by Jane Jamison
“I knew you weren’t stuck so bad that you couldn’t get your butt in gear.”
She started for land, trudging through the current that was growing stronger with the rising water. The mud threatened to suck her under, but she worked hard, keeping her legs moving. She yelled in triumph as she stepped onto land then paused to get her breath.
A brilliant flash of lightning brightened the world around her as a cracking sound split the air. She looked up just in time to see the tree branch falling toward her.
Chapter Nine
Sela jerked out of the darkness and spit out the water that kept forcing its way back into her mouth. A shudder racked her, but that was nothing compared to the pain in her leg. The piercing ache ran from her ankle up to her knee. She slid her hand under the water and along her body. Halfway down her thigh, she hit the heavy branch that lay on top of her leg, pinning her to the ground.
She cried out, hoping someone would hear her above the roar of the water and the wail of the wind, but she knew it was useless. She was trapped and the water was rising faster. The pile of small rocks that had been uncovered earlier was already half-submerged.
“Help!” She coughed, choking against the water spraying into her mouth. Most of her body was covered, leaving only the tops of her shoulders and her head clear. She shouted again, and again was met with only the sound of the storm to answer her. Even the calf was nowhere to be seen.
“I really screwed up this time.” She laughed, a sarcastic noise that sounded empty against the howl of the wind. “I knew I should’ve stayed at the house like Bill said.”
Would she ever see the men again? Would she ever feel the touch of their hands, their mouths on her skin?
A tear rolled down her cheek to join the stream’s water. Fear took hold of her, racing its icy fingers into her bones. She closed her eyes and tried to push the branch off her, but it didn’t budge an inch. She was trapped, and unless someone found her before the water rose higher, she’d die alone and afraid. Striving to keep control of her frayed nerves, she closed her eyes and forced herself to think of anything other than the water lapping around her.
Her thoughts went where she’d known they would. To the Richland men.
Did absence really make the heart grow fonder? It had for her. She’d been right. She’d needed the time away from the tour to think. She just hadn’t known that she’d have them to think about. Yet the more she thought about them, the more she remembered. Aside from her mother, they’d shown her more love in a few short hours than anyone else had in her entire life.
She remembered every touch, every smile, every gleam of lust in their eyes. She imagined herself, back in the huge bed, with the men surrounding her. If she had but one wish, she’d turn back time to that night only a few days earlier.
If only she’d allowed herself to believe their words of love. Instead, she’d let the wall that had built around her heart keep her from accepting their love.
Did she love them? She’d fallen for them, probably from their first night together. When had she ever felt as comfortable, as safe, and as loved as she did with them?
More tears joined the first as she fought to keep her head above water. If she only had another chance to tell them how she really felt, she’d never ask for anything else. She’d give everything up, including the singing career she loved.
What was a life filled with music when she had no one to share it with?
She shivered as the wind blew around her, whipping her wet hair over her face. “Please. If I could have one more chance, I’d tell them how much I love them and I’d beg them to let me stay with them.”
Her tired mind drifted, protecting her from the pain searing upward from her leg.
Of course, begging them might turn into something more fun. Something using piggin’ ties and ropes.
She giggled hysterically then cried out. “Please, someone hear me. Please, God, help me.”
* * * *
“Was she out there?”
Bill realized it was a ridiculous question. If Sela had been in the barn, Carter would’ve brought her back inside with him.
“No. But I did discover something.”
They’d come home from taking care of the herd, tired and hungry, to find the house empty. Even when she’d kept to her room, they’d sensed her nearby. But the house was dark, no longer a home because of the lack of her presence. They’d searched the house and her room and checked to find that their truck was still where they’d last parked it.
The storm raged outside as Bill saw the same worry he felt reflected in the others’ faces. “What’d you find?”
Carter let the water drip from his slicker onto the floor. “Sugar’s gone. She must’ve taken her out.”
Bill whirled on his cousin. “Damn it, William. If you hadn’t taught her how to ride, she wouldn’t have gone and done this.”
Carter chimed in, breaking between them. “I was the first to teach her. Blame me.”
He wanted to punch both of them. Wanted to hurt someone even though guilt racked him.
“Blaming us isn’t the answer.” William paced away from him. “We have to find her. The question is where should we look first?”
Bill reached for his phone and started dialing Gabriel’s number. “We’ll never cover enough area by ourselves.”
Gabriel answered on the third ring. He’d catch hell later, but that no longer mattered. “It’s Bill Richland. I don’t have time to answer any questions right now, but I need your help.”
To his credit, Gabriel didn’t interrupt him once as he outlined what he needed. “So if you can get the men out into the other areas, we’re going to search down by the stream. William said that’s where she likes to ride.”
He nodded as Gabriel told him he’d do as he asked, not once berating him for letting a client stay on the ranch. He ended the call and turned to William and Carter. “You heard?”
“Yeah. Let’s get going.” Carter led the way out the back door.
As they hurried toward the barn, Bill’s chest hurt as though a band of steel had surrounded his heart and was cranking closed inch by inch. If they didn’t find Sela, he’d never forgive himself.
They spread out, covering the ground where she’d ridden before. The wind was horrible, whipping their words about so that they had to use their cell phones to communicate. But still no sign of her.
Where could she be?
He’d been a fool to say what he had to her. And an even bigger fool to accept what she’d said. He loved her, just as his cousin and brother did, and he couldn’t believe she didn’t love them back.
She was frightened, refusing to believe that they spoke the truth. And why should she after what other men had done to her? But he hadn’t even tried to prove her wrong. Instead he’d treated her like hell the past few days. Not to hurt her, but to try and force himself to let her go. But it hadn’t worked. He wanted her more every day and ached to touch her.
The ring of his phone brought him back to the present. “Yeah?”
“I found Sugar along with a stray calf at the edge of the trees by the stream.”
He spurred his horse into a gallop. “Call William. I’ll be there in a sec.”
Yet when he arrived and slid off his horse, Carter’s horse, Breaker, was tied to the same branch as Sugar. A calf, its back to the wind, stood nearby, prancing on its feet next to the horses. It was a wonder that the horses had stayed put in the brunt of the storm.
“Hey! Guys! She’s down by the stream!”
William arrived a moment later, half jumping off his horse as Bill started through the trees. He pushed through the underbrush, mindless of the scratches his careless entry gave him. When he burst through to the stream, he found Carter kneeling by a prone Sela. Carter kept her head above water. Her eyes were closed and her face was pale, but the flutter of her eyelids told him she was still alive.
“She’s pinned down by a branch on top of her leg.”
Bill wad
ed into the water next to Carter and thrust his hands under the whirling foam. He found the branch and tugged.
Carter shook his head. “I couldn’t get it to move.”
William joined them as a burst of light followed by a clap of thunder surrounded them. His face looked as haggard as Bill felt. “Let’s try it together. If we don’t get her out of here soon…”
Bill knew why William didn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t bear to think of losing her either. “Take the other side. On my count. One. Two. Three.”
He shouted, adding power to his lift as William did the same. At first, he thought they hadn’t managed to move it, but all at once, as though the mud had finally given up its hold on the branch, it came loose. Together, they brought it out of the water and pushed it aside.
Bill took her legs as William reached under her and Carter cradled her head. They carried her to land then hunched over her.
Carter pushed her wet hair away from her pale face. “Sela, baby, open your eyes.”
Bill watched and prayed. If she didn’t come to, he’d hate himself for the rest of his life.
Carter tried again. “Sela, come on, baby. Open your eyes for me. For us.”
Bill let out a blast of air, filled with the tension in his body as her eyelids fluttered then finally opened. Her mesmerizing green eyes flitted from Carter to William, then finally to him.
She slipped her tongue over her lips and coughed. Although her voice was cracked and she spoke in a whisper, it was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.
“What took you guys so long?”
* * * *
Sela couldn’t remember much after opening her eyes and finding her men kneeling beside her. She had vague memories of someone cradling her in his arms, holding her against him as he hurried his horse back to the ranch house. After that came a multitude of images from a doctor who had treated the gash on her leg to Gabriel standing over her as William explained who she was.
But for the most part, the past five days were a mix of sleep and pain, filled with brief moments where the Richland men spoke of their love for her.
She’d wanted to answer back, to tell them that she loved them, too. And even more important, that she trusted them not only with her life, but with her heart. But she was too weak for her words to make sense.
At last, she grew stronger and was more than ready when the men surrounded her bed. “Hi, guys.”
Bill sat on her right side, leaving Carter to take the spot on her left and William to stand at the end of the bed. Bill took her hand and held it between both of his. “Hi yourself. How are you feeling?”
“A whole lot better than I did a few days ago. Thanks for hauling my sorry butt out of the water.” She tried to sit up, but found that she wasn’t ready for that just yet.
“Sela, I need you to promise me something.” Bill’s blue eyes sought hers.
“Wow. Another promise?” But she grew serious when she saw how solemn he was. “Anything you want.” And she meant that. She’d do anything for them.
“Promise me that when I tell you to stick to home, you’ll stick to home.”
She smiled, acknowledging the slight rebuke in his tone. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Carter took her other hand, vying for her attention. “Now there’s more we need to talk about. Like the fact that you’ve got to get over your problem of not trusting men. Or at least, of you not trusting us.”
“Carter’s right.” William leaned on the bedpost, but his earnest expression was anything but relaxed. “We don’t care what you say. We know you care for us.”
“No, I don’t.” If she had paid for a priceless expression, she would’ve gotten her money’s worth.
Anger flared on Bill’s face. “Bullshit. You’re can’t tell us—”
She squeezed his hand and cut him off. “I don’t just care for you three. I love you.” She drew in a long breath. “There. I said it and that’s the truth.”
Bill blinked. “You do? You’re sure?”
“Hell, bro, don’t talk her out of it.” Carter chuckled. “We finally got her to admit it. And Sela, you know that we love you, right?”
“I do.” The warmth that spread through her lit her up inside. “I really do.”
“Then you’ll stay here? On the ranch with us? You’ll be our woman?” William leaned forward to touch her foot and massage it.
“You bet I will.” But she knew they had to understand everything. “Still, I want to keep singing. I’m not cut out to hang around the house and dust and clean. And after winding up in the mud trying to get that damn calf out of the water, I know I’m not cut out for ranch work. I’m a pop star and glad of it.”
Carter glanced at the other men. His worried expression matched theirs. “What does that mean exactly?”
“It means that I’ll be on the road a lot. I have a tour to finish and after that, I’ll need time in the recording studio to put out my next song. It means we may not see each other at times.”
They grew silent and she couldn’t push away the feeling of desperation seeping into her. Would they reject her now that they knew she didn’t want to give up her career?
“It’s fine by me.” Carter was the first to recover. “A little of you is better than none of you.”
“But what about kids? Do you even want children?” William had moved to sit at her feet next to Carter.
She’d never given it much thought, had never hoped to have that choice. But she knew the answer as well as she knew her own name. Her real name, that is.
“Yes, I do. I’ve always loved kids and I’d like to have three or four of them.”
“But can you do that and still keep doing your line of work?”
She’d never seen Bill so apprehensive, but she’d put his mind at rest. “Other singers do it so I don’t see why I can’t. As long as you three are okay with that. I can cut back when it comes time to have the kiddos. And when they get older, they can come along with me in the summertime.”
“Sure. Just as long as we get to play roadies on your tour.” William flexed his muscles. “I reckon I can pick up a speaker or two.”
“I’ll bet you can.” She could see it already. Their children would be beautiful, tall, and strong just like their fathers. And maybe, just maybe, the girls would have golden hair and sing like their mother.
Wait. Fathers? Holy gumdrops.
“Then it’s settled. You’ll finish your tour, and once you get back, we’ll talk about when we’ll have those children.” Bill leaned over and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Until then, you need to rest. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Carter winked at her then gave her a kiss that lingered. He pulled away and stood up. “You need to get more rest. But once you’re up to it, I plan on riding you rough.”
“And I’ll hold you to it.”
William eased Carter aside. “Don’t forget about me.” He gave her a kiss and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
“I could never forget about you.” She bit her lower lip to fight back the tears of joy as she watched them file out of the room. “I could never forget about any of you.”
* * * *
As they rode up to Gabriel’s home, part of her wished she was back in the fog of the past few days. The men dismounted and waited for her to do the same. She looped the reins over the post as they did then turned to face the house.
“Are you sure we have to do this?”
Carter slid his arm around her. “Don’t worry. Gabriel’s bark is way worse than his bite.”
William breezed past her, throwing his words over his shoulder. “Yeah, but he’s got one hell of a bite.”
A few of the other men who were part of the Cowboys for Hire organization glanced their way and raised their hands in greeting. But they didn’t venture near them.
“Are they staying away from us on purpose?”
Carter’s laugh made her feel better. At least a little bit. “Probably. But ha
ng in there. We’ve got your back.”
“Great. But who’s got yours?”
She let him lead her up the steps and into the house. Gabriel’s home was larger and filled with better furnishings. Warmth exuded from the atmosphere, but when Carter took her hand and led her toward the back of the house to Gabriel’s office, she shivered.
Although the men had already explained the circumstances around her arrival on the ranch, she didn’t know if Gabriel would allow her to remain. According to William, he’d already allowed one other woman, aside from cleaning ladies, to stay, but that was because she was living with one of the other teams. He wasn’t thrilled at the way she’d arrived on the ranch.
“Does he dislike women or something?” She cringed as her whisper carried through the house.
“Of course not. Why would he start an organization to help women if he didn’t like them? He just prefers to keep business separate from pleasure, if you know what I mean.”
Bill waited for them next to a white door then nodded as they came closer. He pushed it open and let Carter take her inside, and then he and William followed.
Gabriel stood as she entered his office and offered her his hand. She took it, adding her most charming smile along with it.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Miss Reynolds. I’m Gabriel Cortez.”
“Please, call me Sela.”
“Only if you’ll call me Gabriel.” He motioned to the coffeepot with steam rising from it. “Would you care for a cup? Or I have some tequila if you’d rather have that. No body shots, of course.”
She blushed. The men hadn’t told her that they’d let Gabriel in on that little secret. “No thanks. I’m good.”
“I’ll take one.”
Gabriel scowled at William then ignored him. William lifted his eyebrows at her then rested his back against the wall without another attempt to get his coffee.
“Please. Have a seat.”
He let her sit then retook his chair behind the large mahogany desk as the men stood around her, almost as though ready to protect her.
