Ranch Hideout

by Sandra Robbins

  “I hope so.”

  He gritted his teeth and leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed and recalled watching Liz enter the workshop. If he hadn’t gone to answer the knocking at his door at that moment, he would have seen who locked the door behind her, but he hadn’t. Now all he could do was berate himself for not being with her. From now on both he and Andrea would be at her side at all times.

  “Coffee, anyone?” He opened his eyes and saw Dean striding into the room, carrying a container with four cups of coffee. “I went to the cafeteria and got this for us.”

  Gwen and Andrea took their cups and settled back in their chairs. Gabriel pushed to his feet. “No, thanks. I think I’ll check with the receptionist again.”

  Dean caught him by the arm before he’d gotten halfway across the room. “Gabriel, calm down. We have to let the doctors and nurses do what they’re trained to do.”

  He turned and glared at Dean. “And we’re supposed to sit here and do nothing?”

  Dean set the container that still held two cups down on a table and inhaled deeply. “Come with me.”

  Without waiting for a reply he headed to the other side of the waiting room. Gabriel started to protest but decided it would do no good. He followed Dean and dropped down in one of the chairs. Dean took the other one and scooted closer. Then he leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him.

  “Gabriel, we have something very important to do while we’re waiting. We need to pray for Liz.”

  “Pray?” Andrea and Gwen as well as the receptionist behind her glass panel jerked their heads up and stared at him. His skin warmed, and he lowered his voice. “What good is that going to do?”

  “It’s going to do a lot of good. We need to ask God to watch over her, and we need to ask that the doctors know what to do to save her life. We also need to pray for peace that we can accept God’s will.”

  Dean’s words shocked him. “His will?” he snapped. “Was it God’s will for this to happen in the first place? What has Liz ever done that she deserves something like this to happen to her? All she wants is to put a murderer behind bars, and she’s suffering for it.”

  “Gabriel, you know as well as I do that Liz placed her life in God’s hands. That’s how she’s been able to face everything that’s happened. He’s been by her side, taking care of her all along.”

  Gabriel’s pulse raced as he remembered seeing her go into that workshop. “Well, He’s not doing a very good job of it. Where was He this afternoon when someone was locking her in a building filled with propane gas?”

  “He was watching over her, protecting her.”

  Gabriel leaned toward Dean and clenched his teeth. “How can you say that? She was almost killed,” he hissed.

  A slow smile spread across Dean’s face, and he shook his head. “You’re missing the point.” He paused for a moment and studied Gabriel’s face. “Let me ask you something. I saw you right after Liz and Andrea went to the barn. You said you hadn’t slept well the night before and thought you’d take a nap. Why didn’t you?”

  The question surprised Gabriel. “I don’t know. I felt restless. I couldn’t be still.”

  “And then?”

  “I looked out the window and saw Liz going in the workshop. The next time I looked, the door was closed and locked. I thought she’d gone back to the barn.”

  “So why didn’t you lie down then and take your nap?”

  Gabriel shrugged. “I don’t know. Something kept bothering me, like I needed to go check on her and Andrea. I decided I wasn’t going to have any peace until I did. That’s when I found out she’d never come back from the workshop.”

  “And because you went to the barn, Liz’s life was saved. Just think what would have happened if you’d lain down on the bed and gone to sleep.”

  Gabriel’s breath hitched in his throat. “She’d be dead right now.”

  Dean’s face lit up with a smile. “Exactly. She’s still alive because God was watching over her. He was there with her this afternoon, but He was also there with you.”

  Gabriel didn’t say anything as he thought about what Dean had said. Then he swallowed and stared back at Dean. “Do you really think God led me to go to the workshop?”

  Dean nodded. “I do. How else can you explain that nagging feeling that something wasn’t right? You weren’t just an FBI agent this afternoon. You were an agent on assignment from a much higher power.”

  Liz had told him about her faith, and now Dean had shown him his. Could they be right? Had he been missing something all these years that could have brought him peace?

  Before he could ask Dean anything else, the doors to the treatment rooms opened, and a young man who looked like he could barely be out of college emerged. A stethoscope hung around his neck. “Who’s here with Miss Madison?”

  “We are,” Gabriel responded as all four of them jumped to their feet and hurried toward the man.

  When they reached him, the man looked from one to another and smiled. “I’m Dr. Jacobson. I have been treating Miss Madison, and she appears to be recovering nicely. She’s going to have a bad headache, but other than that, everything else looks good. Vital signs are right on target. She’s got some pretty terrific timing. If she’d been discovered a few minutes later, we’d be having a different conversation right now.”

  Gabriel opened his mouth to speak, but his vocal cords felt frozen. He relaxed when Dean spoke up. “When will she be able to go home?”

  “We’re going to keep her overnight for observation, just to make sure everything is okay. She’ll probably be released in the morning.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Jacobson,” Dean said as he shook the man’s hand.

  Gabriel stuck out his hand, but he still couldn’t speak. After shaking the doctor’s hand, he turned and walked back to the chair where he’d been sitting. He dropped down in it, propped his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.

  Across the room he could hear Dean still asking questions about Liz. All he needed to know right now was that she was all right. Thank You, God, for taking care of her.

  His muscles tensed, and he sat up, his mouth gaping open. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He had prayed for the first time in his life. He didn’t know if it meant anything or not, but he couldn’t ignore the peaceful feeling that washed over him.

  In the past whenever he hadn’t understood something, he would ponder it until it made sense to him. Sometimes that would take days, other times not so long. He had no idea if he’d ever be able to wrap his mind around all the things Liz and Dean had said to him about God.

  He just couldn’t see how this thing they called faith could be something he’d ever be able to understand.

  * * *

  Liz heard the voices before she opened her eyes. She lay still as the sound buzzed around her. She wished she could make sense of what they were saying, but her head was hurting so badly she couldn’t concentrate. After a few minutes she forced her eyes open and stared up.

  An unfamiliar white ceiling appeared overhead, and she wondered where she could be. She turned her head on the pillow and stared at Gabriel in a chair beside her bed. A voice from the other side said something, and she looked to see Andrea sitting there. She raised her hand and rubbed her eyes.

  Gabriel must have seen the movement, because he was out of his chair in an instant and was bent over her. “Liz,” he said, “are you awake?”

  She tried to speak, but her mouth was so dry she couldn’t make the words come out. All she could think about was how thirsty she was and how she wished she had a cool drink of water. Gabriel must have read her mind; the next thing she knew, he was hovering over her with a cup and a straw angled toward her mouth.

  She clamped her lips around the straw and almost sighed with pleasure at the cool drink that pou
red into her mouth. She took a deep breath and started to draw another sip, but Gabriel pulled the cup away. “Don’t take too much too fast. We don’t want it to make you sick.”

  Someone touched her arm opposite Gabriel, and when she turned her head, Andrea was standing there, a worried expression on her face. “Oh, Liz. I’m so glad you’re awake.”

  She frowned and looked from Gabriel to Andrea. What had happened? She searched her mind for a hint of why she was lying in this bed, and then it came back to her. The workshop, the propane gas and the locked door.

  Her eyes widened, and the panic that had filled her when she realized the door was padlocked from the outside washed over her again. She gasped and tried to sit up in bed, but Gabriel put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down. “It’s all right, Liz. You’re safe now. We’re here with you.”

  “How...how did you...?” She couldn’t get her thoughts to come out, and she stopped in frustration.

  Gabriel put his hand on her forehead and brushed her hair back out of her eyes. “Shhh,” he whispered. “Don’t try to talk. We’ll explain everything when you’re feeling better. For now just rest and heal. Andrea and I will be right here. We won’t leave you alone.”

  His hand had drifted down so that it now lay against her cheek, and it gave Liz a comforting feeling. For the first time in years she felt as if she wasn’t alone. Gabriel was here, and he’d make sure she was okay while she slept.

  With a contented sigh, she reached up and stroked his hand, then closed her eyes. She didn’t move as his hand continued to caress her cheek. It felt so right, as if he had the power to banish all the bad things from her life and make everything right. She had never felt such a strong connection from another person’s touch.

  In that instant just before sleep overtook her, she discovered something that she should have seen days ago. She was starting to care for Gabriel Decker. It was foolish of her. He was going away, maybe to Texas, and she might never see him again, but that didn’t matter right now. Her heart was opening up for him, whether she wanted it to or not.

  * * *

  Gabriel wanted to wrap his arms around Liz and keep her close forever, but Andrea was in the room. She might think such a display was unprofessional, and he didn’t want to give her any reason to judge him that way.

  So he silently stood there, bent over the bed, and watched Liz sleep with her cheek resting against his palm. After a few minutes he pulled his hand away, sat down in the chair and scooted closer to Liz.

  He stared at her as if he needed to memorize every detail of her face. As he did, he reaffirmed what he’d known since the first time he saw her. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Since then his opinion hadn’t changed. It had only become stronger.

  She lay so still in sleep with her hair fanned out around her head on the pillow. She looked like a princess lying there, and he’d never wanted anything in his life like he wanted to protect her from any harm or sadness or pain. He wanted her to know how he thought she was the best and bravest person he’d ever known and that he couldn’t imagine anything better than staying by her side.

  But he couldn’t.

  She might be a princess, but the truth of the matter was that he was no Prince Charming. She had been right when she told him that his anger had turned his soul dark. He’d carried around so much baggage for years that he didn’t know if he could ever make a woman happy, especially one like Liz.

  “I think I’ll go get some coffee. You want some?” Andrea’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “It’s going to be a long night.”

  He nodded without looking up at her. “Sounds good. Make mine black.”

  “I know how you take your coffee, Gabriel. This isn’t our first assignment together.”

  Surprised at her words, he glanced up. His heart dropped into his stomach at the grim line of Andrea’s mouth. Her words hinted that she knew Liz was becoming more than an assignment to him.

  “Andrea...” he began.

  She held up her hand to stop him. “All I’m saying is that you can’t allow yourself to become distracted. If you do, you’re putting all our lives in danger.”

  Before he could answer, she swept past him and out the door. He sat there for a moment staring after her. Then he shook his head. He reached for Liz’s hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it.

  “What am I going to do, Liz?” he whispered. “I told you once that you’re special, and you are. There’s no one like you in the world. But you deserve someone better than me, someone who shares your beliefs and can face life with you filled with hope. That’s not me. So when this is over, I’m going to get as far away from you as I can. Maybe then you can find the life you deserve.”

  The words were barely out of his mouth when a knock at the door startled him. “Come in.”

  The door opened, and Dean and Sheriff Whitman entered the room. He stood to greet the men. “Dean, I thought you’d taken Gwen home.”

  “I did, but Ben came by to talk to you, and I came back with him.”

  Gabriel’s senses automatically went on high alert at Ben’s somber expression. If he’d made a special trip to the ranch to see him, there had to be a reason. “What’s up, Ben?”

  Ben glanced at Liz and tilted his head toward the hall. “Why don’t we step outside so we don’t disturb Liz?”

  Gabriel didn’t want to leave her alone, but from Ben’s tone of voice and body language, he knew something was wrong. “Okay.”

  They stepped into the hall and Gabriel closed the door behind him. Ben exhaled a breath and looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. “A couple was driving through Cades Cove this morning and spotted what they thought was a body in the trees just beyond the road. They called us, and we retrieved the body. It was Gene Curtis.”

  Gabriel’s mouth fell open. “The guy who attacked Liz in the parking lot?”

  Ben nodded. “Yeah. He’d been shot and his body dumped there.”

  Gabriel put his hands to his eyes and scrubbed down his face. “I know this answer, but I have to ask anyway. Do you have any leads?”

  Ben shook his head. “Not a one. The body has been sent to Nashville for an autopsy. Maybe something will show up that points us to a suspect, but I doubt it. It looks like a mob hit to me.”

  Gabriel jerked his head around and stared at the door to Liz’s room. “So assuming Curtis was sent here as a hit man, he was taken out because he failed his assignment.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking,” Ben said.

  “Which means,” Dean added, “Curtis couldn’t have locked Liz in the workshop, because he was already dead.”

  Gabriel ran his hand through his hair and groaned. “Yeah, and it also means there is another killer that we don’t know about yet. Someone able to take down Curtis, who definitely knew how to defend himself. So where do we go from here?”

  Ben pulled off the Stetson that he always wore and held it in front of him. “I think I have an idea.”

  Gabriel gave his attention to the sheriff. “What is it, Ben?”

  “I called Bill Diamond in Memphis. I think we need to send Liz somewhere else until the trial.”

  Gabriel’s heart pounded. “Send her somewhere else? Does that mean I’m being taken off the case?”

  Ben shook his head. “Not at all. It just means we have to find a safer place, one where whoever’s trying to kill her won’t find her.”

  “And where would that be?”

  Ben hooked his fingers in his uniform’s waistband and let his hat continue to dangle on his other fingers. “I think Mount LeConte would be a good place.”

  Gabriel frowned. “I’ve heard of the place, but I don’t know much about it.”

  Ben pursed his lips for a moment. “Yeah. It’s a popular place in the Smokies. It’s not the highest mount
ain. In fact, it’s the third highest, at a little over sixty-three hundred feet. The only way to get there is to hike up one of the five trails leading to the top. The shortest one is about five miles, but it’s a strenuous climb. Once you get to the top, there are some rustic lodges that hikers can rent. There’s a dining room, and meals are served. No TV, electricity or any of the other comforts of modern living in the cabins, but the scenery is worth it all. It’s isolated, not the kind of place someone could really sneak in or out of without being noticed, so it should be easier for you to keep anyone dangerous at bay.”

  “Can you get a cabin there right now?” Dean interrupted. “I know there are a lot of tourists in the mountains to see the fall foliage. Wouldn’t everything already be booked up?”

  Ben nodded. “I talked with the office who takes care of reservations. They had a cancellation, and they decided that police business made it to the top of the waiting list. So you’re all set. You can leave day after tomorrow—giving Liz time to recover from this ordeal before she has to do any hiking—and follow the llamas up the mountain.”

  Gabriel’s eyebrows arched. “Did you say llamas?”

  “Yeah. It’s the only way supplies are carried up to the lodge. On the backs of llamas. They used mules for a while, but their hooves did so much damage to the trail they decided to try llamas. It works fine. They go up three times a week.”

  Gabriel thought for a moment before he spoke. “Do you think we can keep her safe there?”

  “I do. Only you, Andrea, Gwen and Dean will know where she is except me. I think we can keep her undercover up there until it’s time to head back to Memphis for the trial.”

  Gabriel turned to Dean. “What do you think, Dean? You and Ben know this area a lot better than I do. Do you think this will work?”

  Dean nodded. “I think we have to get her somewhere and keep her hidden for the next few weeks. What better place than on a high mountain in the middle of the Smokies?”

  A remote mountaintop, away from the rest of the world, with lots of time to think about the things that were troubling him. Not only could it be a safe place for Liz, it could provide him with the perfect environment to come to grips with the questions Dean and Liz had stirred in his heart.