Last Stand Ranch (5 page)

Jonathan knew the whole ugly story, yet the kid still looked up to his big brother. Sometimes his admiration made Elijah feel like a fraud.

“We just going to sit around here?” Elijah said gruffly, aware he'd started to drift into the past again. “If we move out, form a wide perimeter and look closely one more time, maybe we can find some tracks or trampled grass we missed earlier before we call it a night.”

“Worth a try,” Bedford agreed.

Jonathan nodded. “Let's do it.”

They rode until full dark, staying in contact by phone, but found nothing. “If I hear anything I'm authorized to tell you, I'll let you know,” Bedford promised.

When he got home, Elijah cooled down Churchill and made sure he was fed and watered. Then he got in his truck, drove to the hospital and found Olivia's room.

Olivia lay in bed, sleeping. With her bruises and bandages, she looked as if she'd gone a few rounds with a prizefighter. In a way, she had.

She needed somebody to look after her, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

Elijah dropped his tired body into a chair at the foot of her bed to keep watch.

FIVE

O
livia opened her eyes. In the pale blue early-morning light she saw Elijah slumped in a chair in her hospital room. In weathered jeans, a black T-shirt, a jean jacket and heavy black motorcycle boots, he looked out of place with the pale fuchsia wall behind him holding a framed print of two white poodle puppies chasing a butterfly.

The last time she'd woken, Claudia had been sitting in that chair. Before that, Olivia had opened her eyes to a nurse in recovery asking her silly questions about the current month, the time of the year and how many eggs were in a dozen. And before that, she remembered a doctor telling her that she might end up with an impressive scar on her upper arm, but otherwise she would be okay. Time seemed to be moving both backward and forward.

“Hey,” Olivia called out.

Elijah stirred and lifted his head. He must be a light sleeper. Olivia's voice hadn't come out much louder than a whisper.

“Hey,” he answered back, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“Sleeping in that chair will give you a stiff neck.”

“I can sleep anywhere.” He had an appealing scruff of beard going. He rubbed a hand over it and through his bristly black hair before standing up and walking toward her bed.

“How are you feeling?”

She glanced at her bandaged shoulder and back at him. “Right now? No pain.” The pain medicine was still in her body, making her feel as if she was wrapped in a cocoon. “But I have a feeling it's going to sting when the medicine wears off.”

“Only when you laugh.”

She laughed. And as her laugh died out, the memory of what had happened came rushing back. Along with the feelings of sheer terror and hopelessness. She was still shaken by the unnerving realization that someone had actually shot her. Had tried to
kill
her. She felt her eyes tear up and her face begin to crumple.

“We didn't get him,” Elijah said, standing at her bedside, hands crossed in front of his body, eyes downcast as though it was his personal responsibility to catch Kurtz.

Olivia drew in a ragged breath. For a few seconds she'd felt safe, her worries vague and half-forgotten. Too bad it hadn't lasted a little longer.

She reached out for his hand and managed to grasp the tips of his fingers. “Hey. Thanks for rescuing me. Again.”

His gaze met hers. “From what I saw, it looked like you rescued yourself. I just got there for the mop-up.”

Coming from someone who didn't appear to smile unless he felt like it, who couldn't or wouldn't turn on the easy, facile charm that so many people used to get through life, his words meant something. And he was right. She had managed to keep herself from getting killed. Even in the grip of stark terror she wasn't helpless. She hadn't collapsed into a whimpering heap and given up.

She squeezed his fingers. “Nevertheless, thank you.”

He nodded and seemed about to say something when a big bouquet of flowers suddenly filled the space behind him and a voice sang out, “You're awake!”

Claudia stepped around Elijah, hefting a round white basket full of purple irises and yellow roses. She glanced at him. “I had a feeling you'd be here.” She set the basket on a table beside Olivia's bed. “Honey, how are you?”

Olivia relaxed into a slight smile. It had been a long time since anybody fussed over her. “I don't feel so bad.”

“Good.” Claudia sat down on the edge of her bed.

“But I'd like to get out of here as soon as I can.”

“I'll drive you,” Elijah said. “Just in case.”

“The doctor said he wanted to talk to you after you woke up and ate some breakfast.” Claudia's upbeat tone sounded forced. “If everything looks good, he'll send you home.”

Home. Where
was
that, exactly? Not Las Vegas anymore. Not anywhere. Again, in an instant, Olivia's spirits crashed. Hopefully, her seesawing emotions were a result of the medicine and not a new way of life. She'd counseled women who'd been shot at when she was working at the safe house, interning on her way to becoming a social worker. She'd learned basic counseling skills, but at the moment she couldn't remember any of the advice she'd been trained to give to someone who'd survived a physical attack.

“I called your mom and dad. Each of them said they'd call you sometime today. And both of them said to let them know if you need anything.”

How sweet. Some parents might actually rush to visit their daughter after she'd been shot.

“How come our family didn't spend any time together when I was growing up?” Olivia asked. “Why didn't we visit you, or any of my other relatives, when I was a kid? Why didn't we spend Christmases together?”

Claudia's smile faded. “Honey, if there was some reason, some feud going on, I don't know anything about it. I think everybody got busy. Time passed and we all settled into routines that didn't involve each other. We came to visit you once, do you remember?”

“Yes.”

“It was always hard to get Hugh away from the ranch. He worried about the animals. Not the horses or the stock animals. We had help with them. He worried about the cats and the dogs. And his birds and his bunnies. We invited your parents to come out but they never could make it.” Claudia shrugged. “I guess, like anything else, relationships can die from neglect.”

“But not our newfound relationship,” Olivia said firmly.

“No, not ours.”

Okay, enough of that. Olivia sniffed and brushed her hair out of her eyes with her good hand, determined not to think about things that would only send her spirits crashing again. Instead, she'd think about how Elijah had gone looking for her after he heard gunshots. He'd helped her down the hill. Claudia had opened her home to her and was right now sitting in front of her. That was more than a lot of people had.

She glanced around for Elijah just as a uniformed hospital security officer walked by the open door, paused to look in, waved and then continued down the hallway.

Claudia followed her gaze. “You looking for Elijah? He slipped out a minute ago. I hope he went home to get some sleep. He spent hours with the sheriff's department and some local search-and-tracking volunteers trying to find the man who did this to you.”

“There's so much wilderness around here. I'd think it would be impossible to find someone intent on hiding.”

“They had to stop looking when it got dark. That's when Elijah came here to the hospital. He stayed all night.”

It wasn't anything personal, Olivia told herself. She needed to get a few things straight in her head before she started to believe he felt a deeper concern for her. Elijah Morales might look rugged and he might even be rugged, but he was a church guy. Helping people was what church guys did. They'd do it for anybody.

Again, the tears started. Olivia was beginning to think she'd never be able to completely turn them off again. She couldn't help it. The truth was, deep in her heart, she wanted to be very important to somebody.

“I'm so sorry.” Claudia reached for Olivia's hand. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, too.

“Don't cry, Aunt Claudia. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“Yes I do,” she answered forcefully. “I told you to get outside and go for a walk.” Her voice cracked. “I told you it was safe.”

“And I let myself get careless.”

As she watched Claudia dab at her eyes with a tissue, Olivia felt a flash of emotion. Something familiar, like a fleeting glimpse of her former self. It put some strength into her spine. “We're
not
going to do this,” she said, reaching for the hem of Claudia's bright yellow blouse and tugging on it until her aunt finally looked at her. “We are
not
going to blame ourselves.”

Claudia nodded and Olivia smiled at her. She hadn't thought of herself as a strong woman for a while. Not since the debacle with Kurtz started. But she was still alive. She was a survivor.

* * *

Elijah picked up Olivia at the hospital and got her into his truck as quickly as he could. Since the shooter hadn't been caught, he wanted her safe in his family's house. And Claudia would be safer traveling in a separate vehicle. Fortunately, Claudia agreed with his plan and helped talk Olivia into it. Claudia had called him as soon as the doctor signed Olivia's release forms.

“Are you sure your family's okay with me going to your house?” Olivia asked, running the hand from her uninjured arm through her hair as she fidgeted nervously in the passenger seat of his truck. Claudia followed along in her own car as they pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “The last thing I want to do is put somebody else in danger.”

“My parents love company,” Elijah answered. “And they're used to trouble.”

Most of it brought by him.

He stopped at a red light on Stagecoach Road, in what passed for downtown Painted Rock, and then turned left toward the Morales ranch.

“Aunt Claudia's fortunate to have your family living so close by,” Olivia said.

Elijah glanced over and saw her looking at all the small downtown businesses.

“Wide-open space can be nice. But being isolated gets old. It's good to have neighbors.” In the side mirror jutting out from the truck he could see Claudia following along in her pearl-white sedan.

Elijah looked ahead, then right and left before he moved forward when the light changed. Kurtz or a hired gun could be anywhere. He kept an eye on the vehicles nearby, trying to make sure no one other than Claudia was following them.

“There might be some riders hanging around the house,” he said. “I know you won't remember them from the night you came into town, but a couple of them remember you. And they want to help.”

He glanced over to see her reaction. Some people were uncomfortable with motorcycle riders. If that was the case with Olivia, he'd need to come up with another plan.

“Vanquish the Darkness. That's a pretty dramatic name for a group.” She didn't sound as if the idea of them being around bothered her.

“The founders wanted a name that made a statement.”

“It certainly does that.”

In his peripheral vision he saw her studying him. He was thankful for his dark sunglasses. When she took his hand and looked into his eyes to thank him this morning, it felt as if she was looking right into him. It was unnerving. It must have been because he was tired. He hadn't really slept in that chair, just dozed a little.

“Do you just stare ahead with that stony expression all the time?” Olivia asked.

Elijah made another turn at the next light. “I guess so.” This was already starting to get uncomfortably personal.

“Relax,” she said a few seconds later. “We're not on a date or anything.”

“No, we aren't.” Elijah didn't date.

“I'm not your type. I'm sure you're way too noble to tell a huge lie like I did. And you'd never drag danger to
your
great-aunt's doorstep.”

Her quiet anger had sprung from nowhere. Elijah glanced over to make sure she was okay. She sat rigidly, her body radiating tension. He hadn't done anything but drive since they got into his truck, so she couldn't be mad at him. It sounded like she was mad at herself.

Her comment did remind him of the sad reality that she hadn't had a thing to do with Claudia until she'd needed her aunt's help. Olivia might be an intriguing woman, but she was also an unknown. Right now, she was an unknown with danger swirling all around her. Time to remember to use his brain and leave his emotions at the door.

They drove on in silence for several minutes until Olivia relaxed back into her seat, head against the headrest, the fight having apparently drained out of her. She blew out a loud breath. “Hey, thanks for the great conversation.”

He laughed. She didn't join in with him this time.

A huge pine beam with the name Morales burned into it rested atop two parallel beams and formed the arched entrance to the Morales family ranch. Elijah turned into it, heading down the dusty, winding drive.

“So this is where your motorcycle gang hides out?” Olivia asked. “What's the story?”

“This isn't a hideout. It's my family's home. If you're asking about Vanquish, the short answer is that people who liked to ride and wanted to band together to be of service started it years ago. My parents were involved. Over the years it died off. It was recently restarted by me.”

“Well, be careful when you want to help people. Things can turn ugly.”

Elijah already knew that. It didn't stop him from helping. He turned to her. “Do you ride?”

“No. I hate motorcycles.”

“Have you ever actually ridden one?”

“Other than yesterday? No. Still, I've never actually inhaled a lamb chop but I know I don't want to do that, either.”

He chuckled a little and felt the tension in his shoulders relax. At least he didn't have to guess what she was thinking. The woman said exactly what was on her mind.

“You were in the military,” she said. It was a statement rather than a question. “I knew it the first time I saw you.”

“United States Army Ranger.”

“Were you in Iraq or Afghanistan?”

“Both.”

From the corner of his eye he saw her look down at her hands in her lap.

“That had to be a life-altering experience.” She sighed. “I appreciate your service, but I'm sorry you had to go through it. I don't know what else to say.”

“You don't have to say anything.”

“Maybe you're right,” she said a few minutes later. “With that combat experience I don't need to worry about you. Ted Kurtz is the one who should be worried.”

Elijah felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He parked his truck. “I hope you like chili verde. Mom's had it simmering all day. The smell's got to be making Dad crazy by now. He loves the stuff.”