Lassoing The Last Dance (Double Dutch Ranch; Love At First Sight Book 4)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  Randy narrowed his eyes and looked closer. The one blond looked like the one giving a shrewd laugh with the smirk. He tapped the photo, “This might be one of them.”

  “How sure are you, Mr. Drake?”

  Holy damn, he didn’t know. “I decked him good if it’s him. He does have that cut on his cheekbone, kind of matching where a horse bit me.” Then again, they all had a mark there.

  After the initial report last night, Steve checked out the baseball team this morning for the number on the hat. The idiot had thrown a punch like he had a freaking bat in his hand. Randy wanted that one alone for about ten minutes. “I don’t recognize any of the other men, but there’s something familiar about this one. Enough to make me believe he’s one of them.” Possibly, this nut had ripped off butterfly stitches.

  “Take your time and look closely.”

  “Did he smell like smoke when you picked him up?” he asked sarcastically. “They wanted to kill me and my horse.” Randy looked closer again. “Ninety-five, ninety-eight percent certain on this one.” After another long stare, Randy suspected it was him. His gut told him this was the bastard. Yeah, it was him. Randy pointed to the photo. “This is the idiot.”

  He summoned the deputy who escorted Randy out of the room to where Roxanne waited. They went through the office, but Sheriff Thompson halted them before they got to the exit door. He asked them to take a seat. They both sat at a desk near the door and, a moment later, the sheriff joined them with another paper to sign. A commotion behind them caused Randy and Leon to turn.

  “Get these fucking handcuffs off me. I told you I was innocent, you sorry-ass pieces of law. Y’all are nothing but bitches, I say! Bitches. Y’all are bitches.”

  It was the guy in the photo that Randy had identified. Randy jerked up straight when Roxanne’s nails dug into his thigh. He grasped her hand to remove it and peered at her. “What the hell…” Roxanne had turned pale. Her eyes held a blank stare. Her body became rigid. “Roxanne? What’s wrong?”

  She stood and stared at the guy. Gulping and unable to speak until Randy shook her shoulders, she mumbled so low she could barely be heard, “Th-the…the voice. H-his voice.”

  Sheriff Thompson observed her, gave Randy a quick glance, and faced her again. “Excuse me, Roxanne, what did you say?” He held his finger up to the deputy holding the guy from the photo.

  “It’s him. One of the guys who abducted me back home.” Her empty gaze met the sheriff’s and then Randy’s but went back to the foul-looking sonofabitch.

  Randy glared at the man before taking a step forward, but the sheriff stood and put his hand on Randy’s shoulder. “Sit back down.”

  Randy wrenched away toward the suspect, and two other deputies detained him. He’d never forget the ugly mug on that guy. That guy’s days were numbered. They escorted Randy to another room. Roxanne and the sheriff followed. Seated, Roxanne took hold of his arm and squeezed.

  Pure fear showed in her whole demeanor. He sat and clenched both her hands. “Are you sure?” Stupid. Yes, she was sure. Her body language said it all. Her trembling hands couldn’t be stilled. Her chin still quivered. That was like him, though. Act now, ask questions later. He peeked out the open door. The guy faced them, and Randy sized him up.

  Sheriff Thompson stood in the doorway, nodded to the deputy holding the suspect, and went toward him. At the same time, the guy glimpsed Roxanne in the room, and their gazes locked—the familiarity of knowing who she was became obvious by the way his body stiffened. The snide look on his face froze into a blank stare. He held eye contact with her, his mouth agape. She stood and slowly took a step forward as the sheriff and the deputy removed him from their sight.

  “That’s him?” Randy questioned her and stood again. “But he’s from around here…” His breath caught at the revelation. Oh, God. Kim! Kim had this done to her? To him? He could punch a wall right now. A female deputy came into the room. Once Roxanne sat again, Randy had to practically prop her up in the chair while she trembled like a palm tree in a monsoon.

  Roxanne clutched her abdomen with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. “I’m sick. Where’s the bathroom?”

  “This way,” said the deputy. She showed her out a different door this time, but Randy followed. At the bathroom door, the deputy held her palm up.

  Randy leaned against the wall and lowered his head into his hands. He slowly shook his head side to side. All this time they had suspected Nate. I’ll kill that bitch. Randy paced the short hallway, stopped to get a drink, paced again. Had Rox figured this out yet?

  Sheriff Thompson plodded up to him and set his hand on Randy’s shoulder. “Do you know what this means?”

  Randy met his gaze, but his focus wasn’t on Leon. Still dumbfounded and numb over the discovery, hatred for Kim was the only thing filling his head. “It wasn’t her ex-husband who did this.” With his body shaking inside, it caused words to come out trembling. He couldn’t prevent his sore hands from curling into fists. “Leon, you better get to that bitch before I do.”

  “We’re on it. You stay put and let the law take care of this. Deputies are on their way to her place now. We’ll get a search warrant for her computer and whatever else we can find. They’ll haul her ass in here for questioning—then to jail this time if we find one iota of information leading back to Oklahoma. I’m about to call the detective on Roxanne’s case. He’ll want to know about this new guy.”

  Randy nodded. “I’ll be sure to sit on it, Sheriff.” All I need is five minutes.

  He nudged Randy. “I mean it!”

  “So do I, Leon.”

  “I’ll throw your ass in jail if I have to, and you’ll be of no help to anybody.”

  “For what? I haven’t done anything.”

  “Let’s keep it that way.”

  Chapter 15

  In the bathroom, Roxanne rushed into a stall to vomit. Sweat beaded over her skin and ran down her chest between her breasts. She mopped up more from her forehead. To prevent from falling over from the spinning sensation in her brain, she pressed her palms against both stall walls. Once able to stand without swaying, she leaned against the stall door with her arms wrapped around herself. Nate had been right all along? It hadn’t been him? Oh my, gawd!

  “Are you all right, Roxanne? Come on out.”

  With a deep breath, Roxanne came out. She turned the water on at the sink and wet a handful of paper toweling to hold the cold cloth against her face. “I’m in shock and c-can’t believe what…” She lowered the towel from her face but held it close while staring into the mirror at an empty person. Kim had been so jealous she wanted to get me out of the way? To harm Randy for being with me?

  The deputy took a call. She hung up and held Roxanne’s elbow and led her to the door. “The sheriff has a few questions for you.”

  “Give me a second, please.” Roxanne shook her arm free, finger combed her hair, and wiped mascara from beneath her eyes—waiting a moment longer until she stopped sniffling. With a deep breath, she tossed the wet toweling into the trash bin. “I’m ready.” Randy met her outside the door and slipped his arm around her shoulder. She limped away due to pain in her leg, a reminder that Kim had been the cause of all this, and it had affected not only her, but Randy too. She just wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

  She never should’ve returned to Canyon Junction. Kim might’ve found a way to make Randy love her, and no one would ever have known. On the way to the office, she couldn’t look at him. All because she fell in love with him almost two years ago? Damn you, Randy. Why had she gone to the barn that day to meet him? Why had he come to her door when she had returned home?

  “You understand what happened here, right?” Randy took her hand but she pulled it away and curled her shoulders into herself.

  She stopped in the hallway and spoke to the deputy, “Can I have a minute with Randy?” Nodding, she walked off a few yards to wait.

  She held back when he attempted to console her. “This all happ
ened because I loved you. You didn’t deserve any of this.”

  He gripped her arms and refused to let her go when she struggled. “Neither did you.” Gripping her arm tighter, he lifted her chin until they were eye to eye. “And I’m in love with you. We have to do this together.”

  She held his forearms and peered into his eyes. She quit wriggling to get free, and instead gave up the struggle. “You’re right.”

  He hugged her. “You went through this on your own for eight months, and you don’t have to do this alone any longer.”

  “Roxanne?” called the deputy. “The sheriff’s waiting for both of you.”

  “I’ll be right there.” She lowered her eyes to the floor. The toes of his boots were a half inch away from the toes of her flats. She loved him. “I need you.”

  “You have me.” He released her and followed her toward the sheriff’s office. He whispered, “We’ll get them, sweetheart.”

  She entered the room ahead of him. During questioning, the sheriff told Roxanne that moments ago, Detective Daniels told him a detail he’d never mentioned to her before. After she had picked the suspect out of the voice lineup in Oklahoma, further investigation led to a connection to a guy in North Carolina, which in turn led to another connection to a cousin of his in Phoenix. “Detective Daniels had flown to North Carolina to question him, but the guy had an alibi for the night of your accident.”

  Sheriff Thompson continued. “I sent your detective a photo of the suspect in Randy’s lineup. He identified him as the cousin to the same guy you picked out of the voice lineup, Roxanne.”

  “What a sonofabitching mess!” Randy nearly growled out the words, and Roxanne’s heart clenched at his anger.

  “Calm down, Randy. We’re getting closer by the minute.” Sheriff Thompson placed his hand over Roxanne’s as it rested in her lap. “Brace yourself for this, both of you. They are both Kim’s cousins, and I won’t be surprised if the third guy is too. Until Kim had allegedly done this to Randy, there was no reason to bring her into the mix with no knowledge of the connection with these men. Let’s just say if this pans out, she hung herself by allegedly planning this attack on Randy.”

  “I didn’t know she had money to pay people to do things like this.” Randy brought his hand down on the desk. A hurricane lamp nearly fell to the floor, but his quick reaction caught it. He paced, swearing under his breath. No one said anything until he sat back down.

  “It’s all enough proof then? Kim had this done to me and to Randy? Her stunt to have me killed or maimed didn’t keep us apart, so then Kim took it out on Randy? Sheriff, you have to know she lied about his attack on her.”

  “Randy, your story checked out. The gas station attendant from that night backed it up. But Kim denied saying you attacked her.”

  “I didn’t!”

  Roxanne peered at the sheriff. “Where is she?”

  “She’ll more than likely be charged and with further investigation, I suspect many charges will come down.”

  “She’ll cave,” said Randy as he slipped his arm around the back of Roxanne’s chair. “She’s too weak, especially if she hasn’t been drinking for a couple days. She’ll put the blame on those guys.”

  “It’s all over now, Roxanne,” said Leon with sympathy in his voice. “The rest of this is up to us and Detective Daniels. I’ll let him question the suspect and get his DNA, but that’ll be after I get done. They’ll pay their dues, which includes starting the barn on fire.” The sheriff glanced at Randy. “We’ll want you to do a photo lineup when we bring the third suspect in. We’re done here for now.”

  The sheriff stopped her at the door. “I’m sorry, Roxanne. Randy. I’ve known both of you and your folks for a long time. No one’s getting away with this. Not in my county.” He held the door open for them to leave.

  Neither of them spoke for the first twenty minutes on the road. “I need some space to understand all this, Randy. I want to talk to my dad.”

  “You can have space at my place. Call him from there.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Yes, I do! Her revenge happened to me, too. She’s a jealous, psychotic alcoholic. Get that straight in your head right now. We are going to see that she gets what she deserves along with the guys who did this to you…to us. It matters not to me whether it’s a long prison sentence or a bullet in the head.”

  She filled her lungs with air and then released it in a rapid breath. “I need to go home.”

  “I’m not taking you home to be alone. Kim did this to you because of me.”

  Out the front window a bright sunny day led their way back to his ranch. She couldn’t make any decisions today. Tiredness crept into her soul. Maybe she’d wake up, and this would only be another nightmare.

  At the ranch, Randy let her inside, saying he had to see what could be salvaged from the barn. Before leaving, he held her. The warmth of his broken body gave her a peaceful feeling, and she relaxed into him, but she left her arms at her sides.

  He brought her arms around his waist and spoke softly. “It’s neither your fault nor mine. Put the blame where it lies. All we’re guilty of is falling…”

  “Say it. Of falling in love. I need to lie down.” She left his arms and headed toward the sofa.

  “Take my bed. I see you limping. Remove your prosthetic. I won’t disturb you. Take care of your leg, honey.”

  “You’re right.” She turned toward his bedroom, but whirled around in the doorway. “Yes, Kim is to blame and it will all come out sooner than later.”

  Randy went into the bedroom with her. He pulled blankets aside from his unmade bed and gave a half-ass smile. “I’m glad you see it my way.”

  Roxanne sighed. She was so tired of the routine and care it took to be an amputee. And to admit weakness. “I don’t have crutches.”

  “Call if you need me until we can get an extra pair here. My body hurts too much to be outside long.”

  He left and Roxanne slid down her pants to her prosthetic, took off her prosthesis and jeans with it to rub and massage her leg. She’d become neglectful and the pressure from her fingers loosened it up, got the blood flowing again. Redness showed. Her amputee accessory kit, as she called it, remained in her truck. She carried it always for those just-in-case moments. Her kit consisted of cream specifically made for amputees, with moisturizers and skin healing agents for chafing of the stump or anywhere irritation occurred. Now would be a good time to have the cream.

  She carried different ply stump socks for the volume changes of the limb throughout the day, and now she could use the one-ply instead of the three-ply. Roxanne stood and held furniture and walls, hopping on her good leg to get to the bathroom. When finished, she reclined and massaged her residual limb again. The room air was cooler than when they had come in. She pulled a sheet over her lower body, and closed her eyes. The smell of the police station lingered in her nose. All she wanted to do was forget. Forget, and inhale Randy’s scent in the bed.

  ***

  Shadows danced on the walls when Roxanne woke. Through narrowed eyes, she peeked at her phone. Eight-thirty? Shocked to have slept so long, she went through another trip of hopping to the bathroom and back. She didn’t want to put the prosthesis back on, so she pulled on her pants and rolled up the pant leg to the end of her stump. Again, she rose from the bed and braced her hand against the side table.

  “Hi, gorgeous.”

  Roxanne looked up to see Randy standing there. She gave him a soft smile. “Hi. I’m sorry to have slept so long.” She held her hand out to him.

  “I tried waking you three times. Want some coffee or anything else?” He came toward her.

  She held her palm up. “Here, let me walk beside you.” Randy slipped his arm around her waist while she leaned against him. He assisted her to the sofa. “Thanks. I can’t put that thing back on tonight. I’m sorry.”

  “You know better than to apologize. I’d like you to feel comfortable enough with me to not worry about it. Now
, how about coffee or something cold?”

  “After the long nap, I’ll never sleep either way. I might as well have coffee.”

  “Good, I made some. I’m having a cup myself.” Randy left the room and returned with two mugs. “I had a shot to wash down the first cup. Aspirin doesn’t help much for the pain in my gut.”

  “Could I have a couple before you sit back down? I have some in my purse.”

  “Shots?” He grinned. “Mine are handy.” He strode away. His pain was so great that he didn’t walk straight up, but hunched over a bit. Everything inside of her ached for him. He returned with two pain relievers. She swallowed them with the water.

  Randy sat across from her but got right back up. What a handsome and caring guy. Her gaze remained fixed on the doorway until he came back through. In his hands were two items. One was her kit and one was the package with her gown in it. Randy’s camera sat on the table at the other end of the sofa. He hadn’t planned on taking photos of her tonight, had he? She certainly hoped not.

  Again, he sat across from her and laid the items on the floor. “I knew you might need this,” he said touching her kit. A striking smile spread across his bruised lips. “And I might need this. Open it.”

  Her nerve endings tingled at his thoughtful act. “I do need the kit. Thanks so much, sweetie. As for the gown, you open it.”

  He basked in the brightness of his own smile and tore off the top of the package. He pulled the box out with enough recognition and sparkle in his eyes that showed he knew the name of the company specializing in sexy lingerie and more.

  “You give yourself away,” she chortled. “I can see you’re familiar with the name of this company. Do you get their catalogues?” She teased and reached for her cup of coffee. Pulling her good leg up and under her, she sat in anticipation of him pulling off the top of the box. Since she’d never personally shopped there before, she hoped it looked as good as it did in the online photograph. Albeit, there was no comparison to her and the tall, gorgeous model wearing it.