“It’s got to be chocolate.”
“Stop. I’m not telling. Now let’s go.”
Nathan decided to let her keep her little secret, and together the three of them walked to the front door of the hospital. “Stay here,” Lance said. “I’ll get the car and bring it around. No sense in walking out in the open for the time it would take.”
Nathan nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “We’ll be watching for you.”
His eyes scanned the circle that served as the drop-off and pick-up point for the hospital. It looked clear, but he couldn’t help wonder if they shouldn’t use a different entrance. “Pick us up at the emergency department,” he said.
Lance lifted a brow and nodded. “Good idea.” He walked out the door and Nathan tilted his head toward the other end of the hospital. “Let’s take a walk.”
She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Right. Let’s do that.”
Finally, they were seated in his vehicle. Lance in the front seat and, to her surprise, Nathan climbed into the back with her. “We’ll let you chauffer this one,” he told Lance. Lance grinned at him in the rearview mirror and Nathan ignored the look. He wanted to sit with her. Lance’s phone rang. “Hang on a second.” He got out of the cruiser and took the call.
Becca raised a brow at Nathan. “You okay?” she asked.
“Yes, just conflicted about something.”
“What’s that?”
Nathan shook his head. “Just a decision I need to make.”
She frowned. “Okay.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out.”
“I’m a pretty good listener.”
“I know. We’ll talk later. I don’t need Lance as an audience.” He smiled and changed the subject. “Sounds like your Christmas might be brighter than you thought.”
“I certainly hope so.” She paused and tucked the paper back under her thigh and fastened her seat belt. “And if you don’t want to talk about whatever is bothering you, tell me something else.”
“What’s that?”
“What did Brody Mac mean when he said you were in my office helping me? What were you doing in my office?”
She hadn’t forgotten about that one. Nathan blinked and then shrugged. “I was checking to see if you had a landline.” It was the truth. Not the whole truth, but at least it wasn’t an outright lie.
“For what?”
“To see if there was some way to put a security system out there. At least on the house.”
“Oh.” She shook her head. “I don’t have one and I can’t afford a security system right now.”
“You might have to find a way to afford one.”
“I have Jack.”
“Jack likes everyone. He’s not the most reliable watchdog.”
She grimaced and he knew she couldn’t argue the point. She fell silent and leaned her head against the window. Nathan would let her rest instead of shoving a stick in the hornet’s nest. He might be taking the coward’s way out, but he’d forgotten Lance would be within hearing range on the drive home and decided he could wait to tell her about his deception.
For now.
FOURTEEN
When Lance turned into the drive, Becca noted Zeb’s truck there. “That’s odd,” she said.
Nathan frowned. “What?”
“I wasn’t expecting him to be here.”
The vet came out of the barn and Jack bounded beside him. Zeb pulled up short when he spotted the police cruiser, then removed his gloves and shoved them into his coat pockets. Nathan stepped out of the driver’s side and Becca slipped out of the passenger seat. She shut the door behind her. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, Brody Mac called and said one of the horses was acting funny. I didn’t know you’d be back so soon or I would have just called you to let you know.”
“He called you instead of me?”
Zeb shrugged. “I’m the vet. I guess he figured I’d know what to do.”
Becca laughed. “I guess so. Which horse?”
“Pete.”
“Again?”
Zeb shrugged. “I couldn’t find anything wrong with him. The abscess is healed. Everything looks good.”
“Wonder what Brody Mac saw? He knows horses.”
Zeb waved a hand. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Could be Pete’s just finally feeling better and he’s acting a bit frisky. I put some more ointment on his foot just in case, but it seems pretty well healed to me.”
“All right, if you say so.”
“I say so.”
“Where’s Brody Mac now?”
“He left. Drove off on the moped.”
“What? Why?” She had work he could do.
“Because he said he wasn’t feeling well. I checked his temperature and he was burning up with fever.”
“Oh no!”
“Yeah. Hope you don’t catch it.”
“Okay, thanks, Zeb.”
“No problem. Now I’m heading over to the Staffords. Jean’s got a foal that’s ready to meet the world.”
“Tell her I said hello.”
“Will do.” He climbed into his truck and left.
She shook her head and headed for the barn with Nathan. She checked on Pete and noted the ointment residue on his hoof. The abscess looked healed to her, too. And Pete seemed to be just fine. She rubbed his nose and he nudged her hand, nibbling, looking for a treat. “I’ll have to get you one in a minute, big boy.” She frowned. “I sure hope Brody Mac feels better fast. It’s awful to be sick like that. I may need to take a look at him. His mother won’t always get him to a doctor.”
“You think he’ll go home?” Nathan asked.
“As long as his dad isn’t there.”
“Does he have a cell phone?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s call and verify that he’s all right. I’m concerned.”
She pulled her purse off her shoulder and dug through it, locating the device at the bottom. She dialed Brody Mac’s number and it went to his voice mail. “Call me when you get this, Brody Mac, okay?”
She hung up and shoved the phone in her pocket where she’d have it within easy reach. “I think I’ll ride out to his house to check on him.”
“Then I’m going with you.”
“It’s just about a mile away.”
“Yep. I know where it is.”
“All right, then. Since my truck is still in the shop, you can drive.”
“Happy to.”
She followed him to his truck and climbed in. He slipped into the driver’s seat and twisted the key.
Nothing happened.
“What?” he said. “That’s weird.”
He popped the hood and then got out and rounded the truck. She opened the door and walked over to stand beside him.
“I think it’s the battery,” he said. “Dead as a doornail.”
“Oh, no. Okay, well, I really want to check on Brody Mac. What do you think about riding the horses over? I could ride Pete over and you can take Lady Lou?”
He frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’ll be exposed.”
“Not if we take the back way through the woods. It’s probably safer than getting back on the road anyway.”
“The back way?”
“We just cut behind the barn and head into the trees. There’s a path that leads straight to the MacDougal place. We’ll be exposed for a short time once we leave the barn and hit the small pasture behind it, but only for a few seconds if we gallop the horses. Once we’re in the trees we’re cut off from view until we get to Brody Mac’s house.”
He thought about it for a minute and then nodded. “Tha
t works for me.”
Within minutes they had the horses saddled, and Becca sighed with relief that the process didn’t seem to bother her back much. It pulled slightly, but there were no sharp pains. Maybe she was finally healing.
Becca swung into the saddle and felt the world settle into place. Whenever she was on the back of a horse, her troubles simply melted away and peace surrounded her in spite of the danger she knew they were still in. Which is why they would be careful.
The wind whipped her hair around her face and she dug the knit hat out of the pocket of her coat.
Gloves followed and she was ready. She noticed Nathan had done the same. “It’s colder today.”
“I know, but it’s good to be in the saddle.”
“I’ll agree to that.”
She clicked to Pete while giving him a gentle squeeze with her legs. He responded without hesitation, and they headed off into the tree line.
She was almost surprised no one shot at them in the four seconds it took them to dash into the cover of the trees.
Once there, Becca pulled on the reins and slowed Pete to a gentle walk. He walked the path that had been worn by generations before. Created to make a way from one neighbor’s house to the other.
An object blocking the path just ahead caught her attention. “What’s that?”
Nathan narrowed his eyes. “Stay here.”
He didn’t give her a chance to answer and took off ahead of her. Becca slid the rifle from the scabbard and held it across her lap. As she got closer, she could see that the object was actually a person.
Nathan swung out of the saddle and landed on the ground beside the figure then looked back at her. “It’s Brody Mac!”
Becca gasped and hurried forward, stopping Pete next to Lady Lou. Carefully, so as not to move her back too fast, Becca lowered herself to the ground then quickly stepped to Brody Mac’s side. “What happened?”
“He’s breathing fine and he’s got a good pulse, but he’s got a pretty nasty head wound.” Nathan pointed to the gash on the side of the man’s head. “The moped is in the trees over there. I’m going to call 911.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and called it in.
Becca didn’t bother to spare a glance at the machine—she was too worried about her friend. Even though Nathan had some basic first aid training, Becca went ahead and checked his breathing and pulse, only to concur with Nathan’s assessment.
She moved on to the rest of his body, moving him carefully, looking for broken bones or any other wounds. “The right sleeve of his coat is torn near the elbow, but he doesn’t appear to be hurt. The thick material probably protected him. And there’s nothing broken.” She continued her assessment and came back to his head. “Can you get the first aid kit out of my saddlebag?”
“Sure.” Nathan moved fast and soon she was cleaning the wound. “It’s going to need some stitches. I can’t get it to stop bleeding with these limited supplies. I’m just going to butterfly the edges together and hope the bandages stick long enough to get him transported to the hospital.” In quick order, she had the gash shut and bandaged. “I wonder what made him crash,” she said.
Nathan looked up. “I think it was a bullet.”
She hesitated on a fraction of second then went back to Brody Mac’s head. “What makes you think that?”
“There’s no indication that he struck the ground with his head. He fell off the moped and then the bike fell over, too, but skidded into the trees. Whatever hit him had to have some serious force behind it to make that happen.”
“The gash is consistent with a bullet graze.” Tears tried to cloud her vision and she quickly brushed them away and refused to let them fall. “This is my fault. I should have found a way to keep him occupied somewhere else. I should have—”
“Stop. This isn’t your fault.”
He tilted his head at the same time she heard the sirens in the distance. “They know how to find us?”
“Yes.”
Thirty minutes later, an unconscious Brody Mac was loaded on the stretcher and carried out of the woods. She and Nathan followed, leading the horses.
Once they broke through the tree line, she could see the ambulance had driven around to the back of the barn and was waiting. Becca hurried after the paramedics. “He probably has a concussion and you’ll need to monitor—”
Nathan’s hand on her arm stopped her. “They know what they’re doing,” he said softly.
She nodded and swallowed more tears. “I know.
We need to let his mother know.”
“What’s her number? I’ll call her.”
Becca gave it to him and then took Pete’s reins and headed for the barn. Nathan followed at a slower pace. Lady Lou plodded along behind him, completely unfazed by the events of the day.
“Yes, ma’am,” Nathan said, “he’s unconscious, but should be okay when he wakes up. Other than a raging headache and a possible concussion. Do you have a way to get to the hospital? Uh-huh. Okay. Call me back if you need to.”
He hung up as Becca stepped inside the barn and drew in a deep breath. She let it out slowly, trying to steady her nerves and gather her thoughts. She ran a hand over Pete’s nose and he tried to nibble her fingers. “I guess I’ll get the horses taken care of then.”
“I’ll help you.”
Together, they worked in silence for the next few minutes. Becca was glad to have him in the barn with her.
Two more trips to the feed room and she should be finished. She rounded the corner into the room and leaned over to scoop the food into the bucket. Her back twinged. Pain shot through her and she gasped, then stumbled and landed on her rear end. She knocked against the feed barrel and it fell over. Straightening slowly, the pain eased and Becca let out a slow breath. “Okay, let’s not move that way again.”
Jack bounded in beside her, and she scratched his ears while she waited for the spasm to pass.
Nathan appeared in the doorway. “Did you say something?” He frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I just moved wrong and my back’s letting me know it’s not happy about it.”
He nodded to the mess on the floor. “You knocked over the barrel. Let me get a shovel and I’ll help clean it up.”
“That’s all right. I’ve got it.”
“Won’t take but a few minutes.”
He disappeared and she sighed. A glint of white in the midst of the feed caught her attention. She brushed the food away and snagged the item. A plastic bag full of white powder? What?
Cold reality hit her.
“What’s that?” Nathan asked. He stood in the doorway, holding the shovel.
“I don’t know. It was in the feed.”
He took it from her. “It’s sealed tight. Like it was done in a factory.” His gaze slowly lifted to meet hers.
She frowned. “What does that mean? Is it drugs?”
A hard light entered his eyes and his features tightened. “I don’t know, Becca. You tell me.”
* * *
The words slipped out of his mouth before he could recall them. Her flinch indicated they’d hit their mark and remorse filled him. He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t believe her capable of dealing drugs. In spite of the evidence in front of him.
Becca stood slowly, hand pressing against her lower back. “You think I had something to do with that?”
“I don’t know.” No! he wanted to shout, but his ex-fiancée’s betrayal came screaming back at him. Visuals of her in the crack house flit through his mind, the paralyzing shock he felt when he’d realized she was a part of the group he was sent to round up and arrest.
He hadn’t wanted to believe her capable, either. And yet, she had been. The hurt on Becca’s face nearly killed him.
“How can you not know?” Becca a
sked. “How can you really believe that I would have anything to do with those drugs?”
“I didn’t believe my ex-fiancée could have anything to do with them, either.”
But there’d been signs.
He was a cop. A drug cop.
He told himself he’d been completely blind to what was right before his nose until she’d been arrested, but that wasn’t exactly true. There’d been the whispered phone conversations with people she’d claimed were from work, the agitated behavior that she’d brushed off as stress from dealing with clients.
He’d seen it and chosen to ignore it.
He wouldn’t do that again.
But with Becca, there’d been no erratic behavior, no weird phone calls, no slipping away to meet people she didn’t want him to meet. Instead of turning a blind eye to certain things, was he refusing to see the truth in Becca?
“Get out,” she said, her voice low.
“Becca, don’t—”
“I don’t want you here. I don’t know where these came from. I don’t know who put them here, but it wasn’t me.”
“She said that, too.”
She shook her head. “You have some serious baggage to overcome when it comes to that woman.”
“No, I’m over her.”
“Maybe so, but you’re not over the hurt she inflicted on you. The inability to see past what happened and realize that not everyone is like her.”
Was she right? Nathan’s thoughts swirled. This was Becca. She wouldn’t do this.
But he’d been wrong before. What if he was wrong this time, too? Could he risk it? Could he not risk it?
She pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “Now, I’m going to call Clay and tell him what’s going on.”
A dull thud against the back of his head sent pain shattering through his skull. Darkness danced in front of him and Nathan’s legs gave out. He went to the ground and heard Becca scream his name.
* * *
“Nathan!” She watched him fall and hurried to him, her hands automatically ready to examine him.
She dropped to his side and cradled his face.
“Don’t worry, I’m calling 911. I have my phone right here.”
Christmas Ranch Rescue Page 15
