Miles headed toward the porch and Melissa handed him a bottle of water, which he guzzled. He was dressed in jeans and boots and was wearing his cowboy hat. He looked very rustic and rugged, and she couldn’t help the appreciation that rushed through her.
“How is it going?”
He shrugged. “It’s going to take a long while to clean it up and rebuild, but at least the horses were all rescued. I’m afraid the Woodwards’ horses have been traumatized all over again.” He turned and looked at Dylan spinning happily and without worry. That was how she always wanted to see him. She didn’t want him to have to spend his life constantly anxious and unsure, unable to trust. She hoped Miles could make that happen.
Miles took her hand and smiled down at her. “I think Dylan is having a good time.”
She smiled back and leaned into him. “He is. Thank you for this.” She was growing to depend on this handsome marshal more and more. In spite of herself, she wanted to lean on him. He didn’t appear to mind it. She wished she was free to explore these new feelings that were emerging around Miles. He was a good man. And he loved his family, despite the secrets only she knew he was keeping. It still bothered her that he’d deceive his family, but she understood his reasons. Someone in his marshals service family, people he trusted and considered friends, was likely betraying them by giving out information about her case. She shuddered and Miles must have felt it because he put his arms around her.
“Are you okay?”
She looked up into his eyes and saw genuine concern. She wasn’t just another case to him and that meant a lot to her. Did he treat all his WITSEC clients this way? Her face warmed as she recalled their kiss in the barn. Probably not.
“I’m fine. Just bad memories.”
He pulled her to him and she soaked in the feel of his strength. She hadn’t thought about another man this way since Vick. No one had made her feel so safe and protected before and, now more than ever, it was just what she needed. She was tired of being strong and he seemed to instinctively know and understand that.
His brother called to him and he squeezed her hand. “I’ll be right back.”
She watched him walk away and felt her face warm at her own thoughts. Brushing them back firmly, she realized she didn’t hear Dylan. He was so active that it was never good when he was quiet unless he was sleeping. She turned to look for him. He wasn’t in the clearing playing with the toys any longer. She glanced around, but didn’t see him. She was filled with worry, but she tried to calm herself, reminding herself not to overreact.
She turned to Mr. and Mrs. Avery and Kellyanne on the porch. “Did one of you take Dylan inside?”
Kellyanne’s face showed concern. “I didn’t.” She looked to her parents. “Did you?”
They both claimed they hadn’t seen him.
Panic began to fill Melissa. She hurried toward the barn, where the men were working. If he’d gone in there, he might get injured before anyone realized he was nearby. As it turned out, though, she heard him before she reached the barn.
She turned and spotted him inside the corral with several of the horses she recognized as the Woodwards’ horses. Melissa knew next to nothing about horses, but she knew that these had been traumatized twice by fires, and she could easily believe that they might react badly to any sudden, unexpected movement. She wanted to cry out to her son to come back, but no words would come. She ran toward the corral and climbed over the fence, scooping Dylan into her arms just as the wild horse that was closest to him began to buck and neigh loudly. That frightened Dylan and he cried out, screaming in fear at the top of his lungs, which only spooked the horses even more. One of them lunged at them. She tried to move toward the gate, but the horse went crazy and bolted toward them, causing the other horses to do the same.
Fear filled her. They needed to get out of here before they were trampled. She spun around and the horse reared on its hind legs and kicked at her. She screamed before turning around again only to be confronted by another horse bucking at her. She shielded Dylan as best she could as the horse kicked at her, hitting her in the arm and knocking her off her feet. She and Dylan hit the ground as blinding pain raced through her. But she couldn’t stop to think about her injury. They had to get out of this pen before the horses trampled them. She scooped up Dylan again with her other arm and tried to find her way out but the dust and horses blocked her way.
They were trapped.
“Melissa, stay calm.” Miles’s voice reached her from a distance. He sounded so far away but she spotted him and his brother at the fence.
She pulled Dylan toward her, but his cries of fear only continued to spook the horses, who ran around them, sending dust flying and keeping her from seeing any way out. The screeches of the horses seemed to surround her.
Miles and Paul entered the corral and Miles jumped in front of her and Dylan, covering them while Paul tried to calm the horses. She was terrified but thankful that Miles was here now and that she wasn’t alone. After pulling her up to her feet, Miles backed her up toward the fence as Paul called out to the horses and tried to rein them in. Once they reached the fence, he grabbed Dylan from her arms and hoisted him over, then reached for her hand.
“I don’t think I can climb over,” she said, holding her arm, which was throbbing with pain and wouldn’t cooperate.
He didn’t hesitate. He scooped her up, too, and hoisted her over the fence. His father was waiting to help steady her on the other side. She glanced back for Miles and spotted him hurrying back to help his brother calm the horses. Dylan was still crying but his cries seemed quieter and farther away. He’d had a terrible fright and so had she, and her heart was still pounding at the idea that Miles could be hurt. She turned around and spotted Kellyanne carrying Dylan away from the pen. Good. She could take him back to the house, where his cries wouldn’t continue to spook the horses, but Melissa needed to get to him to comfort him. She moved to go to him, but pain rushed through her and her knees buckled as she collapsed. John grabbed her before she fell.
“Sit down,” he instructed, lowering her to the ground. “You’re going to be fine.”
“Dylan.”
“Kellyanne has him. He’s safe now.” He checked her over and she flinched when he touched her arm. “Looks like you might have a broken arm. We need to get you to the hospital.”
“Miles.” She grunted out his name between gasps of pain.
His father did his best to keep her calm. “He’s fine. He’s helping Paul and the boys calm the horses. You and Dylan are very fortunate. Horses don’t usually like to step on anyone, but these are easily spooked. They could have really hurt you both.”
Somehow, she’d sensed that those horses were out of control and dangerous. How had Dylan gotten into that pen in the first place? She should have been watching him more closely. She should ask John to take her to Dylan, but she didn’t want to leave without first knowing that Miles was safe, too.
The yelling and noise from the pen grew fainter and she looked up to see Miles approaching her. He was covered in dirt from head to toe, but he shook it off. He looked to be okay. She couldn’t stop herself. She fell into his arms as tears flowed. He held her tighter than he would have if she was merely a client, surely. Something had changed between them. She knew it then. She felt it. This wasn’t the embrace of two people who barely knew one another. She’d been frightened for his life and it had nothing to do with him being a marshal and her being a witness in his custody.
She heard his heart hammering against his chest and his heavy breathing. She looked up into his eyes and touched his face.
He kissed her hand and nodded his head. “I’m okay. Are you...?”
She quickly reassured him. “We’re okay, too...thanks to you.”
“Not so okay,” his father corrected and only then did she realize that she was still in Miles’s arms and his family thought nothing of it.
But, of course, they didn’t think anything of it. Because of the secret. Because they believed a lie that she and Miles were married and in love. “I think her arm is broken. She needs to go to the hospital. Dylan seems to be unharmed but we should have him checked out, too, just in case. How did this happen?”
Miles looked to her for an answer and she rushed to find her words. “I—I’m not sure. I realized that I couldn’t hear Dylan playing anymore, and when I looked around, I couldn’t find him. When I went to go search for him, I spotted him inside the horse corral. He started crying and the horses went wild.”
John nodded. “He spooked them. Those Woodward mares spook easily.”
“I don’t know what he was doing there or how he got in.” She felt her face flush this time for an entirely different reason. “I should have been watching him more closely.”
“We all should have,” Miles stated. “He’s a child who doesn’t understand the dangers of horses.”
“I’m not so sure,” Paul said as he approached them. “How could he have gotten inside that pen without anyone noticing? The wire fencing around the wood means he couldn’t crawl through the slats and the gate was securely locked when I checked it twenty minutes ago—not that I think he could have opened it on his own, anyway. He would have had to climb over the fence and that wouldn’t have been easy for someone his size.”
Melissa glanced at the fence and remembered the difficult time she’d had getting over it and she was much taller than Dylan. She glanced at her hands, which were bleeding from the wire. Dylan had none of those injuries and he wasn’t a climber. Paul was right. How had he gotten into that pen without anyone noticing?
She looked at Miles, whose face paled as he reached the same conclusion. It wouldn’t have been easy for Dylan to get inside. Someone had to have helped him...and left him there. Anger burst through her. Someone had intentionally put her child in danger’s path.
Miles pulled her to him and accidently touched her arm, causing her to wince in pain. “We’ll figure this out later. We need to get her to the hospital. Can you walk to the car?”
“I think so.” She wanted to say yes more firmly and confidently, wanted to be strong in front of him, but the pain was blinding. She leaned on him as they headed for the SUV. At one point, he was nearly carrying her, but she made it to the car and Miles helped her buckle in.
She spotted Kellyanne rush from the house with Dylan in her arms. His face was tear-streaked and red, but he seemed to be okay.
“I don’t think he was hurt,” Kellyanne assured her. “Only frightened. I tried to ask him how he got inside that pen but he couldn’t tell me.”
She thanked Kellyanne and reassured Dylan that everything was going to be okay. Kellyanne buckled Dylan into his car seat then crawled into the back seat. But as Miles put the car into gear and headed for the hospital, between a moment of overwhelming pain, Melissa couldn’t help wondering again how Dylan had gotten into that pen and what would have happened to both of them if Miles hadn’t intervened in time.
He’d saved them...for now. But if someone had intentionally tried to harm Dylan, and probably her, too, that meant they’d been here, close enough to grab him without her noticing, close enough to get to them while they were standing by the barn. Someone who was specifically targeting her—not an arsonist who was local to the area, or hunters who’d accidentally fired in the wrong direction. This attack had been deliberate and unmistakable.
And it meant they were no longer safe even at the ranch.
The bad guys had found them again.
SEVEN
The doctor x-rayed Melissa’s arm and confirmed a small break. He gave her something for pain, then told her that she would be fine before saying someone would come in to put a cast on it shortly. Miles was thankful the injury hadn’t been more serious. He knew it could have been much worse.
His parents appeared in the emergency room and assured them both that Dylan was fine. “The doctor gave him a complete examination. He wasn’t hurt at all.”
He saw Melissa’s relief at that news. She’d been edgy and unable to relax since the moment they’d been taken into separate treatment rooms because she hadn’t had Dylan in her sight. It had taken all his assurances to convince her that the boy was safe with his parents. Moments later, Kellyanne and their parents arrived with Dylan, who rushed over to the hospital bed. Miles lifted him up so Melissa could hug him and he saw a peace wash over her. Despite her own injuries, her son’s well-being was of utmost importance to her. She was a good mom and he admired how much she loved this little boy. In fact, Miles had grown quite fond of him, too.
“We thought we would take Dylan back home with us,” his dad stated. “He’s already getting restless and it looks as though you all are going to be a while getting that cast.”
Melissa face twisted with worry, but Kellyanne rushed to tamp down her concern. “We’ll take excellent care of him. That’s a promise.”
Although he could see Melissa didn’t want to let him out of her sight, she finally agreed. It was what was best for Dylan. A hospital was no place for a three-year-old—especially one who had had a scare and could use some comfort. He handed his sister an extra key to the SUV so she could get Dylan’s car seat out and they left.
Miles pulled up a chair and sat beside Melissa as the doctor came in and placed a cast on her arm. He held her hand through the procedure and tried to insist that everything was going to be okay, yet he could see her mind working, processing what had happened.
She clutched his hand with her good one and fear settled on her face. “Are we safe here?”
“Of course, you’re safe. Don’t jump to conclusions,” Miles warned her. He wasn’t ready to say this was a deliberate attack. True, it shouldn’t have been easy for Dylan to climb into that pen, but he’d seen kids do things that no one would have thought they could before.
Dylan was three years old and in awe of the ranch and the horses. It was still possible he’d climbed in there on his own and this was nothing more than an accidental incident.
But the fear in Melissa’s face was real. She believed they were no longer safe here. He refused to accept that yet. This was his home. He didn’t want to consider that someone had sneaked onto the ranch and managed to get to them. He couldn’t make his brain process that possibility.
The pain meds finally kicked in and Melissa began to relax as they waited for her to be discharged. Before he knew it, she was sleeping. But he couldn’t. His senses were on high alert, ready to confront any danger that might come their way.
Josh entered the room, spotted Melissa sleeping and motioned for Miles to join him in the hallway. He saw Paul and their father were with him.
“Dad called and told me what happened. I’m sorry it took so long for me to get here. How is Melissa?”
Miles took a deep breath and tried to settle his nerves. “She broke her arm and she’s pretty shaken up, but otherwise, she’s okay.”
Paul massaged his own arm, which had gotten strained from wrestling to settle the horses. “She was fortunate it was no worse than that.”
He hated that his brother had been injured, but he was glad Paul had been there. He wasn’t sure he and his dad could have handled them alone. Josh had been at the sheriff’s office and Lawson hadn’t yet returned from his trip. True, he still had the young group of ranch hands who had rushed in to help, but Miles trusted no one as much as his brothers.
Finally, Josh asked the question everyone had been thinking. “So was this an accident?”
Miles glanced at Paul. He wanted his brother to assure him it had been, but Paul wasn’t able to do that. “It’s unlikely,” he said. “I locked up that pen myself and when I got to it, it was still latched.”
Miles couldn’t argue that point. “Melissa said she climbed over the fence and she has the marks on her hands to prove it. She didn’t enter through t
he gate and I don’t see how Dylan could have unlocked it on his own.”
His dad agreed. “I don’t think he could. The latch was too high for him.”
Josh grimaced and pulled out his notebook. “Okay, then the question is who was there who could have done this?”
Paul answered. “Just the family, plus the ranch hands. They would have no reason to hurt Dylan or Melissa. Also, the vet was there earlier, checking on the pregnant mare, but his truck was gone by the time I thought to look for it.”
His dad shook his head. “Dr. Fulton? We’ve known him for years. He wouldn’t harm anyone.”
“It wasn’t Dr. Fulton. The Woodwards hired a new vet, Dr. Randy Singer. I didn’t know him but he seemed okay. You think he might have something to do with the guy who’s after Melissa?”
His father looked confused. “Someone is after Melissa?”
“No,” Miles stated. “I didn’t say that. There is something going on with her that I haven’t shared with you all, but I hope you’ll trust me enough not to push the matter.”
“If you’re worried about keeping her safe, the Silver Star is the best place you could have come,” his father told him.
“I know. That’s why we’re here.”
“So there is something,” his father said.
Miles pulled a hand through his hair and nodded. He wasn’t going to be able to keep this secret from his family much longer. “I don’t see how anyone could have known our location. It doesn’t make any sense. No one should know we are here, which means Melissa shouldn’t be targeted.”
His father turned to Josh. “Just in case, I’d check out that new vet. If someone was involved, he was the only one on the property that we don’t know.”
Texas Holiday Hideout Page 9
