His Callahan Bride's Baby (Callahan Cowboys) (13 page)

Of course. It made so much sense.

They would know tracks in the snow were a stark giveaway. Wolf didn’t care, was flaunting his control. He’d taken Falcon’s woman and child. Falcon was without backup.

He started tracking the bootprints away from the house.

* * *

T
AYLOR
WOKE
UP
slightly disoriented. She looked around the room, tried to rise from the bed she was in. The room was small but clean. Sparse. Tan walls, wood-beam ceiling, a wooden rocking chair in the corner. No rug on the floor, just rustic dark hardwood.

She got up, looked out the small window. Two feet of snow smoothed the landscape. There were tall green trees, though, which weren’t part of Rancho Diablo’s beautiful surroundings.

She wasn’t in Diablo anymore.

She went to the door, tried the knob. Locked.

“Hey!” Taylor banged hard on the panel. “Hey!”

A moment later, the door opened. “I know you,” Taylor said to the woman who entered. “You were with Wolf the night he took Falcon.”

The brunette shrugged. “What do you want?”

“I want to know where I am. And why you’ve taken me.”

“You’re in Montana. The why is pretty obvious, don’t you think?”

Taylor blinked. “Montana?”

The woman nodded. “Do you like your room?”

“I don’t care about the room. Why did Wolf take me?”

“I’ll let him tell you his plans. My job is to keep you quiet.”

“I don’t do quiet very well.” Taylor was mad. “You know Falcon will find me.”

The tall brunette smiled. “Well, we certainly left enough bread crumbs for him to follow.”

“Oh, I get it. I’m just the decoy. Wolf’s out to finish what he started before.”

“Only you don’t have a firearm this time.” Her captor went to the door. “Do you need anything?”

“Yes. A gun. And bullets.”

“I don’t think so.” She smiled sardonically and went out. Taylor heard the door lock. Sinking down in the rocking chair, Taylor ran a hand over her stomach. “Don’t worry, Emma. Your daddy’s smarter than your great-uncle.”

After a moment, Taylor got up and looked out the window. So they were using her as a lure to get to Falcon. Wolf was determined that Falcon knew something or possessed something he wanted.

Wolf knew Falcon would come for her. They had just spoken of marriage in front of the fire and Christmas tree at Rancho Diablo. Falcon would come for her and Emma, and Taylor hated that she was the bait for the trap.

There was nothing she could do but wait for the right moment to act.

* * *

T
HE
TEMPERATURE
ON
Christmas morning at 4:00 a.m. was twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Stringy gray clouds draped a moon valiantly trying to light a dark night. Falcon followed Taylor’s tracks—there were three sets of footprints—to a cave where a small fire had been doused. Recent signs of occupancy littered the cave: bones from a small animal that had been roasted over the fire, some cigarette butts, a cracker package.

But the cave was clearly abandoned now.

Taylor had been here, though. He could see her boot marks, the heels dug into the snow. Her captors hadn’t troubled to mask their path, and Falcon knew they expected—wanted—him to follow her.

“She was here,” his grandfather said, walking into the cave. Running Bear stood tall and lean, his face stern with shadows. “They knew she is the closest thing to your heart.”

That was true. Falcon knew what he had to ask, as much as he hated it. But the question had bothered him for a long time. He looked at Running Bear. “Am I the hunted one you spoke of?” he asked, his voice a sharp rasp.

His grandfather shrugged. “Only the spirits know. You have to be on guard no matter what. No one can say the who or what of it, just that these things come to pass.”

“I don’t understand. And I need to find Taylor.”
And my daughter,
came the cry from his heart. No one, not even his grandfather, could understand Falcon’s anguish. Taylor had said in the beginning that she wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved with a Callahan and their history.

She had good reason to feel that way. And now his legacy had been visited on her and his child.

“You can’t find her,” Running Bear said, and Falcon stared at his grandfather, stunned.

“Can’t?”

“Will not. You have to let her go.”

“Let her go? I’m not going to let her go. She’s going to be my wife. She’s having my child. I—”

“Love her. I know this.
They
know that.” His grandfather squatted near the cold fire pit, studying the ashes. “Until your child is born, you will not find her.”

Falcon blinked. He felt an overwhelming desire to shout in frustration, but instead calmly squatted near his grandfather. “Our child isn’t being born until May. I need to rescue Taylor
now
. They can’t be that far off. And they left tracks a first grader could follow.”

His grandfather nodded. “It’s a trap.”

“I’m prepared for traps.”

“So are they.”

He didn’t understand. “What is it they want from me?”

“If they can take you, they’ll use you against your family. They’ll use you to get to your parents, and Molly and Jeremiah Callahan.”

“What difference does it make now? Our parents have been in witness protection for too many years for anything that happened before to matter.”

“When a drug cartel is destroyed, the memories are long. The Callahans are still here. Until they are gone, the drug routes cannot be reopened. Traffickers can’t use this entire area. The Callahans keep too sharp an eye out, and they built up the city of Diablo. Now too many people are watching for the enemy.”

Falcon waited with a sinking heart, knowing his grandfather wasn’t finished.

“In the old days, when the smugglers nearly had the run of the land, Jeremiah Callahan made a decision to stay and fight them. He wanted to see the town of Diablo built up and thriving for families. It was his way or the smugglers’ way, and the battle was fierce. He and Molly made a good team. The town trusted them, believed in them. Jeremiah understood the land, understood the strength of spirit for a people. Your father, Carlos, believed his brother’s cause was worth the fight, and he and your mother had connections to the government that they used to inform on the cartel. When the smugglers went down, the Callahans made longtime enemies. No, they have not forgotten. You do not know because you did not live it, so the understanding is not in your heart yet. But it will be.”

“Why does Uncle Wolf want to bring his brothers down?”

“Because Jeremiah and Carlos are of the sky, and Wolf is of dark wind. Wolf made a deal with the cartel that if he would turn over his family, all of Rancho Diablo will be his.”

“The land,” Falcon said. “The tribe owns the mineral rights, correct?”

“True, but the land and the buildings are enough of a prize. Never forget that the Diablos are Wolf’s main goal. All men wish to tame the spirits. It cannot happen, but Wolf is a creature who lacks understanding of these things.”

Falcon took a deep breath, seeing clearly what he had brought on Taylor. “How do I help her?”

“You can’t.” His grandfather shook his head. “If you go to her, try to rescue her now when they are expecting you, she could be killed.”

Chapter Thirteen

Taylor realized in less than twenty-four hours that Falcon wasn’t coming. And she knew why.

Wolf and his minions waited, watching. Taylor could feel their tension, and sometimes their fear. She busied herself with reading, writing, trying to remember what her mother had taught her about knitting. Sometimes she took long walks, always accompanied by Wolf’s sentinels, Ziha and Rose. She was allowed to call her mother once, and let her know that she was fine. Occasionally she could send her a letter that they supposedly mailed. When she needed something, Wolf’s apparent right hand, Rhine, brought it back for her.

They weren’t nice to her, but they weren’t unkind, either. They seemed to expect her to try to make an escape, and Taylor took pleasure in keeping them guessing by being a sunny version of the houseguest that never left.

The midwife came every month, and though her eyes seemed sympathetic, Taylor did not trust her. So she said nothing to her beyond answering the basic medical questions she asked.

One thing she knew for certain: this time of her life would not last forever. What she and Falcon shared would.

Wolf wouldn’t break their spirits.

In fact, Taylor knew one other thing: with each day Emma grew inside her, her love for Falcon grew deeper.

* * *

F
ALCON
THOUGHT
HE
WOULD
always remember Christmas Day as the worst day of his life, the day his past and his future had collided. He desperately wanted to find Taylor, take care of her and protect her the way he’d always promised he would.

He’d never felt this dark envelopment of fear.

But then January went by, February followed fast, March slipped into spring. Falcon knew Taylor had to feel betrayed. She would have believed he would come for her.

But he didn’t.

“Nothing?” Galen asked, coming in from the barn, where Falcon sat staring toward the canyons.

“Nothing. No signal. It’s like Wolf was never here.”

Galen shook his head. “Maybe Running Bear is wrong. Maybe you should find her. I’m sure her mother is terribly upset and thinks you’ve abandoned her daughter.”

“Her mother says Taylor’s fine. Taylor called her once and said so. Every now and again she gets a letter, postmarked Colorado. Running Bear says Taylor is not in Colorado.” He sighed. “Running Bear says it’s a diversion.”

“Why would they bother with diversionary tactics when they left plenty of tracks?”

“The chief believes it’s to confuse any law enforcement who might be looking for Taylor. They’re keeping her mother calm.”

“But hoping you’ll show up so they can trap you?”

“I guess. Although I don’t have any more knowledge than anyone else around here.” Falcon resented the fact that his uncle seemed to take special glee in singling him out for attention.

“You’re the one expecting a child. You’d be most likely to crack.”

“Crack Wolf’s head wide open.”

“I’ll go in your place,” Galen said. “We won’t mention it to Grandfather.”

“As if he wouldn’t figure it out. Thanks, Galen, but I can’t ask that of you.”

Galen clapped him on the back. “Better to ride out to Colorado than sit here doing nothing. We could use a road trip.”

Falcon perked up. “I’d give anything to find Taylor.”

“Let’s go,” Galen prompted. “Action is always better than inaction, right?”

Falcon tried to think logically over the sudden thundering of his heart. “Then again, we don’t want to go on a wild-goose chase. Maybe it would be best to press Running Bear for information. You know he knows more than he’s telling.”

Galen nodded. “I’ll pack the truck. You get what you can out of Running Bear. Good luck with that.”

* * *

“G
RANDFATHER
,”
Ash said, coming upon him near the stone circle, where she’d hoped to find him. “Let me go find Taylor. Falcon’s about to explode. It’s killing him.”

Running Bear grunted. “You can’t always save your brothers, little one.”

“I could rescue Taylor,” Ash said.

He shook his head. “This is Falcon’s battle. It is his test. You have to let him win it on his own. It’s not good to interfere with another person’s destiny.”

“I don’t believe in destiny,” Ash said.

“I know,” he said wryly. “You’ve told me a hundred times.”

She leaned her head against the old man’s shoulder. “Teach me the ways, Grandfather.”

“Why? Why should I teach the sacred ways to one who doesn’t believe? I don’t even know that you honor the sprits anymore,” he said gruffly.

“You should teach me,” Ash said, sitting down next to him, her ankles crossed, “because you are old. You won’t live forever, as much as I would prefer that you did.”

He grunted again. “You should show respect to your elders. You didn’t live with the tribe long enough to know this. It shows.”

She laughed. “If I respected my elders, I’d let my brothers have the upper hand. And I think we’d all admit that we prefer me keeping them on their toes. But I respect
you,
” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder once more.

He was silent for a moment. “When did you figure out that you were the favored one of my heart?”

“When you told my mother you felt certain she should have one more child. You were waiting for me.”

“Yes, and when I got you, I wanted to put you back. You were an untamable spirit.”

“Just like my grandfather,” she said fondly. “And you did not want to put me back. You used to take me on special pony rides. You told me stories of the spirits at night, talked to me about the stars that guided me.”

“I did the same for your brothers.”

“But they didn’t get to wear the chief’s headdress,” Ash reminded him. “I did, and I knew I was special.”

“You were like a cloud, going here and there and anywhere. Floating on any breeze.”

“Grandfather, did you know that clouds are basically water droplets and ice?”

“Yes, little cloud,” her grandfather said, giving up. “Why do you want to learn the ways?”

“Because it’s time,” she said simply. “So you can rest.”

“I am not ready to rest.”

“It’s okay, Grandfather,” Ash said softly. “It will take you years to teach me everything.”

He was silent a long time, maybe an hour. Ash sat still next to him, knowing not to speak. Finally, Running Bear said, “Walk two miles, where you will find an empty cave. Sit there.”

“For how long?”

He didn’t look at her. “Until you know the spirits.”

“What about Falcon and Taylor? Why can’t I just go shoot Uncle Wolf?” Ash asked impatiently. “If he’s the ringleader and the only connection to us, I think one single sniper shot would take care of the problem.”

Running Bear looked at her. “If killing my son would solve the problem, I would do it myself.”

She hung her head. “It can’t be easy knowing that your son has a dark heart.” She looked up again. “I just want to help Taylor so much. She helped me.”

“What did you not learn?”

She sighed. “That I have to let Taylor and Falcon fight their own battle. Their destiny is for them alone.”

“Go, cloud.”

* * *

F
ALCON
FOUND
R
UNNING
B
EAR
in the most unlikely place: sitting in Fiona’s kitchen, eating cookies and drinking coffee, as if nothing in the world was wrong.

“Just the man I need to see,” Falcon said.

“The man you need to see!” Fiona exclaimed. “What am I, chopped liver?”

His grandfather’s eyes wrinkled up with what could be taken as a pleasant expression. “Respect your aunt.”

“I do. She’s the one sane thing around here.” He hugged Fiona. “Burke’s pretty sane, too, though, thank heaven.”

Fiona smiled. “Sit. Let me pour you a mug.”

“I need to talk to Grandfather.”

His grandfather’s eyes met his. “Talking is easier on a full stomach,” Fiona said. “I’ve got a pot roast on and blackberry pie for desert.”

Food sounded good, but information better. “Walk with me,” Falcon told his grandfather.

“I just got him sitting,” Fiona said. “Sit with him and make him eat, and I’ll leave the room.” She pulled off her apron. “I can tell this is an aunt-free conversation.”

“Thanks, Aunt Fiona.” Falcon accepted the cookies and coffee his aunt gave him, and when Fiona had sailed from the kitchen, blowing a kiss behind her, he sat next to his grandfather. “I can’t find Ash anywhere.”

“Ashlyn is studying the old ways.”

Falcon nodded. “She mentioned she was going to talk to you. We’re thin here, and I’m leaving. Galen has offered to ride shotgun.”

“Going to find something?”

He nodded. “It’s time for Taylor to come back home. My daughter will be born soon. I want her born in Diablo.”

“Have you found what you were missing?”

Falcon gazed at his grandfather. In the bright, sunny kitchen, Running Bear looked like a painted wood carving come to life. Falcon always thought the chief looked solid, indestructible, timeless. “I’m missing my woman and my child. That’s all I need.”

Running Bear nodded. “That is right. It’s good to know your soul.”

“More than that. She’s my spirit.”

“You asked Taylor to stay with you forever?”

“She asked me to marry her, I’m pretty sure, on Christmas Eve. Just before she was taken.” His whole body turned cold at the memory. “I would have said yes if I’d had more time. Someone told me to let her make the decision, to wait for her. So then I did, but then she was gone.” His body grew chilled at the memory. “I can’t forget it. One minute we were happy and the next minute my world exploded.”

“That makes you angry.”

“Yes. And scared.” He
had
been scared. It had been hard to accept that he couldn’t protect the woman he loved and the child he hoped to meet one day.

“And now?”

Falcon swallowed. “I’ll always hate Wolf. But I know that he wants me, and I’m going to give myself up. Make him send Taylor here. Then he can try to get whatever information he’s looking for out of me.”

“Does the mouse walk into the snake’s jaws?”

Falcon blinked. “Not the mouse. The mongoose has no fear.”

“Because the mongoose can strike first if it chooses. The snake fears it. And fear is the key.”

His eyes went wide. “You think I should attack Wolf?”

The chief shrugged. “Nature teaches good lessons.”

Attack Wolf. How? In what way?

“Are you not the thinker?” the chief asked softly. “Your siblings say you are the smart one, the one whose mind knows no boundaries of imagination.”

Falcon got up and went to look out the window. Galen was packing the truck, but in the distance Falcon saw a shadow, a flying mane, a tossing head dark on the horizon. His heart raced into overdrive.

“I am the hunted one, aren’t I?” he said, turning to his grandfather.

His worst nightmare.

“Only you can walk the path. No one can tell you your own truth,” Running Bear said. He looked at him for a long time, then said, “Glenn, Montana, is where you’ll find what you are looking for.”

“Taylor’s letters to her mother are postmarked Colorado.”

Running Bear nodded. “Nothing is ever exactly what it seems.”