Ranch Refuge

by Virginia Vaughan

  She moved as quietly as a mouse toward the kitchen, where she could get a better glance at the back door. She was probably overreacting. Was it Blake coming to help with the fire or Miranda stopping by to keep her company? But she hadn’t heard a vehicle approaching, so she knew it couldn’t be either of them.

  Laura leaned over the kitchen island and saw the back door slowly opening. She held her breath, trying to convince herself she was only letting her imagination run wild. That it had been the wind or one of the dogs pushing open a door left ajar.

  But then a figure appeared in the mudroom.

  Her heart thundering in her ears, she crouched behind the island and peeked out. The man was dressed all in black, his face shadowed beneath a ball cap and the lack of light. She should have hit the overhead switch. That might have spooked him, frightened him off long enough for Colton to return.

  She sucked in a breath as the realization hit her. This had all been a ploy to get Colton out of the house and away from her. This man had probably set the very fire that was now raging outside.

  He’d made plans to get rid of Colton so he could get to her. Laura shivered with fear. But who was he?

  She had to get out of there and to the safety of others. Had to find Colton. She rushed for the front door but froze when she heard footsteps outside the door and saw the jiggle of the handle.

  The back-door intruder rushed toward her and Laura turned and ran up the steps, locking herself into her bedroom. She picked up the cordless phone and quickly dialed Colton’s number. It rang and rang, then went to voice mail. She quickly hung up and dialed Blake’s number. His phone also went straight to voice mail. Were they so focused on fighting the fire that they didn’t hear their phones? She quickly dialed 9-1-1 instead.

  “There are two intruders inside the house at the Blackwell ranch,” she told the operator in a hushed voice. “Please send help.”

  The bedroom doorknob jiggled and Laura knew they were trying to get into her room.

  “They’re here,” she whispered into the phone.

  The operator responded calmly. “I’ve alerted the sheriff’s office, but Dispatch says it may take a while. Most of the on-duty officers are responding to a fire.”

  “I know. I think that was a diversion.”

  They tried the door again and she knew it was only a matter of time before they got through.

  She had to get out of there.

  She pulled open the window.

  “Stay on the line with me,” the operator said. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  “I have to get out. I’m going out the window.” She pulled out the emergency ladder stowed under the bed, hooked it on the windowsill, then tossed it out. She knew if she could get out and go around the house, she could probably get to the weapons closet before the men realized she was gone. She started down the ladder. The phone slipped from her hand and hit the ground. She hurried down and picked it up, seeing the screen was cracked and the metal backing was separated.

  “Hello? Hello?”

  The operator did not respond. Laura tried dialing again, but nothing happened. The phone was broken.

  She dropped it and looked up at the house. She heard the bedroom door burst open through the raised window and the two men talking about finding her. Laura ran around the house and slowly opened the back door, hating the way it cringed. She’d been glad for it earlier, but now hoped it wouldn’t alert her intruders to her presence.

  One of them came around the outside of the house before Laura could get inside to reach the weapons closet. “There she is!” he hollered.

  She turned and jumped off the steps, then ran from the house as fast as she could. She had to get to Colton or find someone to help her. His truck was parked by the barn, but she didn’t have the keys. Then she remembered the gun under his seat. She crawled into the truck and slid across the seat, feeling underneath it for the gun, but she felt nothing. It wasn’t there. He must have removed it.

  Laura got out of the truck. She had no keys and no weapons. But even though she couldn’t improvise keys, she could find a weapon. She ran into the barn and grabbed a pitchfork used to bale hay. When she heard the men outside, she quickly hid, crouching in the corner of an empty stall.

  The old door groaned open and Laura held her breath, praying it was the wind. She heard hard steps against the wooden floor and knew they’d found her. Clutching the pitchfork in her hand, she was poised and ready to strike.

  “Gotcha!” one man exclaimed as his big hands reached in to grab her. She saw his face and realized it was one of the McGowen cousins who had broken into the house before and tried to abduct her.

  Laura screamed, raised the fork and jammed it into him. She felt his flesh tear against the sharp metal. He cried out, then pulled the weapon from her hand and slung it across the barn.

  He grabbed her arm and dragged her outside, Laura kicking and screaming the entire time.

  “Leave me alone!” she shrieked. “You’ll have to kill me before I’ll willingly go with you.”

  The other McGowen raised his shirt to reveal a gun. “Oh, you’ll come willingly or I’ll have to use this. I’m not supposed to kill you, but I think I’ll still get paid if I suddenly develop a hair trigger.”

  “Please,” Laura pleaded. “You don’t know what he’ll do to me.”

  He shook his head. “Lady, that’s not our problem.”

  Laura heard the cock of a gun and they all turned. Colton was standing with a rifle raised at them.

  “No, but this is your problem,” he stated in a deceptively calm tone. “Let her go.”

  The one holding her tightened his grip. “There’s only one of you. There’re two of us.”

  “You need to learn to count,” Colton told him as Blake appeared from the opposite side, a rifle trained on the two men.

  “The McGowen cousins,” Blake said. “And which one of you scum hit my fiancée?”

  The man loosened his hold on Laura and she slipped from his grasp and ran to Colton, stepping behind him.

  “Throw down your weapons and put your hands on your heads,” Blake demanded and the two men complied, tossing their guns away.

  Blake approached them while Colton continued to keep him covered with the rifle. Only when both men were handcuffed did Laura see Colton lower the rifle and feel his muscles begin to relax.

  He turned and pulled her into a hug, kissing her long and hard, his embrace full of fear and grateful relief. “I came back as soon as I realized the fire was a diversion. I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

  “You didn’t,” she assured him. “I knew you’d come for me.” And she had. She’d known it deep down in her soul.

  His hand stroked her cheek. “I’ll always come for you, Laura. You can trust that.”

  She leaned into his embrace and felt at home for the first time in a very long time.

  * * *

  Colton, along with Blake, members of the volunteer fire department and several neighbors, battled the fire for several hours before finally putting it out. Laura did what she could to help, offering water to drink to those who needed it and tending to several minor burns sustained fighting the blaze. Another deputy had taken the McGowen cousins and booked them into the jail.

  Around 4:00 a.m., the fire was finally out and the crowd of men who’d rushed to help dispersed. The air was heavy with the smell of burned grass and Laura hated to see what that patch of field would look like in the light of day. She wouldn’t have to wait long. The sun would be up in less than two hours.

  Colton drove them back to the house and she watched him walk toward the porch, limping on his injured leg and just plain worn down from fighting the fire for hours. Things had changed between them. Laura felt it and she was certain he did, too. She was comfortable here at the ranch with him and she’d never felt she belonged anywhere the way she did here.

  She went into the house but didn’t see Colton. She checked the living room, thinking
he might be asleep on the couch. He wasn’t, so she looked around for him and found him passed out upstairs in his own bed. He’d been so tired, he forgot he’d been sleeping on the pull-out sofa downstairs. She pulled the blanket over him, then left him alone to sleep. She knew he needed it.

  * * *

  Laura was folding towels when a car pulled up to the house. She tensed for a moment and checked to make sure the alarm was set and Colton’s gun was within reach on the end table.

  She peeked through the curtain and saw Miranda stepping onto the porch.

  Laura felt silly at the way her mind reacted. She’d become so accustomed to being on the lookout that she now expected an attack around every corner. She clicked off the alarm and opened the door to greet Miranda.

  “Hi, there. I wasn’t expecting you. Come inside.”

  Miranda walked in and glanced around. “Where’s Colton?”

  “Upstairs sleeping. He was up all night fighting the fire. I know Blake was, too, so will you thank him for me when you see him?”

  She nodded and Laura noticed her friend seemed distracted.

  “Is something wrong?” Laura asked her.

  Miranda was quick to respond. “No, not really. It’s just...” She shook her head, reluctant to speak. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”

  Laura didn’t believe her. Miranda hadn’t driven all the way over here for nothing. And her friend seemed anxious. She wasn’t the same happy person Laura had come to know.

  “It’s not nothing, Miranda. Something obviously has you flustered.”

  “I guess I am. I have a dilemma and I don’t know quite what to do about it.”

  “Would you like to talk about it? Sometimes it helps to share with another person. Is it about Blake?”

  “No, no. Blake and I are fine. Although he did tell me something that just doesn’t sit right with me. Laura, this may be none of my business, but I feel like we’ve become friends and I don’t think it’s right to keep this secret from you.”

  “Well, I appreciate the thought, Miranda, but if Blake wants to keep something from me—”

  “It’s not Blake’s secret. It’s Colton’s.”

  Laura immediately felt her stomach knot. “Colton is keeping something secret from me?”

  “It’s about his past. When I told you before that Colton was in rehab, I think you misunderstood. He wasn’t injured in the ambush. In fact, he was the only one of them not to be seriously injured. But I guess they all had their ways of coping. Colton started gambling.”

  “Gambling?” Hot tears pulled at her eyes. No, it couldn’t be true. Oh, God, please don’t let this be true.

  “It got quite bad. Blake and the other rangers staged an intervention and got him help. But, given your current situation, I guess he thought keeping that from you was best. I disagree. Maybe it’s not my place to tell you, but I think us girls should stick together, don’t you?”

  She managed to nod. Yes, she was thankful for Miranda’s honesty. She was also angry. Angry at Colton for keeping such a secret from her. Her mind swam with confusion. This was just like her father all over again.

  “There’s something else.”

  Laura closed her eyes and tried to breathe. How much more could she handle?

  “Blake thinks Colton might be gambling again.”

  Laura’s heart dropped. It was her worst fear coming true. It couldn’t be. Colton wouldn’t let her down this way. She couldn’t fathom it.

  “Why does he think that?”

  “He said Colton has been going to River City on a regular basis now for months. He went again just yesterday while you were at my house. Blake believes that’s how he knew about you and your situation.”

  It made sense. He never had truly explained how he and her father had met. Had they connected at the gaming tables?

  “Blake also told me Colton’s gotten behind on his mortgage on this ranch. He might lose it. I’m really worried about him, but I’m worried about you, too, Laura. I think we’ve become friends and now I think this affects you, as well.”

  Laura felt physically ill at the prospect that what Miranda was saying might be true. She put her head in her hands. This couldn’t be happening to her, not again.

  Miranda placed a hand over hers, her face full of concern. “I still think Colton is a great guy and I can see he adores you.” She frowned. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “No, I’m glad you did.” She hugged Miranda, thankful for such a good friend. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said. “How can I trust him to keep me safe if he’s constantly thinking about his next score?”

  “There is one alternative. If you don’t feel safe here anymore, you could come stay with me. No one would know you were there and I’m sure I can convince Blake to station some officers around to keep an eye on the place.”

  “I appreciate the offer. I just don’t know yet.” It didn’t feel right...what Miranda was saying. It didn’t feel right not believing in Colton. She needed to talk to him about this and find out for herself if it was true.

  * * *

  Colton jerked awake. It was daylight outside the window and he suddenly realized he’d fallen asleep and left Laura alone after returning from the fire. He jumped off the bed and hurried downstairs, praying she was okay and nothing had happened while he was sleeping.

  He found her in the kitchen intently concentrating on scrubbing a pan in the sink. “Laura, what a relief!” As he came up beside her, his heart returned to a steady beat. “I had an awful fright when I awoke and realized I’d left you unguarded. The McGowens might be in jail, but we don’t know for sure they were behind all the attacks.”

  She stopped scrubbing for only a moment but didn’t look at him. “I’m fine.” She continued scrubbing.

  He walked over to the kitchen counter and poured himself a cup of cold coffee. “We were fortunate. The blaze could have spread to the house and barn. Thankfully, the wind wasn’t blowing strong last night. I guess God was looking out for us.”

  “I guess He was.”

  Colton looked at the pan, knowing neither of them had cooked anything that would have resulted in a mess big enough for the intensity with which she was scrubbing. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said in a monotone that indicated she was anything but fine. She sounded angry. Angry with him. But he hadn’t done anything to elicit such ire unless she was upset that he’d fallen asleep on her.

  “Did I do something to upset you?”

  She dropped the pan, then towel-dried her hands as she glared at him. “I don’t know, Colton. Did you do something? Is there anything that you’ve been keeping from me? That you were hiding about yourself that you didn’t want me to know?”

  Her accusation caught him completely off guard. He gulped, nervous at what she might be talking about. This might be worse than he’d thought. But how could she know about his past? He decided it was time she knew the truth. The whole truth about Colton Blackwell.

  “You found out about my past, about my gambling?”

  Her silence only confirmed what he already knew. Anger glowed from her eyes along with an uncertainty about him that broke his heart.

  “I’m not that guy anymore, Laura. I left him behind me quite a while ago. I promise you I’ve changed.”

  “I’ve heard that promise too many times before, Colton, and it’s always turned out to be an empty promise.” The ice in her voice was nearly more than he could stand.

  He knew his past wasn’t something he could put on the back burner and forget. It was a part of him. A man didn’t change right away and he couldn’t expect anyone to accept that he’d changed. Trust was a delicate thing and he’d rambled over his friends’ faith in him like a train racing down a track. He’d known from the start that regaining trust would take time, a lot of time, and he’d readied himself to face it, to persevere. Of course, his friends had given him a lot of leeway. They all believed in him. He hoped she could, too.

/>   He set down his cup and looked her eye to eye. “You’ve never heard it from me, Laura.”

  “Did you go to River City yesterday while I was at Miranda’s?”

  “Who told you that? Let me explain.”

  She shook her head and her expression was one of disgust. “How can I believe you? How can I ever believe you again? You lied to me.”

  “Would you have come here with me or stayed here with me if you’d known? No, you would have walked right out that door and into the hands of Chuck Randall. I was looking out for you.”

  “You were looking out for yourself,” she shot back. “I can’t believe I trusted you.” Tears pooled in her beautiful green eyes. “That’s the worst part, Colton. I thought you were different. I thought finally I had met a man who wouldn’t let me down.” They spilled out onto her cheeks and she wiped them away. “I was wrong. You’re just like every other man I’ve ever met.” She ran up the stairs. The slamming of the bedroom door pierced his heart as surely as her final words had.

  Bitter emotion threatened to knock him off his feet. Some part of him knew he should have been straight with her from the start, but his logical mind said his honesty would only have put her life in danger.

  He’d had a job to do to keep her safe and he’d used whatever means necessary to do so. If she didn’t like him now, so be it. He’d always known she was too good for him. He’d told himself from the start that he couldn’t have her. Only his own foolish desire had tricked him into actually believing she could ever love someone like him.

  He fell into a chair and put his hands over his face. He just hadn’t realized it would hurt this badly when cold reality set in.

  * * *

  She ran upstairs to gather her things, her heart breaking as she realized all she was losing. She certainly couldn’t depend on Colton to keep her safe now. He’d betrayed her and she needed to get away from him.

  She locked the door and picked up the phone, dialing Miranda’s number.

  “I can’t stay here anymore. I’m not safe here,” she said when Miranda answered. “Is that offer to stay with you still open?”

  “Of course, honey. I’ll be right over to get you.”