Rancher's Perfect Baby Rescue

Torn, Susannah went through the next few days in a haze until one morning when one of Samuel’s friends, a nice man by the name of Jonathan Miller, called May looking for Susannah.

He told May that he’d heard a rumor that Susannah had already given birth, and the Devotees were eager to welcome the new mom and baby back into their midst. They stood ready to offer her anything she might need.

May hung up, shaking her head. “This is trouble. I told him you weren’t here, but I bet he comes here to look for you later today. It’s time for a decision.”

Suddenly terrified, Susannah gulped down her panic. “We have to leave. Now. This morning. Help me, May. I don’t know where to go or what to do. But they can’t find Melody here. We can’t let that happen.”

May took a breath and nodded her agreement. “Okay. Let’s get cracking. I can lend you a carrier and a backpack—and the money for a bus from the highway to Laramie. You’ll find help in Laramie. I’ll give you a few numbers to call.”

After they had packed up the bag, Susannah remembered the one missing piece of their plan. “How will the baby and I get to the highway bus stop?”

“I can drive—” May stopped talking when the sound of a car turning into her long driveway came through the trees. “Oh, Lord. They’re here. You’ll have to walk. Out the back way through the woods. Quick. Here’s a map and general directions. Don’t let them spot you.”

Susannah put the baby in the carrier and hurried to slide the backpack over her shoulders. She tore out the back door of May’s house at a dead run and never turned around.

Tired and exasperated with his family, Nathan Pierce rolled his tight muscles as he strolled across the barnyard toward the foreman’s quarters. It was almost dawn, and he’d had maybe two hours of sleep last night. And now he was out here looking for the ranch foreman to issue orders for the day before he could even start breakfast.

Reminding himself for the fiftieth time in the past two days that he loved his family’s ranch enough to stick around when things got rough, Nathan sighed and whistled for the dogs. While he was out this far, he might as well make sure they were fed and groomed.

With one whistle, old Joey came running, barking and bouncing in the morning’s gray light. The shepherd was a longtime favorite. But where were the rest of the hounds?

The care of these dogs was the only thing he expected his brother to handle. Was even that too much to ask of the man who actually owned the whole place?

Sighing with frustration, Nathan thought back to how he’d gotten in this position. His mother’s father, the one who’d built this ranch from a humble few acres into a grand showplace, died eight years ago. He had loved his granddaddy dearly, but every day since he’d passed away, Nathan had cussed out the old man for leaving the ranch to his oldest grandchild.

What the hell had Isaac been thinking? Nathan might’ve understood if his grandfather had bequeathed the place to his son-in-law, Nathan’s father, Evan. But Evan and Isaac had never agreed on anything—least of all on the management of the land. So Nathan’s older brother, Derek, ended up with everything.

Not that Derek cared one way or the other. Right after the reading of the will, his brother had turned over management of the place to their father—against all his grandfather’s wishes.

Where were those dogs? Nathan whistled again and then listened. He heard Buck the coonhound baying from somewhere nearby. Buck never bayed like that unless he had a critter cornered.

Hell. It was just another chore that would have to be attended to before he could start his day.

Nathan strode forcefully toward the dogs’ commotion, wondering if he would need a rifle to dispatch whatever kind of critter could have wandered into one of the barns. He hated the thought of killing a hapless wild animal and decided to try shooing whatever it was back out into the woods without deadly force. He just hoped the damned thing wasn’t a skunk.

By the time he reached the dogs, his ranch foreman was coming from around the other side of the barn with a rifle already in hand.

“Hold it, Mac. Take charge of the dogs, and let me see what we’ve got cornered before we go tearing in, guns blazing.”

“Okay, boss. It’s your skin.” With a grin, Mac grabbed the three dogs by their collars and held tight.

Nathan shook his head and entered the largest hay barn. Was he being foolish to come unprotected? Stopping right inside the door to pick up a pitchfork, he cautiously walked down the long center aisle while being careful to check both right and left among the huge stored hay bales.

Toward the end of the aisle, right before the entrance to the tool storage area, Nathan heard a strange noise. He stopped and listened intently. What was that sound? It wasn’t like any animal he’d ever encountered. Then after a few seconds he took that sentiment back.

The noise sounded for all the world like the mewling cries of a newborn kitten. Jeez. The dogs were going nuts over a new litter of kittens?

Just in case he was wrong, Nathan hefted the pitchfork in both hands and crept quietly around the half wall on his way to the main storage room and the cries.

What he saw on the other side of the wall stopped him cold—not kittens. There, hunkered down in the hay, was a gorgeous woman cradling a fussy newborn infant in her arms.

After finding his voice, he cleared his throat and tried to calm her. “Uh, excuse me. Miss. Um. Mrs …”

The woman blinked her eyes and then jolted straight up, pointing at the pitchfork. “Oh, don’t hurt us. Who are you? I …” Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed into the hay.

Worried about the infant’s safety, Nathan dropped the fork and swooped up the child before it fell out of its mother’s arms.

What the devil had he gotten himself into now?

Chapter 2

Susannah blinked open her eyes and found the tall, slightly scary man bending over her with Melody in his arms.

Frightened but ready to fight like a tiger for her child, she came up swinging. “Give her to me!”

“Whoa,” he said as he backed away. “Hold on there. I’m not trying to hurt you or your baby. You fainted. I was worried about you both. Are you all right?”

“I …” Light-headedness made her unsure of herself. “Um. I guess I’m okay. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten. Maybe that’s the problem.

“Please give me the baby.” She tried to stand, and the whole world tilted.

Reaching out, she found a post that she could hang on to while she waited for the room to quit spinning. Her stomach churned as she felt the blood drain from her face.

“Look, you don’t seem too steady. Maybe I should keep your child until you get your feet under you.”

She plopped back down on the hay. “I guess you’re right. Just give me a minute.”

“Stay right where you are. I’ll call for help.” He turned and disappeared beyond the half wall.

Oh, no. He was either calling the cops to come arrest her for trespassing or he was calling the Devotees to pick up their runaways.

As usual, she’d made a hash out of May’s very good plan. How could she get out of this sticky situation? Oh, yeah, if all else failed, she could lie.

Nathan was halfway to the front of the barn before he realized he still had the baby in his arms. He hesitated and looked down at her.

Tiny, the little babe couldn’t possibly be more than a few days old. And the baby was quiet. Since he’d been holding her, she hadn’t cried once.

In fact, this child seemed too quiet.

Looking her over, he couldn’t find anything obviously wrong—no cuts or bruises. Her color was a little off. She seemed drugged.

His niece had never been so quiet when she was this age. Of course his niece—well, Sara had always been different than most. Logically, he knew that. And though she was seven now, he figured he’d end up comparing her to every baby he met from now on.

“What’d you find, boss?” Mac stood at the front of the barn, peering toward the bundle he carried in his hands as if trying to decide what kind of dangerous critter they’d discovered.

Walking toward his foreman, Nathan shook his head. “Not a critter. But we need help. Put the dogs up and call the house. See if Maria or Kathryn can get down here right away. Tell whoever to bring a bottle of water.”

Mac wrinkled up his forehead. “What the hell?”