The Gentrys: Cinco

by Linda Conrad

  Abby nodded. Cinco suddenly grabbed Meredith around the waist, dragging her to him as he kissed her deeply.

  He pulled away with as much confusion written on his face as Meredith was feeling inside herself. "Stay safe, darlin'," he said. And with that he walked away toward the growing crowd of men who were ready to fight a fire.

  An hour later Meredith and Abby stood outside in the near-freezing cold, looking toward the foaling barn. Several hundred yards away from it and they could still see that half the barn had collapsed and the other half was still engulfed in flames.

  Abby hung up her cell phone. "Looks like we've caught a break. The wind's died down."

  Meredith knew Abby had been in contact with the pilot who'd been flying in the helicopter overhead. "Oh? Will that help?"

  "Yeah. At least the flames won't spread to the other structures nearby," she told her. "It's a good thing, too. The one pilot we have that's helicopter rated is nearing exhaustion. He was on duty for most of the daylight hours yesterday, flying the fences since before dawn."

  "I'm helicopter rated," Meredith said. "I don't think I'd have much trouble learning where the river is and getting checked out on how the water bucket works. I'd be happy to take over for him."

  Abby shook her head firmly. "No. Cinco would have a whup-ass fit if he found out I'd let you fly."

  "Why?" Meredith asked. "I know he said it would be too obvious for a woman flyer to show up on the ranch, but it's an emergency. Surely, he wouldn't think I could be in danger from Richard Rourke while I'm in the air."

  Again Abby shook her head. "That's not the problem. Just accept him for what he is." She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "Sorry."

  Meredith's curiosity got the better of her. "Abby, if that's not the problem, then what is? I want to help."

  Abby grimaced, then shrugged a shoulder. "Ordinarily, I'd say that Cinco ought to be the one to tell you this … but it doesn't look like he will anytime soon."

  Meredith unconsciously squared her shoulders. Now what?

  "Cinco was engaged a few years ago to a woman named Ellen."

  "I know that," Meredith interrupted. "He told me."

  "Well, what you don't know is that she was killed on her way back here to marry him … in an airplane crash."

  Abby must have seen Meredith's shudder because she gently laid a hand on Meredith's arm before continuing.

  "He'd sent a charter to pick Ellen up, thinking she'd be safer that way … and that she'd get home to the ranch sooner." Abby shook her head. "He's been real spooked about small planes ever since, Meri. None of the family has flown." Abby looked up into her eyes with obvious concern.

  Meredith figured she must look the way she felt, speechless and numb.

  "My brother has always been the one to take care of everybody else. It started with the animals when he was a kid. And he can still doctor anything on four legs about as well as the real vet can. Cinco has the gift of relating to them.

  "Then when our parents died, he went into this kind of security mode. It wasn't enough to just take care of things and animals anymore. Suddenly he was in charge of everyone's safety and happiness … like somehow if he'd been a little bit more vigilant, Mom and Dad wouldn't have disappeared the way they did."

  Abby blew out a breath and pushed a curl out of her eyes. "Ellen's death seemed to throw him over a final edge. It turned him inside out. I didn't think I'd ever get my brother back to the charming, lovable guy he'd been before … until you came."

  "Oh, Abby. I didn't know," Meredith whispered. "I didn't realize."

  Meredith's heart sank. She'd known their problems were nearly impossible to overcome, but there had always been that last little bit of hope in the bottom of her heart. Now she could clearly see that all hope was lost. The one thing she'd most wanted in the world was the one thing that Cinco couldn't get around.

  Abby put an arm around her waist. "It's none of my business how you two really feel about each other, Meri. I do know that the flying is going to be a big stumbling block between you, though." She hugged Meredith, then stepped away. "And I can't stand the thought of him suffering any more than he already has. Please don't hurt him."

  Cinco had finished cleaning himself up and was on his way to the vet's office the next morning as the sun beamed down and warmed the earth. The new vet had returned a few hours ago with the other ranch hands and the new bulls. The fire had been out for a while, and Jake and a couple of the boys were sorting through the burned remnants, getting ready to tear down what was left of the foaling barn. Not too much was left to tear down.

  Cinco found the vet heading toward his office from the mare's barn. "Hey, Allen. You got a minute?"

  "Sure, Cinco. I just finished examining Maggie. I think she was having false labor last night, but after all the excitement, she might just foal later today. It'll be okay, though. No problems."

  "Glad to hear it," Cinco remarked. "Have you had a chance yet to look at the yearling we brought in yesterday?"

  "Yeah. You did a nice job patching him up. I was impressed."

  Cinco didn't respond to the compliment. "Did you notice anything funny about his wound?" he asked instead.

  "Yes. I was going to talk to you about that. It looked to me as though someone deliberately cut the colt's foreleg. The wound wasn't done by something out on the range. It appears to have been done with a knife."

  Cinco clamped his jaws together to keep from cursing, then he left the vet in his office. No more than a half hour ago, Jake had confirmed more bad news. The fire last night was deliberately set. The barn siding nearest the hay bales had been doused with kerosene. The smell of the stuff permeated the scorched remains from the back wall and roof.

  Oh, hell. Cinco knew every single person in this county and especially on the ranch. None of them would deliberately harm an animal—and absolutely none of them was an arsonist. Had Richard Rourke found Meredith and managed to get onto the ranch undetected? He couldn't really believe it, but the evidence was mounting.

  Meredith. The thought of her created some mighty odd feelings inside him. She was so totally different than Ellen. Strong and athletically built, Meredith had a frosty appearance that covered a special softness inside. Actually, come to think of it, she reminded him of his mother and maybe even his grandmother.

  He figured he was falling in love with her, and that was the worst possible thing he could do. She wanted to go back to flying—return to her life in the big city. His whole life was wrapped up with the Gentry Ranch.

  On top of that, if he fell in love he would lose his edge. She might be more at risk then, the same way Ellen had been. That was the one thing he would never do. Take a chance with Meredith's safety. He had to remain sharp.

  He swung around, heading toward the house. He wanted to check on Meredith, and then he needed to contact the sheriff. It was time he called in the reserves. There was no way that madman assassin Rourke could be in town or on the ranch without being spotted as a stranger.

  And Cinco was positively determined to place a guard on Meredith twenty-four hours a day until he found out where the heck this particular madman was hiding.

  * * *

  Ten

  « ^ »

  From behind her, Meredith heard Cinco's footsteps as he came through the mudroom door and went to the kitchen sink. But she was too close to finishing up with the cabinet she'd been working on to pay him any heed.

  "Whoa. You'd better come on down from there, darlin'." Cinco urged when he spotted her on the stepladder.

  It had been nearly a week now since the fire in the barn … and their spectacular night together, but Cinco had yet to spend more than a few minutes at a time with her. He acted as if he'd rather just forget about the whole thing.

  Meredith knew she'd never forget what they'd done together—not for one second of her entire life. But it figured that Cinco wouldn't want to be reminded. After all, as soon as they located Richard Rourke she'd be on her way to her n
ew life, and he probably couldn't stand thinking of her flying off away from the ranch.

  Until Abby had told her of his past, Meredith thought they could still remain lovers after she returned to work—maybe seeing each other every month or so.

  Lovers and friends. That wouldn't have been so bad, would it?

  But now she knew he could never bear the thought of her flying in and out of the ranch to see him. And he would never fly to see her.

  When she left the ranch, it would definitely be over for them.

  "Meredith. Did you hear me?" he grumbled. "Come down from there. It's too dangerous for you to be on a stepladder with no one around. Why didn't you call one of your guards to come inside and help? What if something happened?"

  "Back off, Gentry," she muttered over her shoulder. "Air Force pilots climb ladders every day. You're getting carried away with this security stuff."

  She glanced at him and saw the grimace. But he came close, anyway, and stood behind her, ready should she make a wrong step.

  "What're you doing up there?" he demanded. "And where's Lupe?"

  "I'm rearranging your cabinets, and Lupe has gone to San Angelo on an all-day shopping trip." Meredith placed the last cup on its new hook and closed the cabinet door. "There. Finished with that one." She turned to him at last.

  "Does Lupe know what you're doing?" He reached up, put his huge hands at her waist and lifted her off the ladder.

  Meredith stiffly held on to his arms. But, still, as she slid down to the floor she came too close to his body, feeling the same old flash between them.

  "Of course Lupe knows," she muttered as she dusted off her hands and stepped away from him. "She's the kind of person who appreciates what I do."

  Having him touch her anywhere was impossible. It just made her want things that could never be—and remember things she'd like to find a way to forget.

  He turned to the sink and began working on something hidden from her view. "What've you got there, Cinco?" Meredith asked him.

  When he turned around again, her heart flipped upside down. The damn man had several deep scarlet roses in his hand, and he was tentatively holding them out to her.

  "I … I wanted to apologize for neglecting you for the past few days," he stammered. "It's just that with the fire, the sheriff and trying to locate word about Rourke, I've been really tied up."

  He shifted the flowers in his hand and pricked a finger. Wouldn't that be just dandy, he mused? Try to tell the woman what he was feeling in his heart and instead give her a thorny rose.

  "Let me just trim them up for you," he added quickly.

  Turning to the catch-all drawer for the scissors, Cinco tugged on the handle. When his gaze caught the contents, the strange sight stopped him cold.

  "What did you do to this drawer? And where the hell are the scissors?" he asked gruffly.

  It wasn't bad enough that she'd completely messed up his mind and his heart, now she was messing with his house and life too?

  "I tidied up that drawer. It was a disaster. I don't know how you could find anything in there," she declared. "And the scissors are in that carousel thing on the counter. Lupe likes to keep stuff she might need in a hurry in there so it's handy."

  Cinco spotted the scissors right in front of his eyes, slammed the drawer shut and went back to the sink to clip the roses. "Why in the world are you tidying things up?" he grumbled. "I liked things the way they were."

  "It was becoming increasing difficult for Lupe to find what she needed after years of just shoving things in haphazardly," she said to his back. "If I'm good at anything besides flying, it's organization. In fact, it seems like my whole life has been spent in military training."

  He could hear her behind him, taking a few steps across the floor in his direction.

  "Besides," she continued. "I've been bored out of my mind. The sheriff's deputies who have been watching my every step won't let me go outside at all. Not to run, ride or even visit with Dickens or Abby. And you…"

  Her voice trailed off and he turned to see what was wrong. She was close, and the look in her eyes was injured, sad. He felt a knife-sharp pain in the vicinity of his heart and had to find a way to breathe through it.

  "Cinco, why did you bring me those roses?" she asked in a small voice.

  That simple question was his undoing. He stepped away from the sink and pulled her toward him, holding her where she belonged, in his arms. With his hands still full of scissors and roses, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her furiously.

  Mercy sakes but she tasted good. This time it was chocolate and pure unadulterated sweetness. He wasn't sure he could stand the sensations.

  It had been too long. He'd tried to keep away this morning, too. But he couldn't. Couldn't stop thinking about her day and night. Couldn't stop wanting to hold her again, kiss her senseless again, and watch her come apart in his arms once more.

  Finally, when his knees were beginning to buckle under him, he broke off the kiss and took a breath.

  "Oh, Meri, love. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to be hurt. I thought you…" he mumbled. "I mean, I wasn't sure it would be good for us to see each other too much … what with you leaving soon and—" He knew he wasn't saying what he wanted or what he really meant. But he wasn't entirely positive of any of that yet.

  He just knew that he needed her near him, at least for now.

  The back door slammed and Cinco heard Abby's familiar boots on the hardwood floor. He stepped away from Meredith's warmth and immediately felt an emptiness he couldn't fathom.

  "Hey, all," Abby said as she walked into the kitchen. "Where's Lupe?"

  "Lupe went shopping today," Meredith told her, and then slid the roses and the scissors from Cinco's hands, taking them to the sink.

  Cinco watched Meredith carefully for some sign that she was embarrassed or distressed about the kiss and embrace they'd just shared. He didn't see any signs of it, he only saw the most beautiful and slightly disheveled woman he'd ever beheld. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, and she had to tuck a few strands of blond hair behind her ears.

  "I'm glad I caught you both here, it'll save me some time," Abby said.

  She sat down at the table and took off her hat. "My riding class is having an end-of-semester party later today. They want Meredith to join them. A couple of the kids have to go back to the city next week, and they'd like to say goodbye." Abby hesitated for a second and looked at Cinco. "Oh, you too, bubba. They want you there, as well."

  He chuckled at her last-minute thought. "Yeah, I'll just bet they want me there."

  Meredith brought a vase with the full scarlet roses to the table and set it in the center. "Look what Cinco brought me, Abby," she said.

  Abby nodded. "Pretty." She stood and went to the sink, asking her questions over her shoulder. "Well, how about it, Romeo? Are you two coming to the party or not? I don't have all day."

  Meredith stood beside the table, her arms folded. "Yes, Cinco. Can we go, please? It seems like forever since I've been out, and I'd love to see the kids again," she pleaded.

  She looked so beautiful, standing there with the light from the kitchen window pouring in around her. She just glowed. How could he refuse her such a simple request?

  "I'll arrange it with the deputies for you to go, darlin'," he told her. "But the sheriff and I will be meeting later with the federal team that's coming to head up the search for Rourke."

  Abby finished washing her hands, picked up a towel and turned toward him. "Do they believe he's actually in Castillo County, then?"

  Cinco shrugged. "All of a sudden Richard Rourke sightings are happening everywhere. Colorado. Michigan. Washington state. We've had four people in this county alone who swear they saw a stranger fitting his description in the last week.

  "The Internet is buzzing with rumors about where he might be. The U.S. Marshal's Office, the FBI and the Texas Rangers have gone together to look at the things that are happening on the ranch. The feds also have
other teams checking out every sighting in every state."

  Meredith felt a chill all of a sudden and hugged her arms tightly to her body. "Then they really believe he might be close and after me?"

  "Well," Cinco began. "No one has taken a shot at you yet. The feds figure that would be his way of operating … sniper shots from a distance. But it also seems that Rourke had two convictions for arson as a teenager, so they're not ruling anything out."

  Meredith's body actually felt like a million ants just swarmed over her skin. She had to move, had to run. Instead she clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace the floor, pushing past Cinco as he stood by the table.

  Almost at once Abby was walking beside her, having to take two steps for every one of hers. "Don't think about it, Meri," she said in a soothing voice. "The snowfall we've been expecting will be arriving soon. The Texas Rangers have some of the best trackers in the world. If Rourke is on the ranch, he'll be easy to follow in the snow."

  Meredith slowed to let the shorter woman keep up, but she continued pacing. "He's a survivalist, Abby. A real nature freak. If anyone can avoid being tracked, it's Richard Rourke."

  Despite what she'd just said, Meredith knew what Abby was attempting and why, and it warmed her heart to know that someone cared enough about her to try and make her feel better. No one had ever done that before

  As she and Abby rounded the corner of the massive cedar table again, Cinco stepped into their paths. "Hole on, love." He reached for Meredith's shoulders, steadying her and keeping her from falling into him.

  He smiled at her, and she saw something in his eyes as he studied her that calmed her inside. She took a deep breath.

  "Meredith," he said softly. "You're safe on the Gentry Ranch. We've taken every precaution, and I know it'll only be a couple of days at most before we pin Rourke down."

  "It isn't so much that I'm afraid of him," she said while still breathing hard. "But I want to do something to protect myself. I can't bear just hanging around waiting for him to come get me."