by Sharon Dunn
He climbed into his truck and turned out onto the country road that led into the little town of Kirkwood five miles away. Maybe she had just gone in for supplies and been delayed. He shook his head. His attempts at rationalizing weren’t doing him any good. No store would be open in town at the hour Ralph had seen her leave.
As he approached The Come and Get It Café, flashing police lights up the road caught his attention. He slowed and pulled over.
Alex pushed down the worry and sprinted across the road. The deputy standing beside the sheriff’s car recognized him and waved.
“What’s going on here?”
“Car went off the road in the early morning hours. I’ve got a rescue crew on the way. Night-shift deputy stopped a drunk driver up the way a piece. I suspect that driver ran this one off the road right before he got caught.”
Alex stared down the steep ravine. Panic exploded inside him. Morgan’s car was wedged against a tree facing downward. “That woman works for me. Do they know what her condition is?”
The deputy lifted his hat and rubbed his forehead. “I can’t get down there. It’s too steep. Got to wait for the rescue crew.”
“How long has she been down there?”
“The drunk driver was picked up three miles up the road. That was a couple hours ago.”
He couldn’t wait for the rescue crew. Morgan might be injured or worse. Alex strode over to his truck and grabbed a length of rope he kept for catching horses. He tied the rope to a thin but sturdy tree.
“What are you doing?” The deputy stepped toward him.
Alex wrapped his calloused hands around the rope. “I’ve got to get down there and see if she’s all right.”
“Let the rescue crew take care of that,” said the deputy.
Alex was already easing himself down the incline. The rope was too short to get him right to the car. He’d have to free climb the remaining distance. He stepped backward until he came to the end of the rope. He let go of the rope after finding a foothold. He scrambled down to Morgan’s car on the slanted ledge. Only the tree had stopped the car from rolling farther down the ravine. He ran over to the driver’s door. His heart squeezed tight. Morgan’s head pressed against the headrest. Her face showed no signs of life. He clicked open the door. The entire body of the car screeched. The tree, already bent from the force of the blow when the car hit it, would not hold much longer.
Morgan still had not moved. He feared the worst. Up above him, the rescue crew had arrived. They tied off rope as two of them prepared to bring down a stretcher.
He heard the cracking of the tree. She was going to slide down the mountain if he didn’t do something. Adrenaline surged through him as he yanked open the door, reached across Morgan’s lap and unbuckled her. Metal crunched and squeaked. The car started to tip forward. He gathered her into his arms and pulled her free just as the tree trunk snapped and the car rolled the remaining distance down the incline.
Morgan moaned and opened her eyes momentarily.
“Hey.” He cupped her face in his hands as relief spread through him.
A faint smile crossed her lips before she slipped back into unconsciousness. His arms surrounded her and he held her close.
The two men on the rescue crew reached him. He helped them lift her into the hard-sided stretcher. She looked like a limp rag doll. They used pulleys to winch her up the mountain. One man operated the pulley and the other held on to the stretcher to keep it balanced. One of the rescuers tossed Alex a length of rope so he could get up the incline.
“I’m riding in the ambulance with her.” His voice shook from exertion and fear. Would she make it?
He pulled himself back up to the road just as they were loading Morgan into the ambulance. The deputy reached down to help him up the remaining distance.
“How about we never pull a stunt like that again,” said the deputy. His tone was gentle, but Alex knew he meant it.
Alex’s attention was on Morgan being loaded into the ambulance. “She would have rolled the rest of the way down that hill if I hadn’t gone down there.”
“Kind of impulsive, wasn’t it? Not like the Alex Reardon I know.” The deputy studied him for a long moment. “You’re more of a cautious kind of guy.”
“The woman works for me. I was concerned for her safety. Sometimes caution is not in order.” His voice faltered. The idea of losing her had upset him more than he wanted to admit.
The deputy nodded. “You’d better go be with her then.”
The EMTs bent over Morgan as they took her vitals. One of them turned and waved Alex in. Alex sat beside Morgan as the ambulance gained speed. Her hands were folded over her stomach, and her eyes remained closed. His throat grew tight. In the moment when he’d looked through the window of her car and wasn’t sure if she was dead or alive, he had realized he wanted her in his life in whatever capacity she was able to be.
The hospital in Kirkwood was a small, six-bed facility. The paramedics explained that if she had anything more serious than a concussion, they would airlift her into Des Moines.
A doctor and a nurse met them at the back door of the hospital and wheeled her in.
“Are you her husband?” the doctor asked.
Alex shook his head. “She works for me.”
“You might want to notify her next of kin. I’m sure they’ll want to be here.”
He recalled the empty lines on her job application underneath the In case of emergency contact numbers. “She doesn’t have any next of kin.”
The nurse looked over her shoulder. “No next of kin? That’s unheard of.”
The doors swung shut, and he could only peer through the small window on the hospital room door as they worked on Morgan. Sadness for Morgan washed over him. There was no one he could call for her. She was completely alone in the world.
He slumped down in a chair. He made a call into Mrs. Stovall to let her know what had happened. It wasn’t good for him to be away during their busy time, but he had a higher priority. When Morgan woke up, he wanted to make sure she at least had a friendly face to greet her. He couldn’t change whatever had driven her to cut off all ties with the past, but he could at least be a support to her.
He shifted in the chair then rose to his feet and paced. From the time Morgan had gone missing to the time he thought she might be dead, a realization had grown inside him. He didn’t want to lose her or drive her away. He wanted to help her in whatever way he could. In whatever way she would let him.
The nurse pushed through the doors and tore off her sterile gloves. “She’s responsive. I think we’re looking at a concussion, bruised ribs, scratches and abrasions. Rolling down a hill at high speeds like that, it could’ve been a lot worse.”
“Thank you. Can I go in and see her?”
“Soon as she wakes up,” said the nurse.
He sat spinning his hat in his hand for several minutes and then located a coffee machine. He had just finished his coffee when the nurse returned.
“She’s coming around. The pain medication hasn’t quite worn off but she could probably use some company. She’s still a little shaken from the accident. Room 4.”
Alex hurried down the hall. He found Morgan sitting up with her bed elevated as she rested her head against a pillow. Her face brightened when he entered the room.
“They said you got me out of the car just in time.” Her voice was weak. She looked as though all vitality had been drained from her.
“The rescue crew was a little slow.” Alex approached the bed. “Your car’s a total. Sorry about that. You can borrow one of The Stables’ vehicles until you can get another car.”
She nodded. “Thank you for waiting to see me. It’s nice to have a visitor.” She seemed extremely fragile.
He pulled up a chair and sat close to her bed. “So what hap
pened? Why were you on the road at that hour?”
She angled her head away from him. Although she hadn’t given him an answer, he’d seen the suitcase in the car. She’d been planning to leave town. He remembered his earlier vow to take what she was willing to give. He didn’t want her to leave. Maybe in time she would trust him with the truth. “How did the accident happen?”
She shook her head, still not looking at him. “Someone ran me off the road.”
“The deputy said they picked up a drunk driver a couple miles up the road.”
She turned back toward him. “Is that what it was?” Her words had a sharp edge to them as if she didn’t believe what he said. “I’m not so sure.” Her eyes glazed. In that single look, he realized there was a volume of information she wasn’t sharing. He could see only the tip of the glacier where she was concerned.
Her hand trembled as she held on to the bed rail. He draped his hand over hers, and she didn’t pull away. She looked up at him, her eyes drawing him in. His hand went up to her face. “Morgan, I just want you to know that...you can stay at The Stables as long as you want. I like having you there. I like the work you do.” He had intended to say so much more. He wanted her to know that whatever she was running from, she could tell him.
She stared at the ceiling. The accident must have taken a toll on her emotionally. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull my weight with these bruised ribs.”
“We’ll work it out. I want you to stay no matter what.”
She studied him, her mouth turned up in a faint smile. “Thanks. That means a lot to me,” she said.
He rose to his feet, twirling the cowboy hat in his hands. “You know, Morgan, I don’t know what your whole story is.” He paced, still twirling his hat as nervousness squeezed his chest tight. He had to get this out. He had to say it. “But if you’re afraid of someone or hiding from someone, you can tell me. Is it a violent boyfriend or ex-husband? I’d understand about that.”
Morgan stared at him for a long moment as though she were debating what to say. “You couldn’t understand.” Her voice filled with pain. She turned her head toward the pillow. “I’m really tired.”
He stared at the back of her head. “Okay.” Feeling an overwhelming sense of defeat, he turned on his heels and left the room.
* * *
Morgan listened as Alex’s feet padded softly across the floor and the door closed. She opened her eyes and sat up, releasing a heavy breath and placing her hand on her chest. Chalk it up to the painkillers, but she had almost told him everything in the moment that he had assumed she was running from a crazy boyfriend. His kindness was unbearable in the face of her deception. And now he had offered to let her stay at The Stables even though she wouldn’t be able to do her job. She couldn’t do this to him.
A nurse came in with a tray of food. “Are you up to eating something?”
Morgan looked down at the steaming bowl of soup, the roll and the plate of Jell-O. “I’ll try. How long are they keeping me here?”
“Just overnight.” The nurse straightened her blankets so they covered her feet. “You can go home in the morning.”
Home. What a loaded word. She could never go home. Not as long as whoever was behind the baby snatching was still out there. And were The Stables even safe? The fire, the snake and now the car accident. It was all too much too fast to assume it was sheer coincidence.
The nurse stood back. “Ring that buzzer if you need anything. We’ll be around in a couple of hours to check your vitals.”
Morgan ate the bland meal, surprised at how hungry she was. So it looked like there was an explanation for her accident—a drunk driver. She closed her eyes, trying to remember some detail of the crash, but she couldn’t even say what kind of car had hit her. And then as she thought about it, she wasn’t even sure she had been hit. Maybe she’d veered off the road to avoid the other driver. The accident had happened so fast. She really didn’t want to become known as the U.S. Marshals’ problem child. But even they would have to admit that the mounting volume of accidents seemed suspicious. Maybe she would stick with her plan to leave The Stables, regardless of what the marshals said. This had become about more than just being safe. She needed to be somewhere she didn’t have to keep looking into Alex’s eyes and lying to him.
NINE
Alex sat in his office, staring at Morgan’s job application. He had all the information in front of him to give to his detective friend—name, date of birth, Social Security number. He knew she’d been raised in Wyoming, loved working with children, was the most competent horse person he’d met in a long time and had deep-brown eyes that held a world of secrets. That was the sum total of what he knew about Morgan Smith. He set the application to one side and rested his elbows on his desk.
Even before he’d pulled the application, he knew he wouldn’t call his detective friend. The idea had been driven by his frustration. As her employer, the scant information she’d given him was confidential. He realized he couldn’t break the law, but the reasons ran even deeper than that. As much as he wanted to know who she was, he didn’t want to give her a reason not to trust him. Snooping into her life would be a betrayal, even if she never found out. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
He heard a rapping on his door, and Craig poked his head in. “I’ve got a bunch of guests who need help getting saddled up.”
“I’ll be right there.” He pushed his chair back from the desk, glad to be abandoning paperwork for the better part of his job.
As he made his way across the grounds, he realized the day had stretched out to seem very long without Morgan here. But it wasn’t just because she lightened his workload. True, she was an asset to The Stables, but her presence lightened his heart, too.
He wasn’t sure why he still wanted to help her in whatever way she would let him. She’d closed down when he’d suggested she was running from an abusive boyfriend. When he’d seen her reaction, he again flirted with the idea that she was involved with something illegal and was on the run.
He just didn’t want to believe that about her when so much of her character suggested otherwise. He hoped he wasn’t setting himself up for betrayal. He couldn’t go through that again.
* * *
Morgan was surprised when Serena Summers walked into her hospital room. The St. Louis office was at least a six-hour drive from Des Moines.
Serena explained. “When I called your cell this morning to ask you a question and got no answer I became concerned. Brendan hadn’t heard from you either, so I called your boss telling him I was a friend from out of town. He told me about the accident and that you were here. I thought I should come up and see you.”
“You called to ask a question? You mean you didn’t get my message?”
A concerned look crossed Serena’s expression. “No.”
“I called last night and talked to a marshal. There was a fire yesterday, and someone was snooping around my house and later there was a snake in my bedroom.”
“That message should have been passed on to me right away. Do you remember the name of the marshal you talked to?”
Morgan shook her head. “I didn’t think to ask.”
“This is serious.” Serena narrowed her eyes as though she were thinking deeply.
Pain shot through Morgan’s rib cage, and she winced.
Serena stepped closer to the bed, her voice filled with compassion. “How are you doing?”
“They’re letting me go tomorrow. No broken bones or anything.”
Serena studied her for a moment. “And how are you doing emotionally?”
Morgan’s throat constricted. “I could be better.”
“I have to ask. Where were you going that early in the morning?”
Morgan took a deep breath. “After finding the snake in my bedroom, I was afraid
someone had put it there. I didn’t feel safe.”
“Given everything that happened I think we should look into this car accident. I know your boss thought it was a drunk driver. ”
Morgan stared at the ceiling. “Separately the incidents don’t seem like anything, but together? Or maybe you think I’m paranoid because of what I’ve been through.”
Serena shook her head. “I don’t think you’re paranoid. We should look into everything, but we shouldn’t panic. Moving you is complicated and would take a while. We’d need clear confirmation that your cover was breached.”
“What if they are trying to make my death look like an accident because they don’t want their fingerprints on this? You must be closing in on your investigation.”
Serena stared at the wall as though she were mulling over what Morgan had said. “That is possible. I’m not dismissing your concerns, but we need something to work with.”
“There was a man at the horse sale who seemed to be following me.” Each breath Morgan took seemed to cause pain.
“That might be a place to start if you think you could identify him. You’re in no condition to deal with a move anyway. I’m going to see if I can get one of our deputies set up as a guest where you work. That way we’ll have someone watching you closely to ensure your safety until we can get to the bottom of this.”
“Thank you for doing that.” She dreaded going back to The Stables and facing Alex. But Serena was right—she wasn’t in any condition to leave...not yet.
“Morgan, we’re not going to leave you high and dry,” Serena said. “I’ll call you with the information about who we’ll send for added protection as soon as I can set it up.”
Morgan lifted her head off the pillow, which took every ounce of strength she had. She was more beat up than she wanted to admit. “I want to help any way I can. It would be good if Baby C could be reunited with her mom and any other babies that have been taken could be found. What was the question you called to ask me, anyway?”
