Colton 911--Caught in the Crossfire

by Linda O. Johnston

  She had no doubt that he’d done well in school. He seemed highly intelligent as well as dedicated.

  He was the right deputy to be out here with her on this assignment.

  And he’d mentioned his twin brother. “Everett wanted to get into law enforcement, too, and he did, though a different way. He’s with the FBI in Phoenix.”

  Was Casey close with his brother and the rest of his family? It certainly sounded that way as they talked. His parents lived in Cactus Creek, too, and it sounded as if Casey saw a lot of them. In fact, he was planning on spending the upcoming holidays with his family, and he said, “They’re always happy to have guests join us at Christmas. Why don’t you come, too?”

  The idea had surprised, even shocked her. And made her feel all fuzzy inside.

  For a minute. But then she began to have qualms. “That’s so nice of you. And your family. But...well, I might have other plans. Is it okay if I let you know?”

  Any other plans would be simply to find a way to back out of this.

  “Sure. Just give us a few days’ notice if you’re coming, and I’ll let my folks know I invited you. I’ll check with you again when the time gets closer.”

  “Sounds good,” she said, feeling a bit relieved. He didn’t sound upset or hurt. In fact, the invitation might just be a kindness to a near stranger, not because they were becoming friends.

  He then turned around the conversation, pushing her to explain why she became a ranch hand.

  “I come from Texas,” she reminded him, as if that explained everything. And, in fact, it kind of did.

  “I can tell,” he said drily, which startled her. She glanced at him. She appreciated the Southern way of speaking, but her usual speech didn’t include an accent. “Gotcha,” said Casey as she looked at him quizzically. “Actually, I’m sort of surprised that you don’t have more of a drawl. You sure you come from Texas?”

  “Of course.” She’d actually been born in New York State, but her parents had moved to Texas shortly thereafter. She’d learned to talk the way they did first and generally kept that up in her speech.

  But just because her accent wasn’t particularly Texan, that didn’t mean the rest of her wasn’t. She’d come to love ranching at a very early age, partly because her dad had become a ranch hand after they’d moved. Even when she was a child, she had loved accompanying him on horseback into the fields and pastures. He had taught her a lot.

  Including how to love what he did for a living—enough that it was also what she decided to do.

  Even these days, there weren’t as many women who were ranch hands. But the owners of the place where her dad worked seemed to appreciate her take on watching and caring for their livestock, which also included mostly cattle and horses.

  She told Casey all of this as they were riding, but not how she’d fallen for and become engaged to her high-school sweetheart, who’d convinced her to quit her job on the ranch outside Fort Worth and find another position in Dallas.

  Then dumped her—and that hurt enough that she’d decided to leave the entire state of Texas, yet keep the career that she loved.

  As much as their discussion reminded Melody of some of the bad things in her life, she realized she enjoyed talking to Casey about the good things from her past, especially because he seemed to enjoy hearing about them. Opening up to him about herself that way felt surprisingly wonderful.

  She checked the GPS app on her phone now and then. Initially, the cattle kept moving but eventually stopped.

  Of course, sunset was nearly upon this area. It didn’t make sense for the rustlers to continue going forward in the dark. They apparently knew it and were likely settling down for the night.

  And although Casey and she continued for a while, it certainly wouldn’t make sense for them to go on with no daylight at all.

  So, as sunset grew closer, Melody had Casey join her while she investigated some of the land around them in search of shelter. There were, as she’d hoped, areas of greater vegetation.

  And as darkness began settling around them, they settled down, too, in a spot both of them agreed would be a good one for the night, with a small stream nearby where they could collect water and use the filter on it.

  There were even some pecan trees for cover for them and the horses—not that any rain was expected anytime soon, but there was less likelihood of being seen here, should any of the rustlers be snooping around to determine if they were being followed, than if they and their horses were on fully open ground.

  Plus, they could tie the horses to a couple of the more barren bushes.

  And camping out with Casey overnight? Melody wasn’t sure how she should feel about that. The warmth at the idea that flooded her was highly inappropriate, but since nothing would happen anyway, she would just allow herself to enjoy it.

  “How about you?” Melody asked Cal as she dismounted. “Are you ready to stop for the day?”

  As if the horse understood, he made a snorting sound, looked down to the ground and nodded his head.

  Melody had to laugh, and she heard Casey’s deep laughter, too. “Let’s see if Witchy feels the same way.” Casey also dismounted, and though Witchy didn’t express how she felt, the mare didn’t appear to want to continue on.

  “Good. Let’s assume this is our lodging for the night, shall we?” Not waiting for an answer from anyone, human or horse, Melody began to unhook the saddlebag from Cal’s back. Casey came over to help, and they placed it on the ground that was covered with dry leaves. They did the same with Witchy’s saddlebag. Then, also together, they removed each horse’s saddle so they’d be more comfortable for the night.

  Next, each walked their mount in a small circle, talking to them softly, just to settle them down. They removed the bits from the horses’ mouths, though they left their headstalls on.

  They soon collected water from a nearby creek, filtered it and carried it in metal containers to the horses.

  Then, after returning to the spot where their saddlebags were, it was time to tie the horses’ reins to the nearby bushes for the night.

  Unlike the humans, the horses didn’t have to wait for dinner. During the journey here, they’d been eating some of the grass in the pasture, which, of course, was of high quality. Melody liked the way her boss treated his livestock—and now she was happy there was good food out here for the horses, too.

  Even so, as a healthy supplement, Melody also gave them some of the hay and grain she carried in the saddlebags.

  And in actuality, the humans didn’t have to wait for their dinner, either. This wasn’t like a real camping trip, where they would light a fire and cook meats or anything else they had brought along. No, the dried jerky and fruits, as well as carrots and celery they had stuck in their saddlebags would have to do.

  First, though, while there was still a small bit of fading daylight, they worked quickly together to raise the small tent. Melody was well aware that they hadn’t had room to bring two. But, heck, they both were professional.

  Although staying so close to Casey overnight...

  She’d deal with it.

  “You doing okay?” Casey asked her as she helped to stretch out the canvas and attach it to the small poles.

  “Just fine,” she said sweetly. “And you?” Surely he didn’t think of her as some wimp—not out here. Not when she was the skilled ranch hand, not him.

  “Absolutely.” And he was the one to finish the unrolling and attaching. That was fine. She was using his masculine skills, that was all. And admiring them...

  After they put the saddlebags inside and unrolled their sleeping bags, it was time to head down to the nearby creek again. Melody made certain to bring along some of the paper towels and sanitizer liquid she had packed so they could achieve some semblance of bathing without leaving chemicals in the water. Neither undressed completely, but they did unbutton sh
irts and pull up T-shirts and unfasten slacks, leaving underwear intact and also doing their ablutions with their backs to one another.

  There. That wasn’t too uncomfortable. At least Melody didn’t think so.

  And she avoided turning to peek at Casey’s muscular physique while it was somewhat bared.

  Or at least she didn’t peek much. But she did manage to maneuver her own cleansing so she had to turn just a little here and there. And, heavens, this deputy sheriff really was one highly fit, highly toned—and extremely sexy—dude.

  Was he doing the same with her? She managed not to look at his face.

  If he was, she didn’t want to know. Especially if he found her even a fraction as attractive as she found him.

  Not when they were about to spend the night in such close quarters.

  She was done with men, at least for now. She was still hurting some, even though her divorce had been six months ago. She no longer trusted most men. And she didn’t have any interest in just having sex with one for fun.

  Well, not much interest...and that was the problem.

  Finally, both of them were done washing. Melody collected the few paper towels they’d used, then they walked back up the small slope together to the tent. There, they each said good-night to their horses. Casey opened the flap and Melody slipped inside first. Casey turned on the two small battery-operated lanterns so they wouldn’t be totally in the dark.

  “You ready to get your phone charged?” he asked after he pulled another battery-operated gadget from his backpack—yes, a phone charger.

  “Sounds good, but I need to let people at the ranch know my progress first.” Fortunately, the phone worked as she kneeled by the edge of the tent. There was, in fact, service out here, at least for now. Unfortunately, when she tried Clarence’s personal line he didn’t answer, so she left a message that Casey and she had made some progress but hadn’t caught up with the herd.

  She called the general line for the ranch hands next, hoping she’d get one of the senior hands, preferably Pierce, but instead one of her fellow newbies, Roger, was the one to answer. She gave him the same info as in the message to Clarence.

  “Are most of the hands still out with the safe parts of the herd?” Melody asked.

  “Yeah. I’m pretty much the only one around here tonight,” Roger replied.

  “So Pierce is out in the pastures, too?” Melody wondered which direction he’d gone, and which of the cattle he was helping to protect.

  “Yeah. Don’t know exactly where, though.”

  “Okay. Well, I’ll keep in touch as much as I can.” Not with Roger, though, unless he was the only one she could reach. And this way at least one person would be aware that she was still available by phone.

  As she ended her call, she noticed that Casey was on his phone as well. He soon ended his call, too. “Just giving a status update to the sheriff, like you did with the ranch,” he said. He’d obviously been eavesdropping, but that was fine. “So now is it okay to charge your phone?”

  “One more thing,” she said. “Let me check my GPS again first.”

  No difference in where the cattle appeared to be, judging by the multiple dots all in the same area as before. And they must have been on the move about the same speed during the day, since Casey and she didn’t seem to be any closer.

  As Casey connected their phones, Melody removed several of their meal items and two bottles of filtered water from their saddlebags, slipped his share to Casey, then sat down on top of her sleeping bag.

  The ground felt solid beneath her butt, and she folded her legs to become as comfortable as she could. She noticed that Casey took a similar position.

  Ah. Something else they had in common—among the few things she’d noticed, like attempting to save and return rustled cattle. And enjoying riding horses out in the wilderness while talking sometimes and staying quiet other times... Okay, maybe she was stretching things, since nothing she’d thought of was unusual. She didn’t want to think about what else they might have in common—and hoped she wouldn’t have to worry about finding out more that night when they attempted to go to sleep, attempted being the operative word.

  But, no. She would go to sleep, or at least pretend to, without thinking—much—about the person across the tent from her.

  For a while, neither of them spoke as they ate, though they did manage to glance at each other and smile a bit.

  But Melody felt uncomfortable, knowing that their pseudo-meal wouldn’t last long and they’d soon wind up just sitting there, or lying in their sleeping bags.

  Would they talk? Stay silent? That remained to be seen. But talking would be okay, as long as it didn’t lead to anything else.

  “I like these fruit bars,” Casey finally said, waving one of the items Melody had brought in the air. “I’ve had a lot of other kinds, of course, but there’s something special about these.”

  “I like them, too,” Melody said. “That’s why I keep a supply at home and chose to bring them along on this trek.” She went on to describe how she had found them online when searching for healthy and wholesome snacks. Good. This was a nice, safe subject for them to discuss.

  They also talked about the pros and cons of bringing water with them. “Sure, there are quite a few creeks around,” Casey said, “so I really like your portable filter. We don’t have to carry many bottles this way. Once it’s filtered, the water is clean enough to drink—but I don’t particularly want to think about what else was in it before, what fish or bugs or whatever live there, what dirt it flows through or bacteria grows in it or—”

  “Ah, but you definitely are thinking about it,” Melody said with a laugh. This conversation didn’t mean anything, but she felt happy they were talking, even if it was about nothing.

  Although, seeing him in the shadows across the tent from her—even though he was currently fully dressed, as was she—she couldn’t help thinking about how they’d been a while ago in that potentially nasty water that was okay to bathe in but not to drink without filtering.

  Damn, but Casey had looked good only partially dressed.

  “What about when you were a kid?” Melody asked, to change the subject within her thoughts. “Did you ever go camping then? Drink the water?”

  In the shadows, she saw him nod. “I did attend camps for a couple of weeks each summer when I was a kid. Even then, fifteen years ago or so, they were talking about some of the not-so-pleasant stuff that could be in the ponds or lakes or rivers we were near. In most cases, the camp counselors showed us how to boil what we’d drink.”

  Fifteen years ago, he’d been a kid going camping? Melody had figured he was in his late twenties, early thirties, so that worked.

  But she... Well, for her to even think of dashing across the room and pulling off the guy’s clothes—which, yes, the thought had crossed her mind—turned her into a cougar. Which would be fine with her. In fact, she rather liked the idea. But him?

  Had he guessed their probable age difference? If he happened to feel any attraction to her, her being up-front about it could end any such thoughts on his part, depending on how he thought about such things.

  But maybe it would be a good idea to mention it, partly to make sure any unwelcome thoughts on his part never fully materialized—and partly to make sure she wanted nothing to do with him, assuming he made it clear he had no interest in an older woman.

  Although if age didn’t matter... Or he did like older women...?

  Well, it wouldn’t hurt to find out. “I went camping a couple of times when I was a teenager, which was more than twenty years ago, not fifteen,” she said. “When, I gather, you were just a little kid too young to go to summer camps.”

  She watched his body stiffen just a bit in the scant light—or was she just imagining it?

  “Interesting,” he said. “How old are you? Me, I’m thirty.”
/>   Thirty. A ten-year age gap.

  That could make a big difference as to whether they were attracted to one another.

  Or at least whether he felt attracted to her, since his age was irrelevant to her.

  “Oh, you’re just a kid,” she said with a hollow laugh. “I’m forty.”

  “Really?” He did sound surprised, which gave her an unwanted sense of pleasure. So did his following words. “You look so good and seem so physically fit—I thought you might be a little older than me, but not that much.”

  “Well, thanks,” she said. “And now this old lady’s going to lie down and, even though it’s not especially late, try to fall asleep so I can wake up early in the morning and get on the trail again.”

  “Good idea,” Casey said. “I’ll do the same thing. Only—”

  Before she could think about what he was up to, Casey had crawled the short distance between their sleeping bags and was suddenly right in front of her, on his knees.

  He bent toward her, reached out and touched her arm, drawing her closer, then placed his hand behind her head. In moments, his mouth was on hers.

  His kiss was hot, intense, amazing—and very short. His lips explored hers, and he thrust his tongue into her mouth just a bit, only a hint of what other parts of them could do together...

  It felt incredible, and it enticed her body to want a lot more.

  He pulled away, though, looked down at her and grinned. “Hey, you kiss pretty well. Now with a bedtime kiss like that, I think I’ll be able to sleep well. Good night, sweet senior citizen.” He laughed, and in moments he was lying inside his sleeping bag with his back toward her.

  Chapter 7

  Now why had he done that? Because the lovely Melody, whatever her age, had appeared sad and somehow vulnerable, as if she expected him to say he’d never be attracted to someone that much older than him?