“That girl would have ruined you,” Arlene hissed. “All she ever wanted was your money. I think that’s been proven.”
“Oh, I don’t intend to let her off the hook, mother. But I can’t seem to let you off either. See, you’re the one who actually paid her to keep my son from me. You orchestrated the whole damn thing. She would have come to me had it not been for you. You threatened her and then you paid her off, god damnit.”
Josh looked between the two of them uncertainly. He’d seen his brother upset with their mother before, he’d seen him go against her wishes on occasion, but he’d never heard JD speak to her this way.
Arlene’s lips pressed together to form a thin red line. “I’ve warned you about the language, Jeramiah.”
JD snorted. Getting any kind of empathy from her would be akin to squeezing blood from a stone. “I’m not sixteen years old anymore. I don’t give a flying fuck about your warning, mother.” Standing abruptly, he looked down to his younger brother. “Suddenly I’ve lost my appetite. I’m going back to the ranch.”
Josh gave him a cocky two fingered salute and a grin, proud of his brother for sticking to his guns. “Make me a drink too, will ya?” he asked, feeling his mother’s gaze searing into the side of his head.
The temperature outside had dropped and it was damn cold. But not nearly as cold as JD felt his heart had become. Betrayed by the two women he’d loved the most, he felt empty inside. But that would change, he promised himself, once he met his son. The emptiness would be filled with the love for a child, love he could already feel brimming inside himself.
He drove back to Josh’s place slowly, deliberately. The driveway needed plowing again and he thought maybe he would take on that task. It would be a welcome distraction. Maybe it would calm him enough to confront Lizzie again. And confront her he would. He wanted to see his son. Soon. This demand he would make without qualm, without a care to what Lizzie wanted or needed. And when he took the boy from her for good…
On a muttered oath he turned his SUV for the barns. The plow truck was kept in a shed next to the horse barn. Another vehicle was parked in front of the barn and he slid in next to it, barely giving it a glance. As he left the warmth of his SUV he looked to the sky. Thick, dark clouds raced across the sky promising more snow before the night was through. If the predictions were correct they were in for a hell of a storm. That was okay, it would keep him busy.
Passing the other snow covered vehicle he slipped on a small patch of ice and cursing, his hand shot out, grabbing hold of the front fender. Sucking in a breath, he managed to right himself before going down on his ass. It was then, as he looked to his hand he noticed the color of the vehicle. What he thought of as a chocolate brown. Like Lizzie’s rig. He gave it a closer look and recognized the make from the shape under the snow. It was her car. His eyes went to the barn. But what the hell was she doing here?
His teeth ground together. Perhaps she’d decided to bring the confrontation to him instead of waiting. Well, she’d be sorry about it if that was the case. Stalking across the lot he yanked open the man-door and entered the barn. The only sound which greeted him were the rustling of horses as they finished off their dinners of hay and grain.
He looked down the aisle and didn’t see anyone. He knew her love of horses and imagined her in one of the stalls brushing one or petting it as she cooed softly to it. The thought made him growl an obscenity under his breath before taking off down the aisle.
He didn’t see her in any of the stalls, however, one stall was empty. A full bucket of grain hung in the corner and a similarly full hay bag hung in the other. On the small chalkboard which hung on every stall door, under the horse’s name, was scrawled: OUT FOR RIDE.
He felt his heart begin to knock on his rib cage. No one else was here. No other cars. The hands had all gone home for the evening, their jobs in this barn done. Only Lizzie’s car sat out in the parking area. But what in the hell would she be doing out on a horse right now? He shoved a gloved hand through his hair and spun in a small circle, looking around. Christ, what the hell had gotten into that damn woman?
Surely she’d stick to the ranch. Without thinking he walked to another stall and pulled out a young mare to saddle. He’d ride out and have a look for her. Though he was furious with her he felt his stomach churn at the thought of anything happening to her. Along with the fact there was a storm rolling in there was still one man whose whereabouts were unaccounted for who had tried to hurt her. There was also the possibility Julie’s unnamed lover might want to get his hands on her as well. And if one of them did again… “She’s fine, you dummy,” he chastised himself. “Matter of fact this is probably just some stunt to get to you. To make you worry about her.” But he didn’t think so. Lizzy might have lied to him, but he’d never known her to play games. No, something in his gut told him she’d gone off on some half-baked scheme and was going to get herself into more trouble than she could handle. She knew how to ride, sure. But she didn’t know these mountains anymore. She didn’t know how the weather could be an unseen enemy which would sneak up on you and corner you.
With the mare saddled and bridled he took the time to tie a rifle off to the saddle. He probably wouldn’t need it, but it made him feel better just the same. If he ran into Summers he wanted to be prepared.
Chapter 27
The little gelding shied and snorted. Lizzie tried to see what might have set him off but could detect nothing through the heavily falling snow. Perhaps it had been a coyote, or even something as lowly as a rabbit. The gelding had been getting more and more skittish the harder the snow fell. “Don’t worry, buddy, I know where we’re going,” she told him, leaning forward to pat him on the neck. “It’s just further than I remember is all.” She was in a small clearing now, headed for the dense cover of woods again. If memory served she would reach the hunting shack in about twenty minutes. And then she would know if she was right or not.
A movement to her left had both her and the gelding turning. The deer burst from the tree line and made a mad dash across the clearing. Lizzie drew up on the reins, instinctively knowing the gelding would shy again. He did. Hard. With cold hands and legs so cold they were stiff, Lizzie tried to hang on. She had to hang on.
She didn’t. With a panicked yelp she slid off the side of the horse and down into the soft snow. As she watched, the gelding tossed his head to free her grip on the reins and then sidestepped away from her, his eyes wide, his nostrils flared.
“No!” she cried out to him as she saw him take his first steps away from her and back the way they had come. “Whoa, boy! Whoa!”
Whether he understood the command or not, the gelding flipped his tail into the air, snorted once and took off for home as though jumping from the starting gate.
In disbelief, Lizzie watched him run off. Assholes and elbows, her mother would have said. She didn’t move for a long time as a deep fear started to settle upon her. The walk back would take hours. Her gaze strayed to the flat grey clouds which were at that very moment dumping copious amounts of snow. She felt the stirrings of wind, which had gradually been picking up as well.
Standing, she looked all around her. Home was hours away. The tiny hunting shack, assuming it even still stood, was a forty minute walk on human foot, give or take. She remembered it had both a fireplace and an old potbellied stove used for cooking. She could warm it up enough to survive the night if she had to. Assuming it was still there. Please be there. Please be there. She chanted the plea over and over in her head.
With freezing fingers she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Peeling a glove off she woke the phone and saw just what she’d feared. No signal. Not even roaming. “Oh, crap,” she whispered. What the hell had she been thinking?
Her trail had been easy enough to pick up. Though snow was falling heavily her tracks had not filled in completely and the wind had been merciful. So far. It was picking up now. “What’re you up to, Lizzie?” JD asked the sky. “Did y
ou figure something out?” That had to be it and he knew it. But where she was heading was still a mystery to him.
He rode the mare a little harder than he liked to, but he could feel his fear mounting with every passing second. This was no place for an inexperienced trail rider to be. And though Lizzie could ride a horse, she was inexperienced when it came to being out on the mountain in weather like this on her own. It would be dark in a matter of an hour or less now. And with darkness the temperature would plummet into the single digits. The wind would make those single digits dive into the negative.
Hoof beat by hoof beat he rode along. “Just where are you heading, Lizzie?” he wondered, pushing the mare around a thicket of brush and scaring up a rabbit. At one time of his life he’d known these woods as intimately as he knew his own bedroom. But memories faded and things changed. So when he broke into the clearing he stopped the mare short, trying like hell to get his bearings. It took a moment, but slowly a memory came back to him. Tall meadow grass, a blanket, a girl and a bottle of strawberry wine. But not just any girl. A slow grin crept to his face. They’d stopped in this very meadow and had a picnic lunch before heading back into the woods on the other side. To his uncle’s old hunting shack.
Urging the mare forward again his eyes scanned the surface of the snow. Not far ahead he could see a riot of prints. Had she stopped and turned the horse? As he drew closer what he saw confused him. But only for a moment. The imprint where she had landed when she’d fallen from the horse was clear as a snow angel made by a kid. With sudden dread he knew exactly what had happened. The horse had gone one way and Lizzie the other. “Damnit, woman,” he growled under his breath. The snow was coming down hard now. Not the big fat flakes but smaller, harder pellet-like flakes which hurt his face when he turned it skyward. And the light from the sun, what little there had been to begin with, was fading fast as it sank toward the horizon.
She’d decided to head for the shack, a smart move on her part. But with knee deep snow and temperatures in the low teens she’d play hell making it there on foot. His anger with her was overridden by a deep set fear now. “Lizzie!” he bellowed into the driving snow and wind.
Nothing.
Heart pounding in his chest he urged the mare into a brisk trot and entered the cover of the woods. Here the snow wasn’t as deep and the wind not as sharp, but it still felt colder to him, nonetheless. The darkness seemed to be closing in with each tick of the second hand. God, if anything happened to her… He shoved the thought aside. For several reasons. His anger with her was still hot and raw. But damnit, so was his love for her. “Lizzie!”
Her footprints dragged through the snow, marching steadily forward. Urgently he called out to her again only to be answered by the wind whistling through the pines. Fighting for calmness he reminded himself Lizzie had grown up on this mountain. The extreme weather was nothing new to her and was something she understood. But obviously had lost respect for, he thought hotly. To ride out, alone, with a storm brewing had been nothing short of foolhardy. “How the hell did you manage to become a doctor with no more sense than this?” he muttered.
She’s at the shack, he told himself. She’ll have a fire going and be pissed as hell to see you come knocking. Right now he knew he’d pay anything he had to see an angry fire in her eyes. He nearly yelled again when in the deepening shadows he saw a darker shape in the snow. Unmoving it could have passed for a rock or pile of brush. But the moment JD’s gaze fell upon it he knew it was her. Could be nothing but her. His heart lurched and his stomach tightened as he launched himself from the mare’s back and into the deep snow. Reins firmly in hand he pushed his way toward her. “Oh, God. Lizzie.” Even before he got to her he could see well enough what had happened. A deep hole was next to one of her booted feet. The trunk of a large pine stood near her head, strands of her dark hair hanging in the bark.
Wrapping the reins around a low branch JD kneeled in the snow next to Lizzie, his eyes on her face as he took the tip of a gloved finger between his teeth and ripped the glove off his hand. “Oh, damnit, Lizzie.” Gently he touched her face, just under her nose. At first he felt nothing. But then just the tiniest puff of warmth. He sagged a little in relief, but only for a moment. Her lips were blue with cold and her face was nearly as white as the snow she lay on. Taking her in his arms he drew her into his lap. “C’mon, Lizzie. C’mon. Be okay.”
She hung limp in his embrace.
“Look, woman, I have plenty I still need to say to you after that bombshell you dropped on me. And damn you, you’re going to hear me out. Don’t you dare think you won’t.” This time he shook her. “Damnit, Lizzie, c’mon!”
Eyelashes encrusted with snow and ice fluttered before her eyes opened and she stared up at him through dark blue eyes. “Senator?” she asked, thoroughly confused. “You show up in the damnedest places.”
His breath caught when he locked gazes with her. But her words and the seriousness in her eyes made him chuckle. She was alive. And at the moment it was all that mattered to him. Now, to keep her that way.
The bump to her head and what he was sure was the beginning of hypothermia made her weak and groggy but he managed, with her limited help, to get Lizzie up in the saddle and himself positioned behind her. As he gathered the reins in his gloved hands she sagged against him. He entertained the thought of taking her back to the ranch but knew it was too far. Darkness was nearly upon them. In a matter of a half-hour it would be complete. He’d just make it to the shack in that amount of time. If he remembered right he’d heard his brother mention some renovations he’d been doing. He’d said it wasn’t much, but he’d still liked to use the place for hunting in the fall. “I hope you’re better at home repair than I think you are, Josh,” JD muttered as the mare tromped through the snow.
Pulling Lizzie’s limp form to his chest, he gazed down at her, a frown coming to his features. “And just what the hell were you doing coming out here?”
Chapter 28
“Matthew, you must do something immediately.” Arlene wrung her hands together and looked out the big bay window into the darkness.
“And just what would you have me do, Mrs. MacGreggor? I can’t send a search party out in the storm in the dark. It would be irresponsible at best. And then we’d have more than just two people missing.”
She didn’t give a whit about the Waring woman. She was the cause of this whole mess anyway, as far as she was concerned. “JD isn’t just anyone,” she argued. “He’s a United States Senator. That should pull some weight.” Her chin lifted and her eyes sparkled with pride.
“I’m well aware of that,” Matt answered on a tired sigh.
“Mom, JD will be fine,” Josh told her, hoping like hell that was the truth. “He knows these mountains.”
“Certainly there must be something you can do,” she told Matt.
“I can organize some people to head out at first light. That’s the best I can do.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re sure Lizzie and JD didn’t head out together?” he asked Josh.
“Positive. Cory says she came here this afternoon alone. She asked for a horse, eluding to the fact she and I were good friends and we’d met at the hospital. Cory assumed I was seeing her and he didn’t want to put her off.”
Arlene made a face. “Lying white trash tramp. It’s not bad enough she’s used one of my boys, now she’s after you too.”
Josh rolled his eyes and ignored her. “He told her to stay on ranch property and she told him she would. That’s all I know.” Going to stand in front of the fire he added, “JD must have seen her vehicle at the barn and took off after her.” They’d been over all of this earlier but since he felt useless at the moment it didn’t bother him to repeat himself. “The General showed up outside the barn without a rider. He’s the horse Lizzie took.”
“Shit,” Matt muttered, earning himself a dark look from Arlene. “JD should know better than to go running off half-cocked with a storm rolling in. Is there anywhere out there
he could hole up for the night if it comes to that?”
Josh thought. “Depends on which way he went. I mean, there’s always Katy’s place, but I suppose if he’s that close to home he’ll call or come on back here. And there’s Uncle Colbert’s old hunting shack, but that’s a ways out and truthfully I don’t know that he even would remember it or where it is.”
“That old thing should have been burned down years ago,” Arlene snarled. “Why the devil you keep it up I’ll never know.”
“What kind of shape is it in?” Matt asked Josh.
Running a hand around to massage the back of his neck, Josh told him, “Well, I put enough work into it over the summer to make it useable this last fall for hunting. I mean it has walls, a roof, a fireplace and a cook stove. No running water or electricity. It’s pretty rustic but it would work in a pinch.”
“Jeramiah will come home,” Arlene told them. Staying in a shack in the woods was not something she could imagine her oldest boy even contemplating. Especially with that woman. Her skin heated at the thought. What if that damn woman managed to get her claws into her boy again? No, she decided. That would not happen. He had too much going for him to fall for the likes of her again. So what if he’d made the mistake of creating a child with her thirteen years ago? That mistake could be overlooked. It happened to men all the time. “I don’t know what he was thinking chasing after that woman in the first place. She rode off on her own, he should have left it at that.”
“JD’s not built that way, mom,” Josh told her, nearly growling it. God, what the hell was wrong with the woman? His gaze bored into her. His mother. At the moment he wondered if she were really his mother at all.
“I told him that woman is nothing but trouble and I meant it.”
Hearts On Fire Page 14
