expansive that it feels like he'll have to search the entire world to find her.
He curses and raps a fist on his dashboard. “She might be halfway to Wyoming by now. Or North Dakota or Nebraska, for all I know...”
He decides to keep following the highway. Sadie couldn't have hatched any plans that were too complex. He decides to go straight, the most obvious path she would've followed, not caring about anything except distance.
She's at a large truck stop filling up when she spots the black sedan. The detective's vehicle moves like a giant shark, unmistakable and edging toward her.
Shit! What's he doing here?
She rips the pump away and runs inside. The dark car stops at the pump on the opposite side.
Her worst fears are confirmed when the balding focused man steps out the driver's door and begins to fill up his tank.
Her nerves breathe fire like they haven't done since her battle with Eric. Mind blank, she saunters through the gas station and goes toward the restrooms, seeking an exit near the rear.
Opening the door exposes how helpless she really is. Behind the gas station, there's nothing but empty prairie, leading off into the large blue sky as far as she can see.
Getting away isn't so easy without having a place to run to. For now, all she can do is hide, and the tight space behind the large dumpster is better than anywhere else.
Brax is almost two hours away from Weldon Ranch when he sights the truck stop. A beaten up
Mazda is being loaded onto a rickety tow truck.
Without caring why the car is being towed, he wheels into the entrance, swearing with surprise when he sees Hank's black sedan. He's parked next to another police car and the tow truck. The detective's window is lowered as he talks to the driver, probably instructing him to haul it off to impound.
God damn. This isn't good at all. But at least she's here somewhere. She has to be.
He parks near the restaurant attached to the filling station, out of his pursuers' sights. The restaurant is filled with burly men laughing and sipping their coffee. The smell of smoke and cheap greasy food nearly turns his stomach, already on its last nerve as he desperately seeks his beautiful mystery.
She couldn't have gotten arrested so soon, or else he wouldn't be here.
His thoughts should be reassuring, but everything about this situation opens his mind to doubts.
If she has...I'll never forgive myself.
The back door slams open. It isn't the first time. Roughly an hour ago, a worker came out for a smoke break.
Sadie's nerves burn. She closes her eyes, wondering if it's the detective, coming to usher her like a reaper to one last meeting with fate.
“Sadie! Are you okay? We have to get you out of here.”
His arms are around her before she realizes what's happening. She yells and kicks her feet against his shin, more out of confusion than real resistance at Brax's unexpected arrival.
“Hey, hey. Quiet. He's here.”
Softening her sobs, she listens to his wise words. She buries her face in his shoulders. After wondering if she would ever feel him again, smelling his rich musk silences her, temporarily banishing all the deadly woes.
“Come on. We have to get back to the truck and figure out the rest...”
He swallows hard, not knowing what he'll do if any of the cops see him carrying her. He won't let them take him from her, no matter the cost. That much he knows.
It's a tense walk to the truck. Even when she's safely tucked into the passenger seat, he tries to keep her covered, throwing an old emergency blanket over her shoulders and telling her to keep her head down.
The police presence is weirdly light. They drive past the Mazda and loosen with relief when they hit the highway.
“Why did you do it? Was it something that happened last night?”
“I...I remembered everything. Finally. They're after me for a good reason.” She lifts her face, trying to get a good look at him through the tears.
“I don't understand. What's bothering you? What have you done?”
Experiencing the truth is painful enough. Baring it to another soul hurts even more – especially when it's the man she loves most.
His eyes go through several shades of fire. She tells him about her abusive brother, the final fight where she bludgeoned him, and the mad race to escape.
“I get it. You shouldn't want me after what I did...but please, don't turn me in. We're going to have a baby...”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He says, surprising her. “Your brother, Eric...if I could get my hands on him myself, I'd do a lot worse than dent his skull with a pipe. You better believe it, beautiful.
Just thinking about anyone doing that to you is making me scared.”
“Scared?”
“Yeah. I'm afraid of what I'll do if I ever catch him, or anyone like him. Even the cops...if I have to put myself between you and them, I will.”
She reaches over suddenly and grabs his arm, giving him a reassuring squeeze. They drive another mile on the highway when Brax sees an exit to another small town.
The truck whirls onto the side road and he brings it to the curb. Sadie's eyebrows lift.
“What are you doing? Shouldn't we keep going until we hit the ranch?”
“No. We can't go back there. Not when they've got the biggest piece of evidence to track you down sitting on a flatbed. We've got to get our hands on that car again before Mister Detective secures a warrant to come after you. ”
Her muscles tighten. Sadie feels small and helpless, but she knows he's right.
“Is there any way we can do that? I can't imagine. Seems like we're pretty well screwed now that they've got the car.”
Slowly, Brax grabs the phone on his dashboard.
“Hello? Pete? Look, I know it's your day off, but I need one hell of a favor.” He pauses, listening to Sadie's breath hitch in the stillness. “Yeah. Way out here. Meet me on the highway.”
VII: Safe At Last
Detective Hank Gerber rubs his hand across the steering wheel, unable to wipe the wide grin off his face. There's nothing like solving a case – especially when all the pieces come together by pure luck.
He didn't expect to encounter the girl who ran drugs and fractured Eric Derby's skull in a small town diner, well over a hundred miles from the crime. Hell, if it weren't for his off duty interest in vanished suspects and evidence sparse mysteries, he wouldn't have recognized her at all.
“Stupid and inexperienced. Impulsive. Uncapped emotions get them every time.”
He can't wait to get across the border, far from the Dakota plains. Shaking his head, he wonders how anyone can make a life out here, where there's nothing but cattle and plains all the way to the next state over, and maybe farther.
When he saw how nervously the trim, pretty twenty-something girl in the diner reacted to his questions, he knew something was up. Still, getting time off from the chief to come back to South Dakota and pursue the case wasn't easy.
Except for the stolen car, nothing about the assault that led to capturing a major drug dealer was clear cut. They only had Eric Derby's word alone to go off of – and it would be extremely suspect in any court of law, considering the intermittent comas and nonsense speech that came out of his mouth.
Even the murder weapon had vanished. Hank knows it was probably the other thug at the scene – the anonymous caller who saved Eric's life.
No honor among thieves isn't just a saying. It's the truth.
When the paramedics and police found the young man crumpled on a dirty basement floor, he'd lost more than just a lot of blood. The other dealer had taken as much of his illegal cache as he could make off with, and probably the weapon too, knowing it might make him a suspect in the assault and robbery if they connected the dots back to him.
He's almost to the Minnesota border when his phone goes off.
“You've got to be shitting me. Gone? How the hell can a thing that can barely run jus
t disappear on its way to impound? Get me the driver, now!” He pauses, feeling his face redden with rage. “Okay. I'm on my way.”
He angrily slams the phone into the passenger seat. The black sedan cuts through an empty lane as it spins a U-turn, dragging him into a fiasco that feels like it'll never end.
Sadie struggles to keep her eyes on the road. She's following the small Mazda to the ranch as quickly as she can, fighting for control over his massive pick up truck, a vehicle unlike anything she's driven before.
Pete's beaten up LTD can't show up soon enough. The Mazda's weakened horn blares several feet ahead of her. She sees Brax lifts his hand and wave, urging her to pull over with him.
Less than a minute later, the brown car shows up and the old mechanic steps out to join them, looking strangely amused. Brax pulls him close, wrapping his arm around the man's shoulder.
“See that old abandoned shed up there? Is that going to be enough room to disassemble this thing?”
“Uh, yeah, I can do that. Don't know why you'd want it in pieces again after I spent weeks ironing out the damage and welding it together. Mind telling me what the hell's going on here, boss?”
Brax hesitates. His mechanic is as trustworthy as everyone else in his employ, but spilling Sadie's dangerous predicament isn't good for anyone.
“It's all my fault.” She says, stepping up behind them. “I'm on the run, Pete. I've done something I really regret, but I had to do it. Abusive asshole, long story. Please, will you do us this one favor? My life is in your hands...”
The old man stares at her for a few seconds, and then he laughs. “Never would've guessed we had that kind of excitement around the ranch in a million years. You've said enough to me. I'll do my best...”
The late summer sun sets just as the last big component falls apart. Brax hauls the parts to his truck, digging a long trench behind the ancient shed to bury the smaller things they can't take back.
Nobody's ever gonna look here.
Or so he hopes. Hiding Sadie's past is all that matters now.
“That's it,” Pete calls, stacking one last pile of metal up against the door. “We better pack up and get the hell out of here before anyone passing by wonders if we're holding a black sabbath in here.”
Being reminded of their peril makes him move even faster. Sadie sits on an old barrel, feeling her heartstrings tug with guilt as Brax groans with exhaustion.
Disassembling an entire car in a matter of hours isn't easy. Just a little while ago, she doubted it would work at all.
Luck had been on their side. Thankfully, the Mazda hadn't been under guard. Uncoupling the car from the tow truck went smoother than she expected when they followed the driver into another rest stop.
“Let's get the hell out of here,” Brax says, grabbing Sadie by the hand.
Pete is right behind them as they haul the last of the car's scrap into their vehicles. With engines sputtering, they're off, tearing across the expansive highway.
The return trip is dead silent. She can't sleep, even though her brain feels like mush.
The bitter guilt remains inside her, tuning her to its faceless static. Subconsciously, the sadness builds, until she lets out a heavy sigh that causes him to look over.
“I'm so sorry about this. Again. I just can't believe I did something so stupid. I shouldn't have abandoned you.” Sadie's heart lifts and falls like an autumn leaf spinning sadly in the wind.
“Everybody makes mistakes. Give me a few more months, beautiful. You'll learn to see how amazing you really are, especially when our baby's calling.”
She smiles, bathing in the warmth of his big hand nestled on her lower belly. Several miles ahead, Pete's car slows dramatically.
They're passing another truck stop roughly an hour from the ranch. The huge pink sign stands in the darkness, a lonely sentinel illuminating a bustling outpost in the flatlands.
“Hey, look! It's...” Sadie's voice drops off as horror swells.
“Detective Hank. I know. Let's just keep going.”
Brax looks up into his rear view mirror. His eyes sparkle with sharp alertness, not dropping fully to the road until the bright lights are just tiny stars.
At the Big Top Truckstop, Hank rubs the sides of his trousers, not caring if they split apart. The trembling tow truck driver in front of him spits a big blob of chewing tobacco, fighting to calm his nerves.
“Tell me again. Where did you last see the car?”
“Came out from filling up and grabbing a snack, and the damn thing was gone. Like I said, I didn't even see whether it was being driven away or hooked up to another truck. Bastards were too fast. They ripped my clamps out of their brackets too.”
Angrily, Hank spins away, staring off into the black void. In the darkness, the truck stop feels like the end of the earth, before everything drops away into nothing.
“But this isn't the Bermuda Triangle. They're out there somewhere, getting away with a capital offense. And without that Mazda, there's not a damn thing I can do about it.”
The man behind him grits his teeth and spits again. He shrugs and climbs into his truck's cabin, eager to get away from the self-absorbed agent and his monologue.
“All this wasted time out in this God forsaken country. Well, rancher, your luck won't last forever.
Nobody makes a fool out of me.”
Before he climbs into his car and begins the long trip to the state line, he slams his fist on the top.
The metal reverberation stings as it vibrates through his knuckles, jolting him to a higher state of wakefulness.
“I'm a patient man. I don't care how long it takes to get justice, or how much the force drops the ball on that stupid thug, Eric Derby. Justice is going to be served one of these days. I just have a feeling...”
Near the dirt road leading up to Weldon Ranch, Pete splits off and waves to his boss. Brax nods and takes the truck home. It's never felt so good to pull into his parking slot.
He turns off the ignition, looks over, and smiles softly. Sadie looks like an angel who's found her way into his cabin. Fast asleep and breathing sweetly, she looks more beautiful than the first time he saw her, more beautiful than any woman he's seen in his life.
“Come on, beautiful. Better get you upstairs. It's been one hell of a day...”
He's careful not to wake her as he carries her into the house. She sucks in air and shifts slightly when the mattress curls against her.
The bed is cold and empty, but not for long. Brax undresses and slides in next to her, wrapping his huge arm around her.
In his powerful heat, she sleeps peacefully. Tonight, there are no dreams, but soft formless shapes that roll and turn like fog, as though she's passing through a misty valley leading to an uncertain future.
Uncertain, but so much better.
Sadie wakes to the comforting snore of her cowboy turned body pillow. He's nestled along her entire body.
It's late morning. Late summer light peeks in through the shades, amber and gold, warming her several more degrees.
He really loves me. I get it now. This is what makes all the difference.
Deep inside her, the demons are gone. The last flash she had before waking up was of the great sea burbling up around her, but this time she controlled the ship, rising with the unsettled waves.
A lone figure sank to the depths. Sadie knows it wasn't her, but Eric, his cruel mask of rage wiped away by an impossible distance he can never cross to reach her.
Slowly, without waking him, she turns around. It's a pleasant surprise to find him naked while she's clothed.
Brax turns lazily in his sleep, tilting his head until his cheek is flat along her shoulder. She guides him to the big pillow, but only so she can lift herself up, drawing off her clothes piece by piece.
Being freed from the fabrics should cool her. But calm and coolness isn't possible when she hooks one leg over his, feeling his energy heat her more.
Familiar fire raises between her legs. She lean
s into his sleeping mouth, covering his lips with hers.
He groans, happily confused by the surprise pressure on his mouth. She purses her lips, taking his bottom lip, giving it the softest tongue strokes she can manage, hoping to bring him to life like a long slumbering Price.
My Prince. My Western Prince, King of the world. Or at least my world – and that's the only one that matters.
Brax opens his eyes. His lust roars to life, a steam engine inside of him fed by her teasing kisses.
He groans again and kisses her back, probing much deeper into her lips than she dared with his. The sultry heat spills into her along with his tongue.
Their mouths mingle with carefree joy, romping in their quest to become one.
Soon, she lifts her hands, running them all the way through the hard peaks and valleys of his chest.
His strength amazes her just as much as his sculpted perfection.
No matter how he changes with age, she can't ever imagine him going flabby. This is the trunk of a man with a guardian's destiny.
“Hell of a wake up call, beautiful. But it looks like your eyes are just half open. You want me to wake you up all the way?” He winks, never taking his lips away from her earlobe.
“Go ahead. Make my day, cowboy. And make it a good one!” The old Clint Eastwood line makes
him chuckle.
His laughter is sweeter than soft birds in the lazy haze that's there after waking up. She tenses with grateful anticipation as his huge hands curl around her arms.
Sadie rolls with him, letting herself relax so he can shape her into position. No matter where he chooses to put her, she knows it's going to be good.
“I'm not letting you get away again. Don't make me chase you again, beautiful,” he says, standing and padding over to the closet. “This'll make sure that you stay put, right where I want you, pretty and ready for my use.”
“I won't let it happen again. But you're more than welcome to reinforce it.”
The ropes lay in a heap at the bottom of the bed. He lifts her up and turns her around, laying her face down.
Tying her hands to the wooden bar is familiar. But when he moves to her ankles, winding more loops over them and connecting each one to the tall knobby posts, she shudders.
RanchersHealingTouch Page 9
