Ranch Refuge

“Did you go to the police? Did they find the guys who tried to get you?”

“No, we didn’t go to the police. You know this wasn’t a random kidnapping attempt. Randall sent those men to grab me.”

She had told Denise about her father’s gambling debts and Randall’s insistence she pay, but not the rest—the horrible truth that Randall was demanding she marry him. She shuddered, thinking about the idea of him ever laying a hand on her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Denise asked her.

“Yes, for now. Anyway, the reason I called is that I didn’t want you to worry about me, but I also need you to call the nurse manager and ask her to take me off the schedule. Just tell her I’ll call when I get back into town.”

“When will that be?” Denise asked, her voice growing ever more frightened.

“I don’t know. Maybe not for a while. I don’t have my phone anymore, so you can’t call it, but you can reach me at this number.”

Denise was silent on the other end for several moments. Laura wondered if she’d hung up or fallen back asleep, but when she spoke, Laura could hear the uncertainty and fear in her tone. “Laura, tell me the truth, is someone there with you now? Are they making you say this?”

“No, Denise. I’m fine. Will you please just do as I asked?”

“I will. I’ll take care of it later this afternoon. And will you do me a favor? Stay safe.”

“I will,” Laura promised, then hung up the phone, not knowing if she would ever see her friend again.

* * *

By the time she dressed, Colton was on the front porch in one rocker, a mug of coffee in his hand. Laura spotted a well-worn leather Bible in his lap. He placed it aside as she stepped outside. The dogs lazing at his feet lifted their heads to her curiously.

“Afternoon. How’d you sleep?”

“Good. Too good. Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

“What for? I guessed you could use some catching up on your sleep. I made breakfast. Nothing fancy, just eggs and bacon. I saved you some.”

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry.” She sat in the opposite rocker and one of the dogs—a brown mutt—moseyed over and sniffed around her. Laura held out her hand to him, then reached down and petted him.

“That’s Milo.” He pointed out the other dogs one by one. “This is Freddie, Rowdy and Miss Roxie.”

Laura scratched behind Milo’s ear. “How are you, boy?” In response, he jumped up onto her lap. “What kind of dog is he?”

“He’s just a run-of-the-mill mutt. All of them are. No thoroughbreds here.” He gave her a wry look. “I hope you like animals because I have a mess of them. The dogs are good for alerting when someone is approaching the house.”

“I heard them last night, but I didn’t see them.”

“I had them penned up.”

“I love animals,” she confided. “I have a cat. Misty. When I was younger, I always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.”

His eyes alight with interest, he asked curiously, “What happened to that dream?”

She sighed. As with most other things, her father’s gambling had stolen another dream from her. “Life happened.”

He must have sensed her reluctance to talk about it because he set aside his Bible as he stood.

“I thought we would go into town and see about getting you some clothes and such. But first I want to give you the layout of the ranch.” He walked to the front door and she saw a small box mounted on the wall. “I always keep the alarm set. The passcode is 824. It’s set to ring to my cell phone if it’s set off. I also wanted to show you this.” He moved through the house to the kitchen and into the laundry room, but it wasn’t just any laundry room. He pushed open a closet to reveal what appeared to be a weapons arsenal.

He reached for a handgun. “Have you ever fired a gun?”

“No.” She knew many men in this part of the country hunted, but her father had never been one of them. Guns cost money and he’d preferred spending that money at the casinos.

Laura stared at the incredible display of weapons, some small handguns and some larger. She didn’t know much about weapons, but she knew not all he had were for recreational use. “Do you really know how to shoot all of these?”

“Each and every one. I wouldn’t have them if I didn’t know how to handle them.”

He set the handgun back into its place and closed the door. “You should know, too, that I almost always have a gun on me.” He opened his jacket to reveal a gun and holster. “The Rangers are an infiltration group. It was our job to go into an area and clear it of enemy risks. It was a dangerous job, but we got it done and it taught me to never be afraid. Fear of the unknown is often your worst enemy when you’re doing battle.”

She stared up into his handsome, now clean-shaven face. It seemed to her that he must not fear anything or anyone. He’d swooped in to save her, staring down the barrel of a gun just to protect someone he didn’t even know.

She suddenly felt a rush of gratitude wash over her. So much for keeping a level head around him. She stared up at him. “Thank you for helping me, Colton. I don’t know what would have happened to me if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” Tears pricked behind her eyelids, but she willed them away, not wanting to appear weak in front of him.

He bent and locked gazes with her, his warm, brown eyes assuring her it was okay to be scared. “I will keep you safe, Laura,” he told her. “I promise I will keep you safe.”

How long had it been since she’d been able to trust a man, any man?

She wanted so badly to believe in this one.

* * *

Laura had fled River City with only the clothes she’d been wearing from her shift at the hospital. He’d loaned her one of his T-shirts to sleep in while she’d washed and dried her scrubs and she was stuck wearing them again today. But women needed things besides clothes, so they were off to town. Compton didn’t have big-name shops or fancy restaurants, but the town had the essentials.

As they drove, Colton tried to reassure Laura that finding the ranch would be difficult for anyone who didn’t know where they were. They’d come in last night when it was dark, so she hadn’t noticed the acres of land surrounding them. “We don’t have a lot of traffic on this road anymore, so I don’t have many close neighbors,” he said.

In fact, his closest neighbor had recently moved away. She was an elderly widow who had run a drive-in movie theater with her husband back when the highway was a main thoroughfare. Once the interstate rerouted traffic from the highway, the drive-in had faltered and eventually closed. However, the widow had lived on the grounds until she’d moved to live with her daughter. The screen was in disrepair but still standing in the middle of a field, which he thought was cool.

He drove to a large retail store off the interstate that was central to three adjoining towns. If anyone saw them that he didn’t know, they would still have a difficult time pinpointing where Laura was staying.

To his surprise, Colton ran into someone he knew soon after they entered the store. He heard his name being called, then looked up to see Miranda Ryan heading their way. She was pushing a buggy loaded with groceries. Miranda was engaged to his friend and former army ranger friend Blake. “Miranda, hi.”

“Colton, I’m glad to see you.” She gave him a hug, then glanced curiously at Laura. “Who is your friend?”

“Miranda, this is Laura Jackson. I’m working a protection detail for her.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Laura said graciously.

“You, too,” Miranda responded. She was obviously intrigued about seeing Colton with an unknown woman, but she didn’t question him about her. “Blake has been trying to call you for days. He’s nearly ready to send the Rangers out looking for you.”

He knew what that meant. He was worried about where he was and what he was doing. “I’m okay. I’ll call him.”

“Good.” She started to push her buggy away, then stopped and gave Colton a knowing wink. “She’s cute.”

“It’s not like that, Miranda.”