Lonestar Sanctuary (6 page)

His promise to Jon rose up to mock him. He'd tried halfheartedly
to find Jon's widow but couldn't. The Bluebird Ranch became his
refuge, the safe haven where he could lick his wounds. His selfishness
shamed him. Jon had sacrificed everything for him, and Rick was all
too quick to abandon his promises.

Her eyes never left his face. "I know I should have called or written first, but there wasn't time." She finally looked away and cast her gaze
to her plate.

The words he wanted to say locked behind the muscles of his
throat. He wanted to ask her to forgive him, he wanted to ask her
what she wanted, he wanted to tell her everything would be all right.

He choked back the confession of guilt and forced himself to cast
a cool gaze on her face. "Why are you here?"

"Jon told me to come to you if I was ever in trouble." She said the
words with an edge of reluctance.

"Are you in trouble now?" So he wasn't ready to honor that promise, even now. The responsibility loomed like a mountain.

"I'm in big trouble." She shut her mouth, then finally lifted her
gaze. "I didn't even want to say anything. You've made it clear what
you think of me. But I don't know where else to turn. Even if Elijah
gives me a job, there's another ... issue."

The silence echoed in the room. The words he needed to say stayed
lodged behind his teeth. He had to wonder what kind of trouble would
bring her clear out here to what the Mexicans called El Despoblado, the
land of no people.

Guilt seized him in its sharp teeth. Whatever it was, he had to
help. He'd promised Jon.

"Aren't you going to say something?" she whispered, finally raising
her gaze to meet his.

The color had leached from her face, and her blue eyes looked
murky with an emotion he couldn't name for sure. Maybe fear and
grief. His own grieving had thinned until all that was left was a wisp
of fog that dissipated every day.

Her revelation brought it storming back.

He wet his lips. "Jon was my best friend."

Allie smiled then. "I know. His letters from Iraq were filled with
stuff about you. He loved you like a brother. I I always wanted to
thank you for trying to save him. I heard you were wounded trying to
get him out."

Her blue eyes warmed then, and the gratitude in them was hard
to take. He knew the truth.

"I failed him," Rick said, his voice harsh. Confession would be
hard. She would hate him when she found out what really happened.

"You tried. That's all anyone could do."

"No." He pushed back from the table. "I wanted to contact you
when I got back, but I couldn't find you." The silence seemed to grow
louder before he finally broke it by clearing his throat and saying,
"What's the trouble?"

"It would be a shorter list to tell you what's going right." She
blinked rapidly. "It's been hard since Jon died, but we were doing okay.
I was making the rodeo circuit in barrel racing and doing great. I
worked at the rodeo as well. Then my parents died in a plane crash, and
a month ago my sister was killed. There's no one left to turn to."

Rick wasn't good at platitudes. First Jon's death, then the rest of
her family. Pity stirred in his heart. "You need money?"

"No! I'm able-bodied, and I'll support us. I don't want a handout."
She looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap. "Jon's parents are
trying to get custody of Betsy. My world would end if I lost her." Her
gaze came up to stare at him with a pleading expression. "One of your
hands told me about this place, that it could help Betsy. I'd been coming here to see you anyway."

Just as Jon thought. He'd been adamant they shouldn't have a hand
in raising his daughter.

"They've got grounds?" Though he framed it as a question, his tone suggested he'd have no trouble siding with someone who thought her
unfit. It was hard to let go of his initial judgment of her. Elijah was
right Rick shouldn't have assumed so much.

Lifting her chin, she stared him down. "None. But they say the
rodeo isn't a fit place to raise a child, especially for a single mom. They
want her to have a stable home with two parents." The fire in her eyes
dimmed, and her shoulders sagged. "I want that for Betsy too, but I
have to make a living, and the rodeo is all I know."

He ran through all she'd said in his mind. "Do they know you've
come here?"

She shook her head. "I didn't tell anyone where I was going not
even my best friend."

He forced out a question he didn't want her to answer. "What is it
you want me to do?"

She spread out her hands. "I didn't know where else to turn. I
thought I could hide out here, and just maybe Elijah could help Betsy
the way he's helped other kids. I can't lose Betsy. I've lost everything
else, but I can't lose her. But they might find me here too. I thought
maybe with your contacts, you could make sure they can't get custody. I can't let them have her."

"That's true," he agreed. "Jon wouldn't want that."

She had put more faith in his ability than he possessed. He didn't have
the kind of contacts that could save her from a custody suit. He stood and
went to look out the window. An idea presented itself, a crazy idea. Not
even Jon would expect him to go so far to help his wife and kid. His gaze
lit on her old rattletrap truck. Both front tires were flat this morning.

He owed Jon his life.

No, he couldn't do it. There had to be another way. His thoughts
raced, looking for a way out. A good lawyer could help. He had some cash saved. Turning, he looked at her and saw what a judge would see.
A young woman with no steady means of support, dragging a kid all
around the country. Put that up against two stable parents with plenty
of money and a nice home, and Allie would lose.

He'd promised.

It wouldn't be forever. If he clung to that, maybe he could do it.
What right did he have not to? Jon had counted on him. And, really,
what would this cost him? Nothing in money. Only some time and a
little inconvenience.

He went back to the table. "I made him a promise I've been too
chicken to keep."

"A promise?"

"To take care of you and Betsy. I only know of one way to ensure
Betsy isn't taken away from you." He hitched his thumbs into the
pockets of his jeans. "If you're married and your husband adopts Betsy,
his parents won't be able to touch her."

The soft pink drained from her cheeks, and her blue eyes grew
enormous. "Marriage? To who?" she whispered. "Are you crazy?"

"To me. You'll have a stable home, insurance for her care, a father
to replace the one she lost." He finally found the courage to look her
in the eye. "I'll probably be a lousy husband, but I think I could be a
good dad. A stepfather would have no trouble adopting Betsy."

She swung her head from side to side. "I can't marry you. I don't
know you. Neither does Betsy."

"Think of it as a temporary thing. Once the adoption is final, we
can wait a few months, then get a divorce."

"Marriage should be more than a convenient arrangement."

"Do you have a better idea?" He waited until she looked away. "I
didn't think so."

She held up her hand. "Just be quiet a minute. Let me think. There
has to be some other way."

He pressed his lips together and prayed she'd think of something.
But he knew she wouldn't. Sometimes only the hard way worked.

ALLIE COULDN'T THINK, COULDN'T GET HER MIND AROUND RICK'S OUTlandish proposal. The silence had gone on between them long enough
that she managed to force down her breakfast, but it was as dry as the
sand outside.

She couldn't marry him. Maybe she should just run back to El Paso
and take her chances. He was the exact opposite of the type of man
who attracted her. The Neanderthal type was too overpowering for
her taste. She liked long, slim limbs and someone who didn't tower
over her like a ponderosa pine.

Even more importantly, she couldn't run the risk of anyone taking
Jon's place with Betsy. The little girl was already warming up to the
big man. How well did she remember her daddy? The thought of her
forgetting Jon broke Allie's heart. Jon deserved whatever it took to
keep his memory alive in his daughter's heart.

Elijah stepped into the room.

"Breakfast, mujercita?" Elijah's dark eyes drooped with fatigue, but
his step was spry.

Allie pinned a smile in place. At least she and Rick didn't have to
discuss it now. "Good morning, Elijah. I hope you're hungry."

"I could eat Roscoe, the big bull in the back pasture," Elijah said.
He took the plate of food. His gaze swept the kitchen. "You worked
hard this morning," he said. "Thank you for taking care of us bachelors. I think we would win a title for biggest slobs, si?"

"My bedroom is neat," Rick said. "Too much military in me for me
not to make my bed."

Allie avoided looking at Rick. "Is there anything else I can do for
you today, Elijah? I thought I might clean the house if that's all right."

"I'm in need of a housekeeper since my Rosa retired," Elijah said.
"Would you want the position?"

"Of course!" There. She didn't have to marry Rick. There were
surely other options.

"The housekeeper takes care of the accounts too. Are you trained
in this area as well perhaps?"

"I I no. But if you showed me, maybe I could do it." She'd
always had trouble with numbers. Her eyes jumbled them up as badly
as letters. But she had to try for Betsy's sake. She would master it. If all
went well, she could save enough to replace her lost glasses.

He nodded. "Rosa lives on the other side of the ranch. You might
speak with her about the duties. I must warn you, the pay is not so
much. You will get room and board for you and the nina, and a little
besides for incidentals."

"I don't care about money," Allie said. "I just want Betsy to get
better."

Elijah's dark eyes touched Betsy's head. "I want this too, mujercita."
He glanced at Rick. "Would you object to giving us references,
Allie?"

She bit her lip. If she gave references, her stalker might find out
where she was. "I have good references, bu-but it would be better to
keep my whereabouts quiet. Can you ask questions without identifying where the ranch is located?"

"I'll be careful with the questions," Rick said.

She would have no trouble getting a recommendation from the rodeo. She was careful to keep her gaze averted from Rick's. "Where
will Betsy and I stay? In the bunkhouse?"

"No, you may take the small suite at the top of the stairs. There are
two beds in it, and it has its own bathroom. I'm afraid we have no
chaperone, but with the nina in the same room and an old man like
me in the house, no tongues should wag in town."

Gossip was the least of Allie's worries. "Could you explain to me
how the ranch operates? What you do here?"

Elijah cocked a gray eyebrow. "Rick, if you would be so kind?"

Rick shrugged. "Bluebird Youth Ranch encompasses nine hundred
and fifty-three acres. Elijah started with rescuing abused and neglected horses."

Allie shuddered. "I've seen some of that in the rodeo. Breaks your
heart."

Rick's gaze softened. "It happens more than anyone realizes. Owners
turn the horses out to pasture and abandon them. A drought comes
along, and the horses starve. They suffer mostly from neglect, not
mean-spiritedness. But the end result is the same."

"Do you see abused horses too?"

"Yeah. I wish we didn't, but it happens. An owner gets mad when
the horse doesn't turn out to be a Flicka. Or an abuser takes his rage
out on his animal rather than his wife or kids."

"Go on with the story of the ranch. Sorry I interrupted,"Allie said.

"It's important to know the background. Elijah took in some foster kids back in the sixties. Some of them had been abused by their
parents, and he found that the horses and children bonded in some
amazing ways. They helped one another heal from past traumas.
Bluebird was born out of his passion to help kids and horses."

Allie glanced at the old man. She didn't get him, not at all. How could he have such passion for this work, yet turn his own child out
onto the streets? Unless her mother had lied to her.

"Who runs the ranch?"

"I'm the foreman, but I talk everything over with Elijah. We've got
three hands who live in the bunkhouse. They care for the horses and
cattle that roam the ranch." He nodded at Elijah. "The boss has a group
counseling session with the kids every day. I take care of the interaction between the kids and horses."

"What training do you have for that?" She didn't mean to challenge
him, but it sounded like some pretty troubled kids came through here.

He didn't look at her. "I was one of those kids once. I've got a
degree in social welfare."

"And I have a degree in psychology," Elijah put in. "The children
are safe here."

Allie couldn't figure Rick out. She moved toward the doorway.
"Thanks for the information. If you don't mind, I'll clean the house
before we move our things in."

Elijah chuckled. "Mind? Rick and I will help. Right, Rick?"

Allie finally dared to look at Jon's best friend. They were going to
have to talk about his proposal, but not yet.

"I'll clean the bathroom," he said.

Allie wanted to laugh, but she bit it back. The idea of the big guy
on his knees, cleaning the porcelain throne, was ludicrous. But she
might actually pay good money if she had it to see a sight like that.

THE BLOATED MOON SHONE IN THE WINDOW AND MADE MONSTERS OUT OF
the dresser and nightstand in Allie's room. She closed her eyes against
the images. There were enough monsters in her life. With all she had
to do today, she'd managed to avoid considering Rick's proposal but
now that darkness had fallen, it was all she could think about.

What if he had a temper or was some kind of pervert? The possibilities of danger were enormous. He could be a serial killer for all she
knew. She thumped the pillow like it was the obnoxious man's head.
Okay, maybe not a serial killer. Everyone said serial killers seemed
nice, and Rick Bailey would never answer to that description. Rude
and opinionated, but not nice.