Chapter Twelve
The temperature had barely hit the upper forties today and, with dusk an hour off, it promised to drop. A chill laced the breeze and the scent of snow clung to it. Nate had grown up in the Midwest where all he had to do was blink and the weather shifted, but Wyoming was a whole different level of bipolar.
With all three barns stripped of shingles and one roof completely redone, he descended the ladder to call it quits. By tomorrow, he should have most of the job finished. He could punch out another thirty minutes, but his arms were jelly and Olivia didn’t like him working alone late in the day. Besides, he didn’t care for the look of the feud brewing between Olivia and Nakos in the gated pasture.
Feet on the ground, he wiped sweat from his brow and headed over as Olivia climbed on a horse. “What’s up?”
“I’m riding over to Dead Man’s Pass to bring Kyle and George a coil of barbed wire.”
Nakos’s jaw clenched. “You know I can’t go with you and it’ll be dark in under an hour. It’ll take you thirty minutes just to ride out there.”
Olivia’s cornflower eyes dialed to castrate. “Beating a dead horse, Nakos. Enough already.”
Nate held up a hand for peace. “Why can’t you ride with her?”
“Someone has to guard the front and watch the radios in case of an issue, plus gate the horses as they come in for the evening.” Nakos glared at Olivia. “We have the buddy system here for a reason and safety measures in place. Your rules, which I whole-heartily implement, and you’re breaking code.”
Nate scratched his jaw. “I can ride with her.”
“No. You’ve been working all day. It’s just a quick drop-off mission. I’m fine.” Olivia turned her horse and glanced over her shoulder. “I have the equipment and a revolver.” She leaned forward and nudged the horse into gear, taking off at a brisk pace.
“Damn her, anyway.” Nakos whistled for the dog and pointed when Bones trotted out of a barn. “Follow Olivia, boy. Go.”
When both dog and woman disappeared over a ridge, Nate faced Nakos. “Never seen her that mad.” It was hot. All that fire simmering under the surface to match her hair.
“She only gets like that when you tell her she can’t do something.”
Sounded about right. “Want me to chase after her? I can hop on an ATV.”
Nakos sighed. “Tempting, but no. We’ll never hear the end of it and she’s right. The guys will ride back with her.”
Studying the foreman’s tense expression, Nate’s gut started to shift with concern. “But you’re still worried.”
“Anything can happen out there. It’s why we have precautionary measures in place. The closer to dusk, the higher the bear activity. Especially at Dead Man’s Pass. And that’s only one scenario.”
Well, shit. “Couldn’t the barbed wire wait?”
Nakos removed his black cowboy hat, scratched the top of his head, and replaced it. “Yes, but it shouldn’t. Kyle said a whole section was missing by the creek. It keeps the wildlife out and the sheep in. We could lose some if they wander that far southeast.”
Not liking the sudden unease in his chest, Nate glanced at the barn, then to where Olivia had disappeared. “I think it’s time you taught me how to put the horses away and man the radios.”
“Yeah.” Nakos looked at his feet and closed his eyes a second. “Now’s not opportune, but follow me. I’ll give you a quick run-down to get you started.”
Just inside the main barn’s door was a wall of cork and dry erase boards. A giant map of the entire ranch was tacked above a row of clipboards. Nate had seen the info before, but hadn’t paid much attention.
“The ranch is divided into four sections based on direction, but each has several sub-areas.” Nakos pointed to a spot southeast. “This is where Olivia’s heading.” He ran his finger along a blue squiggly line marked Devil’s Creek. “The embankment is steep there and, due to proximity of the mountains, it gets its share of wildlife.”
Nakos jerked his chin toward the dry erase board. “We’ve got ten full-time men, broken up into five teams. Their assignments are posted daily on the chart. They radio in a minimum of twice a shift, sometimes more if reporting an issue. No one rides alone and they return thirty minutes before dark, unless something major’s going on. Signal is crap out here. Each team has a gun, a satellite phone, a first aid kit, and a walkie-talkie. You can always find who and where and what right here.”
They were organized, that’s for sure. Each phone number was posted, the guys’ names, their locations, and what task they were doing. And Nate had to give them credit for safety guidelines. It was obvious both Olivia and Nakos cared about the people who worked for them.
“Sometimes Olivia or the guys like to take a ride alone on their time off. They have to sign in and out so someone knows where they are. This is the route we deemed secure.” He pointed to a large area south of the house. “Home base phone and radio are kept on me or whoever stays back. Any concerns reported go on this board so I can dole assignments as needed.” He showed Nate a mini-office where files were stored, along with emergency contacts. “We need a chart for you. I wouldn’t know who to call if something happened.”
“I don’t have any family.” Or friends, but he slid a blank employment form across the tiny desk and quickly filled out the appropriate former work, education, and skills boxes, listing Jim as his contact. Nate only talked to his former parole officer once in a blue moon to catch up, but the man had been good to him through the years. He probably should be notified if Nate got hurt. “There you go.”
Nakos frowned at the scarce info, but said nothing.
The teams started returning twenty minutes later. They seemed to have it down to a science. One man stored equipment while the other groomed horses or parked ATVs. Nakos inspected hooves for injury, then stalled and fed the horses. Once finished, he checked the guys off on his board.
Every time Nakos glanced at the barn opening, Nate’s gut clenched. The two of them may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but the foreman knew his shit and obviously cared about Olivia a great deal. If he was worried, Nate should be, too.
Kyle and George rode in, Kyle on horseback and George on an ATV. Both dismounted and started unloading, but Olivia didn’t follow.
Nakos eyed the two men. “Where’s Olivia?”
Kyle paused with a saddle in his hands. “Isn’t she with you? When she didn’t show by quitting time, I figured you had us holding off until tomorrow for the fence.”
Nakos’s eyes turned homicidal. “And it didn’t occur to you to check with me first?” His voice boomed off the wooden planks. He pulled a radio from his belt. “Olivia, report in.”
George’s pudgy face paled. “She never said to wait when she responded by walkie-talkie.”
Rubbing his neck, Kyle sighed. “I know. Leave the ATV in case we need it. Go ahead and grab dinner. I’ll stay with them.”
The bulky man strode off and Kyle’s wide eyes met Nate’s. “I figured he’d never let her ride that far this close to nightfall. Any of us, for that matter. She’s fine, though. I’m sure she—”
“Report now, little red!” Nakos stalked the barn opening as Nate’s stomach landed near his knees.
Finally, the walkie-talkie crackled and emitted Olivia’s voice. “I’m good. I finished rewiring the missing section. It wasn’t as bad as I thought. I’m saddling in a sec and on my way back.”
Nakos’s shoulders sagged as he let out a hefty sigh. His breath expelled in puffs from the cooling temperature as dark descended. “You better cue up every five minutes. Do you hear me?”
Kyle put the saddle back on the brown horse he’d been riding. “I’ll keep him ready, just in case.” He petted the horse’s flank. “Last fall, Rico and I were out at Blind Man’s Bluff. We split up to save time and he got hurt. Dislocated a shoulder. Luckily, I wasn’t too far from him, but Nakos flipped out. Accidents can happen easily, you know?”
Heart pounding, Nate nodded. Ice water swam in his veins as the fine hairs on his arms grew erect. He should’ve followed her, regardless of her argument. Thousands of what-if scenarios riddled his mind and his stomach revolted the sandwich he’d eaten for lunch.
“I’m gonna kill her.” Nakos growled and brought the mic back to his mouth. “Olivia?” When she didn’t respond, Nakos looked at Nate and shook his head. “She’s pissed off and won’t listen to me.”
Kyle crossed his skinny arms across his chest, looking like the spitting image of his sister Amy when trying to put on a brave face. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know she was meeting us. But she’ll be all right. She said she’s on her way.”
Twenty minutes passed, then thirty, and every tick of the clock sent Nate’s pulse hammering harder and dangerously close to stroke level. They waited outside the barn, a horse ready and ATV standing by. He could only hope to hell they were being paranoid. But if she was merely a thirty minute ride’s distance, she should’ve been back by now. While he stayed put, joints locked in anxiety and gaze trained on the black horizon, Kyle held his horse’s reins and Nakos paced tread patterns in the dirt.
At thirty-five minutes, Nakos tried reaching her again. No response.
“I don’t care how mad she is, she wouldn’t make you sick with worry going radio silent.” Kyle adjusted his hat and looked at Nate. “Maybe you should try.”
Nakos passed over the walkie-talkie and Nate called her name into the speaker. Nothing.
“Olivia, baby. Please.” Acid ate the lining of his gut and threatened to burn a hole clean through his esophagus. Kyle was right. Even if she was spitting nails, she wouldn’t purposely scare them. Something was wrong. “We’re going after her.”
Nakos nodded and faced Kyle. “Stay here. Radio if you see or hear anything. We’ll use Hero’s Trail up to the ridge. That’s the most direct route and the one she’d likely take. Give Mae a call at the house and tell her what’s up.”
As Nate mounted the ATV and Nakos the horse, Kyle scanned the horizon. “Be careful.”
Nate followed Nakos across prairie grass, over a few hills, and onto a beaten path. The complete darkness made navigation difficult and the new moon wasn’t helping for illumination. Nate could barely see twenty feet in front of him. A cold wind stung his cheeks and freezing air grated his lungs. From the time they left the barn until they were almost to the location, the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees. Olivia had been wearing only jeans and a light coat when she’d ridden away.
Damn, but his chest was tight. Panic clutched his airway and nausea swirled in his gut. He despised this shitstorm inside him and had no idea what to do with the riotous emotions. Barring very few exemptions, he’d never had to worry about anyone but himself, and this was twice in a handful of weeks Olivia had him terrified out of his mind.
Nakos drew up short by a scattering of trees and quickly dismounted, taking off somewhere to their right.
Nate cut the engine and followed, having no idea what had lit a fire under the foreman. Snow tinged the air. The trickle of running water blended into the background noise of wind and leaves crackling, and he realized it was probably the creek. But he didn’t see or hear...
His gaze landed on a horse grazing on grass by an oak. The horse she had been riding, in fact. But there was no Olivia.
Nakos fumbled with the sack on the horse’s flank and pulled out her radio, then her phone. “Crap.” His head whipped around, gaze narrowed to slits as he scanned their whereabouts. “She tied Firestorm here, so she’s got to be close. Olivia!”
Nothing but nature answered and Nate’s heart stopped. A strip of barbed wire fencing lined a row of trees and, just beyond that, starlight glimmered off the creek. It didn’t look any wider than a hundred feet, nor very deep, but the embankment was rocky. The incline alone was nearly a sheer twenty-foot drop.
“She wouldn’t leave the horse here.” Nakos used his radio. “Kyle, you got anything?”
The walkie-talkie crackled. “No. She hasn’t returned. Mae’s here with me.”
Nakos stared at Nate as he lifted the mic again, frenetic worry in his eyes that barely held a match to the sickening dread in Nate’s gut. “We found Firestorm. No sign of her yet. Have Rico meet you and get a couple ATVs ready. I’ll radio back if I need you.”
“Rodger that.”
“Olivia!” Nakos turned a full circle. “Olivia!”
Nate couldn’t breathe to save his life. Wind burned his eyes and a hot ball of fear lodged in his windpipe. Swear to Christ, if she wasn’t okay...
“Bones is with her. Wouldn’t he go for help?” Hell, the dog was brilliant and severely protective of not only Nate, but Olivia as well.
“No. He’d stay with her and stand guard.” Nakos shoved his hat off his head and fisted his ponytail. “Goddamn her. Okay, I’ll head north, you go south. Keep your radio on and follow the fence line.”
Nate ran to the ATV, grabbed the walkie-talkie and a gun, then took off in the opposite direction of Nakos.
“Olivia!” Nate altered his search from the trees and creek on his left to the pasture on his right, but it was damn impossible to see much. Utter isolation and deafening silence met him. “Olivia!”
Christ Almighty, let her be okay. Hand to God, he’d never let her out of his sight again. Anything, he’d do fucking anything just to know she was breathing.
Five minutes in, and he was going apeshit. There was no damn sign of her. He let out a roar, shaking with fury and panic, and stalked faster. He started calling for the dog instead, hoping to get any kind of response.
He’d just hit a slope where the tree line ended and the creek bed incline became less drastic when two sharp barks rent the air. He froze.
“Bones! Olivia!”
Again, two barks, far in the distance. That was what the dog had done to wake Nate from a nightmare, too. He ran toward where he thought the sound had come from, finding Bones between the rocky creek edge and a gentle hill. Next to the dog was...
Oh, shit. No, no, no.
Nate dodged boulders and descended the hill, his boots sliding on wet grass. He skidded to a halt by Olivia’s prone form lying face-down, her lower half in the water. Dropping to his knees beside her, he rubbed his chest as his breath hitched. A sharp, desperate cry passed his lips and he clenched his fists.
Don’t be dead, baby. Don’t be dead.
Hands shaking, he felt for a pulse on her neck and nearly wept when he got one. Slow and weak, but there.
“Olivia?” Hell, she wasn’t moving. Carefully holding her head, he rolled her to her back. A gash, still actively bleeding, marked her forehead by her hairline. It was a mere couple inches long, but deep. “Olivia, baby? Open your eyes.” Please, Christ.
She moaned and her lashes fluttered. It took her a few attempts, but finally those baby blues met his. “What happened?”
He choked. “You tell me, baby.” Christ, she was pale as goddamn snow.
“I was rinsing my hands and...” She frowned. “I don’t know. When did it get dark?”
“About an hour ago.” Her speech wasn’t slurred, but she was talking slower than normal. He could barely hear her through the roar of blood in his eardrums. Grabbing a bandana from his back pocket, he dipped a corner in the creek. “You smacked your head pretty good.” He swiped blood from her cheek and temple, then pressed the bandana to the cut.
She winced.
“Sorry.” He tried to swallow to clear the rasp from his throat, but couldn’t manage. “Nakos and I have been looking for you. We were scared to death. You wouldn’t answer the radio...”
Shit. He grabbed the walkie-talkie off his belt. “Nakos, I’ve got her. About a ten minute run from our original position. She hit her head. She’s barely conscious, but she’s all right.” He glanced at her glazed expression and blue lips. “Possibly hypothermic. Bring the blanket from the ATV and follow the tree line.”
“On my way.” Nakos keyed up to Kyle, telling him to call the doc.
“Bones, get Nakos. Go on, boy. Get Nakos.”
The dog barked once as if he understood, then loped up the hill, disappearing from view.
Nate refocused on Olivia. “Does your neck or back hurt?” She shook her head, so he ran his hands down her arms and legs. Her clothes were soaked. “Do you feel me touching you?”
“Yes.” Her teeth chattered.
No spinal injury, thank Christ.
“We need to get you warmed up.” She was in shock and, in another couple minutes, hypothermia could stop her heart like fear had done to his. Only she wouldn’t recover.
With an arm around her back and the other under her knees, he lifted her and cradled her to his chest. Carefully, he carried her up to the top of the hill and set her on the grass.
She smiled. “Told you. I was...right. You’re...a hero.”
Shaking his head, he gave her a brief kiss. Her lips were ice. “Stop talking and save your strength.” This hero nonsense needed to stop.
“Twice now, you’ve...rescued me.” Her teeth were clacking, she shivered that violently.
“Shit, baby. Forgive me.” But he had to get her body temp up or she’d be in real trouble.
He shrugged out of his coat and took off the hoodie underneath, then removed her jacket and tee. Tossing the sopping clothing aside, he put his sweatshirt on her. Ignoring his own trembling hands, he unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs. Methodically, he ignored her slender curves and translucent skin in order to take care of her. But hell, it was hard. Even hypothermic and bleeding, she was beautiful. He put his own socks on her feet after discarding her shoes, then slipped back into his. He laid his coat over her legs and briskly rubbed them to get some circulation going.
“Finally, you got...me naked. About...time.”
“Hilarious, baby.” He could hardly execute basic oxygen exchange and she was cracking jokes. He pulled her into his arms to share heat and breathed in her scent. Held her. Almost expired in relief. A semblance of a normal heart rhythm returned, but the organ would never be the same.
“You shaved ten years off my life.” Having the very real feel of her in his arms offered a measure of calm, but it might take fifty years to wash the memory of cold terror from his mind.
Footsteps pounded. Nakos jogged into view, Bones right behind him. “Is she okay?”
“I’m...good.” She buried her cold nose against Nate’s neck.
“Excellent.” Nakos knelt next to them and glanced at her cut. “I can kill you now that I know you’re still breathing.”
She offered a weak smile. “Love you, too.”
Nakos helped her into the jacket, put the hood over her hair, and wrapped the blanket around her legs to replace Nate’s meek covering. “I’ll get her clothes. You good carrying her?”
Like he’d let go of her now that he had her.
“Yeah.” Nate lumbered to his feet and headed toward where they’d started. “Is the doc coming? This cut will need stitches and I’m certain she has a concussion.” She should be going to a damn hospital, but it seemed one needed an appendage chopped off around here to even bother making the trip.
“Hank should beat us there. Mae’s drawing a hot bath.”
Nate could use a scalding shower himself. Now that the frigid claws of fear had retracted, he was no longer numb to the elements. She wore most of his clothes, but him being cold didn’t matter. Only her.
When they finally made it to the ridge, Nakos mounted his horse and grabbed the reins of the one Olivia had ridden. “Follow me.”
With Olivia in his lap, he started the ATV. “Hold onto me best you can.” She didn’t respond, and he glanced at her, finding her asleep. “Baby, stay awake.”
“I’m awake.” She didn’t open her eyes, though.
“Olivia.” Finally, her lashes lifted, and damn if his eyes didn’t burn. Trust and affection stared back at him through her cornflower gaze. He sucked in a breath and shook his head, wondering how he thought he’d ever stood a chance of not getting wrapped up in her. “Stay with me. Keep your eyes open.”