Rock abandoned the pigs and raced in the direction of the frantic calls. He rounded the corner of the building to find Petey next to Miko, prone and unmoving, her hand held in his as tears streamed down the boy’s face. No blood pooled around her, but a thousand horrible reasons for her unconscious state tumbled through Rock’s thoughts.
“What happened, Petey?” he asked, dropping to his knees beside them.
“Dilly-danged if I know. I came over to see if Miko might let me help her string up the beans out in the garden. The cows were already out and I heard the piggies squealing like the big bad wolf had arrived. I cut across the pasture, took the corner at sixty, and threw on the brakes, ’cause she was just like this. She won’t wake up.” Petey snuffled and swiped his face on his shoulder. “What’s wrong with her?”
“I’m not sure, Petey.” Rock felt for Miko’s pulse, alleviating a measure of his worry as it pumped in a steady beat. Gently, he tapped her cheeks. “Miko? Wake up, sweetheart. Miko, open your eyes.”
If Petey hadn’t been watching his every move, Rock might have attempted to kiss her awake. Instead, he tapped her cheeks again and continued saying her name, encouraging her to rouse.
Finally, her eyelashes fluttered and she opened her eyes, appearing slightly dazed. “What…?” She struggled to sit up. “Where am I?”
“You’re out behind the storage building.” Rock smiled at her and braced an arm behind her, helping her rise to a sitting position. For a moment, she appeared as though she might be ill, but she swallowed twice and closed her eyes, inhaling a deep breath. “I just returned from town, but Petey was the one who found you.”
“If you’d hurried any faster, you’d have beaten me to her,” Petey proclaimed, rising to his feet. “I’ll go chase in those slabs of bacon if you want to help her up.”
The boy took off running before Rock agreed to his plan. Miko rubbed a hand over the back of her head and winced.
Rock tenderly ran his fingers through the black silk ribbons of her hair and found a large bump on her skull. “It’s pushed out instead of in. That’s a good sign,” he said, hoping to reassure himself as much as her.
Eyes narrowed, as though the sunlight hurt them, she again swallowed hard. Swiftly gaining her feet, she took two steps over to a row of shrubs and lost the contents of her stomach. Rock followed and held her hair away from her face.
When she straightened and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, she refused to face him. She appeared mortified that she’d been ill in front of him while he held her hair.
He didn’t step away, but rubbed a comforting hand on her back. “Let’s get you in the house, Miko.”
He hooked an arm behind her knees and lifted her into his arms. Too upset and miserable to protest, Miko weakly let her head sink against the hard planes of his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck.
At the back door, he toed the screen open and maneuvered through the kitchen and dining room, easing her down to rest on the sofa in the living room. “Don’t move,” he said and disappeared down the hall. He returned with a cool cloth and placed it over her forehead. “Just rest awhile, Miko, while Petey and I round up the pigs.”
Rock yanked off his shirt on the way to his bedroom, where he pulled on a pair of worn denims and his work boots, then raced outside to help the boy secure the pigs.
He found Petey chasing after the one he thought Miko referred to as Blynken with a broom, trying to get it to follow the other two into the pen. Rock cut it off as it tried to escape and the pig retraced its steps, running into the pen. Petey swung the gate shut and latched it.
“Unless Miko’s little porkers set up a course with Houdini, I think something ain’t quite right around here,” Petey said, staring at Rock.
He clapped a hand on the boy’s shoulder and together they walked back to where he’d left the car.
Petey whistled and rubbed his hands together. “Miko must like you heaps if she let you drive her car. Do you think I could ride in it while you park it?”
Rock opened the door, motioning for Petey to climb in.
“Zip ziggety!” the boy exclaimed, clambering inside.
Rock slid onto the seat and started the car, smiling at Petey.
The boy rubbed his hand along the dash. “Purrs even better than Mom’s cat.”
“That it does,” Rock said, driving the car into the storage building. He noticed right away that one of the two gas cans was missing. Whoever had turned the cows and pigs loose must have happened upon Miko and clunked her on the head. Before the criminal had time to do more, something must have frightened him away. The war whoops Petey most generally used during his approach could have put a thief on the alert, or a passing car might have startled the intruder.
Whatever the reason, no one had been parked at or near the produce stand when Rock arrived home. He’d be willing to bet they hadn’t been gone long, though.
A quick glance around confirmed nothing else appeared to be missing. He placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, drawing his attention. “I’ve got a box of groceries that needs to go up to the house and I better check on Miko while I’m at it. Can you start cleaning up the mess in the strawberries?”
“Sure I can!” Petey took off at a run while Rock hefted the box and carried it to the house, storing the fish in the refrigerator and leaving the other things on the counter. He checked on Miko and found her sleeping, which was probably for the best. He lifted the cloth from her head and dropped it near the kitchen sink on his way to the strawberry patch.
Petey was there, trying to lift a section of fence that had fallen over. Rock took over the job and soon had it repaired.
“From here on out, we’d better be hitting on all cylinders,” Petey proclaimed, rolling his hands into fists. “If some interloper, some bandit, some dastardly villain thinks he can march right in here and cause trouble, he better watch out.” The boy took a wild swing in the air.
Rock hunkered down until he was eye level with the boy. “Look, Petey, we have to be real careful that whoever did this doesn’t come back and try to hurt Miko again. For now, let’s keep quiet about what happened. Okay?”
Petey nodded so forcefully, his red hair flopped across his forehead and dangled in his eyes. With a disgusted huff, he brushed it out of his way and gave Rock a somber look. “You can count on me, Cap, to keep it top secret. Us men have to protect the womenfolk around here. I’d tell my pop and have him climb on board, but he’s got more than he can handle with Mom and the princess.”
“Let’s put off telling your folks for just a little while, Petey. In the meantime, I’d sure appreciate your help in keeping an eye on things around here on days when the produce stand isn’t open.”
“I betcha it’s one of Hitler’s spies!” Petey bent his legs and crab-walked a few steps, looking from left to right, as though he anticipated the enemy jumping out at him any moment. Then, in a lightning-fast change belonging to those of innocent childhood, he spun around and smiled at Rock. “We’ll catch him, Cap, and he’ll leave here howling like the dickens with his tail between his legs.”
Rock placed a hand on Petey’s shoulder. “Do you suppose your folks would let you stay for supper? I could sure use help milking the cows, and the tomatoes need attention after the cows tore through there.”
“I’m on the job, Cap! You can count on me,” Petey said, jogging toward the house to keep up with Rock’s long-legged strides. “I’ll phone Mom and let her know she, Pop, and the princess will have to make do without me tonight.”
Three hours later, Rock waved as Petey ran across the pasture heading home for the night. The boy was a hard worker and his interesting view of nearly everything kept Rock grinning as they milked the cows, repaired the strawberry patch, and did their best to clean up the mess in the tomatoes.
Together, they walked all around the storage building, looking for clues. Petey scampered this way and that, picking up an odd assortment of things he thought might be useful. He handed
five candy wrappers to Rock.
A frown creased Rock’s forehead as he studied the wrappers of cheap and tart candy imported from Mexico. Most people preferred a little higher-quality sweet.
He held the wrappers out to Petey. “Are these yours?”
“Golly! I wouldn’t eat that stuff if you paid me. It’s so bitter, it’s like sucking a rotten lemon. I’d much rather have a peppermint drop or a jawbreaker any day. And even better is something with chocolate.” The boy screwed up his face in thought, then smiled at Rock. “Maybe our bully boy will eat too many and keel over dead as a post!”
“There’s a thought,” Rock muttered as they returned to the house. He and Petey managed to put together a simple meal of sliced tomatoes with wedges of cheese. They spread thick layers of peanut butter and strawberry jam on slices of bread and served it along with tall glasses of cold milk. Instead of allowing Miko to move from the sofa, they carried the food to her and sat on the floor in the living room, enjoying an indoor picnic.
Petey told them all about finding a bird’s nest in the tree that morning, of helping his father move their beef cows from one pasture to another, and riding his trusty horse all the way over to his friend Ryatt’s house.
“That no-good oily-tongued door-to-door ape of a salesman was trying to talk Mom into buying the ugliest pair of shoes you ever clapped your opticals on when I got back from Ry’s house. When she turned him down, he did his best to sell her on a bag of second-rate aggies for me, but I wasn’t having any part of it. He coulda had gold bars straight from the US Mint, but I wouldn’t buy one from him. No siree! He’s a sham if there ever was one.”
Rock glanced at the boy. “Is he a small man with pale skin and a potbelly? Goes by the name of Ness?”
Petey slapped the palms of his hands together with a loud smack! “Now you’re talking! He’s the one. Why, he’d sell the hair right off his granny’s head if he could get a buyer.”
Working to subdue his chuckle, Rock glanced at Miko and saw her grin. Concerned over how quiet she’d been earlier, he saw that her cheeks regained color and she’d eaten enough of her dinner to keep him from worrying too much.
“Did you see him around today, Miko?” Rock asked as she took a drink of milk, then set aside the glass.
“No. I didn’t see anyone. I left the front door locked, as I always do. This morning, I worked inside the house, catching up on chores I’ve neglected. I spent the afternoon in the orchard, getting things ready to pick cherries. I think they’ll be ready next week. Around four, I came back in the house for a glass of tea. Then I went out to the storage building to see if I could find more of the flat crates Granddad always uses for the cherries. I climbed up in the loft and dropped down several boxes, then started carrying them to the orchard. On one of the trips back to gather more, I thought I heard something outside and walked around the corner of the building. A sour smell, almost like rotten fruit, hung in the air. Before I could turn around, something hit my head. That’s the last I remember until I woke up to find you two fussing over me.”
Rock didn’t say anything, but he had a good idea who’d been poking around the place, causing trouble.
If Norman Ness dared set foot on the farm again, Rock planned to let his fists do the talking. Just last week, he had run the buffoon off the place when he stopped by, demanding to see a copy of Rock’s deed. Rock told him to go to the county courthouse, where he’d filed the appropriate paperwork, if he wanted more information.
It wouldn’t surprise him in the least if Norman had injured Miko. If Norman was to blame, Rock held no doubt that the slimy little man would turn her in to the authorities. More desperate than ever to keep her safe, he hoped she’d agree to wed.
Bright child that he was, Petey arrived at the same conclusion as Rock about Norman. The boy had no hesitation about voicing his thoughts. “I betcha my life ol’ nasty Norman Ness was the one who clobbered Miko and turned the tornado loose in the garden. Next time he comes to our house, I’ll hose him down but good!”
“Now, Petey, we don’t know that Mr. Ness did anything,” Miko said, offering the boy a cautioning glance. “Regardless of what he’s done or not done, it might be best if you stay away from him for the time being.”
“I don’t like it, but if you say so, I’ll take a wide swath around him, for right now.”
Rock had an idea that “right now” meant the rest of the day. After he walked the boy to the edge of the Phillips pasture, he warned him, as Miko had, to stay out of trouble.
“Oh, I don’t climb right into trouble on purpose, Cap,” the boy said, jogging backward. “It just seems to swallow me up!”
Rock chuckled, musing on the child’s fun-loving personality as he returned to the house. Inside, he found Miko resting on the couch. She opened one eye when he tiptoed in to check on her.
“I’m fine, Rock. You can stop treating me as if I’m an invalid. It’s just a bump on my head, not the end of the world.”
He dropped to his knees in front of the sofa and took her hand in his. “I know, Miko, but if something had happened to you… if you’d…” He swallowed twice to clear the emotion from his throat. “I couldn’t bear it if anything took you away from me.”
Unsettled by the sudden sweep of emotions raging through him, he buried his forehead against the cushions of the sofa. He clasped her hand in his and held it to his chest. Her soft fragrance enveloped him, further ensnaring his already-overwhelmed senses. For a moment, he pictured himself on a beach in Trinidad, breathing in the scent of exotic flowers mingling with pure ocean air.
Her fingers riffled through his hair in a light caress, bringing him back to the present, back to her. She massaged his neck, then her hand moved around to his chin, lifting it.
His gaze melded to hers, bright and full of everything his heart wanted to say that he couldn’t push past his lips.
“Rock,” she whispered, appearing uncertain. Eyes dark and watchful, they shimmered with emotion as she peered into his face.
Gazes fused, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers. Abruptly, he stood and pulled her to her feet. When she swayed a little, dizzy from the bump on her head, he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to his side.
“Come on, Miko, let’s get you to bed.” Rather than lead her to the back door, he took her down the hall to the bedroom he considered hers.
“I can’t sleep here,” she said, trying to back away from him. “It isn’t proper.”
A half grin lifted the right side of his mouth upward. “It’s proper enough, considering you can barely walk. You’ll stay here tonight so I can keep an eye on you.”
“No, Rock. You need your rest. I’ll just…”
He shifted in front of her, standing so close, his toes butted against hers. “Get ready for bed and do not argue with me.”
“But I—”
His index finger settled over her lips, silencing her. “How many nights did you sit up with me when I was sick?”
She stared at the floor instead of looking at him. He used the same finger to push up her chin until her eyes locked with his. “How many, Miko?”
“Every night until you were well.”
His hand settled on her shoulder, giving it a gentle, encouraging squeeze. “Then I owe you at least one.” He moved around her, shooting her a teasing grin over his shoulder as he stood in the doorway. “I’ll give you ten minutes, then I’ll be back to tuck you in.”
She glared at him. “You make me sound like a disobedient child.”
“If the description fits…” He stepped into the hall and ducked when she tossed a pillow at him.
Miko generally did everything but change into her nightgown at the house before she went up the hill to sleep. It took only a few minutes for her to brush her teeth, wash her face, and comb out her long hair. Deftly, she wound it into a long braid that fell down her back.
In the bedroom, she changed into a nightgown, one of many articles of her
clothing she’d left stored in the closet, turned off the light, and climbed into bed. Resting on her side helped her head not ache quite so badly. Although she didn’t want to alarm Rock, the first few hours after he’d found her, she’d seen double and her ears had rung loudly. Now, though, her vision seemed normal and the ringing had subsided, for the most part.
Other than a dull ache in her head, she felt fine. It touched her that Rock wanted to take care of her. In the past few weeks, he’d become not only her friend, but also her champion and protector.
Miko had always been fiercely independent, liking to do things for herself. Something about Rock, about the tender way he cared, made her set aside some of that independence and lean on his strength.
As though thoughts of him had made him appear, Rock lingered in the doorway, watching her in the moonlight that streamed in through the open window.
“I’m truly fine, Rock. You don’t need to sit up with me,” she said as he picked up a side chair and carried it close to the bed.
He sat down and reached over, clasping her hand in his. “I may not need to, but I want to.” Silently, he leaned back in the chair, holding her hand on his hard thigh. “Would you like me to bring the radio in to listen to?”
She smiled. “That won’t be necessary. Why don’t you tell me a story,” she said, growing drowsy as she nestled into the fluffy pillows and soft bed. Although her bed in the house on the hill was adequate, it wasn’t nearly as nice as the big bed and comfortable mattress on which she currently reclined.
“A story,” he said, as though he needed a moment to think of one to share. “The summer I was eleven, my dad decided I needed to…”
Miko closed her eyes and listened to the deep, lulling cadence of his voice. As sleep claimed her, she imagined Rock holding her close and whispering words of love.
Chapter Thirteen
Earlier the same day
After several unsuccessful sales calls at homes in the area of the produce stand, Norman Ness decided to drive by the farm and see if anyone was home. The last time he’d been there, the man he’d learned was named Laroux had practically tossed him off the place.
Garden of Her Heart (Hearts of the War Book 1) Page 15
