Chapter Twenty
“How’s Tara doing?” Shay asked Harper as they sat down at the kitchen table over late-evening coffee.
“She’s sleeping like there’s no tomorrow,” he said, weariness in his voice.
Shay rubbed her face. “Reese is asleep right now, too. He’s exhausted.”
“I’m not surprised. It was a helluva day for everyone, Shay.” Harper appraised her with a concerned look. “How are you holding up? I imagine Reese is going through all kinds of hell over shooting a man at close range, and the fallout is on you. I had to kill an enemy combatant during a firefight and it’s with me to this day. I still see the guy’s face.”
Grimacing, Shay sipped the coffee and said softly, “Reese is pretty much totaled emotionally. I mean, he was a company commander of Marines in Afghanistan. He was in combat a lot. But none of us joined the military with the idea that we’d have to kill the enemy. We would if we had to, but pulling the trigger is a very different thing.”
Harper made a sympathetic sound of agreement, drinking his coffee.
Shay raised a brow and then muttered, “I had to kill a combatant over in Afghanistan. I didn’t want to, but I had to. I’ve never forgotten that day for a moment, Harper. I know it’s going to be with me until I die.” She gave an abrupt but quiet laugh filled with derision. “Maybe it will haunt me in the afterlife, as well.”
“You have a lot of company, Shay,” and he reached out, sliding his hand across hers, wanting to somehow comfort her. “Reese is going to have to go through his own kind of hell just like Tara will. Shock does funny things to a human being, but I think you know that pretty well by now.”
Shay nodded. “It’s true, he’s going to go through hell. I don’t know of anyone who was in combat who doesn’t afterward.”
“Being vets, we all have things we had to do that we didn’t want to do. We saw things we want to forget but never will.”
“Yeah,” she whispered wearily. “I just wish Cree Elson and his insanity hadn’t happened. With my father filing that lawsuit against us and the ranch, we have enough to contend with. Tara getting kidnapped just pushed me way over my personal edge. I feel numbed out by everything hanging over our heads here at the ranch right now. We just don’t catch a break.”
“I know, Shay. But Reese is on top of that lawsuit. You’ve hired a good lawyer. You have to get some distance on it if you can.”
“When your own father sues you, it’s hard to take.”
“No disagreement.”
“A day at a time.”
“Right now, yes.”
“How do you think Tara is going to do? I just can’t wrap my head around her being kidnapped twice by the same crazy person. I can’t.”
“I don’t think she can either,” Harper admitted quietly.
“Did she eat any supper?”
Harper shook his head. “I got some soup down her. After we brought her back to the Prater Canyon parking lot, she collapsed. The paramedics gave her an IV of fluids, which helped. And they let me examine her for injuries.”
“Reese said she has a lot of bruises and her hands are pretty well cut up.”
“Yes, that’s all, though. It could have been worse when she went over the falls.”
“Tara had a guardian angel watching out for her on that one,” Shay said fervently.
“I saw her go over,” Harper said, his emotions still twinging over it. “I thought I’d lost her,” and he looked down at his cup, scowling. He felt Shay’s hand touch his momentarily.
“Reese thought you two had fallen in love with each other. Is that true?”
Nodding, he glanced at her. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to tell Tara that I loved her.”
“She didn’t know before this happened?”
“No . . . I didn’t want to push her, Shay. She was dealing with enough.”
“You poor thing,” she murmured sympathetically, giving him a caring glance. “Does she know now?”
One corner of his mouth lifted a little. “For sure she does now. I didn’t know she loved me either. We both were holding back for different reasons.”
“Jeez,” she said, shaking her head.
“Maybe now,” Harper said, lifting his head, “things will quiet down around here and we can get on with dealing with life without this other stuff cropping up out of the blue.”
“There’s enough to juggle on our plates daily,” Shay agreed. “Thanks for the coffee, Harper. I’d better get back home. I left Reese a note in case he woke up, but I don’t want to be gone too long. He might need me.”
“Yeah, he probably will,” Harper said, rising, walking Shay to the back door. “I’m feeling the same way about Tara. I don’t want her out of my sight. Don’t worry, though; I’ll start doing my regular routine tomorrow morning. I’ll just be coming back to check on her more often until I’m sure she’s out of the woods.” Harper knew they were stretched thin at the ranch. They actually needed more wranglers, and he’d heard Shay talk about it at their last Friday meeting with Libby. Two more would be a huge help.
“Great . . . thanks. Listen, if you need anything, either one of you? Just call over and ask us. Okay?”
Shay was a petite thing, but Harper had learned a long time ago that despite her size, she had the heart of a lion and the bravery to go with it. He opened the door, pushing the screen aside for her. “Thanks for bringing over two pieces of your world-famous coconut cream pie for us. Tara loves it, and I know she’ll be grateful you thought about her right now. But if you or Reese need anything, Shay, we’re here for you, too. Don’t forget that.”
Shay walked down the concrete steps, her hand on the pipe railing. Harper had turned on the porch light so she could see easily. Dusk was deep, a red ribbon outlining the peaks of the Wilson Range to the west of them. Turning, she gazed up at Harper’s deeply shadowed face. “Thanks, I will.”
Harper snorted. “Sure. You never ask for help, Shay.” He wagged his finger at her. “Remember.”
Giving him a gentle smile, she lifted her hand at the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll drop over sometime tomorrow afternoon to see how Tara’s doing. Good night, Harper . . .”
He moved quietly back into their home. He was stiff and sore from the earlier activity, having pulled a muscle in his back from rescuing Tara from the pool after she’d tumbled over the falls. A hot shower would work wonders on it.
The house was quiet. Too quiet. He yearned for Tara’s laughter, to listen to her talk about seeing something on the Internet or showing him one of the photos she’d recently shot. He stood in the living room, wanting to go to her. And he would. Looking around, he began to realize just how close they’d come to never seeing each other again. His heart felt crushed as the shock began to wear off and harsh, unblinking reality settled in.
His emotions were like an out-of-control train if he didn’t keep busy and distracted. Losing Tara would be losing everything.
Rubbing his face, he walked down the hall. Quietly opening her door, he saw she was sleeping deeply. He’d helped her get out of her dirty clothes, taken them out of the bathroom and then returned. The hot tub of water was what she’d wanted and he’d washed her hair later after she got out and dried off. He’d helped her put on a knee-length white cotton gown. By then, Tara had been almost asleep, the day just too much for her to handle emotionally. Sleep was the antidote for shock.
She had pulled up the sheet and a blanket to her waist and buried her face in the goose-down pillow.
How badly he wanted to join her. But she hadn’t asked him to. He’d helped her into her bed, covered her and she’d promptly fallen asleep. Closing the door without a sound, Harper walked to his bedroom. Weariness was bludgeoning him. He hadn’t changed his clothes and he smelled of river water. The corners of his mouth tugged upward. He was just as much of an emotional mess as Reese and Tara were. But at least when he woke up tomorrow morning, Tara would be here. Alive. And his. How much he loved her; he felt the fierceness of his love rising in his chest.
After a hot shower, his back felt almost normal. Wearing a pair of gray gym pants, a towel across his neck, he opened the bathroom door, steam escaping into the hall. He’d spent nearly an hour cleaning up, wanting to get the smell of the glacier water out of his hair as well. He’d shaved, brushed his teeth and done the things he normally did in the morning. He didn’t want any reminders. He knew he’d sleep poorly tonight and wasn’t looking forward to tossing and turning, with images of today’s events slamming nonstop through his brain.
Barefoot, he traipsed into the kitchen, shutting all the lights off except for one. Getting a glass of water, he drank deeply.
A door opened down the hallway.
Turning, glass in hand, he saw Tara come out of her room. She looked wan, her hair mussed, the cotton gown wrinkled, hanging around her badly bruised knees.
“Hey,” he called softly, setting the glass on the counter. “Do you need something, Tara?” and he walked toward her, seeing her lift her head, puzzlement in her murky gaze. She was barely awake, from what he could tell. As he drew near, he saw huge tears forming in her eyes, her lower lip quivering as she stood there, looking helpless and fragile.
Reaching out, Harper gently folded her into his arms. She came willingly, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his naked chest.
“Ohhh,” she whispered, “this is what I need: you.” She nuzzled against him, eyes closed, leaning against his body.
Harper knew this wasn’t sexual. It was one human needing another. He ran his hand from her hair down her back. “You’re okay, Tara. You’re safe,” he rasped against her hair, placing a kiss on the strands. Instantly, she sagged fully against him, a little sigh escaping her lips. It was exactly what she needed to hear. Protectiveness swam through him and he simply held her, feeling the warmth and softness of her body contoured to his harder one.
“How can I help you?” he asked against her hair, smoothing his hand slowly up and down her spine.
“I want you to sleep with me,” she uttered. “I just want to feel safe. . . .”
“You got it,” he promised thickly, squeezing her. “Are you thirsty? Want some water?”
Shaking her head, she tightened her arms around his waist. “Just you, Harper . . . that’s all I’ll ever need. . . .”
Those were the sweetest words he’d ever heard. In his past marriage, comments like that never had been shared between him and Olivia. It wasn’t a very close marriage, not like the relationship he was presently sharing with Tara. She invited his intimacy, remained vulnerable with him even now, in her fragile state. She trusted him, while Olivia had never given him her trust. It made his heart burst open with such keen feelings for Tara that all he could do was be rocked by them. “Ready to go to bed, then?”
Another nod. But Tara didn’t move.
Harper smiled tenderly and gently eased her arms from around him. “How are your knees feeling?” Because they had been badly bruised, the skin scraped open on both. Luckily, there were no torn ligaments.
“They hurt like hell,” she muttered, slowly lifting her chin, staring up into his eyes.
“You up for me carrying you off to my bed?” he teased, grazing her cheek, putting a few of those errant strands against her temple. For the first time, he saw a small smile come to her lips.
“I’m not a little girl, Harper.”
Chuckling, he slipped his arms around her back and beneath her knees, easily lifting her up against him. “You’re a featherweight,” he teased, smiling down into her drowsy, half-closed eyes. Tara was totaled emotionally. Her gaze was murky and dazed-looking. Harper knew she was still slogging through the shock of it all.
Nestling her brow against his jaw, her arms around his neck, Tara said, “You feel so good to lean against.”
“I’ll always be here anytime you want to lean,” he told her, crossing the living room. He saw all the stress dissolve from her expression. She relaxed fully, eyes closing, a new contentment on her face. Harper knew it was because she truly did feel safe with him. It made him feel strong and good.
He deposited Tara in his bed, then closed the door. There was a very small night-light near it, just enough to help him see where he was going and not stub his toes on the heavy wooden leg of the massive king-size bed. Tara had already moved to the center and he joined her there, pulling up the covers. Sliding his arm beneath her neck, he lay parallel to her and brought her up against him. She groaned, but it wasn’t from pain; it sounded more like she’d just entered heaven. Smiling to himself in the near darkness, he waited while she got comfortable against him. Her one leg moved across his. Now, he wished he wasn’t wearing a pair of gym pants, wanting that direct contact with her warm flesh.
“This feels wonderful,” she whispered, “so right. . . .”
Harper placed his arm around her hip, bringing her flush against him. “Sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be here if you need anything.” He felt her nuzzle her lips against his neck, kissing him softly. And then, she melted bonelessly against him, sleep swiftly claiming her. Shock was responsible for such tiredness.
Laying on his side, Tara against him, her one arm draped across his waist, a joy he’d never experienced before began to build within him. He couldn’t help but compare sleeping with Olivia with sleeping with Tara. All the aches and pains from the day’s challenges disappeared as he focused on her warm, sweet body against his. He knew he shouldn’t feel sexual, but he did. Part of love was loving the other. The scent of her hair, the strands tickling his jaw, made him smile with a newfound contentment.
Harper knew tough weeks lay ahead of them. What he didn’t want to happen was to have Elson’s death derail the love they had for each other. Tara was going to need special attention and care. And no one wanted to take care of her more than he did. It would be a balancing act because they were shorthanded at the Bar C. He wasn’t sure Tara would be able to carry out her duties for at least a week or two. Her knees were a mess and she needed time for them to fully heal before doing any kind of wrangling work.
Knowing Reese and Shay would give Tara the time she needed, he was concerned for them, too. Worse, Garret and Kira were in Hawaii and hadn’t a clue what had happened to Tara. Harper knew there would be hell to pay from the newlyweds when they returned to the Bar C to continue their lives together. Garret, especially, would be incensed that he hadn’t been asked to join them in the hunt to find Tara. He’d get over it once he understood how fast things had moved after she’d been kidnapped. Garret couldn’t have gotten home in time to help him and Reese find her.
Still, Harper knew it was pressure and stress on Reese and Shay. He was sure Reese would be going through a rugged time because he’d killed Elson. Harper knew from what Shay had said that Reese had to go back to the sheriff’s office tomorrow morning to give another statement to the county attorney about it. Apparently, Elson’s mother was raising holy hell, saying her son had been murdered. She was threatening to have her sons shoot Reese. That was crazy shit, Harper decided, but Sarah, the sheriff, had to take such threats seriously. Reese had blown it off, angered by the threat, nothing more.
Nowadays, threats could turn out to be real. More and more people were resorting to shooting others who angered them or who they felt had crossed them. Harper worried about that. The Elson clan, as the residents of the valley commonly referred to them, had the them-against-us mind-set. They were outcasts, drug dealers, constantly battling the law in the county. Roberta was the queen of the clan and Cree’s three older brothers, all of whom had been in prison at one time or another, were to be wary of. They were a dysfunctional family, and Harper doubted they shared one full brain among them.
What Reese and Shay didn’t need was for the Elsons to try to kill him to avenge Cree’s death. Harper wanted to talk to Reese about this, and bring Noah in on it, too. When Garret returned from his honeymoon, he was going to get an earful about the events that had come down after they’d left. Harper knew he wouldn’t be happy to hear the Elson clan was all wound up over Cree’s death. Already, from what Reese had told him earlier in the day, Sarah had called him to warn him about the three brothers screaming for revenge.
Snorting softly, he buried his face in Tara’s silky hair. All he wanted to do was forget about life outside the entrance to the Bar C and concentrate on Tara.
She was going to need his help and he intended to be there for her. Nothing else mattered. He loved her.