“It’s not your fault that Billy Tom found out where the cabin was and kidnapped me,” she said. “I’d have crawled out a bathroom window or screamed for help, but he said he’d shoot everyone in the store if I did. You think he would have? After the way he curled up and bawled like a baby when I hit him with that gun, I’m not sure he’d have the balls to actually kill someone.” She stretched her legs out and scooted back to share the pillows with him.
“Billy Tom has always been a loose cannon, so I don’t know about killing, but I wouldn’t put anything past him.” Tag’s tone was dead serious. “I stopped right after my twenty-first birthday. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in eight years; then a couple of weeks ago, he called me out of the blue, wanting me to go in with them on this big deal.”
“Were you even tempted?” she asked.
“No, not a bit. I might still be a rebel, but I’m not stupid.” He held her close and stroked her hair until she fell asleep again.
Sun rays flowed through the split in the window curtains later the next morning when Nikki awoke for the second time. The last thing she remembered was telling Tag about all the emotions that had run through her body on that horrible trip. Her back was against his chest and her stomach was telling her that it was time to eat.
“Hungry?” he whispered.
“Little bit,” she answered. “Let’s heat up some leftovers. Have you heard from your brother? When are they bringing my car?”
“Turned off the phone after you talked to Emily. I didn’t want it to ring and wake you.” He threw back the covers. “But we don’t have to eat leftovers. They serve breakfast here.”
“Give me a few minutes to shower and get into some clothes.” She hopped out of bed and went straight to the bathroom, then remembered that she hadn’t taken her things with her. He was talking on the phone when she returned, and from the look on his face, it was pretty serious.
She retrieved her new clothing and hung them on the hooks on the back side of the bathroom door. Then she stripped out of the orange scrubs, tossed them on the floor with no intentions of ever wearing them again, and ran a bath. She sank down into the warm water and wondered if she went under, would it be kind of like a baptism? Would she wash away all the fear and anger from the day before, like getting rid of sins and being reborn a new woman?
Sliding even farther down until only her nose was above water, she took a deep breath and lay on the bottom of the tub for a few seconds before she came back up. Water sluiced down her face and neck, but she still felt like Nikki Grady. There was no washing away the sin of wanting to shoot Billy Tom—because she would still do it in a heartbeat if she had a gun and he threatened her again.
She finally pulled the plug on the tub, got out and dried her hair, and dressed in new clothing right off the rack that she’d have washed before putting on if she’d been home. She wiped the fog from the mirror and brushed her teeth. Tag was still on the phone, but the smile on his face said this call wasn’t as serious.
“Talk to you later, Granny, and I’ll ask Nikki about supper,” he said.
“Supper?” she asked.
“I want to see my folks while I’m here, and Hud sent hugs for Mama. I understand if you don’t want to go out to the ranch, though,” he said.
“Supper at the ranch sounds fine. I owe Matthew a thank-you for helping rescue me,” she said. “But I’m more comfortable staying here. That doesn’t mean you have to spend another night protecting me.”
“Billy Tom escaped,” he said bluntly. “They think he’s headed back to Mesquite for his cycle and they’ve got authorities on the lookout between here and there.”
“Then would you please stay with me?” she asked. “And if you’ve got access to a pistol out at the ranch, would you please bring it with you after supper? But tomorrow morning, Tag, whether Billy Tom is back in custody or not, I’m going home. I have to work Friday night, and I refuse to let that son of a bitch make me afraid or upset my life.”
“Deal, but just in case they don’t catch him, will you let me sleep on your sofa or stay with me at the cabin or even at Emily’s?”
“I’ll think about it. Now let’s go get some breakfast. What are we doing until supper?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Well, we’ve got this room, and the sheriff did say that you were my girlfriend.”
They were back on solid ground one more time. She air slapped his arm and said, “But I don’t go to bed with my boyfriend after only one date.”
“You did last night—twice,” he teased.
“With clothes on,” she reminded him. “Know what I’d like to do today?”
“Name it and I’ll do my best to make it happen,” he said.
“We’re close to the Palo Duro Canyon, aren’t we? Emily’s talked about it and I’d love to see it. The only state I’ve ever been to, outside of Texas, of course, is Oklahoma. I crossed the Red River a few times when I went to the Watermelon Festival in Terral,” she said.
“You want to sightsee?” Tag looked genuinely shocked.
“Unless you need to be at the ranch all day,” she said.
“No, ma’am.” He grinned. “We’ll leave right after we eat. Long as we’re at the ranch for cocktails at five o’clock, we’ll be fine.”
“Cocktails?” She frowned.
“Very informal,” he said. “We just like to gather up for a beer or a shot of whiskey before supper. It’s not dress-up. You’ve been there before?”
“Not for cocktails. I went with Emily once, but we weren’t there at supper time. Then at the wedding everyone was going every which way to get things done,” she said. “Truth is, it scares me just a little to be there in the middle of your family.”
He looped her arm into his. “Honey, you faced down Billy Tom. I’m surprised that anything scares you.”
She slipped her feet into pink flip-flops at the door. “He’s a wicked piece of trash. Your folks know we spent the night together. I can only imagine what they probably think of me.”
“I talked to them this morning. They know this room has two beds, and they’re happy that you let me stay with you.” He locked the door behind them. “You really want to eat buffet, or would you rather go to a little café for breakfast?”
“I’m with you. You make the decision,” she said.
“Then good hot food brought to the table, it is.” He led her to the pickup.
It was only a short drive to the café. When they were inside, it kind of reminded her of the one in Bowie where she liked to treat herself some Monday mornings after forty-eight hours of ER duty.
They chose a booth in the back corner beside a window, and the waitress brought two coffee mugs and then filled them. “Hey, did you hear Sheriff Roberts has locked up that crazy crew you used to run with? I heard they robbed some big-shot drug dealer’s shipment of ephedrine and sold it to someone else. Then the fools came back here to Tulia to that old shack they used to hang out in.”
“That’s what I heard,” Tag said.
“Did you hear that Billy Tom escaped? That piece of slime could worm his way out of hell. Now what can I get y’all this mornin’, and are you goin’ to introduce me to your lady friend, or not?”
“I’m sorry, Charlene.” Tag smiled. “This is Nikki Grady, my girlfriend. Nikki, this is Charlene. She cooked at the ranch for a while when I was a little boy, then opened this café.”
“Pleased to meet you. I was at Emily’s weddin’. You was the maid of honor, right?” Charlene said. “Y’all don’t bother with orderin’. I’ll bring you my big country breakfast, and it’s on the house.”
“Thank you, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miz Charlene.” Nikki smiled.
“You’re welcome.” Charlene headed back to the kitchen.
“Does she always give you free meals?” Nikki whispered across the table.
“No, ma’am. This is the first time. She must like you.” He took her hands in his and brought her knuckles to his lips. “I liked w
aking up with you all curled up around me.”
“The nightmare was so real that I woke up crying,” Nikki admitted. “If you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to close my eyes again all night.”
“It’s kind of nice to be needed and not just wanted.” Tag gently squeezed her hands and took a sip of his coffee. “I liked it when you let me comfort you last night, even though I don’t deserve it.”
“I keep telling you that it’s not your fault,” she said.
“I’m glad that you believe that, but I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself.”
Chapter Seventeen
The landscape in the western part of the state was very different from back where Nikki had grown up. Here the land was flat, almost treeless and reached all the way out to the sky. By stretching the imagination a little, she could almost see the place where the earth actually rounded off a little. Back around Bowie, rolling hills were covered with scrub oak and mesquite trees and lots of cow tongue cactus.
But then a few miles out of Silverton, a town not much bigger than Montague, Tag suddenly cut the speed and they were going straight down into a big canyon. It was eerily beautiful that morning. Burnt umber and ochre, the two colors that she’d used in art class back in high school, came to her mind as she tried to take the whole scene all in with one glance.
The narrow road took them around curves, up hills, and down the other side. On every side of her were amazing rock formations, some reaching so high that she had to strain her neck to see the tops, and others looking like sand castles a child would build on the beach.
“This is awesome,” she said. “No cafés, nothing commercial, just a big hole in the ground with all kinds of gorgeous sights. This must be the best kept secret in the whole state,” she whispered.
Tag had grown up around Palo Duro, but seeing the canyon through Nikki’s eyes opened it up in a whole new light for him. He hadn’t thought of her travel being limited because of the disruptions in her family and then her decision to move out and live on her own at such a young age. Suddenly, he wanted to take her every place he’d ever been. Granted, most of them had been family vacations to wherever a rodeo was held, and the majority of them had been in the United States. But they had gone on a couple of cruises. He’d been bored out of his mind most of the time and had even considered jumping overboard and seeing if he could swim back to Texas. Now he wondered what it would be like to see the Mayan ruins and go snorkeling in the Gulf with Nikki.
“Look at that.” She pointed.
“That’s called the chimney,” he said. “I’ve seen bald eagles sitting up there a few times. This was one of my favorite places to ride my motorcycle.”
“Tag, you don’t have to give it up. If you love riding, then you should keep it.”
He shook his head slowly. “I don’t think I can ever ride one again without flashbacks of worrying about you. When I talked to Mama this morning, I told her to donate it to the police department. Seemed fitting since they’re the ones who really saved you.”
“They couldn’t have done it if you hadn’t known where to send them.”
Tag didn’t know how to answer that comment, so they rode in silence for more than half an hour. He drove slowly all the way through the canyon. When they came up on the other side and reached the small town of Claude, he finally asked, “Do you want to go back the same way we came or go through Amarillo?”
“Let’s hit that little convenience store right there for a bathroom break and maybe something cold to drink, and then go right back the way we came. The light will be coming from a different angle that way. And could we stop at that place at the top and take a couple of pictures?” she asked. “We’d have to use your phone. Mine is still in my purse at your ranch.”
“Sure thing,” he said. “Want to pick up some snacks and have a picnic? There’s a table for that at the lookout over the canyon.”
“Sounds great. Let’s have junk food and root beer,” she suggested.
He held her hand on the way into the store. She headed off to the bathroom and he gathered up candy bars, chips, and a six-pack of root beer, set it on the counter, and handed the young man a twenty-dollar bill. The guy dropped his change and had to bend down to pick it up, then fumbled when he was putting the food into a bag.
“Sweet Jesus! You’re like a bad case of the itch that just keeps showing up.” Tag heard Nikki raise her voice at the back of the store.
“He’s got a gun,” the clerk whispered.
Tag dropped his wallet on the counter and headed toward Nikki but didn’t get there before she had kicked off her flip-flops and landed a square kick in Billy Tom’s crotch. He rolled forward, and she picked up a gallon of motor oil from a display and swung it like a Louisville Slugger. When it made contact with the side of his head, he fell backward, taking out a stand of Twinkies on the way down.
“Tell that kid I need some duct tape and call Sheriff Roberts,” she hollered at Tag. “I believe we’ve got something that belongs to him. And he doesn’t have a gun. If he did, he’d be brandishing it like he was a badass. He was bluffing.”
“Did you kill him?” Tag caught the roll of duct tape the kid threw toward him.
“I wouldn’t be so lucky.” She took the tape from Tag’s hand and peeled off a length wide enough to tape Billy Tom’s mouth shut. “He’ll wake up in a minute. It’d take more than that tap on the head to keep him down. He’s high as a kite on something. I can tell by his eyes.” She stuck the tape firmly across his mouth, then made two wraps around his legs. “You can work on his wrists. Do a good job or he’ll break free. I’ll be waiting in the truck. I’ve seen more of this sumbitch than I want to for the rest of my life.”
“She’s one badass woman,” the kid said. “I was terrified of him, but she scares me more. He got out of a semi that was filling up on gas. Guess he was hitchhiking. He told me that I would give him the keys to my motorcycle when he came out of the restroom and if I called anyone, he’d go to the school and shoot all the kids on the playground. I got a niece in kindergarten.”
“He was bluffing. Get on your phone and call the Claude police. Tell them to come get Billy Tom, the guy who escaped from the Swisher County jail last night.” Tag wrapped the tape from Billy Tom’s wrists to his elbows and did the same from ankles to knees, then trussed the man’s hands and feet together like a calf at a roping.
Billy Tom groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He tried to sit up, but Tag had roped him down really well. If it had been possible, he would have shot fire from his eyes at both Tag and the kid.
Tag leaned down and whispered right in Billy Tom’s ear. “If you ever, ever come after Nikki or any member of my family again, I will go on the stand and testify to all your past sins. Some of those will put you so far back in jail you’ll never see daylight.”
Billy Tom’s eyes popped out and all the color drained from his face. He struggled against the tape, but it wouldn’t budge.
Tag kept talking. “You know that I don’t make idle threats. But if that don’t work, they will never find your body. Nod if you understand what I’m saying.”
Billy Tom shot him a dirty look, but his chin bobbed up and down.
“That’s good, and you might pass it on to your buddies. The same goes for them.”
Another nod.
The kid made the call and turned to Tag. “He’ll be here in five minutes. Could you stick around?”
“Sure thing, but I already hear the sirens. They’ll be here right soon,” Tag said.
“Thanks,” the kid said. “I’d just feel better if…”
Tag nodded and pointed out the window. “They’re here now and will be coming in soon. My lady is waiting. I think you can handle this until they get in here. Just go on back to the cash register. He can’t get loose.” Tag picked up his purchases and wallet as he passed the counter and walked out.
On his way out, he passed two police cars, and four officers were running toward the store with gun
s drawn. Tag recognized one of them from the bar down in Palo Duro that he used to frequent on Saturday nights. “Hey, Kyle. That’s Billy Tom in there and you might want to keep part of that tape on him. He’s high on something and slippery as a slug.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.” Deputy Kyle Robertson kept running. “We might be callin’ you about this later.”
“You got my number,” Tag hollered back.
He was more than a little surprised to see his own hands shaking when he put the bag of snacks in the backseat of the truck. When he got behind the wheel, he leaned over the console, took Nikki’s face in his hands, and kissed her—long and lingering and then passionate. When the kiss ended, his nerves were as steady as a rock.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“For just bein’ you,” he answered.
“Well, I got to admit I was trembling from head to toe when I got out here, but your kiss settled me right down. If that sorry sucker escapes again, I vote that we put out an order to shoot first and ask questions later,” she said.
A surge of pure happiness swept through Tag. She had acknowledged that his kiss had affected her the same way it had him. He turned the key to start the engine and Elizabeth Cook was singing “Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman.”
Nikki shot a sideways glance toward him and giggled. He chuckled and before he could put the truck in gear, they were both laughing so hard they could hardly breathe.
Tag finally wiped his eyes. “Talk about perfect timing and something taking all the tension out. You sure you’re all right?”
The laughter stopped as suddenly as it had begun, and Nikki looked like she might start crying any minute. Tag had never been good with weeping women, not even his sister or mother, who seldom shed tears. He followed her gaze, and there was Billy Tom, his hands now cuffed behind his back and all the duct tape gone, and he was looking straight at Nikki. The noise from the radio blocked the evil words spewing from his mouth, but Tag could read his lips. Nikki was right. If he escaped again, they should put out a shoot-on-sight order.
Cowboy Rebel--Includes a bonus short story Page 16
