Hidden Threat

by Connie Mann

  She cocked her head to judge his seriousness, then hopped up. He grabbed her legs and gave her a piggyback ride to another section, stopping to spin around every once in a while because he found he couldn’t get enough of the sound of her laughter.

  Once they reached the big cluster of gerbera daisies, he stopped so she could slide off his back. He had figured she’d enjoy the flowers and was rewarded with another huge grin.

  “Oh, these are so gorgeous.”

  He plucked a pretty pink one and handed it to her with a bow and a flourish. “My lady.”

  She grinned and did a curtsy. “Why, thank you, kind sir.”

  Eve couldn’t believe the change in Cole. Get him out in the fields and showing her around his operation and the man became someone else entirely. Gone was the anger he showed when his uncle Duane showed up. Out here, he laughed and even showed his playful side, giving her a piggyback ride and spinning her in circles. Who knew the man had a playful side? She was surprised, and found her admiration for him grow. She liked this lighter, younger-seeming Cole.

  The almost-kiss had thrown her, just like the different facets of the man himself. Was this the same guy she’d known in high school?

  As they neared the ranch house and her car, her cell phone rang. She glanced at the display and reality slammed into her. This was why she was here. Not to roam around a ranch flirting with a sexy rancher. She kept her voice calm as she answered. “Hi, Celia. How are things? How’s Glory?”

  “Can you come to the hospital?” Celia sounded concerned, but not frantic, so Eve took that as a good sign.

  “Sure. What’s wrong?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Of course, but it’ll help if I know what this is about.”

  “I’ll explain when you get here. Just come. Please.”

  “Wait. How’s Glory?”

  “She’s the same. This isn’t about her. Not really.”

  “OK. Sit tight. I’ll be there in a little while.” Eve pocketed the phone and turned to Cole, puzzled. “That was Celia. I need to get to the hospital.”

  “Is Glory holding her own?”

  “She said she was. She wants my help but won’t say what for.”

  As she opened her mouth to thank Cole for his hospitality, her stomach did a sudden lurch and roll followed by a cramp that doubled her over.

  “Eve? What’s wrong?”

  Chapter 11

  Eve straightened, breathing through her mouth, trying to keep from tossing her cookies all over his dusty cowboy boots. “I, ah, I’m not sure. I might have eaten too many blue—”

  She never finished the sentence as her stomach turned itself inside out, and she heaved until there was nothing left. When she slowly straightened again, Cole handed her his bandana to wipe her mouth.

  “Let’s get you up to the house. I’ll get you some water.”

  He took her elbow and guided her into the spacious ranch kitchen, but ten steps into the lovely room, Eve turned to him in a panic.

  “First door on the right.”

  She shoved past him and bolted for the room, barely making it in time. Before she could quite grasp what was going on, she was in the midst of the worst stomach upset she’d had in years.

  Eventually things appeared to settle down, at least for the moment, and Eve heard a quiet tap on the door.

  “You OK in there?” Cole asked. “I brought you a bottle of water.”

  She splashed water on her face and dried it before she opened the door. “Thank you so much.” She took a sip of the water as she stepped into the hall. “That was embarrassing.”

  “Not sure you had a thing to do with it. But I have to ask, do berries usually affect you that way?”

  “No. Never. Generally, I’m the one with the cast-iron stomach. I can eat anything, including various culinary failures I’ve created when trying new recipes.”

  “You like to cook?”

  Eve managed a grin, though she knew it was a bit strained around the edges. “I do. And I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, so this is surprising.”

  He led her into the big living room with its thick cypress paneling, heart pine floors, and comfortably worn leather sofas. Eve curled up on one of the sofas, and Cole chose an armchair just to her right. “Did you eat anything you don’t usually eat today? Were you feeling bad this morning?”

  “No, nothing. That’s why this is so weird. It’s either one of those twenty-four-hour things, or . . .” She let the thought trail off, gauging his reaction.

  Cole nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. “Or it’s related to the water contamination. That’s what I’m worried about.”

  Before she could formulate a response, her stomach cramped up again, and Eve raced back to the bathroom.

  Two hours later, Eve barely had the strength to stand. She’d done the mad dash several more times, and now her skin was soaked with sweat. Cole helped her to the sofa again and covered her with an afghan when she started shaking.

  “I’m sorry. I should go. If this is a flu thing, I don’t want to get you sick, too.”

  Cole looked at her like she was an idiot. “You’re not going anywhere like this. You can barely stand.”

  Eve heard the back door open, and a woman’s voice said, “Cole? You home?”

  He stood and said, “Ma, you remember Eve Jackson. She’s not feeling well.”

  Eve had been too preoccupied the night of the band concert to do more than glance at Cole’s mother. But now she noticed her high cheekbones, striking gray eyes, and thick dark hair. It was obvious she’d given those same features to her son. She leaned over and placed the back of her hand on Eve’s forehead in the way of mothers everywhere. “You have a slight fever. What’s wrong otherwise?”

  Eve opened her mouth to answer but ended up making another dash down the hall. By the time she came back, Cole’s mother was waiting for her with a plate of saltine crackers and a glass of ginger ale.

  “Thank you. I’m sorry to be such a bother.”

  Alice held up a hand. “You will stop apologizing, right this minute. You have done nothing wrong. And my blueberries would not have made you sick.” She stood, aimed a glance at Cole. “Take care of her while I rustle us up some dinner.”

  Cole grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Once she disappeared, Cole took her hand again, and Eve instantly felt better.

  “She’s a formidable woman, your mother.”

  Cole’s expression darkened, and he looked away. “She wasn’t always.” He looked back at her. “Things might have been different if she had been.”

  Eve waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. But she liked the way he stroked her hand.

  “I’ll figure out what made you sick, Eve. Count on it.”

  She nodded, and a few minutes later, she felt her eyes slide closed and heard Cole whisper, “It’s OK. Sleep.”

  Eve wasn’t sure how long she was out, but when she woke it was dark outside. She had to run down the hall again, but things seemed to be getting slightly better. She sipped her ginger ale and ate a few crackers, then wandered into the kitchen where a light burned over the stove, surprised to see that it was almost ten at night.

  She heard music of some kind and stepped onto the porch to see where it was coming from. Off near one of the paddocks, she saw Cole silhouetted against the night sky. Funny how she didn’t know him well, but she knew absolutely that it was him.

  She found the boots Cole had given her, though she had no memory of taking them off, slid her feet into them, and walked out to the paddock, the afghan wrapped around her shoulders.

  As she got closer, she realized what she was hearing and smiled. Cole was playing the harmonica. Several of the horses had wandered over and appeared to be listening.

  Eve walked up next to him, and he stopped and smiled at her. She smiled back. “Don’t stop on my account. It’s beautiful.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Like a truck ran over me, but thi
ngs are hopefully settling down.” She patted her stomach, praying it was true.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “It was annoying, but I think the worst is over.” She smiled again. “Keep playing. It’s beautiful.” She laughed as one of the horses nudged him in the shoulder. “I think your audience is getting impatient, too.”

  He played several folk tunes and then switched to “Amazing Grace.” Eve leaned on the fence and fought tears. The sound was haunting and quiet, and she knew she would hear it exactly this way in her memory from now on.

  When the last strains drifted away, they stood in silence, listening to the horses shuffle, the rustle of the breeze through the trees that lined the fence.

  “How long have you played?”

  “Most of my life, I think. Hector taught me. He bought me a harmonica for my seventh birthday, said every cowboy needed one of his own.”

  “I didn’t realize he’d been here that long.”

  “I can’t remember a time he wasn’t here on the ranch.”

  Eve thought about seeing him with Richard Blackwell and wondered if the other man had somehow purchased Hector’s loyalty.

  “He’s a good man, and he’s like part of the family.” Cole’s voice hardened as though he’d read her mind. “No matter what you saw, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt us.”

  Eve said nothing. There was nothing to say. Much as she’d like to place blame, all she had was a meeting between two men. It might have been completely innocent, but she didn’t think so. For tonight, though, she would enjoy the music and the man. And she would watch.

  And wait.

  “Would you like to go for a ride?” Cole’s voice whispered near her ear, and she jumped in surprise. She hadn’t realized he’d moved closer.

  “Ah, thanks for the offer, but, um, no. Not tonight.”

  “Right. Sorry. What was I thinking? How about tomorrow sometime?”

  “Um, no. See, here’s the thing. I don’t ride.”

  “As in, you don’t ride because you don’t know how?”

  “As in, I don’t ride because I’m terrified of horses.”

  He reared back in shock. “You? I didn’t think Eve Jackson was afraid of anything—well, except bees.”

  She tried to make light of it. “You’d be surprised.”

  “Why are you terrified of horses?” He made a clicking sound, and the nearest horse stepped closer and held up its nose for Cole to rub a hand over. Eve took a quick step out of reach.

  Cole murmured to the animal, and just like earlier in the barn, the horse seemed to melt under his gentle touch. It whickered softly, and Cole chuckled and rubbed between its ears. “This is Pansy, and she’s lived here since I was a boy, haven’t you, love,” he crooned, and Pansy tossed her head like she was nodding. “Pansy wouldn’t hurt a fly. You can pet her if you’d like.”

  He looked over his shoulder in invitation, but Eve stayed where she was, a shiver in her belly that had nothing to do with her earlier situation. “I’m good. I’ll just stay right here.”

  His eyes grew serious. “Will you tell me what happened to make you afraid?”

  Eve debated. She never talked about this. Of course, living just outside DC, it usually didn’t come up in conversation. “I grew up in Chicago—housing project.”

  “I remember.”

  Eve smiled at that, surprised. “Anyway, downtown, they had carriage rides over near Water Tower Place for the tourists, like in most big cities. I was not far from there one night”—somehow she couldn’t bring herself to tell him she’d been panhandling so she’d have enough money for something to eat that day—“when something spooked the horses. I think a kid threw a rock—at least that’s what everybody said later—but the horses panicked just as a woman was climbing in. She fell, and somehow the horses and the carriage ran over her. It was terrifying.”

  “How old were you?”

  “I was ten.”

  “That’s a horrible thing to witness. Did the woman survive?”

  “I snuck into the hospital the next day and asked one of the nurses. They said she would, but just barely.” Eve tried to shrug as though it were no big deal. “So I try to keep my distance.”

  Cole nodded, then reached a hand back and tugged her forward. “Come here.” He stepped out of the horse’s reach and tucked Eve safely into the circle of his arms, with her back against his front. They stood that way for a long time, watching the moon peek out from behind the clouds and listening to the crickets.

  Eve stood completely still for the first time in a long time and just took in the quiet of the night around her. No meetings to rush to, nowhere to be at this very moment, just the moon and the thud of Cole’s heartbeat behind her, the strength of his arms wrapped around her middle. As she stood there, she thought this might just be the most peaceful place on earth.

  It was an illusion, of course, given what was happening, but for tonight, she enjoyed the peace.

  Chapter 12

  Eve woke to the sound of her cell phone buzzing. Sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains at the window, and she looked around, trying to figure out where she was while she groped for the phone. She jabbed at buttons and caught the call before the other person hung up.

  “Hello?”

  “I thought you were somebody I could trust. Somebody who would actually do what they said. I guess I was wrong.” Click.

  In a rush, Eve remembered the phone call from Celia the day before, along with her own promise to come right away. Only moments later the stomach plague had hit like a freight train. “Wait, no, Celia.” But the line was dead. No, no, no.

  Eve hit redial, but Celia didn’t answer. She had to get to the hospital, figure out what was going on. She jumped out of bed and swayed as her head spun and her stomach did a slow roll. She gripped the iron headboard for support and took several deep breaths while she waited, hoped her stomach would settle back down.

  Not quite yet. She sprinted down the hall, and after a bout of dry heaves, she showered and brushed her teeth, feeling a bit steadier on her feet by the time she entered the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Eve. How are you feeling?” Alice looked lovely in a T-shirt and jeans, her hair tied at the nape of her neck in an elegant tail. “Can I offer you toast? Coffee?”

  “Normally I’d love a cup of coffee, but I think I’ll pass.” She looked around, disappointed that Cole wasn’t anywhere about.

  As though she’d read her mind, Alice said, “He’s in the barn. One of his mama cows is acting funny this morning.” Alice plucked two slices of toast out of the toaster and set the plate in front of her, along with a glass of water. “Would you like some eggs, too? I’d be happy to cook some up for you.”

  Eve’s stomach made menacing noises, and she shook her head. “I’d better pass, but thank you.” She sipped the water. “Is it common for cows to act funny?”

  Alice shrugged and looked away. “It happens.”

  Eve waited, but she didn’t offer anything else. “I so appreciate your hospitality. I know you weren’t expecting overnight guests last night.”

  Alice waved that away. “I love company. Besides, I don’t think you were expecting to overeat blueberries when you came, either.”

  Eve didn’t think simply eating too many blueberries had caused her distress, but she held her tongue and chewed her toast. As soon as she finished her breakfast and felt reasonably sure it would stay put, she pushed her chair back and stood. “I need to get going. But thank you again.”

  Alice turned from the sink and folded her hands in front of her. She looked at Eve, then away, then back again. Eve waited while she worked up the courage to say what was on her mind.

  Finally she met Eve’s eyes, then looked at a spot over her shoulder. “Cole hasn’t had an easy life. His father . . . his father was not an easy man.”

  From what little Eve knew, that was an understatement.

  “I respect what you’re trying to do, protecting the
environment and all, especially the water supply, but whatever went wrong at Althea’s place and made little Glory sick, Cole had nothing to do with it.”

  Eve chose her words carefully. “I follow the facts where they take me, Mrs. Sutton. Sometimes contamination is unintentional, but the results are terrible, just the same.”

  “He didn’t do this. I know he didn’t. He has enough people telling him he’s not measuring up. He needs you to stand with him.”

  Eve didn’t know what to say to that. She understood a mother’s passion to protect her children. Hadn’t she seen Mama Rosa go all mama bear more than once when she thought one of her cubs was threatened? Eve tried for a light tone. “I’m not sure support from me would help his cause any, Mrs. Sutton. I’m not exactly a popular person around here.”

  “Call me Alice. You make him smile, and that matters. And as for the rest, this narrow-minded town can go pound sand and take their racial views with them.”

  Eve snapped her jaw closed. She hadn’t expected this insight from Cole’s mother. Which only proved she needed to stop making assumptions about people, just like she wanted them to quit making them about her.

  An uncomfortable silence stretched over the room. Eve finished the water and carried her plate to the sink. “Thank you, again. I need to go.”

  When Eve glanced over her shoulder as she left, Cole’s mother was still standing at the sink, wringing her hands. She had to wonder what was behind all that. There was more than what Alice had said, no question, Eve just had no idea what. And that bit about Cole needing her? Eve remembered the feel of his arms around her and found herself wishing, maybe, for one split second, that it might be true.

  Cole came out of the barn, and a twinge of disappointment hit him when he realized Eve’s car was gone. What had he expected? That she’d come find him? Wait around for him to find her? He’d expected neither. But a part of him had wondered if, when he saw her, she’d remember their shared closeness of the night before and whether it would make a difference.

  A difference in what, he didn’t know, and he shook his head at his own foolishness. Crusader Evie was on a mission, and when she got the bit between her teeth, there was no stopping her.