Colorado Heart (9781101612026) Read online

  If only she could crawl in one and hide too. She should get out of the rain, but she had come so far, farther up into the canyons that fed into her property than she ever had before. Yet she wasn’t accomplishing a thing. It was raining so hard that she could barely see in front of her, and the way Puck kept tossing his head let her know he was having difficulty also. She needed to find shelter until this deluge blew over. She really didn’t have a clue if she was still on her land as she’d yet to ride all the boundaries. First there’d been the winter weather, and then all the work when spring finally arrived. She should have been ready in case something like this happened. She should have explored her land already, instead of waiting for a disaster to send her out with no more signs to follow than a swath of trampled grass next to the stream that led into the mountains. Surely the sheep would all be together, somewhere. She could only hope that they hadn’t all just followed one another off the nearest mountain face to their death. It sure would make life easier if they had.

  “Stop it,” Cassie told herself. “What will you do then?” Without the sheep they had no income. The partnership she’d formed with Manuel was her responsibility. The circumstances they were in, the beating Manuel and Rosa had taken, were all her fault. If not for her they’d still be back in Texas, living peacefully without notice. She had to find the sheep. She had to keep them on her property. She had people depending on her.

  The trail was rockier now as the canyon walls rose up around her. Surely the sheep hadn’t come this direction. There was no place for them to go, as the way was getting narrower. Behind the pounding of the rain Cassie heard the roar of the stream as the water tumbled down its path. She began to look for a cave or an overhang, or someplace where they could take shelter until the rain let up. Puck tossed his head nervously and Cassie gave his neck a reassuring pat. “Find us some shelter, boy,” she said encouragingly. Forget about the sheep. Finding shelter was now her biggest problem.

  No, Cassie had to admit to herself, Jake was the biggest problem. And it wasn’t Jake specifically; it was her feelings for Jake that were causing her dilemma. She’d spent the night tossing and turning because she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She didn’t want to think about him. She didn’t want to think about any man. She didn’t want to feel these things she was feeling. She was scared out of her mind.

  Feeling these things meant she might be expected to act on them and that was one thing she was certain she could not do. The memories of what happened were too close, so close that she never knew when they were going to creep up on her. There were nights when she closed her eyes when she would still see Paul Stacy’s face above her. Still feel his hands clawing at her. Still feel the pain of his attack.

  Suddenly Puck reared. Cassie felt her seat give way and she tumbled backward over Puck’s hindquarters. She hadn’t been paying attention and she’d paid for it. She landed on her hip with her leg twisted beneath it. A pain shot up her side as she rolled to get away from Puck’s flailing hooves. Puck reared again and kicked out. Cassie realized why when she saw the rattler coiled on the trail. Puck jumped backward as the snake tried to strike and then disappeared into the curtain of rain. Cassie backpedaled away as the rattler shook its tail in anger. She pulled her gun from her pocket, aimed down the barrel and pulled the trigger. She was rewarded with the sight of the rattler’s head exploding with blood. Cassie kept her gun in her hand as she searched the area for another snake. All she saw was the rain splattering off the rocks and soaking the ground beneath her.

  She dropped her head onto the ground and lay flat on her back, looking up at the gray skies. She had to get up, yet the pain in her leg told her it wasn’t going to be easy. What if she’d broken something? What if she couldn’t move? What if she just laid here until she died? That had to be easier than getting up. She was so tired of fighting. She was sick of everything being so hard.

  “Get up,” she said. “You’ve got to get up.” Cassie managed to roll onto her uninjured side and push herself up into a sitting position. She whistled for Puck and heard nothing. She whistled again, louder this time. He was gone, she hoped on his way back to the ranch and his warm, dry stall. Meanwhile, she was getting wetter, if that was possible. Cassie struggled to get to her knees and pushed herself up. Her leg instantly buckled and she teetered for a moment before regaining her balance. She hobbled as best she could as she cursed herself for every kind of fool.

  Jake was right. She shouldn’t have gone off on her own, but at the time she was more worried about getting away from him than anything else. His kindness, his patience, and the way he looked at her, as if he wanted to kiss her . . . it was her own fault she was in this mess. And she would just have to figure a way out of it.

  Her first need was shelter. She couldn’t walk home, so she had to find a place to wait out the storm until Manuel came looking for her. He would come looking, when Puck showed up without her. That is if Puck showed up. Cassie could only pray that the snake hadn’t bitten him before he got away. She turned in the direction that led out of the canyon and took a hobbling step.

  Even if Puck didn’t show up, Manuel would come looking for her. Even with his injuries . . . Guilt consumed her once more. Manuel would suffer for her foolishness, just as he had before. Cassie kept on hobbling until she was close to the canyon wall. “Surely there has to be a cave or something here.” She wrapped her arms around her body against the chill that permeated her bones and kept on, limping heavily as she shivered with cold.

  * * *

  It was amazing what a hot bath and clean clothes could do to make a fellow feel better on the outside. And Fu’s bowl of soup should have made him feel better on the inside. It was filling, but it did nothing to belay the worry that gnawed at Jake’s insides.

  Cassie hadn’t come back; at least she hadn’t by the time he left. The rain had started again before he got home. Surely she had enough sense to turn back when it started. He finished his soup, picked up his cup of coffee and wandered through his house with Josie chasing his heels. Jake always loved his house, the big rooms with the high-peaked ceiling and the stone fireplaces, but today it felt cold and empty. He walked into the front room that held his office and looked out the window.

  He’d been right; his guys had taken advantage of the dreary weather and stayed in the bunkhouse today. He didn’t mind, though. Only a fool would be out in this weather. The chances were pretty good that there would be flooding in the low-lying areas too.

  “It’s not like she’s going to find anything,” Jake said to the rain trickling down the glass panes. He put down his coffee cup and picked up Josie, who’d been chewing on the toe of his boot. She looked up at him with her two different-colored eyes, gave him a doggy smile and then went to work on the button of his shirt while Jake rubbed her head. “Of course, as stubborn as she is . . .”

  He should have known. It was bound to happen. Libby came charging up the road and didn’t stop until she was on the porch that stretched across the front of his house. She raised a leg and struck her hoof against the door. The noise startled Josie, who barked and wiggled until Jake put her down so she could run barking to the door.

  “Company, Mr. Jake?” Fu asked as he came out of the kitchen.

  “Just that crazy donkey again.” Jake sighed. “I reckon I’ll be taking her home.”

  “Donkey wants to live here,” Fu said. “Be better for all if you let her.”

  “I’ll take it under advisement,” Jake said. “Can you pack some food for me? I have a feeling I might be gone for a while.”

  Libby’s hooves still pounded on the door. “Will you let her in?” Fu asked.

  “No, but I will send her down to the barn,” Jake said. He opened the door and Josie charged out, and then ran back in with a startled yelp when Libby drew her lips back and brayed loud and long. The wooden door was scarred from her barrage, but that was the least of Jake’s wor
ries at the moment.

  “I know, I know,” Jake said. He shoved Libby aside so she wouldn’t come in the house, and closed the door behind him as he stepped outside. Dan and Randy had come out on the porch of the bunkhouse after hearing all the ruckus and Jake waved them up.

  “More trouble on the Parker spread?” Dan asked. He bent to pet Josie, who was trying to decide if Libby was going to eat her.

  “It seems that way,” Jake said. His guys knew about the sheep and the attack. Gossip spread between the ranches, the same way it spread in town. Jake made sure they knew the facts as soon as he got back. Dan took Libby’s halter and led her down the two steps of the porch so she was on the ground, yet still protected from the rain by the roof. Josie tumbled down after him and quickly piddled. She attacked the steps like she was climbing a mountain and Jake scooped her up. “Good girl,” he said.

  “I’m not that fond of sheep,” Randy confessed. “But there are things that are worse. Baxter being one of them. That man is lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut.”

  “Is there something you want to tell me, Randy?” Jake asked. “Do you know anything?”

  “No, sir,” Randy replied. “But we all have our suspicions.”

  “And we hate to see bad things happen to good people,” Dan added. “Whether there’s sheep involved or not.”

  “There’s a bunkhouse on the Parker place, isn’t there?” Randy asked.

  “Yes,” Jake said. “But I’m not sure what kind of shape it’s in.”

  “We thought we might go on over there and have a look at it,” Dan said. “Maybe hang around, in case some uninvited guests show up.”

  “I think it would be much appreciated by everyone if you were to do just that,” Jake said. He might curse his men for being lazy sometimes, but when it came down to it, they were good men, with hearts as big as the sky.

  “I reckon you’re heading that way?” Randy asked.

  “I am, just as soon as I collect my gear,” Jake said.

  “We’ll bring this troublemaker along with us,” Dan said. “Why do they want this donkey?” he asked. “It seems to me like she’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

  “Apparently donkeys are pretty vicious when coyotes and such come around the flock,” Jake explained. “And will fight them off.”

  Randy shook his head in wonder. “Don’t that beat all,” he said. “I reckon a fella can learn something new every day if he tries hard enough.” The two men left, with Libby between them.

  Jake went inside to change, with Josie trailing after him. He could only imagine what had happened at the Parker place, and all of it was bad. He threw an extra shirt and socks into his saddlebags, which Josie was attacking with great gusto, and went back through the kitchen to collect the food Fu put together for him.

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” Jake told the cook. Fu picked up Josie, who wanted to chase Jake out the back door. Jake gave her a good-bye pat. “Spoiled rotten, aren’t you?”

  “She misses you when you are gone,” Fu agreed. “Hopefully Mr. Jake not run into any more problems like last night.”

  “I hope so,” Jake said wearily. He put on his coat, and his slicker over it, and dashed down to the barn.

  Skip was already saddled, thanks to Randy, who was saddling his own horse when Jake arrived. “Is herding sheep like herding cattle?” he asked.

  “From what I saw, it’s more like herding cats,” Jake said.

  “That ought to be a nice change,” Randy said dryly. Dan joined them with supplies for both the men and tied a lead to Libby’s halter. The men went to mount up and Libby brayed loud and long.

  “Just give her to me.” Jake sighed, and taking Libby’s lead, they rode out into the rain. There was no time to waste on a crazy donkey. Cassie needed him. Whether she liked it or not, he was going to help her.

  EIGHTEEN

  Jake hoped to discover Cassie on her way out to find Libby. Instead, he found Manuel on the back of one of the mules just coming out of the barn.

  “Where’s Cassie?” he asked.

  “Lost,” Manuel said. “Puck came home without her. Libby got out when I was putting him up.”

  “This is Dan and Randy,” Jake said as he dismounted. “They’ve come to help.”

  “Thank you,” Manuel said as he shook hands with the men. He took Libby from Jake and followed him into the barn. Jake went to Puck’s stall. The horse was spooked over something, Jake could tell by the way the gelding tossed his head and rolled its eyes.

  “Any signs of a wound on him?” Jake asked. “Is he lame?”

  “I checked him,” Manuel said. “Something scared him.”

  “If only we knew what,” Jake said. “Any idea where to start looking?”

  “None,” Manuel said.

  “Let’s get a move on,” Jake said. “It will be dark soon, and if this rain doesn’t stop we’re going to need a boat instead of horses.”

  The men mounted up again. Dan and Randy had stashed their stuff in the bunkhouse. They took off across the narrow bridge in the direction Cassie had gone earlier that morning. The stream beneath the bridge was running high and fast, and Jake knew the flooding would be worse once they went up into the canyons.

  “Watch the ground for signs,” he said. “See if you can figure out from which direction Puck came in.”

  The four men spread out and kept their eyes on the ground. It was churned up from the sheep the night before and the deluge of rain hadn’t helped a bit. It was impossible to see anything.

  “Come on,” Jake said. “Lord, give me something.” He was concentrating so hard on the ground that it took him a moment to realize there was a sound beyond the rain.

  “What is it?” he asked when he saw Manuel stop his mule. The three men converged on Manuel to see what had his attention.

  “The sheep,” Manuel said, pointing. The men pulled up their horses and watched as a gray and soggy cloud of sheep swarmed out of a canyon and into the valley.

  “Max,” Manuel called out. Sure enough the dog was bringing up the rear, dashing from one side of the flock to the other and nipping at the heels of the laggards.

  “Well I’ll be danged,” Dan said.

  “Let them come to us,” Jake said. “We don’t want to spook them.” Sure enough the flock came right at them. The horses laid their ears back at the strange creatures, but they were well trained and held their ground. Manuel got off his mule and embraced Max, who joyfully jumped into his arms and gave his face a thorough washing with his tongue. Manuel guided him to the ground and rubbed his sides. Then he put his hands on the dog’s face and looked into his eyes.

  “He was hit with a bullet,” Max announced. “See his ear?” Jake looked and the tip of the dog’s pointed ear was gone.

  “You were lucky,” Jake said. “Both of you.” He’d been watching, beyond the sheep, hoping beyond hope that Cassie would be with them, that she’d found the flock and brought it home. How proud she would have felt, and how sassy she would have been.

  Would have?

  “Help Manuel get them settled,” he said to Dan and Randy.

  “Are you sure, boss?” Randy asked.

  “I’m not coming back until I find her,” Jake said. “Take care of things here, and if I’m not back by this time tomorrow, send for the sheriff.”

  “Will do,” they assured him. Jake set Skip into a ground-eating gallop the way the sheep had come. There was no need looking for tracks now, they were obliterated. He’d search around the many ridges and cutaways that led into the mountains. There were only a couple of hours of daylight left. Jake couldn’t afford to waste any time. He had to get it right the first time. Once he went up a canyon, he’d be committed.

  The visibility was so bad that Jake thought he was seeing things. Or mayb
e he just wanted to see something. After what felt like hours of looking, he dismounted and ran his hand over the ground. The earth was churned up, and there was the distinct imprint of a horseshoe. The grass was lying flat also, as if it had been trampled, and closer inspection showed the imprint of sheep tracks in the soft dirt beneath the grass, heading along the edge of the pasture, not into the canyon before him. Cassie went up the canyon thinking the sheep would be there. That had to be where Puck came from. With a hastily said prayer, Jake urged his horse up the canyon.

  * * *

  “I will not cry,” Cassie told herself as she took another halting step. “I will not cry,” she said again. It became her litany as she hobbled down the trail. She looked for a tree branch to use as a crutch but there was nothing about, just rocks, grass, some scrubby brush and a stream that kept getting higher and higher as the rain continued pounding down from the heavy skies. She was soaked to the skin. “I couldn’t be any wetter if I was a fish in the sea,” she said, and then laughed at her silliness because being wet didn’t bother fish at all. But it sure did bother her.

  If only she wasn’t so cold. If only she wasn’t so foolish. If only she’d stayed home like Jake asked her to. If only she’d stayed in Illinois instead of going to Texas. If only her father hadn’t gone off to the war. There wasn’t any room in her mind for if onlys. There was only put one foot in front of the other and don’t fall, because if you fall you will not get up and you will die here, cold and alone.

  Cassie didn’t want to die. But she wasn’t sure if living was much better. At least not the way she’d been living. Alone and afraid. Even with the company of Manuel and Rosa, and her mother, who was hollow inside and nothing more than a shell that erased all the happy memories. The funny thing was, Cassie felt the same. She might not have suffered a stroke, but her attack had shattered her soul enough, so that she never thought she’d feel normal again. She let it rule and ruin her life and that was worse than the physical part of it. The violation. She couldn’t even stand to say the word.