Alexander Ranch (3 page)

"I give you my word, no one will harm you. You are safe."

I looked at him for a long moment then released his arm. I hadn’t realized I had grabbed his arm. I had unwittingly been straining to hold onto him and now fell back against the blankets. I still watched him warily but something had eased, just a little. I was shocked to hear two sets of heeled feet approaching the door. He stood and turned to me.

"Do they know what you look like?"

I shook my head, my eyes watching his every move.

“I don’t think so. I had my hat on and turned away from them to run,” was my whispered reply.

“Good. Stay down, cover up, and play sleep,” he said in a take charge voice. He didn’t sound afraid or timid now. He sounded totally in control and in charge. I gingerly turned and buried myself under the blankets. I could hear them moving around on the porch and trying to peep in the window. Finally, a soft knock sounded. He picked up a piece of fire wood and then swung the door open a crack surprising both of the rough looking men standing on the porch.

“
Oh my,” Jordan said, blinking and adopting a sleepy but jovial voice, “I thought I heard something moving around out here. Thought maybe it was a raccoon or something.”

“
We're sorry to bother you. We lost our, uh, sister earlier today and are just so worried about her,” one of the men said, clearly lying and doing a bad job of it. His companion glared at him, but the first man forged on, “We’re just checking with anyone around here to see if someone has seen her. But, there don’t seem to be many people around here.”

“
Your sister, huh?” Jordan reacted, appearing instantly concerned. For a moment I was afraid he might believe the lying slime ball. “I haven't seen anyone around here. And yea, it's a little early in the season, so most of the cabins are still empty.”

“
You're sure you haven't seen anyone wondering around here?” The second man asked trying his best to get a peak around Jordan into the cabin. I could just make out their reflection in the small decorative mirror in the entryway.

Jordan
turned to him giving him a meaningful guy to guy grin, “I haven't seen anyone, but I've been a bit preoccupied for the last 24 hours, if you know what I mean.”

The men chuckled and it made my skin crawl as
both men looked my direction and grinned with knowing looks. I didn’t dare move. I was buried under the blankets but, if they’d tried to see me through the mirror, they might be able to make out my eyes watching them. But, neither man even noticed the mirror.

Jordan went on,
winking conspiratorially, “The Mrs. and I have finally had 24 hours together without the baby.”

“
Well, we are so sorry to have interrupted,” one of them leered back.

“
Not a problem,” Jordan replied easily. His voice seemed slightly clipped now, but his face had an indulgent smile. “She's sleeping now. Got to let her get her beauty rest before we head back in the morning. But, hey, if I see anyone I'll let you know. What does your sister look like? Do you want to leave a number where I could reach you? Have you called the police?"

Both men looked uncomfortable now
at Jordan’s rapid fire questions. The first man spoke up hastily. “No, that's alright. She walked off in a huff this afternoon and we just got a little worried when she didn't return. She might already be back to our camp wondering where we are.”

“
Are you sure? I mean, it's past three in the morning,” Jordan said with the deepest concern.

“
No, no. Go ahead and get back to your wife. Our, uh, Janine has a temper and sometimes it takes her a while to work off a mad,” The first man reassured Jordan. He had a forced smile on his face now, and the two began to walk backwards and out of my limited view as he continued to speak, “Besides, like I said, she might already be back wondering where we are.”

They were off the porch
now and Jordan gave them a wave as they began to walk away. Then, he closed the door and turned back to me on the floor. He rounded the sofa and as his face came back into view I could see a mixture of relief and embarrassment. Was there also some amusement lurking there? His skin held a slight flush.

“See, I told you I’d take care of it
,” Jordan whispered, smiling his glorious smile at me. He sat back down on his pile of blankets next to me. “So you can stop looking at me with that wary expression and maybe trust me a little.”

“Your wife?”
I asked. I could feel embarrassment and amusement warring on my face.

“Well,”
he said, burrowing deeper into the covers, “I had to establish that you were someone I knew very well. And, who would question how well a man knows his wife?”

I
nodded but didn’t say more. He had a point. But, something about the way he said it or the words themselves sparked a flicker of unease. He gazed into my eyes as if trying to read something there until I looked away.

“So, do you actually know them?”
he asked.

I
shook my head. “I don’t know them. I was hiking through the wooded area along the water. And, I suddenly came into a small clearing just as one man pulled the trigger and shot another man who was on his knees.”

I
shuddered at the memory but continued. Jordan became very still as I spoke, all amusement gone. I told him everything I could to make sure he understood that I didn’t have any idea who they were without giving anything away about my ability.

“The man who did the shooting had his back to me but the other man was at a sort of diagonal. I came upon them at the upper right of a clearing. I had made my way around to the lower left of them and passed them before they spotted me. Then I took off through the trees.”

“
Are you sure they didn’t see you?” he asked frowning.

“
I don’t think they got a good look at me. I got to the water and jumped in, letting it carry me down stream quite a ways. They didn’t immediately start after me on foot, if they came after me at all. The last I saw of them, they were looking down into the water where I’d jumped in. Then the water carried me around a bend and they were out of sight. When the current slowed and I could stand, I followed along the shallows of the river edge trying to stay under the trees as much as possible until I came to the clearing. That’s where I walked out and saw you.”

I
looked up to see how he was taking this litany of babble I’d just released. He watched me with that assessing gaze of his. He seemed thoughtful as if he were trying to assess the truthfulness of what I’d said. Then, he finally spoke.

“But, they shot you,” he stated calmly.

“That was after they shot the kneeling man. I must have gasped or something because they turned towards me. That’s when I turned and ran.”

“What else do you remember?”

“Nothing,” I lifted my shoulders with a shrug and then regretted it as pain spiked in my shoulders. I hissed the last words out between my teeth, “I woke up here, with you.”

I didn’t kno
w what else to say and I guess he didn’t either. He looked slightly more relaxed now but thoughtful.

“Try to get some sleep,”
he encouraged. “We have a few more hours before Daisy gets here, and you need all the rest you can get.”

He
offered me more water and broth. I took a little of both and then lay back down. He was right. I was worn out and sore. I rubbed my hand gently over my side where it ached and realized it was bandaged.

“You wouldn’t happen to have a pain reliever would you?” I asked hopefully.

“I do, but I’m not sure I should give you any,” he replied dubiously.

“Please?” I begged.

He frowned thinking it over, then sighed and stood. He walked into the kitchen without a word and came back with two little pills. He handed them to me and helped me sip some water. At this point I didn’t care what type of drug he might be giving me as long as it would take the pain away. If he gave me a knock out drug I wouldn’t be able to feel pain, right? Besides, after this last situation with the two strangers, I figured my previous assumption was correct. If he had wanted to harm me he would have done so by now. Despite the pain, I was sleep in a matter of minutes. As I slept I heard strange voices and noises.

Chapter 4

“
Bless your heart, Daisy, it’s 10 minutes to 6,” I heard someone say. I became immediately alert as I realized someone had come into the cabin. I could hear shoes coming towards me and then stop. I didn’t dare move, however. I was frozen in place with fear at the sound of a new voice. Had that been the voice I’d heard in my sleep.

“It’s not what you think
,” came Jordan’s whispered voice. Then, I heard the rustling of the covers next to me. I couldn’t see anything, only hear. I wanted so badly to turn around and see who Jordan was talking to. But, I didn’t want them to know I was awake yet so I concentrated on breathing evenly.

“Then
, what is it, Jordan? Do explain,” The woman’s voice sounded amused. Had he called her Daisy? This must be his sister in law I realized as the fog of sleep began to dissipate.

“Let’s go in the kitchen so we don’t wake her and I’ll explain,” he suggested sounding so relieved. I felt relieved also knowing that they didn’t suspect I was awake. I wanted to hear what they had to say
.

“Can you check her first? She was shot,” Jordan asked anxiously.

“Shot!” Daisy’s voice rose, all amusement gone.

“Shh!” Jordan admonished. “Yes
.”

I felt warm
fingers touching my head where it peaked out under the blanket, and a soothing warmth flooded through me. My pain subsided a little. Then, the fingers were removed and I heard footsteps walking away. Moments later the murmur of voices could be heard farther away and my eyes fluttered open. Jordan’s voice reached me and he sounded both relieved and agitated.

“I don’t care what it looks like and it’s not funny, Daisy. Damnit! This is serious.”

“Ok, ok. You really are upset aren’t you?”

“Yes! I could have killed her!”

“Oh, Jordan. You wouldn’t have hurt her,” The woman named Daisy, chided gently.

“Not on purpose anyway,” he
retorted dryly. “Heck, I didn’t know how badly she was hurt or if she would survive the night.”

“Well, my initial check shows she has some injuries but nothing life threatening. Why don’t you tell me what happened
,” Daisy suggested, sounding much more concerned now. What did she mean her initial check. Had she checked me? Did I sleep through that?

“
I was sitting on the beach watching the sunset. I was looking forward to spending the night all alone and having the cabin to myself,” Jordan began. “I should have known better than to spend the last week with Logan and those two monsters he calls children.”

“Yes, you should have known better. He’s your brother. Don’t you know yet when he’s suckering you?” she laughed.

“Apparently not. It was fun, but I was exhausted. Who knew a 22 month old and a three year old took that much work? Danielle was a drill sergeant in a baby’s body. She had us all wrapped around her little pudgy finger, and she knew exactly how to make us snap to attention. And, Tyler was just a blizzard that never seemed to sit still. He reminded me of the Tasmanian devil character in the LoonyToons cartoons.”

“But, you knew this before you left, Jordan,”
Daisy mused, sounding puzzled. “You really are rattled, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. When Logan talked
me into this joint venture it hadn’t occurred to me that he himself was afraid to be alone with his overly active children. So, he sold me this false bill of goods that it would be awesome with just us men at the cabin with the kids. And, after being tortured by his heathens, I end up with a woman practically dying at my feet on my only night alone.”

I didn’t hear anything for a moment. Then
, Daisy spoke in a calming voice, “Jordan, take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”

“I’m sorry. As I was saying
, I was sitting on the beach watching the sunset. Then, all of a sudden she was there.”

“What do you mean she was there?”

Jordan sighed.

“I mean I was sitting there enjoying the sunset, with
all the beauty and different colors. I was peacefully, listening to the waves crashing upon the shore. You know, relaxing. I dug my feet into the sand and savored the feel of it squeezing through my toes. The normal things people do on a beach.”

His voice had taken on an edgy, irritated tone. He was talking to the woman as if she were dense.

“I get it. You were enjoying the beach. Where did she come from?”

“I don’t really know exactly. She did tell me she’d been hiking when she came across some men,” Jordan continued. He told her the story I’d told him
, explaining how I came upon the men. Daisy was perfectly silent now as he went on.

“I’m telling you
, I think my heart stopped. I had closed my eyes and was breathing in the scent of earth, trees, water and nature, trying to do that one with nature crap Grace suggested. I didn’t hear or sense her until she was there. She must have made a sound or something. I opened my eyes and she was standing there looking at me. I blinked, wondering if I was seeing things, but she was still there.” I could hear the frustration, fear and anxiety in his voice now.