Hi, Mel.”

“I’ll
be
takin
’ you to the docs. A couple horses were just
delivered and Jonas and Dee Ann are busy.”

She
grabbed her purse and followed Mel out to his truck and she didn’t object when
he helped her up into her seat. She wouldn’t have been able to get up there on
her own.

It
could be worse, it could be Bob that drove her; she shuddered just thinking
about that creep. His leering glances made her sick and they frightened her but
Jonas seemed to think he was a good man. She didn’t need to worry about that
now. She had her fingers crossed that the doctor would release her from bed
rest.

Mel
helped her into the office and had her take a seat. “I’ll be back. I have to
run to the feed store.”

“Thanks,
Mel.” She straightened her shoulders and pretended to smile. The baby kicked
and it filled her with instant happiness. She needed to let go of the negative
in her life and embrace the positive, for the baby’s sake.

Unfortunately,
the doctor wasn’t on her side. He insisted on more time off her feet. She
nodded her acceptance but inside she wept. She dressed and walked back into the
waiting room. Jonas stood there with a grin as big as Texas.