by Smith, Bobbi
Putting her heels to her mount, she galloped toward him, her gun drawn and ready. Time stood still in that horrible moment and her throat constricted in terror.
Rick thought he heard someone call out to him. Glancing about he caught sight of a horse racing at breakneck speed in his direction, and he wondered who it could be. It was then that he looked up the hillside and saw the riders appear directly behind Juan’s position. Jake! Rick thought excitedly. It had to be Jake! A surge of fresh resolve soared through him, and he started to signal to his friend when he recognized Jennie’s voice and heard her horrified words.
“Behind you!”
Rick dove sideways just as Luis pulled the trigger. There was no pain, only a brief moment of time suspended when the world reeled sickeningly around him. He did not see Jennie’s stricken face or hear her anguished cry as he pitched forward to lay still in the dirt.
Luis never felt the bullet that slammed into his back and threw him violently to the ground, and Chica climbed down proudly from the top of the rock from where she’d taken her aim at him. She had not known that her shooting ability was that accurate, but she was more than pleased with the results. She had gotten there in time. She had shot Luis full in the back just as he’d fired at Cazador.
Making her way down to where Luis sprawled facedown, she stood victoriously above his lifeless body, oblivious to the fight still going on around her. All she cared about was that he was dead. He would never hurt her again and even better, he would never have the opportunity to hurt anyone else.
Having just run out of ammunition, Juan was forced to look on in helpless horror as Luis had crept up behind Rick and aimed with deadly accuracy at his back. He stood, calling out to Rick, but in the noise and confusion of the moment, Rick did not hear his warning. In heartsick agony, he watched as his beloved grandson fell and lay motionless.
Oblivious to the riders coming up behind him, Juan’s only thought was to get to Rick as soon as possible. Climbing from the ledge, he ran as quickly as he could down the rugged slope, unmindful of any danger or threat to his own life. Ricardo needed him.
Jake’s men had cleared the top of the rise and descended on the ledge, effectively trapping Ramon as he made his way cautiously toward the refuge in his effort to recapture Juan. Taken totally by surprise, Ramon had no time to flee their unexpected assault, and he was shot down as he turned to fire back at them.
Jake had looked up just in time to witness Rick’s shooting and to see Juan spring from the outcropping and start down the steep incline toward him.
“Help the woman,” he told Todd and the rest of his men. “Rick’s been shot.”
Spurring his horse to action, Jake urged him after Juan.
“Juan, climb up. I’ll take you down to him,” Jake offered, stopping his mount by the old man.
“Jake? Jake McCaine?” Juan peered up at the young man before taking his offered hand.
“Yes, it’s me,” he answered, helping him into the saddle behind him and starting off quickly in Rick’s direction.
“Thank you. Thank you. You got here just in time, but Ricardo’s been hit,” Juan told him nervously.
“I know,” he answered as he expertly guided his horse down the slope. “I hope he’s all right.”
They fell silent then, each lost in his own worries about Rick as they traversed the rocky hillside.
Malo and Pablo saw Steve’s men coming and had enough time to get away. Vaulting onto their horses, they raced quickly from the scene, giving no thought to those left behind. To them, the important thing was saving their own necks. They didn’t recognize the men who were after them, but they didn’t want to wait around to find out who they were, either.
Fleeing as quickly as possible, they rode like the wind in the opposite direction, but the posse stayed on their trail and would not be discouraged. Hoping to confuse the determined band, Malo and Pablo split up, each taking a different canyon, but again the men of the M Circle C would not be put off. Dividing up themselves, they continued to pursue the escaping desperadoes, resolute in their desire to bring them to justice.
Chapter Twenty-two
The sound of Luis’s shot reverberated through Jennie’s mind and, as if in a nightmare, she saw Cazador fall under the bullet’s impact. A scream of rage tore from her throat. Filled with an all-consuming hatred, she took careful aim at Luis, but before she could pull the trigger, he pitched forward and fell, the wound in his back gaping.
Grateful that someone else had saved her the trouble of killing him, she threw herself from the saddle and, rifle still in hand, raced to where Cazador lay.
“Cazador!” she cried as she knelt carefully beside him, her eyes lovingly tracing his pale, almost lifeless features. “Oh God, please! You can’t let him die!” Jennie muttered aloud as she discovered the blood flowing freely from the head wound he’d suffered.
With gentle fingers, Jennie located his pulse at his throat, and she relaxed a little when she found that its beat was still strong and regular. Carefully examining his scalp, she was even more relieved to find that the bullet had only grazed him.
At the sound of approaching hoofbeats, Jennie looked up to find Carrie sitting on her horse staring down at her.
“Who’s he?” Carrie asked, amazed to find her sister tending a wounded outlaw.
“This is Cazador.” Unaware that the very tone of her voice plainly revealed the depth of her feelings for him that moment, Jennie could only think of the urgency in stopping his wound’s bleeding. “Quick, Carrie—I need bandages. Do you have any with you? He’s bleeding badly.”
Reaching into her saddlebags, Carrie pulled out the bandages she’d brought for emergencies and tossed them to her.
“Why are you so worried about him?” Carrie asked astutely.
The implication of her words was not lost on Jennie, and she flushed deeply as she caught the wrappings and turned back to Cazador.
“I’m not, really. It’s just that he’s the one who helped me.”
“Where’s Todd? Aren’t you even the least bit concerned about what might have happened to him?” she probed, anxious to know more about Jennie’s true feelings.
“Of course, I am,” she snapped hotly. “It’s just that I saw Luis shoot Cazador and I was afraid that—” Jennie stopped quickly, not wanting to even consider the possibility of his dying. “Can you bring me a canteen?”
Carrie dismounted. “Here.” She held the container out to her. “Can I do anything to help?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ve got to get this bleeding under control.”
“Is he going to live?”
“I think so.” Jennie dampened one of the clean cloths and held it to the wound. “The bullet just grazed him.”
As she applied the steady pressure, Rick groaned low in his throat. A thrill of relief soared through her at the thought that he was coming around, and in her happiness she almost reached out to caress the leanness of his cheek. It was only Carrie’s restrictive presence that helped Jennie maintain control over her warring emotions.
How could she still care about Cazador so much? Jennie tried to reason it out, but while her mind told her that she didn’t love him—he was an outlaw, a desperado, and he wanted Lucia—her heart told her that the feelings he’d awakened within her would never die. She loved him.
“Cazador? Can you hear me? Say something,” she encouraged softly.
Carrie moved away as she heard a rider coming, and she looked up just as Jake reined in nearby. An old man she assumed was Juan Peralta was riding double with him.
“Jennie! Carrie! How is he?” Jake demanded as he first helped Juan down and then swung out of the saddle himself.
“It’s a head wound, Jake.” Jennie looked up, making sure to keep her expression carefully blank. “But—”
“Damn!” Jake swore as he stared at Jennie’s bloodied hands, and remorse flooded through him. He had tried so hard to get to Rick in time and now—Coming to kneel at his side, he sear
ched his friend’s face for some spark of life.
At Jennie’s words, Juan suddenly seemed to age. His eyes were filled with unspoken sorrow and grief.
“Ricardo,” the old man murmured painfully, reaching out to touch Rick’s shoulder.
“But, it’s just a graze,” she said, finally managing to finish her sentence.
Jennie was surprised by Juan Peralta’s show of deep concern for him. And she wondered why he had called him Ricardo.
“Only a graze?” Her brother lifted hopeful eyes to hers. “Let me have a look.”
Jake lifted the cloth and checked the injury that Jennie had so painstakingly cleaned.
“It doesn’t look too bad, Juan,” he told him reassuringly. “I think he’s going to be all right.”
Transformed in that instant, Juan smiled brilliantly at Jake and Jennie and then hurriedly turned his attention back to Rick.
“Rick!” Jake barked insistently when Rick groaned again.
“Jake, why do you keep calling him Rick?” Jennie questioned and then realized that they had known each other. “So! You did know him,” she accused, but before her brother could offer any explanation, Rick stirred and opened his eyes.
The pain in his head was nearly blinding, but somehow Rick managed to keep his eyes open. The first person he saw silhouetted against the brightness of the late morning sky was Jennie, and in spite of the agony pounding in his head, he thought she looked particularly beautiful. Rick wanted to speak to her—to tell her how worried he had been about her, but Jake’s forceful inquiry cut through his romantic haze.
“Rick, damn it!”
Frowning, he rolled his head slightly to get a look at his old friend. His voice a husky growl, he answered, “I thought I told you to stay out of this.”
Jake gave him an undaunted grin. “You did, but since when do I ever listen to you?”
“Thanks, Jake.” Rick spoke the words humbly, closing his eyes for a moment as he thought of how close he’d come to death.
“Are you all right?” His voice was sharp and Rick looked up again, scowling.
“I will be when you stop shouting. I’ve got one hell of a headache.”
“Sorry.” Jake grinned, not in the least repentant.
Rick lifted a hand to rub at his forehead and then tentatively touched the bandage. His lips quirked in a crooked vestige of a smile. “Luis came damn close, didn’t he?”
“I’ll say,” he agreed, recalling the heartstopping moment when they’d seen the outlaw shoot him down. “We saw it all, but we were too far out of range to help. And then when Jennie told us it was a head wound, we thought you were dying.”
“Ricardo.” Juan breathed easier now that his grandson was conscious and lucid.
“Grandfather.” Rick reached out, and Juan clasped his hand firmly in his own. “Thank God, you’re all right.”
“I’m fine, thanks to your friend here. Jake got to me just in time.”
“What about Lucia?”
“She is uninjured, too,” Juan supplied.
“Good.” He breathed easier.
Jennie stiffened at their conversation. Rick? Grandfather? She didn’t understand.
“What’s going on here?” she blurted out suddenly, unable to keep quiet any longer.
“Jennie,” Jake began patiently, “I’d like you to meet my good friend Rick Peralta. Rick this is my sister, Jennie.”
“I know,” he answered, turning to look up at her and giving her a quixotic half-smile.
“Peralta!? You?” she stammered, her dark eyes widening in shocked anger. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I asked you to trust me, Jennie,” Rick replied.
“Trust you!” she seethed, standing up and backing away. “But how could I?”
Rick Peralta, indeed! He had made a complete fool out of her! He had used her! She had been nothing more than a pawn to him in his plot to rescue Juan.
And, as she remembered his concern about Lucia, Jennie grew even more embarrassed. While he had been unconscious, she had acted like a lovesick fool and, to her dismay, Carrie had witnessed it all. Glancing nervously at her sister, Jennie was mortified when Carrie gave her a knowing smirk.
Todd and his group of men rode up just then, and Jennie was grateful for the interruption, but her relief was short-lived. For, as she looked up to greet them, she spotted Lucia, safely enscounced on the back of Todd’s horse. Well, she though angrily, if Cazador wanted Lucia, he could damn well have her. Refusing to give in to the urge to scream out her frustration, she lifted her chin proudly and smiled her welcome at Todd.
Todd dismounted quickly and then turned to help Lucia down, settling her gently on the uneven ground. Jennie gritted her teeth at his gentlemanly display but said nothing as he started their way, his arm solicitously around Lucia.
“What happened?”
“Rick was shot,” Carrie told him quickly, and she was surprised by the reaction from the Mexican girl.
“Rick? He was injured?” Lucia asked and at Carrie’s answering nod, she broke painfully away from Todd’s supporting arm and hurried to where Rick lay.
Jennie was livid. So! Even Lucia knew his real identity! Probably everybody in the whole wide world had known who he was but her! She watched in barely concealed disgust as Lucia knelt by Rick’s side. Unable to stand any more, Jennie started to go back to her horse, but Todd’s next statement stopped her.
“Is he going to be all right?” Todd asked with real concern.
“He should be,” Jennie replied, hoping her words reflected indifference.
Todd nodded and then, realizing that both Jennie and Carrie had disobeyed the specific orders their father had given them, he frowned.
“Jennie—Carrie—” His tone was firm as he looked back and forth between the women. “I thought we’d told you to stay behind where it was safe!”
“We were worried about you,” Carrie said quickly in all honesty.
“But you could easily have been hurt down here in the midst of all the gunfire.” Todd’s expression was almost stern.
“Well, we weren’t!” Jennie snapped in exasperation. “Now let’s go and see if we can help Pa.”
“In a minute. I want to speak with Rick first,” Todd told her as he approached the other man.
“Rick? I’m Todd Clarke.”
“Yes, I remember you. How’s your shoulder doing?” Rick struggled to sit up, but fell back as dizziness washed over him. “Help me up, Jake,” he asked, irritated at his own weakness.
But before Jake or Juan could help him, Lucia was there supporting his shoulders and aiding him in his attempt to sit up. Rick looked up quickly, wanting a moment to talk to Jennie alone. He knew she was angry, and he wanted to make peace with her. But as their gazes met, Lucia pressed closely to his back and leaned over his shoulder to ask huskily, “Are you comfortable now?”
To Jennie, Lucia’s move looked just like the deliberately seductive ploy it was, and she turned away from him, refusing to answer the plea in his eyes.
“My shoulder’s doing fine, thanks to Carrie. Are you going to be all right?” Todd asked worriedly, noting the sudden, strained look on his face.
“Sure, thanks. I’m just a little groggy,” Rick replied, frowning.
“Well, I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of our Jennie. I know we all appreciate it. We were very worried about her.” Todd slipped an affectionate arm about her slim waist and drew her to his side.
“There was no doubt that I’d take care of her. She is, after all, Jake’s sister.” Rick’s reply was casual but his eyes narrowed as he wondered at the relationship between the two.
“Well, I’m especially grateful to you,” Todd said as he looked down at Jennie with open adoration.
Rick’s expression was shuttered, revealing nothing of the inner turmoil. What claim did Todd Clarke have on Jennie? In the beginning, she had told him that they were just friends. But was there more to it than that?
He
tried to stand for he wanted to meet Todd on his own terms, but a wave of agony pounded through him, forcing him to sit back down. A groan escaped him and he leaned forward, bracing his throbbing head in his hands.
“Carrie, you have some medicine with you, don’t you? Why don’t you finish wrapping Rick’s wound for him?” Jake asked.
“Sure, I’ll get it right away.” Carrie was glad to get away from Todd and Jennie for a while.
At the sign of Rick’s obvious pain, Jennie wanted to rush to him—to soothe him and hold him to her. But she knew she couldn’t. Whatever had existed between them was over. Holding herself ramrod straight, she tried to shift slightly from his possessive hold.
“Jennie? Is something wrong?” Todd asked, wondering at her attempt to move away from him.
“No, nothing’s wrong.” She smiled up at him a little too brightly. “Since he’s going to be all right,” she said, indicating Cazador, refusing to use his name. “Why don’t we go after Pa and Steve?”
“All right. I suppose you’ll be safe enough riding with us,” he said reluctantly. Then, turning away from her, he spoke to Jake. “We’ll meet you back here. Men? Let’s ride.”
The hands from the M Circle C were more than ready to help track down the other bandits, and they reined their horses around, ready to follow Todd’s lead.
“Jennie—wait.” Rick looked up quickly, protesting her leaving.
“Jennie,” Todd said softly as they were walking away, “I think Peralta wants to talk to you.”
“He’s just a little late with his explanations, and I have absolutely no interest in anything else he has to say. Let’s go.”
Todd was surprised by the vehemence of her statement but said nothing.
Without looking back, Jennie moved to her horse and swung quickly into the saddle. She waited in seeming impatience for Todd to mount up, too, and then they rode off with the rest of the posse in the direction that Steve and Mac had taken earlier in their pursuit of Malo and Pablo.
Carrie stood silently by, wondering at the entire exchange between this Rick Peralta and Jennie. There had been far too many undercurrents in the words and looks they’d exchanged for her to believe that there was nothing going on between them. Especially after the way Jennie had cared for him.
