by Becky McGraw
"Wow, that was awesome..." the little girl said in an awe-filled voice. "What do we do next?"
"You're going to sit on the rail and I'm going to work with him a little now, then we're going to the outdoor arena and putting a calf in with him to see how he reacts."
"How long is it going to take to train him?" Dixie asked her brown eyes sparkling with interest.
"Eighteen months probably...he's a pretty smart guy though, maybe a little less," she told her. Apache really seemed to be a good fit for a cutting horse, but she'd reserve judgment until she saw how he reacted to a calf. He hadn't been around cattle yet...that would tell the tale. JoJo was a very alpha horse, and he'd done well because from the time he was started, it was obvious he was going to let the calf know who was boss.
Karlie sat Dixie up on the top rail to watch, then she worked with Apache, keeping his gaze and moving from side to side making him react to her motions, seeing how he moved, gauging his athleticism. That was another thing that was important, if he was sluggish, or slow on the turns, he'd never make it as a cutter.
By the time she finished in the round pen, she was hot and sweaty, and Apache was lathered, but it was good he was hot, his muscles would work better. He still had a lot of 'go' left in him. She clipped on the lead then picked up the bridle and helped Dixie down then they walked to the outdoor arena.
"Okay, we're going to turn him loose in here, and we're going get a calf. Did you drive your golf cart to the barn?"
"Yeah, it's over on the side," Dixie told her and pointed. "I'll drive you back to the field."
Karlie groaned, but shook her head, "Great, let me get a halter for the calf, then we'll just pony him back with the cart. It was hot outside, the sun was beating down on her head now, even through her straw hat. She walked into the barn and got a halter, then walked back outside and found Dixie waiting for her in the pink, bedazzled golf cart she called her own. The little girl had made her ride the most girly, feminine golf cart Karlie had ever seen. If Karlie would have had one like it when she was little, she'd probably have gotten into twice the trouble she had.
"Nice ride..." Karlie told her with a wink, then slid into the passenger seat.
"You like it? I fixed it up myself," Dixie told her with a grin. "Daddy looks funny riding in it, but I love it."
Karlie threw her head back and laughed as the vision of masculine Tommy Tucker in this 'Barbie Mobile' flashed through her mind. "Does he drive it often?"
"Nah, only when the other ones are at the barn...I think it embarrasses him...I think I do too sometimes," she said and her smile faded.
"I don't think so, darlin'...your daddy loves you and brags about you all the time."
Dixie looked at her suspiciously and asked, "He does?" There was a ray of hope in her little voice that made Karlie's heart pinch. The little girl really didn't know how much Tommy Tucker loved her...how lucky she was to have him.
"Yep...he wouldn't quit talking about you when I first got here...couldn't wait to introduce you to me. He told me you had a new pony, and were a great rider."
Smiling now, Dixie told her proudly, "Daddy's teaching me, and I'm doing pretty good. My pony is a quarter-welsh pony, his name is Buster."
That was a good medium sized pony for her, so she could grow into it, Karlie thought approvingly. "I can't wait to meet him. You'll have to show me when we get done training Apache for today."
"You'll like him...he's nice," she said then bounced in the seat when they hit a pothole, then another. Karlie was surprised she didn't bounce right out of the seat, it was all she could do to hold onto the ribboned bar and keep herself inside. "Oh, I like your dog...he's nice too," Dixie told her. "He licks my face and makes me laugh."
"Sounds like Sarge likes you too!" Karlie told her then closed her eyes as they went through a small ditch without slowing down.
"Yeah, daddy says he'll get me a dog if I'm good..." she told Karlie then looked over at her with a grin, "don't think I'll get a dog soon."
Karlie threw he head back and laughed, almost doubling over with hit. "You are so damned much like me when I was a kid it's scary," she said before she thought better of it.
"Really? Were you bad too? I try to be good, but I just do things without thinking sometimes and daddy gets mad at me."
"Yes, really, honey...it'll get better, your daddy doesn't expect you to be perfect. Maybe if you tried just a little harder to think about things, before jumping into them it would help." She'd heard that advice from her sister on numerous occasions growing up, but it hadn't stuck...she had a feeling it wasn't going to here either, but she said the words anyway.
"I don't have any friends out here, so I get lonely sometimes...I'm glad you're here Karlie. Will you be my friend?" she asked and looked over at her hopefully.
"Yes indeed, I don't have many friends either, sugar. I'd be glad if you were my friend," she told her right when Dixie pulled the cart up to the gate and got out.
"Can I help catch the calf?" she asked excitedly.
"Sure, you can...just watch out for the mama...they can get mean sometimes when you mess with their calves. I grabbed a prod when I was in the barn, so you run and I'll zap her if she tries to get you."
"Okey doke..." she said and unhitched the latch on the gate. "I'll pretend I'm a cutting horse. I saw them at a rodeo daddy took me to in Dallas. It was pretty awesome. I want to learn to rope like that one day...maybe I can teach Buster."
That was a thought...maybe Karlie could teach Dixie how to rope. Uncle Jerry had taught her and Katie about the same age as Dixie was now. Learning that skill had helped two little frightened and sad little girls, who felt worthless after their parents abandoned them on Jerry's doorstep, learn to be confident young women. Maybe it could help this little girl too. "Did your daddy tell you I was a team roper in the rodeo, before I came here?"
Dixie's eyes lit up and she grinned from ear to ear, then said, "No, shit?" Karlie groaned and narrowed her eyes at Dixie then the little girl blushed and restated, "No, way!"
"Yep, my sister and I were the number one ranked female ropers in the country" she told the little girl with a wry grin. Karlie was proud of what she and Katie had accomplished. It hadn't been easy, and they'd worked their butts off training with the best in the rodeo, Uncle Jerry. He'd been a fantastic teacher.
"Why'd you quit?" Dixie asked.
Good question, complicated answer...too complicated for a ten-year-old. "It was time...wanted to go out while I was on top. Old cowgirls ride off into the sunset," Karlie told her and grinned. "I rode barrels too...I can teach you that too."
"Daddy said I might could get into 4-H next year," Dixie told her, "But I have to be good," she said with a quirk of her lip and sparkle in her eye.
Karlie threw back her head and laughed. "Well, we'll just have to work on that too, won't we?"
Dixie nodded then they found a calf by it's mama and Karlie put the prod under her arm and eased up with the halter to slide it over the calf's head. The cow eyeballed them for a second, but didn't move, she just kept munching on grass and chewing. After Karlie buckled it, she pulled the lead rope out of her pocket and snapped it on the loop on the side of the halter. "Easy as pie," she said grinning at Dixie.
Looking up at her with adoration and wonder in her whiskey brown eyes, Dixie said, "You're so good at all this stuff...I wanna be good at it too one day."
"You will be, sugar...we'll make sure of it." Karlie didn't want to make promises to the vulnerable little girl, but she couldn't help herself. Dixie was like champagne, full of bubbles, and she liked her and her passion for things...like her pony, and her golf cart, and learning to rope and ride. She didn't ever want to see anyone stomp out those bubbles, like her parents had almost done to her. The best thing they ever did for her in her life, was to drop her off at Uncle Jerry's that day. She hadn't seen them since, and she didn't w
ant to.
They led the calf out of the pasture, then locked the gate and Karlie held the long lead while they rode back to the barn with the calf following the cart. When they stopped by the outdoor arena, her heart stopped when she saw Gabe sitting on the fence waiting for her, with Cole standing beside him. Neither of them looked happy to see her.
CHAPTER SIX
Sliding out of the golf cart, Karlie walked the calf over to the arena, and let him go inside with Apache, then she looked at Dixie and said, "Honey, can you go to the house and take Sarge out for a walk, he probably has to go pee," she pointed at Gabe and Cole then said, "I need to go talk to them."
Karlie's eyes soaked up the sight of Gabe from his thick wavy black hair to his wide muscular chest and long legs, trying to quench a thirst in her that had been there since she left Bowie. Longing filled her and she wanted to go throw herself into his arms, but she couldn't. She'd left him, written him off without a backward glance, but not without with a helluva lot of misery and regret.
Dixie's face fell, then she asked looking over at them, "Who are they?"
The man Karlie hadn't been able to get off her mind since she'd left Bowie, but she couldn't tell Dixie that, so she said, "Friends, sugar."
"Okay, Sarge will probably like a walk," she said looking up at Karlie with a smile, "Those are policemen, did you get into trouble again?"
Karlie laughed and tousled her hair, "No, I'm not in trouble...this time," she told her then added, "Thanks for your help."
She watched Dixie walk off then huffed out a breath and walked over to Cole and Gabe. "How'd you find me?" she asked, her eyes magnetically drawn to Gabe's intense gaze.
"Wasn't easy...but a better question is, why did you leave?" he asked her and she saw his jaw clench. "Without a word, even."
"I brought nothing but trouble to you and the Double B, I needed to give ya'll your peace back," she told him flatly. "And Jake knew where I was, so I had to leave. I'm not letting him have Sarge."
"Who said I wanted fucking peace? Did I say that to you...or ever give you any indication I felt like you were too much trouble?" he grated his blue eyes glittering angrily, then told her, "No--all I did was tell you repeatedly, we would protect you, help you. It was awfully cowardly and inconsiderate for you to leave without a word, Karlie. I thought you had more guts."
Gabe jumped down off the fence then walked over to her. "We came out here to tell you that Jake has your sister with him, I think he forced her to go with him, but can't prove it. They're in Amarillo, so they'll probably wind up here..." he told her then added sarcastically, with a wave of his hand, "but hey, maybe he won't find you. Good luck with that, Karlie." He nodded to Cole, then gave her disgusted look and they walked off toward the house.
Karlie stood there dumbfounded for a minute, her brain seized up with fear, then she took off after them and yelled, "Gabe, wait!"
He didn't stop, so she sped up some, and yelled his name again. She caught up to them and grabbed his arm, but he shook it off, "We said what we came to say, Karlie."
When he started walking toward the car again, she stopped then stumbled and sobbed, "Gabe, please help me...I'm sorry," then fell to her knees a bawling mess of nerves and anxiety.
Gabe was leaving and she would have nobody to help her get her sister away from Jake. Not only that, she had a feeling she'd never see him again, if he left in the mood he was in now. Karlie needed him to help find her sister, and she needed to be near him, because she now realized just how much she'd missed him since she left Bowie. The thought of never seeing him again caused her heart to wrench in her chest.
A pair of large combat boots touched her knees and she moved her eyes up very long khaki covered legs across a broad chest and up to angry blue eyes, set in a stern face. "You can't have it both ways, sugar...you have to decide. Either you want my help and protection, or you want to be on your own. Whatever you decide, there's no going back."
Either you want to be with me, or you want to go it alone...that's what he was really saying to her. The choice was hers, and she didn't even have to think about it, she wanted to be with him, to see where this strange explosive chemistry they had would go, and she needed his protection. "I want to be with you Gabe...I need your help. I'm sorry for leaving like I did. I didn't mean to hurt you."
He squatted down in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "Have faith in me, honey...I'm not going to leave you or let anyone hurt you. I promise." His eyes were sincere and intense. "I keep my promises, Karlie...I've only ever broken one, and I'll never do it again. I can't protect you though, if you run out on me."
"I can't go back to the Double B, Gabe...it would put Cassie and Luke in too much danger, until this is over."
"I bought a cabin from Luke...or I'm buying it...we should close in a couple of days. I've already moved in. Come back to Bowie and stay with me," he told her and squeezed her shoulders.
She went to open her mouth to tell him it was too soon for something like that...they didn't even really know each other that well, but he let his hands drop from her shoulders then told her, "No strings, Karlie...we'll go at whatever speed you set...I won't rush you. There are two bedrooms in the cabin."
"I can't even think about leaving here right now...I have to find my sister, first. She's in real danger Gabe. I didn't tell you this, but Jake has a gun too...he threatened me with it when I told him I was leaving, so I didn't leave then. It took me a month of planning and stashing money to get away from him."
"Holy shit, Karlie!" Gabe shot to his feet and put his hands on his hips to glare down at her, "Why the hell didn't you tell me that? Don't you think him having a gun would be something important for me to know? You should have called the fucking police on that bastard!"
Tears stung her eyes again as she admitted, "It's hard for me to say, but I was terrified, Gabe. Not much scares me, but Jake scares the hell out of me. I think something is wrong with him," she tapped her forehead with her index finger. "Maybe he's been thrown off of one too many bulls, whatever it is he's not right."
"Jesus, honey, what gave you the first clue?" Gabe's face was red and his hands were clenched at his sides.
"You've never been in a situation like that...you have no idea what it's like. I didn't either until I was in it. I didn't know what to do, I just knew I had to get the hell out of there."
He reached down and pulled Karlie to her feet and into his arms. "I know, sugar...I'm sorry, you're right I don't know. And you're never going to have to worry about that again." Gabe pulled back from her then took her face in his hands and swiped at her tears with his thumb, before he leaned down and put a gentle kiss on her lips. "Let's find Katie," he said softly.
Gabe put his arm around her waist and led her over to the car where Cole was waiting for him, then he said, "I have an idea on how we can get Katie away from that moron..."
Cole raised an eyebrow and smiled, then asked, "Oh, yeah?"
"I think we should have Karlie call her sister's cell phone, and tell Katie she's decided to give Sarge back to Johnson. She can set up somewhere to meet them, then we'll be there to arrest the sonofabitch."
"Not without cause, Gabe...what'd you have in mind?" Cole asked and leaned back against the car and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Maybe Karlie can ask her directly, if Johnson kidnapped her, while their on the phone. He won't know what's being said, and she can answer yes or no. If it's yes, we can alert the Amarillo guys about the abduction, and get them to help with jurisdiction issues."
"I'll do it..." Karlie said, thinking that was a solid plan. "First, I should probably call the attorneys for Jake's crazy grandpa's estate though. Maybe I can get them to agree he's unfit, and that Sarge should stay with me. That way he's not stolen right? Gabe suggested that before, but I haven't done it yet."
"Okay, you do that honey, and I'll check with Tommy and see if
can think of a good meeting place. Then we'll call Katie."
***
Gabe had left Cole talking to the Amarillo police on the phone, and he was in Tommy Tucker's study in the monstrous house on the Rockin' D, leaning back in his chair thinking. He looked up at Tommy and said, "This guy is a loose cannon, so we need to meet him where there's not a lot of people around. Public would be better, but not very populated. I don't want to chance someone getting hurt."
"I'd say just have the asshole come here, but I don't want him knowing where I live, because of Dixie. I sure wish Karlie had told me what was going on with her. I wondered why she'd left the rodeo, and asked, but she said she was just tired of it."
