Hearts Are Wild (3 page)

* * * * *

Having dinner with Mace, Colt, Elise and Nan was a real treat. Her first few nights at the ranch she and Elise had gone out to eat and the other nights it was usually Colt, Elise and her eating together and sometimes Mace, but tonight they all enjoyed a special home-cooked meal with Nan, complete with her own homemade mashed potatoes.

At the end of the meal, Colt had turned quiet as he picked up Elise’s hand and kissed the palm. “The next two weeks won’t go by fast enough,” he said, the look in his gaze earnest and totally engrossed in his wife.

Elise smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “These two weeks will go by faster than you expect, I imagine, since you’ll be so busy following the rodeo to a few towns.”

“Yeah, but you’ve got a distraction,” he grumbled with a half smile, nodding to Sabrina.

“I’ve got to make sure the online store is working properly,” she reminded him.

“Ooh, to have a man say that I was a ‘distraction’ and mean it in an entirely different way,” Sabrina chimed in wistfully with a swooning look on her face.

“Elise, have you noticed what a
distraction
it is for me to have your friend here? I’m not gettin’ a lick of work done,” Mace piped in at her comment.

Sabrina laughed heartily at the man. He really was a card at times.

The phone rang and Elise got up to answer it while Colt said in a stern tone, “You’d better, little brother. You’re running the ranch while I’m gone.”

“Ah, man, do I have ta?” Mace mock complained. He gave Sabrina a heated look and finished, “I was planning on playing chase.”

“You mean that’s not what you have
been
doing?” Sabrina shot him a shocked look.

“Nah, darlin’, I was just warming up,” he said with a wink as he pretended to tuck his denim shirt into his Wranglers as if trying to look good for a date. “Ah, but I still have my nights free.” He waggled his eyebrows up and down as he addressed her. “Wanna go out with me tomorrow to Rockin’ Joe’s? It’s my usual hangout on Thursday nights.”

“Mace Tanner, you really are a piece of work,” Sabrina said, shaking her head.

“Don’t encourage him. He just gets worse,” Colt warned in a dry tone.

Elise hung up the phone and walked over to pick up hers and Colt’s plates as she said to her husband, “That was Josh. He’s going to come by tomorrow with the horse we wanted.”

Turning to Nan, she smiled and said, “Go on in the living room with the guys and relax. Sabrina will help me with the dishes. Thank you for another wonderful meal.”

“But she’s the guest,” Nan said in surprise.

“Who’s very grateful to be here and would happily do her part,” Sabrina said as she stood and moved her hands in a shooing motion. “Now go take a break.”

Nan grinned. “It’s always nice to see the boys at the table.” She cut her gaze between the two men and finished in an admonishing tone, “It doesn’t happen near often enough.”

“Hmmm, I think we’re being asked to make up for quality time. What do you think, big brother?” Mace asked with an innocent look.

Colt stood. “Break out the Scrabble board. I don’t believe Nan’s delivered her special dose of whoopass on us in quite a while.”

Nan gave a deep belly laugh, her large breasts bouncing against her full–figured frame. “Come on, boys. Let the master show you how it’s done.”

Elise laughed as the men and Nan exited the room. She picked up the plates and began to scrape off the leftover food into the trash can.

“They’re very close, aren’t they?” Sabrina asked as she opened the dishwasher and began to rinse the dirty dishes.

“Yes, Nan helped raise Colt and his brothers when his mother left.”

“Ah, now I get it.” Sabrina nodded her understanding at the family-like atmosphere she’d seen between Nan and the men.

They worked in silence for a while until the dishes were all done. While Elise was making a fresh pot of coffee, Sabrina dried her hands with a towel and leaned against the counter. “Want to hear the little bet about men my cousins and I made?”

Elise laughed as she finished pouring the water in the coffee machine and slid the pot in its holder before turning it on. “Knowing the stories you’ve told me about your cousins, especially Nicole, this ought to be good.”

Pulling the chair out, she sat down at the empty table again, her green eyes alight. “Have a seat and do tell.”

Sabrina sat down with a wide grin on her face. “Yep, you’ve got Nicole pegged all right but this time…the idea was mine.”

“Now I’m
really
intrigued. Go on.”

“Well, after we attended our aunt’s birthday party and were bombarded with constant questions by relatives as to why we’re not married yet, we girls decided to make a pact. For the next month, we decided we would disregard our normal reservations and apprehensions concerning men and ‘let ourselves go’ with the first man who tripped our trigger.”

Elise chuckled. “Ah, now I know why you came to Texas.” She winked, then teased, “Going to catch yourself a cowboy, Bri?”

Sabrina grinned. “Seems
you
did all right.” She shrugged, then brushed her long braid over her shoulder. “I’m not looking for Mr. Right to come from this adventure, but we made a promise to let go and not get caught in our normal hang-ups about men. So I’m bound and determined to stick with the plan. I can’t let my cousins show me up,” she finished with a challenging tilt of her chin.

“Look out Texas men,” Elise said with a laugh, then leaned in and teased in a conspiratorial whisper, “Is Mace your ‘project’?”

Sabrina shook her head. “I just
love
flirting with that man, but as good-looking as he is, he doesn’t ‘trip my trigger’, not like that tall, hunk-of-burnin’-love Josh Kelly does.”

Sabrina held her breath and waited to see what kind of reaction she’d get from Elise with her revelation.

Elise looked surprised, then her expression turned serious. “Josh is a wonderful man. He’s definitely a sweetheart who is also very sexy—”

“But?” Sabrina interrupted her. “Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?”

A cell phone sitting on the counter started to ring, distracting them both. Colt walked in the kitchen and answered his phone.

Before Elise could reply, Sabrina continued in a lowered voice while Colt walked out in the hall to talk. “I know Josh has a thing for you, Elise. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

Her friend put her hand on her arm and said, “No, it’s not that, it’s—”

Colt walked back into the kitchen with the cell phone in his hand, a serious look on his face. “Elise, it’s your mom, honey. Since our line rang busy earlier she called my cell phone. You need to take this call.”

“Excuse me for a second,” Elise said as she rose and walked over to take the phone from her husband.

Sabrina watched her friend’s face grow pale as her mother spoke to her. “Is he all right?”

Colt put his hands on his wife’s shoulders and pulled her close as she listened to her mother talk.

“When’s the surgery? I’ll be on the next plane out. I know he doesn’t want me to worry, but I’ll be there when he wakes up.” Her voice broke when she finished, “Mom, just in case… Tell Dad I love him very much.”

Tears fell as she closed the cell phone. Colt immediately turned her in his arms and pulled her close. Kissing her forehead, he said, “I’m going with you, darlin’.”

“But you can’t go. You’ve got all your travel plans made,” she insisted between sniffling.

“Mace can go in my place,” Colt insisted. “You’re not going there alone. Just in case, I want to be there with you.”

Elise hugged him tight and kissed him on the jaw saying, “I love you very much, Colt Tanner.”

Sabrina’s heart swelled for her friend and the obvious love she and her husband shared. She stood up from the table when Elise let go of her husband, handed him the phone, and walked over to her.

Hugging her, Elise said, “My dad had some heart pains and when he went to his doctor, they wouldn’t let him leave for fear he’d have a heart attack. He was on the verge of one with clogged arteries. He’s scheduled for emergency angioplasty surgery tomorrow.”

Pulling back, Sabrina felt tears in her eyes. “Oh, Elise. I’m so sorry. I hope the surgery goes well. I’ll get out of your hair.”

Elise held her hands and with a bright smile said, “Absolutely not! I’m only going to be gone for a couple of days. My dad’s as tough as nails. He’ll pull through this and I know him, he’ll love the fact I’m there, but I’ll be ready to come back when I know he’s out of the woods.”

“Are you sure?” Sabrina asked, feeling like her friend was trying to accommodate her.

Elise smiled and squeezed her hands. “Very much so.”

While Colt used his cell phone to call and make airline reservations, Sabrina asked in a low voice, “You started to say something about Josh…”

“Yes, I did…” Elise began, then paused. She met her gaze, then gave her a broad smile. Hugging her tight, she whispered in her ear, “Go for it, Bri. You only live once and life can be way too short.”

Leaning away once more, she said with a wink, “I’m sure Josh would be happy to keep you company while I’m gone. I’ll call him in the morning before I leave and let him know to hold onto the horse until I get back. Then I’ll tell him, ‘but I do have this guest who might be bored out of her mind for a few days…’”

“Um, I’d prefer not to look so obvious,” Sabrina replied with a chuckle.

Elise laughed as she let go of her hands and moved over to the cabinets. Pulling down some mugs, she suggested, “Josh was supposed to come by tomorrow anyway. How about I don’t tell him that I’m going to be gone and when he arrives you can explain the situation? That work better for you?”

“Much. What time was he supposed to stop by?”

“He just said late afternoon. Are you going to get all spiffed up for Josh?” she asked with a grin.

Sabrina batted her eyelashes innocently, then grinned. “What do you think?”

Chapter Three

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Sabrina grumbled as she looked at her watch. “Leave it to me to pick a man who can’t even show up on time on the very first date.” With the Texas sun beating down on her, its heat making her skin sticky and wet, she must’ve uncrossed and recrossed her legs for the hundredth time while she sat on the front porch top step. Leaning against the railing, she’d hoped she appeared to be just resting and not the wilted-flower-waiting-impatiently-for-Josh-to-show-up person that she was.

Granted, Josh didn’t know it was their first date, but damn it, it was six o’clock and the man still hadn’t shown. Remembering she’d heard the phone ring fifteen minutes ago, she called across the porch through the screen door, “Hey, Nan, was that Josh that called?”

The screen creaked as Nan walked out, tugging her large denim purse over her shoulder. “No, hon, he hasn’t called. That was my sister confirming our dinner plans.”

Her chocolate brown eyes held an apology as she pulled her keys out of her purse. “I feel bad leaving, but I’m meeting my sister to celebrate her sixtieth birthday.”

Sabrina laughed and shooed Nan on. “Go on, enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m sure it’ll seem quiet around here without Mace,” Nan said in a teasing tone.

“The man does have a certain charm about him. I already miss his banter,” she replied with a smile.

Nan walked down the stairs saying, “That’s Mace…always the one who knows just what to say to the ladies.”

“He’s got it down to a science, I believe,” Sabrina agreed.

Nan nodded to the screen door. “I left you a dinner plate in the fridge. Just pull it out and heat it up when you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Nan. Now go have a blast with your sister. You only turn sixty once.”

“I’ve turned sixty for the past five years. It’s called ‘sixty and holding’,” Nan said as she shot her a wide grin, then winked before walking away to her car.

After the older woman drove off, Sabrina waited another half hour for Josh. The wind kicked up, blowing her long hair around her and giving her a break from the oppressive heat. That was another reason she was so hot. She’d left her hair unbound. Glancing at her cream linen miniskirt and baby pink linen top, she frowned at all the wrinkles.

As evening approached and the wind whipped around her again, she glanced up to see dark clouds rolling in the night sky. Sighing, she decided she’d better go eat some dinner. When she shut the screen door behind her, the wind howled, causing the door to swing wide open and slam against the main door. Sabrina shivered at the loud sound and decided it might be best to close the main door, too.

Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out her plate and stuck it in the microwave. As the smell of fried chicken and baked beans wafted from the microwave, she watched the trees bend back and forth in the wind and wondered why Josh hadn’t shown or at least called.

Turning off the kitchen lights, she walked into the casual living room and flipped on the TV while she set the plate on the coffee table and sat down on the couch to eat. The TV’s sound in the background made her feel less alone. Nan was right. She did miss Mace and everyone else. The house seemed so quiet now that Elise, Colt, Mace and Nan were gone. When she thought of the reason for Elise’s absence, Sabrina said a little prayer for her friend’s father before she began to eat her meal. She hoped he made it through his surgery without any complications.

A warning flashed up on the TV screen, making her turn up the volume out of curiosity.

Earlier today, Eddie Clayton, convicted for the murder of his longtime live-in girlfriend, escaped the bus that was transferring him from his temporary cell to his permanent twenty-year stay in the state penitentiary. If you see this man, don’t go near him, please call 911. He was last seen heading south on foot as he ran into the woods off Highway 17.

Sabrina shivered at the picture that flashed up on the screen of the menacing man with his long black hair, full beard and beady black eyes. Highway 17 was only a few miles from the Lonestar ranch. What part of Highway 17? she wanted to scream at the TV. When the news flash ended, she clicked off the TV and turned on the side table lamp to light up the entire room.

Walking into the kitchen, she turned on the light and cleaned her plate and glass, dried them and put them away. She’d just turned off the light in the kitchen and started to walk into the living room when she thought she heard a knock at the door.

Apprehension washed over her and her heart rate slammed in her chest as she peeked out the kitchen window. No one appeared to be standing at the back door, but she noticed a glow that drew her gaze. An oil lantern sat on the railing holding down a piece of white paper that fluttered in the wind.

No way would an escaped murderer take time to write a note, let alone find a lantern. Feeling better, she opened the door, walked outside and lifted the lantern to retrieve the paper. She set the lantern back down as she read the note.

Elise,

Meet me at the stables. I’ve got a couple of things to go over with you.

Josh

With a smile, Sabrina crumpled the note and set it on the railing beside the lantern. That news flash on TV had really spooked her. In more ways than one she was thankful for Josh’s company. Grabbing the lantern, she carefully walked down the stairs in her high-heeled sandals.

She didn’t care about the wind slamming into her or the thunder off in the distance, announcing an impending storm. She just wanted to see Josh again. Hmmm, he might be disappointed that it wasn’t Elise meeting him concerning the horse, but as her heart raced in anticipation of seeing him again, she hoped her appearance in the stables would make him glad he came by anyway.

The wind had apparently blown the large stable doors closed. She had to pull hard to open one of the heavy wood panels against the wind. Once she’d opened it enough for her body to squeeze through, she slid inside.

As the door slammed closed behind her, a couple of horses neighed, drawing her attention. Holding up the lantern, her heels sank into the dirt floor as she turned in the direction of the agitated horses and called out in a loud whisper, “Josh, are you there?”
Why the heck am I whispering?
she wondered.

Maybe it was because, with the main doors closed, the stables were almost pitch-black. The darkness combined with the sound of the wind buffeting the stable walls outside made knots form in her stomach. Hearing that story on TV and knowing some psycho-killer was running around free didn’t help either, she thought with a smirk.

As she walked toward the neighing horses’ stalls, she realized Josh never answered her. She held the lantern higher and found herself hissing out in a whisper once more, “Josh Kelly, I’m spooked enough as it is tonight. I don’t need you goofing around. You’d better show yourself or…or I’m going to tell Colt what you said to me yesterday.”

When Josh didn’t answer her joking threat, the knots in the pit of her stomach turned to queasiness and then a cold feeling shot down her spine as fear caused the hairs on her arms to stand up. Something definitely didn’t feel right.

“Colt can’t have what belongs to me,” a man said from behind her, his low voice dripping with hatred.

As Sabrina started to whirl around to shine the light on the man, a sharp pain flashed through the back of her skull. She fell to the dirt floor, felt the bits of scratchy hay underneath her cheek and then nothing.