“Are you talking about Esperanza?” Lillian demanded. “Because if you are, she stayed with me most of the time I was held prisoner. I’d say that makes her an accessory to kidnapping, doesn’t it?”
“I wasn’t aware of this,” Fairfield said. “We’ll pick her up today.” He retrieved a cell phone out of his suit pocket and dialed. Quickly, he spoke into it, relaying Lillian’s information. “If there’s not anything else, I’ll be going. I’ll be in touch as the trial draws near.” He left them, all a little shaken.
“Wow,” Sabrina said. “Whoever would’ve thought there’d be so much intrigue in little old Salt Lick, Colorado? Makes L. A. look kind of tame, huh?”
“I can’t wait to go home, where I know I’m safe.” Lillian scooped Fancy off the couch and hugged him to her. “We’re city folk, aren’t we, precious?”
Elizabeth felt Cooper’s gaze on her, but she avoided his eyes. Afraid to look at him and see the rejection she feared, she went into the kitchen to get more coffee. Finding the pot empty gave her the perfect excuse to hide. Sabrina joined her in a minute.
“How’s it going?”
“Okay. I’m so happy about my mom.” Elizabeth hugged her new friend. “Thank you for helping to find her.”
“I didn’t do a darn thing.” Sabrina shook her head with regret. “As a P. I., I was less than worthless. But I sure am glad it all turned out for the best.”
“You weren’t worthless,” Elizabeth denied. “You’re the one who figured out the whole boundary line thing.”
“I got caught, and I didn’t get your mom out of there.” Sabrina looked like she wanted to cry. “I didn’t do my job.”
“Stop this right now,” Elizabeth said. “You did a great job. Everything you could do, you did. Now, not another word about it, okay? In fact, I need your bill so I can pay you. On another note, James looks like he’s about ready to kill someone. I hope Fairfield finds Kirby before he does.”
“James would kill Kirby for hitting me,” Sabrina said with all sincerity. She brightened. “Do you like him? He’s single. Hell, I have four unmarried brothers. You could take your pick. Please? Take one off my hands.”
Laughing, Elizabeth shook her head. “No, thanks. But what about you? I saw the way you were looking at Russell Stone. Is there a spark there?”
A blush raced across her face. “No. Not me. He’s nice, but — ”
“But what?” Elizabeth demanded. “Why not? You’re a lovely woman and he’s a very attractive man. You never know when Cupid might strike.”
“Does the little angel still have his arrow in your butt?” Sabrina grinned. “Or have you managed to pull it out and let the healing begin?”
In spite of her aching heart, Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah. It’s still there. I’ve been trying to forget Cooper, but he’s a hard man to get out of your mind.”
“Nothing’s changed? He hasn’t come to his senses yet?” Sabrina poured two cups of coffee, adding creamer and sugar to both.
Elizabeth stirred her coffee. “No.”
“Oh, hon. Wish I had good advice,” Sabrina said, “but the only thing I know to do is shoot straight, and hope for the best. You can see how well that’s worked out for me. I’m thirty-five, raising a child on my own. The last time I had a relationship … well, even had a date was longer than I’ll admit to.”
“I’ve never had the best luck with men either.” Elizabeth studied her coffee. “I guess it’s not meant to be.”
“Have you tried telling Cooper how you feel?” Sabrina sipped her drink. “Not that I think that’s the best plan. Every time I’ve tried it, all I get is a big ‘It’s been real. I’ll see ya’. Yeah, they see me in their rearview mirror.”
“My mother thinks I should tell him,” Elizabeth said, “but I just don’t know.” She thought she’d made it pretty clear in the cabin how she felt. Did she have to hit the man over the head with a brick to get him to see she was in love with him? What if she did bare her soul, and he didn’t feel the same way? Could she stand it? She sighed, undecided. “Come on. Everyone probably needs more coffee.”
Elizabeth invited everyone to stay for lunch, and they accepted. They seemed to let some of their cares slip away at lunch. Lillian was laughing at something James said. Sabrina and Russ were deeply engrossed in a conversation. Even Cooper smiled a little when Tommy, Sabrina’s younger brother, told him a story about a new mother cow chasing him across a pasture.
Sitting back a little, Elizabeth realized how much she enjoyed these people. Sabrina had become a good friend in a short amount of time; her brothers were wonderful, too. Russ Stone seemed to be a great guy, and Elizabeth hoped he and Sabrina would hit it off. That he’d be the kind of man she deserved.
And Cooper.
She studied his profile. How had she fallen so quickly for a man that defined the hero she’d ever seen in any western movie? Strong, silent, and sexy. He had it all. If he only felt the same way toward her.
Sighing, she lifted her fork. She had little appetite. There was a lot of work to do before she and her mother left at the end of the week. They still hadn’t decided what to do with the ranch. The natural gas production had ceased and they hadn’t decided whether or not to let another company continue with the process.
Lillian’s bags were packed. She was more than ready to get back to her life, but Elizabeth wasn’t as sure. She couldn’t get excited about leaving. This old ranch felt strangely like home to her now. Could she stay here? So close to Cooper? But not close enough? There was a great deal to do to keep busy. Henry’s house needed a ton of repairs. It would be a great deal of fun to decorate it with antiques. Her father had left her enough money to live on for the rest of her life. Or, if she wanted to continue her florist career, there was an empty shop on Main Street waiting for a new tenant.
Shortly after the lunch dishes were done, Sabrina and her brothers left. Hugging Elizabeth at the door, Sabrina whispered in her ear, “You’ll never know if you don’t try. I just got a date.”
“Way to go.” Elizabeth slipped a check into Sabrina’s pocket. “I’ll see you before I leave.”
“Make sure you do,” Sabrina said.
A few minutes later, Russ Stone took his leave.
In the quiet dining room, the fire crackling in the background, Elizabeth, Lillian and Cooper sat at the table over the remains of a raspberry torte. Yawning widely, Lillian said, “I’m exhausted. It’s nap time. Good day, Mr. Cooper.” Scooping up Fancy and the pup, she went upstairs.
“That was subtle.” Elizabeth plucked at her sleeve. “Not Mom’s best thing.”
“You’re lucky to have a mother who loves you,” Cooper said. “Are you headed home then?”
“Soon. After we decide what to do about the ranch, and about the drilling. What are your plans?” Elizabeth tried to focus on this unimportant stuff, but all she could think about was how close he was physically, yet so far emotionally.
“We need to figure that out together.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “There’s a lot we need to figure out.”
“Such as?” Her heart leaped. She curled her fingers around his, tightening them.
Cooper took a deep breath. For three days he’d done nothing but think about this moment. If he didn’t speak up, Elizabeth was going to leave him. But she might once she knew the truth, too. He had to risk it. To know once and for all how she felt. “What’s between you and me, for one thing.”
“Is there something between us?” Her nails dug into his palm.
Meeting her eyes, he began. “I sometimes have flashbacks … of … things.” He paused, expecting condemnation. When none came, he continued. “Like in the cavern. I had a PTSD episode. It hasn’t happened in years.”
“Cooper? Is that why were you lying on the ground?”
“Yeah.” He fought to find the right words. “The dark, closed space set it off.”
Her amber-colored eyes filled with compassion, but she waited for him to continue.
Steadying his nerve, he did. “My dad was in the military and gone a lot. When he was home things ran like clockwork. My mother was happy, content. But when he got called to duty all hell broke loose. I couldn’t do anything to please her. The littlest thing would set her off. Something like not cleaning my plate or talking too loud or running too fast made her crazy-mad.”
“Oh, Cooper.”
“She didn’t believe in normal discipline,” he continued. “Not even spanking, or sitting in the corner. No going to bed without dinner. Her idea of punishment was much worse. At first, she slapped my face, but I got too quick for her. I learned to duck and run.”
“No.” Elizabeth stared at him, her expression horrified.
He struggled to continue. “When she caught me, she beat me. With anything she could reach. Her fists, a hairbrush, a belt. But when she couldn’t make me cry … that’s when the torture started. She locked me in her bedroom closet for hours, hell, sometimes days.”
“The cave … that’s why you — ”
“Hate the dark? Yeah. Stupid, isn’t it? A grown man, afraid of the boogeyman? Scared of his mother, who’s been dead for a decade.” His tone mocked himself. “That’s why you found me lying on the floor like some kind of … ”
Her fingers on his lips silenced him. “Don’t. You’re a survivor, Cooper. Can’t you see? You lived through the most basic betrayal, and you made it to the other side. That makes you so strong. You had to be the bravest little boy ever, and you’re the most courageous man I ever met. No one can ever take your inner strength away from you.”
He swallowed hard. “My anger sometimes comes out unexpectedly. Innocent bystanders have sometimes seen my temper. That’s why it wasn’t hard for anyone to believe I killed Henry.”
“I know you didn’t hurt anyone. Especially Henry.” She held his gaze. “His death wasn’t your fault. I know you couldn’t hurt him or anyone else.”
“That’s the thing, Elizabeth. I am fully capable of doing bodily harm. I sometimes explode.”
“You have a right to be angry, but you aren’t a person who could kill anyone. I only see a man who is good and decent and kind. I know the truth of you in my heart.” She got up and went around in front of him. Kneeling down, her head on his knee, she said, “Can you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” He fought the emotions tearing through him. He lifted her chin and their eyes met. “How can you see the good in me when most only see the bad?”
“Because I only see good in you,” she replied simply. “Nothing else. I love you. I’ve been in love with you from the very first.”
“Do you mean it?”
“If you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving my love to you. You said you trusted me. Let me show you how much I love you.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Starting right now.”
A smile broke through. “Your mom is in the house.”
She stood and tugged him with her. Lifting her face, she said against his mouth, “No one’s at your place.”
He laughed. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
They kissed all the way to the door.
More From This Author
(From
Wild Horses
)
“Damn, it’s hotter than the devil’s backyard out here.” Castaña Castillo took one hand off the steering wheel just long enough to swipe at the trickle of sweat running down the nape of her neck and adjust the volume on the radio. One of her favorites, “Amarillo by Morning,” wafted from the speakers.
Not even George Strait’s silky smooth voice helped ward off her exhaustion. Castaña’s hands felt like twisted claws wrapped around the steering wheel, and the space between her shoulders ached until she prayed it would go numb. The AC gasped out its last breath of cool air somewhere in the middle of Texas yesterday afternoon. Both windows in her old Dodge were down, blasting June air through the cab like a roar from an open furnace. An enormous red and orange sun sinking out of the Arizona sky made a blinding glare on the bug-splattered windshield.
Her eyes burned from keeping them open. She tried to rest last night, parked near the highway and huddled in her combination camper horse trailer, but worrying about her missing brother kept her awake until almost three in the morning. According to a woman who refused to identify herself, no one had seen Martin for a few days. The mystery caller implied he might be lying out in the forest hurt … or worse.
If the horses hadn’t needed to rest, she would’ve pressed on through the night. Bringing her expensive show horses along might have been foolish, but she didn’t know how long she would be in Arizona. She hated leaving her animals in someone else’s care for more than a day or two. More importantly, she needed the horses in order to search the rough forest terrain.
Something large flashed in the corner of her eye. The pines made it impossible to see exactly what. An elk? Deer? If one of them jumped out in the road —
The animal shot toward her and she jerked the steering wheel. The pickup’s front left tire dropped into the loose gravel beside the road, making the rig slide. She had no control. Fighting the truck back to the right, she said, “Stand up, boys.”
The pickup refused to cooperate, skidding for at least another hundred feet. In spite of her best efforts to fight it back, the rig flew forward at an alarming rate. Desperately, she tapped the brake in an attempt to keep the trailer from flipping. The truck finally lurched to a stop; the trailer jackknifed across the road.
After a moment to catch her breath, Castaña grabbed her pistol out of the glove box, opened the door, and jumped out on noodle-weak legs. A cloud of swirling dust surrounded the stalled truck and trailer and she sneezed. Wiping away dust-filled tears, she ran for the horses. If one of the geldings had been gravely injured, she’d have to put him down.
Jumping inside the trailer, she checked over both of her passengers. The horses rolled their eyes and pawed, but otherwise seemed unharmed. She sagged with relief and tucked the gun in the back of her jeans. Back on the pavement, she noticed something next to the road. She rubbed her sand dry eyes with her fists and stared.
A man!
A man staggering to his feet. Had she clipped him? No, she would’ve felt the bump. Was he the big blur she’d noticed?
She hurried toward him. “The sun — I couldn’t see.”