Alexander Ranch

by Marla Josephs

  I nodded. I was certainly ready to get out of here.

  “By the way, how did you get here?”

  I blinked. “Jordan brought me here.”

  “No, I mean, how did you get into the woods? Did you drive here from somewhere? Do you have a car nearby?”

  I told her where I’d parked my car. She asked for my keys and told me that she would have someone bring my car down. She walked out of the room with my keys and pulled her cell phone out. She walked back out a few moments later to see me struggling to get up. I was so weak and the covers where so heavy.

  “No, don’t move. Jordan will carry you,” she instructed. Jordan walked back in the room on the heels of that statement carrying a duffle bag.

  “Ready?” he asked looking at Daisy.

  “Yes, she’ll be ok. I think she has bruised ribs, but otherwise, mostly scrapes, bumps, and bruises. Can you carry her?”

  Jordan stiffened and a look passed between them.

  “Of course,” came his terse reply a moment later.

  I was mortified. I didn’t need him to carry me. Surely I could walk, maybe a little slowly but, I could get there on my own. Jordan came towards me. Daisy spoke just as I was opening my mouth to protest.

  Did you see anyone outside?” Daisy asked Jordan.

  “No, it was all clear,” he replied walking to me and kneeling down.

  “I can do it, really. You don’t have to carry me,” I flushed.

  “I’m sure you can,” he said doubtfully, “but, just to be sure, I’m going to carry you, alright? I don’t know if your wound needs stitches and I don’t want you starting it bleeding again.”

  Before I could protest he lifted me gently in his arms and I turned into him to hide the color flooding my face. This man unnerved me. And, being this close to him made me feel very strange and uncomfortable. However, I didn’t have time to analyze my feelings because even being carried hurt. He was being very gentle, but an involuntary gasp escaped me. He froze and gritted his teeth.

  “I’m sorry. Am I hurting you?” His voice was low and soft with concern.

  “It’s fine,” I said in a muffled voice since my face was buried in his chest. He was wearing a long-sleeved t – shirt, despite the fact that it was rather warm out. Or, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe I was just running a fever. Still, Daisy was wearing a sleeveless shirt and jeans. His body stayed rigid, and he hesitated for a moment longer before carrying me quickly to the car trying not to jar me. He put me in the front seat, buckled me in, and set my seat back so that I could lie down. Daisy climbed in the back after locking up the cabin and we were off.

  “How am I going to get my car back?” I asked as we started pulling off.

  “I called for a pick up. It should arrive shortly after you,” Daisy answered.

  Someone was going to retrieve my car and bring it back to me? How was that possible? Just who were these people?

  “I need to call my brother. He’ll be worried. My phone was water logged and isn’t working. Can I use your phone?” I asked, still not completely trusting. For a moment I’d thought they’d say no and wondered if I was a hostage. I saw Jordan glance at Daisy in the review mirror before she answered.

  “Of course you can,” Daisy answered after a beat and handed me her phone. I called my brother Blake and got his voicemail. I didn’t want to alarm him so I just left him a message that I’d dropped my phone in the water and it was now dead. So, if he’d tried to call me I didn’t get the message and wasn’t at home. I assured him I would be home soon though and would soon get my cell phone replaced.

  I lived with my older brother Blake. He travelled a lot for business and I was there to take care of the house for him. He refused to let me pay him rent saying that he should be paying me for house sitting. He was away from home more often than not. Still, we usually touched basis at least once a day by text or voicemail. So, I knew he would worry since he hadn’t heard from me in a day. I’d told him the night before I left that I would be leaving early in the morning and coming up to the mountains. He wouldn’t have expected to hear from me until last night. However, last night I wasn’t home and my phone hadn’t been operational. Even if it had been working, I probably wouldn’t have thought to call him. But, today I didn’t want to worry him. There was nothing he could do about my ordeal of the last twenty four hours.

  Chapter 5

  Despite the smooth ride of the vehicle, I felt every bump and jar in the road. Thankfully, discomfort was overcome by exhaustion and I eventually slept. I didn’t awake until I felt someone lifting me out of the car. My sleep had been so complete and deep, waking was decidedly a huge disappointment. My body ached all over and the place where I was shot positively burned. I was in a strange place, with strange people and overall I was in a foul mood. I lifted my head slightly to look around and saw a huge house. I couldn’t see much with my face pressed into Jordan’s sizable and well-muscled chest, but I smelled animals or farm smells.

  “Where am I?”

  “This is our home. It’s also our headquarters,” Jordan murmured softly in my ear, his breath tickling my earlobe.

  “Why am I here?” I asked groggily.

  He looked down at me now with a slight frown, “Do you remember Daisy telling you that we were taking you here to see her sister who is a doctor?”

  “Yes, but I want to go to my own doctor,” I answered trying to work up enough energy to be assertive. Part of me warned that I should not blindly trust these people despite the lure of having someone else handle my current situation. I did not know these people. And, I certainly didn’t want to end up in another situation. What if they held me captive or something? Jordan stopped walking and looked down at me.

  “Lela, no one is going to hurt you here,” he said as if reading my mind. “I would like you to see Grace so I know that you are ok. If you want to see your doctor afterwards you can. You can also go home if you like. But, will you please just let Grace take a look at you?”

  “And, if I say no, I can go home now?” I asked, trying to ignore the weird feeling I got at hearing him say my name.

  “If that is what you want, I’ll make it happen,” came his solemn reply.

  Maybe I am crazy, but the sincerity in his eyes convinced me. And, the excruciating pain helped a lot too. At the very least she could give me something for the pain. “Ok, I’ll see your doctor first, but then, I want to go home.”

  We were greeted at the door by a woman with a shocking resemblance to Daisy. She ushered me into what looked like an exam room.

  “Place her over there, Jordan,” she directed and stepped out of the room.

  Jordan deposited me lightly on the exam table and left without a word or a backwards glance. He seemed relieved to be rid of me and I felt a flicker of disappointment. I felt confused. One minute he seemed caring and gentle, then the next minute he was indifferent or irritated. He was clearly bothered by my presence. However, I didn’t have time to dwell on my thoughts, because the woman who met us at the door was walking in placing a stethoscope around her neck. Daisy was right behind her.

  “Lela, this is my sister, Grace. She’s a doctor,” Daisy said, making swift introductions.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Grace greeted me briskly but pleasantly. Her voice sounded urgent, “Do you mind if I examine you now? I hear you were shot.”

  “No, I don’t mind, but I want to go home after,” I said weakly. Her efficient manor lessened my own bravado. I had a feeling if she said I couldn’t leave I wouldn’t be going anywhere.

  “I understand,” she smiled at me and put her hand on my shoulder. Even through the fabric I noticed the same warm tingly feeling I felt when Daisy had touched me, only this time it was stronger and warmer. “And, we will provide you with anything you need.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She looked at Daisy in confusion, and Daisy explained, “She means that you are under the protection of the agency. So, unless you needed something we couldn’t provid
e, there’s no need to go to the hospital. We’ll set you up with whatever medical care you need at home so we can keep you safe.”

  I stared blankly at them. Under the care of the agency? What kind of agency was this again? And, just what had I gotten myself mixed up in? I tried to choose my words carefully when I spoke again, “I don’t understand. I should be safe now. I’m nowhere near where that man got shot, and I don’t know those people.”

  “You’re probably right,” Daisy said sitting on the cushioned exam table next to me, “but we don’t want to take any chances. The men you saw are part of a dangerous group we’ve been trying to track down for a while. They know you saw them. And, if they have any way of identifying you, they will. We just want to make sure you’re safe. If they know they shot you they could be checking hospitals for gunshot victims. If they think you can identify them they will be looking for you.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. I felt like I’d stepped into a bad episode of the twilight zone. How had this happened? I take one day off, go out to have a day of fun in the sun and relaxation, and the next day I’m under some form of protective custody by a mystery agency.

  “Is this some kind of secret government agency?” I asked and then belatedly thought better of it. “Never mind, if it’s secret I don’t want to know about it.”

  “We are no secret, but we are private,” Grace chuckled, her face blossoming into a beautiful smile. “We do, at times, work directly with law enforcement when necessary. Anyway, we just want to make sure you’re safe. You had the misfortune of walking into the middle of some very dangerous suspects of an ongoing investigation. Based on what we know of them, they are very deadly and have far reaching resources to get what they want. There’s a possibility you are in danger and we just want to make sure you’re safe. We only want to get you healthy and provide you with a security detail until we can determine if you’re safe. ”

  “But, I can go home?”

  “Definitely,” she smiled at me reassuringly.

  Sure enough, after Grace examined me, gave me a couple of stitches, bandaged me and tended a few more scrapes and bruises I was taken home. Grace had said I was very lucky because the bullet had basically just nicked me. According to Grace, the wound wasn’t deep, and Jordan had done a great job of cleaning and bandaging it. Other than a few scrapes and bumps, I was fine. She explained that she would come by to check on me and, when she couldn’t, Daisy would be there to nurse me as well as be part of my security detail.

  Grace hadn’t bandaged me quite as tight as Jordan had and I could breathe easier now. She’d given me some painkillers and cleaned my wounds with something soothing. I wasn’t sure what Grace had given me, but I wasn’t as weak and the pain was much less. I could walk, though I was moving slowly and stiffly. I was tired but not quite as exhausted. And, I was hungry.

  Grace had a delicious bowl of clam chowder brought in, and I fell on it like a starved animal. She had some packed up for me to take home. Then, I was soon on my way escorted by Daisy and Jordan.

  Once home, I bathed as best I could without getting my bandages wet, which left me totally spent. Then, I crawled into my bed. Daisy told me that she would stay with me for the night and I’d pointed her in the direction of the extra bedroom. She thanked me but advised me she would just sit outside my bedroom, just in case I needed her help. I told her I’d be fine, but she insisted.

  “I won’t be any farther than the living room. I’ve got my laptop and need to get some work done,” she’d assured me.

  Once, I was in bed she’d settled in the other room bending over her laptop. The moment I was safely inside, Jordan had promptly left with barely a goodbye. I could tell it bothered him to be near me and I couldn’t figure out why. He seemed to be going to great pains to not show just how much he didn’t like me, my presence, or both. Clearly he resented being assigned to protect me. I couldn’t figure out why and honestly didn’t have the energy to worry about it too much at the moment. Whatever his issue was, it wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t assigned him. So I redirected my mind to positive thoughts that soothed the sting of his obvious loathing of me and soon fell asleep.

  I woke up Monday morning feeling much better than I had expected I would. Still, Grace had recommended that I take Monday off from work and I decided to take her advice. I called in to let John know I was ill and wouldn’t be in. Then, I hung up the phone and promptly fell back to sleep.

  Chapter 6

  When I woke again, I smelled coffee brewing. I slipped out of bed and headed for the kitchen. My surprise grew at how normal I felt. I had a few aches and pains, but I didn’t feel nearly as bad as I thought I would. I was tired and sore, but not too bad overall. I heard the soft tapping of someone typing on a keyboard as I walked down the short hallway towards the living room. I started to call out a greeting to Daisy, only to find Jordan sitting on the sofa and hunched over the coffee table typing.

  “Oh,” I said in surprise, “where’s Daisy?”

  “She needed to go home, shower, and change. She’ll be back later.” He replied neutrally without even bother to glance in my direction.

  “Oh, well, good morning,” I said stiffly.

  “Good morning.”

  Still, he never even glanced up. I continued on to the kitchen now, feeling self-conscious about my disheveled appearance. I probably had bed head and who knows what else. So much for my self-talk last night about not letting his ranker for me get to me. I poured my coffee and hurried back to my room to make myself more presentable. I didn’t want to examine too closely why I hadn’t needed to make myself more presentable when I thought it was Daisy in my living room. Besides, he hadn’t even looked at me. Whatever this was, I was loathe to call it attraction, it was definitely one sided. He seemed to find me more distasteful with each passing hour. At the very least he was indifferent to me. I sighed and focused on getting dressed. I would put Jordan out of my mind and simply ignore whatever these unwelcome twinges were.

  When I came out of the bathroom from brushing my teeth I heard what sounded like a muffled conversation. Someone else was here. I opened my bedroom door a crack to try and hear what was going on.

  “Logan is just trying to punish me,” Jordan hissed, “Why else would he assign me to babysit this girl?”

  “Oh, Jordan. Come on, you know that’s not true. I’m here too. Am I being punished?”

  “That’s different and you know it.”

  “How is it different?”

  “First and foremost, you want to be here. I don’t!”

  “She’s really gotten under your skin, hasn’t she? You find her that distasteful, huh?” Daisy asked with a teasing note in her voice. Why was she teasing him? Did she think it was funny that he found me distasteful? And, just what was it about me that he found so distasteful?

  “It’s not funny, Daze,” he shot back.

  I closed the door. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I felt the coffee roil in my stomach. So, I had picked up on some underlying dislike he had for me. It didn’t feel very good knowing the person who was charged with guarding me didn’t like me very much. I sternly vowed that I would not explore his dislike for me any further. If he didn’t like me, fine. I didn’t like him much either. But, if I were being honest, I knew I worried there was another reason why I didn’t just try and peak into his thoughts to see what exactly about me he found so distasteful. It was one thing to suspect someone you were attracted to loathed you in return, it was another to confirm it.

  I generally made a point of not looking into peoples thoughts. I find that most of the time I really did not want to know them. The vicious and nasty thoughts in the heads of most people were not someplace I wanted to spend much time. It had taken me so long to block off my mind from the thoughts of others that I only broke my peace of mind when absolutely necessary. This time I hadn’t peaked with my mental senses, but I’d still heard everything I needed to hear in his own words to know just how much he didn’t like me. Besides, when
I’d touched Daisy’s mind the first time, I could swear she felt my intrusion. She’d gasped. I certainly didn’t want to get caught trying to sneak into Jordan’s mind.

  Chapter 7

  I made a point of clearing my throat as I opened the bedroom door. As I intended, all conversation stopped. I walked down the hallway and greeted Daisy. I was careful not to even look at Jordan, though I could see him looking at me in my peripheral vision. I could swear he was glaring daggers at me.

  “Um, Daisy. I need to get my phone replaced. I’m feeling fine, really. You guys don’t need to be here. I’m sure I’m quite safe,” I tried to say this in a light calm voice. But, I noticed that she gave Jordan a glare before turning to me. She knew or suspected I’d overheard there conversation.

  “We can go with you. It’s no problem.”

  “No!” I practically shouted. I took a moment to gentle my voice and then continued, “Really, I will be fine.”

  “You aren’t getting rid of me so easily.” She placed her hands on her hips. “I was hoping you wanted to go have some ice cream. I am surrounded by men at home except for my sister. I finally get to have some girl time and you’re trying to dump me?”

  “You want to go have ice cream with me?” I asked in surprise.

  “Yes, I would. Grump Butt over here has other duties to attend to, so we won’t have to be bothered with him,” she said jerking her head towards Jordan. He scowled at her. “However, my cousin, Ethan, would like to meet you. He’s the one whose life you saved by distracting the men who shot him. Is that ok?”

  “Uh, sure. I’d like to meet him too. Is he ok?”

  “Good. He’ll be here any minute,” She beamed. “And, yes, he’s fine. But, if you want to make this a totally girls only phone shopping and ice cream day we can kick him out after you meet him and go have fun.”

  If he was anything like Jordan, I’d definitely want this to be an all-girls day. Before I could reply there was a knock on the door.