A Cowgirl's Pride (18 page)

****

Leah went straight to her room upon entering the
house. She gathered some clean clothes and wasted no time in hitting the
shower, hoping to wash all traces of
Cal
from her body and her mind. It was a toss-up as to which ran faster, the tepid
water or the tears streaming down her cheeks.

She honestly didn’t know what she’d expected
from him on learning the truth, but it certainly hadn’t been the vile words
he’d thrown at her. He’d called her a whore, because she danced in a topless
bar. She snorted a laugh and inhaled a mouthful of water. Spitting and
coughing, she wondered what
Cal
would say or do if he knew Roddy had treated her like one for the past four
years. She’d gone west in search of a dream and lived a nightmare instead.

She considered herself every kind of fool for
thinking she deserved the love of a good man like
Cal
. And he
was
a good man. Obviously, her dreams of a second chance with the
one man she’d ever truly loved had just gone on a downhill ride. His angry
words had cut her to the core. She hoped to avoid any further abuse by avoiding
him, at least until the hurt subsided and she was in control of her emotions
once again. Damned hormones had her blubbering at the drop of a hat these days.

She stepped from the shower and rubbed herself
briskly with the towel to find that her breasts were over sensitized from the
attention he’d lavished on them. Bloody hell! How long would it take to forget
how good he’d made her feel, so cherished, so loved? Her insides clenched,
aching with the need to be with him again.

Swiping fresh tears away with an angry hand, she
dressed and returned to her room. She lay on her bed, her mind immersed in
abject misery, recalling the afternoon idyll that would never be repeated.
Giving in to her tears for what she vowed would be the last time, she cried
herself to sleep.

****

Cal
removed the saddles, stabled the horses, and grabbed the currycomb
to give them a brisk rubdown. Physical labor he could deal with, but his
emotions were fast zapping him of strength.

He regretted being so crude and nasty to Leah.
It had been such a shock to hear her casually admit what she’d done for a living,
as if it was no big deal.

Geesh! Was that really how she thought of it?
Had she categorized it as work and justified it the same way? Were the tips that
good to make her forget her morals to such an extent?

Something else had to have happened. He was
beginning to think he didn’t have the full story, but how would he find out the
truth if she wasn’t talking to him? Would Luke level with him if he asked?
Michael? No, he didn’t want to ask
him
.
Cal
was
certain he had his eye on Leah and probably wouldn’t tell him anything,
especially if it meant healing the rift between them.

He decided to take one of the other horses for a
ride. Riding always helped clear his mind and maybe he’d get some honest
thinking done. He saddled Diablo and rode the short trail to the creek. On his
way, he stopped to pick up Erickson’s snowshoes and strapped them to the back
of the saddle. Snow started falling again before he reached the creek, but he
continued on, knowing the horse needed some exercise.

It turned out to be a bad choice. By the time he
turned to head back, the wind picked up and he was in the midst of a whiteout.
He pulled his collar tight around his neck and let the horse have his head.
Diablo had an excellent sense of direction, and he counted on the stallion to
take them safely home.

****

“Leah, are you awake, girl?”

Her father’s voice sounded from the other side
of her closed bedroom door and roused her from her on again, off again,
afternoon slumber. “Yeah, I am now.”

“The women sent me up to tell you dinner’s
ready. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just seem to tire easy these
days. I’ll be down shortly.”

“Good! See ya downstairs.”

She heard his footsteps recede as she crawled
out of bed. The moment she stood, an attack of dizziness hit, and everything
turned black.

* * * *

When she opened her eyes, the first person she
saw was her father. “What happened?”

“I heard you fall and came a runnin’. You must’a
fainted.”

He helped her up, and she sat on the edge of the
bed. “Yes, I remember being a little dizzy.”

“More’n a little for ya to pass out cold. I’ll
get Winnie to call the doctor.”

“No, don’t do that. I think I just stood up too
fast. I feel fine now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep, I’m sure. I need to wash up, and I’ll meet
you downstairs.”

“You go wash up, but I’m waitin’ for ya. Need to
make sure ya get down those stairs in one piece.”

“Okay. I’ll just be a minute.”

She entered the kitchen, her father’s arm still
holding her tight, and saw Zakia at the sink. “Hey, Zak. I think I’d better
call that doctor of yours and make an appointment.”

“The number’s on the wall by the phone. Dr.
Gregory.”

“Thanks. I’ll call him in the morning.”

“Her, Dr. Stella Gregory. She’s my obstetrician.”

“Even better.” She took a seat next to her
father, just in case.

“Are you feeling all right?” Winnie asked. “You
look a mite peaked tonight.”

“A bit dizzy, but I’m fine.”

“People who are fine don’t pass out cold,” said
her father.

“Are you on prenatal vitamins, Leah?” asked
Zakia.

“No, should I be?”

“Yep. Here.” She passed her a bottle. “Take one.
A growing baby zaps us of iron.”

Leah screwed off the lid and shook one out,
swallowing it with the glass of water Zakia thoughtfully brought over. “Thank
you.” She looked around. “Where is everybody?”

“In Luke’s office. Something about a fax. I
warned them to be out in five minutes, or we weren’t waiting.” She smiled as
she said it, but Leah had the feeling she was serious. Her next words confirmed
it.

“When you’re eating for two, you’re always
hungry.”

Leah laughed. “I can vouch for that. I’ve never
eaten so much in my life.”

Luke, Michael, and Trent soon joined them, and
Zakia served dinner. Most of the talk around the table centered on babies and
cravings, to the twins’ amusement. Once the boys had finished and run off to
play, the talk turned to the case.

“How’s your friend, Michael?” Leah asked.

“The Chief found Vic bound and gagged with a
good-sized goose egg on the back of his head. He’s all right, but his partner
made off with the files.”

“Yeah, but what he didn’t know was that I always
keep back-up copies on computer disks,” said
Trent
. “Vic’s going through them now,
searching names against missing persons and unsolved cases.”

“Any hits so far?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, yes, and two of them were former
dancers at Roddy’s club,” Michael said.

“Oh, my God!”

“You were lucky to get away when you did.” Lucas
patted her hand where it lay on the table, mangling a napkin.

Someone banged on the kitchen door, and Leah
tensed as Luke went to answer. It was Pete, one of Thunder Creek’s full-time
wranglers. He’d been on the ranch for as far back as Leah could remember.

“Boss, Cal’s missing and so is Diablo.”

Leah’s heart jumped at the words.

“
Cal
probably took him out for some exercise.”

“But boss, a storm came up. It’s bad out there.”

Leah turned and saw Pete covered in snow. Luke
opened the door and looked out.

“Damn! There wasn’t anything in today’s forecast
about snow. Did anyone see them leave?”

“No, boss. I checked before coming here.”

“How long has he been missing?”

“No one’s seen him since he sent me out to bury
those coyotes. When he didn’t show for dinner, I went looking.”

Leah’s gut clenched in dread as she glanced at
the clock mounted on the kitchen wall. That was almost two hours ago.

“Fire up the snowmobiles. We’ll take Rounder and
go search.”

“Okay, boss.” Pete left, and Luke donned his one-piece
snowmobile suit.

“Here, take this,” said Michael, passing him a
handgun.

Luke nodded, checked the safety, and stuck it in
his pocket.

“I’m coming with you,” Leah said as she got up
to put on her snowsuit.

“No way! It’s downright nasty out there.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I went out in
this kind of weather. When you find him, you’ll need an extra person to bring
the horse back.”

“I’ll go,” Michael offered.

“You don’t know the property as well as we do,
Michael. I know I’ve been gone a long time, but I’ve traveled this range all my
life.”

“So has Cal, and he’s missing,” he argued.

“I’ll go, lass. Don’t want you passing out again
and having two casualties on our hands.” Her father stood and grabbed for his
coat.

“No, Daddy. I’m fine. I need to do this.”

He gave her a stern look then acquiesced, releasing
a heavy sigh as he hauled her close for a hug. “Be careful out there.”

“We will.”

“If I can find my snowshoes, I can search around
here some,” said
Trent
.

“Okay, just keep in sight of the house and you
should be all right.” Luke tugged on his heavy mittens and prepared to leave,
Leah and Trent close on his heels.

They met up with Pete in front of the barn.

“I took Rounder to Diablo’s stall for a good
sniff so she knows who we’re looking for. Figured if
Cal
is on horseback, it would be easier for
her to track the horse. She’s been dancing back and forth from here to the
creek trail ever since,” Pete told them.

“That’s where I left my snowshoes,” said
Trent
, the wind whipping
snow around them as he headed in that direction.

Leah climbed on behind Luke and settled in for
the ride. She hadn’t been on a snowmobile since she’d left home and could
almost look forward to it, except for the dire circumstances making this stormy
ride necessary. She prayed that
Cal
was safe and holed up somewhere to wait out the storm.

Pete’s machine stalled, and they waited for him.
By the time they reached
Trent
,
he was standing at the edge of the snow-covered trail.

“What’s up?” asked Luke.

“My snowshoes are gone. I walked around every
inch of that tree base and they’re not there.”

“Are you sure the snow didn’t bury them?” Luke
asked as he shut down his machine.

All four of them looked, poking through the snow
with the toes of their boots, but the snowshoes were nowhere to be found.

“I’m thinking
Cal
must have come this way and picked them up,” said
Trent
. “He’s the only one who knew they were
here.”

“Then we’re on the right path. Want to hop on or
go back to the house?” Luke asked.

“I’ll tag along. An extra pair of eyes might do
some good in this whiteout.”

The going was extremely slow, not wanting to run
over a downed
Cal
by accident in the process. Leah's gaze scouring both sides of the trail as
they drove ahead of Pete, looking for any sign of movement, anything out of the
ordinary. Suddenly, Rounder started barking. She squinted her eyes, trying to
see through the blinding snow.

“There! To your right. Luke, it’s Diablo,” she
hollered above the roar of the engine.

He’d barely pulled to a stop when she was off
and running toward the horse. He was pawing at the snowdrift surrounding him.
She slowed to a walk as she approached, not wanting to spook the horse.

“Hey, boy. What are you doing out here?” she
asked in a soothing voice. She grabbed the reins and coaxed him away from the
area while the men dug around in the snow. Sure enough, the horse had been
guarding
Cal
.
She choked back a sob as they lifted his frozen body and carefully transferred
him to the snowmobile.

“Is this your cowboy?”
Trent
asked in a soft voice.

She nodded, unable to speak for the lump of fear
and dread lodged in her chest and throat.

“I’ll follow the snowmobile’s tracks and take
the horse back. You go with him.”

“Thanks,
Trent
,”
she said as she handed over the reins. She wiggled in behind
Cal
to hold him upright. Luke had to stand
in order to maneuver the machine, but they made it back in one piece. He
stopped in front of the house, and they carried
Cal
to the living room, laying his body on
the rug in front of the fire.