Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys

by D'Ann Lindun

“I’m starving,” she said. “Can I have one of those granola bars?”

  “Not until we’re further from the bears,” he said. “Then you can eat as many as you want. You can do whatever you like once we’re safe.”

  She stood in his embrace a moment longer. “I have some ideas.”

  He did, too. None of his had anything to do with food.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Teagan didn’t know why she’d thought the far side of the lake might be a little easier to navigate. In fact, it was every bit as difficult as the shore they’d left, with logs and boulders making roadblocks everywhere. At least no hungry bears greeted them.

  Gage paused and sniffed the air like a bloodhound. “Smell that?”

  “No. What?”

  “Smoke. Specifically a campfire.”

  Hope leapt in her heart. “The cabin?”

  “I think so.” He tugged her hand. “Let’s find out.”

  As they continued along the lakeshore, it began to open up and become less cluttered. The maze of fallen trees had been cleared and the boulders turned to small rocks and pebbles. The relentless fog settled around them like a soft cotton sheet. But instead of being comforting, it chilled her to the bone. Her fingers and toes resembled shards of ice. She didn’t think her body would ever get warm again.

  The idea of a fire and something hot to drink encouraged her to pick up her pace until she was almost clipping Gage’s heels. Suddenly he stopped. She stumbled into his back and he turned around.

  “Why did you stop like that?” she asked.

  He hesitated.

  She licked her dry lips. “What is it?”

  “It’s not good.”

  The grim look in his eyes scared her. “What is it, Gage?” A tremor ran through her. “Just tell me.”

  Instead, he stepped aside. She blinked once. Twice. Her eyes had to be deceiving her, but she knew they were not.

  The plane’s tail stuck out of the lake like that of a diving whale. The nose, along with most of the body, was submerged. It had not been visible until now because it lay hidden in a small, secluded cove.

  Teagan’s knees shook and she began to sway. Dimly, she felt Gage grab her. In her heart, she knew it was unlikely that anyone else had survived, but to see the wrecked plane in Technicolor was a shock.

  Gage spoke, his words seeming to come from a distance, or a deep tunnel. “Teagan. Stay with me.”

  She shook her head to clear it. “I’m not going to pass out.”

  “Could’ve fooled me,” he said.

  “I’m all right now.”

  “We just have this last bit, then we’re at the cabin.” He pointed across the inlet. “See? It’s right there.”

  The log structure, with a lazy trail of smoke lifting from the chimney, would’ve been picture perfect if the half submerged plane didn’t lay like a dead fish.

  Teagan stared at the wreck. Images of her friends’ lifeless bodies flashed through her head and she choked back a sob. She swiped at her cheeks with her hands. “Dammit.”

  “Hey, it’ll be okay.” Gage wrapped her in his strong arms and held her tight for a few moments while she fought her grief. “Let’s get to the cabin and find out if someone’s looking for us.”

  “Okay.” She reluctantly slipped out of his embrace. “Sounds good.”

  The rest of the trip passed in a blur.

  As the cabin came into sight, Teagan’s heart pounded erratically. The scent of wood smoke filled her nose and she knew she’d never smell it again without thinking of this trip, and of Gage. She gripped his hand like the lifeline it’d become. Unsure of what bothered her, she tamped down her trepidation.

  From the outside, the cabin looked well cared for. Firewood had been neatly stacked on the west side, covered by a blue tarp.

  Gage lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

  For a moment, nothing.

  Teagan’s heart sank. Then she realized it didn’t matter if no one was home. They had found shelter; they were not going to leave it unless the owner forced them away.

  Someone swung the heavy wood door open.

  An enormous bearded man glared at them. His squinty eyes were topped by bushy red brows. “You in the wreck, too?”

  Too?

  Had someone else survived?

  “We were,” Gage said. “We’re injured, tired and cold. Can you offer us shelter?”

  The man jerked his head. “’Spect I could.” He moved aside. “Come in.”

  Gage gave her a reassuring look and stepped over the threshold. She knew it wasn’t in his nature to not let a lady go first. He must have entered first to protect her if there was danger inside.

  He stiffened and she stood on tip-toe to see what had him agitated. “Oh my God.”

  Staring back at her were her friends: Jackson. Marty. Katherine. Brooklyn. And the pilot with a white bandage wrapped around his head. Their mouths hung open and their eyes were huge. Much like hers must be.

  Teagan snapped her jaw shut. Overwhelming joy surged through her. “You’re alive.”

  Katherine came to her feet, rushing toward them, arms open. The others surged around her and Gage, embracing them in a group hug. The pilot, Mike, hung back, along with the bearded man.

  “My God. We thought you both were dead,” Marty said.

  “So did I, but Gage saved us.” She touched Katherine’s arm, then took a slow look into each of their faces. “Everyone is unharmed?”

  “Bruised and scratched, but thanks to these two brave men we all made it. Rudy and Mike pulled us out of the lake.” Marty smiled at the pilot much like Teagan had been toward Gage. Interesting.

  Teagan looked at the silent bearded man. “Rudy?”

  He nodded. “Yup.”

  “Thank you so much for saving them.” At his brusque nod, she turned her attention to the pilot. “Thank you, Mike.”

  “Anyone would have done the same,” he said modestly.

  “Are you hurt?” Katherine asked, noticing Teagan’s splinted hand.

  “My fingers are broken,” Teagan said. “But Gage set it and I’ve taken some Ibuprofen.”

  “Oh, dear.” Katherine blinked hard and her lips trembled.

  “I’m fine,” Teagan hastened to reassure her. “They hurt, but I’ll be okay.”

  Gage spoke for the first time. “How did you get out of the plane?”

  Rudy moved to the stove and lifted a stoneware pot. “That tale might require a cup of coffee.”

  “Sounds good.” For the first time, weariness crept into Gage’s voice. He’d been so strong and invincible that it took Teagan aback to hear him otherwise. She squeezed his hand and he tightened his fingers curled around hers.

  Normally not a coffee drinker, Teagan couldn’t think of anything she’d like more than to sit and let some of her exhaustion roll off her shoulders. “Please.”

  “Take off your coat and rest.” Rudy waved a hand. “I only have the two chairs, so you have to sit on the floor.”

  “After sleeping on the ground in the snow, I’ll take it.” Teagan unbuttoned her coat and let it slide off her shoulders, then sank onto the wood floor. She held out her hands toward the stove. The warmth felt like heaven to her chilled body. “That’s nice.”

  Gage sat next to her, and he also stretched his palms to the fire. “Feels good.”

  Rudy poured the coffee, then retrieved a can of condensed milk from a shelf. “Milk?”

  Teagan nodded and he poured a generous amount into the dark brew. After she tasted it, she wished he’d added more. The coffee about knocked her over, it was so strong. Gage hadn’t even taken a drip of the milk; he took it black. Somehow that didn’t surprise her.

  After Rudy filled everyone’s cups and added condensed milk, he replaced both, then stood with his back to the fire. “You must have landed on the other side, eh?”

  Teagan shrugged. “I honestly don’t know what happened. I hit my head on something. When I came to, I was in the water.” She shot a sideway
s glance at her cowboy hero. “Gage pulled me out.”

  “Last thing I remember was settling in to take a nap, and the next thing I know I woke up to screams, then laying on a rocky beach, freezing my ass off, with no clue how I got there,” Gage said.

  “My plane lost its engine, and I tried to land on the lake. She sat on top of the water long enough we all climbed out.” He shook his head. “I shoved you out, but couldn’t go in after you because I had too many other drowning people to take care of right then.”

  “I don’t remember hitting,” Teagan said. “Just coming to the surface, fighting for air.”

  “It’s a miracle we weren’t all killed.” Marty shot Mike an admiring look. “Mike’s skill kept the plane on the water so we could all escape.”

  “You’re a hero,” Teagan agreed. “Thank you.”

  “If I was a hero, my plane wouldn’t have gone down,” he said.

  Gage spoke. “I don’t see how you could have predicted engine failure. We’re all alive, that’s what matters.”

  “Amen,” Katherine said fervently. “If I’d lost Brookie—”

  “You didn’t, Mom.” The teenager hugged her mother.

  Teagan’s eyes misted. The relief of finding her friends alive was almost too much to take in. That Katherine still had her daughter and Marty was interested in the handsome pilot made her heart sing.

  Gage questioned Rudy. “Do you have any way to contact the outside?”

  “No, but I have a friend who drops off supplies on the first and fifteenth of the month.”

  “Only a week until the fifteenth of October.” Gage glanced at the pilot. “Did your plane have a black box?”

  “Yes. But I’m afraid the battery is dying as we speak.”

  “I imagine the storm has rescuers held up,” Gage mused. “Were we on course when we crashed?”

  “We were,” Mike said. “Why?”

  “I have friends who are great trackers,” Gage said. “They might be on our trail as we speak.”

  Teagan released her pent-up breath. That meant someone was going to find them. Although grateful for shelter, she wanted to go home.

  “How on Earth did you survive the night outside?” Katherine asked.

  Teagan pointed at Gage. “His wilderness skills. He built a shelter, a fire and caught a fish.”

  He shrugged. “Just doing what anyone would.”

  “Not true. I would have died without you,” Teagan said. “You know it’s true.”

  “Maybe.” He shifted uncomfortably.

  Because she knew she embarrassed him, Teagan looked at Katherine. “We found your suitcase. Your clothes are gone, I’m afraid. We used them for a shelter and as covers last night.”

  “Oh my goodness. I don’t care about clothes. I’m just happy they could help you.” She blinked a little. “I will miss my mother’s pearls though.”

  Gage reached for his coat and dug in the pocket. He held out a handful of loose jewels. “Here you go. I used the string for a fishing line, but the pearls are here. I’ll pay to have them restrung, of course.”

  She took them with trembling hands. “Oh bless you. Crazy as it is, I take these everywhere I go.”

  “I’m sure glad you did.”

  Katherine clutched them to her breast. “My mother would be so happy they helped you. As am I.”

  “Thank you again.”

  Rudy stood and filled everyone’s cups again, topping the brew with more condensed milk.

  “Thank you.” Teagan sipped the hot drink, grateful for the way it heated her insides. “How did you find this lovely cabin?”

  He replaced the big stoneware pot on the stove. “I built it with my own two hands.”

  “My goodness. That’s amazing.”

  “Not so much. I grew up near here. My mother took off when I was a kid. My dad raised me and three brothers in the woods and it’s all I know.”

  “Impressive.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “My friends are blessed to have found you here,” Teagan told him. “And it was my good luck to have Gage pull me out of that freezing water.”

  “That lake was a little nippy,” Gage said. “We’re all lucky we didn’t die of hypothermia.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get warm again.” Teagan edged closer to the stove.

  “It’s a miracle Rudy happened to find us,” Marty said. “We were so dazed and confused when we hit shore it’s likely we would’ve frozen to death if he hadn’t been there.”

  Rudy motioned toward the wall. “I was outside chopping wood when I heard the engine sputter. I knew she was coming down, I just didn’t know where. Imagine my surprise when you landed on my doorstep so to speak.”

  “This is one for the record books, all right,” Gage said slowly. “Just one lucky break after another.”

  Something in his tone made Teagan turn his way. He met her eyes and the look in his was grim. Her stomach dropped. “Gage?”

  He gave her a long unreadable look, then turned toward Mike. “I just want to know one thing…what would you have done if you killed us all? Would a plane crash be your excuse?”

  Mike’s face turned as white as the bandage on his head. “What? Are you accusing me of deliberately crashing my plane? Now, that’s just crazy talk.”

  “Is it?” Gage pushed to his feet. He took an educated guess. “The engine never sputtered, or died. You dipped and spun us around a bit, but we were landed on the lake deliberately. And I’d wager your buddy Rudy was waiting onshore to bring us all in.” The bearded man moved in front of the door as Gage continued. “You never meant to wreck the plane. It was a bonus if anyone died. It was a sloppy landing gone bad.”

  Teagan gasped. “Gage? But why?”

  He glanced at her. “My guess is some kind of kidnapping plot. Most everyone on board has a little money, and I think our boys here saw a way to take some. I’m betting they planned to set down, hold us here and ask for a ransom. Something on the landing went wrong and the plane tipped ass over elbow.”

  Everyone began to talk at once.

  Until Rudy reached for his rifle above the door and cocked it. “Shut up!”

  Mike held up his palms. “Give it up, Rudy. We’re caught.”

  He brandished the gun. “Not if I kill them all and dump their bodies in the lake.”

  “All of us?” Gage pointed at Brooklyn. “Including a sixteen-year-old girl?”

  Katherine’s gasp could be heard in the silence. “No.”

  “No,” Mike echoed. “I thought this was a harebrained idea from the beginning and I don’t want any more of it. I’m going to call the authorities and put a stop to it before someone dies.”

  “I’m not going to prison.” With a bellow like an enraged bull, Rudy opened the door and slammed through it.

  After his exit, everyone sat in stunned silence.

  Finally Mike said, “My cell has service. I’ll get someone headed to pick you up straight away.” He sank onto the bed, head in his hands.

  Teagan leaped to her feet and rushed into Gage’s arms. “How did you know?”

  “Look around you. This cabin isn’t a home. There are no supplies. The wood pile hasn’t been used. That sleeping bag is brand new.”

  “You’re a genius.” Teagan pressed her mouth to his. “And I love you.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  After a whirlwind rescue and speaking to the authorities, Teagan and the others were taken to the only hotel in the small town where the flight had originated. She and Gage were given rooms next door to each other. Whether by coincidence, or not, she wasn’t certain.

  There hadn’t been time since they’d been found to talk, and Teagan’s emotions were all over the place, from joy at being found to despair at never seeing Gage again. She’d called her mother and sister and cried during their conversation. She’d see them in a day or two, as soon as a flight out could be arranged.

  There were more calls to make, to her agent and friends, but they would k
eep. First, she had to see about her hand and get cleaned up. A doctor waited to examine all of them, but Teagan let the others go first. Other than her fingers, she was fine.

  Gage handed over her key. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

  The knot in her stomach from blurting out she loved him loosened a fraction. “Yes, very much.”

  “I’ll pick you up around eight.”

  “Great.” She held up her room key. “You know where to find me.”

  “I do.”

  Teagan turned to the desk manager. “I lost everything in the crash. Do you have a general store? Is there anywhere I can buy clothes?” She looked at her filthy outfit and wrinkled her nose. “These have had it, I’m afraid.”

  “We were radioed ahead your party was coming in and we had basic toiletries placed in your rooms. There are also robes.” He shook his head sadly. “But I’m afraid there is nowhere to buy ladies clothing here in Bear Falls. If you want us to launder what you have on, we can do that. Just ring the front desk and one of the maids will pick them up for you.”

  “Okay, thank you. I’ll do that.” Teagan turned away, her head spinning. What the hell was she going to do with no clothes?

  Gage touched her elbow. “Grab your friends. I know what to do.”

  Puzzled, she motioned to everyone. “Gage has an idea.”

  When they all turned their attention to him, he spoke. “I’ll charter a plane to bring us in clothing and other essentials. You can do an overnight order for the items you need and they’ll be here by tomorrow afternoon.”

  Although she wanted to hug him again, Teagan only smiled. “That’s so generous. Thank you.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Katherine said.

  The others all voiced their gratitude.

  “It’s no trouble,” he told them.

  ~*~

  After the doctor wrapped her fingers, complimenting Gage’s job, Teagan used the computer in the lobby to order clothing, beauty products and makeup. She then climbed the stairs to her second story room. Cozy, with a red and black plaid bedspread, pine dresser and side tables, it looked like heaven after her night on the cold ground. Although she’d take it if Gage were there beside her.