A Cowgirl's Pride (25 page)

“And we will again, just not this year.” Luke
stood and rinsed his cup, glancing out the window. “It’s snowing again. We’re
definitely in for a white Christmas.”

She got up to look out at the swirling flakes,
big ones, then noticed a face peering out of the bunkhouse window—Cal.

He’d have a fit if she went to see him,
considering the ribbing he’d get from the other ranch hands, but she wondered
how he was feeling. Had the pain lessened any? She felt guilty for his
injuries. If he hadn’t been angry with her, he would’ve paid more attention and
turned back sooner. Or he might not have gone riding at all.

“You make an excellent target standing in front
of that window.”

She tore her gaze from Cal's silhouette and moved
to put the kettle on. “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t think.”

“That’s what gets most people killed. Luke
already had to replace that window once.”

“Really? Did anyone get hurt?”

“No, but it was a close call,” said Luke.

“Well, that’s a relief! Do you think Roddy will
attempt anything else tonight?”

“Hard to say. You know him better than I do.
What do
you
think?” Michael asked.

She thought for a moment. “No, I think he’ll go
home or take a room for the night and consider his next move. He’s never been
one to act on impulse.”

“Good! Then we should have a quiet night.”

“Lord, I hope so. Do you want tea, Michael?”

“No, thanks. I’m going to find Luke and check
the fax machine in his office. Maybe there’s some good news waiting.”

“Your mouth to God’s ears.”

“What?”

“Just praying for it to be true.”

Michael left the kitchen, and she made her tea,
snagging the cookie jar before sitting down. She was surprised when a
triumphant smile highlighted Michael's features on his return.

“We got him! Vancouver arrested all those involved
and obtained a search warrant for Kendall’s entire estate. They are digging up
the grounds as we speak.”

Leah jumped to her feet and embraced him in a
smiling, sobbing hug of relief. “It’s over. Oh, Michael, I’m so glad it’s over.
You did it!”

“We did it, Leah. You, me, and Trent. Without
those detailed notes of yours and Trent’s files, we wouldn’t have had a leg to
stand on.”

“So they’re all in jail? No more surprises?”

“Well, not all. Kendall hadn’t yet returned when
the authorities arrived, but he’ll have a nice little surprise waiting for
him.”

She shook her head in alarm. “If he sees all the
activity, he’ll bolt. Why didn’t they wait and make sure he was there?”

“Surveillance tailed his car to the gate and
reported that Kendall was in residence. Unfortunately, someone else was
driving. Don’t worry, Leah. We’ll get him.”

“Yes, I know. Thanks, Michael. I think I’ll head
up to bed. See you in the morning.”

She headed toward the stairs, hoping for a
peaceful night’s sleep that wasn’t likely with Roddy still on the loose. The
twins were already in bed. She rubbed her belly, hoping there was only one
growing in there. Fate wouldn’t be that cruel, would it? Or should she think of
it as a double blessing. Yes, if her baby turned out to be twins, she’d consider
herself doubly blessed…just before she went stark raving mad.

Trent and the family had congregated in the
living room, so she stepped in to say goodnight. That’s when all hell broke
loose. The front door blew inward and the blast propelled her forward. The
shocked look on her father’s face was all she registered before everything
turned black.

Chapter Sixteen

The blast echoed clear to the bunkhouse.
Cal
was on his feet in
minutes, as were the rest of the men. He grabbed his gun and, slippered feet
and all, made his way to the house. Frostbite be damned! Leah was up there.

He motioned the wranglers to be quiet and
surround the house, while he went to the back door. Locked. He hobbled around
to the front of the house, and that was when he saw them—two men standing in
the firelit glow of the burning entrance.

Were there any more? He scanned the surrounding
area, recognizing his own men closing in, and made his move.

“Hands up! You’re under arrest!”

They turned to face him. Steel glinted in the
sparse light of the rising moon. Guns! He ducked and pitched forward, sliding
on his side in the snow and ice as he took a shot, hitting his mark. The man
went down and the other took off running, but the wranglers soon surrounded
him. With so many guns pointed his way, it didn’t take much to convince him to
drop his weapon. He heard shouts from the other side of the house and figured
there were more thugs captured.

Cal
tried to rise but couldn’t. Excruciating pain shot upward from his
hip. Cookie appeared at his side with the wheelchair. “Cookie, I think I busted
my hip.”

“Ha! Some hero you turned out to be.”

“I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I wanted to help,
is all.”

“Yep. Sure.”

Cookie was a big man, a strong man, and
Cal
appreciated his
help. Once in the chair, he balanced on his good hip and found the pain
slightly more tolerable as Cook turned him toward the bunkhouse.

“Stop! I need to know if everyone’s all right.”

“You need to get inside where it’s warm.”

“Please, Cookie. Find out for me.”

“All right.”

Cal
’s gaze never left Cookie as he walked to the front of the house,
spoke to someone in the crowd gathered there, then walked back.

“Leah’s unconscious. The metal door knocked her
flat. The man you shot in the leg will be okay, and they’ve called for two
ambulances. I suggest you ride in one and get that hip checked.”

“Okay. Grab my coat for me, will ya?”

Cook went to the bunkhouse and returned with his
coat, hat, gloves, and a blanket, which he carefully wrapped around
Cal
’s legs and feet.

“Thanks, Buddy. May as well maneuver me closer
to the front of the house while we wait.”

“Harrumph! Who was your slave last year?”

“Never needed one before,” he joked, although
his heart was aching at the thought of Leah being hurt. Of all the times to not
be able to walk.

Sirens sounded in the distance, and he breathed
a sigh of relief. They couldn’t get here fast enough to suit him. He sat nearby
and watched as paramedics rushed into the house with a stretcher. The second
ambulance arrived and tended to the gunshot victim. Cook parked him by the
ambulance and, when the attendants came out with Leah, he grasped her hand,
hoping and praying for a miracle. Lucas had followed the stretcher outside.

“How is she?”
Cal
asked.

“She took the brunt of the hit. She’s
unconscious,” he said, tears streaming down his face.

“She’s also stubborn, a Manning trait. She’ll be
fine.”
Cal
tried to convince himself as well as her father.

“Leah? Can you hear me, honey?” said Lucas.

“Sir, we have to go.”

“I’m coming with you. I think I busted my hip when
I fell,” said
Cal
.

“We’ll be right behind you,” Lucas said.

Cal nodded in reply as they loaded Leah into the
ambulance, pulled out another stretcher and helped him onto it, checking his
vitals before closing up and taking off.
Cal
felt every bump on the road as they sped toward the hospital, but he ignored
the pain to concentrate on Leah, lying so deathly pale and quiet in the next
bed. He’d never been much of a praying man, yet as he reached across to hold
her hand he did just that…all the way to
Fort
McLeod
.

He hated to be separated from her for even a
moment, and his heart ached when they wheeled her into emergency ahead of him.
The emergency staff had to do their job, and he wasn’t much good to her in his
condition.

When the doctor finally came to see him, he
poked and prodded and sent him to X-ray. He hadn’t busted his hip, but the fall
had pinched a nerve…every bit as painful. They gave him a sheet of exercises to
do and released him.

Of course, he had no intention of going
anywhere.

“Where can I find Leah Manning, the woman who
was brought in with me?” he asked a nurse.

“Are you family?”

He nodded. “Fiancé,” he said, crossing his
fingers against the lie. He had to see her. Had to know she was all right.

The nurse consulted a chart behind the desk. “She’s
in acute care. Bed 14.”

“Thank you.” He wheeled himself down the
corridor and into the acute care section, finding her without any trouble. He
closed the curtain around her cubicle and, parking as close as he could, took
hold of her hand, surprised when her eyes opened.

“Hey there, pretty lady. You’re awake. How are
you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been pounded into the pavement, but
otherwise okay.”

“Close enough. Glad to hear nothing’s broken.”

“What happened?”

“Someone blew the front door off its hinges, and
it slammed into you.”

“Did anyone else get hurt? What are you doing
here?”

“None of the family was hurt except you. I fell
and pinched a nerve in my hip.”

“Oh, dear. If it wasn’t for bad luck….”

“…I wouldn’t have any.”

They laughed then fell silent.

 
“What
about the baby?” he asked softly, concerned.

“She’s fine,” Leah said with a smile. “It’s a
girl.”

“They can tell that already?”

 
“Yeah,
apparently she’s quite laid back, and there was nothing to see, so, it’s a
girl.”

“I hope she has your hair.” He reached out and
brushed a strand back from her forehead. “I’m glad you and the baby are okay. I
was so worried.”

“I’m fine, but they want to keep me overnight
for observation. That knock to the back of my head was a good one.”

“Those metal doors are heavy. It’s a wonder you
weren’t killed.”

“Guess I’m tougher than I look.”

He smiled. “I always knew that.” He brought her
hand to his lips and kissed each knuckle.

“
Cal
?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry for running out on you the other day.
If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have gotten lost in the storm.”

“Nonsense! That storm blew up so fast, I didn’t
see it coming until it was too late.”

“Well, I feel guilty. If I’d lost you….” She
fidgeted in the bed.

“Yes? If you’d lost me?” he prompted, hope
welling within.

“I would’ve lost my one true friend.”

“Is that all I am to you, Leah? A friend?” He
wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but he asked anyway.

“That’s all we can be, Cal. Don’t you see?”

“No. I see a beautiful woman who is pregnant and
alone. A woman who I very much want to have in my life…forever.”

“You mean it? What about my baby? The kind of
life I lived?”

“If she’s anything like her mother, I’ll love
her until the day I die. We can’t change the past, but I guarantee to make the
future the best it can be. Will you marry me, Leah?”

The curtain whipped back on the cubicle.
Cal
straightened up in
his chair and looked around. It seemed the entire Manning clan had arrived en
masse.

“Leah, are you all right, darlin’?” asked her
father.

“We were so worried,” Zakia said as she rounded
the bed.

“How’s the baby?” Winnie asked.

Leah laughed. “One question at a time. I’m fine
and so is my baby girl.”

“A girl? Sweet!” said Luke.

“Guessin’ you won’t be my baby girl much longer,”
her father said as he moved to stand beside the bed and brushed her forehead
with a kiss.

“Aw, Daddy, I’ll always be your baby girl.” She
smiled and drew him into her arms for a hug. “The explosion? Was it Roddy who
set it off?”

 
“Yep!
Cal
took him down with
one shot,” Luke said.

“
Cal
?”
She looked at him. “You weren’t even supposed to be outside.”

“When I heard that explosion, I reacted, and am
damn glad I did.”

“Is that how you fell?” she asked.

“Yeah, when I saw him turn, a gun in his hand, I
dove for cover and dashed off a shot. Glad it was
Kendall
I hit.” He knew he had a smirky grin on his face. He couldn’t help it. He was
proud to know that he’d been the one to take her enemy down.