Certified Cowboy (20 page)

Trees shook in the wind, cows mooed, and somewhere in the distance a wild mountain lion roared.

Her imagination drifted to all the dark things that could happen to a little boy on his own. This section of the ranch hadn’t been developed yet, and the prospect of poisonous snakes and other wild animals posed dangers that could be deadly for her son. There were several ridges up ahead in the hilly part, ridges with sharp rocks and uneven land that dropped off several feet, drop-offs that Kenny might not see at night until it was too late. If he’d fallen, he could be lying at the bottom of a ravine, injured and needing help.

“Kenny!” Johnny shouted. “We’re looking for you, son!”

Heavy gray clouds moved across the sky, the breeze stirring leaves behind her, and tree branches snapped with the force of the wind. Johnny steered his horse through the maze of trees, then to a clearing that led to a series of stables.

“I’ll check the first barn while you look in the second,” Rachel suggested.

Johnny shook his head. “No, we stay together. If your ex is dangerous like you claimed, he might have a gun.”

A shudder coursed through Rachel. He was right.

Pebbles skidded beneath the horses’ hooves as they galloped to the barn, slowed and climbed off. Johnny tied both of the animals to a post outside, then removed a handgun from his saddlebag and inched toward the first door.

“Stay behind me,” Johnny ordered.

Rachel did as he said, practically hugging his back as they crept to the barn door. The wood squeaked as he eased the door open, and the fresh scent of hay hit Rachel. There were no animals housed here yet, and darkness shrouded the interior. Johnny shined a flashlight across the stalls as they searched.

“Kenny!” Johnny called.

They paused, listening for a sound, for Kenny’s voice, any sign he was inside, but dead silence filled the air.

Johnny slipped to the next stall and looked inside while Rachel gravitated toward the back of the barn, willing her son to appear.

“If you’re here, answer me, baby.”

Seconds later, they’d searched the entire barn, and it was empty.

Disappointment warred with fear in Rachel’s chest. “Come on, there’s one more,” Johnny said.

Rachel nodded, her throat aching too badly to speak. Outside, clouds covered the stars, and a clap of thunder rent the air. She checked the sky, growing more agitated as lightning flashed in jagged lines. What if Kenny was out in the open, the worst place to be in a storm?

“Rachel.” Johnny squeezed her arm. “Come on, we’re not giving up.”

She stayed close beside him as they crossed to the second barn, both of them running when lightning crackled again, streaking the ground. When they reached the door, Johnny clenched his gun by his side and pushed open the door. Again, they were pitched in darkness, but she thought she heard a sound from somewhere in the back.

A rustling of hay? Maybe mice or a cat?

“Kenny,” she said in a raw whisper. “Kenny, Mommy’s here.”

Another sound, feet moving across dirt? A whimper? Then one of the boards in a back stall banged.

Johnny motioned for her to stay behind him. She squeezed his arm to indicate she would, and they eased toward the sound. Another clap of thunder popped outside, lightning sending a shard of light across the back wall. Suddenly Rachel spotted the silhouette of a man lurching up and running toward the door.

“Kenny!” Rachel shouted.

A low cry, then a noise as if there was a scuffle.

Johnny took off running, wielding his gun at the ready. Rachel chased behind him, her instincts urging her on.

A screeching sound rent the air, then the back barn door whipped shut.

Johnny swung the flashlight toward the noise, his eyes widening. “Stay here.”

Rachel’s pulse pounded as Johnny dashed toward the back. But she couldn’t just stand there. She ran behind him calling Kenny’s name.

“Mommy!” Kenny yelled.

Just as she and Johnny made it to the back stall, the sound of horse hooves pounded the ground outside.

“Are you all right, Kenny?” Johnny asked. “Are you hurt?”

Kenny was huddled in the corner of the stall, hay sticking to his clothes and hair.

“That mean man tried to make me go with him,” Kenny said in a shaky voice.

Johnny motioned Rachel toward her son. “Take him back to the cabin and let Brody know you found him! I’m going after the guy.”

He disappeared through the door, and Rachel knelt and cupped Kenny’s face between her hands. “Kenny, are you really okay?”

Kenny’s head bobbed up and down. “I didn’t want to go, Mommy!”

“I know, honey, I know, but it’s okay now.” Tears stung Rachel’s eyes as she pulled her son into her arms.

J
OHNNY JAMMED
THE GUN
into the back of his jeans as he mounted his horse, then snapped the reins and kicked the horse’s sides, sending him into a gallop as he gave chase.

Thunder boomed and, on instinct, Soldier tried to buck and spin around to head back to the stables, but Johnny soothed him with a soft command, maintaining control by his grip on the reins. “Don’t freak out on me now, boy,” Johnny murmured. “We have to catch that bastard.”

Soldier settled into the rhythm, and Johnny coaxed him to go faster as they crossed the pasture. The man was hightailing it, whipping the horse, dust flying behind him as he climbed the hill. On the other side of the ravine, the pasture banked up to a dirt road, where Johnny had a feeling the man had his car waiting.

He wouldn’t let him get that far.

Nudging Soldier a little harder, he gripped the reins tighter and closed the distance. Judging from the awkward way the man sat in the saddle, he didn’t ride much, which gave Johnny the advantage, and he quickly gained on him.

Obviously, the creep didn’t know the lay of the land either, because he tried to steer the horse toward the ravine. A big mistake. The horse balked and skidded, fighting the man’s commands, and Johnny dived from his horse and knocked the bastard to the ground.

They fought and rolled, tumbled down a hill, grunting and struggling. The man swung a fist up to connect with Johnny’s jaw, and pain knifed through his cheek, but he punched the man in the gut, then his nose. Bones crunched, blood spurted and the man bellowed in pain.

“Damn you!”

A lightning bolt illuminated the man’s face. Burgess.

“You son of a—” Johnny shoved the man to his back, then climbed on top of him, pulled his gun and jammed it in his face.

Fear made the whites of Burgess’s eyes bulge, and blood trickled down to his mouth. “Don’t shoot,” he cried. “Please…don’t kill me.”

Remembering the fear in Rachel’s voice and Kenny’s eyes a few moments earlier made it hard to restrain himself. He wanted to kill him.

“Please…” Burgess rasped. “I…don’t want to die.”

Johnny settled all his weight on the man, then jerked him by the collar, squeezing it so tight that Burgess gagged for a breath.

“Why did you try to kidnap the boy?”

“His father…” He coughed, sucking in blood.

Johnny pressed the tip of the gun into his temple. “What about him?”

“He…offered a reward,” Burgess said hoarsely.

“For kidnapping his son?”

The man nodded. “And for bringing his wife back.”

Johnny’s heart drummed in his chest. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Burgess said.

Johnny cocked the trigger. The click sounded ominous in the silence.

Burgess’s shaky breath rattled with fear. “I swear I don’t know where he is now.”

“How did he contact you?”

Panic flashed in the man’s eyes. “Friend of mine told me about it. He did some work for him before.”

“You know he hit his wife?”

Guilt mingled with the panic on his face. “Listen, man, I just needed the money.”

“So bad you’d turn a little boy and a woman over to an abusive man?”

“He’s the kid’s father. He’s got rights.”

“Not if he was abusing them he doesn’t.” Johnny waved the gun in front of Burgess’s face and was rewarded by Burgess’s eyes bulging with fear.

“You know, I could call the sheriff and have you arrested for kidnapping and assault on Rachel.”

“I didn’t assault her,” Burgess argued. “I offered a deal, a trade-off.”

Bile filled Johnny’s throat. “What? You were going to let her go if she slept with you?”

Burgess’s terrified look confirmed Johnny’s suspicion.

“So, I’ll just add arson and attempted murder to the kidnapping.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill them. I just wanted to smoke them out, but then you showed up.”

“Damn good thing, too, or they might have died,” Johnny spat back.

He should call McRae. But then he’d have to explain to the sheriff why he had been harboring a wanted woman.

He had to find out the truth first.

If Rachel had tried to kill her husband, she had good reason. Maybe he had hit Kenny and killed that judge like she said, which meant the man was dangerous as hell.

His childhood memories haunted him. The very idea of a man beating on a woman and a child infuriated him, and he made a snap decision. “How much did he offer to pay you?”

Burgess stiffened. “Five grand.”

Johnny cursed. “I’ll double it.” He pointed the gun at his forehead. “That is, if you disappear and never bother the woman or her son again.”

“It’s a deal,” Burgess said in a strained voice.

Johnny squeezed his neck with one hand. “But if you contact Rachel’s ex or ever set foot near them again, I promise you, I’ll track you down.” He narrowed his eyes to menacing slits. “And when I find you, and make no doubt that I
will
find you, I will put a bullet in your head.”

Burgess nodded vigorously, and Johnny prayed he wasn’t making a big mistake by letting the man go. But if he called the law on Burgess, he’d have to tell the sheriff the whole story, and that meant Rachel would be arrested and hauled to jail.

Then Rex would get Kenny.

And if Rex had paid someone to kidnap Kenny and drag Rachel back to him, he didn’t deserve his son.

R
ACHEL ROCKED
K
ENNY
in her arms, grateful they’d found him in time and that he was safe.

“I didn’t like him,” Kenny whispered against her neck. “I wanted to beat him up and save you, Mommy.”

Her heart ached. “I know, honey. I’m so sorry he scared you.” She cupped his face between her hands. “And listen to me. I’m the mom here, the parent. I’m supposed to take care of you, not the other way around.”

“But I’m the man of the house now.” Kenny sniffed against her, and she wanted to find the brute and murder him for terrifying her son.

Rachel’s heart broke for him. He was too young for such responsibility. How was she going to fix this?

For a moment, Kenny nestled up to her, his small body shaking, and Rachel held him, stroking his back and soothing him. Finally, when he seemed to calm, she pulled back to study him.

“Did he hurt you, Kenny?”

His chin quivered but he shook his head no.

“Thank God.” She examined his arms and legs. “Do you know who he was?”

“No,” Kenny said in a small voice. “He said he was taking me to Daddy.”

Rachel bit back a scream of frustration. So Rex had hired some thug to kidnap her son. Probably to lure her into a trap so he could kill her.

That thought made her pulse pound, and she glanced around the barn again, searching the darkness in case Rex was close by. If he was watching, he’d know Johnny had chased after the man and she and Kenny were alone.

She clutched Kenny to her. “Come on, sweetie. We have to go.”

Kenny tightened his grip around her neck. “Are we going away again?”

Rachel’s throat closed on a sob. No, she didn’t want to go, but she might not have a choice. A stranger had tried to kidnap her son. Brody and Johnny would want to tell the sheriff. Then he’d look into her marriage, and she’d go to jail…

Thunder boomed outside, rattling the barn roof, and the shrill wind whistled, snapping branches in its wake.

She slowed, checking each corner, listening for footsteps, her nerves on edge. Her gun was back at the cabin. If Rex attacked them here in the barn, she would be defenseless. He was strong, a bully who pounded his way to get control.

She had lost before. She wouldn’t have a chance on her own. Not with him physically, or in court.

“Mom?” Kenny asked on another sniffle.

“Don’t worry, buddy, I’ve got you now.” She patted his back. “I have to let Brody know we found you. Everyone on the ranch has been searching for you.”

Kenny pasted on a brave face, and she pulled away long enough to text Brody that they’d found Kenny so he would call off the search.

A second later, fierce protective instincts overcame her, and she clutched Kenny and made a run for her horse. Her gaze darted to the left and right, and she scanned the property surrounding the barn, searching for movement. She didn’t allow herself to breathe until she’d mounted the horse and pulled Kenny up behind her.