Ranch Hideout

TWO

Liz put the last of the dirty plates in the dishwasher and glanced around the kitchen to see if she’d missed anything. Tonight they’d had more guests for dinner than usual. She’d stayed in the kitchen, but several times she’d stood at the door into the dining room and listened to bits of the guests’ conversations. The room had buzzed with chatter about trail rides, excursions to Cades Cove or hiking adventures on the Appalachian Trail.

This was just the beginning of the fall tourist season when the mountains came alive with brilliant colors. Once the leaves had faded, the holiday festival of lights would take over and draw thousands of tourists. Gwen said Little Pigeon Ranch was booked solidly to the end of the year. Liz couldn’t wait to participate in all the festivities.

She paused in closing the dishwasher and shook her head. What was the matter with her? She wouldn’t be here to see those things. If all went as she hoped, she’d be back in her apartment in Memphis soon, and her life would settle back into the routine she’d enjoyed before coming here.

The door between the dining room and the kitchen suddenly swung open, and Liz jerked her head around to see Gwen storming into the kitchen. She stopped just inside the room and placed her hands on hips. “Why didn’t you tell me you were attacked in the theater parking lot?”

The muscles in Liz’s throat constricted as she tried to swallow. “I’m sorry, Gwen. I didn’t have a chance. When I got here, you were in the middle of getting dinner ready to serve, and we’ve been busy ever since.”

Gwen pursed her lips and shook her head. “That’s no excuse, Liz. You know that Dean and I need to be informed if anything happens to you.”

“And I was going to tell you. I just haven’t had time.” Liz paused as a thought struck her, and she frowned. “How did you find out?”

Gwen’s expression softened as she studied her. “Mr. Decker told me.”

Liz’s eyes widened in surprise. “He told you? When?”

“While he was eating dinner. I stopped at his table to see if he had everything he needed. He asked where you were, and I told him you were in the kitchen.” Gwen arched an eyebrow. “Is he the reason you didn’t come out of the kitchen all during dinner?”

“No!” Liz blurted out without thinking. “I mean, I was busy.”

Gwen stared at her for a moment before she took Liz by the hand and led her to the kitchen table. When they were both seated, she leaned forward and squeezed Liz’s hand. “When something like this happens, you have to tell us about it.”

“I don’t think it was related to my testimony,” Liz offered. “I honestly think he was just a creep trying to rob me. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time—again.”

“Maybe,” Gwen said. “But maybe not. Dean and I can’t help protect you if we don’t know what’s going on. We feel a responsibility to take care of you while you’re here.”

Liz shook her head. “I know you do, and I’m sorry about putting that burden on you. I worry all the time about how I’ve brought my problems to your and Dean’s doorstep. If anything happened to you or Dean or to your daughter...” She stopped, unable to go on as tears filled her eyes.

Gwen’s pressure on her hand increased. “Don’t worry about us. We agreed to this fully aware of the risks. It’s your safety we all have to focus on.”

The tears pooling in Liz’s eyes blurred her vision, and she tried to blink them back. “I feel like I’m taking advantage of you and Dean. You’ve offered me a safe haven for now, and I don’t want you to regret it.”

“We would never regret it. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. We just want to help you.”

Her chest tightened. “You have. More than you’ll ever know.” She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes. “Now I need to finish up in here. I’ve cleaned the countertops and the stove. All I need to do is sweep the floor, and I’ll be through.”

Gwen shook her head. “I’ll do that. You need some time to get over what happened this afternoon. You enjoy your time painting at night. Go on up to your room, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Liz sighed as she stood up, took off the apron she was wearing and hung it on a peg next to the refrigerator. “I don’t think I’ll paint tonight. I think I’ll go on to bed. I want to get up early so I can help Dean muck out the stalls in the morning.”

Gwen pushed up from her chair and propped her hands on her hips. “Liz, you’re doing too much around here.”

“I like helping out,” Liz insisted. “It takes my mind off things.”

“You can’t keep busy forever,” Gwen said gently. “You aren’t going to be able to come to terms with what happened until you talk about it. I can find you a Christian counselor if you’d like.”

Liz sniffled and looked down at the floor. “I do need to talk, to release these pent-up feelings that are driving me insane. But I don’t want to tell some stranger.” She raised her head to stare into Gwen’s eyes. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve become closer to you than anybody else. Maybe I need to tell you about it.”

“Whenever you’re ready, Liz, I’ll listen.”

“Thanks, Gwen. I appreciate it.”

They stared at each other for a moment before Gwen smiled and pulled Liz into a hug. “Now you go on to bed, and don’t worry about anything tonight. We’ll get through this one day at a time.”

Liz let out a grateful sigh as she hugged Gwen. She was so blessed that the FBI had persuaded Dean and Gwen to take in a stranger who needed protection. They’d accepted her without question, and she would never forget it.

After a moment she released Gwen and walked from the room. As she trudged through the dining room, she caught sight of Gabriel Decker sitting at a table alone. He sipped from a coffee cup and stared at her over the rim.

Before she could make her escape to the hallway, he called out to her. “Liz, I missed you during dinner. Mrs. Harwell said you were in the kitchen.”

She stopped and turned to face him. She wanted to reproach him for telling Gwen about the parking lot incident, but she had trouble holding on to her annoyance with him at the sight of his beautiful smile, which reached all the way up to his eyes. “I was. We had a lot of guests tonight, and I helped the cook with the meal.”

He pointed to the chair across from him. “Would you like to sit and have some coffee with me?”

She lifted her chin and stared down her nose at him. “No, thanks. I’m tired and going to bed.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?” he called out as she stepped into the hall.

“Maybe.” She stopped halfway up the stairs and glanced back over her shoulder.

He had risen and followed her into the hall. He stood at the foot of the stairs with his hand on the banister. “I’ll look for you.”

The words were innocent enough on the surface, but her breath still froze in her chest. Back in Memphis there were plenty of dangerous people looking for her, and Gabriel’s remark had served as an unpleasant reminder of the danger she was still in. It was all she could do to make her legs climb the remaining stairs to the second floor. When she glanced back down, he was still standing there, his eyes on her.

She stiffened at the panic that spread through her body. Why was he being so friendly, and how was it that he just happened to be in the parking lot when she was attacked? Perhaps he wasn’t just a guest who had come to spend a few weeks at Little Pigeon. Maybe he’d come there looking for her.

Biting down on her tongue to keep from crying out, she rushed to her room, ran inside and locked the door. Then she leaned against it and closed her eyes as she tried to control her breathing. What was happening to her? Was she right to be scared, or was she overreacting? It was hard for her to trust anyone. She saw ulterior motives in even the most innocent of other people’s actions. She couldn’t go on like this much longer.

A whimper escaped her throat as she slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor, her legs bent and her arms circling her knees. She had to do something, or she was never going to make it through the next few months.

Maybe Gwen was right. She needed to talk to someone, and Gwen had offered. Now all she had to do was make herself do it. She gritted her teeth. She couldn’t put it off any longer. She would tell Gwen everything that happened that day, and she would do it tomorrow.

* * *

Gabriel watched Liz until she got to the top of the stairs before he turned around and walked back into the dining room. He sat down and picked up his coffee cup and stared at it for a moment.

“Something wrong with the coffee?” The voice behind him startled him, and he swiveled in his seat to see who it was. He relaxed when he saw that it was Dean Harwell.

He laughed and set the cup down. “The coffee’s fine. In fact, everything I ate for dinner was delicious. If that was any indication of the caliber meals you serve here, I may want to move in.”

Dean chuckled and slid into the seat across from him. “The cook here started working for my grandfather when I was growing up. We couldn’t get along without him.”

“I can see why,” Gabriel said as he pushed his plate aside and crossed his arms on the table. “So what have you been up to tonight?”

“I was out at the barn taking care of a few chores. Seems like there’s always something needing to be done.”

Gabriel chuckled and nodded. “I remember how it was when I was growing up on a ranch. Sometimes I think about getting a little piece of land and a few horses. I guess that won’t ever happen, though. In my job it’s possible I could be transferred at any time, so I’m afraid to put down any roots that I might have to leave behind.”

Dean studied him for a moment before he glanced over his shoulder and scanned the room. When he didn’t see anyone, he leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you about your job since you arrived earlier, but we’re alone now.”

Gabriel nodded his agreement. “I was hoping I’d get a chance to see you tonight. Especially after what happened today.”

Dean’s eyes grew large. “What are you talking about?”

“The attack on Liz.”

“Attack?” Dean’s voice seemed to bounce off the wall, and Gabriel leaned in farther.

Gabriel raised his index finger to his lips to quiet Dean. “I thought your wife had told you about it.”

“No. When did you tell Gwen?”

“Not too long before you came in. But you can relax. Everything turned out all right.”

For the next few minutes Dean didn’t move as Gabriel recounted what had happened in the theater parking lot. When he finished, Dean’s eyebrows drew together as he stared across the table at Gabriel.

“I’ve been afraid something like this might happen. When I got a call from my old friend Bill Diamond in the Memphis FBI office wanting me to offer Liz a safe place to stay, I was uncertain what to do. I didn’t want to endanger my family. Bill promised me that wouldn’t happen, that you are one of his top agents.”

“I don’t know about being one of the top agents, but I’m dedicated to my job, Dean. I’ve been with the FBI for five years now, and I really like my work. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing bad happens to anybody at Little Pigeon while I’m here. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here when Liz first came, but I was finishing up another case. Bill assured me that since you are a former police officer, you would be able to protect Liz until I could get here.”

“There haven’t been any threats until today. I’m glad you arrived before she left and could follow her to the movie. It might have turned out differently if you hadn’t.”

“Maybe so.”

Dean sat back in his chair and cast a quizzical look at him. “Why was the decision made for you to go undercover while you’re here? Maybe Liz would feel more at ease if she knew she had an FBI agent here to protect her.”

Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Daniel Shaw’s trial has all of us on edge. She’s the first witness who has agreed to testify who can directly connect him to a crime. If we can put him away, we have a better chance of taking down the rest of his gang. We’ve got to make sure Liz testifies. One of our snitches passed us some information that Shaw’s gang isn’t happy about his arrest and they’re going to try to keep Liz from testifying.” Gabriel paused, wondering if he should share the next part, then pressed on. “There’s a price on her head—a fairly high one. There’s some concern in the office that she might decide to take off if she found out. She has no family, no ties. If she decides to run, our whole case goes out the window. Bill decided we had to have agents here protecting her.”

Dean nodded. “Bill didn’t tell me the name of the other agent. What is it?”

“Her name is Andrea Cauthorn. She’s arriving tomorrow. Bill didn’t want there to be anything to tie us together, so he wanted her to arrive a day after I did. She’ll help me keep an eye on Liz. Then when the trial date arrives, we’ll escort her back to Memphis.”

A look of concern flashed in Dean’s eyes, and he tilted his head to one side. “Do you think the guy who attacked her today could have ties to Shaw’s gang? Or maybe have heard about the price on her head?”

“I don’t know. He had no identification on him, but Ben’s going to check it out. He’ll let us know if he finds out anything.”

Dean frowned. “I don’t like this. If that guy was specifically after Liz, that means they know where she is.”

“I don’t see how they could have that information. The only ones at our office who know Liz’s whereabouts are Bill, Andrea and myself. We’ll be on our guard all the time.” He paused for a moment. “Don’t worry, Dean. We don’t intend for any harm to come to your family or anybody else at Little Pigeon.”

Dean nodded. “Thanks, Gabriel, but you know I’ll also be on guard to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

A smile pulled at Gabriel’s mouth. “I guess once a cop, always a cop.”

“Yeah,” Dean said. “I was a cop, and a good one. But that’s not as important to me now as being a husband and a father. I don’t want anything to happen to my family, or to my employees and guests either.”

“Neither do we.”

Gwen walked out of the kitchen at that moment. When she saw Dean sitting at the table, she smiled and crossed the room to where they sat. She stopped beside Dean and placed her arms around his shoulders. “I didn’t know you were back inside.”

Dean stared up at his wife, and Gabriel’s stomach twisted. The love they had for each other shone in their eyes so bright that it almost blinded him. Every time he saw that look between a man and a woman, he felt as if his heart had been broken once again.

He scooted his chair away from the table and stood up. His abrupt movement startled Gwen and Dean, and they both jerked their attention to him. “Is something wrong?” Dean asked.

Gabriel shook his head. “No. It’s just been a long day. I think I’ll head up to my room. I’ll see you both in the morning. Good night.”

“Good night,” they called out, but he was already halfway to the stairs.

He hurried up the steps and strode down the upstairs hallway to his room. Once inside, he closed the door and stood there shaking all over. Seeing Gwen and Dean together tonight had brought back memories he thought he’d overcome. But when he least expected it, they resurfaced and kicked him in the gut.

He staggered across the room, sat down on the side of his bed and buried his face in his hands as the images he’d tried to repress came flooding back over him like a tidal wave.

No one could have asked for a more perfect day when he arrived at the church that afternoon ready to say the words that would make the woman he loved his wife. The pristine blue of the sky and the white clouds floating along only served to enhance the happiness he felt. Soon he and Lana would be married and ready to start their life on the ranch his father had left him.

As the time grew nearer for the ceremony, he waited in a small room behind the church’s choir loft. The first inkling he had that something wasn’t right was when the appointed time arrived for the bridal march and nothing happened. A few minutes later the best man, who’d been his friend since childhood, walked into the room with a letter that had been delivered for him.

He opened it with shaking fingers, and the words on the page blurred as he began to read. She was sorry, she said, but she couldn’t go through with the wedding. It would be unfair to him when she’d realized that she didn’t love him. She apologized for the embarrassment and ended by saying that her parents would take care of letting the guests know and that she had left for New York.

At first he thought there was some mistake, but there wasn’t. She was gone, and he’d lost the woman he loved. A few months later she returned to Texas to quietly marry his friend, the best man who’d delivered her letter. It seemed they’d been in love all along and had fought their attraction because of their respect for him. In the end, though, they couldn’t overcome it. Soon after, he’d sold the ranch and applied to the FBI.

So here he was five years later, an agent with the FBI who lived out of an apartment in Memphis that he rarely saw. Lana and his former best friend had two children. Sometimes it didn’t seem fair how his life had worked out. He hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t betrayed anyone’s trust, and yet they were happy, while he was just going through the motions each day.

He didn’t want to ever place himself in the position of being hurt like that again. He doubted if he would survive it a second time. Now he put all his energy into his job. There was nothing and no one else in his life, and he liked that just fine.

The only sad thing was that he would never have a woman look at him like Gwen Harwell looked at her husband tonight. The thought made his heart ache, but he shoved the feeling aside, refocusing on his assignment—taking care of Elizabeth Madison Kennedy, or Liz Madison, as she was calling herself. He would do everything to protect her, and in a few months he would take her safely back to Memphis to deliver testimony that would bring down a drug operation. Then he’d move on to the next assignment.

That was the only thing he needed to think about at the moment.

THREE

The morning sunshine felt warm on Liz’s skin as she pushed the wheelbarrow out of the stable and headed toward the compost pile. She’d gone only a few feet when a voice behind her startled her.

“Good morning. I see you’re already hard at work.”

Her body stiffened in shock as she halted and jerked her head around to stare at Gabriel Decker, who was walking toward her. The big smile on his face turned to a frown when he saw her reaction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Liz took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart and attempted a smile. “It’s okay,” she said. “I was preoccupied and didn’t hear you walk up.”

His frown deepened, and he took a step closer. “Are you sure you’re all right? You looked terrified when you turned around.”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

His gaze moved over her face, and she had the feeling that he was uncertain whether she had been honest with him or not. There was no way she was going to tell him that she was used to being terrified. She’d lived that way in a safe house under protective custody for months until the FBI told her they were sending her to stay with a former police officer and his family at the other end of the state. After all she’d been through, she wasn’t sure life would ever return to normal for her.

As she stared at Gabriel, she was once again struck by how handsome the man was, and this morning he looked especially so. Today he wore faded jeans and a chocolate-colored T-shirt that brought out the rich color of his eyes. He still had that bit of stubble on his face that made him blend in easily with the mountain men she’d met since arriving at Little Pigeon. She reminded herself that no matter how good-looking he was and how friendly he seemed, she had to be careful. She knew nothing about him, and she couldn’t risk getting to know him.

She turned back to the wheelbarrow and gripped the handles. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m mucking out the stalls, and I still have a lot of work to do.”

“I’ll help if you’d like,” he said as she started to go.

She stopped again and turned back to him, her eyebrows lifted. “You’re a paying guest, Mr. Decker. I don’t think Dean would want you to be cleaning out stalls. It’s hard work, and you’re on vacation.”

He grinned and speared her with his dark gaze. “I’m used to hard work, Liz, and I’ve cleaned out my share of stalls in the past. I’d be glad to help.”

She hesitated for a moment and studied him. He seemed like a nice man, and although she didn’t want to admit it, she had been lonely since she arrived. Dean and Gwen had been wonderful, but they had their own lives. She had tried not to interfere with that, which meant she’d kept to herself as much as possible. And really, what was the harm in letting him help? They were on the ranch property, with Dean and his employees all around. Even if Gabriel wasn’t someone she could trust, surely he wouldn’t be so blatant as to try to hurt her here.

After a moment, she smiled. “All right, Mr. Decker, I’d be happy to have the help.”

His grin widened, and his eyes twinkled. “Gabriel, please. I thought we were on a first-name basis after I came to your aid yesterday.”

She swallowed at the memory of the gun pressed to her head. “I appreciate what you did, more than I can ever tell you. But I’m trying to put that behind me, so I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”

His eyes grew soft, and he tilted his head to one side. “I understand that. I won’t bring it up again. Even though it wasn’t an ideal meeting, I hope it will only be the beginning of our friendship.”

Liz’s face grew warm, and she looked down at her feet. “That sounds nice. I could use a friend. I haven’t made any outside Gwen and Dean since I’ve been here.”

“Then consider me the first.”

She bit down on her lip and turned to put her hands back on the wheelbarrow. “Just let me dump this load at the compost pile, and I’ll show you what needs to be done in the barn.”

Before she could move, he was edging her out of the way so he could wrap his fingers around the wheelbarrow handles. “I’ll dump it. This looks like a heavy load.”

Without waiting for her to respond, he pushed the wheelbarrow toward the compost pile and left her staring after him. She watched as he heaved the manure and stall shavings onto the rubbish heap and then walked back to her.

“That wasn’t so bad.”

She shook her head and laughed as she turned and headed back toward the barn. They’d taken only a few steps when Gabriel spoke again. “What’s that building over there?”

Her gaze followed the direction he was pointing. “That’s an old bunkhouse. I’ve been told that Dean’s grandfather used it years ago when he had a lot of itinerant workers. It’s been deserted for years. Dean turned it into a workshop and a supply shed for medicinal supplies for the horses. He keeps it locked all the time, but he’s given me a key to it in case I need to get anything.”

“I’d think he’d keep the medicines in the tack room where they’d be handy.”

She shook her head. “No, the temperature can’t be regulated in the barn.”

“I see.” By this time, they’d arrived back at the barn. “Okay, boss,” he said, “show me what to do.”

Once inside, she pointed out the stalls that still needed to be cleaned and motioned toward a room at the end of the barn alleyway. “Pitchforks are in there. Muck buckets are, too, but feel free to use the wheelbarrow.”

He nodded. “I will.”

She studied him as he turned and walked to the room where the tools were kept. His graceful movements told her that he was a man who was confident and relaxed in who he was. It also said something about him that he was a paying guest who didn’t hesitate to offer his help with a job that most wouldn’t consider doing. Still, there was something about him that she couldn’t figure out. There were several young women staying at the ranch right now. They were much prettier than she was and wealthier, if their designer outfits were any indication. But for some reason he seemed to have singled her out for his attention. She couldn’t understand why.