Cowboy Doctor

by Rebecca Winters

  Roce turned to his wife-to-be. “While you do that, I’ll run to the house and bring the things we’ll need to get us through until tomorrow.”

  “That’s a good idea,” his mom said. “Dinner is almost ready. After you get back, we’ll eat and talk.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll hurry,” he whispered against Tracey’s ear.

  “Be careful. If I lost you now...”

  “No one’s losing anybody.”

  He took off. Within two minutes he reached his house, ahead of his brothers. The surveillance crew acknowledged him before he pulled out the remote to get inside. Daisy gave him one of her heartwarming welcomes.

  After he took her outside and refreshed her water, he went to the office to check his messages. One was important. He’d take care of it when he got back to his mom’s.

  Roce had never gone in the bedroom Tracey was sleeping in, but she’d need a few items to get her through until tomorrow. He pulled a suitcase from his upstairs closet and threw in the items he’d need. Then he went back down to pack what he hoped would be enough for her.

  Her periwinkle-blue sweater caught his eye and he put it on top of her other clothes. While he was in the bathroom gathering her toiletries, his phone rang. It was Eli.

  “We’re back and saw your truck out in front. You got home fast. Do you need any help?”

  “I’m fine. All I have to do is load Daisy. Thanks more than you know for what you did today.”

  “We’re thanking the powers-that-be that neither you or Tracey were shot up there, or worse.”

  “Amen to that. I’ll see you at the ranch house in a few minutes. Mom has dinner waiting for us.” Before he hung up he said, “Eli?”

  “What is it?”

  Roce would never forget the way their father had been accidentally shot and killed by a hunter. None of them would. “You and Wymon need to be extra careful. You’re a target now, too.”

  “We hear you,” his brother said. His voice told Roce that they were on the same wavelength.

  “Good.” He hung up and walked to the front door with the suitcase. “Come on, Daisy. We’re going for a little ride.”

  She knew those words well enough and fought to get out the door first, producing his first smile since the shooting.

  Chapter Eleven

  Monday morning, Tracey came down to the dining room, and Solana brought her breakfast. Halfway through the delicious meal of pancakes and sausage, Roce walked in, clean-shaven and dressed in a Western shirt and jeans. Daisy followed at his heels.

  Tracey was learning his moods and recognized that he was in a hurry. He came around the table and kissed her, just as Solana appeared. “Ready to eat?”

  He lifted his head. “Thanks, but I’ve got to go help a mare having trouble giving birth.”

  “I guess that’s more important,” Tracey murmured. Of course it was. She wanted to go with him, but he hadn’t asked her to. That was because he wanted her home and safe. “At least have one of my sausage links.” She held one up to his mouth and he ate it on the spot.

  “Thanks for sharing.”

  “I’ll miss you. Hurry back.”

  “I shouldn’t be too long. A normal delivery only takes fifteen to twenty minutes and the Ellis ranch is nearby. I’ve been on the phone with Mrs. Ellis, a new client. I went out there last week to check on their pregnant Thoroughbred. Her husband is in Great Falls on business and their regular vet is away on vacation, so I got the call.”

  “At the rate you’re attracting business, you’ll soon be turning clients away.” Tracey jumped up from the table. “I’ll walk you out to the truck. Have you got your bag?”

  “Right here.” He’d left it at the front door.

  Together they walked outside under a hot sun. Living at the large ranch house, a masterpiece of Western architecture and history, was so different from living at his house. Though Tracey was treated like a queen here, she ached for them to be back in their own little piece of heaven.

  “Promise me you’ll stay safe.”

  “You’re the one I worry about.” He cradled her face in his hands. They kissed long and hard for a few moments. But she could tell he was anxious to leave, and relinquished his mouth first.

  “I love you, Roce Clayton. Drive safely.”

  After he drove away, she took Daisy for a short walk, then went upstairs with her, where Tracey phoned her family. She told them the details of yesterday’s close call in the mountains, playing it down and assuring them she was perfectly safe. Before long the police would catch Wes Hunter and his friend. Then she and Roce could concentrate on the upcoming wedding.

  In her heart she didn’t want to wait five more weeks any more than Roce did, but they couldn’t change the date now. She talked to her mom awhile longer. When the threat of danger was completely over, they would shop for a wedding dress in Missoula. Roce believed the men would be caught any day now. Tracey was hanging on to that hope.

  She looked down at Daisy, who needed to go outside again. They went back downstairs. When they came in, she saw Roce’s mother in the hallway. Because of the danger, she hadn’t gone to the gem shop up on the mountain yet.

  “It’s after one. Are you hungry for lunch, Tracey?”

  “Well, I’ve been waiting for Roce to get back so we could eat together.”

  His mother frowned. “He’s been gone a long time.” Tracey thought so, too. “I guess the mare had complications.”

  Both women were worried, with good reason. “I’ll try to reach him.” Tracey pulled out her phone and called him. There was no answer and it went to his voice mail. She asked him to phone her and let her know when he’d be home.

  “Something must have come up. He’ll call when he can.”

  “Then let’s go in the dining room and eat.”

  Over sandwiches and salad, they talked about wedding plans, but when it got to be three o’clock, neither of them could hide their concern. Roce’s mom called Wymon and told him why she was worried.

  He’d been up at the pasture with Eli, but upon hearing the news, they both came home. The second they walked in, Tracey met them at the door. “I have this feeling something is wrong. Will you drive me to the Ellis ranch?”

  “We’ll go,” Eli told her. “You stay here with Mom.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “If he’s in trouble, he’ll need all our help.”

  “Good,” Mrs. Clayton declared. “While you’re gone, I’m phoning the sheriff to tell him our concerns. If it’s nothing, I don’t care.”

  “All right,” Eli said. “Let’s go.”

  Tracey gave Roce’s mom a hug before hurrying outside. Wymon helped her into the front seat of Eli’s truck and got in the back. Eli climbed behind the wheel and sped down the hill to the highway.

  “When we get there, you need to stay in the truck, Tracey. Don’t argue with us on this. We’ll get out first and check if everything is all right.”

  “Okay.”

  They reached the small ranch in a few minutes. Tracey’s heart kicked against her ribs when she spotted Roce’s truck parked outside the barn. She didn’t see another vehicle. Her first instinct was to race inside, but she knew she had to let his brothers take charge.

  Wymon squeezed her hand. “Keep your head down.”

  She nodded and stretched out across the seat so she could still see through the other window. The two brothers entered the barn. Within five minutes they came back out. Eli raced to the ranch house, while Wymon hurried to the truck.

  His face was dark. “Someone shot and killed the mare. Roce isn’t here.”

  A pained cry escaped from Tracey’s lips. “That explains why his truck is still here. He’s been kidnapped. I just know it.” Tears gushed down her face. “Wes has had eyes everywhere. He must have ambushe
d Roce after he arrived at the Ellis ranch to deliver the foal. Wes could have taken him anywhere.”

  “We’ll find him, Tracey.” Wymon got on the phone to the sheriff to report what had happened, and learned the police were on their way. In the next minute Eli came running to the truck.

  “When I asked Mrs. Ellis to describe the man who came on the property, she said he was Hispanic.”

  Tracey gasped. “I bet it was Ramon Cruz. That means he and Wes have taken Roce.”

  “He locked Mrs. Ellis in the basement so she couldn’t get out. She’s really shaken up, but she wasn’t hurt. We’ve called her husband to come home. Her married daughter is on her way over. I made her some coffee and left her lying on the couch until the police get here.”

  No sooner had Eli spoken than three patrol cars pulled in. The next fifteen minutes passed in a blur while the sheriff talked to all of them and got the details from Mrs. Ellis.

  All the time they were talking, Tracey could hardly breathe for the pain. She couldn’t comprehend Ramon Cruz’s motive for doing any of it, including shooting the pregnant mare.

  “We’ve got to find Roce!”

  Everyone turned to her. Wymon put his arm around her shoulders and helped her to the truck. “The police have put out a statewide search. Dr. Cruz is doing everything he can to cooperate. While the police are scouring this part of Montana, I’m going to drive us back to the ranch house. Eli will follow in Roce’s truck.”

  Wymon started the engine and they took off for the Clayton ranch. She stared at him. “Where do you think they could have taken him?”

  “I wish I knew, Tracey.”

  “Well, I’m going to call John. He and Sheldon have to have some inkling of where Wes would have gone.” She reached in her pocket for her phone, but the call went to John’s voice mail and she clicked off.

  “Wymon? Will you drive me to the dude ranch? Everything started there. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling we’ll get answers if we talk to John and Sheldon.”

  “I trust your instincts.” He got on his phone to tell his wife what was going on. Then he called his mother. Lastly he and Eli had a long conversation. When he clicked off, he put a comforting hand on Tracey’s arm. “Eli’s right behind us. We’ll do whatever it takes to find Roce, Tracey.”

  “I know you will.” She struggled not to break down, but wasn’t successful. “I can’t lose Roce. He’s my whole life. To go through this again will be the end of me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Over a year and a half ago, the man I’d planned to marry was killed while deployed overseas. I thought I was going to die. When I met Roce, I realized my life wasn’t over. He made me happy to be alive again. I love him with all my heart and soul. This just couldn’t happen again. There’s no one like Roce. Daisy would go into permanent mourning, like me.”

  “I’m sure he’s alive, Tracey. You have to believe that.”

  She wiped her eyes with both hands, but the tears kept coming. “I do. I’ll keep believing it until I can’t.”

  During the twenty-minute drive she listened as Wymon talked on and off with family and with his police friend who worked at the criminal database. Before they turned off for the dude ranch, Toly called him and they talked the rest of the way.

  Wymon drove up to the ranch house. The second he parked, Tracey jumped out and ran inside to find John. The new guests had gone into the dining room for dinner, and she raced past Colette, who was running the front desk. Wymon followed her to John’s office, where she found John, along with Sylvia, Sheldon and their other sons, Paul and Thad.

  The moment John saw her he welcomed them inside. “You poor dear.” He got up from the desk and hugged her. “You’ll never know how devastated we are that Wes and his friends have done these terrible things to you. I’m glad you and Roce’s brothers are here. We’ve been planning a strategy. I promise we’ll find him.”

  Tracey couldn’t ask for more than that.

  Sylvia eyed her with a solemn expression. “Sit down, honey, We can’t comprehend that Wes and his friends have taken things this far and brought us to this impasse.”

  Tracey leaned forward. “Does his therapist have any idea where he might have taken Roce? Any idea at all?”

  Sheldon spoke up. “No. I’ve talked to him. It’s a long story. My son’s flawed view of his world was developed in childhood, when he couldn’t have everything he wanted. His sense of entitlement, combined with his sense of deprivation, has caused him to blame me and my father whenever anything goes wrong. He doesn’t own up to responsibility.

  “I’m afraid he has delusions of becoming a very wealthy man and doesn’t care how he achieves it. He grew up around horses and knows their value. In time he hoped to steal enough horses from the ones I’ve been buying for dad. He thought to sell them in return for a nest egg that would set him up.

  “I’ve tried to reason with him. With hard work he could achieve his goal, but he refuses to listen and has been taking shortcuts that have landed him in serious trouble. You and Dr. Clayton got in his way when you noticed Chief’s limp. That started this latest crisis.”

  Tracey took a deep breath. “He’s been focused on the two of us for the last three weeks. That fixation has never gone away, even after I left the dude ranch.” She got to her feet. “The one thing that bothered me the most about him was the way he acted as if he owned the stable, like it was his private property. I fear he’s going to hurt Roce for invading his space.”

  She stared at Sheldon. “I’m sure the police have asked you this, but is there a place on the dude ranch where he likes to go when he wants to get away from everyone?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. Normally he goes off to Darby with his friends.”

  “Or you think that’s where he’s gone,” Wymon interjected. “But what if he’s holding our brother somewhere on this property that’s particularly familiar to him.”

  Tracey stared at Roce’s brother. “That’s it! I think I know where that is. Rocky Point. It’s the perfect place to hide out.”

  Sheldon nodded. “You’ve reminded me. He sometimes camped out up there in the off season with his friends.”

  She got excited. “There’s one of those old dilapidated survival huts still left from a hundred and fifty years ago when they ran sheep. I remember pointing it out to the children on one of our rides.

  “We got off the horses and started climbing around the boulders to reach it. But Wes wouldn’t allow it. He told us to get back on the horses because it was too dangerous. I couldn’t understand it.”

  John nodded. “I remember you telling me that.”

  Eli and Wymon exchanged glances. “That could be his hideout. He and Ramon could have taken Roce on one of the back roads to reach it, and are holding him there, where no one would think to find him. Let’s go.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Tracey stated.

  His brothers eyed her and nodded.

  “I’ll lead the way,” Sheldon declared. “You can follow me. I know exactly which road to take. There’ll be enough moonlight that we shouldn’t need to use our headlights. If my son has done this to Dr. Clayton, then he’s going to have to deal with me.”

  John eyed Tracey through watery eyes. “He has to be found! I’m calling the sheriff now. He’ll coordinate a thorough search with you and the forest service. They’ll bring in the helicopters.”

  Tracey ran out to Wymon’s truck and jumped in. While they were on their way she prayed over and over again. Please, God. Let Roce be alive. Just let him be alive.

  * * *

  ROCE FELT AS IF he was the victim of bad guys in an old Louis L’Amour western. They’d tied his arms behind his back and bound his ankles. With a scarf blinding his eyes, he couldn’t see a thing, and he’d been dumped on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Wherev
er he’d been brought, he’d probably been there eight hours. It was getting cold.

  Mrs. Ellis had told him she’d meet him in the barn, but when he’d arrived, Ramon was waiting for him with a gun and had tied him up. “Grady was supposed to finish you off. Since he didn’t, I’ll have to do the honors.”

  Except it hadn’t happened yet. Roce guessed it would be over when Wes made the call. He wouldn’t have thought they’d actually want to kill him.

  The memory of Ramon shooting the suffering mare would have haunted him forever if he hadn’t known she wouldn’t live through the delivery of twins, a rare occurrence. It was the last sight he saw before he was blindfolded and dragged into the trunk of a car, probably belonging to Mrs. Ellis.

  He had no idea where he’d been taken, but judging by the strong smell of pines and the sounds of forest life, it was in the mountains. After all he and Tracey had been through, he knew she had to be in agony. By now everyone he loved would be out looking for him.

  You didn’t have to drown for your life to flash before your eyes. But the review playing in his head kept getting interrupted by the fight that had broken out between his two kidnappers. The amount of alcohol they’d been consuming didn’t help. He could smell it when they walked over to check on him. Each time they approached, one of them kicked him.

  “What are you waiting for, Wes?”

  “I want him to know what it feels like for your life to be over. I want him to suffer for interfering. I could have made a ton of money off Chief. The perfect Dr. Clayton has millions in the bank and everything else he ever wanted. Horses. A ranch. A snooty hot babe who thinks she’s Miss Rodeo of America. They both have my grandfather whipped. It isn’t fair, Ramon.”

  “You’re talking crazy. Come on. Let’s off him and leave the state. I switched out the license plates on that old woman’s car. We can be hundreds of miles away from here by tomorrow. His body won’t be found for years. It’s the perfect plan.”

  “I want to watch him squirm some more.”