HIS TENDER TOUCH

by Sharon Mignerey

  She stared through the windshield, waves of fatigue washing over her. She'd sit here where it was warm and wait for the rain to stop. Then she would walk back to the ranch.

  Yawning, she settled her head against the headrest. Yes. That's what she'd do.

  And her eyelids drifted shut on a final thought. She'd see Gray again.

  * * *

  Worry rode Gray like a toothache almost as soon as Audrey's car disappeared around the bend in the road. There were too many "coincidences," and someone had gone to a lot of trouble to scare her. In his experience, there was a limited number of reasons for someone to go to all that trouble. Greed and revenge were almost always at the top of the list.

  Gray went into the lodge, hoping to find Hawk or Richard and get answers to his questions. He didn't find them. He couldn't imagine either one doing the mutilation. But the whispered threats over the speakers seemed exactly the sort of thing Richard might do.

  Gray strode through the hallways, making a mental list. The speaker in Audrey's room, the mutilated animal, her car trouble, Richard's absence last night, his threats after he returned. What the hell was going on? Gray's list of questions was long, and his answers were nonexistent.

  He silently let himself into the room Audrey had used, then closed the door behind him. Her scent was still present, reminding him how she had responded to his kisses. The speaker was still on the shelf, and Gray sat down on the bed, wondering what activated it. Whatever it was, it had to be battery operated since the power had been off all night.

  Remembering that Audrey had been certain the "voice" sensed her presence, Gray began checking for bugs. He didn't find any, but felt no relief to the worry that nagged him.

  He kept feeling that he had overlooked something important.

  He wondered if Audrey's drive through the mud back to the highway had been okay. Taking his car keys out of his pocket, he climbed into his Blazer. It couldn't hurt to check, and he would be a lot happier knowing she was all right.

  The road was worse than Gray ever remembered it being, and he put his vehicle into four-wheel drive after he rounded the first curve. The mud sucking at his tires convinced him that she couldn't have made it back to the highway. He kept looking for signs of her tracks in the road. By the time he reached the last stretch before the highway, he had slowed his pace to a crawl to keep the Blazer on the road. At each turn, he expected to find Audrey's car. At each turn, he hoped he would not.

  Relief that she had made it this far competed with disappointment he wouldn't be seeing her again. Childish, he decided. He would breathe easier once he knew she had made it to the highway without mishap.

  As he approached the bridge, the road became even more treacherous, and he fought to keep going in the right direction. The next instant, he spotted her car.

  All his worry bunched into a seething knot in the pit of his stomach.

  Her car had evidently slid off the road as she came down the slope, and it was stuck in inches of mud. Without a winch, he wouldn't be able to free it. He didn't see her inside the car, and his imagination fastened on a dozen hellacious possibilities. Where was she?

  As Gray navigated the final yards of road, he spared a glance ahead to the bridge—or where the bridge should have been. Cursing under his breath, he brought his own vehicle to a stop. Except for the roadbed that disappeared into the flowing water and reappeared on the other side, there was no evidence a bridge had ever spanned the creek.

  Returning his attention to Audrey's car, he saw her silhouette behind the driver's seat. She didn't notice his approach, and his relief was short-lived. His imagination conjured a new set of worrying possibilities. He got out of his truck and slogged through the mud. The windows were steamed up. Even so, he could see that her arms were wrapped loosely over the top of her steering wheel, and her head was drooped over it.

  His first thought was she had been injured when her car slid off the road. He rapped on the window and reached for the door handle. He saw her fingers flutter, and her head moved slightly. Her movements were uncoordinated, drunken. He wrenched the door open.

  "Audrey?"

  The inside of her car felt stuffy, and he smelled exhaust from her engine, which was still running.

  "God, no." Raw fear, primitive as any he had ever known, churned through him.

  Putting his hand beneath her chin, he tipped her face toward him. Unhealthy blue tinged her skin, and her eyes focused on him momentarily before rolling back into her head.

  Carbon-monoxide poisoning was the one thing his imagination hadn't taunted him with.

  * * *

  Chapter 6

  « ^ »

  Gray reached inside and turned off the engine, then unsnapped her seat belt. In a rush, he pulled Audrey from the car and into his arms.

  Her head lolled to the side, and her arms dangled limply. Hoisting her more firmly, Gray stood up.

  Oblivious to the rain, he returned to the Blazer and jerked open the door. He set her on the seat and felt for a pulse in her neck. Beneath his fingers, he felt a steady beat.

  His relief left him shaking. What the hell was basic first aid for carbon-monoxide poisoning? He couldn't remember. Oxygen. It had to be oxygen. He didn't have any. Just the cool fresh air. He hoped it was enough.

  "Audrey!"

  Her eyelids fluttered.

  Gray wrapped one of her arms around his neck and put one of his around her waist. Pulling her from his car, he headed for the grassy bank at the edge of the road where there was less mud.

  "C'mon, honey. Walk." Her feet dragged the ground. Gray took another few steps. "I know you can."

  Her head drooped against her chest. Gray let go of her arm and lifted her face toward him. At the touch of the rain against her face, she gasped, and her whole body stiffened.

  "That's it. Breathe!"

  She shuddered, then gasped again. Her eyes opened. Though they were focused on his face, she didn't seem to see him. But they were open. That, at least, was something.

  "Inhale again, honey."

  She sucked in a huge breath. He pulled her arm more firmly around his neck and tightened his hold on her waist.

  "We're going to walk, Audrey," he said, suiting action to his words. The first two steps, her legs dragged on the ground. On the third, she made her legs move. "That's it."

  Most of her steps after that were uncoordinated, and she stumbled more than walked. The exercise was making her breathe harder, though, and at the moment that was all Gray wanted.

  He glanced down at her. What he could see of her cheek wasn't as pale as it had been, and the blue tint to her skin was fading. With each step, her legs gained coordination. He kept talking to her, encouraging her, his response automatic. C'mon, love, he silently urged her. Fear curled through his gut, leaving behind a hole that burned.

  Audrey coughed, and Gray stopped walking, holding her until the spasm passed. When it was over, she was trembling.

  Suddenly, she stiffened and grasped his arms. "Gray?"

  "Yeah," he answered.

  She raised her eyes to his, this time thankfully focused and clear. The whites of her eyes still looked too blue to him. Sighing, she lifted her face into the rain, which was slowing to a stop. She closed her eyes, kneading her fingers into his arms.

  "I stopped for a huge bull. If I hadn't, I would have been on the bridge when a big crest of water washed it away." She shuddered. "Oh, my God…"

  Too easily, Gray followed her train of thought, and his grip around her tightened. If she had been on the bridge … if he hadn't been worried and come to check on her…

  "You're okay," he whispered, pulling her more firmly against his side, pressing his lips against her hair. "You're okay."

  "And I got so sleepy, and I never take naps." She started to shake. "And I was sure I was dying, but I'd just fallen asleep…"

  "You had carbon-monoxide poisoning."

  "No—"

  "Yes." He cupped her cheek with his palm. "When I got
here, you were barely conscious, Audrey. Not asleep."

  "I could have … di— If you hadn't come…" A hysterical bubble of laughter escaped. "And I kept thinking I could have been on the bridge—"

  The laughter ended on a sob.

  Gray wrapped his arms around her. "Shh. It's all right." He wished he had never said the words. Things weren't all right, and he was a fool for wanting her to believe they were. He wanted a look at the exhaust system on her car. If he hadn't come along, her death would have looked like a tragic accident. In his gut, he knew this was no accident.

  The knowledge someone was willing to kill her made him shake. The deep anger was familiar, and so was his overwhelming need to protect. He hadn't felt this powerless, though, since he was a twelve-year-old, watching his father beat his mother. Then, Gray had known exactly who the enemy was. He wished he knew now. Richard? Hawk? Someone else?

  Shocked that he had so much at stake in Audrey—viewing her enemies as his own—he filed the realization away to think about later. The important thing was to figure why someone was after her.

  "I have a headache that won't quit," she said.

  "I have aspirin, but I don't know if it will help." He loosened his hold on her. "Are you ready to go?"

  "Back to the ranch?"

  He wished there were someplace else. His glance slid to the creek. Until the water receded, the choices were limited.

  The ranch. Where Richard and Hawk were both glad to see her gone. Where one of them was evidently willing to murder.

  The pueblo, he thought. Except Mary and Hawk both lived at La Huerta. Audrey wouldn't be welcome there, either.

  His cabin. Which had a leaky roof, and since he had moved down to the lodge until it was fixed, he couldn't easily explain moving back.

  Damn!

  "Gray?"

  He glanced toward the creek and Audrey's car. As soon as anyone saw her car, they would know she hadn't made it to the highway. Keeping her presence a secret would be impossible. Taking her back to his place was the only sensible answer.

  He was on the verge of answering her when he heard the distinctive ping of a bullet striking metal.

  He pushed Audrey down, dropping to the ground with her. His heart lodged in his throat, and he pressed his cheek against the sandy earth.

  "What—?"

  The heavy boom of a rifle's gunshot cut short her question.

  Another bullet hit, this time striking a large rock a few feet away. A scant second later the gunfire resounded again.

  "Damn," Gray muttered, dragging Audrey farther away from the road, seeking whatever meager protection the thick stands of rabbitbrush provided.

  "I hear a gun," she said, disbelief coloring her voice.

  "Damned straight."

  Another bullet whizzed over their heads and struck the earth just beyond them.

  "Oh, God, somebody's shooting at us." Amazement, more than fear, filled her voice.

  "You got that right." Gray scanned the bluff above them. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the hillside. It was someone quite a distance from them, given the time between the bullet striking and the rifle's report. He wished he had the binoculars that were inside his truck. More than that, he wished he had the revolver hidden under the seat.

  "Why?" she asked, lifting her head slightly.

  Now, there was the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. He pushed her head back down.

  "C'mon, show yourself," he muttered. His revolver wasn't any good at distances. But he'd feel better if he had it anyway.

  Gunfire sounded again. Without being told, Audrey curled completely against the muddy earth.

  "Oh, God," she whispered. "Oh, God."

  Another ping was followed by a brief hiss, accompanied by the thunderclap of an explosion.

  Pieces of Audrey's car shot into the sky, driven by an orange and black fireball. The smell of burning gasoline permeated the air. The impact of the explosion thundered through Gray, and he covered Audrey's body with his. Pieces of her car crashed back to the ground. The odor of hot metal pinched his nostrils.

  Above the sound of the fire, Gray heard more gunfire. He peered through the brush. A bullet struck the windshield of his car, shattering the glass. Another struck a tire, and another struck the radiator.

  "Your car, Gray," he heard Audrey say from beneath him. "Oh, God, I'm sorry."

  "What the hell are you sorry for?"

  "If you hadn't come—"

  "Don't even say it," he interrupted fiercely.

  Feeling Audrey shiver, Gray opened his jacket and shifted slightly to his side, until he had it wrapped around her. Easing his weight off her, he put his arm under her head, then pulled her back more firmly against his chest.

  He had no idea what he would say to her when she asked what they were going to do next. Thankfully, she didn't ask. They lay on the ground, listening to the fire burn, watching the black skeleton of her car gradually appear from within the diminishing flames.

  Again and again, Gray's glance returned to the bluff. The more he thought about the shooter's location, the less he liked the possibilities. For one thing, the bluff was on the same side of the creek they were. Whoever was trying to kill them couldn't leave, either. Not unless he had wings. Equally important, getting back to the ranch was going to be a problem. Mud, little cover, rain and the cold were all concerns without the added threat of someone out there with a rifle.

  The distinctive smell of rain filled the air, and Gray glanced up. On top of everything else, they were about to get soaked. His attention shifted to the bluff. Nothing. Wherever the gunman was, he was well hidden.

  A veil of showers crept over the bluff.

  "We're going to make a run for it in just a minute," Gray whispered in Audrey's ear, reasoning that if he couldn't see the bluff, the sniper wouldn't be able to see them. Gray figured if they were going to move, they would have as good a chance as they were likely to get in two or three more minutes.

  "For your car?"

  "I have a couple of things I want to get out of it, but we're going to be on foot. See that big boulder over there, the house-sized one that looks sort of like a pyramid with a balcony off the side?"

  "Yeah."

  "As soon as I say go, I want you to run for it. When you get there, hunker down behind it and stay put. Okay?"

  She nodded.

  A few sprinkles fell, and she glanced up the hillside to where the gunfire had been coming from. The bluff was hidden behind a curtain of rain.

  Gray sat up suddenly and stripped off his jacket. He stuffed her into it as though she were a small child and zipped it to her neck. He looked so serious while performing the task, she couldn't help but reach up and smooth out the lines between his eyebrows. He paused, his gaze searching hers, then finished in a rush. He took her hand, and laced her fingers through his.

  "Don't worry about a thing," he said. "I'm going to be right behind you."

  She tried to smile. "Don't worry! Hah. Until last night, the biggest worry I had was not overdrawing my checking account."

  "That's the spunk." Gray stood and pulled her to her feet. "Run, honey. And no matter what you hear, keep running until you get to the rock. Okay?"

  "Okay."

  He pointed her in the right direction and swatted her on the fanny.

  All the fear that had been bottled up inside her let loose, and she ran as though the furies of hell were after her. When Gray pointed out the boulder, it hadn't looked so far away. Now it seemed miles.

  Maybe not miles, she grudgingly admitted. She was a city kid. What did she know about distance? Before she was even halfway to the rock, her side ached. Fear and fear alone kept her running.

  Within seconds, her legs felt weighted down, not just with the mud sticking to her shoes and sucking at her feet, but with fatigue. A stitch stabbed her side, and she pressed herself to run though her body demanded she stop.

  Once, she glanced over her shoulder. She didn't see Gray at all. Dear God, what would s
he do if something happened to him?

  An instant later, she saw him slip out of the vehicle, his arms filled with a bundle. He crouched next to the door.

  Run, she silently urged.

  A pair of rapid rifle shots split the air.

  Audrey tried to run faster, but she couldn't make her legs move any quicker. Her lungs burned. And the damned rock seemed no closer.

  She glanced over her shoulder. Gray was running toward her.

  She returned her attention to the boulder and doubted she would reach it before Gray caught up with her.

  The huge stone was still a long way off when she heard his pounding footsteps right behind her.

  "You're doing fine," he said, sounding barely winded at all.

  She knew just how badly she was doing. Even under the best of circumstances, she couldn't have run with his ease. She vowed that just as soon as she made it back to Denver, she was going to get into shape.

  The report of the rifle firing made her duck.

  If she made it back to Denver, she thought. Reaching for an additional spurt of energy, she thought, when. Not if. When.

  As he had when he walked with her earlier, Gray grabbed her by the waist, half lifting her as they ran, making her torturous progress more rapid. His support made her dig deep for another spurt of energy. It was a mere dribble, but he praised her anyway.

  She looked ahead, and amazingly the outcrop was closer. When they reached the huge boulder, Audrey wanted to collapse at its base, but Gray pulled her around the back side. Sheets of sandstone had broken off here and there, some buried along the bottom, many piled on top of one another. Gray pulled her beneath two huge perpendicular slabs carelessly leaned against the huge boulder's wall. The crude lean-to gave them nominal protection from the weather.

  Audrey sank to the ground, sucking in huge gasps of air. Her chest felt tight, and her heart pounded. He put his arm around her shoulder.

  "You okay?" he asked.

  "Fine and dandy," she gasped. "I'm just getting warmed up. I'll be ready for a marathon in … oh … two or three minutes, max."