The Cowboy’s Targeted Bride

by Carla Cassidy

  He made sure the kitchen was clean and then went into Caleb’s room, where both boys were in their beds. He moved to the side of Henry’s blow-up bed first. He pulled the sheet up around the boy’s neck. “Good night, Henry. I hope you have nice dreams.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Jerod,” Henry replied.

  Jerod moved from Henry’s side to Caleb’s. He pulled the sheet up around Caleb’s neck. “Good night, Caleb. Sweet dreams and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Good night, Jerod.” Caleb rose up and gave Jerod a hug. As always Caleb’s show of affection shot straight through to Jerod’s heart. He got up, and when he reached the door, he turned back to the boys. “Now don’t stay up too late talking and giggling with each other.”

  The two boys giggled in response. Jerod stepped out of the room and pulled the door closed behind him. Immediately his thoughts turned to Lily. He hoped she’d had a good time this evening with her friends, but he was eager for her to get home.

  He returned to the living room and sank down in the chair. He should be able to hear her when the truck pulled up. It was now almost nine thirty. She should be coming home any time now.

  By the time another fifteen minutes had passed, his heart began to beat in an uneasy rhythm. She’d told him before she’d left that she would be home between nine and nine thirty. He needed to relax. She was only fifteen minutes later than what she’d told him.

  He picked up the remote and turned on the television. He flipped through the channels, looking for something...anything that would take his mind off the tick of time passing.

  By ten o’clock his heart was definitely beating a little quicker. He finally grabbed his cell phone and called Lily. It rang a half a dozen times and then went to voice mail.

  Maybe she was having such a good time she had lost track of the time. She might be on the dance floor and couldn’t hear her phone. He knew how noisy it could be at the Watering Hole. Just because she was late didn’t mean anything bad had happened to her, he told himself.

  He waited ten more minutes and then tried to call her again. Same result. It rang and rang and then went to voice mail. “Lily, I was just calling to see where you are. It’s getting late and I’m starting to get worried about you. Please call me when you get this message.”

  He got up and went to the window to peer out. He hoped to see that his truck had magically arrived and Lily was getting ready to come into the house, but of course that wasn’t the case.

  He returned to the chair and called her two more times. When there was still no answer, his heart began to bang hard and fast in his chest as a simmering panic swept through him.

  At ten thirty he finally called Krista’s phone. She answered on the second ring. “Jerod, is Henry all right?” she asked.

  “Yes, he’s fine. I was just wondering where Lily is?”

  There was a long pause. “Uh...she isn’t at home?”

  Immediately Jerod’s heart felt like it exploded in his chest and every nerve screamed in his body. “Do you know when she left the Watering Hole?”

  “All four of us left at the same time...about quarter till nine. I walked out with her, and we were parked side by side in the parking lot. I got into my car and left, and I just assumed she did the same. Oh, Jerod, she should be home by now.” Krista’s voice held the worry that now filled Jerod. “What are you going to do?”

  “I think I’d better call Dillon,” Jerod replied. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  His fingers trembled as he dialed the lawman’s number. Dillon answered on the second ring. “Jerod, what’s happened?”

  “Lily went to the Watering Hole with some friends this evening. She told me she’d be home between nine and nine thirty, but she isn’t home. I just spoke with Krista, who said they all left the bar around quarter till nine. She should be home, Dillon, but she’s not.”

  “Let me check things out at the Watering Hole and I’ll be back in touch,” Dillon replied. Dillon immediately disconnected, and Jerod began to pace the floor.

  What could have happened to her? Had somebody carjacked her on her way home? Had she even left the bar? How had this happened? She had been with her friends. Where could she possibly be? Or had the person who had attacked her in the school parking lot somehow attacked her once again? His stomach twisted with fear at this thought.

  Questions continued to torment him as he waited to hear something...anything from anyone. He needed answers. He desperately needed Lily to be back here safe and sound.

  As he waited to hear from Dillon, each tick of the clock was like a savage stab into his heart. He’d never felt so helpless in his entire life. He wanted to drive up and down the streets, rip open the doors of every house in town until he found Lily and could get her safely home.

  Still, he knew the best thing he could do right now was let Dillon figure things out while Jerod stayed here with Caleb and Henry. That’s what Lily would want.

  Caleb...oh God, he didn’t want to have to tell Caleb that his mother hadn’t made it home. He didn’t want to have to see Caleb’s innocent eyes fill with fear. Dillon had to find her...he just had to.

  Jerod returned to the window, and as he stared out...waiting...waiting, his eyes misted with tears. He couldn’t imagine going to sleep tonight without his body spooned around Lily’s. He couldn’t imagine waking up tomorrow morning and not being greeted by her sunny smiles.

  He rubbed his eyes and straightened his back. No, he couldn’t think that way. He was thinking like she was already gone forever, and he refused to believe that.

  It was almost midnight when Dillon arrived. A stab of bitter disappointment swept through Jerod when he saw the lawman was alone. Jerod opened the door and stepped outside. “Tell me something, Dillon.”

  “Jerod, let’s go inside,” Dillon replied.

  “Okay, but I don’t want to wake up Caleb and Henry,” he replied.

  Dillon gave a curt nod, and then the two stepped into the living room. “For God’s sake, man. Don’t keep me waiting.” Jerod stared at Dillon, willing him to have some kind of good news about Lily.

  “Your truck is still parked at the Watering Hole, but a couple of my deputies and I went inside and there was no sign of her in the entire building. We began to ask questions, but nobody had seen her leave or knew who she might have left with.”

  “She wouldn’t willingly go with anyone,” Jerod replied fervently.

  “Did the two of you have a fight before she left here this evening? Is it possible she’s at a friend’s house and just doesn’t want you to know where she is?”

  Jerod looked at Dillon in surprise. “Dillon, that’s not what’s happened here at all. First of all, there was no fight before she left. She just wanted to have a little time out with her friends and then she was coming home. Besides, she would never, ever leave Caleb here without me knowing where she is.”

  Dillon frowned. “Okay, what friends was she meeting at the Watering Hole?”

  “Krista and Carol Jenkins and Regina somebody. I’m not sure of Regina’s last name. I called Krista when Lily wasn’t home by ten thirty, and she was shocked Lily wasn’t here.”

  “I’ll go catch up with her and the others and see if they can shed any more light on things,” Dillon replied.

  Jerod stared at him for a long moment. “Dillon, my wife is missing and we know somebody tried to kill her before. We have to find her before...before...” Jerod’s voice trailed off as pain shot through to his heart.

  Dillon reached out and placed a hand on Jerod’s shoulder. “We’re going to do everything in our power to find her, Jerod. I’ve got all my deputies out and searching for her. Right now the best thing you can do is sit tight here and let me know the minute you hear anything from her.”

  Jerod gave a curt nod of his head. “Stay in touch?”

  “Of course,” Dillon replied and then he w
as out the front door once again.

  Jerod moved back to the window and watched as Dillon turned around and then headed down the driveway. He watched until Dillon’s car lights disappeared into the night.

  Disappeared into the night...

  Just like Lily.

  Chapter 11

  When Lily realized Krista had left her in the shed, she crumbled to the bed and began to cry. How had this happened? She hadn’t even seen this coming. Had Krista teased her about Jerod being the perfect husband? Absolutely. But so had Carol and Regina, and neither of them had stabbed her and thrown her into a shed to die.

  Could she have foreseen that Krista could do...was capable of doing something like this to her? Absolutely not. Krista had never before shown the kind of sheer madness that was obviously hidden away in her mind. Sure, she could say some wicked, mean things at times, but she hadn’t ever shown that she could do something like this.

  Her purse! Her cell phone was in her purse. She had no idea if she could get a signal out here, but it was worth a try. She looked around the bed and on the shed floor but didn’t see her purse. Of course, she had left it in Krista’s car. There had been no reason to carry her purse into the shed where she was going to help her friend purge a lover.

  As her tears began to subside, her stab wounds began to scream in pain. She struggled to an upright position, set the overturned lamp upright on the small nightstand table next to the bed and started exploring the damage.

  She hissed half breathlessly as she shrugged off her suede jacket. “Oh God,” she whispered as she realized she was bleeding from all the stab and slash cuts. The pink blouse she had put on to enjoy the night with friends was now splashed with bright red blood.

  Warm blood also trickled down the center of her back, but it was impossible for her to see how badly she’d been hurt.

  All she knew was that she was in bad shape. Still she pulled herself off the bed. She needed to see if there was some way she could get out of this shed. Krista was right in that nobody would probably ever find her out here. So, she had to find a way out to save herself.

  There was nothing inside except the bed and the stand next to it. The rest of the area inside was empty. Despite the worn look of the shed on the outside, there were no holes and no loose boards to exploit as an exit.

  In spite of the excruciating pain that ripped through her, she searched inch by inch and finally collapsed back on the bed in failure and exhaustion and horrible pain.

  There was a strange fog in her head, and she suspected she was teetering on the edge of shock. Her heart had finally stopped racing and instead beat a rhythm of slow dread.

  She looked at the photos tacked on the walls. They were all of Jerod, and it was obvious he hadn’t been aware that his picture was being taken. There was one of him on horseback and another stepping out of the community center. Then there were a few more of him walking down the sidewalk in town.

  Krista had obviously been stalking him on the weekends when she wasn’t at work. Why hadn’t Lily seen the depths of her best friend’s issues? She’d known Krista was desperate for a husband. She just hadn’t known how desperate Krista was to have her husband.

  As she stared at the photos of Jerod on the wall, she began to weep. He would never know the depths of her love for him. He would never know what a wonderful man and husband he’d been to her.

  Her thoughts turned to her son, and her tears raced faster and deep sobs choked through her. If she was never found here, then what would happen to Caleb? Would Jerod continue to raise him on the ranch and be his father? She knew that’s what Caleb would want, and she hoped Jerod would want that, too. She desperately hoped that’s what would happen.

  Still, the thought of never again tucking Caleb into bed, of never seeing his beautiful face or being present in his life as he grew up, nearly broke her. Who would be there on prom night to straighten his tie? Who would be in the car with him when he learned how to drive? Sheer agony at the thought of not being there tortured her.

  She felt like she needed to do something to get out, to save herself. With the isolation of the shed, nobody was going to magically come riding to her rescue. If she didn’t figure out something, this shed would be her coffin. Years from now maybe somebody would decide to tear down the shed and they would find her bones.

  She would scream, but nobody would hear her, and in any case she was too exhausted...too hurt to do anything but lie down on the bed and pray. Maybe if she just rested for a few minutes she could figure out how to survive this nightmare.

  * * *

  The sun rose in the eastern sky as it always did, but that was the only thing normal about a new day. Lily was still gone, and even though Jerod’s eyes felt gritty with a lack of sleep, he didn’t intend to rest until he had Lily home.

  Dillon had set up his command center in the kitchen, where he’d sat all night long coordinating the efforts of the search and seeing if there would be some kind of a ransom demand. Jerod had spent the night pacing from room to room, his heart racing in anxiety.

  He now walked into the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee. Dillon looked up as he entered the room. The lawman looked as tired as Jerod felt. “We’ve checked the entire premises of the Watering Hole. We’ve interviewed all the women who Lily was meeting, and we’ve spoken to Brad and several other teachers, as well.”

  “And nobody knows nothing,” Jerod replied flatly. “What was Brad’s alibi for around the time Lily left the Watering Hole?”

  “He admitted he left soon after he thought she did, but according to him he went straight home and to bed. He didn’t see anything happening in the parking lot when he left. But his alibi is weak, so I’ve got a tail on him. If he goes anywhere today, we’ll know where he’s at. We’re not just going to give up, Jerod,” Dillon said softly. “She’s out there somewhere, and we won’t stop looking until we find her.”

  “I know.” Jerod turned to the counter and quickly prepared the coffee. He then turned back to Dillon. “I want her home unharmed, Dillon. But I keep thinking about the attack on her at the school, and I’m so damned afraid for her.”

  “I know,” Dillon replied with a deep frown. “All I can say is that we’re doing everything we can.”

  Jerod nodded and turned back to the coffee maker. He poured both himself and Dillon a cup and then sank down at the table. “What do I tell Caleb when he wakes up and his mother isn’t here?”

  “I guess you tell him the truth...that his mother is missing and we’re all doing everything we can to find her,” Dillon said.

  “What a hell of a thing to have to tell a little boy,” Jerod said angrily. His stomach muscles tightened. He’d alternated between fear and anger all night long. The problem was he didn’t know what to direct his anger at.

  He jumped up as a knock sounded on his door. Who in the hell could that be at this time of the morning? Jerod opened the door and was surprised to see Mac.

  “Hey, buddy,” Mac greeted him. Behind Mac’s truck in the drive were several other familiar trucks...the cowboys from Holiday Ranch. “We just wanted to check in. No news?”

  Jerod’s emotions were suddenly too close to the surface. “No news,” he managed to say. “How did you know?”

  “Cassie told us. We’re all here to join the search, but we need to talk to Dillon so we can be best utilized,” Mac said.

  Jerod gestured his friend inside and led him to the kitchen, where Mac and Dillon spoke for several minutes. Jerod listened absently. He should have known the Holiday Ranch cowboys would show up to help. They had always rushed to each other’s aid. Still, their presence touched Jerod more than he could say.

  Within minutes Jerod’s ranch brothers were gone, on a quest to find Jerod’s missing wife. Jerod returned to the kitchen and drank his coffee, his entire body tied in knots as he thought of Lily.

  At nine o’clock the two
boys came into the kitchen. Caleb stopped short at the sight of Dillon at the table. Immediately he looked at Jerod. “What’s happening?” His blue eyes were wide.

  “Your mom got lost last night, and we’re trying to find her,” Jerod said.

  Caleb narrowed his eyes slightly. “What do you mean, she got lost? She’s gone out before and she knows the way home.” He moved closer to where Jerod sat.

  Jerod reached out and pulled the boy into a half embrace. “We don’t know what happened to her, Caleb, but she didn’t come home last night. Chief Bowie is here to help us find her.”

  Caleb leaned into him. “What will happen if we don’t find her?”

  “We’re going to find her,” Jerod said as confidently as he could. “And no matter what, we’re going to be just fine, son. Now, how about I make you and Henry some breakfast and you can take it back into your room?”

  He not only wanted to keep things as normal as possible for Caleb, but he was also grateful for something...anything to do. That had been one of the most frustrating parts of the night—his inability to do anything but just wait instead of actively participating in the search.

  He decided to make the boys pancakes. When he had a stack ready, he offered some to Dillon, who declined. The boys took their plates and disappeared back into Caleb’s bedroom, and Jerod returned to sit at the table and do more waiting.

  Lily... Lily, where are you? A vision of her filled his head. He had to believe her heart was still beating with life. To think otherwise was too excruciating to even consider.

  Dillon remained on his phone, getting check-ins from his various deputies and marking on a map on his computer where the searchers had been. Jerod sat next to him, trying not to allow his thoughts to go into very dark areas.

  At ten o’clock once again a knock fell on the door. It was Carol Jenkins, and she carried in a casserole dish. “Still no word?” she asked worriedly when Jerod let her inside.

  “Nothing,” Jerod replied. “We’ve got a lot of people searching, but so far we have no answers. It’s like she disappeared into thin air.”