Cowboy Protector (9 page)

Slowly he leaned down until his mouth was only inches from hers.

A
ustin settled his mouth on hers, wrapping his arms around her and dragging her to him. Pressed against him, she surrendered to the kiss, and for a moment she reveled in the feel of being in his embrace.

When his lips left hers, he rested his forehead against hers, cupping her face. “I’ve wanted to do that since that first night we had warm milk together.”

The feel of his palms against her cheeks, the tingle of her mouth where his had been, the minty taste of him on her lips, the thundering of her heartbeat in her ears overwhelmed her senses. She slid her eyes closed to block his appealing features from her view, but his image imprinted itself in her mind. The connection between them was strong. He made her believe in tomorrows. He gave her hope.

And she knew there was no hope for them.

Hannah finally stepped away, his arms falling to his sides. “I’d better get that monitor for you.” Quickly she escaped into her bedroom, retrieved the piece of equipment and returned to the hall.

Austin stood where she’d left him, no emotion on his face. She thrust the monitor toward him, keeping herself
at arm’s length. After he took it, she spun on her heel and covered the few feet to her door.

Pausing, she glanced back, hating the sudden wall between them, put there by her. “For the record, I’ve wanted you to kiss me, too.” Then she disappeared into her room and closed the door before she threw herself into his arms.

A scream pierced through the dark wall of Hannah’s dreamless sleep, pulling her toward wakefulness. Still exhausted, she snuggled deeper into her covers, resisting. Quiet lured her back to the floating blackness. When she was close to surrendering totally again, the sound of sobbing intruded.

Misty!

Hannah popped up in bed and scanned the darkened room, listening. A shaft of light from the hallway drew her attention. She placed her feet on the floor and grabbed her robe, belting it as she moved toward the hall. Although Austin had the monitor to listen if Misty had problems, she’d decided to leave her door ajar anyway. Just in case the child needed her.

In the corridor a flood of light came from Misty’s room. She hurried inside and found Austin sitting on his daughter’s bed, hugging the child to him while she cried, loud heart-wrenching sobs that tore at Hannah’s fragile composure. She moved forward, needing to help the girl.

She placed a hand on Austin’s shoulder. He was still dressed in his jeans and long-sleeved blue shirt from earlier. “What can I do?”

“She had a nightmare about the fire.” Austin stroked his daughter’s back. “Honey, you’re safe. You’re here with me—and Hannah. Nothing is gonna happen to you.”

“It was—” the child hiccupped “—scary.”

“I know, baby. But you’re all right now. Safe. In your bed.” His soothing, calm words murmured over and over finally eased the tears.

Misty leaned back. “I almost lost Snowball. He wouldn’t stay still.”

Austin took his daughter’s face between his hands while his thumbs wiped away the wet tracks on her cheeks. “He’s fine. And see Hannah is, too.”

Hannah came forward and sat next to Austin, touching the child’s arm. “We’ll visit Candy as soon as your father says we can.”

“Tomorrow, honey. I’ve got her in a nearby pasture. I’ll bring her to you. First thing so you don’t have to fret. She’s okay, though.”

“Barney?”

Austin shot Hannah a look, full of worry. A silent question entered his gaze. Should he say anything about the dog now? Misty was a tough little girl. She nodded once.

“Barney’s at the vet. He ate something that didn’t agree with him, but the vet thinks he’ll be fine.”

Misty’s eyes widened. “He was hurt.”

“Not in the fire, honey. He got hold of a bad piece of meat. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick him up tomorrow.”

“We didn’t get to feed him. I forgot when the fire…” Tears returned to pool in Misty’s eyes.

Austin clasped Misty’s arms and waited until he had her full attention before saying, “You are
not
to blame for him eating the meat because you didn’t get to feed him. It happened at the time of the fire, maybe before.”

“Sweetie, that was why he wasn’t there with Snowball.”

Misty yawned.

“Honey, why don’t you lie down and try to sleep?” Austin helped his daughter get back under the covers.

However, doubt clouded the little girl’s eyes.

“Tell you what, Misty. Why don’t I stay with you until you get to sleep?” Hannah tucked her in, not meeting Austin’s gaze. Being with the little girl was more for herself than the child. She needed to feel she was helping Misty. Her wellness, physically and emotionally, had become important to Hannah.

Misty’s eyelids drooped. “That would be great.” Another yawn escaped her as she cuddled under the warmth of the coverlet.

Hannah stood to move around to the other side of the bed, still not wanting to look at Austin. She knew she should be resting, that tomorrow would be a long day, but Misty came first, not only for Austin, but for her as well.

Austin rose, too, bending close to her ear and whispering, “I can stay. You don’t need to do that. You should get your sleep.”

She turned, his face so near she could lean forward a few inches and kiss his mouth. And she wanted to. That thought sent her heartbeat spinning out of control and for a few seconds throwing her off kilter. Finally blinking to break his visual hold, she averted her gaze. “I wouldn’t sleep much for worrying about Misty. This way I’ll be able to rest,” she replied in a low voice.

“Fine. But go back to bed when she falls to sleep. I still have the monitor so I can be back if I need to.” Angling away from her, Austin leaned over Misty and kissed her cheek. “Good night, honey.”

“Night, Daddy,” she mumbled, her eyes opening then immediately closing.

Hannah waited until Austin left before slipping onto the bed next to Misty, curling on her side to face the child.

Misty turned her head toward her. “Night, Hannah. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too.”

The child grinned, but it almost instantly faded as her eyes fell closed.

But the smile stayed with Hannah, warming a cold place in her heart that had been there since she’d left California and been thrust into a life she’d never wanted. She closed her own eyes and for a while she could visualize Misty as her daughter—and Austin as her husband.

Austin rode across the meadow to check on the horses in the old barn before bringing Candy to the house. The sun sneaked above the tree line to the east, the ribbons of pink and orange beginning to vanish. A stillness hung in the cool air, no longer laced with the scent of burning wood.

On his way out of the house this morning, he’d stopped by his daughter’s room to check on her. To his surprise he’d found not only Misty but Hannah, sleeping soundly. His child had been huddled up against Hannah with the woman’s arm cushioning his little girl. The sight had stolen his breath. His wife had never done that, and the fact that Hannah had awed him. She had gone above and beyond the boundaries of her job description. Every barrier he had tried to erect against caring for Hannah was quickly coming down.

This certainly wasn’t the best time to pursue a romantic relationship. His track record didn’t give him a lot of confidence. But that kiss last night had rocked him. He couldn’t deny her effect on him any longer. He cared
about her deeply, and he wanted to explore where this would take them.

As he neared Big Red’s pasture, he searched for the stallion. But all that greeted him was an empty field. When he saw the gate standing wide open, he grew cold. The latch didn’t open easily. The only way would be by a person’s hand. The cold chill spread throughout him the closer he came to the meadow.

Someone had let him out on purpose.

Probably the same person who had set his barn on fire.

At the gate he closed it, then climbed the fence to survey the area one more time before sounding the alarm. No Big Red. When he jumped back to the ground, he investigated the earth around him to see if the person had used a vehicle, but there weren’t any tire tracks visible in the dirt.

Not only was Big Red an expensive stallion and valuable stud, but a loose Big Red could cause damage and trouble. And whoever let him out knew that.

“This is delicious, Caroline.” Hannah took another bite of the Southwestern omelet Austin’s grandmother had fixed.

Misty gulped down the rest of her milk. “Can I have more toast?”

“You sure can.” Caroline popped two pieces of bread into the toaster. “With butter and strawberry jam, no doubt.”

“Yep.”

Hannah reached over and wiped the milk moustache from the child’s upper lip. “Why don’t you sit down and let me finish up for you, Caroline?”

“No, this is my treat. I don’t cook like I used to since
Rene came to work for us, but she’s helping down at the bunkhouse with the men who are here to start the cleanup. Besides, my omelet is still cooking.” When the older woman took the toast and buttered each slice, she sighed. “I used to eat several pieces at breakfast but those days are over since I began counting my carbs.”

“Carbs? What’s that?” Misty snatched one slice of toast as Caroline put the plate on the table.

“Something this old lady can’t have too much of.”

“It’s things like breads.” The sound of the back door opening pulled Hannah’s gaze toward it.

The severe expression on Austin’s face didn’t bode well. Was it Barney? Had he heard from the vet? He peered at his daughter, his features transforming into a neutral countenance.

Misty brightened, a grin spreading from ear to ear. “You have Candy?”

“Yes. Let me check on something then eat before I take you to her.” Austin crossed the kitchen and left.

Hannah scooted back her chair. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

She hurried after him, catching up with him right before going into his office. “What’s happened? Is it Barney?”

He shook his head, the tension returning to his expression. “The vet called, and I’ll be able to pick him up later today. It’s Big Red. He’s missing.”

“Missing? What do you—Oh, no. The arsonist took him?”

“That’s what I’m thinking, or he’s loose somewhere on the ranch. I sent a couple of search parties out to cover the property. I’ll join them after the sheriff comes.”

“Can I help by picking up Barney for you? I figure you’ll be busy.”

“You don’t know the area.”

“Maybe Caroline and Misty can go with me. We’ll make it an outing. Misty will think it’s a treat.”

“Fine. Getting her away from the ranch while we hunt for Big Red might be for the best.” He raked his hand through his hair. “Frankly I’m worried about what I’ll find when we do locate him.”

“You think the guy killed the stallion?”

“He didn’t think twice about burning down a barn with horses in it. I do know one thing. I won’t rest until I discover who this man is.” His fierce tone emphasized his determination to bring the perpetrator to justice.

She wanted to erase the dark shadows from beneath his eyes, to wipe the exhaustion that gripped Austin. The past twenty-four hours had been a nightmare for him. Having someone after him was something she could relate to.

She reached out and touched his arm. “I’ll help you any way I can. Don’t worry about Barney. We’ll take care of the dog.”

“Is Misty finally asleep?” Caroline asked, folding the newspaper and putting it on the coffee table in front of her.

“Yeah. I stayed with her until she nodded off.” Hannah eased down on the couch next to Caroline, setting the monitor next to the newspaper.

The headline of a story in the
Missoula Daily News
caught Hannah’s attention about a woman murdered. The byline was the same reporter that Saul had talked about a couple of weeks ago. Violet Kramer.

Hannah picked up the paper and scanned the story. Quinn Smith allegedly murdered a woman for trying to do the right thing—expose a murder and bring the guilty to justice. Hannah’s heart went out to the woman who had
died. She’d done the same thing. She’d done what was right, testify against Cullen for killing a man. Would she end up murdered like Lisa? She shivered at the thought.

“I see you’re reading the story Violet wrote. I met her while I was in Missoula. She was doing a piece on the hospital foundation. I know someone on the board, and she introduced me when Violet was at the hospital interviewing her.”

“When Misty was staying there?”

“Yes. I follow what she writes now. She’s very resourceful and determined. I liked her.”

Hannah stiffened, turning her head away. She didn’t want Caroline to see the fear that was probably evident on her face.

“She used to write human-interest stories—fluff pieces—but I’ve seen a shift in the stories she’d been doing lately. More hard-core about different crimes. This caught my eye because the slant was like her old human-interest ones.”

She would continue to run and hide, and she hoped stay ahead of any would-be killer. Schooling her features into a neutral expression, Hannah released a slow breath and swung her attention back to Caroline. “I’m glad they found that woman’s killer.”

“Me, too.”

Hannah leaned back, relaxing as much as she could with all that had happened. “Has Austin called again?”

“He’ll be home soon with Big Red. Our neighbor wasn’t too happy to find him in his pasture. The man’s stallion was hurt in a territorial fight. Big Red was hardly touched.”

“At least now all the animals are accounted for, and Austin is pulling them closer in and posting more guards 24/7. I’m glad last night he posted a couple of men at the old barn or it might have been set on fire, too.”

In the doorway into the living room, Barney lifted his head, then lumbered to his feet, his tail wagging. Austin came from the back of the house and stooped a moment to greet the dog and scratch him behind the ears.

The tired lines on his face stood out even more as Austin met Hannah’s gaze. He pushed up and entered the room. “The sheriff will be here soon.”

Caroline rose. “I’m going to leave you to talk to him. All this is catching up with me. I’m going to retire early like Misty.” She stopped next to Austin and hugged him. “Gil will find who’s doing this. I have the prayer team at church praying he’s brought to justice soon.”