Brody (22 page)

Movement near the barn told him that someone had already spotted them. He braced himself for the onslaught of Grahams and the possibility of Matt coming after him with a gun. The last thing he wanted was to get into a fight with Olivia’s big brother.

Dirt coated his hair, skin and clothes, creases of dust in every nook and cranny. Hell, he even had grit in his teeth. By the end of the day though, he knew he’d be on his way, grime and all. The Grahams wouldn’t be welcoming him.

She kneed Mariposa into a gallop, leaving him to bring up the rear. He was in no hurry to do so considering the reception he expected. All he could see was a cloud of dust; all he could hear was a round of squeals and shouts.

What would it feel like to come home to that kind of reception? To know that your family would be happy to see you no matter what? It was a foreign notion, one he couldn’t quite understand. A twinge of wistful need sliced through him. Somewhere deep inside he wanted to make that kind of family with Olivia, but his head smashed the notion. They had no future, no matter how much he might wish it.

By the time he arrived at the house, Olivia was in the midst of her three sisters, the girls squealing and hugging her like a pack of baby pigs. Caleb and Matt stood to the side, their gazes locked on Brody. The youngest brother, Nicholas, was on the porch with Eva and Hannah, Matt’s wife, watching the general foolishness.

“Armstrong.” Matt’s tight voice caught everyone’s attention. “Glad to see you brought her back alive.”

What could he say to that? Any response would get him an ass-whooping with at least two of them on him. He decided to play the diplomat instead and dismounted in front of the porch.

He tipped his hat to Eva and Hannah. “Evening, ladies. I’m glad to see you both again. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to get some water and be on my way.”

Eva’s brows went up and Hannah covered her mouth with one hand. Brody didn’t know if they were amused or shocked.

“Ranger, you ain’t leaving here that easy.” Matt appeared by his side, fury blazing from every pore. “You took my sister to God knows where and you bring her back looking like a cat drug through the mud by a pack of dogs. Not to mention—”

“Shut up, Matt,” Olivia snapped. “I’m tired and hungry and in no mood for a pissing match.
I
left and went with the ranger because I had to. The decision was
mine,
not his.”

She walked to the house, her shoulders back and head high. Damn, he really did love that woman so much. His foolish eyes even burned at the sight of her.

“Eva, would you mind asking the boys to get water for a bath while I eat?”

“Por supuesto, hija.”
Eva put her arm around Olivia’s waist. “Come inside and eat. You are so skinny!”

The ladies all disappeared inside the house, followed by a sullen Nicholas and Caleb. Both of them shot daggers at Brody with their gazes. Those boys had too much vinegar in them yet.

“You have a lot of explaining to do.” Matt hadn’t given up. Although his anger was evident, he hadn’t shot Brody. Yet. “Where have you been?”

“I had some information I was following up on. Investigating the kidnappings and tracking the source.” Brody led his gelding over to the trough, fully expecting Matt to follow.

He didn’t disappoint.

“What in tarnation were you thinking when you took my sister with you?”

“Have you met your sister? I wasn’t thinking anything. She took over like she was an army general and made me dance to her tune.” Brody’s laugh lacked any humor. “I couldn’t say no.”

“Jesus, I know she’s like that. But it’s been almost a week, Armstrong. A week without a word.” Matt took off his hat and ran his hands through his brown hair. With at least a day or two worth of whiskers and a wrinkled shirt, he had obviously been on tenterhooks, waiting for Olivia’s return.

The idea that Brody had been the cause of such worry, no matter what he told the Grahams, made him sick to his stomach. He knew what the family had gone through in the last year. Adding onto that pile of tragedy was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I didn’t mean to cause any harm, Matt. Things got out of hand.” Brody tied off his horse and turned to the other man. “I’m sorry.”

Matt’s anger deflated at the apology. He pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “Did you find him?”

Brody contemplated how to tell Graham what they’d found. “Do you have any whiskey? I could use a drink to tell this story.”

“No, but I’ve got some of that homemade firewater from Eva’s cousin. It will take the paint off wood, but it’s a stiff drink when you need one.” Matt led him to the tack room in the barn where he pulled out a mason jar filled with clear liquid and two battered tin cups.

Brody sat down on one of the stools. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so damn tired. When Matt handed him a cup, he started.

“You falling asleep sitting up?”

“I haven’t slept in three days.” Brody tried to blink away the grit in his eyes. “I was keeping watch when we stopped for the night.”

Matt’s gaze narrowed. “I’m ready for the story now. Get to explaining, Ranger.”

Brody took a sip of the liquid, and it burned like a son of a bitch. Definitely firewater of the raunchiest caliber. Just what he needed. He took another sip and then a deep breath. There was so much to say, he started at the beginning, where his life took a hard right turn without his even knowing it.

He told Matt the story, from the moment Olivia latched onto him for information until their escape from Lucinda’s and the harrowing journey back. He excluded the more intimate moments out of self-preservation. At times, he thought Matt might just decide to wallop him anyway. Yet he kept on urging Brody to continue, intent on the tale.

By the time he finished, Matt had swallowed what was left in his cup and stood there by the door, hands on his hips.

“You sure she said he’s in Texas?” His question was full of hope and pain.

“No, she said three boys had been sold to haciendas in Texas and he could be one of them. She recognized Olivia because of the eye color.” Brody threw back the last of his cup of firewater. “It’s unique to your family.” When he got to his feet, the world tilted left and then right. He grabbed hold of the bench and tried to stand up straight.

“Whoa there, Ranger. Let’s get you in a bed before you fall on your head and break something.” Matt led him to a room in the back with two cots. They belonged to the Vasquez brothers, who were obviously not currently using them. “Sleep here. I’ll tell the boys to sleep under the stars tonight. They won’t mind.”

As Brody’s head hit the pillow, sleep claimed him almost immediately. It would’ve been perfect if Olivia had been at his side.

C
HAPTER
T
WELVE

A
s she climbed into the bath, Eva and Hannah looked at Olivia with pity in their gazes. She knew she’d lost weight, but she didn’t think she was that awful.

“Why are you two looking at me like that?”

Hannah looked guilty, her brown eyes wide. “You’ve been gone for a week alone with a man and you come back dirtier than any human being ought to be. You’re thin, angry and about to bust from holding something in you need to let out.”

Her sister-in-law was uncanny in her ability to read people. And dammit, she was right again.

Olivia tilted her head back and closed her eyes lest any tears decide to leak out. “It was a hard trip.”

Eva cursed in Spanish under her breath. “That man is a
diablo
to keep you away from home so long.”

“Not his fault, Eva. I made him do it. He would have left me behind the first day if he had a choice.” Olivia took a deep breath. “I never gave him the chance.”

The silence in the bedroom was broken only by breathing and by the low sound of murmuring from outside and in the kitchen.

“Did you find him?” Eva’s soft question popped Olivia’s self-control like an ax to an apple. There was no need to ask who “him” was—Benjy was always on everyone’s mind.

“No.” This time she let the emotions come, then accepted the comfort of Eva’s embrace and Hannah’s hands clasping her own. Safe in the fold of her family, Olivia told them her story, stopping only to take a breath.

The women were a rapt audience, caught up in the adventure of a lifetime. One that ended in sorrow and disappointment. And no Benjy.

She didn’t tell them she’d fallen in love with the ranger, or that he’d rejected her, that she was just his obligation. There were things she couldn’t share yet. Neither one of them pushed for more information, but she could see in their faces they knew it wasn’t the whole story.

The bathwater grew cold and Olivia asked Hannah and Eva for privacy. They excused themselves and went to the kitchen to check on supper. Olivia took her time drying off, relishing these moments alone for the first time in a week.

She stood in her room and looked around. It was the place where she’d been a child, but now she was a woman. She was not the same person who had left the ranch, full of righteousness and brimming with energy. Now she was exhausted beyond measure and her view of the world jaded by what she’d seen, what she’d done and what she’d experienced.

The world was an ugly place outside the walls of this house and now she knew that firsthand. There were dangers waiting to surprise unsuspecting girls. There were men who would take advantage of them.

If she was fair to Brody, she had to admit he hadn’t taken advantage of her. She’d bullied him into taking her with him and making her his partner. The first joining had also been her idea. She had been so certain she was in the know about it all. Now she recognized she had known nothing.

Brody had taught her a great deal in his own gruff way. Her own stupidity had taught her as well. There were images burned into her memory she could never scrub away. She had done things she could never undo.

Olivia would never be the same person again. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it wasn’t a good thing either. She couldn’t go back to being the same naïve girl she’d been. Brody’s touch would never be erased from her skin or her heart.

No matter what, she loved him and it would take an exceptionally long time for that to change. He had taken her heart and she didn’t know how to get it back.

She pulled on a clean chemise, another one the talented Hannah had made for her, and crawled into her bed. The familiar scent and feel surrounded her and her breath caught. Home. She had finally come home. As sleep swept over her, she had the thought it was the first time in days she’d slept without Brody by her side.

And she missed him.

Olivia sat up straight in bed, startled to find herself back at the ranch and in her room. Her heart pounded as though it would jump out of her chest. She’d been dreaming of running from danger, but she’d kept tripping and falling, never getting any distance between herself and whatever chased her.

She had shouted his name. That’s what woke her up. In her bad dream, Olivia had reached for Brody and he wasn’t there. The dream didn’t just scare her. It disturbed her at an elemental level that even her sleeping mind needed him.

She had to see him.

Olivia slipped on a clean dress, amazed by the feel of clean clothes and clean skin. Astonishing what she had gotten used to out on the trail, where a bath was splashing in a creek with a sliver of soap or just sand to get clean.

It never occurred to her he might have left already. He wouldn’t go without saying good-bye, not even he was that low. That meant he was sleeping somewhere on the ranch and she had to find him.

Barefoot, she crept out of her room and into the kitchen. A shadow moved near the table and she stifled a scream.

“Relax, Liv, it’s me.” Matt’s soft voice came from the head of the table.

She squinted into the darkness, making out his form in the meager moonlight. “What are you doing?”

“Couldn’t sleep. I was drinking some milk. Hannah’s idea, even though I don’t think it will work.” He yawned so hard, his jaw cracked. “But she could have been right.”

Olivia put her hands on the back of the other chair. “I need to talk to him.”

She didn’t have to specify whom. Matt wasn’t stupid. He had probably already talked to Brody, and hopefully hadn’t shot him or punched him.

“Do you love him?”

Olivia expected the question and answered without even a second’s hesitation. “Yes. But I’m not so sure he feels the same.”

“Oh, I think you’d be surprised.” Matt sipped the milk. “He told me what happened. Most of it anyway. I expect there were parts he didn’t share.”

Good thing it was dark enough he couldn’t see her heated cheeks. No doubt they were flushed and guilty looking.

“We didn’t find him.” The sorrow couldn’t be contained.

“No, but you found out where he’d been. That’s one piece of the puzzle.” His chair scraped the floor as he stood and rounded the table. “You have got to be the most amazing woman I know, aside from my wife that is.”

Her brother’s unexpected praise made her eyes prick with tears. She was a lucky woman to have such love from her family. It was a blessing she sometimes took for granted.

“I did what you would have done if you’d been here.”

He pulled her into a hug. “Nope, I would have stayed here with Hannah and let Armstrong do the work he’s paid badly by Texas to do. You, dear sister, are a helluva fighter.”

Olivia smiled into his shoulder. “Thank you.” She had missed the noisy Grahams so much, even Catherine’s constant chatter and Rebecca’s posturing to be more grown up than she was. What she missed most was the way they were a family, despite all their faults and mistakes. They were the circle eight and she would spend the rest of her life trying to make it complete again by finding Benjy.

“Where is he?”

“In the bunkroom. Lorenzo and Javier are sleeping under the stars tonight.” He kissed her forehead. “Be careful, little sister.”

Olivia couldn’t answer him. The last thing she’d been was careful around the ranger. She’d thrown her arms wide open and embraced the danger that filled his life. Now she would throw caution to the wind once more and try to convince him that he couldn’t live without her.