The Fugitive Bride

by Margaret Watson

  Maybe he wasn’t awake yet, she thought frantically. Maybe she could extricate herself from him, and when he woke up, she would be sitting on a rock twenty feet away.

  But then he shifted, and the hard length of his arousal burning into her thigh told her that he was awake, too.

  Tensing, she tried to pull away from him. His arms tightened around her for a moment, and she felt his lips brush her hair. Then he rolled to one side and sat up.

  “Good morning. Shea.” His voice was low and gravelly, as it always was the first thing in the morning.

  Swallowing hard, she tried to banish the other early-morning memories of Jesse that filled her mind and aroused her senses. “Good morning. It looks like we overslept.”

  “I’ve been awake for a while,” he said easily as he swung to his feet. “I didn’t want to wake you, so I didn’t move.”

  She sat up and brushed her hair out of her eyes, then stood up and stretched. It was a clear morning without a cloud in the sky, but there was still a bite of early spring cold in the air.

  “I’m going to call Ben and see if he’s had any luck,” she said, reaching into her backpack for the cell phone.

  A moment later she was talking to the deputy. “I’ve got him, Shea,” Ben said, and she closed her eyes as relief washed over her.

  “Is he all right?”

  “He’s fine.” There was an odd note in the deputy’s voice, and Shea gripped the phone more tightly.

  “Tell me the truth, Ben,” she demanded. “Is he hurt?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with him, Shea.” Ben turned away to speak to Rafael, then came back to her. “I think he could use a good meal, but other than that, he’s in good shape.”

  “You sound funny,” she said.

  There was a long pause. “I’m all right, too,” he finally said. “We’ll meet you back at the cabin.”

  Shea closed the cell phone and looked over at Jesse. “I guess you could tell that Ben found him.”

  “You don’t sound too happy about it.”

  She forced herself to smile. “I’m thrilled. I’m just worried.”

  “Did something happen to Rafael?” Jesse asked sharply.

  “Ben says no. He said he’s hungry, but otherwise okay.”

  “Then what are you worried about?”

  “Ben sounded funny. Different than I’ve ever heard him sound before. Almost as if he was scared.”

  “He’s probably just tired,” Jesse said, shouldering his pack and handing the other one to her. “My guess is that he didn’t sleep last night.”

  “You’re probably right.” Shea slid the backpack onto her shoulders and took a drink of water. “But I’m still worried.”

  “Then let’s go meet them at the cabin, and you can see for yourself that Rafael and Jackson are both all right.”

  They hiked in silence for a while, taking the shortest route to the cabin. Finally Jesse said, “What happens after this, Shea?”

  “I imagine we’ll find Rafael something to eat,” she said lightly.

  He scowled. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. What happens with Rafael and the rest of the children?”

  “That’s none of your concern.” She kept her voice cool. “They’re safely hidden and out of your reach. As I think I pointed out yesterday, I don’t have to answer any of your questions. I know enough to realize that, even though you didn’t read me my rights.”

  “I’m not your enemy here, Shea.”

  She whirled around to face him. “You’re not? Then what would you call it? You tricked me into hiring you, you made me fall in I...” She clamped her lips together, feeling the hot tears trembling beneath her anger. “You seduced me, and all the time you were planning to arrest me. You betrayed me, Jesse. How else would you describe an enemy?”

  “I didn’t know what you were doing. I didn’t know it was children you were bringing into the country. That changes everything.”

  “Is that so? Does that mean you’re not going to tell your boss what you found? Does that mean you’re going to forget all about my children, forget you ever saw anyone at the cabin?”

  “I can’t do that. I’ve sworn to uphold the law.” His voice was low, and he didn’t look at her.

  A wave of pain and despair rolled over her. The sweetness of waking up in his arms, the tenderness she’d felt from him as they’d huddled together the night before, all faded slowly away.

  “So you’re on one side of the fence and I’m on the other.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way, Shea.”

  “Tell me how it can be any different” Her voice rose into the thin desert air. “I’m not about to hand my children over to you to send back to San Rafael. And you can’t turn your back on your job.” She swallowed once. “I know what kind of person you are, Jesse. Your job is important to you, and you’re very good at what you do. Ignoring what I’m doing would be wrong. It’s your job to turn me in. I understand that.”

  “Do you think I want to put you in prison, Shea?” His voice trembled with emotion. “I’m not sure I can do that. I can’t bear to think of you, with your vitality and your love of life, locked into a cage. Why are you making me do this? Tell me where the children are. Maybe they won’t have to go back to San Rafael.”

  “Can you promise that? Can you tell me, without any hesitation or doubt, that they’ll be safe?” she demanded. “Can you assure me that they won’t have to face the horrors they left behind in San Rafael?”

  “You know I can’t promise anything.” He didn’t look at her. “All I can promise is that I’ll do my best.”

  “I’m sure you would do your best, Jesse.” Her voice softened. “I know that you don’t want to hurt those children any more than I do. But I can’t put those children’s lives at stake. If there’s even the slightest chance that they have to go back to San Rafael, I can’t let you have them.”

  “Even if it means you end up in prison?”

  “Yes.” Her voice rang out passionately, echoing off the cliffs. “What would happen to Rafael if he had to go back to San Rafael? I don’t think he’d survive. And I don’t know about the others. All I know is that they were desperate enough to go with a man they don’t know, away from everything that was familiar to them. How can you expect me to send them back?”

  “I don’t.” He glanced over at her. “I know you, too, Shea. I didn’t expect you to agree. But I needed to give you a chance.”

  “So we’re back to square one.”

  “Not quite. Jackson found Rafael. That’s one good thing that’s happened.”

  Shea glanced over at Jesse as they walked. More than one good thing had happened on the Red Rock in the last few weeks, she thought. Jesse had made her feel things she hadn’t thought possible, things she didn’t even know existed. And she had almost slipped and told him the truth. She’d fallen in love with him. He’d betrayed her and thrown that gift back in her face, but she couldn’t regret it.

  She and Jesse didn’t have a future, but she would have the memories of these few weeks to nourish her. He had betrayed her, but she couldn’t banish him completely from her life. He would always occupy a secret place in her heart, a corner that would never belong to anyone but Jesse.

  “We must be close to the cabin,” Jesse said.

  She wanted to slow down, to tell him to stop. She wasn’t ready yet to rejoin Ben and Rafael, she wasn’t ready to resume the fight with Jesse. She wanted more time. She wanted to try and find a way to compromise with him.

  But she knew there was no compromise possible. She wouldn’t have loved him if he’d been the kind of man who easily compromised his principles. And she couldn’t have loved him if he’d been the kind of man who expected her to back down from what she believed.

  She’d always looked trouble in the eye and faced it down.

  So she said, “Let’s hurry. I’m anxious to see Rafael.”

  He glanced over at her, but he didn’t say anything. She wondered what he was
thinking. She wondered if he, too, wished that the cabin was miles away. She wondered if he wanted to turn back time, the way she longed to do.

  Jesse watched the expressions flit across Shea’s face and wondered what she was thinking. He wondered, with a stab of pain, if she was memorizing what she thought was her last sight of the mountains. Was she thinking about him at all, or had she already put him out of her mind?

  He had no right to ask her. Hell, he had no right to even wonder.

  He ached to touch her one last time, to pull her close and hold her like he never had to let her go. But they hiked up a small rise, and the cabin came into view below them. His last chance was gone.

  Shea didn’t look back as she began to run toward the tiny cabin. “Hold on a minute,” he called to her, and she paused and looked over her shoulder.

  “Why?”

  “The air is too thin to be running up here,” he said. “You’ll tire yourself out.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “This is where I live. This thin air is a part of me. And even if I do tire myself out, it’s no concern of yours.”

  Without waiting for an answer, she turned and headed toward the cabin again. By the time she was fifty feet away, she was going at a dead run. Jesse ran behind her, but he wasn’t able to catch up until after she’d disappeared into the cabin.

  When he pulled open the door, he saw Shea down on her knees, her arms wrapped around the boy. Jackson stood above them, his expression impossible to read.

  Finally the child pulled away from her. Far from the frightened child he’d expected, Rafael was smiling and happy. His eyes shone with excitement.

  “Do you know what Señor Ben found?” he demanded in accented English.

  “What did Ben find?” Shea asked. Jesse watched as she curled her arm around the boy, pulling him closer.

  Rafael didn’t seem to notice. He looked up at Ben, adoration shining out of his eyes. “He found a cave for us to sleep in. I think there might have been bears,” he said, his voice dropping. “But we scared them away. Then he found water for me to drink.” He looked back at Shea. “I was very thirsty,” he confided. “But Senor Ben knew just where the water was.”

  “Ben is good at things like that.”

  Shea glanced up at Ben, and Jesse saw her eyes soften. For a moment, an icy hot spear of jealousy stabbed through him. Then he caught himself. He had no right to be jealous of anyone. He’d forfeited those rights when he’d pulled his badge on Shea.

  Jackson cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. “Rafael is a real trouper,” he finally said. “We had an adventure, didn’t we, buddy?”

  Rafael nodded vigorously. “Señor Ben said we could go hiking in the mountains again sometime, but that I had to come back now.” He looked at Shea, and his mouth trembled. “He said I have to tell you I’m sorry that I scared you.”

  Shea hugged him again, then stood up. “You’re forgiven, Rafael. I know you were frightened and confused. Later, we’ll talk about what we need to do when we’re scared, but right now, I’m getting kind of hungry. How about you?”

  The boy nodded solemnly. “Me, too.”

  “Then what do you say we head back to the house?”

  Jesse watched her with the child and felt his heart break all over again. She was so gentle with the boy, so kind. And so thoughtful. He knew Shea would talk to him about running away, but she wouldn’t do it in front of an audience. Rafael would get his scolding in private.

  He bent to pick up the pack she’d dropped as she rushed in the door, and she glanced over at him. Almost, he thought with a pang, as if she’d forgotten his existence in her concern for the boy.

  “Thank you, Jesse,” she murmured, and he felt his gut tighten.

  “I’m glad I could help.” He was glad he’d had one last night with her, even if she’d been angry and hurt. He’d have one more memory to cherish.

  No one said much on the trip back to the house. Rafael sat in the front seat with Jackson and stared out the window, wide-eyed. Jesse realized it was probably the first glimpse the boy had had of the ranch in daylight. Shea sat in the back seat with him, but she might as well have been miles away.

  Just before they reached the house, she roused herself and gave him a brief smile. “Thanks again for helping us search, Jesse.”

  Her words were polite and distant, as if he’d been a neighbor or acquaintance who’d volunteered to help her out. There was no passion in her voice, no warmth in her eyes. There was nothing left of the heat he used to see every time he caught her gaze.

  And it was exactly what he deserved, he told himself harshly. She was right. He had betrayed her.

  But he’d been doing his job. And his job often required that he betray people who’d thought he was their friend. It was the essence of undercover work. It had never bothered him until now.

  Now, looking at Shea sitting so close to him, but in reality so far away, he felt dirty inside, as if his soul was stained. It was his own fault, for getting involved with a suspect. But he didn’t think the ache in his heart was part of his job description.

  As the house came into view, he saw a tall man with golden brown hair step out onto the porch. He stood staring at them, and Jesse felt Shea stiffen next to him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked sharply.

  For a moment she didn’t answer. Then she sighed. “Just what I needed today. That’s my brother.”

  Before the truck had completely stopped, Shea’s brother strode toward it and wrenched open the door. His mouth a thin line, he glared at his sister and said, “What the hell have you been doing, Shea?”

  “It’s good to see you, too,” she retorted.

  His mouth softened and the tall man dragged her out of the car and into his arms for a hug. Then he stepped back. “Maria and Levi have been talking,” he said without preamble. “I’ve been getting some wild story about an FBI agent working here undercover.” His eyes narrowed. “In more ways than one. And now they claim that this guy is ready to haul you off to prison for smuggling illegal aliens. What the hell happened here while I was gone? And where the hell is this FBI agent?”

  “That would be me.” Jesse slid out of the car and stood next to Shea. “I’m Jesse Coulton.” He didn’t offer his hand, and neither did the other man.

  Her brother’s mouth thinned. “I’m Devlin McAllister, and I’m the sheriff of Cameron. Why was the FBI running an undercover operation on my territory without informing me?”

  “First of all, you weren’t here when I arrived. And secondly, we didn’t inform you because we were investigating your ranch.” He gave Devlin a thin smile. “As a law enforcement officer, I’m sure you understand my dilemma.”

  Devlin scowled at him, but before he could say anything, a tall, striking woman with dark red hair walked out of the house.

  “Shea!” she called. “I thought I heard a truck pull up.” Hurrying down the steps, she reached for Shea and hugged her. Then she stepped back and searched Shea’s face. “It’s good to see you,” she said softly.

  “You too, Carly.” Shea turned to Jesse. “This is my sister-in-law, Carly,” she said. “Carly, this is Jesse Coulton. I’m sure Maria and Levi have told you about him.”

  Jesse shook the other woman’s hand, taken aback by the cool appraisal in her eyes. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Coulton.”

  Jesse watched as Devlin and Carly turned back to Shea. No one noticed that Ben and Rafael got out of the truck and headed toward the house. The deputy’s hand hovered over the boy’s shoulder, but he didn’t actually touch Rafael. When the child looked up at Jackson, adoration in his eyes, Jesse saw Ben wince.

  Jesse watched thoughtfully as the pair disappeared into the house. At least Jackson had the foresight to remove the boy from the discussion, which was bound to get ugly. Jesse wondered what would happen to the boy, then told himself that wasn’t part of his job.

  But as he turned back to Shea and the others, he wanted to break down the rigid barriers of his job.
He wanted to be a part of the group that stood next to him. He listened to the rise and fall of voices as Shea and her brother and sister-in-law all tried to talk at once Levi and Joe came out of the barn and added their voices to the din.

  Suddenly Jesse spun around and headed for his small bunkhouse. He didn’t belong here In spite of his feelings about Shea, he was still an outsider. And because of what he’d done, he’d always be an outsider at the Red Rock Ranch.

  It was time to leave. He had a job to do, and decisions to make. He’d always defined himself by his job, and nothing had changed. It was time to move on.

  It only took a moment to replace his clothes and belongings into his duffel bag. Just as he was ready to close it up, he found the radiator cap he’d taken from the truck. It had only been a few weeks, but it seemed like a different lifetime.

  “Was everything a lie, Jesse?”

  Shea’s voice came from the doorway behind him, and he spun around to face her, the radiator cap in his hand. He heard sadness in her voice, and loss. She was staring at the round metal cap he held.

  “I was going to give this back to you.”

  “I didn’t want to believe that everything was planned, everything was staged,” she whispered. “But even then, you were lying to me. Even then, that day I caught you up near the cabin, you were working the angles, weren’t you? You took the cap so you would have a story ready for me if I caught you up there.”

  Jesse set the radiator cap gently onto the table. Suddenly it seemed like a symbol of all the ugliness and lies that stood between them. “I wish it could have been another way, Shea. I wish I hadn’t come here like this.”

  “But you did, and it’s too late to change anything.” She gestured to his packed bag. “Where are you going? Or should I ask, where are we going? Am I supposed to be packing a bag, too?”

  “You’re not going anywhere, as far as I know. At least, you’re not going anywhere with me. I’m going back to Washington.” He hesitated. “Have you thought about what we talked about earlier? About telling me where the children are hidden?”