A Cowgirl's Pride (7 page)
Authors: Lorraine Nelson
“Never thought of it.” He grinned. “When I
jumped down off the tractor and saw you guys shoveling, I just acted. Hadn’t
planned on walking in snow, just driving.”
“Oh!”
“You’ve got a good start on that fort. Want some
help, boys?”
“Sure.”
“Yeah.”
Together they worked and, with
all, even the tunnel to crawl through. They’d packed a wide ledge of snow
around the inside walls for seats, and all four bodies collapsed onto a piece
of it, smiling happily.
“This is neat,” said Casey.
“Can we light a fire? It’s cold in here,” Cammy
asked.
Leah laughed. “What? And melt this beautiful
snow fort? No way, chum.” She tilted her head back and stuck out her tongue to
catch some snowflakes.
“It’s not nice to stick out your tongue,” said
Cammy.
“Mommy says so,” Casey added.
“How else am I supposed to catch snowflakes?”
she asked.
“With your hands.”
“It’s more fun this way. They tickle. Try it.”
They did, then sat back giggling at each other.
“Snowflakes do tickle,” said Casey.
“And they’re cold,” Cammy agreed, shivering.
She hated to go inside and leave
cold. “How about we go in and rustle up some hot chocolate?”
“With marshmallows?” they asked at the same
time.
She laughed. “What’s hot chocolate without
marshmallows?”
“Yay!” They were on their knees and crawling out
through the tunnel in record time.
“Leah, will you meet me tonight?” he asked as he
pulled her close.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” So much had
happened since she’d been gone. She wasn’t the same person anymore. Once he
found out how she’d been living her life, he probably wouldn’t want anything to
do with her.
“I can’t think of a better one.” He grinned, and
she was lost.
“Okay, I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask.” He kissed her then, a slow,
sweet kiss that had her remembering, had her aching for more. “See you later.”
He allowed her to go first, not such a good
idea. She was ever so conscious of her derriere stuck up in the air as she
crawled out on her hands and knees. The twins were nowhere in sight, and she
hoped they’d gone straight inside to warm up. When she turned,
silliest grin on his face.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, except to tell you that I enjoyed the
view.”
“Very funny. I need to catch up to the boys. See
ya.”
She rushed down the path to the front of the
house, relieved when she saw their shovels resting against the porch wall.
Darn! She’d forgotten hers. She turned to retrace her steps and bumped into
“No problem. Were you going back for this?”
She smiled, taking the proffered shovel. “Yes,
thanks.”
“No problem.” He slung his over a shoulder and
sauntered away whistling a tune from their teens, one they’d always enjoyed.
She touched a cold, mittened hand to her lips,
thinking that he did—he tasted exactly the same as she remembered.
* * * *
The snow turned heavy and continued until late
in the afternoon. Power was off everywhere, and phone lines were down.
the worst snowfall they’d had in years. He’d ridden out several times to check
on the stock. Most were huddled among the trees near the creek but seemed to be
weathering the storm all right. He’d send the wranglers out with fresh hay
before nightfall; maybe even include a bale or two of straw for bedding. Luke would
make the decision on that one though.
He climbed up and started the tractor. Now the
snow had stopped, he could clear the yard, even though the heavy winds would
probably blow most of it back in by morning.
He enjoyed playing in the snow this morning,
mainly because of Leah’s presence. At least she still knew how to have fun. He
smiled, thinking of that kiss. Meant as a simple kiss, a welcome home kind of
thing, it had rocked him clear to his toes. It’s a wonder their body heat alone
hadn’t melted the snow fort, without lighting a fire as Cammy had suggested.
He figured they’d both done a lot of growing up
since she’d been gone, and it was foolhardy to think they could just take up
where they’d left off. She’d sure felt good in his arms, though. It had seemed
so right, as if he’d been waiting for her return, but that was nonsense. He
certainly hadn’t been celibate all that time. Had she?
The tractor occupied his concentration as he drove
onto the main road and turned, preparing to widen the driveway on his drive
back to the ranch yard. A car pulled in behind him, but there was nothing much
he could do about it. Fencing ran along both sides, preventing him from pulling
over. Damned idiot could at least turn his high beams off.
the trail through the field. They always kept it plowed back to the first gate,
and that’s where he headed. He’d just cleared the barn when he realized the car
hadn’t stopped at the house but was still behind him. Braking to a halt,
there? What do you need?”
“I have a message for Leah Manning. Is she
around?”
“If she was, she certainly wouldn’t be plowing
snow. Who’s asking?”
The back window rolled down, and
metal appear just in time to duck sideways as the bullet pierced the plastic
shroud. The car reversed, turned, and sped away.
Wow! That
was some message!
He shut off the engine, jumped down, and ran for
the house. Whatever trouble Leah had gotten herself into, it wasn’t good, and
it appeared that trouble had followed her home.
* * * *
An impatient banging had Luke rushing to the
kitchen, and Leah wasn’t far behind. She hoped her father hadn’t suffered
another relapse. No, Winnie or Michael would’ve called.
“Careful, Luke,” she warned as he reached for
the doorknob.
He turned on the porch light and peeked around
the edge of the blind, then opened the door.
“What is it,
“No, nothing like that, Luke. Some guys just
drove up beside the tractor, and one of them took a pot shot at me. Said it was
a message for Leah. What’s going on?”
“Oh, no! Are you all right?” she asked as she
rushed to his side.
“I’m fine, but I would like an explanation. If
something’s going down, I can at least be on the lookout.”
“What kind of car was it?” asked Luke as he
picked up the phone. “Did you get the license plate number?”
“It was a new Audi A7, dark color, tinted
windows, and
“Oh my God! That’s Roddy’s car!”
“Well, whoever
he
is, he certainly doesn’t like
you
,” said
“What color is his car, Leah?” Luke asked.
“Metallic black, the kind that sparkles in the
sun.”
Luke was speaking into the phone, and she stood
quietly, waiting.
“Leah, are you in some kind of trouble?” asked
She nodded. “I’m so sorry they shot at you.” She
shivered with the knowledge of what could’ve happened.
“If they’d intended to kill me, they would have.
That shot was meant as a message for me to deliver to you. Why would he send
that kind of message, Leah?”
“Because he wants me dead. No one walks out on
Roderick Kendall.”
“Yet you did, apparently. That took guts. Who is
he? Some kind of big shot?”
“Yes, very big.”
Luke hung up the phone. “Michael put out an APB
on the car and warned his men of the danger. He’s on his way here.”
“Thanks, Luke.” Leah ran a nervous hand through
her long hair, pushing it back over her shoulder. “I’m so sorry for bringing
trouble here.”
“Hey, that’s what big brothers are for. I’ll
willingly help shoulder your burdens.”
He wrapped her in his strong arms and held her
close. She started to sniffle.
Stop that!
Now is not the time to fall apart.
“Luke, is there anything I can do?” asked
willing to help protect you all.”
“Thanks,
Have a seat and wait for Michael. He’ll want a statement from you, and we’ll
decide what action to take then.”
“I need to finish the plowing and send the
wranglers out with hay for the herd.”
Luke released his hold on Leah, went back to the
phone, and dialed a number. “Yeah, Pete? Round up a couple of wranglers to take
some hay out to the stock.”
“And straw,” said
Luke raised a questioning eyebrow. “Better get
them to spread a couple bales of straw for bedding while they’re out
there…yeah. Can you finish the plowing?
here at the house, and he’ll be tied up for a bit…good.”
“All taken care of,” he said as he replaced the
receiver. “I’ll put on some coffee.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking. Do you think we
should finish the plowing? I mean, won’t Michael want to check the car’s
tracks?”
“Damn! Never thought of that.” He dashed back to
the phone. “No answer at the bunkhouse.”
“I’ll go catch him. Be right back.”
Leah watched out the window as
squad car pulled in, lights flashing. Michael emerged and jogged over to where they
waited by the tractor. The men wasted no time in stringing crime scene tape
around the area to keep everyone out then Michael and
The interrogation was about to start.
* * * *
Once everyone was seated, Michael began his
questions.
“When did you first notice the vehicle tailing
you?”
“I’d plowed to the end of the driveway and
turned to widen the path on the way back in when the car pulled in behind me.
He kept his high beams on, and it was irritating, to say the least,” answered
“Did the car stop at the house?”
“No, it kept coming, pulled up beside me. So I
stopped and hollered out to see who it was and what they were looking for.”
“What then?”
“The guy in the front passenger seat said he had
a message for Leah, and that’s when the guy in the back took a shot at me. I saw
the gun in time to duck, and the bullet went through the plastic shroud. They
turned and left, and I came straight here.”
“Good job on getting the make, model, and the
plate number.”
“Well, cars are a hobby of mine, so I knew that
easy enough. I caught the plate number when they turned.”
“Lucky for us. Can you describe the man who
spoke?”
“Dark hair, shoulder length, stylish, short
goatee, good-looking, I suppose. He wore several rings on the hand I could see,
all silver.”
“What kind of gun?”
“That I’m not certain of. It was a handgun, but
I was too busy ducking to take a better look.”
“Understandable. Anything else?”
“His voice was smooth and unhurried, which I
thought kind of weird. You’d think he’d just want to say his piece and get out
of there quick.”
“Not Roddy,” said Leah. “He thinks he’s
invincible.”
“Do you have any pictures of him?’ Michael
asked.
“No, I left them all behind. Wait! There’s one
in my purse! A publicity shot when I started dancing at the club. He hasn’t
changed much. I’ll get it.”
When Leah left the room, silence descended until
“Why does he want her dead? What’s going on?”
He saw Luke nod at Michael.
“Well, considering what you’ve been through
tonight, you have a right to know, if for no other reason than to be on the lookout.”
Michael paged back through his notes and filled him in. “That’s the short
version.”
“What? Who murdered who?”
“Her boyfriend murdered one of his friends.”
“She must have been terrified. How did she
manage to get away?”