Cowboy Protector

by Margaret Daley

  Hannah picked up the paper and scanned the story. Quinn Smith allegedly murdered a woman for trying to do the right thing—expose a murder and bring the guilty to justice. Hannah’s heart went out to the woman who had died. She’d done the same thing. She’d done what was right, testify against Cullen for killing a man. Would she end up murdered like Lisa? She shivered at the thought.

  “I see you’re reading the story Violet wrote. I met her while I was in Missoula. She was doing a piece on the hospital foundation. I know someone on the board, and she introduced me when Violet was at the hospital interviewing her.”

  “When Misty was staying there?”

  “Yes. I follow what she writes now. She’s very resourceful and determined. I liked her.”

  Hannah stiffened, turning her head away. She didn’t want Caroline to see the fear that was probably evident on her face.

  “She used to write human-interest stories—fluff pieces—but I’ve seen a shift in the stories she’d been doing lately. More hard-core about different crimes. This caught my eye because the slant was like her old human-interest ones.”

  She would continue to run and hide, and she hoped stay ahead of any would-be killer. Schooling her features into a neutral expression, Hannah released a slow breath and swung her attention back to Caroline. “I’m glad they found that woman’s killer.”

  “Me, too.”

  Hannah leaned back, relaxing as much as she could with all that had happened. “Has Austin called again?”

  “He’ll be home soon with Big Red. Our neighbor wasn’t too happy to find him in his pasture. The man’s stallion was hurt in a territorial fight. Big Red was hardly touched.”

  “At least now all the animals are accounted for, and Austin is pulling them closer in and posting more guards 24/7. I’m glad last night he posted a couple of men at the old barn or it might have been set on fire, too.”

  In the doorway into the living room, Barney lifted his head, then lumbered to his feet, his tail wagging. Austin came from the back of the house and stooped a moment to greet the dog and scratch him behind the ears.

  The tired lines on his face stood out even more as Austin met Hannah’s gaze. He pushed up and entered the room. “The sheriff will be here soon.”

  Caroline rose. “I’m going to leave you to talk to him. All this is catching up with me. I’m going to retire early like Misty.” She stopped next to Austin and hugged him. “Gil will find who’s doing this. I have the prayer team at church praying he’s brought to justice soon.”

  “Thanks, Granny.”

  After Caroline left, Austin made his way to the couch and collapsed next to Hannah. “And thanks for picking Barney up.”

  “Misty and Caroline enjoyed getting away for a few hours. We even went to lunch at a café in town.”

  “When this is over, I’d like to take you out to dinner in Sweet Creek. There’s a wonderful restaurant that serves a great steak.” He rested his head on the back cushion, his half-veiled gaze fastened onto her face.

  “You don’t have to do that. What about Misty?”

  “I think I can persuade Caroline to watch her for a few hours. You’ve had few breaks. This wasn’t meant to be a 24/7 job.”

  “I like what I’m doing, and I did get away a couple of times. Remember the riding lessons.”

  “We can continue them again when there’s less going on around here.” His hand covered hers on the couch between them.

  The physical contact accelerated her pulse rate. “What happens if the sheriff can’t figure out who did this?”

  “I’m learning not to worry about the future. To live for today.”

  “Not always easy to do.”

  He chuckled. “A year ago I wouldn’t have been able to utter those words. But with all that’s happened that’s about all I can do. The future is in the Lord’s hands.”

  “I wish I—”

  The doorbell chiming cut her off. She rose. “I’ll get it. You’ve been wrestling with Big Red.”

  The fact that Austin didn’t protest spoke of how exhausted he must be. As she left the room, she glanced back at him. He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling gently. His features relaxed into a calm façade.

  When she answered the door, she allowed the sheriff into the foyer. “Austin’s in the living room.”

  “I’m glad he found Big Red. That horse may be temperamental, but he’s one fine stud.”

  Austin straightened when she and the sheriff entered the room. The calm expression vanished, and tension descended over his features. “I’m hoping you have good news.”

  “Nope. I wish I had the culprit in my jail, but I don’t.” The man sat on the edge of the chair across from the couch, his knees wide, his hat in his hand dangling between his legs.

  “What about Bob Douglas? Where was he when the fire occurred?”

  “According to his aunt who he was staying with, on his way to Colorado to get a new job. She says he left on Saturday, the day before the fire. She wasn’t too happy with you by the way and had a few choice words concerning you. I haven’t been able to confirm that’s where Bob is.”

  “Kenny Adams?”

  “His wife says he was at home asleep, as most people are at that time, she pointed out to me.”

  “Do you believe her?”

  “Don’t know. Mary protects her own so she could be lying.” The sheriff played with the brim of his tan hat.

  “Slim Miller?”

  “Haven’t been able to find him. No one has seen him in the past month.”

  “So no one has been ruled out.” Austin sank back against the cushion.

  “Nope. I want to rule out Bob first, so I’ve concentrated my investigation in that area. Can you think of anyone else who might have a grudge against you?”

  “No, Gil. Most of my cowhands have been with me for years.”

  The sheriff shifted his attention to Hannah. “Can you think of anything else about yesterday morning? On the way to the barn did you see anything out of the ordinary? A truck or car you hadn’t seen before? Or had and shouldn’t be where it was?”

  Hannah shut her eyes and tried to picture the walk to the barn. She’d marveled at the beauty of the hoar frost. Austin’s SUV was parked in front of the house under the carport. A white pickup was next to the bunkhouse. She knew that one belonged to the foreman. She thought back over the other vehicles around the compound, and suddenly she remembered something.

  Her eyes bolted open. “There was a black car with a smashed bumper. I saw it at the side of the barn away from the bunkhouse. Actually all I saw was the front of it, but I recalled the bumper on the left side was caved in.”

  The sheriff’s gaze brightened. “I know who has a car like that.” He stood, setting his hat on his head. “I’m gonna pay Mary and Kenny another visit this evening. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  Austin clambered to his feet. “Hopefully this will end it.”

  Hannah remained seated while Austin walked the sheriff to the door. Their murmurs drifted to her. Why hadn’t she remembered that yesterday?

  When Austin came back into the living room and took the place next to her, she shook her head. “I should have recalled that. It vaguely registered on my mind, but I was trying to keep up with Misty and enjoy the beauty of dawn. I’m sorry I didn’t—”

  Austin put his finger over her mouth to still her words. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I don’t expect you to know every vehicle at the ranch, especially as I’m hiring new hands.”

  “I’m usually very aware of my surroundings, but the hoar frost was especially gorgeous. It was so heavy it almost appeared as though it had snowed and I love snow.” And I had been trying to figure out what was going on concerning the women killed in Montana by hit men—at least according to Violet.

  He trailed his finger from her mouth along her jawline, catching some hair and hooking it behind her ear. “I thought it was Bob for sure.”

  “So did I. Things do
n’t always appear as they seem.” Like the last day in Billings? Had she overreacted to the black SUV behind the taxi? Or her house being broken into? Should she have waited before fleeing the Witness Protection Program?

  “But now that I think about it, Kenny was furious with me when I wouldn’t hire him this year in January.” Austin’s brow furrowed.

  “Why wouldn’t you?”

  “I’d caught him a couple of times drinking on the job toward the end last September. He’s one of my seasonal workers, but the past few years he’d changed, become unreliable. I know he’s been picked up for drinking and driving. I think his license has been suspended. When he came out here in mid-January about the job and I turned him down, he cussed me out then stormed away. That night he got drunk and ended up wrecking his car.”

  “The smashed bumper I saw?”

  Austin nodded. “From the rumors I’ve heard from some of the men, Kenny’s drinking has only gotten worse. But Gil will get to the bottom of it. If he presses Mary, she’ll come clean about whether Kenny was there or not.” He lifted some hair that fell over her shoulder and ran it through his fingers. “So what night do you want to go out to dinner?”

  “Don’t you think we need to make sure Kenny is the arsonist?”

  “Give me something to look forward to. These past few months have been tough.”

  “Okay,” she said with a laugh. “How about next Monday night? That should give the sheriff enough time and something for you to look forward to all week.”

  Austin moved closer, inches from her. “Oh, more than enough time.”

  The whispered words warmed her cheek and sent a tingle down her length. “We can celebrate two things. The next day I take Misty into Missoula to get her casts off and you get a day off.”

  “You don’t want me to go with you?”

  “No, I want you to spend the day carefree and enjoy yourself here at the ranch. You deserve it.”

  “But—” Again his finger silenced her words.

  “I’ll feel guilty if you don’t. I don’t want to be accused of overworking you.”

  “I don’t think you are.”

  His finger traced her lips in a slow caress. “But I have an image of being a fair employer. I can’t jeopardize that. You’re just gonna have to take the day off. Granny and I will be back with Misty before dark.”

  He grazed his lips over her cheek, inching closer to her mouth. When he possessed it in a deep kiss, Hannah’s world exploded in a burst of sensations, all centered on the man gathering her to him, his arms stroking the length of her back.

  “So Kenny has fled the area?” Hannah leaned back against the deck railing along the front of the house, clasping it while facing Caroline.

  “That’s what Gil said when he called Austin a while ago. When he went to see him last night after talking to you and Austin, Kenny was gone for the evening. The sheriff went looking for Kenny at all his usual haunts in the county. He left a deputy at the house.”

  “And Kenny knocked the deputy out. He sounds like a man who is losing it fast.”

  “That’s what I think. Gil was livid that Kenny had attacked one of his deputies then escaped. He’ll be caught. He made a mistake going after one of Gil’s people. He’s got the word out. It’s only a matter of time.” Caroline picked up her knitting needles and yarn from the basket at her feet. “I feel so sorry for Mary. I think I’ll take her a basket of food.”

  “Even after what her husband did to you all? For that matter she lied to the sheriff.”

  Caroline caught her gaze. “If the Lord can forgive us our sins, then I can forgive someone hers.”

  Hannah remembered the heat from the fire, the smoke-filled barn and didn’t know if she could. The fact Misty still awoke in the night, in a cold sweat, sobbing, only confirmed that feeling. What would have happened if Misty hadn’t made it out? Or all the animals died in the fire?

  “You’ve got a few hours of free time. What are you going to do? It’s a beautiful day. The first day of spring will be here soon. Actually the weather feels like it’s already come.” Caroline began to work on a navy-blue sweater for Austin.

  “I think I’ll go for a walk. Like you said, it’s beautiful, not a cloud in the sky. Do you want to come?”

  “My leg is giving me problems. You go without me today.”

  “Isn’t Austin at the birthing shed?”

  “Yeah, the cows are dropping their calves right and left, but that’s a good thing. He likes to be in attendance or one of his cowhands to make sure everything proceeds correctly. No sense losing a calf, if it can be prevented.”

  “That’s not that far. Isn’t it down that road?” Hannah pointed to the right past the cleared area of the barn.

  “Yes, about five hundred yards. Not far over that rise. Since most of the men are working on the barn or out watching the herd, he’s left to do that.”

  Withdrawing the monitor from her jacket pocket, she put it on the brown wicker table next to Caroline. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  “Take your time. If Misty wakes up, I’ll sit in her room and entertain her. She’s been wanting to learn to knit. I was thinking of showing her a way using her fingers so when she gets the cast off next week she can exercise those fingers she hasn’t used in a while.”

  Hannah descended the steps and started down the road, passing by the workers who were working on the barn frame. The sound of hammering echoed through the air. She could recall stories of people helping neighbors raise a barn in a day back in the past. The occasion would become a social gathering for the area. Did anyone do that anymore?

  She knew Austin had gotten calls from his neighbors about helping him any way they could. He’d declined, knowing it was a busy time of year for them, too. He’d then gone to town and hired a few extra men to help with the barn.

  The sun beat down on her, warming her, as she strolled toward the birthing shed, which if she remembered on her tour of the ranch was a small barnlike structure. At the top of the rise she scanned the area, drawing in deep breaths of the pine-scented air, fresh, crisp. The light breeze played with the long strands of her hair. A magpie, mostly white and black like a penguin, perched on a branch of a bare tree studying her. She smiled at it, relishing the peace and quiet in a crazy world. She could get used to living here.

  And that was the problem.

  She couldn’t live here too much longer.

  But she wouldn’t think about that right now. She would enjoy the day and maybe spend some time with Austin.

  That thought spurred her forward on the road that ended at the birthing shed. She heard voices coming from it. The door was ajar, and she moved toward it to check and see who was with Austin. She didn’t want to disturb him if there was something wrong with one of his cows.

  She peeked through the crack.

  A thin man—taller than Austin—stood with a two-by-four in his hand, his stance rigid as though readying himself to attack Austin, who was backed into a corner of the shed. A cow with a newborn calf nursing turned her big brown eyes at the explosive scene.

  “You’ve ruined my life.” The intruder’s words came out in a seething stream of hate.

  “Kenny, I didn’t—”

  “Shut up.” With a surprised quickness, Kenny took a swing with the piece of wood, the flat of it connecting with Austin’s shoulder as he twisted away, deflecting it some with his motion.

  But the suddenness of Austin’s movement caused him to stumble. He went down.

  EIGHT

  Kenny brought the piece of wood down again on Austin, but he rolled to the side, the end catching him on his thigh. The pounding sound of the two-by-four connecting with dirt floor reverberated through Hannah’s mind. The next blow could be fully on Austin. She had to do something—quick.

  Without her cell on her, she had no way to call for help, and if she went for it, the fight could be over, leaving Austin injured possibly. She searched the ground for anything she could use.

&nbs
p; She snatched up a rock as the sound of another thump of the wood shuddered down her length. A lowing noise from the cow followed, making a mockery of the situation taking place in a shed where new life came into the world. She wanted to sneak up on Kenny from behind, but when she eased the door farther open, it creaked.

  Hovering over a downed Austin, Kenny glanced in her direction and straightened.

  “Get away from him,” she said in her toughest voice that ended in a squeak.

  Kenny laughed and raised the wood to swing again. Hannah rushed forward, realizing she wouldn’t make it in time to stop the hit. Frantic, she threw the rock at Kenny’s back as hard as she could.

  It clobbered him right under the shoulder blade. The thin man let out a howl of rage and spun toward her. She glanced at Austin trying to rise. He stumbled forward.

  Kenny advanced toward her, rage in his bloodshot eyes.

  Maybe she could outrun him.

  His diamond-hard stare bored into her and trapped her gaze. Hannah took one step back. Then another. She could make it down to the barn where the rest of the men were.

  “Get out! Now or I’ll—” Kenny shook the two-by-four at her “—take care of you then finish with him.”

  His look reflected the fury and desperation that had pushed the man over the edge. It held her immobile, her mind void of any solutions.

  She took another step away. With her back pressed against the wall next to the door, she spied a pitchfork out of the corner of her eye. If she could get hold of that before he covered the distance between them, then maybe—

  Austin barreled into Kenny, sending them both forward and crashing to the ground. The impact dislodged the piece of wood from the man’s grip. It flew toward her. She ducked to the side and it clamored against the wall. She grabbed it, trying to figure out how she could stop the fight.

  She inched closer, the two-by-four clutched in both hands and pointing to the ceiling.

  But before she could decide how to use it without hurting Austin, he struck his fist into the man’s jaw. Once. Twice. Kenny’s eyes rolled back then closed. The noise of the blows vied with the agitated moos of the cow at the back of the large shed. Austin clambered to his feet, groaning with movement.