Searching For Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 2)

by Rose, Amelia

  “You don’t have to thank me, it’s the truth,” he replied, rubbing the back of her neck with his hand. She rolled her shoulders under his soft touch and stretched her back forward. “Are you ready for me to drive?”

  “Sure,” she answered, engaging the cruise control and checking the mirrors. “Slide over here.” Carey looked around nervously before taking off his seat belt and sliding across the bench seat toward her. “Hold the wheel, don’t touch the brake but be ready to hit it if necessary.” Carey held the steering wheel as Amy unbuckled her seatbelt, then used her feet to push against the seat and slide over into the back seat directly behind her. Carey slid into place and buckled up as Amy came back over the seat on the passenger side.

  “That was a pretty slick move, Officer McDade. How’d you learn to do that? Is that a cop thing?” he asked, watching her get comfortable in what had been his seat only seconds before. She shrugged her shoulders before responding.

  “I’ve had years of defensive driving training, but that particular move is just something that my brothers and I would do if we needed to take turns. We used to deliver products all over Michigan for my dad’s company, and the route could get pretty tedious if you didn’t have someone to trade off with.” Amy reached her arm across the seat back that had held Carey’s arm before. “Weren’t you sitting somewhere like this, maybe?” she asked, toying with Carey’s shaggy hair, running her nails gently up his scalp and causing him to lean into her hand.

  “Something like that, maybe a little bit to my left. Yup, that’s what I was doing,” he answered, smiling at Amy without taking his eyes off the road.

  “I don’t know,” she argued in a smooth voice. “I think maybe you were over here, right?” Amy demonstrated by moving closer to Carey, close enough to breathe heavily on his neck before placing her lips against his shivering skin. She moved up his neck to his ear, where she bit down gently on his earlobe before soothing it by sucking it into her mouth.

  “I would love to tell you not to stop,” Carey began, forgetting to finish his sentence as Amy bit down gently on the muscle that ran on the outside of his neck.

  “Yes? You were saying something about me stopping?” she asked innocently enough.

  “Um…no, no I wasn’t.”

  “I’m pretty sure I heard you say the word ‘stop’,” she said with a laugh, a seductive sound that was almost as maddening as what she was physically doing to him.

  “No, that must have been some other guy. Don’t stop,” Carey half-begged, gripping the steering wheel so hard with both hands that his knuckles turned white.

  “Actually, I think I should sit over here and behave myself,” Amy suggested, sitting up and sliding back to her side of the truck. “That policeman won’t be too happy with you if he looks in his rearview mirror.”

  “Me? I’m just sitting here, innocently driving a truck over a hundred miles an hour. You’re the incredible vixen sucking on my neck.”

  “It’s just so suckable,” she shot back with a satisfied giggle as Carey struggled to keep his composure. “But truthfully, I shouldn’t distract you when you’re driving. It’s not very responsible of either of us. Tell me about your ranch instead.”

  Amy kept Carey talking, partly to keep him awake and focused, but also because she was genuinely interested in life out west. She was shocked by some of the things ranching required, like homeschooling because the town was so far away, and Carey learning to shoot a gun at only seven years old. Other things made the farm seem so natural and normal, mostly the way he talked about his life like it was so commonplace.

  “But what about you, Miss Big City Policewoman? You must have more than enough excitement to last you a lifetime.” Carey kept his eyes focused on the squad car in front of him so he wouldn’t have to look at the speedometer.

  “Well, it used to be exciting. I’m kind of gun-shy now, I’m afraid. I am spooked too easily, I’m too cautious.” Amy looked straight ahead, not focusing on anything in particular as her mind wandered to her job.

  “How can being cautious be a bad thing when you’re an armed policeman? Doesn’t being alert and careful mean everything in that line of work?”

  “Yes, but you can be too careful. I reached the point that I’d call for back up just to check out a simple domestic dispute or a shoplifting. It wasn’t fair to my partner to be saddled with someone who couldn’t evaluate the situation and determine the level of risk. So I took myself off the street and agreed to work the desk. But I’ve been at that job so long, now I’m afraid I’ll never go back.”

  It was Carey’s turn to ask the questions without being rude or prying. “And the cattle drive was supposed to cure you? That’s a pretty tall order for some very large, not very bright animals, don’t you think?” he asked.

  “Not cure me, exactly, but make me realize that I am capable and strong, that I can make decisions on my feet and assess a situation in the right frame of mind.”

  “Wow. Now I feel bad for letting you talk me into coming to the ranch. Maybe you needed a few more days on the drive, and you could have gotten your head back where you want it.”

  “I don’t think that would have done it,” Amy admitted sadly. “The drive was kind of a last-ditch effort to figure out my next career move. If I didn’t come back to work as a whole new person, I was going to put in for a transfer or start looking for another jurisdiction. Maybe that gun shot came at just the right time in my career…I’d already proven I’m tough and I’m capable, and that may have been what I needed on my résumé to get my foot in the door somewhere else, somewhere a little less…intense.” Amy looked out the window and was quiet after that, a fact that Carey couldn’t help but think had less to do with talking herself out and more to do with a heavy weight pressing down on her.

  “Then you know I do need you on this trip, and I don’t just mean for the driving. We’re walking straight into the lion’s mouth on this, what with Mack possibly hiding out somewhere on the ranch.”

  Amy went into full-on investigative mode without even realizing it. “Do you have any idea of why he’d be out there for revenge? What prompted him to start shooting up the place?”

  Carey told Amy the long story of two of Mack’s girls showing up on the ranch and seeking shelter. He even told her where the girls were at that moment, how far from the property they would be, who knew about their whereabouts, and such. Amy nodded as Carey talked, taking it all in.

  “So your dad just gave them a cabin to stay in, and hired a counselor to look after them? He’s either a saint or he has an interest in getting those girls away from Mack for some reason.”

  Carey bristled slightly, not sure what Amy meant but had the impression that she insinuated Bernard’s involvement went beyond just helping out. “What are you saying about my dad, exactly?”

  “I’m saying he’s putting himself and his entire family and staff at risk by taking in two females with a history of drug addiction and criminal activity. And judging by the very circumstances we’re speeding into, I’d say he either didn’t know the full extent of his actions, or he had a reason to act in the first place.”

  Carey chewed that over thoughtfully, fighting the urge to let his anger boil up at the callous way Amy assessed people she’d never even met. “You’ve met my father, even if it was only for a few minutes at a time. There’s not an evil, hard-hearted bone in his body. Two pitiful, frightened girls—still practically kids—showed up on his doorstep after having walked almost forty miles to warn his family of a threat, and he gave them food, shelter, and assistance. I don’t want to meet the man who wouldn’t do exactly the same thing.”

  Amy was quiet, staring out the window as she thought about Carey’s reaction. True, she didn’t know his father at all, and true, she might have let her work get in the way of seeing someone’s basic human kindness. Had her years as a cop and her struggles to fit in with some of the more aggressive, streetwise officers really made her so jaded that she couldn’t believe an elderly
man might do something kind for two strung out, teenaged runaways?

  “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound judgmental, and I certainly didn’t mean to imply that your dad was anything but an honest, caring person. It’s easy to see where you get your sensitive side.” Amy smiled genuinely and waited, not pressing the issue after upsetting Carey so much. He paused before answering her, but finally spoke.

  “I’m sorry, too. I guess I just got really defensive. And I can admit that the whole thing might look suspicious to an outsider, but you’d just have to know my dad the way I do. He would rather die than turn someone away, especially someone in so much need.” Carey looked a little relieved to hear her explanation, but was still on edge at where the conversation had gone. That’s why Casey’s so good in these situations, he thought, wishing, once again, that his older brother was there to handle all of these things. He’s better at being…diplomatic…and boy, could I use someone who can take charge right now.

  Chapter Eight

  “Anders? Anders, please answer…” Bernard called again into the small handheld unit. It had been three hours since he’d last heard anything from Carson Hill Ranch. Both of his foremen paced around the small living space of the RV, their faces creased with worry as they tried to avoid bumping into each other as they paced. Terry bit nervously at a hangnail as he walked, not looking at his boss, too upset by the desperate look on the old man’s face as he tried yet again to talk to his son.

  “It could be anything,” Dwayne said in his most reassuring voice. “Maybe the battery ran down on it. Maybe there’s a storm back home and the satellite’s not picking up, just like with the TV when it rains too hard. You can’t know why he’s not answering.”

  Bernard ignored their attempts to make him feel better, certain that something was horribly wrong. Joseph sat next to his father without speaking, his leg bouncing up and down so hard underneath the table that the pens and papers moved around its surface. No one seemed to notice or care.

  “All we can do is wait ‘til Carey gets back and reports in with some news,” Dwayne continued kindly. “There’s no sense letting it eat at you until we know something for sure.”

  “How’s this going to affect the cattle drive, Boss?” Terry asked, trying hard not to seem uncaring, but needing some clarification about their jobs. They had 30,000 head to move and were now short Carey, as well as Casey. Regardless of what the vacationers wanted to do, there was the very real consideration of selling the herd and if they didn’t arrive on time, there’d be some angry brokers to deal with down the road.

  “I just don’t know, Terry. I can’t even think about that right now. What if something happened?” Bernard asked without really speaking to anyone, staring at the useless phone in his hand as if it had betrayed him.

  “Boss,” Dwayne said firmly, coming over to sit down across from the old man. “I know everything’s gonna be fine. There’s some explanation for this, and we’re all gonna laugh about how this gave you another patch of gray hair. I know he’s gonna be okay. They all will.” Bernard smiled and reached a weathered hand across the table to grasp Dwayne’s in his own.

  “Thank you. I just wish I had half the confidence you have. All I have is a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I never should have left Anders behind. And all those staff members, I basically left an unarmed crew of women and a sickly teenage boy to fend for themselves against a dangerous, desperate man.”

  “Hey, now,” Dwayne argued, trying to lift Bernard’s spirits. “my wife is a member of that ‘crew of women’ and I feel for any man, dangerous or not, who tries to get in that house with her around. She’s gonna look after Anders, and the rest of ‘em, too. You’ve known Amanda as long as I have, and I’ll tell you what, I almost feel sorry for Crazy Mack!” The foreman smiled at Bernard, putting aside his own fears for his wife for a moment, long enough to reassure the old rancher.

  “Yes, I know what a spitfire Amanda is. Thank you, Dwayne. And I’m sorry I put your family in this situation.” Bernard looked even more morose than before, realizing how selfish he must have sounded for worrying only about his own son when it was his staff members’ families who were in harm’s way as well.

  “You didn’t do anything, sir, it’s all that nutcase’s doing. We’re all gonna be just fine, and this will be just one more story for us to tell around the fire at the end of the day. ‘Course, by the time it gets out, we’ll have a great yarn to share, with all kinds of antics and super-sized whoppers to go with it. You’ll see, it’s gonna be fine.”

  Dwayne stood and patted Bernard firmly on the shoulder before making his way out of the RV. He climbed down the metal steps and managed to get a hundred yards or so away from the truck and the rest of the group before breaking down, squatting down in the dirt and putting one hand over his moist eyes.

  “Dear Lord, please let them be okay…please let Amanda be okay…”

  ***

  Carey and Amy arrived at the ranch—thanks to the final patrol cars that led them speeding across various county lines—just before dusk turned to night. Every light in the house must have been on, as light shone from every window that wasn’t boarded up with pieces of lumber the sheriff sent out from town. The exterior flood lights were on at every corner of the house, ensuring that anyone who came up in the yard would at least be seen, if not prevented from getting closer altogether.

  Carey cut the engine to the truck as close to the house as he could, telling Amy to stay in her seat and duck down until he came around to her side. She might be the officer here but he was the cowboy, and no cowboy would let a woman run out into what could easily be sniper fire from a deranged, vengeful troublemaker.

  He opened her door and helped her down, then threw an arm around her head and shoulders and led her hunched over into the main house. The door was locked, and he fumbled with the key from his belt for a moment, his nerves almost getting the best of him as he turned it.

  “Anders! Anders! Where are you? ANDERS!” Carey shouted, running from room to room, calling out for his brother. He ran up the stairs and looked in all the bedrooms, yelling for anyone who might still be there. Amy stood by helplessly, looking around her from where she still stood in the doorway. A flash of shadow passing under the kitchen door caught her attention.

  “Carey! Down here!” She called out, waiting with one hand on the stair railing for him to come downstairs. Together, they approached the kitchen door, Carey sucking in a deep breath when Amy pulled a handgun from a holster under her pants leg. His eyes grew wide as he pointed wordlessly to the gun, but Amy only shrugged.

  “There’s no need to be quiet, anyone in the kitchen already knows we’re in here,” she said. Amy used the butt of the handgun to knock on the kitchen door, then announced them. The door opened a crack, then was flung open as Anders rushed out and into his brother’s arms. Carey heard the click of the safety re-engaging as Amy pulled the gun back to shoulder height before slipping it back in its holster, hopefully before Anders had a chance to see it.

  “Carey, I’m so glad you’re here,” Anders began, his voice cracking a little bit from the emotion. He was obviously rattled, and grateful to have someone older and more experienced to take over being in charge. “I didn’t know what else to do, so we’ve all just stayed holed up in the kitchen since last night. I figured it’s where the food and water is, and there’s a hallway to a bathroom. We even slept in there so we could duck between the refrigerators if Mack came back shooting.”

  “Anders, you’re absolutely brilliant. That’s exactly what you should have done. Way to take charge, little brother!” Carey said reassuringly, pulling his younger brother into his oversized hug and patting him firmly on the shoulder. The staff members who emerged from the kitchen smiled at the touching scene between brothers. Anders seemed visibly relaxed now that his big brother was home, but his face was still creased with worry lines.

  “So what do we do now?” Anders asked, looking from his brother to the missi
ng front windows.

  “I’m not really sure. Dad just wanted me to get back down here. You guys can all take upstairs bedrooms tonight and sleep in real beds, and I’ll stay awake down here. Go ahead and start rotating through the showers, too, while we’re all awake.” He patted Anders on the back and pushed him gently in the direction of the stairs so he could go clean up. After the kitchen staff and housekeeper had trudged wearily up the stairs, Amy approached Carey and melted into him when he pulled her tight against his chest.

  “A gun? Really? In your boot?” he teased, kissing her quickly on the lips between each question. “Isn’t that a little cliché, even for a big city cop?”

  Amy returned his kiss before answering. “Well, we’re technically never off duty, even though I’m not in my jurisdiction. But Detroit teaches you to be ready for anything, whether you’re a police officer or not.”

  “Why don’t you go upstairs and pick out a bed before everyone snags the ones with the good pillows?” Carey suggested. “I’m going to grab some blankets from the closet and fix up one of the couches down here but I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep.”

  “Not a chance, cowboy,” Amy said, shaking her head and smiling ruefully. “This is practically a stake-out. You think I’m willing to miss this? I haven’t seen this much action from behind my desk in ages, I’m not about to sleep through it.”

  “Somehow, I didn’t think you were going to,” Carey added. “even before I actually suggested it! So, if you’re not going upstairs to sleep…” He left his sentence hanging as he leaned down to kiss her slowly, letting his lips linger on hers before raising an eyebrow and giving Amy a smoldering look. “…what did you have planned? Hmm?”

  “Well, I was thinking…” she whispered in a seductive voice, letting her eyelids fall until she peered up at Carey through her lashes. “that I would take the first watch as you slept.” She kissed him again, then teasingly added in a sultry way, her lips almost touching his. “Then, I could sleep while you stayed up.”