Born To Be Wild (15 page)

Making him think, tonight, anything might be possible…

…

“Time to clean up and get to bed so we can start off at sunrise, Annie.”

Lucy looked out into the dark—nothing but wilderness—and wondered if she could get away on her own. She had to try!

She was anxious to see her parents. To get back home. To get away from Mr. Perez before he took her so far from everything she knew that she would never be able to find her way back.

“Annie, did you hear me?”

Suddenly realizing he’d been talking to her, she started. “Oh, sorry, um, Papa.” Calling him that seemed to keep him from getting upset, so she went along with his fantasy that she was his Annie.

“Did you have enough to eat?”

Lucy nodded. “I’m stuffed.”

“You put the leftovers in the bear-proof container, and I’ll collect the trash and tie the garbage bag between those trees.” He pointed to one, many yards away from camp, then added at her puzzled look, “Don’t forget, bears scavenge food. We don’t want anything that will draw them to our campsite.”

“Oh, right.”

Not an experienced camper, Lucy hadn’t forgotten anything. She hadn’t known about the bears in the first place. She didn’t particularly want a run-in with a wild animal, though, so she made sure to put every scrap of leftover food in the special container that a bear wasn’t supposed to be able to open.

Her pulse trilled unevenly with secret excitement. Once they were in the tent and he fell asleep, she would try to get away.

After they’d finished the cleanup, she crawled into the tent first and sat on her sleeping bag. Mr. Perez followed, hugging her and kissing her on the forehead. It gave her the creeps, but at least he didn’t make a big deal out of it.

“We need a good sleep,” he said, getting into his bedding and punching the pillow into a shape he approved. “Tomorrow is a big day. You finally get to see the cliff houses like I promised more than a year ago.”

“It’s nice that you keep your promises,” she said.
Even if they were to a dead girl
. Shivering, she wondered if she would have the dream again if she fell asleep before she could run away.

“I will always keep my promises to you. Goodnight,
mi ángel
.”

“Goodnight…Papa.” She could call him that. As long as it wasn’t Daddy.

Lucy lay half in her sleeping bag, staring up at the tent ceiling, her heart thumping as she listened to his breathing even out.

Finally, he fell fast asleep.

She pulled herself together, readied herself to sneak out of the tent and get to another campsite. One with a family. Another mom would help her.

Wanting to make sure he was sound asleep first, she lay in the darkness, listening to the relaxed rhythm of his breathing, soft and regular and…and happy.

Maybe she was just imagining that part, but she didn’t think so. Weird how her being there somehow brought him peace, made him feel better.

Even more weird, the thought made
her
feel better.

But the only thing that would make her feel really better and safe was Mom’s arms around her.

Listening hard to make sure Mr. Perez’s breathing was even, she started to scoot from her sleeping bag. Her pulse raced as she crawled to the tent flap. A hand suddenly wrapped around her ankle. Her heart thundered.
Oh, no!

“You can’t go out there alone, Annie. Too many dangers. Not just bears.”

“I wasn’t going anywhere,” she lied, thinking quickly. “I—I just wanted to see the stars.”

“Then we can open the flap and you can look out from your sleeping bag.”

He moved past her and unzipped the flap. Then he repositioned his own bedding in front of the opening so she’d have to crawl over him to get out.

Tears burned the backs of her eyelids. Now she would never get away!

Not tonight.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. She was
not
going to cry again. He might guess what she’d been planning, and then he’d be on his guard.

Mr. Perez had promised to give back her cell phone in the morning, and when they went out to the cliffs, she’d find a way to call one or both of her parents, and then they would come for her.

Hopefully, they’d know what to do about Mr. Perez, too, so he wouldn’t think she was his Annie anymore. She didn’t like being a dead girl.

…

Lying on the bedroll, Isabel watched Micah put another piece of wood on the fire and was reminded of the times all those years ago when they’d sneaked out to see each other late at night. She remembered how he’d built a fire for her more than once to chase off the chill mountain air.

But she’d preferred his more personal way of warming her up. Sweet kisses filled with longing, hands fulfilling the sensual promise of his kisses. And eventually, the heated passion all of him gave her.

They’d been so young and so in love and so filled with the promise of a future together. A promise that had been shattered far too easily.

A shattered promise that had equaled her shattered heart.

Now both of their hearts would be dead forever if they didn’t get their daughter back. And Micah had a double burden with Caleb still missing, too.

Unable to help herself, she reached out and touched his arm in an effort to comfort him the way he’d been doing for her since this nightmare started. Her touch made him whip his gaze straight to her face—and her own pulse surged.

“It—it’ll all look better tomorrow.” he promised. “We’ll be together, all three of us. Lucy is here somewhere, Isabel. I believe that. I believe we’re going to find her in the morning.”

A swell of warmth blossomed from her middle, encasing her. She realized she could not have gone on without him by her side through this ordeal. “You kept me upright these last few days, Micah.” He’d been her rock. He’d anticipated her every need. He’d come through for her and Lucy. She couldn’t have asked for more from him. “Why have you been so caring?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

He locked gazes with her. Firelight flickered against his face, softening his rugged features. Her pulse quickened. Her heart opened.

“I still love you, Isabel. I’ve always loved you.”

A dam broke inside her. His declaration washed the last of her doubts away.
At least for now
. He was here for her tonight, body and soul, even if she wasn’t sure what that meant for their future.

His kiss stopped her from worrying about it.

One of those long, sweet, could-go-on-forever kisses that had made her world stop in its tracks when she was with him all those years ago. It stopped again for her now. For this moment, she couldn’t think of anything but him.

When Micah deepened the kiss, she couldn’t help but want more.

His rough hands on her breasts.

His soft lips on her stomach.

His clever tongue on her clit.

His hard length inside her.

And when he’d given her all that and more, moving her closer and closer to ecstasy, she lifted her legs and surrounded him with her thighs, catching him to her so she could deepen their connection.

She’d needed this.
She’d needed him
. Needed the knowledge that she wasn’t alone and that they were truly one. That their love was more than a bittersweet memory. That in a time of crisis, she could count on him. That he could fill her world completely.

He thrust his hips at her.

Hard.

Fast.

More
.

Over and over until she was mindless with passion.

Until she was alive as she had not been alive for twelve long, lonely years.

She wanted this. She wanted him. She never wanted to let him go.
Ever
.

But when they cried out together and came tumbling back to earth wrapped in each other’s arms, the reality of their relationship haunted her.

What now?

The fears she’d lived with all these years she’d been without him came rushing back to engulf her. Micah was still his father’s son. A father who hated and resented her.

Could things really turn out differently than they had in the past?

This time, would love be enough?

Chapter Fifteen

Isabel was right, of course. She always was.

Her accusations had stung, but after thinking about their fight for a couple of days, Micah knew he needed to be a man, no matter what his father had threatened. He needed to take responsibility for the child he’d created. And for Isabel.

He loved her. And he already loved the baby she would give him. He didn’t want to lose either of them.

It took courage to go against his father, but he was going to do it, and he was going to do it now. He was going to marry the girl he loved, no matter what either of their fathers thought or did.

Maybe Dad would change his mind once he and Isabel were married, though he wasn’t taking bets on that. If he got thrown off the ranch the way Dad threatened, then so be it. He would get another job somewhere. Maybe on another ranch. He’d heard Alex Horton was hiring.

Driving onto Falcon land, he realized he would probably have to give up not only his horse, but his pickup. He might be the only one on the ranch who rode Slade and who drove the truck, but the name on both titles was Jonah Wild, not Micah. No doubt his father would take both from him, as well.

He didn’t care. The alternative was losing Isabel, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

His gut went tight as he pulled up into the drive. He sat there for a moment, reviewing the plan he’d come up with the night before. He would go to the front door and formally ask Isabel’s father for her hand. He would try to convince Eduard that their getting married would be the right thing for everyone. The right thing for Isabel, and for their baby.

And if Eduard threatened him with jail time again, then he would find Isabel and convince her to run away with him. The idea of having to leave behind everything he knew made him sick inside, but Isabel and the baby were more important to him than anything in the world. They were his, and he would protect them with his life.

Leaving the car, he headed for the front door. Out of nowhere, Cruz stepped into his path and stuck a hand against the middle of his chest to stop him.

“What the hell are you doing here, Micah? Get off Falcon land! Now!”

“Not without Isabel.” Micah knocked Cruz’s hand away. “I’m going to marry your sister, Cruz. This damn feud is either going to end with us and our child, or Isabel and I will make a new life for our family elsewhere.”

Cruz sneered. “You’re too late.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isabel left, and she isn’t coming back.”

Micah gaped at Cruz. “Left for where?”

“Santa Fe. She went to live with Mama.”

Micah was stunned into silence for a moment. Then he shouted, “I don’t believe you!” She would have told him.

He tried pushing past Cruz, but Isabel’s brother shoved him back. Hard.

“I’m not making this up, Micah. Isabel is gone. She left day before yesterday.”

Day before yesterday…right after their fight. “But I asked her to marry me. She wants to marry me!”

“Sorry, but all that’s changed. Isabel told me she never wants to see you or speak to you again. Never wants you to touch her again,” he insisted. “Doesn’t sound to me like she wants anything to do with you.”

Micah heard the truth in Cruz’s words.
Never wants you to touch her again.
Nearly the same thing she’d said to him as she’d turned and fled their argument.

Crushed, Micah backed off, ran to his truck, and sped away from the house, his heart a solid lump of steel in his chest.

How could Isabel have turned her back on him like this?

One damn fight and she was gone without so much as a word.

She couldn’t have loved him. Not enough. Not nearly as much as he loved her. How could she, and still run away like this?

He’d been ready to give up everything for her.
Everything.
Now he guessed he wouldn’t have to. He could stay on the ranch.

Keep his horse.

His truck.

His life.

The only things he would be giving up forever were the girl he loved…the child they’d made together…and the dream of a future of happiness.

…

The after-sex drift wore off, the bitter memories punching Micah in the gut.

She’d hurt him so damn much. He still wasn’t over it. Not completely.

What now?
Micah wondered. Would what had just happened change things between them?

Sitting up, he straightened his shirt and pulled on his jeans before throwing the last log on the fire. For the past two days, everything had led up to their making love. The incident in the kitchen. Then in the shower. And those kisses that had brought back sweet, treasured memories.

So now that they’d made love for real, what came next for them?

What if, after they found Lucy, Isabel took their daughter and walked away from him again? He had no reason to trust her where his heart was concerned. He’d told her how he felt—that he’d never stopped loving her. But she hadn’t responded.

Maybe this had just been comfort sex for her.

A bitter pill for him to swallow after all the memories that had slammed him the past two days.

Isabel stirred on the bedroll. Glancing back, he saw her pull her jeans over her hips and slip her knife into its sheath. His throat grew tight, and he turned his attention back to the fire until Isabel said, “We can’t do this,” making him feel like she’d plunged her knife straight into his heart.

The first words out of her mouth just confirmed his greatest fear

“Why not?” he demanded, his voice rough. “We’re consenting adults.” He glared at her. “So what if we took a little solace in each other?”

“Micah, you know it’s not that simple.”

“Maybe it
is
that simple, Isabel, and you just don’t want to admit it.” Not that he believed it for a second. If he lost her again, he didn’t know how he could live with that. “Or maybe you’re just a coward!”

“
Me
? Micah, when we made a baby together, you were more worried about your father’s wishes than you were about me and our child.”

“Are you
kidding
me? I worried about
everything
, and that included not wanting to lose my family and everyone and everything I knew!” Just thinking about it put his gut in a knot. “I was a kid, Isabel. Scared. Out of my depth. We were
both
kids.” His voice rose with every syllable. “The difference is that you somehow think
I
abandoned
you
when
you
were the one who left instead of staying and working it out!”

“You gave me no choice!” she shouted in return.

He’d tried to give her that choice, but he’d been too late. Did she even know? “Did Cruz ever talk to you about me after you left?”

“He said you came to see me, and he told you exactly where you could find me.”

Not exactly the way her brother had put it. “That was it?”

“Yes. What more was there? You didn’t come after me.”

Incredulous, Micah took off the kid gloves he’d been using with her. “What the hell did you expect? You left without a word, Isabel! You never called to talk. You never even gave me a
chance
to make things right!” His stomach churned as it all came back to him. “Hell, you never spoke to me at all unless it had something to do with Lucy.” The anger and disappointment he’d felt over all those years engulfed him. “You probably would have spent your entire life pretending I didn’t exist if you could have. If Lucy hadn’t disappeared, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, would we?”

No response. She had no comeback, Micah thought, because it was all true.

No doubt she was just waiting for the next opportunity to walk out on him.

Again
.

Well, he would save her the goddamn trouble. Pulling on his boots, he headed for the bed of the pickup, where he would spend the night.
Alone
.

Unless Isabel called him back.

But one last look over his shoulder told him she wasn’t going to do that. She was hunched over her knees, staring into the fire, her back to him, shaking slightly. Because she was crying?

Telling himself that he didn’t care, he climbed into the truck bed, settled down, and put his mind where it belonged, on finding his daughter.

Lucy, honey, I’m here for you. Now and always. I’ll never let you doubt it.

He would never let her down.

And he would never let her slip out of his life like Isabel had.

…

Having slept for a few hours in the back of his pickup, Micah woke up shortly after daybreak. Stiff and sore, he groaned and forced himself into a sitting position, where he worked his joints, loosening his muscles. The first thing he saw was Isabel, the bedroll wrapped around her, scrunched in front of a puny fire of twigs. The wood must have run out, and she must have scrounged the area in the dark to find the stuff to rebuild the fire for warmth.

Had she slept at all?

Though Micah regretted the fight that had ended their truce, he wasn’t sorry his resentment about the way Isabel had treated him over the years was finally out in the open. He’d never been so honest, but he didn’t see how they could have any kind of a relationship without total honesty this time. If she wanted to rail at him some more, he would take it. They needed everything out in the open at last.

He made a quick call to Seth. “Gramps?” he asked.

“Still missing. We’re about to go out looking again. We’re going insane here, what with both Lucy and Gramps gone.”

Micah’s stomach clutched. They weren’t the only ones. “We’re on Lucy’s trail. I’ll call when something breaks.”

“Same here.”

Clicking off, he scrambled from the truck bed, and Isabel glanced back at him.

“Cold?” he asked.

“Warm enough.” She turned back to the puny fire.

“It’s a good time to start looking for Lucy.”

Isabel rose, not meeting his gaze as she compacted the bedroll before putting it back in the pickup.

Micah put out the fire and kicked dirt over the smoldering twigs, making certain there was nothing left to spark. The surrounding forest was just starting to recover from the last wildfire that had swept through the area, and now that it was daylight, he imagined they would be able to see the devastation through the area they would be searching—scorched earth, skeletal trees, spring flowers and grass trying to push up toward the sun through a layer of black ash.

A few minutes later, they were circling the campsite loop. Micah drove slowly, stopping when he came to a black SUV. There were two in this loop, but neither had the pine tree air freshener hanging from the mirror.

He went on to the middle loop. People were rising now, making morning campfires to cook breakfast.

“No sign of Lucy,” Isabel said, when they passed the last SUV with its family of four. Her voice was thick with worry and disappointment. “I can’t believe this. Our coming here was a big mistake.”

Figuring deep down she was thinking of what had happened between them and the fight that had followed, he said, “If it was a mistake, then I apologize.”

“I wasn’t saying that anything is your fault.”

Micah recognized that she was keeping the “anything” nonsubstantive. “And here I thought
everything
was my fault.” Bitterness laced his words.

They rode in silence past several more black SUVs and came out of the loop.

“I’m sorry,” she suddenly said.

“About?”

“Everything, I guess. Avoiding you. Leaving without telling you. I was just so heartbroken, I didn’t know what else to do.”

Surprised by her apology, Micah felt a renewed rush of sadness that they hadn’t been able to work things out in the past. “I’m sorry, too, that I was too young and scared to be what you needed, Isabel. I really did want to marry you. That’s why I came to Falcon Ranch to find you. But you’d already left. I was going to ask Eduard for your hand. And if he threatened me with jail again, I was going to ask you to run away with me.”

“Then why didn’t you come after me in Santa Fe and tell me that in person?”

He shot her a look. “Seriously? I was contemplating the possibility of being sent to
jail
by your father, and you turned your back and abandoned me after
one damn fight
? You didn’t love me enough to want to make it work, Isabel. Cruz knew why I came for you that day, but that didn’t make any difference to you.” The thought still burned, even though he realized she’d reacted as impulsively as he had. “Cruz said you wanted nothing to do with me.”

She just stared at him wordlessly.

Micah realized, not for the first time, that they had simply both been too young to find themselves in such a confusing and highly emotional crisis. Maybe Isabel shouldn’t have left for Santa Fe without telling him, but he grudgingly recognized that she must have been even more scared than he was, since she was the one who’d been pregnant.

They’d both made mistakes. Maybe it was time they forgave each other, though he was still too raw right now to suggest as much.

They entered the final loop.

Two more black SUVs in connected sites equaled double the disappointment. They were quickly running out of campsites to check.

Almost to the end of the loop, they passed a campsite where no breakfast fire blazed and no car or person was in sight.

Isabel yelled, “Stop!”

Micah hit the brakes. “What is it? Did you see someone around the tent?”

Without answering, she flew from the car. Muscles tense and ready for a confrontation, Micah jumped out of the truck and followed. By the time he caught up to her at the picnic table, he saw the hoodie in her hands.

“It’s hers. Lucy’s!”

Even before she turned the hoodie, he knew he would see a barrel racer emblazoned across the back.