She went past him into the barn. The tack room door to her right stood ajar, and she pushed it open to glance around. The scent of the new stacks of hay in the corner made her sneeze.
She felt rather than saw Rick enter the room. His presence made her feel claustrophobic, which made no sense. She was used to being around overwhelmingly masculine men. But then, she'd never thought about marrying one of them. Grabbing a saddle, she turned to push past him and found his broad shoulders blocking the doorway.
"Stand aside, please," she said. He didn't move, and the way he stared made her cheeks grow hot. "I thought you wanted to saddle the horses."
"Have you thought about what I said? Jon's parents will find you soon.
"I know, I know," she muttered. "Let's not talk about it now." She moved to go around him, but he still blocked the doorway. "What?"
"Be careful with Elijah. Don't hurt him."
"What are you talking about?"
"Just back off, okay? Don't be so helpless and appealing. His family is all gone now. The daughter ran off when she was seventeen and abandoned a granddaughter she never saw again. Now Elijah doesn't even have her."
Allie opened her mouth, then closed it again. Could he be talking about her mother? She never left behind a grandchild. She set the saddle down a minute. "I thought the daughter left when she was pregnant. Did he have more than one?"
He gave her a curious look but didn't ask where she'd heard the story. "Just the one girl. Selena. She left when she was about eight months pregnant, but Elijah tracked down the baby and brought her here to live."
Her mother had abandoned Allie's sister?
Allie wanted to sit down. Her mother had told her the baby died.
Rick didn't seem to notice her shock. "He poured all his love into his granddaughter, but she died when she was twenty-five. She looked a lot like you, and I think that's why he's taken to you so much. But you're not his Maria."
Allie scrambled to recover her senses. "I saw her picture today."
"So you understand the resemblance. You could twist him around your finger, but if you try, I'll break it off."
She managed a smile, trying not to show her shock. "I'm attached to my fingers, so don't worry. I'm not here to get anything out of Elijah."
"No, just out of me, You made a decision yet?"
Was that dismay in his voice? She studied his features but couldn't penetrate his impassive expression. "It would save Betsy."
"It's the only way to be sure." Resignation settled over his mouth.
"I want to get one thing clear right up front. You are not Betsy's father." Her voice trembled just a little. "I will have the say over what's best for her."
His blue eyes narrowed. "Nope. Won't work, lady. This is a partnership. I'm doing this for Jon and for Betsy, not for you. She'll never talk with the way you're smothering her."
Allie gasped and took a step back. Her knees trembled, and she curled her fingers into her palms so she wouldn't hit him. "A mother protects her child."
"A mother's job is to teach her child to stand on her own."
"She's only five!"
"Old enough to be tying her own shoes, to make her bed. I saw you making it for her this morning while she colored on the floor. You have to teach her some responsibility."
Allie didn't trust herself to speak. Luckily, he took a saddle and went back outside. Maybe all men didn't get how important it was to protect children from the bumps of life. Jon thought she coddled Betsy too. She whisked a tear from her lashes. Rick wasn't a father and didn't understand.
She wasn't going to let him bully her or Betsy. Talk about a throwback to pioneer days! Here she was about to enter into a marriage of convenience. And really, it would have been impossible if he actually wanted to marry her. If he touched her ... She suppressed a shudder. He didn't attract her that way at all.
This way they could both keep their distance.
She picked up the saddle and bridle and went out to the corral. Rick was on his cell phone, and she almost expected him to snarl like the cougar over whatever he'd been told. He snapped his phone shut and beckoned to her. Dropping the saddle over the fence post, she joined him at the gate.
"We need to rescue a horse, and I may need help catching it. Charlie is gone, and the other two hands need to stay here and take care of these kids.You'll have to do."
"What about Betsy?"
"She can hang out with the kids."
"Not a chance."
"Then bring her. But be quick about it."
The prospect of letting her daughter see how some people treated horses called her hasty decision into question. Still, she couldn't let a horse die because she was squeamish. "I'll get her."
Allie found her daughter still asleep in the hammock with the kittens lying on top of her.
"Betsy," she called in a soft voice.
Her daughter's eyes popped open. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, then rolled out of the hammock with a kitten in her arms.
"Rick needs us to go help a horse."Allie held out her hand, and Betsy ran to grasp it. She put down the kitten before taking her mother's hand. "Can you be big and brave? Some people aren't nice to their horses."
Betsy nodded, and the two of them went around the front of the house to where Rick sat waiting in his truck. Betsy climbed in next to Rick, and Allie fastened her daughter's seat belt and her own.
"How far?" she asked Rick.
"About ten miles."
"Who called you?"
"A neighbor saw the horse staggering across the desert."
"Owner?"
His mouth took on a grim slant. "I think I know. I've been keeping an eye on them for a few weeks. The owner is a city dude who thinks it's fun to fly out here three or four times a year."
"Can we do anything if he refuses to let us take the horse?"
"The sheriff will cite him for neglect. But it won't come to that. I'm taking him home with us, and we'll deal with what we have to later. He's not a bad guy, just stupid."
From the way he clamped his lips shut, Allie knew he didn't want to talk. Good thing, because she didn't want to either. She stared out the window.
The golden stipa grass mingled with the cactus and sage from horizon to horizon. It was a harsh land but beautiful. The purple haze of the mountains climbed to the sky in the distance, and the blue bowl overhead added to the isolation. The air smelled hot and dusty even though it was only March.
The thought of staying in this sanctuary comforted her. She and Betsy were safe here. They'd see anyone dangerous coming from miles away. A stranger would stick out like water in the desert.
Rick braked hard, and the truck slewed in the road before coming to rest near the ditch. "There she is!" He opened the door and grabbed a saddlebag from behind his seat. "Come on."
Allie unlatched her seat belt and got Betsy free as well. "Stay close to me," she told her daughter.
She nearly stepped on a tarantula lumbering across the road. Withdrawing her foot, she let the arachnid have the road until it disappeared on the other side. Creepy things. With Betsy in her arms, she hopped a yucca plant and headed after Rick, who was disappearing behind thick brush.
If she saw another tarantula, she might scream.
At least she wore boots. She put Betsy down and took her hand. "Let's run to catch up."
The hot, dusty wind blew in her face, and her feet slipped so much on the thin soil that it took much longer to catch up with Rick than she'd imagined. She thought about calling for him to wait, but he was too far ahead. Besides, he was a man on a mission, and she doubted he'd listen.
Betsy tugged at her hand and pointed to their right. Allie stopped and stared at the pitiful sight. A blue roan mare stood outlined against a rocky hillside. Her bones stood out in stark relief through her ragged coat. She tried to move away from them, but she staggered as she walked.
When was the last time the mare had food or water? Allie feared they were too late to save her. "Let's see if w
e can get close, Betsy."
Betsy tugged her hand out of Allie's and ran toward the horse. Allie tried to grab her and grasped only air. "No, Betsy, you'll scare her." When Allie leaped after her daughter, her foot slipped, and she sprawled onto the ground. Her hand dove into a cactus. She scrambled up again, but Betsy was out of reach by then.
Rick's head turned at her shout, and he put out his hand as though to catch the little girl, but Betsy veered around him and continued on her course to the animal. When she got about ten feet away, she stopped.
Allie ran to catch up with her daughter. "Don't get any closer, Bets," she called, still several feet from her daughter. "She might be dangerous." Though the poor horse looked like she didn't have the energy to walk, much less kick.
Betsy put her hand out and walked closer to the mare. "No, Betsy!" Allie put on an extra burst of speed, but she felt she was moving through air as thick as quicksand. Betsy would reach the horse before Allie could stop her.
But the mare put her head down, and her nose touched Betsy's outstretched hand. The shudders wracking the horse's body stopped, and she stood quietly as the little girl rubbed the white blaze on her head.
"Well, I'll be," Rick said softly as Allie fell into step beside him. "Keep her here. I'll go get the truck."
"It's not safe."Allie scooped her daughter into her arms.
Rick rolled his eyes. "She's fine. There's an affinity between them."
The horse stepped closer to where Allie stood with Betsy. The little girl put her hand out, and the horse nuzzled it. Hope shimmered in Allie's heart. Maybe he was right. Maybe this horse was the key to unlocking Betsy's heart.
RICK WASN'T SURE THE HORSE WOULD EVEN SURYIYE THE TRIP. TRYING TO avoid the bumps in the road, he drove slowly back to the ranch, but the trip took its toll on the mare. Her legs trembled as he opened the tailgate and prepared to lead her into the holding pen by the smaller of the two barns.
"What do you want me to do?"Allie asked him.
"Just stand out of the way while I get her out."
The mare kicked at him when he stepped up into the truck, and he darted away from her wicked hooves. He hadn't thought she had that much fight in her. "Come on, girl, you need some food and water."
Betsy climbed onto the wheel well of the trailer and put her hand out.
"No, Betsy!" Allie sprang toward her daughter.
Rick grabbed her arm. "The mare can't hurt her from there." The mare nuzzled the small hand, and the little girl smiled. It was the first smile Rick had seen on her.
He scooped her up and deposited her by the gate. "Betsy, call to her. See if she'll come to you."
"She won't talk," Allie whispered.
Rick glowered at her. "Give her a chance, woman. You're smothering her."
Sparks that could have electrocuted him flashed from her blue eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but he turned his back on her. "Call to her, Bets."
Betsy looked down and shook her head. She started back toward the truck, but he stopped her. "Wait a minute. Let me get some sweet feed. She might come to you if you have food."
He ran to the small barn and scooped up a bucket of sweet feed. He stopped to grab some electrolytes and the stainless hand pump. The mare needed fluid fast. When he went back to the yard, he found Allie leading the horse out of the truck.
"I think she's afraid of men," Allie said.
Rick's elation faded. "You just spoiled the perfect opportunity for Betsy to bond with the mare," he said under his breath. "Cut me some slack here."
"She's my daughter. I know what's best for her." Allie's chin grew more determined. She led the horse toward the corral.
Too late to cry over spilt milk. "Looks like she's been beaten." Rick pointed to the stripes on the mare's flank.
"I noticed." Allie neared her daughter. "Stand back, Betsy. I don't want her to kick you." Betsy stood out of the way, and her mother led the mare through the gate.
"I want to tube her first. She needs water the most."
"She won't let you. I'll do it,"Allie said.
"You know how?"
"I've done it before." She held out her hand for the tube.
Rick handed it over and watched her approach the mare. Allie stuck her fingers on each side of the animal's mouth, forcing her to open. Then she massaged the mare's esophagus, and the mare swallowed. As the horse swallowed, the tube advanced down her throat.
"Slick," he said. "I couldn't do it that well. Make sure it's in her stomach. If you get it in the lungs, she'll drown."
Allie shot him a look, and he shut up. She said she'd done it before, and he couldn't fault her technique.
She stepped back and nodded to him. "The lady is ready for a drink."
He dumped the powdered electrolytes into a bucket and turned the hose on. "Ready when you are."
Allie took the bucket he handed over, dropped the pump into the bucket, and began to pump the fluid into the mare's stomach.
"Take it slow," he warned, ignoring the way she rolled her eyes. He didn't want to lose this animal.
Allie pumped slowly, pausing often. Finally, the bucket emptied. The mare seemed to be stronger already.
"Try some feed," he said, handing her the feed bucket after she'd pulled the tube out. "See if she'll eat, Bets. I'd better stay away for now until she knows she can trust me."
He'd like to get his hands on the man who mistreated this animal. She'd been badly beaten, and maggots infested the cuts on her legs. He'd have to spend some time getting them out as soon as possible.
He seldom saw true meanness. Generally, neglect was the killer, but this wounding was deliberate.
Betsy climbed over the fence with the bucket and approached the mare. The old girl snorted and stepped closer to the child. Then the mare thrust her lips into Betsy's outstretched palm and delicately ate the nuggets of feed.
"Good girl," Rick said. "I'll be back in a minute to take care of her wounds."
"She won't let you," Allie said. "I'll do it "
"It's nasty," he warned.
"I see the maggots," she said in a soft voice. "I've handled things like this before."
So far all he'd felt toward her was guilt and obligation, and the admiration that welled at her competence with the horses surprised him. "I'll get the tweezers and antiseptic."
Once he brought her what she needed, he went to find Elijah. Last time he'd seen the old man, he was heading to the big barn. On the way, Rick's cell phone rang, and he saw Brendan's name flash on his caller ID. "That was fast," he said when he answered it.
"You're not going to like this."
Rick's earlier admiration spiraled down like a dust devil. "What is it?"
Brendan's sigh came loud through the phone. "You think this woman is capable of trafficking in Mexican illegals?"
"No way," he said with more conviction than he felt. Rick didn't want to believe Jon's widow would be involved in anything like that.
"The Border Patrol had some pretty strong evidence, and they have questions for her."
"That's not what I wanted to hear, Brendan. She said nothing about any trouble with the law."
"Of course not. I'd think she'd be afraid to tell you the whole truth for fear of you turning her in."
"If she goes to jail, Betsy will go to Jon's parents for sure. I can't let that happen." Had Jon known what his wife was up to? Was that why he made Rick promise not to let his parents get Betsy?
Brendan cleared his throat. "There's more. Jon's parents have charged her with kidnapping"
"What?"
"They'd filed for custody. She can't just up and disappear."
"So the FBI is looking for her?"
"Yep. I should tell them, but I'm not going to."
"Thanks, buddy." Rick ran his hand through his hair. Time was running out.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to marry her," Rick said, his voice wobbling a little. He'd hoped to find a way out.
"You kidding me, man
? Even Jon wouldn't expect you to go that far."
"He's tapping my shoulder even now," Rick said. "Thanks for checking it out, Brendan. If you find out any more, let me know."
"I will. But think before you leap, buddy."
"I already have." Rick shut his phone. Man, he wanted a shot of whiskey. Everything in him recoiled at the thought of marrying a woman he didn't know, but he'd promised Jon. Maybe if he followed through, the monkey of guilt on his back would go away.
Rick opened the barn door and stepped inside. Elijah sat on a bale of straw, watching Cupcake and her foal in the stall. The curry brush and comb lay abandoned on the floor beside him.
Rick could have sworn there were tears on Elijah's cheeks, but the old man bent his head and swiped at his face.
When Elijah turned to face him, the brown wrinkles were dry. "The new campers are settled?"
"Yeah, and I found that old mare of Allbright's half-dead and wandering the desert. I brought her home."
"Ah, that is what the commotion was about, si? She will live?"
"I think so."
"Allbright may come by to get her."
"Over my dead body." Rick propped his boot on the lowest rail of the stall. "You okay?"
Elijah stared at the mare and colt. "Did you request Allie's references yet?"
"I talked to the rodeo boss, and he told me she was a great worker, and he hated to lose her."
Elijah nodded, his face without expression.
"Are you having second thoughts about hiring her?"
"Not at all. I was going to tell you not to bother with the references." Elijah seemed to snap back from whatever place he'd gone. "You've called your contacts about her, haven't you?"
Yep.
The old man took a stogie out of his pocket and chewed on it before taking out a match. "Any word?"
"Some." Rick told Elijah what he'd found out. The boss would have to know. The Bluebird Ranch was prime land for carting Mexicans across the border. They'd have to watch Allie.
"I do not hear you calling for me to throw her off the ranch."
Rick settled onto a hay bale. "I'm going to marry her, Elijah."
Through the swirl of smoke, Elijah's dark eyes studied him. "Why would you do this?"
Staring into Elijah's dark eyes, Rick could smell the sharp, sting ing odor of gunpowder, the underlying stench of raw sewage in the streets, and the stink of fear. Taking a deep breath, he began to recount to Elijah the promise he'd made to Jon.