Montana Hearts

by Darlene Panzera

  “No!” Delaney shouted, and glared at him. “At least give me a chance to try to save it.”

  Sometimes animals couldn’t be saved, but Jace didn’t tell her that. Instead, he followed her the rest of the way to Cabin 26 to assess the situation.

  Loretta Collins was right. From the loud thumps, crashes, and squeals coming from within the cabin, it sounded as if lamps, chairs, and tables were being destroyed.

  Delaney pushed through the crowd of gaping, wide-­eyed guests who circled the cabin and stopped up short by the front porch. “How did it get in there?”

  Bree pointed to a group of three women. “When they came back after breakfast they opened the door and saw the deer inside.”

  “I thought I was going to be gored by its antlers,” one of the women exclaimed.

  Jace spotted the open cabin door and frowned. “Why won’t it run out?”

  One of the other women said, “It’s stuck!”

  “What do you mean, ‘stuck’?” he demanded, following Delaney toward the door.

  All three women motioned to the tops of their heads and it didn’t take long for Jace to see what they meant. The deer had put its head through the thin, wood paneled wall separating the kitchen and bedroom and as the buck twisted this way and that, trying to free itself, the large set of antlers kept it trapped. As he and Delaney approached, the buck let out a bloodcurdling yelp and kicked its back legs out at them.

  “He’s bleeding,” Jace said, shooting Delaney a glance. “His neck is sliced from the wood.”

  “We can save him,” Delaney said stubbornly.

  He admired her tenacity, but he had no idea how they could get close enough to free the deer without getting hurt themselves. He swallowed hard and said, “Del, I know you don’t want to hear this, but it might be better to put the deer out of its misery.”

  “You didn’t put Rio down without trying,” Delaney argued.

  “This is a wild animal!”

  Delaney narrowed her eyes. “Who also deserves a chance to live.”

  “It’s a buck,” Jace said, staring at the eight-­point rack sticking through the wall as if the deer’s head were already mounted. “He could get shot by a hunter the moment we free him.”

  “He deserves a chance,” Delaney insisted.

  Jace glanced at the deer’s neck again. There seemed to be a lot of blood, and it was splattering everywhere, down the paneling, onto the floor, the kitchen counter. Then he looked into the deer’s panic-­stricken eyes. The deer was suffering, surely Del could see that.

  “You go around to the other side while I stay here in the kitchen and talk to him,” Delaney instructed.

  “Talk to him?”

  “Jace, please,” she begged, her whole face filled with compassion for the poor animal she wanted so desperately to save. He hesitated, and her expression hardened. “Help me,” she said, her voice low, “or you can leave this ranch and take your bloody endorsement with you.”

  He’d never seen Del so serious. His heart pounded in his chest and he flicked his gaze toward the deer again. The animal trembled, but wasn’t thrashing about as much. Either it was too terrified, or it didn’t have much time left.

  “All right,” he said, his adrenaline pumping into high gear as he met her gaze. “Let’s do this.”

  DELANEY STAYED BY the deer’s head in the kitchen while Jace ran around the other side of the wall into the bedroom to deal with the back half of the animal.

  “Don’t move,” she pleaded with the buck in a whisper. “Please don’t move.”

  She reached a hand up and touched the side of its head. The deer flinched, and kept his eye on her, and uttered another cry, but she kept talking to the animal. And as she did, she moved her fingers toward the splintered opening and picked away the sharp pieces of wood as fast as she could. Other pieces of wood fell away in the opposite direction, and when she saw Jace’s fingers, she realized he was trying to do the same thing.

  “Yow!” Jace’s shouted. “He tried to kick me.”

  “Watch out,” she called, grabbing hold of a large broken piece of the wood paneling that was giving way around the deer’s antlers. Then she pulled with all her might and the piece of wood came free, opening a large hole.

  “Almost,” Jace called to her.

  The deer thrust his head back and forth again and, on the second try, more of the wood split off and the buck withdrew its head through the opening toward Jace. Delaney ran into the other room and spotted Jace on top of the bedroom dresser, which he’d used to keep himself above the deer’s body while he worked on widening the opening.

  “Delaney, get back!”

  She pressed herself into the hall closet and the deer jumped over the bed, darted past her into the living room, and out the door. A shout of surprise sounded from the crowd outside, and Delaney ran out onto the front porch just in time to see the deer, unharmed except for the few slices to its neck, run into the nearest patch of woods.

  The overwhelming surge of relief knowing the deer was free brought tears to her eyes and made her feel almost giddy, as if she’d drank an entire bottle of champagne or as if one of her impossible dreams had come true. She supposed one had.

  Jace stepped out onto the porch beside her and she smiled. “The cuts around its neck weren’t nearly as bad as I first thought,” she said, her voice choked with emotion. “They should heal over in no time and he’s free! We did it, Jace. You and me. You—­you helped me.”

  She looked up at him, and realized that with his dark hair falling down over his forehead and his beautiful green eyes he really was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Jace didn’t say a word but held her gaze, then he slowly reached out and touched her lower lip with the tip of his finger. She didn’t move, didn’t try to pull away, but parted her lips ever so slightly and realized the look in his eyes wasn’t the same as when he’d flirted with her in the past. It was far more serious, more penetrating, as if he were seeing straight through her to the person she was on the inside for the very first time. And he admired her.

  She took a small step forward and he leaned his head toward hers and captured her mouth in a kiss so warm, so tender, so exhilarating, that the euphoria of emotion she’d already been feeling skyrocketed to a whole new level. A round of clapping erupted around them, and lifting his head, Jace grinned. “Remember how I said last night that I’d kiss you ‘tomorrow’?”

  She nodded.

  “I always keep my promises,” he said, and looked like he might kiss her again.

  Except today, someone called her name.

  Delaney glanced over the crowd and spotted three figures who wore green Montana Wildlife Rescue T-­shirts staring at her. Carol, Mary Ann, and Ben. Jumping away from Jace, she sucked in her breath. “Carol, what are you all doing here?”

  “Your ma called,” Carol said, her expression tense. “She said you needed help. We happened to be in the area and came as fast as we could.”

  “We rescued the deer,” Delaney assured them.

  “Looks like we should have got here sooner to rescue you.” Carol glanced from her to Jace, then back to her again. “Delaney Collins, how could you!”

  Delaney hesitated, unsure what she meant. “How could I what?”

  Giving her a look as if it should have been obvious, Carol pulled her aside and asked, “How could you kiss that man?”

  Chapter Nine

  “JACE HELPED ME get the deer out of the cabin,” Delaney said, touching the bear claw necklace about her neck as she stood up to the three she’d always considered her friends.

  “Are you that fickle that you’d kiss a hunter for doing one good deed?” Carol argued.

  Apparently Jace overheard. He frowned, then gave her friend a pointed look. “I’d prefer not to be labeled a h
unter.”

  Carol shot him a look of disgust. “You think if I called you a ‘rodeo star’ that would be any better? I’ve seen how you rodeo ­people treat your animals. You run them into the ground until they’re of no use to you, and then get yourselves a new one.”

  Delaney shook her head. “You can’t slap a title on someone and make snap judgments about them. A title doesn’t define who a person is.”

  “Isn’t it your philosophy that everyone deserves a chance?” Jace added.

  Reaching out to take his hand, Delaney lifted her chin like her stubborn sister, Bree, and told Carol, “You don’t even know him.”

  “I don’t know you,” Carol retorted with unconcealed disappointment.

  The woman Delaney had considered a mentor for so many long years turned on her heels and left. Was Carol now jumping to conclusions and making snap judgments about her? Mary Ann and Ben hesitated, cast Delaney an apprehensive glance, then followed Carol’s lead.

  “I’m so sorry, Del,” Jace said softly. “I know that must have hurt.”

  “It did.” She drew in a deep breath to steady her breathing. “Speaking out always does.”

  Swallowing the lump hovering in the back of her throat, Delaney noticed Bree waving her hand to get their attention.

  “Come take a look at this,” Bree shouted.

  Luke and their dad, only just arriving at the scene, hurried to join them. “Of course the deer had to be inside one of the new cabins,” Luke complained, poking at some of the debris with the tip of his cane. “I just finished building this one seven weeks ago.”

  “It’s going to cost us,” Delaney’s father said with a scowl. “As if we needed an added expense.”

  Jace picked a syringe off the cabin floor and said. “I think you’ve got bigger worries.”

  Delaney stared at the fibrous tailpiece at one end and the sharp hypodermic needle sticking off the other and gasped. “A tranquilizer dart?”

  Bree nodded. “That’s what I wanted to show you. It must have fallen from the deer during his kicking frenzy.”

  Delaney thought her sister must be right.

  “Someone must have knocked the deer unconscious with the tranq dart,” Luke said, giving them each a look of warning, “then carried him in here to wreak havoc when he woke up.”

  Delaney nodded, thinking her brother must also be right. Her older siblings always were.

  “That’s some prank,” Bree exclaimed, shaking her head.

  “It’s not a prank,” their father said, his tone ominous. “Someone did this for a specific purpose.”

  “Someone who is trying to put us out of business?” Delaney asked. “The rival outfitters?”

  Luke nodded. “I think Del’s right.”

  Really? She leaned in to hear her brother tell her why.

  “I think whoever it was wanted to see Jace hunt,” Luke continued. “They could have put the deer in here to tempt him.”

  “It would have tempted any hunter,” Delaney’s father agreed. “I heard that buck had himself a fine rack. But why do you think it was meant for Jace?”

  “If I shot the deer, Delaney would never forgive me and tell me to leave,” Jace said, looking straight at her. “Chances are I wouldn’t give Collins Country Cabins an endorsement after that.”

  JACE SUSPECTED THAT if anyone had wanted to prevent the Collinses from getting the endorsement by sabotaging his relationship with Delaney, it had to be Gavin McKinley. After all, the only other outfitter in the area was Isaac Woolly’s company next door, but Isaac didn’t know either one of them half as well as Gavin. He didn’t know they were attracted to each other.

  “I think I should pay our friend Gavin a visit,” Jace told Delaney after they left the cabin. “And see if he has any tranquilizer darts lying around.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Delaney said, her beautiful blue eyes filled with concern. “Right after breakfast. I have to check on Meghan.”

  There was nothing he would have liked better than to have Delaney stick by his side the remainder of the day. Except after they’d finally eaten the pancake breakfast he’d promised her and her little girl, Jace discovered he had a surprise visitor.

  “Jace,” Natalie said after being introduced, “I need to speak to you. In private.”

  He could see from her agitated expression that what she had to say was important. Had his mother received another threat?

  Excusing himself with a promise to meet up later, he left Delaney at the house with Meghan and escorted his sister to the privacy of his cabin.

  “You didn’t tell me she had a kid,” Natalie scolded. “What if you date her and it doesn’t work out? How will that child feel when you leave?”

  “I don’t plan to disappoint either one of them,” Jace said, closing the door and taking a seat beside her on the couch.

  “Yeah, well, it happens,” Nat said, her face contorting as if fighting off tears. ­“People you think you know and trust disappoint you.”

  “Okay, Nat,” he said, noticing she did have tears in her eyes. “What’s up? Who disappointed you?”

  “I told Mom that Aunt Lora wouldn’t take the money from you,” Natalie said, shaking her head. “But she still hasn’t set a date to meet with them and return their share of the inheritance herself.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” Jace promised.

  “You know how stubborn she can be,” Nat warned.

  “Some of her persistence has also rubbed off on us,” he reminded her. “We won’t let up on her until she does the right thing.”

  “What if she doesn’t? How will I look Aunt Lora in the eye without feeling guilty?”

  “Aunt Lora and the rest of the Tanners have assured me that no matter what happens it won’t affect how they treat you or me. They want us to be part of their family.”

  “Are you absolutely sure?” Nat asked, her expression worried.

  Jace nodded. “They’re anxious to meet you.”

  “Maybe we’ll also end up being part of the Collins family,” Nat teased, “if you develop a relationship with Delaney.”

  WHILE JACE WAS busy with his sister, Delaney took the opportunity to sneak off to the old toolshed to check on the raccoon, the pheasant, and bottle-­feed the bobcat kittens. Then she went to the stable to feed the horses and found Rio kicking his stall.

  “Easy, boy,” she soothed, running a hand gently over his pink satin nose. “You don’t want to hurt one of your other legs, too.”

  The buckskin snorted and tossed his head, making the front tuft of his black hair fall over his eyes, reminding her of Jace. She reached up and smoothed the hair back so he could see and then decided to take him out of his stall for a short walk. Two weeks had passed since he’d been injured, and thanks to her herbal wraps and her Grandma’s handmade mineral lotion, it appeared the horse’s leg was in the process of healing. Rio still couldn’t put his full weight on the leg with the strain, but he looked like he was able to hobble around a little better.

  Delaney slipped a halter over Rio’s nose and the horse got even more excited. He kicked the wall of the stall with his rear leg as if impatiently telling her to hurry. Sliding his half door open, she took the lead rope and slowly led him step by slow step into the aisle and through the double doors. Luckily his stall had been on the end so he didn’t have far to go.

  Once outside, the horse appeared to calm, enjoying the cool breeze that ruffled his mane and tail. She ran her hand down his neck and back, admiring his soft coat. With the colder temperatures coming in, all of the horses’ hair had grown long and thick. Most of them already wore their blankets and soon the temperatures would drop so low the animals would have to be stabled. They all had to enjoy what time they had left.

  “I don’t blame you, Rio. I’d get cranky and restless, too, if I had to stay inside on a nice day like this,” De
laney told him.

  The horse snorted again and then raised his head with his ears perked forward. Delaney followed Rio’s gaze and then she heard it, too, the sound of pounding hooves coming their way.

  Seconds later she spotted Sammy Jo, with her long, dark curls flying out behind her, racing her palomino across the field that connected their two families’ properties together. Rio appeared interested in the newcomer, as if he knew Sammy Jo’s horse, Tango, was a rodeo veteran, too. Or maybe he was just eager to prove he was the better man. Calling out with a loud whinny, Rio held his head high.

  Slowing to a stop a few feet away, Sammy Jo slid out of the saddle and pushed her hat, which had fallen down over her back while riding, up onto the top of her head again. “My, my, look who we have here,” Sammy Jo exclaimed, glancing at Rio. “Part one of your perilous pair. Where’s part two?”

  “Jace is in his cabin,” Delaney said, smiling, “and he and Rio are not perilous.”

  “Perilous to your heart,” Sammy Jo teased, then nodded toward the horse by her side. “How’s he doing?”

  “His leg is healing, but he’s not very happy. The stall’s making him stir-­crazy and he wants out.”

  “Of course he does,” Sammy Jo cooed. “He loves bulldogging and wants to chase himself a bull.” Arching her brow, she added, “How’s the flirting with part two coming along? Have you been doing everything I taught you?”

  “No,” Delaney said, shaking her head. “But he kissed me anyway.”

  “He did?” Sammy Jo asked, and let out a high whoop showing her delight. “When?”

  “This morning, right after he helped me save a deer that was stuck in one of our cabins.”

  “Talking about getting stuck,” Sammy Jo said, her tone turning serious, “I got stuck in traffic trying to get past the end of your driveway a little while ago on my way into town.”

  “Traffic?” Delaney frowned. “On our road?”

  “Yeah, whoever would have thought, right?” Sammy Jo let out a short laugh, but then her expression sobered once again. “Actually, it’s not funny. There are dozens of protestors lined up in front of your ranch waving picket signs and chanting, ‘Save our wildlife’ and ‘End animal cruelty.’ Some of them are holding a twenty-­five-­foot banner that reads Collins Country Cabins Harbors Heinous Hunters, Poachers, and Reckless Rodeo Rogues. I personally took offense to that last one.”