Cooper’s Redemption (Crimson Romance) (18 page)

From studying the map, Elizabeth knew an old road ran across Cooper’s ranch to the government land beyond. She mounted and quickly left his barnyard. About four inches of snow covered the ground, but the route was distinguishable because of deep ruts.

Cold air bit into her face, and she buried her chin into the warmth of her collar. The rest of her was toasty warm. If she wasn’t so worried, she might really enjoy a ride like this. A few clouds floated across the sky, but none of them looked like they bore snow. Cedar and scrub juniper trees on the lower hills soon gave way to dark green pines. All covered with a dusting of snow. Their spicy scent reminded her that Christmas was just a little over a week away.

She just had to find Mom by then.

The only sound was the plop-plop of Splash’s hooves hitting the soft snow. He didn’t seem to be having any trouble going, and Elizabeth kept her gaze sharp, hunting for any sign of humans. Nothing jumped out at her. If she didn’t know people had built the trail she followed, she would’ve sworn no one had ever been here before. A long stretch of straightaway loomed before her, and Elizabeth urged Splash to canter.

Exhilaration filled her as the gelding stretched out into a gallop. Wind whipped tears from her eyes as they thundered along. No movie star had ever filmed a better scene. Well, maybe John Wayne in True Grit when he guided his horse by putting the reins in his teeth and firing two rifles at a full gallop. That film was hard to beat.

Realizing Splash had a long day ahead, Elizabeth guiltily reined him in. A light sheen of sweat covered his neck. Patting his damp hair, she said, “Sorry, boy. I wasn’t thinking.”

Deciding to stop and take a break for a bit, Elizabeth looked for a likely spot.

A group of clustered cedars looked like a good place to get off and rest. Elizabeth reined Splash that way and dismounted. Tying him to a low-hanging branch, she ran a hand up his neck. He was cool enough to stand for a few minutes. She untied her saddlebags and laid them on a large flat rock.

Seeing an opening through the trees, she wandered that way. Maybe she could find a spot that would allow her to see for a long distance.

After pushing a sticky branch of a cedar out of her way, she paused. She stood on the edge of a canyon that looked as if it hadn’t been visited since the days of early explorers, Escalante and Dominguez. Ragged red cliffs were framed by silver-blue cedar and juniper trees. All was topped by a layer of glittering white snow. Impressed and awed by the sheer size of the countryside, she at first couldn’t take it in. Her gaze roamed, seeing nothing unusual.

She took a step forward. By the time she understood the outcrop she stood on had broken away, she was already falling. A scream ripped out of her, shattering the clear mountain air, as her arms and legs spun like a pinwheel.

• • •

Cooper drove into his driveway and saw the folded paper in his front door. With a reluctant heart, he went to see what it said. Inside was a check. Without looking at the amount, he tore it into and let the pieces drift to the ground. Quickly, he scanned the paper. Elizabeth had been there and picked up Splash. She planned to search the woods for her mother.

The words blurred, faded.

He hadn’t seen or spoken to Elizabeth in a week. Trying to stay busy by checking his cows every day, he told himself it didn’t matter where she was or what she was doing. Why did he feel so damn lonely?

Both sorry and relieved he hadn’t been home when she had come by, he went inside. The house felt like an igloo. Automatically, he built a fire and put on a pot of coffee. The beans he’d put in the crockpot that morning smelled good, and he filled a plate, grabbing a slice of cold cornbread from the fridge to go with them.

Settling himself in front of the fireplace, he wondered how the search for Lillian was going, and if Elizabeth had had any luck finding her. He tamped down the longing to go and see for himself. It was better this way, he reminded himself for what seemed like the billionth time. He ate, but didn’t taste a thing. Mischief lay on his feet, occasionally checking to see if he had any scraps for her.

This was his life, the way he liked it. There wasn’t any room for a woman who wouldn’t let his past rest in peace. Telling himself he didn’t care, he rose and went for another cup of coffee and a slice of cold apple pie.

Yeah, he was content the way things were.

• • •

Cooper sat on a bluff overlooking the west end road, cussing his own foolishness. He hadn’t been able to get Elizabeth off his mind, so he’d saddled his sorrel and followed Elizabeth’s tracks. The road was rarely used, and it didn’t go anywhere important. He wondered what had made Elizabeth choose it.

The paint’s tracks went clearly up the middle of the road. After a mile or so, the marks suddenly veered off into the trees. The sorrel neighed, the other horse answered. Weaving his way through the tree trunks, Cooper found Elizabeth’s paint tied to a branch, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight.

He spotted saddlebags on a boulder. Figuring Elizabeth had taken a short jaunt to answer a call of nature, Cooper didn’t worry when she didn’t appear in a minute. He tied his horse, then settled himself on the rock and poured a cup of coffee out of a thermos. Just as his hand raised the cup to his lips, a bloodcurdling scream tore through the silence. Dropping the cup, he jumped and ran toward the sound.

When he saw the broken edge of the cliff, his heart stopped. Almost afraid to look at the canyon floor, he stepped forward gingerly. A large piece of icy snow under one foot broke free and fell into space. Cooper jumped back to safety.

Dropping to his stomach, he wiggled carefully out onto the unstable area and surveyed things.

Lying on the ground a few yards below was the still form of Elizabeth. “Oh hell.”

He had to get down there. Although steep, the canyon walls weren’t sheer. A horse probably couldn’t make it down without falling, but a man could, if he was very careful. A few feet away was a natural break in the land. A place where the spring runoff had gouged out a crevice that looked a bit safer to navigate. Edging toward it, he turned over on his butt. And began to slide.

• • •

Elizabeth moaned and fought to stay asleep.

Darn, this bed was lumpy. Cold, too. She couldn’t get comfortable. Aggravated she couldn’t find any covers, she opened her eyes. She blinked against the bright sun. Morning already. Why was she so tired? Where was she? Certainly not in her bed at home. The bed she’d been using in Henry’s house? No, that wasn’t right. Not even it was this uncomfortable. Cooper’s bed maybe? Unfortunately, not there either.

Slowly, the realization she wasn’t in any familiar bed seeped into her fogged senses. She was lying in a heap of snow. Cold snow. How had she gotten here, and why? However it had happened, she needed to get up or freeze.

Experimentally, she moved her fingers. They worked. Then her arms. Fortunately, they responded as she asked. Then her legs, feet and toes. All were in working order. Carefully, she pushed to a sitting position. Her head swam, and she rested it between her knees, breathing carefully.

A noise caught her attention, and without raising her face, she looked out of the corner of her eye. Cooper stumbled toward her, moving awkwardly through knee-deep snow. Thinking she was delusional, Elizabeth kept her nose pressed against her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. Wishful thinking. There was no reason for Cooper to be here. He had made it plain he didn’t want her or to be involved in her problems.

“Elizabeth?”

She must’ve hit her head harder than she thought, she was hearing voices. Opening one eye, she saw Cooper’s worried face. Well, half of it.

He touched her shoulder gently. “Are you all right?”

Forcing the other eye to open, she saw he was real, right in front of her. “I think so. Unless I’m dead, or this is a dream.”

“You’re not dead.” His mouth quirked a little. “Although I wasn’t sure there for a second.”

She waved a hand in front of her face. She counted five fingers. “I wasn’t certain myself.”

He ran his hands up and down her arms and legs. “What hurts?”

“Well, my head’s been better.” She winced when she touched it, but her fingers didn’t have blood on them when she pulled them away.

“We’ve got to get you out of the cold.” He looked around. “If you think you can move, there’s a cabin around that bend. We’ll go there and warm up.”

Her head felt like it would fall off and roll away, but when he put his arms around her and lifted her, she managed to stay on her feet. But, she didn’t protest when he kept one arm around her shoulders. Slowly, her vision cleared. “Where are we?”

“At the bottom of the canyon.”

“What happened?”

“You stepped out on a ledge of snow and it gave way. You’re lucky to be alive.”

Elizabeth raised her gaze to the cliff above. “I remember now. I was looking one way, then I turned, and kaboom, here I am. I felt like Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone when she slides down that mudslide on her rear end. Anyway. What are you doing here?”

“I found your note and I followed you,” he said.

“Why?”

“You have to ask?” he replied. “Because I figured you’d find trouble one way or another. Looks like I was right.”

Mustering up her energy, Elizabeth glared at him. “I’m fine.”

“Sure you are. Can you walk?”

Without answering, she took one shaky step. “Uh-huh.”

“Hold on to me, then, and we’ll go to the cabin.” He slipped his hand around her waist.

Allowing him to support her, she took one small step after another.

After half a mile, she actually felt better. The cobwebs in her head had mostly cleared and she felt pretty normal. She stopped. “What about the horses? It’s a long way up that cliff, and we’re going in the opposite direction.”

“We’re almost there. I want you to warm up,” Cooper said. “I’ll go get the horses in a bit. There’s a trail from the cabin to the canyon rim. It’ll be easier to go up that way.”

Rounding the last corner, both stopped and stared.

Instead of the empty cabin they expected, the open area in front of it held several 4x4s. Smoke rose lazily from the chimney.

“What’s going on?”

“I have no idea,” Cooper replied. “I’d like to know myself, since this is my property.”

“Cooper! I just remembered what I was looking at right before I fell!” Elizabeth turned toward him, her eyes wide. “There was a road below me. And it had been well-traveled.”

He looked grim. “The only road ends at this cabin. There’s no reason for anyone but me to come up here.”

“Do you think this is where the rustlers are hiding out?”

He shrugged. “Who knows?”

“Well, I know how to find out.” Elizabeth took a step before Cooper grabbed her from behind.

“Are you crazy? You can’t go busting in there. We don’t know who’s there, and what they’re doing.”

She squirmed in his grasp. “What do you propose?”

His grip on her tightened. “I think we need to go around and see if we can get a peek through the window.”

“Just like Butch and Sundance,” she whispered. “Or Emilio Estevez as Billy the Kid and William Petersen as Pat Garret before they became enemies … ”

“Who?”

“Young Guns … ” At his puzzled look, she said, “Oh, never mind. Let’s do it. Which way do we go?” She wiggled out of his hold.

He led off. “This way. Be quiet.”

They circled wide, backtracking part of the way, eventually coming out at the rear of the cabin.

“Can we get closer? I can’t see anything from here.” Elizabeth wound her way through the trees. Something caught her eye and she stopped. As her vision focused on the object hidden in the forest, her knees went weak. “Oh my God.”

“What?” Cooper bumped into her rigid back.

Staring at the forest-green SUV hidden among the branches, Elizabeth pointed. “That’s my Mom’s car. Look at the tags. They’re from California. Don’t you see? She’s here. My mom is inside that house.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” he cautioned.

“Well, I’m not going to stand around here discussing it. I’m going to find out.” Before Cooper could protest, she rushed toward the house, calling, “Mom, Mom! Are you in there?”

A shot rang out, blasting the tree trunk next to her. Fragments of wood and snow flew into her face and Elizabeth screamed and covered her ears with her hands. From behind, Cooper tackled her, dropping them both in the snow. He rolled her over and put a palm over her mouth. “Be quiet.”

“Someone shot at me,” she hissed.

“I know. We need to get out of here before they find us and finish the job.” After lifting his head and taking a quick look around, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Run! After me!”

Another bullet zinged by their heads, and someone shouted. “There! In the trees!”

“Go!” Elizabeth pushed Cooper’s back. He wasn’t the quickest bunny in the woods. “Faster! We’re going to get killed!”

He suddenly veered right and ducked under a branch. Dropping to his knees, he tugged her down with him. “There’s a cave ahead. If we’re really lucky, they won’t know about it, and we can hide there until they give up.”

Below them she could hear several men, all with guns. Trying to kill them. Dear God, what had they done to her mother? “Go,” she urged.

Without another word, Cooper rose and took her hand. They began weaving through the piñons. A third shot went by their heads, the sound a high-pitched whine. Half dragging her this time, he ducked and ran. When it looked like they were going to slam into the side of the mountain, he led them behind a tree and into a dark cave. Panting, they moved in a few feet and leaned against the damp wall.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth gasped. “Fine. I just hope those maniacs can’t find us in here.”

“I think we’re safe enough,” he said. “We’ll wait them out for a bit, then sneak out and find some help.”

A low rumble grew to a roar, and a white, cold curtain of snow sealed them inside the cave.

Chapter 14

It took a minute for reality to sink in.

They were trapped in a cave, behind tons of snow.